NASCAR CUP SERIES
CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS
ECHOPARK TEXAS GRAND PRIX
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 22, 2021
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, was the fastest overall in NASCAR Cup Series practice at 77.847 mph. Post-Practice Press Conference Transcript:
WAS THAT PRACTICE PRODUCTIVE?
“Yeah, I hope it rains tomorrow. It was really weird at first, just getting used to just where the best line was and getting used to the way you get around there. I’ve spent some time at the go-kart track in the rain and, honestly, you just try to adapt and learn.”
“Yeah, it was fun. It was a blast. I don’t know how it was to watch, but it’s so much fun driving.”
IF THE RACE IS DRY TOMORROW, WHAT WILL BE YOUR BIGGEST QUESTION?
“Really, none of it. I feel like the track, I’m pretty comfortable with it. The biggest thing for us is just setup-wise. We tried that second run to setup for the rain a little bit. I honestly felt like we were better the first run with our dry setup, to be honest. I felt like I just got more comfortable with the race track. So, you have to take all that into account going into Sunday. Do you want to prepare for a rain race or do you want to prepare for getting a dry line and having to switch to slicks?”
“It’s a blast. I’ve watched some Formula 1 races in the rain and I think for the fans, it would be awesome if it rains.”
ASIDE FROM THE BACKSTRETCH, IS THERE ANY OTHER VISABILITY ISSUES AND HOW IS IT WITH THE STANDING WATER AND CONDITIONS LIKE THAT OUT THERE?
“The visibility is just kind of all a matter of circumstances. You kind of get out there and if you’re going down the straightaway, you just trust that the guy in front of you isn’t stopped or slowed down. If there’s a wreck down the back straightaway tomorrow, it’s going to be a mess. You’re just not able to see. Luckily, you just kind of follow the train tracks down the straightaway because that’s where all the standing water isn’t. Again, I feel like it’s really similar to Formula 1 and some of the things I’ve watched in the past of just trying to find a drier line. The standing water isn’t a big deal. There are a couple of apex’s that you are kind of drifting through, but other than that, it’s a blast. These cars have enough movement in them to where the rain feels pretty awesome. I’ve ran a go-kart in the rain and that thing has a lot more grip, but it’s a similar concept.”
REGARDING YOUR ROAD COURSE DRIVING IN GENERAL, IS THIS SOMETHING YOU FELT CAME NATURALLY TO YOU OR IS THIS SOMETHING YOU FEEL YOU’VE WORKED HAND-IN-HAND WITH MAX PAPIS ON?
“Yeah, it’s definitely something that Max (Papis) and I have worked on. He’s been probably the best asset for me when it comes to getting comfortable with a road course and just getting comfortable with the race track. But yeah, I feel like for me, anytime that I hesitate, I’m not so great; especially in adverse conditions like the rain. I kind of felt like I was trying to feel it out there in the beginning of practice and I wasn’t going so great. And then I just started to trust it. I just started to kind of trust my feelings; trust my feeling for grip and what I feel like is a better line and what not. It changes every lap with the rain, which is cool. I tried doing one thing one lap and then I’d get comfortable with that and try to do it again and it doesn’t work. It’s cool to have that much dynamic and I feel like for me, it’s all just about trusting my instincts and my process and not trying to overthink it.”
I WAS LISTENING TO SEVERAL DRIVERS, INCLUDING YOURSELF, BUT RYAN NEWMAN SAID HE COULD NOT SEE THE CAR IN FRONT OF HIM. WHAT WAS YOUR VISIBILITY DISTANCE DO YOU THINK BETWEEN YOU AND THE GUY IN FRONT OF YOU?
“Yeah, you can’t see the guy in front of you, for sure. You’re kind of looking at how much spray he’s got and judging how far away you are in that aspect. So, if the spray is higher, typically you’re closer to a certain degree. It almost exactly simulates what aero does to the cars. It creates that wake behind a car and that’s almost exactly what it’s like when we’re racing with air; you can just see it now. So, it’s kind of that same aspect. I feel like for me, I just try to trust my spotter and if he said somebody was checking up or something or if there was a slow car in front, I’d try to plan for that. But honestly, I kind of just sent it and tried to put it in the right spot and hope that nobody was stopped in front of me.”
HOW MANY SPOTTERS WILL YOU HAVE THIS WEEKEND?
“I think I heard two voices on the radio, so probably have two, as far as I know. I know Max (Papis) is going to help with Turn 20. I’m just now learning the names of the corners; we’re working on that. But I’ll figure out how many spotters I have by the end of the weekend.”
THERE WAS ALSO MENTION ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE IN THE TRANSITIONS AND YOUR TRANSITIONS ON THE RACE TRACK WORKED SIGNIFICALLY WELL.
“Yeah, I mean I couldn’t tell you what’s new and what’s not. I came here and ran a Trans Am car here for a little bit and kind of know the track, but I honestly, I just trusted what I think I remember about the race track. It kind of comes to you once you have it memorized and stuff like that.”
“I did feel like it was weird – some places you would arc it out and cross the wet later and some places you would cross it early; it just depends. Definitely in the standing water, there’s no grip so you just have to kind of work with what you got and try to find some grip.”
HOW MANY GOOD, COMPETITIVE LAPS WERE YOU HOPING TO GET BEFORE THIS PRACTICE AND HOW MANY WERE YOU ACTUALLY ABLE TO COMPLETE?
“I think Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) did a really good job of allowing me to run. He knew it was going to take me all of practice to figure it out. Honestly, he does a really good job of just letting me run and just knowing he can change something on the car, but it’s probably just going to be better if I just run around and experience it. For us, we made one small change in the garage. It took probably 10-15 minutes and then we were out on the track the rest of the time. It was awesome that there were no cautions; glad that nobody stalled. There were some guys spun, but they just allowed us to keep running. I think I got 15 laps in, which was awesome. I think we expected to get three runs in the dry, which is about 15 laps, and we got that in the rain so that’s awesome.”
HAVE YOU MEMORIZED ALL THE TURNS YET?
“(Laughs) I can’t tell you 14 and15; Max (Papis) was on the radio telling me 14 was not so good and I’m guessing at what 14 is. I’ll talk to him and try to figure out a better name for it, but yeah, I’m going to have to do some studying on the visuals of the turns. I didn’t even realize until halfway through practice that when Tab (Boyd, spotter) was saying it was a good lap, the start-finish line was different than what I expected. So, just a lot of different stuff. Just trying to figure it out.”
GETTING THE IDEAL SETUP FOR A CAR IS A HARD TASK, EVEN IN IDEAL WEATHER CONDITIONS. HOW MUCH IS THAT COMPOUNDED BY WET WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR PRACTICE AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU’RE GOING TO GET IT FOR QUALIFYING AND RACE DAY?
“Yeah, it’s hard to know what the conditions are going to be like. So, I feel like honestly, you just try to keep your standard setups in it for the most part; maybe some small stuff you could maybe get out of the car for dry. Looking at the forecast tomorrow, it looks like it might rain again obviously and it could dry up. I just leave that up to the smarter people.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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