Toyota Racing – Playoff Media Day
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Quotes
CHARLOTTE (August 17, 2021) – Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith, ThorSport Racing drivers Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton, Hattori Racing Enterprises driver Austin Hill and Halmar Friesen Racing driver Stewart Friesen were made available to media as part of the Truck Series Playoff Media Day today:
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
How is life different for you now than it was one year ago?
“I was stressing out to try to run 25th every week. Putting in a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of sim time, a lot of studying, data, with no practice. Rookie year, Cup Series, it was difficult. At the same time, I felt like Michigan was going to be one of our better races, running well and maximizing restarts, and it wasn’t very good. We ended spinning through the grass. Life has definitely changed in a positive way I feel like. Now I’m stressing out to go out and try to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. It’s definitely rewarding when you put in the time and effort and you are able to work so hard to try to do your best every single week and you are competitive every single week. You know showing up at the racetrack that you are one of the guys to beat – if not the guy to beat every single week. That’s definitely a nice feeling to have. I’m having fun. I’m smiling. The truck schedule has definitely been nice this year with having Aspen (daughter) brought into the world. A lot has changed, but all for the positive and winning races.”
How do you keep your mind clear and not let talk of being the favorite take over or is that something you embrace?
“It’s definitely nice to be called the favorite, but at the same time, just because we are called the favorite doesn’t mean that we stop working. There is a lot of work, a lot of detailed work, a lot of execution, a lot of optimizations from week in and week out, studying, a lot of things that go in to making you the favorite. For us, we are humble. We want to continue to win races and for myself, I’ve been the underdog. I’ve had that mindset, and now we are kind of the favorite going into it. We have to go perform. We can’t beat ourselves. We’ve had the championship mindset from the first race of the year, and now we are going to continue to do so. We’ve got to win when it counts and hopefully, we can carry the momentum and all of the race wins that we’ve had so far this year into the Playoffs and go get quite a few more wins. The racetracks coming up for us, I feel like are really good for myself and Kyle Busch Motorsports as a whole, and we just have to execute. We can’t beat ourselves.”
What is about the Truck that maybe you enjoy more or that you were able to find success easier than the Cup car?
“I guess equipment, resources, all of the work and the effort that Kyle (Busch) puts into KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports). All of the guys and girls at Kyle Busch Motorsports that put in the time and effort, as well as Toyota, TRD, everything that they are able to do for us as far as drivers, as teams. They put in a lot of effort behind the scenes as well. It’s nice to be able to be in competitive equipment every single week. I’ve enjoyed the Truck Series. It’s where I got my start. I feel like the Cup Series in the mile-and-a-half package, or the high downforce package drives similar to a truck, and what not. I’ve enjoyed all three series that I’ve been in. Each one is unique in its own way.”
What does next year look like for you?
“That’s a really good question. I’m not sure. There have definitely been some talks of a lot different things, but at the same time, not trying to get ahead of ourselves. It’s definitely crunch time and silly season, I guess you could say. Who knows what could happen, but right now, we’re focused on trying to win races and trying to win this championship. That’s all that matters right now. If I don’t perform now, next year doesn’t matter. We are focused. Our eyes our set on the task of winning Gateway this weekend and trying to go for wins through the next seven races to try to bring that year end huge trophy.”
If you had to guess, do you think you will be back in the Truck Series next year?
“Who knows. Everything is kind of up in the air and I’m kind of at the mercy of Kyle (Busch), Toyota and everyone else.”
Where can you be as a team and as a driver?
“There have really been three races that stand out that we haven’t ran good at. Circuit of the Americas, Nashville, Knoxville. Well, four really, including Bristol dirt. Luckily, we have that road course out of the way, the two dirt races out of the way, and Nashville is kind of unique in its own way. I feel like more the one-off racetracks or wild card racetracks, we haven’t been so good at, but we went to work after COTA and made Watkins Glen way better. For myself, just can’t make mistakes, can’t speed on pit road. I’ve got to optimize restarts, pick and choose my battles when we need to and go and win races. We don’t want to make anyone mad. We don’t want to make anyone wreck us or put ourselves in a position to do so, at least on purpose. For us, it’s going out and having that championship mindset to go and compete every single week and do the best that we can. We’ve had the mindset #Here4Wins all year. We are going to continue to use that through the Playoffs. Nitpicking, I feel like there are a few races that we gave away as well from leading laps and running up front to not finishing where we needed too and that is taking home the checkered flag, but luckily one of those races is coming back up in the next few weeks.”
