NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
SOUTH POINT 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference and discussed the heat and other challenges of the upcoming Las Vegas race, the pressure of the next 2 races at Talladega and the Roval, the importance of points, and more. Full Transcript:

GOODYEAR HAS CHANGED THE RIGHT-SIDE TIRE FOR LAS VEGAS FROM WHAT YOU RAN EARLIER THIS YEAR, TO HAVE MORE GRIP. HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WILL HAVE AN IMPACT?
“I feel like each race track we go to and each tire combination, and then the PJ1 spray compound, and even the application of how they spray it, changes it each and every week. And so, we’ve learned to just be on our toes. We researched through the Truck races, the Xfinity races, and it’s not a proven science on what all the combinations led to, and again, you have to adapt and roll with it. So, we’ll see how it plays out. I was hoping the Bristol tire would have a little bit more grip like they had said, but it was fairly close to where we were with the previous race. So, a lot of factors where temperature and other things all come into play.”

THE MGM GRAND IN VEGAS HAD A PICTURE OF YOU AND YOUR BROTHER ON THEIR MARQUEE. WHEN YOU SAW THAT, WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS?
“Yeah, I thought it was fabulous. As a kid, I always had a dream or vision and a push to try to be on the marquee of any of the hotels. To have that on there and to not have fans at the race track, it’s all kind of the way that all different things are looked at right now with advertising. And so, I saw the NBC Sports logo at the bottom, the MGM Resorts chain of hotels helps with putting that up there, of course. It’s just neat to see the love for the hometown boys. And with NASCAR in town without fans at the track, we’re hoping people tune-into NBCSN. You’ve got to find different ways to advertise and to pump people up and to get the word out. And so that was great from MGM Resorts.”

KYLE BUSCH HAS POSTED VIDEO OF HIS SON BREXTON, AND YOUR DAD AND MOM, AND THE WHOLE FAMILY. DOES THAT REMIND YOU OF WHEN YOU WERE LEARNING TO RACE WITH YOUR MOM AND DAD GOING TO ALL THE TRACKS?
“Yeah, it’s great memories. Ashley and I were over at the dirt track on the first few of his outings to make sure we were there on the first trip to go watch him drive on the track and hold the pedal down and go fast. It immediately brought me back to when I saw my little brother do the same thing and head out onto the track for his first time. And I know it does that for my dad and my mom when they see a grandchild out there racing. So, it’s just neat to see the timeline. I need to find more time to separate on whether it’s the Tuesdays over at Millbridge (Speedway, in Salisbury, NC) or on Saturdays over at the other track. I just need to find my time to be a better uncle and to be more involved.”

WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO FINALLY GET A WIN AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY AND TO DO IT WITHOUT FANS?
“The Vegas track has definitely been one of the tough ones for me over the years with results and finishes not where I would have expected them to be. And, the teams that I’ve race for just have never quite found that right magic set-up or combination. And then for me, It’s a track that I just have that trouble with. There are a few tracks like Indianapolis and Martinsville; those are a few places where I struggle. And so with Vegas, I always put that little extra hometown pressure on myself and I would love to win there. I would love to win through the spirit of the camera and everything on NBC Sports; and I know the fans there, local, will be watching and cheering on the Busch brothers. So, that’s where I would connect. And hopefully do it through the TV side of it. We’ll get fans back one day and we’ll come back and race.”

