Category: NASCAR Cup Series

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Friday, March 29, 2019
EVENT: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Media Availability

DAVID RAGAN, No. 38 MDS Transport Ford Mustang – WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT TEXAS? “The track is a unique mile-and-a-half track. When you get here both corners are different and I give kudos to Eddie Gossage and all the guys out here for being a little bold when they re-did the track. It would have been easy to just repave it and keep both corners the same, but the arch that you get into turn one and the lack of banking in turn one is very unique for any mile-and-a-half. It’s almost like a Kentucky turns three and four, where it doesn’t have a lot of banking. It’s super-wide. You can run six or eight cars wide through there, but all the grip is on the bottom two-thirds of the track, but turns three and four is banked, got a lot of speed, a lot of g-forces through three and four, so both corners are a little different and they paved the race track with some good asphalt that has aged well. You look at the race track and it’s gray and it’s light and it’s only a few years old, so that’s encouraging for the next five to 10 years out here that the track is just gonna continue to get better.”

DO YOU LOOK AT BIG HOSS AT ALL? “Under cautions I’ll look at it some. I can’t look at it under green. I have a hard enough time keeping control of my car paying attention when I’m driving straight ahead, but under caution I do look up at the scoreboard. You look up where guys are running, how many laps we’ve got left, a replay or something. When you’re really lucky is when a bad wreck happens and you’re not in it, but they red flag the race and you have a perfect view of Big Hoss or the TV at Charlotte or even Bristol. You can sit there and watch what everybody else is watching, so that makes for a good red flag.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE NEW SCHEDULE AND WHAT STRUCK YOU FIRST? “There are a lot of changes and I think sometimes in our sport we’ve been reluctant to change. I think we have been scared to make big decisions sometimes and those can be hard and certainly in the big business of motorsports, but I think change was inevitable that we had to get there and I think it’s great. It gives new opportunities for fans to come to races that maybe they haven’t been able to come to in their certain market or make a road trip that they haven’t been able to make for other reasons. Now I know there are some others fans that are hurt for that same reason, but it’s good to have a good mixture. I love keeping some of the core dates the same. Obviously, the Coca-Cola 600, the Labor Day Weekend at Darlington. I’m glad they didn’t move that, the Daytona 500. But I think some of those marquee events stuck around in the same spot, but I love Daytona being the last race before the Playoffs start and I still like Homestead being involved in the regular season, but I do hate that the missed out on that last Playoff race.”

HOW MUCH HAVE WE LEARNED ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE AT ALL THESE TRACKS? HAS IT FELT REALLY DIFFERENT BEHIND THE WHEEL? “They have. I’ve learned a lot as a driver and our team has learned a lot because there are a lot of small differences at all these race tracks. Even though they may appear like we have the same car and they’re the same track, but Vegas and Texas and California, Phoenix, Martinsville, they’re all a lot different with a lot of different combinations and our teams are so smart now that we can change the platform a little bit, change the setup a little bit and it drastically changes the car. You want something different for every tire combination, asphalt combination, obviously a two-mile track versus a mile-and-a-half to a short track, so these first seven to 10 races were so important to learn off of and I think you’re gonna continue to see Penske and Joe Gibbs kind of stink up the show for a few more weeks until some of these other teams can get caught up because even when you learn something it takes two or three weeks to implement something that you’ve learned. Some teams can react faster than others, but whoever figures it out first they’re gonna dominate early and I think that’s what Penske and certainly the Joe Gibbs teams have done. They’ve figured out the sweet spot and know how to adjust on their cars and it has showed.”

HOW MUCH HAVE WE LEARNED ABOUT NEW STRATEGIES FOR QUAILFYING? “It has changed some and it all depends first on how your car is handling as an individual. If your car handles really good, you can afford to get tight to a car and draft that guy and there is potential to have a better lap time, but if your car doesn’t drive good, the dirtier air you’re in that hurts you through the corners and what you may gain down the straightaway you’re gonna have an opportunity to lose in the corner. So that’s something that we all have to kind of make decisions on the fly. In practice you have to kind of see what your car reacts the best. There are gonna be some guys that can be a couple seconds behind a car and not really catch much of a draft, but they’re still gonna be fast versus a guy that has to be a couple of car lengths behind someone in order to just make second round or make final round. So that’s different on the individual level, but I do think it just adds another element of thought, of strategy and excitement for us and the fans.”

WHERE IS THE BALANCE BETWEEN ENTERTAINMENT AND COMPETITION? IS IT STARTING TO SKEW ONE WAY? “I think the balance between entertainment and competition is in a pretty good spot. I think we’re five years behind the curve on being more of an entertainment group. I think that we stuck to some of the rules and procedures that were a little outdated and a little boring for maybe five to 10 years too long, so I think in the last two to three years with some of the rules changes, the format changes, the qualifying procedures, all we’ve done in the last few years, I think those are all in the right direction to keep our fans engaged and to have a high entertainment value. I think we do have to be very careful not to cross that line. I don’t know where the line is, but I think we’re in a great area right now. I don’t think we’re too much on the carnival, WWE side, but I don’t think we are too strictly straightforward because sometimes straightforward competition can get pretty boring and we don’t want to have 20 cars here and 20,000 people sitting in the stands and 500,000 people watching on TV like some of the other series in the world have. That wouldn’t be good, so I think the mixture we have now is pretty good and I think that’s a moving target. I don’t think what’s good today is gonna be what’s perfect in a year or two down the road. I think the manufacturers, the TV partners, the team owners, we all have to collaborate to make sure that we keep a healthy form of competition, which the fast guys and the fast teams still win and I think you have to keep a healthy form of entertainment value too that makes people want to keep watching.”

DO YOU LOOK AT BRISTOL RACES AS BEING MORE EVEN THROUGH THE FIELD? “We’ve struggled a little bit on Sundays with our Front Row Motorsports team. I feel like Daytona and Atlanta we had great cars and had opportunities to run in the top 10 or 15 in both races and then we kind of fell off the wagon at Vegas, and we’ve just struggled to get our cars to drive better. I think the potential is still there, so for your question on what we need to do to capitalize these next few weeks, we need to get our cars to drive good. I think our engines are great. Our cars are built very good. They’re clean. They’re neat I think they have good potential, but I just think we’ve got to understand this downforce package ang what it takes to race good and for our car to drive good, but still have some pure speed to it. We can’t add all the downforce and get our car to drive good and take speed away, and there are cars that are able to not do that and still run fast, so I didn’t think our Martinsville went that great for us either. We missed it on a few things, which we’ve identified a few areas where we made mistakes with the chassis and some of the building aspects of our car. We’re gonna have some of that adjusted for Bristol, but Bristol has been a good track for me over the years for Front Row Motorsports. Yes, aero doesn’t come into play as much. It’s back to mechanical grip and that’s easier for a driver and a crew chief and an engineer to work through when you have one less element that’s so critical like the splitter control and attitude of a car here at Texas running 190 miles an hour.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang – HOW DO YOU FEEL HERE IN TERMS OF QUALIFYING AND BEING ON THE EDGE? “Last year we were definitely on the edge a lot more in terms of speed and grip in the car. Really, you only are on the edge of grip in turns one and two now. Now everybody goes through three and four pretty easy, so I feel like all the speed is in one and two. We’re loose down there. You’re not wide-open. You’re playing with the throttle trying to be wide-open, but you can’t. You still want to draft. You still don’t want to be first out, so it’ll be interesting to see what games and see who has the best strategy and trumps everybody else there in qualifying and leaving at the right amount of time to get two laps or one lap or whatever the case may be.”

