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NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 15, 2018

Noah Gragson

Q. Tomorrow night's going to be your final race with Kyle Busch Motorsports. You've been there for a couple of years now. Can you describe how your race craft as a driver has improved over these two years?
NOAH GRAGSON: I just feel like I've learned a lot more, more about what to look for going into the weekend, and really a lot of that is just myself maturing from a teenager to an early 20‑year‑old. So I feel like my race craft has definitely improved, but a lot more of it is the off track preparation and then just the maturity factor of that.
So it's been a great two years with Kyle Busch Motorsports. I've been very fortunate to be able to drive for one of the best drivers in the Cup Series, if not the best, so just really exciting the last two years and really fun.

Q. You've got 200 miles tomorrow night. It's the only one this weekend that is an outright night race instead of racing in the dark. Just what do you expect to see out there? Is everyone just going to stick to the wall all night?
NOAH GRAGSON: No, I think you're going to have guys that are going to be running the low side. You're going to have guys who will move up when the tires get older. I've prepared this week, I feel like, more than I've ever prepared, and almost been brainwashing myself with past year film, whether it be practice or qualifying or in car film, race film. I've really been leaning on my crew chief Rudy Fugle just for ends and odds and tips and tricks from his past success ‑‑ obviously, hasn't driven here, but he's been the crew chief of several driver and owner championships. He knows what to look for in the driver and what needs to be done.
So I've just been trying to prepare as much as possible, and it's better to prepare and not have an opportunity than to not have an opportunity ‑‑ it's better to not have an opportunity and be prepared than it is to have an opportunity and not be prepared. Lucky, we're prepared and we have an opportunity. So it's the best of both worlds.

Q. What's it been like working with Rudy this year? You mentioned his past successes. But how does it help someone like yourself that's a 20‑year‑old to have Rudy?
NOAH GRAGSON: Rudy's been, I feel like, a big part of our success this year. Obviously, we have fast Safelite Tundras at the racetrack, but more importantly, he's helped me more on the off track stuff. He's been more of a father figure to me, and he's just really helped me grow up and learn what I need to look forward to and things I need to do better. So it's been really good working with him.

Q. How do you mentally prepare for tomorrow night?
NOAH GRAGSON: I've never been in this position, so I don't really know.

Q. Did you ask anyone?
NOAH GRAGSON: Yeah, I talked to Christopher Bell, William Byron, Joey Logano quite a bit, as well as Kyle Busch. I don't know if I'm feeling excited, if I'm feeling nervous, if I feel the pressure. Really I don't know what I'm feeling. I guess it's D, it's all of the above.
But most importantly, I'm getting the chance to do something I've always dreamed of, and that's to race for a championship in the Truck Series. I would have never dreamed that I'd be in this position as a young kid. So just have to enjoy the opportunity. Rarely in life you get an opportunity like this. So just have to enjoy it and make the most of my opportunity and just ultimately have some fun and do my job, and that's to go out there and win the race. If you win the race, you win the championship. All is said and done. Just got to do what we've done all year, go out there and lead laps and run fast.

Q. Do you think that you guys have gotten better at closing the deal, meaning being better in ‑‑ you guys have been real good this year in first and second stages, but you guys have had trouble trying to make that third stage better than the first stage.
NOAH GRAGSON: Yeah, it's tricky. We've been really chasing stage one. So when we get a caution six laps before the stage ends and everybody comes down to pit but four or five of us, then we cycle back to 12th to 16th, right? So we're back there. And on these mile and a halfs like Texas or Kentucky, it's very aero dependent. So it's made it challenging to pass. Really nobody ‑‑ Grafton can't, Sauter can't. That's not an excuse, obviously, but I feel like I need to do a lot better job on passing trucks.
But I feel like, just going back to the Kansas race on how that strategy worked out, the strategy for here is relatively easy. We're racing for the win. We're not chasing those stage wins because they don't exist for the Championship 4 drivers. So it really makes this racetrack better for my driving style because I feel like you're more racing the racetrack, and you can move around, and you can find different lines, and you can really try different things to create speed within your race car. So I feel really comfortable about this place.

Q. The combo of KBM and Rudy, almost a championship is an expectation, really it seems. How have you learned not to ‑‑ some people would implode under that pressure or expectation. How have you learned to deal with that?
NOAH GRAGSON: I think that goes back to the preparation of, hey, we're here for a reason, and we've prepared this whole week. He sent me a picture last night of his seven championship rings. He said it's within arm's reach. Let's go kick their ass down there in Homestead. Let's go do this thing.
So it was ‑‑ I didn't know what to think. I didn't know if I'm like, man, I'm going to be super bummed out if I don't get this guy another one. But then more importantly, having that confidence and going in and knowing I'm with the best team and the best Tundra, Safelite AutoGlass on the hood, can't get much better than that. Really fortunate to be in this position, and going to try and make the most of this opportunity.

Q. What's been the reaction from home? Even all the K&N West guys you used to race. Do you feel like you're really representing them when it comes to running for a Camping World truck title?
NOAH GRAGSON: Yeah, I feel like I'm racing for everybody, not just the people I raced against, but the people that support me, my fans, my supporters, even the guys I raced against in the Bandoleros when I was 13 years old. I feel like everybody I've met, hopefully, I've played a little bit of a role to them.
So older, younger, same age as me, hopefully, they can look up to me, and we can do it together because for me I feel like everybody that I met has helped support me, and we're just going to try and go win the championship. It's going to be an awesome opportunity and going to enjoy it for sure.

Q. And your feeling towards Harrison Burton now that he's moving up to full‑time trucks? What are you feeling towards him making that big step up you made just a couple of years ago?
NOAH GRAGSON: I think he's really going to enjoy working with Safelite AutoGlass. It's been a lot of fun working with those guys. They're very stuck into the Truck Series, which is cool. It's good to see a sponsor in the Truck Series. I wish we could take them up to the Xfinity Series, but just not meant to be. But I feel like once ‑‑ being in the Safelite family, I'm always going to be in the Safelite AutoGlass family. So spent a lot of time with those guys and developed a relationship that I feel like I can carry on for several years down the road.
So I know he's going to be well taken care of. He's going to take care of Safelite very well, and he's going to have a lot of fun.

Q. If you're able to win a championship tomorrow, how big of a boost of momentum is that going to give you going into next year with a fresh start with a new team and a new series?
NOAH GRAGSON: I haven't thought about that. I've just focused on executing, doing whatever I need. I can't think about the trophy. I just have to think about how to get to the trophy. To finish first, you have to first finish. So I'm just focused on execution, doing my job, and the rest will pay off.

Q. So your experience last season and this year full‑time in the trucks has pretty much put you in this position?
NOAH GRAGSON: Yeah, I definitely feel like just everything I've learned over the past ‑‑ really the past six years I've been racing, since I started when I was 13 years old, I feel like all that combined has really helped me and set me up to be in this position.
And then the people, it's all about people and the people you work with. Fortunately, we're surrounded by great people at Kyle Busch Motorsports, at Toyota Racing Development, who have helped me get to this point exactly these last two years. So just really fortunate to be in this spot.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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