NASCAR MEDIA AVAILABILITIES
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2020
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 98 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang — DO YOU ANTICIPATE YOU AND AUSTIN WORKING TOGETHER AT TALLADEGA? “Yeah, absolutely. I just had a phone call at 11 o’clock with all the crew chiefs, drivers and even Ford were on it just trying to figure out what’s the best strategy going into it. I feel like every superspeedway race me and Austin have tried to really stick together and it’s hard when there are only two of you because the numbers just don’t work for you, but I feel like every race we’ve gotten a lot better at understanding how each other superspeedway race, and obviously the main goal is to push Austin to hopefully have enough stage points to where he’s clinched, and then from there we can just both race, but still obviously try to help each other out.”

HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO STEP BACK AND ENJOY YOUR SEASON OR NOT? “I feel like I’ve tried to keep in perspective every week what this season has been about. Seasons like this don’t happen every year. The last time I had a season like this was in the ARCA Series and it definitely makes you appreciate it more when you’re not going through them, but I think just going over the last couple years and not having the success that I would like to have just makes you appreciate every win and everything we’ve been able to do. It’s been different with Covid, truthfully, even to kind of put into perspective the year we’ve been having, but, at the same time, I feel like a perfect example is getting the Indianapolis ring yesterday. Stuff like that just reminds you of the kind of season that we’ve had and how cool for me it is just to get to drive these race cars week in and week out. I feel like I always try to keep a pretty good perspective of that, and I think a lot of that same reason why you don’t see me get mad and want to go fight people is at the end of the day even if I run 35th, I’m still making a living driving race cars and remember when I dreamed of doing it. It could always be a lot worse, so I feel like I always try to keep that perspective. This year, yeah, I feel like I’ve really enjoyed and not taken for granted the success that we’ve had. I feel like I’ve really tried to appreciate every moment of it and hopefully we’ll have more of that throughout the year.”

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE OF HOW YOU ATTACK A ROVAL VERSUS TRADITIONAL ROAD COURSE? “Yeah, I think so. I think they’ve all drove different. The Roval, Daytona, none of those really run like an actual road course, I don’t feel like, and, for me, what I like about them is the Roval I think is the perfect scenario where you have the infield and you have to be really smooth, finesse — overdriving doesn’t make you go any faster, but then you go on the big track and enter that final chicane and it’s elbow up, who is the bravest guy. You just have those two totally different types of driving styles that go into that one track and that’s just what I like about it is it seems like these Rovals all kind of run that way. At Daytona was the same way — the infield it was so slick, you had to be so smooth and so precise, and then you get on the big track and you do the bus stop and the final chicane is just elbows up, who is the bravest guy driving it down in there. I enjoy that part of it. I feel like a traditional road course you don’t necessarily have that. They just drive different. As weird as that sounds you’d think they’d be the same, but I do feel like they race quite a bit different or at least drive different.”

YOU HAD AN ASSOCIATE SPONSOR COME ON AT THE LAST MINUTE THIS WEEK. THAT MUST BE A GOOD FEELING, RIGHT? “Yeah, absolutely. It was awesome. We had the U.S. Census Bureau come on at literally the last minute — Wednesday — so it was really last-minute to be on, but I think it’s cool for me especially to have that kind of success that we’ve had this year and that people still want to hop on board and are reaching out to do stuff. It was definitely a shot in the arm for our program. Financially, we weren’t expecting to get anymore money the rest of the year from a sponsorship standpoint and to have that kind of sponsorship come on board literally the week of the race is a huge thing for our program, so I think it’s gonna help us all throughout Phoenix and hopefully we can get those guys a good run this weekend.”

WHAT DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CENSUS COMING INTO THIS WEEKEND AND WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO LEARN? “I sent mine in a couple months ago, so I was good to go. I always get the letters in the mail, so I at least knew what it was.”

WITH NASCAR ADDING MORE ROAD COURSES AND EMPHASIZING SHORT TRACKS WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE TO YOUNGER DRIVERS IF THE SPORT CONTINUES DOWN THAT ROAD? “It’s tough. I think from an early age at least, for me growing up in Indiana, there wasn’t any hot bed of road courses around me. We had dirt tracks everywhere, which, truthfully, I always say it after almost every single road course race, it reminds me a lot of sprint car racing. I feel like you see dirt guys always be pretty successful in the road course stuff just because I think it does correlate a lot as far as just the mentality of trying to keep your tires hooked up, you’re jumping curbs and getting after it and you have to really be up on the wheel. I think it’s hard for me at least with my experience growing up I can’t say, ‘Hey, this is what I would go do to get ready for a road course race.’ I think the biggest thing that helped me was when Ford sent me to run those IMSA races. The cars drive totally different, not anything comparable, but just getting laps on a road course and even going to run a go-kart track, just getting that mentality of how to run a road course. You go right down the road to Go Pro Motorplex and you can figure out things that work and don’t work on that road course, and normally you can apply that kind of stuff to the other road courses. It seems like it’s always that same mentality of where is that fine line of making up time getting into the corner, but also not hurting your time out of the corner. I think you can learn that anywhere at any road course, whether that’s a rental go-kart track or anything, so from an experience standpoint I think it’s hard to say, ‘Hey, go do this. This is gonna make you 100 percent better’ because it’s different for everybody. For me, I felt like sprint cars really helped, but I also feel like rental go-karts helped and probably not everybody else is gonna have that same mentality. I like the fact that we’re gonna have some more road courses. I think it’s just a different type of driving style, but at the end of the day if you’re a good race car driver, you’re gonna be able to run good on a road course after you get some experience. I’m excited to watch the road course racing more and more. I think it’s really exciting for our fans and it’s just something different. Obviously, it’s not gonna turn into a full-time road course series, but to have that parity of having the Cup Series guys, obviously, we don’t know where the XFINITY and Trucks are gonna go, but, to me, the Cup Series drivers are the best drivers in the world, so you want to see them challenge every discipline and now with the new schedule we get to see that. We get to see them now at a dirt track. We get to see them on a road course, short track, intermediate, superspeedway. We get to see them now challenge every single discipline and I like the road course stuff. I think it creates a lot of drama and creates a lot of really good storylines.”

AS A DIRT GUY YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT A BRISTOL DIRT RACE? “I’m super excited. Anytime you can have a dirt race I feel like that’s just gonna help me. Eldora was always one that I had circled that I felt like I could go and win, so, for me, anytime you can add any type of dirt race to any schedule in a pavement series, I feel like I’m gonna have a little bit of an advantage, so I’m super excited. I’ll never forget the first time I walked into Bristol my first thought was, ‘I cannot believe the World of Outlaws ran here,’ and just how big and fast it is for those guys, but just the banking. I’m definitely curious to see how it works. I think Eldora, truthfully, is probably the perfect racetrack for non-purposely built dirt cars to go run just from the banking standpoint, how it rakes in the dirt — everything is just really good for that — but Eldora would probably have a hard time hosting a Cup race from a logistical side of things — seating obviously. You couldn’t put that many people in it, so from that standpoint I think Bristol is a phenomenal place to do it, and from a racetrack standpoint I think there is gonna be some challenges just from a banking side of things. I’m not sure how it’s gonna race with our cars with that much banking, but I think another good possibility maybe down the road to look into this I think Loudon would be a perfect racetrack to go dirt racing. It’s got a little bit of bank. It would be just like the miles that the ARCA cars run, and I just think it would be a really cool event. You could have the big block modifieds come and run a big race or whatever, so I think down the road if Bristol is a good success that Loudon would be a really good one to add that to, but I’m excited to add dirt racing. I think the fans are gonna be excited and I’m excited to see how it turns out.”

AFTER THIS WEEK THE XFINITY SERIES WILL BE BACK ON ITS ORIGINAL SCHEDULE. HOW WILL THAT FEEL? “Truthfully, I haven’t even thought about it. Now it just feels normal the schedule we’ve been running. I want to say we started back in the second week of May and I haven’t had an off weekend since. The one off weekend the XFINITY Series had I went and ran an IMSA race, so, for me, I’ve kind of been in the flow for a while now of just racing every weekend and I don’t even know where we’re going half the time the next week, especially now with how messed up it’s been. I feel like we’ve been on the same schedule just like normal for a while now, so it’ll be nice that we caught up finally. I think it’s cool that we were able to do that. Obviously, Talladega was a pretty big loop thrown into our schedule, but fortunately for us since we won last week we don’t have to worry about it in the playoffs, so I’m excited for that and obviously going to the Roval with the same mentality.”

WHAT IMPROVEMENTS SHOULD NASCAR MAKE FOR THE BRISTOL DIRT RACE FROM A RULE OR CAR STANDPOINT? “That’s a tough question because for one I don’t know what the Cup Series is gonna look like from the standpoint of the trucks, there are a lot of people that go buy a truck for that one race a year that are dirt guys and show up and you have to legitimately send people home, where in the Cup Series I don’t understand the charter stuff enough to know if that’s even a possibility. There could be 50 Cup cars show up for this one race because I do think the possibility presents itself, I think you’re seeing a lot of guys that have dreamed of running a Cup race come and going and buying an older car and if that’s even possible converting it over and trying to run that race, so from that standpoint I don’t know if they’re gonna have heat races and all that stuff. The tire, I don’t have a problem with the Eldora tire. I didn’t think it was bad. It could have wore maybe a little bit more, but at the same time the biggest component, to me, to make Bristol a great race is you have to have good dirt and you have to have good track prep. We don’t want to do this one race and be really dusty. I don’t think that does any justice to anybody. The K&N race at Vegas a couple of years ago was kind of in that situation, where it’s dusty and kind of one lane and it just doesn’t do justice to dirt racing I don’t think. It almost gives it a bad look. The common fan that’s never watched a dirt race they think that it is dusty, you can’t see anything, and that’s not the case. If the track is prepped well, it puts on incredible racing and that’s the biggest component of all of this is you have to have a really well-prepared racetrack and the dirt is obviously a key ingredient to that, so I’m curious to see what they do for dirt. I think the tricky thing is when you talk about the track prep side of things you can’t have a really tacky racetrack with a lot of grip and moisture because we have windshields and you can’t see obviously once too much dirt gets on there, so it’s a really fine line of how do you make the racetrack good where it doesn’t affect our cars from overheating and all these things where you can’t see. That’s one thing that I think Tony has done a fantastic job on at Eldora is really making the racing good and not dusty, but also making it where we can see and do all these things. If I was Bristol and even NASCAR, I think it would be really wise to get Tony involved because he obviously knows both worlds and what it takes to make it do good.”