ON ROSS CHASTAIN JOINING CHIP GANASSI RACING IN 2021:
“I feel like Ross Chastain is a perfect addition to Chip Ganassi Racing. Ross has done an incredible job to race hard and to promote himself and to battle through this perseverance. Some of the sponsorship changes at Ganassi over the years left him somewhat out of a ride with the Xfinity side of things. The kid is one of those true family-man workers that helps with the family business and has this passion for racing, and he reminds me a lot of myself; and just has true grit and the way that he just keeps pushing and has now landed that first big time contract. So, I’m very proud of Ross and I know he’ll bring that same tenacity and drive to the organization as a teammate. And I couldn’t think of a better kid to try to help out to get him established in the Cup Series.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS COMING OUT OF THE LAS VEGAS IN GOOD SHAPE WITH THE UNCERTAINTY OF TALLADEGA AND THE CHARLOTTE ROVAL?
“That’s why they’re all in this mix and that’s why they are Playoff race tracks in this round, or in any of the rounds. They are all difficult tracks. They’re all a challenge for their own reasons. And, a 1.5-mile, you could look at as being sort of a standard type of flow with pit calling and pit stop and racing. But a place like Vegas fits into a track like Texas, as well; where you can change just left-side tires like we saw Austin Dillon do to win the Texas race earlier this year. So, there are all the different strategies and different things playing out. There are two Hendrick cars now not in the Playoffs, but they’re fast. Same thing with Gibbs. You’ve got the No. 20 car, Eric Jones, not in the Playoffs but he’s fast. Those are points that those guys could take away from the contenders that are still left in the situations they’re in. So, you’ve just got to race hard and race smart. There are three ways to get points each and every weekend: Stage 1, Stage 2, and the finish of the race. And, that happens at all the race tracks.”

WHERE IS SUPERSPEEDWAY RACING RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF ALL THESE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS THAT WE’VE SEEN OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS?
“I remember winning Daytona a few years ago. I had this Adrenalin quote of something I can’t even remember I said. The more that we race on these restrictor-plate tracks, the more they become unpredictable, to be predictable and to not be predictable. I don’t even know what I said. It kind of sounded right but again, there is no constant in these superspeedway races. I was running fourth behind William Byron with 15 laps to go a few weeks ago for that Playoff cutoff race to get in. And, he peels off and pits, and I’m like, where’s he going? That’s the stupidest call I’ve ever seen. We just now bumped-up a row. After the restart, I was leading the inside lane. And then, I get wiped-out in a wreck the next lap. And there he is with fresh tires, just navigating through everybody, and comes back and wins it after he pitted from third place with 15 laps to go. And that’s what all the restrictor plate races have turned into being.”

THE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO BE HOT AT LAS VEGAS. HOW MUCH HAVE YOU BEEN HYDRATING TO PREPARE? DOES THE HEAT ALSO MEAN THE TRACK WILL BE SLICK?
“Yeah, Vegas, I’m glad it’s back a couple of weeks from where it was last year for the first time in the Playoffs. It’s going to be a 105-degree heat index. We had that earlier this year at Texas. And guys had some trouble there. Austin Dillon, the winner, and myself; we needed fluids after the race. At the Daytona road course, tons of guys had trouble in that 110-degree heat index. So, Vegas, it’s dry heat. It’s a little different. But still, it’s one of these races that you have to hydrate, you have to stretch, you have to acclimate your body to the heat going into the race. By sitting in your hot motor home or your hot rental car to try to have your body forewarned that extra heat is coming. And so, it’s a sequence. And I have a great trainer with Josh Wise at Ganassi, that helps all the drivers in the Chevrolet camp be their best when they get to the race track. And the track will be hot as well. It’ll be super-slick compared to where it races in February and March.”

YOU HAVE TAKEN ON A LEADERSHIP ROLE AT CHIP GANASSI RACING. HOW MUCH DO YOU EMBRACE THAT ROLE AND DOES IT HELP YOU INSIDE YOUR CAR TO BE THAT ‘VETERAN QUARTERBACK’ FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM?
“I figured it was time for some change and to adapt to my age and utilize my experience the best way possible. And that’s to create that level headedness, to create the leadership/mentor role; I feel like it’s this time in my life it’s great to give back to young engineers and young crew members to help them come up through the ranks quicker and better and stronger. And so, it’s just a nice fit as well, with Chip Ganassi. Racing for a legend like him who has that tenacity and who has that fire and desire to win every single week. There’s only so much room for those big egos and he helps me moderate mine. And that’s part of the combination of why it works so well and being able to deliver good results over there.”

WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM SITS RIGHT NOW IN THE ROUND OF 12?
“What I like is we have had better lap times at all three races so far compared to maybe the five or six races leading into the Playoffs. So, I look at Darlington as a pretty solid result. We had one really good pit stop and one bad one mixed together and that’s where we fell back to eighth place. I feel like our lap times at Richmond were solid; but we were on a pit strategy from our engineering crew. And from our data that said we should go this route, and it took us from running sixth, we led some laps, but it took us all the way back to 13th. So, that was a big mistake on losing points. And then at Bristol, we were running pretty strong. I felt like we were a Top 5 car and then ended up with a loose wheel. And so, we had to battle back. But a lot of other guys had trouble as well at Bristol. So, we’re on to the next round. We know that our cushion is gone. We ended Bristol with 33-points to the good. And now we start Vegas minus four. So that’s just part of the system and now we have to be perfect. We have to get every point possible that we’re able to get on our own at Vegas, Talladega, and the Roval. And, that should help us advance.”

YOU ARE A TECHNICALLY MINDED DRIVER. IN YOUR POST-DRIVING CAREER HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF PUTTING ON THE CREW CHIEF HAT?
“That is probably the toughest position in NASCAR. I think it’s the most under-rated position. And, for me to be a crew chief, I tried it one time for my little brother when he was in an ARCA car at Charlotte. And I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I had no idea what was going on, all the expectations, all the responsibility. I don’t see myself being a crew chief. I even struggle to this day with pit strategy calls from the race car. And so, I think more of a mentor or a driver coach would be down the right avenue; not a crew chief.”
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.

Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

LAS VEGAS (September 24, 2020) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media via videoconference in advance of the race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

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

You have a really cool program with your foundation this weekend at Las Vegas. Can you explain what is going on?

“Thanks, really obviously a big weekend for our foundation. This year was tough in many ways. From a fundraising standpoint, we ran into road blocks with everything that we historically have tried to do. Typically for this month, we would be having our steering wheel campaign, which we have had for the past few seasons and this year, we ran into trouble trying to get steering wheels. Just really a great job by everybody at the foundation trying to come up with a new idea and thanks to the NASCAR Foundation for working with us to make it happen, and obviously, all the teams and drivers that have participated. I’m really excited about the names on the cars. I think there are so many cancer heroes out there that are just really excited about this program so far and getting to see the names on the cars going around. It’s been a big deal with fundraising for our foundation so far. Really just hats off to everyone involved. I’m really fired up to see this go down at Las Vegas this weekend.”

Where do you see the state of superspeedway racing right now?

“I think the one thing that always has been a part of it is the unknowns and the opportunities for things to happen that you don’t necessarily want to be a part of. That’s just kind of the nature of the beast. I think the strategy has changed with the manufacturers all working together and pitting together and trying to come up with the best strategy to run their race to try to not only give their selves the best chance to win but also stay out of trouble. It seems like when you have those packs of manufacturers working together, there is less chance for the big crashes to happen. Ultimately, it always comes down to a caution and restart. The field bunched up. Whether it’s the middle of the race going for a stage win or stage points or at the end going for a win, it always seems like that is when the chaos happens. You are never really too far out of the dangerous waters at superspeedways, but in general, I feel like guys have more strategy involved than they used to – where it used to be just go out and race and try to keep yourself in the front. Now there is a lot more to it, but in the end, it’s all the same. Hopefully for us we will go have a good race there.”

This is the sixth time you have made the Round of 12. How is your mindset different this year than previous years?

“I would say a little bit different than past years, especially the past few where we have had lots of bonus points and we really came into, especially this round in really good shape, and now I think we are only plus 11. That changes things, I guess, a little bit, but at the same time, we know what we need to do. I feel like Vegas is a good place for us to go and have a good race and hopefully, potentially go to victory lane. Things have been going really well for us lately, minus Bristol. The team has done a really good job, and we have been leading laps and doing the things that we need to do. If we can just turn that into a win once in the next two rounds. That’s all that we need to do. Win once in the round of 12, once in the round of 8 and we will be where we want to be. I’m excited about the opportunity and feel like it will be a good track for us.”

Can you talk about your personality behind the wheel? Does give and take still exist?

“Yeah, I think there is. It’s something that I’ve always tried to do. At the end of the day, you have to get the best finish that you can get. If that’s racing clean and giving guys a little bit of room and cutting some guys some breaks here and there, that’s worth doing in my opinion.”

