NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD SS, met with members of the media at 2014 NASCAR Daytona 2014 Media Day and discussed: the return of the No. 3 car to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition; changes to rules package for 2014; Richard Petty and Danica Patrick; thoughts on new points system and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT HAS BEEN 10 YEARS SINCE YOU WON THE DAYTONA 500:  “It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, but time goes by pretty fast. It seems like these last several years have really flew by. Especially when you enjoy yourself. They seemed to grind out when you’re not running too well, but last couple of year have flew by pretty fast.”
 
DOES THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT MOMENT STILL RING TO YOU AS MUCH AS IT DID THEN? OR DOES TIME DILUTE IT?  “Well, I think that you never forget exactly what that day is like. We come here every year and you get sort of, it all floods back to you as soon as you come back for Speedweeks each season. It’s very fresh, and you’re constantly reminded I think by just what goes on during Speedweeks how important that victory is and how much you would like to get it again. It’s definitely fresh.”
 
DO YOU STILL KEEP UP WITH A LOT OF THE GUYS ON THAT TEAM? A LOT OF THEM ARE AT TONY’S SHOP NOW, AREN’T THEY? “Yeah, some of them are. A lot of them are family members. Yeah, I definitely have stayed in contact with a lot of those guys. That’s been pretty easy. Everybody stays pretty close to home”
 
WOULD YOU WRECK THE 3 FOR THE WIN? “Wreck the 3? That’s a hell of a question. I’ve haven’t wrecked anybody to win a race in a long time. But we haven’t won any races either. I definitely wouldn’t want to wreck anybody to win a race, but when it comes down to it, you want to win no matter what and you’re not worried about who’s in the other car. You got to do whatever it takes to win aside from just putting a guy in the fence. That wouldn’t be a difficult situation for me at all. I wouldn’t think twice about
 
DO YOU THINK THE WAY NASCAR IS PROMOTING DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN THESE RACES WILL PERHAPS CHANGE YOUR DRIVING STYLE ? “I think it’s going to change a little bit about everybody’s driving style when it comes down to trying to get wins. When you think about, you could think about a lot of different races last year. I’ll use an example – a random example would be (Matt) Kenseth and Kasey Kahne at Bristol last year. That was a situation where Kasey may have done something different under the current rules package we’re going to have this season. I think you definitely may would have seen a different outcome to that race, maybe a little more aggression in that situation.”
 
TALK  A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT HAVING THE NO. 3 CAR OUT THERE. TALK ABOUT HOW YOUR VIEW MAY OR MAY DIFFER FROM WHAT YOUR DAD’S FANS FEEL. “I don’t know how everybody else feels. I haven’t been studying up on that. I feel good with it. I think it’s great for Austin (Dillon) and Richard (Childress) – grandson and grandfather being able to come together and doing something like that with a number that’s been in their family for so many years. It has a lot of history inside their family. I’m happy for Austin. I’ve known him a long time. I’ve known Richard forever. I’m happy for them. Once we get out on the racetrack, Austin’s a competitor. He’s a guy you’re gonna want to race and have to race to win races. You won’t even think about the 3 on the side. That will sort of become normal. I’m glad that it’s back. It was going to come back. You always wonder how and when and what the situation will be like.It’s a good situation that I can be comfortable with, and I’m happy for that because it could have just as easily been a difficult situation that I wouldn’t have been comfortable with.”
 
THE NUMBER HASN’T BEEN RACED SINCE 2001. BUT YOU STILL SEE IT IN THE INFIELD ON FLAGS AND T-SHIRTS. DOES IT FEEL LIKE THE NUMBER HASN’T BEEN AROUND? “I don’t know. It hasn’t been around. It hasn’t been on the race track. I haven’t seen it out there. I don’t really know what you mean by that. It’s a symbol for my father and that stylized number and that flag is a symbol to him. When somebody raises that flag up over their motorhome or wherever they may fly it, it’s a way for them to show their support and their fandom for my father. That may change a little bit because Austin has the same number. That could get watered down just a bit. You might not see it in the infield quite as often. People know what it means to them and that’s all that’s important. I don’t really tend to spend a lot of time thinking about it. I’m quite comfortable with how it’s going down. I’m glad it’s back. It was going to come back eventually. I think everybody knew that.”
 
WHAT DID YOU LEARN LAST YEAR – ONE BIG LESSON – THAT WILL HELP YOU THIS SEASON? “I don’t really know if we had one that really stands out. We ran so well in the Chase. I’m excited about getting back out there. We’ve got some new rules and things like that. We had new rules at the beginning of last season, too, and we seemed to adjust to those pretty well. I’m just looking forward to getting out there and seeing how we can do and how our performance is going to be right off the bat. It’s going to be a fun year, I think. I think we’re going to enjoy ourselves. We did last year. We seem to get better every year and hopefully that trajectory is still be the same going into this season – we’re going to improve on what we did last year and that will be fun. It will be an entertaining season for me.”
 
WILL THE CHANGE IN POINTS SYSTEM IS GOING TO BRING BACK MORE INTEREST EACH WEEK PER RACE? “I think certainly it will bring interest to those deciding races where the elimination factor comes into play. The first race of the Chase will be well watched and people will tune in. As we get to those elimination races, there will be a lot of influence and viewership there due to the elimination factor. I think it’s gonna be tuned up a notch. Every time we change something, it brings people’s eyes onto the sport. They want to see how it’s going to change and how things are going to work out. I think it makes people curious. They’ll definitely be checking it out the first of the season. Hopefully, they’ll like what they see.”
 
WERE YOU SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT YOU WOULD HAVE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP UNDER THIS SYSTEM LAST SEASON? “No, I wasn’t that surprised. We had a good season and a good Chase, a real good Chase. It was the bonus points that hurt us the most. Not winning any races in the regular season and not carrying any bonus points into the Chase. The blown motor at Chicago was a big deal. If we had some bonus points, and some sort of top 15 at Chicago, it might have been a totally different year for us. .”
 
WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT RICHARD PETTY’S COMMENTS ON DANICA? DID IT SURPRISE YOU? “I thought it was a little rough on Danica (Patrick). You can’t call out The King, because he’s The King. He’s such a patriarch and icon in the sport He has tons of wisdom and insight and a guy that everyone respects. He’s done a lot for this sport, and still does today. But at the same time, when I think about Danica, I just understand she handles, she deals with more criticism than anybody else has ever faced in this sport and that’s unfortunate. She goes by a different set of rules because of her gender, and that’s unfortunate. It seems like she always having to answer to something like that, and that’s a pain in her butt. And frankly, it’s just got to get old. ”
 
SHE RACED FOR YOU SO I MEAN, YOU WITNESSED SOME OF IT? “It doesn’t bother her. She doesn’t show that it, she doesn’t show i
t if it bothers her if it does. I’m sure maybe, under the surface, get a little perturbed about it. She’s really strong-willed when it comes to those type of things. I think she has dealt with it from day one. When you hear something like that, you’re kind of taken aback a little bit. Why would someone be so critical? She’s probably dealt with it forever. It’s nothing new for her, maybe she just let’s it roll off her back. Regardless of how she handles it, I think he was being a little rough there. ”
 
HE TOOK A SHOT AT YOU IN THE SAME INTERVIEW. “Me and him work together on that Goody’s deal. I hope he didn’t take too many shots at me because it don’t look too good when it comes to our working relationship. He’s an honest man and he’s got his opinions, and he’s not going to hold back. ”
 
IN THE MEDIA TOUR, HE SAID THAT SOME OF THE 88’S FANS WOULD GO TO THE 3. DID YOU EVEN KNOW THAT HE SAID THAT? “I don’t know if that’s a slight hack on me. I think fans of mine who were fans of may fathers will definitely want to see the 3 run well, and they will want to pull for Austin. There’s going to be a lot of emotions there, and that’s a good thing that the fans would do that. I’m not over here counting my fans like poker chips. If they want to pull for the 3, by all means, pull for the 3. They can pull for whoever they wish to pull for just as long as we’ve go a lot of them watching and a lot of them tuning in. My main focus is that the sport’s healthy and I think Austin in the 3 and what they are doing is healthy is good for the sport’s health. And I think what Danica does is good for the health of the sport. If my fans want to pull for me and the 3, or just the 3, whatever they want to do, I’m good with that. There’s a lot of emotions coming back with that 3 for them. I can’t imagine being an Earnhardt fan what that’s got to be like.”
 
THAT’S SOME STACK OF POKER CHIPS BY THE WAY. “I just don’t, it’s a person’s right and their choice what they want to do and who they want to pull for. I don’t take it for granted that I’m going to have all the fans and the biggest fan base every year. Young guys like Austin are going to come in and they’re going to turn the sport upside down, and one day, there’s going to be a guy who has more fans than anybody else and his name is not going to be Dale Jr. ”
 
THE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE 3 DEFINITELY HAS BROUGHT MORE CONVERSATION ABOUT YOUR FATHER. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU? “It’s good I think when people are discussing about my father because he had a great impact on the sport. I get a good feeling about that when his name gets brought up. Under the circumstances, we are talking about it a lot with the number coming back. That’s a positive thing for me because I’m proud of what he did. I’m proud of what he was able to accomplish with the number, and I’m proud to talk about it. Again, I’m happy in the way that it’s coming back. I’m happy how it’s being packaged because it could easily have been a difficult situation. Maybe the number goes to a different owner or a guy that drives it I don’t like or someone that I don’t think respects the heritage or whatever. It could have been totally different, but it’s not. It’s going to be a great situation. We sort of get to celebrate not only the number coming back, we get to celebrate the history of the number and that obviously involves my father.”
 
MARTHA (EARNHARDT) SEEMS TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A HARD TIME WITH IT. “I haven’t seen it. I haven’t heard. We haven’t talked about that. I’m sure that’s got to stir up a lot of emotions for a lot of different people. Some will be stronger than others, and that’s just up to the individual.”
 
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO PEOPLE WHO ARE HESITANT ABOUT THE NUMBER COMING BACK? “It’s coming back. Whether you are hesitant about it or not, a young kid is coming in here trying to pave his way and create a name for himself. He wants that number means a lot to him regardless of my father’s involvement in it, and my father’s connection to it. That number means a lot to Austin because of his grandfather’s history to the number. It’s a number that Austin used forever. I’m sure when Austin was playing t-ball with a 3 on his back, he wasn’t thinking about ‘Man, I wonder how hard it’s going to be when I go to Cup, and I want to use this number.’ He was just having fun. That was his number. When he played JV or varsity, he wanted to bring his number. That was his number. That wasn’t Dale’s number. That was his t-ball number. That was his JV number, his senior number. It means something different to him in a sense and I think you’ve got to appreciate that. You’ve got to appreciate this guy trying to pave his own way. He has every right to do that however he wants and this is the way he chose to do it.”
 
DOESN’T PART OF YOU JUST WANT TO RESPECT THAT AND MOVE ON TO RACING WITH YOUR OWN TEAM? “We will. We’re here for media day, and we can talk about anything you all want to talk about today. We’ll get to racing soon enough. I’m excited to be here, and to be back on the race track tomorrow and have some fun. I think we’ve got some great cars that we’ve built. We feel like we’ve brought a great car for the 500. It’s gonna be competitive. We’ve come close to winning it the last four years. And we think we’re going to give it another shot.”
 
HOW RELIEVED WILL YOU BE IF YOU WIN THAT RACE AND CAN JUST KIND OF TEST BETWEEN NOW AND THE START OF THE CHASE? “Yeah, that would be awesome to put a win behind you early and not have to worry about the stress of making the chase and doing the math on the new format. Winning a race early would give you the opportunity to go for another win and go for multiple wins and try to build up those bonus points that I think are everso important to win any championship.”
 
DO ANY OF THOSE CLOSE CALLS BOTHER YOU MORE THAN ANY OTHERS? “From last year?” FROM THE LAST FOUR YEARS. “You know, I really felt like when we ran second in most of those races. You know, Dover, I came so close to be able to get by Jimmie (Johnson). I don’t know whether I would have been able to hold him off. He was flying at the end of that race. Dover is a race that I thought about a little bit longer than most. But Homestead, we had such a fast car. I beat myself, I mean I just beat myself up so bad over that, wondering why I didn’t win because that car should have won that race. You know, it’s hard to get by guys at the end whenever we are all trying to use the high line and that’s really the only way you can pass. We did make a couple of adjustments to the car that changed the balance a little bit. I had such a good car throughout the majority of that race, and felt like if I’m going to win one, this is almost meant to be because Jimmie’s going to win the championship and I can knock out the last win of the season and get hyped up for next year. It just seemed like it was storybook for me to win that race and felt like it was all lining up, and I didn’t take advantage of it.”
 
HOW ABOUT YOUR LAST FOUR DAYTONA 500S? “You know, they’ve all been close, too. But I’m not – I never in none of those races did I have a situation where I went ‘I let it slip by slip by. I messed up right there.’ Most of the time, we run our guts out and come to the finish line and we just never had a chance to make a move on the guy leading the race. When you make that move or have a chance and you don’t do the right thing and you lose that’s difficult to swallow. Haven’t been in that situation even though we’ve run second, we still haven’t had that opportunity to pass the leader or make a move on the leader.”
 
WITH THE RULES THE WAY THEY ARE, IT WILL HAVE TO BE BALLS OUT AT HOMESTEAD BECAUSE WHOEVER CROSSES THE FINISH LINE FIRST WILL WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. “I’m going to tell you right now, I don’t know if we can run any harder
than we were last time we were there. I was running my guts out – I know Matt was too. I know the 11 was. That was fun. We had a lot of fun that day. I remember going into turn two passing the 11 and 2 on the outside when they were getting together. We were all running our guts out. That was exciting for me. That race was exciting for me. I don’t know what it was like as far as a fan or a viewer but I felt like that was a good end result for our sport. If we can come down to Homestead with a four-car battle and have that type of stuff going on that would be great.”
 
HAVEN’T SEEN VERY MANY FOUR CAR BATTLES AT HOMESTEAD. WILL A FOUR CAR BATTLE  FORCE THE OTHERS NOT IN IT TO DRIVE EASIER? “I don’t know. I think you treat people how they treat you. If I’m racing, and I’m coming up on a buddy of mine and I’m one of the four cars and he’s not, I’m going to be like ‘Hey, come on, cut me a break here.’ But they don’t have to, and sometimes they don’t, and sometimes they do. Yeah, I think that’s kind of always been the case in the Chase when you have the drivers who are in and the drivers who are out. When you’re out, you definitely tend to not give the guys too much of a hard time that are in the Chase when it’s not necessary. You just try to go out there and win races though.   ”
 
WITH THE NEW CHASE FORMAT, WOULD YOU WANT TO TEST HOMESTEAD MULTIPLE TIMES? “I don’t think so. That would be unconventional, and maybe that’s where we are headed – saving all your tests for Homestead. But you definitely probably, it depends on how your season goes the first 20 races obviously. If you barely squeak into that Chase, we’ve got four teammates amongst us, I don’t know that we could convince all four that we have to have one objective. All of them have different agenda. They’ve got to get better where ever they think they need to get better. We’ve got to spread the wealth a little bit and be understanding of the other teams needs when it comes to testing.”

 
 
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed his trip to Barrett-Jackson, race car drivers salaries compared to other athletes, crew chief, Daniel Knost, and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
WHAT’S YOUR BEST ADVICE FOR THE UP AND COMING YOUNG DRIVERS?
“Yeah, there are a lot of rookies that are going to be out there. And as a rookie, I remember just trying to do everything too fast and it’s a matter of digesting what’s around you and knowing your surroundings. You can wreck really easy as a rookie and you get out there slip-sliding around and when you wipe out somebody else, it affects a great deal of people that were involved. I guess the biggest thing is to just respect the responsibility.”
 
WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR WORK ETHIC?
“My dad instilled it in me; a blue-collared guy that was an auto mechanic and then a tools salesman. And when I first started racing, it was a car that we just bought as a chassis. And he said if you build it, you can race it. So, then we had to get the rear-end, the control arms, the motor, the wiring.
 
“And so he taught me everything about the car, which gave me a better understanding of the amount of work and time that it takes to build something and then to respect it when you have it. And so, you’ve got to get up early and you’ve got to stay late if you’re going to be successful.”
 
DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST WHEELS AS A KID?
“Oh, my dad gave me a plastic truck to gnaw on and chew on before I even had teeth. So it was always about cars with him. Mom, she loved baseball, and so I played baseball a lot as a kid, but cars, all the time. There was always a car in the garage.”
 
DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE INDY 500?
“No update. No news to change or report different. But it’s still on the radar and I can feel it. It’s like I can almost grasp it, but I don’t have both hands on it yet.”
 
DO YOU HAVE A TIME TABLE AS TO WHEN YOU’D LIKE TO HAVE IT DONE?
“I would love to have it done already. But there is no timetable. The month of May is still a long ways away and there’s still good time to prepare and to find people to do it, even if the team has to field a second or a third or even a fifth car.”
 
WHAT DID YOU BUY AT BARRETT-JACKSON?
“I got a Shelby Cobra, 1965.”
 
IS IT ALL BLACK?
“Yes.”
 
WHY THAT PARTICULAR CAR? DID YOU PAY $150,000?
“One hundred. I stole it; yeah, I got it for a hundred (thousand). This trip to Barrett-Jackson, the focus was with the Armed Forces Foundation and Cessna supporting the foundation with two vehicles, an airplane, a C-19, and a military truck. And there is a great deal of responsibility when you come in as a seller. And then your advertising and the dinners and the entertainment; and then there is a different responsibility as a buyer, as well, with doing your research.
 
“And so to talk about the Cobra that I bought, it was the best situation for my father to come out there as his first Barrett-Jackson trip, and one of my long-time employees, which is my best friend from racing when I was a kid, he helped volunteer on my dad’s race cars and he was out there. He’s a car guy. He’s a car nut. So to have him and my dad and myself going around looking at cars, researching them, and then predicting what ones would get sold for. And we found this Cobra. We had our eye on it because it had matching numbers. It’s a ’65 Shelby Cobra. Traditional paint is blue with white striping. I’ve got a Ford GT that was given to me by Edsel Ford when I won the championship. And I made that Ford GT blue and white. So this GT just had this look, this cool look about it being all black, gloss black. My dad loves black cars. I’ve been getting into a lot of black cars lately, and it was something we bought as a family and friend.
 
“It just had that vibe. It had that feel. And we added-up all the receipts we could add up and we would have spent $125,000 if we were going to build that car ourselves. And that’s not including labor. So we had $125,000 as the line in the sand as to what we were going to pay for that car, and it stalled-out at 95. I threw down a hundred, they dropped the hammer and said sold, and we were like oh my gosh, we have a car. And we think we stole. You can’t say ‘steal’ and it was a great deal.
 
“The seller shook our hand. And the seller was Goudin Ford from Las Vegas, Nevada. Where I’m from, it was the biggest dealership in Vegas and it was the guy’s personal Cobra that he put a lot of heart and soul into. And he’s like; you’ve got a great car. I’ve got all these matching receipts to go with it. Congratulations. So it’s neat when the seller shakes your hand, and you know you got a good deal on a car. So, I told my dad when it lands back in North Carolina, he’s the first one to take it out for a drive. It was a good fun family story. Sorry I took too long.”
 
WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING TO SEE IN TONY STEWART WHEN HE GETS BACK IN THE CAR AFTER HIS LEG INJURY?
“I know he’s been waiting for this day for months. The rehabilitation, the physical therapy, the questions, the answers, the anticipation; I can’t wait for him to sit in that seat. I’m going to go shake his hand and say welcome back. And you’ll watch him drive out there and he’ll be happy again. He’s going to be the same old Tony, like we never missed him from before.”
 
HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE THE SALARIES OF RACE CAR DRIVERS TO THOSE OF OTHER PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES?
“Great question. To be as accurate as I can be without inserting my own foot in my own mouth, we are all independent contractors in the world of NASCAR, in the world of motorsports. And so as an independent contractor, there are two solid ways to make money and that is off of performance and purse money as well as your marketing ability and to sell sponsors or to attract sponsors; whereas, in other sports they have unions. The unions protect the contracts of those players and even if you get hurt, you still get paid if you’re in baseball, basketball, and football and maybe even hockey. It’s in the same category where the unions help their athletes.
 
“We don’t have that. And so it’s a different atmosphere. We have to work a lot harder for our dollar. But at the same time, there’s that freedom of being an independent contractor and not necessarily having to answer to anybody in particular other than the sponsor or your team owner. So, there is good, bad, and different. I enjoy the world of NASCAR. It’s a world that you have to pinch yourself sometimes because you are getting paid to race a car 200 mph. Is it a dangerous sport?  It’s as dangerous as football is, in putting a helmet on and knowing that there are side affects that come along with playing a contact sport.
 
“Could the money be greater in the fact that we don’t receive, as drivers, a dollar of any of the ticket sales? I’ve never really received a dollar from all of the ticket sales I’ve seen. I’ve signed thousands of tickets from Bristol over the years of the times that I’ve won there, and it says $85 bucks on it, usually. Right? That’s a cheap seat. And are the drivers receiving any of that? Well, it’s probably through the purse money, but there’s a lot of money that exchanges hands. I guess at the end of the day, drivers, team owners, crew members, the Southeastern region is a better place because of the world of NASCAR. And we have a lot to be thankful for.”
 
WOULD IT BE EXCITING TO BE INVOLVED IN FORMULA 1?
“Oh, absolutely. Haas is a unique, eclectic individual, and when he says he’s going to do something, he means it. I’m a beneficiary of that with him signing me on for this fourth team at Stewart-Haas. The money in Formula 1
though, is astronomical. When you talk about $30 million to run a Cup team, it’s $300 million over there. So, you just throw on another zero. There’s a lot that goes into it. A guy like him, though, the way Gene Haas thinks is hey, I don’t need to get into motor building. I’m just going to rent motors from Hendrick Motorsports because that’s going to take $50 million or so to do and to develop. So, what does he think in his mind? Well, nobody’s got a wind tunnel. Everybody needs a wind tunnel. So he goes and builds a $40 million wind tunnel. What I’m getting at is the guy can drop the dime and go play with the big dogs and he’s got the coin to spend in Formula 1 if he want’s to go and do it.”
 
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED SINCE YOU MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT LAST AUGUST TO KNOW AS FAR AS WHAT THE NUCLEUS IS GOING TO BE SURROUNDING YOU ONCE YOU GET ON THE TRACK TOMORROW?  TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT DANIEL (KNOST, CREW CHIEF).
“Well it’s been an evolution since July when I first talked to Gene Haas about his vision to start this fourth team.  Then to go through the Chase working with the No. 78 guys and being on the outside of what was going on for development, but then once the off-season came then I could give it my full attention.  By that time we had Daniel Knost in place as the crew chief.  We had different crew members lining up, they had pit crew guys training and it’s been a nice evolution to watch the No. 41 car mature into the spot that it’s in today.  The spot that it’s in today is a championship caliber team that has some inexperienced guys in certain situations, but it has very experienced guys in other positions on the team.  So it’s an exciting time to have a shot at winning the Daytona 500 because Gene Haas expects Haas Automation and his brand to be competitive right away.  His big thing is he just wants to win.  He wants that hardware from Victory Lane and at the same time we have a regular season to develop as a team to be ready for the Chase when it starts.”
 
HAVE YOU TESTED A LOT WITH DANIEL (KNOST) IN THE OFF-SEASON?  ARE YOU STARTING TO LEARN HIM?
“Last night was perfect.  We went to dinner.  I took the lead engineer, the crew chief and our assistant engineer, the three guys that sit in the hauler.  Between us four we are the ones arriving at the set-up and the responsibility of this No. 41 cars success.  There are crew members everywhere that add to this, but us four are the ones pulling the trigger on what set-ups and Daniel’s level of comfort and his level of confidence I think is the biggest word that I have seen develop every week during the off season.  He is perfect.  He’s ready and it’s a nice feeling to have him ready to go and have a fresh crew chiefs outlook.  With the point’s structure this year, with the qualifying procedures this year, with the new no ride height rule and how a car has got to get through technical inspection, you almost want a brand new guy that has the least amount of experience to go off of trends, because this year there are no trends right now.”
 