HOW DO YOU HANDLE THE SPEEDS AT BRISTOL NEXT WEEK? “Driving-wise I saw people thinking it’s gonna be tough. If they think it’s gonna be tough, I feel like they should hit the gym more. I think we’ll be fine. I won’t fall out of the seat. I feel like I’ll be good. I feel like our cars are gonna be fast. I feel like we’re prepared to go there and hopefully win. That’s the mindset that we have going into Bristol. As far as tires and things like that go, it’s not up to me if they handle or not. Hopefully, everything car-wise holds up. I’ll be good.”

DO YOU CIRCLE THAT DATE ON YOUR CALENDAR? “Yeah, every year I would say we circle obviously the four speedway races and then both at Bristol.”

DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR MIND ABOUT BLOWING TIRES AT BRISTOL? “Yeah, we blew four last year. It’s a new race weekend. We just had issues. We had one of the fastest cars, but just kept blowing right-front tires for whatever reason. We have our thought process of why we did that, so we’ll make sure going back that we cover our bases on those.”

THOUGHTS ON THE NEW SCHEDULE OTHER THAN THE FACT WITH WATKINS GLEN BEING THE SAME WEEKEND MIGHT MAKE THE KNOXVILLE NATIONALS OUT OF THE QUESTION. “I honestly haven’t looked at it. I heard the highlights of it and it’s cool to have something different. We’ve kind of been stuck in the same rut for a while, so I do think a change up of the schedule will be fun. A couple off weekends in the summer will be fun to have and a doubleheader weekend, it’ll be cool to kind of see how everything plays out and then obviously what the schedule looks like going forward from there.”

YOU HAVE RUN BETTER AT SOME TRACKS YOU’VE STRUGGLED AT IN PAST YEARS. HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DOES IT GIVE YOUR TEAM KNOWING YOU CAN RUN WELL? “I think for us the mile-and-a-half program is something that we look forward to right now, and I would say over the last four or five years we kind of dreaded going to the mile-and-a-halves. We were just OK. We weren’t great and right now I think our cars are good and they’re strong and fast on the mile-and-a-halves if we don’t make mistakes or put ourselves in a bad spot. That being said, we’re looking forward to Sunday. I think we’re gonna have a strong car and hopefully we can kind of build up the rest of our program and try to get all of them on the same level. You look at somebody like the 18, the Penske cars, they’re good at every race track you go to and that’s what you strive for. We’ve been hit-or-miss at different race tracks, so we’re gonna try and elevate our whole program, but definitely happy with where we’ve started the year on the mile-and-a-halves.”

ARE YOU HAPPY TO BE HERE AS OPPOSED TO MARTINSVILLE? “Yeah, I hate Martinsville. Actually, when we’ve had decent cars there we run just fine. Like 2017 running top 10 both races I felt really good and enjoyed Martinsville, but when you’re off just a little bit you struggle really bad. For us at least, every one in our camp was struggling with us. It wasn’t just, ‘Hey, Ryan’s really good or David’s really good or Michael.’ We were all struggling with the same issues and speed, so I think you leave there scratching your head if your teammate goes and wins the race or runs way better, but, right now, we can kind of look at our group and know that we all ran different setups and we all still struggled with speed, so we know that we’ve got something fundamentally wrong going back to Martinsville and maybe some of our short tracks.”

HOW DO YOU DEVELOP A THICK SKIN? “You’ve got to in this sport. I heard it a lot when I was in XFINITY my first year and we crashed a lot, and kind of put it out of my mind and went back to work. I won two championships and won a lot of races and contended for poles and we were winning races when you had Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski all in the race at the same time. You didn’t have just one or two drivers from the Cup side down there and so that gave me confidence that I don’t really have to listen to what everybody else says and I can go on and do our job and so we’ve struggled in Cup. I know my ability to drive a car and when we have a good car and an opportunity to run well and gain good points and maybe even go for a win, I’m gonna continue to drive that aggressively.”

DO DRIVERS OVERLY CRITICIZE YOU? “Kyle Busch criticized me once and now everybody likes to blame me. Whoever it is, they like to have somebody to blame because I feel like in our sport most drivers it’s never their fault. I feel like that’s something that at least inside our circle at Roush Fenway Racing if I make a mistake I come back to the shop I tell Jack, ‘Hey, I made a mistake.’ That’s gone back to when I first started in this sport in 2010 and kind of feel like that’s something my dad instilled in me early on is if you make a mistake just own up to it and try not to let it happen again, so I feel like I do that. I feel like a lot of other drivers like to put blame on everybody else.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE UNFAIRLY BLAMED AS A SCAPEGOAT? “Yeah, I do, but I don’t care. Whatever makes them feel better. If they sleep better at night because they blamed me for something, then good for them.”

DOES THERE NEED TO BE SOMEBODY WITH A BLACK HAT AND POINT A FINGER AT? “Heck, Dale Earnhardt and his Intimidator black hat style – he was winning all the time, so I definitely can’t take that over. But as far as somebody that wants to go out and just do the best for their team despite what everybody else things, that’s definitely us and the 17 team. That’s my crew chief, myself, spotter on down. We’re there for us.”

YOU’RE DOING SUPERCROSS TOMORROW IN THE BOOTH? “Yeah, that’ll be fun. They’ve got the triple crown format run in Houston. I’m gonna fly down after practice tomorrow. People can follow along on our social channels and it should be fun. I’ll be back in the booth and haven’t been in there for a race in a long time. I did some Nationwide races back in the day in the booth with ESPN, so it’s been a while, but I’m looking forward to going down. The points battle is intense. I think there are a lot of good storylines, so I’ll be enjoying going there. I didn’t think I was gonna make a Supercross race this year. Normally, I get out to Phoenix early in the year and make a race, but just haven’t done that this year, so I’m looking forward to it.

WHAT MAKES THAT KIND OF RACING EXCITING? “I feel like with Supercross every person out there can jump the jumps. Bikes come into play. You do have to have a good, solid team behind you, but for the most part everybody can do the same things on a dirt bike as far as triples and quads and whoops and different rhythm sections, but it’s who can do them the fastest the longest and so I think what intrigues me about that is how much work that they put in outside of race weekend. I mean, I feel like their races are won during the week as far as training themselves. Our sport, I feel like, yeah, our races are won during the week, but it’ s more on the car build side and working with your team and making sure your setups are gonna be dialed in where they need to be and then fine-tuning that on the weekend. So it’s totally different as far as the weekday prep goes and I think that’s what is intriguing about their sport and why you have ups and downs and some riders being really, really fast. They had a good week of practice and got a little confidence and go to the race weekend carrying that same speed, but you have just a little bit of off practice time throughout the week and then you struggle on the weekends. I think it’s very interesting.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 41 Ruckus Ford Mustang – WHAT DOES THIS TRACK MEAN TO YOU? “It’s the only race track that actually my family and friends can drive from my hometown. It’s always cool to have a bunch of friends actually driving today to spend the weekend here, so it’s always fun to come to Texas. I know a bunch of people here in the area. I have family in Texas and, like I said, I have a lot of people that come from Mexico, where I was born and raised, so it’s always fun to come here as well with the fans because they’re great. I love racing here. I’ve been racing here for four years now and I always feel very close to home. It’s always good and fun to come back.”

