NASCAR CUP SERIES
YELLAWOOD 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
RICKY STENHOUSE, JR., NO. 47 SUNNYD CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript:
TALLADEGA IS ALWAYS WILD. COULD IT BE EVEN MORE WILD BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU’RE NOT GOING TO RACE THESE CARS AGAIN?
“Yeah, that’s definitely a good point. I was in the shop yesterday talking to the guys and they’re always putting the really good details on our superspeedway cars. Brian Pattie (crew chief) is always trying to make sure they’re perfect and fast and ready to go. But I definitely think there’s a thought in the back of our heads that hey, we’re not going to need these cars anymore. We’ve been fortunate enough to make it through some of these speedways lately without major damage, but it still hasn’t been great speedway races for us. We’re either battling for the win or just kind of riding around and waiting for the race to be over. But it definitely could get a little crazy knowing that nobody needs these cars again.”
LOOKING AHEAD, ARE YOU DEFINITELY BACK AT JTG DAUGHERTY RACING NEXT YEAR?
“Yes, I’m definitely back at JTG Daugherty Racing in the No. 47 Kroger car, so I’m definitely happy about that. It’s something we have kind of been sitting on for a while just trying to get everything else in place. Obviously, there are a lot of moving parts that go along with race teams and especially transitioning to a whole brand new car and trying to make sure we have everything aligned out there. But Tad (Geschickter, co-owner) and everybody is doing a really good job of that and working on manufacturers things and stuff like that. It’s been a busy few months for our team and we’re continuing to work hard and we’re looking to finish this year off as consistent as we have been. That’s one thing that we’ve been proud of this year is our consistency is better than what it was and we’re looking to build on that the rest of the races.”
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD ABOUT YOUR PLANS FOR NEXT SEASON WITH JTG?
“I’m just looking forward to a third season with the team. I felt like this year was kind of like the first year with the organization with the way last year went and the way it was kind of thrown on us and not being able to hang-out with the guys and be in the shop and really spend time with each other. And now, I’m enjoying……we went to the Daytona test with the new car, and I felt like we had a successful test. It’s been fun going to the race shop and helping kind of design the cockpit of the car, where we want things, and just kind of make it custom to what I need and working with everybody in the shop. So, I think next year could be our best year yet, and even my best year in Cup in general. So I’m really looking forward to the opportunity that next year presents with the new car, our great partners at Kroger, and everybody at JTG Daugherty Racing.”
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR AT THE NEXT GEN TEST IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS AT CHARLOTTE?
“I think with it being a road course test, I feel like this car is almost a lot more set up for a road course than our current cars. I’m interested to see how that drives. Obviously, the sequential shifting, I think, will be a big plus. The brakes that are on the race car and the independent rear suspension are a lot of things that I think will help make our road course racing really good. So, I’m interested to see how that dynamic plays out and the way it handles. And also, obviously, after the Daytona test, NASCAR has been looking at trying to reduce the heat inside the race car. We’ve been taking our own measures inside the race car, of things that we can control, and the way we build our pedals and where we have our seat positioned and things like that. So, we’re looking to just continue to collect data. We collected a lot of data at Daytona. I think we ran close to the most laps just trying to not necessarily go fast, but just collect as much data as we can so we can get back to the shop and analyze and process it and continue to close those gaps and answer those questions that we need between the tests that we have coming up. I’m also excited that I get to be the one that drives the car in every single test. I don’t know if every other team and driver will be able to do that, so I think that will be an advantage for us as well.”
DO YOU ENJOY TESTING?
“That’s one thing that I used to not really care for. But now that we’re not practicing and we’re not qualifying on the weekends, I just like being in the race cars, especially Daytona tests. Daytona tests are some of those tests that you kind of dreaded going to, but I enjoyed it. I had fun. I felt like it’s a whole new race car and so many things to learn and try to get right. We’re looking forward to working really hard on that and like I said, I’m pumped that I’ll be in the race car for every single one of those tests.”
IS YOUR CONTRACT A ONE-YEAR DEAL OR A MULTI-YEAR DEAL?
“We just added a year to what we were doing. Tad is working on the sponsorship side of things and I’m sure we’ll talk beyond that once we get everything kind of lined out and finalized where he wants. But I’m just excited to finally get in this new car. When we first signed at JTG Daugherty Racing, it was supposed to be a year in the old car and a year in the new car and I was really looking forward to that. So, I’m glad that we got to that point and focused on trying to make that car and next season as best as we can.”
YOU WILL BE THE ONLY DRIVER AT JTG NEXT YEAR. HOW DO YOU THINK THAT IS GOING TO GO, AND WHAT THAT PROCESS IS GOING TO BE LIKE WITH NOT HAVING A TEAMMATE? IS THAT GOING TO BE A NEGATIVE IN ANY WAY?
“I definitely think it could be a negative on one hand, and then a positive on the other. Obviously when you’re practicing and testing, you can have more ideas and run different things through both cars, it definitely helps kind of speed the process up. But we would also have to share the seat when it comes to testing. So, I feel like what I look for in a race car and what somebody looks for in a race car and the way they drive, is sometimes totally different. So, I feel like we’re going to be able to kind of build around me and at least the set-ups and things like that will be more around what I’m looking for in the race car, and all our focus will be on one car. I feel like that will be a positive thing. I know everybody at JTG Daugherty Racing so far has been all in on the new car and trying to speed the process along and I’m definitely looking forward to 2022.”
YOU WILL BE WEARING THE WHOOP BAND ON SUNDAY. TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK THAT EXPERIENCE WILL BE LIKE FOR THE FANS TO BE ABLE TO SEE THAT TALLADEGA DATA.
“Yeah, it’s always cool. I always wear a heart rate monitor in the race car and when I work out during the week. Now, to be able to see that broadcast live on the TV will be really cool. I always look at my data; download it and process it after the race and send it to my trainer and he kind of builds my workout programs based off of the way my heart rate is in the race car and we try to mimic that when we’re in the gym. So, it’ll be cool to be wearing it this weekend and I look forward to working with everybody at Whoop. I know it’s been fun watching, I haven’t watched our races with people wearing it, but I’ve watched the Xfinity Series and those guys wearing it and it’s always a cool extra data point that the fans get to see.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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