Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano & Ryan Blaney | NASCAR Clash Press Conference

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Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano & Ryan Blaney | NASCAR Clash Press Conference · Kenny Wallace Media

• 0:00
  Jacob Sealman, Race Face Digital Chase You you.
• 0:03
  Mentioned it in your TV interview, but what was the
• 0:05
  ambiance like out there? For for post.
• 0:08
  Race. It sounded like the crowd.
• 0:10
  Was every bit as rowdy. For the victory, as they.
• 0:13
  Were at a lot of other points. During the night and it.
• 0:15
  Looked like a lot of fun. Yeah, no, it was super fun.
• 0:18
  I, you know, I'm sure they would have been excited regardless,
• 0:22
  but, you know, I'm a little biased in the situation just for
• 0:25
  myself. It was, you know, an extremely
• 0:28
  special moment. And I think the people in the
• 0:29
  crowd here made it, made it that.
• 0:33
  So I'm thankful for that. It was a yeah, a moment I'll
• 0:36
  never forget for sure. It's not every day you, you not
• 0:39
  only race in an environment like that, but to have the
• 0:42
  opportunity to win and kind of share that moment with the crowd
• 0:45
  was really cool. So I hope, I hope we put on a
• 0:48
  good show. Hope they enjoyed it.
• 0:49
  You know, it seemed like they were into it, you know,
• 0:51
  throughout the night. And yeah, it seemed like a
• 0:54
  seemed like a success, you know, I know it's always tough from a
• 0:58
  winner's perspective, you know, when everything go yours goes
• 1:00
  your way. But it, it seemed like it seemed
• 1:04
  like the track was racy. You know, I just thought the
• 1:07
  whole deal was was much improved from the last couple years for
• 1:10
  sure. Would you be?
• 1:11
  Would you be a proponent of bringing the clash?
• 1:13
  Back here next year then I don't have any issues with with coming
• 1:17
  back. I mean, I, like I said, I
• 1:18
  thought overall it was, you know, it seemed like a a good
• 1:22
  show. The tire that Ware came into
• 1:25
  play, you know, the the environment from not only
• 1:30
  tonight, but last night the place was packed out and it just
• 1:33
  seemed like a good all around event.
• 1:35
  And yeah, I just feel like if we're going to race on a
• 1:38
  football field, this is probably as good of a place as any as any
• 1:42
  to do it, you know? Bob Good, Bob Hawkers, Fox
• 1:46
  Sports. So what made that different than
• 1:49
  the the Coliseum that? Obviously.
• 1:51
  You liked it better? Yeah, I, I think just the size
• 1:54
  of the track, you know, it just seemed, it seemed bigger to me.
• 1:57
  You know, I don't know what the technical distance would be, how
• 2:01
  different, you know, different it is or not.
• 2:03
  But the straightaway seemed a little longer.
• 2:05
  The corners weren't such a sharp, you know, it didn't seem
• 2:08
  like it was such a sharp apex. And I think all of those things,
• 2:14
  you know, that combined with the track surface having some age,
• 2:17
  you know, to it, I think all three of those things probably
• 2:20
  had a pretty, pretty large impact on the race being better
• 2:24
  and, and kind of putting it a little more in, in your hands as
• 2:28
  far as tire management and, and all that stuff.
• 2:31
  So I those would be the three big ones for me.
• 2:34
  And how do you lead 171 laps and maybe only get shoved out of the
• 2:39
  lead once here? Yeah, that's a great question.
• 2:42
  I've, you know, I was, I was really, you know, honestly felt
• 2:46
  like they're at the end of the first hunter that Denny and
• 2:50
  Tyler had gotten better than us and we needed to be a good bit
• 2:54
  improved to, you know, to track those guys back down and was
• 2:57
  kind of afraid that, you know, if we lost control, it's going
• 3:00
  to be hard to get it back. But, you know, Alan made some
• 3:02
  good adjustments there at the break, you know, and we were
• 3:06
  able to get back to 2nd And then, you know, I felt like I, I
• 3:09
  felt like I needed to take my shot and try to get the lead,
• 3:11
  you know, and if it worked out great, you know, and if and if,
• 3:15
  if Denny got me back, then then, you know, so be it.
• 3:18
  But I just felt like my best chance to win was to try to get
• 3:20
  control of the race in that moment.
• 3:22
  And, you know, took took that opportunity and, and was
• 3:28
  fortunate enough to kind of have the race play out in our favor.
• 3:31
  And certainly Ryan kept us honest.
• 3:33
  You know they're at the end, too.