ONLY EIGHT RACES WILL HAVE TRADITIONAL PRACTICE. WOULD THAT IMPACT YOUR DECISION ON GOING CUP RACING NEXT YEAR? “No, not really. I feel like regardless if you move up you have to adapt quickly and figure it out. I would assume that even the XFINITY side is gonna have even less practice than the Cup Series, so I think that’s gonna be the new normal, which it’s gonna be hard for any rookie down the road, but I feel like the rookies this year have done a really good job of managing that no practice and truthfully I don’t know if no practice isn’t an advantage to a rookie because, obviously just getting track time and getting to know how the car runs is a help, but outside of that I think where you see guys really getting beat is when these veterans can practice their car and get it exactly how they know they need it, where a rookie you don’t know what you need. So, I think that’s one advantage is these veterans aren’t gonna be able to do that anymore. They’re gonna just have to figure it out and go and obviously it’s gonna be hard for whoever goes up for lap one of the race be your first lap in that type of car at that racetrack and all those things, but all these guys are such good race car drivers that they normally figure it out within 15-20 laps anyways, so I don’t think it’s a bad thing having no practice. If anything, I think it might be an advantage because I think Kyle Busch even said it, it’s been harder for him to run good with no practice because he can’t get the car how he wants it, so I’m not against the no practice thing. I think it honestly, in my eyes, helps my situation if I get to move up because then you just have to figure it out and know everybody is on the same playing field. Nobody’s car drives perfect and puts it back in the driver’s hands, so I’m not against it. I actually kind of like it.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang — WITH A ROAD COURSE EMPHASIS HOW MUCH DOES THAT CHANGE THE DEMANDS OF A DRIVER AND WHAT MAKES A GOOD DRIVER? “Obviously, a lot more emphasis on the road courses with the new 2021 schedule, a little less emphasis on short tracks, so it’s just maybe a little bit more diverse in some ways, less diverse in other ways. It’s certainly different. I think when you get to the championship rounds though, and correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s not a big change in the championship playoffs. It’s the same 10 tracks and those are really the 10 most important. I try to focus on those first and then worry about the others later, and since they’re not changing I won’t say it’s the biggest change in the world, but it certainly is different getting there, and I think it’ll mix it up pretty good.”

DOES THE PATH FOR A DEVELOPMENT DRIVER CHANGE NOW? “Yeah, I think I would put more emphasis on road course racing if I was a development driver right now, for sure.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE 2021 SCHEDULE? “I think what excites me the most is it used to be every year we’d announce the new schedule and it was like, ‘We’ve moved a race by one week,’ but all the races were the same. It was like, ‘Well, that’s not really much to announce.’ This is the first schedule announcement we’ve had since I’ve been a Cup driver that has had significant changes. I think that’s refreshing. I think the schedule needs to be bold. It needs to be changed. It needs to be dynamic every year, and I think I’m excited about that. There’s not really one thing that stands out to me that I went, ‘Eh,’ about. There’s nothing cringeworthy to me in the new schedule. There are a few things that excite me more than others, no doubt, but I think all in all it’s very good for the sport.”

HOW DO YOU LOOK AT TALLADEGA WITH WHERE YOU ARE IN THE STANDINGS? “It’s been up and down for me. The last few races have probably been down. Last fall I thought we were gonna win the race. With two or three to go we were making the pass for the lead and the next thing I know we’re all wrecked. I was kind of like, ‘Man.’ It’s a love-hate affair with that track, for sure, and hopefully we’ll love it. I feel like we’re due for a good finish there. I’ve ran up front the last few races and the finish had eluded us, so I’m pumped and ready to go.”

TEAM PENSKE HAS CONSISTENTLY WON AT TALLADEGA OF LATE. HOW DO YOU ADAPT TO THE EBBS AND FLOWS AND WHY HAS TEAM PENSKE DONE SO WELL? “We have a great driver lineup right now. I tell you, if I was a team owner right now and I had to pick the best driver lineup in Cup, and I know this is somewhat tooting my own horn, but it’s as much tooting the horn of Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto, but I think we have the strongest driver lineup in Cup right now. I really do. I know that’s probably arguable and it’s completely subjective, but that’s way to our favor at tracks like the plate tracks and we’re gonna continue to try and leverage it.”

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN TO BE PATIENT AND WHEN TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE AT A PLACE LIKE TALLADEGA? “You build a feel for it over time. It’s not an exact science. There have been times where I’ve kicked myself and said, ‘Oh my God, I got in a wreck and I could see it coming. Brad, you should have known better.’ There have been times where I’ve back down and said, ‘Oh, they’re gonna wreck,’ and they don’t wreck. It’s an inexact science, but generally speaking you have a pretty good clue over the years of people running places they shouldn’t be running and things of that nature, and it builds up like a mother’s sense about their children. It’s the same thing.”

MICHIGAN LOSES ONE WEEKEND IN THE 2021 SCHEDULE. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? “So, did it lose a race or are we having a doubleheader? I read that wrong . I thought they had a doubleheader. I must have been thinking about this year. I didn’t know that part. That’s a track I enjoy going to. I’ll miss the weekend. I’m sure it will come back to a doubleheader soon.”

HOW DO YOU ATTACK A ROVAL STYLE LAYOUT COMPARED TO A STANDARD ROAD COURSE? “I think there are different types of road courses just like there are different types of oval tracks. The Roval type of track is much harder on equipment, has a really big speed delta, high-speed, low speeds, it can be quite a handful, and so managing your car is much more difficult than like a Sears Point. The high speeds are as fast as a Sears Point in Sonoma, or the low speeds are as fast as though tracks, but the high speeds are more like your Watkins Glen type of racetrack. It’s just a really big challenge to run a Roval. It’s very hard on you physically because you hit the curbs very, very hard and it bounces your body around quite a bit, but it’s pretty cool to say you’ve done it.”

DID YOU WATCH THE 2000 WINSTON 500, WHICH WAS DALE EARNHARDT’S FINAL WIN IN THE CUP SERIES? WHAT HAS BEEN THE LASTING LEGACY OF THAT WIN? “I can’t remember where I was that day to articulate it. I don’t think I saw it live, but I’m sure I saw it on replay right after, but there’s always an Earnhardt legacy that’s connected to Talladega. It’s always been there and probably always will be there. Between Dale Jr and his dad they won, I think, 16 races there in the Cup Series, which is pretty phenomenal. That’s a hell of a mark to leave at any racetrack, and so they’ve made a lot of moves and set a lot of precedents on how to get the job done there that I’ve tried to learn over the years. That race is one that I’ll certainly always think about how to apply it.”

WHAT ABOUT THE LOSS OF KENTUCKY AND CHICAGOLAND? “It’s not the fun part of life, but the reality is there are winners and losers in anything. The two go hand-in-hand, and I think Chicago, Kentucky and even Michigan might have lost out on this one, but I’m sure they’ll win sometime down the road and it’ll work its way out, so for those race fans that are maybe upset about it, I would say be patient and we’ll be back.”

WHAT IMPROVEMENTS SHOULD NASCAR MAKE FOR THE BRISTOL DIRT RACE? “I can’t sit here and tell you at the moment that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about NASCAR should do for the Bristol dirt race. Honestly, at this point in the season with the playoffs looming that’s been way more where my focus is, to be honest, and even when it does come next season we’ll probably be more focused on the playoffs than that one race. So, I think we should just enjoy the novelty of it, let it be fun, and hopefully the details will work out. If they don’t, at least it’s not a playoff race.”

WHAT IDEAS DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE 28 RACES SCHEDULED TO BE ONE-DAY SHOWS NEXT YEAR EVENTS, OR SHOULD THAT BE RECONSIDERED? “I haven’t stared at the schedule. I’m gonna be honest with you. I glanced through it real quick, back to being focused on this year and not letting those other things get too deep in my mind. I don’t know how many of them are doubleheaders. I guess I just assumed that quite a bit of them were. Do you know how many doubleheaders there are?”

POCONO IS THE ONLY DOUBLEHEADER. “So then basically there will be about a half-dozen races or more where we’re there for two days. You’ll have those and we’ll obviously try to make the most of those events. As for the single-day shows, I mean there have been such huge efficiencies and costing, and I think we’ve found ways to make it work with respect to having the XFINITY race all day and the Truck race all day. It’s actually worked a lot better than I would have predicted it would have, but in totality I do think race weekends are generally more of an event than most sports are and I’ve been happy to be a part of that with things I’ve done with Miller Lite and events at the racetrack during a race week. I suspect that we’ll still do some of those once the virus and all that is clear, but until that’s happened it seems so far off that it hasn’t been worth putting a lot of thought into.”

IS IT WEIRD TO LOOK AT TALLADEGA AS A PLACE FOR TEAM PENSKE TO TURN THINGS AROUND AS A GROUP? “Yeah, it is a bit strange. We haven’t been where we want to be on the mile-and-a-halves. There’s no doubt about that. The mile-and-a-halves and road courses have been a weak spot for us. The superspeedways and the short tracks have been a strong spot for us. Thankfully, we have the superspeedway this weekend and a couple short tracks coming up in the next round, so we need to kind of maximize our strengths and minimize our weaknesses and this weekend is certainly looking like a strength for us. We have high expectations.”

BEN RHODES, No. 99 Tenda Products Ford F-150 — HOW NERVOUS ARE YOU TO GO TO TALLADEGA THIS WEEKEND? “I’m excited. I wouldn’t say nervous. I guess I would say anxious, maybe, just to get there and get the race going. I’ve been thinking about the Las Vegas race all week and the problems we had and the mistakes that were made and where we’re at in points, but even if we were six points up or 10 points up if we came out of Vegas and we had 16 points more than what we do now, we’d still be in trouble and still be on the bubble. Anything can happen at Talladega. I’ve been talking to my spotter and my crew chief and everybody about it and we’re really just going there on the offensive now. We’re six points under. My crew chief and all the guys are cheery about it. They’re excited that we’re going to be on the offensive. They feel better about that. Me as a driver it’s kind of it is what it is. I’m gonna go hard either way. I’m just excited because this year they made a lot of improvements to our speedway trucks and I feel the stuff that was learned last year with Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton taking two trucks that performed very well, we took that at Daytona and performed really well for us. We led a bunch of laps and we’ve been building on that program, so I hope we’re gonna have a really fast Streamline Ford F-150 and be able to get the lead and stay there and lead well and not have to battle in the middle of the pack all day.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS RUNNING WITH THE LEAD PACK ALL RACE LONG AT TALLADEGA? “That’s really the race is the stage points for us. We’re approaching it as two separate races. The first two stages are their own race and after that, at that point, the last stage is its own separate race because we’ll know what we have to do for points. The first two everything is up in the air. I’m hoping we can close the gap in both of them, and I just want to be at least even for the last stage, and then by the last stage it’s anybody’s race and we’re gonna do whatever we have to do to make it to the next round. We’re breaking it up. We’re trying to compartmentalize the race and make it easier for us to kind of focus on the task at hand.”