IS THE PERCENTAGE LEVEL GONE UP SINCE YOU SAID A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO YOU WERE 70 PERCENT SURE YOU WOULD RUN INDY?
“It’s still that percentage, which is a good sign.  If I was a weather man I would say bring an umbrella (laughs).  But there is nothing new to report or change.”
 
THERE WON’T BE A MANUFACTURER ISSUE IF YOU DO RUN FOR A HONDA TEAM?
“You know we are talking with Chevrolet programs.  There is a Honda team in the mix and that is a hurdle that we have to overcome.  We have to do it the right way.  I respect Chevrolet’s involvement in the NASCAR world and that is 99 percent of the focus this year.  So that one percent we hope is not a problem.”
 
YOU MENTIONED THE RIDE HEIGHT HOW DOES THAT CHANGE WHAT YOU DO OR WHAT YOUR STYLE MIGHT BE?  HOW IS THAT GOING TO IMPACT YOU SPECIFICALLY?
“The easiest way to explain the new ride height rule is that we can lower the cars as far as we want to go.  We can raise it as high as we want to go.  To me the cars are going to create an identity for themselves similar to a sports car where you see like the BMW’s or you see the Audi’s, the sedans that race on road courses they have very stiff suspension.  I see our cars heading that direction because you want to control the ride height at the lowest level possible.  I’m hearing teams are ordering very stiff springs from the different spring manufacturers which backs up that theory.  We are going to be lowering our cars and riding stiff springs.  What will that do in traffic?  That is going to be the side effect on how stiff do you go versus the grip level in the tires.”
 
HOW MORE DIFFICULT DOES THAT MAKE YOUR JOB?
“It makes it very difficult.  You have trends for specific tracks, but at the same time we don’t know what our final set-up is going to be and with Phoenix only a couple of weeks away we still have that question mark over our head on how we need to set the car up heading into that race.”
 
YOU HAVE SO MUCH TIME INVESTED WITH ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT SO IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO DO IT WITH THEM HOW MUCH DOES THAT KIND OF BRING YOU BACK A LITTLE BIT?
“Well it’s a matter of loyalty.  I have tried to pride myself in being as loyal as I can be to a program or an individual throughout my career.  When they give you, Andretti Autosport, a chance to drive an IndyCar and do your rookie test that is who you want to invest into if you are going to do a race.  So that is where I would lean if I was going to make a decision.  If I had two equal opportunities or maybe Andretti was a little less I would say the Andretti group, having his guidance and his expertise and his knowledge, you can’t find a better name in the world of IndyCar other than a guy like Penske or something like that.”
 
WHEN HE (MICHAEL ANDRETTI) SWITCHED TO HONDA DID THAT KIND OF IN YOUR MIND MAKE YOU WONDER IF YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THIS?
“Yeah I heard about that last fall when they raced Fontana.  I was like ‘oof’ how is that going to impact the future.  That is where you have to hire good lawyers, but at the end of the day you have to do the right thing.  The right thing for me as a NASCAR Cup champion is to focus on the Cup car.”
 
THIS WILL BE THE 10TH SEASON FOR YOUR BROTHER IN THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES.  HOW HAVE YOU SEEN HIM EVOLVE AND CHANGE?  WHAT DO YOU SEE THAT IS SIMILAR FROM THE KYLE FROM 10 YEARS AGO?
“He has done a tremendous job to battle the greats in our sport and to do it at an elite level like he has year after year to race as much as he does.  He races Nationwide, Truck, Cup; he has got over 100 wins in the three series combined.  He has an amazing work ethic and he has a very high success rate.  What we have to do is find that last percentage point it seems like.  It seems like he is 99 percent there and I think he gained a percentage point last year by completing the Chase, by going through it all the way.”
 
THAT WAS KIND OF A BIG THING FOR HIM THAT HE DIDN’T GIVE UP…
“Yeah, as soon as you were eliminated in a sense he felt like he gave up.  Well, no you can’t do that Kyle you’ve got to continue to push all the way through and if others have problems then you capitalize on that.  Even if they don’t have problems you still have to do it for yourself.”
 
HOW DID HE GET TO THOSE RESULTS?  HOW DID HE NOT GIVE UP? WHAT WERE THINGS HE WAS DOING THAT MAYBE HE HADN’T DONE IN THE PAST?
“I think he hit the reset button after Kansas and said ‘this is still about consistency and running well’ which you have to post results better than seventh in the Chase every week if you are going to win this thing.  There are certain things you do to get in th
e Chase and there are certain things you have to do in the Chase.  I think he found that after he had that trouble in Kansas.”
 
WAS THAT A SIMPLE LESSON OR IS THAT HARDER THAN WHAT PEOPLE MIGHT THINK TO LEARN?
“Every driver is a little different.  I mean I’m his brother, I would probably know him best and it’s when you are defeated after you put 30 plus weekends throughout the year together and to have your shot at the championship now thinner than what it was before it’s as if you are not giving that full effort.  So you always hope that your Chase starts off strong and that you are able to not have to play catch up and the moment that he was playing catch up he gave up.  I think now that even if he is down a little bit he is not going to give up now.”
 
I HAVE BEEN TALKING TO A LOT OF DRIVERS ASKING IF THEY CONSIDERED GOING TO COLLEGE AFTER FINISHING HIGH SCHOOL. I BELIEVE YOU STARTED COLLEGE BUT FAILED TO FINISH THAT SEEMS TO BE THE CASE OF MANY OF THE DRIVERS.  I WAS WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED?  DID YOU JUST DECIDE THAT YOU WANTED TO FOCUS ON RACING FULL TIME?
“The best story I have is when I was leaving my dorm on a Friday after classes my Resident Assistant is standing there with his arms folded a few times going ‘where are you going’?  I said ‘well I’m headed to Phoenix this weekend’ because I went to school in Tucson or I said ‘hey I’m going to L.A. because the South West Tour is racing at Orange Show Speedway.  He goes ‘when are you going to give up on this racing thing and worry about your school work?’  He is a junior in college and he is trying to be a guidance and a mentor counselor and literally the books were on the back seat of my car as I was heading down the freeway chasing down my dream of racing cars.  It’s hard to balance both.  You have to stay involved in motorsports.  You are always looking for that opportunity to break through.  What ends up being sacrificed is the study time.”
 
DO YOU EVER THINK YOU MIGHT GO BACK?
“Probably not, there are so many things that you learn in life afterwards that they school of hard knocks happens out on the road and in life.  I’m not the one for the books in a sense.  I mean I got good grades in High School, but I felt like I learned more in life when I was outside of school.”
 
HOW MANY SEMESTERS?
“I did about five semester’s total.  Some at UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) some at the community college back in Vegas.  Three semester’s at University of Arizona.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
An interview with:
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at the 2014 NASCAR Daytona Media Day and discussed: expectations for the 2014 season; having Ray Evernham back at Hendrick Motorsports; the return of the No. 3 to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition; Tony Stewart’s return to the track and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
Q.        OBVIOUSLY THERE’S A LOT OF CHANGES THIS SEASON:  CHASE, QUALIFYING, PENALTIES.  WHEN YOU ADD IT ALL UP INTO ONE BIG PICTURE, DO YOU THINK THAT WILL BE A LOT FOR FANS OR PARTICIPANTS TO SWALLOW?
JEFF GORDON:  Maybe.  I think it’s different when there’s a lot of changes and some of them seem unnecessary.  I like the direction and changes that have been made.
You brought up the penalties.  I think that’s a structure that’s needed to take place for a while now.  So I think if you have something that makes sense, why wait just because you’ve made other changes?  So go ahead and incorporate that into there.  We’ll adjust, we’ll deal with it.  It’s going to take some time to work through it for NASCAR as well as for the competitors.
Same thing with qualifying.  I feel like we needed to do that a few years ago.  When F1 started doing it, I was instantly a huge fan and said, Man, I wish we had this.  I love that they’re incorporating that.
Then there’s a few little tweaks that probably are going to need to happen with that as well.  I was real happy to see them being open-minded and them recognizing some things that needed to be done and they did that.
The points, you know, I like it as well.  I mean, I think the thing that stood out to me in the conversations that I had with NASCAR that really resonated was when the driver gets out of the car and said, Well, you know, third place today, it was a good points day.  That just doesn’t sit well with anybody, not even us.  I mean, we don’t want to say that.  We don’t want to say anything other than, We won.  If we didn’t win, that was not a good day.  It’s win or nothing.  That’s the attitude you want to have.
It’s not necessarily the reality, but getting us closer to that I think is important.  I think this takes us that next step towards that, how important it is to win and the intensity level that’s going to be created from qualifying for all of us, crew chiefs, drivers, teams, as well as, you know, the importance of winning to get in and how important it’s going to be to compete at a high level and winning throughout the Chase.
 
Q.        COLLECTIVELY EVEN IF PEOPLE DISAGREED WITH ONE OR MORE OF THEM, WOULD YOU NOT AGREE THAT TOGETHER THEY ARE GOING TO DRAW MORE EYES?
JEFF GORDON:  I believe that for all those that are complaining about it and saying they don’t like it or will never watch another race, they’ll be tuned in, okay?  It’s the ones that aren’t saying anything that you’re trying to grasp.
I have a lot of friends like in New York that are casual fans, and they’re talking to me about it.  I think they’ve already made an impact and I think there’s a lot of interest around the things that they’ve announced.  I think that interest is only going to get greater once we go through a couple of those qualifying sessions and go through one year of this points system.
 
Q.        WHAT DO YOU THINK RAY EVERNHAM IS GOING TO BRING TO HENDRICK?
JEFF GORDON:  Hopefully more championships.
I mean, I love Ray.  Ray and I have obviously had a great working relationship, but we’ve also maintained a friendship over the years.
Ray is experienced in a lot of things:  as a crew chief, as a car owner, as a businessman, TV producer.  It can enhance what we do at Hendrick.  I think it’s important to have someone that has been in that position as a crew chief, maybe doesn’t understand the engineering to the level today that some of our engineers go through, but he’s a quick study, he gets it.
I think that anything that Ray can do to help bridge that gap of communication between crew chiefs, engineers, the engine shop, the chassis shop, the team aspect from pit crews, all these things, he just has a great way of looking at things, analyzing them and giving good opinions to make it stronger.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JEFF GORDON:  Do I think he’s missed competition?  Absolutely, I think he has.  There’s no doubt in my mind he has.  I think he also knows being a crew chief today is a lot different than what it used to be.
I mean, if he was 30 years old and coming in, he would still make an excellent crew chief because he understands how to, you know, put a great team together and what it takes to go fast.  That doesn’t mean that you always have to know everything about shocks to the level that they have to know or aerodynamics.  You collectively bring that all together.
So there’s no doubt in my mind he would be an excellent crew chief.  But I think what happened is if you step away from the sport for a period of time and try to come back, it wouldn’t work.
I say that as a friend of Ray because we talk and joke about it.  On Twitter they’re constantly saying, I want Ray to be your crew chief, everything will be better.  Not necessarily in all aspects.
But just having him involved, having him be a part of the organization again is exciting.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah, it’s not even a thought.  It’s not on the radar in any way, shape or form.  Yeah, you can just put that to rest.
 
Q.        OF ALL THE ELIMINATION ROUNDS THAT ARE GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THE CHASE, THE GUY WHO ENDS UP WINNING IT, HOW SATISFYING WILL THAT BE?  EVERY COUPLE RACES YOU HAVE ANOTHER ELIMINATION.
JEFF GORDON:  You do.  But, I mean, if you’re leading the points, you’re going to move on, right?  You don’t necessarily have to win a race, but you still have to compete at a high level.
I still think the best team is going to win this championship, just like they have back before they made the points change to the Chase and since they made the points change to the Chase.  In the future, whatever points system is in place, I still think the best team is going to win.
The best teams know how to put themselves in position to have things go their way.  I’m a big believer in if you’re that talented, you’re that good, you communicate that well, you have the resources, you’re going to find a way, no matter what the system is, to rise to the top.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JEFF GORDON:  In which race?  Any race?  I think where it’s possibly going to change, you got to understand the mentality of a racecar driver is win.  You don’t have to dangle a carrot out in front of us.  With double-file restarts, closing laps, let’s say a guy is leading by two or three seconds when the caution comes out, you have this new life in you that, I can win this race.  By the way, that win can lock me into the Chase pretty much.
There’s guys that are going to have just that thought on their mind, and that’s going to make you take a few more risks and push just a little bit harder because a win now has become more important than it was before.
So I don’t think you necessarily want to just say, I’m going to wreck it, it’s either a win or bring it back on the wrecker.  I might not have that approach, but some guys might.  You got to weigh that out.
The risk versus reward is what it’s always been about.  And the reward fo
r being consistent was very high in previous points systems.  The reward for taking more risk is now greater, so guys are going to take more risk.
 
Q.        WE’LL SEE A LOT MORE GUYS RUN OUT OF FUEL?
JEFF GORDON:  You’ll see more people running out of fuel.  You’ll see I think a little bit more bumping and banging on restarts and closing laps.  The cars are still really stuck to the racetrack.  That aspect is a little bit unknown.
But definitely, you know, this heightens things up a bit.
 
Q.        THIS WILL BE THE 10TH SEASON FOR KYLE BUSCH IN CUP.
JEFF GORDON:  Man, he’s getting old.  Is he considered a veteran now (laughter)?  No longer the kid.  Okay, good.
 
Q.        I WONDER HOW YOU’VE SEEN HIM EVOLVE OVER THOSE 10 YEARS (INDISCERNIBLE).
JEFF GORDON:  He’s got a good memory, a better memory than I do.  I just remember poking my head in the window and just saying, Man, that’s not really necessary right now.  I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but we don’t need to be three-wide out there in practice.  There’s no good that’s going to come from it.
Also I think back to when I was young and coming into this sport, we got some great young talent coming up right now, rookies.  That’s what I love about the young guys:  their enthusiasm, their rawness.  They’re just like young kids:  you never know what is going to come out of their mouth or what they’re going to do.
It’s the same thing when they get in a racecar at that level.  They don’t know exactly what to expect.  They don’t have all this experience that’s sort of setting their mindset already for them.  They’re just fresh, pushing the envelope, doing things unique and different.
I mean, that was Kyle being Kyle.  If you asked Kyle, Would you still go do that today, I would guarantee he would say, No, I don’t see the benefits of it.
 
Q.        WHAT IS KYLE BEING KYLE NOW?
JEFF GORDON:  I think Kyle has learned.  He’s still an aggressive driver, so it’s just how to make the most of that aggressiveness at the right time.  It’s balancing the aggressiveness with patience.
I’ve always said that’s what makes a great racecar driver, is somebody that has the ability to be super aggressive.  Now, of course, Kyle, you can guarantee if he’s behind you on a restart, he’s going to go and dust the wall and make it three- or four-wide.  You just know that’s going to happen.  He’s done it very successfully, so why wouldn’t he do it?  He still has that in him.  But it’s not every single restart and every single lap.
The best story I have is Alan Gustafson, when he was his crew chief, the frustration I could see on his face in debriefs or drivers meetings because they only got to practice half of the practice because the other half they were fixing the damage on the right side because Kyle constantly hit the wall, just brushing it.  Darlington, boom.  Richmond, boom.  That shows you how far on the edge that Kyle was pushing it.
Now he does it once in a while but not every weekend.
 
Q.        HOW DOES THAT FARE FOR QUALIFYING AND THE NEW CHASE FORMAT FOR THE YOUNG GUYS?
JEFF GORDON:  Well, I’m a big fan of Formula One.  I watch it, especially qualifying.  I watch it very closely.  One of the challenges that they have is trying not to block.  They don’t always do it intentionally.  It’s unintentional most of the time.  Sometimes it’s, I’ll slowly get out of the way.  There’s some judgment calls there.  They only have 22 cars out there and we have 43.
There’s going to be weekends like Martinsville where if the conditions are right, the sun is coming, there’s a cloud, everybody is going to want to be out there on the track and you’re not going to get a clean lap.
I think for somebody who’s young, it’s going to be respecting the competitors and knowing how to best make your lap happen and then not get in the way of somebody else’s lap.  That’s going to be true for the veterans as well.  I think we’re experienced at doing those qualifying runs in practice where we don’t pull up on the track in front of somebody.
It’s not sometimes the drivers, it’s the spotters as well that are playing a big role in that.
 
Q.        WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT SEEING THE NO. 3 CAR OUT THERE AND HOW DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE PERCEIVED BY FANS?
JEFF GORDON:  It’s Richard Childress Racing.  That number was his.  I know everybody thinks of it as Dale Earnhardt, Sr., and it’s true, but Richard Childress played such a big role in that.
To me it just came down to when Richard was comfortable with bringing it back, what was the right time and the right driver.  I think obviously Dale, Jr. could have pulled that off.  But I think that Richard’s done a great job being very respectful of it.  I know how much he cared about Dale.  That’s extremely important to him.
Knowing that it’s his grandson, how he’s been really making a name for himself, I think that’s cool, it’s exciting.
 
Q.        DO YOU THINK THAT WILL HELP WITH ACCEPTANCE FROM THE FANS?
JEFF GORDON:  Absolutely.  And that it’s Richard Childress Racing and a family member.
 
Q.        WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGES, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL, DO YOU THINK TONY STEWART IS GOING TO HAVE COMING BACK?
JEFF GORDON:  I think the biggest thing is just how long he’s been out of the car, how quick things changed from an engineering standpoint.
But, you know, I’ve not talked to Tony as far as what kind of physical shape that he’s in.  Heck, he might be in better shape than he’s ever been because of the physical therapy.  I don’t know.  I haven’t asked him what it’s like to push on the gas pedal, if there’s still pain involved.  I haven’t talked to him about those things.
There’s certainly going to be some challenges.  But he’s Tony Stewart.  I’m not overly concerned with the challenges that he’s going to have from being able to either withstand some pain or get up to speed and be a fierce competitor.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah, I mean, Tony is a factor.  He’s always a factor.  I think a lot of us were surprised that Mark had the challenges that he had with the car and adapting to those setups.  Every weekend you can’t ever count out Tony Stewart as being somebody you’re going to have to deal with.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JEFF GORDON:  Probably more serious.  I mean, if I win the championship this year, I’ve put in, you know, 20 plus great years.  I do this now because I love it, because I like being competitive, and because I want another championship.  I want to get a Sprint Cup championship.
I go home, you know, and I look at my trophy room.  I see four trophies, championship trophies.  But they say Winston Cup on them.  You can name me a four-time Sprint Cup champion for technical reasons all you want, but to me I’m still not.  I want that before my career’s over.
If that happened, that would be all the reasons I need to say, This is it, I’m done.  Go out on a high note, start playing baseball.
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at the 2014 NASCAR Daytona Media Day and discussed: the change in Sprint Cup for 2014; his teammates at Stewart Haas Racing; joining the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
KEELAN A FAN OF THE SNOW?
KEVIN HARVICK: “He likes the snow. He just doesn’t like it all over his stuff. He’s a little OCD.”
 
OBVIOUSLY, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS SEASON, A LOT OF CHANGES – CHAMPIONSHIP, QUALIFYING, PENALITES. AS A PARTICIPANT AND A RACE FAN, IS THAT A LOT TO GRASP IN ONE SEASON?
KEVIN HARVICK: “I love it. I love the fact that there’s a lot to think about and a lot of change. I’m sure that people who have worked with me would always tell you that when something wasn’t working, we would change it pretty rapidly when we owned our company. There’s been a lot of similarities is the reason I relate it to that, whether it be from the changing of the sport to the changing of teams is something that I’ve really enjoyed. Learning all the new names and faces, how everything works, and how the cars run. Then you add into that all the changes in NASCAR. The main goal right now is just getting to victory lane. That’s really the first goal because I believe the earlier you get to victory lane the more chances you can take, and if things are going well, you can win more races and help protect yourself in the first round of the championship chase. So, just gotta push and try to make it happen.”
 
EVEN IF THERE’S A LOT OF CHANGE DOESN’T NECESSARILY MEAN IT’S A BAD THING?
KEVIN HARVICK: “I love change. As I’ve learned over the off-season, change is very enthusiastic for not only myself but for all the people around me. I think everybody at SHR would tell you that the enthusiasm is contagious at the shop just because it just bleeds over from one person to the next. It’s been a lot of fun. Hopefully, the results will show everything that we think we should be able to achieve.”
 
WITH ALL THE CHANGES, WHAT’S THE ONE THAT EXCITES YOU THE MOST?
KEVIN HARVICK: “I love the qualifying knockout. It’s kind of the same situation with the championship knockout. I’ve liked that from the beginning. It took me a little bit to grasp the one race for everything. But I think it was explained very well and the fact that if you’re going to have a problem in that race, you’re going to have a problem in that race no matter what format it is. It’s going to be fun.”
 
HAVE YOU LEARNED ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR NEW TEAMMATES THAT SURPRISED YOU?
KEVIN HARVICK: “Not really. I had the opportunity to work with Kurt (Busch) all of last year. For me, I’ve been around Tony (Stewart) quite a bit in the Nationwide cars and personally. I think as we’ve gone through the whole process, the biggest thing I’ve learned is about the company in general. Whatever you need, whoever you need… go get it and let’s figure out how to make this all happen. That part to me has been fun. Everything on our car is brand new – from the hauler to every race car, every nut and bolt in the drawer. They’ve put an unbelievable effort into it. The other thing is that surprised me – I knew Tony was a pretty intense guy but we went to a Jimmy John’s event and we’re coming home Monday. He got on that plane and he was like a crazed lunatic. You could see that look in his eye. He looked at me and said, ‘I’m ready to… race!’ Just that look in his eye. I knew he was a pretty intense person but I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s cool.’”
 
DO YOU THINK THAT INTENSITY IS GOING TO BE MAGNIFIED TENFOLD GIVEN WHAT HE’S BEEN THROUGH?
KEVIN HARVICK: I know how excited I am getting in a race car. I couldn’t imagine sitting on the sidelines for months and not being able to get back in the car and put all those crazy thoughts out of your head – if you’d be able to race again, what’s it feel like, is it going to hurt? Just putting all those things to rest for him is going to be great. If anything is sore or hurts, you’ll never hear about it because he’s be so excited to get back in a race car that he can’t hardly stand it.”
 
HOW CLOSE DID YOU KEEP IN TOUCH WITH HIM THROUGHOUT HIS REHAB?
“I would see him periodically, but obviously there was a lot going on. Rehab hasn’t gone on that long. He went through a lot of healing more than anything. But we would keep up as much as we could. When he started coming back to the race track, he was easier to keep up with at that point.”
 
DOES WHAT RICHARD PETTY SAID ABOUT DANICA PATRICK MATTER AT ALL TO YOU BECAUSE SHE IS A TEAMMATE?
KEVIN HARVICK: “The hard part is that everyone has an opinion on everything that is going on. You try to just listen and observe and try to handle your situation as best you can. Obviously it’s hard to rattle her. She’s so used to people saying this and it doesn’t bother her. And that’s not a front. It really doesn’t phase her and you really don’t have to stick up for anything that someone says or does. She is not phased but anything I’ve seen. She just doesn’t care and moves on and lets it roll off. I think she’s dealt with so much for so long that she’s just immune to it.”
 
WHERE DO YOU THINK SHE’S CAPABLE OF WINNING A RACE?
KEVIN HARVICK: “I think this year is going to be really good for her and her learning curve just for the fact that we went and tested together at Nashville. Just a couple of conversations can help. She can drive the car. Most all of us have done this for… I’ve been in a stock car since I was 16 so that’s 22 years. You aren’t going to make that experience up. She’s realistic about what she needs to do and accomplish. Just getting those little conversations over before you get to the track can overcome a lot of hurdles.”
 
