NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 2, 2020
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Availability Transcript:
YOUR FIRST YEAR WITH THE NO. 43, AN INTERESTING STAT: THE NO. 43 HAS NOT MADE A TRIP TO VICTORY LANE IN A COMPLETED RACE SINCE 1999. YOU’VE WON IN THE CUP SERIES BEFORE – DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE BIG OPPORTUNITY TO GET THE KING BACK IN VICTORY LANE?
“I hope so. That’s the ultimate goal at the end of it all – to hopefully win a race this year and get us in the Playoffs. RPM has been doing a lot over the last few years to really strengthen their organization and I think it’s showing in performance, too. The trend is going in the right direction and, obviously, we want to keep it going that way this year, keep going to a better points finish and continue to get more and more competitive on track. Overall, I think there’s great opportunity. I look at some of the tracks that we go to this year and I think there’s opportunities to win. It’s tough to win in the Cup Series – we all know that; I know that from experience. But I think we have a lot of opportunities this year where we can do it.”
THE DAYTONA 500 THESE PAST FEW YEARS, IT’S NOT A MATTER OF ‘IF’, BUT A MATTER OF ‘WHEN’ THE BIG ONE HAPPENS. I’VE TALKED TO A LOT OF DRIVERS AND THEY SAY THEY WANT TO BE UP IN THE FIRST TWO OR THREE ROWS. AS A DRIVER, FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, DO YOU WANT TO BE IN THE FRONT OR THE BACK TO HELP YOU GET A SHOT AT THE WIN?
“It’s kind of a tough balance. Over the last few superspeedway races, I think we’ve done a good job of putting ourselves in position to be in contention to win. I feel like we had a couple of shots to win at superspeedway races here in the last few at Daytona and Talladega. The Daytona 500 has been kind of tough for me, it seems, since a few years ago when we ran third there. Since then, it’s been a struggle a little bit to try to get to the finish and try to be in contention there. There’s some stuff I feel like, though, that I’ve done that has put me in a good spot towards the end of the race. Some of that’s laying back, some of that’s being up front. But there is a point where you have to be in a certain position to have a shot to win. You can’t be five laps to go and running 25th – I don’t see you being able to drive through the field if there’s that many cars left and have a shot to win. So, you have to kind of pay attention to that and put yourself in somewhat of a position towards the end. There’s a point where you have to start taking a risk, right. You may get caught in a big one, you may not, but you have to take those risks to be in a position to try and win.”
COMING FROM JGR, HOW MUCH DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO MANAGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS THIS YEAR?
“Yeah, it’s a different team and a different group. I think our expectations change, for sure. I think for us, finishing in the top-20 in points is the goal. That’s what they’ve been working towards the last few years, trying to get there and they came close last year to doing that. Obviously, the ultimate goal is to get a win and get in the Playoffs – that would be a great season for us. The expectations change, but I think we all have high hopes. I know a lot of the guys I’ve talked to at RPM, now getting to know them, they’re really excited for the season, including myself. So, it’s different, for sure. It’s a different organization – a lot smaller and, obviously, a single car. But it’s been fun for me. I’ve really enjoyed being over there, getting to talk to those guys and already start to grow with them and try to help them out any way that I can. I’ve spent a ton of time up there already at the shop, on the simulator, just trying to work through stuff to get us acclimated before the season starts and do all that we can to have a good year.”
NOW THAT YOU’VE HAD A CHANCE TO GET INSIDE RPM, COMING FROM A BIG, MULTI-CAR ORGANIZATION, WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST ADJUSTMENTS NOW THAT YOU’VE HAD SOME TIME IN THERE?
“Just the preparation is totally different. For me, making sure that we’re all on the same page. The communication is a lot more direct and there’s not as many people in between certain parts of the company like I was used to before. And, for me, it’s really, like I said before, direct in the sense of getting the car prepared and what you need as a driver, myself, to be comfortable is honestly a lot simpler with it being a single car team. There’s a lot of different preparation stuff.”
