NASCAR CUP SERIES
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
AUTOTRADER ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 22, 2020

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS GIVE A HOOT CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss his outlook going into the second race of the Playoffs’ Round of Eight at Texas Motor Speedway, the preparation that goes into the Playoff races, what he’s taken away from the 2020 season, and more. Transcript:

CHASE, YOU START FOURTH IN THE HOOTERS GIVE A HOOT CHEVROLET, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD START. YOU’RE FIFTH IN POINTS; DOWN EIGHT FROM THE CUT-OFF LINE OF FOUR. HOW ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE WEEKEND?
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. Texas is a challenge, for sure. It’s nice to have a good starting spot, which is certainly helpful, and hopefully we can try to keep our track position. That’s a very tough place to pass and make a lot of ground since they re-configured it. Yeah, I think that will be nice. Hopefully, we can keep the track position and move forward.”

DO YOU GIVE A HOOT ABOUT THE EIGHT POINTS BELOW THE CUT-OFF LINE? DO YOU GIVE A HOOT ABOUT THAT OR IS IT JUST POINTS, YOU’VE GOT TO GO WIN AND YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO KIND OF THING?
“Yeah, I mean to be honest, I feel like I’ve really worried about the points situation less this year than I ever have before. It matters, don’t get me wrong – it’s not that I don’t care. It does matter, but I just think the more that you understand that winning is paramount and that’s the only guarantee that moves you on. And also, realizing that if you make the Final Four, you’re going to have to go win that last race. So, I’m just really a big believer in feeling comfortable in that moment and just trying to thrive in the situation of having to win, and I think that’s how we need to treat these last two races in this Round. Ultimately, if you’re not winning races at this level, you’re not going to win the championship anyways. So, that’s how we have to approach it and I feel good about that.”

THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST UNUSUAL, IF NOT THE MOST UNUSUAL, SEASON IN NASCAR HISTORY. YOU GUYS HAVE GOTTEN SO MUCH DONE, SO MUCH GOOD DONE. WHAT’S THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU’LL TAKE AWAY FROM THIS 2020 CAMPAIGN AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE ASPECT THAT WORKS BEST?
“There’s a lot of things, I think, this year. I don’t want to take up too much of your time, but yeah, I think there’s a lot of things that we’ve learned as an industry. The amount of time we’re spending at race tracks I feel like is maximized for the drivers and teams, and we’re still putting on the same great race on Sunday. So, that to me is the biggest thing that this bad situation, obviously with all that’s going on in the world, led to a simplified version, I guess, of what we had with really no negative effect of the actual product on Sunday. I do think there was a complexity that had gotten so complex through greed and money. Just like money drives everything, so over the years, things just kind of got carried away and carried away to the point where I’m not sure it could sustain and I think we learned lessons this year that can really help this deal not only last for a very long time, but I think grow in the right direction that racing should.”

YOU MENTIONED THE RE-CONFIGURATION AT TEXAS BEING A PROBLEM. I’M ASSUMING YOU’RE REFERRING TO TURNS ONE AND TWO, NOW BEING 20 DEGREES AS COMPARED TO THE THREE AND FOUR OF 24 DEGREES. IS THAT THE PART OF THE TRACK THAT GIVES YOU THE BIGGEST PROBLEM?
“To be honest, I feel like I’ve had my struggles on both ends of the race track. I don’t know that it has as much to do with the banking re-configurations. Maybe, just the fresh asphalt. I don’t really know exactly what it is. One and two has certainly been a struggle, but we’ve had our problems at the other end of the race track, too. So, I guess the combination between that and the track surface being new, Goodyear having to bring a really hard tire – something in that whole realm of change has not suited me well in the past, unfortunately. I think for me, just focused on trying to look forward and not bring those bad vibes to Texas this weekend I think is a big piece of improving. Just having a better mindset and looking forward to another opportunity there.”

WANTED TO LOOK AHEAD A WEEK – MARTINSVILLE. YOU’VE RAN WELL THERE, THE ORGANIZATION HAS RAN WELL THERE. JUST DESCRIBE THE IDEA OF HAVING AN OLD-SCHOOL, SHORT TRACK BE KIND OF A DECIDING FACTOR OF WHO MAKES THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR AND WHO DOESN’T.
“Yeah, it does. I think Martinsville is certainly a place that deserves to be on the schedule and I think it deserves to have an important place on the schedule. Where it’s been placed in this final 10 races over the last – it’s been right there towards the end of the season for a long time. It’s been a deciding factor of who makes the Final Four every year since this format was implemented, if I’m not mistaken. So, it’s always been important and I think rightfully so.”

YOU TALKED LAST WEEK ABOUT TEXAS, SINCE THE RE-PAVE, HAS KIND OF BEEN A STRUGGLE FOR YOU. WHEN YOU SEE THE PLAYOFF FORMAT COME OUT AND THE ROUND THREE CUT-OFF RACE BE MARTINSVILLE, DOES THAT GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF CONFIDENCE FOR THE FACT THAT – HEY, IF I GO THERE AND I HAVE TO HIT A HOME RUN, I KNOW I’M CAPABLE OF THAT?
“Yeah, I think we’re capable of running good everywhere. So, that’s really where my mindset is. I hate to just say – OK, yeah we’ve had good runs at Martinsville, so we’re just going to count on that one. That’s not how you have to go about this. And also, as great as it is to know that we’ve had some good runs at certain race tracks, past success doesn’t equal future success. It never has and I don’t think it ever will. You can still go to a place that has been good to you and struggle. We can go to Martinsville next week and be terrible. That’s just racing and that’s just the way it is. So, I think for us, just to look at an event because we’ve had a couple of decent runs there in the past and put all our eggs in that basket is not wise.”

