RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards\/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang Dark Horse \u2013 WHAT ARE THE TEAM\u2019S STRENGTHS THIS YEAR COMPARED TO OTHER SEASONS?\u00a0\u201cOne thing I\u2019ve been really happy about this year as opposed to last year or the year before that when it took us a little while to get going.\u00a0Early in the year and through the early summer, our pace was just really not where it needed to be, and that was with some car changes and stuff like that.\u00a0It just took us a while to get our arms around it, but this year I\u2019ve been really happy with our pace all year.\u00a0I feel like we\u2019ve had super fast cars, been executing really well and we\u2019ve been continuing to get better on our execution and stuff like that.\u00a0Just mentally tough guys.\u00a0We\u2019ve had a bunch of DNFs, but don\u2019t really let it get to you, just continue to go do your job very well the weeks after.\u00a0It\u2019s a cool group to be like that, so this group is very mentally tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
ANY REASON TO BELIEVE WE SHOULDN\u2019T BE LOOKING AT PENSKE CARS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE AGAIN?\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019ve got to get there first.\u00a0It\u2019s a gauntlet to get there.\u00a0Everyone thinks it\u2019s easy to get to Phoenix and you go win Phoenix.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to go through nine weeks of hell to get there.\u00a0It\u2019s tough, but I do think it\u2019s nice to have all three of our cars and the 21 car in it, so it\u2019s just how do we execute week in and week out through the rounds and how do you minimize your mistakes and don\u2019t put yourself in a hole.\u00a0I do like where our group is at, our company as a whole, with pace and people and things like that and just preparation, and then you just hope you can execute when the day comes and try to just take it one race at a time.\u00a0That\u2019s all you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
DO YOU ENJOY THE PLAYOFFS OR IS IT MORE MENTALLY TOUGH THIS TIME OF YEAR?\u00a0\u201cIt is mentally a tougher time, I feel like.\u00a0I try not to approach races differently as far as my midweek prep, but I feel like when you\u2019re at the track and going through the race in the playoffs I feel like what\u2019s really tough about it and it can get to you is mistakes are blown up like crazy.\u00a0You can\u2019t afford mistakes.\u00a0You can\u2019t afford.\u00a0It\u2019s like, where do you find the ragged edge of where you\u2019re used to, but if you do make a mistake and step over the line it has drastic ramifications if you do just because you\u2019re in the playoffs and now you\u2019ve put yourself in a hole, and I think that can weigh on people a little bit.\u00a0It is tough, just because you know what you\u2019re going for, but it is tough and it\u2019s how do you handle situations like if you have a bad week, how do you bounce back from it.\u00a0How do you recover, or how do you not put yourself in a hole to have a bad week, but it is tough.\u00a0There are a lot of ups and downs and it\u2019s how do you handle emotions and try to just simplify everything.\u00a0At the end of the day, we\u2019re going racing and you\u2019re doing the best job that you can, but you also know what you\u2019re going for and that makes it pretty tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU DO TO BOUNCE BACK FROM THAT TYPE OF THING?\u00a0\u201cA short-term memory.\u00a0I try to forget things really, really quickly and just try to take my mind off of that stuff and learn quick and move on quick.\u00a0If you don\u2019t learn anything, like if you make a mistake and you move on, well then you\u2019re probably going to make that same mistake again, so I always try to tell myself here over the last handful of years it\u2019s like, hey, if something bad happens that race day Sunday or something, and whether it\u2019s a mistake by yourself or just circumstances, you can contemplate on it for the night when you get home, but when you open your eyes the next morning you\u2019re over it and done and moved on and learned your lesson and you\u2019re gonna focus on the next week.\u00a0I\u2019ve just been able to do that and not let everything pull my hair.\u00a0I\u2019ve worked really hard at trying to do that, but I don\u2019t really have a ritual.\u00a0That\u2019s just what I find helps me.\u00a0Be upset about it all you want for that night, but wake up the next day you better be over it and let your brain reset.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE STRENGTH AND CHALLENGE FOR YOUR TEAM GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS?\u00a0\u201cI think our strengths right now is our pace has been really good.\u00a0That\u2019s number one.\u00a0You hope it stays good.\u00a0I feel like our execution has been really good.\u00a0Our pit crew has gotten to where they need to be.\u00a0The communication within our team through the weeks and on the weekends has been great.\u00a0I feel like this group has been more united than we\u2019ve ever been and it keeps getting better and better each year, which is a great place to be, being strong the last couple of years, too.\u00a0Weaknesses, I don\u2019t really think this team has a ton of weaknesses.\u00a0It\u2019s just kind of how you go through races.\u00a0It\u2019s how do you handle these situations, but this team is really strong both on the track and bonded together off the track.\u00a0I think you have those couple things, you do all the work you can and try to be as prepared as you can and then just go out there and run and whatever happen happens, so we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOW DO EXPLAIN TEAM PENSKE\u2019S THREE STRAIGHT TITLES?\u00a0\u201cIt all just comes down to people.\u00a0Roger has always said it\u2019s all about the people that you have with you.\u00a0He\u2019s pretty good at knowing who is good and who he wants and who he wants working for him, and he\u2019s a person you want to work for, so you understand what you\u2019re getting into when you walk through the doors over there and you have that badge on your shirt that says Team Penske.\u00a0It\u2019s just dedicated people and smart people and understanding what the end goal is and how do we get there and how do we just work harder than everybody else, and then it makes the drivers look good.\u00a0At the end of the day, it\u2019s all about the people that we have around us and around our group at the race shop.\u00a0They make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
FROM A MOMENTUM STANDPOINT, HOW VALUABLE WAS THE WIN AT DAYTONA?\u00a0\u201cIt was nice.\u00a0I\u2019m a believer in momentum and confidence and things like that and being in good moods for everybody on the team, so it never hurts.\u00a0I can\u2019t say, \u2018Man, we won at Daytona, we\u2019re gonna be so fast at Darilngton.\u2019\u00a0It\u2019s two different places, but it definitely helps and I feel like also what really was a great confidence booster for us was we came into Daytona with the goal of getting to second in regular season points\u00a0We were like, \u2018We can achieve this.\u00a0Let\u2019s try and get it and get to second after the regular season.\u2019\u00a0We had a lot of DNFs and stuff like that, and I think that would be a huge motivator for us and we were able to do that, and then winning the race was just like the cherry on top, to be honest with you.\u00a0So, it\u2019s definitely going well and just hope to keep carrying that.\u201d<\/p>\n
DO YOU AND YOUR TEAM LOOK AT ANYTHING TO GET THROUGH THAT DNF STRETCH?\u00a0ANYTHING THAT YOU NEEDED TO GET RID OF?\u00a0\u201cThree in a row was tough early in the year, but we looked at that as we blew up in two of them and got caught in a wreck in the other one.\u00a0It\u2019s like there wasn\u2019t anything we really did that we were making mistakes and had to clean up.\u00a0We just didn\u2019t really let it bother us.\u00a0Once you get that third DNF it kind of sucks.\u00a0It would be easy to get down and things like that, especially like those races where we did DNF I thought we had a top three race car and could have been in contention to win.\u00a0It\u2019s easy to get bummed out, but we just moved on from it and understood we did all the job that we could do and that\u2019s just the way it goes sometimes in this world and we\u2019ll just keep moving on.\u00a0We built that mentality over the years since 2022 of just, \u2018hey, no matter what happens, good or bad, you\u2019re gonna celebrate the good times and learn from the bad and forget them quick and you\u2019re gonna move on to the next task.\u2019\u00a0Every one on this team has that mentality and that\u2019s something we\u2019ve been working on for the last handful of years.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A LEADER THAT YOUR GUYS REALLY RESPECT?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s all working together.\u00a0There are 15 guys on this team that all have to have each other\u2019s back and you understand that you have each other\u2019s back.\u00a0They have mine.\u00a0I have theirs.\u00a0You\u2019re gonna support each other when maybe it\u2019s not going great.\u00a0They support me if I\u2019m having a rough day and I support them if they\u2019re having a rough day and understand that we\u2019re gonna get through this together and it\u2019s important to build that relationship.\u00a0I\u2019ve been lucky to have a great group of dudes that will go to battle every single day for me because they know I\u2019ll do that for them.\u00a0It\u2019s pretty cool when you can get that atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n