Do you feel like anything less than a championship would be a failure?
“Kind of. I don’t know if we would categorize it as a failure, but using the #Here4Wins, we want to win everything. The goal was to come back and win as many races as possible through the year and try to win all the championships that we could, all of the money that Marcus Lemonis put up for the bonuses going throughout the year, that was huge for us as well. Our goal is to take the big trophy at the end of the year. I don’t know if I would categorize it as failure. We want to make it to that final four in Phoenix and give it our best shot. If our best shot isn’t good enough, then we have work to do in the future.”
AUSTIN HILL, No. 16 AISIN Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises
Is there a sense that you and your team are peaking at the right time this season?
“Looking at last year versus this year, I don’t think you can really outweigh one season to the next if we were peaking at the right time or not last year versus this year or vice versa. I just think that with us winning these two races though just kind of builds our team’s confidence going forward, because before we won at the dirt track and before we won at the road course, we had won on mile-and-a-halves together, so we are kind of getting outside of that bubble that we were in, and we are winning at these different types of racetracks. Now we feel like we can go to these types of racetracks and win anywhere we go, so that kind of builds the confidence even more going into these Playoffs that we feel like we can get the job done no matter where we are at.”
How confident are you going into the Playoffs and that you can close the gap on John Hunter Nemechek? Does it have to be in the first round?
“No, it really doesn’t matter if I close the gap a whole lot on (John Hunter) Nemechek in the Playoffs. As long as we can, say win at Gateway this weekend, or win in the first round and we go to the next round, and win in the next round the first race or two and it locks us into the Playoffs, obviously points do not matter anymore. Honestly, I’m not looking at a whole lot of points situations. I think we are pretty good where we are sitting. I think that if we don’t win in the first round, we feel confident enough that we can at least keep that second-place spot. If we do close the gap on Nemechek, then great. If not, as long as we can stay in the top-four in each round and get us to Phoenix, that is all we are worried about right now.”
This is your third chance at the Playoffs, do you go into this Playoffs thinking third times the charm?
“We feel like we just need to keep doing what we are doing. We need to keep doing what we were doing last season. Last season came down to that final round before Phoenix race, and we went into Texas – had a shot at winning Texas, actually took the lead right there at the end and they reverted back to the last timing line from the last time before the caution came out and we were second, so we ended up running second there at Texas. Going into Martinsville, we thought like we had a good gap on us and then we had an engine issue. Very easily could have another engine issue this time around, you just don’t know. I think if we wouldn’t have had that engine like last year, then we felt like we would have made it in from points and we felt like we were pretty good at Martinsville. You can’t really look back at the past with these past two seasons and say we really did anything wrong, it’s just kind of been circumstances for us, so going into this season, our number one goal going into each round is we want to be very aggressive and try to go win races. If we can win a race, then that takes us out of any issue that could possibly come about later in the rounds.”
Do you think you have more momentum right now than John Hunter Nemechek?
“It’s hard to tell. I’d like to believe so. Honestly, when you get to these Playoffs the wins that you had in the regular season don’t really matter. Obviously, you get those bonus points and that helps you start the Playoffs, but the wins that you had prior to the Playoffs don’t matter a whole lot. You need to go win races in the Playoffs now and these races that we are going to, a lot of them are a lot different than where we ran in the regular season. You look at Bristol, Martinsville, Talladega, those type of racetracks – we haven’t really been running a whole lot at those type of racetracks. There’s a lot of unknowns going into these Playoffs. I personally feel like we have the upper hand on everybody. I feel like we can compete with the 4 team, and I think that we are the team that they need to be worries about the most.”
Why does your wins give you confidence when you are not racing at those tracks in the Playoffs?
