Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
TOYOTA SAVE MART 350
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 24, 2016
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Sonoma Raceway and discussed the potential of winning a race at his home track, what he has done to prepare for this weekend’s race, why he loves road course racing, the improvement of his team over the past few months and many other topics. Full Transcript:
HOW COOL WOULD IT BE TO GET YOUR FIRST CAREER NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES WIN HERE?
“It would be awesome. We have been close a couple of times this year now. If I was able to get it in my home state here, close to home, that would be awesome. This is probably one of my best tracks too. I really enjoy road course racing, especially here with friends and family that will be here. Hopefully, we can stay out of trouble and qualify good. We normally qualify really well here. I think I had the track record here last year. I’m looking forward to it. I had a busy off weekend. I’m excited to be back in the Target Chevy and hopefully we can get to Victory Lane.”
WHAT IS YOUR ROAD COURSE EXPERIENCE? WHY DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL HERE?
“I don’t have hardly any road course experience. My first road course race was Mid-Ohio or no, whatever it was in 2013 when I ran Xfinity full-time, I ran three races then. Then I have done the Rolex 24 now three times and then just the few road course races we get to run in the Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series. I’m getting more experience, but still I probably ran a little over 10 road course races in my life. But, I like them because you can feel the car kind of move around a lot more. You can feel the suspension, so it feels more similar to kind of a dirt track. I don’t know if it’s the dirt track, but just sprint cars and stuff the suspension moves around a lot and you can feel the balance of the car. On this stuff you can too. Where on the ovals our cars are so stiff and rigid you can’t really feel a whole lot with them. I think that is why I can feel the a little bit better and these tracks get really slick and you have to hit your marks every lap which is something I feel like I’m okay at.”
INAUDIBLE:
“I don’t think it matters if it is 50 degrees outside or 100, this place is always slick. I don’t know. It’s fun. This place is good. Turn 7 is always really slick; down through the esses is a slick part. With it being hot it will just be a little bit slicker. It’s normally pretty hot here for the race anyways at least it has been the two years I’ve ran. I don’t know it doesn’t race too much different. It’s pretty fun.”
ARE YOU FEELING ANY PRESSURE TO GET YOUR FIRST CUP SERIES WIN? YOUR PERFORMANCE HAS PICKED UP IN THE LAST MONTH OR SO WHAT WOULD YOU ATTRIBUTE THAT TO?
“Obviously, Chad (Johnston, crew chief) is new to our team this year. I haven’t had any experience with a new crew chief coming in before Chad. I haven’t been in the sport very long, so I think when somebody new like that comes in from an established or championship winning race team like that or any race team really. It’s hard for them to come in and make all the changes that they want right away. It’s kind of a process. It took some time, a couple of months and now we are building racecars the way Chad wants them built, the bodies all that stuff. It has made our level or speed in the racecars get quicker. I think that has been the main thing is Chad’s influence has been key the last couple of months and we have been building the cars how he wants them. I think Chad and Phil (Surgen) my engineer they have probably learned me now and the way I communicate and how big of an adjustment I need or small. I just think it takes a little bit of time to get working together right and now we seem to be clicking.”
ARE YOU FEELING ANY PRESSURE TO GET YOUR FIRST WIN? NOT MAYBE JUST FROM CHIP (GANASSI), BUT AUSTIN (DILLON) AND CHASE (ELLIOTT) AND (RYAN) BLANEY ARE COMING ON STRONG AS WELL?
“I don’t know about pressure, but it would be nice to be the next new person to win at Cup Series race. It’s been a long time since a new person has won. There are a crop of us young guys in our early 20’s that would like to get a win. Chase (Elliott) is probably realistically got the best chance. He has been so close week after week now. Austin (Dillon) started the year out really strong, but I like road courses a lot. So, we will try and get it this week.”
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY THE ODDS WERE THAT TWO GUYS OUT OF ELK GROVE, CALIFORNIA WOULD END UP IN THE SAME CUP RACE THIS WEEKEND? DO YOU KNOW DYLAN (LUPTON) VERY WELL?
“A little bit, yeah, I know he went to the same high school I went to. Well, I only went through my sophomore year and then I got homeschooled so I could go race. I have talked to him a couple of times, but that is cool that two kind of hometown guys are getting to run here this weekend.”
IS THIS A RACING HOTBED NOW?
