NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 25, 2021
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript
DO YOU TRAIN ANY DIFFERENTLY FOR THE 600, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT FRIDAY LOOKS TO BE A VERY HOT DAY, BUT SUNDAY LOOKS A LITTLE COOLER?
“I just hydrate differently, or more, throughout the week, honestly. As far as it goes, like effort in the car, I think the 600 is maybe not the highest effort race because of the way the track is. There’s not a ton of bump content or wheel content maybe, like you would at, say like Darlington or Atlanta would be harder. So no, I don’t think physically you do much. I think that eating and hydrating is a little bit different because throughout the race you need more fluids, and you also need to eat at some point during the race; whether it’s like energy chews or stuff like that. That’s all I do differently.”
AS A CHARLOTTE NATIVE, GROWING UP IN CHARLOTTE, DO YOU CARE A WHOLE LOT ABOUT THE INDY 500? GROWING UP AS A KID, DID YOU WATCH IT? OR WERE YOU ALWAYS FOCUSED ON GOING TO THE SPEEDWAY AND THE STOCK CARS?
“I’ve cared about it more as the years go by. I think as I’ve grown in appreciation of racing in general, and I’ve learned some of those folks on the INDYCAR side with the training guys I use with PitFit (like) Jim Leo, they train Scott Dixon and some of those guys up there. So yeah, I think I’ve grown in appreciation for it. I can’t say that I know everything that I watch or know everything that’s going on, but I definitely try to catch the end of the race as we get ready for the 600. It just kind of varies based on timing. But yeah, it’s a really cool day to have both of us competing.”
WHAT DO YOU ADMIRE ABOUT THE FORM OF RACING WE’LL SEE IN THE INDY 500? WOULD YOU EVER WANT TO RACE ONE OF THOSE CARS IN YOUR CAREER OR ARE YOU LIKE A STOCK CAR GUY?
“I’m a stock car guy. They’re both hard. They’re both difficult to drive in their own ways. I think that what I’ve noticed the most is that with a stock car you’re dealing with something that’s way overpowered and heavy for the race tracks we run on, for the most part. There are some tracks that do have more grip than others. But I think in general, you’re sliding around a lot. I think with an IndyCar, you’re a lot more stuck to the track, but they’re also pushing the cars way faster. So, there are pros and cons to both. But I enjoy watching the INDYCAR races, I’d say, the Indy 500 the most because I feel like it’s got the most importance to those buys. I don’t know if I’d ever do it, thought. It’s so different. The discipline is so different than I’ve ever been used to. I could get used to it on iRacing or something, but it’s going to be a way different beast when you get into the car.”
ALL THE TEAMS AT HENDRICK HAVE WINS NOW HEADING INTO THE PLAYOFFS, AND A WEEK EARLIER, YOU FINISHED 1-2-3-4. CHAD KNAUS SAID ALL THE DRIVERS ARE GETTING ALONG REALLY WELL WITH SHARING INFORMATION. EXPLAIN THE MODE THERE, KNOWING YOU WILL BE COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER IN THE PLAYOFFS. HOW DOES THAT FEEL?
“I think we hope that this run continues. It’s early in the year so you’ve got to keep that speed and that momentum up throughout the year, which is really hard. You can easily get ahead and then fall behind and somebody leapfrogs, and that cycle continues throughout the year until you get to the final race, which is why that final race is such a surprise sometimes. The work never stops all the way until then. Somebody is always chasing or trying to keep their lead. For us, we’ve just got to keep it up. For us on the No. 24, we’ve done really well this year. I think in the past 10 to 12 races, our worst finish was 11th, and that’s great. We just have to make the highs a little bit higher and try to get another win, which is what we’re focused on at Charlotte.”
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF CHALLENGES AT COTA. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THE RAIN AND THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS AND THE FOGGER AND THAT TYPE OF EQUIPMENT? WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES? AND WHAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT IN THOSE COMPONENTS?
“It’s a little bit of both. The defogger works pretty well, I think. I think the biggest issue, like last year, we ran in the rain at the ROVAL and none of us used the windshield wiper because it didn’t do anything because the rain was so light. Whereas this time around, the rain got so bad that you actually had to run the windshield wiper just to see, period. I thought ours worked better than we expected. I think there’s still room to so on that. It was extremely hard to see there in Stage 2. I think that everybody agreed on that. I was back in 35th after our damage, and I couldn’t see anything. It got better as the race went on. As I got further up in the field and was starting to run like 5th to 12th, I was able to see better. It was kind of similar at Bristol. The further forward you are, the better it is. I don’t know what they can do. The spray definitely needs to be worked on. I think it’s great for us to run in the rain. There are no traction issues. We all have good car control and can drive the car still, the tire is fine, we just have to figure out the spray so that we can continue to run.”
FROM A DRIVER’S POINT OF VIEW, HOW MUCH TO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO AND FOCUS ON WEATHER? THERE APPEARS TO POSSIBLY BE A 15 DEGREE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHEN YOU PRACTICE ON FRIDAY AND THE RACE ITSELF ON SUNDAY. IS THAT SIGNIFICANT?
