NASCAR CUP SERIES
LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM
BUSCH LIGHT CLASH AT THE COLISEUM
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT HIGHLIGHTS
FEBRUARY 5, 2022
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1, AND AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 TRUE VELOCITY CAMARO ZL1: PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT HIGHLIGHTS:
IT’S OBVIOUSLY A HUGE DAY. EARLY IN THE SESSION, YOU WERE ONE OF THE MORE QUICKEST ONES. HOW ACCLIMATED HAS THIS TRACK BEEN, BECAUSE SOME SAY IT HAS TURNED A LOT BETTER COMPARED TO THE OLD CAR, WHERE IT MIGHT NOT HAVE MADE IT THROUGH?
DANIEL SUAREZ: “Well, that was a good time now that I got (inaudible). Listen, I can really tell how the old car was going to drive here. I honestly don’t think we all care because we are in the next chapter and that is the past. Now we have to think about the new car. I think the new car is performing amazing. Very, very happy with it and everything we have done so far. Everyone at Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet, everyone has done a great job. We have a good piece and now we have to go out there and have fun and make the most out of it.”
AS YOU’VE PROGRESSED IN THE NEW TEAM AND WITH YOUR BOSS, WITH HAVING PITBULL, HOW IS YOUR SPONSORSHIPS IN THE WAY YOU RELATE TO THEM AND HOW YOU TALK TO THEM AND HOW YOU ATTRACT THEM? HOWS THAT CHANGED AND HAVE YOU LEARNED A LOT OF LESSONS THAT ARE GOING TO HELP MOVING FORWARD AND HELPING IN YOUR SPONSORSHIP SEARCH? IS IT BECOMING EASIER?
DANIEL SUAREZ: “Yeah, it is a process. I think today, thanks to a lot of people, we are in a pretty good spot. Last year, we started the season with a close partnership with RCR and without them we wouldn’t be here. It was a huge help to be able to start strong. Without that support, it is almost impossible to be competitive. There is so much information, so much data out there that require years and people and manufacturers to be able get. It’s a process. Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Ty Norris, this great group of people, Pitbull they have done a great job you know. We had to start the right way, like I said with help from Chevrolet and RCR. Now we are kind of like doing our own thing, but we are still under the umbrella of Chevrolet. It’s been great and I feel like when it comes to sponsors we have to do a good job, not just in the racetrack but also outside the racetrack. I feel like so far we have done a pretty decent job, but really we could push it and there is always room for improvement.”
(INAUDIBLE)
DANIEL SUAREZ: “Yeah it is good. He (Pitbull) is an amazing person. He is a role model for me and I’m sure for many others. I think it would be amazing to be able to have a good race, hopefully win it and have him here. Because if that happens, we are going to have to throw a big party and I know you guys are invited. Hopefully we can get it done.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE COMING OUT TO LOS ANGELES AND COMING TO A TEMPORARY TRACK LIKE THIS AND DRIVING ON IT IN FRONT OF ALL THESE FANS THAT KIND OF HAVE A RELATONSHIP TO YOU?
Daniel Suarez: “Well, for me, you know I kind of answered that question in Spanish. I feel very, very lucky and fortunate to be here in Los Angeles. As you guys know, I don’t get to race at home in Mexico. So, this is as close as it gets. I have been here since Wednesday, doing a lot of media tours. Doing a lot of activations and honestly it feels like home. Everywhere I go, people are speaking in Spanish to me. The tacos here are amazing, so it is very, very cool to be here. I am loving it. This is the first time that we’re racing here, but I truly hope that it’s not the last one because this is an amazing place and a place that everyone makes it feel like home. As you all know, 70 percent of tickets sold are for new fans. I’m pretty sure that a lot of those are Hispanics, so that truly puts a huge smile on my face.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE DRIVING ON A TRACK THAT’S GOT TEMPORARY ASPHALT?
Austin Dillon: “It’s been interesting. I think last night I got some information from Dale Jr. leading into the race and he was like man it’s really slick out there, but I don’t think they were on the same tires. When we got out there, I was kind of anticipating just no grip, sliding around. As the track kind of got better and cleaned off, I started having some good forward drive and the ability to turn and use that paint. I love that there is that painted area where the rumble strips are and then you can either choose to cut across it or not. Everyone is kind of doing their own thing out there and finding speed different ways. When it gets down to those heat races, I mean I think the track is going to shorten up a lot and we are going to be routing and gauging a little bit more.”
I’M DRIVING DOWN TELEGRAPH ROAD IN ARIZONA YESTERDAY AND AT THE INTERSECTION, I’M LOOKING UP AND THERE IS A BIG DANIEL SUAREZ BILLBOARD AND I AM LIKE DANG I KNOW THAT GUY. YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE COMMUNITY, THE EMBRACING AND THE MESSAGE THAT NASCAR HAS GOTTEN OUT ABOUT HEY WE ARE HAVING A RACE HERE THIS WEEKEND, WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN FROM THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT GETTING PEOPLE KNOWING AND BEING AWARE THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY HAVING A RACE HERE THIS WEEKEND?
