CHEVY NSCS AT LAS VEGAS: Ryan Newman Press Conference Transcript
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
KOBALT TOOLS 400
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
March 4, 2011
RYAN NEWNAN, NO. 39 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and discussed the start to his season, the amount of crashes so far this season and other topics. Full transcript:
TALK ABOUT THE START OF YOUR SEASON: “It is the best two-race start to the season since my Daytona 500 victory in 2008. This just really proud to get started better. I think we have done a good job so far of carrying a good run in the last 10 races of last season into the off season and turning that into a good start to the season. That isn’t easy to do. Maybe Carl Edwards is doing it just a little bit better than us. Ultimately it has been a lot of fun to start. We led the most laps at Daytona which was a great feat for us as a team. I think it was the first time for me at a restrictor plate track and the first time for me at Stewart-Haas as far as leading the most laps I think. A good solid top-five finish at Phoenix. That is three top-fives in a row at that race track. Just proud of the effort the guys have put in during the off season and all the sponsors for giving us the opportunity to come back and do what we love.”
IS THIS THE FIRST TEST FOR THE NEW NOSE? “I honestly haven’t noticed any difference in the way the car drives aerodynamically or physically as far as hitting the race track with the new nose compared to the old nose. This new nose is supposed to be more rigid but in saying that, I wouldn’t have known any difference whatsoever and I don’t know many drivers that I have talked to would say anything any different.”
IS ALL THE EARLY AGGRESSION AND CRASHES A TREND GOING? “It is like you know that there is going to be like 185,000 people leaving the race track on Sunday but we are all going to try to get to the airport first. We know there is going to be traffic but we still try to do it fast. We honk our horns, we cut people off, it is just the way it is. Honestly, I don’t what happened. I don’t know if it was having Saturday just qualifying and more time to think about the race. I honestly think that what happened was NASCAR announcing the mandatory caution at 40 laps changed the strategy for some teams and we saw some guys that didn’t pit and stayed out and guys that were running up front were in turn running 15th and were trying to get everything back in the first couple of laps. It felt like green-white-checkered restarts at Martinsville or Richmond or Daytona for that matter sometimes every restart we had there at Phoenix for the first five or six. It was literally crazy. I don’t know how we didn’t have more crashes than what we did. I mean, the big crash that happened was because the tailpipes cut down the tire which was a freak of instance I guess you could say. It was chaotic was the best word you could use to describe the racing for the first 65 laps.
“Honestly I don’t know if it was because of that competition caution and the way things played out then maybe it will be different. I don’t know. I hope we all kind of learned from the chaoticness, which I think is a word; I tried to use it in Scrabble on the way here-chaoticness. I think that.I know we can do a better job than we did there. I don’t know if we all will hold up to our potential.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON MARTINSVILLE? “I like it. I don’t know why it is being the biggest guy in the garage, I’ve never had one of those hotdogs before. (LAUGHS) I like the racing. I like the fact that you have to really modulate that third pedal that we don’t typically use as much, which I think makes it an exciting race for us drivers. The history of the sport, just going back to the days of the modifieds. Bobby (Hutchens, Stewart-Haas competition director) has shared some stories with me of his dad racing there in a modififed and getting up on the fence and climbing the walls, stuff like that. It is the kind of racing that we still do that is where we all came from. Whether it was stock cars or modifieds or open wheel cars, the short track, hard on the brakes, small tight half-mile racing I think 95% of the people in the garage still appreciate.”
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AJ Allmendinger, Bobby Labonte and David Gilliland Part Of Unusual Top Ten
While it is most certainly early in the NASCAR season, with just two races under their collective belts, a few unusual names are present in the top ten in points.
With Kyle Busch, his brother Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart forming the familiar trio at the top, AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports, sits in the fourth position in points. Other relatively unfamiliar drivers, at least in the top ten standings, are Bobby Labonte who currently sits in the seventh spot, and David Gilliland, who rounds out the top ten.
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[/media-credit]Of all the drivers new to the top ten, AJ Allmendinger seemed most surprised about being so high in the points this season. When Kerry Tharp of NASCAR introduced Allmendinger as fourth in the point standings, Allmendinger quickly asked “I am?”
“I vote we just start the Chase right now,” Allmendinger said. “Right now. Starting now. Starting here.”
Allmendinger was visibly excited to be so high in the points. But he also recognized that there is a great deal of racing left to do before he can truly celebrate.
“It is still really early, just two races in,” Allmendinger noted. “But I feel like between Daytona and Phoenix we have had a good race car.”
“We got through all the wrecks and have been a little bit lucky there,”Allmendinger continued. “This is definitely a lot better start than where we were last year at this point, but it is only two races in. We have to stay calm about that and can’t get too excited.”
“I am happy with where our race team has started and if we can stay focused on getting through this weekend, which is a big one for us because we have really struggled here in Vegas,” Allmendinger said. “If we can get through this weekend we will have something to really build on.”
Another surprising driver in the top ten is Bobby Labonte. While Labonte is a familiar name in the sport, he most certainly is another driver who is finding himself in unfamiliar territory in the point standings.
Labonte, piloting the No. 47 for JTG Daugherty Racing, currently is in the seventh position in points and is quietly celebrating that feat.
“Well a lot of hard work by the boys at the shop and we have had a good start to the season,” Labonte said. “It always builds confidence when you run good, have good finishes and get a good start to the season.”
“I hope we can continue that,” Labonte continued. “I just know that watching the hard work that everyone puts into it and all the resources we have to work with, we are not leaving many stones unturned. It gives me confidence when you get to the race track that you should have all the stuff to put together when you get here.”
Labonte noted that his good start to the season has already paid dividends when it comes to sponsorship and other support.
“When you have a couple good weeks and things are starting off good, it helps out,” Labonte said. “Obviously when you get your name out there and your sponsor’s name out there, it definitely helps out. All of our sponsors are happy about that.”
“I think we are doing a lot of the right things and hopefully we can just continue that.”
Another fairly unfamiliar name in the top ten in standings is David Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 for Front Row Motorsports.
“Yeah, it is so far so good this year,” Gilliland said of his season beginning. “Front Row Motorsports is definitely off to a better start than last year. I am really excited with everything we have accomplished so far.”
Because of his performance to date, Gilliland has also been able to capitalize with additional sponsorship on the race car.
“We have TM1 back as an associate sponsor for the second week and they are going to be a co-primary in two weeks at Bristol,” Gilliland announced. “We are excited to have those guys on board. They are one of the fastest growing companies in the heartland and they do a great job and we are happy to have them on board.”
Gilliland is very much looking forward to the upcoming race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“I feel real good about this weekend,” Gilliland said. “Before we went to Daytona, this was the race that I was really looking forward to as far as our cars and motors and everything else. I feel like this can be a really good weekend for us.”
While Allmendinger, Labonte and Gilliland may be relative strangers to the top of the heap in the points, they will have their work cut out for them to stay there. In the first practice for the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Allmendinger finished 16th, Labonte practiced 26th and Gilliland was in 42nd.
Firestone leaving IRL after 2011 season
Longtime series partner Firestone will leave the IndyCar Series after the 2011 season, after Bridgestone and the Indy Racing League did not renew the contract that expires after this year. Firestone is the series’ tire supplier and the series sponsor of the Firestone Indy Lights series.
“It’s unfortunate to lose a great partner and ambassador for the sport like Firestone,” IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said. “We are actively engaged in discussions with other tire manufacturers on opportunities to get involved in our sport as we prepare to debut our new car in 2012.”
Firestone has supplied tires for the IndyCar Series since 1996.