DO YOU FEEL THERE\u2019S A CHAMPIONSHIP FAVORITE?\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s an odds on favorite.\u00a0I think there are a handful and maybe even a little bit more who can step up at any time and have had the consistent performance that they can easily get to Phoenix and win it.\u00a0There are five or six cars that come to mind, but everyone is tough in this deal.\u00a0All of these 16 are gonna be really tough.\u00a0How do you out perform and out run them every week and out execute them?\u00a0I don\u2019t think there\u2019s an odds on favorite.\u00a0There are a lot of great teams and drivers right now that can make a solid run at it and you just hope to be one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
WOULD IT SURPRISE YOU IF SOMEONE YOU THOUGHT WOULD ADVANCE TO THE FINAL ROUND GETS KNOCKED OUT IN THE FIRST ROUND OR VICE VERSA?\u00a0\u201cYou never know.\u00a0I think both of them can happen.\u00a0Somebody who may be people don\u2019t expect to move on does or wins, and I think somebody maybe who people think might make a deep playoff run could have a couple bad races and the next thing you know, you\u2019re out.\u00a0It happened to Joey in \u201823.\u00a0He won the championship, had a couple bad races, got in a wreck at Bristol and he\u2019s out in the Round of 16.\u00a0That can happen to anybody, so you just try to control your own fate and try to do the best you can, but you never know what\u2019s gonna happen.\u00a0These things are wild and typical racing fashion \u2013 unpredictable things happen all the time and that\u2019s sports.\u00a0You just try to go do the best job you can at controlling the things that you can control, but that\u2019s where storylines are written are unforeseen things and I could definitely see something like that happening.\u00a0Hopefully, we\u2019re just not one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
IT SEEMED LIKE EVERY RACE FOR A WHILE CAME DOWN TO FUEL MILEAGE.\u00a0WILL THAT BE A THEME IN THE PLAYOFFS?\u00a0\u201cIt could be.\u00a0I think those races that that happened it was just circumstantial of the caution coming around the fuel window of guys being close or not.\u00a0I think we had a couple of those in a row and everyone was like, \u2018It\u2019s all fuel racing.\u2019\u00a0Well, this has happened in the past.\u00a0You get fuel mileage races every now and then.\u00a0It could.\u00a0You never know\u00a0It happened last year at Vegas with Joey being able to stretch it like he did and get into Phoenix and win it, so it just kind of depends where everything falls, and then you\u2019re gonna have to be split-decisions of guys who want to try to push it and have to save, and you\u2019re gonna have guys who are charging like him and Bell were last year, so you just never know how these things are gonna play out and what decisions that crew chiefs are gonna get put into.\u201d<\/p>\n
ARE YOU GOOD AT FUEL SAVING AND IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO PRACTICE IT?\u00a0\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say we really practice it much outside of those situations.\u00a0I don\u2019t go to the sim and practice fuel saving.\u00a0You can\u2019t really.\u00a0Maybe a little, but it\u2019s like I think as you get put in those situations more and they don\u2019t happen often, but through your life and through your years in the sport you\u2019re gonna be asked to save gas.\u00a0It\u2019s how do you make lap time while saving enough gas.\u00a0Yeah, you can go save all the gas in the world, but if you\u2019re three seconds off the pace, you\u2019re not doing it efficiently.\u00a0It\u2019s like an efficient fuel save of getting a lap time window while also getting the mile per gallon that you need.\u00a0It\u2019s kind of a trait that you get put into some situations and you\u2019re kind of learning under fire a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
ARE YOU GOOD AT IT?\u00a0\u201cI feel like I\u2019m OK.\u00a0I can turn into a hybrid every now and then and fuel save a little bit.\u00a0Each track is different.\u00a0It\u2019s way harder to save gas at certain places than others.\u00a0You talk about speedways, you can save a lot of gas pretty easy just because of the draft, but you get to \u2013 and it doesn\u2019t happen often \u2013 but a Martinsville fuel save, it\u2019s way harder to do that and make lap time because you\u2019re heavy brakes and stuff.\u00a0At a bigger place, you can save more gas because you can not use brake and coast a lot more and still carry center of the corner speed.\u00a0I feel like I\u2019m decent at it.\u00a0It\u2019s hard to judge, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHEN YOU FIRST CAME INTO CUP, WHAT DRIVERS WERE YOU SORT OF IN AWE OF ON THE TRACK?\u00a0\u201cWhen I first came in, I ran a couple races in \u201814 and half a year in \u201815 and \u201815 was cool because I got to race a lot.\u00a0I ran like 18 races and I got to race around Jimmie and Jeff, Tony, Kevin Harvick.\u00a0The only guys I got to run around for like a year or year-and-a-half like Jimmie, Tony and Jeff, that was mind blowing to me because I loved Jeff Gordon growing up.\u00a0I loved Tony.\u00a0Those guys, it was really special to get out there and run with those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
THERE COULD BE A KID RIGHT NOW WHO LOOKS UP TO YOU THE SAME WAY.\u00a0WHAT ABOUT THE IDEA OF RACING AGAINST SOMEONE LIKE THAT ONE DAY DOWN THE ROAD?\u00a0\u201cThat would be cool.\u00a0I was talking to Harvick on his podcast this week.\u00a0I was like, \u2018Before too long your boy is gonna be whipping my butt.\u2019\u00a0I remember and it\u2019s such a weird out of body thing because Twilight Zone stuff is I remember I was a kid holding my dad\u2019s hand talking to Kevin Harvick at driver intros, and I remember Keelan holding his dad\u2019s hand talking to me at driver intros.\u00a0And now Keelan is really doing great and kicking butt and it\u2019s funny how all of that stuff turns.\u00a0So, yeah, you never know who is gonna come in this sport.\u00a0That would be pretty neat.\u00a0I just hope that I stick around long enough for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
DO YOU FEEL YOU AND THE DRIVERS WHO HAVE COME INTO THE SPORT WITH YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED YOURSELF AS THE CORE OF NASCAR?\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t necessarily think I contemplate that too much, but it is funny how you see crops come in like those guys you talked about, Jeff and Tony and Matt and all those guys.\u00a0They were all like the same age and crops of guys coming in, and then after them it was Brad and Kyle and Joey.\u00a0There wasn\u2019t a ton of them, and then when me and Chase and Bubba and Larson and Byron and Bell it was like, boom, this whole crop of guys within a couple years of each other, so it\u2019s weird how all of that stuff comes and goes.\u00a0You never know.\u00a0Hopefully, 10 years down the road, if I\u2019m still around, you\u2019ve got somebody who feels that way about me like I felt about Jeff and Tony and that stuff.\u00a0That\u2019s the special part to me.\u00a0It\u2019s like how do you make kids want to look at you in a certain way that you inspire them of whether it\u2019s how you drive or how you act off the racetrack and make them be in awe of this human because those guys were larger than life to me.\u00a0I\u2019d look up to those guys literally on the driver intro stage like, \u2018These guys are unbelievable.\u2019\u00a0It was such a cool feeling when all of that stuff comes.\u00a0I know it probably made the feel really old when I started racing and it\u2019s gonna be the same with me when I\u2019m 40.\u00a0It\u2019s fun how that stuff goes.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT DOES THIS CROP YOU ARE IN BRING TO THE SPORT?\u00a0\u201cI think it\u2019s a lot of talent.\u00a0I raced with all these guys growing up and they are so good at what they do.\u00a0It\u2019s super, super hard to just compete with them, so I think it\u2019s just a new wave of talented race car driver.\u00a0Race car driver and all athlete talents change through the years.\u00a0I don\u2019t want to say athletes get better as the years progress but there\u2019s more information out there where you\u2019re better at a younger age than I think you ever have been and that\u2019s all sports.\u00a0You look at golf, there are these kids who are 10 that are ridiculously good.\u00a0The same with racing.\u00a0There are these kids that are eight years old and you can tell like, \u2018That kid is gonna be fantastic.\u2019\u00a0They start racing at five years old.\u00a0That\u2019s unheard of and it just becomes part of their life, so I think a lot of us were in that age where we started when we were eight or nine.\u00a0My dad didn\u2019t start racing until he was 18 years old and that was normal back then, so I think as the years go by you just see these younger and younger kids come up.\u00a0They\u2019re really talented and they have a lot of info to them. I\u00a0think we bring a lot of talent and hopefully enough personality to where people can latch onto this human being as as well as a racer.\u201d<\/p>\n