OF THE SMALLER TEAMS IN THE FIELD WHO DO YOU THINK COULD HAVE THE BEST SHOT AT SPOILING THE PARTY? “I wouldn’t say it’s a small team, really, I think Niece right now could have a really good chance of spoiling the party. They’ve got fast speedway trucks and they’ve got good drivers in their trucks, so I think they could spoil the party, but I don’t really consider them a small team anymore with all the trucks that they field. I just feel like they’re a new team that has been performing well and they did really well last season, so I would say Niece is probably the one that comes to mind.”

THOUGHTS ON KENTUCKY NOT BEING ON THE 2021 CUP SCHEDULE? “Yeah, it was certainly one of the bigger surprises of 2020 and we’ve dealt with everything this year. A big disappointment. I’m not really happy about it mainly for my friends family and the people that come out to watch the race from this region. I’ve got a lot of feedback from people that I’m close to and even fans that I’ve come to know that are from my hometown for quite some time, and they’re all bummed about it. I told them, I said, ‘I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know what Kentucky Speedway is gonna look like two years from now, but I hope in two years we’re back racing there again.’ Maybe it’s just a one year break. My personal opinion is that I’d rather run everywhere just once, rather than go to a Texas, where we go two separate races, or Las Vegas, two separate races. I think if we’re gonna race at a track twice, it needs to be like a doubleheader — kind of like how we did Kansas this year. That made it so easy and simple. You race one race, you fix the same truck back up and you race another the next day. That’s something that I think could be the next evolution, and maybe with that we can put some more races on the schedule and not have a race in Las Vegas in the spring and then come back for the fall, where that might open up something in the schedule for going back to Kentucky. I’m just bummed that we’re leaving, honestly.”

CAN YOU BREAK DOWN THE NEXT FEW RACES AFTER TALLADEGA? “Those are some of our best tracks. Every time we go to Texas I feel good about it. Every time we go to Kansas I feel great about it. Martinsville, we’ve had good speed, but it’s just so hard to keep yourself clean there. The last race, the fall race last year, we got in trouble and we were running third — came in for a pit stop to try to get ourselves ahead on strategy, and we ended up getting in some wrecks in the back. Martinsville is hit or miss, especially with how late it’s gonna be run now. I think it’ll be a little bit different racetrack, but I feel so good about the next round. If we don’t make it, I’m gonna be really, really bummed because I know we can make it to the final four. We just have to get through Talladega and these next tracks are like money for us.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING YOU NOW TO BE WHERE YOU’RE AT AND RACING AT TALLADEGA? “You make great points of everything that I strive to have. I strive to have that attitude and that perspective because I do realize that as race car drivers we’re very fortunate to be able to do what we do, and say that we do that for a living. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid and here I am doing it, but once you’re in that position you become consumed with the duties and the goals that you have in mind and where you’d want to be in your career, so that’s something I still am trying to get better at. I don’t know if you ever do, though, because as you get older and you get more experienced your goals are evolving and you’re hungry and you’re trying to get the next win and the championship, but that’s the perspective that I like to have. I like to step back and say, ‘Hey, we’re fortunate to be here. We need to have fun and enjoy it,’ and I find that when we’re having fun and enjoying the races we typically do our best. I can tell you that the ones where I start driving angry or I might start getting bamboozled in the head from all the craziness happening — motor issues or getting knocked sideways by somebody on the track — I try to have a little bit better approach and that’s something I’ve been working on here lately. I’ve gotten into a rut here lately where if something happens I’m just wanting to drive harder or drive angry and I can find myself getting into bad positions. That’s a great perspective to have. I’m still working on it to be honest.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
YELLAWOOD 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 1, 2020

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference and discussed the recently announced 2021 schedule, road course racing, his strategy for upcoming races at Talladega and the Roval, what it was like to win at his hometown track in Las Vegas, and more. Full Transcript:

YOU’VE HAD A LOT OF PAST SUCCESS AT BRISTOL. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BRISTOL SPRING RACE MOVING TO DIRT NEXT YEAR?
“I think it’s a huge move. It’s exciting. And, it’s fun because yes, it’s something different. But Bristol is a place to host events. With the colossal TV, the different bar areas that I see popping-up, and high-top tables, and different viewing/seating sections and areas opening up, they have the facility to do whatever they want. We saw a football game in there a few years ago. So, with dirt and this NASCAR race early in the year, I think it works. The tough part is going to be 40 race cars that are big and heavy; and, on the dirt, how much are we going to change that track’s conditions? Think of big, heavy cars cooking that clay and it’s going to be dry and slick in a hurry. I don’t know how many laps we’re going to run or how the format will be set-up, but the cars are going to look like they’re in slow motion is my biggest fear. But overall, the fun factor is going to be through the roof.”

HOW DO YOU TAKE THAT EXCITING WIN IN LAS VEGAS LAST WEEK INTO TALLADEGA? HOW DO YOU TAKE THAT DRIVE, THAT MOMENTUM, AND THAT RUSH OF A WIN WHEN YOU STRAP-IN AND ROLL-OFF?
“It’s been an awesome week. It’s been a great week of reflection and celebration. The fun of winning at your hometown track, and then for it to be Vegas, it’s been through the roof and I’ve lived it up. And today is a team meeting shortly, and it’s to really zone-in on what we need to do at Talladega to be as competitive as we can be. And it’s the same Thursday meeting that we have every week. And so now it’s time to come off the Vegas run and laser-focus-in on Talladega. And from what I’ve told my guys and from what I believe we need to do is to not let up off the gas. It’s to stay on it hard. To go for Stage wins, Stage points, to be up-front; if we wreck-out, so be it. We’re still going to advance. But we need to go and keep the pressure on and get as many points as possible these next two weeks with Talladega and the Roval coming up.”

YOU HAVE EIGHT TOP-5’S AT TALLADEGA AND YOU’LL START SECOND THERE. HOW MUCH WOULD A WIN AT TALLADEGA MEAN TO YOU TO GET THAT JOB DONE?
“Well, I’d almost do the same thing and grab that checkered flag and just like point it at the track itself, because that track has taken away so many wins for me with either leading on the last lap, running second, having a yellow come out or not having a yellow come out, and running out of gas, or getting passed, or making the wrong move. Talladega, I feel like, has slipped through my hands more times than now. And I run consistent. I run well there. I feel comfortable. But it’s definitely been one of those tough tracks where I don’t have that win. And it would be great to check that box off, so we may as well keep rolling with checking off these boxes.”

COULD YOU TALK ABOUT THE EMOTION OF FINALLY WINNING AT YOUR HOME TRACK IN LAS VEGAS?
‘It’s an emotional win. It’s one where you have so many emotions from the love and the family and the friends that helped me get to NASCAR in the first place; and just the feeling of Vegas and how much time I spent there as a racer and as a kid. The volunteer crew members (like) Craig Keough from Star Nursery and my mom was out there this weekend and her friends. What was so cool is like afterwards, I made a couple of texts and I said 11 pm South Point bar. Everybody already knew where we were going to meet up at which bar it was. I asked Brendan Gaughan if he could help rope off an area to keep things private and safer and more secure with the COVID and everything. And he’s like man, I just ran the Baja 500 and finished second and I’m going to shower-up and I’ll be right there. I wasn’t going to go out tonight, but I’ll be right there since it’s you. So, to have that comradery and that feeling and that energy from everybody has what’s made this so special.

“And it’s a lifelong dream to win at your hometown track no matter who and where or what hometown or who you are. And then to have it be Vegas, it was just that much more special. I woke up the next day to conference calls. I had a call with FOX television about the Truck Series broadcast. It was like 10am and I thought, you know what? It’s 1pm eastern and I’m going to crack a beer. And so I just had those couple of beers on the plane ride home and then another surprise of all the crew members and close people for our race team and Ganassi were at the Concord Regional Airport when we landed there, and another safe COVID-zone setting.”

DID YOU FEEL ANY RELIEF THAT YOU GOT THAT WIN IN THE FIRST RACE AND NOW YOU’RE SET FOR THE NEXT ROUND?
“Yeah, that’s what settles in and sinks in over the next couple of days. Sunday night, it was all Vegas. It was all the empty grandstands and the disappointment of not having people there. And then the connections of everybody’s spirit and people watching and helping me with that win and then it was like right, hey this is cool. We don’t have to worry about Talladega, which is a wildcard race. We don’t have to worry about the Roval, which things can happen pretty quickly there. If you win at the Roval, you’re automatically moving on to the next round and focused on that. So, we do have this two-weeks of what you could call a celebration. But at the same time, I told my guys when they met me at the airport, and we had a cold beer together and I said all right. Let’s finish this and let’s get to work. Let’s keep the gas on. Let’s go for Stage points and Stage wins and bank as many points as we can when we don’t have to worry about it.”

CAN YOU COMPARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A ROVAL-STYLE COURSE, WHICH WE’RE STARTING TO SEE MORE OF, WITH A PURPOSE-BUILT ROAD COURSE IN TERMS OF HOW YOU DRIVE THOSE AND HOW YOU ATTACK THEM? WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?
“The Roval is a very unique road course. It’s built within a 1.5-mile oval track. So, a track very similar to the Roval is Daytona International Speedway’s road course; but it’s inside a 2.5-mile. So, the Roval is a bull in a china shop-feel because of how big and heavy our cars are in that tight little space with that many turns and that many chicanes. Whereas, what the 2021 schedule is branching out to is the Circuit of The Americas (COTA), a permanent-built Formula I-style course and Road America, a course that’s been up in Wisconsin for ages, decades back, probably after World War II; I don’t know when it was built, but it’s a four-mile course that’s spread out with a lot of high-speed straightaways. So, we’re seeing a variety of road courses being sprinkled into the NASCAR schedule, where they’re taking over some of the 1.5-miles, what people refer to as ‘cookie cutters’ tracks. They’re kind of being phased out right now. I think it’s a great trend.”

WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR RE-SCHEDULED FOR 2022, HOW WILL THAT IMPACT ANY DECISIONS REGARDING YOUR FUTURE IN NASCAR?
“Yeah, I was disappointed to learn that the Next Gen car was being pushed to 2022. So that’s now made me re-evaluate all the different scenarios that are out in front of me with racing; I’m in the Truck Series booth commentating all the Playoff races right now. I’ve got a phone call later today with Monster Energy about different races around the world and where do I want to go for some ‘bucket lists’ races. So, these were things that were already in motion pre-COVID. With everything going on with COVID and different schedule changes I’m seeing in NASCAR and the Next Gen car, there’s just too many. What I’m starting to explain to people is that I have a deck of cards sitting in front of me and I’ve still got to go through all 52 cards to prioritize which ones are more important to me.”

AS YOU LOOK AT THE ROUND OF 8, HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THOSE UPCOMING TRACKS LIKE KANSAS AND TEXAS AS WELL AS MARTINSVILLE?
“Yeah, we’re focused very heavily on Kansas. Texas especially. Martinsville has been a bit tougher for me over the years. But we’ve run consistently well with the Ganassi car there. We’re really focused on the 1.5-miles. That’s where we’ve had our success together at Ganassi. We won at Vegas. We’ve won at Kentucky. We’ve been right there in Texas, where a yellow in the same kind of sequence as Vegas, came out wrong for us and trapped us a lap down. Vegas finally, it happened to be on the positive side. So, we hope we gain points at Talladega and the Roval and keep pushing toward this. And now that we’re in the elite eight, we don’t want to squander this positioning away. We’re here for a reason. And we’re here to attack to win and try to get our ticket punched to Phoenix.”
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.

Richard Childress Racing at Talladega Superspeedway… Richard Childress began his driving career at Talladega Superspeedway in 1969 and is in a tie for the most all-time car owner victories at the storied Alabama-based race track with 12 NASCAR Cup Series wins. Dale Earnhardt has earned nine Talladega wins under the RCR banner, including his final career win in the 2000 Winston 500. Other drivers winning for RCR include Clint Bowyer (2010 and 2011), and Kevin Harvick (2010). The Welcome, N.C. organization has also found success in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with one win, 10 top-five, and 18 top-10 finishes.

NASCAR Playoffs… Austin Dillon is in the midst of his fourth NASCAR Playoffs appearance and is currently battling in the Round of 12. The No. 3 team will look to rebound this weekend after mechanical issues relegated them to a 32nd place finish after running in the top-five for the majority of the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Dillon advanced out of the Round of 16 following three strong performances in the opening round of the NASCAR Playoffs (second at Darlington Raceway, fourth at Richmond Raceway, and 12th at Bristol Motor Speedway).

Catch the Action…The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Talladega 300 at Talladega Superspeedway will be televised live Saturday, October 3, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway will be televised live Sunday, October 4, beginning at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week’s Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Talladega Superspeedway… In 14 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Dillon earned his best finish at the 2.66-mile track in April 2016 when he finished third. His best starting position at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Cup Series is first. His best finish in four NASCAR Xfinity Series Starts is third, and he has two starts in the NASCAR Truck Series, earning a best finish of seventh in October 2011.

TRACKER Off Road… Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology.

Bass Pro Shops… Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit .

E-Z-GO… E-Z-GO is an iconic, world-renowned brand in golf cars and personal transportation vehicles. Products sold under the E-Z-GO brand include RXV® and TXT® fleet golf cars, Freedom® RXV and Freedom TXT personal golf cars, E-Z-GO Express™ personal utility vehicles, and the 2Five® street-legal low-speed vehicle. Known for innovation in electric-vehicle technology, E-Z-GO’s newest offerings include the ELiTE series of lithium-ion powered golf cars and PTVs, and the company’s exclusive 72-volt AC electric powertrain found in its latest Express series vehicles. Founded in 1954 in Augusta, Ga., E-Z-GO became part of Textron Inc. in 1960, and today operates as part of the company’s Textron Specialized Vehicles division.

NASCAR Playoffs… Dillon is currently competing for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship, where he ranks 12th after running in the top-five at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend but finishing 32nd after suffering mechanical issues in the final stage of the race. The four-round postseason consists of eliminations after the Round of 16 (Darlington, Richmond, Bristol), the Round of 12 (Las Vegas, Talladega, Charlotte Roval) and the Round of 8 (Kansas, Texas, Martinsville). The Championship 4 will compete for the title at Phoenix.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
What will it take to be successful at Talladega Superspeedway?
“Anything can happen at Talladega Superspeedway. It’s a little bit of a coin flip, but my No. 3 team will be doing everything we can to try and win and earn maximum stage points. We really need that right now after having some misfortune at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend. We’re still in this NASCAR Playoffs battle and we’re not giving up. In order to succeed at Talladega, you have to have a little bit of luck, and use momentum at the very end to take advantage of positions. It’s speedway racing. It’s drafting. And it’s chaos, but we’re up for the challenge.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Cat Next Gen Dozers Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Talladega Superspeedway…This weekend will mark Tyler Reddick’s second NASCAR Cup Series start at Talladega Superspeedway. Reddick earned his first career Cup Series Stage Win and led a total of 19 laps during the spring race at Talladega earlier this year. Reddick also won last year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the 2.66-mile track with RCR and has one additional top-10 finish in the Xfinity Series, as well as one pole award and two top-five finishes at the superspeedway in the NASCAR Truck Series.

About Cat Next Gen Dozers… The D1, D2, and D3 Next Gen dozers featured on RCR’s No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE represent the newly launched and branded line of Caterpillar’s iconic small dozers. These market-leading dozers, headlined by America’s best-selling dozer, the Cat D3, continue to revolutionize the market by providing new and exciting features such as integrated Cat Grade Technology with Slope Assist and Stable-blade. The Integrated Cat Grade Technology on the Next Gen Dozers helps smooth the grade and improve the performance of both expert and novice operators. In addition to Cat Grade Technology, this well-balanced and finish grading line of dozers features a completely redesigned look and hood that significantly improves the operator’s line of sit to what matters – the blade and what lies in front of it. As a nod to those that build and deliver these best-selling dozers, the car features the names of 253 factory technicians from the Athens, GA, facility where they are built. The car also features the names of 51 customers that have been instrumental to the growth and development of our machines into the clear industry leader in performance, value, quality, and sales.

TYLER REDDICK QUOTE:
Heading into this weekend’s race, what is the goal for RCR at Talladega Superspeedway?
“We definitely are looking to bounce back as an organization this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway after a tough run at Las Vegas. RCR and ECR always put together some great superspeedway cars, so I expect our No. 8 Cat Next Gen Dozers Chevrolet Camaro to be really strong on Sunday. We had a good race earlier in the year at Talladega, where I was able to get my first Stage Win in the NASCAR Cup Series and lead a handful of laps. The strategy just didn’t play out for us that weekend, but we have a good set of notes to head into this race with. I’d obviously love to win this weekend, but it’ll be important to work well together with Austin Dillon and the No. 3 team as well. Luckily, Talladega is a place where it’s important to have people work with you, so the two of us will be sticking together a lot. Hopefully, we’ll be able to put ourselves into a position where one of us be there at the end to win.”

Anthony Alfredo and the No. 21 Ceco Building Systems Chevrolet Camaro at Talladega Superspeedway…This weekend will mark Anthony Alfredo’s second NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Talladega Superspeedway. Alfredo led his first career laps in the Xfinity Series earlier this year at the 2.66-mile superspeedway en route to a strong sixth-place finish. He also has one career NASCAR Truck Series start at Talladega Superspeedway in 2019.

Anthony Alfredo And Ceco Building Systems… Alfredo will have a familiar partner on board his No. 21 Chevrolet this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway with Ceco Building Systems. The relationship between Alfredo and Ceco goes back to Alfredo’s Late Model days, where he won both a late model and ARCA East Series race with Ceco. This weekend will mark Ceco’s first primary sponsorship in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Alfredo.

About Ceco Building Systems… Ceco Building Systems has served the commercial building industry since 1947. Since its founding, Ceco has led the industry in technology and product innovation, spearheading the evolution of pre-engineered metal buildings to highly customized and architecturally focused structures. Today we specialize in the engineering and fabrication of highly complex metal building projects. Our unparalleled expertise, passion for innovation and uncompromising commitment to our builders extends across the project lifecycle. Ceco is a company built on relationships and a core belief that collaboration is the key to creating state-of-the-art building solutions. For more information visit cecobuildings.com.

Fast Start for Fast Pasta… Running a limited schedule in the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing, Alfredo has secured eight top-10 finishes. He also won an eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Saturday Night Thunder Race at Dover International Speedway during NASCAR’s hiatus from on-track competition.

ANTHONY ALFREDO QUOTE:
You were able to lead laps and showed a lot of speed earlier this season at Talladega Superspeedway. What is it going to take to get the job done this weekend?
“I definitely have a lot more confidence heading into this weekend with a few Superspeedway starts on my resume now. We were able to get up front and lead some laps at Talladega earlier this season, and that is a testament to everybody at RCR and ECR for bringing such fast Chevrolets to the racetrack. Our team is notorious for being fast at Talladega, which means I know we will be very competitive and have a chance to win. I have my spotter, Derek Kneeland, on the stand, who is the best in the business, so I have confidence he will be able to guide me throughout the day and put us in the best position to win the race in our No. 21 Ceco Building Systems Chevrolet. Talladega is a bit of a wild card, but at the end of the day if we can keep our nose clean throughout the race, we should have a great opportunity to bring home a trophy this weekend.”

STATESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 1, 2020) – Kaz Grala will fill in for Natalie Decker in Saturday’s NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series event at Talladega Superspeedway.

Decker was not medically cleared to participate in Saturday’s race.

“My thoughts will be with Natalie this weekend as I wish her a quick recovery,” said Grala. “I know she loves the restrictor-plate races, so I feel bad that she’ll have to miss this one, but I hope I can give her something to cheer for on Saturday.

It’s been a few years since I’ve been in a Truck, but the superspeedway races have been very good to me in the past, so I’m really hoping to be able to go grab a win for Niece Motorsports at Talladega. I appreciate Carl Ruedebusch and REMarkable Pillow for trusting me to step in for Natalie this weekend. I’m looking forward to having some fun and making them proud!”

