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NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 15, 2018Brett MoffittQ. You're a small team. Despite all the wins, there are people who don't consider you the favorite. How do you feel about that? BRETT MOFFITT: Our race team has worked really hard all year. We are a smaller team, but we've shown throughout the year even with struggles outside of the racetrack with sponsorship issues and just trying to get to the track that everyone will pull together and work harder than ever. Every time we unload, we have really fast Tundras. Brought to me a stat the other day, we have 12 top 10s, all of those are top fives and five are wins. Unless something really bad goes wrong, we've got speed every week. Q. With the adversity with sponsorship, what would it mean for you to go out there and win this championship tomorrow night? BRETT MOFFITT: I think it would mean a lot for all of us. Obviously Ziggy has worked really hard at getting us to the racetrack. As far as 2019 goes I have no plans, I have no job. The championship would go a long way in that direction. Then just for the crew guys, we have nine to ten full‑time employees. They have to work harder than anybody else that we're competing against, certainly in the Final 4. They work seven days a week, till midnight the past three weeks. Everyone's dedication, to be able to win a championship, would repay them the best I can. Q. Do you think your experience in the K&N Series has helped? BRETT MOFFITT: No. Pretty much Shiggy built a whole new team since then. I feel like he has a lot better people in place. I would say the experience in the past has helped. Because I worked with Scott Zipadelli, my truck chief in the past, a lot of guys on my team in the past throughout different race organizations. I would say that helped us bond quicker. But as to the K&N Series with Shige, I wouldn't say it helped anything. Q. You've closed in on a lot of wins this year, do you think that's been your personal best trait so far this year? BRETT MOFFITT: I don't know. I would say it's a strong trait, for sure. It seems like Scott Zipadelli does a good job, even when we fire off in the race, not where we need to be, in the Truck Series we only get a few stops a race, he does a really good job of getting the truck tuned into where I need it right away. That gives me the ability at the end of the race to be aggressive. That and I feel like we've had some misfortune early in races. I think we could have dominated Phoenix, once I got to the lead, if I didn't get a pit road speeding penalty. That was my fault. I feel like we could have not just been a closer there but a dominant truck. I just think we're really strong. Even if we don't fire off where we need to, we finish where we need to. Q. Do you think that will work at Homestead? If you have issues, the other guys will be too good? BRETT MOFFITT: No, this place is the exact opposite. With all the tire falloff, it makes a difference with handling. I feel like you could go to the front, to the back to the front multiple times in this race. Obviously you wouldn't want to. I feel like it can be done here with all the different grooves, like I said, the tire falloff, over two seconds a run. I think that really opens things up. That and none of us are racing for stage points. That's going to change up the strategy as far as pitting goes because no one is going to be staying out to get points in our group. Everyone is going to race the race completely different. Q. When you come to the 16 team, did you think this amount of success was possible right off the bat? BRETT MOFFITT: Not necessarily this amount. I would say we've overachieved everyone's goals and hopefully tomorrow night we can really overachieve everyone's goals with a championship. I've worked with, like I said, most of them in the past. Seems like especially every time me and Scott get together, it's a really successful pairing and partnership. That gives me the confidence as a driver going in that I knew we'd be able to win races. I just didn't know how many and how early. It was great to get the early win at Atlanta and continue the success throughout the year. Q. What have you learned the most this year? BRETT MOFFITT: I feel like I've done probably a good job at maturing throughout the races, really looking at the big picture, which may be a trait of that late race strong finishes. We never give up. We just keep working on it all throughout the race. That's where I feel I've done a better job, whereas in the past maybe I'd get discouraged in the first stage if we weren't good. It's a confidence thing in the team and truck that we're going to make it better and we'll be able to win a race by the end of the race. Q. What has been the greatest challenge this team has overcome this year? BRETT MOFFITT: I would say the biggest challenge this year is simply funding. That's the reason why our personnel count is so low. It's the reason why everyone has to work harder than most people probably do or should. It just puts our team in a lot of binds throughout the season, whether we knew or not we were going to the racetrack even, or just the fact that we can't go buy new parts and new trucks every week. We got to make do with what we've got. At some point in the season, we had to race a little more conservative because of that. On the flipside of that, it shows how damn good these people are on this team and how passionate they are, how willing they are to work for it they are, that they're not letting that be an excuse, they're building off that and thriving off that. Q. How big a difference in your pending future, Brett Moffitt, champion? BRETT MOFFITT: I would say a lot of people are going to say, Well, look at the season you had, everything you guys overcame, you still did a great job. But I'm a competitor. A lot of people said I didn't look very happy last week in Phoenix after winning. It's because I'm focused on this week. I want to go out and win a championship. I've been so close, the last time I raced full‑time was in K&N Series, in five years I think I finished top three in all years but I never won it. That still kind of eats at me as a competitor. So I want to go win a championship, not just win races and have a good season. Q. Have you won a championship? BRETT MOFFITT: Nope. Q. In any local track? BRETT MOFFITT: I mean, local track, when I was a kid, and go‑karting and stuff. Q. Nothing beyond that? BRETT MOFFITT: No. Q. Who was the last moustache to win a NASCAR championship? BRETT MOFFITT: Terry Labonte? Q. Was it? BRETT MOFFITT: I have no idea. I thought you knew the answer (laughter). Q. How would you describe your relationship with Scott? Got out of the truck last week, had the wheel, seems like you have a pretty good relationship? Are you just driver/crew chief? BRETT MOFFITT: I would say me and Scott are probably friends first because the whole time that‑‑ from the first time I worked with him in 2011, I believe it was, at the Iowa Xfinity race, Nationwide at the time, from then until up to this year, I've always been in constant contact with him. We've always mentioned that we want to work together again. Fortunately it worked out this year. We're involved in each other's personal life, as well. I think opening up and being friends with a guy like that, it helps us both succeed. It makes us be on the same page. Q. Was there a race where you didn't think you were going to get there? BRETT MOFFITT: As far as to the track? Q. Yes. BRETT MOFFITT: Chicago. Chicago on Tuesday we weren't going, then Freight Auction stepped up. They really got us. I came in Monday, they said we were going. I came in Tuesday, they said we weren't going. It was truly a bad situation. Q. (No microphone.) BRETT MOFFITT: He's been on the B post all year, ever since. Q. Who is the biggest threat? If you were handicapping it, how would you handicap it? BRETT MOFFITT: As far as handicapping the other three drivers, I would say Noah is the biggest threat, being that he's in the truck that won the championship last year. Reaume always brings a really good truck to Miami. Talking to Christopher Bell, he rode around here pretty much half throttle all race, the truck was that good. Q. Even though he won once all season? BRETT MOFFITT: I think he's going to have a really fast Tundra. I know Toyota has put a lot of efforts into not only their organization but our organization for this race. I'm confident that they're the best at what they do. So I would say Noah was probably going to be the toughest one to beat. Q. Not just because he's in a Toyota? BRETT MOFFITT: No, I believe it. After watching last year's race films and the year before that, the trucks that they bring here, they're stout. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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