TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer — Notes & Quotes
Chase Media Day – September 12, 2013
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Are there any tracks in the Chase you hope to just ‘survive?’
“There’s really nowhere you really hope to just survive except for — well nowhere. Talladega, everybody else talks about that, but I would rather win it. I don’t know, I’m not a crystal ball guy. I feel pretty good about every track on the circuit to be honest with you. Talladega is probably the one that gives me the most pause just because of our summer Daytona race — we really weren’t nearly as competitive as the first two plate races for some reason. Because of that, we got caught up in a wreck because we were in the middle of the pack and I got in the wreck. That’s probably the one that gives me the most concern or pause. The first one (Daytona) we were awesome, the first Talladega we were awesome — led the most laps and was in position to win, got to that last green-white-checkered and just got freight-trained and didn’t finish good. We ran good, but then the last Daytona we just didn’t have any speed for some reason. That concerns me a little bit.”
Will you view this season as a success with or without the championship?
“Yes and no — you want to do good every week so the smile on your face immediately after the race usually has more to do with what just happened in that last three-and-a-half hours more so than the last 12 or 14 months. Obviously, the transition has been great. To this point, I’ve had one of the best years if not the best year in my career — still have 10 races left. We’ve had a couple poles, we’ve led more laps than I’ve ever led in a year, we’ve tied with the most wins I’ve ever had in a year so it’s been just an incredible season to this point. No matter what, I think that’s all been a success. Certainly, this is an important 10 weeks and this is where it really counts. This is where we really need to put it together and go try to win a championship. I feel confident. I feel like our performance is good enough to run with anybody on our good days if we can have good days.”
How do you feel the chances are for Joe Gibbs Racing to win the championship?
“I feel really great about it. I think if Denny (Hamlin) wouldn’t have got hurt then I feel like we would have all three of us in here. I know he’s had some struggles lately and I’m looking forward to getting him back. Denny’s been such a contender each and every year. I feel good about it from an organizational standpoint where we are. I think we’ve got some good cars coming this weekend and coming throughout the Chase. I had some confidence there. Obviously, it’s been a good year for the organization — we’ve been able to win some races, we’re seeded up towards the top, which is good. I feel good about all that.”
Will this week’s events change how you work with teammates?
“First of all, I didn’t re-watch the race, I didn’t listen to any of the radio communications — I don’t really know a lot about it and I’m kind of glad I don’t know a lot about it. I kind of like it that way at this point. I think that NASCAR is trying to draw a line and I’m sure that they’ve done that. For years and years teammates have always helped each other and you’ve helped a friend or not tried to hurt a teammate. I’m a big believer and I still believe this, when they drop the green on Sunday or whatever or whenever the next race is, it’s one against 42. You want to help your teammates and work with them, but I really think being a good teammate really is Monday through when they drop the green flag. It’s working on cars, it’s sharing information, it’s having debrief meetings to talk about things you found that you liked and you disliked — doing all those things. When you start the race, you don’t want to put a teammate in a bad situation, but it’s about your perspective team and trying to win the race and finish as high as you can. For me, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a spot where anything like that or questionable has happened to where NASCAR would look down on anything that I’ve ever done with any teammates. I don’t foresee changing anything that I do or don’t do.”
Is there a difference in your mindset entering this year’s Chase as the top seed?
“It’s not the first time we’ve come in number one, no. I don’t know what year it was, but it’s not the first. Nah, probably — I feel good about our performance this year, probably as good as 2006. That’s probably the last time we came in number one if I had to guess. I feel good about our performance, but a lot of things have to go right in 10 races. Ten races is a lot of racing and you can’t have problems. A lot of things have to go right to have a shot at a championship, but I feel good about where we’re at. I like being seeded number one, obviously. I really like my team and what they’ve done this year and how fast our race cars have been so I feel good about that, but anything can happen. I think all 12 guys — these other 11 teams and drivers are all really, really good and any of them are capable of putting together a good couple of months here and getting the hot hand and being hard to beat.”
Do quality control issues concern you during the Chase?
“I think you go out and try to do the best you can at all the things that you can control and there’s a lot of things you just can’t control. There’s a lot of parts and pieces that I can’t control. I think you go out and everything that you can do something about, you try to do to the very best of your ability. I know everybody else on the team is doing that as well. There’s certain things you just can’t control and to worry about those things and stress about those things really isn’t productive and really takes your time away from trying to be the best you can at the things you can control.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Is your team a favorite to win the Chase?
“Well, certainly we think so as well. I think that a lot of people have put us as well as Matt Kenseth — the Joe Gibbs Racing organization — as the favorites. But, that’s to be seen. We’ve got to prove ourselves first. Really excited about the opportunity to be in the Chase again this year after missing it last year and learning a lot of valuable lessons I feel like we can do a lot better job through these final 10 weeks to win the thing.”
Is this the best position you’ve been to win a championship since 2008?
