MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
POCONO 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 31, 2019
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Media Breakout Session Highlights:
HOW WAS PRACTICE?
“Practice has been all right. This is a tricky place and all the other rules and everything are different, but I still feel like it still has some Pocono of old tendency, which is nice. I’ve enjoyed racing here and it’s a challenge, for me at least, just putting together one lap and putting it together right, especially for what the stopwatch shows. It’s just hard, for me today, it was just hard to get through each corner properly and show the pace that I felt like we have.”
DO YOU THINK THE RACE RESULTS LATELY SHOW A TURNAROUND FOR THE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS TEAM?
“I hope so. Like I tell people all the time. We get a report card every week. So, if it’s better than last week and better than what we’ve been doing, I guess we’re better.
“I think we’ve all been running better as a whole. All of us ran in the top 10 last weekend, so yeah, like I said, the results are what they are and either they’re better or they’re worse and they’ve been better lately so I’d like to think we’re in a better direction.”
AS YOU’VE GOTTEN MORE EXPERIENCE, DO YOU ARE HIGHER IN THE PECKING ORDER AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND CAN BECOME MORE OF A LEADER?
“To me, as long as Jimmie (Johnson) is there, Jimmie is always going to be that guy, you know? I’ve won fewer races than he has championships. So, I think as long as he is in the organization, he’s always going to be our leader. And I respect that as everybody else should, too.”
THE ATTENDANCE NUMBERS HAVE DWINDLED OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. DO YOU THINK IT’S JUST ABOUT ADAPTING AND CHANGING TO GET AN INCREASE? THERE WERE SOME GOOD TAKES AND PERSPECTIVES FROM OTHER DRIVERS. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW IT’S CHANGING AND HOW NASCAR IS ADAPTING TO THE NEW FANS?
“I don’t have a suggestion. There are people that get paid to make those kinds of decisions. My job is to try to go as fast as possible and be good at what I do, and that’s what I enjoy. I’m going to let somebody else make those decisions and answer those questions because I just don’t feel like it’s my place.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL THE RESTARTS WILL GO? WILL THEY BE CHAOTIC?
“Yeah, I will definitely say so. It’s just so inviting to get three, four, or five wide down the front straightaway here, so think you’re going to see a lot of that. Giving the advantage, even more, to the people who are on the front row and guys who can get away. Like we’ve seen these past few weeks, I think the people up front and the guy who can get a good restart on the front row, whoever can get free and get clear of the lane, whichever that is and however he does it, is going to be in a great spot. Everybody else is going to be kind of getting jumped on one another and it’s going to be crazy from that standpoint. Just hope you’re in the right lane and your lane rolls. It’s hard to predict what lane is right and what lane is wrong. There are times when the top when really good last week and there were times when the bottom went really good and it’s just circumstances and how someone pushes and doesn’t or whatever. So, you just hope it works out.”
SO, IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT YOUR MOVES. IT’S ABOUT THE MOVE ANOTHER PERSON MAKES IN ADAPTING TO IT AND IT ALL HAPPENS REALLY FAST, RIGHT?
“Yeah, it happens quick. A lot of times you make your decision before you even see how things are going to unfold. So really, it’s a guess, I feel like sometimes; especially when you’re further back in that group. So yeah, you just make your decision and live with it and hope it works out.’
WHAT DO THE TWO SHORTER PRACTICES, IN ONE DAY, DO FOR YOUR PREPARATION?
“Yeah, I think it’s great. We’re supposed to be the best at what we do and I don’t know why we practice for hours on-end, anyway. So, whatever they want to let us do is great.”
A LOT OF GUYS SAY THIS IS A DIFFICULT TRACK TO GET USED TO, ESPECIALLY WITH THE NEW PACKAGE. DO YOU LOOK AT IT IN THAT ASPECT AND FIND THE SHORTER PRACTICES TO BE A BIT MORE CHALLENGING?
“I think it’s good. It just separates the guys who belong and the guys who are good and the guys who aren’t, you know? Again, you have a certain amount of time. Everybody has the same about of time. And, you just make the most of whatever you have and try to get it as good as possible for Sunday.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH THE NEW 2020 SCHEDULE FEATURING TWO RACES IN ONE WEEKEND AT POCONO?
“I think it’s good. I support it just to change and to do something different. And, I think this is a good area to try it. It seems like this race brings a good crowd, or one of the two does, so putting them together is probably a good move. And to see something different, why not switch it up?”
DO YOU THINK WE’LL SEE A POCONO THAT’S ANY DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER POCONO? SOME SAY IT WILL BE UNIQUE TO ANY POCONO WE HAVE EVER SEEN. IS THAT OVERKILL?
“Yeah, that’s a little overkill (laughter). I think it’s still Pocono and I think the guy who gets out front is still going to have a great advantage as he always has. I don’t think tires are going to be a huge advantage so you’ll probably see guys pit this race backwards like we’ve seen here in the past; kind of road-course-style, probably. But aside from that, I think it’ll be Pocono like normal.”
ARE YOU USING LESS BRAKE OR MORE BRAKE? EVERYBODY SAID JUST VERY LITTLE IN TURNS 2 AND 3 THIS TIME AROUND
“Yeah, very little. For me, I was lucky. I just by chance happened to drive that Xfinity race last year, which was real similar to what this is. So, it’s very similar to what those cars drove like here, I guess it was this weekend, last year.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED BRAKE DUCTS HERE?
‘No, I don’t think we’re using enough brake to it to matter.”
DO YOU THINK THAT ADJUSTMENT, GOING FROM THE BRAKE DUCTS TO THE AERO DUCTS INSTEAD, WILL MAKE ANY IMPROVEMENTS TO THE RACE? OR, DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE PRETTY MINIMAL AS FAR AS THAT CHANGE GOES?
“I think it will be really similar. Again, whether we have a whole lot of downforce or not a lot, the guy in front of you still has more than what you have. So, it’s going to be hard, regardless. So, I just think if it helps, great. But, if it helps, it’s going to help everybody and we’ll kind of all be in the same boat.”
DO YOU MISS SHIFTING IN ANY WAY AT POCONO?
“I do. I really liked it a lot. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed doing it. So, maybe that’ll come back around sometime. We’ve seen it come and go. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it again down the road, but I don’t think it’s going to change the way the race looks or change the race. I feel like we’d all kind of gotten used to it, but it was just an addition I think that was fun for the drivers. I don’t really think it looks any different from the stands or TV, but it was fun for us.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT MADE IT EASIER TO PASS?
“No, I don’t think so. It’s just more opportunity to mess up. But, no. Everybody was doing it. So, It’s not like one guy had an advantage over another. Everyone was doing it together. Like I said, I don’t think it’s going to change the way it looks. Like if you didn’t know we weren’t shifting, would you even know we weren’t shifting? Probably not. So, there ya go.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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