YOU’VE ALSO BEEN THERE WHERE CERTAIN THINGS HAPPEN DURING THE RACE BECAUSE SO MUCH WAS ON THE LINE. WITH EVERYBODY BEING SORT OF PACKED IN AND AROUND THAT CUT-OFF LINE, DOES JOEY LOGANO WINNING LAST WEEK AND KIND OF LEAP-FROGGING, IT MAKE PACK A BUNCH OF GUYS INTO A VERY, VERY SMALL BASKET GOING INTO THAT RACE.
“Yeah, I mean it certainly can. We don’t know what the points situation is going to look like until we get through Texas. Yeah, I’m sure no matter what it looks like, there’s going to be guys that have to win just like there always is and guys who are flirting around the line. So, that’s just a product of three-race rounds, a product of the reset and a product of how this format is. Regardless of whatever happens this weekend, I’m sure it will be an exciting event to watch.”

WITH SO MUCH ON THE LINE IN THE PLAYOFF RACES, HAVE YOU CHANGED AT ALL PREPARATION-WISE? WITH NO PRACTICE, TOO, ARE YOU STUDYING ANYMORE NOTES, WATCHING ANYMORE FILM OR DOING ANY MORE MEETINGS?
“Honestly, our approach has been the same as its always been when we had a bunch of practice. And I think for us, I feel like we are just trying not to re-invent the wheel and just do our thing, which I think there’s something to that. Something to be said for that and not trying to out-smart ourselves. Say we have our meeting on Monday, right, and on Wednesday, I have a thought or I have an idea, Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) has an idea, or one of our team members has an idea – we all reach out to each other and get on another call and discuss it. But if we feel good about our meeting on Monday and feel like we’re ready to go, I’ll go through my regular prep for the event, they will as well, and I’ll see them on Sunday morning.”

HOW MUCH TIME IS THAT PREP? ARE YOU SPENDING ONE OR TWO HOURS A DAY? IS IT FOUR OR FIVE HOURS A DAY? IS IT EIGHT HOURS A DAY?
“That’s tough – I think it’s hard to put a number on it. I’m the kind of guy where I might watch certain things at certain time. But also, I feel like I might be riding down the road and have a thought pop in my head and I’ll start down a rabbit hole of thinking – what I think caused this or what I think we need to do better and why. So, it’s hard for me to put a timeframe on that because I feel like my mind is always kind of thinking about it and when you have those good ideas or something that makes sense in your head, something that you can explain easily, I try to pass those things along. And it’s really just kind of an open dialogue all the time, I guess, is kind of how we approach it. So, it’s hard to put an exact number on that.”

WHEN YOU GUYS GO TO MARTINSVILLE NEXT WEEKEND, THERE’S GOING TO BE LIMITED FANS THERE. THERE WEREN’T FANS WHEN THE CUP SERIES WAS THERE EARLIER THIS YEAR. AFTER GOING THROUGH THIS SEASON, WHAT’S BEEN THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF HAVING FANS AND NO FANS, EVEN THOUGH THERE’S GOING TO BE LIMITED FANS?
“Having people back at a smaller number, I think, is better than no one being there, for sure. So, ultimately, I think it’s all a step in the right direction and a direction we need to get back in, in my opinion. I don’t know how long we can sustain going to race tracks and nobody being there. This is an entertainment industry, ultimately, for TV broadcasters, ticket sales and everything else. We’re lucky that TV has become what it has over the years – how easily accessible it is to everybody’s phones now. If we want to watch a sporting event, it’s going to be on somewhere, right? So, we’re very lucky to have that because otherwise, I’m not sure we would still be doing what we’re doing. Whenever the tracks, the sanctioning body and all the higher-ups that make those decision feel like it’s a good time to bring people back, I’m sure they will in full capacity. And until then, we’ll enjoy the crowds of whatever they let in.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with 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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
AUTOTRADER ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE 500
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 22, 2020

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference and discussed last Sunday’s race at Kansas, his expectations for the Texas race, his mindset, and more. Full Transcript:

YOU HAD SUCH HIGH HOPES, AND THEN ENGINE FAILURE. EMOTIONALLY, HOW DID YOU COME OUT OF THE RACE IN KANSAS?
“That’s just part of the emotions and the ups and downs and everything that goes into NASCAR Cup racing. You prepare all week, all month, to build a car that’s going to take you to the next level in this Round of 8 at Kansas just didn’t turn out all that well for us with the engine failure. The things that led up to all of that, it’s just part of racing. Everybody prepared at the highest level at Hendrick Engines and of course, at Chip Ganassi Racing. And we just didn’t have the luck to get to the end of that race and to have a shot at winning.”

EVERYBODY WHO KNOWS KURT BUSCH KNOWS THERE’S NO GIVE-UP IN YOU AND THE MONSTER ENERGY TEAM. YOU ARE DOWN IN POINTS. HOW DO YOU LOOK AT IT?
“I look at it as I like Texas better anyway (laughs). We’re going to gas-it-up-hard at Texas. We ran really well there the last few races together as a unit at Chip Ganassi Racing. And what’s great is we were in position at the Spring race, actually it was a race in the Summer months of July, when Austin Dillon won; we were on the same pit sequence as he was; we took two tires just as he did, and he beat us off pit road. So, we were that close at having a shot at winning earlier this year. And so that gives us good motivation and good vibes and good feel to know that we’re close; and now we have to execute here in November to do the right things to win with cooler track temps.”

