NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 17, 2023

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 84 CARVANA CAMARO ZL1, was the fastest car overall in the first practice session in advance of the Daytona 500. Press Conference Transcript –

While you’ve been away, there’s been a lot of wrecks in this race at the end. How do you see that.. have we evolved to almost anything goes in the last 10 laps or not?

“I think the blocking is probably one of the biggest issues, and it’s also one of the most important things to get right to maintain track position. I think that’s what’s changed the most from the years that I’ve been a Cup driver is the late blocks and the aggression of the blocks. We’ve had variations of pushing and being able to slam draft, bump draft, whatever it might be. The cars still don’t really like that. I was able to do some of that tonight and get a feel for it. You still need a pretty delicate touch to pull it off. I think that’s what happened last night with the No. 8 car and the No. 99. Just too much energy and just gets the car toggling from side-to-side and around it goes.

I don’t think it’s intentional. I don’t think the crashes at the end of these races are that you’re not trying to crash someone. You’re trying to win, right? So you’re trying to block to protect; you’re trying to shove somebody to make your lane go. It comes from a good place, but sadly it tears up a lot of race cars.”

Do you have any sense that people might help you more because if they push you to the win, it doesn’t impact the Playoffs?

“I don’t think anybody is visualizing the win just yet. I think you’re still trying to figure out who you’re going to work with; who can receive a push, who can push well, who has speed. I certainly helped myself today by being in that fast Chevy pack and working with my old teammates. But when it comes to the last lap, it’s every man for himself. I don’t expect anyone to cut me any slack.”

At Media Day, you hadn’t really been in the car, expect for your test out in Phoenix for a day or so. Now that you’ve had a race in this new car and have had practice in this new car, what do you think of it? Does it remind you of anything you’ve driven before in your career?

“I would say 70 or 80 percent of it is still a stock car and still the draft here. So the large majority of it is familiar; the large majority of the experience. I’m remembering little details as I make laps and get into the zone that – yeah this works or doesn’t work. Turn four is always tricky. Pit lane entry, pit lane exit, blend line.. all the details are coming back and it’s still really there. That will help you run in the middle of the pack. But to win the race, you have to be on your game. That’s the part I’m still trying to refine and why I ran every lap I could just now. And I plan to again tomorrow and then still a ton of learning to come in the race itself.”

Do you like the way the car feels?

“It drives like a stock car. It doesn’t drive like an INDYCAR, thank god.. we know how that went (laughs).”

I’m sure as a veteran, you’ve had plenty of young people in your time come up and ask for advice or tricks out on the track. Have you found yourself this week asking any of the younger drivers or current Cup drivers for advice?

“Yeah, I’d say leading into Phoenix and then coming here. I did sim for both of them. I spent a lot of time in the shop with Erik (Jones) and Noah (Gragson), just asking questions. Noah was at the track in Phoenix, as well as Erik, obviously driving, so I’ve been able to really lean on those two. They’ve joked a little bit about the fact that they’re giving me so much and they thought it would be the other way around. But honestly with the new car and where the speed hides in this new style of car – setups, driving style, experience you need to really manhandle it – I’ve been all ears listening to them. They’ve both been very helpful.”

What is something specific that a Noah Gragson can teach or tell Jimmie Johnson?

“When we’re sitting there with our hands – doing all the hand talk that drivers do – in those conversations about like where the weight is sitting when you go back to the throttle; how the car might slide. This car seems to hop a lot when the rearend starts to slide across the track, which is new. I noticed that in the sim preparing for Phoenix that there was like a rear tire chatter and then the car would get loose. And I thought it was just something in the sim and maybe not the way the experience would be in real life, and then I got to Phoenix and found out that was the case. I think Conor Daly last night had the extreme that we all saw. I don’t know how he has feeling in his teeth still (laughs). So that would be one specific, kind of technical piece, that I’m trying to get used to.”

Is this one of those cases of the more things change, the more they stay the same, in reference to you being on top of a speed chart in a Cup Series car? Is this a case of with it really being your first, true weekend in a Next Gen car, that you don’t necessarily have any ‘bad habits’ to unlearn because you haven’t really experienced all of this until now?

“Yeah, I honestly think it’s too early to read far into this. It is plate racing. That was just a practice session. We didn’t make any mistakes and did some things right to end up where we did. The other races we’ll run – once we’re able to figure out what those races are – we’ll see how I stack up. If it’s a short track, a mile-and-a-half, road course, whatever it might be.. those are all different, unique challenges that come with it.

For plate racing, I think that we have a really good driving race car. I think the Hendrick cars have a bit more speed from anything I saw out there on track, which qualifying is pretty obvious for that. But it’s just still early and anything can still happen. I’m glad to be in here. I’m glad we’re at the top of the board and not at the bottom. I’m sure the headlines would read a little differently if we were on the other end of it.”