• 3:34
  Mark Garrow PRN What's it like to win a race when the crowd is
• 3:40
  that into it? And I was when Ryan and Joey
• 3:43
  were here. I should watch the start of the
• 3:45
  race from the grandstands. So you knew that 60% were the
• 3:48
  locals and it seemed the other 40% had to pass some tests to be
• 3:52
  vetted before they came in? Because I've never seen a crowd
• 3:57
  that was literally 100% like hardcore and just watching those
• 4:02
  opening laps with them, you know, you get kind of jaded
• 4:05
  after doing 40 years of this, but even I was getting excited
• 4:08
  up there. What was it like for you?
• 4:09
  Well, I think, you know, coming from you, that is a quite a
• 4:12
  compliment for the event. You know, we always get asked
• 4:15
  the questions, but you've been watching a lot of racing too,
• 4:17
  you know, and I think for you to say that is, you know, in all
• 4:19
  seriousness, a pretty big compliment for the event.
• 4:22
  So you know, it it it was a great environment before the
• 4:26
  race. And you know, I just think that
• 4:29
  probably the biggest lesson I've taken from the weekend is, is
• 4:32
  kind of just reaffirming my belief and less is more, you
• 4:36
  know, like this crowd, it wasn't 80,090 thousand, you know,
• 4:42
  people are are a person crowd, but it was a a smaller number, a
• 4:48
  more intimate number. And and to your point, they were
• 4:51
  all very much into the show. And you know, I think it makes
• 4:54
  for a makes for good TV. It looks good and they were into
• 4:58
  it and, and I think all those things are, are positives for us
• 5:01
  as a as an industry. Is it special to win a race like
• 5:05
  that? Where?
• 5:06
  Absolutely. Yeah.
• 5:07
  No, for absolutely it is. And, and, you know, I alluded to
• 5:10
  it earlier, but I think the people and the environment make
• 5:13
  those moments special. And, you know, without the
• 5:17
  environment being what it was, it wouldn't have felt the way it
• 5:19
  did. And, and I think all those
• 5:21
  things contribute into, you know, what will always be a
• 5:23
  memorable night for for myself and our team.
• 5:27
  All right, Matt, go ahead. Matt Weaver Sports, not Chase.
• 5:30
  I think you made two or three K&N starts.
• 5:33
  Or was it 2? So what now?
• 5:35
  Did you make 2K and N starts here back in the?
• 5:37
  Day. I think so.
• 5:38
  Yeah, I think just two. So I'm, I'm curious, like
• 5:41
  knowing the the history of this place and then what it means to
• 5:45
  short track racing, leaving that phase of your career and
• 5:48
  thinking, hey, I'm probably never going to have a chance to
• 5:52
  win a Bowman Gray, then getting the chance to winning the race.
• 5:55
  Is that something you had any sort of like romanticism
• 5:58
  towards? Hey, look at Chad Canalis back
• 6:01
  there showing some excitement. Thanks, man.
• 6:10
  Yeah, I, you know, I haven't really thought about it from
• 6:11
  that perspective, but absolutely, you know, I, I at
• 6:16
  that point in time, it was just such a different time in my
• 6:19
  career because, you know, like I was coming along and and at that
• 6:23
  point I had not raced on any bigger race tracks.
• 6:26
  And I would say when you ask any driver that's coming along that
• 6:29
  they're going to be like, you know, when you get a chance to
• 6:31
  go race at Richmond for the first time, you know, you're
• 6:34
  like, man, this is this place is big.
• 6:36
  And then you go to Iowa and, and some of those tracks and then
• 6:39
  you get to your first mile and a half and, and you kind of start
• 6:44
  getting to some of those larger race tracks.
• 6:46
  That's a really big deal for a young driver.
• 6:49
  So like at that point in time, it was like it was just, I
• 6:54
  wasn't as excited about it, I think because I was ready to
• 6:57
  like go race on bigger race tracks.
• 6:58
  And I don't think I appreciated it probably as much as I should
• 7:01
  have during, you know, those years that I did it.
• 7:05
  But now having some more experience and understanding
• 7:07
  more about the track and the history here and you know, what
• 7:11
  the, the crowds like and, and all those things, I think it
• 7:15
  makes it more special for sure. And I, I think some of that
• 7:18
  comes with just experience and, you know, just having a greater
• 7:22
  appreciation for places like this that have had a very, you
• 7:25
  know, deep history in, in our sport, you know, whether a, a
• 7:28
  cup race is here or, or if it's just a sanctioned event like the
• 7:32
  modifieds or whatever. And then you know.
• 7:35
  NASCAR is kind of going two parallel directions right now.
• 7:39
  There's the Wilkesboro and Rockingham and Bowman Gray.
• 7:43
  There's, you know, Mexico City and Chicago.
• 7:46
  How important in addition to the international, you know, big
• 7:50
  markets is having these kind of grassroots, old school kind of
• 7:55
  events? I, I think it's paramount,
• 7:58
  honestly, I just, you hate to see those.
