NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
COKE ZERO SUGAR 400
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA AVAIL. QUOTES
AUGUST 23, 2024
Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Daytona International Speedway.
Media Availability Quotes:
If something similar at Talladega happens in the final stage where a group of cars come in and pit for fuel early and they’re sort of on their own and it almost worked out before they wound up wrecking each other, do you guys have a plan to cover that tomorrow night?
“I can’t tell you all of our secrets. We’ve all watched that and learned from it, learned what they did good and what they did bad, and it’s different from what the majority of the field had as a mentality from what I see. We’re always evolving and always watching.”
As the only Chevy driver not yet to secure a playoff position, is there an expectation that if you need help you get help at certain times of the race understanding that there is a point where everybody’s got to look out for themselves?
“As a Chevy group we meet and talk through stuff, and we’ve done that over the years since I’ve been in the Cup car. I’ve been part of these conversations with all different scenarios of who and what and where we were at. I think there is going to be some ask out of some of my chevy teammates. I don’t expect it, though. When I make a move or I’m in a line and I need a Chevy teammate to go with me or help me, I want them to go with me because it was the right move not because they feel like they have to help me. If I make the right choices in drafting, it’s going to be for the right reasons why they go with me, push me and help me. They choose behind me on a restart it’s because our car is strong, and I’ve been showing them that I can do what can help them as well. I’ve been asked in the past to help a Chevy, and that’s every OEM, and I’m sure that will be said but I don’t expect it.”
Being on the playoff cutline, how much do you focus on trying to win the race and looking to come away with a big points day going into the regular-season finale?
“I could give you an example of last week at Michigan because it’s fresh in my mind was I had never thought about when I was in the car until I was stuck in the grass, and at that moment I went, ‘Oh, no.’ It came flooding in the thoughts of all the cars no longer around me that I had been racing with, so it won’t be in my mind while I’m racing. You can’t do that; it’s not possible for me. We’ll just go race and win.”
During a shorter first stage, do you expect people to be more aggressive?
“We do know we can push the gas pedal to the floor, which is nice. That won’t be the case later just the way the stages break down and lays out. If you want to be up front at the end of the stage, you have to be on pit road less. We’ll all pit at the end of it and there is a scenario of cautions and stuff before the end. It won’t go as easy we all think it will, I’m sure, for Stage 1. But just on paper it looks like you can run hard and pit at the end and fill it up with gas and tires and then start. Stage 2 and 3 we’ll focus on saving fuel.”
How much do you monitor the charter negotiations from a business standpoint?
“I’m not in the charter business. I look back and obviously wish I would have and that’s any investment. You look in hindsight and it would have been good when charters first came out to invest in them, but I wasn’t smart enough then and maybe not smart enough now. It’s worked out good for some and not so good for others. I think it’s been a win for everybody, though. I don’t study it. I just get information after it’s happened of what it all was.”
When you get in an accident where you’re airborne, what is going through your mind at that moment?
“I’ve never flipped. I’ve watched my brother flip and obviously lots of competitors flip over my life. Actually, the only time I can think of when I got air was last week when I got spun around the back tires came off the ground a little bit and I felt it. I was looking down at the ground in front of me. It happened quick though and it sat right back down, so the car did a good job to put me right back down on the ground. That was the first time and it was over before I knew what happened. My brother has described it as it all happened really slow, but he was young then, so that was probably the most detail I went into with anybody about it. I’ve never asked anyone what it’s like to flip.”
It’s still six months away, but do you have any feelings about leaving LA for the Clash and bringing it back East?
“It matters but I don’t have a say or a vote. Just hope for warm weather.”
Do you think of Daytona of a home track at all? How much of your family is here and how important is it to win in Florida?
“This was our vacation when we would go to the summer race when it was on Fourth of July weekend, so I’ve sat through all the rain delays and everything. I have all those memories. This one is more of a home track feeling because of those summer vacations. We’ve been able to win an Xfinity race here, which was really cool. A few less family members here for tomorrow’s race. Mainly just my grandparents not coming over. They’ll all be tuned in and read everything. They’re super engaged. It’s cool to talk to them every week and sometimes they know more than I do.”
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