“We are thankful that Kaz is able to fill in for Natalie this weekend and appreciate him working with our team,” said general manager Cody Efaw. “We wish Natalie the best as she works to be as healthy as possible to return to racing.”

The NGROTS will take the green flag at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. ET and will air live on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

About Niece Motorsports:

Niece Motorsports is owned by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. In 2020, Niece Motorsports enters its fifth season in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. Niece also owns Niece Equipment, which has for over 40 years provided clients with reliable products at competitive prices. Niece Equipment’s reputation is built on service, integrity and dependability. The company provides water and fuel / lube trucks that are engineered with quality and durability in mind for the construction and mining industry. Follow the team on Facebook and Instagram @NieceMotorsports as well as Twitter @NieceMotorsport.

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

TALLADEGA, Alabama (October 1, 2020) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media via videoconference in advance of the race at the Talladega Superspeedway:

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

When Furniture Row was looking to sell their charter there was not many takers, but it seems like now there is several potential buyers for every charter. Why do you think that is?

“Well, I think for one, the Furniture Row charter was the highest ranked charter, so it was going to cost the most money. It accumulates probably double what some of these charters accumulate in revenue for some of the back charters. The price was going to be high, so you were going to have to have a big initial investment and then on top of that – there was also not a horizon of the business model being better in the near future. When the new car started getting announced and NASCAR really started taking initiatives to limit personnel, limit practice, things like that, that really helps the race teams. Ultimately, it’s the teams getting a little more revenue and keeping a little more revenue is what is making it more appealing.”

Were you surprised with how many people were interested in the charter you purchased?

“No, not really. I knew that they were going to be quite a few takers for that particular charter, but before we even became interested, we knew that there was a list of people that were bidding. I just was happy that it ended up the way that it did. Bob (Germain, team owner, Germain Racing) and his whole organization with Larry Rogers (General Manager, Germain Racing) was great to work with through it.”

How do you look at Talladega?

“Each race is individual and different. I think that we obviously know that we can win there, it’s just a lot of it is circumstances, a lot of it is kind of putting yourself in the right place, which you don’t always know what that place will be. It’s historically – the playoff race in Talladega – is pretty wild, because you have probably two-thirds of the field has been eliminated that’s really not racing for much except trying to win and you have some other ones that are going to be fighting tooth and nail for stage points. I suspect it will be pretty wild again, but I’m confident that all of our cars are good enough to win every time we go there. It’s just sometimes it is a number game. As Toyota as an organization, we are short on numbers from everyone else. We just kind of count on people getting selfish at the end and use them.”

Do you anticipate Talladega being super crazy or tamer?

“I don’t think it will be any different than – I mean we have seen crazy races at Talladega with a lot of wrecks, and we’ve seen some that don’t have a lot of wrecks. I just think that it depends. I don’t think anyone has a certain mode that they can switch to that will make them do something that they haven’t done before. I think that everyone kind of knows how everyone drives at this point and you kind of plan around that. You have to be aware of who you are racing around and how aggressive they typically are and just try to put yourself in the best spot. This race is unpredictable. It could be no cautions. It could be 12 cautions. We just don’t know.”

What are the differences between a ROVAL type course versus a purpose-built road course?

“The way the ROVAL is tough is I think they paved some parts of it, and they use previous asphalt from like parking lots and what not, or access roads for other parts of the track. That’s all fine and good, but the ROVAL doesn’t have as many passing zones, and typically good road courses have lots of passing zones. So, like the Daytona Road Course, I think it was six legit heavy braking, passing zones, where when you get going through the infield of the ROVAL, you are kind of just stuck there. There’s maybe one corner that you can kind of dive bomb into there and make it work, but it’s kind of follow the leader or follow the car that’s in front of you once you get to the infield of the ROVAL. It’s very narrow, off-camber, bumpy. Challenging, yes. I’m great with challenging race tracks. It’s just that you want to have passing zones and the ROVAL struggles a little bit with passing zones.”

How much will starting on the pole make a difference on Sunday? How much does patience come into play?

“I just try to manage my risk as much as possible. Obviously, by starting on the pole, we will be up front for the first portion of the race, and hopefully, I can set the tone, set the line from where I want to run, but it’s likely, especially with this package that we have at the superspeedways, where there is a big pocket of air, we are going to get passed. We are going to get passed pretty early in the race and hopefully we can make that pass back and keep control of the race. I think that keeping yourself in the top-four spots, although not safe, is a safer place to be. When you find yourself getting shuffled beyond that and getting boxed out where you can’t really go high, can’t really go low, you just have to manage your risk and figure out where you need to put yourself in the safest spot. I think with our points position, we need to have a good solid day. We are going to try to lock ourselves in just as soon as possible, so that would be the first stage. If we don’t that is a good option for us once the racing gets going, we will alter that strategy and focus more towards the end of the race. I don’t know how it will play it out. It is kind of a wait and see based on how the pack is reacting.”

Where are you with leadership on your team?

“We have someone working. I don’t know if I’m supposed to say or not. We have someone working, former team president, who is kind of facilitating everything. He’s working on an interim basis, helping things get going, taking the load of me for the next six to seven weeks. There’s a lot of work that needs to get done, but obviously, we are kind of leaning on him to get the laundry list of things done over the next six to seven weeks while I’m continuing to focus on winning a championship. We are getting the parts and the pieces together. I believe that we have the person in charge on the competition side that I want. Obviously, we have this other guy that’s working on all of the executive stuff. He’s working really hard on that right now, so it’s coming together. The list is long, but they are knocking out things each and every day. I don’t know if I can or can’t share, so just probably not right now.”

Looking at the new 2021 schedule, do you think your team has an opportunity to win?

“I think we will have opportunities to win, no doubt about it. I think there are things that I can work with Bubba (Wallace) on, on the driver’s side of things to improve some parts of his game, I guess you could say. I think that our cars will be good, but with new teams, it’s very hard. It’s very hard to win. I’ve said this before, but my teammate Kyle (Busch) is one of the best out there and hasn’t won yet in 2020. You need things to fall your way. You need to be good. You’ve got to have every piece of the puzzle right to win these races, but I don’t think that when we go to a race track next year that there will be any track where we will say that we can’t win here. The equipment will be good enough, I believe. We are putting the people in place that are good. I just do things the right way. I won’t ever doing anything halfway, and I feel like we are going to build this thing from the ground up. It’s not going to happen in three months. We are not going to build an empire in three months, but certainly we have visions in the years to come to build this into a big organization like Joe Gibbs Racing. I learned a lot from him. I think Tony (Stewart) learned a lot from him, when he moved over to Haas and kind of took over, over there and ran it. We want to kind of do that same thing and business philosophy that I’ve learned from Coach (Joe) Gibbs.”

Is it going to be a Toyota team? Do you have a team name?

“Again, that’s on the list of stuff to do. We’ve not finished any manufacturer or alliance contracts. Everything is up in the air at this point.”

How would you describe the reach of the news of your new team?

“I think there has been a lot of people reach out, whether that be companies or employee that are interested. This is obviously very, very big. It’s very ground breaking in our sport to have this new team come in here and be at the caliber that Michael (Jordan) is, and how big of an icon he is worldwide. It certainly brings a lot of attention. Certainly, I see a lot of articles get written by outlets that never cover NASCAR at all, so it’s been big. I know I got the stats from Jill (Gregory) and her team at NASCAR about the reach and I think it was 3.3 billion, which is an incredible number. I’m very proud of that and what we’ve been able to do in such a short time has been pretty amazing.”

Can you further explain what that 3.3 billion means?

“It’s basically kind of the reach of who has seen it, who this story has – I guess seen it. It’s a very, very big number and obviously, I’m really excited that we’ve had some really great opportunities and partner up with some great companies and hopefully build this into something from the ground up. It’s going to take some time. We are going to have to put ourselves in temporary spots before we go to a permanent spot. I feel like we are set-up pretty good right now.

# # #

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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
YELLAWOOD 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 1, 2020

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss his outlook going into Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, what it’s going to take for his team to advance to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, his reaction to the announcement of the 2020 schedule, and more. Full Transcript:

LOOKING AHEAD ONE WEEK – YOU’VE GOT KIND OF A WILD CARD SITUATION THIS WEEK, BUT ANOTHER ONE NEXT WEEK AT THE ROVAL. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE DIFFERENCES ARE BETWEEN THE ROVAL-STYLE ROAD COURSE AND A MORE PURPOSE-BUILT ROAD COURSE, IN TERMS OF HOW YOU DRIVE AND ATTACK IT?
“I think there’s some subtle differences. Obviously, the Roval is a little more technical and the aspect of tighter corners – you’ve got to slow down more. And then you’ve got some big sweepers that are regular corners on the race track in three and four. It’s just kind of rough because it wasn’t originally built as a road course and some of the transitions are harsh. Some of the road courses that we go to that are built road courses are just probably smoother transitions and not as rough.”

THE ANNOUNCMENT THIS MORNING OF HMS AND RCR WORKING TOGETHER ON ONE ENGINE – HOW MUCH OF AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT WILL IT HAVE OR WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU’LL SEE THAT IMPACT?
“I think it’s really special. I think, especially for our R&D programs, as far as just the future goes – I feel like those two organizations, the power between them, kind of speaks for itself. Joining them for the success for all of us is going to be huge. I feel like just the two organizations coming together to compete and to make Chevrolet better than what we’ve even been this year. So, I’m pumped and really proud to finally be connecting with Hendrick in a deeper relationship with RCR. I think it’s great for both organizations and all the Chevy’s, really.”

TALK ABOUT THE SCHEDULE THAT WAS RELEASED YESTERDAY – WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT IT FOR 2021? DID ANYTHING SURPRISE YOU? THE REACTION FROM A DRIVER, SUCH AS YOURSELF, THAT WILL BE RACING FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.
“I think it’s really exciting for our sport. I love that we change it up. I think not all sports are as fluid that we are. We are able to move and change directions pretty quick and I think that’s a testament to the sanctioning body, to the owners, to the drivers, and everybody in the sport. It’s cool to try different things and it’s really all about our fans. I think adding all the different racetracks that we have and then also going to different markets is huge for us. Obviously, the first thing that pops into my mind is the Bristol dirt race because of my dirt background. There’s a couple more road races that are being adding, so I’ve got to sharpen my skills more. And probably do the 24-hour race – try to get in a car there and get more road course racing experience before we go into 2021. So, I’m pumped in general, as far as just getting to try new tracks. Nashville, when it was announced earlier this year, I had won a truck race the last one there. I’m pumped and I think the 750-package at Darlington, being a slick track, plays into our history there at Darlington. We’ve been good with the lower downforce and more power – it should be a good thing for me. I’m excited about the schedule.”