HOW HAS THE SEASON GONE? “I think it’s been OK. There is a lot of room to improve, but I don’t want to sweat it yet. We have a lot of potential to do good things. My crew chief and engineers, these guys are very good and they have a lot of potential to do very good things. We have to keep working hard, keep working on our communication and chemistry and keep getting better. I feel like we are heading in the right direction. I feel like we still need just some raw speed, but we’re gonna get there. I don’t feel like we are yet to win races, but I don’t have any doubt that eventually we’re gonna get there. We just have to be patient and try to work hard for that.”

WOULD YOU BE OPEN TO PARTICIPATING IN A SERIES LIKE THE 10-PART DOCUMENTARY THAT FOLLOWED F-1? “I don’t know, probably. I don’t really know.”

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO GET AROUND THIS TRACK FAST? “This race track has been pretty tricky since they repaved it, especially corner one and two. It’s an extremely hard corner because it’s pretty flat in comparison to three and four. It’s very hard to be extremely good in corner three and four and be good as well in corner one and two. Today is kind of like a relaxed day because we have a lot of q-trims and trying to practice for qualifying runs, but I feel like tomorrow is gonna be a whole different ballgame. Hopefully, today actually so far I’m very happy with my car. I feel that we have, for sure without a doubt top 10 speed, so hopefully we can keep that up. Qualifying is gonna be a whole different game and you guys will have fun with our drafting deal and all the games, but we’ll see. Hopefully, we can be smart and stay out of trouble and have some fun and put the car on the speed chart where we deserve.”

ARE YOU MORE RELAXED THIS YEAR SINCE COMING TO SHR? “I do feel more relaxed. I’m happier. It’s always good to be with a group of guys like this. Last year, I wasn’t happy. It was just a little bit different and this year I’m more relaxed and just hoping to do my thing and I feel like we have more speed. Last year, there was a lot of inconsistency. Right now, I feel like we’re consistent and moving in the right direction. Last year was different, but for sure I’m more happy and more relaxed. My team, Billy Scott is a great crew chief. I have great engineers and a lot of good people behind me and I feel like we’re gonna do great things together. We just have to be patient and try to keep working in the direction we’re going so far. I don’t feel like we are where we want to be yet, but we have to be patient. We’ve been working together for seven races only, so everything is new, even the spoiler, so there are a lot of things we’re still working on trying to get better and hopefully we can keep going in the direction that we are going so far.”

DO YOU THINK THE QUICK MOVE OF GOING TO CUP AFTER CARL EDWARDS RETIRED HAVE ANY EFFECT ON YOUR DEVELOPMENT? “No. I don’t think it had any effect at all. I feel like I was ready to move up to Cup, but I wasn’t ready to move up to Cup and change the whole thing through the year. That wasn’t the plan and when you’re a rookie that’s something that you need. You want some consistency. That’s extremely important. As a driver you want consistency because you are learning so many different things and people change almost every month and it’s very hard to have consistency, so that’s in the past. There’s nothing that I regret as far as any decisions I’ve made.”

IT SEEMS YOU HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELF. “I have always had confidence in myself. I feel like if I lose confidence in myself I have lost everything and I know what I can do. I didn’t get here just by luck, so I know what I can do. You need the right group of people, people who actually trust in you and want you to do well and agree to have that good chemistry and everyone has to pull in the same direction. If somebody is not pulling as hard, that’s gonna be reflected in the race. I feel like right now with Billy and my engineers and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing has been working very hard. My pit crew is another great example. They started the first month of the season struggling a lot. They were a few second off the competition. I had conversations with them and I’ve been working out with them and just having conversation and trying to bring their confidence up. Last weekend they were killing it the last few stops, so that’s just something that really means a lot to me, that we’re heading in the right direction. We just have to put everything together and trust in each other and move forward.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BRISTOL NEXT WEEK? “Bristol is actually one of my favorite race tracks. I love Bristol. I think the laps are gonna be very, very fast with the new downforce package. It’s gonna be very, very fast and a lot of fun. For sure, Stewart-Haas Racing has a good package for Bristol, so I’m very excited and looking forward to go there with this team after they won there last year.”

DO YOU THINK YOUR TEAM IS READY? “Honestly, I never felt this close to my team – ever. We have great communication. We have fun together. Last week, we went bowling together. We are very close and I never had that before. I’m very lucky to have a great group of people with me – a great group of guys that work very hard. They work hard and we have fun together and that’s a lot of fun. It’s always a lot of fun to get along so well away from the race track and when it’s time to work, we work very hard and we’ve got everyone’s back and we move forward.”

IS THAT A LUCK OF THE DRAW OR THE CREW CHIEF OR SOMETHING YOU DID? “I feel like it’s been a lot of work by Stewart-Haas Racing and Billy Scott. This was a team that has been built by them and I’m just the lucky guy that gets to join the group. Since day one I knew this group was good, so hopefully we can keep having fun and getting better. I feel like we have in the last few weeks. We have had top 10 cars pretty much in the last month and now we have to close the races and doing a better job on pit road like we did the last few stops at Martinsville and we’ll be just fine.”

DID YOU SEE THAT BEER CAN THROWN AT YOU AFTER THE RACE? WAS IT THROWN AT YOU? “I don’t think that thing was thrown at me. I was walking. The guy had to be extremely good to try to hit me that close while I was walking. I was talking with Ryan Blaney during the week and he said, ‘Man, I just hear this explosion and I turned around and it’s sad that people are doing that, but think about it, Denny Hamlin was on your left, I think that thing was for him.’ So we were laughing about it. I don’t really know. I turned around and saw a lot of drunk people there, but I doubt it was for me. Who knows? It may have been for me, but who knows?”

DOES IT MATTER? “I don’t care.”

SO NOBODY YELLED AT YOU? “I read something on Twitter or somewhere that somebody said something about Mexicans, but that’s not true. I was there. I actually spent 30 seconds there waiting for my interviews and nobody said anything. It’s just people making stuff up. Nobody said anything and I doubt that thing was for me. Like Ryan said, I thought it was very funny when he said because I never thought about it, he said, ‘People don’t like Denny too much at that place.’ So it may have been for him, but who knows?”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Mustang – IS THERE A NEW ELEMENT THIS YEAR THAT HAS ALLOWED THE TEAM TO BE SO SUCCESSFUL COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS? TEAM PENSKE HAS BEEN GOOD FOR A LONG TIME. “I think it takes a lot to win at this level and a lot of things have to come together is maybe more accurately said. I think if I was to look at a few key points I would say one of them is from Ford Motor Company and the efforts that they’ve put in. They made a couple really nice moves over the last two or three years that probably culminated when they were in a better position to roll out the Mustang than they would have been elsewise to where the Mustang came out, and I don’t think we missed a step. I think we probably took a step forward with the Mustang, so that’s been very helpful to Team Penske, so credit to Mark Rushbrook and the team there at Ford and the things they’ve done to do just that. They brought on this guy named Tommy Joseph who I talked about last week. He’s been a big gain for us on the Ford side, and then I think beyond just the Ford specific oval, I would say that Doug Yates and his group with the engine side have done a really good job responding to some of the challenges when you make the changes that have been made to the engine and so forth and kind of staying on their toes, and part of that goes back to Ford again because I think Ford bringing on Stewart-Haas was a good marker for Doug Yates and his group to push them as well, so that culmination has been really strong, some strong decisions made by Ford Motor Company that have kind of been high tides for all ships. If I was to look at anything, I would say that’s probably the biggest factor and it’s come together this year with the new car and the rules changes.”

