YOU’VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR ESPN’S BEST DRIVER ESPY AWARD FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW. YOU WON IT LAST YEAR. WHAT DOES THIS INCREDIBLE FEAT MEAN TO YOU?
“Honestly, it’s cool to be acknowledged. I was super surprised by it. I know there was a lot more deserving drivers – at least in American auto racing – than I was last year. But regardless, it’s an honor. I don’t think I should win it (laughs), but either way, it’s cool to be on the list. I feel bad for guys who didn’t get acknowledged for this award because, like I said, there’s a lot more that are deserving of it than me.”
TALKING ABOUT THE LIST OF DRIVERS THAT YOU’RE NOMINATED ALONG WITH – YOU ARE NOMINATED IN GOOD COMPANY ALONG WITH BRITTANY FORCE, JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND MAX VERSTAPPEN. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON BEING NOMINATED FOR THIS AWARD WITH THOSE DRIVERS?
“Yeah, they’re the best – or one of the best – in all of their forms of racing. Anytime you can join a list with names like that is special. But again, I think a guy like Joey Logano probably should be on it more so than me. But hey – if I win, I’m going to stick the trophy right next to the other one, too.
It's cool.. it’s cool, for sure. But a fluke, in a way.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY HAS MATURED AS A SUPERSPEEDWAY-STYLE TRACK?
“Well we’ve only made two laps, so I don’t know how it’s different than earlier this year. It seemed like the Chevy’s had their hands full yesterday just to complete a lap. I don’t know if that’s the surface or just teams trying to make their car better; not making it better and making it tougher to drive. But we’ll see once the race starts. Visually, it doesn’t look like it’s aged much. Just the times I went through (turn) two, I felt like the patch was rougher than I remembered, so curious of what that’ll feel like as we move up the race track because in qualifying we just run low. We’ll see – but yeah, pavement ages and I hope this place ages quickly to make the racing different each time we come back.”
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“I have no clue. I’ve been in NASCAR for 10 years and aside from Darlington (Raceway), I haven’t seen really any track get super abrasive over time. Yes – the groove might change here or there. Kansas (Speedway), for example, is good but I wouldn’t say it’s abrasive. It’s nice that you can move around the track. It was repaved all that long ago. But then you know a track like Daytona (International Speedway), Talladega (Superspeedway), Pocono (Raceway), Phoenix (Raceway) – places that like, I don’t foresee those tracks ever getting abrasive. I just think the – I don’t know the engineering behind it, but pavement nowadays must be a lot more durable than what it used to be. I would love for all of these tracks to get more abrasive. I think that’s when the racing gets better. These places seem so perfectly paved that I don’t see it getting abrasive, ever.”
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE AT LOUDON? THEY ARE GOING TO DO A TEST AFTERWARDS, BUT WHAT DO WE NEED TO SEE ON THE FLATTER ONE-MILE TRACKS LIKE THAT TO GET A LITTLE MORE SIDE-BY-SIDE RACING AND MAKE IT EASIER TO PASS?
“I don’t know – I saw just a quick kind of overview of the changes, I guess, that they’re going to try at New Hampshire (Motor Speedway). I don’t know much about race cars, so I don’t know what it is exactly – but it sounds like on the runs that they’ve made on the computers, it seems like it should be better in traffic. I hope that when they go to the test that it correlates well and the guys that are there feel better behind cars.. all of that. I don’t know - that’s the goal for every race track and race car, is if you’re faster than a guy, it would be a little easier to pass them. We’ll see.
But yeah, with these cars, I feel like we’ve made improvements on the 1.5-mile tracks compared to the previous model car. For sure, the short-track stuff has struggled for passing. But overall, I would say the cars are more fun to drive because you have your hands full of it more, but it’s definitely a little harder to pass.”
FROM A GUY THAT COMES FROM THE GRASSROOTS, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO A TEAM THAT’S IN WORLD OF OUTLAWS OR THE ALL-STARS TO HAVE A GUY LIKE TONY STEWART, OR A PROMOTOR LIKE THAT, PUT UP A MILLION DOLLARS FOR A WIN?
“Yeah, it’s amazing. It’s honestly really cool.. it’s a lot of money. It’s way more money than any dirt racer gets to race for. It’s life-changing money, for sure. For a World of Outlaw guy, it might take him four or five years to make that much.
Yeah, it’s awesome. Tony (Stewart) and his whole staff.. FloRacing, they’re a big part of it, too. To promote a race last year with the late model million and then give the sprint car guys their chance this year, it’s pretty neat. I’m obviously happy I get to compete in it, too (laughs).
We’ll see. It’s going to be a really tough race. I think there’s a few guys that have a great shot to win. But then it’s also a unique format that will open the door for others, too. We’ll see, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity, as well as everybody else is.”