• 8:06
  I mean, the historic might be the wrong word, but just that
• 8:09
  those, those cornerstone race tracks of kind of what paved
• 8:13
  NASCAR to be what it is today, shut down or go away.
• 8:16
  So if, if, if us having a race or, or if it's the Rockingham
• 8:21
  case where those guys are taking the Xfinity and trucks over
• 8:25
  there, if that's going to keep that place alive and keep it
• 8:29
  from shutting down or getting bulldozed.
• 8:31
  And I think that's a victory for Motorsports like, you know, for
• 8:35
  whether it's NASCAR or or whatever, I just think having
• 8:37
  these race tracks survive this day and time is a really big
• 8:41
  deal. And, and we need to try to make
• 8:43
  sure we're doing as much as we can to keep those places in
• 8:46
  business and give us the opportunity to even return there
• 8:50
  one day, right? Like what happens if if the
• 8:53
  effort from the state didn't happen and, and Rockingham goes
• 8:56
  away and North Wilkesboro goes away and all these places get
• 9:00
  bulldozed, We can't have special moments to return to anywhere
• 9:04
  because they're gone. So I just think it's important
• 9:06
  that we, you know, do what we can to to make these places
• 9:09
  continue to be special here in the region, you know, which is
• 9:13
  obviously has a big footprint with NASCAR and, and the history
• 9:16
  here. And I think we can expand and
• 9:18
  grow and try new things while doing that all at the same time.
• 9:22
  All right, Jay in the back, go ahead.
• 9:26
  Jase, Bobby. By Mcgray Chase.
• 9:29
  You were so dominant early and you're kind of able to kind of
• 9:31
  regain that after the break. Did you just kind of have to
• 9:34
  bide your time with the adjustments you made?
• 9:38
  Yes and no I, I do think that I probably didn't save enough
• 9:42
  through the 1st 100 laps. I, I just, I really wasn't sure
• 9:45
  how much to save. And, you know, sometimes when
• 9:49
  you're the leader in that scenario, you're kind of setting
• 9:53
  the pace and those guys can judge off you how, how hard to
• 9:56
  run. And I just, I think that Denny,
• 9:59
  you know, and Tyler and a few of them did a better job, Ryan
• 10:03
  saving their, their tire to have something left there in those
• 10:05
  last 20 laps. And in that first one, I think
• 10:09
  our balance could have been a little better too.
• 10:11
  And I, I do think we got our balance better for the
• 10:13
  second-half. I think I did a little better
• 10:15
  job saving, you know, and, and took my opportunity to try to
• 10:20
  get control of the race there when I felt like I could.
• 10:22
  I didn't know if I was going to get another one, honestly.
• 10:26
  You know, Denny's so good. You know, you give a guy like
• 10:28
  that an opportunity to to lead the race, control his tire wear,
• 10:34
  kind of do his thing. He's going to become hard to
• 10:36
  beat, you know, as as the race wears on.
• 10:38
  So I just feel like that, you know, I need to take my
• 10:41
  opportunity while I could to get back control and and try to
• 10:44
  conserve what I could from the lead.
• 10:46
  You know, is going to be my my best shot of winning.
• 10:49
  All right, we're going to go Barry, and then we'll end with
• 10:51
  Reid. Go ahead, Barry.
• 10:52
  Yes Barry Richmond, Piedmont Broadcasting Corporation Chase
• 10:56
  was such a great start to the season.
• 10:59
  You know we will have a two week intermission as it were before
• 11:04
  we hit to the first real point race of the year at Daytona.
• 11:09
  How does that start? When stop affect you as a driver
• 11:15
  now that you you know, won the 1st event of the season?
• 11:19
  Well, it sounds to me like I can enjoy it for another seven days,
• 11:23
  you know, an extra 7 days versus a normal, a normal race.
• 11:26
  So that's a good thing. I mean, look, you know, I, I
• 11:28
  know it's not a points race, but I don't, I don't care.
• 11:30
  It's the, these things are man, they are so hard to win.
• 11:34
  Like whether it's a points race, not a points race, you know,
• 11:37
  before the season or the All Star, you know, it, it, this,
• 11:40
  this garage has become so competitive and these guys are
• 11:44
  so good at what they do. It's just it, it's, it's very
• 11:48
  rewarding to, to cross the finish line 1st and whatever
• 11:52
  type of event it is when you're racing against those types of
• 11:54
  drivers and teams. So that that to me is, you know,
• 11:59
  very enjoyable from from our perspective.
• 12:02
  And you know, we'll take the positives from the weekend for
• 12:04
  sure. We recognize there's 37 more to
• 12:07
  go and there's a lot of racing left.