WHERE IS THE BALANCE BETWEEN ENTERTAINMENT AND COMPETITION FOR THIS SPORT? “I think if you back up to the schedule announcement. I’ve got to say I was pleasantly surprised somewhat, kind of ecstatic and shocked that there were as many changes as there were. I didn’t see that one coming. I think that was a good shot in the arm for the entire sport and I think that’s an example of changes you can make that don’t compromise competition for entertainment. I don’t always believe that you have to trade is I guess what maybe I’m trying to say and the schedule change is a direct reflection of that. I think it’s important to keep the schedule fresh and to have new ideas and to keep up with some of the challenges in the marketplace, whether it be the Olympics or whether it be markets that have made significant investments, so I was pretty excited to see that personally. I just go back to what I said earlier, I don’t think it always has to be a trade off. I think you can make the competition and entertainment better without always having to sacrifice one or the other and the notion that you can’t has always been very frustrating to me. Those ideas are the ones that I think you should always throw out the window right away – anyone who tells you you have to trade and has an idea that requires a trade, so as far as where the balancing mark is, when I put my race car driver hat on I’ll be honest I put a concerted effort to say I don’t care as long as I have the fastest car of the group then everything else will figure its way out. It’s a tough line for the sport to walk. Obviously, the entertainment factor is important and integrity is important with the competition side. I’m not sure I’m the right person to always give an answer. I think at the end of the day the fans are pretty smart and they’ll give you their answer and they’ll answer you with ratings and attendance.”

COMING UP ON 10 YEARS SINCE YOUR FIRST CUP WIN. HOW DID THAT WIN FURTHER YOUR CAREER AND SET THINGS IN MOTION? DID THAT LEAPFROG YOU TO PENSKE? “I’d like to think that it opened some doors for me. It’s hard to say because none of us have complete control over our destiny, but when I look out the window I’m not sure I would have ended up at Penske if I hadn’t won that race. It was a major marker. It opening up, in my mind at least, but I can’t speak for Roger or Discount Tire, it opened up the window for me to get the Discount Tire deal, which I needed to really feel good about driving for Team Penske because that opened up the XFINITY Series for me, opened up the team development side that I thought was gonna be so critical to our success and to kind of get Penske on its feet. If you recall, they were in a bad place at the time, and I don’t know if that would have happened without winning that race. Maybe it would have. I don’t know. It’s a better question for Roger and Discount Tire, but either way I’m glad it happened. I’m thankful and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.”

HAVE YOU FELT THIS PACKAGE TAKING MORE OF A TOLL ON YOUR BODY PHYSICALLY? “I think the cars are obviously a little hotter and there’s a number of reasons for that, more on-throttle time, probably more specifically on the shorter tracks to have the right side window in, so there’s a different between driving around with the windows down and with the windows up in a really hot car. So, yeah, I would agree that they’re definitely more physically demanding and that’s part of the challenge. That one I don’t think really bothers me. I think it’s not dangerous it’s just a little harder, so I think going into Bristol next week that will be the big challenge. I think I said that last week in the press conference after the race. That race I think has a lot of people on pins and needles, not just physically, which it should be physically, but with the cars themselves. I think the cars are really gonna see a lot of load and a lot of stress, especially if the temperatures are pretty cool, which generally they are in the spring Bristol race, so I think at the moment the drivers are definitely feeling it a little bit more, not to the point where I think it’s dangerous or anything like that, so I’m not too concerned about it, but I am concerned about some of these higher load tracks that the cars and teams will be a little bit behind and that could have a big effect on the race.”

THOUGHTS ON QUALIFYING. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN? “I don’t know. I just had this conversation with my teammate, Joey Logano, and part of me thinks it will be very similar to what we saw at California and part of me thinks it won’t. The one thing that I would say separated California from this track is that the cars here at least will be faster in two laps than they will in one lap, so that would probably mean you’ll see everybody make a lap at least, but there are no guarantees, so we’ll see. We’re gonna learn together.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang – WHERE IS THE BALANCE BETWEEN ENTERTAINMENT AND COMPETITION AFTER THE CHANGES ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK? “As far as the schedule, in my opinion for the 2020 schedule is a huge step in the right direction and I think those round ends and putting Bristol in there and having Daytona be the last race of the regular season, I think there’s a tremendous amount of really good things that are put in there and I think that will continue to get better as you go into ’21 and you see those track agreements come to an end at the end of ’20. The one thing I would like to see with that two-week gap in there, I’d love to see that first week include a mandatory shop closure of all the race teams to really rejuvenate the guys, gals and everybody in the sport to come back fresh and really get kind of a midseason break. You see them do that in Formula 1 and I really think for the morale and just to keep everybody from getting just beat into the ground I think that would be something that would be really interesting to see happen. But I think from a schedule standpoint we definitely have some really good changes that were in there. There’s always gonna have to be an entertainment value and there’s always gonna be a balance and I think when you look at the penalties in qualifying it still really doesn’t fix a lot of the things that I personally don’t like about qualifying. I can’t wrap my arms around being last to be first, but I love group qualifying and group qualifying and this package are just hard to marry together on a lot of these race tracks because you have to draft, so it’s a tough scenario to try to figure out and we go out and try to do the best we can in the scenario we’re in and go from there and if it changes it changes, if it doesn’t it doesn’t.”

HAS THE RACING BEEN MORE PHYSICAL THIS YEAR WITH THE NEW PACKAGE? “I have not felt that. I can tell you the center of the corner speeds are up, but I guess ask me that question after next week.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE AT STEWART-HAAS? ARE YOU GOING TO BE TRADING IN YOUR DRIVER SUIT FOR A THREE-PIECE SUIT SOON? “As you guys have probably heard a lot, that’s fake news (laughing). So whoever wrote that is speculating on a lot of rumors. I’m not getting out of the race car. I feel really comfortable with where I’m at as far as how I feel in the race car, where my home life is as far as balance with my kids. I feel fairly confident that being a part of the TV side of things is something that I want to do in the future, but it’s not gonna happen in the next couple of years I can tell you that, and it’ll be evaluated to sit in the seat first before at the end of those next couple of years before it’s even considered 100 percent to do something different. We have a lot of things that are going really well and the race car is one of them, so that’s just somebody looking for a headline there and there’s no way that happens. I have contracts and things that are already in place through 2021.”

IS THIS A PLACE WHERE A TEAM OTHER THAN GIBBS OR PENSKE CAN WIN? “That’s a good question. Right now, we have no clue with the way that the rules are right now. Friday is so drastically opposite of what you need on Saturday and Sunday that you don’t really learn anything about your car. I think for us we’ve had fourth, fifth-place cars at a lot of these styles of race tracks and so it’ll be interesting to see how the track progresses with the PJ1 on the race track. I think tonight will start to tell the story of what’s gonna happen with those grooves. Turns one and two are still gonna be the key to this race and that’s really been our moneymaker since they’ve repaved the race track is getting through the centers of one and two and being able to make passes and carry speed and do that in traffic and out of traffic. I think that it’s gonna be that same key, but turns three and four will be easy. You can run the bottom. You can run the middle. The cars are slow down the straightaway, so they’re gonna be easy, wide-open on that end.”