DO YOU FEEL MORE OR LESS STRESS THIS TIME OF YEAR?\u00a0\u201cI try not to be stressed.\u00a0There\u2019s definitely stressful moments, but during those stressful moments I try not to think about it too much.\u00a0I try to just, \u2018Hey, this is a high-pressure situation.\u00a0This is what it is.\u00a0Let\u2019s just go do the job.\u2019\u00a0I try to not let it eat at me because I think that can really hurt you if you get in your head about stuff.\u00a0When it comes down to your season and your championships, yeah, it\u2019s stressful.\u00a0Hell yeah it is.\u00a0You\u2019re trying to do this for hundreds of people that support you and put a lot of effort and watch you every week and have hands on the car or partners that invest a lot of money and time into the program.\u00a0It can be stressful if you look at it that way, but I try to not let that get to me.\u00a0You understand that this is what you signed up for.\u00a0This is stressful.\u00a0Sports are stressful, but that\u2019s why you compete and that\u2019s why you do it is who can overcome that stuff the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
DOES GROWING UP IN THE SPORT HELP ALLEVIATE YOUR STRESS?\u00a0\u201cI think it definitely helps.\u00a0It gets you more comfortable.\u00a0I was really lucky growing up that I saw all of this stuff at a young age.\u00a0I saw my dad go through stressful times of who am I gonna drive for next year.\u00a0I look at that and that is stressful compared to, \u2018hey, I get a chance to race for a championship.\u00a0This is stressful.\u2019\u00a0That\u2019s a great opportunity.\u00a0I saw my dad scrap and claw about what car am I gonna race next year?\u00a0That\u2019s stress.\u00a0How are you gonna provide for your family, so I got that perspective of it when I was younger and I think it definitely put my mind just in a different spot of what actually stress is.\u201d<\/p>\n
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse \u2013 WHAT ARE YOUR TEAM STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS?\u00a0\u201cI think the challenges are similar for most as far as the execution.\u00a0That\u2019s at a premium.\u00a0I think the field is as competitive as it has ever been.\u00a0I don\u2019t see anything but the necessity for execution being what dominates the grid and who advances and who doesn\u2019t for the first two rounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOW IS THIS YEAR MAKING THE PLAYOFFS DIFFERENT THAN PREVIOUS YEARS.\u00a0IS IT A BIT CALMER FOR YOU?\u00a0\u201cMaybe, but not like at the front of my mind.\u00a0No.\u00a0There\u2019s only one year that I\u2019ve been a driver in a national series and haven\u2019t made the playoffs, so I would say it feels normal to be here.\u00a0Yeah, it\u2019s in the Cup field and it\u2019s super competitive and there are different challenges, but it doesn\u2019t feel abnormal to be in the format and what it requires out of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
DENNY PICKED YOU AS ONE OF THE FOUR TO GO OUT IN THE FIRST ROUND, BUT YOU HAVE ADVANCED EACH TIME.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s the first I\u2019m hearing of it.\u00a0OK.\u00a0I guess we\u2019ll have to watch.<\/p>\n
IS THERE ANY TRACK YOU LOOK AT MORE INTENTLY?\u00a0\u201cI think there are definitely some tracks that are challenging from a mechanical standpoint.\u00a0I think Bristol.\u00a0It\u2019s rare that we don\u2019t see a car have some sort of a tire failure or mechanical failure.\u00a0That is obviously the cutoff for the first round.\u00a0Personally for me, I would say New Hampshire is probably the biggest question mark of tracks just because it\u2019s one of those places I haven\u2019t gone to and gone, \u2018Yep.\u00a0I\u2019ve totally figured that place out.\u2019\u00a0So, it\u2019s a weird place, but, otherwise, I feel pretty good about the schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
DO YOU FEEL LIKE AN UNDERDOG?\u00a0DO YOU LIKE FLYING UNDER THE RADAR?\u00a0\u201cI would love to be invisible for the first two rounds because then I\u2019ll make it to the Round of 8.\u201d<\/p>\n
ARE YOU NERVOUS ABOUT THIS PLAYOFFS?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s what we\u2019ve been waiting our whole year for, so I\u2019m excited to be at this point and go make it happen.\u00a0Our team has done a great job, especially in the last couple of months to be prepared for these opportunities and now is the fun part.\u00a0Now is the part where we actually get to go do the job and not talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
10 WEEKS IS A LONG TIME.\u00a0HOW DO YOU STAY AT A HIGH LEVEL?\u00a0\u201cI think you can think about it two different ways.\u00a0I also look at it and go, \u2018Wow, there are only 10 weeks left in this season.\u2019\u00a0It feels like a lifetime ago that we were in Daytona for the 500 or even at Bowman Gray.\u00a0I think there are a lot of different perspectives you can take, but 10 weeks like it\u2019s like, \u2018I want to make these count.\u2019\u00a0I want to have some positives for the offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOW MUCH DOES IT CHANGE HAVING GATEWAY IN THE FIRST ROUND AS OPPOSED TO ATLANTA AND WATKINS GLEN?\u00a0\u201cIt definitely changes the first round, especially Atlanta last year with a speedway race and that format, whereas St. Louis I\u2019m sure most probably look at that as their best opportunity for a base hit.\u00a0It\u2019s not a very normal racetrack, but you could look at it and think, \u2018OK, there\u2019s Darlington and Bristol.\u00a0This is the only one that\u2019s not crazy.\u2019\u00a0I think it\u2019s best to not be able to put yourself in a position to where that race has to be incredibly important.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES NOW?\u00a0\u201cI think strength-wise, I don\u2019t feel like I have any motivation or reason to change my approach just because it\u2019s the playoffs.\u00a0I think our group has our process really well dialed in, especially this year compared to last.\u00a0I think that mentality for execution is gonna be incredibly important.\u00a0Weaknesses, look, it\u2019s a difficult series, but I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a stand out weakness other than have we gone out and dominated races this year?\u00a0No, but I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a consistent favorite either, so I think it\u2019s up for anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
DOES WINNING TALLADEGA IN THE SPRING GIVE YOU A LIFT FOR THAT RACE IN THE PLAYOFFS?\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s obviously pretty far ahead, but that\u2019s definitely an opportunity race.\u00a0We\u2019ve been able to consistently bring fast cars from our team, so I think there\u2019s a lot of opportunity there and if others are dreading it, I might as well embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n
HAS JOEY TOLD YOU ANYTHING ABOUT HIS TIRE TEST AT NEW HAMPSHIRE?\u00a0\u201cI think the team definitely got some good data from being able to go to the tire test.\u00a0It\u2019s obviously a similar tire to what we raced at Richmond and have some good notes from there and Martinsville, where we\u2019ve run that tire, so I think from a notebook standpoint we should be in really good shape.\u00a0Doing that and being able to go out and execute the weekend is a whole other thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