WHAT’S YOUR MINDSET GOING INTO A SUPERSPEEDWAY RACE LIKE THIS? DO YOU TRY TO HOLD BACK AND AVOID THE WRECKS, OR DO YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN UP FRONT ALL DAY LONG?
“Well I would like to get up front – stay up front and have a better chance of not getting caught up in a crash. But I feel like I’ve crashed at superspeedways more than anybody probably ever has in their career (laughs). I’ve crashed in the front. I’ve crashed in the middle. I’ve crashed in the back. And I haven’t figured out how not to crash.
I don’t really know. I’ve tried studying these places a lot to figure out how to not crash and where all that happens. But I don’t know - I think a lot of times, you have to get a little bit lucky, but it’s decisions that lead up to those moments when crashes happen that are the reasons why you got in it or didn’t get in it. So just trying to make the right decisions. I would love to be up front though all race long.”
REMEMBERING THE FINISH IN LAST NIGHT’S XFINITY SERIES RACE, WE SAW THINGS GO AWRY WITH THE STRATEGY THE KAULIG RACING CARS HAD. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’VE HAD YOUR COMPETITION MEETINGS YET, WHETHER IT’S BEEN WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS OR CHEVROLET, BUT HAS THERE BEEN ANY REFERRAL TO WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT AND ANY MESSAGE OF ‘DON’T DO THAT’ WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO DRAFT AND WORK WITH YOUR TEAMMATES?
“Well I think there was more that went into the moves that were made last night than just Justin (Haley) not working with (Daniel) Hemric. It sounded like he was running out of fuel, so I don’t think it necessarily was him not working with his teammate. But yeah, I mean every week, you talk about the upcoming race and what you can do to help each other. Daytona (International Speedway), Talladega (Superspeedway) and Atlanta (Motor Speedway) are a little more extreme, I guess, in conversations.
But yeah, you want to give your team the best opportunity to win. You want to give Chevrolet the best opportunity to win. So yes – I think working together is key, but you also have to lookout for yourself and how to get yourself the best finish sometimes, too.
And also, it’s hard to make the decisions at 190 mph, quickly. It’s easy to look at something happening in the moment or look at it afterward and really critique somebody. But when you’re not behind the wheel, those decisions have to be made in under a second.”
IN 2001, WHEN KEVIN HARVICK DROVE THE NO. 29 TO HIS FIRST WIN HERE – FIRST OF ALL, DID YOU HAVE MEMORIES OF THAT RACE OR WATCHING IT AS A KID? WHAT IS YOUR VANTAGE POINT, SEEING CARS LIKE THAT, LEADING YOU GUYS AROUND TO THE GREEN TODAY?
“Yeah, I was – gosh, I was only nine (years old) then, so I don’t remember if I watched it live. But I’ve obviously seen the highlights a lot of times. It was just an epic finish; an epic moment. A moment that meant a lot to the sport and to that race team, and the legacy that Dale Earnhardt, Sr., had and the start of Kevin Harvick’s amazing career. It’s pretty neat in Kevin’s final time here at Atlanta (Motor Speedway) to have Richard (Childress) pacing the field in that car. I think Atlanta has been Kevin’s best track his whole career until they repaved it, so it’s pretty neat. Those cars and the track – everything was just way different back then. It’s not even the same place – it might have the same address, but it’s not the same track as it was then. But no, it’s definitely cool to have that car leading the field.”
GOING BACK TO THE CRASH TOPIC – CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR RECOVERY PROCESS AFTER BEING INVOLVED IN ONE OF THOSE WRECKS.. KIND OF LIKE THE ONE AT TALLADEGA (SUPERSPEEDWAY)? WHAT IT DOES TO YOUR BODY AND KIND OF WHAT YOU DO, SPECIFICALLY, TO RECOVER FROM SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
“Thankfully, I’ve never had anything too serious happen to me. I’ve never been diagnosed with a concussion. I’ve never had anything like that happen. Typically, I mean for me – in some wrecks, you’re not even sore at all. Even the Talladega (Superspeedway) one, I wasn’t really sore the next day. I think me being hit from the side; my body didn’t really have anywhere to go. So my neck wasn’t stiff.. nothing hurt. So I think that’s just a testament to the cars and the safety. You always want to see it getting safer. But yeah 10 years ago, I might have felt differently.. or maybe longer ago than that.
But I’ve been fortunate, knock on wood, to not have anything serious happen to me yet. I know there’s an opportunity every weekend for that. I’m sure if the situation ever comes up where I am injured, I know that Hendrick Motorsports has great people, resources and contacts for whatever I’m sure you’re dealing with. Alex (Bowman) had his injuries. Chase (Elliott) had his earlier this year. They have, unfortunately, a lot of experience with it. But yeah, hopefully I don’t run into anything like that.”
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