DOES HAVING OTHER THINGS IN YOUR LIFE MAKE THE EVENTUAL TRANSITION EASIER ONCE YOU DECIDE TO STOP DRIVING? “I think as you look at the management company side of things that’s much different than what it was ever intended to look. I didn’t expect it to be doing the things that it’s doing and be a profitable business and be doing something that I like to do. I like sports in general. I like being in this garage I like racing, but I also like other sports so that’s been encouraging for me to see it build and be able to start to build something that you didn’t really expect to be building from that side of things. I enjoy the TV side of it, but there’s still really nothing that really replaces the competitive side of things from being in there holding that steering wheel and making decisions. I still get a big kick out of situations like we’re in right now of being able to make changes to the cars and talk to your engineer and crew chief and walking through the garage this morning with the car through inspection, so I love that part of the racing as much as I do the driving and being a part of the team and helping solve a problem that is sometimes broken, sometimes really good and sometimes bad. That, for me, especially with this group of guys and the more you talk to people who retired and did things it’s always like, ‘Man, I just wish I would have stayed in the competitive situation that I was in and not tried to do something different or quit too soon.’ You hear a lot of talk about the schedule getting shorter, condensing things and as you look at that, that makes life easier to manipulate how you make things function at home too. Things get shorter, I feel good in the race car and I just don’t understand why a lot of people think you should get out because there’s so much to do with being competitive in this sport is so much to do with experience and if it’s going good why wouldn’t you want to just keep going? There’s too many things I still enjoy about it. There are only a couple of things I really don’t like, but it’s not mine. If it was mine, I would do some things that I don’t like differently, but I really like my race team and I like my people that are around me and, for me, that’s just something that would be really hard to replace by watching somebody else do it.”

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
O’REILLY AUTO PARTS 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 29, 2019

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA/PRIMELINE CAMARO ZL1 met with media and discussed his practice session and traction compound, the gains his team is making, and more. Full Transcript:

GIBBS AND PENSKE HAVE WON ALL THE RACES SO FAR, IS THIS A TRACK WHERE SOMEONE NEW CAN BREAK THROUGH TO WIN? “I hope so. Our practice was pretty good, but obviously those guys have done the best job in managing the races, and having the most speed. So, I’m not really sure. I think this race will be, if it stays cloudy throughout the weekend, it will be the most pack racing we’ve seen. I think the cars are pretty easy to drive relative to that practice session. We will see what happens. I feel like the other tracks the cars were harder to drive and more separation between cars so maybe that will enable some other guys to be in the show.”

DOES THE PREVIOUS SUCCESS THAT YOUR CAR NUMBER HAS HAD HERE WEIGH IN TO TEAM DISCUSSIONS AND PREPARATIONS? “There have been a lot of changes to the track. We finished top-10 here in the spring. But there has been so many changes that have been going on, I don’t think you can look too much at past success, especially with the new package. It is a way different beast than we had here. So, the track has been very different here the last couple of years with the repave, and I think with the compound that is in the second and third lanes this year hopefully it widens out. I think it will which will produce a different race for sure.”

DID YOU FEEL ANY DIFFERENCE DURING THAT PRACTICE WITH THE TRACTION COMPOUND THAT IS ON THE TRACK? “I think it was actual slicker. What we have seen when they put that stuff down is it usually takes a little bit of heat, and guys run over that for it to actually activate and work. So, I had a pretty big moment there right at the end of practice. I guess I put my right sides in it and it wasn’t really very grippy. So I think it takes a little bit of time to acclimate to the track and for us to be able to run in it to make it work. I think that after Truck race, you will see that grove widen out probably, and once we get to practicing, we should have it pretty widened out.”

WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU MIGHT BE LACKING OR IS IT REALLY TOO SOON TO SEE ANY GAINS YOUR TEAM IS SEARCHING FOR? “I would say it is too soon. We have to get out there in race practice to see if those issues are improved. But we kind of know where we are lacking, and there is a lot of progress being made over this week to improve that. I wouldn’t say anything we have is the same as what he had on the West Coast-what we are working with. I’m interested in seeing how that works. We showed some speed in qualifying in the previous races. It is a credit to the guys working to get the cars trimmed out and getting them fast for Fridays. But ultimately Saturday and Sunday are a lot different with this package so we will see what happens.”

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A YOUNG DRIVER TO HAVE TO BE PATIENT TO PAY YOUR DUES TO GET TO THE TOP: “I think patience is more of a thing that goes on mid-week and trying to just process what went on and get to the next week. Obviously I lean on my teammates and their advice and what they are doing. And Jimmie (Johnson) having as much experience as he does, trying to lean on him and learn from what he has been through. Really I just lean on my teammates to kind of figure out how I can make those improvements. Those guys are some of the most successful in the sport right now, so trying to get to that point is an obvious goal. I would say patience is word but just trying to make small gains and incremental gains from where we are to try to get there.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
O’REILLY AUTO PARTS 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 29, 2019

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 8 BULWARK FR/WAYNE WORKWEAR CAMARO ZL1 met with media in a casual session and discussed various topics. Selected Highlights:

IS THIS NEW PACKAGE HARDER TO DRIVE?
“It’s not physically harder from making a lap standpoint but because the speeds are up, the corner speeds, have taken a bigger toll on everybody’s bodies. The vertical and lateral g’s we’re feeling; the energy has got to go somewhere and the cars, the way they are, the drivers’ bodies are what’s taking it. It’s just the nature of the package and we’ve all got to adapt to it. People have adapted to all kinds of packages over time and this will be no different. It’s just different.”

WHAT HAS BEEN THE HARDEST THING IN YOUR TRANSITION SO FAR? ASIDE FROM THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS WITH THIS NEW PACKAGE, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT HAS CAUGHT YOU OFF-GUARD?
“I made this step knowing that this is the premier racing series in the world. There are 39 other guys that are the hardest you ever race against. That’s something I try not to take lightly. That’s one thing to think of that and know that. But when you get in the middle of it and really see it in full term, that’s where I think that days where if you’re contending for wins. Leading. Running inside the top 5 in the Xfinity race and you get put in equal or not maybe as equal of stuff, that could easily be a 20th to 25th place day in a Cup car. And that’s really showed its head, I feel like, for me. So, it’s the little details. I think I’ve had to dive into a little bit more. Obviously there is a lot more data and stuff to take in to make you a better race car driver. So, just trying to process all of that and make sure you’re doing it in a way that’s productive is something. I try to look at that stuff but seeing what it can do for you and how it can benefit you I took for granted a little bit the first two or three weeks. Our speed was a little bit better so I felt like that transition wasn’t that big. But when you get in the race, you find out how big it is.”

ON RE-STARTS, TALK ABOUT HOW SMART AND HOW MUCH BETTER YOU’RE GETTING WEEK AFTER WEEK
“You can think you’re aggressive in this series leading into the Cup level. But when you get here, everybody is good at it. So, you’ve not only got to be anticipating and really seeing or thinking what the moves the guy in front of you or around you are going to make, but you’ve got to know that you’ve got to target what you need in practice and in those situations to make you have advantage. I think I took a little of that for granted the first two to three weeks. I feel like we had a little bit of maybe a head’s start on some of the package to allow us to not have to put as much effort on that side of it. And, as everybody has caught up, we’ve had to, myself in particular, have had to adjust how aggressive we’re being in trying to learn those techniques and whatnot in practice.

“So, you see cars so close to each other when we leave pit road and we’re all jostling; it doesn’t matter what it is. We’re all trying to see what our cars do well and what they don’t. All that you’ve got to use when it comes time for restarts because that is the best time to get the most spots. Once you get strung out, it’s tough and you’ve got to wait, it seems like double the amount of time, than what you’ve had to in the past to make runs and to make stuff happen.”