LOOK AHEAD A WEEK TO MARTINSVILLE AND THE APPROPRIATENESS OF HAVING AN OLD SCHOOL SHORT TRACK BE THE RACE THAT DECIDES WHO GETS TO RACE FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP ULTIMATELY
“Yeah, you look at it as a wild card. That’s how I see it. We’ve had the race at the ROVAL as a cutoff, we’ve had Talladega in years past as a restrictor-plate, wild card, cutoff race. And so, Martinsville is a track where you’re going to see all the front-runners running up front. Some are going to gamble on tires and have to race with elbows out and to move guys out of the way. And heck, you could be running third and the leaders take each other out and you get an invite to the championship round. There are going to be so many variables and so many wide-open chances for Martinsville; that’s why NASCAR chose to put that track as the cutoff.”

GOING BACK TO TEXAS, YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED OUTSIDE THE TOP 10 THERE SINCE 2016. AND ALSO, THROWING OUT LAST WEEK, YOU’VE BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT ON 1.5-MILE TRACKS THIS YEAR. DOES THAT MAKE IT A BIT EASIER TO RE-FOCUS YOURSELF AFTER LAST WEEK?
“We felt like we had two solid bullets in the chamber, at Kansas and Texas with this Round of 8. Martinsville, we’re not all that bad, either. The Ganassi team has helped me run better at that track. And so, we just have to adapt. Those new right-side tires that we’re going to have that was the same right-side that we won with at Vegas. It’s what everybody raced with at Kansas last week. And those are those things that you have to adapt to with no practice. And then what you have to do to win. It’s understanding all the little things that make up big differences.”

IN LIGHT OF YOUR ENGINE FAILURE LAST WEEK, IS ANYTHING GOING TO BE DONE DIFFERENTLY TO THE ENGINE THIS WEEK AT TEXAS SINCE IT’S A SIMILAR-SIZED TRACK?
“I don’t believe so. As far as them, at Hendrick Engines, going through all the diagnostics and researching what had happened; there are still so many little details that have to add-up to what the final result was at Kansas. So, there’s just normal preparations; and in my mind, gassing it up as hard as we can for Texas because second place isn’t going to cut it at the end of the day. And so, if there’s a chance to go with something big, of course I’ve got my arm up as high as it can go; and I know that everybody will make the right decisions together on what we need to win at Texas.”

TALKING ABOUT MARTINSVILLE BEING A WILD CARD, GIVEN THERE IS SO MUCH AT STAKE, IF YOU’RE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU’VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING THAT MAYBE YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO DO, DO YOU HAVE TO KIND OF PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THAT?
“Yeah, for me, I’m already past that line. I’m not even going to think about it. I’m going to do it. I feel like all the goodwill I’ve built up with other drivers, my position of being a veteran in this sport, and knowing what it takes to win a championship, I’ve put all the puzzle pieces in place. And we just have to have those puzzle pieces fit together seamlessly. And some of those are decision out on the track where you can’t hesitate. You just have to go. And, that’s where we’re not going to back down. It doesn’t matter who it is. We’ve got Matt Kenseth out there on the Ganassi side helping and other Chevy guys that aren’t in it. We’ve got to go up against these Toyotas and these Fords and these powerhouse teams, and we’re not looking at any kind of ill side effects, we’re going for it. And so that’s the tone and the mood for the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevy team.”

ON THE EMOTIONS OF LAST WEEK, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN TO FANS HOW IT FEELS TO HAVE THE HIGH OF WINNING A RACE AND MAKING YOUR WAY INTO THE PLAYOFF ROUNDS AND THEN HAVE SUCH DEVASTATION DELIVERED IN THE OPENING RACE OF THE NEXT ROUND?
“It’s difficult to put it all into words. It’s a roller coaster, for sure. Everybody tuning in and watching, our social media following, different texts from friends and family members; it takes you on that ride even when the race is over. Over 500 texts were on my phone after winning Vegas. There were only about 50 after an engine blow (laughs). You can see just in that, how people want to react with a tough situation versus the enjoyment. And when you’re riding that roller coaster, and you’re at the top, everything looks great from up there. And then when you take the ride down and you hit that g-force at the bottom and you have that sinking pit feeling in your stomach, that’s exactly what an engine failure feels like. And yet, you’ve got to bounce back quick. That’s what Mark Martin told me early-on in my career. You’re going to have the highs. You’re going to have the lows. You’ve got to draw a line in the middle and get back there as fast as you can.”

CHEVROLET HAS THREE CARS IN THE ROUND OF 8. WHAT’S BEEN THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE THIS YEAR WITH CHEVY COMPARED TO LAST YEAR?
“I think the small things are making big differences. The re-evaluation of the Camaro, the understanding of this 550-horsepower package and how you have to have every horsepower on the dyno counting toward your effort on race weekends. It seems like the wind tunnel time and the work back and forth between all Chevy teams, with Hendrick and Richard Childress Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing and even JTG, it feels like the wind tunnel stuff has been shared more so, and the engine data; and even just with the collaboration of racing on restrictor-plate races, we’ve done a better job in all categories. So, it’s not one thing that’s made a difference. I think it’s just chipping away at having more darts hit the dartboard.”

USUALLY BY THIS POINT IN THE SEASON, YOU’VE HAD A LONG YEAR WITH WEEKENDS FILLED WITH PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING AND RACING. THIS YEAR IS DIFFERENT WITH THE PANDEMIC LAYOFF. HOW DO YOU FEEL MENTALLY AT THE END OF THE SEASON? DO YOU FEEL LESS FATIGUE AND BETTER GOING INTO THE FINAL THREE RACES?
“Yeah, I feel like there’s always that mindset of how to manage the time and how to manage the season and when to peak, so to speak, with all elements. With no practice and no qualifying, days such as Friday and Saturday that are opened up, that’s when you pour all of your energy toward that Sunday and getting the best out of the car all through the stages and through the race and try to win. And then for us at Chip Ganassi Racing, the win at Vegas a couple of weeks ago, we’re still on a hot air balloon ride. It feels great to be up there, and that’s where we want to stay. There could be ten races left this year. We’re still going to go after it just as hard.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with 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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2020

BRAD KESELOWSKI AND KEVIN HARVICK MEDIA AVAILABILITY

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang — SHOULD IT BE A BIG ENOUGH SAFETY ISSUE FOR NASCAR TO BLACK FLAG A DRIVER IF THEY CAN’T HEAR THEIR SPOTTER? “Not really. I’m okay with it. If the shoe were on the other foot, I’d want to just keep on racing. In general, I like when NASCAR stays to the side, so no issue for me.”

WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET FOR THIS WEEKEND? “I’d like to go there and score a lot of points. We had a solid race in Kansas, just came up a few spots short and a great performance overall. If we can bring that kind of speed and so forth to Texas, we will be in great shape. Obviously, sitting on the cutoff line is not ideal because I could have a great race and still get knocked out because somebody else wins, so the best thing for us to do is to go win that thing. There’s three races left in the season and simple math, if I win one of the next two and then the last one, we’ll win the championship, so I’m trying to keep it that simple.”

HOW MUCH DO YOU WORRY ABOUT IT OR AGONIZE OVER IT? “It’s pretty easy to overthink. I’m trying not to read too much into it and just go out and do my job.”

ARE YOU SURPRISED JOEY LOGANO’S AGGRESSIVE DRIVING STYLE HASN’T EARNED HIM A LARGER FAN BASE? “I hadn’t really thought about that. I can’t say that I necessarily always know what the fans want or expect, and I’ve tried to just be myself and if that’s good, great. If it’s not, it’s not. It’s funny because we’ll do things on social media all the time and the ones that we’re like, ‘Yeah, that one is gonna be really popular and people are gonna like it’ more often than not, aren’t. And the ones that we just do kind of like, ‘Well, this is fun. If people like it, great. If they don’t, whatever’ end up being the ones they like the most, so it shows you what I know about what people like.”

CAN YOU GIVE SOME PERSPECTIVE ABOUT WHAT JOEY WAS ABLE TO DO AT THE END OF THE KANSAS RACE, HOLDING OFF HARVICK FOR SO LONG? “The track really came in the last run at Kansas for whatever reason. I don’t know if it cooled off some more or what not, but it gained a ton of grip, which was enough for the leader to be able to run wide-open pretty easily, and when that happened it almost turned into like a mini Daytona and you could really hold the lanes. To Joey’s credit he did an awesome job of making that happen. He and his spotter, T.J. are pretty strong and really good at that kind of stuff and he pulled it off flawlessly. It’s certainly not easy, but it was made possible by the high amount of grip that the track had and the low amount of horsepower.”

WHAT DID YOU DO WITH YOUR GRANDFATHER CLOCK AND WHY IS MARTINSVILLE SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE? “It is a special track. First off, as far as I’m aware it’s 1948, the oldest track on the circuit. That’s pretty cool. There’s only one track that can be the oldest and have the most history and pedigree and Martinsville is that. That brings a special allure to it, an allure that I think everybody likes, and then the other piece I would add is it’s a really special trophy with that clock. I know it means a lot to me. I have one twice there and I’ve got one clock at my house and one clock in my office. They’re very special and it serves as a constant reminder of how big that day was to me personally.”

WHAT HAS THE EXPERIENCE BEEN LIKE FOR YOU AND JEREMY BULLINS IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATING AND WORKING WITH EACH OTHER? “It wasn’t the way I thought it was gonna go. I thought, obviously, it would be normal and we would have meetings every week and we’d go through all these things and then COVID happened and God laughed at our plans, but that said, we’ve been trying to make the most of it and I feel like we’ve done a really good job. You expect to be better the second time you go to racetracks. I think for the most case that’s been spot on for us, and there’s a little bit of a honeymoon phase that we’re certainly in and trying to enjoy. Hopefully, we can ride that momentum to a championship.”

HOW MUCH DO YOU FEED OFF OR ENJOY THE PLAYOFF PRESSURE? “Feed off it is an interesting way to put it. I think I feed off having fast race cars. As far as the actual playoff atmosphere, there are things I like and things I dislike about it. The reality is it is what it is and I have to make the most of it and I try to focus on that.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MARTINSVILLE NEXT WEEK? THE CUTOFF RACES OFFER THEIR OWN UNIQUE CHALLENGES. DOES MARTINSVILLE HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE THE ONE THAT LIGHTS THE FUSE ON SOMETHING BIG? “It certainly is shaping up that way because sitting fourth in points as I am right now, or on the cutoff line — however you want to look at it. Technically, I’m third in points, but fourth in the playoff standings. But sitting there you obviously feel very vulnerable that one of those guys that’s not in can win. You look at the cars that aren’t in right now it’s Chase Elliott and Martin Truex that probably stand out the most, and I could definitely see one of those two going to Martinsville and winning. It’s shaping up to be quite a firestorm when we go to Martinsville.”

AS A FORMER TEAM OWNER, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A NEW OWNER COMING INTO THE SPORT? “From my experience as a team owner it’s all about revenue generation. How are you going to sell sponsors and bring in the cash flow that can cover your cost, which is easier said than done. There is stiff competition in that category. My self-serving advice would be to tell them,, ‘Make sure you hire a really good driver’ because that really is the tip of the spear in a lot of ways, and I do believe that, but be ready for a big challenge and love the grind. That’s what I tell anybody who wants to be a part of this sport.”