“That’s a good question. I think the best answer that I can give you is prior to winning at those two racetracks, we had only won at mile-and-a-half racetracks as a team, and now fast forward to us winning at dirt and on a road course, I think it just shows to our team that we can win anywhere we go. I think it just builds the confidence that no matter if we go to Martinsville, if we go to Gateway, any of these racetracks that we haven’t won at, we feel like as a team that we can get the job done because of us winning at these other racetracks that we really weren’t great at. We thought we needed to be better on dirt. We thought that we needed to be a little bit better on the road course side and then we go out there and win. It just builds that momentum and builds this whole race team and the fire up under us that no matter what racetrack that we go to that we can win anywhere, whether its Bristol, Talladega, Vegas. It doesn’t matter where we go, we just think we can win.”
What do you compare Gateway too?
“That track is such a unique racetrack. It’s so hard to really lean on any other setup that you are going to go with. You can take a little from short track and kind of apply it. We take a short track truck when we go there. (Turns) one and two are totally different than (turns) three and four. Three and four is one of those corners that is very long and sweeping, and one and two is one of those tight corners. You are downshifting most of the time into third gear to get out of that corner, so there is probably going to be a lot of shifting. That racetrack is just totally different. Going back last year, we found a setup that seemed to work for us, and we were trending at the right time for a place like Gateway. We thought we had a shot to win that race last year, so going into this season, there are some minor changes that we wanted to make setup wise. We think going to Gateway, no matter that it doesn’t really compare to other racetracks, that the setup that we brought last year was so good that we think that we can tweak on it a little bit and be the one to beat.”
With the Playoff drivers starting at the front and the modified pit stops, how does that change the strategy?
“I think that the modified pit stops are the biggest thing. Strategy kind of goes out the window. Everyone is going to be pitting at the same time, I would imagine. I guess you could take right side tires only and somebody else take four times and maybe you could gain a spot. It’s hard to say what it’s going to be like. I know last year we did that deal. I guess the only way to leapfrog a group is if you just stay out and if you think that you will have enough fuel. I don’t know what the fuel situation is going to be like yet. We haven’t really set down and discussed all of that. I guess you could try to stay out and see if clean air is good enough. Honestly, I don’t know. I think where we are starting, if we can just stay up front, that’s where we want to be. The clean air is going to be big, I think, and I think where we are starting as long as we can keep these good restarts and we fire off okay, I think we are kind of in the catbird seat, honestly”
CHANDLER SMITH, No. 18 Safelite Auto Glass Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Do you feel like you are playing with house money given how up and down this season has been?
“Yes and no. I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason and I think there is a reason all of the disaster happened at Watkins Glen. It was very unpredicted, obviously, and we were still able to – worst case scenario – and we ended up in the Playoffs, so I believe everything happens for a reason, and I’m definitely looking forward to flipping all of this luck around.”
Does Kyle Busch’s comments at Watkins Glen give you spark to turn things around?
“Yeah, for sure. I stay heavily involved with the team outside of just driving the truck as it is and I was very aware of the situation that happened and how it happened and at the end of the day, a mistake was made. We still made it into the Playoffs, but it doesn’t need to happen anymore.”
Do you go to John Hunter (Nemechek) for advice or do a baseline setup off of what that truck is doing?
“No, I feel like the past five or six races, we’ve been really good. I feel like we have been one of the best trucks when we go the racetrack. It’s just a matter that we haven’t been able to really show it because something happens that forces us into a bad situation, so that we are not able to show it. For instance, Pocono, I felt like we were easily one of the best trucks and went in for a pit stop and couldn’t get the right front tire out and went a lap down. Just simple stuff like that happens and it puts you back for the rest of the race and you can’t recover because our races are so short.”
Does it make any difference that this is your first go round at this?
“I definitely think there is an experience gap especially for me and the 42 (Carson Hocevar), the other rookie driver. If you look at all of the other drivers in the Playoffs and how many starts that they have compared to us. Look at all of the overall experience and practice they have in the Truck Series compared to myself, so yes, there is a very big experience gap but there is no excuse for it. I feel like we are more than capable of going to win this championship.”
What have you taken from Kyle Busch’s role in team ownership?
“No, Kyle is a great mentor, team owner for sure, and a great friend. He has always been there to help me in anything I’ve ever asked him to. He’s always given me loads of advice when I needed it. I definitely lean on him a lot; I couldn’t ask for a better team owner.”
Have you worked with your fill-in spotter for Gateway?
