Team:                   No. 6 Guaranteed Rate Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:         Scott Graves

Twitter:                @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman

Busch Clash – Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Newman in the Clash

·         Newman makes his 17^th start in the annual Clash event at Daytona International Speedway. The 2021 field is limited to 2020 pole winners, past Clash winners who competed full-time in 2020, Daytona 500 Champions who competed full-time in 2020, former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full time in 2020 and 2020 NCS Playoff drivers, race winners and stage winners.

·         Newman is coming off a fifth-place run in the exhibition race a season ago after starting on the pole following a random draw. He has four top-five results in the Clash all-time, including second in 2005, third in 2011 and fourth in 2003.

·         The 2021 edition of the Clash moves to the Daytona Road Course, where the NASCAR Cup Series competed at for the first time last summer. Newman ran 19^th in that event.

·         Tuesday’s race serves as a primer for the newly-established second race of the NCS regular season, when the series heads right back to Daytona for a points event on the road course.

·         The random draw to determine Tuesday’s starting lineup will take place Monday night at 7 p.m. ET.

Scott Graves in the Clash

·         Scott Graves will call his third event in the Clash on Tuesday. He finished fifth with Newman in 2020 on the Daytona oval, and ninth a year prior.

·         Graves ran 19^th with Newman on the Daytona Road Course last summer after starting 14^th.

Newman in Daytona 500 Qualifying

·         Newman has an overall average starting spot of 19.9 at DIS. His best Daytona 500 qualifying effort came the same year he won the Great American Race, lining up seventh in 2008.

·         His best finish all-time in a qualifying race (Duel) is third, which also came in 2008. He crossed the line ninth in last season’s Duel before going on to start 14^th in the Daytona 500.

QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing in the Clash:
“Getting back in the seat for the first time in any new season is always a thrill, and it will especially be for me this year. That said, the Clash is obviously going to look different with it being on the road course, but should provide us with even more practice since we’re going back there week two, and have added road courses on the schedule this season. Glad to kick off the year with Guaranteed Rate back with us and look forward to Tuesday night in Daytona.”

On the Car
Guaranteed Rate returns to Newman’s Ford Mustang for the first on-track activity of 2021. The brand was on board Newman’s machine for 12 races last season, and is back as an anchor partner again in Newman’s 20^th full-time Cup season.

Newman Featured in Guaranteed Rate Super Bowl Ad
All eyes on Sunday’s Super Bowl will see Ryan Newman featured in a 60-second commercial, as Guaranteed Rate will feature its Believe You Will campaign. The 60-second ad will feature some of the campaign’s ambassadors, including Dustin Poirier, who recently defeated UFC legend Conor McGregor, and Newman, who goes for his second Daytona 500 crown next weekend. The campaign focuses on the power of positivity and believing you will accomplish your goals.

Guaranteed Rate rolled out its Believe You Will campaign after a year of momentous growth for the company as it met record-breaking consumer demand and launched various high-profile sports sponsorships. Well known for its title sponsorship of the Chicago White Sox’s Guaranteed Rate Field, the company sponsored a wide array of sporting events in 2020, from mainstream sports like NASCAR, IndyCar, MLB and NHL, to more niche sports like professional bass fishing, figure skating, bowling and lacrosse.

About Guaranteed Rate
The Guaranteed Rate Companies, which includes Guaranteed Rate, Inc., Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC, and Proper Rate, LLC, has more than 9,000 employees in over 750 offices across the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, Guaranteed Rate Companies is one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the United States, funding over $73 billion in 2020. Founded in 2000 and located in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., Guaranteed Rate Companies has helped homeowners nationwide with home purchase loans and refinances. The company has established itself as an industry leader by introducing innovative technology, offering low rates and delivering unparalleled customer service. 2017 marked the launch of Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC, a mortgage origination joint venture between Guaranteed Rate, Inc. and Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in residential real estate franchising and brokerage. In 2020, the company launched Proper Rate, LLC, a mortgage origination joint venture between Guaranteed Rate, Inc. and @properties, one of the nation’s largest residential brokerage firms. Collectively, the Guaranteed Rate Companies have earned honors and awards including: Top Lender for Online Service for 2018 by U.S. News & World Report; Best Mortgage Lender for Online Loans and Best Mortgage Lender for Refinancing by NerdWallet for 2021; HousingWire’s 2020 Tech100 award for the company’s industry-leading FlashClose^SM technology; No. 3 ranking in Scotsman Guide‘s Top Retail Mortgage Lenders 2019; Chicago Agent Magazine’s Lender of the Year for five consecutive years; Chicago Tribune‘s Top Workplaces list for seven consecutive years. Visit rate.com for more information.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Ford Performance Media Availability | Friday, February 5, 2021

MARK RUSHBROOK, Global Director, Ford Motorsports —

HOW DO YOU FEEL THINGS ARE SETTING UP HERE AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE 2021 SEASON? “We are excited to go back racing. That is what we do and we are really anxious to get back on track with our trucks, Xfinity cars and Cup cars. In many ways, it does feel like Phoenix was a long time ago but it has also been a quick offseason in terms of turnaround and preparation for the teams and the cars and getting ready to go back into another full season. We are really excited. We are ready to go racing.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SPRINT CAR PROGRAM YOU GUYS HAVE GOING WITH TONY STEWART RACING AND WHERE YOU SEE THAT CAPABLE OF GETTING TO THIS YEAR? “We have been working on that for many years and continue to make improvements and are learning something every time the car goes out on track and races. We are happy with a lot of the improvements that have been made and some really good success to start out the year with Tony (Stewart) and Donny (Schatz) and we are looking forward to continuing making improvements there. It is important to us to have that program running well and have Tony and Donny capable of competing for wins. We will keep pushing on that front and I look forward to how that season plays out.”

IN TERMS OF MANUFACTURER COMPETITION, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU GUYS TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF THE RIVALRY COME OVER FROM THE NASCAR SIDE WITH TOYOTA DEBUTING THEIR MOTOR THIS YEAR? “Yeah, we race to compete and to beat the best in the world, the best in the country and best in the series. We are always happy to have that competition and to push each other to be better and faster and we always look forward to the competition on the track and getting better.”

ALL THE SUCCESS YOU HAD IN THE CUP SERIES A YEAR AGO, WE HAVE A FREEZE NOW ON THE RULES HOLDING OVER TO THIS SEASON, DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS YEAR COULD BE AS SUCCESSFUL OR EVEN MORESO BECAUSE OF THAT? “2020 was a great year in terms of race wins and the competitiveness of all our different teams doing so well throughout the year. It is hard to tell what is going to happen this year because there is always some area of play and I am sure it is going to be another very competitive season in 2021 and we are looking forward to that competition and seeing our drivers and teams do well. The competition is going to be bringing the best that they have. It is going to be a tough year because we also have to be preparing for 2022 and the NextGen car. So as our teams get their test cars and are trying to race in 2021 to win every single race and to win the championship, they also need to be preparing for 2022. It is really going to push the sport through the manufacturers and teams and different stakeholders to compete and do well this year but also be ready to compete and do well next year because everybody wants to win the Daytona 500 next week and a year from now as well. It is incredible what this sport is capable of. They just need a goal and we go and get it done. It is great to be a part of this sport and be partnering with the teams that we have for that success.”