HOW PROUD OF YOU AT WHAT YOU WERE ABLE TO ESTABLISH WITH BKR, SEEING MANY OF YOUR FORMER DRIVERS NOW EITHER IN CUP OR GETTING CUP OPPORTUNITIES? “I’m really proud. I’m waiting for my commission for a few of them owners, but I’m not gonna hold my breath if you know what I mean. It’s been a great experience to see these drivers make their way to Cup. I didn’t do it for the recognition or the commission or any of that kind of stuff. That wasn’t why I did it, but I’m glad to see other drivers get an opportunity like I got to be at the top level and to have someone support them, and I had multiple people that helped me in my career, whether that was at the late model level, the truck level, the Xfinity level and without any of those people I couldn’t be where I’m at today, so I’m glad to play a role in seeing six different drivers get to the Cup level in some way, shape or form full-time, and I think eight drivers overall when you count part-time. Seeing Chase and Austin over the last week-and-a-half sign up for Cup is really refreshing and rewarding. I’m proud of that track record of being able to bring all those drivers to Cup, and wishing them all the best as they get there. In some ways it makes you feel a little old, but, like I said, I’m just really glad that I can look back at that part of my legacy in this sport and know I made a difference.”

CAN YOU EXPAND ON YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL WE’RE WATCHING THE DEMISE OF SOME FORMS OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND GIVEN HOW PERVASIVE IT HAS BECOME IN NASCAR, WHAT DO YOU FEEL IT WOULD MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY? “I think there’s a lot going on in our world right now, obviously even outside of the political landscape. Some of the things I see on a daily basis in social media that even you guys have to deal with is pretty messed up to be quite honest. On my side, I get some of the jabs too and I’ve had to build thick skin and deal with that, but eventually that’s gonna come to a head and something is gonna need to come in and clean this all up. I’m not sure how or when that is gonna happen, but it’s getting past time for that to happen, so I think that was really the emphasis of my comments. I really hate to see how it’s devastated the media landscape. As a kid one of my favorite things to do was to read what was then called The Winston Cup Scene, and having that newspaper copy in you hand and reading a story in it and know it was written by writers that were there at the racetrack each and every week and that knew and loved the sport and that were supported with an income that gave them a suitable livelihood to do so. And to see things like that disappear is a tragedy, not just for the consumer like myself that would consume it and build trust in that publication, but it’s a tragedy for the industry to lose that kind of source, and for those that have worked in those type of publications. Some of the people on this call today were probably a part of that, and I’ve always hated that for them, and social media in a lot of ways has been the blessing and the curse, and the curse is just that — that it’s destroyed some livelihoods and hurt a lot of how our sport is communicated and our world in general. Not that there is necessarily a solution that I can offer today, or ever will be able to offer, but I just can’t see it sustaining this way to where eventually we have to get to where we can trust everything we’re reading and know that it’s coming from those that are being taken care of along the way.”

WHY TO YOU THINK YOU’VE BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL WITH YOUR FORMER BKR DRIVERS MAKING THE JUMP TO CUP? “I’m certainly not gonna take all the credit. I thought we built a great team of people that certainly was a very strong supporting cast for drivers, and then I brought into it a personal experience that was very relevant to the day and age that all of those drivers have made it to, whether it was being a Cup competitor myself or having grown up through a system that was really just starting to get to a point where it didn’t so easily provide for developing drivers. So those personal experiences along with the supporting cast that formed BKR really helped us shape drivers, but also we made it a point to recruit some really talented people. I look at a guy like Ryan Blaney. His talent speaks for itself. He can just get in anything and go fast, and he’s got a full-time Cup ride accordingly. Same thing for Chase Briscoe, just phenomenal. I still remember the first time I scouted him and watched him use the lanes and not just use them. There are quite a few drivers that use multiple lanes, but there are very few drivers in their early phases understand how to use all the lanes on the racetrack, so there are just little idiosyncrasies that I saw in each and every one of the drivers that I knew. It meant that they had good building blocks to start with. Ross Chastain, I remember him driving a truck a year or two before I hired him that I thought was not all that great, and he was making it go fast. It’s really hard to teach. Some people have it and some people don’t. It’s not for me to say why some people have it and some people don’t, but it’s pretty obvious, and that’s just a couple stories along the way. Austin Cindric, his ability to get in a road course car and absolutely haul ass with no practice was just astounding to me. That was pretty special, but each and every one of these drivers has something that makes them great in their own way.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang — HOW APPROPRIATE IS IT TO HAVE MARTINSVILLE AS THE FINAL RACE BEFORE THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “I would expect it to be exciting as it always is. Obviously, when you add in the drama of the last race of the final round to lead into the Championship 4, I think it lends itself to making it more exciting. I would classify it as exciting just because of the fact of where it’s placed on the schedule and it’s normal trends are in that direction anyway.”

ARE YOU SURPRISED JOEY LOGANO ISN’T MORE POPULAR WITH FANS BECAUSE OF HIS AGGRESSIVE DRIVING STYLE? “I’m probably the wrong person to ask. I don’t really have an opinion one way or the other.”

SHOULD NASCAR BLACK FLAG A DRIVER IF THEY CAN’T HEAR THEIR SPOTTER? “I think we’ve all driven races with and without our radios, so I don’t really know what the right answer is on that. That’s just something that I don’t really have a whole lot of say on as far as what’s right and what’s wrong.”

HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED IN HANDLING PLAYOFFS THROUGH THE YEARS? “I think you just have to believe in the preparation and the things that you know how to do. I think our team is very good at that. I think as you look at the playoffs we try to race this way every week. We don’t try to do anything different. The preparation and the level of expectations is the same on week one as it is on week 35 or 34 as you go into the playoffs, so we’re not gonna try to count points or anything along those lines. You count points as a second move, as your backup plan just because of the fact the thing that you can control the most of moving forward is to win the race. I think our team believes in that and I think you have to race to win and then see where it all falls in the end. That’s what we do on a week-to-week basis and I think that mindset has really just not changed the way we that we talk about things, not changed the way that we approach things, not changed really anything as we go into the playoffs, so you just have to let the results just be what they are and do the things that you do on a weekly basis in order to just race the same way. It’s not a switch that you can flip. We tried that in the beginning and mentally it’s just not the right thing to do because you’re not mentally prepared and mentally trained to think the way that you have to think in the playoffs if you don’t do that on a week-to-week basis.”