“It seems like California has always kind of been a racing hotbed. California is a really long state, but all the way from southern California to northern California there are a lot of people that make it in racing. In the Cup Series alone there are a lot of Californians. California had got the best food there is, so that is probably why.”
HOW DIFFICULT IT IS IT TO KEEP YOUR COOL AT THIS TRACK?
“I don’t know. Everybody handles it differently. For sure, we run two road courses, here at Watkins Glen. This would be more similar to a short-track, where Watkins Glen to me is kind of like an intermediate, where you can move people out of the way a lot easier here. It is easy to get frustrated, but it is still a long race and you have to take care of your equipment as well. You can’t be doing payback that often. I don’t know everybody races differently, but just try and keep a cool head.”
ARE YOU ONE OF THE GUYS THAT LIKES TO THROW A CAR AROUND REALLY HARD OR BE REALLY SMOOTH? WHY?
“I don’t think this is a place where you can throw it around. It’s got a pretty slow pace. The grip wears out on the tires really fast, so you are always trying to take care of your rear tires. I think you see the people that run well here are the ones that are smooth and can carry their car throughout a run. Keep their average speed consistent and I would say that is kind of what I have done. Where I think in the past here like short runs I’m not very good, but long runs I seem to be really god because I try and just overly take care of my rear tires and start inching my way back forward towards the end of the run. Watkins Glen though you can definitely manhandle the car a little bit more and get after it.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR CHANCES ARE OF MAKING THE CHASE?
“Prior to our penalty, I thought it was, even if we didn’t win, and we could probably point our way in. Obviously, it makes it tougher now with losing those 15 points. Even if we weren’t to win, I still think we could even point our way in as long as a couple of people that aren’t really in a point’s position to make the Chase don’t get a win. I think in 2014, I was further back in points yet than I even am now of making the Chase and was I think 12th in points by the end of the regular season, but (AJ) Allmendinger and (Aric) Almirola and Kasey (Kahne) all three won a race and bumped us out of the Chase. Just got to be consistent, keep running up front and if we can run up front wins will happen. In our position you still have to make the most of your day and get the most points you can.”
IS THERE PRESSURE TO KEEP YOUR MOMENTUM GOING?
“I don’t know. We all want to win so bad. We are all working hard to keep our cars fast and keep up with an ever changing garage area. So, I guess the pressure is there to get the win while we are running well. You look at Chip Ganassi in the past, they are probably that team you describe where we get so close and then we lose it and have to spend a year or half a season regrouping and getting back to where we need to be. Right now we are close to where, I don’t think you are ever where you want to be, but we are closer to getting wins now. We have made huge gains so far this season. We just have to stay on top of it and hope we get a win.”
DOES CHIP’S BACKGROUND AND SUCCESS IN ROAD RACING DOES THAT HELP YOU AT ALL HERE OR IS IT MORE ABOUT THE DRIVER?
“I mean I don’t know if the success he has in all the other types of cars he owns that run on road courses has anything to do with the way we run at the two races we get to run. Jamie (McMurray) is just a really underrated really good road course racer. I feel like road courses to me are one of my best tracks. Our cars are always pretty good here too. I think driver plays probably the biggest role of the year is at the two road courses. Yeah, there are two races I circle on the calendar as ones I hope to win and do really good at. I don’t think him winning at Le Mans helps us for here, but it’s still pretty cool.”
WHAT SPECIFIC CHALLENGES, WHAT TURNS DO YOU FIND PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING AND HOW DO YOU OVERCOME THEM?
“The most challenging corner to me is probably Turn 7. It is easy to wheel hop in that corner, but then also once you get turned and pointed straight, it’s hard to get traction to the ground and spin the tires extremely easy. That kind of dictates your whole esses really. That is where I try to work on some for myself and I feel like I’ve been really good through the esses here in the couple of times that I’ve ran. But, Turn 7 has been my worst. Hopefully, we will have a good tune up on it and be quick through there.”
HOW MUCH TIME DID YOU USE IRACING OR ANY TYPE OF ONLINE SIMULATION TO GET BETTER PREPARED FOR THIS RACE WEEKEND?
“Zero. I had no time. I was in Ohio. I ran six days straight there in a sprint car. I tried to hook my computer up, but I couldn’t get my internet to work at my house. I couldn’t figure it out. I don’t know. We will see. We have a lot of practice today. This is my third year here, so, I feel like I have a good understanding of the small things that go on here. We will see though. Hopefully, we are quick in practice.”
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