YOU MENTIONED THE NEXTGEN CAR. HOW MUCH CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT WHAT HAS GONE INTO IT AND HOW OPTIMISTIC YOU ARE ABOUT THIS CAR BEING THE NEXT STEP UP AND THE FANS REALLY WRAPPING THEIR ARMS AROUND IT? “We are excited about what is in the NextGen car in terms of architecture of the car and improving the relevancy with the independent rear end suspension and the steering system. We are futureproofing the car to enable hybrid in the future as well. We think that is important as our road car cycles changes to be able to race hybrid in this car as well. Another important element was the looks of the car. The size of the wheels, aspect ratio of the tires, the proportions on the car with overhang width. That is a big improvement that I think these cars are going to look much closer to the road cars that we sell in the showroom and that was important for us. I think NASCAR has also done a good job of listening to the stakeholders in the sport in terms of what is important for the car in terms of technology, architecture, cost controls that are being put into it while still keeping focused on what is important to all of us at the end of the day; great racing. We have cars that will look really good and I think we will have great racing that comes out of it as well. NASCAR has done a great job with the current package to have great racing through the last several seasons and we look forward to that continuing in 2021 but also in 2022 with the NextGen car. That is what the sport is all about, putting on great races for the fans and customers.”

WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAMS ARE WITH NEXTGEN DEVELOPMENT? DO YOU FEEL AS FAR AS DEVELOPMENT AND GETTING THE PARTS AND PIECES FROM VENDORS IS GOING TO BE SUFFICIENT? “It is racing. It is motorsports. We have aggressive timelines when you are racing the same car and the continuous development that goes on and always pushing to get the best you have on the track each and every single weekend. I think the same for NextGen. Whether there was one year for the program or three years or five years, you are going to push to keep advancing it and going fast that entire time. What we have done so far with the body development and the aero program has been really good to get the submission passed and be able to move forward with now optimizing our approved surface and also the opportunity for the installation of the powertrain. A lot of great work has gone on with Doug Yates and Jamie McNaughton and the Roush Yates engine shop to not only have a great engine this weekend for Daytona but next weekend for the NextGen car with the proper installation for that. We have our first manufacturer car with the wheel force transducer being assembled right now and later in the year the teams will get their cars and have some test time on track with those cars. There is never enough time because you are always learning something. But there is also a goal. We know in February of 2022 that we will be racing this NextGen car and we will be ready for it and our teams will be ready for it.”

ARE YOU GETTING TO CHOOSE A BODY SUPPLIER OR ARE YOU STILL ALL USING ONE SUPPLIER FOR ALL THE OEM BODIES? “It is a common supplier across the three different OEMs. We have our own unique surface we have developed with help from our teams but then it will come from a common industry supplier for each component.”

SOME NEWS MADE BY ANOTHER MANUFACTURER AS FAR AS THEIR PLANS WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLES. HOW MUCH OF A PUSH TO HYBRID OR ELECTRIC HAS THERE BEEN OVER THE LAST YEAR? HAS THE URGENCY CHANGED AT ALL? “I think that as our world continues to evolve at a rapid pace, also the automotive world with the road car cycle plan of what we are going to be selling in the dealerships and what our competitors will be selling in the dealerships, that is going to just continue to accelerate. We have all been pushing hard on that front. That was part of the NextGen car, to make the architecture more relevant but also to future proof and have the ability to change powertrains going into the future. Internal Combustion Engines are still important to us today because we continue to sell the far majority of our vehicles today as combustion engines but we have a lot of hybrids that are on the road today and more and more hybrids coming. Hybrid is very relevant and we are still very interested in seeing that coming into the sport very quickly as well as full electric as we are shipping today our Mustang Mach-E’s to our customers. We have a full-electric Transit and full-electric F-150 that will soon be heading to dealerships. Electric is an important part of our company as we look towards the future and what the propulsion systems will be and that is something we need to think about as a sport. Internal combustion engine versus hybrid versus electric and what the right time is not only for hybrid but for electric. It is something we should be talking about and thinking about and planning. We won’t be racing full electric anytime soon in the Daytona 500 but as some point we think it is good for the sport to consider the option of when it does make sense to bring that in.”

WITH THORSPORT GOING BACK TO TOYOTA, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT AS FAR AS DRIVER DEVELOPMENT GOES? “We think we have a good lineup, certainly at the Cup level and we definitely need to keep the driver development pipeline full. I think with David Gilliland Racing and also with the Front Row Motorsports program in Trucks, we have three trucks there now and an opportunity for three drivers, three drivers that we are really happy to have representing us on track in the Truck Series with Tanner Gray, Hailie Deegan and Todd Gilliland. I think that is good for us. Trucks, we are really using to develop drivers and crew chiefs and our own people internal to Ford. At the Xfinity level, we are ecstatic with what Austin Cindric has already shown he is capable of by winning the championship last year and we expect him to continue winning races this year and be in contention for the championship again this year. Ryley Herbst shows a lot of promise and we are excited to have him join the Ford family and go into Stewart-Haas Racing and see what he can do in that equipment. Also Ryan Sieg switching over into a Ford this year. We are excited about what we have in Xfinity and we think we have a good pipeline. The question then will be as those six drivers progress, what comes in behind that. That is what we are continuing to work on and identify the next talent that is ready to come into trucks next year.”

MAYBE KEELAN HARVICK IN A DECADE OR SO? “I have already talked to Kevin about that and we are ready to send a contract (laughing).”

WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE UPCOMING NEXTGEN TESTS? “We have already learned a lot about the NextGen car with the aero development program that we have done with the simulation models and using the simulator to have our drivers driving the NextGen car as well. The powertrain development side with Doug Yates and understanding that chassis and what it is. The first test, for us, where each manufacturer has a car will be a WFT, wheel force transducer, test. That will give us more specific wheel load information which will help us further refine our simulation model and ability for our teams to then start preparing for their test beyond that. That will be very important for us, the information that we learn there as well as for our teams, so that they can prepare for their tests coming up later in the year?

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT DRIVERS OR ORGANIZATIONS YOU WANT TO SEE IN THOSE UPCOMING TESTS? “We are still talking through that, even today. We have no firm plans but we are working with our teams to have the right representation in the right cars with the right drivers on track.”