WHAT’S YOUR MOJO GOING INTO TALLADEGA? YOU START 12TH AT TALLADEGA AND I’M WONDERING, WHEN YOU ROLL OFF, WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
“Just winning. Vegas, we had a race going that we felt like we needed to have. Obviously, we had a failure that kind of crushed our points dream going into Talladega and how we would approach it. But the positive light in that is it’s a lot easier going to Talladega with one thing in mind and not worrying about points. I’m not really worried about points – I think we need to go win the race to transfer to the next round and try to create our own destiny that way. For me, it’s throwing caution to the wind. Obviously, you’ve got to get to the end of those things to win, but a lot of these guys that have been successful at speedway racing have also led a bunch of laps and put themselves in situations to do that. For me, from lap one, I’m racing and doing what I can to be aggressive and keep track position to show everybody around us that we’re there, we have a fast car to work with us, and just kind of prove a point from the beginning of the race on that we’re going to be a contender at Talladega. A little different approach than what we probably would have approached it with a little bit of a points gap – trying to play out and see how things go in each stage and go from there. But the way we’re sitting now, I think we need to win both stages and try to win the race.”

FOLLOWING UP TO THE QUESTION ABOUT THE ENGINES – RCR AND HENDRICK ARE STILL GOING TO HAVE SEPARATE ENGINE DEVELOPMENTS, SO TO SPEAK. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE CHEVROLET KIND OF HAVE ONE-SINGULAR ENGINE SHOP, LIKE FORD HAS AND TOYOTA HAS?
“Well, I think the R&D part of it is the key. That’s where the horsepower comes from is the research and development. As long as each one is put together the same, there’s not much difference there I don’t feel. As long as the power is big, it’s what we all want. I think everybody from Hendrick and RCR would agree that we want to have the best engines on the track. And we are Chevrolet, really. I mean I don’t think there’s another Chevy engine builder out there other than RCR and Hendrick – excuse me if I’m wrong on that. So, I feel like we are the engine builders for Chevrolet and the two of us combined is just going to bring more power to the track; more great minds to think of ways to make this work.”

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO SEE NASCAR DO MORE OF, IN TERMS OF THE SCHEDULE AND HOW THEY CRAFT IT?
“That’s a hard one, man. I think that’s a hard position to be in because you try to play into everybody’s asks and wants as the schedule goes. So, I’d hate to be the person trying to make it all work. For me, I think they do a good job changing it up each year. I think they should continue to change it up and try new places. I’d like a rotating schedule of new tracks each and every year. I think that would be cool.”

THIS WEEKEND IS THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 2000 WINSTON 500, WHICH WAS DALE EARNHARDT’S FINAL VICTORY IN THE CUP SERIES. CAN YOU REFLECT ON THE LEGACY THAT RACE, PARTICULARLY WITHIN RCR? DID YOU WATCH THAT RACE GROWING UP OR DID YOU EVER GO BACK AND WATCH IT?
“Yeah, I’ve seen it a bunch – the replays that are on TV all the time. It was a spectacular race. Seeing him come from the back to the front and make the moves he made, he was known as a speedway racer and the things he could do in the draft. I think that was amazing. Obviously, there’s a lot of history there. That’s 20 years ago and I think that would be fitting for us to go win at Talladega and lock ourselves into the next round of the Playoffs. I think it was 20 years apart that we won the 500 too – someone told me that. Things are lining up and we’ll try to make it happen.”

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
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 1, 2020

CHAD KNAUS, ONE OF THE MOST DECORATED CREW CHIEFS IN NASCAR HISTORY, MET WITH MEDIA VIA TELECONFERENCE TO DISCUSS THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS NEW LEADERSHIP ROLE AS VICE PRESIDENT OF COMPETITION FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. Full Transcript:

HOW EMOTIONAL IS THIS DECISION AND DO YOU THINK YOU’LL BE EMOTIONAL AT ALL AT THE PHOENIX RACE?
“Well, there’s a ton of emotions, obviously. I’ve been doing this a long time. So, it was a tough decision to try to figure out what I wanted to do, but it’s the right decision for everybody and all parties involved. I feel like at Hendrick Motorsports, we need to continue to grow the leadership. Jeff Andrews (Executive Vice President and General Manager) has done a great job. He’s got a lot on his plate and needs to be elevated, and that opens up a void. Myself, my family, it’s time for me to try to make a change to where I can spend more time with them and try to impact the company as a whole. So, sitting on top of the pit box for as long as I have and I’ve been traveling full-time since I was about 16 years old, so it’s time to kind of pull back just a little bit and not be on the road every single week and spend some time with my family.”

“Emotionally, in Phoenix, I’m sure it’s going to sink in. I’ve been taking it in race by race. Obviously, I’ve known about this for a while. We’ve been talking about it for a while. So, as I go to the race tracks, I’ve been soaking in the atmosphere from the drop of the green flag and looking up into the stands at the fans when they’re there. All of that has been pretty high priority, to just try and absorb as much as I possibly can these last few weeks.”

YOU ARE KNOWN FOR YOUR INTENSITY. DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE IN RELYING ON SO MANY PEOPLE FOR THE JOB TO GET DONE?
“You can talk to the folks who have worked with me and that work with me currently. I give them a lot of freedom. I try to give them direction, advice and get conclusions to answers; and then I give them the freedom to carry out what it is they need to do. And I think it’s going to be a very similar format. Obviously, we’ve got so many strong folks here at Hendrick Motorsports. I don’t think I need to have an over-arching grasp on every single detail. My position is to try to come in and enhance the environment as a whole. If we can make a small incremental gain of just say eight percent, that’s going to be a huge impact on the performance of Hendrick Motorsports. And, that’s kind of the goal at this point – is to try to make a small incremental improvement for the 2021 season and then get prepared for 2022 and beyond, which is going to be a completely different ask for everybody involved; everybody on this call and everybody at the race track. So, that’s kind of my goal at this point.”

YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY GOING TO HELP WITH THE 2022 NEXT GEN CAR. CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW MUCH OF A GAMECHANGER THIS CAR MIGHT BE? FROM BOTH THE ENGINEERING AND ECONOMIC STANDPOINTS? WE HAVE SEEN REPORTS THAT IT MIGHT ATTRACT SOME NEW OWNERSHIP TO THE SPORT
“That’s a great question, and a very lengthy one. I don’t know if I can get through it all in a few minutes. But honestly, the car is fundamentally different. From a mechanical standpoint, the uprights, which we would call spindles, the independent rear suspension, the sequential shift, and the engine package is going to be different with the opportunity to evolve in the future. Aerodynamically, the car is just fundamentally different. It’s got complete full undertray so the ride proximity to the ground creates a lot of downforce, or loses a lot of downforce, depending on the pitch and heave of the car. There’s a lot to learn about this car, so it’s a fundamental change. Wheels and tires are larger. Sidewall stiffnesses are significantly different. It’s got the rack and pinion steering as opposed to the Saginaw style box that we currently use. Man, I could go on and on and on. It’s a completely different race car.

“Now, fast forward – from a financial standpoint, there’s a couple of ways to look at it. One, I think that you can probably run fewer cars, or have fewer cars in your inventory, which may help you from a financial standpoint. But ultimately, you’re going to reinvest the money in development and other ways to try to find improvement. Racing, unfortunately, is really about the same. How fast do you want to go, right? And, it’s going to cost money. That’s just the crux of the whole thing. The big difference is right now, if you have somebody that wants to come into our sport, they have to do and try to research what it’s going to cost for them to do business. Somebody’s got to build them a chassis, or they have to build their own chasses. Somebody is going to provide them an engine, or they have to build their own engines. Somebody’s got to manufacture the body components and figure out how to take it to the wind tunnel to do it. The one thing this new package is going to have is a lot of components that are store-bought; so, you can go through a menu and say okay, to do to x-number of races, I need to have x-number of components, and it’s going to cost what? And it’s very definitive from that standpoint. So, if you’re a business and you want to come in here and start racing, you can have a bottom line. But you kind of circle to understand exactly what your investment is going to be. And that’s not really possible right now. It’s very, very difficult for an independent to come into our sport and start a new team. So, there are some avenues there that I think are going to be very appealing to folks and hopefully to more manufacturers coming in in the future.”

WHAT HAS CHANGED MOST ABOUT YOU SINCE YOU STARTED BUILDING THE NO. 48 IN 2001? WHAT HAS MOST CHANGED ABOUT YOU? AND, WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT YOU TAUGHT JIMMIE JOHNSON AND WHAT HE TAUGHT YOU?
‘Oh, gosh (laughs). What’s the most changed about me? I’ve probably been tempered quite a lot, obviously. I think any of you that have been around the sport a long time have seen my change from maybe being outward in a management style. When I started, and you know this, I was completely engrained in every facet of everything that we absolutely did. I took control of all that and took responsibility for everything that didn’t really relinquish a whole lot of that until I was extremely comfortable with folks. And that took quite a while. Now, I say I’d like to do things a little bit differently, like I mentioned prior. Giving the folks I feel are capable of making the right decisions and making the right choices and giving them the freedom to make those and come back to me with solutions. So, I think that’s definitely something I’ve learned from Mr. Hendrick over the years. He does a remarkable job of doing that. He lives and breathes by getting the right people together and putting them in a room and letting them hash it out and let them come up with a solution. That gives them the opportunity to have skin in the game and have some ownership of the solution. And, typically when that happens, they carry out a better product than I ever could. There are so many folks here that are so significantly smarter than I am. It’s foolish for me to think that I can help do a lot of the things that need to be done. So, I hope that answers that question. But that’s probably the biggest change.”

“The biggest thing Jimmie ever taught me. Oh, man. He definitely taught me to enjoy life a little bit, which is why we are where we are right now. I think it’s getting to the point where I need to do that. He taught me what it means to feel friendship and love and to care for somebody, which is something that I needed, for sure. And he definitely does that. Jimmie loves with his whole body, right? I think we all understand that, or at least, I do. So, he taught me that. He taught me what it’s like to want to have a family and to build a good family and how to be a good father. So, I’m trying to follow in some of those footsteps from him.”

