NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 8, 2015
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the final appellate ruling, the Kansas track, the upcoming All-Star race, the schedule, and more. Full Transcript:
WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THE FINAL APPELLATE RULING THIS WEEK?
“I’m obviously disappointed. I don’t believe at all in the outcome of it, but in the end it doesn’t really matter. We’ve got to be focused on this weekend and obviously the Chase for the Championship. It’s as simple as that. It’s all behind us now and we’ll go on.”
WHILE THE APPEAL PROCESS WAS GOING ON, WERE YOU JUST RACING AND THINKING DOESN’T REALLY IMPACT WHAT WE DO EACH WEEK AT THE TRACK ANYWAY?
“My focus has always been at the track obviously; the focus at the track changes a little bit without having Luke (Lambert, crew chief) and a couple of other guys here; but at the same time we’ve established a good ‘B’ team that we have a lot of confidence in and we’re focused on that. There’s no doubt in my mind that the race car is going to be just as competitive as it ever has been, and we obviously have guys back at the shop that are paying more attention than they every have now. So, we’ll just do our business as usual; as usual as it’s ever been.”
SO, IT’S YOUR ASSERTION THAT YOUR GUYS DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG, IS THAT RIGHT?
“That’s correct. That’s why we feel like we had a compelling case to win and I’ll leave it at that.”
WHILE WAITING FOR THE FINAL APPEAL, WERE THOSE COUPLE OF WEEKS WITH LUKE LAMBERT BENEFICIAL IN CASE HE WASN’T GOING TO BE AROUND?
“I think it was on their side. For me, it really was no different. It was business as usual. For them, I’m sure they always have to work on the back-up plan. That’s what makes a championship team is having back-up plans, strategy-wise and personnel-wise and things like that. Whether it’s a member of a pit crew that gets injured or a crew chief that gets suspended or any kind of situation, they always have to have a back-up plan. And I know that Richard (Childress) and RCR have put together a good back-up plan.”
HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE IN HAVING TO SWITCH-OUT AND NOT HAVING THE SAME GUY ON THE PIT BOX OR THE SAME ENGINEER YOU’RE USED TO?
“Having the continuity of the same group or people is important, but who knows? We might learn a few things the way that this whole thing unfolds and works out. My focus is still to do everything I’ve always done inside the race car and communicate with the guys on the team, and we’ll go from there.”
HOW DIFFERENT IS THIS TRACK NOW THAT THEY’VE REPAVED IT AND THE FACT THAT WE SAW A LOT OF ACCIDENTS HERE LAST FALL?
“I’m kind of anticipating the race track to finally get wider. I ran the truck a little bit yesterday and laid rubber. The trucks usually don’t lay as much rubber as the Cup cars. Hopefully we’ll lay rubber all the way across this track with the Cup cars. I know it’s a different ride-side tire, but we’ll see. I don’t know how much rubber we’re going to lay versus how much Mother Nature is going to wash off.”
HOW DO YOU PLAN FOR THAT AS FAR AS THE RUBBER BUILD-UP?
“Everybody’s got the same thing when it comes to what the track is like. We don’t know if we’re going to be wearing out tires here or if it keeps raining on and off or if we’re going to get the track rubbered-up and it’s not going to wash off. You just never know.”
HOW DID THAT WHOLE TRUCK DEAL COME TOGETHER?
“It wasn’t on my radar. It was something that was brought to me with (Joe) Nemechek and those guys and something more so for John Hunter to help him out knowing that he can’t race here. So, it’s a good opportunity for me to help them, and at the same time I get to learn a little bit, too. Right now, it’s a one-race deal.”
HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW SEGMENT CHANGES THEY’VE MADE FOR THE UPCOMING ALL-STAR RACE? DO YOU LIKE THE ALL-STAR BECAUSE IT’S SORT OF LIKE THE OLD SHORT TRACK HEAT RACES THAT YOU CAME FROM?
“Yeah, but they change it every year it seems like. And then that changes a little bit of the perspective of it. The year I won it, they eliminated part of the field. It just changes everything. And then they inverted us and we went from running I think 10th or 12th to leading it. And we led the rest of it. So, it changes it seems like, every year. But, it is nice to get some laps on the track before the bigger race, the 600, in the grand scheme of things. But the All-Star race is pretty special, no doubt.”
IS THE SCHEDULE TOO LONG?
“I personally feel that it’s drug out too long, not necessarily on the calendar, but on the given weekends. You’ve got a perfect scenario here and we’re going to be here for two days. I don’t necessarily care if the TV ratings are better on a Saturday night or a Sunday afternoon; we can adjust that. That’s only one calendar day away. But I think we could spend a little more time at home and have a little bit more family life and still deliver everything we can possibly deliver to the fans. I’m all about racing. I enjoy racing. Otherwise I wouldn’t do it. But in the end, sitting around for two days just to race for one, is not something that we all thrive for.”