“The biggest thing for me is just working through getting comfortable with a new team, more than anything. I’ve never really switched teams in my career, if you think about it even back to Xfinity going to Cup. It wasn’t a big move – it was the same team, just a different level in the series. So, that’s been the biggest thing. Getting over there, trying to get comfortable, express what I’m looking for out of a race team, what I need to go out and be successful. That’s been the biggest thing for me is the things that I’m used to, the things I want before the race weekends to try and go out and be prepared. It’s been really busy the last couple of months, but it’s all been really good.”
CAN YOU TAKE MORE OF A LEADERSHIP ROLE NOW THAT ALL THE FOCUS IS SOLEY ON YOU?
“Yeah, I definitely feel that. It’s rewarding a lot, for me, to be able to go in and feel like there’s quite a bit I can bring to the table myself. I’ve learned a lot over the last three or four years in trying to better myself and I feel like I know what I need to be comfortable in a race car; what I need to go out and be successful. So, there’s a lot more leadership there and a lot more in the sense of what direction we’re going for myself, just because it is a single-car team. We’re working through those things really directly. I’ve enjoyed that. I’ve always kind of wanted that opportunity to go in and try to lead the ship a little bit more and be more involved with the direction and the way that the team is going. That’s been fun for me, kind of seeing how we’re working through the year and what we’re going to do through the year to try and continue to improve our stuff.”
OBVIOUSLY, THINGS DIDN’T END THE WAY YOU WANTED TO OVER AT JGR. IT’S SAFE TO SAY YOU DID HAVE SOME STRONG DAYS OVER THERE. WHAT’S THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU’LL TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR DAYS AT JOE GIBBS RACING AS YOU APPLY IT TO YOUR NEW RIDE AT RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS?
“I think you learn every step of the way. For me, I had a great opportunity at JGR and learned a lot of things. We had success, we won some races and made the Playoffs a few times. Overall, you just have to take in the opportunity that it was, what that team did to be successful and try to move on from that and learn from that.”
“INAUDIBLE… and try to learn what I can do better from my own standpoint going forward in how I can continue to try and improve as a driver in a new organization and what I can take from what I learned and try to help my current team. So, it’s kind of all those things for me. A lot of it has just been trying to figure out, on my end, what I can bring to the table over at RPM to try to continue to make them better. A lot of that is just me being really in the trenches with those guys. I feel like I’ve spent quite a bit of time at the shop and we’ve already been on the simulator quite a bit, just trying to get through stuff and learn what I want in a race car. Obviously, there’s nothing like just getting to the race track, which I’m more than ready to do now. I feel like we go through all this stuff and it is helpful, but there’s nothing better than just getting on the track and working with the guys hand-in-hand and learning what we need from each other.”
“It’s been good, but I’d say the learning process for me is just being introspective and figure out what you can do better on your own end. Obviously, I’ve worked with some great drivers over there and saw what they did to be successful. So, it’s just trying to learn from them, too.”
YOU’LL BE RUNNING THE CLASH, SO HOW BIG OF AN ADVANTAGE WILL THAT BE TO YOU?
“Well, it’s more important than ever for me. Obviously, with a new team and no practice, it’s really challenging. The Clash will be challenging – I’ve never driven a car for RPM and the first laps are going to be in a race-setting. So, it’s really about being meticulous on my end and trying to get as comfortable as I can in the car before we go there and just try to feel it out. Some of that race is going to be a learning process for me because it’s going to be totally different. Everything is new – the brake package, the motor package, the car, the manufacturer. Everything is totally different, so having that Clash I think is really big. And even more so that it’s on the road course when we’re going back there 12 days after for the points race. So, it’s going to be a big race for us – a really important one that I think we’re going to learn a lot going forward with what we need to do as a group.”
THERE’S A LOT OF VARIETY IN THIS YEAR’S SCHEDULE – ROAD COURSES TO NEW TRACKS, LIKE NASHVILLE AND THE BRISTOL DIRT RACE. DO YOU THINK YOUR MOVE TO RPM WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT VARIABLES IN TRACKS GIVES YOU MORE OPPORTUNITY TO GET A VICTORY?