Is it important to win Las Vegas to make the Round of 8 or just because this round includes Talladega and the ROVAL?

“I think both. I think all of that stuff comes into your mind when you look at the next three races and at the same time, I feel like we have a good opportunity at all three to do well. Especially, the ROVAL and Vegas, but Talladega is definitely the wild card and you don’t necessarily want to have to worry about getting a good finish there or a finish at all. I think it would make things a lot easier, a lot less stressful if we could go win at Las Vegas. That’s our plan. I’m sure everybody, all the guys left, are in the same boat. We want to win this race, so we don’t have to worry. I think that goes pretty much for all the rounds, no matter where you are going.”

We’ve heard that NASCAR could be headed to the Circuit of the Americas next season. What are your thoughts on that?

“Yeah, I think it’s exciting. Anytime we are talking about going someplace new it’s a great thing. Everybody looks forward to that. I don’t know much about the track. I’ve only seen bits and pieces of races there, but I think it would be great. I love road courses, and that certainly looks like a really nice one. It would be fun to try it. We will see if we get to do it.”

What are your thoughts on your teammate, Denny Hamlin, starting a team with Michael Jordan next year?

“I think it’s interesting. Anytime you have new owners, and especially at that caliber, come into our sport, it brings more excitement and more eyeballs and gets more people interested. I think for all involved it’s a good thing and looking forward to see how they do.”

What is the lasting impact of the 2000 Talladega race, which was Dale Earnhardt’s last win?

“I think the legacy of that race was just from how far back Dale came from in the last two laps to win. Obviously, superspeedway racing has really evolved a lot in those 20 years, but that was just a reminder of what Dale could do on a superspeedway and how guys kind of feared him on those tracks as far as, if he had a run, they weren’t trying to block, they weren’t trying to make any crazy moves. Whoever was behind him wasn’t going to do anything but push him to the front, which was Kenny Wallace. Pretty neat to think back to that, and I think I was watching it live.”

Have you noticed any changes in the mile-and-a-half races and why is there so much parity right now?

“I think it’s mostly the cars and the situation where it seems like we always have a late restart. You look at the way these cars drive and on restarts, you just don’t have a lot of horsepower, so you can’t get away from each other. You are kind of at the mercy of the drag and the horsepower and we all end up in a big wad for two to three laps. That’s where I think we’ve seen the different winners come from and it seems pretty consistent that we have this many cautions.’

How much change have you noticed in your crew chief James Small throughout the season?

“I think just more confidence as we’ve gone through things and tried things that didn’t work and just circled back to what we were used to doing. Definitely confidence is up, not only from the stand point of me having confidence in what he’s bringing to the race track, but I think him and his decisions. When he’s on the box – split-second decisions – I think he’s obviously gotten more comfortable, and that is something that you can only get with time. I feel like things have been going really well for us, aside from Bristol, and obviously looking forward to hopefully having a good showing at Vegas.”

Do you think this new team has a chance to success as a single-car team and do you ever plan on being a team owner?

“I think it will be interesting. I think there’s obviously a lot that goes on behind the scenes as far as owning a team and all that it takes. Obviously, we had a lot of success at Furniture Row as a single-car team, but you look at how long they had been around, how long it took for them to get there and it was a process. Obviously, having the financial backing, having the sponsorship, having the resources to draw from, whether that’s the manufacturer or an alliance team, whatever it is. You still have a lot of parts and pieces, a lot of moving things, a lot of people. At the end of the day, I think it’s really all about those people, what can they do, how can they take these resources and these opportunities and make the best of them, because no matter what they are still up against four-car teams and big organizations and all of those things. It’s a heck of a challenge. I’m sure Barney Visser could probably explain it a little bit better than I can, because he kind of went through a lot there. I think they are in a great position to be able to make this happen and be successful. It’s going to be interesting to see how it all plays out. At the end of the day, I think it’s a great thing for the sport to have another team come in and one of that caliber with Michael Jordan being an owner. I think it’s huge, and it’s exciting. I haven’t really thought much about ownership and I don’t know if that’s a road that I would go down, but you never know what the future holds.”