DOES HAVING A NEW TRACK AND TIRE CHANGE YOUR PREP AT ALL FOR THE PLAYOFFS?\u00a0\u201cI think anytime you change the tire at a racetrack it definitely changes your approach just because so much is dominated with the cars and how I drive and what my priorities are \u2013 like lane usage and fall off and all these types of things are very much dominated by the characteristics of a tire and my team\u2019s decisions are dominated by those types of things, so going to New Hampshire with a new tire, going to Bristol with a new right side tire.\u00a0They haven\u2019t decided on the tire for Martinsville.\u00a0They haven\u2019t decided on the tire for Phoenix, so there\u2019s a lot of variable for that.\u00a0Even the Roval for this year, there\u2019s a new tire for all the road courses and that will be applied at Charlotte, so I\u2019d say those are usually the bigger variables you could throw at a racetrack.\u201d<\/p>\n
DO YOU THINK THE COMPETITION MIGHT BE UNDERESTIMATING THE 2 TEAM?\u00a0\u201cI guess I haven\u2019t considered that because I guess I don\u2019t care.\u00a0It doesn\u2019t really change the results or I don\u2019t think it would change how I\u2019d be raced, either.\u00a0I think the way this season has gone I don\u2019t think there are any clear favorites. I think the playoff grid is as tight as it has ever been.\u00a0Somebody told me that today, so I feel great.\u00a0I feel like we have a lot of things that we can rely on within our team to be able to make performance, but also the process is in place to execute well.\u201d<\/p>\n
DO YOU THINK THE COMPETITION HAS BECOME MAYBE TOO AGGRESSIVE BECAUSE OF THE CAR?\u00a0\u201cWe definitely abuse the cars more than a steel-bodied car, that\u2019s for sure.\u00a0I\u2019m probably not the best to ask because I only raced a couple races in the Cup Series with steel-bodied cars.\u00a0Past that, I raced four years in Xfinity with cars that you could beat the hell out of, so I feel like this car kind of falls in that category, but at the same time you damage it and sometimes it\u2019s really easy to damage it.\u00a0But, yeah, I think in some ways I think you\u2019re probably better to be 110 percent on aggression than 90 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n
DID YOU HAVE TO LEARN THAT LEVEL OF AGGRESSIVENESS AS IT GOES UP THE LADDER PER SERIES?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s hard to say.\u00a0I think the social aspect, right.\u00a0You talk about aggression, that\u2019s everyone\u2019s perception of what\u2019s happening.\u00a0I\u2019m sure guys 30 years ago would think we\u2019re all crazy, whereas we all view this as just normal.\u00a0I look at that as just perspective of those around you and there\u2019s an unspoken norm in a lot of situations that I think experiencing the series and with your competitors probably is more valuable than anything else to understand where that line is drawn.\u201d<\/p>\n
DEFINE SUCCESS FOR THE 2 TEAM OVER THE NEXT 10 WEEKS?\u00a0\u201cI said it last year and I\u2019ll say it again this year.\u00a0Making the playoffs is my only goal for the season and anything after that is a bonus.\u00a0Compared to maybe years past, I don\u2019t even know but maybe in 2022 this probably applied as well, but the criteria for making the playoffs is winning a race or being one of the 16 best in the series.\u00a0Well, we\u2019re top 16 in points and we won a race, so I definitely feel as though we have everything to play for.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE ROAD TO WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP IN THIS FORMAT?\u00a0\u201cI think making the Championship 4 would be one of the, if not the, biggest accomplishments in my racing career because it is that difficult.\u00a0It is such a difficult format to push your way through, but I really do feel like the cream does rise to the top in these scenarios.\u00a0As far as being a champion or not being a champion, but having that shot to push through the entire season to make the Championship 4 is a big deal in my book.\u201d<\/p>\n
YOU GREW UP IN THE PENSKE FAMILY.\u00a0HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE THE PENSKE WAY?\u00a0\u201cI think it\u2019s attention to detail from the top down, and attention to detail includes the people that you have working on your cars.\u00a0I feel like the people that we have in our company understand that and understand and embrace those values better than anywhere else.\u00a0Those have been great values for me to have as a leader on my team, as someone that embraces working hard, but it\u2019s definitely what separates our company from others.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF SINCE COMING TO THE CUP SERIES?\u00a0\u201cThe list is long.\u00a0I do feel like somebody told me your first three years in Cup are gonna be your most challenging and to be able to be at the point where I am now with the people that I have around me, I look at you spend a lot of time by yourself \u2013 like when I was growing up I\u2019d have to travel everywhere with my mom because I\u2019m a minor, so I have to have someone that signs the parental consent form and all that.\u00a0But in the Truck Series, you\u2019re by yourself so it\u2019s a how bad to you want this type of thing because it\u2019s not easy, and you have a lot of moments that will test that, but I clearly want this.\u201d<\/p>\n
WAS IT A YAHOO MOMENT WHEN YOU GOT TO RENT YOUR OWN CAR?\u00a0\u201cYeah, even while racing in Xfinity I rode with crew guys until Covid.\u00a0I still do that from time to time on some weekends just because it\u2019s kind of easier and I do like spending time with my team.\u00a0That is one of the harder things since I\u2019ve been Cup racing is to actually have the time to spend with your guys and with your team just because there are a lot of demands.\u00a0Otherwise, the goals are simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
DOES IT HELP BUILD COMARADERIE?\u00a0\u201cI think everybody can approach it differently.\u00a0At the end of the day, race teams and people you work with, not that it never lasts, but you know you\u2019re not gonna work with the same people forever, so you don\u2019t want to be super personal with everyone, but at the same time, I don\u2019t do anything else.\u00a0I don\u2019t care about anything else.\u00a0I don\u2019t want to do anything else.\u00a0The people I work with are the most important people in my life, so I don\u2019t see a reason why I wouldn\u2019t interact with them as if that was the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT MAKES TEAM PENSKE SO GOOD ON THE SHORT, FLAT TRACKS?\u00a0\u201cThose are all very unique racetracks.\u00a0I can\u2019t say there\u2019s like a cookie-cutter banking and corner radius.\u00a0All of them are so very different, so I feel like our ability to adapt to difficult circumstances probably makes us better.\u00a0If you were to introduce a new thing to the cars, I feel like our guys are really good at understanding what those changes are and how to apply them with the first crack.\u00a0And when I look at those type of tracks that you described, you\u2019re applying things that you already know in an environment that is maybe different than normal.\u00a0I feel like our team is adaptable and that applies to those type of tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n
DARLINGTON EXPECTATIONS.\u00a0\u201cEvery year about a third of the playoff grid hits a wall there figuratively and kind of stunts the first round.\u00a0I would expect some of that.\u00a0It\u2019s a challenging track.\u00a0It\u2019s a difficult place to maintain your focus because the race is so long and so challenging.\u00a0It challenges every part of the team, from more pit stops than any other race to the lines that you have to run to how much the car is challenged throughout the race and in all ways possible.\u00a0It\u2019s a demanding place for pretty much anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHEN YOU FIRST CAME TO CUP WAS THERE A DRIVER YOU WERE IN AWE OF ON THE TRACK?\u00a0\u201cYeah.\u00a0I think the first time in a Cup Series car to race would have been the Duels for the Daytona 500 in 2021, and the lineup was based off of qualifying and I started middle of the field right behind Ryan Newman.\u00a0One of my earliest memories was watching Ryan Newman win the Daytona 500 for Team Penske for the first time and right in front of him is Kyle Larson.\u00a0That was my one and only moment where it was like, \u2018OK, it doesn\u2019t get higher.\u2019\u00a0The level doesn\u2019t get higher than this.\u00a0I\u2019ve raced in top divisions of a couple different categories of racing, but from a NASCAR standpoint that was my moment where I was like, \u2018OK, I\u2019ve got to be good or I\u2019m not gonna last here long.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