• 12:10
  So just hope we can build on this.
• 12:12
  Mentioned two run in here if if you're going to have a racetrack
• 12:16
  at a football field, this is a place to have it.
• 12:19
  What's your pick for next week? That's a good question, man.
• 12:24
  I'll be honest, I was really pulling for the Bills.
• 12:26
  I was, I was really pulling for, for Josh Allen.
• 12:29
  I've become a a big fan of his. So with that being said, I, I,
• 12:34
  the Chiefs are always tough, but I'm, I'm pulling for the Eagles.
• 12:38
  I'd like to see them win. I'm getting some head nods in
• 12:41
  the back. I love it.
• 12:43
  But yeah, no, I I'd like to see the I'd like to see the Eagles
• 12:46
  win. Jalen seems like a stand up
• 12:50
  leader and individual and somebody that I think everybody
• 12:53
  can admire. So I, I wouldn't mind seeing
• 12:56
  him, you know, get a win. He came close to the last time
• 12:59
  they met. All right, Reid, take us home.
• 13:03
  Reid Spencer with the NASCAR. Wire What does it say about the
• 13:06
  quality of racing and the quality of the show that a guy.
• 13:09
  Can start 23rd on a. Provisional and come through
• 13:12
  the. Field and challenge you.
• 13:13
  For the win, yeah. I mean, I think that says a lot.
• 13:17
  You know, truthfully, I, like I said, I think the racetrack was
• 13:19
  really racy and and there was enough tire wear that it allowed
• 13:22
  that to, you know, to happen where a guy could conserve and
• 13:25
  and make smart decisions and kind of claws way up through
• 13:28
  there. And Ryan certainly did that.
• 13:31
  You know, he he has become elite at at places like Martinsville
• 13:37
  and here and and Phoenix and some of these shorter tracks
• 13:39
  that, you know, you really have to be mindful of, of all those
• 13:43
  things. So, yeah, I, I was, when I saw
• 13:48
  him, I was like, man, wow, He didn't he start last.
• 13:52
  And then I've, you know, thought about it a little more and I
• 13:54
  thought, well, that's not really all that surprising at all.
• 13:57
  You know, as good as he was at Martinsville in the fall, this
• 13:59
  isn't super different from that. I mean, it is different, don't
• 14:03
  get me wrong, but there are a lot of similarities.
• 14:05
  So not super surprised to see him, you know, to see him up
• 14:10
  there by by the end. Jacob Stillman race face Digital
• 14:12
  Bubba. I I know a lot's been made of
• 14:14
  this. Car on short tracks of the last
• 14:16
  couple. Years.
• 14:17
  What did you? Feel like it was like.
• 14:19
  Tonight and did you? Feel like you were fighting.
• 14:21
  Maybe some of the same? Things that drivers have
• 14:24
  battled. Previously with the short track
• 14:25
  package in the next Gen. car. Yeah, it's a good question.
• 14:31
  You know, speaking from just my race, my perspective, our car
• 14:34
  was just OK. We were just OK all weekend.
• 14:39
  It's no surprise that the 12 was really fast.
• 14:41
  The 9 was really fast. They got something figured out
• 14:43
  with this tire, obviously Martinsville.
• 14:45
  So I I got to dissect on what I need to do to be better, to get
• 14:49
  the most potential out of the tires.
• 14:51
  It's been the biggest thing for me.
• 14:55
  But yeah, All in all, I think we're it was racy.
• 14:58
  You know, I mean, yes, we were using the bumper.
• 15:00
  That's kind of the only way to pass here.
• 15:02
  And still with this car, the slams look egregious, but these
• 15:07
  things are tanks and you you have to send it off in there.
• 15:11
  My move on the six. Don't do that.
• 15:13
  I I apologize for that, But just the, the bumps, like just the,
• 15:17
  the hey, hello, I'm here that that still applies.
• 15:21
  But the guys, it's not like the three bump rule anymore.
• 15:24
  It's like a three bump in a slam.
• 15:26
  Like hey, we got to go. So I don't know how to fix that
• 15:30
  part. I think we just have to accept
• 15:31
  that and and and take it for what it is.
• 15:33
  You raced here in an. East car back 1213 years.
• 15:37
  Ago the the ambiance I know was a lot the same then.
• 15:39
  Did you feel that? Coming back here tonight.
• 15:42
  I did, I thought, I thought NASCAR did a good job of, of
• 15:45
  making a show out of which is exactly what they wanted for all
• 15:49
  this. But I think the pre race stuff
• 15:51
  was really fun. I thought the the fans were
• 15:53
  engaged. It was, it was good.
• 15:56
  It was good from start to finish.