WITH ALL THE CHANGES THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE – GUYS GOING TO NEW TEAMS, GETTING INTO NEW CARS AND HAVING TO ADJUST TO NEW NUMBERS – IS IT GOING TO TAKE SOME GETTING USED TO FOR THE DRIVERS TO FIGURE OUT AND SORT THAT OUT. WHEN YOU SEE THE 31, IT’S NOT GOING TO BE JEFF BURTON…:
KEVIN HARVICK: “As long as he’s behind me, it’s all good! As you come to Daytona every year, there are always changes – whether it be car numbers, drivers moving teams, crew chiefs. It’s refreshing. It’s kind of like any other sport. You see people move around and it’s exciting. It’s no different that seeing Peyton Manning going from the Colts to the Broncos. There is a lot of enthusiasm around that. I know I’m excited and I know our fans are excited. We’ve looked at everything – website, Twitter, social media. It’s a time to update and refresh. It’s fun to learn all the new stuff that is going on.”
 
WILL IT TAKE SOME ADJUSTMENT FOR FANS TO KNOW THAT THE 29 ISN’T KEVIN HARVICK ANY MORE?
KEVIN HARVICK: “The good news for me is that the 29 isn’t in existence any more! They all know what number it’s going to be right now.”
 
HOW  ABOUT THE NO. 3 CAR?
“I really don’t have a tie to it and it doesn’t affect anything I do. So I’m good with focusing on my job.”
 
WOULD YOU BE ANY MORE OR LESS AGGRESSIVE AROUND HIM (THE NO. 3) THAN ANY OTHER DRIVER?
KEVIN HARVICK: “I’d wreck my mom if I had to. One hundred percent! If we’re going to win the Daytona 500, it’s going around.”
 
THAT WOULD BE PRETTY DRAMATIC BUT WOULD THERE BE AN UPROAR IF SOMEBODY DOES WRECK HIM. AT LEAST FROM A FAN’S PERSPECTIVE THEY WILL THINK OF THE 3 BEFORE THEY THINK OF AUSTIN (DILLON). FROM A RACER’S PERSPECTIVE, IT’S STILL AUSTIN:
KEVIN HARVICK: “You just race him like you would anyone else. It’s really no different than any other car. You want to win the race and – outside of your teammates – you have to do what you have to do. You worry
about the rest of it later.”
 
YOU HAVEN’T RACED IN TRAFFIC HERE IN MONTHS. DOES IT TAKE A LITTLE WHILE TO GET BACK INTO THAT GROOVE?
KEVIN HARVICK: “The good news is this year is that I’ve been in the car a fair amount as we’ve gone through the offseason. We’ve probably been in the car eight or 10 days throughout the last couple of months. You just take your time. There’s no reason to take too many chances as you move into Speedweeks. I’ve laid in bed sick and watched my car get wrecked and seen wrecks and been involved in wrecks. A lot of them have happened in that first practice.”
 
BUT IT’S NOT A MATTER OF TRUST?
KEVIN HARVICK: “It’s just everyone is a little excited.”
 
HOW’S YOUR MARTIAL ARTS DOING?
KEVIN HARVICK: “It’s a little slow at this point. We’ve been so busy and it just takes time. I’m stuck at my red belt.”
 
ARE YOU GOING TO GO FOR A BLACK BELT?
KEVIN HARVICK: “Oh yeah. I’m too far into it to give up. I’m probably at this point probably eight to 12 months away. It depends on how much time I can spend.”
 
HAS IT HELPED YOU BEHIND THE WHEEL?
KEVIN HARVICK: “I know it’s helped my flexibility, which was the main goal. And if you have a bad Sunday, you get to take some aggression out Monday during sparring. But I think it has. I wish I would have started when I was a kid just to do something different. It’s great for the kids in their discipline and the way things work. It’s been a lot of fun and it’s something outside the box that I wouldn’t have done five years ago.”
 
YOU SAID YOU DON’T HAVE ANY FEELINGS ABOUT THE 3 CAR BECAUSE OF CIRCUMSTANCES. THROUGH THE YEARS YOU’VE SEEN 3 BANNERS AND T-SHIRTS. DOES IT FEEL LIKE THE 3 CAR HAS BEEN AWAY FROM THE SPORT?
KEVIN HARVICK: “That’s a good question. I don’t know if I’m the right guy to answer that, though.”
 
HOW DID THE CAL RIPKEN FOUNDATION BOARD DEAL COME ABOUT?
KEVIN HARVICK: “We’re excited to be members of the Cal Ripken Sr. Board. We’ve got some mutual friends in Mark Butler who owns Ollie’s Bargin Outlet and have just noticed they do a great job in what they do. We have the same common interest in trying to make kids’ lives better. Ollie’s is very involved in it and we will become more heavily involved as we move through the years. The first project will be in Greensboro, N.C., to build a new field. That’s one of the great things they do. They come in and build these $1 million-plus fields, a Boys & Girls Club or whatever the facility is that the kids can enjoy for years. It’s a great foundation and I’m looking forward to partnering with them and having a lot of great events.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed new changes to the Chase format, Ray Evernham’s role, the Super Bowl, and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
WITH MORE ON THE LINE, TECHNICALLY FOR WINS, WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO WRECK THE NO. 3 CAR FOR A WIN? EVEN THOUGH IT’S AUSTIN DILLON IN THE NO. 3, WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE, DRAMA-WISE, FOR THE FIRST CAR TO WRECK HIM?
“Oh, there would probably be some drama, maybe, I don’t know. I don’t usually wreck guys. I don’t know how to wreck someone. That’s my problem.”
 
DO YOU THINK YOU’LL BE ANY MORE PHYSICAL OUT THERE?
“I think what it’s going to be is you’re not going to have to worry as much about if I make a mistake, if something happens with me and this other guy, it really hurts our chances of making the Chase or being good in points.
 
“There are so many other ways to make the Chase and get in there. So, I think it helps some of that. You’re not always just so worried about points and things. So, yeah, they’ll be times when you’ll think about that and know and be able to do something that you may not have done last year, more aggressively.”
 
WHAT DOES RAY EVERNHAM BRING TO AREAS THAT YOU HAVEN’T HAD BEFORE?
“When I raced for Ray, he always worked really well with his employees and with his guys about improving. He was always working on improving any way that you can. How can you improve? How can engineering, how can the driver, how can the pit crews, the guys building the car and the bodies; there are so many aspects and things to look at. And if he’s always on you about improving, we got better that way.
 
“So, I think he’ll come in and kind of look over some of the ways that we do things and how the No. 5 and the No. 24 work together and things like that, and just try to help us with a little bit here, and a little bit there. Overall, I think it will be a good thing. It’s tough to say how much it will improve us, but overall it’s definitely going to be a benefit because Ray is good with people and he’s done that type of thing to kind of motivate.”
 
DO YOU HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF WHAT ROLE HE WILL HAVE?
“I don’t really have a clear idea. I have an idea that he’s going to try to help us all improve and try to help us get a little bit better in different areas and in just things that he sees. He’ll work with the crew chiefs closely and some of the engineers. I just think it will be pretty neat to have him.”
 
AS A KID, WHAT WERE THE FIRST WHEELS YOU HAD?
“Well, it was probably a wagon, like a little bigfoot that you’d sit on and try to push yourself along with your feet. I remember that. That was probably one of my first. And then, probably a bicycle would have been early-on also.”
 
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU GOT YOUR WORK ETHIC?
“I got that from my dad. He taught me at a young age that you have to work hard for things and if you want something, you have to work hard to get it and stay after it. I just kind of always had the same outlook on working and getting up in the morning and doing things like that. So he applied it when I was pretty young and I’ve always kept it because he was up and gone at five in the morning, every morning. So if he ever came home and I was still in bed that was bad. There were just different scenarios and things that went on, so I just learned from a pretty young age that you’ve got to get up and get things done and go for what you want.”
 
HOW DO YOU THINK THIS NEW CHASE FORMAT PLAYS INTO YOUR HANDS?
“I think it can. I think it can help anyone. It can help somebody who is very consistent, it can help someone who wins some races and has some back luck. For us, it would have helped us a little last year. But at the end of the day, we would have finished the same in points, I think; close to it because our Chase was what it was. So, we would have been locked-into the Chase way earlier and maybe that would have changed the way our season went or how we raced or how I raced, some of that stuff.
 
“So maybe that changes it up. Everything is different at that point. It’s hard to look at the Chase and say this is how it would have ended up with this system because it would have been way different and everybody would have driven different. Things would have happened at different times, so it’s hard to say that. But I think it could definitely help me. Over the years there have been some times when I’ve been a little inconsistent or had bad luck for a period of time and things like that. So this way, this system helps me a little bit get into the Chase. Once you’re in the Chase, you need to perform. That’s just all there is too it.”
 
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT OUT OF TONY STEWART THIS YEAR?
“I expect Tony to probably run a lot of laps tomorrow. Tomorrow is Friday, right? Yeah, so I’d say he’ll just run a lot of laps. Probably by himself and probably just feeling out his leg and his car and how well he can feel the throttle when he’s pulling back and forth and things like that. Daytona is not a track that he’s probably real worried about because you can run wide open.
 
“You can soften-up the throttle springs and it will be fairly easy for him to do that. But I think he can learn a lot about the next couple of tracks after this and how his leg will respond to that. So, he’ll just probably mess with that tomorrow. Other than that, I think he’ll be pretty darn good this whole season.”
 
DO YOU THINK HE’LL BE IN THE CHASE?
“Yes. I don’t see why he wouldn’t.”
 
WITH THE NEW SYSTEM, I THINK DALE EARNHARDT JR WOULD HAVE ENDED-UP WINNING LAST YEAR. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM HIM THIS YEAR?
“I expect him to be really consistent again this year. He’s been doing that for a while now. He’s right there every race, kind of like the top six it seems like. He’s always up in the top six. And I feel like he’ll be that same consistent guy. He puts a lot into it over the last couple of years, being his teammate; he puts a lot into it and understands what’s going on. None of that is going to change.”
 
DO YOU SEE A POINT WHERE HE TURNED THE CORNER A LITTLE?
“Ever since I’ve been at Hendrick, he’s been on top of it. I feel like he’s really been there. Prior to that, I knew Dale, but I didn’t spend a lot of time with him on why are you struggling or this or that; you used to be so fast. And since I’ve been at Hendrick and spent more time with him, he’s been super-focused and really aware of what’s going on and it’s showing on the race track. So, that’s the call that I’ve seen.”
 
ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE IMPACT OF LOSING KEITH RODDEN?
“It changes things a little bit for myself and our team. Not having him will be much difference once we get racing, but at the same time I felt like he was ready and prepared to take on the role that he has now. So, It’s really good for him to get to move on and be a crew chief and see how that goes for him. He’s very smart and he’ll work well with Jamie (McMurray), so I think that’ll be great for him.
 
“For us, I think it’s really good to get our guys, the engineers that we have, in working with (crew chief) Kenny (Francis) because that’s going to be overall a better situation now because everybody kind of knows their roles and really run with it. So, I’ve had a great time testing with the guys throughout the winter and I’m really looking forward to what we have now.”
 
INAUDIBLE
“I was a little surprised when he came to Hendrick with me and Kenny because I thought at that time he could have moved up and really searched hard for a deal. It probably wasn’t the best time for him with open jobs at that time, so that didn’t work. But I was ready at any time for him to take off a
nd get a crew chief role.”
 
INAUDIBLE
“I think it’s pretty neat. I think the tough part is depending on which car you run, which type of car it is, because everybody is so used to different cars and getting in if it’s similar to what one of the other champions races, then obviously he’s going to be pretty good an adapt much quicker. So, there’s just a lot that goes into that and the feel of the car and the brakes and shifting and all that type of stuff because it’s so much different in all different types of series.”
 
IF YOU HAD TO PICK FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF RACES OR VENUES, WHAT WOULD MAKE A GOOD MIXTURE OF RACES?
“Oh, probably something to do on dirt; I don’t know. I’d say maybe a World of Outlaw driver, a NASCAR driver, IndyCar driver and Supercross guy or something like that; just switch it all up. To me that would be a pretty neat group of guys.”
 
WOULD YOU LIKE TO PARTICIPATE?
“Yeah, I mean if it’s a race of champions, I’d have to be a champion to participate. But I would definitely enjoy that. I enjoy racing as much as I can, any type of car, so that would be pretty fun if that opportunity was there.”
 
WHAT WAS YOUR SUPER BOWL EXPERIENCE? DID YOU WATCH IT AT HOME?
“Yeah, I just stayed at home and had some people over. I just couldn’t believe the first quarter and how confused the Broncos were compared to the Seahawks. You could tell right then it was going to be a blow-out at that point. So, I didn’t get too excited until like the third quarter when Percy returned it and then I was like, man, this is looking really good now because football can change so quick, especially when Peyton Manning is your quarterback. But it was exciting. We had a blast. My family is all Seahawks; and then most of my friends that were over were Denver Broncos. So I didn’t want to have to listen to them the whole game, so the way it worked out from basically the first ten seconds, they were quiet the rest of the game and we got to be loud and enjoy it.”
 
I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WIN A RACE, BUT WERE YOU AS FIRED-UP?
“I think it’s a lot different, but I can say that I’m actually still really excited about the Seahawks. And looking into next year already, that’s kind of similar what you do in a race. You win a race and instantly you’re looking at the next one and how we can do well there. Just this week I’ve talked two or three times to people about what they’re doing for next year and how they’re going to be just as good. It’s pretty exciting. They have something there that can go for a long period of time and keep winning.”
 
WHAT SPORT DO YOU THINK YOU COULD WIN A GOLD MEDAL IN AND WHY?
“I think the short track skating looks pretty awesome. It would be pretty neat to do that. And maybe even the bobsledding or something like that. It’s pretty cool.”
 
IS THERE ONE RACE IN YOUR CAREER THAT STANDS OUT AS ONE THAT GOT AWAY FROM YOU?
“Yeah, I think Darlington last year is the most recent race that got away. And there are a lot of races that get away throughout a season. We were really good in that race. We ran about third throughout a lot of the race; second, third, fourth; and then we got it right and drove past a couple of guys and drove past Kyle for the lead and then the next corner was when he kind of pushed up and we touched and I spun into the wall. And then Matt Kenseth ends up winning after all that. But we were by far the best car at the end of that race but just didn’t get the win because of circumstances.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
An interview with:
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 BASS PRO SHOPS/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at the 2014 NASCAR Daytona Media Day and discussed: returning to competition; expectations for first race back in the car; expectations for four-car team; 2014 rookie class and other topics.  FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
Q.        HOW MUCH WEIGHT HAVE YOU DROPPED?
TONY STEWART:  I have been on scale.  I stayed at about 182 for the last two and a half months.
 
Q.        IS TODAY LIKE CHRISTMAS EVE FOR YOU?
TONY STEWART:  Yeah, to a certain degree it is.  You know, normally I’m thinking in days and weeks.  Now I’m thinking in hours.  I’m excited about it.  It’s been a long time since August 5th.  Normally we’re talking about the off-season.  It just seems like it flies by.  It’s been the slowest off-season I’ve ever had.  I’m ready to get doing something again.
 
Q.        ANY APPREHENSIONS?
TONY STEWART:  No.  The great thing is everybody at our shop, especially the guy that does the interior on our car; him and Chad have worked really close together.  We’ve tried to think of absolutely anything that could be a problem.
The good thing is in the meantime with all of that our therapy has been going really well and in the last few weeks we’ve made huge gains.
I don’t know how we could be more prepared honestly than what we are right now.  The perfect scenario, everything would be healed 100% and we wouldn’t be talking about it.  Bone is still about 65% healed right now.  But as far as muscles and everything, the strength is coming much quicker than I thought it was going to be.
Like I say, we spent a lot of time with pedal angles and everything to make it absolutely as comfortable as we can make it.  I don’t know what else we can do to prepare than what we’ve done.
 
Q.        THE FIRST LAP AROUND THE TRACK, I IMAGINE THE SMILE WILL BE PRETTY BIG?
TONY STEWART:  We’ll be in a pack right away.  Not going to have time to think about it.  I’ll probably be grinning after we do it.
We got work to do because normally Shootout practice, everybody gets the majority of their work done that first run.  The fact that guys don’t bring backup cars for the Shootout, they won’t practice a lot.
We’ll get right back to business right away and we’ll think about it after the session is over.
 
Q.        HOW DOES IT FEEL WHEN ASKING ALL THE OTHER DRIVERS WHAT THEY’RE EXPECTING OUT OF YOU THIS SEASON, THEY SAY A WIN AND THE CHASE?
TONY STEWART:  I mean, we all know each other personality-wise.  We all know our drive and determination amongst each other.  I remember a lot of these guys have called, checking in, asking how we’re doing.  They’ve been a support system as well.  They know how we’re doing, how we feel.  It’s a pretty tight-knit group of guys.
 
Q.        THE PERIOD OF INACTIVITY, WAS THAT THE MOST EXCRUCIATING PART?
TONY STEWART:  No, I don’t think so.  Not the time.  The time wasn’t.  The pain was the worst part of it, for sure.  You know, that’s a level of pain I’ve never had before.  You’d think having the ability to lay in bed, you get comfortable.  I’ve never spent so much time laying in bed feeling uncomfortable in my life.
I’m actually more comfortable sitting in a car than I am laying in bed at the end of the day.  Sitting in the racecar the last couple weeks getting everything done, it feels even more comfortable than the street car.
If we can figure out how to take the seat and pedals out of the car, lay it back 40 degrees, I could sleep like a baby for the first time in a long time.
We’re comfortable in the car.  Even being in a street car, that’s been the norm for the last four months.  It’s more comfortable sitting in a car than it is sitting in a chair or sitting in bed.
 
Q.        REGARDING BACKUP DRIVER
TONY STEWART:  You’re my one driver.  On the record, Bob is my backup driver, so…  Step it up, Bud.
We’re not going to need a backup driver.  We don’t need a backup driver.
 
Q.        IS THAT BECAUSE YOU FEEL SO GOOD OR YOU’RE DETERMINED?
TONY STEWART:  Both, both.  I feel good enough that I’m confident we’re not going to have to worry about anything.  Like I said, we’ve planned for anything that we think might or could go wrong.  When I say ‘go wrong’, it’s not anything that’s going to take us out of the racecar, it’s just a matter of making everything as comfortable as possible.
 
Q.        IS THERE ANYTHING IN THE CAR SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF YOUR INJURY THAT IS A PROBLEM?
TONY STEWART:  Talking about the group of guys that are your peers that check on you.  Kevin Harvick didn’t even ask me, he just went and ordered — he runs those knee knockers on the steering column.  He’s like, You’re running this.  He didn’t leave it as an option.  I showed up, it was on my car.  You’re running this.  Shows what kind of teammates I have and what friends I have.
Getting in and out of the car wasn’t as big a drama as what I thought.  That’s what my initial concern was when he told me he was putting it in there.
But we’ve been to the shop, worked on getting in and out.  It’s pretty fluid now.
Q.        WHAT’S A KNEE KNOCKER?
TONY STEWART:  Amazing how two girls want to know what a knee knocker is at the same time (laughter).
It’s a pad that hangs off the steering column, basically keeps your knees from going back and forth.  A pad, leg brace is on the outside.  This is like a leg brace on the inside.  Keeps your knees from hitting the steering column.
 
Q.        AT WHAT POINT DO THE DOCTORS EXPECT YOU TO FEEL 100%?
TONY STEWART:  Probably about another year, he said, when the bones will be healed 100%.  We’re about 65% right now.  So there are so many gaps in the bone.  A hairline fracture didn’t have far to grow the rest of the way, but when you have pieces that are missing, it’s got to regenerate that bone.
With the titanium rod in there, we have the strength we need.  The actual physical healing, it’s going to take a little longer.
 
Q.        ARE YOU LIKE A WEATHER VANE GUYS?
TONY STEWART:  You’re not kidding.  When that weather came through last night, I knew it an hour before it got here.  It’s a barometer.  I’ve had troubles with migraines before.  I have a primary and backup system that is going to tell you what the weather is going to do.  I could have predicted within an hour when it was going to snow in Charlotte.
That’s one thing that is frustrating.  We came down, the weather is nice, it felt good.  All of a sudden it got cold, the rain came.  All of a sudden I got sore.  This morning it’s not as sore as it was last night but not as good as when we got down here.  It constantly goes up and down and it’s going to do that for a long time.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
TONY STEWART:  It’s titanium.  We really shouldn’t bring it up to them.  Titanium rods are not approved by NASCAR.
Yeah, it’s approved.
 
Q.        HOW MUCH OF AN INSPIRATION HAS AJ BEE
N TO YOU?
TONY STEWART:  He called me and he said, Kid, you got to quit trying to be like me.  We both came out of surgery within a week of each other.  I had my third surgery for the infection.  He called joking around saying, Hey, you got to quit trying to be like me with all these surgeries.
He’s still AJ, he’s still my buddy.
 
Q.        REGARDING SCHEDULE
TONY STEWART:  No.  I mean, it’s just being smart about when I’m going to get in other cars.  Obviously the Cup car is the priority right now.  Until tomorrow we have no idea what it’s going to be like, what it’s going to feel like.  We’ll play it by ear.  As soon as it feels good enough to go do the other stuff I want to do, I’m going to go do it.
We’ve made a lot of changes on the Sprint car to try to make sure that never happens again.  That’s all you can ask.
 
Q.        A LOT OF DRIVERS HAVE BODY TYPES THAT ARE SMALLER THAN PAST YEARS.  DO YOU SEE A BODY TYPE AS AN ADVANTAGE AT ALL?
TONY STEWART:  No.  NASCAR has the weight rule.  If you’re really light weight, you have to add weight to the car.  It’s not really an advantage.
I think the seats have come such a long way, they’re form fitting, that there’s really not an advantage on the safety side necessarily.  The bigger you are, the bigger your bones are.
I don’t really think there’s an advantage.
 
Q.        WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SMALLER BODY TYPES WE’RE SEEING NOW IN NASCAR?
TONY STEWART:  They’re just small.
 
Q.        IS IT A FITNESS THING?
TONY STEWART:  Don’t ask me.  I’m the wrong guy to ask about fitness, Bud.  I don’t know (laughter).
I’m sure there’s some scientific explanation, but you’re probably a little more excited about knowing the answer to it at this time than I am.
It is a fact now.  When you figure it out, will you let me know?  Kind of curious.
 
Q.        YOU SAID YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S GOING TO FEEL LIKE IN THE CAR.  IS THERE ANY CONCERN THAT THE INJURY WILL ALTER THINGS?
TONY STEWART:  No.  I mean, when you hear the quote ‘it’s a seat-of-the-pants feel’, you feel it in your core is where you’re feeling everything.  Everything that is processed through your brain is between your core for the most part as far as feeling what’s going on.  Your hands and arm are feeling pressure in the steering wheel.  But as far as from your legs down, you’re not really feeling that sensation.  It’s more of what your brain is telling your legs to do.  Feeling the weight in the steering wheel is a different deal.
If we had to have an area to have an injury, my right leg was probably the one to have that kind of an injury in.
 
Q.        SELF-DOUBT IS PART OF HUMAN NATURE.  DID THAT GREMLIN EVER TAP YOU ON THE SHOULDER?
TONY STEWART:  No.  Honestly no.  The reason for that is right off the bat the surgeon, the therapists, they’ve all said, You’re going to have 100% recovery.  With that, from day one, it took that doubt out.
Instead of having the doubt, it’s a matter of when is it going to be 100%, how long is the pain going to stay, am I always going to have pain, questions like that, more than doubt of being able to do what we love to do.
 
Q.        REGARDING RICHARD PETTY
TONY STEWART:  I’m not even going to waste my time talking about that topic.  Danica probably addressed it and that’s all that needs to be talked about on it.
 