SO THERE IS A KID RACING NOW WHO MAY LOOK UP TO YOU THAT YOU WILL RACE AGAINST YEARS FROM NOW.\u00a0HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to conceptualize because when I see somebody wearing my t-shirt I find it difficult to conceptualize that someone would spend money to wear a t-shirt with my name on it.\u00a0I don\u2019t know.\u00a0I don\u2019t think about that kind of stuff and then when I see it I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s really cool.\u2019\u00a0So, it\u2019s not a requirement to be a fan of mine to buy my t-shirt, but it surprises me every time when I see one.\u00a0I\u2019ll hit my guys and be like, \u2018Hey, we\u2019ve got a fan.\u00a0There\u2019s one.\u00a0We\u2019ve got one.\u2019\u00a0So, it\u2019s been kind of cool to see some of that and they continue to ramp up a little bit, but definitely not something I focus a whole lot on.\u201d<\/p>\n
YOU ARE PART OF A GROUP \u201816-22 OF A NEW GENERATION OF GUYS THAT CAME IN.\u00a0HOW DO YOU FEEL YOUR GROUP HAS IMPACTED THE SPORT SO FAR?\u00a0\u201cI think the way in which we race.\u00a0We control the narrative and control the narrative on a lot of things.\u00a0Somebody asked me last week about what do we need to do to make the sport better?\u00a0We need to be positive.\u00a0We\u2019re doing a lot of great stuff out here.\u00a0Anyone I talk to who has been to a NASCAR race for the first time they love it.\u00a0They\u2019ve had a great time.\u00a0They can\u2019t believe the access and all these other things.\u00a0Yeah, there are ways to improve our sport, but let\u2019s be positive about what we\u2019ve got going on here.\u00a0We\u2019ve got some good stuff going, and it\u2019s never been more competitive.\u00a0This is definitely an era that\u2019s going to be more challenging to separate yourself, whether if that\u2019s lap by lap or throughout a season.\u00a0It\u2019s gonna be harder for race fans to decide who the odds on favorites are.\u00a0Even as a competitor, I can\u2019t tell you who the Championship 4 is gonna be right now.\u00a0That\u2019s crazy, whereas I feel like three years ago you\u2019d go, \u2018Yeah, there are three guys.\u00a0We\u2019ve got the big three.\u00a0We\u2019ve got three guys that are clearly gonna be the ones to beat and if they don\u2019t make it to the Championship 4 it\u2019s a tragedy.\u2019\u00a0I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a single competitor in the field you could look at and go, \u2018If these group of drivers don\u2019t make it, we\u2019re gonna be shocked, disappointed and ready to burn it down.\u2019\u00a0I don\u2019t see it.\u00a0The series has been uber competitive and I think that\u2019s the identity of this group and in the years to come.\u00a0I think the level of respect that you can probably have throughout the garage area for individual drivers and individual groups of people is probably going to broaden because of how competitive it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
CAN YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO BE THE CHAMPION 10 WEEKS FROM NOW, OR IS IT A WEEK TO WEEK THING?\u00a0\u201cI can say I\u2019ve thought of that from a playoff perspective, but to hear that there are only 10 weeks left in the year it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, I feel like we just got going.\u2019\u00a0But past that, as a competitor, it\u2019s week to week.\u00a0I haven\u2019t put a single ounce of thought into St. Louis or a single ounce of thought into Bristol.\u00a0It\u2019s just not how I\u2019ve operated throughout the year and I see no reason to change how we operate.\u00a0We maximize each week and prioritize that each time.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT IS THE KEY TO ALL OF THE PENSKE CARS BEING SO STRONG?\u00a0\u201cI think what we have inside our building is very interesting and a great example of the many ways to make performance.\u00a0Although we\u2019re all driving very similar cars and so on, there are very different ways to make performance \u2013 the way Joey makes performance, the way Ryan makes performance, the way I make performance, what I ask from my team, the type of leader that I am.\u00a0Those are all very different mentalities and thoughts that go into that.\u00a0I will say that our teams, between all four cars, have never been more closely aligned than before.\u00a0I feel like it\u2019s all independently so, which has been interesting to see.\u00a0I feel like it\u2019s been a good example of if you think there\u2019s a way to do this correctly, go do that because wasting your time trying to be somebody else, it ain\u2019t worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
HAVE YOU LEARNED ENOUGH TO SUSTAIN A LONG PLAYOFF RUN AND WIN A TITLE?\u00a0\u201cYeah, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s completely out of the picture to think that we could go race for a championship this year.\u00a0Do I think I\u2019m a favorite?\u00a0No, but it\u2019s not like I\u2019m dominating races, but do I think that I have all the tools necessary to be able to go do that?\u00a0Do I think my team is in a better place than we\u2019ve ever been on the 2 car?\u00a0Absolutely.\u00a0I feel like in the last two months we\u2019ve really been able to get into a rhythm and bring some really fast race cars and we\u2019ve been able to execute well as well, so we\u2019ll put our best foot forward and see what we get, but I think we\u2019ve earned the right to make it this far.\u00a0At that point, I don\u2019t feel like there\u2019s a favorite in the field, so you might as well just embrace the chaos and all of the competitiveness and see what we get out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell\/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse \u2013 HOW ARE YOU GOING TO WIN IT IN AN ODD NUMBERED YEAR?\u00a0\u201cJust got to make it happen.\u00a0I don\u2019t understand the whole even, odd thing.\u00a0I\u2019d really like to break that cycle this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
PENSKE HAS WON THE LAST THREE AND WITH THE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE AT PHOENIX AGAIN, SHOULD WE BE LOOKING FOR YOU GUYS TO BE THERE AGAIN?\u00a0\u201cI believe we will be strong again.\u00a0I mean, everyone is obviously gunning for you.\u00a0They\u2019re trying to catch you and they probably are.\u00a0We\u2019ve got to keep looking for that next piece to make us stronger, but I do think, still, flat one mile tracks is our wheelhouse at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE SERIES AND HOW TIGHT EVERYONE IS?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s just part of Next Gen racing.\u00a0The field is closer than ever.\u00a0You look at qualifying, you look at the races, you look at the number of top 10s and top 5s people have compared to what they used to have and wins.\u00a0It\u2019s not what it used to be.\u00a0It\u2019s quite a bit different.\u00a0It\u2019s much tougher to click a top 5 off, where in the past you didn\u2019t have as many top 5 cars.\u00a0Now you\u2019ve got to have a pretty good day to finish in the top 5.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOW IS THE MINDSET KNOWING YOU HAVE YOUR THREE PENSKE CARS AND THE 21 AS WELL IN THE FIELD?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s great to have all four of them in there.\u00a0It\u2019s a huge thing.\u00a0That\u2019s just the start.\u00a0The goal is to get all four in the Championship 4.\u00a0We\u2019ve got to do that.\u00a0That\u2019s really what matters, but that\u2019s step one.\u00a0Step one was completed a while ago and now it\u2019s two, three and four to get to the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
DOES THE CLOSENESS OF THE FIELD HAVE AN IMPACT ON FUEL SAVING?\u00a0IT SEEMS MANY RACES COME DOWN TO THAT.\u00a0\u201cSome races are that way.\u00a0I think the reason why it\u2019s that way is because you can change four tires faster than you can fill up the car with gas, so then mileage becomes more of a discussion point.\u00a0Are you gonna slow down your pit stop for more gas?\u00a0So, that\u2019s really why it\u2019s a discussion point.\u201d<\/p>\n
SO IT\u2019S MORE OF A DISCUSSION POINT NOW THAN BEFORE WITH THE NEXT GEN?\u00a0\u201cOnly because of the pit stops, I think.\u00a0I think that\u2019s why because you can change four tires in eight seconds.\u00a0You can\u2019t put that much gas in it, so that\u2019s where it comes down to more of a discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO SAVE FUEL?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s something that has become important.\u00a0It doesn\u2019t happen all the time.\u00a0I think you\u2019re making it sound like it happens all the time.\u00a0It\u2019s in the back of our mind all the time, but how often does a race come down to the car that\u2019s got the most fuel is gonna win the race?\u00a0Not a lot.\u00a0Maybe three or four times a year?\u00a0It\u2019s something that you want to be good at because you want to capitalize on those three or four times a year it can happen, but it can change just as quickly as Goodyear changing the tire.\u00a0As soon as the tires start wearing out quickly again, you don\u2019t talk about fuel mileage at Richmond.\u00a0It just depends on the fall off.\u201d<\/p>\n
