MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 14, 2018
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Daytona 500 Media Day. Full transcript:
TALK ABOUT THIS BLOG EXPERIENCE.
“The first episode just came out. It’s been really cool. We started from the time I left my house. I left the fireplace going and the coffee pot going because I was so anxious to get here. I’ve been trying to capture as much raw moments of my life and as far as what I’m going through as a new dad and being in racing. It’s opening up my life to fans and allow them to see me, and if they like me or not, to interact and create a closer relationship. The videos and vlog will shift and change as people tell me what they like to see and don’t want to see. Hopefully have fun with it. What hit me as I’ve been doing it is whether this is a successful thing or not, my great, great, great, great grandkids will have YouTube – or whatever it’s called then – that will be holding these videos and see what I did. I think that’s super cool that I can open up my life and know that the future of my family can see what I’ve done, be documented on the internet.”
DID YOU SEE THAT YOUR BROTHER IS DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR?
“I told him I was doing it and a couple of weeks later I saw that he was doing a podcast thing. That’s what’s cool about this young wave of drivers. Not only are we excited about the new, young drivers, we’re excited about creating a new NASCAR through being open with our fans through podcasts of vlogs or anything in the media. I think we’re a pretty open, young group and we’re all competitive being so young. We’re competitive to be the most open with our fans, which is great for our sport.”
WHAT TYPE OF RESPONSE HAVE YOU GOTTEN?
“It’s been awesome. Ever since Charlotte Media Day I’ve gotten a lot of responses of people being thankful that I’ve been opening up to them. I never realized how many people wanted to know us better and wanted to see more from us. People have reached out and said, ‘I’m a fan of yours now’ just because of that, and a lot of stories like that. Not really boost in numbers, which I don’t really care about on my social channels. But boost in comments and interactivity, and people excited for what I’m doing. I think that’s the coolest part. I just want to create more interaction and fun with my fanbase. And whether it’s a fanbase of 10 million one day or 100,000, it doesn’t matter as long as those people are my core people and they like me for who I am.”
THERE’S A PHOTO OF YOU AND AUSTIN (DILLON) WITH DALE EARNHART, JR. FROM 1998. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT, WHAT MEMORIES DO YOU HAVE?
“That memory is really important to me. My brother and I were at MRO, which is where all the kids still go. My grandma ran over and said we won the race, and we had no clue what the significance of that race was but we knew we were going to Victory Lane. It was right over there where the3 Chevy Experience is now, and I remember just the excitement and the fun and everybody was so excited. That hit me pretty deep. I was 5 years old. From the time I stepped in a race car for the first time and when I won my first face, that’s when it hit me that it was what I wanted to do because I wanted to live that moment that I had in Victory Lane when I was 5 years old. That thrill of victory in that moment was what drives me still to this day to be a race car driver.”
WHAT DOES THAT NEW NASCAR LOOK LIKE?
“You’re living it, brother. It’s happening right now. Last year got the ball rolling. Now it’s here with the biggest driver the sport has ever seen stepping and four or five new guys stepping in. The Clash viewership was up, which is a big deal. I was pulling in and out of the gates today and tons of motorhomes were coming into the Daytona 500 and there are going to be tons of fans here, too. So the fact that our fans are excited about the new age that is here and not stopping I think is great for our sport.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE PART OF THE DRIVERS COUNCIL?
“I’m excited just because (inclusion) was voted on by drivers. That means a lot to be voted on by your peers. I care a lot about the sport; it’s been a part of my whole life. Hopefully, I can add to the conversation.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LEARN THIS FIRST YEAR?
“I’m big on listening. I think there’s a lot I’m going to learn from it. I have a lot of great ideas, but I think for most of the year I’ll just be listening and learning and soaking it all in. Hopefully I’ll learn enough that if I get voted back in I can add some depth and context about what is going on in our sport.”
IT IS AMAZING IN THIS ERA THAT YOU CAN BE 13 AND JUST GETTING STARTED (SPEAKING ABOUT WILLIAM BYRON):
“If you start later you have to grow up faster in the sport. By the time I was 14 or 15 I was running 70 to 80 races a year. By 16, I was traveling across the United States by myself. My dad was at the racetrack, my mom was running the winery. I had to learn to be self-sufficient at a young age, so I grew up fast. I think that’s why at 25 I’ve been married for three years and have a child and feel very comfortable in the sport because I had to grow up in auto racing at that point. You look at William Byron and he’s a very polished young man at 20 years old, so he’s had to grow up fast the last couple of years and he’s done a heck of a job.”
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