You were side-by-side with the No. 48 out there. What was just the emotion of that.. was it weird or was it just another car?

“Seeing him wasn’t weird, but having my spotter say the No. 48 car was outside of me was really weird. Two or three times, I had to remind myself because I really thought it was me when I’m hearing the No. 48. I’m like – yeah, I’m here.. why are you telling me the No. 48 is next to me (laughs). I have not driven the No. 48 car since I left that No. 48 car, so that part was different. But from a visual standpoint, I’m used to seeing Alex (Bowman) in the car and that part was fine. But through my ears, hearing about the No. 48, threw me off.”

You mentioned still trying to figure out what the rest of your schedule is going to look like. From the ownership standpoint, is it important for you to have their answer in the races that you’re running, just to better understand the feedback from the drivers and what they’re going to need moving forward?

“Yeah, there are many ways to look at the races I run. Right now, kind of our pecking order is of course finding sponsorship for the car. And then secondly, what is going to not hurt the team – from a work load standpoint, car count and aspects that go with that. And then it is to help the other two cars. Once we get six months into this and I think we can staff up accordingly, get our inventory right and kind of catch our breath from the busy offseason we’ve had – we can maybe shuffle the prioritization of those. The goal, ultimately, is to have the No. 84 car really help the other two cars. Help really drive technology and really be a performance reason as to why it’s on-track. We’re just not there yet, but that’s kind of in our 12 month forecast.”

We got a look today at the Garage 56 Camaro. What do you think of that car, that project, that opportunity?

“I’m thrilled to be a part of it and what a fun car. I’m sure you saw some of the specs for it – how much lighter the race car is, the downforce that’s on it, the carbon brakes, paddle shifting – it really is fun to drive. I’m so thankful to be part of the program. I literally leave here Sunday; drive in a rental car over to Sebring to do a 24 hour endurance test with the guys. It’s going to be a busy couple of days of driving.”

What do you need to do to prepare for Le Mans?

“Obviously, the testing that we’re doing is one piece of it. But the rules, flags, there’s a lot of things that are different in the way they officiate for that particular event. I have to go over before the race and spend a day in the simulator to learn where their flagman stations are, what their flags mean. There are some pit road procedures that I need to be aware of and pay attention to. So I’ll head over a few days early to go into their simulator to drive that.

And then at home, I’ve just been using my sim rig and doing a bunch on iRacing. I’ve been out in the Corvette GT car and I’ve put only prototypes out that are faster than me. I’ll put as many as they’ll give me.. it’s usually around 60-70 cars on track, just so they’re chasing me and overtaking me. Every time I’ve been in a sportscar race, I’ve been in the fastest division and have not had to worry about my mirrors, and I’m really concerned about that. I want to make sure I’m leaving a lane when I need to and know what’s coming behind me, and I’m using iRacing to do that.”

With the thunderbirds, where does that experience rank for you?

“Yeah, that’s probably near the top. I’ve never felt anything like that; the adrenaline, the acceleration. The first thing we did is we got off the runway and picked up the gear and did a performance turn to 10,000 feet. Instantly, I had to practice the heavy-g breathing that they talk to you about. It’s just wild. Just the weight of your body and the experience of pointing that thing in the sky; they roll it over and turn and all kinds of stuff.

It was great. I was really worried about getting sick and I’m happy to report that my ‘get sick’ bag was empty. I did not get sick during the ride, so that was super good. But I did take a little nap. We pulled 9.1G’s and I blacked out. I came to sitting in the back wondering where I was, what was going on. It was wild because I couldn’t hear anything and I’m looking around like – what am I doing in an airplane? And then I could hear somebody say ‘Jimmie.. Jimmie.. Jimmie’, and then it got loud and I’m like ‘yeah!’. They were like, ‘hey, you’re back.. I think you took a nap’. I said, ‘I believe I did.. I have no clue where I am or what I’m doing right now (laughs)’. That was wild.”

Hearing about the No. 48 in your ear – did Earl say ‘new leader No. 84’ today?

“He’s with Noah (Gragson).”

Oh, you gave Earl up?

“I did. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but wearing my team owner hat and knowing the experience that Earl has and what he can share with Noah (Gragson). Noah started talking to me about Earl before we announced that I was going to be a part of the team. Neither Earl or Noah knew what was going on. I just sensed it was the right thing to do, so I was like – yeah, I don’t know what my racing is going to be next year.. you guys put that deal together. And then I was able to call them both and say – hey, now you get it.”

Who spots for you?

“Jesse Vaughan. He was, I believe, the backup No. 11 car spotter on the Cup side, and has done Truck, Xfinity and ARCA a bunch.”

Does he know the rules, that he has to say ‘new leader, No. 84’?

