NASCAR CUP SERIES
NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY
ALLY 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 16, 2021
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/NATURE VALLEY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript:
WHEN YOU THINK OF NASHVILLE, DO YOU THINK OF RACES THAT YOU’VE BEEN IN THERE? DO YOU THINK OF TESTING THERE? DO YOU THINK OF THE PRAYER? DO YOU THINK OF GUITARS? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF?
“For me, it was always kind of that racetrack that for me when I was first starting out in my career, it was really close to home. It’s only 3.5-hours away from my hometown, so I always had a lot of friends and family that came. I’ve had some good memories of the track and I’ve had some bad ones. I was actually just watching pre-race of 2011. We ended up running second in that race to Carl. Then, like you said, a lot of the testing that we did in the wintertime – it was really cold there. So, obviously now, it’ll be really hot, slick and a lot of fun.”
“There’s a lot of things that I think I remember, but also a lot of things I feel like I don’t remember – what exactly it feels like driving the car around a concrete racetrack that big and also kind of that flat. There will be a lot of things to pick up on in that 50-minute practice that we have.”
DO YOU THINK THE DRIVERS THAT HAVE ALREADY RACED AT NASHVILLE MIGHT HAVE AN ADVANTAGE THIS WEEKEND? ARE THE CARS AND THE TRACK DIFFERENT NOW THAT IT’S NOT GOING TO GIVE TOO MUCH OF AN ADVANTAGE?
“I definitely think anytime you’ve raced at a racetrack, there’s a little bit of an advantage. Simulator time obviously kind of helps that transition quite a bit. And these cars are totally different than what we’ve ever ran at Nashville (Superspeedway) before. I would say most of us had a lot of test sessions there, at least in the Cup Series. So, I feel like a lot of us have been there and have had laps there. I do think there is a little bit of a comfort feeling knowing that you’ve been there before.”
IS THERE A TRACK THAT’S ON THE CURRENT SCHEDULE THAT IS MOST SIMILAR TO NASHVILLE THAT YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT ALL?
“No, I think Nashville (Superspeedway) is kind of its own beast. It’s concrete and fairly flat compared to most other racetracks of similar size. The concrete does have a little bit of a different reaction, as far as however much rubber is laid down and things like that. It definitely took more rubber than I remember when I went back and watched some of the races, so I’m anxious to see if we can get the groove moved up instead of just running the bottom of the racetrack. I think the weather is going to be good this weekend for the opportunity to move around the racetrack, especially with the Trucks, Xfinity and Cup all in the same weekend and the weather looking good.”
SINCE YOU SAID NASHVILLE IS KIND OF ITS OWN BEAST NOW, DO YOU VIEW IT AS A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR EVERY TEAM, CONSIDERING EVERYONE IS KIND OF STARTING FROM SQUARE ONE HERE THIS WEEKEND?
“I wouldn’t go that far. It’s still a circle track; we’ve still got the same cars that we run every week. So, I think that the cars and teams that are the ones to beat are still the ones to beat. I feel like us drivers in a 50-minute practice session, we pick up on things really fast. One or two runs in, we kind of have everything figured out, as far as what you need in your racecar and how to get around the racetrack. I think the cars that run really well right now are still going to be the ones that you have to beat.”
LOOKING AHEAD TO POCONO RACEWAY NEXT WEEKEND, ANOTHER DOUBLEHEADER. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THAT EXPERIENCE WITH THAT MUCH COMPRESSION IN THE SCHEDULE, LOGISTICALLY AND ON THE TRACK THAT HELPED YOU FROM ONE DAY TO THE OTHER?
“It was cool for us. Pocono (Raceway) is a track that we’ve just been average at. We had an idea going in of what we needed. Obviously, running a race and turning around and running the next day, you’re able to make those adjustments that you feel like you needed that you normally talk about the following week in your debrief; like ‘when we go back next time, I want to try this or do this’ and you’re able to implement that overnight. I think we made the right adjustments between the two races last year and I’m looking forward to doing that again. As long as you have good weather in Pocono, a doubleheader is a great idea.”
IF THE TRACK IS NEW TO YOU AND YOU GET A SHORT PRACTICE, LIKE YOU SAID, YOU GUYS ARE PROFESSIONAL AND YOU CAN PICKUP ON IT AND WHATNOT. WHAT IS YOUR RHYTHM OF A NEW TRACK? WHAT DO YOU DO TO PREPARE FOR IT?
“For us and our race team at JTG Daugherty Racing, Ryan Preece and I don’t get simulator time. I think we both use the same WR1 iRacing Sim that I have right here behind me to make laps at Nashville (Superspeedway), and like you said, just get that rhythm of what everything is like. The things I remember about the racetrack when I ran it: the wall comes up really fast off of turn four; turn two exits really wide; and turn three getting in is kind of tricky. I feel like we kind of have a rhythm a little bit from running laps on iRacing or the simulator. Your team has a run log of what you want to do in that 50-minutes. It’s so condensed, so you have to have it scienced out in what you plan on going through. Going out there and running 10, 15, 20-laps to kind of figure it out, you don’t really have that opportunity. You better be ready when you get there.”
DO YOU REMEMBER – IS IT DIFFICULT TO PASS THERE? THAT’S PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING PARTS OF THE TRACK, RIGHT?
“Yeah, I definitely felt like it was tough to pass. But if you have a really good racecar, I think it shows there. You’re able to run up through the field. You’re able to get out and lead laps. I feel like, for us in one of the races that I watched, we stayed about three-quarters of a second right behind Carl. I could never really get any closer and never really fell any further back. It is a tough place to pass, but I do think with all three series this weekend, the heat, the temperatures, I think the racetrack could widen out and you could see some really good racing.”
HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR SEASON HAS GONE SO FAR AND WHAT’S YOUR MINDSET AS YOU GET CLOSER TO THE PLAYOFFS?
“It started off, I would say, on the right foot; pretty consistent and we were happy with where we were. Then, you try to take that next step of how are we going to turn these top-12’s and top-15’s into top-10’s. You start working on your racecars and you start going through the process of trying to figure that out, as well as at the same time as everybody else is trying to make theirs faster. I think we got off a little bit, so we’re looking to kind of reset our program and kind of make another final run towards the Playoffs. We’ve still got quite a few races left that if we can get back to that consistency that we had to start the season, I feel like as those races play out, we could be back in close racing for those Playoff spots. That’s our goal, that’s our plan, and we’re going to see how that shakes out starting this weekend at Nashville.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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