MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 7, 2019
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CAMARO ZL1 met with media and discussed his paint scheme for the upcoming race at Darlington, his thoughts on the race package compared to the Kansas race, and more. Full Transcript:
Note: Hendrick Motorsports and Alex Bowman unveiled today the 2019 throwback paint scheme for this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, a sleek throwback look that honors Tim Richmond. Bowman and his team announced the news with a video tribute in the media center at Michigan International Speedway ahead of this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.
TELL US HOW THIS CAME ABOUT AND WHAT WE’LL SEE AT DARLINGTON
“It’s pretty cool. I feel like everybody wants to be a little bit like Tim Richmond. So, it’s a really neat paint scheme. I think having Axalta willing to do that is really cool in bringing those iconic colors back is really neat. The car looks great. The fire suit is really cool as well. I’m really looking forward to it. It would have been his 64th birthday today, so that’s why we picked to announce it today. I’m excited about it.”
PUT IN PERSPECTIVE HOW THE LAST MONTH HAS BEEN FOR YOU AFTER ALL THE WORK AND TIME THAT YOU’VE INVESTED IN THIS PROGRAM
“I feel like after last week I’d just forgotten about how the couple of weeks before that were. But, I feel like we’ve turned things around and had four or five really solid weeks there. And then really, we had a Top 5 run going last week at Pocono and then decided to get in a fight with fourth gear. So, I think we’ve just had such strong race cars and it’s made my job a heck of a lot easier and I think Michigan can be really good for us. It’s a lot like Kansas. It’s a really high-mechanical-grip race track. Greg (Ives, crew chief) is from here. So it would mean a lot to win here. Hopefully we can make it happen.”
YOU’RE PRETTY SOLID IN POINTS RIGHT NOW. AT THIS POINT OF THE SEASON, ARE YOU FEELING PRETTY GOOD ABOUT YOUR STAND?
“I don’t think you ever feel good about it unless you’re winning races. But, we’re not bad. We don’t have a huge buffer. But we’ve got a little bit of a buffer there. We’ve just got to find Victory Lane. That’s really all I’m worried about. I’m not too concerned about the points. I think if we run well they take care of themselves. And, that’s what I’m focused on doing.”
WHEN YOU LOOK AT A CHARACTER LIKE TIM RICHMOND AND WHAT HE DID DURING HIS SHORT TIME IN HIS CAREER IN NASCAR, HAS IT BROADENED YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF NOT ONLY THE CHARACTERS THAT USED TO DRIVE IN THIS SPORT, BUT DRIVERS WHO DROVE FOR RICK HENDRICK, SPECIFICALLY?
“Yeah, for sure. I think man, Jesse Essex would have a heart attack if Tim Richmond was driving for Hendrick Motorsports right now (laugher). I think everybody in this room that’s met him understands that one. But, no, he’s definitely a character, for sure. I’ve obviously never met him or anything but just hearing stories. There’s a lot of people at Hendrick Motorsports that worked with him or around him. So, there are a lot of stories that get told and it’s pretty interesting. It’s really neat. If I was a race fan, that’s who I would have cheered for. I’m pretty introverted. I kind of stick to myself. I’m not like Tim in that sense. I’m not as outgoing and flamboyant as he was. But, if I was a fan, that’s who I would have cheered for and it’s pretty cool to get to run his paint scheme.”
WHEN DID YOU FIRST GET FAMILIAR WITH TIM RICHMOND? DID YOU WATCH FILM OR HEAR STORIES? HOW DID YOU GET ATTRACTED TO HIS STORY?
“That’s a good question. I don’t really know initially when it was. It was probably about the time I moved to North Carolina and just started learning more about the stock car industry and NASCAR as a whole. As a kid, I watched Cup races, but I was more of like a Sprint Car / Midget fan and knew all those guys and kind of learned about the history of that stuff. So, when I moved to North Carolina and started learning about this history and had some friends….. One of my buddies that runs a Midget during the Winter, he had like an old Tim Richmond fire suit that he always wore and stuff like that. So, that just kind of stood out. And, obviously the 30 for 30 is really interesting and there’s a lot of interesting film. Coming to drive for Hendrick Motorsports just kind of tied the connection together a little bit more.”
DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR THE OFF-WEEK?
“Moving my shop. Last off-weekend I moved my house. This off-weekend, I’m moving my shop. So, I just don’t have fun. Maybe if we win this weekend, I think Kelsey (Tucker, Bowman’s PR rep) has me busy on Monday morning, so if we win she’s going to have me busy hungover (laughs). No, I’ll be moving. Not a whole lot of fun.”
SOME OF THE DRIVERS THINK THIS RACE AT MICHIGAN COULD BE MORE LIKE KANSAS. THERE ARE STILL SOME QUESTIONS, BUT WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU’RE GOING TO BE LOOKING FOR THAT MIGHT BE LIKE KANSAS?
“I think just a high mechanical grip race track on both ends of the track being able to be wide-open, produces that speedway-stylish racing that we had at Kansas. Kansas has obviously widened out quite a bit more than this place. This place is really one groove, a groove-and-a half; I think Kansas is the perfect place for this package. Here, I really hope that it’ll be like that. The weather is kind of cool. If this place gets hot and slick, it’s going to be tough. But, I think being cooler, more mechanical grip in the cars; it’s one of the best shots that this package has at creating what I think is the desired effect. So, I’m looking forward to it. Obviously our car was really strong at Kansas. I think this can be a really good place for us. We’ve brought pretty much the same thing back. I think it can be really good. It’ll be interesting. Maybe with the speeds being lower the track widens out a little bit, but we’ll have to wait and see.”