“What I taught Jimmie was probably; well, we all know Jimmie, right? And he’s one of the most tenacious people out there. He creates a goal. He attacks it; and he eclipses so many milestones. Just go back and look at the stuff he’s done from championships and races to the Boston Marathon to his triathlons and all of those things. But I think if there’s one thing I probably taught him it’s that you need leadership. You need structure. You need guidance. And, you need somebody to keep the heat on you. As much as we complained and fought and all of that, I think it really boils down. Even Jimmie, as great as he is, he needed to have some of that, and he knew that. I’ll just leave it at that, I guess.”

ARE YOU STILL GOING TO HAVE A BIG BINDER FULL OF NOTES IN YOUR NEW JOB?
“I will (laughs). But all those binders are all electronic now. But yeah, I’ll definitely keep a lot of notes. Honestly, I’m super excited about this. There are so many amazing folks at Hendrick Motorsports, as we all know. And I just want to get in and get engrained and see what everybody does and try to help. This company has changed a lot over the years from when I started here. We were a much, much smaller entity than where we are right now. We’ve got our fingers in a lot of places and I just want to get in there and see what everybody’s got going on and try to help Jeff Andrews as much as I possibly can. He’s a huge mentor of mine. I’m a big fan of his. I think he’s an amazing leader. And he’s got some qualities that I need to continue to evolve into my system. And I think he and I are going to be a great match. I’m looking forward to working with the crew chiefs and all the guys. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

GOING BACK TO THE EXCITEMENT LEVEL OF TAKING UP THE NEW POSITION – WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN YOUR NEW ROLE THAT YOU HAVEN’T EXPERIENCED AS A CREW CHIEF? WITH THE NEW SCHEDULE, WHAT RACE ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?
“Obviously, the new role is going to be interesting. We’ve had a lot of folks in this role at different times throughout my career. Honestly, I’ve probably complained about all of them. So, my goal would be to not be the guy that’s being complained about as much. Hopefully, we can avoid that – that’ll be the first step. I want to make sure that I’m helping the teams, helping the folks, getting them what they need, getting them all the resources that they want, and continuing to establish the environment of passion. A passion for racing, a passion for the sport and performance. That’s what I really want to do. That’s what we’ve done with our race teams and I want to continue to carry that race team mentality to all parts of Hendrick Motorsports. If we can do that, get that small 3-to-5-to-8 percent gain that we’re looking for from an improvement standpoint.”

“As far as the racetracks – I think we saw a lot of these coming, right? But I’m super excited to get to COTA – I think that’s going to be awesome. Indy is going to be a lot of fun. Bristol, I’m not a dirt racer, so we’ll leave that to the dirt guys. think the whole schedule and the evolution of what it is that we’re doing is really exciting. The new racecar that’s coming, the Next Gen car, is going to provide an even more realistic advancement to the road course racing, street racing and all of that. It’s really funny, when I started in the Cup Series, road racing was really kind of an after-thought. Nobody really liked it, the legacy and the purist were against road racing, they wanted the ovals, and those were the cornerstones of the sport. Honestly, the road racing has been some of our most exciting races over the past five years, probably, maybe six. I think the more we get of that, the cooler it’s going to be. The new car is going to provide a new and unique element of us being able to tune a little bit better for some of the road courses. Is that good or is that bad – we’ll just have to see.”

YOU’RE GREAT ON TV – I’M SURE YOU HAD TO AT LEAST CONSIDER THE TV ROUTE AT SOME POINT. WHAT WAS THE DECISION LIKE? WAS THAT A CONSIDERATION?
“I didn’t really dig into it super deep. I’ve got a love for Hendrick Motorsports. I do really enjoy doing television. I was actually in conversation via text and email just a couple days ago about continuing to do some stuff as well with doing this and I think that might still be an opportunity. Moving into full-time TV, it does have some appeal to it. But I think the way our sport is right now, quite honestly, I just don’t think there’s a spot that I would be wanting to do from a full-time standpoint. I think that helping Hendrick Motorsports, being a part of Hendrick Motorsports for the foreseeable future is really what I want to do. Continuing to play with the television stuff I think is fun. I think it’s another way for me to stay relevant with what’s going on in our industry. I’ve been doing TV since 2004 – maybe 2005 I started doing some TV shows with, back then, Speed. I want to stay in it – it gives me vision as to what our broadcast partners want and need, and I like helping to provide some of that.”

CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH THE STEPS IN THIS DECISION? IS THIS AN IDEA THAT YOU HAD OR WAS THIS MR. HENDRICK COMING TO YOU? OBVIOUSLY, YOU SAID YOU’VE KNOWN ABOUT THIS FOR AWHILE, BUT CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH IT.
“We started talking about this years ago. I’m going to go back two previous contracts with the No. 48 car, maybe. Not necessarily doing it at that point, but making sure we realized where I wanted to be in the future. So, Mr. Hendrick and I have been talking about this for quite some time. I’ve talked about it with Jimmie (Johnson) for quite some time. Jeff Gordon and I have talked about it for probably three years, maybe four, in that area. So, we’ve been talking about it for quite some time. Everything has to be right on timing and Mr. Hendrick is a master at putting things together at the right time. We feel like now is the time. We talked about doing it before I went over to the No. 24 car. Quite honestly, I really, really wanted to get a victory in that No. 24 car. It was something I dreamt about since I was a very young man. So, to be able to get that this year definitely helped tremendously. It’s all about timing and right now is just the right time. We’re transitioning into a new vehicle with the Next Gen car. I really want to try to help get that car the best that we possibly can get it so Hendrick Motorsports, our teams, our drivers can hit the ground running. Yeah, that’s kind of it. Everything is about timing and it seemed like the right time.”

DO YOU EVER SEE YOURSELF MAYBE COMING BACK INTO THE CREW CHIEF ROLE AFTER GETTING SOME TIME AWAY AND RE-CHARGING THE BATTERIES?
“That’s a great question. I have a huge passion for competition, I really do. My goal is that I’m filling that bucket with the four teams that we have at HMS and I don’t need to do that or don’t want to do that. But, you just never know. I’m not super old yet – I’m not quite 50. I’m getting there, I’m not quite 50 yet and there are some crew chiefs out there that are older than that. I think Jason Ratcliff, who’s early 50’s, and a couple other guys in their early 50’s. But, man, I don’t want to be that old crew chief walking around the garage, and his knees hurt, his back hurts and he’s just kind of making day-by-day. That’s not my goal in life. I have a lot to do that I want to do with my family. I’m really excited about my new little girl, as you guys know and have seen, and my son is awesome. I don’t want to miss the opportunity to watch these two grow up and be that positive influence on their lives. If there is a point in time where there’s a need for me to do something like that, a desire, or I don’t do a good job at this job and Mr. Hendrick says ‘well, you’re a better crew chief than you are a Vice President’ – I don’t know, you just never know what’s going to happen. So, never say never. But I would say if I do get back on the pit box again, there’s been an unfortunate circumstance of either me getting canned or somebody suspended – how’s that?”

GOING BACK TO THE TOPIC OF THE NEXT GEN, IN JANUARY, YOU SAID THIS WAS GOING TO BE THE LARGEST FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT THIS SPORT HAS HAD – IT’S GOING TO BE A TALL TASK FOR TEAMS. HOW BENEFICIAL DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS TO HAVE SOMEONE LIKE YOU OR SOMEONE IN GENERAL DEDICATED TO FOCUSING ON THIS CAR NEXT YEAR? HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR A CHALLENGE LIKE THAT?
“I’m super excited. Again, I’m not going to be completely overseeing it. My scope is much larger than that, but I’m going to be heavily involved with it. I feel like every major entity in NASCAR is probably doing something similar right now. They’ve got a lead that is doing that and will appoint a lead or two to try to get going on all that. I hope that I have a positive impact on that and a positive influence because it is a huge, huge undertaking. Through my career, I’ve seen big cars to smaller cars to the COT (Car of Tomorrow), and over my years, every old crew chief has always said ‘it’s going to ruin the sport’, ‘we’ll never make it’, ‘the sport’s doomed’ – things of that nature. But we continue to thrive and excel as an industry and the race teams do as well. So, I want to make sure that we’re doing things in the right direction, try to improve our product and get it out there so that Hendrick Motorsports can continue to be strong.”

WITH NASCAR’S EMPHASIS ON ROAD COURSES AND SHORT TRACKS, HOW WILL THAT IMPACT TEAMS IN HOW THEY DO THINGS? AS THE SPORT EVOLVES IN THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRACKS, WILL THAT BE A FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE OR DOES THE CHANGE IN THE CAR MAKE THE TRACK CHANGE NOT AS BIG OF A DEAL FOR TEAMS?
“The road course racing is unique – the venues are unique. That is a new element that is probably going to be a little bit more impactful than the short tracks. I’m just going to say that right now – if you’re going to go to say COTA for instance, that’s a completely new animal, even compared to any other road course that we go to. I think we’ve all heard talks of potential street courses, all these things. Once you start getting into some venues like that, that’s way out of the scope of what the majority of the folks in our industry are used to. The majority of the people in NASCAR right now have kind of gotten their roots from short track racing, different kinds of late models, different kinds of modifieds, and those natures and kind of navigate that just kind of distinctively. But as you start to get into some of those other tracks, it’s going to be uniquely different. The new car – we don’t know what it’s going to do. We don’t know about the durability. We crash-tested it one time, obviously. It didn’t do great – it crashed just like everything else. Stuff broke, fell apart, had to be replaced and all of that. But the durability standpoint on a short track when they start rubbing wheels, bouncing off the walls, hitting at Darlington, hitting at Bristol – we don’t know what it’s going to do just yet. But, again, I want to go back to the point I think as an entity, we’re kind of familiar with that. Once we start to get to some of these other venues, it’s going to be way different.”