ARE YOU GUYS, THE OEM’S, PRETTY MUCH IN AGREEMENT WITH WHAT YOU WANT THE ENGINE PLATFORM TO BE INITIALLY AND HOW IT IS GOING TO EVOLVE? “With the NextGen architecture with the car we are going to be racing in 2022 we have the ability to add hybrid without changing the internal combustion engine part of it. It allows you to put an electric motor into the system to drive the transaxle in parallel to the internal combustion engine. What is most important for us is being able to learn about hybrid technology in the motorsports environment and we can do that with the NextGen chassis and the current internal combustion engine we are racing today. Beyond that, the changes to the internal combustion engine are not yet defined in terms of timing or even architecture of what it will be. That was an open discussion last year but did not get to any final point or set timeline at this point. So again, what is most important to us is the electrification with hybrid and then we will talk with the sport about what makes sense with any changes to the combustion engine.”

WHAT IS THE DYNAMIC LIKE BETWEEN THE THREE MANUFACTURERS AND YOU, JIM AND DAVID IN THE SENSE THAT YOU GUYS ARE COLLABORATING BECAUSE THIS IS YOUR SHARED PROJECT BUT YOU ARE ALSO COMPETING TOO? “It is actually really good in a lot of ways. We are, as individuals, Jim, David and myself are fierce competitors as well as the companies and teams that we represent and race for us. We want to battle fiercely on the track against each other and have the best manufacturer, best team and best driver winning the races and the championships. We also realize that we need to do this together as a sport and it is even more than Ford, Chevy and Toyota. It is the sport. It is NASCAR, the teams and we all need to work together as stakeholders to keep this sport healthy and make it a place that makes sense for all of us to continue participating. We don’t get everything we want, nor does Chevy, nor does Toyota, nor do any of the other stakeholders. It is working together to get what works for all of us. I think that is how the NextGen car was developed and similar for the discussion on hybrid and combustion engines into the future. We love competing and beating each other but we also collaborate well when we need to keep the sport going in the right direction.”

THIS WILL BE THE NINTH SEASON THAT BRAD KESELOWSKI AND JOEY LOGANO WILL BE TEAMMATES. THAT IS A FAIRLY LONG PERIOD OF TIME IN NASCAR TERMS. FROM WHAT YOU HAVE OBSERVED FROM THE FORD STANDPOINT, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE EFFORT THAT YOU SEE BRAD AND JOEY PUTTING INTO MAKING THEIR MUTUAL RELATIONSHIP WORK FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE TEAM? “We love having Brad and Joey driving for us to represent us on track and to be as successful as they have been. Those were the two that were in the championship race, racing for the championship in a Ford. They are both fantastic individuals and fantastic drivers. They certainly compete against each other on the track but they also work together off the track as part of Team Penske to make their organization even stronger and that is something that we really appreciate with what they bring to the program and they are important for us to have them both in Team Penske, in a Ford, and we look forward to seeing that continue.”

I WATCHED JIM FARLEY’S INTERVIEW ON CNBC THIS MORNING. BY ANY CHANCE WOULD YOU SEE THIS WORLD WIDE SHORTAGE OF SEMICONDUCTOR CHIPS IMPACTING MOTORSPORTS AT ALL IN THE NEAR TERM? “In terms of competition, I do not see anything on our radar at this point that would have a direct impact on us.”

YOU HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE ELECTRIFICATION COMPONENT, JIM FARLEY MENTIONED THIS MORNING THAT FORD IS INVESTING MORE THAN $20 BILLION IN EV RESEARCH AND CAPABILITY BY 2025. YOU SAID WE WON’T BE RACING AN ELECTRIC ENGINE IN THE DAYTONA 500 ANYTIME SOON, BUT BASED ON THE SPEED OF HOW THIS WHOLE ELECTRIFICATION VEHICLES HAS COME THE LAST FEW YEARS AND FARLEY’S COMMENT THIS MORNING, IS THE BOTTOM LINE THAT ULTIMATELY MOTORSPORTS IS GOING TO BE NO LONGER ICE, BUT WILL BE EV RACING? “I think that as we are seeing the world change and the automotive industry change and the push towards electrification with hybrid and full electric, it is definitely moving in that direction much more quickly than any of us though, even a year or two-years ago. For us, we need to be racing something on the track that is relevant and similar to our road car cycle plan with what we are selling in the dealerships and what our customers are driving on the street. We have been looking for the right full electric series to race in, as well as the right hybrid series to race in. We are glad hybrid is in the plan for NASCAR, but there are a very limited number of full electric series that exist today. What we have actually done is use our motorsports resources to go off and develop the two products you saw last year, the Mustang Mach-E 1400 and Mustang Cobra Jet 1400. Both 1400 horsepower, both full electric, both obviously at 1400 horsepower are extreme performance. We have been able to use those as assets for marketing to tell the world about our commitment to electrification but also as a testbed for learning so our motorsports engineers could learn about electric motors at 1400 horsepower, about the battery chemistry and technology to be able to supply that level of horsepower and temperature control required with the current draw at that very high level. We are already getting our motorsports teams smarter about that full electric technology and we have already transferred those learnings back to our road car engineers. They are making our future full electric vehicles even better based on what we have done with just those two demonstrators. When it comes to finding the right series, I don’t know that we need to go to a new series if at some point NASCAR can be full electric. It is just a matter of what series of the existing ones or maybe a different one. Or what the timing is. If that is two, three, five or six-years into the future. For sure electric is coming on the street and there are more and more motorsports series that will be full electric as well. I don’t think ICE is going to go away on the street anytime soon, certainly not completely. That is probably 10-15 years away. So we have a lot of time to be racing internal combustion engines and enjoying that as well as looking for how does the sport become electric with hybrid as well as the potential for full electric.”

WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE WATCHING CHASE BRISCOE ADVANCE THROUGH THE RANKS OF YOUR DRIVER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM? “It has been fantastic because when we started or restarted our driver development program, Chase was one of the first into the program. To see him grow as a driver, racing our Mustang GT4 in IMSA and in NASCAR Trucks and NASCAR Xfinity, to see him grow as a driver on the track as well as a person off the track, he is a racer and he gets it done on the track. He also carries himself very well outside of the vehicle and represents our company very well. We are excited to see the success for Chase and we see that as a representation that we are doing the right things with our driver development program. We wish him the best of luck starting his Cup rookie season and also what we have seen with Austin Cindric and his development, same thing. Through Trucks and Xfinity and he also raced in IMSA with our Mustang GT4. He has certainly been on a great growth curve both on and off the track and we are proud having him represent us in both places and we look forward to his Cup debut with a handful of races this year, including the Daytona 500, and looking forward to seeing him in a Cup full season in 2022.”

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN RYLEY HERBST MOVING FORWARD? “He showed great potential with the equipment he was in last year. It is a good benchmark that he is going into the same car that Chase Briscoe was in with basically the same team around him that Chase had. It is a great opportunity to see what he is truly capable of in that equipment and environment. We don’t expect him to go out and win his first race but we look forward to seeing him get a good baseline to start the season and then continue to go through the year. We are really excited to have him join our family and program and look forward to seeing how he develops throughout the year.

