MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
FIRST DATA 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 27, 2018
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 SUNENERGY1 CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed the start of the Round of 8, his outlook this weekend at Martinsville, and many other topics. Full Transcript:
WHAT HAS TAMED THE RACING AT MARTINSVILLE? HAS STAGE RACING PUT EVERYONE ON THE SAME TIRE STRATEGY?
“I don’t think so. Typically, those late…I remember the year that Jimmie (Johnson), Clint (Bowyer) and Jeff (Gordon) wrecked – they were all on different tire strategies. But that was all a product of being right there at the end of the race. To me, the end of the last stage is long enough that there is still enough time to be different than the other guys, especially the ones that are going to cause the wrecks are going to be in the closing laps are going to stay out on 80-lap tires and somebody pit behind them. There are more that 80-laps in the last stage so I think there is enough time yet to be different on tire strategy. I think it is just a product of short-track racing for one – being close to the other guys. Being slow enough in the corners where you are close to them as well. It is a little bit of everything.”
IS MARTINSVILLE A “WILD CARD” RACE IN THE PLAYOFFS? WHAT HAVE YOUR WINS MEANT TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS?
“I think every week can be a Wild Card week really. There is enough stuff and different things that can happen that if you are anywhere close to the front, you can end up with a shot to win. It is just so easy to make a mistake, and whatnot, that if you are around inside the top-five, you probably have a chance whether it’s on strategy or a mistake by somebody.
“As far the wins go, I feel like it has been great for the company just to get some momentum back. There has been a lot of hard work throughout the year to try and get better and try to put ourselves in better positions as a whole company. I think for the men and women around campus, I rang the Victory Bell that has been tradition there at HMS this week, and there is a lot of fire there right now. If you can create fire you can get some momentum and push from everyone around the campus, I think that is a big deal. I think it matters. Every person that works there has a hand in what goes on whether you want believe that or not – it’s true. If everyone that is coming to work that is ultimately building the car that is sitting here in the garage, if they have some fire and purpose, I think our performance will be better.”
DO YOU GIVE ANY ADVICE OR HELP TO WILLIAM (BYRON) OR ALEX (BOWMAN)?
“I’ve said this before, I don’t think that neither William nor Alex need my help. They are really good at what they do and William is already a champion. There is nothing I am going to tell him that he doesn’t already know. William has his head screwed on right in my opinion and he’ll be just fine. He will be in good shape.”
WHY WAS MARTINSVILLE CHOSEN AS YOUR CUP DEBUT AND WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THAT RACE?
“I’ve been trying to forget about that day. Actually Alan (Gustafson) had a lot to do with choosing those racing. I think he tried to pick really tough races. Races that I was going to struggle at-and they were terrible to be completely honest. I’m glad we did it when we did it. I didn’t have a whole lot of fun at the time, but I’m glad he chose the races that he did. Alan had a big hand in it and I was told the races they were thinking about. I’m not going to say no—I said it sounded good and off they went.”
HAVE YOU LEARNED SOMETHING EACH TIME YOU COME BACK HERE?
“Yes. I feel like we made some really big gains last year. I think it was the summer of 2017 we had a chance to run and Jeff (Gordon) came over here with us. I was able to talk to him and have enough time to digest what he said and go through some different things I felt like I was doing wrong. I felt like that helped. I had a great performance as far as how our car drove last fall. But we came back this spring and sucked. So, I don’t know. Definitely have some work to do for sure. But it is so hit or miss at this race track, it’s such a rhythm track you can go an entire weekend and never find your rhythm here. Or at least I have. It’s really hard for me for whatever reason. I think that is really key. I think just getting into practice and finding that rhythm will dictate how you want to make your car drive. How you guide your team into making changes. If you don’t find your rhythm early enough, you won’t guide them in the right direction, so I think that is key.”
HAVE YOU BEEN BACK TO THE DAWSONVILLE POOL HALL RECENTLY? WHAT IS IT LIKE TO HEAD INTO A RACE WEEKEND AS THE WINNER OF THE PREVIOUS RACE?
“I have not been to the pool room recently but I drive by it all the time. But I haven’t been in there. It is a great week when you roll past on Monday and see the sign. I appreciate that support. That is a really cool tradition and glad they are carrying that on with me. And I’m glad we are putting the siren to use lately. That’s been good too.
“Definitely better to come to the track as a winner than not. I’m not complaining.”
HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY EFFORT FROM WITHIN HMS ON YOUR CAR SINCE YOU ARE THE ONLY CAR LEFT IN THE PLAYOFFS?
“To be honest with you, no. Certainly I don’t really see that day-to-day. So, no I haven’t noticed it. Honestly, I really don’t think our process or preparation or how things work in the shop has really changed, so no. And I think if you change that now, it would kind of be disrupting our normal flow. So, to be honest the way Alan does things, and how he has his processes setup throughout the week from car builds to when the engine is put in the car to when the setup is done – I think that process is trustworthy, and I trust in that obviously. Our team does and everybody that is involved in the No. 9 team does, so I just don’t think there is any need in changing that anyway. I think things for us will stay pretty status quo and we will see how it plays out.”