Daniel Suarez: “Yeah, I mean this is a team effort right. NASCAR has done a tremendous job putting all this together. It requires years of work to be able today to be here. I don’t take that for granted. I think NASCAR has done an incredible job. They have gone the extra mile. They have put a lot of work, for us to be able to be here and hit a new market. Like I said, I just feel very, very lucky and fortunate to be part of this lineup in the Cup Series and being able to be the driver that can connect with the Hispanic community. I feel very, very fortunate for that and feel very blessed. I hope that we can all enjoy the weekend. I know there is going to be a lot of Hispanics out there in the grandstands and hopefully we have a great time.”
OBVIOUSLY, WE KNOW THAT KYLE’S SON AND KEVIN’S SON IS RACING. I SAW ACE WAS DRIVING SOMETHING THE OTHER DAY. ARE YOU PREPARING HIM TO BE NEXT IN LINE IN THE DILLON RACING LEGION?
Austin Dillon: “I think he is so young right now, but it is fun to see him get behind the steering wheel. One of the only sounds he makes is (racecar noise). I mean he knows cars, he likes watching cars. If he is having a bad day, I can throw cars on and he is like ready to go. It’s cool I get to do an obstacle course out there with the Disney group and Pixar. They did cars theme stuff and I was like man I wish I had Ace out here with me. I don’t know what he would have done. He probably would have knocked over the obstacle course because he is just kind of wide open right now. Man, I don’t know, I think it would be awesome if he races one day and if he doesn’t, he is going to be good at something though. We are going to put all of our effort into him. He’s a stud. I love hanging out with my little guy.”
DANIEL, WE SAW YOU AT THE DIRT RACE LAST YEAR. SURPRISED EVERYONE RUNNING UP FRONT AND HERE YOU ARE TODAY AND OF THE PRACTICE SESSIONS YOU WERE THERE UP TOWARDS THE TOP OF THE CHARTS. WHAT IS IT WITH YOU TAKING A CAR ON NEW TRACKS THAT NO ONE HAS EVER DONE IN THE CUP SERIES EITHER IN A LONG TIME OR EVER AND JUST PUTTING IT UP FRONT?
Daniel Suarez: “I don’t know. I don’t really know. I think a lot has to do with the mentality of getting to that new place that we are talking about. I think that is very important to be positive. It is important to enjoy it and have fun and to be open minded. Heading into this race, I tried to do my homework and tried to be open minded about a few things and be aware of unknowns. There are a lot of unknowns here. We can do as much work as we want, but the reality is no one really knew. With that being said, I have an amazing team behind me. Everyone at Trackhouse Racing is building an amazing racecar. I got a good hot rod here and hopefully we can make some tweaks and pull that thing up front.”
DANIEL, YOU TALKED ABOUT BEING HERE IN LA, IT’S AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN GET TO RACING AT HOME WITHOUT ACTUALLY BEING HOME. DOES BEING ABLE TO RACE HERE OPEN IT UP FOR EXTENDED FAMILY TO COME WATCH YOU HERE IN PERSON WHERE OTHERWISE WOULDN’T GET TO?
Daniel Suarez: “Well, my family is actually on the other side of the country, so it’s actually closer to Texas. They, unfortunately, won’t be able to come here. Sometimes it’s amazing to have family, but when you are that busy and have so much going on, you don’t want to have too many distractions. This place being so new, having a lot of unknowns, I just didn’t invite them. Maybe next time. They just party to hard and distract me. Maybe soon, they love to come but I am super happy to be here. Great people and great food. It’s just everyone makes me feel like home and I have this feeling it’s special when I am here in LA, California, this part of the country. It’s quite special for me, so just very happy to be here and hopefully we can show that tonight and tomorrow.”
AUSTIN, RCR WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THIS CAR AND I’M WONDERING SINCE YOU HAVE KIND OF BEEN A PART OF IT, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT NOW COMING FROM THE INFANTCY TO WEHRE WE ARE NOW? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE PROJECT THAT WE FINALLY HAVE IT ON THE TRACK?
Austin Dillon: “Yeah, you know it is pretty cool to you know from the start this whole project and getting to the point of coming here racing. First test was at Richmond and I remember doing the test. We built the car in house and kind of with the direction what (inaudible) wanted to do. They came to Richmond, and it felt like 100 people when I backed out the car at Richmond. Manufacturers of parts, people that were bidding on parts and then we had a successful day. We didn’t wreck. We didn’t tear anything up and everything stayed together. Afterwards Jim France handed us all a cigar. This was the inception of this car and we took a picture with it. Which was really cool. Now you come to LA and get to be a part of the first race at another kind of grand opening for us as a sport. I think we have done a good job getting here and we are still learning a lot about the different parts and pieces on this car. It’s done very good and performed so far. We will just keep working with it at all these tracks we go to this year. We will be trying to get every piece a little bit better.”
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