DO YOU EXPECT TO EQUAL YOUR SUCCESS FROM LAST YEAR WITH 18 CUP WINS? “We go to every race expecting to win, hoping to win. It is a very competitive sport and that is the attitude you have to have going to the track. Certainly our teams have that attitude and our drivers have that attitude. It is tough competition out there. I know we have made a lot of improvements in the offseason but I am sure the Chevrolet and Toyota teams have as well. It will be interesting to see what we have and what our competitors have throughout the season. We will have to see whether 18 is realistic or not. Certainly that was a great season for us and we would love to repeat it or better it.”

HOW BIG WAS IT FOR FORD TO GET ANOTHER CAR AND ANOTHER TEAM INTO THE XFINITY FOLD WITH SIEG? “We are excited to have Ryan as part of our family and part of our Ford program. It is always good to have more Ford cars in the race, especially in Xfinity. We are looking forward to getting to know them better and they get to know us, to see how they can perform on the track and how we can help make them better.”

HAS MR. PENSKE BEEN PUTTING THE ARM ON YOU TO BADGE AN INDYCAR ENGINE? “We love Mr. Penske and our relationship with him. What we are always looking for in our motorsports cycle plan is where is the best place for us to race, for a lot of different reasons. Some of that is technology and architecture. The future they have in IndyCar with some of the changes they are making are good changes for the sport but we don’t have anything to announce or talk about at this point?”

HAS HE ASKED YOU ABOUT IT? “There are always discussions on topics like that that go on.”

Toyota Racing – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DAYTONA BEACH (February 5, 2021) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to media via videoconference prior to the Daytona 500 this Friday:

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What has the transition been like to rejoin Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR)?

“It’s been a lot of fun to transition back to the Cup side of JGR. I’ve spent a little bit of time in the Cup building throughout my Xfinity days, but for the most part it’s all new to me. A lot of the styles are similar to LFR (Leavine Family Racing) to JGR, but it’s just a completely new group of people. It’s fun to be able to work with my car chief Chris Sherwood again. He was my car chief on the Xfinity side, and he’s on this 20 group too, so between him, Adam Stevens, and everyone on this 20 car, just trying to get to know everyone and build those relationships. It’s been quite the offseason, and I’m excited to get going to the racetrack, week-in and week-out.”

This year, we will be making our return to Sonoma. What’s your thoughts of that track?

“I guess that still makes me a rookie for Sonoma. It’s one of the racetracks that I was excited about going to last year. I’ve never been there, but everyone talks about how much they enjoy it. It’s a slick road course, very challenging road course. I’ve grown to like road racing. I was looking to going there last year, but unfortunately, we did not get too. This year, I hope we get to go, and I’m excited to see what it’s all about. Road racing has definitely grown on me over the last couple of years and Sonoma is definitely a marquee road course across the United States, so I’m excited to try to tackle it.”

What about the fact that Sonoma is a one-day show?

“That’s going to be tough for me, just trying to do a lot of simulator time, that’s for sure, but fortunately, nobody has been there in a number of years now, so I guess that kind of equals the playing field a little bit.”

Do you have Bristol high on your list of places you can win this year?

“I would say Bristol is definitely a place where I should have an advantage, just having a dirt background, growing up like I did. It’s going to be interesting though. The Cup Series is full of a lot of talented race car drivers, and these guys are going to figure it out. I think it’s an afternoon race. It’s a long-distance race, so I don’t think it’s going to be a normal dirt surface like I’m accustomed to racing on. Nonetheless, it’s still going to be dirt, and I should have an advantage. Hopefully, it goes smooth, and I just want it to be a good race. I don’t want to go out here and have a bunch of yellows. I’m going to do my part on trying to provide a great show for the fans and hopefully, it’s something that will be a success.”

What are your expectations of Chase Elliott jumping into a midget this weekend?

“I was really curious to watch him there at Millbridge in his first race and I was blown away by how well he did. His car control was really good. He really did a good job figuring out lines and kind of studying the racetrack and figuring out where to be. The Chili Bowl was probably – I expected him to have a better run there, but it’s so tough. He got caught up there in the start of, I think, his prelim night b-feature. If he doesn’t get turned around there, he has a lot better week. I was really impressed, especially on Saturday at the Chili Bowl. I don’t remember what race he was in, but he really started coming on there at the end of his race. I think with more laps he’s going to be a contender right there with us.”

We haven’t seen you as much on the dirt recently. What do you have planned this year?

“I’d love to more dirt races coming up. I feel like everybody knows that I love dirt midget and sprint car racing. Hopefully in the future I get to do more of it. I definitely took some time off after Phoenix. The West Coast deal, I don’t know, with everything going on, I decided not to go out and do the West Coast races. Then, I ran the Shootout and the Chili Bowl this year. As far as going forward, I would love to do some more dirt racing. I’m not just entirely sure what my schedule is going to look like.”

How important do you think it is to connect grassroots racing with NASCAR racing?

“I think that it is really important. I feel like the disconnect – if there was a disconnect – was guys, whenever they got into NASCAR, that was all that they did. Definitely the crossover between any sort of late model racing or sprint car racing and NASCAR racing, and kind of doing both of it, is great because it keeps both fan bases interested. Whenever you have Chase Elliott going to run the Chili Bowl or going to Ocala this weekend, you have NASCAR people watching that style of racing and now Chase (Elliott) is building a fan base on the dirt side too by doing this, so all of the people that are watching him this weekend in Ocala or a couple of weeks ago in Tulsa are going to be cheering for him on the Daytona side of it. I think it’s a great crossover and the more drivers we can get that run all of the above, it just helps unify motorsports. Instead of having a dirt group and a pavement group and a NASCAR group and an IMSA group, you just get motorsports fans that tune into everything.”

What kind of pressure do you feel moving in-house to Joe Gibbs Racing?

“It’s tough. I’m in a difficult position, no doubt about it. Whenever you drive for Joe Gibbs Racing or any top organization, I think that the expectations are to be a championship contender. Coach (Joe Gibbs) provides all of the resources needed to have four championship caliber teams and that is what the goal is. Anything short of that is not good enough. This is my first year here. I don’t think that people are realistically expecting me to compete for a championship this first year, but eventually that needs to be the end goal – to have a championship caliber team, and I hope that I’m a championship caliber driver to lead that group.”

How important do you think it is to start the season on a quick start?

“I do think that there is not a reason out there that I can’t compete for wins at Daytona, Daytona Road Course, Homestead. I think that we have all of the ingredients that we need to compete for wins right out of the gate, but on the flip side, I’m definitely not going to be driving it 100% to win those races. Last year, I got buried in points by not having a good opening stretch of races, and that is our number one goal – to see the checkered flags, get to the end. Whether that is 10th, 15th, fifth – anywhere. Just to see the checkered flags and not make mistakes that cost us finishes. Adam (Stevens) has been really good about pushing that we need to build a foundation before we just go out here and start trying for wins. I think we have all the tools we need to win really early, but on the flipside, I don’t want to make a mistake trying to win too early. I would like to collect some good finishes and build on that, and then compete for wins.”