IT’S BEEN SINCE 2015 THAT CHEVROLET HAS WON THE MANUFACTURER TITLE. WITH YOUR NEW ROLE AND IT’S ALREADY ANNOUNCED THAT YOU GUYS AT HENDRICK AND RCR ARE PARTNERING UP WITH THE ENGINE DEPARTMENT – HOW VITAL IS IT TO GET THE ENTIRE CHEVROLET BRAND THAT MANUFACTURER’S TITLE BACK IN THE FUTURE?
“Obviously, that’s a big gain for us. You try to get together and work with our key partners at GM. Obviously, putting Eric Warren in the position that he’s in is a huge asset. He’s a decorated member of the NASCAR community. He’s a very strong individual; his scope is massive on how he contributes. So, putting him at GM I think is fantastic. Getting the teams to work closer together I think is just paramount. We need to do that, especially moving into the 2021 season as we get through and we’re trying to develop this new car. We’ve been incrementally working this direction. We’ve shared some resources on development in the past. We’ve worked together collectively with the Camaro that we’re racing right now. We’re working together closely on the Camaro we’re going to be racing in the Next Gen. So, getting our resources spooled up and working together just makes fundamental sense. We’re going to be able to work together with RCR, CGR and GM and really get some nice stuff going in the right direction. We’re excited about that. The strength of our OEM is really critical to the performance of our teams in a lot of different ways. GM is a huge resource that, in the past, maybe we haven’t tapped into as much as what we need to. I think we’re going to be able to get involved, get our fingers in up there and really pull out some good from those guys up there in Michigan.”

MY QUESTION IS ABOUT THE PERSONNEL AT HENDRICK – YOU’RE STEPPING OFF THE PIT BOX, JIMMIE JOHNSON IS LEAVING NEXT YEAR. WHEN YOU MENTIONED HAVING A BUNCH OF YOUNG DRIVERS IN THE ORGANIZATION, I’M WONDERING IF YOU SEE THIS AS A NEW ERA FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS?
“Of course it is and you’d be foolish not to think that. Look at the age of our drivers, the age of our crew chiefs – look at all of that. It’s Cliff (Daniels), Greg (Ives), and Alan (Gustafson) – he’s a little bit older than those guys, but not a lot, and he’s got a lot of years ahead of him. If you look at Chase Elliott, he’s still in his mid-20’s and he’s got a long ways to go in his career. William Byron, obviously we know how young he is. I cannot wait to see how good of a race car driver William is in four years. I really think he’s going to be fantastic. Alex (Bowman) is super young, so we’ve got a lot of youth here that we can build upon and I think that’s exciting. I think it’s a great opportunity for me to ride on the coat tails of these guys as they’re going out there winning races and, hopefully, I can help a little bit.”

YOU MENTIONED JEFF GORDON EARLIER AND FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WE’VE HEARD HE’S GOING TO TAKE A BIGGER ROLE AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. HOW MUCH DOES YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JEFF PLAYED INTO YOUR DECISION TO HELP BUILD THE NUCLEOUS OF THE MANAGEMENT TEAM AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS?
“Jeff (Gordon) has been impactful, he really has. He and I sat down, I guess the first time three or four years ago, and we sat down and had a conversation over a glass of wine, and talked and spit-balled a little bit. He was curious where my head was in the future and what I wanted to do. I have a ton of respect for Jeff. He brings a uniqueness to our company: he’s an extremely successful race car driver; very, very talented in the broadcast booth, so he understands that side of things; very, very good with the sponsors; and has a good unique vision on how things should go forward. So, I think he was a big part of me understanding what the role is going to be moving forward. I think he and Mr. Hendrick working together is great. We’ve got a couple of unique perspectives up there, so he’s a big part of what’s going on here and it’s a lot of fun working with Jeff. He’s been here late at night with Jeff Andrews and I, 7:00 or 8:00 at night, talking and hashing things out and discussing how we’re going to move forward. He’s been great.”

THERE WAS NEWS THAT CAME OUT EARLIER TODAY WHERE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS IS GOING TO BE TEAMING UP WITH RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING NEXT YEAR FOR THE CHEVROLET ENGINE PROGRAM. WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON THAT AND WERE YOU A PART OF ANY DISCUSSIONS THAT LED TO THAT NEWS COMING OUT?
“I knew before you, how’s that (laughs). It’s something that we’ve talked about for a while. I wouldn’t say that was on my plate a whole lot – Jeff Andrews is really the guy that handles a lot of the engine side of things. So, he and the folks up there at RCR have had a lot of communication over the years. I think we’ve slowly begun to kind of migrate and merge closer together over the years. Obviously, CGR is a customer of ours from an engine standpoint, so getting those ties closer as an entity as I mentioned prior with the key partner of General Motors is really important. Honestly, it makes more sense from a GM standpoint to have a collective group doing research and development to get the car performance higher. Obviously, a good engine definitely helps. Those guys at RCR do a really good job. I’ve spent some time up there – I’ve been up there two or three times in the last six months or so. I’ve been very impressed with what they’ve got up there at RCR. Those guys do a really good job. They’ve got a lot of resources and they’re definitely going to have a positive impact on this engine program, for sure.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING TO MISS THE MOST NOT BEING WITH JUST ONE TEAM?
“I was actually just talking to my team a little while ago. You have to realize I’ve been a part of a team, a race team, since I was very, very young. Race teams are a pretty tight nucleus of folks. You’ve got 20-25 guys and gals that you work really, really closely with. You’re intimate with their families, you know their emotions, you know their needs, their desires, how they impact the performance of the car. You can tell when somebody’s off just by looking at them. That’s definitely what I’m going to miss the most – is just that intimacy with a team, the intimacy with the specific car number. And I know that I’m still part of a huge team at Hendrick Motorsports, but man – that being ingrained, that quickness of a team to move and react – that’s going to be something that I’m really going to miss. But that’s OK – I’ll focus on that and develop a team that we want to try to grow here where HMS is operating as one big team. That’s going to be a big thing.”

“And quite honestly, the competition side of things. When you’re on top of the pit box and you’re trying to make the decision if you’re going to make a green flag pitstop, if you’re going to pit early or if you’re going to run long, should you take two tire or four tires – that’s something that I’m definitely going to miss. That gut decision-making in the heat of the battle, that’s a tough one to give up, for sure.”

YOU AND JIMMIE JOHNSON ARE BOTH SORT OF STEPPING AWAY FROM YOUR LONGTIME ROLES AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS THIS SEASON. FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, WHAT DO YOU THINK HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS GOING FORWARD WILL MISS MOST ABOUT JIMMIE JOHNSON NOT BEING AROUND?
“Obviously, we’re going to miss his talent. He’s a heck of a racecar driver – that’s an easy one. We’re going to miss his presence, just from a personality standpoint. Everybody loves Jimmie. He’s a great guy and he’s a fierce competitor – we’ll definitely miss that. And we’re going to miss his accomplishments. Inevitably, you guys know this, as he walks away, a part of that goes with him. From a company standpoint, we’re trying to fill that void with talented young drivers that we feel can carry the torch – much like Jeff Gordon, much like Jimmie Johnson did in the past. So, we’re going to have that void for a little bit, but I think Chase (Elliott) is doing a fantastic job. If you look at the performance of that No. 88 car and Alex Bowman, those guys are doing a really good job. William (Byron) is coming along super strong. He’s got a victory. If we’re not crashing, we’re running pretty well. So, I think we’ll fill that cavity pretty quickly, I hope. But, just his presence. When Jimmie walks in, people just take notice. That’s Jimmie, Jimmie’s here – everyone wants to talk to him, they want to high-five him, give him so me love and he wants to give that. So, we’re going to miss that. Hopefully, he’s gone but not gone for good – he’s still coming around, checking us out a little bit.”

“And Jimmie said that I could go to an IndyCar race with him next year, so I’m going to try to do that.”

YOU HAVE BASICALLY GROWN-UP AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. NOW YOU’RE AT THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL. HOW WILL YOUR EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS BENEFIT YOU IN THIS NEW POSITION?
“When I put on my scout sash with all my badges that I’ve been able to put on there, that’s probably the thing that I’m most proud of that I’ve done all of those jobs. When I showed up here, I was literally sweeping the floor in the body shop. To be able to know that I’ve done so many things here at Hendrick Motorsports, (like) putting the bodies on the cars, being a mechanic, to setting the cars up to building shocks, to being a tire changer and part of the pit crew. And driving from Charlotte to Michigan to pick the guys up at the airport because our plane wasn’t big enough to take all of us back then. Some of us had to drive and we couldn’t afford rental cars. So, all of those things. It’s funny. The majority of the folks that work here now only know me as a crew chief because I’ve been a crew chief for so long. They don’t even identify with the fact that I was this fella that washed Ray Evernham’s car in the driveway every week so he had a clean car, right? So, I really like that. I like that I’ve been able to earn my stripes and scout badges the way that you’re supposed to do it.

“And I hope that people respect that and realize, quite honestly, that they could do the exact same thing. The most senior people in our company right now have been here for a very long time and have grown up in this environment of what is Hendrick Motorsports; which started as a very small entity to a huge campus that we’re all super proud of, right? So, talk about Greg Ives who came down from Michigan. He drove down to Daytona to have an interview with Brian Whitesell from the UP and then he came in and we put him in our tear-down department. Here’s a mechanical engineer with a degree and he’s out there washing cars and working his way up through the system. Cliff Daniels came in early. Alan Gustafson worked for Gary DeHart in his fab shop before he came over here. If you think like of the way that we’ve structured our company to grow folks into senior positions, it’s something I’m super proud of.”

YOU LEARNED FROM RAY EVERNHAM AND YOUR RECORD IS VERY IMPRESSIVE. WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU STACK-UP AMONG THE GREATEST CREW CHIEFS IN THE SPORT?
“I don’t know.”

I KNEW YOU WOULDN’T ANSWER
“That’s for you folks to decide. I don’t know. I’ve been very fortunate to work with amazing race car drivers and winning a bunch of races with Jimmie Johnson and having a lot of success with William Byron. Being on the outskirts of working with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne and all these other drivers who have been through here. I don’t know where I stack-up. I know that I’ve been traveling a long time. I know that I’ve done this for a long time. Dale Inman is still the guy. Leonard Wood is still the guy. Ray Evernham is still the guy. Like I called Ray the other day just to talk about this and he screamed me out. But, I have a lot of respect for the senior guys in this industry because they’ve definitely carried the torch and set the stage for guys like myself to come in and have a successful career; because there was a time that crew chiefs didn’t have that good of a lifestyle, you know? We were constantly filthy. And I was that guy, right? We were constantly filthy and never slept and slept at the shop. I can remember working in Alabama with Philipe Lopez and Stanley Smith and I was literally sleeping on this steel table in the middle of the garage because I was too tired to drive home to get up to come to work the next day because we were there so late. So, the sport has changed significantly. I’m just proud to be a part of it. I’m very blessed to be where I’m at and to have this opportunity to come here and help at Hendrick Motorsports at the level my predecessors did.”

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