NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 16, 2022
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 JTG DAUGHERTY CAMARO ZL1, Daytona 500 Media Availability Transcript:
YOU KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WIN THE POLE. DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET THAT DONE?
“In 2020, we got done with practice and I felt like we had a really good shot at it. After practice last night, it was kind of hard to tell who was legit by themselves – single car. I don’t think we have a shot at the pole. But if we could be 15th, somewhere around there, we’d be happy with that. I’m pretty comfortable with how my car drives in the drafting that we have done, so I’ll feel good for Thursday.”
YOU GOT THE WIN HERE IN 2017. WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WILL TAKE TO WIN THIS RACE SUNDAY? AND IT LOOKED LIKE YOU WERE WORKING WITH KEVIN HARVICK IN PRACTICE. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THAT?
“I don’t think it was something that was planned to go out there and work with him; we made an adjustment and just wanted to get the car closer to pack speed and feel that difference that we had at the test. We made another adjustment to go from your qualifying to your race setup – more simulating Thursday night. So, went out there and made some runs; wanted to run at the top of the racetrack, knowing that when it does single-file out that’s where you’re going to be. The track is a little bit rough up there, so just wanted to gauge on some of that and pulling down to pass. I don’t know what to expect or know a lot until Sunday comes. I felt like I had a really good test here where we basically simulated a race and were actually side-by-side drafting and I felt like I learned a lot there – probably more there until Sunday comes.”
WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING THE DUALS TO BE LIKE?
“Obviously, the ones that have to race their way in got to do what they got to do. I think a lot of them aren’t worried about going to the next few races, so they have one agenda, which is part of what makes the Duals cool. You have people with different agendas. You have the people who qualified on the front row; not trying to tear their car up. You have the ones trying to make it. And I feel like you have a lot of us who don’t want to go to a backup car, but you still want to learn and get as many points as you can. I feel like we’re in a good position as a race team. As soon as allotments were able to be filled, we feel like we’re in a good position as a race team with parts and pieces relative to some of the other teams. You don’t want to put yourself in a bind either. I feel like it’s always exciting for a little bit and it kind of fizzles out and gets more exciting again at the end when the checkered flag is coming out.”
WHAT’S THE OFFSEASON BEEN LIKE FOR JTG MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM TWO CARS TO ONE?
“It’s been a good offseason for us. If there was a time to do it, it was now. I feel like we have more resources for our one car than we had for our two. I feel like we were running at a little disadvantage; maybe a little thin when we had two. I feel really good about where we’re at as a race team. We have the parts and pieces and a good assembly line of how we’re building our cars and how the process is going. We have a good schedule laid out for upcoming races and which cars we plan on taking to where. Obviously, it was good to get out of the Clash with no major issues to our car so we can put that one right into the rotation. Some cars weren’t as lucky do to that. I was able to be at every test, which was beneficial, giving my feedback every single test and every single Chevy simulator test. This is the first year we’ve had access to that, and I think we’ve seen a benefit already. We’re looking forward to using that more often.”
FONTANA, BEING A WORNOUT RACETRACK, HOW DO YOU THINK THESE CARS ARE GOING TO BE?
“I think it’s going to be fun. Obviously, the higher horsepower, lower downforce package that we landed on at the Charlotte test I felt like it made racing better there and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for a driver when you get to Fontana. We’ll carry a lot of speed down the straightaway, you’ll have to lift and maybe use a little bit of brake when the tires get old, and I feel like many lanes are open for options. Definitely we miss going there. I think we were all kind of bummed when we heard it was going to be reconfigured. We’re looking forward to going back to the big track.”
WE’VE HEARD ABOUT THE PARTS SHORTAGE. AS A SHORT TRACK TEAM OWNER, CAN YOU COME WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE WORLD OF SPRINT CAR RACING IN ANY WAY WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THIS LEVEL?
“We kind of went through a period last year where we were nervous about tires on the spring car side. Parts and pieces as far as the chassis and suspension on the sprint car side ahs been really good. We actually ran into a few issues last year where we had to run a backup engine that we didn’t want to run based off of not being able to get parts to freshen up our engines throughout the season. We had an engine that we placed on order in November and we’re hoping to get it in April. They’re not leaving things on the shelf anymore. It’s almost like you order and they make to your order, so that’s been a little bit tricky. Some of the tire issues that we had, we had a shortage on tires and now you get a little inconsistency on tires.”
WILL YOU RUN SOME SPRINT CAR RACES THIS SEASON?
“I’ll run some sprint car races, probably Talladega weekend. Dad and I are looking to build a 410, so that will be fun.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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