With Adam Stevens, how well have you got to know him this offseason?

“I’d say we have spent a decent amount of time together. It’s crazy when we started meeting in November and December, it was like what is your family about, how many kids do you have, where did you grow up, and now, all of a sudden, the conversations have transitioned to what is going to happen in Daytona, how do you like your cars, shift lights, and all of these other racing terms. Everything was definitely getting to know him at the end of last year, and now it’s more business stuff. I feel like we have built a decent relationship – from a personal standpoint we’ve built that relationship, but now from a business standpoint, we are going to have to get on track. I’m going to have to hear him over the radio, and he is going to have to listen to my feedback over the radio and see how that goes.”

How tough was it to see Jason Ratcliff go?

“It was difficult. I think we both kind of expected to transition to Gibbs together. We were not expecting the dramatic change up across the JGR lineup. It definitely caught us both off guard, and I wish nothing but the best for Jason and Harrison (Burton). Jason was a huge part of my success, and arguably the reason that I’m here today. Very thankful and grateful to drive for Jason across those years. He’s a great crew chief, and even better person. I love to see his smiling face and wish him and Harrison the best.”

Is the Playoffs a good way to establish a champion?

“I’ve been on both sides of the fence, well, I shouldn’t say that. I definitely have been on the wrong side of the fence for the championship format. You look at my Xfinity seasons between ’18 and ’19, where I was a championship caliber team, week-in and week-out, and I believe it was in ’18, I was on the outside looking in and we went into Phoenix, which was the last race before the championship race, and if I didn’t win Phoenix, I wouldn’t have even made the Championship 4. I feel especially for (Kevin) Harvick, I think he was the guy that got left out in 2020, and I feel for him. I was almost in that same boat in the Xfinity Series. It’s just the name of the game and you have to grade your season a little bit differently now than you would in years past. If you perform all season long and don’t make the Championship 4, then you can’t look at your season as a failure. On the flipside, it gives you time to learn each other and maybe if you don’t perform at the beginning part of the year, then all of a sudden, you start hitting your stride later in the season, you are not out of the championship chase, either. I see both sides of the story.”

What do you think NASCAR has done well and what they could do better with the Bristol dirt race?

“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. I haven’t been able to keep up with the dirt process, but I think they have a race coming up where we should be able to learn a lot about in March, before we get there. I think NASCAR, this has been a huge undertaking for them, to prepare a concrete or asphalt track and put dirt on it for a Cup Series event. This is a massive undertaking from a NASCAR standpoint, and I applaud them for doing it and taking it on. I’m a little bit concerned about the afternoon starting time and the race length and race distance. It has the possibility to be sunny outside, and dirt racing is primarily held at night just for the reason that the track stays a lot more consistent and raceable in that time condition, so it will be interesting to see how the afternoon race and the race length plays out.”

Is there any bad or weird blood with Erik Jones?

“I’m sure there is definitely some weird blood, but definitely not any bad blood. I have tremendous amount of respect for Erik. It’s unfortunate that my time at Gibbs came at his expense. I definitely didn’t want that. He is a guy that I look up to, and kind of followed in his footsteps, so to speak, through KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) late models and trucks and over to Gibbs. I think Erik is a tremendous race car driver, and I wish nothing but success for him. I have all the respect in the world for him.”

Are you surprised NASCAR chose Bristol to make the dirt race?

“I thought that Bristol dirt was amazing whenever the Outlaws did it back in the early 2000’s. That was a marquee event that was really cool to witness. It’s unfortunate that it came at the expense of such a great venue and event on the NASCAR side of things. Everybody in the industry loved both Bristol races – the night race and the Spring race. I love Bristol concrete, and the dirt race should be good for me because I have dirt experience and I should have an advantage going there, but it’s just a shame it came at the expense of such an awesome short track event. Maybe in the future, we will be able to get back to two Bristol concrete races, and a dirt race in there at the expense of another venue or whatever, but it’s going to be interesting to say the least.”

Where do you want to be to miss the big one at Daytona?

“Definitely if you lose the draft, that’s probably the safest spot, but nobody wants to do that and then you run the risk of getting a lap down. We’ve seen it time and time again that the guys racing for the lead will get together and wreck racing first, second or third, and then you will catch the whole field behind them. I just think you have to go out there and do what you think is best. If you think that your car is handling good, and you are able to drive up to the front, then definitely leading the race is probably the safest spot to be, but like I said, we’ve seen guys wreck from the lead too. It’s just kind of out of your hands and you’ve got to race the cards that are dealt to you.”

How much did your dirt racing background help you in NASCAR?

“I would say dirt racing really made me good at raw speed, and it seems like going fast really hasn’t been my issue, but one thing with my style of dirt racing that I did, it didn’t prepare me for distance races. That’s been the hardest part each step of the way, whether that’s late models, then moving into Trucks, and then moving into Xfinity. The races have just gotten longer, and longer and longer. Now the Cup races are sometimes twice the length of the Xfinity races that I just got done doing. So, the distance part has been the difficult part, making sure you can compete 500-mile races and have a car that’s in one piece. I haven’t done a great job of that through the course of last year and I’ve got to make sure I’m seeing the checkered flags with all of my fenders on the car. That’s something I’m really focused on this year is limiting my mistakes, making sure I have a clean car at the end of the race. As far as the downforce side of things, the Xfinity cars probably fit my driving style or my driving background a little bit more than what the Trucks and the Cup cars did. I would say that the Cup cars are really similar to the Trucks, so they do relate a little bit in that standpoint. It took me a little bit to get adjusted to that.”

Have you talked to Kyle Busch about running the truck?

“I think that definitely running the trucks at the mile-and-a-halves with the high downforce package is really the thing that relates the most, so I would love to do some Truck races in the future. I can’t say that there have been conversations about it, but it’s definitely something that I would love to do, and Toyota knows that I would love to do that as well.”

Do you think making the Playoffs this season is a necessity?

“I would say yeah, it’s a necessity. If I don’t make the Playoffs this year, that is not going to be ideal. That’s for sure. I don’t know what the results of that would be, but I don’t want to find that out. I think we have all of the tools necessary to make the Playoffs, and that’s for sure a big goal. If you make the Playoffs, typically you’ve been running well, you’ve won a race or you’re running exceptional in points to get there, so yeah, making the Playoffs is a big deal for us.”

What did you learn in your first season in the Cup Series?

“I would say the biggest thing that I’ve learned is the experience from distance racing. I mentioned that earlier on the call, but it’s a big deal to go from Xfinity races which are 300-miles at the longest, and short tracks are shorter. Then you go to Cup racing which you have 500-miles, 400-miles all of the time. You have a couple of 500-milee races and then you have the Coke 600. The distance part is a big difference and learning how to run all of those miles without making one mistake and getting into the wall and knocking the fender into the tire, cutting a tire, and getting into somebody – gaining that knowledge and experience. If we are on lap 200 of 325, you don’t need to push extra to get 10th spot or whatever. Just the on-track knowledge and experience of doing it is the biggest thing I’m going to take away from LFR (Leavine Family Racing) to JGR.”