“He was my spotter at Knoxville and Gateway last year. We’ve worked together a few times now and I’m not a picky driver when it comes to spotters. I’m a guy who doesn’t want much talking on the radio at all. Inside, outside, I will let you know if I need anything more than that. It’s not that hard of a job coming to be a new spotter for me, because I don’t ask for much. (Chris) Lambert is the best in the business, and I’m thankful and grateful to have him. He’s awesome to have up on the roof. I’m definitely going to miss him though.”
Is there a certain track in the Playoffs that you feel good about?
“I think we are going to it this Friday. We were really strong at Gateway last year, made a bonehead move. It was all of the driver’s fault. It was the race last year that I felt like it was one of our better races out of the 10 or 11 races that I raced. I feel like that we should be really, really good at Gateway. We are going with a very similar package, very minimum difference, but other than that, looking forward to advancing to the next round. Knock on wood, I’ve been good at restrictor plate tracks. Daytona, I was pretty strong at, Talladega, last year, I was pretty good at, so I definitely don’t think you can count us out of the mix with that.”
STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra, Halmar Friesen Racing
What will it take to replicate your Championship 4 run two years ago and is it doable?
“I think so. I think we can be in the top-five for a lot of races to be honest. Our team has got a lot of great equipment, a lot of great people. Our Tundras have been fast. Just executing the races and having a little bit of luck on our side to not get bounced around. Hopefully, we can start with a positive at Gateway Friday night and just keep it rolling from there.”
Do you know how many races you have run this year?
“53 modified races on top of the Truck schedule and a few late model races we run during February and March, so it’s up there.”
Is fatigue ever a factor with that much racing or is it all positive?
“This year has been a little bit crazy. Last year, being off for two months with the COVID break, when we went back to racing it was like, well, let’s do everything we can. Let’s go, go, go, go. This year it seems like we started the last week in January with some modified stuff in Florida that got added to the schedule to led into some late model races into March and we’ve kind of been on the gas ever since. It’s been awesome. Big thanks to Halmar. We have a lot of product sponsors, and it’s important behind the scenes to support the people that let us do that. It’s been a little bit much the last few weeks with the mid-week modified stuff. We are coming off a run where we ran five modified races in seven days since Watkins Glen, so it’s been busy, but what a problem to have right? To be able to make a living a go racing like that, so I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
What’s been the biggest accomplishment for your group since going out on your own?
“Just seeing that improvement throughout the whole organization. It’s been just an awesome experience with Chris (Larsen, team owner) and with Trip (Bruce, competition director) to be able to build this. The three of us set down right after Homestead in 2019 and missing the championship and we started getting to work the next day. We started looking for a shop and said this is what we are going to do. We are going to go on our own, and to now be in the Playoffs is a big sense of accomplishment for all of us. Personally, to see the improvement in the team and now we get into some races, where we are really geared up. We have some really nice equipment lined up to go to Gateway this weekend and roll that into Darlington and Bristol. I think we are sitting pretty good, maybe, we are not exactly where we need to be yet, but as far as experience along those lines, but we have the speed and I think if we execute, we have a shot to win.”
Is it too much to ask for you to win the championship?
“That’s a good question. Realistically, I don’t know. The Truck Series is so crazy and there is so many races that anything can happen at the end of the races. There has been races where we thought – Darlington, man we are going to have a shot to win this, and then end up on the hook. I think anything can happen. If we check all the of boxes and really execute as a team, good pit stops all of that kind of stuff, and dial our trucks in as much as we can with sim. The setup stuff hasn’t been really all that too far off except for Pocono. That was one kind of uncharacteristic on the season, where we didn’t have a lot of speed. And as long as I don’t make mistakes behind the wheel when we have fast trucks, so hopefully, all of that is behind us and our best days are ahead of us.”
What has the progression with Toyota meant for you over these last couple of years?
“There is a definite since of pride between myself and Chris Larsen (team owner), the whole race team carries into this Playoffs. We know where we were two years ago and the building process that we were going to undergo, and now having some top-five runs this year and having some speed, we are proud of where we are at. Anything is possible from here on out.”
MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Ideal Door/Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
You could tie Ron Hornaday with the most Truck championships this season. Does that motivate you?