“I think so. I look at the road courses and I feel like the road courses have been good for me the last few years. We ran really strong at a lot of these places. Obviously, the new road courses are kind of a wild card – you don’t know exactly how things will go there and a lot of us have never ran laps on these tracks. But it does bring more opportunities, especially like the Bristol dirt race. You don’t really know who’s going to run good there. It’s going to be a really unique race. Even looking at the Eldora Truck race, you saw some unique winners – guys you wouldn’t think would be strong on the dirt went up there and won that race. So, I think it’s going to be a similar thing for the Bristol dirt race for the Cup Series.”
“I think it’s good. I like the variety in tracks and moving stuff around. The schedule has been pretty much the same since my rookie year coming into the series. Now, we’ve seen a lot of change this year, which has been really neat for me and I think for the fans, as well. To answer your question, it does provide more opportunities.”
YOU WILL BE SHARING A CAMPUS WITH RCR, SO YOU WILL BE INTERACTING WITH A LOT OF OTHER CUP DRIVERS ON A REGULAR BASIS. WHAT’S THAT GOING TO BE LIKE FOR YOU?
“I think it will be good. Obviously, the more information you can share and learn from is beneficial to a team. Obviously, RCR has been on an upswing for the last few years and hopefully getting integrated with them, we can kind of continue that and just keep going in the right direction. I think those guys have a lot to offer with a lot of information and data to continue to try to make our stuff better and better.”
ON THE 2021 SCHEDULE, WITH SIX ROAD COURSES AND MANY CHANGES; ALONG WITH THE BRISTOL DIRT TRACK. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE TRACK ON THE SCHEDULE THIS YEAR?
“I’m really excited to go to COTA. I think it’s a world class facility for one. It seems like a really cool road course. I’ve watched a lot of the Formula 1 races there and kind of what they’ve done. I’ve thought it would be cool to run there for a lot of years. I think the facility is unmatched. So, I’m excited to go there. Even Nashville and getting back into that market is going to be pretty exciting for us, too. So, those two races for me, I would say stick out.”
WHAT TRACKS COME TO MIND AS PLACES WHERE YOU CAN WIN?
“Well, I would say Bristol coming up, the dirt changes that a bit for me. I think Darlington is a great opportunity. It’s been a really strong track for me over the last few years and what we’ve been able to do there, so I think that’s an opportunity for us to go win. Superspeedways, obviously. RPM has had some really fast superspeedway cars the last few years and I’ve been in contention to win. So, those places right there stand out to me as places we could go and try to snag a win.”
GOING FROM RACING FOR COACH GIBBS, IS THERE MORE PRESSURE OR PRIDE COMPETING FOR RICHARD PETTY IN THAT FAMED NO. 43, OR DOES IT FEEL MORE OR LESS THE SAME COMPETING FOR TWO SPORTS LEGENDS?
“Well, I think for me, the pressure never has come from the team; really in any of my career. I think most of it has been more for myself. I want to go out and compete and run well and win races. So, a lot of the pressure has just been on myself to just try to go out and do well. I would say it’s a similar feeling, right? Really important figures in sports in general, racing for both of them. But the pressure for me has been internal. I just want to go out and do well and try to succeed. That’s always been my goal to be in the Cup Series and win races and that’s never changed for me. So that definitely stays the same internally, from organization to organization.”
WORKING WITH (CREW CHIEF) JERRY BAXTER WHEN YOU WERE WITH KBM, WHAT’S THE RELATIONSHIP BEEN LIKE NOW THAT YOU TWO ARE BACK TOGETHER IN THE CUP SERIES?
“A lot of it has just been getting reacquainted. We never actually worked together over at KBM. Jerry and I have gotten to know each other a lot more over the last month and kind of share goals and what we want to do this year and what we expect from each other. It’s been good. I really enjoy getting to know him and start to work with him. It’s great to do all that stuff in the off-season, but there’s nothing like just getting to the race track. That, for me, has always built chemistry in a relationship faster than anything else. But Jerry has been great. I think he’s really improved the RPM team over the last year. I think it’s going to be the same this year. I really feel confident about the group that we have on that car this year to go out and run well.”