“Yeah, I think so. I think that’s fair to say. We certainly have run really well this year. The new Gen-6 car has been great for our organization. I think we stepped up and worked on a lot of great things over the winter and throughout the year and we’ve shown that we have speed continually from the start til now. And, it’s not going to be easy — it never is. That’s why this is probably one of the hardest championships in sports to win.”
How comfortable are you with reliability and quality control going into the Chase?
“I feel comfortable with it. We’ve certainly had some issues. Last year, I went through a lot of quality control issues last year on my team and the other teams didn’t for whatever reason. So, I guess I put that on God’s fate. Whatever he’s going to have in store for us this year. Truthfully, there’s nothing I can put my hands on and touch that’s going to make a difference. It’s going to be about what happens. We’ll play it out as it comes to us. Why I say all of that is because we’ve had really, really good races. Our worst finish of us running at the end of a race is 11th or 12th. Throw away Richmond — that don’t count. But, the other races have been 30th or worse and that’s been things that have happened to us. I feel like our cars are really good. I feel like Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and I are really good and we’re ready.”
How has Matt Kenseth changed the dynamic of Joe Gibbs Racing?
“I think the biggest thing is Matt (Kenseth) coming from an organization where he’s been a champion before, but he has the experience and he comes into our place and now there’s three strong-willed valued opinions on what’s going on. Denny’s (Hamlin) got his way, I’ve got my way and Matt has his way of explaining things. Whether they’re the same things, they might be just explained a little differently. But, our engineers and our team of people relate more to all three of us and they respect all three of us so I think that’s been a huge asset and bringing Matt onboard has just added value. Instead of being two cars before where Joey (Logano) last year was sort of on his way out — we didn’t have him in those meetings — where now we have three and it’s really strong.”
Are you afraid to talk about winning a championship so you don’t jinx it?
“Anything can happen at any time in sports as we know, but all you can do is handle what’s on you at that moment. There’s certain times we’ve been working on crash repair stuff because you don’t want it to happen, but if it does happen in the Chase — Jimmie Johnson proved it last year, there was an opportunity for them to finish 30th and they finished ninth at Kansas so that’s pretty remarkable and what that team was able to do — there are those instances that can happen and we’ve got to be ready for those, whatever it may be.”
Do you have to win Chicagoland to win the Chase?
“No, it doesn’t mean anything. I don’t think so at all. Certainly, if we win Chicagoland I’d say, ‘Yeah, we’re going to win the whole deal. Why do we even have to run the next nine?’ I think in all reality it takes 10 weeks. You have to be strong for 10 weeks. That’s the fact of it. You can win five and DNF in the other five and be pointless. You have to be consistent enough, but you may also have to have a couple of wins, too.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (continued)
Does your team have discussions going into the Chase regarding allowing a teammate to lead a lap for points?
“I don’t think it means much — a single point here or there for the first six, but once you get down to the final three or four races I think it means a whole lot different. Have we had those discussions? No, we haven’t had those discussions. Typically we always try to have a Talladega discussion about being able to get our guys together and whether we hang out in the back or whether we race upfront. We just lay it all out on the line with what everybody wants to do that weekend so none of our feelings are hurt. That’s sort of the only ever team discussions that we have prior to a race.”
Do you feel you can do whatever it takes to win a championship?
“Yeah, I was in a tough spot last year like the 56 (Martin Truex Jr.) was in making the Chase and I know what that implications have on a race team. And so with our respective situation last year, I was second on a restart, we thought it was going to rain and it didn’t so we went back green and I went from second to 22nd in like two laps. Once everybody cleared me, I should’ve spun myself out, caused a caution, came to pit road, got tires and then went back up through and finished decent enough to where I was still in the Chase. So whether or not it’s yourself doing something to benefit yourself or a teammate those circumstances may be different. But, when you look at the organization as a whole, like the 56 making the Chase — you get a bonus from your sponsor, you get a bonus from your manufacturer and finishing fifth or sixth in points versus 13th or 14th in points is a whole other — you’re looking at a $3 to $3.5 million difference. That’s a huge, huge financial implications to a team whether it’s for the remainder of this year or even for building cars and going into 2014. Because as we know, money buys speed and you do anything you can to get yourselves in the Chase. It’s not just being a Chase driver or being in the Chase, there’s a lot of other implications that are on the docket as well.”
Can you win the championship this year?
“I’ve been in that boat before and I haven’t proven it to everybody that I can get the job done yet. I would like to say that we’re ready because we did do a good job last year. We weren’t in the Chase and we didn’t have the pressures of the Chase — yeah all of that is true — but we proved we could run well. We proved we could run with the top Chase guys each week barring an engine failure we had at Loudon (New Hampshire Motor Speedway) and a crash we had at Kansas, we would’ve been first or second in points at the end of the year for a team that wasn’t in the Chase. That’s why that Richmond race — yeah, it’s only 1/26th of the season, Richmond is, but that’s why those three points that we lost out last year could’ve made a huge significant difference in the end of the year. Because, I finished 13th in points — if I would’ve finished first or second in the points now you’re talking $6 million bucks.”