Q.        IS IT YOUR GOAL TO GET ALL FOUR CARS IN THE CHASE?
TONY STEWART:  I’d love to.  That is what the goal is every year.  Especially with this format, it could happen.  Danica is good on the restrictor plate tracks.  She’s going to get stronger on the rest of the tracks we go to.
Definitely got that opportunity to do that.  For sure I feel like we got three cars for sure that are 100% capable right now of doing it.  You know, Danica is still in the learning process.  She’ll tell you that, too.  For the small amount of time that she’s been in a stockcar, I think she’s learned a lot.  Having Mark is going to be that much more of a help and asset to her.
She can put together a day.  It’s just a matter of getting that right day put together.
 
Q.        THE UNLIMITED, FOR YOU, IS THAT GETTING YOUR FEET WET AGAIN OR ARE YOU LOOKING AT SATURDAY NIGHT LIKE YOU HAVE A POTENTIAL TO WIN THE RACE?
TONY STEWART:  I still feel like we have potential.  We will still go out and try to win it.  If it’s something in the seat or something else that’s going to be a problem, it will probably show up Saturday night.  75-lap race, which is 25 laps short of the 500.
The good thing is that gives us a week to get things sorted out.  If there’s something we need to change that we don’t learn in practice with a problem, I mean, this is probably the best-case scenario of what you have as far as a schedule for the week, the process that we can go through to get ready for Sunday.
I think Saturday night we’ll have a lot better answers than what we have right now obviously.  But I really think because of all the running we’ll get a chance to do, we have plenty of opportunity and make adjustments if we need to.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
TONY STEWART:  I knew pretty early once we got that scooter.  Once I saw how much attention I got at Richmond, We can do something productive with this.  We didn’t know how long we were going to have to use it.  The good thing is we’ve been a big part of the Darrell Gwynn’s foundation, a believer of what he does.  We knew right off the bat that once it got the attention it got at Richmond, when we were done with it, we were going to donate it to Darrell.  Instead of just giving it away to anybody, hopefully this thing can raise some money.  These wheelchairs he gives away are worth $22,000.  If this can raise $50,000 or $75,000, that’s two or three chairs that we can give to somebody who needs it.  We can take something that I have $5,000 invested in and hopefully put it to really good use.
 
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
TONY STEWART:  Always does.  I mean, it’s that way every year.  You always have guys that are moving around.  We got a lot of new rookies that you’re going to have to try to remember what cars they’re in, drivers that are switching organizations.  There’s a lot of movement this year.
That’s a good thing about the spotters.  You make the spotters have the memory, they’ll tell you who you’re around.  Every year when we come down here for the 500 week, whether it’s a qualifying race or practice, you’re always like, Who is in that thing again?  You might see a rookie stripe on a car that you’re not used to seeing a rookie stripe on, saying, Who is this again?
That’s the good thing about each practice session:  by the time the 500 rolls around, you pretty much remember who is who by then.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
TONY STEWART:  See a rookie stripe on the 3 car, too.  We haven’t seen for a long time.
 
Q.        HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
TONY STEWART:  I think it’s fine.  Here is the thing.  We don’t own these numbers.  These are numbers that we’ve picked that are available from NASCAR.  The good thing is that the guy that owned that car, that made it so historic, is still the guy that ow
ns that number.
When we’re all long gone, there’s going to be somebody else that’s going to drive a 14 car, there’s already somebody that’s been in a 20 car than me.
We don’t own those numbers, but I think it’s going to be good for a lot of people to see it back.  The ones that aren’t excited about seeing it back are not excited for the wrong reasons.
So, you know, I realize it’s more than just a number.  It was a lifestyle, an iconic number.  But that same guy that had that iconic number started in a No. 2 car.
It’s just part of change and it’s part of moving on.  At the same time I think it’s a good opportunity to honor the guy that did make that number so famous.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
REED SORENSON, NO. 7 GOLDEN CORRAL CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at the 2014 NASCAR Daytona Media Day and discussed: Tommy Baldwin Racing; new qualifying format and the rookie battle.  FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
HOW HAS YOUR OFFSEASON BEEN?
“Offseason has been good, got married.   So that was probably the most exciting thing I could have done in the offseason.  I did my normal hunting trips and all that stuff, but getting married and going on the honeymoon and enjoying that was the highlight.”
 
HOW IS THE TEAM CHANGE IN GOING TO TOMMY BALDWIN RACING?
“Its been good and it all came about pretty late.   Just getting down here to Daytona has been really exciting and its going to be good for us to get the season going and get to Phoenix and Las Vegas and get the ball rolling.  I am excited to be a part of the team and looking forward to working with Todd Parrot, Michael and Bono.  So I am ready to go.”
 
ARE YOU RUNNING THE FULL SCHEDULE?
“Yep, running the full schedule and this will be the first time that I have run the full Sprint Cup schedule in three or four years now.  So I am real excited to do that and compete each and every week.”
 
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT?
“I think the qualifying will be the same in some places we go where the first lap on new tires is going to be your fastest lap.   But at some of the short tracks that we go to, maybe you can go out a second time and make your lap better and make it into that next group.  But like I said, I think at some places it won’t change a whole lot and at others it will.”
 
HOW DO YOU THINK A LOT OF THE NEW FACES AT NEW PLACES AND MOVING AROUND IS GOING TO AFFECT THE RACING THIS YEAR?
“Well, I think this year the racing is going to be pretty good. You have a great rookie class coming in and you have the powerhouses that are going to be the teams to beat, but you have some drivers moving around to new teams.  I don’t know, but it just feels like there is a lot of energy between the race teams with the new rules, Chase format and it seems like there is a lot of excitement for the new teams and new drivers.  I just feel like there is a lot of positive energy going through everybody and I think the racing is going to be good.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
MICHAEL ANNETT,  NO. 7 PILOT FLYING J CHEVROLET SS, met with media at the 2014 NASCAR Daytona Media Day and discussed the potential for a race of champions and where such a race might take place. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH IROC? DO YOU LIKE THE CONCEPT OF STAGING A RACE FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS ASIDE FROM THE SERIES THEY TYPICALLY RACE IN:
MICHAEL ANNETT: “Yeah definitely. I love the thought of putting guys from each form of motorsport and putting them in cars that are pretty much identical. Pit stops don’t matter. You don’t have that element. Put everyone out there. Obviously the oval racers may have a little bit of an advantage but put them on a road course and you can level it out pretty quick. Those were some of my favorite races to watch.”
 
IF ONE WERE TO START, WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD MIXTURE OF TRACKS:
MICHAEL ANNETT: “Daytona is always going to be fun to watch. It’s iconic in the NASCAR industry to go to Daytona. They could run the road course and oval race in the same day. Running the mile-and-a-half tracks, I think we would have too big an advantage to someone who runs IndyCar where they are pretty much wide open all the way around. I’d love to watch a Daytona oval race, put them back on pit road and run the road course.”
 
IS IT SOMETHING DOWN THE ROAD IF IT EXISTED THAT YOU WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO PARTICIPATING IN:
MICHAEL ANNETT: “I’d love to. IROC was the Race of Champions. I’d just like to be invited to to start the race and race the best in auto racing. If you’re invited, obviously you’ve done something to make a mark in our sport.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
JUSTIN ALLGAIER,  NO. 51BRANDT CHEVROLET SS, met with media at the 2014 NASCAR Daytona Media Day and discussed: the 2014 rookie class; the stresses of racing; the outlook for HScott Motorsports; the new rules changes and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
INAUDIBLE:
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “It’s been awesome to have my career progress to where it is now. It’s been amazing. It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve had a good run at it. Hopefully we can keep progressing and going in the right direction.”
 
WHERE DID YOU PICK UP YOUR WORK ETHIC:
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “I get a lot of my work ethic from my parents. My dad has been a hero of mine and someone I’ve looked up to for as long as I can remember. He’s the main reason why I’m able to be up here and do what I’m doing today. Over the years, you learn and you gain things but you also lose things. That’s what really ultimately puts you in the position you in.”
 
DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST SET OF WHEELS?
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “Absolutely. I had a little electric IndyCar that my dad bought. I used to race it around the yard and down a hill in the back of our house. You never forget things like that. I was probably 3-4 when we got that. That’s what really got me wanting to get in a race car.”
 
FANS CAN GET IN A RACE CAR, SO YOU CAN EXPLAIN SOME OF THE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU GO THROUGH?
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “The best way I can explain it is in the middle of summer, turn up the heater in your car and run it wide open. I don’t recommend taking corners fast in a passenger vehicles but getting down into some of the corners in these cars… the sensation of not only speed but pressure – the way the car pushes against you and the way your body twists and contorts. I always tell everybody that if they ever have the opportunity to ride along or drive a Driving Experience car, it’s totally worth it. There are no words that can describe what it feels like inside a race car.”
 
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS TEAM FROM WHAT YOU’VE SEEN SO FAR:
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “I think the sky is the limit for this team. Harry Scott and everyone at HScott Motorsports has done a great job. Last year was kind of a building year. Harry taking over the team right before the Chase, me getting to make my debut and everything. The changes they have made over the offseason and the people they have brought in, I think we are heading in the right direction and we have a lot of room for growth. I feel like we can build a team that is capable of going out and not only running well but winning races.”
 
YOU PICKED A TOUGH YEAR TO FIGHT FOR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “I’m glad to see that we can have eight rookies go for that title. Whoever wins it, you’re going to feel that much better about it whenever it’s over. And if you don’t win, knowing that we’ve got some of the best and most talented race car drivers in the world who are coming up, that is super encouraging and I love the direction that shows about our sport and where it is headed.”
 
DO YOU KNOW MUCH ABOUT STEVE (ADDINGTON, COMPETITION DIRECTOR AND CREW CHIEF), AND HAVE YOU TALKED MUCH DURING THE LAST FEW YEARS?
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “I got very lucky when Jimmy Elledge was my crew chief, Steve and Jimmy were good friends. I actually got to hang out with Steve quite a bit off the race track as two normal people. So to have him know as a crew chief, to know his work ethic and see how he operates has been awesome. He’s extremely knowledgeable and one of those guys that I’m glad to have as part of the team. I think we will work really well together and I’m excited about the experience and leadership he brings.”
 
HOW DO YOU WORK TO BALANCE BETWEEN WORRYING ABOUT OVERDRIVING AND SHOWING YOU CAN DO IT?
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “The biggest thing for me is managing expectations. I know that in the first five races, we’re probably not going to win a race unless something major happens. But at the same time if I’m not out there and not finishing races, every lap that I’m not on the track is one lap less of experience that I can gain. For me, it’s more important to get in the full distance and run as many laps as I can versus putting myself in that bad position of trying too hard to pick up a position or two. I’m not saying that I don’t want to win races and not saying that I’m not going to go for the win if the opportunity presents itself. But definitely I’m trying to manage where I’m at and getting the most experience possible.”
 
HAVE YOU EVER FOLLOWED ANY OTHER TYPE OF RACING:
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “Absolutely. I’m a huge Formula One fan. I watch IndyCar. I watch the TUDOR Series – the new GRAND-AM. I definitely enjoy all forms of motorsports. Whatever it is, I have a great respect for other races and I like seeing what they do and how they do it. Lately it’s been more motocross and supercross. I love the atmosphere of that, and they do a great job with the fans.”
 
ANY DRIVERS – F1 OR OTHERWISE – WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET STRIAGHT INTO THE CUP SERIES AND DO OK?
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “I think it’s been proven that to come in and do this is a huge challenge. But there are so many talented drivers in this country and around the world. It wouldn’t surprise that if a guy from another discipline came over and – if they took the time and put in the effort – could be successful. But I don’t think it’s a sport you can just jump in and be successful at it.”
 
ARE THERE ANY CUP DRIVERS YOU CAN THINK OF THROUGHOUT TIME OR NOW THAT COULD MAKE THE SWITCH TO F1?
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “I think there are plenty of guys that could do it. Again, it would take time or discipline. Guys like Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch… these guys that are talented and great here would do fine over there. It’s just a matter of how you grew up and what your wants and passions are. If you don’t have the passion for it and it’s not where you want to be, it will never work. It would have to be something who would want to do it.”
 
IT WILL BE A TOUGH ROOKIE OF THE YEAR BATTLE:
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “Definitely there are favorites for the Rookie of the Year battle. Obviously whether it’s Austin (Dillon) or Kyle (Larson) or whoever it is, I think that helps me in a lot of ways. We have eight guys going for Rookie of the Year and they’ve pinned it on two. That gives us that they didn’t pin it on maybe not as much pressure or not as much hype. We can go out and work on a day-to-day basis. If we do well and win it, then it’s like David and Goliath. I think it puts some drive and hunger into me to be successful and beat those guys.”
 
WHAT WOULD A SUCCESSFUL DAYTONA 500 MEAN TO YOU?
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “Daytona no matter how you look at it… you get out of the box strong and you get that first race going, it’s huge. It seems like the first five races determine the rest of your season. So you have to get out of the box strong and get those first five in. Daytona is the marque of all those so you have to get it kicked off well.”
 
HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THE COMRADERIE OR LACK OF COMRADERIE BETWEEN THE EIGHT ROOKIES THAT ARE VYING FOR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR?
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “What’s cool is that of the rookies that are running this year, we’ve all raced together for a number of years. We’ve grown up together and raced together. I think that’s good. We all know each other and how each other races. We have a good understanding of each other. That will help for sure when we get into this battle and we start racing each other.”
 
YOU’VE BEEN ACCUSTOMED TO POINTS RACING ON A WEEK-TO-WEEK BASIS IN NATIONWIDE. DOES YOUR APPROACH CHANGE IN SPRINT CUP WITH THE NEW CHAMPIONSHIP PROCEDURE?
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “I’ve
always enjoyed the races where you say we’re going to stay out. We’re going to try to win on fuel mileage or something else. I’ve always enjoyed those. For me, that’s not going to change. If Steve is willing to try something, I’ll go with it. I know that being an independent team, it will be hard to beat the major organizations that are out there. We are going to have to try anything we can. At the same time, the other part is that we need to stay competitive and stay consistent. If we can stay consistent over the first 15 races, that puts us in a position where we can say maybe we can try something kind of crazy.”
 
I THINK BACK TO THE SOUTHERN 500 A FEW YEARS AGO WHERE REGAN SMITH AND FURNITURE ROW STAYED OUT LATE AND WON THE RACE. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO TRY? AT WHAT LEVEL DO YOU TO HAVE TO BE TO TRY IT?
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “I think it’s any level. We’ve seen fuel mileage races and strategy races that go or don’t go the way you thought they would. If we feel like we’re fast enough and competitive enough to try it, then why not? If you’re two laps down, it doesn’t make that much difference. But if you’re up there and battling, you might as well at least try it once. If it doesn’t work out, that’s kind of the tough part of our sport. But you have to go for it. The wins in this new format are so important. If you can sneak your way into a win and put yourself into the Chase – especially for an independent team, – that would be huge. So it’s definitely worth trying.”
 
INAUDIBLE:
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “Whoever wins the Daytona 500 is going to be in the Chase, guaranteed. That puts a lot of questions to it. Daytona has predominantly been a race that is unknown. You never know who is going to win it. That would be a true Cinderella story. It would be pretty awesome to get a win, get in the Chase and know you’re locked in. Then you could ride the rest of the way and try to work on things to get to the end of the season.”
 
WHOEVER WINS THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR IS DEFINITELY GOING TO HAVE TO EARN IT:
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “That’s the best part for me. It’s such an odd points structure for Rookie of the Year and the way they calculate it, honestly with eight guys this year it could really throw some curves to everybody. One or two bad finishes can change the outcome of this battle. I’m excited. It will be a great rookie class. I’m pumped for the seven other guys and myself that are going to be a part of it. That’s the best part. We don’t know where everyone is going to stack up. Let’s get out there, get the races in and see where we go from there.”
 
INAUDIBLE:
JUSTIN ALLGAIER: “Last year I was teammates with Kyle Larson so I get along with him great. I’ve raced with the majority of these guys for a long time now. It’s nice to have a group of guys we know really well. We can all push each other and try to get the best finish possible.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
CASEY MEARS, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the racing community of Bakersfield, the change to the Chase format, his thoughts on social media, and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT
 
TALK ABOUT YOUR SEASON
“Everybody is always excited about a season, but we are especially excited at Germain Racing, for sure. We’ve got a lot of things going on with the partnership with RCR. So far all the testing has gone really well. We tested with a lot of speed here in Daytona and went to Nashville, and that worked out really well, too. It’s a big step for our organization. Last year was our first full season and now having a full relationship with RCR from the technical side to being able to review data, cars parts and pieces, it’s a real big step in the right direction for our program.”
 
BAKERSFIELD SEEMS LIKE A REALLY TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY. DID YOU FEEL CONNECTED TO THAT RACING COMMUNITY AS YOU WERE GROWING UP?
‘I did, for sure. In Bakersfield, there’s farming and oil and racing. Really, there is. I don’t know if it’s just because I grew up in it that I knew about it so much, but there is. There’s a fairly large tight-knit racing community there. On the local level, my brother did a lot of racing back at Bakersfield and Mesa Smyrna and I grew up racing at Bakersfield Speedway. As I got older, I started racing open-wheel fairly quickly in off-road, so it kind of took me out of Bakersfield. I came back and ran some open-wheel races actually at Mesa Marin before I had ever run a stock car there. So, it’s a close, tight-knit racing community and at the same time, I know we still have a huge following there. It’s fun.”
 
WHEN GUYS COME OUT HERE FROM THERE, DO YOU KEEP AN EYE-OUT FOR THEM AND REACH OUT TO THEM BECAUSE YOU KNOW BAKERSFIELD?
“You know what’s funny, is although I heard about some of the younger guys going up, I’ve only seen them around. I haven’t really met them. There is such an age disparity. I think now being back in North Carolina and having a family of my own, it probably took away a little bit from the time that I might have spent back in Bakersfield. So, to be quite honest, when these guys came up, I’d heard of them but really didn’t know them a whole lot. I did have some friends back in Bakersfield I knew that were crew chiefing some of those guys in Late Models and I heard about them coming out in this direction. I know Kevin (Harvick) had a little bit tighter line of sight in bringing a couple of guys out to let them run the trucks and stuff back a couple of years ago. But yeah, you keep tabs. But I don’t know them well.”
 
DID YOU AND KEVIN HARVICK RUN AGAINST EACH OTHER IN THE EARLY DAYS IN BAKERSFIELD?
“No. Like when we raced go-karts and stuff, he was always a couple of years ahead of me, which was a couple of classes ahead of me. I was there and watched. He raced with my cousin quite a bit. He raced against my brother a lot at Mesa Marin in the stock cars. But as I started getting involved in that stuff, he was already progressing back this way.”
 
YOU COME FROM A RACING FAMILY. DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE FOUND YOUR WAY RACING, REGARDLESS OF BAKERSFIELD?
“It’s always hard to say that. I think I have so many ties to my family that a lot of the reasons why I’m racing is because of that. But there is a big racing crowd there and if you wanted to go racing, it wouldn’t be hard to get involved directly. It’s hard to think about that what-if’s. But for sure, I could have definitely gone down that road.
 
INAUDIBLE
“It’s always hard to say what kind of experience some of these guys have. When you look at a guy like me, I ended up in a very good ride with Ganassi right out of the gate. And I had zero stock car experience. So I was a true, true rookie. I ran the year before in what was the Busch Series at the time, and even then it was a small team. So, I came in very inexperienced. But you look at a lot of these guys coming in now, like Kyle Larson and some of these guys, they’ve got a lot of stock car experience under their belt; and a lot of just racing experience in general before they ever come here. Some of those guys I think will do just fine. But maybe if you haven’t been in stock cars much before it would probably be good to start with a smaller team and then get that opportunity so you can really capitalize on it when you get there.”
 
THERE IS A LARGE ROOKIE CLASS THIS YEAR. DO YOU THINK IT’S POSSIBLE TO TAKE THAT LOWER TIER RIDE OR ARE YOU SELLING YOURSELF SHORT RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE?
“You know what’s hard in our sport is it’s hard to prove yourselves in some of those smaller teams. It really is. So, what you risk as a young guy coming into a team that maybe can’t quite get it done, there might always be that question in your mind to other bigger team owners. You know, is it them or is it the team the reason why they’re not performing. And quite honestly if you’re not with one of the bigger teams that has the funding to really take advantage of it and do it right, it’s very hard to compete at this level. Obviously if they can do something and really standout, it’s not a bad road to take. But it can work for you in either direction, really, depending on how it shakes out.”
 
WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR GOOD WORK ETHIC?
“For sure from my dad, and my mom. Really. Just growing up with those guys. My mom worked countless hours trying to do everything behind the scenes to help my dad’s race program stay where it is. She did the books, she did all the travel, she did everything. And my dad was into it 24/7. My dad didn’t grow up in a wealthy family. They loved to go racing. They worked on backhoes throughout the week to pay for their racing habit on the weekends and that’s just what they did. They raced Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; and a lot of times on Sundays. I learned it from my parents.”
 
DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST SET OF WHEELS AS A KID?
“The very first thing that I got really excited about was my dad ended-up with a Diamond Back sponsor at one point and I was racing BMX at the time and I got a brand new Diamond Back BMX bike. And that was the first thing that I got really, really excited about.”
 
ON THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ENTITIES OF RACING
“It varies from track to track. At Daytona and Talladega, more than the physical demanding side, it’s just very tense. You’re running so close and so tight, and you find yourself gripping the wheel a lot tighter than you should. You are thinking about a lot of things and you mentally just get drained. On top of that, it gets hot. And that’s when the physical aspect comes in. But then when you get to a place like Bristol or Martinsville or Watkins Glen or Sonoma, you physically can get tired. Your arms, your shoulders, your legs, how hard your pressing on the brakes, there’s a lot more physical aspects to what we do than I think a lot of people have thought in the past.”
 
NASCAR.COM JUST ANNOUNCED THEY ARE DOING FANTASY RACING. DO YOU HAVE A FANTASY RACING TEAM? DO YOU THINK IT’S A WAY TO BRING MORE FANS INTO THE SPORT LIKE THE NFL HAS?
“I don’t personally have a fantasy team. I think I focus so much on actually doing it, that it’s hard. I do think it’s impressive how far it’s come. I think it’s a great way to get fans involved and keep them engaged. I know from the fantasy football side of things, just listening to the people that are involved in that, it becomes passionate.
 
“It’s just like anything else. If you throw a bet down but you don’t really care about it, you’re not going to follow it. But when you watch these guys who invest some in their football teams or their racing teams and it really gives you something to pull for and something to root for, and I think it’s a great thing.”
 
WHY DO YOU THINK NASCAR MADE SUCH A DRAMATIC CHANGE TO THE CHASE FORMAT?
“I think the biggest thing is to create more excitement and I think making it easier for a lot of the fans to follow it. Quite honestly, if you start getting into the nuts and bolts of how it’s always been, it can get somewhat confusing to the casual fan. So It think that one, it’s going to make it a lot more exciting; and two, I think it makes it a lot easier to kind of understand. When you look at other sports, it’s very simple. Somebody wins and somebody loses. And that’s how it goes on down the line until somebody wins the championship. And in our sport, it was always very convoluted. There were do many bonus points and extra things. Somebody can finish fifth and still win the championship and it’s kind of hard to understand that sometimes.”
 
DOES SUCH A DRASTIC CHANGE HURT THE INTEGRITY OF THE SPORT?
“I really don’t think so. Our world has changed so much. You’ve got to be careful to understand the history of our sport and honor that. But at the end of the day, the world has changed so much. The sponsors have changed so much. The amount of dollars that are flowed into these programs has changed a lot. So, I think they’ve done a good job of clarifying those things.
 