HOW DIFFERENT ARE THE DRIVERS IN THEIR TALENT ON THE RESTARTS WOULD YOU SAY, ON A SCALE FROM 1 TO 10?
“I think everybody could be crowded within a number or two. The guy who uses that talent and executed all the way through practice to ask for the right things out of his race car, that’s the guy who usually can excel. I stand behind that because I think that’s the difference.”

WHO HAVE YOU LEARNED THE MOST FROM AND CONTINUALLY WATCH WEEK TO WEEK TO LEARN MORE?
“There are a couple of guys. I’ve had a lot of really good leadership and mentorship throughout my ranks to get to this point. From as early as driving for Brad Keselowski, he’s the guy I could always bounce questions off of and ideas off of. Nobody’s going to give you their telltale secret of how and why they can do what they do. And Kyle Busch is another guy I’ve always been able to lean on. It makes me confident when I’m asking the right questions, I’m getting the right answers from the guys that are some of the most successful in our sport. And my teammate, Austin Dillon, is no slouch. He’s won a lot of big races and been in really good positions in every situation in his career. And, he’s got a lot of experience at the Cup level. So, I’m just trying to lean on the guys that I feel the most comfortable with in asking the right questions. So far, they’ve all been extremely helpful.”

WHAT DO YOU NEED THE MOST HELP WITH?
“Just execution. I think when I’ve done my part, we’ve had a mistake on the team side and when they’ve complete risen to the occasion and done their part all the way through the weekend, I’ve made a mistake. So, just getting the execution for all of us to be on the same page at the same time to put a solid finish together.”

TALK ABOUT THE STICKY STUFF THEY’RE PUTTING ON THE RACE TRACK HERE IN TEXAS. DO YOU HAVE ANY CLUE AS TO HOW YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE THAT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE?
“I can promise you I’ll be tuned-in watching the Truck Race (laughs) because we’ve only been in qualifying trim so far. The entire Cup field is in qualifying trim so you’re trying to run the shortest distance possible. Coming to the green in our qualifying runs in practice, I was actually able to run a little higher in (Turns) 3 and 4 than we’ve been able to since the repave, so that’s a little interesting to see how it holds up or where it transitions to. But, ideally, the stuff is heat activated. And it’s going to get cooler as the weekend goes but there are also a lot of other vehicles on the track between the Trucks and Xfinity; and we’ll have a pretty good idea. None of us are just hanging out and not watching what’s around us. And there’s prime races running before us will give us an idea of how that stuff is going to react and change.

“NASCAR and the race track, collectively, are trying to do something to improve the race and do something to give us more lanes to move around with. But, in the grand scheme of things, it’s also a variable; especially here on the asphalt race track where you get down in Turn 1 here at Texas and the race track is so wide you want to run the shortest distance you can. Where the tire dragging has been pulling rubber on the race track where the PJ1 mixture has been applied; it’s so far off the bottom it don’t make sense maybe until later in the run when the times have fallen off enough to go up there and run a longer distance. There’s a lot to be seen on that side of it throughout the weekend and we’ll see which way it goes.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Texas Motor Speedway – March 29, 2019

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media in Texas:

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How was your Camry in the first practice?

“It wasn’t a great practice for us. Just trying to get a grip on our handling. We’re a little bit off, so hopefully get somewhere in that top 12 in qualifying and work on it tomorrow.”

How much does the PJ1 throw you off or are you getting used to it?

“It doesn’t affect us right now. We’re all running the bottom, so I haven’t really gone up there yet. I think most of the time we’re going to be watching other series first to see how they burn it in and whether it’s quicker or not.”

How do you think the new rules will change qualifying?

“I don’t think it will change a whole lot. We saw in practice everyone was really waiting for someone to go. Even in practice there were groups of cars. I think it’s still going to be a waiting game. You still don’t want to be first or second for that matter. It’s going to be about who’s willing to push it there at the end.”

Do you think we’ll still see people not making a lap in qualifying and having to start the race in the back?

“I think it’s possible. I think it’s more likely you’re going to see people log-jammed trying to get off of pit road and people trying to position themselves and other people trying to hurry up and get around to ensure that they have a lap. I still think it’s going to be mayhem in a sense of you want to be last in line, but make sure you have enough time. So, I think everyone is going to be trying to go at the same time.”

What did you think of the schedule changes for 2020?

“It was good. Certainly, more changes than what I thought was going to be on tap for us, but certainly happy that they’re making significant changes in our schedule.”

Which change to the 2020 schedule were you most surprised about?

“The biggest one was probably ISM Raceway being the finale. I like it. I think that ISM has spent the money to upgrade their facilities so like Steve O’Donnell says they deserve it based off of investing in our sport. Until other tracks step up to the plate and invest that kind of money you probably won’t have a finale.”

What do you like about being here at Texas?

“I don’t know. It’s a nice area. The track really is a challenge, because they tried to make it interesting but interesting is not always better when it comes to competition. Turns 1 and 2 is just super flat and one lane. They definitely tried to put some grip up top. I’m definitely in favor of that and would like to see how it all burns in once we get going this weekend. I think racing will potentially be better with it than without it, so we’ll see how it all turns out. I don’t know. I don’t like it more or less than any other track we go to.”

How do you look at whether the NASCAR season-finale should rotate every year or every couple of years?

“I think there’s only handfuls of tracks that are deserving enough to really hold the final event. The final event should be a premiere place and event. That’s why they host the NCAA championship game not in a basketball arena, they host it in huge football arenas now. It’s bigger and better. I think it’s all about facilities from my standpoint. That’s been the number one priority in my mind that needed to be the focal point of us moving forward, so ISM Raceway is an upgrade facilities-wise from Homestead so I’m all for it.”

Do you see Texas as a track where another race team can break through this year?

“It’s week to week. I think that everyone on the West coast was kind of tied in to however they built their cars it was done, and they were kind of stuck through the West coast. But I think now this is the first mile-and-a-half we’ve had back where people have learned from the West coast and made adjustments. Certainly, this weekend you can see a shift in cars that are fast that hadn’t been in the past.”

How do you feel this season has gone since the Daytona 500 win?

“We’re second in points, we’re doing well, we’ve scored the third most stage points and we’re 20 points behind Kyle (Busch), so we’re doing okay considering the tough year we’ve had on pit road and just lack of total execution. But, certainly, I believe that our speed is very, very good and competitive. We’re upfront pretty much every week.”

Do you think with the rules package that other teams are going to catch up to JGR and Team Penske?

“Yeah, certainly. I think that anytime there’s changes in rules packages there’s always a couple that hit it and others that struggle. The problem with that is that once the others catch up then everyone runs the same speed and then passing becomes even more difficult than what it is currently. Yeah, I certainly think that the Hendrick organization in general has always taken a longer time. We’ve seen in the past, even 10 years ago, you don’t hear anything from them until the summer months. Certainly, I don’t put any stock into how anyone is running right now.”

Is it important for you to bank stage points, wins and things like that before the Playoffs?

“Yeah, we’re trying to do everything we can to stay as high up as we can and get as many bonus points as we can. Playoff points, that’s the number one importance for us because we’ve gone into these playoffs with a lack of bonus points these last few years and it’s really bit us in the early rounds when we’ve had a bad race.”

What do you think of Daytona being the cutoff race before the Playoffs start?

“I was in a couple meetings about a year and a half ago when we were talking about the schedule and it was on the table about maybe Talladega or one of those tracks – a true wild card track – being the final race before the Playoffs start. So, I think certainly Daytona is a good one. That race is always wild and a crash fest anyways, so I think this will add to that excitement and truly you could find someone that is off the radar winning that race and putting their place in the Playoffs. Certainly, from an excitement standpoint it’s definitely a good move.”