# # #

About Toyota

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NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
SOUTH POINT 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss his outlook going into the first race of the Round of 12 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, how the temperature change can have an effect on the track, the importance of capitalizing on stage points, and more. Transcript:

WE’VE HAD THE SITUATION WHERE TALLADEGA IS THE CUTOFF RACE AND NOW IT’S GOING TO BE THE MIDDLE RACE. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT – NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN POSITION, THERE’S TIME TO RECOVER A LITTLE BIT IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG OR BASK IN THE GLORY IF SOMETHING GOES RIGHT AT A PLACE LIKE TALLADEGA?
“Yeah, certainly how it plays out is a little different I guess than what we’ve seen last year and in years past. But I look at – you have Vegas and that to me, I feel like, is the first opportunity and you really need to kind of take it a week at a time because I think we would be messing up to already be looking ahead to Talladega. We have an opportunity this weekend to try to perform and try to get a win. And if we can do that, then the rest of (this round) doesn’t matter near as much, as far as pointing your way through. So, that’s the goal right now and we’ll take it as they come.”

ON THIS WEEKEND, IT LOOKS LIKE IT’S GOING TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY HOTTER THAN WHEN YOU VISITED EARLIER IN THE YEAR. HOW SENSITIVE IS THIS TRACK TO TEMPERATURE CHANGE?
“Yeah, it definitely seems like it’s been some time since we’ve been Vegas. It’s going to be a good bit hotter. I feel like all these tracks can be temperature sensitive, for sure. I think this race, as early as it gets dark out, it will probably end at night like it did last year. So, that’ll be interesting and I’m sure it will have a pretty big swing from the beginning of the race to the end. Hopefully we’re on top of that and try to have things rolling.”

WHAT’S YOUR THOUGHT ABOUT LAP TRAFFIC, FRIENDS ON THE TRACK, AND LETTING PEOPLE GO IF THEY ARE FASTER THAN YOU?
“I honestly feel like there are times where if it’s not your day, it’s not your day and that’s kind of the way I see it. If I’m getting lapped, it’s not my day and I get that, I feel like. I know for dang sure that if I’m getting lapped by the leaders and the race is coming to a close, I feel like I have strived to make sure I am out of the way for the simple fact that I would want that returned to me if I was ever in the other position racing for a win and trying to get through lap traffic. I feel like you want all the help you can get. So, I just do it as I would want it done to me on the other end and kind of deal with it that way. It’s really up to the individual. I’m not sure that there’s a written rule or an unwritten rule that says what’s right or what’s wrong. But I think as a racer, you know when it’s your day and you know when you’re struggling, have damage or whatever it may be. So, I think you have to take it case by case, but it’s certainly up to the individual. That’s really all it comes down to – is the person and who they’re dealing with.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT FRIENDS WHO ARE DRIVERS COMPETING WITH YOU ON THE RACE TRACK? YOU’RE A GOOD ONE TO ASK – YOU AND (RYAN) BLANEY ARE FRIENDS. SOME DRIVERS SAY YOU BRING YOUR OWN FRIENDS TO THE RACE TRACK.
“I don’t necessarily go to the track to make friends. Ryan (Blaney) and I were friends long before we started racing in NASCAR. So, I think that one’s a little unique. I feel like my friendships that I have around the track were made when I was a kid and it just so happens to be that way because I grew up around the race track. I can’t say I’ve really made any friends since I’ve been racing with the rest of them and I really don’t have a relationship with very many of the guys on the circuit. I definitely can understand the side of no, we’re not there to make friends. And that’s not how we should race each other. I feel like Ryan and I race each other hard regardless. But I try to race him with respect as I feel like he’s raced me with respect over the years. So, it’s really just more of a respect thing, I think, than it is a friendship or not a friendship situation with guys on track. If you respect somebody, I feel like the right thing is to show them that, especially if it’s mutual. And if it’s not, that’s typically where problems come in and there certainly are different views of things and guys have different ways of approaching and solving problems. A lot of times, you can butt heads and whatnot, which is fine – that’s entertainment too. So, I think it’s really not as much of a friendship situation as it is ‘hey, do I really respect this guy or not and how does he race me’ and how am I going to in-turn race him. I think that’s really what it comes down to more so than it is being friends or not.”