“Yeah, I think it’s significant just because the track in Charlotte changes so much. You can go there, and it can be 90 degrees and sunny and you’re fighting a completely different race car than at night. Honestly, that’s the difference maker between when we used to run there for the All-Star race and then we would come back and race a week later and the track and characters at the front would be totally different. Nothing really changed about the cars, but just the characteristics of the track changed. We have to be really conscious of that. I think we have to be conscious of not over-adjusting in practice and not getting too tight or too loose and try to keep it somewhere in the middle and find a package that works. Honestly, I’m of the opinion that when the track is hotter and slicker if your car handles better, it’s going to just handle better when you get to cooler conditions. We try to make it handle as well as possible for the conditions and then hopefully it’s just a little bit better when it gets cooler.”
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY WILL BE BACK TO FULL CAPACITY WITH FANS THIS WEEKEND. DOES THAT MEAN ANY MORE TO YOU THIS YEAR COMPARED TO LAST YEAR’S RACE? OR ARE YOU USED TO HAVING FANS BACK AT THE TRACK BY NOW?
“I think a little bit of both. Yeah, I’m used to seeing fans the last couple of weeks. So, it’s not going to be that different. But I think Charlotte, they always do it a little bit bigger and better, so I feel like it’s probably going to be bigger and better than the last few weeks. It’s probably going to be pretty crowded. I think it’s going to be a different experience and just going to have to stay focused on my end just to continue doing what we’ve been doing, which is staying focused and performing and not listening to the noise too much. That’s our biggest focus.”
WHAT’S THE DYNAMIC LIKE AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS NOW WITH ALL FOUR CARS RUNNING REALLY WELL AND HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT FROM YEARS PAST?
“I think there’s just more confidence. I think we’re not searching as much like on what to do. There are less questions going into the race weekend of what the car needs and what we need from a downforce or an aero standpoint, or set-up wise. So, there’s a lot less questions. There is still the desire to perform. It’s always been there. I feel like the desire for us on the No. 24 is higher than ever because we feel like we’re really close. So we’ve just got to work a little bit better on some things, but we’re really close to another win.”
YOU’VE STARTED A PAIR OF RACES AT CHARLOTTE ON THE POLE BUT HAVEN’T FOUND THE SUCCESS MAYBE YOU HOPED FOR. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO CHANGE THINGS TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN THIS WEEKEND?
“I think just focus on the race car and what the race car needs as the runs go on and as the race goes on. I’m going to do a lot of studying and prep this week on figuring out what the trends are with the race track and what some of the guys that have been successful there, our teammates, have done better than us. I’ll say that’s my goal this week is just to learn some of those little details that might pay off as the race gets longer and gets toward the end. Like you said, I’ve run really well at Charlotte. I know how to go fast there. So, I don’t have to worry about that. But I just have to focus on what my race car needs to do throughout so I don’t fall off at the end.”
THE COKE 600 IS 100 MILES LONGER THAN WE’RE USED TO RUNNING. AS A DRIVER, DO YOU FEEL THAT IN THE RACE?
“Yeah, I think if you’re not running well, for sure. But if you’re running well, the race feels really short and you kind of feel like you’re always trying to get ahead of the next adjustment and trying to get ahead of whoever you’re racing against to try to get that track position and try to win the race. Yeah, I think it is definitely a challenge to keep up with the race track and to stay focused for all 400 miles. The preparation during the week is really critical because you can easily get behind and it can feel like a really long race like you said. But if you’re prepared and your race car is driving well then it’s fine.”
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMES FOR WINNING THE 600 IS A RESTORED VINTAGE COKE VENDING MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT?
“Yeah, I think it would be great. I don’t discriminate trophies. Any of them are good (laughs). So, I don’t feel like any trophy I have is a bad one. But I love all the glitz and glamour that comes with winning the 600. It would be awesome, I’m sure.”
THROUGH THIS FIRST QUARTER OF THIS RACE SEASON, WHAT AREAS CAN YOU LOOK AT WHERE YOU CAN SAY YOU HAVE DEFINITELY IMPROVED AS A DRIVER VERSUS AT THIS POINT IN YOUR EARLY YEARS IN THE CUP SERIES?
“Yeah, I don’t think I’m driving any harder or have any different techniques. There are subtle things here and there at different race tracks that I’ve picked up on that I didn’t know before. But I didn’t necessarily have the car to pick-up those things. It goes hand in hand. You’ve got to pick up those techniques when you start running closer to the front. I think that’s one thing. I think my communication has gotten better with my team. I feel like I’m more voiceful, on the things I need in the car and what I’m struggling with so that they can understand how to help. So, I’m not necessarily kind of holding it in and just struggling along anymore. I’m definitely trying to get them to help me where I know that I need help. I think that’s the big difference. I feel like we’re just executing really good races. We’re right there. We’ve just got to get a little bit better and I think that’s going to come this weekend, for sure.”
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