“We’ll all be able to look back at the end of this year and go man, if it was last year’s rules, we would have finished much better. But at the end of the day, it’s the same points for everybody. Everybody has the same opportunity and it’s going to be who takes advantage of it the best.”
 
ANY CONCERNS THAT WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP OVER TIME WON’T MEAN THE SAME?
“No way. No, not at all. If you’re in that top four going into Homestead, you’ve earned it. I think they way they have it stacked out right now, you can’t be a fluke and win and make it in that final four. If you won a race, you’re going to have to back it up from the time the Chase starts until the time it ends to have an opportunity to win the championship. The guy or gal that wins this year, it’s going to be earned.”
 
WHO IS THE PERSON YOU MOST ENJOY FOLLOWING ON TWITTER?
“You know what’s funny is that I follow more people that are outside of our sport than I do inside our sport. I follow a handful of the drivers. I enjoy following Jimmie (Johnson) just because he’s a friend of mine. Anything personal that he posts about his family and his kids and stuff is always fun for me to just take a look at.”
 
HOW MUCH TIME TO YOU SPEND ON TWITTER DURING AN AVERAGE WEEK OR AVERAGE DAY?
“When it started out, I was trying to be very active in it. And I still do, from time to time. I post something anywhere to maybe three times a week to maybe 15 times a week depending on what’s doing on during that weekend or if it’s exciting or if there is something worth posting. At first I was like you know, hey, good morning. Or, what are you guys doing for breakfast? (laughs)  And you find yourself quite honestly, finding that balance between real life and what you do and actually keeping the fans engaged and posting things that have good content. There’s a good balance there.”
 
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST BENEFIT OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN GENERAL?
“Just the fans interaction. It’s such a direct way to connect with the people that love our sport. And, I think at first I was very hesitant to do it because the Internet was so unpredictable. People could just post whatever they want and some of it was positive and some of it was negative. But I find that it’s a good outlet for us to post what we want on the Internet. Post the good pictures and the good things that are going on in our lives. So really, it has turned out to be a good outlet to make it a positive platform to post what you want.”
 
DO YOU EVER HAVE THOSE TIMES WHEN YOU JUST GET FED UP WITH IT?
“Not necessarily. I think one time when Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. ran into me on pit road and I got the tail-end of it, you know what I mean? It was like I was coming into my pit stall and he ran into me and I got all this flack for getting in his way, you know (laughter). It was crazy. You have those fans but it’s more than something that upsets you; it’s just something kind of funny.”
 
DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF HOW MANY FOLLOWERS YOU HAVE VERSUS OTHER DRIVERS?
“Not necessarily because I really think there could be a lot of things that could boost my following. But it requires some intense interaction followed by mailing things out or sending things out and doing those types of things. And just being a smaller team, a smaller organization, I really don’t have the staff that a lot of these guys to do follow-through with doing those types of things. So, I post as I see fit and if people want to follow, great. And if they don’t, no problem.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at 2014 NASCAR Media Day and discussed: entering his rookie season in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; racing for Chip Ganassi; his relationship with his crew chief; racing outside of NASCAR and other topics.  FULL TRANSCRIPT.
 
INAUDIBLE:  “I don’t’ think there has been a rookie of the year battle in quite a while like this one with so many rookies in the rookie class for this year. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a lot of fun this whole season. Austin Dillon’s got to be the favorite for that with everything he has accomplished. If I could beat him I think that would say a lot about myself and our team and kind of how it all came about. I’m really excited and hopefully just be consistent, competitive and run up front and try to get that thing.”
 
WHAT ARE YOU LEARNING IN STOCK CARS? THIS IS YOUR THIRD YEAR. THE LEARNING CURVE’S GOT TO BE A CONSTANT: “Yeah, it’s only my third year. I learn a lot every time I get in the car. We got to do quite a bit of testing this off season in the Cup car so that helped me learn some things especially with fuel mileage stuff. A lot of the Cup races come down to fuel mileage and I’ve never really had to deal with that. It was good at the test. We would work on the car a little bit, but we would also work on myself a lot. I think that’s going to help prepare me for this season and certain situations that come upon us and hopefully I will be able to tackle them.”
 
THIS IS A DEEP ROOKIE CLASS. YOU SEE GUYS LIKE MARK MARTIN, BOBBY LABONTE, JEFF BURTON PROBABLY WON’T DRIVE MUCH THIS YEAR. IS THIS REALLY A CHANGING OF THE GUARD IN NASCAR? “Yeah, little bit and I think that’s a good thing for the sport. New fresh faces come in, I think will attract younger fans and bring a new energy or whatever to NASCAR racing. I think it’s good for the sport. I really look forward to seeing how it all plays out throughout the year because I think it’s going to be good .”
 
ARE THERE ANY OLDER GUYS THAT YOU TALK TO (INAUDIBLE)? “My teammate Jamie McMurray has a ton of experience in stock cars. He’s won just about every big race there is. He’s definitely a guy I can go to to talk about things. He’s really easy to talk to and I think he really likes giving me advice, so he’s a good one to go to. Tony Stewart. I’m sure I can talk to Jeff Gordon. Those are three good guys that I can probably talk to.
 
IT’S EASIER TO TALK TO A GUY WHO HAS THE SAME BACKGROUND AS YOU? “I think Tony will be easy to talk to because we kind of know the same language and can describe things to where I will know what he’s talking about. The lingo is a little bit different between different types of racing and stuff. Tony will be easy to talk to about that stuff. I’m sure he will be willing to help me, I hope. Throughout the year, I will probably be able to talk to more people after I become friends with them and stuff. It will be fine for me. ”
 
YOU ARE ONE OF THE SMALLER GUYS ON THE CIRCUIT? DO YOU SEE THAT AS AN ADVANTAGE, DISADVANTAGE OR INSIGNIFICNT IN TERMS OF YOUR ABILITY TO DRIVE OR HELPING THE CAR IN ANY WAY? “I think it’s pretty insignificant. We’re just a small part of the whole picture – and that’s the race car and the team. As far as physically, I don’t get tired or anything like that. I could usually run longer or a lot more at the end of the race. I don’t think size is an issue. You see Jimmie Johnson who is super in shape. He’s winning championships. And then Tony Stewart, who also wins a lot of championships. So it doesn’t make a difference, I think.  ”
 
ARE YOU INTO FITNESS YOURSELF? “I haven’t been, but I’m starting to work out a little bit at the shop with our guys.”
 
KYLE, THERE’S A LOT OF CHANGES IN NASCAR CUP THIS YEAR, BUT THERE’S ALSO A LOT AT CHIP GANASSI RACING AND YOU’RE A PART OF THAT. I WAS TALKING TO JAMIE MCMURRAY EARLIER. DO YOU GET A SENSE THAT THERE’S A LOT OF EXCITEMENT AROUND nkm sure. Over the past couple of years, I’ve gone to a few of their Tuesday lunch meetings where they get everybody in the shop in there and go over the weekend and stuff. A few years ago, they weren’t very excited in there. And each year, it seems like everybody in the shop gets more and more excited. And that’s coming from the cars running better. We had a meeting two days ago and you could just see the looks on everybody’s faces. We’re super pumped up about Speedweeks, getting the season started. I think everybody in there feels like we are really prepared. Even listening to Jamie, who’s been with the team a long time, he feels like this is the best the team’s been since he’s been there. I think that says a lot about the changes they’ve made and making the cars and the team better.”
 
DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE A GOOD POSITIVE COME OUT OF THE FACT THAT YOUR CREW CHIEF AND HIS HAVE PRIOR WORKING EXPERIECE TOGETHER AND COME FROM THE SAME ORGANIZATION? “I think so. Keith (Rodden) – you can tell Keith is extremely smart. People even from outside of our team talk about how smart Keith is. And also Shine (Chris Heroy), my crew chief, you can tell he’s a really, really great team leader. He’s extremely focused. All the engineers and and everybody in the shop make the cars go fast. I think we’ve got a really good combination between both the 1 team and the 42 team.”
 
CHRIS HEROY’S ALSO AN OPEN WHEEL GUY, TOO,  SO THAT’S GOT TO BE NICE? “Yeah, California, too. I got to work with Shine a lot at the end of last year. We did, I think, like five or six tests so I got to get used to him and really my whole team before I even got to run for this year. They’re all easy to get along with. We’ve had some fun at the tests while it’s raining and stuff. It’s been a good off season getting to know all the guys and hang out with them a little bit .”
 
BECAUSE OF YOUR BACKGROUD, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE A SPIN IN (SCOTT) DIXON’S CAR? “Yeah, for sure. I think that would be awesome, and hopefully someday I will get that shot. I think Jamie said he got to run IndyCar, also. Being with Chip, you have those opportunities to run other different types of vehicles. I got to run the Rolex 24 Hour race, which is probably something that I never thought I was going to be able to do and got to do it when I was this young. And hopefully, I can compete in the Indy 500 someday. That would be awesome.”
 
HAVE YOU ALREADY TALKED TO CHIP AND STARTED LOBBYING EARLY FOR THAT? “Not lately. I went to the 500 this year. I jokingly said that I would like to, and I’m sure jokingly back (Chip) said ‘Sure, let’s do it.’ Who knows, though. It’s so tough to do with the schedules of the month of May and all the stuff we have going on in the Sprint Cup Series. Nobody’s really done it in quite a while, so if I could do it someday, I would be up for it.”
 
KYLE, YOU’VE RECEIVED A LOT OF PRAISE FROM OTHER DRIVERS – BEING THE NEXT BIG THING. HOW DOES THAT WEIGH ON YOU? “It means a lot to me. I think it’s definitely helped to help me get me to where I’m at right now. Having guys that everybody looks up to talk about me. I definitely pay attention to it, or have. I try not to pay too much attention to it because I don’t want to add any much pressure to myself or even let me get cocky or anything like that. Like I said, I try to put it in the back of my head  as much as I can and just go out there and have fun and not pay attention to that stuff.”
 
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR 2013 SEASON AND WHAT YOU WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH? “2013 throughout all my racing was up and down. It definitely wasn’t my strongest year as far as wins go. I won 16 races throughout my whole 2013 seaso
n in all different types of cars. I finished second 18 times, which is way too many. In Nationwide though, I came up close four times to winning a race. I’d say it was a good season overall. There was times when we were heading in the wrong direction but we were able to get back up and do good. I would say it was a good season.”
 
A YEAR AGO, WOULD YOU HAVE SAID YOU WOULD BE IN SPRINT CUP RIGHT NOW “I’d like to have hoped so. It happened. So yeah, I guess. Everybody dreams to be here. I did.”
 
YOU HAD AN EVENTFUL SPEEDWEEKS LAST YEAR. “Last year, I got a lot of exposure. Some for good reasons, and a lot for bad. This year, I’m just hoping to have it all be good exposure and be in the headlines for good things. I’m really excited to get Daytona Speedweeks started and get on track. Try not to think about last year.”
 
KURT BUSCH IS STILL TRYING TO PUT AN INDY DEAL TOGETHER. HOW MUCH OF A DYNAMIC DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD ADD. “He’s ‘The Outlaw,’ so I think it would be really cool if he could do that. Kurt’s got a ton of talent. I hope he gets something together. Although I would like to be the next one to do it, it would be cool if he could do it, too. I think it would help make it easier for NASCAR guys to go do the double so yeah, I hope he can do it.”
 
WILL YOU MISS BEING ABLE TO RUN DIRT TRACK RACES SO OFTEN? “Yeah, I’ll miss it a little bit. Normally, where ever we’re racing NASCAR races, there’s a race somewhere close you can go watch. So, I have just as much fun watching. I’ll be doing plenty of that this week at Volusia.” YOU WON’T BE RACING THOUGH? “No.”
 
HOW MUCH DID YOU HAVE TO SCALE IT BACK? ARE YOU COMPLETELY NOT RACING? “I don’t think I’m completely not going to race. I think with running Sprint Cup and Nationwide, you’re busy from Wednesdays to the next Monday almost. So, you don’t have a whole lot of time to do things outside of racing the NASCAR stuff. If I can hit a handful of them throughout the year, I think that would be pretty good. I got to run Chili Bowl, which was fun. I’m not planning on running any the first few months, just trying to get used all this stuff. Hopefully, if I’m doing good, I can go race that stuff. ”
 
HOW DOES YOUR CRASH IN THE NATIONWIDE RACE LAST YEAR AFFECT YOU COMING BACK HERE? DOES IT PHASE YOU AT ALL MENTALLY AND HOW DOES THAT CRASH COMPARE TO OTHERS YOU HAVE HAD? “It doesn’t phase me at all. I’ve crashed racing Sprint Cars and stuff before that have hurt a lot worse than that. That one was just a little different because of how crazy it looked and all the stuff going into the stands. Physically and mentally, I was fine. I still am. I didn’t think about it at all really after the first quarter of the season last year all the way on. And now the only reason why I think about it is because I get asked about it every time. I can’t wait for the questions to be done about it, but I understand.”
 
DRIVERS HAVE TO HAVE A GOOD WORK ETHIC. WHERE DID YOU GET YOURS? “My work ethic? I think just being busy all the time racing as much as I do over 100 and something times a year you’re always racing and try to stay in shape. Long weeks and stuff, racing, which is fun. Lately, I’ve been going to the shop to work out and hang out with the guys and stuff. I guess my work ethic is getting better than it used to be.”
 
WHEN YOU WERE A YOUNG GUY INAUDIBLE? “I definitely remember racing or running my little go-kart at my dad’s friends house and racing competitively at Red Bluff in outlaw kart stuff. Those days were a lot of fun, and I will never forget them.” HOW OLD WERE YOU? “I was seven when I started racing the outlaw karts, but I was four I think, when my dad built me a little kart to play around in.”
 
WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER, I KNOW YOU HAD A DIFFERENT PATH THAN A LOT OF THESE GUYS, DID YOU RACE AGAINST SOME OF THE GUYS MOVING UP IN THE NASCAR RANKS AT AN EARLIER AGE? “Tyler Reddick, who is running for Brad Keselowski, I grew up racing with him. I knew him when he was probably four years old when he was racing. I’ve had a lot of time racing with him and traveling to the Midwest and stuff to race go-karts. He went and raced dirt Late Models and stuff so I haven’t really been around him a lot the last few years but he’s probably one guy I’ve got the most experience or background with. Other than that, I’ve raced Tony (Stewart) a little bit and Kasey (Kahne) whenever they do it.”
 
OBVIOUSLY THERE’S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE 3 CAR RETURNING WITH AUSTIN DILLON. AS A YOUNG GUY WHAT DOES THE 3 MEAN TO YOU? “You definitely relate the 3 to Dale Earnhardt and how special that was. He did a ton of great things. You watch NASCAR throwback kind of shows where they show great moments from years past and a lot of them feature Dale Earnhardt and the No. 3. I think it’s a good thing that Austin’s in the 3. It’s been a while since (Earnhardt’s) accident. You know, RCR owns the number. I think it’s their choice and I think Austin is that type of, sort of throw-back driver a little bit, with his cowboy hat and everything. I think he’ll suit the black No. 3 pretty well.”
 
DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN DALE HAD HIS ACCIDENT? WERE YOU WATCHING THE RACE? DO YOU RECALL MUCH ABOU THAT? “I remember watching it. Every time you see an accident, you’re hoping it’s not as big of an accident as you think it is. NASCAR’s pretty safe, so you don’t really ever think that anything bads going to happen. Then they made the announcement. I just remember it being a really sad day for the whole world, really. It was such a major scene. That’s a day that probably everyone won’t forget.”
 
DO YOU LIKE THE IDEA OF STAGING A RACE FOR CHAMPIONS LIKE THEY USED TO HAVE WHERE YOU BRING THE TOP DRIVERS TOGETHER? “Heck, yeah. I remember watching that when I was really young – the Race of Champions. I always dreamed of running in it. I don’t know if they still do it or not, or at least it’s not televised anymore where we can’t watch it. I think it would be fun for a type of guy like me. I have driven so many types of car. You go there and you run in buggies and weird race cars. If I ever got the opportunity to do that, I would definitely jump on it.”
 
WHAT WOULD BE FOUR GOOD VENUES OR TYPES OF RACES IN YOUR OPINION? “I don’t know if you could pick four. You could take one of each style of racing and see who’s good. Go to a mile-and-a-half somewhere, a short track in a stock car. Take one of the best drivers in every series to the Chili Bowl and see how they stack up against a few hundred other drivers. Go race a Trophy Truck somewhere. Go race F1. You could – it’s hard – you could pick one type of series or vehicle for each thing, a lot more than four.”
 
YOU’VE RACED THIS TRACK NUMEROUS TIMES? TO BE HERE FOR CUP IS THERE ANY EXCITEMENT? HOW DO YOU VIEW THIS WEEKED? IT’S FINALLY HERE OR IT’S JUST PART OF YOUR DAY JOB, IT’S WHAT’S YOU DO? “I’d say it’s more part of my day job and what I do. But It’s definitely exciting, too, to know that this is going to be my first of hopefully many Daytona 500s. It’s the biggest race of the year. It’s a really cool feeling knowing that a lot of little kids and myself growing up  dreamed of being in NASCAR racing the Daytona 500 is one race you all know . It will be a lot of fun taking the green next Sunday for the race.”
 
OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS THROUGH THE RANKS AND THAT’S WHY YOU ARE HERE AT THIS LEVEL. ANY PARTICULAR TRIALS OR TRIBULATIONS? “I always kind of thought that I would make it. There was probably a few times when I was like having hard times, but never really thought I wouldn’t make it. There was times when I would get down racing a couple of years ago in Pennsylvania and stuff where you’re like ‘Man, this is a lot tougher than I ever thought.’” INAUDIBLE. “Yeah, the PA Possey. They are tough. Really, probably the one time that
when I really thought I wasn’t ready or what was my first Sprint Car race. I was 14, a lot smaller than I even am now, racing against guys that are in their 40s and 50s that my parents had been watching since they were teenagers. I tore up my car. Was in the back of the B-Main. I just really was like ‘Wow, this is a lot different than go-karts’ where I could dominate in. That was probably the one time where I was like ‘Man, I don’t know if I’m ready.’ Then came out a couple of weeks later and ran sixth, and kind of knew I could kind compete with those guys. It seemed like each step you go, you realize you’re just as good as those guys.
 
WHERE WAS THAT FIRST SPRINT CUP RACE? “That was at Plasterville Speedway in Northern California.”
 
AND YOU TORE THE CAR UP? “Yeah, I destroyed it. I was just in the way, and wrecked in the heat. In the B-Main, and was getting lapped and was in the way and got drilled and destroyed the car.”
 
DID ANY OF THOSE GUYS YELL AT YOU OR TALK TO YOU? “I remember my crew chief at the time was Larry Shelton, and he’s a pretty intense guy. I’m 14 years old, and he’s screaming at me saying how bad I was. He made me cry and everything.” YOU CRIED? “I was also 14 years old, and I had just destroyed the car. But then probably six months later after I had raced and won a couple of races, he called me back and said ‘Man, I’m sorry. You’re making me eat crow.’ So, that was pretty cool.”
 
ARE YOU GOING TO CURTAIL ANY OF YOUR SHORT TRACK STUFF THIS YEAR? “Yeah, I won’t get to do a whole lot of it this year because I will be racing fulltime in the Sprint Cup Series, as well as the Nationwide Series. It takes up a lot of time throughout the year. I’ll try to get a handful of them in, maybe towards the end of the season. I enjoy watching races, so I will go there, to as many Sprint Car races as I can and be a spectator. I like that.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at 2014 NASCAR Daytona Media Day and discussed: changes in the Chase; expectations for season; his Dad’s support of his racing; Austin Dillon and the No. 3 and other topics.   FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
WHY DO YOU THINK NASCAR MADE CHANGES TO THE CHASE AT THIS TIME?
“My understanding is that it gets us more in line with other professional sports, like football and basketball as far as percentages of teams that make the playoffs.  That is my understanding.”
 
DOES IT IN YOUR OPINION HURT THE INTEGRITY OF THE SPORT?
“I don’t think so.  Honestly as a driver and as a race team it doesn’t affect what we do.   We still show up to try and win the race and it’s not like we are going to try harder to win the race now.   It’s just a 25% better chance of making the Chase and once you are in it, things change a little bit maybe strategy-wise to try and get to the next level.  But you don’t have to win a race to be in the Chase and you don’t have to win a race to advance to the next level so you still need to finish the best you can to accumulate the most amount of points.”
 
ANY CONCERNS IN THE LONG RUN THAT WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP MIGHT NOT PULL THE SAME WEIGHT THAT IT ONCE DID?
“No, not at all.  I don’t see why it would change that because before 2004 we had accumulated points throughout the year and one guy won the championship.  Then we went to the Chase format and the guy that did that format the best won the championship.  This is just a new format where the champion is going to be the one that does that the best.  So however they lay it out, somebody is going to win the championship.   We are all going to try and win races and I don’t see a whole lot changing really.”  
 
WORK ETHIC IS BIG FOR A DRIVER IN THIS SPORT.  WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU PICKED YOURS UP?
“Yeah, well work ethic definitely comes from just being around my family.   Both my parents have tremendous work ethics.  My dad built a business after growing up as a farm kid and waking up at 4:30 am and milking cows and then again at night before he went to bed.  He vowed to not do that for a living so he built a business.  
 
My mom grew up in a hard-working, blue collar family.  Her dad worked every day at a tire factory, Uniroyal, in town so I definitely got my work ethic from my parents.”
 
DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST SET OF WHEELS AS A KID?
“My brother and I got a three-wheeler.  I was three years old and he was five.  We got a three-wheeler and then they outlawed three-wheelers so we got a four-wheeler a couple years later after the three-wheeler fell apart.  But I rode four-wheelers and dirt bikes a lot growing up.”
 
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE INTENSE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL CHALLENGES OF BEING IN THE RACE CAR?
“Yeah, it’s more mental than physical for sure.  I mean there are some tracks that really wear you down physically too.  Dover in June just gets really hot and you are physically worn out but for the most part it’s mental.  Trying to figure out what you need to do to make your car better for adjustments, how to figure out a line to get around a guy to pass them.  So you are constantly searching around the race track and trying to feel your way around.  The things we feel in a race car are very subtle and you really have to pay attention to what your body is telling you.”
 
DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE ANY ADDITIONAL DRAMA AT THE END OF THE RACE IF THE NO. 3 CAR GETS WRECKED?  I GUESS EVEN WORSE IF IT WAS YOU?
“That would not be good.  You never want to wreck anybody intentionally but sometimes you have to take care of yourself and your team if you feel like you have been wronged.  I never like tearing up race cars because it’s not the driver that has to fix it; it’s the race team that has to fix it.  So I try to maybe talk away from the track.
 
A lot of guys don’t like to do that and they take to social media and TV media and get their feelings out there as opposed to just going behind the hauler just man-to-man.  Unfortunately that is the world that we live in and you just have to take care of it as you go.”
 
DO YOU THINK THAT THERE WOULD BE MORE (DRAMA) IF THEY WRECK AUSTIN JUST BECAUSE HE IS IN THE THREE CAR?
“Yeah, if someone wrecks Austin on purpose.  I mean, Austin is going to crash at some point because we all crash.  Sometimes it’s because of somebody else, but it’s not intentional.  If someone intentionally wrecks him then it’s going to be more dramatic I think than if somebody intentionally wrecked me or something.  But at the same token, Austin has a smart head and he knows how to take care of himself.  He is a big boy and he can get them back when he can.”
 
YOU GUYS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A TEAM THAT HAS TAKEN CHANCES, FUEL MILEAGE CHANCES, ETC.  WITH THE NEW CHASE CHANGES, YOU THINK THERE WILL BE MORE OF THAT LIKE AS WE GET CLOSER TO RICHMOND?
“That is about the only thing that is going to change in the Chase is that you might stretch that fuel mileage a couple more laps and risk running out of fuel.  Before if we did a fuel mileage…….and I hate running out of gas as most people do….but instead of having a calculated risk, you might throw a Hail Mary where you are pretty sure you are not going to make it but you have to try.   And I think that is going to be one of the only things that are going to change about the Chase where you still have your calculated risks but somebody might take more of a bigger swing at it.”
 