YOU TALK ABOUT FOCUSING ON VEGAS. IS THE FOCUS ON VEGAS, AS FAR AS STAGE POINTS, MORE URGENT BECAUSE OF THE UNCERTAINTY OF TALLADEGA AND THE ROVAL?
“Stage points are huge and everybody knows that now. Ten or twenty points in a stage – that’s a ton. So, I think everybody knows how important stages are and what they can mean, especially stage wins. Getting that extra bonus point is a huge thing, too. I think everybody knows that and that’s certainly a game that’s been played. I don’t know that it was as much played that very first year that we had this, but really ever since that first year, I think it has been known and everybody really gets that. And it’s just gotten more and more aggressive, I feel like, as time has gone on to perform well in stages. So, I think it makes it important to run good throughout the entire race. I thought that our stage results at Richmond and Bristol were good and that’s really what allowed us to get through. I haven’t moved to the mindset of Talladega next week. The way I kind of look at it is I’m probably going to crash – I think that’s just the odds probably point that direction. I hope not, but I’d say anything more than crashing would just be icing on top is how I’m going to look at it. I’m going to go into this weekend and really focus on Vegas. I’m not going to dwell on next week yet. We have a whole race here at Vegas this weekend to try to perform, get a win and move on the right way.”

LOOKING BACK AT LAST YEAR AT THE ROVAL – CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH WHERE YOU WERE AS A TEAM PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, PRIOR TO THAT RESTART, AND HOW THINGS WERE GOING FOR YOU PRIOR TO THAT MOMENT?
“Everything was really going really well, I thought to that point. We had a fast car, had got up to the lead, was making laps, and trying to get a little better and push certain areas to try and improve. I felt like the margin to the competitors was certainly going to close up as the race went on. So, both myself and our team, we were just kind of pushing in all the little small areas that we thought we could to get better. That was where my mistake ended up coming. I was trying to find an extra little bit for a late-race restart if we were in that position or whatever it may be. Leading up to all that, things were going good and we were just fine-tuning, which was really nice.”

AT WHAT POINT DID YOU REALIZE THAT EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO BE OK ONCE YOU BACKED OUT OF THE TIRE BARRIERS?
“I didn’t, really. I pretty well thought it was destroyed, so I didn’t think there was any chance. I thought it was over, initially. And then once we kind of got back going, the thing was still driving pretty good. It still had some damage and it didn’t drive as good as it did, but it was still pretty solid. We started marching our way up through there. There was still a fair amount of time left in the race. Not enough time to mess around by any means, but there was a fair amount of time to march our way back forward. We were slowly clicking laps off and were able to make some passes. At that point, once we got back into the top-five there with the last couple later race restarts, if I recall correctly, I’m like ‘hey, we have another shot at it’. Tried to just mentally reset as much as I could and, luckily, things went our way. I had a couple good restarts, cars stayed together and we got really fortunate to have all those things go our way. To hit the tires as hard as we did and it not tear it up bad enough to keep going was probably a miracle. I don’t take that one for granted. That was definitely a piece of fortune in our direction, for sure.”

NEXT WEEKEND IS GOING TO BE 20th ANNIVERARY OF THE 2000 WINSTON 500, WHICH WAS EARNHARDT’S FINAL VICTORY. I KNOW YOUR DAD WAS IN THAT RACE. DO YOU EVER GO BACK TO WATCH THAT RACE? WHAT DO YOU THINK HAS BEEN THE LASTING IMPACT AND LEGACY OF THAT RACE?
“I’ll be honest, I’ve never gone back and watched it. I was very, very young – I don’t remember the race. I haven’t gone back to really see or watch what happened or how it unfolded. I’ve seen a photo of Kenny Wallace there running second to Dale (Earnhardt) as the race was winding down. That’s really about all my memory serves of that event. Like I said, I was so little, I don’t really remember it at all.”