Have you talked to Kurt Busch about racing against each other in the Chase?
“No, we haven’t discussed that at all. There’s 10 weeks here that we’ve got to sort all of that out. When you go through the Chase the first week you don’t really eliminate anybody, but the second week you definitely eliminate a guy and then the third week you’ll eliminate another guy. So you start eliminating people each week almost and so it definitely takes eight or nine weeks to figure out who you’re going to be racing when it all matters.”
Who are your Mom and Dad cheering for in the Chase, you or Kurt?
“They’re Switzerland. They’re neutral. They don’t care right now until they know who they need to cheer for come Homestead.”
Did your issues last year teach you to be more patient?
“Yeah, it certainly does teach you patience for sure. But, I think what else — the feelings you get through that is you get sad and then frustrated and then mad and then angry and then you get happy because it’s just funny. You go through all of those — I’m not lying — you go through all of those transitions of it because it’s like, ‘Man, what do I gotta do to change this?’ And, then it’s just funny because it just keeps happening because it’s like you can’t do anything to change it. You can’t and so that was certainly the most frustrating — and Denny (Hamlin) is going through that right now. He got to the funny part a couple weeks ago, so at least he’s laughing about it a little bit. It’s certainly tough. To see those guys and know they can run well and to see them struggling, it’s frustrating for them and for us as a team because we know they can be contenders with us each and every week.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
How would you frame what happened in Richmond?
“You asked about a line being crossed and obviously MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) stepped over that line. We got penalized and then — like I said, I’ve given this interview on national television. I know all you guys saw it because you all wrote about it and your thoughts. The one thing that I’m most looking forward to is getting this Chase started off right. We’ve had a great season and as far as that’s concerned, we know really — we know where the line is. Like I said, the line was crossed and there was penalties — the largest penalties we’ve ever seen in this sport. Certainly, again, one more time, we have found the line.”
What is your outlook moving forward?
“I’m looking forward to the weekend. I really am. I’m excited about the Chase. I’ve been excited about the Chase for weeks, for months. We’ve had a great season. We’ve had a tremendous amount of fun. I haven’t won a race this year. My teammates have won. Lot of great things have went on in our sport and we’ve got to get down to the biggest part of our sport and that’s the championship at the end of the year. Had a rough couple days — no question about that — but I’ve got that behind me and I’m focused on getting a helmet on and getting the most out of my race car this weekend.”
Were the penalties disappointing?
“Yeah, it’s unfortunate, but penalties are — they’ve always been a part of this sport. We’ve always had penalties in this sport and, like I said, for our sport the most important thing is a great Chase fixing to start and it’s going to start in a couple days. I’m looking forward to it for our sport and for my race team. For me personally, this is the best shot I’ve ever had at winning championships. I’m with a great team. We’ve got fast cars and its fun to be able to come to the race track knowing that you’ve got a shot at running up front. The last three weeks in a row, we’ve been up front. I was leading at Bristol — got wiped out by a ‘lapper.’ I was leading at Atlanta by 10 seconds and the engine blew up. We were leading at Richmond and all hell broke loose. Our cars are fast and, like I said, this is the first time in my life that I’ve ever had a true, honest opportunity at a shot a championship and its super exciting. To be in that situation, because that doesn’t always happen — I mean, I’ve been in this sport a long time. Sometimes you have the opportunities and the car is capable of doing that and a lot of times, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you’re struggling, your cars aren’t fast enough and it’s — you’ve got to do the best you can with what you’ve got — but right now we’ve got everything it takes to win a championship and for me that means a lot.”
Will you have to win a race to capture the championship?
“I think consistency is what got me to this point in my career, second in points — I mean, there was two or three times in the last two or three weeks that we’ve actually been leading the points — but definitely. You’ve got to stick with your strong suits and consistency is definitely that for us and our 15 car. I think if you’re — if you’re consistent enough to win that championship, that means you’re running in the top-five week in and week out and that means that you were going to, you’re gonna win. I truly feel like if we’re consistent enough to win that championship I think that we’ll win a race or maybe two or three.”
Does the Chicagoland Speedway race show what to expect during the Chase?
“This is a very important race. In my eyes, it’s one of the most important. Obviously, Homestead to win a championship is the most important, but getting that — to get the Chase started off right is so important to get that momentum rolling for you and your race team, that confidence is a big thing and I think this race track has really came into its own of being a good track to start that. I was here testing a couple of weeks ago. We started a day out when it was cool and the track was super-fast right on the bottom. The shortest way around is the fastest way around. Shortly thereafter, you’re struggling, the car won’t turn and you move up, make the track bigger, bigger radius around it and then in the heat of the day — three, four o’clock in the afternoon — you’re riding around the wall. Anytime you have that many different grooves on the race track it provides great racing and opportunity to put on a good show for our fans. So a good race track to get things started, I think a good fan base here to get things started and, certainly, this city is a good time. The only thing I wish they’d have done different when they built this track is made it a little bit closer to the city.”