IT JUST DEPENDS IN THE TIRE?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s just the tracks.\u00a0If the tires don\u2019t fall off and you\u2019ve got tracks that you can pit without going down a lap.\u00a0You\u2019ve got Indy.\u00a0You\u2019ve got Pocono, so you\u2019ve got those type of tracks all piled on top of each other at the same time, so I can see where you could think that way, but all of those tracks were at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
SO IT\u2019S NOT SOMETHING YOU WORK ON \u2013 SAVING FUEL?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s a discussion point, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the number one thing we talk about every week.\u00a0If the scenario happens, here is what you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE CONNOR ZILISCH FOR GOING TO CUP NEXT YEAR AS SOMEONE WHO STARTED AT A YOUNG AGE?\u00a0\u201cI think he\u2019s better than I was at that age, and he seems to be more mature than I was at that age.\u00a0I\u2019d say that the biggest thing is it\u2019s easy as an 18 or 19 year old to drink the Kool-Aid.\u00a0Yeah, he\u2019s a great driver.\u00a0There\u2019s no doubt.\u00a0He can win a lot of Xfinity races.\u00a0Cup racing is different.\u00a0Everybody is that great at this level.\u00a0Everybody is fantastic, so you can\u2019t drink your own Kool-Aid too much to where you think you\u2019re the next thing and then you\u2019re gonna get here and fall on your face.\u00a0I lived it.\u00a0I\u2019ve been there.\u00a0As good as I think that he is and will be, I also think that you\u2019ve got to stay humble throughout it all and just remember what\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n
DOES BEING THE 12 SEED CHANGE YOUR STRATEGY FOR THIS ROUND?\u00a0\u201cI only game plan one week at a time.\u00a0I know this week I\u2019d like to win.\u00a0If not, I\u2019d like to leave with over 20 points over the cut line.\u00a0That\u2019s what I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
ENTERING THE PLAYOFFS DO YOU LIKE FLYING UNDER THE RADAR SO TO SPEAK?\u00a0\u201cI think we\u2019ve kind of ruined the under the radar thing at this point, which is fine.\u00a0It\u2019s just kind of a unique position for us to be in.\u00a0I think if you look at our stats, people would say you\u2019re under the radar, but I think they look at the whole body of work over the last 10 years and they\u2019d say, \u2018Well, I don\u2019t think they\u2019re under the radar that much.\u2019\u00a0It\u2019s a very unique spot to be in.\u00a0I think we have a really solid race team in the playoffs and that\u2019s why I look forward to this part of the year every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
YOU\u2019VE WON THE TITLE WHEN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO AND WHERE YOU WEREN\u2019T SUPPOSED TO.\u00a0DOES THAT GIVE YOU ADDED CONFIDENCE GOING INTO THIS YEAR?\u00a0\u201cYeah, and honestly the years I felt like we should have won the championship we didn\u2019t, so I think the key lesson of all that is you\u2019re never out of it.\u00a0Until you are out, you are not out.\u00a0Even last year when I thought I was out I was not out (laughing).\u00a0It\u2019s a very interesting 10 weeks that\u2019s gonna come at us and it\u2019s unpredictable.\u00a0I don\u2019t know how exactly it\u2019s gonna play out.\u00a0Nobody knows.\u00a0That\u2019s why the plan is one week at a time because you just don\u2019t know what the next race is gonna bring at you, so you handle what\u2019s ahead of you and you just take it one week at a time.\u00a0You handle today.\u00a0Tomorrow will take care of itself.\u00a0It\u2019s no different than what our parents taught us.\u00a0It\u2019s the same stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
IS THERE A MOMENT WHERE YOU GOT THIS BELIEF YOU COULD WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS AND BEAT THE FIELD?\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a moment.\u00a0Early in my career I didn\u2019t have much confidence at all.\u00a0I didn\u2019t have reason to be confident.\u00a0You can\u2019t just B.S. yourself.\u00a0You know the truth.\u00a0The whole fake it until you make it thing doesn\u2019t work with yourself.\u00a0You know who you really are and you know what your team is really capable of, so, for me, early in my career I had no reason to have any confidence.\u00a0I would just be lying to myself and everybody else, but I do feel like our team is really, really strong at this time of the year, which makes me feel good about it no matter where we start the playoffs.\u00a0I feel like we have a great chance of getting there.\u00a0I think we can rise to the occasion better than any other team out here.\u00a0That\u2019s why most of our wins come at this time of year.\u00a0That doesn\u2019t mean that because you did it last year you\u2019re gonna be able to do it again.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to find more.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to find the next piece, and I think Paul does a great job at challenging our race team to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOW BIG OF A GAUGE IS GATEWAY AND NEW HAMPSHIRE FOR PHOENIX?\u00a0\u201cProbably Gateway is more similar to Phoenix just because it\u2019s smooth.\u00a0Loudon has those big bumps and transitions.\u00a0It\u2019s kind of a unique track and more fall off as well, so Loudon is a unique one, similar, like setup-wise you\u2019re probably not that different, but just the way you drive the track for a driver is quite a bit different.\u00a0But just because you\u2019re good at those tracks, you\u2019ve got to get there still.\u00a0Just because we\u2019re good at Phoenix most of the time we\u2019ve got to still get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS GOING INTO THESE NEXT 10 WEEKS?\u00a0\u201cOur biggest strength is gonna be those type tracks you just brought up.\u00a0Those one-mile, flat tracks.\u00a0That\u2019s our wheelhouse.\u00a0Our biggest weakness is probably mile-and-a-halves.\u00a0With that said, I still think we can win at them, I just think that\u2019s kind of our toughest point or biggest hurdle to try to jump.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT KEEPS THE RELATIONSHIP WITH PAUL FRESH?\u00a0\u201cHonesty.\u00a0It\u2019s the same as every other relationship you\u2019ve ever had in your life.\u00a0As soon as you guys start making up stories or lying to each other, that\u2019s the end.\u00a0It\u2019s coming.\u00a0Whether you know it or not it\u2019s gonna come up and bite you.\u00a0You\u2019ve just got to be honest with each other.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to have those hard conversations.\u00a0You have to be able to talk things out and see each other\u2019s perspectives.\u00a0I think that\u2019s really the biggest thing.\u00a0I don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever a moment that I feel like Paul hasn\u2019t been honest with me.\u00a0We\u2019ve had the hard conversations.\u00a0They\u2019re not fun, but it\u2019s what makes a strong relationship.\u00a0You see that with your wife or your spouse.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to have the hard conversations too and they\u2019re not fun.\u00a0I get that, but you\u2019re in it for the long haul, aren\u2019t you?\u00a0You\u2019ve got to handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE DATA HAS COME SO FAR THAT YOU CAN NOW PROVE YOU WERE RIGHT.\u00a0WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT EASIER AS A YOUNG DRIVER?\u00a0\u201cI think the SMT data that you\u2019re talking about being able to compare to other drivers and those type of things as a young driver is very helpful.\u00a0As an experienced driver you\u2019re like, shut if off (laughing).\u00a0Just as easy as I can prove I\u2019m right, they can prove that they\u2019re right, depending on how you look at it, and also just a lot of times there\u2019s a lot of data, even today we deal with this all the time, but you\u2019ve got to cut through the B.S. because it looks like this because of this or because of that.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to be able to understand where the data came from and clarify it.\u00a0Just like in every business you\u2019ve got to look at how you got it because bad data is definitely a thing, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
