NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2015
JUSTIN ALLGAIER, NO. 51 BRANDT PROFESSIONAL AGRICULTURE CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Media Day at Daytona International Speedway. Partial transcript:
WHAT ARE SOME KEY TRAITS THAT MAKE A GOOD RACE CAR DRIVER? “You can boil it down to attitude, patience and feel. I would say patience is probably my weakest point. I struggle just because we go to the limit of what the car gives us. I would say a lot of us would say we can drive a lot harder than what the car can hold. My patience issue is that when I don’t feel where I want to be, I tend to over-drive the car which ultimately slows me down.”
TALLADEGA QUALIFYING (IN OCTOBER) DIDN’T WORK OUT SO WELL. WHAT WILL BE DIFFERENT THIS TIME?
“Not get in the group of cars I was in at Talladega! (laughs) The most important thing for me is that we have to have a better understanding of the clock, where we’re at, how long it takes to get laps around, and if it you have to pass someone to make sure you don’t put yourself in a box, you have to do it. Cars make speed. The more you can have, the bigger the group and catching a pack… all of that is great. To get the pole for the 500 here would be amazing. Yeah, to finish first, first you must finish. But to also finish first, you have to be in the race. So we have to have a better understanding of where we are all at all times. The saving grace here is the Duals. If you don’t have a great qualifying effort, you have them. Yes you want to have as fast a time as you can because that can determine some things on who makes it and who doesn’t.”
HOW MANY OF THE 43 CARS THAT WILL START CAN WIN THE DAYTONA 500?
“If you haven’t crashed by the end of the race then all 43. The really crazy thing about this race is that any strength you have are kind of muted and any weakness that you have are the same. They’re just not there. If it comes down to a car leading a pack to the checkered, it will take a good car. A guy that has a mediocre or bad car won’t lead a pack. That’s not to say he won’t get shoved by someone who has a better car or won’t get carried up through the field. It will make an interesting dynamic. I think we have as good a quality race car through the field as we have in a long time. We have a lot of teams that want to be here and run the full distance and be competitive. That’s exciting for me. I love that aspect of it and the reinvigoration of the teams and seeing more passion and effort being put into a lot of this.”
GIVEN YOU HAVE MORE OF A CHANCE HERE THAN YOU MIGHT ON ANY OTHER WEEKEND, DO YOU LET YOURSELF DREAM ABOUT WINNING THE DAYTONA 500?
“I’ve been dreaming of winning the Daytona 500 since I was five years old. It’s one of those places. Granted now that you’re here and you’re doing it, it’s a lot closer to that dream than it was back then. The main part of me is that we need to be there at the end. A lot of times people get in their heads that they can win this race and get in the Chase. They almost push too hard and wrecking themselves early or getting themselves in a bad position. My mind set is that I need to get to 50 to go or 25 to go. Then we can start dreaming a little bit and what the process would be like to win. But you can’t start the race with that mindset.”
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE LEGACY OF JEFF GORDON, IT SEEMS LIKE PART OF IT HAS BEEN PAVING THE WAY FOR A NEW GENERATION OF DRIVERS TO COME INTO THE SPORT. WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT, IS THAT SOMETHING HE WILL BE MOST REMEMBERED FOR?
“For sure. I look at his career and what he accomplished and how he paved the way for us younger drivers. It used to be that if you weren’t 25 or 30, you weren’t a consideration; people felt like you had to pay your dues before you got that kind of opportunity. Jeff still paid his dues. It wasn’t that he didn’t put in time or effort or the laps. He just did it a lot earlier than people realized you could. We have much younger demographics of driver coming up. In some aspects that’s great. In other aspects, it could be said that there are some challenges in that and we have to refine that to get it to where it needs to be. But I’m a huge supporter of Jeff and I love the fact that he was able to accomplish what he was able to. I’m disappointed that this is his last year. I loved racing with him last year and I’m going to enjoy it all year this year. At the same time, he will be someone that will go down in the record books. Take away the wins, the championships and who he was on the track, he embodies what this sport is about.”
FOR A YOUNG DRIVER BREAKING INTO THE SPORT, HOW HUGE IS IT TO HAVE A FAMILY NAME AND ROOTS IN THE SPORT?
“The one thing that’s interesting is that when you think about those guys and the reason why we talk about it a lot more is that their families are connected not just the sport but also to sponsors, you guys in the media, team owners. They’ve been down that road and had to dig those trenches. So why not use the trench you’ve already dug? That definitely is a huge step for those guys. It’s still not easy. I look at Chase Elliott, and the natural talent he has is incredible. I’ve watched him do things in a race car and was really impressed. I can only hope my career is long enough that I can race with him on a regular basis. It’s definitely cool to see our younger generation and see them not just have those opportunities but also take full advantage of those opportunities and use them to the best of their abilities.”
ISN’T THAT THE JEFF GORDON EFFECT?
“Jeff came in and he had the ties. He proved his points and no one questioned it after that. That’s what going to happen with these younger guys coming in. It doesn’t matter if you’re connected or not, if you can’t drive then you’re not going to make it. But this group coming in is connected and is the real deal. They’re the future of our sport.”