NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
PENNZOIL 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 4, 2023
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 GLOBALTRANZ CAMARO ZL1 met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:
WHAT’S THE INSIGHT ON WHY THE TEAM HAS BEEN SO STRONG SO FAR THIS SEASON?
“It starts with this car. I can’t overlook what this new car – not-so-new anymore – has done for the series and our team in particular. We’ve been able to build off the foundation that was CGR and grow it into what we are now. It’s wild. Rolling into this year, we’re not resting on what we accomplished last year. Nothing is guaranteed in this sport and in life, so there’s nothing more clear than 235 feet painted in front of Trackhouse where Justin (Marks) wanted to remind us daily how close we were. We’re working – all of us – in our respective jobs to close that 235 feet to zero.”
CONOR DALY MENTIONED THAT YOU HAD ABOUT BEING INTERESTED IN OPEN-WHEEL. WAS THAT A SERIOUS CONVERSATION?
“It definitely was a serious conversation. Our Cup simulator is right next to the Chevy IndyCar simulator, so I pass those guys weekly now. I just had some genuine questions. I wouldn’t even know where to start. I didn’t know what to ask him. He gave me a lot of advice, some definitely probably turned me away from it but some was definitely attainable one day. But I’m focused on Cup racing. If something ever came about where I could explore other racing… if it’s sports cars, other race tracks, other ways of racing cars. Every series is different and every driver in those series has come up in a different way. I wish I could have raced 15 years ago in another country and could have gotten to experience that. I see some kids getting to do that now and they mainly come up through the open-wheel ladder. Us circle-track racers and Saturday night short track, we’re pretty much in the same box. I want to get outside of my comfort zone and get outside of the box.”
SO NOT IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE BUT MAYBE ONE DAY?
“With Justin Marks and Trackhouse, you never know. I would be open for it but no, no plans. I just had genuine questions.”
WHAT WAS IT THAT HE SAID THAT MIGHT HAVE TURNED YOU OFF IT?
“Just the business side.”
JUSTIN HASN’T DISCOUNTED NOT GOING INTO INDYCAR AT SOME POINT. THAT WOULD BE AN EASY TRANSITION OTHER THAN KYLE (BUSCH) AND KYLE (LARSON) TRYING TO FIND CHEVY RIDES IN INDY. WOULD THAT BE THE EASIEST PATH FOR YOU?
“I don’t know what the easiest path is, and there’s been no talks. This is by far the longest conversation right here today that I’ve had about it. I just want to race. If I can do that under the Trackhouse banner in various things… Justin and I have a love for racing. So if we can both go and enjoy it… you see him off running Trans-Am races, and is one electrical issue away from another race win last week. We share that love for driving cars to the limit. I don’t care if it has fenders or no fenders, if it has ABS or drum brakes. I want to go race the dirt track 30 miles from where I grew up that I never got to race at. I just want to race. I feel like right now I can put myself in more opportunities than I’ve ever been able to to race, whether it’s last night in the Truck race, some Xfinity races here and there. My goal is Cup racing and my goal is circle-track NASCAR racing. But exploring the horizons of other stuff is an inner desire I have. I love racing. I love the art of it.”
DAYTONA AND AUTO CLUB WERE BRUTAL TO YOU TO START LAST SEASON. THEN YOU HAD LUNCH WITH JUSTIN, CAME BACK AND START RIPPING OFF TOP-FIVES AND TOP-10s. WHAT WAS THE MESSAGE HE LEFT YOU WITH?
“It was not the most pleasant lunch, I’ll be honest. I did text him this week on Tuesday and said I was happy we weren’t having our second annual post-Auto Club lunch. I went and ate there by myself just to do it and for the reminder that it could be that again. It could be not as good as we have it right now and to enjoy the moment. The circumstances around eating on the Tuesday after Auto Club one year apart was a total 180. He did a lot of talking last year and I did a lot of listening. I didn’t have a lot of answers for him then, but we went back to work and started getting the ship righted. So I was really happy this year when I sat there alone and got to enjoy my lunch and then go back to work at the shop. It’s called Tacos for Life, just right by the shop. It’s an easy spot to eat.”
WHAT ABOUT THIS TRACK SEEMS TO SUIT YOU SO WELL?
“I have no idea. I feel like there are other tracks that I understand more and there are other tracks where I’ve had faster racecars at, but for some reason there have been some really high, bright moments here. I look at it like every other track. I study it like every other track, and I studied it harder this week leading into this race than I ever have before because I have more tools at my disposal than I ever have before. I don’t have answers. I really don’t know why. It doesn’t really feel any different when I’m on track. There’s not like a magic feeling I have where I know what I need in my racecar.”
INAUDIBLE.
“I don’t do a lot of anything else. Usually my weeks are built out starting from the Sunday Cup race back. So the end of my week is Sunday at the start of the Cup race. Immediately following the race starts the next week as soon as I get out of my car. It’s all built on being ready for the start of the next Cup race. So there’s a lot of driving. The Mooresville-to-Concord corridor for me back and forth and in the surrounding area is the bulk of my time. In the middle, I fit in calls for the business side of my life. That’s where all my hands-free calls are – driving back and forth up Highway 3. That’s the other side of actually not driving the car. When I get to where I’m going, phone calls are off. A lot of times I’ll leave my phone in the car. We have to virtually drive these tracks on simulators. If your mind is on something else, you’re not going to be applying yourself. When you’re in the car for practice… for me, I can’t think of anything else except driving the racecar because if I crash, it’s going to hurt. Simulators don’t hurt. It’s very easy to be distracted for me; it’s very easy to drive down the backstretch this week in the sim and think about something else. So I put my mind away to everything else and totally focus on this. The bigger picture of your question, I don’t know the hours and I’ve never really kept track. I have to carve out time away from prep. I don’t have a lot truly else going on. This is it for me right now.”
HIGH WINDS THIS WEEKEND…DOES THE SIMULATOR PREP YOU FOR THAT OR DO YOU GET TO THE TRACK AND HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT?
“No winds in the sim. I’m not even allowed to turn the driver comfort fan on in there if I get too hot. I have to sweat it out if it’s hot. You can adjust how fast you go and how much grip the track has, but it doesn’t account for wind. That’s where the cool part comes and that’s where racecar drivers get to come and put these cars on the limit. You catch a bad wind gust… and wind crashes racecars. It can be from dirty air from other cars a lot of times. If it gets that bad, then we’ll feel it inside the car.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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