“No, not really. It doesn’t take much to motivate me. I want to win as many championships as I can and to have my name possibly next to Ron Hornaday, I mean, I’ve always looked up to Ron. He’s a great, great racecar driver, one of the greatest to ever race in the Truck Series full-time. It would be very cool, no doubt, but we definitely have some work to do.”
Have you had conversations with Ron about possibly tying him?
“Actually, last week we had a beer together and he said if I make the final four, he might just show up and be there and come on stage and have a shot. He was there when I won three and (Carl) Joiner (crew chief) and I held up threes and (Ron) Hornaday stood next to us with his four and said ‘Still one more to go boys. Four, you could get there.’ I’m sure he would be proud without a doubt, especially all of us coming from the West Coast, but I’m sure down inside he’s like ‘man, I would like to hold this one as my own.”
Does entering the Playoffs without a win phase you at all at this point?
“Not even a little bit. It doesn’t bother me at all. I like to give you all something to complain about and talk about, so it’s all about taking care of the media.”
Is the mindset for this year’s Playoffs different with your seeding and Playoff point total?
“I couldn’t tell you how many points I have or where I stand or where I stack up. I don’t care about any of that. All I know is my task at hand is to go maximize my points each and every week. I don’t even know where I start St. Louis. All I know is I’m going to go out there and have a different mindset going into these next few races to get to Phoenix and have something to prove. I always do that each and every week, but at the same time, if you go out and maximize your points, it will take care of itself.”
Where do you feel like you have to be better over these last seven races?
“Just at the start of the race being better at the start of the race and not playing catchup. We’ve just been behind the eight-ball when the green flag falls and that has to do some of it with me and all of us. As an organization, we haven’t been what we think we should be when we drop the green flag. Tuning on the trucks and making big changes throughout the race. We make it a lot better, but we definitely need to be a little bit better at the start to maximize our stage points.”
What are your thoughts on the modified pit strategy this weekend?
“Would I like to have live pit stops, yes, but at the same time, it gets rid of the pit strategies. When you are racing for a championship, it’s tough, because you have to go out there and maximize your points, and when you’ve got the guys from 10th on back or whatever it is that are not racing for a championship, they just come in early. If there is a yellow even close to that stage end, they just come in and pit and we have to stay out to maximize stage points, so it always puts us at a deficit when you are racing for a championship, so now at least we don’t have that deficit to crawl out of.”
Besides John Hunter Nemechek, who do you see as your chief rival during the Playoffs?
“I don’t take any of them lightly to be totally honest. I feel like in 2019 everyone counted me out and the other guys were the ones that were going to do it and never even thought about the 88 team and the path we’ve had and the wins we’ve had and the championships we’ve had. You can’t count anyone out. All of these guys got here for a reason, for being consistent and being good all year.”
Do you feel like your path this year is similar to what it was in 2019, when you won the championship?
“To be honest, I felt a little bit better going into 2019 just because we had practice and we were making a lot of headway going into the Playoffs. We were running well, and we had everything going our way at that point. It was almost funny to see everyone counting us out and I knew thee progress we had made throughout that year, and we used all of the tools that we had. It felt good to be counted out to be totally honest and go and do what we did. I definitely wouldn’t count us out again this year. Junior (Carl Joiner, crew chief) and every one of these guys are working hard and you never count the 88 group out.”
Do you have a sense of who has momentum right now?
“Of course, you are going to think Austin (Hill) has momentum just because he has won the last two, but do we go to dirt during this? No. Do we go to a road course race during this? No. The momentum and confidence in him is definitely got to be at an all-time high, but we aren’t going to any of those style of racetracks. I think it’s a complete reset and we go from here.”
BEN RHODES, No. 99 Bombardier Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
You haven’t won since Daytona. Are there any concerns you haven’t won since then?
“Nope, I’m pretty chill to be honest. No, not really worried. I think we will be fine. Ships not really sinking. There’s no holes in it. It seems pretty solid, so it’s made of metal. We are going to just keep on floating on. Season resetting here, we are just going to kind of calm down and kind of rebuild some momentum and not really focus on anything crazy. We don’t need to go out and win a race right off the bat here. The biggest thing is to kind of let some other people make some mistakes. We’ve got some youth in the Playoffs and some rookies here, so we will see if they can maybe make some mistakes for us and we can pad our points a little bit and we will see after the dust settles after Gateway what we need to do. I think the first step is to just take that first step and then evaluate and see what we need to make for goals.”