“No, I’m not going to put that pressure on him. That’s an Earl-thing. We’ll see what he says. He didn’t say that tonight, though. He says ‘dude’ a lot, which I can relate with that. I’m not sure where he’s from, but I’m used to hearing ‘dude’ (laughs).”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Toyota Racing – Kurt Busch
NASCAR Quotes

DAYTONA BEACH (February 17, 2023) – Kurt Busch was made available to media to discuss his Grand Marshal duties for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

KURT BUSCH

What does it mean to you to be included in the group of Daytona 500 Grand Marshals who have won the Daytona 500 as well as a NASCAR Cup Series championship?

“Yeah, this is a very special honor. I’ve been choked up about it since I found out about it earlier this week. To reflect back on some of the accomplishments and some of the race teams I’ve been with. Then to sit there and, ‘Whoa, this is Richard Petty, this is Bobby Allison.’ This is a group of legends and true racers and to be part of it – honestly, I’m very humbled. I’m blown away by it and this is a very unique opportunity. I’m very excited about it and a little nervous of course. I’ve got my championship rings, I’ve got my leather jacket and I’m going to bring it in from the young guy’s side. So I don’t know how the old man band is going to do, we’re not a boy band. But we’ll have fun with this moment and having the guys and girls start their engines. It’s fun to have this opportunity and stand on that side of the stage for a change.”

How long did it take you to find the leather jacket?

“It’s been hanging in the closet ready to go. It’s been idling the whole time.”

How are you doing? How is your recovery?

“I’m doing well. Everyday life is normal. When I do my workouts with the physical therapist, we switch them up a little bit now onto a balance type of pad and it helps with creating core strength and it helps with my movements that I have to do and it’s fatiguing. I notice things that bring me up and then break me down when I have to do a day on and a day off now. Where I was pushing seven days a week to try to get back to the car and then in all honesty, I took December off. It was an emotional time and that was part of this process as well. But I’m doing well. I’ve got a great consulting role with 23XI and the race team. Brand ambassadorship with Monster Energy. We’ve been together for 12 years now and still having a ton of fun. And then with Toyota, blending in with their racing family. They got to see another side of a Busch that they hadn’t seen before so it’s nice to be hanging out with them.”

Is there a strategy that works in this race over the final five to 10 laps?

“For my race, the year I won in 2017, it ended up being a long fuel run to the end. One of those classic 50 lap duels of guys conserving fuel, positioning themselves to be up front to lead. Tony Gibson, my crew chief at the time, said we were good for 48 laps, but not 50. He told me I needed to save him two laps of fuel. I had zero intention of leading any of those laps other than the last one. And the guys started running out of fuel. (Joey) Logano ran out of fuel, (Martin) Truex Jr., Chase Elliott – all the top guys. Then at the end when I was trying to make a move on (Kyle) Larson, his car sputtered and then (Ryan) Blaney is coming out of nowhere chasing me down. That was one of the last true runs at the end. Now it is circumstantial, but you have to get in position to be in that position to win. Bubba Wallace has done a great job of doing that and being in contention to win. Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin – you can see the patterns and the ones that position themselves for it. Then you have to have Lady Luck on your side.”

Is this new consulting role with the team rewarding for you?

“Everything just happened a year sooner than I expected them to and I’m happy with where everything sits. Even like Ty Gibbs, with him jumping in the Monster Energy car last year and getting him up to speed in the Cup Series, Monster Energy always told me to out my arm around him because he was going to be the one for us later on. With things being fast-forwarded and now with it being the second week of being here at track in Daytona, we did the Coliseum last week. There’s no question where my role is with the team, it’s everywhere with the team. And doing different interviews with the team and with our other sponsors. I’m doing everything the same, but not putting a helmet on and instead putting a radio on for practice, qualifying and the race.”

What’s it like to be able to share your wealth of knowledge with the drivers at 23XI Racing?

“There was a moment last night with Tyler Reddick trying to learn how to draft with Denny Hamlin, who’s his boss. I saw it and thought, I went through that last year in this race. Our debrief right after the race, it’s the thing I did last year with Bubba (Wallace), it’s to advance quicker and to advance smarter and to apply the right things to make sure that 23XI is going in the right direction. I’m not doing it by myself. I’m just an extra set of eyes and an extra set of ears. I’m pretending sometimes that I have the blinders on and I’m driving the car. I think you can see with Bubba’s maturity level last year in the second half, other than Vegas when he screwed up, but the way that he took control and had good average finishes last year, his average finishes he had in the second half were better than the average finishes I had in the first half and we put a car in the top-10 in his first season. Those were things that happened at Furniture Row and we saw how they advanced. That’s just what I hope to do with this team and have Tyler Reddick on the gas digging hard and add to his three wins that he got last year.”