What is your thinking with the growth of the road courses on the schedule?

“I don’t think that I’m where I need to be as a road course racer yet, but I have grown to enjoy it a lot more than I did in the past. It’s quite the challenge and that’s what makes it so enjoyable. Actually, if you look back at the two road course races that we did last year, my finishes weren’t very good, but as far as raw speed, those were two of my better races over the course of the year. I’m especially looking forward to going to Road America. It’s a place where I was able to win a Xfinity Series race. Austin will be kind of a new venue for everybody, nobody will have an advantage going there, so I’m excited to go to Austin. Sonoma is going to be tough because I have never been there, and a lot of guys have a lot of laps there. It’s going to be a fun road course. I look at the road courses as a challenge and I enjoy doing it now, which is a change of pace from a couple of years ago.”

How big does the change in your attitude about road courses help?

“I’d say so. You look at the way races go to, right. You have guys that crash out all of the time in speedway racing, and they don’t like speedway racing. The guys that are more fortunate or better at it, they enjoy it. Definitely as I’ve gotten better at road racing, I enjoy it more. Imagine that. It’s all of the above. The change of attitude, getting better at it and just embracing it.”

What would it mean to you to take the No. 20 to victory lane in Daytona?

“It would be the first one in my life too. It would be really, really special to win the Daytona 500, regardless of car number. It’s a big one. It’s probably p.1 in motorsports, arguably. It’s hard for me to sit here and think about it, because it’s such a big event, but I will have a shot. I’m competing in the Daytona 500, so I’m really thankful for that, and hopefully I can do a good job and have a shot at it coming closing time.”

Is there any driver that you have raced on dirt that you would love to see race at Bristol?

“Yes. Absolutely. He goes by Rico. I would love to see Rico Abreu do it.”

# # #

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
NASCAR Media Day | Friday, February 5, 2021

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light #TheCrew Ford Mustang – DID YOU GET THE IMPRESSION OTHER TEAMS WERE LOOKING AT RCR FOR SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS IN 2001 AFTER DALE EARNHARDT’S ACCIDENT? DID YOU FEEL ANY EXTRA RESPONSIBILITY? “I did not. I think as I look back to 2001 it was really NASCAR that kind of took the bull by the horns and really led that charge. I think for us, and especially our team, I would venture to say it was the exact opposite – a little bit of confusion and not really understanding exactly where we needed to be, what was right, what was wrong. There was so much change during that particular time period that it was hard to keep up with a lot of things. I know one of the first things to come out was the Hutchens device, which obviously came within our organization, but I think as you look at the sport in general that’s really something that has continued through today as we sit here today has been a charge that was 100 percent led by NASCAR, and all the things that they changed with the racetracks and the mandates that were put into place through the years to where we are today. That’s been a huge effort from their part and a huge undertaking, but I think that day things changed forever and I would give all that credit to NASCAR. The teams have been part of that innovation, but there’s also been a lot of safety companies that have put so much time and effort into making their products better. You look around the world and you look at all the innovation and things that have changed through the years, it’s been pretty dramatic from what we raced on that particular day.”

WHAT HAS THE PROCESS BEEN LIKE GOING THROUGH KEELAN’S RACING CAREER? “That’s a loaded question. I think, for me, this would have all never started if it wasn’t for COVID. We were really kind of set in our plans of the things that we wanted to do and where we wanted to go and how we wanted to spend time with our kids, and he had really not shown a lot of interest in going to the racetrack. When COVID started the iRacing stuff started. We were not really in school. Everything was kind of virtual once it started back and he looked over one day while we were sitting on our iRacing simulators and he said, ‘Why aren’t we racing?’ I’m like, ‘Well, you never asked.’ So, we started going to the racetrack some more and getting prepared for the first club race at Go Pro when they finally opened up and ran the first club race and he qualified on the pole for the first club race and really the rest has kind of been history – not even a year really since that particular point. It’s really the first thing that he’s shown that amount of interest in, that he actually wants to practice first of all. Everything else he didn’t want to practice, but I think for us it really kind of changed the way that we lived, the way that we did things along with COVID, and really changed a number of things in our lives and the way that we went about things. For the relationship part of it has been really good for us as a family. It’s been really good for Keelan and I. It’s also very challenging to be the teacher and try to basically build a race team. I mean, you have to race at the level that he’s going to race at you have to treat it like it’s an actual race team because it is, so I think there’s a number of things that have happened with our personal relationship, that bond getting stronger, that driver/mentor relationship, trying to find that balance as being dad as well was and still is challenging, but, look, if it’s something he wants to do I’m gonna push him hard to do the things that he wants to do. He still has to have fun, but if you want to be good at it, you have to have your boundaries pushed on a daily basis and I feel like I do that. It’s also been really good for me to understand and remember why I love racing, and going to the racetrack and seeing all the things and the challenges that come with not only teaching him, but putting the vehicles together and it reminds me a lot of the things that we’ve done at KHI in the past and I remember why I like those things because it’s a different way of competing and I love to compete, so I think from that standpoint I now remember why I love going into that shop everyday and talking to the people and understanding what was going on. So, from an all-around racing aspect of it, it’s reminded me of why I love so many aspects of this sport and from a family standpoint and a father-son relationship it’s made us stronger from both ends.”

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR FIRST WIN AND THE LAST LAP OR TWO? “There’s a number of things that I don’t remember. There’s a few things that I vividly remember about everything that went on on that particular day. The first thing that I remember was the five of us racing there at the end and then it kind of dwindled down. I remember some random things. I think as I look back at that race I kind of caught myself wandering with a couple laps to go because it was hard not to notice the people hanging on the fence on the back straightaway – were right next to the fence on the back straightaway – and, really, it’s those moments that I remember how loud the crowd was after I did my burnout and driving around that racetrack backwards. That’s really about it. The rest of it is a little bit confusing as to what you remember, what you don’t remember. It was obviously a moment I don’t think any of us expected, weren’t supposed to be in, but there are a number of things that obviously changed in the weeks before that and continued to change. So, for us, that was supposed to be my first race in the Cup Series with America Online as our sponsor with my Busch Series team at the time going up together, and obviously everything changed on that side after the Daytona 500. It took me a long time to really get comfortable to really even think about things that happened that day. There were so many things that happened backwards in my career. I look at my very first Cup Series press conference and that’ll be the biggest press conference with the most notoriety or anything that ever comes from a moment like that, or a moment in general because of a moment like that. Your first experience will always be your biggest one from my standpoint, so then you look at the first win and you’ll probably never receive or get that type of notoriety or attention or anything that came with that. For a number of years I was uncomfortable with all that because it was so overwhelming in the beginning and really turned defensive in a lot of different ways because I just wasn’t anticipating any of that and understanding the magnitude of all those things that came with driving the car first, then winning in the car, and a lot of that didn’t really come into play and take effect until 2002 when you had to start making decisions, and then by that particular point you’d made some people mad and had to start changing things and then people didn’t like it and it wasn’t their same situation and wasn’t my same situation, so there was just a number of things that changed through 2002. But I raced through so much in 2001 that it just covered a lot of that stuff up because I didn’t have time to prepare or stop and think about it. There was just a number of things that were extremely overwhelming with that whole scenario.”