WHAT IS THE KEY FOR YOU IN NOT DWELLING ON ISSUES THAT CAN HAPPEN DURING A RACE, LIKE A SLOW PIT STOP OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? IF YOUR PIT CREW HAD GOTTEN YOU OUT FIRST AT KANSAS, YOU MAY HAVE WON. “If we’d have gotten the right restart, we would have done the same thing, so I think you just have to take that stuff with a grain of salt. There’s gonna be weeks that you look back and you got that track position and won races because of it and some weeks you don’t get the track position and you don’t win, but it’s all up and down. Everybody has good weeks. Everybody has bad weeks. I mean, they had a good day and that one particular instance that we needed to be great and the 22 had a great pit stop, and we didn’t have a bad one, we just didn’t have a great one. The restart didn’t work out with no help from behind and wound up in the position that we were in. I think even today you still want to win and still frustrated that we didn’t win on a day we had a really fast car and felt like we could have won the race, but I think when you look at it it’s also a little bit childish to complain when you finish second and race for the lead all day. I’ve been on the flip side of that, so you definitely have to balance that with what’s realistic and good and bad and you kind of have to take all that in stride and just move on with it.”

YOU’VE BEEN SO STRONG AT TEXAS. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE FALL RACE THERE THAT MAKES YOU JUST A TICK BETTER? “I’d really like to thank Eddie Gossage for redesigning the racetrack because for whatever reason since Eddie has redesigned the track and things have kind of fallen into being favorable for us and the things that we do with our race car and myself as a driver it just kind of fits everything, so it’s just finally the last few years we’ve been able to capitalize on what we had on the old racetrack as well and that was fast cars. I think as you look at really everything that’s happened at Texas it’s just been A-plus, and when you have that confidence in a racetrack and the guys have confidence in the setup and the car and the things that they change from year to year it’s hard to beat confidence. There’s always things that can happen, but I truly believe that we’ll go there and have a really fast car and be comfortable the week leading up to it that you made the right decisions because we’ve made a lot of really good decisions there in the past. It’s just been a great place for us.”

DO THE PLAYOFF POINTS COME IN AT ALL FOR YOU? “They give you a good backup plan, and then you hope. Using that hope is great for what we did in the regular season. They don’t mean anything if you don’t capitalize on them. It’s a lot easier to put yourself in a position by winning races, but you can get yourself in trouble so fast and lose so many points so quick. You spent the whole regular season putting yourself in a position to have a backup plan and the way that we got that backup plan with those points was to win, and I think as you look at the things that we’ve been able to do, I think that’s still the best strategy — try to put yourself in position to win and the things that you did by capitalizing on that during the regular season lead to a good backup plan because you still don’t have control of that 100 percent from a points side of things. Winning solidifies that 100 percent for moving forward if you can do that.”

WHAT COULD POTENTIALLY HAPPEN AT MARTINSVILLE FOR GUYS THAT DON’T HAVE YOUR KIND OF BACKUP PLAN? “I think a lot of that depends on what happens this weekend. I truly believe that somebody from the final eight will win all three of these races. I don’t obviously know who that is and then you come down to one points spot, so a lot of it depends on who wins and if somebody outside of the top eight wins, then there are two points spots. So there are a lot of scenarios that can take place, but in the end Martinsville is gonna be Martinsville and then you put it as the final race to earn your way in and it will make it extra exciting.”

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO NEW TEAM OWNERS WANTING TO COME INTO NASCAR? “That’s a great question, but it’s not a simple scenario. I think the most important thing that you have are people. The only way to be great is to have great people. If you have average people, you’re gonna have an average team. If you have good people, you’re gonna have a good team. If you have great people, it leads to the opportunity to be great, so it’s all about putting the right people in the right places. Obviously, you have to run it to a budget, but I’d rather buy less tires than not have the right people because in the end it’s a scenario that you’re only as good as the people that are surrounding you and that is 100 percent true. I think you see the good drivers wind up with the good people and the good teams and good organizations and they all wind up in the same place for a reason. A lot of times those are the people that realize it takes everything to be perfect to be successful in this sport, so hiring the right people is definitely the biggest key to the equation.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL YOUR MENTALITY HAS CHANGED GOING INTO THE LAST THREE RACES OF THIS YEAR COMPARED TO OTHER YEARS? DO YOU HAVE MORE ENERGY AND LESS FATIGUE? “Oh, 100 percent. It’s a totally different feeling from a physical standpoint than what you’ve had in the past, but the flip side to that too is sometimes I don’t feel as good getting out of the car as I would when I’m in the car Friday, Saturday, Sunday, especially during the summer just because of the fact that you just become so used to the heat and all the things that happen on the hot days that you become accustomed to that. I feel like as we went through the summer not being in the car all the time kind of took a little bit more of a toll and you kind of had to approach things differently. Obviously, now it’s not that big a deal with the temperatures we’re racing in now, but I would tell you from an end of season standpoint it doesn’t feel like the end of the season because you just don’t have that ultimate fatigue that you normally get being run down and tired of traveling and all the things that come with the three-day weekend grind that we’re typically accustomed to and traveling so much. It feels much different than what we have done in the past, for sure.”