• 15:57
  The best thing about it is most of us in the room got a 45
• 16:00
  minute drive back home, not a stay over in LA and fly back six
• 16:04
  hours, whatever it is. So All in all, it's a good
• 16:07
  weekend. Dustin Dustin Long, NBC Sports
• 16:12
  First. Weekend with the new crew chief
• 16:14
  and. You know somebody you hadn't
• 16:15
  worked with before. So what's it been?
• 16:18
  Like this offseason And what was this weekend?
• 16:20
  Like and where do you go from here with working with Charles
• 16:23
  after a top five? Yeah, I think it's a it's a
• 16:26
  great way to start off the, the year and, and our relationship.
• 16:30
  You know, since the first day I met Charles, he's he's been
• 16:33
  super just on it and, and willing to just bust his ass to,
• 16:39
  to figure out where we need to be better.
• 16:41
  And, and he's not afraid of, of, of telling you like I need to do
• 16:44
  this and not, I'm not afraid to tell him the same thing.
• 16:47
  So we have a lot to dissect after tonight's race.
• 16:50
  I think we're both on the same page that we were just average
• 16:53
  car and that's not OK with either of us.
• 16:58
  So we got to regroup and, and refocus And luckily the next
• 17:02
  short track is a little bit out. But All in all, just the
• 17:06
  communication side of it. And you know, we were texting
• 17:08
  last night at about midnight after after we shut down here
• 17:11
  and just asked them, you know, you know, how did your first day
• 17:14
  go? And he said, I thought
• 17:17
  everything went status quo and I and I agreed.
• 17:20
  So there's some things that could be better as always.
• 17:23
  But I think the first start to our race is is really good.
• 17:26
  And I asked him before the race, sitting over here in the pits
• 17:29
  where we were pushed out, I was like, are you nervous?
• 17:30
  He's like, no, not yet, but ask me next or when we go to
• 17:34
  Daytona. He probably will be all.
• 17:36
  Right. I believe Jerry had a question.
• 17:41
  Jerry, Jerry Jordan kicking thetires.net and kind of from
• 17:44
  both of y'all. What did y'all learn out here?
• 17:46
  If we come back next year, did you guys have fun?
• 17:48
  Do y'all want to do this again? Did you learn something that you
• 17:50
  can? You know.
• 17:52
  Carry over, you know, if that does happen, if we come back,
• 17:56
  Denny's going to schedule 10 meetings, so it'll be something
• 18:00
  we'll have to worry about that in 365 days.
• 18:02
  So All in all, if we do come back or we just both said we
• 18:04
  were just average, so we got to figure out why that is and you
• 18:07
  just show up and be better. Something with this tire.
• 18:09
  So I know I said earlier talking to Jacob but me and this tire
• 18:13
  right now aren't vibing and I think it's more of a me problem
• 18:16
  than a car problem. We're going to go wherever they
• 18:21
  tell us to go and we're going to like it.
• 18:25
  But but I think overall I was really happy.
• 18:29
  I thought the atmosphere was fantastic.
• 18:30
  I thought NASCAR production did really well with kind of the
• 18:34
  whole pre race and everything. So yeah, made it feel like big
• 18:37
  event and I thought overall was a good exhibition preseason to
• 18:42
  to our season coming up in a couple weeks.
• 18:43
  So overall I thought everyone did a great job with it.
• 18:48
  All right, I'm going to get a microphone to Barry in the back
• 18:52
  and then to Bob. Yeah, Barry Richmond, Piedmont
• 19:00
  Broadcasting Corporation. And this goes out to both of
• 19:02
  you. I think you actually alluded to
• 19:05
  some of the debriefing things that's going to happen after
• 19:07
  this race. But two weeks you've gotten
• 19:11
  started. Both of you kicked off the
• 19:13
  season. Good course, great would mean a
• 19:15
  win. But you know, the momentum's
• 19:17
  already started. How do you deal with the next
• 19:20
  two weeks? Make something happen?
• 19:22
  And you know, of course, normally it's back-to-back.
• 19:25
  Yeah. I mean, you know, this is a,
• 19:27
  it's really a, a truly a good warm up because you don't, you
• 19:31
  know, you don't have the pit crews.
• 19:32
  You're not, you know, it's, it's, we have more practice than
• 19:37
  we have a normal weekend, but it still feels like an abbreviated
• 19:40
  type weekend. So I think it's just a, you
• 19:43
  know, there's not a whole lot you can do the cars, right?
• 19:45
  You're once you get here, you're, you're pretty locked in.
• 19:48
  So I think that overall, I think, you know, this is just
• 19:52
  kind of a, it's always been a way to, you know, build into our
• 19:55
  season. And so, you know, we get the
• 19:56
  next couple weeks to well, you know, we'll spend the next few
• 19:59
  days kind of debriefing on this. And he talked about the tire,
• 20:02
  you know, what can we learn from today's race that can apply when
• 20:07
  we run this tire again? So, you know, we'll put our
• 20:09
  brains together and see if we can't, you know, get a little
• 20:12
  better because, you know, I, I definitely agreed.