HOW DO YOU FOLLOW UP ON THE SEASON YOU HAD A YEAR AGO? IT’S A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW. “Yeah, the expectation is to go out and be competitive. I think as you look at last year that’s one of those that you check off as a career year and you obviously want to do that again, but I’ve been around this long enough to understand that those types of seasons don’t come around all the time. But, look, it’s not to say that it’s not possible because that’s surely the goal – to try to repeat that and do that again. The expectations are obviously the same as they were every other year. I think as you look back you capitalized on the days you’re good. You capitalized on some days when people have trouble and we ran well at the racetracks we were supposed to run well at and made good days out of them. It was definitely a great year. I think as we go into this year the expectations are to be competitive and try to put yourself in position to win races again. This is something that we do every year and last year we were just fortunate to put ourselves in victory lane a few more times than we had in the past, so they’re not all gonna go like that, but that’s the goal.”

HOW MUCH INTERACTION HAVE YOU HAD WITH BEN KENNEDY? WHAT’S YOUR IMPRESSION OF HIS ROLE? “I really haven’t had hardly any interaction with Ben. I don’t really know him that well, so I’m probably not the right one to speak on that particular person.”

BRAD AND JOEY ARE GOING INTO THEIR NINTH SEASON AT PENSKE. YOU HAVE NOT HAD A LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP WITH A TEAMMATE. IS THAT REALLY AS IMPORTANT FOR SUCCESS AS SOME PEOPLE SEEM TO THINK IT IS? “I don’t know that it’s completely important. The most important thing is to have other competitive cars. I think that’s really what pushes the race teams to get better at a more rapid pace and cover more details is the fact that it’s a fact that when you have more competitive cars you can make things happen faster, and it’s just better for the company in general. No matter who is driving the cars, you want those cars to be as competitive as possible because it helps you as a teammate and as a crew chief or whatever the situation is you need somebody to be able to bounce ideas off of. You need other cars to run well in order to try different things and keep your mind open to different things as well, so there are a number of benefits to having as many cars as possible running well in order to make yourself better and make the company better at a more rapid pace.”

AFTER JEFF AND TONY CAME IN THE SEARCH SEEMED TO FOCUS ON MIDGET, SPRINT CAR, AND USAC TYPE DRIVER TALENT. WITH THE WAY CHASE ELLIOTT HAS PERFORMED DO YOU FEEL THE MODEL HAS SWUNG MORE TO MORE LATE MODELS, ARCA, XFINITY? “I don’t think so, and I think over the next couple weeks you’ll have a very firm understanding of where my mindset is as far as driver development and what that path needs to be. As I look at that and we’ve been working on a number of things in that category to try to put ourselves in position 10 years down the road from a KHI Management standpoint and be associated with what we think is the next generation of drivers. I think as you look at, I think you’re gonna have to be very versatile. I think our sport is going to continue to change. I think you’re gonna have to be an extraordinary road racer as you go into the next five years, just because of what you’re seeing this year and the opportunities of where you can race and the different racetracks and things that we can go to. Obviously, when you look at Bristol Dirt, it’s not going to be a late model dirt race or a midget dirt race, but having those backgrounds is going to be important, I think. When you look at just a straight-up asphalt oval late model racer, I don’t know that that’s going to be 100 percent where you need to be. I think you definitely have to have that background, but I think being versatile and having that car control that is taught from a midget, sprint car standpoint – you look at road racing and whether you can just get so many opportunities in so many different forms of racing at such a young age I think it’s very important as you go forward to really consider how much time you spend on one craft in trying to put yourself into being just a good oval racer is not going to work as you go forward. You’re going to have to be a good oval racer, but you’re also gonna have to be a very good road racer, in my opinion.”

WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM IS IN ITS ROAD RACING PROGRAM? “I’ll tell you in a few days.”

DO YOU THINK EVERYONE ON THE TEAM HAS TURNED THE PAGE ON 2020 AND READY FOR THIS SEASON? “If they haven’t, I don’t want to talk about it. I think as the season ended and we got about a week through it I was done and over with it and had a lot to do moving forward. In this business you just don’t have time to dwell on it. If you’re gonna continue to be good at what you do, you have to be able to put your mind back to work and take the things that went wrong and make them better, re-focus and you have to use those things as motivation in order to make those particular things better. I think those guys know that, I feel like I’m wasting my breath talking about everything that happened last year because we’ve talked about what went wrong and I’ve moved on and tried to be ready for this particular season – to do the things that you need to do in order to get the season started right and be competitive on a week to week basis. They know that I’ll get pretty frustrated if they want to sit and dwell on what happened last year when we’re already into just over a week away from the Daytona 500. They better have moved on. If they haven’t, they don’t talk to me about it.”

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS GOING INTO THE BRISTOL DIRT RACE? DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING PLANNED TO PREPARE? “Not at this particular point. I think in the end it’s one race, so I think a lot of what we’ve done is prepare for the majority of the schedule. I think as you look at Bristol Dirt it’s not going to be like racing a midget or a dirt late model. As Ken Schrader would put it, you’re still gonna drive a Cup car. I think the things that happen and the things that go on are obviously going to be different. It’s probably the all-time longest dirt race ever at 250 laps, so we’ll see what happens to the racetrack and I think it’s gonna be a little bit of a learning experience for everybody. I’ve not driven any of these cars on dirt, so I think at that particular point, and I’ve told Rodney this, I think you lean on the guy that has the most experience and he’s our newest guy and that’s Chase Briscoe. He’s obviously run and won on the dirt at Eldora, has a dirt background, and we’re just gonna kind of take a backseat and follow the guidance from somebody who knows what they’re doing and try to be good students. I think as that weekend progresses and, luckily, we get some practice and we have some plans of things that we’re going to do as we get closer to the race, but for the most part you can’t get too far ahead of things and try to work on something that’s only one race.”