VEGAS HAS BEEN ONE OF THOSE TRACKS THAT HAS BEEN UP AND DOWN FOR YOU. JUST LOOKING AT YOUR PAST RACES AT VEGAS, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO BE THE DIFFERENCE IN YOU GETTING A TOP-10 RESULT/WIN OR YOU POSSIBLY FINISHING NEAR THE BOTTOM?
“That’s a great point because I feel like Vegas has been super hit or miss for us. We’ve crashed a bunch out there, I feel like, and had some really bad finishes. I thought we had our best run going here in the spring race this year. I forget – we had a flat tire or something there in the middle of that last stage or towards the end of the race. I think the key would be to run like we were in the spring and not have a flat tire. That would be a fantastic opportunity, I think, to have a solid day.”

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

About Chevrolet
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NASCAR CUP SERIES

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

SOUTH POINT 400 – NASCAR ZOOM MEDIA AVAILABILITY

Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang for Team Penske, has four wins this season, including one in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at Richmond Raceway two weeks ago. He enters the Round of 12 opener on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in third place, holding a 30-point advantage on the final transfer position. Here is a full transcript of his Q&A session today as part of a NASCAR Zoom media availability.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang — ARE YOU GLAD TALLADEGA IS THE MIDDLE RACE OF THIS ROUND OR DOES IT REALLY MATTER? “Long story short, I didn’t even think about it that way. The biggest thing I’ve been thinking about is the playoff bonus points and winning in Vegas. The best thing we can do to control our own destiny is to go win Vegas and then Talladega just becomes what it is. It’s the same thing with the Roval, so we’re hopeful to just kind of not have to worry about it that way by scoring a win. If we’re not able to do that, I’d like to get a few more playoff bonus points with stages for those races and that would help a bunch, but, certainly, this round presents a lot of challenges for us.”

WHERE DO YOU SEE THE STATE OF THESE SUPERSPEEDWAY RACES RIGHT NOW? “Somewhere along the lines of a MAVTV demo derby just a little faster. I mean, it is what it is and you have to call for what it is. The racing at Daytona and Talladega goes through ebbs and flows and evolutions, and it’s evolved so much over the last 11 years, 12 years I’ve been in Cup, and it seems to evolve in yearly sometimes every two to three year cycles. It’s really hard to keep in front of it. This latest iteration has just been the demo derby iteration, which has been frustrating for me because without being able to really do anything to protect the lead it’s just hoping that, fingers crossed, you don’t get wrecked. That said, my teammate Ryan Blaney has been successful. He’s won two races and managed to survive a couple times at Daytona and Talladega and I just look at it and go, ‘You lucky you know what,’ but he’s doing something right, but I haven’t figured out how to survive all the crashes.”

HOW DO YOU LOOK AT FRIENDS ON THE RACETRACK AND THE DISCUSSION THIS WEEK, AND THOUGHTS ON LAP TRAFFIC WHEN YOU’RE FASTER THAN SOMEONE? “There are a lot of people who think Dale Earnhardt was the best race car driver ever, and I think he was really good, but one of the things that he probably didn’t get a lot of credit for and that I respect the most about him was his ability to go out and just flat-out wreck someone on the racetrack, not that people didn’t get mad at him, but people forgot about it, like they moved on. He had it mastered, absolutely mastered. I look at that all the time and just wonder, ‘How do you do that?’ Now, keep in mind that was in an era before social media and before the super-big sponsors and maybe times have changed permanently forever, but I certainly wonder about that — how he was able to basically go out and wreck people and still be their friends. That doesn’t exist in Cup right now. Maybe it’s because no one has or will ever have the personality that Dale had, or maybe because you can’t. I don’t know, but the reality is unless you have the dominant car, you have to make bold moves and you have to do things that make people pretty angry to win. It’s not a fun part of the process, but you can’t win without it. In theory, the best way is to just go out and have the best car. The reality is on any given weekend that’s only one driver and in any given season you’re lucky to have the best car two or three times. I was thinking about this the other day as I was talking to a friend of mine who is a football fan and a lot of times what I hear from people about race car drivers is, ‘Are you the quarterback on the team?’ And my honest answer is, ‘No, I’m not really the quarterback on the team, I’m probably like a wide receiver skill position,’ because my job, in some ways, is very similar to a wide receiver that when I’m wide open, I better catch the ball. That’s the same as having the fastest race car. You better make the most out of it. When I’m completely covered, I’ve got to find a way to come down with the ball and that’s when you don’t have the fastest race car and you go out and still find a way do succeed. Let’s just put it this way, trying to come down with the ball while you’re fully covered is a scrum and you’ve got to throw a few elbows and a few people get upset. The position that we’re in and we’ve been in is one where we’re not exactly always the fastest car and we’ve got to throw a few elbows. It’s not where we want to be, but it’s the reality and the alternative is to just give up and that’s not who I am and I know that’s not who Joey is.”