• 20:14
  Like he was saying, we're just, we're always.
• 20:16
  We're always the next best. You know, this is like
• 20:18
  Martinsville where it's like the 9, the 12 just were better and
• 20:23
  I'm the next guy in line or the next guy in line.
• 20:25
  It's just got to got to get over the hump.
• 20:30
  Yeah, I think, you know, this is this is good.
• 20:32
  Hell, I've finished my first Clash I think ever, so that's
• 20:35
  awesome. Usually I'm erected on the last
• 20:36
  lap, but it's nice to just carry this into into Daytona.
• 20:44
  Obviously we have a lot to just unfold and and digest like I've
• 20:47
  talked about. But you know, with with Charles
• 20:49
  coming in, you know, it's this is going to be the biggest race
• 20:51
  of his career, you know, and I think it's more for him to
• 20:55
  understand that and carry this and enjoy the little moments
• 20:58
  right now. But no, we got to, you know,
• 20:59
  roll the sleeves up tomorrow, you know, for our meetings and
• 21:01
  figure out how we're going to win Daytona.
• 21:03
  It's the small victories that you can enjoy for a minute, But
• 21:05
  we got to focus on the big picture and got me more proud of
• 21:08
  of the effort that we put in. You know, from how we started
• 21:11
  practice, how we qualified and you know, from the heat race to
• 21:14
  the main event, we we non-stop worked.
• 21:17
  And then that's what you, you, that's all you can ask for.
• 21:19
  So just got to keep pushing and and and try to be the next best
• 21:22
  all. Right, Bob, is your question for
• 21:24
  both Bubba and Denny? Just for Denny.
• 21:27
  OK. Bubba.
• 21:28
  You're good. Thank you.
• 21:29
  Go ahead. I'm out.
• 21:36
  Denny so we from what you were just saying, did you even when
• 21:41
  you had the lead or vowing for the lead, you know feel like the
• 21:43
  car to. Beat.
• 21:43
  I, I, I did in the first half, I just, you know, I, it's just as
• 21:48
  it goes on, it just seems like I lose a little bit of, you know,
• 21:52
  the juice that I had, you know, certainly I felt like the first
• 21:55
  half, you know, I could just kind of maneuver anywhere I
• 21:58
  wanted to go. A lot of people kind of learned
• 22:02
  from that. I could see, you know,
• 22:03
  difference in lines in the second-half versus the 1st.
• 22:06
  But yeah, just, I don't know. I, I just got to get a little
• 22:10
  better and figure out, like you said, it's just what what kind
• 22:13
  of makes this thing go and what makes it go for the entire race,
• 22:16
  not just the beginning. And you said that you'll go
• 22:19
  wherever they say the clash is. I'm curious, would it be better
• 22:23
  to come back here, but maybe in a few years rather than next
• 22:28
  year? Or do you feel like, hey, this
• 22:30
  was going to let's come back next year?
• 22:35
  I mean, in, in no way would I want to minimize kind of the the
• 22:38
  weekend that there was. I think that certainly, you
• 22:41
  know, I don't want to say this wasn't good enough because I
• 22:44
  think, you know, they took, you know, a facility here.
• 22:47
  It's been around for a long time and made it feel like a brand
• 22:51
  new one. You know, the fans obviously
• 22:53
  were very, very excited to see us and they were enthusiastic
• 22:57
  that, you know, we feed into that.
• 22:58
  And so it felt like a big event, even though it's not a points
• 23:02
  paying event or anything like that, it still feels big.
• 23:05
  And so you want to go wherever can give you that feel and
• 23:10
  atmosphere. There's surely bigger venues and
• 23:13
  bigger cities to go to, but will you have this type of feel or
• 23:17
  not? That's that's really what
• 23:18
  matters. All right, Mark, do you?
• 23:21
  Have a question. OK, Dustin.
• 23:23
  I get a microphone to Dustin. Dustin Long, NBC Sports First
• 23:29
  weekend working with Chris Gayle.
• 23:31
  What was the weekend like and what it mean?
• 23:33
  And also from an owner's perspective, first weekend with
• 23:36
  Charles and Bubba and you know that somebody he's never worked
• 23:40
  with before to kind of do get off to.
• 23:43
  A start like this on the 11th, you know, Chris is obviously
• 23:47
  someone that, you know, ranches a couple of Xfinity races with
• 23:50
  him. But you know, yeah, we're, we're
• 23:53
  learning each other. And certainly it's a it's a
• 23:57
  process, you know, it's not, we're not going to just figure
• 24:00
  each other out right off the bat.
