HOW IS YOUR CAR IN TESTING?
“We’re learning stuff. I think the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) is probably a good gauge as to where we are right now. We’re sitting on some speed. We just don’t want to cool the car down every time we go out and go through that whole mess. We’ve got grill tape off and the car really in race format just trying to see with the changes we make what helps the car and what doesn’t. Then going through our motions. This isn’t the car we plan on bringing back for Speedweeks, it will be a backup. We know that we’ll build a better car and apply what we learn here. Not the most stellar on speed, but the engineers are learning a lot and going through the motions. From the driver’s standpoint, it is absolutely painfully boring to be a part of it. I’m excited to be here.”
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE ’48 EXPERIENCE PACKAGE’ THE SPEEDWAY IS OFFERING?
“It’s been a lot of fun and we had a very successful program last year with Lowe’s participation and having ticket packages built around it that really help families and make it enticing to bring your children out to the race track. We had a very successful program in July here and we’ve announced again that we’ll do it again for the Daytona 500. I became a fan of racing as a kid and I think the future of our sport really relies on connecting with the young kids and helping them get involved in the sport and understanding and being around it. Hopefully, this program can contribute to that.”
WILL YOU PARTICIPATE IN DRAFTING THIS AFTERNOON AND DO YOU ANTICIPATE THERE TO BE MORE MANUFACTURER BATTLES NOW WITH THE NEW CAR?
“I think you answered it with the ‘supposedly very equal’ part. If we’re down, we’re going to complain. If Ford’s down, they are going to complain. It’s just the cat and mouse game of racing and what happens. I feel good with the SS that we have. I know we’re going to learn a lot as we get going here and be very competitive. NASCAR is going to work hard to make sure they are all equals. It won’t take away the opportunity to complain, that will always be there and this is racing. As far as drafting, I would love to be out there and draft. I am tired of sitting in that long-ass line waiting my turn to get out on the race track, but it’s up to Chad (Knaus, crew chief) and what he wants to do and what was on his radar when we got here. It’s been so slow to get on the track, we haven’t been able to work through our single car stuff like we want to. Unless we get that under control, we have a long test list of things we want to try and that’s really what would hold us up more than anything.”
DOES THE FACT THAT YOU DIDN’T DRAFT MUCH LAST YEAR PLAY A ROLE IN YOU GETTING IN THE DRAFT THIS YEAR?
“No, I mean the reason we don’t draft on race weekends is we spend so much time and effort to get our primary car where it needs to be and you don’t make it any faster. You show up here and what you have is what you have. You go through the tech room and it is what it is. For us, it makes no sense to go out there and draft because you aren’t going to learn anything. You’re just taking a chance of ruining your best race car. Generally speaking, we just don’t have any cars. This is our only speedway car for the 48 car. We want to have that as a backup when we come back. We still need to go home and build our Shootout car, I’m sorry, our 500 car. We just don’t have the inventory. I know Greg (Biffle) was saying something as I walked in, I mean we have four deck lids for our cars that are legal and they are on the four Hendrick cars that are here now. We’re playing a big game of catch up right now.”
DOES THE OFF-SEASON FEEL LONGER WHEN YOU ARE NOT THE CHAMPION?
“Last year the way we lost our competitiveness and Tony (Stewart) and Carl (Edwards) ran off with the show, the season couldn’t end fast enough. The off-season was nice to have and it seemed way too short. There was a lot of recharging that I needed and I think the team needed. This last year, I wasn’t ready for the season to end. Sure I would have loved it to end after Texas when we had the points lead and we could be champions, but I honestly had more in the tank when the season was over. I think I did a much better job of managing the pressure and stress than any other year. I think Chad (Knaus, crew chief) did, my guys did and although it came to an end, I could have gone the next week and raced again. I had more left. I enjoyed the off-season, I had fun, but I’m ready to go racing. I hope that I’ve matured some and understand how to lay out the season. Know when to take some breaks in between some races and just disconnect and set a pace that I can keep for another 10 or 15 years and stay in the sport.”
HOW MANY CHANGES ARE ON YOUR TEAM THIS YEAR AND HOW MUCH MORE IS HENDRICK PLAYING CATCH UP THAN ANY OTHER TEAM?
“I think everybody is in the same boat as far as the rules package and trying to build cars to whatever the rules will be. The parts inventory, a lot of these pieces now are NASCAR-issued and we buy them through whatever channel and those folks are just now getting legal parts produced. Our situation is a lot like anyone else. We’ll be able to hopefully get prepared faster than most and where we are most concerned is if we get into the season and we start crashing cars, especially your down force cars. There are a lot of mile and a halves at the start of the season and you can be out of inventory of race cars pretty quick. That’s the thing that concerns me the most, but if there is any company that can deal with it, it will be ours. I feel like we’re in a good position. Changes on the team so, Greg Ives is over at JR Motorsports and then Cody Clemmons who was the other engineer, he has left racing and I just spoke to him the other night. He is doing great and is pursuing another career path. He came in as an intern and expected to only stay for his internship and he did so well that we brought him on and he stayed a few years and did a great job for us. We have two new engineers and then there’s a guy underneath that is doing the underside of the car so three new faces.”
HOW DIFFERENT WILL THIS CAR BE FROM THE COT?
“I think historically changes have been good for the 48 and good for Hendrick. I hope and assume that we will be in that front wave of guys figuring things out. The car we tested Tuesday at Nashville and the aero package on the car is extremely forgiving. I’m not sure that helps me. The easier the cars are to drive I think the closer the competition gets and so with a so much more forgiving car gives them a better job when the car isn’t driving well on a loose race track or a hot day. That really helps me in my background kind of shines and excels at that point. I’m excited and eager to get to the Charlotte test next week and just see how I stack up to the rest of the field because we didn’t participate in the December test. I know our cars were fast. I think Kasey (Kahne) was whipping around there pretty quick in the December test. Change is good, but if the down force package stays like it is, they will be easier to drive in some respects and a lot faster.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT DAYTONA?: “On a smart aleck note, the first four or five times, I was so eager to go sit in that long line out there and so happy to be in a Cup car here at Daytona and now I sit out there in misery. It’s painful, it’s so painful. When you come back for race week and you drive through the tunnel and come in, make no mistake about it, you know you are at Daytona and it’s go time. The rush that follows then helps you forget about the three long days of testing here.”
About Chevrolet:
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.5 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
Source: Team Chevy, Press Release
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Max Jean Stefan Johansson Eddie Johnson Leslie Johnson Bruce Johnstone
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