What did you see with Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace in the Duels?

“With Bubba (Wallace), he had that confidence and swagger that I knew he would have. Their car doesn’t have a scratch on it and the way their pit strategy unfolded. Again, a lot of it is that on and off pit road and the gas man miscommunicated his head nod to the jackman so they lost a couple spots in the pits. That’s where Bootie Barker and I kind of saw that, got with the pit stop coach and we hope that’s not an issue as we go forward. Bubba was smart. He had a chance to go for it at the end, but again, it’s a Duel and we need to get that car to the 500. With (Tyler) Reddick, he was trying to draft with Denny (Hamlin) a few times and he just wasn’t as aggressive as he needed to be. And that’s just that first day type of jitter. He was fine on and off pit road. The 45 guys were really good with their pit stops. So again, just trying to find those last few things that will make a big difference on Sunday.”

Do your doctors believe you will be cleared and can be cleared?

“They believe it, I believe it. I just know that right here, I’m not 100 percent to race with these guys, the best of the best here at this level. Could I go do a SCCA club race next week? It’s probably not wise. Go-karting has been fine for me, the simulator has been fine, it’s just when I had my head in the headrest and there’s that movement, that’s bothers me. And then with the progress that I’ve made, progress since August, yes. I do believe there will be a full recovery and the new physical therapy I’m on is another challenge and a lot of it is with the balance and eye movement.”

If you could get cleared, would you get back into a Cup car?

“That’s the thing, life moves forward. Contracts happen. This is a big time sport and there’s eight figures these days for sponsorship money. Those don’t just fall out of the sky. I’ve got a great relationship with Monster Energy and with Toyota and that’s why you see me here at the track, pushing hard and doing everything the same as I would be if I was racing. There’s a big announcement next week with Tyler Reddick at the Monster Energy headquarters, there’s a video today with Ty Gibbs. There’s a lot of fun stuff going on. Once there’s that green light, then there’s the chance to open the door for discussions so it’s a process. Can’t push one before the other.”

How have you processed the fact that your career likely didn’t end on your terms?

“I’m fine with the way everything has gone. With the way that you know from right in here with how you push for a championship, I told Denny (Hamlin) that I had one good year in me and I signed a two-year deal. This would have been that swan song, Kevin Harvick retirement tour, but I’m glad that he’s going to have that opportunity. For me, I’ve always been that, believe it or not, that shy guy, that humble guy. I just like to go out and race cars. We’ll see where it pans out. Whether it was my decision or somebody from above, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m very happy. I’m complacent. And to have had this opportunity to race in this sport for 23 years and to hit all of the high notes and the low notes, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s a Hollywood ending going for pole on your last lap ever right. I’m smiling about it and I’m happy with it.”

Do you think NASCAR is going through a youth movement?

“There’s always been a changing of the guard or a cycle that happens whether it’s one or two guys or girls here and there or it’s a group. I was just thinking about that this morning. With myself and (Kevin) Harvick, we’re a class of 2001, class of 2002 was Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman. 2003 was (Greg) Biffle. 2004 it was Kasey Kahne and then 2005 was my little brother. Kyle Busch will be the elder statesman here pretty soon, it’s pretty wild to think about. Denny Hamlin was 2006. It’s just part of time and how it catches up with you. Sometimes it’s a surprise and sometimes it’s not. There’s great young leaders that are part of our sport right now with Chase (Elliott), (Ryan) Blaney and Bubba (Wallace). Noah Gragson has yet to put his foot stably down, but I think he can be a superstar in this sport too. He’s just a passionate kid from Vegas who reminds me a lot of myself.”

Has this made you think more about how you want to approach the years to come in this sport?

“I’m doing exactly what I want to do. I don’t want to own a race team. I was getting older and I wasn’t going to drive full time. I have an unofficial PHD in this garage and to give back to young engineers, young crew members and just like yesterday on pit road, this one young engineer, last year was his first ever NASCAR race. He didn’t do any Truck Series stuff, no Xfinity things. He was standing there like a deer in the headlights. This year, he says to me, ‘Dude, there is so much to thank you for because I know exactly where I need to be and exactly what I need to do.’ I think this kid will be a crew chief one day, but he’s got a long way to go. Just to see his growth in 365 days, that’s kind of where I thought I would be at this point in my career as well.”

How has it been this weekend not being in the race car?

“It’s really tough to get around. I didn’t think people would recognize me without my driver’s suit. I literally have to leave like 20 minutes before I do anything. The fans are awesome and I’m signing diecasts still and signing hats and I didn’t expect that. That’s one fun part of it that I should have understood. It’s really neat though to be able to have my role with the team, but also still be that guy that can sign an autograph for a race fan that watched me throughout my career.”

About Toyota

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Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.