• 24:02
  But, you know, I'm trying to do things as I did before and, and
• 24:06
  he's trying to understand that. And but I will also, I'm trying
• 24:11
  to give him the full, you know, free reign to kind of do things
• 24:15
  however he sees fit as well. I mean, he got to this position
• 24:18
  for reason. And so you got to always trust
• 24:20
  your leadership to, you know, to make the right calls.
• 24:23
  And, you know, my job is to to drive the car and give them the
• 24:26
  feedback, nothing more. I'm not the crew chief, I'm not
• 24:29
  the strategist, nothing like that.
• 24:31
  And, you know, my job is to do it today and then go there
• 24:33
  tomorrow and tell them the direction that we need to work
• 24:36
  on. So, you know, that's really
• 24:38
  important. And I feel like it's getting off
• 24:40
  to a good start. As far as Charles, I truly
• 24:45
  believe he's going to be a game changer for 2311.
• 24:48
  He is special. All I can say is he's I'm glad
• 24:54
  we found him. And certainly I think he's going
• 24:56
  to be, you know, taking that 23 team to the next level.
• 25:00
  One for each Bob hacker sex sports Ryan did.
• 25:04
  Did your tires just did you just lose grip as you just from
• 25:08
  wearing him out to chase him down or did that was Chase able
• 25:10
  to more more save his to be faster at the end to get through
• 25:14
  traffic? Yeah, I, I think he just had
• 25:17
  better drive off than me that whole last round.
• 25:21
  Like I turned better and he had better drive off.
• 25:22
  So it was like a it's kind of a trade off.
• 25:24
  I feel like, you know, I honestly, I felt like our cars
• 25:29
  were kind of evenly matched. We were, my car was better in
• 25:34
  one area and his car is better than the other.
• 25:36
  But I feel like if you just swapped our two cars, I feel
• 25:38
  like the end would have like, I don't think we would have passed
• 25:41
  each other. You know, if I was in front of
• 25:43
  him or if he was in front of me, I think we were pretty evenly
• 25:46
  matched. But yeah, I just when I started
• 25:49
  to go, I just didn't have enough right rear.
• 25:51
  And I'm like, oh, like I, I don't, I'm not going to make
• 25:54
  this pass right? Like, and I'm not going to just
• 25:56
  bulldog him into him and and get chased out of here with
• 26:00
  pitchforks. So.
• 26:02
  You know so. Yeah, I just when it was time to
• 26:06
  go, I just didn't quite have enough and he just, I could turn
• 26:08
  really good. But I I paid the penalty on exit
• 26:11
  to where he could just kind of keep the power down a little bit
• 26:14
  longer and the right rears seem to wear out more than right
• 26:16
  fronts. So just it just helped them out
• 26:18
  just a little bit more at the end.
• 26:20
  I thought Bowen Gray, you're supposed to get run out of here
• 26:22
  with pitchforks. I don't know what you like, but
• 26:26
  that's not something I want to do.
• 26:28
  And you said there's no reason to come back for either of you
• 26:31
  can answer this or both. Do you think it's imperative to
• 26:34
  come back next year or sometimes for some of these events that
• 26:37
  NASCAR has had recently, it's almost like the second year
• 26:41
  isn't as bold as the first. You wait a few more years and
• 26:44
  then and then come back. You're going to pack it out.
• 26:47
  There's going to be just as many people here next year.
• 26:48
  If you come back as there was tonight.
• 26:50
  I don't think it'd be. I don't think it would lose any
• 26:53
  of its like Luster I. Don't know what you think.
• 26:56
  I mean, from what I hear, they pack this place out every
• 26:58
  weekend with without the star power of Cup guys.
• 27:03
  They'll be able to come here just race fans like they just
• 27:05
  like racing. And so, and the other thing too,
• 27:09
  remember, like it's not a huge stadium, right?
• 27:11
  So you pack it out and it looks good and, and the energy's real.
• 27:14
  Like it's not like you have this ginormous stadium and you get,
• 27:18
  you know, half or 3/4 of a full right?
• 27:20
  Like this is like standing room only is kind of a, it's a
• 27:24
  special feel. It's hard to get the ticket,
• 27:27
  which, you know, people want what they can't have, right?
• 27:30
  Like a lot of people probably watch this on TV and you weren't
• 27:33
  able to get the ticket here because there's a limited
• 27:35
  quantity, you know, that maybe next year they get the
• 27:39
  opportunity to, to get tickets, right.
• 27:41
  Maybe they'll say, man, I need to get on it.