HOW DO YOU FEEL GETTING IN THE CHASE WOULD CHANGE YOUR WHOLE SEASON?
“I have never been in the Chase but for the last three years at RCR we have been on the wall.  And at Richmond, being on the wall means you are in contention for the Chase.  We just haven’t done it.  This year we have no excuses and we have our best opportunity ever I feel like.  I feel like we are the most prepared and in 2011 if we had gotten in the Chase, who knows what would have happened.  I think we ended the year fairly strong so everybody has got their would’ve, could’ve, should’ve, and that was one of our years.”
 
HOW DID YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR FATHER GROWING UP AFFECT YOUR RACING CAREER?  I ASSUME HE TOOK YOU TO THE TRACK FIRST, BUT HOW DID THAT GO?
 
“My dad is a huge race fan obviously.  He raced himself and would run go-carts, and would ice race and did some stuff called the Firestone Firehawk Series.  I think it was an IMSA sanctioned series that he used to play around in a couple times a year with a guy named Jeff Sendon out of Indianapolis.
 
I grew up following him to race tracks and I remember sitting on his lap working the steering wheel while he worked the pedals on the go-cart.  He taught me at a young age how to drive a pick-up truck with a stick shift.  I was a crew member on the ice racing team in the winter time before I was old enough to drive so I just grew up around the race track.”
 
WHY DO YOU THINK THIS SPORT IS TRUE OF FATHERS AND SONS MORE THAN OTHER TRADITIONAL STICK AND BALL SPORTS?
“Well, I think a dad in racing can be a crew chief also.  Where not necessarily a dad can be a coach in football or baseball.  It’s more interactive than football or baseball is.  Obviously a driver and a crew chief have to have a relationship unlike in ball sports where someone runs around the field where the other guy watches.  You have to interact and react to make things faster and better.  So it’s probably a good thing where a father gets to kno
w his son and vice versa.”
 
WHAT IS YOUR FONDEST MEMORY OF BEING AT THE RACE TRACK WITH HIM?
“I went to Indianapolis a lot with him and the month of May was so crazy that I didn’t see him a whole lot.  I would be down there but he was obviously busy.  The best times that I had racing with my dad were ice racing.  Just as a little kid at eight years old and up until I started racing when I was 15.  Just hanging out and it was pretty relaxed.  Some of the cars had two seats in it.  If our car didn’t have two seats he would go borrow someone else’s and he would give me a ride around the track and it was pretty open and pretty relaxed.”
 
IF IT WAS NOT FOR HIM DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE FOUND RACING ON YOUR OWN?
“Probably.  You know, growing up in the Midwest and in Wisconsin in particular because there is a lot of racing up there.  I go home and everyone has a sticker in the back of the window of a local dirt tracker or something.  I definitely would know a lot about it but not sure I would be involved to the extent that I am but I definitely would have discovered it and would have the passion for it that I have.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
An interview with:                                    
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at the 2014 NASCAR Daytona Media Day and discussed: changes in qualifying procedures; outlook for the season; changes in the Chase; racing at Daytona and other topics.  FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
Q.        REGARDING RICHARD PETTY COMMENT
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I just caught wind of that, so I’m not so prepared.
Q.        HOW CLOSE DO YOU FEEL LIKE DANICA IS TO WINNING A RACE AND HER CAPABILITIES?
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I think her most immediate opportunity to win would be plate-wise.  What she’s shown down here, especially in the 500, look at what she did in Indy, she had a really good chance of winning there at the 500 once or twice, and last year was in a great position through the course of the race.
I’d say plate racing is probably the first opportunity for her.  It’s just going to take time to sort out of the other areas.  We have the ability to see open-wheel drivers coming to NASCAR.  Outside of Tony, we haven’t seen
I’m still interested in watching, if whatever happened, a (indiscernible) car guy going that direction.  You need at least five years over here to figure out what’s going on, understand these cars, be competitive.
Regardless if it’s Danica, a male driver, whoever it is, you really need five years to kind of get yourself where you need to be in this sport and find those last few 10ths.  It’s one thing to get within a couple seconds, but the last few 10ths are the hardest thing to find.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  It’s experience.  When you come off the truck, you have to know the line you’re going to run, where your braking points are, your turn-in, on throttle, the fuel you’re looking for.  You need all those things because if you don’t and you need an hour of the two-hour practice session to find your way, you just lost an hour to the fuel, you lost an hour to the 48, to Tony, to the 24, guys that unload that way.  That is the hardest part.
I can remember my Nationwide days, at the end of the Nationwide race, I was like, Man, if I came back now, I would be so much better.  I just didn’t have the repetition and the time.  That’s a big part of succeeding in NASCAR.
I think for most open-wheel drivers, they don’t get a five-year window to figure it out.  I was telling this to Travis Pastrana, to Ricky Carmichael, guys from other disciplines that come in, you need five years.
Go run ARCA for two or three years, go run Trucks, but you get to Nationwide and on, you get one year.  If you’re lucky, you get two or three.  Most people get a year and then move on.  It’s a tough industry to come into.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I had no clue what they saw.  My fifth year ever in a stock car was in the 48 at Hendrick Motorsports.  Man, I was still busy knocking down a lot of walls, trying to figure out where to be, what to do.  I didn’t even know where the gas pumps were at all the racetracks.  It was a running joke among the 48 team whether we were coming in, Jimmie, turn in here on pit road, the gas pumps are over here.  I didn’t even know where to put gas in the car.
 
Q.        DOES THE (INAUDIBLE) FEEL DIFFERENT TO YOU THIS YEAR?
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  No, not yet.  It’s been out of mind for sure.  That could be due to the addition to the household.  It’s very busy at home with two.  So many parents with more than one kid tell me how much busier it was going to be.  I’m like, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.  It’s far busier than having one.
There’s some of that, and the other part is I haven’t been in that mental space yet racing or competing.  I think as the year goes on and if we are to make the Chase and get down to the race at Homestead, that’s when it will be top of mind.  Right now it’s so far away, such a process to get there, I haven’t put much thought into it.
 
Q.        ANY TROUBLE GETTING DOWN HERE?
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  No, we got out this morning.  We were smart, repositioned our plane to Charlotte-Douglas.  The trip from the hangar to the runway was exciting.  They hadn’t plowed any of that.  I thought I was in an off-road truck for a while trying to get out to the runway.
 
Q.        DO YOU GAME PLAN DIFFERENTLY THIS YEAR KNOWING YOU’RE PROBABLY GOING TO GET INTO THE CHASE?
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I mean, it certainly will.  People will.  We haven’t talked about it amongst the 48 team.  We’ve always felt, especially when the wild card program came in, if you were to win one or two races you could play for a while.  As you get close to September, we always believed you had to fine tune and be done with major concept changes and really pick your package and refine it.
2005 we thought we were real cute and smart and locked in early, had a big points lead, did all this experimenting, kind of lost our way and got confused when the Chase started and it backfired on us.
We prefer to have a package and move forward at that point.  But the start of the year, you just got to be open to it.  If you’re off, you’ve got to go test, you have to go work.  If you’re on and competitive, you can probably be a little patient and preserve your test sessions.  It’s going to be an ever-changing and evolving process.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE  
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I still think the way you win a championship is the same:  you’ve got to win races.  I think it builds more excitement with the fact that you’ve got to win the transfer, there’s that elimination process that works its way down.
I still feel very good about it.  When we look around at sports, everything’s changing.  The Olympics look far different than they used to.  NFL is considering change.  All sports.  The world is changing.  Our viewership is changing, so the sport has to change.
I’m not sure if this is the exact thing, the right thing.  Only time will tell.  But I do support NASCAR and I do commend them on making a bold change and think that it’s — I know it’s going to bring excitement, especially those final 10 races.
I still think there’s some more change out there that can be done.  You can argue the first 26, what’s going on there.  I think you can argue the overall premise that maybe there’s a little too much NASCAR at times.  Maybe we race too many times, our races are a little long.  I think there can be some format changes and procedure changes during the course of an event to kind of compact that.
We know it’s a major time commitment to come to the racetrack.  You got a two-hour commute with traffic in and out, you have a five-hour event.  That is just a daunting task for a lot of families.
In my opinion, there’s some other areas where we can work in as well.  Kind of where the conversations were before this announcement cam out.
When change was to come, I felt like it would change in other directions and our process to crown a champion was going to stay intact, but it ended up being the opposite.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I mean, granted, I don’t own these track
s.  It’s very easy for me to sit as a driver over here and say it.  We race at a lot of tracks twice.  I know from the Auto Club Speedway side of things, I had friends when there was one race, they went religiously every year because it was the only opportunity to see me race and other drivers race.  When there was two, it gave them an out.  I’m not in the position in the spring, I’ll go in the fall.  The fall comes around, I’m busy, I’ll go in the spring.  That’s my one example of it.  I think there is some of that that goes on.  I think when there’s venues that can’t sell out both events, maybe one race would be better for them.
So I think that’s the way to limit the amount of races we run and shorten the program.  We have started that.  We have shortened some of the distances at races.  I think that’s been helpful.
I thought there was going to be a big shake-up there.  I felt like we were looking at maybe heat races and a feature, some type of format change like that for our Sunday show.  I was shocked to hear the changes that were coming.
 
Q.        REGARDING CONSISTENCY
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Yeah, it’s great for a work environment.  That’s where I thrive and do my best work.  If you look at my personal life, always being in relationships, there’s always consistent things going on.
The world we created at Team 48 is perfect for that.  It helps us hold things down because we’ve got a strong nucleus of people.  As things change, and there’s a lot of change this year, when you look at qualifying procedure, the way the champion is crowned, rules package, officiating, they’re parking the transporters different.  Every time I hear something, something is different.  It’s going to be nice to have a familiar foundation to work from.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I really don’t believe it in the bottom of my heart.  When you look at you got to win, win in the Chase, that all suits the 48.  That’s what we’ve done.  The only catch is making sure we’re buttoned up in Homestead.  The couple times we’ve needed to be, we’ve had the speed and been able to go down there and be competitive.
I don’t see it as an attempt to stump the 48.  I really think it’s to build excitement.  I felt like there would be change.  We were talking about it earlier.  I didn’t know this would be the change.  But we need to evolve.  We need to change.  Hopefully this is the right thing.
 
Q.        IN SOME WAYS WE’VE NEVER SEEN HOW GOOD YOU CAN BE AT HOMESTEAD BECAUSE YOU’VE NEVER HAD TO BE.
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Yeah.  We respond well to pressure.  That’s one thing that the 48 has done a nice job with.  First things first.  We got to transfer through the different segments, make sure we’re not eliminated and have a shot at it.
 
Q.        YOU HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE CHANGES THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE.  WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL OF THAT, THE CHAMPIONSHIP, QUALIFYING, THE APPEALS PROCESS, THAT’S A LOT IN ONE YEAR.  AS A RACING FAN, IS THAT A GREAT DEAL OF CHANGE FOR THIS SEASON?
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Yeah, fan or participant, it is a lot of change.  In certain aspects of it, NASCAR has worked hard.  I think it was a third party that came in and evaluated the business in a variety of aspects.  They’ve come up with these changes that they’re making.  I really think they’re for the betterment of the sport.  I think the infractions, there’s a category that it falls into, the appeals process, the rule book changing, having CAD drawings really shows what’s approved and what’s not, the approval process.
There’s a lot of areas there that needed to be updated, perfected, be black and white, crystal clear the way things happen and work.  I’m happy to see all that coming.
I think from an approval process they asked from all our parts sometime in January.  I don’t know how they’re going to go through all the stuff.  They have our stuff, Penske’s, Childress’.  I think it’s going to take a year or so to get everything ironed out as it needs to be.
Brian’s made it clear:  the success of this sport is on his shoulders.  He’s going to make change and not be afraid to make change.  Then we get into the way we crown the champion, that aspect.  Definitely a bold move made.  I’m supportive of the move and hope that it’s the right move.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  We got the five in a row.  I felt like we could maybe get up there to Richard or to Dale.  Man, it’s so tough.  It is so tough to do.  I’m not taking it lightly or for granted.  I wanted to see six come and then worry about seven.  Now we’re here.  Hopefully we’ll have another opportunity at it.
 
Q.        IS IT MY IMAGINATION OR DOES THE BODY TYPE OF DRIVERS SEEM TO BE SHRINKING NOWADAYS?
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Under the circumstances because we’re not athletes (laughter).
If you drove the car at your capability for the entire race, you’d break it.  You’ve heard these stories of guys, David Pearson, even Junior Johnson stories, laying back, being smart, not worrying about your equipment, going when you need to.
It’s changed.  It’s changed so much in the 12 or 13 years I’ve been in the sport.  The weakest link is the driver.  That’s why the fitness is so important.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  We’ve had a few things, I can’t remember which exact rule it was, but Junior was new to Hendrick.  It took us a while to sort it out.
I’ve watched the 88 and watched Junior grasp things, really kind of help the company pull in and find the direction where to go.  So there have been moments where we’ve been slow to figure it out.
But in general, when the rules stay the same, the top finds all the magic, then they run out of places to go, which allows the bottom to catch up.  The whole world of equality being the desired thing, I don’t understand why there’s always so much change.  Because just when the top reaches and finds all they can get, the bottom catches up, we open it up, the top gets away.  There’s an opportunity there, and one that we typically find and exploit.
 
Q.        REGARDING WINNING CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH A DIFFERENT FORMAT
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  It does.  I mean, I feel regardless of car or points system, we’ll be a threat.  It would be nice to win one, two, whatever, with the new format.
 
Q.        WHEN YOU’RE AT THE RACETRACK YOU’RE KNOWN FOR BEING CAREFUL.  WHEN YOU’RE AWAY FROM THE RACETRACK, ARE YOU A LITTLE CRAZY AT TIMES?  WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CRAZY THINGS YOU DO?
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Yeah, definitely the work hard, play hard mindset.  I felt like the guys I grew up with, the area I grew up in, ‘Jackass’ style stuff was very common.  We would camp all the time, crash stuff, break stuff.  It’s the way we grew up in the local deserts and at the river.  We’d find ways to stay entertained doing things we shouldn’t.  The golf cart surfing being in that category.  That’s for sure.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  From a technical standpoint, we definitely do.  Even now just from venting, having an issue with another driver, it isn’t worth the mess that follows if you say something bad about someone.  No offense, but all of you come asking questions, then you have to deal with that instead of working on your racecar.
You attempt to regulate yourself, but there ar
e moments when you can’t help yourself.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  We all learn along the way.  I said things in different championship years, especially my first year.  If you think about it, Brad has always been very vocal, has always had a strong position on things.  What’s changed is the effect of the microphone.  When you’re not a champion, people hear it, they may not write it, print it, whatever it is.  When you get the trophy, boom, it’s everywhere.
I learned from my broken wrist.  I couldn’t believe that anybody cared that I broke my wrist at a golf course not during racing season.  It was beyond me that this was news.  It was on the ticker at SportsCenter.  Why does this matter?
We all learn in a variety of ways.  Brad and I made comments last year that he’s going to find a way as a champion, learn how to insert himself, understand how his voice will be magnified.  He is learning that.  And he does have a very good point at times.
The thing I respect about him the most is his passion for the sport.  I may not share the same view, but he loves the sport and wants the sport to succeed and I respect that.
 
Q.        WHEN IS IT OKAY TO BE OUTSPOKEN AND WHEN IS IT NOT?
JIMMIE JOHNSON:  It just depends on who you’re trying to make happy.  If you want to get something done within NASCAR, saying it through the microphone is not going to help you any.  Make some fans happy.  Fans appreciate hearing those outspoken words.
There’s politics in everything.  Turning to the microphone and bashing anyone or someone or anything or a procedure or a car, I mean, it’s going to make some of the fans happy, but it’s going to hurt the overall cause of advancing the sport.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the new rules changes, Chase format, changes at Chip Ganassi Racing, his relationship with his father, and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
YOU ARE IN THE UNLIMITED. WHAT IS THAT RACE LIKE?  DOES IT HELP YOU FOR THE 500?
“Well, I think you can always learn when you get on the track. I don’t think the cars are going to draft any differently with the small spoiler changes they’ve made. But it always takes a while to get used to drafting again; especially in a large pack. So, I think you’re just way more comfortable by the time the Duels get here because in practice you maybe get one draft and it lasts for ten laps, but you don’t have that draft that it’s five laps to go when it gets really chaotic and you’re trying to put yourself in a good position.
 
“So, I think yeah, there are some pluses to being in the Unlimited race. I watched it last year and if you’re a driver in this series, you want to race anytime there is some fun on the track. The one thing about the Duels being at night that came to my mind, is that it used to be we would run this Unlimited race and it would be nighttime and everyone’s cars handled really well. And then when we got to Thursday, everyone said if you could make my car handle like it did at night, we’d have a chance to win. Well, now we’re going to run two races at night and then the 500 is going to be in the daytime. So I think there are going to be some surprises for guys that thought their cars handled really well Saturday night and on Thursday and then maybe on Sunday it will change there. So, that will be interesting to see how that works out.”
 
DO YOU LOOK AT HOW WELL YOU’VE RUN IN THE PLATE RACES AND THINK THAT’S A REALLY GOOD SHOT FOR US TO EITHER STAY WITHIN THE CHASE FIELD OR GETTING IN THE CHASE FIELD WITH WINS THERE?
“I don’t look at it any different this year. I’ve always enjoyed plate racing. It’s been in streaks. So I’ve been able to win a couple in a row. And then you go where you can’t even finish one. So I don’t know. I look at it probably the same way everyone else does. Everyone has a chance to win, but you also have a chance of finishing last if you get wrecked early on. So, I look forward to them. They’re challenging, for sure.”
 
CAN YOU SHARE WITH THE FANS A FEW OF THE INTENSE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL MOMENTS YOU HAVE IN THE CAR?
“I think it’s different at every track. Certainly at Daytona and Talladega there’s not a lot of physical demands. For the most part, if you’re leading, you race out of your rear view mirror the whole time. Or, if you’re in the back of the pack, you’re just trying to figure out which lane to get in. So, it’s mentally challenging I think at those places. When you go somewhere like a road course, for me, and I assume it’s the same for most of these guys, Sonoma is not that bad because there’s not a lot of load and there’s a lot of left-hand turns. At Watkins Glen, the carousel and the esses, you’re not used to turning right and it seems like your back and your neck get a lot more tired. So that’s a little bit unique to those two. But that’s really hard to explain if you’ve never sat in a car.”
 
WITH ALL THE PERSONNEL CHANGES THAT HAVE GONE ON, DO YOU NEED A ‘CHEAT SHEET’ TO KEEP TRACK OF WHO YOU ARE RACING WITH?
“Yeah, I don’t think you’re going to have to be concerned with who you’re racing with. I don’t view that the guys are going to race any differently than they have. It didn’t matter if it was the playoff format or the Daytona 500, you race to win; and I don’t think anyone is going to change their mindset of how they are racing with the rules changes. But qualifying will be a lot different. And there are lot of different rules of what the adjustments will be. But man, I think when we get to the third race it’ll just be normal and you’ll know what’s going on and it will just be like we’ve always done it that way.”
 
WELL, LIKE THE NO. 20 USED TO BE TONY STEWART AND NOW IT’S MATT KENSETH
“Oh yeah, that does take a while. I saw Chase Elliott walking in here (Media Day) in a Napa suit and I thought that Martin (Truex Jr.) had grown his hair out (laughter). So, that does take a while. I wasn’t even trying to be funny (laughs). So, that does take a while but it’s kind of like what I was saying earlier. I think by the second or third race you just get acclimated to who is in what car and you just know. It’s difficult in the Daytona 500 because you spend a lot of the race looking in the rear view mirror and you base it on seeing the Dollar General car or the Lowe’s car and you just know who is in those cars. And when they change, that does take a little while to get used to.”
 
WHY DO YOU THINK NASCAR MADE SO MANY CHANGES?
“Well, I don’t know why they made the changes. My gut tells me they did it to make it more exciting for fans watching on TV and I think it’s good. It’s really hard when Brian (France) came along and said they were going to do this Chase format; no one likes that. And for the most part I think that’s made a lot of the championships more exciting when it got down to the last ten races. If this can make it more exciting again and make the fans that are watching on TV more excited about it, I think it’s great. At the same time, when you’ve been in the same pattern for years, it’s hard to accept that. But I think most of the changes they’ve done, I think it’s all going to work out really well.”
 
IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING CHANGES THAT A WIN VIRTUALLY GETS YOU IN THE CHASE?
“Yeah, for me it is, for sure.  I think that I like that. I think it’s great that if you’re able to win, you get to be in the playoff. I think it’s great.”
 
HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK THESE CHANGES ARE TO KEEPING THIS SPORT FRESH AND GETTING THE FAN BASE UP? IT’S NO SECRET THAT NASCAR HAS STRUGGLED WITH THAT.
“It seems like a lot of sports are changing the way they’ve done things for years to bring more interest and make it more exciting, so I think NASCAR has done a really good job of not just standing still and trying to make sure they are ahead of the game.”
 
HOW DO YOU ASSESS THE HEALTH OF THIS SPORT NOW COMPARED TO WHEN YOU CAME IN?
“Well, I think some things are better and some maybe aren’t. But I don’t know that has to do with just the sport. When you look at where the economy was in 2007 and ’08 compared to where the economy is now, we’re still not back to the same level we were at. So, I don’t know if that’s completely fair to base in on just our sport, compared to where the world is.”
 
DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST WHEELS AS A KID?
“My first wheels? I think it was a Hot Wheel with lots of duct tape on the front tire for grip.”
 
DO YOU LIKE THE IDEA OF THE LAST RACE OF THE SEASON BEING IN THE TOP FOUR? OR IS THAT A LITTLE BIT OF A REACH FOR YOU?
“Well, that’s a lot different than what we’ve ever had. My only comment when we had our NASCAR meeting was that I didn’t know that it was completely fair to have the last race at the exact same race track every single weekend. I think it’s different in football and baseball because even though there are some differences in indoor/outdoor or the baseball field. Race tracks are completely different. And you have tracks that some guys are really good at and then you have tracks that guys struggle at. And I didn’t know that it was completely fair for the championship to be decided at a track that one guy is dominant at or track that another guy struggles at every year. But it’s the same for everybody. So I don’t know. I think until we live a year of it, it’s hard to give an opinion of it because you just don’t know everything that’s go
ing to play out.”
 
DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS THAT THE CHAMPIONSHIP MIGHT NOT MEAN AS MUCH AS IT ONCE DID?
“Again, like most things, once you do it two or three times, I think it will be normal. We said the same thing when the Chase came into play. I don’t know how many years ago that was; it seems like forever now, ten, that that would have less meaning and I don’t think it’s been that way at all. I should have just said, ‘No’”.
 
INAUDIBLE
“I never got to race with Dale (Earnhardt) Sr. or Richard Petty. But my opinion is that our sport is tougher than it’s ever been because of the level of good teams. Even from when I came in in 2001, 2002, the amount of quality teams is more now than it’s ever been. Not just because I’m living it right now, but to me what Jimmie (Johnson) has been able to do has been completely fascinating.
 
“It just seems like they don’t ever have a bad race. They’re bad race is tenth. Where, everyone else at some point has a 25th place, just missed it today. They don’t ever seem to have that. It’s incredible how on their worst day, with the back of the car knocked off after he’s crashed, he can still finish ninth or 10th.”
 
THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF CHANGES IN NASCAR, BUT THERE HAS ALSO BEEN A LOT OF CHANGE AT CHIP GANASSI RACING. COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING, HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE CHANGE?
“Well, there’s a lot of difference with the drivers and crew chiefs. And what I would say is that with all of the new people, Keith (Rodden) on my car, and with Kyle (Larson) being in the No. 42, that the number one goal was to make sure that everyone worked well together and you didn’t have people trying to pull the rope in two different directions. And our testing has been just amazing during the off-season. We’ve been to the Charlotte test, Nashville; we did a short track test with a lot of cars added and at speedways, our cars have been significantly faster than what they were last year. I don’t know exactly why, but speed-wise it’s been better. The mentality in the shop and everyone’s attitude in the shop is better than it’s ever been. We had our team luncheon yesterday and since I’ve been racing, I haven’t been involved with a group of people that are as positive and everyone fighting for the same goal as what we have right now. I would say that yeah, the change is better than expected.”
 
YOU HAVEN’T HAD MUCH TIME TO WORK WITH KYLE LARSON, BUT WHAT’S YOUR EARLY INDICATION OF HOW THAT DYNAMIC WILL WORK WITH YOU BEING THE OLDER, MORE EXPERIENCED DRIVER?
“Well I think it’s going to be fine. Kyle is really quiet. So you have to work to get an answer out of him or a question out of him. He’s very quiet and very calm. He’s very much the opposite of Juan (Pablo Montoya). It’s different. But when we have our meetings now, it’s more diplomatic. Everyone asks a question and then listens to the answer. It wasn’t necessarily always that way. So, I think to me, that side of it is all positive.”
 
INAUDIBLE
“I don’t think so because I’m the same way. I listen as well as I speak. Kyle hasn’t lived all the experiences that I have; or the crew chiefs or some of the other team guys. And he’s a good listener. And at the same time, he’s really talented and we are listening to Kyle, as well. But I don’t know. It’s a lot different environment this year than what it’s been in the past few (years). And to me, all for the better.”
 
YOU SEEM TO HAVE A GROWING KIND OF HENDRICK CONNECTION. HAVE YOU SEEN THAT MATERIALIZE OR SOMETHING TO MAYBE TAP INTO?
“Well, part of the reason that we’ve ended up with so many Hendrick guys is once you hire a couple, their friends work at Hendrick, right, and Hendrick has a lot of employees, too. Some of it’s been coincidental, but some of it’s come because when a guy over there is looking for a job and he’s friends with somebody that works at your place, they interview around and we’ve ended up with a lot of those guys. And then switching to their engine program has helped us when you’re trying to hire someone. The teams have, I think now, a better agreement between all of them of not going and picking from other teams. And our affiliation with Hendrick’s engine program helps us to be able to hire some of their employees.”
 
DO YOU THINK THAT COMBINATION IS SOMETHING THAT MAY PAY DIVIDENDS DOWN THE ROAD?
“Our affiliation with them is different than what Stewart-Haas has because we don’t buy chassis from them. We still build our own cars and put our own bodies on them. So it’s a little bit different, but certainly being affiliated with them and their engine program I think has helped and just being with a General Motors team and the sharing of what information goes around between all the teams I think is beneficial.”
 
ON FATHERS AND SONS IN RACING COMPARED TO BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, AND BASKETBALL
“I don’t know if it’s more true. I know a lot of kids that play soccer and their dads played soccer or baseball growing up that have a really good connection. I think what a little bit of what sets racing apart is when you grow up racing, it’s not a one-hour event that you drive to on Saturday morning and then you drive back and then you go your separate ways. Racing is leaving on Friday and racing all day Saturday and all day Sunday, riding in a car together for ten hours back home to get up and go to school; and to me the bonding experience that you have whether it’s riding in a car and staying in a hotel with him all weekend, to me that is what brings you closer than other sports.”
 
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OF GROWING UP RACING WITH YOUR DAD?
“My favorite memory of my dad isn’t one specific thing. And I try to do this with my little boy. My dad, no matter how well I did in the race; whether I won or finished last or crashed, I just remember him always getting in the car, shutting his door, and like reaching over and patting me on the leg and being like, you did a great job today, I’m proud of you. And I’ll never forget that. And so, the memory is great because he always gave me confidence and always built me up and always made me feel special. And I think that is what made me the guy that I am and maybe why I’m so nice to everybody else is because I had that upbringing.”
 
HE GOT YOU INTO RACING, RIGHT?
“Yes. I think like most kids I would have liked dirt bikes or anything with an engine on it. But, I grew up watching him do some racing, and then we started doing that when I was eight. I like soccer and I like baseball, but I love racing. And there was really nothing that was going to take the place of that.”
 
“When I was a kid, you had to be eight before you could even race a kart. So, I remember being five, or six, or seven and I didn’t get a go-kart until my eighth birthday. And then we just started racing all the time. And I wanted a kart. I wanted to go. But you had to be that old before you could race. It’s different now than what it was back then.”
 
IF YOU PLAYED A STICK AND BALL SPORT, YOU COULD RUN TO THE PARK AND PLAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS
“We have a track in Mooresville now, so you could kind of do that where you would drive out and ride your kart for a few hours and then come back home, but most kids don’t have that luxury. It is about driving somewhere and you spend a weekend together with your family. But my upbringing was so much different than my wife’s. She talks about the vacations they on and she’s like man you missed out on all that. But I didn’t feel like I was because we were vacationing every weekend, and racing. I loved it. So some of what she thinks I sacrificed, I think were some of the greatest memories of my life.”
 
DO YOU HAVE BROTHERS AND SISTERS?
“I have an older sister. She didn’t go a lot with us. She went a little bit, but she’s six years older than I am, so when I started racing she was 14 or 15. She wanted to hang out with he
r friends, and I guess live a little more normal life than just doing the circuits each weekend.”
 
UNAUDIBLE
“I eat lunch with my dad twice or three times a week now. We’re still incredibly close and we still play with go-karts together. But we fish together as much now as we go ride go-karts together. So it’s changed a little bit, but I have an incredible friendship with my dad, still.
 
“My dad thinks he a professional fisherman (laughs), and he fishes every single day. And I love fishing and we still have the affiliation with Bass Pro. But when Bass Pro was like on my car, we got to go do some cool fishing trips together. So that was really fun. Man, the fishing is a great way to bond as well because when you get in a boat together, you talk. Like when you go play soccer, you take him to the game and they go play. When you fish together or hunt, your committed. You’re talking. You’re becoming friends. And it’s a great, great bonding experience as well.”
 
IS THERE A RACE THAT SLIPPED THROUGH YOUR FINGERS THAT COST YOU MORE THAN ANY OTHER?
“Talladega with Kevin Harvick in 2010, I think. He beat me by four inches or something. So that’s one that I’d like to have back. He just timed it out better than I did (laughs).”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
 
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 SCOTTS/KINGSFORD/BUSCHS BAKED BEANS/CLOROX CHEVROLET SS, met with member of the media at NASCAR Daytona Media Day and discussed: having a full-time ride in the Sprint Cup Series; difference between open wheel cars and stock cars and level of difficulty for drivers; being a fan of other forms of racing and other topics.  Full transcript:
 
TELL US HOW YOUR OFFSEASON WAS:
“It was good. I did some karting and tried to be out there and be in a race car as much as possible. Between the switchover with the team and being back full-time, it’s been a good offseason. I’ve been happy and excited for this opportunity. I’m ready to go.”
 
DO YOU THINK ALL THE KICKBACK THAT DANICA GETS STEMS MORE FROM THE FACT THAT SHE COMES FROM OPEN-WHEEL? I DON’T KNOW IF IT’S THAT STOCK CAR PEOPLE LOOK DOWN THEIR NOSES AT OPEN-WHEEL PEOPLE OR WHAT THE DEAL IS. BUT DID YOU EVER GET SOME OF THAT KICKBACK SHE GETS?
“A couple of years ago when I first started, yeah for sure. But I don’t see it being a big thing now. The Danica thing… I don’t pay much attention to it, either. Everyone has an opinion – everyone’s got an opinion about me, everyone body has an opinion about Jimmie (Johnson), Danica and so on. I don’t really pay a lot of attention to it. Its more focusing on what I need to do to be better. That’s no disrespect to a certain degree. You have to let everything go from what reporters say – good or bad. Everybody has fans and everyone has haters. So I don’t pay attention to it.”
 
DO YOU THINK THAT COMING FROM OPEN-WHEEL THAT SOME OF THE STOCK CAR TRADITIONALISTS LOOKED AT YOU A LITTLE DIFFERENT AT YOU GUYS AS OPPOSED TO PEOPLE THAT HAVE COME THROUGH STOCK CAR RACING?
“I think eight, seven, six years ago they did because it wasn’t happening a lot. But all of a sudden there is that influx of open-wheel guys with myself, Juan (Pablo Montoya) and Sam (Hornish) coming over. The traditional not-Sprint Car drivers. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal now.”
 
HOW DO YOU THINK JUAN WILL DO WITH ROGER?
“I think it will be fun to watch. I was always a huge fan of Juan. Watching him back in the CART days, I was in awe of the car control he had. That series is tough. I got to experience it first-hand last year and how tough it actually is. But I think he’ll do a great job.”
 
DO YOU FOLLOW ANY OTHER SERIES?
“I follow all of them. I’m a bigger race fan than a race car driver.”
 
CAN YOU DESCRIBE TO THE FANS THE INTENSE, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL CHALLENGE OF WHAT HAPPENS DURING A RACE?
“Every race track is a little different. This place isn’t physically that hard of you. You’re not physically worn out. Mentally you are spent by the end of the race – trying to work the draft, figure out where to go, being tense for 500 miles because you know the big wreck could happen at any time. Every track has a little different nuance to it. But by the time you get out of a race car – either physically or mentally – you’re spent. It’s a rough three to four hours just because you are working so hard. It’s not to the point where you in the middle of a race can sit back and run 80 percent. You can’t do that. It’s almost qualifying every lap to a certain extent. Donovan McNabb may not think it’s tough but it definitely is.”
 
ARE THERE ANY DRIVERS IN FORMULA ONE OR INDYCAR THAT YOU THINK MIGHT BE ABLE TO CRACK INTO NASCAR AND DO A DECENT JOB?
“There definitely are some who could crack into it. It’s tough, though. That was the biggest thing for me when I was watching it while I was in open-wheel racing. The Tony Stewarts, the Jeff Gordons, the Jimmie Johnsons… you know they are badass race car drivers. To get in these cars and the way they drive is so different than an open-wheel race car and anything anyone like myself has ever experienced. So that’s the biggest transition – the cars are way different than would ever believe.”
 
ARE THERE ANY DRIVERS – PAST OR PRESENT – WOULD HAVE HAD GOOD CHANCE AT FORMULA ONE?
“I think when Jeff came into the sport, he could have gotten into it and been really quick. Tony (Stewart) I would have to say, when it comes to driving any race car, is the best there is out there. I feel like he can get in anything and be fast right away. These are some of the best drivers in the world. They can cross over and be quick. But it’s different with every challenge you have.”
 
THERE WERE TIMES WHEN YOU WERE IN AND OUT OF A CAR LAST YEAR. I KNOW IT’S NOT LIKE WHAT TONY HAS HAD TO DO BEING OUT FOR SUCH A LONG PERIOD. BUT CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH CHANGES AND HOW MUCH YOU FELT CHANGES FROM NOT BEING IN A CAR EVERY WEEK?
“It was tough, especially because of the new car. I was in a decent amount of races early on. I took the break for Indy and when I came back for Pocono and realized, ‘Wow these cars are different.’ The spring packages everyone was starting run was a little different. It was tough jumping back and forth. It was a fun challenge; I really enjoyed the opportunity to jump in a different car every week. But I’m happy to be back full-time. Tony is Tony. He’s not going to have any rust. He will jump right back in and we know he will have a shot at winning the Daytona 500. I hope he’s right behind me. I hope he’s pushing me to the win. He won’t have any trouble. He’s Smoke.”
 
DID YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SET OF WHEELS GROWING UP?
“Steering wheels or tires? I’ll put it this way – anything that had a steering wheel and tires, I was happy. I had a Big Wheel that I wore through tires on, and on up. I just loved having steering wheel and tires under me.”
 
DID YOU GET A WORK ETHIC EARLY ON THAT HELPED YOU LATER ON?
“My parents were the biggest supporters of mine. Before I was ever racing something, I was watching my dad race full time. Nothing big. It was local dirt track stuff. Just his work ethic. He didn’t have a lot of money. My parents weren’t rich my any means. But watching his work ethic and how hard he worked at it, that’s what I grew up around and where I got it from.”
 
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HERE AND KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENED THE LAST 18 MONTHS?
“It’s been a crazy ride to a certain extreme. To be where I’m at – not just full-time but mentally and physically… I’m as happy as I’ve ever been. I feel like Tad and Jodi (Geschickter) and Brad (Daugherty)… their moral beliefs make this team like a family. Throughout this whole process, I’ve felt like part of their family and not just a driver. I really enjoy walking into the shop and the hauler. It’s such a fun time to be there. I’m really looking forward to it. It will be a great year. It will be a lot of hard work but I think we can go out there and live up to our work ethic and live up to the things we know we can do, we can win some races.”
 
INAUDABLE:
“It’s just life in general. There is pressure on and off the race track. You know how it is. You get into a bad place sometimes. It’s not just one little thing in a way, this is like starting over. But I feel like I’ve found a home. It’s a small team but I really enjoy that. It’s more like a family and not a driver-team owner relationship.”
 
YES IT’S A SMALL TEAM AND THERE WILL BE CHALLENGES. BUT REALISTICALLY THERE WILL BE SOME UPHILL CLIMBS. HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE BETTER PREPARED TO HANDLE THOSE TYPES OF CHALLENGES:
“It’s about setting our realistic expectations. My expectation is to go out and win every race. That isn’t going to happen. But realistically, we can go out there and contend. We need to make our bad days are 22nds or 24ths. There are going to be days like this. Are we going to roll into Phoenix – the first true race when it comes to outright speed – and be a top
-five team? I’d love to be, but maybe not. We have to take each day one at a time and see where that puts us. I don’t have a limit on ‘we need to be 15th in points or 13th is a bad year.’ Just take it one day at a time. With the RCR alliance and everything we have, we can go out there and have a chance to win. It’s about taking it one day at a time to get there.”
 
INAUDABLE:
“I think it was a start. To go out there and have that time with Brian Burns – the crew chef – who is relatively new… I really enjoy working with him and finding the weaknesses and strengths of the team. It’s led very well by Tad to start with but also by Bobby Hutchins. The RCR alliance will help us, so there are a lot of positives. Everybody sits here and say, ‘Oh we’re excited and we can win the championship’. But we have to take it one step at a time. I thought last year was a good stepping stone to see where we were at the time and where we need to go. It was fun last year but this year to be back full time and have everything that has come into play – we have a lot of good sponsors – as I said, my theme is one day at a time. We can’t go out and think we are going to set the world on fire. But we have the confidence in ourselves that if we get everything right, we can compete with the best of the best. I truly believe that.”
 
BEING IN INDYCAR, YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH KNOCKOUT QUALIFYING. CAN YOU GIVE A SENSE AS TO WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE AND HOW IT WILL CARRY OVER HERE
“It’s a little different. At most of the race tracks – especially the mile-and-a-halfs – it’s still going to be that one lap that you’ll have to nail it. If you don’t, then you’re probably done. But the fun fact about qualifying is if you don’t nail it the first time but just slide in, you have another shot at it. It will be interesting to see. There will be a lot of pissed off race car drivers and spotters fighting on the spotting stand! When you pull out in front of someone when you’re trying to get your lap or you mistime it or everyone waits to the last minute… you look at a track like Phoenix and no one is going to be the first guy on the track; everyone is going to be waiting. But eventually someone is going to have to go out there and everyone is going to pile on. It’ll be fun for the fans and drivers. I think there need to be tweaks a little a little bit.”
 
INAUDABLE:
“That’s what’s fun about the strategy. Like I said, at Phoenix you don’t want to be the first guy on the track. It’s bad to be that first guy. So everyone is going to be sitting in the garage saying, ‘OK, who is going to go? Oh crap, there’s
10 minutes to go. Someone has to go.’ You take a track like Vegas and maybe you want to be the first one to go. It’s about having that clean lap and banking it to sit there and wait. That’s what makes knockout qualifying so fun. There are so many different strategies you can play into it. At some point, you’re going to be on your lap and someone is going to pull out in front of you and it’s going to kill you. There is going to be a lot of fun.”
 
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP CHANGES, DO YOU THINK IT MAKES A TEAM LIKE YOURS MORE PRONE TO MAKING MORE GAMBLES?
“When I look at the change to the Chase, it doesn’t change how I drive. My goal is to try to win. If you can’t win, take the best finish you can. I don’t think it changes our risk-to-reward value. But at the same point, and I think it goes for any team, if you struggle the first 12 races usually your year would be over and you’re trying to get going and build momentum for next year. Now if you struggle for the first 18 races but win the 19th, you’re right there and have a shot at the championship. I think that’s what makes the new format fun. It’s cool to see what NASCAR is doing whether it’s the Chase or qualifying format. It leads to so many more variety of things that can happen. For us, I think it gives us a good chance.”
 
ARE YOU MORE WILLING TO TAKE THAT BAD FINISH KNOWING YOU HAD NOTHING TO LOSE?
“I’m not willing to take a bad finish ever. Points still matter too. If 16 cars aren’t in the Chase, it’s still the next guy up in points. So they are always important. I never want to take a shot at having a bad day over a good day because I changed my decision-making on having a chance to win. If I have a chance to win, I’m going to do everything it takes to go out there and win.”
 
WHO DO YOU PREDICT WILL BE IN THE FINAL FOUR?
“Me and three others guys! I don’t care! It’s no secret that Jimmie Johnson has a pretty good shot at it. If you take off from last year’s stats, I think Matt (Kenseth) has a pretty good shot at it, too. But it’s a brand new year. We don’t know. We will see what happens.”
 
WHAT FOR YOU IS THE MOST EXCITING CHANGE THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE?
“Me being back full-time. That’s the most exciting thing! I love the qualifying format. Single-car qualifying to me is the most boring thing on the planet – not just in NASCAR but they tried it in F1 and IndyCar. The new format leads to so many different things that can happen on Friday. If Jimmie Johnson has the fastest car in practice and we’re in a place where it’s one lap on the tires and someone gets in his way, and he doesn’t make the next round, that makes it exciting. For the fans and on TV, you don’t know who is going to be on the pole until the last second of that final qualifying session. That is one of the most exciting things you can do.”
 
HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK SOME OF THESE CHANGES ARE TO BRING MORE LIFE BACK INTO THE SPORT:
“We have to continue doing the things that attract a younger fanbase and new fans. We have a great fanbase. NASCAR has some problems that other sports would like to have. Their bad day when it comes to a crowd is 75,000 people. You don’t get that at most sporting events. But we know we have to do things to get that new base in. Whether its qualifying or the Chase changes or just as drivers trying to get a younger fanbase to come in… the tracks have to work together as a whole as a whole asset of the Sprint Cup Series. There is a great product here. We have to keep getting out there and doing the right things to make it better.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
An interview with:
 
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW/CHEERIOS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at the 2014 NASCAR Daytona Media Day and discussed: starting his rookie year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; driving the No. 3 Chevrolet SS; legacy of Dale Earnhardt, Sr.; expectations for Daytona and for season and other topics.    Full transcript:
 
Q.        WHEN YOU LOOK AROUND, SEE THE DALE EARNHARDT T-SHIRTS, ET CETERA, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
AUSTIN DILLON:  The legend of Dale has lived on for a long time and is going to continue to live on forever.  Dale Earnhardt is not just famous because of the number.  He is Dale Earnhardt.
He was a hero in everybody’s mind, including myself.
As far as Dale, Dale is going to fly here forever.  That’s the coolest thing about everything that’s going on.
 
Q.        GET YOU MORE FIRED UP OR DIFFERENCE IN FEEL NOW THAT YOU’RE ACTUALLY HERE, OR HAS IT BEEN A STEADY PROGRESSION?
AUSTIN DILLON:  Been a pretty steady progression.  Media Day gets us tuned in.  The first thing is when we get over here in the garage, get to walk around, I saw the haulers pulling in a few minutes ago, so that was pretty cool, pretty special.
 
Q.        REGARDING THE LOOK OF THE CAR
AUSTIN DILLON:  I haven’t really gotten to take a real good look at it.
I think we respect everything that the Earnhardt family has to say.  Dale Jr. and everybody has been very supportive of it.  It’s been a good thing so far.  Everything’s been great.  Just continue to move on with what we’re going with.
You know, I think there was something about the number and the color.  That is one thing my grandfather said from the beginning, that we weren’t going to have it black.  So luckily the Cheerios car and Dow, everybody, our sponsors, have some black in the color with their sponsor, exactly not a percentage that’s more than 50%.  I think the most we’ve got on a paint scheme is 60%.  That is one thing.  But we’re definitely respectful and going to keep it color sensitive.
 
Q.        ABOUT DALE EARNHARDT, JR. DRIVING IN THAT CAR
AUSTIN DILLON:  Yeah, I’ve always appreciated that.  Junior is an awesome guy.  I’ve got to spend time and sit down and talk with him and learn so much from him also.
I feel like for me experience is going to be big leaning on the people around me.  I’ve got a really strong family.  Leaning on those guys is very important.
 
Q.        TO THOSE THAT HAVE RESERVATIONS, WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THEM?
AUSTIN DILLON:  Everybody’s got their own opinion.  I feel like hopefully we can win them over as time goes on.  That’s all you can do.
Hopefully they’re open enough to take a look at everything that we’re doing.  I think as far as performance and moving forward, hopefully we can win them over.
 
Q.        HOW MEANINGFUL IS IT FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE FOR YOUR GRANDFATHER AT THIS LEVEL?
AUSTIN DILLON:  It’s great.  To be able to work for a company, every time I cross the railroad tracks in Welcome, North Carolina, it’s special.  I’ve enjoyed being a part of RCR.
The other day it was really awesome to be able to be part of the kickoff luncheon.  The guys were fired up.  I think it’s a new life at RCR.
 
Q.        WHAT KIND OF ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITY DO YOU HAVE BECAUSE YOU’RE PART OF THIS NASCAR FAMILY?
AUSTIN DILLON:  I feel like for me it’s really more the employees at RCR that I know.  I’ve grown up with those guys, know how much heart and soul they put into the racecars.
I said it at our kickoff lunch.  We have a great house at RCR.  When I cross that bridge, that’s our house.
When we come here, my job and our teams’ jobs are to represent our house.  Hopefully we bring our house and represent it well at the track.  That’s what we try and do every time we bring our stuff to the racetrack.
 
Q.        REGARDING FANS AND THE NO. 3, BEING DELIBERATELY WRECKED
AUSTIN DILLON:  It’s racing.  I think I’ve been doing it forever.  People get into it, have battles, go hard each and every weekend.  You have those times when you’re racing hard out there and stuff happens.
I think we do a good job of handling it ourselves on the track hopefully.
 
Q.        WHAT DID YOU AND YOUR GRANDFATHER TALK ABOUT TO CONVINCE HIM YOU WERE READY?
AUSTIN DILLON:  I think both of us for years now, running the 3 in the last four years, it kind of prepared us for any kind of question or opportunity that arises.
The biggest thing is being respectful to all the family that is involved and also just, you know, taking this opportunity and hoping that fans are embracing it the right way.  We’re trying to continue the legacy of the No. 3.  I think we’ve done a good job of that so far.
 
Q.        ON LEGACY OF THE NO. 3          
AUSTIN DILLON:  I think Dale was so important in driving that number.  He was the guy that made that number what it is today.
But like I said earlier, Dale Earnhardt is Dale Earnhardt not only because of the number, but because he was a hero and created so many things for this sport.  The number for me, hopefully I can continue the legacy that it has and keep on moving on with it.
 
