NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FOOD CITY DIRT RACE
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 23, 2021
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Press Conference Transcript:
I WAS TALKING TO KYLE LARSON AND I SAID ‘KYLE, TELL ME WHY YOU’RE NOT THE GUY THAT’S GOING TO WIN BRISTOL’. AND HE SAID, YOU’D BE REALLY SURPRISED – AUSTIN DILLON IS A GUY WHO COULD PROBABLY WIN. WHAT MAKES YOU GOOD AT THE BRISTOL DIRT TRACK?
“I think just dirt racing, in general, I’ve got a little bit of a background in it. From Eldora, winning the first Truck race there, I’d say that’s what he’s talking about. Kyle (Larson), he’s good at anything he gets in and I’m just glad that he mentioned me; that’s pretty awesome, really. It makes my day, so now I have to step-up and perform. Last weekend, I was able to win that crate race there in a late model and I think that was good experience, just to see the track. We were pretty dominate in all three of the races that we were in. I think from the knowledge side of things, I can probably do a pretty good job of getting what we need, when it comes to down to race time. 250-laps around a dirt track, you don’t really get that many laps on a track in a race on dirt. So, it’ll be a learning curve and I think we’ll be as prepared as anyone for it; that’s the one advantage, I think.”
DOES THE WEIGHT OF THE CARS PLAY INTO YOUR FAVOR?
“From sprint cars to late models, I definitely think there’s some experience there that helps. Kyle (Larson), he’s driving late models now and doing really well. He about won the big race this past weekend in the super. The weight in those late models, they drive so much different than our Cup cars or a truck. A truck, from what I know in the past, the history that I have in my mind is that they are heavier. You don’t really drive them, I would say, like a late model or a sprint car. Definitely the weight is the biggest thing in the difference in how you drive.”
“Side force, too, I’ll throw that in there. Our cars don’t have the bodies that the late models and sprint cars have wings; they’re just built a lot different to rely on downforce.”
LET’S GO BACK TO THE FIRST ELDORA RACE. YOU WIN THAT ONE AND I REMEMBER AFTER THE FIRST COUPLE OF PRACTICE SESSIONS, THERE WERE A LOT OF GUYS WHO DIDN’T PREP FOR THE RACE; THEY WERE COMPLETELY LOST. YOU WIN THAT RACE; YOU GO BACK IN 2014 – DID YOU SEE AN EVOLUTION IN HOW MUCH GUYS TOOK IT MORE SERIOUSLY OR STRIVE TO GET BETTER AT IT? DO YOU THINK THAT THE BRISTOL RACE IS GOING TO BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BECAUSE YOU DO SEE SO MANY GUYS DOING MODIFIEDS, LATE MODELS, JUST TO GET SOME DIRT EXPERIENCE?
“Yeah, the competition in the Cup Series is just, all-in-all, a higher level. I think it’s the highest form of motorsports; the best drivers in the world. All of them are doing their job, preparation-wise, off the track; running other cars that they aren’t comfortable running in, just to get on dirt and understand what the transition of the track is. There’s a lot of smart dirt crew chiefs out there, also, that people are probably bringing in trying to understand how they can make their cars drive better on dirt.”
“The biggest difference from 2014 – I just stepped in another truck and the difference between the truck we took the first time to the second time, there was a difference and we weren’t ever really able to find that feel that we had the first race around. So, going this time, I think there’s some guys obviously with less dirt experience that are going to be surprised; it’s just an experience thing. But there’s so many good race car drivers at the Cup level that have dirt experience, or some sort of dirt experience, that they’ll be able to lean on. Not many of the guys at this point at the Cup level, maybe a couple, that have not ever been on dirt. I think everybody has some sort of dirt racing experience at this point.”
ONE THING THAT I’VE HEARD CONSISTENTLY ENOUGH THAT ONCE THE TRACK TAKES ENOUGH RUBBER, IT MIGHT BE A SLOWER VERSION OF WHAT BRISTOL USED TO BE WHEN IT WAS KIND OF BOTTOMING-FEEDING, BUMP-AND-RUN. IS THAT KIND OF FAIR TO SAY?
“I think there’s definitely going to be a point where there’s going to be a dominate line everybody is going to be fighting for. The one thing, though, that I noticed at the dirt track last weekend was that you can kind of move around, momentum-wise, to find speed, which is nice. That’s what’s great about dirt racing. As the track goes through transitions, it’s always going to change. There might be a point in the race where, ultimately, you have to be on the bottom and you’ll be fighting for it. But the great thing about dirt racing is that the track is always changing. So, it’ll go through so many transitions throughout the race and that’s what’s cool about dirt racing. You have to be comfortable with change because it changes throughout the race and to be good at it, you have to search constantly. Even when you’re the leader, the leader is always kind of a moving target. They have to be comfortable; they can’t just get in a line and think that line is going to win them the race. We’re going 250 laps on a dirt track. After 25, the dirt track changes drastically with a lot of cars out on it. So, that’s the great thing about it. It’ll go through so many transitions and the team that is willing to change and move will be the best by the end of it.”
TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRACTICE SESSION AT BRISTOL. YOU GUYS HAVEN’T HAD A LOT OF PRACTICE AND THAT IS CERTAINLY GOING TO BE AN UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT THAT NOBODY KNOWS WHAT TO EXPECT. AND THEN THE HEAT RACES, HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THE PRACTICE AND HEAT RACES?
“It will be nice to have some practice to just test and tune. I think the difference between an asphalt track and a dirt track is we have so many notes on things that we don’t do. A dirt track is where you can go to it with an open mindset and do things that you wouldn’t normally do to find speed and that’s what’s going to be fun for all of the crew chiefs, car chiefs and mechanics out there to really do things opposite. The thought process has to be so open-minded when we get there to the track. Not only are you worrying about the setup, but you’re worried about the car. Make sure the heights are right, you’re not rolling the nose under – there’s a lot of things that we do at a dirt track to just make the car go around the track. And then it might not always be like ‘hey, we needed just a little more wedge to be perfect’. It might be ‘we need more clearance so I don’t hit the track right here and get tight’. There’s a lot of fun stuff about the practice.”
“The heat races – they’ll be challenging. It’s a short amount of time and you’ll want to get as many passing points as you can. Your starting position matters at any type of racing level. The draw – I haven’t really looked into how that’s going to go down or where we start in the heat races yet. But I think the whole process is going to be fun. I was hoping we would go off of a regular race weekend and go off of the past race, because we would have a pretty good starting position after our run at Atlanta this past weekend, and I think starting up front would be really good for us. I’m not really worried about where we start in the dirt race because I feel like if you do your job and practice that you should be able to move forward through the race.”
“I watched the stock car race and I felt like the stock car race was probably one of the best races this past week when I was there at the Dirt Car Nationals, and that’s what I’m hoping you guys get to see from the Cup level. All the guys that are preparing the track – I’ve been in touch with some of those people, trying to just give feedback to give it the best show we can put on for all the fans out there. I think they’re prepared; I think the knowledge they gained form the Dirt Car Nationals last week will really go a long way when it comes down to it of what you see this coming week.”
ISN’T THAT HIT OR MISS THEN, IF PEOPLE ARE TRYING STUFF. AREN’T WE TALKING ABOUT HIT OR MISS ON THE PRACTICE WHEN IT COMES TO THE RACE AND THE HEAT RACES?
“For sure. There’s definitely going to be some guys that hit it or miss it; go forward or have to make some drastic changes to try and get the car better. But I think the biggest thing you’ll see, when it comes to movers or guys that are falling back, is the transition with the track is going to be the same. When somebody’s car is too tight at the beginning, they might be really good at the end. Somebody might be really fast at the beginning and really slow at the end. So, you’ll go through those transitions throughout the race. Somebody that doesn’t look good at the beginning and might just stay on the lead leap that, all of a sudden, just comes forward.”
KYLE LARSON SAID THAT YOU’RE A FAVORITE, BUT IT SEEMS GOING INTO THIS RACE, A LOT OF FOLKS OUTSIDE THE GARAGE HAVE SETTLED ON HIM AND CHRISTOPHER BELL AS THE TWO BIG FAVORITES. WITH THAT IN MIND, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE GETTING SHORT-CHANGED IN THAT CONVERSATION, THAT YOU SHOULD BE CONSIDERED THAT THIRD BIG FAVORITE? OR ARE YOU CONTENT PLAYING DARKHORSE GOING INTO IT?
“I feel like I’m playing that role a lot. It’s a good role to be in; like the spoiler side of it. But it does mean a lot to me that Kyle (Larson) said that. I really respect his opinion on a lot of things and his talent level, everybody talks about it in the media center. He’s a very talented driver, so for him to throw me in there means a lot and drives me to want to get after it even more this weekend than I already do.”
THE HIGH-BANKS ON THE BRISTOL DIRT, THE CONFIGURATION STANDS OUT. WHAT ARE SOME OTHER PARTS OF THIS TRACK THAT STRIKES YOU AS EITHER VERY SIMILAR OR VERY DIFFERENT FROM DIRT TRACKS THAT YOU’VE RACED IN THE PAST?
“Well, I think the dirt itself is interesting. The type of dirt they choose to lay down on Bristol is not a dirt that you see in the Midwest; it’s a sandy-dirt. When you really get into the dirt track racing world, you start talking about the type of dirt that you’re racing on and certain dirt puts on better races, and certain dirt goes through different transitions than the other. The good thing is that the dirt, I feel like, came from a track that I kind of grew up racing around and I kind of know the transitions and what it takes, I think, to create speed throughout the transitions that it’s going to go through. So, if anything, maybe that helps me. But it’s not a dirt that I believe you’re going to see a cushion built; it doesn’t do that. This stuff kind of creates a fluff and it gets up there; you can gain grip because it might be wet up there for a while, but it’s not something that you can use as a curb to catch you, which is different. And I’m glad that it came from around here because I feel like I’ve ran on it a lot and know when it has grip and when it doesn’t.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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