• 27:42
  And as soon as they start selling them, I need to be on it
• 27:44
  and get them. I mean, it's, there's a little
• 27:46
  bit to be said about that as well, but it on the same breath,
• 27:51
  I, I would say it's very important for us to move things
• 27:54
  around. You know, we've seen the success
• 27:56
  of our sport moving to new race tracks.
• 27:59
  And I'm a big fan of going to new places and bringing the
• 28:01
  racetrack to the fans that don't typically get to see us 'cause
• 28:05
  it's so hard to, you know, for a lot of people to travel a long
• 28:09
  ways to see our races. So going to new places is, is
• 28:12
  huge for our sport. And we've done that right over
• 28:15
  the last, you know, 5-6 years, we've added new race tracks
• 28:20
  quite often. So I think that's successful.
• 28:24
  You know, doing the same thing eventually gets stale.
• 28:26
  But I don't think that's going to happen here anytime soon all.
• 28:31
  Right, Mark, go ahead. Mark Carroll, PRN was wondering
• 28:34
  if you could talk a little bit about the atmosphere now without
• 28:37
  the, you know, the flashing lights and the and the siren.
• 28:40
  I went up in the grandstands to watch the star of the race and
• 28:44
  you could tell that over half the crowd are the regulars.
• 28:48
  And it was like the rest of them had to be vetted.
• 28:50
  Either you hardcore, hardcore, you weren't allowed in the gate.
• 28:53
  I don't think I've ever had that kind of vibe at a Cup race where
• 28:57
  only the hardcore were allowed in the gate to watch the race.
• 29:01
  And I seem to feel that vibe. And did did the drivers feel it?
• 29:04
  And Ryan had told a story. When you're here as a Bandolero
• 29:07
  driver, remember A7 year old kid, there was a bird lover and
• 29:09
  gave you the bird, you know, every lap.
• 29:11
  I mean, do you, are you conscious of those things?
• 29:14
  Did you feel that vibe tonight? Yeah, definitely.
• 29:17
  You know, it was, it was neat to to, you know, when you do intros
• 29:20
  on the front stretch, you know, and kind of parked car fans
• 29:23
  right there, right. So it was it was neat to, you
• 29:25
  know, hear them cheering and, you know, supporting you.
• 29:29
  You know, we don't, there's not a lot of places we go where we
• 29:32
  kind of do that, where they're, they're that close and that
• 29:34
  passionate, right? Maybe a lot of them.
• 29:35
  But for whatever reason, everyone wants to have their
• 29:37
  opinion heard here, right? That's in the stands and that's
• 29:39
  awesome to me. You know, whether good or bad,
• 29:42
  it's awesome that they're, you know, they're there and they're
• 29:44
  wanting to interact. And that is a hardcore race fan,
• 29:46
  right? So, yeah, it's, I didn't see any
• 29:50
  birds tonight by the fans. Luckily my eyesight isn't as
• 29:54
  good, so I might have been shot some, but no, I, I just think it
• 29:58
  was, it was cool and it was cool for the fans to stick around,
• 30:00
  you know, for a good bit. When we were doing interviews on
• 30:02
  the front stretch after the race, you could tell they're,
• 30:05
  they're, they were excited to be here, you know, and they were
• 30:07
  excited for us to come and put on a heck of a show and they
• 30:11
  appreciated, you know, the, the, the race and things like that.
• 30:14
  So they're hardcore race fans, like you said, and, and you
• 30:17
  can't beat that anywhere else. And they've been like that here
• 30:19
  for, you know. How long has this place been
• 30:22
  around? Yeah, 90 years.
• 30:27
  So yeah, you'll have that, which is good.
• 30:33
  Yeah. You know, I said earlier it was
• 30:37
  great. You know, I think, you know, you
• 30:39
  look at whether it's yesterday, whether it was here in person,
• 30:45
  which was great. Watching it on TV was great.
• 30:50
  You know, it's just, it's, there's not a bad seat in the
• 30:52
  house, which is awesome. And I think the fans, they build
• 30:55
  off of each other, right? I think as they sit next to each
• 30:59
  other, they're that, that tight of quarters.
• 31:01
  And I'm sure they start drawing back and forth about who their
• 31:04
  favorite driver is and, and, and everyone starts cheering louder
• 31:07
  and louder, right? It's it's, we have such a unique
• 31:11
  sport because when you go to, you know, a basketball game, you
• 31:14
  know, there's a home team and the majority roots for one team,
• 31:18
  right? When in our sport, you know,
• 31:19
  there's 40 of us out there. So it's, it's pretty wild to
• 31:22
  see, you know, the differences and, and all that's displayed on
• 31:26
  the, you know, driver intros. And, you know, I always say, as
• 31:29
  long as they're making noise, they make, they make noise for
• 31:31
  me. So that's good.
• 31:32
  It goes both ways, but it's it's noise and that's that's always
• 31:34
  good.