YOU CAN READ DATA DIFFERENT WAYS?\u00a0\u201cAbsolutely.\u00a0You look at one car, well he\u2019s in dirty air and I\u2019m in clean air or vice versa.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to look at the full picture of things a lot of times, which is the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOW HAS PAUL MADE YOU BETTER?\u00a0\u201cPaul has like a never enough attitude.\u00a0I don\u2019t know.\u00a0He\u2019s like a big brother that you want to make proud.\u00a0I think everyone kind of has that feeling where they want to make Paul proud of them and he is a really hard person to achieve that because his expectations are wicked high of everything we do.\u00a0It\u2019s not just in the race car, but you look at the way he lives his life, everything is way up here.\u00a0His house, everything he\u2019s put together perfectly.\u00a0The guy, he\u2019s great.\u00a0He works out.\u00a0He\u2019s disciplined.\u00a0It\u2019s ridiculous.\u00a0I\u2019m a competitive person.\u00a0I\u2019m like, \u2018I want to be better than that.\u2019\u00a0It\u2019s always a little level of competition, but it\u2019s also like you want to make him proud.\u00a0I think that keeps me going, so I think that\u2019s motivating.\u00a0I think his ability to ask challenging questions is probably his way of doing that.\u00a0He\u2019ll question you in ways that\u2019s gonna make you go to work in a lot of different ways, and sometimes it\u2019s as simple as, \u2018Eating that is gonna make you faster tomorrow?\u2019\u00a0Things like that, that might be small, but it\u2019s that attitude that you kind of have to bring everywhere you go and Paul does a tremendous job at it.\u00a0He\u2019s tough to beat.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHY DOES THAT STILL WORK TO HAVE THAT QUESTIONING BECAUSE WE SEE A LOT OF COMBINATIONS HAVE A FINITE SHELF LIFE?\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m not that guy.\u00a0I\u2019m not saying either one of us would be perfect with anybody else.\u00a0I\u2019m OK with that.\u00a0Paul asks really hard questions that in times can bring you down a few notches, but it\u2019s factual, so I just want the honesty.\u00a0\u2018OK, if that\u2019s how you feel, let\u2019s talk it out,\u2019 and that\u2019s fine to me.\u00a0Now, if I was a rookie it would be much harder.\u00a0I kind of lived that story as a rookie and I couldn\u2019t do it, but as an experienced driver with an experienced crew chief, and one that\u2019s willing to challenge you, it works because both of us know we can do it.\u00a0It\u2019s not like I take that criticism saying he doesn\u2019t think I can get the job done.\u00a0It\u2019s he wants me to be better and we just want to win.\u00a0The bottom line is we want to win and I know that\u2019s where it\u2019s coming from and I know internally I know how to do it.\u00a0He knows internally he knows how to do it.\u00a0We\u2019re just challenging each other.\u00a0That\u2019s really what it comes down to.\u201d<\/p>\n
DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING AT DAYTONA THAT TRANSFERS TO TALLADEGA?\u00a0\u201cAt Daytona, the car was just too loose, being honest.\u00a0I was just too free and I knew it.\u00a0When it was 20 to go and I was up front and I was already hanging on I was like, \u2018Oh, boy.\u00a0This is gonna be a tough one to finish here.\u2019\u00a0But you can\u2019t really do anything.\u00a0You\u2019re kind of just there.\u00a0You just have to hope the pushes come at the right time and the push came at the wrong time.\u201d<\/p>\n
SO YOU WILL BE BETTER TO DIAL YOUR CAR IN AT TALLADEGA?\u00a0\u201cYeah, and Talladega is lot different, too.\u00a0It\u2019s just a scenario of what we had for balance also the scenario of what was going on around me as far as I didn\u2019t have any Fords, and I had cars that had to win.\u00a0I was a sitting duck.\u00a0I was leading the laps, which was great.\u00a0We were managing it, but eventually there was gonna be a push in a bad spot and that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
SO SAME SITUATION AT TALLADEGA DO YOU APPROACH IT DIFFERENTLY?\u00a0\u201cNo, you really can\u2019t.\u00a0Where was I supposed to go?\u00a0What\u2019s the alternative?\u00a0You\u2019re in the lead.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to just ride it out.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to make a little better decisions.\u00a0That\u2019s all we\u2019ve got to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
JOSH BERRY, No. 21 \u2013 Motorcraft\/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse \u2013 WHAT ARE YOUR TEAM\u2019S STRENGTH AND CHALLENGES GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS?\u00a0\u201cI feel like our strengths going into this deal are basically every oval track.\u00a0I look at throughout this season at different races where maybe we didn\u2019t get the finishes that we deserved or the little things here or there that held that back, so I think generally more often that not we had speed at a lot of these places and that\u2019s gonna be important when we get into these playoffs and just executing smooth races, making it to the end and seeing what happens.\u00a0I think weakness probably for us would be the Roval, but we\u2019ve got to get there before we worry about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
YOU WON SO LONG AGO, BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HERE NOW IN THE PLAYOFFS AS A CUP DRIVER?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s really cool and it\u2019s definitely been unusual as early as we won, and that was a big goal for us setting out this year \u2013 it was to win my first Cup race.\u00a0I hadn\u2019t won a Cup race up to that point, so it\u2019s easy to look at that as the first goal on the list, so to accomplish that and obviously make the playoffs is something that we\u2019ve been looking forward to throughout the year and really it just comes down to three races at a time now and we just have to have solid races and keep ourselves in contention and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT ARE YOU CAPABLE OF THESE NEXT 10 WEEKS?\u00a0\u201cI feel like we haven\u2019t finished as well as we\u2019ve ran a lot of races, and it\u2019s been a number of different issues.\u00a0I could probably, if you name off a race I could probably tell you what happened in that race and what I messed up or what issue we had, but I feel like the speed has been there more often than not, and I don\u2019t think it should be a surprise if we find ourselves running in the front at a couple of these races.\u00a0We just have to execute them and have good days on pit road and score some stage points, have solid finishes and find ourselves in contention.\u201d<\/p>\n
ANY ADVICE LEONARD, EDDIE OR LEN HAS GIVEN YOU?\u00a0\u201cNothing too much yet.\u00a0They\u2019ve been pretty laid back this year and enjoying what we\u2019ve been doing, and enjoying how we\u2019ve been running.\u00a0I know what Len is gonna say.\u00a0He\u2019s gonna say, \u2018Do good.\u2019\u00a0That\u2019s pretty much what he says before every race, so he\u2019ll probably tell me that.\u00a0It\u2019s so easy to over-analyze and pump yourself up too much going to these playoffs.\u00a0It\u2019s racing like we\u2019ve done all year.\u00a0Anybody that thinks they need to do more just because of this playoffs, I just don\u2019t think it\u2019s realistic.\u00a0We do the best that we can week in and week out, so it\u2019s just about establishing a routine and executing three weeks at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR YOU GUYS AT VEGAS?\u00a0\u201cWe had a great race car for one, and we\u2019ve had a lot of fast race cars this year.\u00a0More often than not, I feel like we\u2019ve had cars more than capable of running in the top 5, top 10.\u00a0I feel like there\u2019s only been a couple races where maybe we felt like we missed it and didn\u2019t show the speeds or signs of potential, but a lot of the races we have.\u00a0I think Vegas was one that our car was really strong and we had the right strategy.\u00a0We had a great day on pit road.\u00a0We were able to do a lot of things right to keep ourselves in contention.\u00a0That\u2019s been the biggest thing that\u2019s held us back at times this year.\u00a0If it\u2019s a small mistake on my end or a bad pit stop or a penalty, those things like that have hurt us from time to time and if we eliminate that stuff, then we\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
YOU ARE VIEWED AS AN UNDERDOG.\u00a0DO YOU USE THAT AS MOTIVATION?\u00a0\u201cYeah, I think so.\u00a0We are in a day and age right now where everybody is worried about consistency.\u00a0Everybody is worried about they want to bring back the old point system and they want to do this different.\u00a0It\u2019s just the flavor of the week right now, so it\u2019s easy to look at us and feel like we\u2019re not deserving, but ultimately we won our race, won my first race that advanced us to the playoffs, and I feel like there have been plenty of races along the way that we\u2019ve been fast.\u00a0So, I don\u2019t view us as a team that\u2019s an easy first round exit.\u00a0I feel like we can hold our own and we\u2019re ready to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