Where is the balance between entertainment and competition in the NASCAR schedule?

“It seems like there has been a shift in entertainment style racing or qualifying or whatever in the last year or so. I think that’s been a shift, but I also believe everyone’s trying to do the right thing. I certainly believe the NASCAR executives that we have now in place, there’s more confidence in them than what there’s ever been since I’ve been here. All the way from the top of Jim (France) to Steve Phelps and Steve O’Donnell, the whole group I think is doing a really good job. It’s not always about what we want, but certainly I think keeping the integrity and making sure the right cars are winning poles and the right cars are winning races certainly should be at the forefront. But they also have to put on a product that’s exciting for the fans to see on TV, so it is a balance. I don’t know the right balance to that. I think certainly from a competitor’s standpoint we want it to be where if we are better than the person in front of us, we should be able to pass them.”

Do you feel this year you’re being overlooked in a sense?

“I don’t know. They always have. It doesn’t matter to me. We’re going to quietly just keep digging along and try to win more races and that’s what it’s about. We’ve been upfront every week, so I’m happy with the way we’re running right now.”

Do you feel the pressure will be on drivers more with the new cutoff races for 2020?

“Yeah, it is. The only negative to that is you work all season to earn your position and try to get in a good spot and if you end up having a bad wild card race, you draw the wrong card and is that fair? You just try to do everything you can during the regular season to make sure you’ve got that buffer. That’s what we’re trying to do now and make sure that once we get to the tracks that it’s more skill-based and driver skill-based and that’s where we’ll shine. I think that we’ve just got to get past those wild card races and make sure we’re in a safe spot.”

Do you think the existence of Playoff points has changed the ways that drivers have accepted these changes?

“It wouldn’t be good for sure. It would be certainly — I would say by chance than ever. So, yeah, I think the gift of the Playoff points and rewarding you for the regular season has lessened the blow to bringing in more wild car races.”

Did you get up into the traction compound during the first practice?

“Just getting up to speed I tried to drive up there, but I didn’t feel any difference. It will be really tomorrow where I think we’ll start venturing up there. And, really, it’s a wait and see for us. We’re going to see how the Truck race plays out. I guarantee you 99 percent of the Cup drivers will be watching the Truck race to see if the groove widens out and everyone will be watching lap times to see if the guys that are running up higher can up time or not. And, once they do, and we see that hey it’s good and okay, that’s our sign of it’s good up there. We don’t want to be the first ones that go up there and try it, so we’ll let the truckers go up there and do it. We’ll watch it from there and then once again we’ll be watching Xfinity to see the same thing and our confidence will grow once we see that.”

Has the new package been more physically grueling than in the past?

“Yeah, there’s more load. Even this weekend I looked, and the corner speeds will probably be up 15 miles an hour or so over what they’ve been in the past. The only thing that worries me is there were blown tires last year and we’re going in there with higher corner speeds this year, so hopefully everything stays together and we’re able to have a clean and safe race. Certainly, you could just feel more load in your body this year because of the higher corner speeds.”

What kind of toll does it take on your body as the race goes on?

“Just more achy. That’s the only thing I’ve noticed. It’s an extra half a day worth of achiness that you have. I’ve actually felt pretty okay this year. I’ve kind of worked on my insert to make sure comfort is more of a thing that I focus on. I’ve actually felt level from where I was last year, but I think I’ve made the inside of the car better. Certainly, you’re more tense because of the load. You’re trying to keep your body up.”

How long does it usually take you to shake off a race?

“A day usually. When I say a day, I feel like I’m back to pretty much 100 percent within one day. Really, the gap for me is from getting out of the car for the next five hours that’s when I really make the biggest strides. You’re re-hydrating and to me I become a cookie monster and I eat everything in site after the race. To me, it’s just putting all of that stuff back in your body. For me, it’s not as long as it used to be when I was kind of out of shape, but certainly now it’s about a day.”

Can you pay championship contenders back at Phoenix if you get knocked out of the way at Martinsville?

“I don’t know. I think that when everyone kind of talked about the whole Matt (Kenseth) and Joey (Logano) thing, I think they came out and said if you’re racing for a position, they don’t care what you do. It’s when you’re laps down and you’re not racing for a physical position that they take retaliation seriously. So, I think it’s a free reign to wreck a person as long as you’re racing for whatever position.”

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Durability

In most cases you very much get what you pay for and if you are looking for a highly durable piece of kit then you may need to invest slightly more. Aluminum rollers for example are light and easy to install, although you may not get a long lifespan from this material. Steel rollers are far more durable and can deal with weighty loads with ease, the sturdy material of steel also ensures longevity but it is slightly more expensive that the aluminum option. Alternatively you could go all out and invest in a roller made from both steel and aluminum which offers a low cost option which provides longer life.

Size

Once you know which rollers you need it is time to start thinking about size and the specifications which you want for your conveyor. Both the size of the load and the loading conditions ought to be considered here and you need to ensure that the dimensions are right for the bulk which it will carry. With regards to loading conditions if the roller will see heavy impact during loading then larger tubing will be required on the roller.

Roller Conditions

Finally you should consider the roller conditions and whether you require high or low rollers for your business. Another consideration is whether or not you will need to tweak the rollers depending on how you plan to use them as the rule of thumb suggests that 3 rollers should always be in contact with the load. If you are limited for space and this doesn’t allow movement or re-spacing of the rollers then you may need to alter your specifications.

With these tips you can ensure that you get the right roller for your needs.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
O’REILLY AUTO PARTS 500
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FT. WORTH, TEXAS
MARCH 31, 2019

BOWTIE BULLETS:

LEADER OF THE PACK:
Seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) champion and career-long Chevrolet driver, Jimmie Johnson, is the leader of the pack at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). Johnson, pilot of the No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, has seven wins, 15 top-5’s and 21 top-10 finishes, more than any other in the series.

PACING THE FIELD:
Chevrolet has a long-standing partnership with TMS. Since the first NASCAR Cup race at the 1.5-mile venue in June 1997, Chevrolet has served as the official pace car and truck. This weekend, Chevrolet will lead the field to the green for the 37th Cup Series event with a Kinetic Blue Silverado RST. Eighteen of the 40 MENCS starters will compete race car versions of the Camaro ZL1 production vehicle.

TUNE-IN:
The O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 31st at 3 pm ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships
Team Chevy drivers have scored 779 wins and 701 poles in MENCS competition
Chevrolet drivers have won 13 of 36 races at Texas Motor Speedway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 is the only current Team Chevy driver who has won at TMS. Johnson has seven victories (’07, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15 – twice, and ’17).