WHAT HAS IMPRESSED YOU MOST ABOUT CHASE BRISCOE ON OR OFF THE TRACK? “He’s a great person and he’s very, very determined. I think as you look at his background and the things that he’s done to get to this point it’s purely because of who he is from a personal side of things and what he can do in the car. When you combine those things, he’s just a great guy to be around and works really hard at what he does. It says a lot about our Xfinity program with two guys that are moving on to the Cup Series now. Obviously, Cole having won in the Cup Series and now Chase is on his way to doing the same thing, so Chase is just a great guy and can drive the heck out of the race car and that, for him, is very important because it’s helped a lot of people support him through the years that took to get him to this point and ultimately it paid off to be racing at the top level, so really, really happy for Chase to be able to get that opportunity. I think he will do a great job for Stewart-Haas Racing for a really long time after he gets his feet on the ground in being able to win races and help take Stewart-Haas Racing forward for many years to come.”

Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.

NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

FORT WORTH (October 22, 2020) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media via videoconference in advance of the race at the Texas Motor Speedway:

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Do you consider lack of radio communication something that deserves a black flag?

“I don’t think so, in my opinion. It’s kind of a tough one to judge. The spotter safety part is more for when crashes happen or when safety vehicles are on track, not so much, just racing and driving the car and trying not to cause an issue. I guess it could be, just depending on the situation, but definitely a tough one to call. It is a rule that you have to have a spotter, but we’ve seen in the past where guys have had radio issues and I don’t know that we’ve ever seen anyone black flagged for it. Kind of a ball/strike call, I suppose.”

Are you surprised that Joey Logano is not more of a fan favorite?

“Not really. He’s been in a lot of altercations with a lot of drivers, so I guess that’s part of the reason. Yeah, I don’t know. I think he has his own approach and doesn’t apologize for racing situations, I guess. He does a good job, obviously, and wins a lot of races. I don’t know that he makes decisions in a race car based on how many fans he has, if he gets booed or not.”

How do you look at this weekend?

“I feel good about it. We were really strong in the spring Texas race. Feeling like the last two seasons or whatever we’ve been off at Texas and have had some struggles. We went there this Spring and felt really good about things. I thought we had a shot at it, and we ended up getting crashed on a restart. Optimistic about it. I think James (Small, crew chief) feels good about it. Really the next two weeks, I feel good about. We are not in a great position points wise. We need to make something happen, but I’m definitely feeling like we have that opportunity to do it and the potential to do it.”

So, you don’t focus on the points deficit?

“You can’t really. It is what it is, right now. Obviously, we came into the Playoffs without a lot of bonus points that typically we are used to having, and that’s made it a little bit of a challenge, but again, definitely didn’t run as good as we hoped to in Kansas. We lost a little bit there. We’ve got to make it happen. We’ve got two weeks to do it. Our approach is to just do the best job that we can do and hopefully, we can get it done.”

Is there someone on your team that keeps you aware of the points position?

“Depends on the situation, I think. This year, so far through the Playoffs, I don’t think ever in one race at one point in time have we discussed points or where we were, whether we need to do something different. We’ve been pretty much, up into this round, in pretty decent position, where we really didn’t have to worry too much. Obviously, we were able to just focus on our jobs and what we needed to do there and hope to just have the best day that we could. We’ve not been in a position yet, where it comes to the end of the race and you need one spot or two spots, or if this guy gets by you, you are out. We haven’t been in that situation yet. Obviously, this round it’s going to be a little trickier there. If we don’t win one of the next two races, there will be a lot more talk about that.”

How much did Joey Logano winning really change up this round?

“That’s really what changes up things the most, when you have a guy behind you that wins. That’s just part of the way that it is. That was only the first race there are two to go. There’s still a lot can happen. You just have to go out and do the best you can and hope to put yourself in position to win a race.”

Does your recent success at Martinsville give you even more confidence heading into there?

“In racing, it’s always a little bit of both. You’re always excited to go to a place where you have been successful, especially recently. It definitely doesn’t guarantee that it’s going to go the same this time around, so you have to do your normal preparation and make all of the right decisions. Martinsville can be a wild crazy race depending on how the cautions fall, especially at the end of the race. You just take it one at a time. You take it one stage at a time and try to put yourself in the best position possible throughout that race, no matter where it is at.”

How proud were you of the charity endeavor and what’s next for the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation?

“Yeah that was a really big deal for us because with COVID this year and not to be able to do our biggest fundraiser of the year, trying to find ways to keep the foundation moving forward has been a challenge. I think the girls that work for us there, Lisa and Jill and Sherry, have all done a great job coming up with new ideas. Typically, that time of the year, we would do the steering wheel program and we even had trouble trying to get those because they come out of Italy. Coming up with that idea was great, it was really nice to see the support we got throughout the industry from the teams to the drivers, just everyone involved, allowing that to happen. That was a huge deal for us, and very thankful for everyone’s support.”

What is the biggest lesson you are going to take from the 2020 season?

“I don’t know. It’s been a crazy year, I think. For me, I’m obviously just really thankful to be able to do what I do and work with a great team. I think from the standpoint of stepping back and looking at our entire sport, I think looking at the job that everyone did this year to come back – really make us the first sport to come back from the COVID situation and the shutdown to be successful as the sport has been and really not run into any issues along the way. Really just a great job from the leadership point of NASCAR to make good decisions and for everyone to buy in and make sure they did all of the things that they were supposed to do. Just looking at being able to get through the season in the amount of time we did was really impressive. I think you learned, when things like this happen, to be able to change on the fly. You learn to adapt. I think everyone did a great job at that.”

What has been the process getting acclimated to James Small this season?

“I think it’s a little bit of different situation with us, because we’ve worked together the last couple of years, so it was really an easy transition from that standpoint. I think the biggest challenge that we faced was not having practice and obviously there has been some things that James had to deal with along the way being his first year as crew chief. The communication part and the way we work together, understand each other, things like that, have really came easy. It’s not like we were starting with a new person that I’d not worked with before, so that was really helpful.”