Q.        DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WILL SEE IT COMING UP IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR AND WILL HAVE AN AUTOMATIC REACTION, FEEL INTIMIDATED AND PULL OVER FOR YOU?
AUSTIN DILLON:  No, not at all (laughter).  I still have a long way to go in this sport.  This is my rookie year.  One day, if we’re winning championships, competing for wins, maybe it will happen.
 
Q.        TALK ABOUT THE ROOKIE CLASS YOU’RE GOING UP AGAINST.
AUSTIN DILLON:  I got to stay focused on what my goals are this year.  Rookie of the Year in the other two series.  I definitely want to accomplish that in the Cup Series.  I feel like the competition is stout.  I feel like every year I’ve been in Nationwide or Truck, there’s been some really good classes.  Then also last year battling for a championship.  Hopefully what I learned going through that with the stout competition we had last year in Nationwide will help me this year going forward.
 
Q.        ON BATTLES FOR NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES AND NATIONWIDE SERIES CHAMPIONSHIPS
AUSTIN DILLON:  I can’t remember the Truck and Nationwide.  I was more focused on last year’s Nationwide championship battle.  Having Elliott Sadler, Brian Vickers, Regan Smith, guys that have full-time Cup experience, battling them in Nationwide was very tough.  My battle in the Truck Series, I think Kligerman was there, a few other guys that year, too.  I can’t remember, though.
 
Q.        HOW DO YOU THINK THE SUM OF YOUR EXPERIENCES, CHAMPIONSHIP RUNS, SERVES YOU GOING FORWARD IN THE SERIES?
AUSTIN DILLON:  Hopefully it means something.  You know, I feel like the mental stability that you gain going through a championship battle, I think you can never lose that.  It’s a championship.  I feel like that will help going forward.
There’s definitely the new Cha
se presenting a definitely new outcome.  I won the championship last year without winning a race.  It’s a different mentality.  I can change the way I go about things, for sure.  I’ll have to go through that this year obviously.
I’m looking forward to that opportunity.  I think it gives a lot of chance and more going after it, more intensity to the races.
It seems the best way I can relate to that is when I go back and run a Truck race with no points, you can really get after the car and really challenge yourself to get everything out of it.  Not that you’re not getting everything out of the car when it’s a points race, but you’re definitely grounded in thinking what it means where you’re running and the positioning.  I think that’s where the Chase, the new format, presents a lot of action and pushing yourself.
 
Q.        ON THE NUMBER OF RACES  HE WILL BE RUNNING
AUSTIN DILLON:  Actually the same amount as far as running my modified, all the races that are available.  I might take the last night off depending on where we are in points.  The last night doesn’t count in points.  Hopefully we can win it off.  That ends Monday.
For me, as far as the year, I’m going to run some Nationals races during the Summer Nationals, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, then get to the racetrack.  I’m still focused on that.  I think it really helps me as far as being able to get in those cars and just have some fun.
 
Q.        ANY THOUGHT TO CUTTING THAT BACK GOING FULL-TIME CUP?
AUSTIN DILLON:  My grandfather was a little on the edge of us running a little bit.  But I talked him into, so…
He knows how important it is to me and Ty to run our dirt cars.  He definitely knows the stress that I’m going to be going under this year.  So I think I relayed it to him in a way that it’s kind of a stress reliever if anything.  I can go out to the dirt track, focus on what I have to do.
 
Q.        REGARDING SAFETY OF DIRT CARS
AUSTIN DILLON:  Yeah, there’s that for sure (laughter).
Tony is in a Sprint car.  That’s a difference from where I’m running a modified or full-bodied late model.  Not that I’m questioning a Sprint car’s safety, but you’re definitely carrying a lot of speed in those things.  I’ve never been able to drive one.
We take a lot of safety precautions with our cars that a lot of other people don’t.  In the dirt world, we plate the interiors and do different things to make sure that we’re getting a lot of safety out of those cars.
 
Q.        WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM THE VETERANS?
AUSTIN DILLON:  You know, I’ve been through the Truck Series where there were some wily veterans, I guess you could say, and the Nationwide Series.  More in the Truck Series I think is where you learn about racing veterans.
For me it’s going to be tough because a lot of those guys I grew up racing against, not racing against, but watching on TV.  Seeing Jeff Gordon out there, you’re still in awe when you’re racing against him on the track.  And Dale Jr.  I’ll have to learn that throughout the year.
I think that’s the good thing about having those rookie stripes, I learned the first year what it takes to go to the second level the second year.  Hopefully I can evaluate after the first year and have a better answer for you.
 
Q.        DO YOU KEEP AN EYE ON KYLE AND OTHER ROOKIES?
AUSTIN DILLON:  I think you do.  If you don’t focus on yourself in the competition, you can’t gain points.  I think the biggest thing is trying to figure out what makes your team better and how throughout the year that you can develop for the following year.
This year for us, it’s such a learning year where we can really go out and attack and figure out where the edge is.  I think we need to figure that out at most of the tracks we go to.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
AUSTIN DILLON:  Somebody asked me that a minute ago.  I said, I really don’t.  I mean, the Truck Series, the Nationwide Series…  The Cup Series might be different.
I think racing for the win, anybody should wreck each other personally.  Last lap, that’s just how it is.  This year there’s going to be more of that because of what it means to win.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
AUSTIN DILLON:  I don’t know.  We’ll see if it happens, you know.  I’m fiery as it is.  We’re all passionate.  Everyone out here, we’re very competitive.  It will be wild for sure.  If we get that opportunity, hopefully we can take advantage of it and be on the winning end.
 
Q.        WHAT KIND OF STRESS DO YOU EXPECT?  HOW TOUGH COULD THIS BE?  YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW, BUT HOW TOUGH DO YOU THINK THIS WILL BE?
AUSTIN DILLON:  I mean, it can get really tough.  You have so many ups and downs throughout the year in the Cup Series where you go through transitions.  I think you lean on family and your friends.  My family is RCR.  My guys are so experienced, I feel like I have a really experienced team.  Any one of the guys on my team could go car chief, most of the teams out there.
I’m very fortunate in the fact that I’ve got a great team.  We’re going to go out there and definitely work and use them and stay a tight-knit group work within each other.
 
Q.        YOU’VE HAD THE 3 COMING OUT.  THAT’S YOUR NUMBER.  WAS THERE EVER ANY CONSIDERATION TO CHANGE BECAUSE OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE 3 AT THIS LEVEL?
AUSTIN DILLON:  There’s always thoughts of it.  I feel like you go through times, and you don’t know what to go through.  My family, RCR, all the people there around us, hearing it from Dale Jr. and people like that, is very influential I feel like to where we’re at today.
Yeah, I mean, I’ve looked at other numbers and stuff, too.  It wasn’t like, That’s the number I want to run.  Bam, bam, that’s how I was going to do it or nothing.
We were very respectful in the fact it was up to my grandfather and the people that were around that number the longest.
So I’m not a kid that says, Hey, this is what I want, this is what I’m going to get.  I’ve never been that way.  Hopefully I’m never portrayed that way.
I’m a very respectful person and look to the history of the sport.  I feel fortunate I’m getting this opportunity, though.
 
Q.        WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ALTERNATE NUMBER?
AUSTIN DILLON:  That’s a good question.  My dad had run 21 a few times.  Ty ran 2 a lot running up through the races.  41 was another one that got taken this year from Kurt that we would have probably looked at.  We also had 33 and different numbers.  But those aren’t really my favorites.
 
Q.        WHAT ABOUT GIVING PAYBACK?
AUSTIN DILLON:  Giving payback?  That’s what payback is, right?  I can’t think of the polite word to say it (laughter).
I guess if you have to do it, you got to let it be known.  Not let it be known, just do it the right way.  You get smart and get under their skin somehow.  Hopefully we don’t have to deal with it too often.  But there’s a chance of that with the way the new Chase lays out.  I guess you just have to look back and see how other people did it throughout the years.
 
Q.        WOULD YOU WRECK SOMEBODY FOR A WIN?
AUSTIN DILLON:  When I first started racing, I remember two opportunities where I wish I would have don
e things differently to win races.  I look back on those.  Now looking back, the memory of those, no one looks back and would have cared probably because I finished second.  If I would have won that race, it might have meant something.  I can remember those opportunities.  I wish I had them back.
If the opportunity arises, you’re there on the last lap in three and four, not necessarily taking them out, but laying your bumper to the end, I think that opportunity’s there, you got to take it.  You watch some of the Supercrosses this year, what’s going on, there’s some wild finishes at the end of those.
When you look back it creates a little history and some craziness.
I don’t know.  It’s all about morals in the end, I guess, how you believe you should race somebody, or you be at the end of the race.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
AUSTIN DILLON:  In those races I didn’t take advantage.  Actually one of them I feel like I jumped the start and I took the lead through one and two.  I kind of gave it back a little bit, and I never got the lead back.  I remember that one.  That was the big one.
Yeah, the other one I didn’t wreck somebody.  Tri-County in the east race and South Boston in the east race.
 
Q.        WHERE WERE YOU THE DAY DALE EARNHARDT DIED?
AUSTIN DILLON:  I was at home.  For me, we watched the race.  Then I was sent up to our barn where we were hanging out with my brother and some of our friends.  My mom came over and got us.  We went over to the shop.  Everybody came to our house, I’m sorry, the whole shop, and we had a Bible study.
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPEED WEEKS MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at NASCAR Daytona Media Day  and discussed: staring 2014 season in Sprint Unlimited; Richard Petty comments; expectations for Speed Weeks and the season and other topics.  Full transcript:
 
Q. ON STARTING THE NEW SEASON BEING IN THE SPRINT UNLIMITED
DANICA PATRICK:  You know, Ricky and I got in late last night because there was a little delay with flying in due to airspace.  We got in pretty late.  Laid down.  It’s like, You know what, it’s good to be back on the bus.  It always feels good to be back on the bus for some reason.  It’s a little home away from home or seems like more of a home than anywhere else.
So we both feel really good.  We were both talking about it last night.  I’m happy I’m in the Sprint Unlimited.  I’m happy he is, too, because it’s the both [of us on] the same schedule.
That’s something I definitely didn’t overlook when I qualified on the pole (indiscernible) the 500.  Hey, I’m in the Sprint Unlimited race.  It’s pretty cool.
 
Q. ON REALIZING SHE WAS IN THE UNLIMITED WHEN SHE WON DAYTONA 500 POLE IN 2013         
DANICA PATRICK:  I don’t know if I thought about it the same time, but I thought about it the same day.  I had just watched it, watched the incredible drivers that are in that race.  To think I was going to be able to get to be in it, too, I was happy right off the bat.
 
Q.        WHAT DO YOU THINK OF RICHARD PETTY’S COMMENTS?
DANICA PATRICK:  He asked it for you.  You were hesitating.  I saw it (laughter).  Oh, Bob.
You know, people have said things in the past, and they’re going to say things in the future.  I still say the same thing:  that everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.  People are going to judge what he said, whether they judge it well or not, and I’m just not going to.
 
Q.        DO THOSE THINGS MOTIVATE YOU AT ALL?
DANICA PATRICK:  You can’t try any harder in the car.  I think that’s something that probably every driver would tell you when someone questions our effort level.  You can’t try any harder.  You’re doing everything you can.  And maybe subconsciously there’s some motivation, but I can’t tell.  I’m giving it my all every single time I’m getting in the car, whether I’m making a simple qualifying run or I’m in the race.
It is what it is and, again, people are entitled to their opinions, and that’s fine.
 
Q.        REGARDING RICHARD PETTY
DANICA PATRICK:  I mean, really it’s more about my belief that everyone can have their own opinion.  It has nothing to do with where it comes from.
The people that matter the most to me are my team, my sponsors, you know, those little three-year-old kids that run up to you and want a great big hug and say they want to grow up to be like you.  That’s the stuff that I really focus on.
 
Q.        NOBODY SAID THAT IN YOUR PREVIOUS SERIES.  IT WAS MORE LIKE WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO WIN.  THAT’S KIND OF A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENCE.
DANICA PATRICK:  You know, I mean, two things.  In IndyCar I had probably a faster start.  I mean, I started on the front row of Motegi and finished fourth, then just about qualified on pole and just about won the race at the Indy 500 my first year, so that was race number four in IndyCar.  So I had a fast start.
I think that it also shows just the competition level in NASCAR.  Not only are the drivers very good, but also the teams are extremely competitive, too.  I don’t think that any one of them sit still.  There’s no like normal ranking of teams.  It goes up and down amongst many.  There are 43 cars, not 23 cars.  It’s just extremely competitive.
Also stock cars are not my background.  You know, I’ve done two full years, one in Nationwide, one in Cup.  I still feel like I’m figuring stock cars out and will for a long time.  I will never stop learning.
But figuring out the basics of how it work, there’s still stuff when I look under the hood, I don’t really know what I’m looking at.
 
Q.        WOULD YOU AGREE THAT OF THOSE 43 CARS, THE FIELD IS MUCH MORE STRONGER OUT OF THOSE 43 THAN THEY WERE WITH THE 28 IN INDYCAR?
DANICA PATRICK:  The competition, it’s difficult to get to the top of both of them.  But you’re just adding so many more cars into it.
I think one thing that I learned last year in Cup is that we struggled to start the year off and we worked our butts off and tested a ton, tried to work on getting faster, working in the wind tunnel, doing everything we could to get better.
We did make up some ground.  And as soon as you sit on that for a second and think, Okay, now let’s calm down for a second, let’s everybody can have a week off.  You know, I don’t think you’re doing it on purpose, but all of a sudden at the end of the year you realize you’re not making any more progress, in fact you’re falling behind again.
So the effort level it takes when you are full bore, doing all you can do to go faster is the only mode that you can be in.  That is a competition level that I don’t think I have ever experienced.  So that’s how hard everyone’s working.
That’s why I think there’s so many teams that come and go, but that come as well, because everybody’s working that hard.
 
Q.        THERE WERE A LOT OF PLACES WHERE A LOT OF LEARNING WENT ON LAST YEAR.  YOUR SPEEDWEEKS WENT REALLY WELL FOR YOU.  CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WINNING POLE, THE WAY YOU RAN IN THE 500.
DANICA PATRICK:  Well, I’ve been fortunate, whether it’s been in a Nationwide car or whether it’s been in a Cup car here.  I’ve been lucky enough to run really well here.  I have a pole in the Nationwide car and the Cup car.  So I’ve been lucky with Tony Eury, Jr. in Nationwide and with Gibson now.  They both build great speedway cars.
That’s so nice because when you get here, you kind of got what you got.  You’re not going to really move mountains once you get here with the car.  It is the speed that it is based on the work that they did before we all arrived.
And also the fact that speedway racing is familiar for me.  It’s very much like mile-and-a-half racing in IndyCar.  So I think between those two things, it’s a comfort zone for me.
 
Q.        REGARDING OPINIONS NOT SHAKING HER
DANICA PATRICK:  I really don’t.  I like that people have opinions.  That is fine with me.  I think that it creates such conversation.  As I said the last time that somebody said something that was not so positive for me, it spawned so many positive articles.
So, you know, there’s a positive side to it, too.  But more than anything, I love the conversation that it creates in sport.  Across the board it makes sports interesting.  It makes life interesting when people have different perspectives, and that’s fine with me.
 
Q.        HAVE YOU EVER TALKED TO THE KING, TO RICHARD PETTY?
DANICA PATRICK:  I know I met him.  I have this great shot of I think it was before last year’s race, maybe it was the Nationwide race, of him standing in front of my car on the pole and giving me two thumbs up.  It’s a back shot of his butt sticking out.  Apparently I didn’t notice him there for a while.  I must have been getting strapped in.
But, yeah, I mea
n, that’s about it.  I probably could dig up that photo for you guys if you want it.
 
Q.        IS IT A GENERATIONAL THING?  HE IS IN HIS 70S.
DANICA PATRICK:  I can’t speak to that.  I was born in the ’80s.
 
Q.        DO YOU PLAN TO FOLLOW THROUGH AT ALL?
DANICA PATRICK:  I don’t know why I would.
 
Q.        DID YOU TALK TO KYLE AFTER KYLE MADE THE REMARKS LAST SUMMER?
DANICA PATRICK:  I didn’t talk to him but he eventually wanted to come talk to me.
 
Q.        HOW DID THAT GO?
DANICA PATRICK:  I spoke to him eventually, but it wasn’t me seeking him out is what I’m saying.  I wouldn’t seek Richard out either.
 
Q.        HOW DID THAT CONVERSATION GO?
DANICA PATRICK:  My conversation with Kyle, it was all right.  It was fine.  It was lengthy.
You know, I think what I came to the conclusion was that really everybody does have their opinion, and that is totally fine.  Even if some of the things that came across weren’t completely accurate, there were things that I didn’t quite understand from the comments either that I learned.
So, I mean, it really just doesn’t matter.  It’s interesting conversation and I’m fortunate I’m in it.
 
Q.        ON WINNING DAYTONA 500
DANICA PATRICK:  Yeah, and I would agree, for two reasons:  that my team builds great speedway cars and I feel much more comfortable, and this is much more familiar to me than the rest of the racing in a stockcar because you’re taking the elements of learning how the car reacts to like how the bump-stops work, how the bar rack works, how different spring packages work.
That’s not a concern on the speedways.  It’s just about navigating, the cars around you, and drafting, your mindset throughout the whole thing, your discipline.
So I feel like it could definitely happen.  Shoot, I’m going to go try to win the Unlimited race so I can be in it forever.  Isn’t that what you get to do if you win it?  That’s what I’ve been thinking about the last week.  I want to win the Sprint Unlimited race so I can be in it forever.
 
Q.        LAST YEAR THE FIRST RACE WITH THE GEN-6, PEOPLE DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO REACT.  DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE DIFFERENT THIS YEAR?
DANICA PATRICK:  No, I think that it will be really similar to last year.  I think we saw leading up to the race that there was some unexpected spins and some exciting moments out there in practice.  I think that’s there’s just going to be less of that with the new rules.  I think it’s going to be great.
I think what’s going to be really interesting, though, is the Nationwide race.  They’ve banned bump-drafting, right?  That will be interesting.  I don’t know how that’s going to turn out.  That will be interesting.
 
Q.        YOU TALKED ABOUT THIS BEING A PROCESS FOR YOU, COMING TO STOCK CARS, GETTING YOUR FEET WET.  WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE NOW IN THE PROCESS?  DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE GAINED ENOUGH WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF THE CAR, THE WAY IT HANDLES, BUMP-DRAFTING, DRAFTING?
DANICA PATRICK:  No more bump-drafting (laughter).
 
Q.        BUT TO GIVE YOURSELF A SENSE OF CONFIDENCE NOW GOING FORWARD IN THE SEASON.
DANICA PATRICK:  More than last year.  I mean, that’s the process that I’m in.  I think before I got into Cup, I would have said, Man, I feel like it takes a few years to really get up to speed and have a good grasp as to what you’re doing out there.
You know, I’m in the middle of that, or starting the middle of that.  There’s a lot I have to learn, and I know that.  But I feel better than I did last year.  I feel like, more than anything, I understand the effort level that it takes from a team and driver perspective.
But I also feel like throughout the year we were able to develop much more rhythm to the weekend than we did at the beginning of the year.  The beginning of the year we would sort of throw the kitchen sink at the car and just try and find anything that made it go faster.
I think what we realized at the end of the year, it was a much better approach ultimately to be more methodical.  It’s crazy how you can take these cars and take a 16th of packer out or take a 16th packer in and completely change the car.  It’s unbelievable.
So kind of like Daytona, you kind of got what you got when you get there.  That’s what you test for to develop a good setup that feels good.  After that it’s really about fine tuning I think.  That’s what we sort of started doing later in the year last year, which helped our qualifying.
Sometimes we hit it in the race; sometimes we missed it by a little bit.  I know at Homestead, I know I’m going long-winded right now, in Homestead we made one change in the middle of the race and it made it like it did in the beginning.  We were not great in the beginning, made it better, started making up ground.  Got the Lucky Dog.  Came from the back.  I had to come back down from pit road.  I started from the very back.  Passed like 15 cars.  The yellow came out just as I passed the car for Lucky Dog.  All of a sudden we made a change and I wasn’t any good again.  It was like, Holy crap, what did you do?  It was like one little change.  We went back on it, it was good again.
Crazy how you can make one little change.  Being methodical was something I learned last year.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
DANICA PATRICK:  No, let’s talk about Ricky.  That was much more fun.  I smiled so much more.
 
Q.        DO YOU KNOW WHAT I’M SAYING?  WOULD IT BE NICE TO COME IN HERE AND TALK ABOUT RACING AND WHAT HAPPENS ON THE RACETRACK FIRST THING?
DANICA PATRICK:  No, because we haven’t done anything on the racetrack.  I feel like what would you ask me if there are no fun things like there are today to ask, right?  How do you feel about Daytona, that kind of thing.
 
Q.        ON NEGATIVE COMMENTS
DANICA PATRICK:  That kind of thing gets in for sure.  Honestly, it doesn’t really bother me.  It just makes Media Day more interesting.
 
Q.        IF YOU WIN A RACE, GET INTO THE CHASE, I’M SURE THAT’S SOMETHING YOU’RE REALLY LOOKING AT.
DANICA PATRICK:  That’s something that obviously we all thought about right off the bat, how strong we are on the speedways, how comfortable I feel on the speedways, the fact that a win gets you in the Chase.
I think NASCAR is going to create a platform to make for some interesting strategies, interesting races, something to talk about every week, because one win gets you there.
I can only imagine when there’s a dark cloud rolling in, potential rain, what we might see out there, who can get the win before it rains.
Anyway, a lot of people are going to be running out of fuel this year.  I feel like we’re going to see a lot of that.
 
Q.        DO YOU FEEL IT CHANGED THE TEAM’S PREPARATION AT ALL?  SOME TEAMS ARE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME ON TRACKS THEY FEEL THEY ARE BEST AT.
DANICA PATRICK:  I think there probably will be more emphasis on that, for sure.  I know last year when we went to Richmond for one of our team tests, we went there because Ryan felt that was a track he could win on, and they wanted to make more sure of that, given the Race to the Chase.
There was some of that already going on.  But I can
imagine there will be even more of that.  It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.
 
Q.        WHAT ARE YOUR VALENTINE’S PLANS?
DANICA PATRICK:  I’m the girl.  Don’t ask me.  Ask Ricky when he comes through.
I did say to him yesterday, I said, Hey, babe, I feel like I shouldn’t be thinking about this because it should be your job, but would you like me to ask someone to make reservations as a restaurant?
He said, No, I’ll get it.  I’ll figure it out.  I’ll ask somebody here.
I’m like, Okay, I’ll let you just do it.
All I know is that for our Valentine’s Day presents we both bought like $20 gifts for each other and paid like $100 in shipping because we did it last minute.  We were at my parents’ house, my sister had a baby two weeks ago, we were both there visiting.
We were both joking.  He was telling me how he had it shipped and it wasn’t there.  I said, I did the last thing, actually.  He said it was more expensive.  I said, Your gift was $22 and I paid $100 in shipping.  So that’s our Valentine’s Day.  We’re fortunate that we can do that, I suppose.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
DANICA PATRICK:  I don’t know.  I don’t know.  I think we’ll probably go to a restaurant.  I don’t know.  You’ll have to ask him, though.  Maybe he’ll tell you.
 
Q.        INAUDIBLE
DANICA PATRICK:  See how much happier I am when we talk about Ricky.
 
Q.        LOOKING BACK ON THAT, DO YOU LAUGH AT THAT?
DANICA PATRICK:  No, I wish I was still doing it.  This is much better.
No, it was fun.  We both look back at last year and we’re like, Remember what last year was like.  I just remember it being fun.  I’m sure it was fun to ask the questions and get the answers.
 
Q.        IT WAS A BIG COUPLE WEEKS FOR YOU LAST YEAR.
DANICA PATRICK:  It was a big couple weeks, no doubt, no doubt.  I don’t know.  I’m going to try and top it, but I don’t know how I will.