SO THEN IS THE ART LEARNING HOW TO HAVE PEOPLE MAD AT YOU WITHOUT IT SCREWING WITH YOUR HEAD? “It certainly is an art. It’s one that Dale Earnhardt had figured out better than anyone else, and led to a lot of success that he deserves tremendous credit for. It’s not one that exists in Cup today.”

THERE’S BEEN SOME CHATTER ABOUT A POTENTIAL DIRT RACE AT BRISTOL. DO YOU HAVE ANY PREFERENCE? “I don’t know enough about it. I have one-tenth of the information that would be required to have a respectable opinion. I’ve got so many questions, so I kind of want to see how it unfolds before really giving a detailed opinion. My initial impressions are that change is good for the NASCAR schedule. It shows a commitment to trying to keep this circuit fresh and keep fan interest. Beyond that, I don’t know enough about it technically to have a formal opinion.”

IS THE BIG QUESTION WHAT TYPE OF SUSPENSION AND HOW MUCH DIRT? “Yeah, the tire is the big question. If they’re gonna bring a tire like they brought to the truck races, I would be very disappointed. If they bring a very high caliber quality dirt tire, I think it could be an amazing race.”

WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOUR POWER-STEERING WENT OUT AT BRISTOL AND HOW GRATEFUL WERE YOU THAT YOU HAD A WIN IN THE BAG ALREADY? “Yeah, I think number two probably answers number one. First thought in my mind was, ‘Thank God we won Richmond,’ but it was the power-steering that actually went out. I’m not sure why that happened. I know the team was trying to take a look at it, but my XFINITY teammate, Austin Cindric, had the same issue the night before. Hopefully, that will get solved and won’t be a source of worry as we move forward, but I am super-thankful for the run we had at Richmond and glad to move on. I hate how it hurt our average finish. We had an average finish of like 1.7 on the short tracks until then this year, and that was gonna be awesome. Well, that ruined that, but, either way, it’s over and we’re thankful to move on to the next round.”

DOES IT TEACH YOU THE IMPORTANCE OF WINS PARTICULARLY IN THE PLAYOFFS? “I think if you look through the list, the first thing that stands out is you can’t beat yourself — driver, car, team — and if you do beat yourself, you better be able to win in the other races. So, is it the importance of winning? Yes, but I think if you’re getting down to the basics of it, you can’t have breakdowns, you can’t have major driver malfunctions or major car malfunctions or you’re gonna be in big trouble.”

IS VEGAS MORE IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF TALLADEGA AND THE ROVAL RIGHT AFTER IT? “I think it’s the second most important race to win outside of Phoenix throughout the whole season because these next two weeks are very difficult to prepare for, to your point. We’d like to get a headstart on preparing for Kansas and Texas and not have to worry about breakdowns or wrecks, but we’re putting a lot of emphasis on it is the easiest way I can put it.”

WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOU AND JEREMY ARE IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATION COMPARED TO WHERE YOU AND PAUL WERE AT THIS TIME LAST YEAR? “I think the easiest way is we’re kind of graduating from the honeymoon phase into the living together phase. It’s still pretty good, everybody is happy. I’m thrilled to death with what I think our potential is for these playoffs, but we’ve got to go to work.”