A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at TMS 14 times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 66 top-5 and 157 top-10’s at TMS
A Chevrolet has led 4150 of 12,234 laps possible at TMS

FOR THE FANS:
Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing display in the Fan Midway at Texas Motor Speedway near Gate 4

Fans can check out a great assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: 2020 Silverado 2500HD, Tahoe RST, Colorado ZR2, Equinox, Silverado 1500 Trail Boss, Traverse Premier, Camaro 2SS, Corvette Grandsport

At the Chevrolet Display, fans can view the No. 42 Credit One Camaro ZL1 and No. 9 Mountain Dew Camaro ZL1 show cars

Other activities include a variety of interactive games for adults and kids

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER APPEARANCE SESSIONS AT THE DISPLAY:

Friday, March 29th:
3:00 p.m. – Brett Moffitt & Sheldon Creed
3:30 p.m. – Young Motorsports
4:15 p.m. – Vinnie Miller & Matt Mills
4:35 p.m. – Tyler Reddick
7:20 p.m. – Justin Haley

Saturday, March 30th:
10:40 a.m. – Kaz Grala

Sunday, March 31st:
10:30 a.m. – Kyle Larson
10:45 a.m. – Austin Dillon
11:05 a.m. – Chase Elliott

Chevrolet Display Hours of operation: Fri., March 29th – 1:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Sat., March 30th – 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and Sun. March 31st – 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 – 9th in Standings
A LOT OF PEOPLE ASSUME 1.5-MILE TRACKS ARE ALL THE SAME, BUT WHAT MAKES TEXAS DIFFERENT?
“Well, now it’s very different. Before the repave I thought it was a lot of fun, now the (Turns) 1 and 2 end of the race track is very different from (Turns) 3 and 4 so you just have two different corners basically compared to what you used to have there. That has been the hardest part for us.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 – 10th in Standings
“Texas Motor Speedway is a sister track to where we ran earlier in the season at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) and with how well we ran there, we’re looking to build on that. However there is much more of an effort that we are putting forth for qualifying. To be comfortable in the draft, to try and play the drafting lane and timing that properly. We are definitely more focused on the Friday attempts. Setups should be pretty close to what we ran at Vegas, it is going to be wide-open through (turns) three and four, while turns one and two will be where the race is won or lost.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 – 11th in Standings
“I think we’re all glad to have survived Martinsville and are looking forward to getting to a type of track where our team has shown some success. Texas has been sort of an up and down place for us in qualifying, but we usually have fast cars for the race. All of the mile and half tracks have their own unique characteristics, but we’ve looked pretty good at the two tracks we’ve been to with the new package, so hopefully that’s the case this weekend in Texas.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 – 15th in Standings
“Martinsville was rough, there is no way around it. We are using these struggles to become stronger, I appreciate my team continuing to dig in. We all want to win. Moving on to Texas, that track is really different these days. With this package I would assume we will have some concerns with turns one and two, and have some off-throttle time and learning how to make the car turn in a tighter radius. Turns three and four are pretty aggressive and there are some bumps so this package should make it interesting.”

ALEX BOWMAN, LLUMAR CAMARO ZL1 – 17th in Standings
“Texas is different and unique because Turn 1 and 2 are so different since the repave. It is so weird, and you don’t even run out to the wall getting into Turn 1. The bottom is a lot shorter at the top. With the newer pavement, it is really edgy.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 REALTREE CAMARO ZL1 – 18th in Standings
WITH THE RULES PACKAGE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE HAVE RUN IN THE PAST AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, DO YOU JUST THROW THE NOTEBOOK OUT OR ARE THERE THINGS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS YOU CAN USE THIS WEEKEND? “It’s going to be tough to take the notebook that we’ve run over the last couple of years at Texas Motor Speedway and apply it to the package we are running this weekend, but everything does relate. You can always apply something. The biggest thing is learning the history of the race and how the rubber lays down on the track. We’re always learning a little bit. We’ve worked really hard at RCR during the off-season and our cars have speed. It’s comforting going into a track like Texas Motor Speedway knowing how fast our cars have been so far this year. We just need to string together a solid finish.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA/PRIMELINE CAMARO ZL1 – 21st in Standings
STATISTICALLY, TEXAS IS ONE OF YOUR BETTER RACE TRACKS. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THAT TRACK THAT KIND OF SUITS YOU?
“I don’t know really, I haven’t really thought about it. I’ve just been there more than most of the other tracks we race at probably. Our cars have been pretty good there for the most part as well. I would say that it’s just really been luck of the draw with the race cars that I’ve had. In Trucks and Xfinity, we ran pretty well and I got a win. I would say it’s just a bit of luck that Texas just suits me. I just like that place and it seems to like me as well.”

HOW HAS THE NEW SURFACE AT TEXAS CHANGED THINGS?
“There is a lot of grip at that race track, so I think with this new package that we are going to have that there is going to be a lot of grip to work with. I’m not really sure what to expect there otherwise. Honestly, I feel like it’s going to be a wild race because there is so much grip and the aero package we have.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 KROGER SPEED UP YOUR CLEANING CAMARO ZL1 – 22nd in Standings
“Since the repave, I have actually enjoyed Texas Motor Speedway quite a bit. We’ve run really well with the new configuration. The track being so different from one end to the other has been a big challenge for us setup-wise. It’s narrow and the asphalt is still very new, and it hasn’t aged yet. We won’t have the passing options that we will have when it gets a little wear on it. With that, it just takes time and you can’t sit idle and let everything fall apart. We have had really fast cars with the old package and if you look at this new one, I think it becomes a matter of how far do you trim out versus how far do you go on the downforce side. It’s a tough one to try and prepare for, but I’m always looking forward to returning home to Texas and having a strong run in our Kroger Speed Up Your Cleanup Camaro ZL1.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 TWISTED TEA CAMARO ZL1 – 23rd in Standings
“Texas is a difficult track to tackle. You have to find a strange balance with Turns 1 and 2 being so flat and Turns 3 and 4 still being banked with wide-open speeds. It will be interesting to head there with this new package. People want to know what it’s going to be like, and the reality is that we just have no idea how it will behave. But, that’s what has made this season fun and interesting. It’s going to be different week to week, and we are all learning as we go. Our Twisted Tea Camaro ZL1 team has adapted well so far, and hopefully we can keep doing that.”

RYAN PREECE, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 – 25th in Standings
“I’m really looking forward to getting to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend,” Preece said. “We have been building a really strong baseline on our team through the first six races. It’s been a learning curve for me to be able to communicate what I need to the team out of these new racecars with the package for this season. We’ve been continuing to build each week and I think we have a really strong notebook now to grow throughout the season. I know we have speed in our intermediate track program at JTG Daugherty Racing and our teammate has had strong success at Texas Motor Speedway in the last couple of years. The repave and new package are certainly going to throw a curveball at everyone, but we have a lot of good notes from the first couple of 1.5-mile races earlier this season and all we need to do is just continue moving forward.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 – 27th in Standings
HOW HAS THE PAVEMENT CHANGED TEXAS? DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT’S A WHOLE DIFFERENT PLACE?
“It is. It’s not the Texas Motor Speedway anymore that I started racing on. It is super-fast. I like the feeling of speed, obviously, I am in this sport for a reason – and in Turn 3 and Turn 4 you are hanging on for dear life. We are going to be wide-open there with this package. There are no other grooves. It’s just one groove, and is really hard to pass. It comes with age, I guess, for the track to wear out. It needed a repave because the rain delays were horrendous. So, Atlanta (Motor Speedway) is the last one hanging on. They continue patching up to try to save the asphalt, but in-time it calls for a new repave. It’s just unfortunate the way that place used to race. There was five, or six grooves, all the way from the yellow line to the fence you could race anywhere. That was always fun.”

Chevrolet Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships
Total (1949 – 2015): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-2015)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Drivers Championships
Total (1949 – 2016): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005 – ’11)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016

Event Victories
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – (in 2007)

2019 STATISTICS:
Wins: 0
Poles: 2
Laps Led: 297
Top-five finishes: 3
Top-10 finishes: 13
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 779 (1949 – to date)
Poles Won to Date: 701
Laps Led to Date: 232,553
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,972
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 8,185

Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date

GM: 1,114
Chevrolet: 779
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65

Ford: 780
Ford: 680
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4

Chrysler: 466
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59

Toyota: 125

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.