With you back in a Toyota, is this your best opportunity to win a championship?
“Yes and no. Up to this point, it’s been the best season that I’ve had. Now I really, truly see the season resetting. This is the most bonus points I’ve had going into the Playoffs, so yeah, I’ve got the best chance now based off of bonus points, but that’s about it. It’s anybody’s race at this point. It’s anybody’s championship, so I wouldn’t’ count anybody out going into the final four and I wouldn’t certainly try to make anyone the favorite just yet. The 4 (John Hunter Nemechek) truck has a lot of wins right now, but we’ve seen the regular season champions go out and not make the final four. We’ve seen the regular season champions get in trouble in the Playoffs. For us, we just want some good quiet races, link some stuff together where I’m not putting any pressure on for wins. The truth of the matter is there is only 10 of us, and there is only three of us that can win at anyone stage, so it’s not like everybody’s going to win. Sometimes there is back-to-back winners. I’m just trying to be calm. We’ve kind of reset as a team and pull off of ThorSport’s long history in the sport. Go back and look at everything they have done as a team and come up with the best plan and the best resources going forward. I do think it’s our best season that we’ve put together, but anything can happen.”
Who is your biggest threat in the Playoffs besides John Hunter Nemechek?
“I don’t know. I would say John Hunter (Nemechek), Sheldon Creed, Todd Gilliland, I’m going to throw Matt Crafton in there because he seems like he just gets it done when time comes down to it, he just finds a way. He gets it done. I would say those four are the ones that come to mind right off my head.”
Is there something to be said about experience in this year’s Playoffs?
“I think it’s a help. I wouldn’t say it’s a huge advantage in this day and age with the quality of drivers that are in the Playoff field. They are all very good. They all know what they are doing. The benefit of the experience is just putting your blinders on and knowing how to focus and not letting the emotions get to you. It is an advantage, but it’s not the end all be all. You still have to have speed. The truck still has to handle, and it still has to be fast. Having a great Tundra is what gets you into victory lane, but the emotions certainly play a factor and that certainly can cause you to make mistakes. It can cause you to not be on you’re a-game. My first year Playoffs, I remember being so nervous and constantly thinking about it and being stressed and now, I would say I’m a little bit like (Matt) Crafton. I’m pretty relaxed. He’s so relaxed he got here I think 30 minutes late today. I’m as relaxed as it gets. Maybe when I get older, I will get like Crafton, but I tell you what, it’s amazing what a few rounds of the Playoffs can do for you and it’s as intense as ever, but I’m not feeling it as much as I did the first time.”
How do you manage being calm but having the aggressiveness you need?
“It’s a balance. It’s been a good balance for me actually. Up to the race, I’m pretty calm and chill, and then about a day after the race, pretty calm and chill again. Even up to the green flag, I’m pretty calm and chill. It’s in the race truck – you are right. I’m really aggressive with the truck. I try to be at least, and that’s just product of the racing. The field is so close now with these Ilmor motors. Everybody is very close and passing now is so hard. There’s not that big of a speed difference. It used to be before the Ilmor motor package, you could pass guys like a Jordan Anderson or whoever it was, a lower budget team that maybe built a really good truck, but they couldn’t get the motor package. It’s not just like now you can blow the doors off of them and they are out of the way. You’ve got to make passes now. If you get put at the back, it’s hard to come to the front. If you are in the front, it’s hard to make that pass on the next guy. Everyone is racing a little bit dirtier now. Everybody is racing a little bit more aggressive now than before and it’s just from the time since I’ve been in the series. I made my first start in 2014 and in 2016, I went full time, so just in my short time, I’ve seen that change. All I can say is I have good folks around me. The past couple of years, I got some really good coaching from TJ Majors, who kind of helped coach me along. I’ve got TJ Bell on the roof now. I’ve got Rich (Luches, crew chief), who is insanely calm. He makes me mad with how calm he is. I’m like are you even listening to me, and he’s just like okay. He’s like Eeyore without the sadness. He’s just so calm. I don’t know. I hear what you are saying, but I don’t know how to answer it. I feel like over time I was the puppy that was excited about everything and now I’m like the dog that you have to kick to get up. It’s a little harder to get a reaction out of me I think.”