WHAT IS THE SECRET TO BEING STRONG AT THE SUPERSPEEDWAY TRACKS?
“It’s two things, I guess. For me, I just take the race as it comes. I think some guys maybe overthink the superspeedway racing a little bit. I just try to be smart with when it’s time to race and it’s time not. When things start getting dicey I feel like we’ve always done a good job of just getting out of the situation and make it to the end of the race. That’s been, honestly, some of the success that we’ve had is just being there on the last few laps and waiting for the right time. With a green-white-checkered, which a lot of times is what it comes down to; you kind of throw caution to the wind and go after it and do what you’ve got to do to get to the front. If you wreck, you wreck. I guess that’s kind of the way I’ve looked at it. And it’s been fairly successful over the last few times we’ve been in contention to win a few of these superspeedway races in the last year or so. If you keep putting yourself up there and close to getting wins, one of them is going to go your way eventually. I’d love for it to be the 500 obviously. That’s our biggest race and then the history of the No. 43 car at Daytona and especially the 500, that would be a dream come true to get that car in Victory Lane there.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RICHARD PETTY-ORIENTED MEMORY HEADING INTO THE YEAR?
“It’s funny, for me, I never got the chance to actually see him race. I believe he retired in 1992. But looking back on the history, I think one of the more iconic moments is him winning his 200th race and the President being there. I always think of the picture on the backstretch at Daytona and the 43 car and Air Force 1 landing, actually. And the history of himself. It’s been cool to hear that history. And even talking to Dale a little bit about some of the stories they had on the road back in the day. I love hearing any of it. It’s pretty interesting to me.”
IS THE PLAYOFFS A GOOD METHOD OF DECIDING THE CHAMPIONSHIP AT NASCAR WHEN OTHER MOTORSPORTS OPT FOR A SEASON-LONG FORMAT?
“Well, I think we decided on this is how we wanted to do it over the last few years. To be honest, I think you still see the best guys in the final four the majority of the time. There’s been a couple of times when guys have gotten into the final four that maybe didn’t have the season that deserved to put them there. Coming down to one race makes it a little bit more of a wildcard than what it was in the past; even more so than what the traditional Playoffs system was with points over ten races. But I think the fans have really enjoyed it. You can’t deny that. And I think it’s exciting. You’ve got four guys going out and any of them can win the championship in that final race, I think that’s pretty cool. It may not be traditional. It may not be the way we’ve always done it but I think there’s constant evolution in the sport, whether it be in competition or race cars or point systems, you’re always trying to keep up with what’s going on in the times. Attention spans are short, right? People don’t want to sit down and watch things for a long time or even necessarily a season-long championship anymore if you’re not really a diehard race fan. So, I think it’s definitely a different format, but looking at it from the outside, I think it’s an exciting one.”
ON RETURNING TO SONOMA RACEWAY IN 2021?
“I like Sonoma. The first year I went there I wasn’t the biggest fan. That’s a tricky place and you have to drive it a lot different than what you do anywhere else. But the last few years I’ve really enjoyed going there. We’ve had some solid runs. I missed not going out there last year. It’s a track that I’ve come to enjoy quite a bit. It’s a unique challenge and something that tests a little bit of all of your race team, strategy and driver. So, it’s fun. I love that part of the country in Northern California. So, it’s going to be cool. I think it’s an opportunity for us to run really well. It really tests the driver a lot. You really have to pay attention to how you’re managing your run. There is definitely an opportunity to try to run the race backwards, right? There’s going to be guys that are going for the win and kind of short every stage and take tires and stay out and get track position, but that does leave the door open for us to go up there and try to get some stage points, which I think are going to be pretty important for us. You never know how things are going to work out. I hope we’re running strong enough we can short the stage and take track position and be up front. But if we want to take stage points, it’s definitely going to be there.”
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