HAS THERE BEEN ANY REFLECTION ON HAVING SUCH A HUGE SEASON AND NOT GETTING TO THE FINAL FOUR, OR DO YOU JUST PUT IT BEHIND YOU? “My focus is always on week to week winning races. I think in the end it didn’t really matter. We ran terrible at Phoenix, so it’s not like you were gonna win the championship anyway. It didn’t really matter as we got to Phoenix and with the way that we ran. I think you look back on it and, like I said earlier, you take the things that you did at each one of those racetracks and you try to make them better because that’s really what it’s all about is, ‘How do I stay focused on a week to week basis? What did we do last year at this particular racetrack? What did we do good? What did we do bad? Show me the strengths. Show me the weaknesses. Show me where we beat them. Show me where we were getting beat.’ And it’s the same preparation over and over and over, and the whole championship layout is something that is what it is, but it changes zero in your preparation. It really doesn’t change a thing. You go to the racetrack and, for me, I’m not gonna go to the racetrack and points race. We’re gonna go to the racetrack and try to put ourselves in position to win the race and then the second thing when you can’t do that is gain the most points that you can on that particular day and you go home. It’s just not something that I overthink. It’s not something that really gets me up or down, winning or losing. It doesn’t. It doesn’t really affect how I prepare on Monday. We can finish dead last or we can finish first and I’m gonna do the exact same thing when it comes to Monday morning. That part doesn’t change for me.”

AT WHAT POINT IN YOUR CAREER, IF ANY, DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU STARTED COMING OUT OF HIS SHADOW AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT HIS LEGACY AND IMPACT ON NASCAR, WHERE DO YOU THINK HE HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT? “I think when you look at the affect that, in my opinion, that Dale had on the sport it was in a number of different ways. First off, Dale had a great relationship with NASCAR and could move the needle when things needed to be moved from a competitor’s standpoint like really no other driver has been able to do, ever. I think the impact that he has had after his death on the safety of this sport has been something that’s just far greater than would have happened with anybody else, and I think that impact will probably be his impact from a competitor’s standpoint that some of them at this particular day and age might not even realize the impact that he has had on the safety side of it. I think when you look back he changed so many things about our sport in so many different ways just because of A, the relationship with NASCAR, but, B, he was just willing to do things differently and think outside the box and got connected with the right people in different scenarios of what they did. You look back and you look at the souvenir side of things, as he wrapped his arms around a lot of the other drivers in the sport and created a souvenir business that was obviously very large in the heyday of souvenir sales. He’s changed the game on a number of different levels throughout the sport and just having that demeanor and the way that he went about giving it everything that he had, to do whatever he had to do to try to win a race or gain a position was just something that the fans always latched on to and liked, so there’s just a number of things that he will forever had his hand in and change for a number of different reasons. As far as the shadow was obviously big and it was something, for me, that I always did things the way that I liked them and always had kind of beat my own path as I went about things and made changes and drove the car and things that you did, and for the first four or five years it was difficult just because of the fact that everything that you did was always compared to everything that Dale did. It was always, ‘it wouldn’t have been handled this way or it would have been handled this way, and this guy did that and that guy did this,’ and it was just never something that was comfortable because as I said earlier I became defensive about, ‘well, I’m just not doing it that way in anything.’ I didn’t want to do anything that was the same way just because I got tired of hearing it, so as you got through the Goodwrench days and they kind of gravitated off the car and you had been in position to win a few races and start to get your own sponsors and really start to be able to have your own people around you and that really, for me, made things more comfortable because of the fact that you were living on your success and it wasn’t something that was given to you or position that you were in that you didn’t deserve. It was a position that you had earned, which was always the way that I felt like I wanted to go about things was you needed to earn it in order to be where you were. I feel like you totally got out from underneath all that because it still, I mean we’re 20 years later and it’s forever going to be compared just because of the fact of the way that everything went, but when I changed teams and went to Stewart-Haas Racing I felt like that in 2014 was really the year that you were able to legitimize everything that you had done and doing just because you were capable of driving the car and being around people and doing the things that it took to win races and win a championship, so it took a long time.”

DERRIKE COPE IS IN HIS SIXTIES AND WILL BE IN THE 500. DOES AGE MATTER TO SUCCESS IN NASCAR? “I think that depends on how successful you are. I think as you go through this sport you have to be committed to what you’re doing. You have to have a great team around you. You have to have all the things in place and order to be successful and win races. In the end, that’s really what it comes down to. If you’re not capable of winning races and being in position to be competitive, it’s just not as much fun, it really isn’t. I think, for me, I love the sport and I love driving the car and I love being around the people and I love competing, but not being successful would definitely make it a lot more difficult to go week to week and do the things that we do. I love the fact that I can show up with my group of guys, we can get to the racetrack and we can beat the group next to us. Being able to go back to the shop and in today’s world do a fist bump or elbow bump and know that you showed up and beat those guys on a day when you shouldn’t have beat them or a day should have beat them doesn’t matter, you want to be successful with that group of guys because those are the guys you’re at battle with and there’s just something about that feeling that makes you want to go back and do it again. There’s no more satisfaction than winning a race and being able to know that you can wrap your arms around those guys and know that they’re a part of that success and we’re all successful together.”

HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU SEE DIVERSIFYING YOURSELF AT THIS STAGE OF YOUR CAREER, AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR GUY LIKE YOU AND CHASE ELLIOTT TO DABBLE IN GRASSROOTS RACING TO GROW THE BRAND OF NASCAR? “I think as I look at the things that I’ve been able to experience and as I talked about earlier, I look at the things that Denny Hamlin has done with the race team and being able to push those buttons and build those buildings and build those cars and put those people together, that’s something that as I’ve gone through this last year with Keelan I think I realized that I enjoy. I would thoroughly enjoy being in a situation like that as I go forward, whether it’s the next 5-10 years, whatever that is, there’s a number of things that I enjoy from that side of things that I’m not telling you I want to own a race team, I’m telling you I’d love to be involved in running one. I love the fact that I can still compete in the car and that’s the number one priority. Look, the TV stuff is obviously interesting as we move forward, but, right now, it’s way more fun to be in that car and competing on a weekly basis to go out and try to accomplish something as a group and be able to do that year after year is something that I think we all take pride in. As far as competing at the grassroots level, I think you have to have something that you enjoy and I think especially for somebody like Chase, who has obviously become a champion and knows that he’s going to be around this sport for a long time, being able to race different things and be able to enjoy being inside of a race car, no matter what it is, where it is or what type of surface it’s on, I think being able to challenge himself – and that’s really what I took from listening to the things that he said and did at the Chili Bowl – just pushing yourself to do things that you normally wouldn’t do and not be embarrassed or beat yourself up over the fact that you didn’t do well at it. I think as you go back you have to get through that first experience of something that’s new and be over the fear and worry of not being successful and then you can go back and be way better at it the next time and be more competitive and it’s a constant learning curve, especially in that situation as the Chili Bowl was in order to go there and be competitive is not easy, so to step outside of that box and know that you’re gonna go there and struggle, but you’ve got to go there at some point to learn how to do that is something that takes a lot of guts. I think to see him do that and see him just show up to the event and do what he did was fun for me to watch and really understanding the type of courage that it takes to do something like that because of the criticism and all the things and all the chatter around you that will come with that it was pretty awesome to see, so I think it’s important to be at the grassroots level in some way, shape or form as you go through your years of time on the Cup side.”