With more time away from the racetrack this season, how do you balance time preparing and time away from the racetrack?

“I’d say really the approach is not a lot different. We’ve definitely done a lot more preparation away from the racetrack as far as what I do. More simulator time, more talking to James, more watching SMT stuff that he sends me, just more planning because we don’t have practice. Whether that is talking to him or talking to my engineer about little things about the race, racecar or the track that maybe we’ve been good at before in the past or that we need to work on this time. I guess it’s a lot more talking, things like that, than it used to be. You used to have time to work out those details in practice. It seemed like every time you go to the track no matter how many times you have been there you kind of pick up on something small, a little thing that maybe the crew chief or engineer really didn’t understand and you come up with these little things that will make the car work better and give them a better understanding on what you need to go faster. It’s really difficult without having that. I feel like it’s more of an educated guess. That’s been a big challenge for everyone, especially.”

You are in a great Zoom location. Can you tell me what you are doing? Are you boating or are you fishing?

“Both. We are on a little vacation with a couple of friends, and out cruising on a pontoon and fishing a little bit. Just enjoying the outdoors.”

With you consistently in this round, are you not really stressed or worried about where you are at?

“Yeah, I would say that is a good assumption. I’m going to do the best job that I can do. I know that my team is working hard. As I mentioned earlier, I feel really good about our chances the next couple of weeks. I guess for that reason I’m not really stressed or worried or nervous. I think whatever is going to happen is going to happen. Worrying about today is not going to change Sunday. We are ready to go. I think our team is fired up and excited and hopefully ready to step it up to the next level.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

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.

Davico Manufacturing Featured as Co-Partner Opportunity for Fan to Win Replica Hood Signed by McDowell

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 22, 2020) – CarParts.com is heading back to the track with Michael McDowell on Sunday, November 1st, at Martinsville Speedway, along with Davico Manufacturing, who will be making their debut in the NASCAR circuit as a co-partner. CarParts.com has helped propel McDowell to a career-best season that includes four Top-10 finishes and his all-time best average finish, which spurred the ecommerce giant’s decision to tap the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang and McDowell into a sneak peek at the company’s brand evolution, showcasing the all-new logo at Martinsville for CarParts.com’s last race of the year. After the race, one lucky NASCAR fan will win a Martinsville No. 34 livery replica hood signed by McDowell. For updates on how to enter for a chance to win, fans can follow @CarPartscom on social media.

“We’re thrilled to introduce our new look to NASCAR fans with Front Row Motorsports, Michael McDowell, and our partners at Davico Manufacturing,” said Lev Peker, CEO of CarParts.com. “We believe our fellow drivers belong on the road, which is why we’re committed to helping them move forward and enjoy their journey. This is what our new logo helps represent. We couldn’t think of a better debut than having McDowell carry our new branding at Martinsville Speedway in front of a national audience on NBC.”

Joining CarParts.com on the No. 34 at Martinsville is Davico Manufacturing, a family-owned business that has been producing American-made catalytic converters for over 30 years in their home state of Massachusetts. Available on CarParts.com, Davico Manufacturing offers the widest catalytic converter selection, including exact-fit converters that promise unmatched attention to detail and straightforward installation with no cutting, clamping, or welding required.

“Davico Manufacturing has been a made-in-America manufacturer of world-class, direct-fit catalytic converters and special exhaust for more than 34 years,” said Glenn Hamblett, National Sales Manager at Davico. “Our entire team here in Massachusetts is excited and energized to co-sponsor the No. 34 car of Michael McDowell and the Front Row Motorsports team along with CarParts.com. We will all be watching and enjoying our first NASCAR marketing endeavor and wish everyone well. Good luck, Michael McDowell!”

McDowell has found tremendous success with CarParts.com on the track, including his best finish of the season to date, coming in seventh at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Furthermore, McDowell has been actively involved with the company through various social media promotions, sweepstakes, and internal meetings. He is now looking forward to helping them with the introduction of their new look, and bringing first-timer Davico Manufacturing to the track.

“CarParts.com has been innovative with their look and colors all season,” said McDowell. “They’re now introducing their new logo. It’s awesome they wanted to do it with NASCAR, Front Row Motorsports, and myself. They’ve been a great partner all season, but they’ve also been great for the sport and done different things to give back to the fans, too. That’s amazing to see during such a challenging year. I also want to thank Davico Manufacturing for their support this weekend. They’re going to be in for a fun ride.”

Sunday’s race will be televised live on NBC and begin at 2:00 p.m. ET.

For more information about CarParts.com, visit CarParts.com. For more information about Davico Manufacturing, visit www.davicomfg.com.

About Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields two full-time entries – the No. 34 of Michael McDowell and the No. 38 of John Hunter Nemechek – from its Mooresville, N.C., headquarters just outside of Charlotte. In 2020, the team announced an expansion to include the No. 38 Ford F-150 in the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series, driven by Todd Gilliland. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

About CarParts.com
With over 50 million parts delivered, CarParts.com has helped drivers across the contiguous United States keep their vehicles on the road. Leveraging our company-owned national distribution network, we bring the very best brands and manufacturers directly to consumer hands, cutting out unnecessary costs to provide quality parts at a discount. Combined with our 90-day returns and intuitive mobile experience, CarParts.com makes it simple for customers to get the parts they need delivered straight to their door.

CarParts.com is headquartered in Torrance, California.

About Davico Manufacturing
Established in 1987, Davico Manufacturing produces more than 4,000 part numbers of exact-fit, universal, and dealer alternative catalytic converters. With the widest product coverage in the industry, Davico has become a go-to brand for hard-to-find and late model catalytic converters. Davico’s full line of products are made in the U.S.A. and available for purchase on CarParts.com.