ARE YOU HAPPY VEGAS IS IN THE PLAYOFFS?\u00a0\u201cYeah, for sure.\u00a0Honestly, I think a lot of the playoff tracks line up really well for us, even this first round.\u00a0If you looked at the results at Darlington, you might be skeptical, but if you actually watch the races you\u2019d see that the past three races I\u2019ve spent laps in the top 5, top 10, scored stage points and did all the things we\u2019ve got to do Sunday night.\u00a0You look at Gateway and Bristol, those places have been solid for us, too.\u00a0Kansas, we had a great car.\u00a0I mean, it\u2019s just one after the other.\u00a0I feel like if we can just get that little bit better and execute, then we\u2019re gonna have a lot of fun the next 10 weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE FOR YOUR TEAM THE NEXT 10 WEEKS?\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s hard to say.\u00a0Obviously, our biggest goal was to definitely make the playoffs and accomplish my first career win, which we were able to do.\u00a0Going into this, I mean, it\u2019s hard to say.\u00a0We want to advance through the Round of 12 and hopefully the Round of 8 and I think those are very possible if we execute and we do the things we know that we can, but I think just more than anything we just want to be competitive.\u00a0We want to be in the mix.\u00a0If we lose by one point here or there, obviously it will sting, but we want to be in the mix and I think with how these tracks line up, we\u2019re more than capable of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE ADRENALINE RUSH OF THE PLAYOFFS?\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s what makes me laugh when everybody does their playoff grids.\u00a0It\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, these four guys are definitely getting eliminated.\u2019\u00a0They\u2019re not counting for things that can happen outside of your control and mistakes that get made.\u00a0For us, I\u2019ve been licking my chops to go back to Darlington.\u00a0We\u2019ve had really strong races there the last three times. Two of the finishes we got in accidents and didn\u2019t get the finishes we deserved, but we spent laps in the top 5, we scored stage points, and we did all the things that we need to do Sunday night to keep ourselves in this deal, so I\u2019m ready to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE GOOD AT DARLINGTON?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s hard to say.\u00a0I think you\u2019ve got to have a good feel for your race car and what the car needs to do, and you\u2019ve got to have a plan.\u00a0You have to decide where you want to run the car.\u00a0What you need from the car and you\u2019ve got to be patient.\u00a0You have to take care of it and keep it out of the wall.\u00a0You have to have a good day on pit road.\u00a0There are obviously a lot of pit stops, so all of those things really add up.\u201d<\/p>\n
IS IT A TECHNICAL TRACK?\u00a0\u201cYeah, I think so.\u00a0It\u2019s a pretty technical place.\u00a0You\u2019re running right up against the wall, so you\u2019ve got to be accurate with what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
DO YOU LIKE FLYING UNDER THE RADAR?\u00a0\u201cYeah, it doesn\u2019t bother me any.\u00a0I feel like these tracks line up really well for us.\u00a0I feel like if we go do some of the things we\u2019ve done at the spring races and just execute a little bit better and finish where we should, then we\u2019re gonna keep ourselves in contention.\u00a0The pressure is on the guys that everybody is calling the favorites, the guys that have talked all about wanting the old playoffs.\u00a0The pressure is on those guys to deliver now, not us.\u201d<\/p>\n
BIGGEST STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS?\u00a0\u201cI feel really good about a lot of the short tracks, intermediates that we\u2019re going to.\u00a0Nearly each one of those we\u2019ve run well and showed potential.\u00a0Aside obviously from Vegas and Phoenix we had little issues with execution here or there that we didn\u2019t get the finish that we wanted, but I feel like all of those are places where we can go run well and score stage points and run in the top 5, top 10 and contend.\u00a0I think the weakness is going to be the Roval.\u00a0Road racing has been a challenge, but the Roval I feel a little more comfortable than some of the other road courses and we\u2019ve made improvements in that program.\u00a0If we made it to that point in a must-win, we\u2019re probably in trouble, but if we can go there and have a solid day and score some stage points, I think we can make it through.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOW DOES HAVING GATEWAY AND NEW HAMPSHIRE WORK FOR YOU?\u00a0\u201cI think that each round presents its own challenges.\u00a0I think you look at Gateway is a short track, but kind of a faster short track.\u00a0Strategy and fuel mileage can be so important there, so there are things that can definitely go awry.\u00a0New Hampshire is one that I\u2019m pretty excited for.\u00a0I know we\u2019re bringing back a little different tire, similar to what we had at Richmond.\u00a0I think that hopefully should race well there and be a positive.\u00a0We saw last year, you never know with the weather.\u00a0If it were to rain or something like that, it could definitely throw a wrench into things.\u201d<\/p>\n
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN CORRELATE FROM RICHMOND TO NEW HAMPSHIRE WITH THE TIRE?\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s definitely gonna be different, but looking at what we saw at Richmond, it\u2019s definitely gonna wear more that what we\u2019ve had, so that\u2019s gonna make tires more important and keeping the tires underneath you over the course of a long run, and not maybe just being sole reliant on track position \u2013 obviously having to have the grip and potential in your car there.\u00a0It\u2019ll be interesting to see how all of that plays out.\u00a0It\u2019s a good change in the right direction and we\u2019ll see how it all shakes out.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOW WIDE OPEN ARE THESE PLAYOFFS WITH IT BEING SO CLOSE?\u00a0\u201cI feel like it\u2019s a great opportunity for us.\u00a0I look at how the tracks line up and I feel like they\u2019re all tracks that we\u2019ve either ran well or definitely showed potential at and we feel confident going to, so it\u2019s just about going out and executing.\u00a0Obviously, you\u2019ve got to have the speed and you\u2019ve got to have the car, but really just executing and having a solid day on pit road, having good restarts, doing all of the little things right.\u00a0For us, I feel like we could easily look at three top 10 finishes and a couple stage points and be in a really good spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
YOU SEEM TO HAVE A SENSE OF CALM.\u00a0HOW DO YOU FEEL?\u00a0\u201cObviously, even though this is only my second year in the Cup Series, I\u2019m very experienced in racing.\u00a0Just what I\u2019ve learned over the years is you prepare for each race the same.\u00a0There\u2019s no reason that you should feel like you have to try harder or do things different just because of the playoffs versus what you do any other weekend in the year because every week we\u2019re all trying to go out and win and get the best finishes you can.\u00a0Pressure is a part of it.\u00a0I think in our situation we don\u2019t really feel that much pressure because what do we have to lose?\u00a0We\u2019re in the playoffs.\u00a0There\u2019s only positives that can come out of this.\u00a0The pressure comes from the people that have had really strong years and things could go away really quickly.\u00a0I think for us we\u2019re just gonna try to take it one week at a time and enjoy the moment and see how it all plays out.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO MAKE IT THROUGH AND CLINCH A CHAMPIONSHIP 4 BERTH AT MARTINSVILLE?\u00a0\u201cThat would be huge without a doubt.\u00a0Obviously, Martinsville is such a special place to the Wood Brothers and a special place to me. That would be a huge moment, but there\u2019s a lot of racing to do before we get there.\u00a0But if we do things right, you never know what can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford Performance PR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards\/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang Dark Horse \u2013 WHAT ARE THE TEAM\u2019S STRENGTHS THIS YEAR…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,717,925,13157,25423,634,582,721,1704,722,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-102654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-charlotte","11":"tag-daytona","12":"tag-group","13":"tag-kevin-harvick","14":"tag-nascar","15":"tag-racing","16":"tag-series","17":"tag-speed","18":"tag-speedway","19":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}