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NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES: LILLY DIABETES 250July 26, 2014Richard ChildressTy DillonDanny StockmanINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA KERRY THARP: Let's hear from our race winner. It's Ty Dillon. He drove the No.3 Bass Pro Shops Tracker Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. It is his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory, and it comes at certainly one of the most iconic race tracks in the world, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's his fourth national series win. He's won three times in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Ty, just congratulations on this victory. Has it sunk in yet that you won here at the Brickyard? TY DILLON: No, it really hasn't fully sunk in yet, but the emotions are incredible. It's incredible. I came here two years ago. I remember sitting up here talking to you after finishing third in my second Nationwide race ever, and something about this place just feels right to me. I feel comfortable. I don't know what it is. I couldn't tell you what it is. But the main thing was Danny Stockman gave me a piece that I felt like I could go out there and win with from the moment we unloaded, and he put me in position to win and we did it. I wasn't going to let this thing go. I wasn't going to let it slip. My guys have gone through some hard stuff this year and they've never given up on me, so I was definitely going to give it all I had. KERRY THARP: Danny Stockman, congratulations on this win today, too. DANNY STOCKMAN: Thank you. KERRY THARP: Just talk about getting the car ready and going through practice and qualifying and then just how the race unfolded, your emotions and thoughts right now. DANNY STOCKMAN: We knew that Ty ran really good here, and we definitely take our best race car to the racetrack every week. We've really made a stepping‑stone here the last three months or so in our company and our Nationwide program. We got a little bit off and really have been turning around here since Michigan. Our company has been winning some races here with Paul at Michigan and Brendan at the road course and we knew when we unloaded that we had a good car, and qualifying went really good. A lot of these races are won and lost with strategy, and we had a good car today, and we made the right strategy. Just awesome for our team and everybody at RCR and ECR. Johnny Morris was here today. That's pretty cool he gets to be here with us, and it's just awesome. KERRY THARP: Richard, certainly you've had big, big wins in your career. You've won here before, but what's it like to come back here and win again in the 3 car? That has to be special, as well. Maybe just talk about the significance of today's victory. RICHARD CHILDRESS: You know, we did a press conference in here on Friday I think it was, and to be in here, I was just thinking about sitting up here, and I thought, man, would it be cool to be up here, especially with one of my grandsons. We won it with Dale and Kevin and Paul, and for him to win, and I told Austin a while ago, he will win Indy one day, and it was just special. I mean, the family was here. I know how tough it was‑‑ you don't imagine how hot it is with his air‑conditioner went out in the car right there pretty early. I said, man, it's going to be‑‑ before the race started I said it's going to be a long day, and he toughed it out and hung in there and he didn't give up anything at the end when Kyle was putting the heat on him early, and then he pulled away from Kyle, and I thought, if we've got enough gas‑‑ Danny did a great job. Having Johnny Morris here, like you said, special having the whole family: Austin, Tina, Mike. My wife didn't make it here, but I'm sure she's home watching. Q. I know just like your grandfather said, the air‑conditioning unit went out, so I'm sure that presented its challenges, but still, how challenging was it? What was the difficulty, the personal mountain you had to climb to win this race? Had you gone through anything like this in any other race? How were you pushed to the limits today? TY DILLON: I was definitely pushed. My AC went out before I think we even took the green, so I could already feel it getting hot. I knew I could make it through it for sure, but when Kyle Busch is on you pushing you as hard as you can go, that guy doesn't mess up, so I knew I had to be perfect every lap.  That definitely takes a lot more out of you. But I knew I had done it before. I had been in similar situations in the Truck Series racing against Kyle and been able to prevail, and I knew if I could stay perfect, because I knew he would stay perfect, if I could stay perfect our car was fast enough to beat him. I was able to do so. I was going to give it all I had like I said earlier. If I had passed out going into one of these corners, at least I gave it all I had. That's kind of the way I was thinking at the end. Just proud of my guys. You don't get race cars that are that fast and can hold off the best there is all the time, and Danny gave that to me today. The coolest thing is we ran out of gas going into Turn 1 going into the race, so I was able to coast all the way around and save just enough for half a burnout of what I wanted to do. Q. (Inaudible.) TY DILLON: I don't know, I about passed out. DANNY STOCKMAN: In his defense, there was no air whatsoever going inside that car. There was no NACA ducts open. It was all sealed up. TY DILLON: Danny and the guys, they push these cars to the limits to take as much drag out of it as possible so they seal them up through the ground, and the only thing you can do for air is put your hand out the window and maybe scoop a little bit of air in. You usually rely on your AC to blow on your head and keep you cool and keep a little bit of airflow, but when that stops, everything is stagnant. The air you breathe is getting hotter and hotter, and it's just kind of mind over matter at that point. I knew‑‑ I came on the radio and told him, I said, my AC is out, and I'm getting pretty hot, and I knew that after the race I was going to be pretty worn out. But while you're in it and while you're in the moment and you have the adrenaline going, I just gave it all I had. Q. Ty, you mentioned a couple years ago finishing third here. That year before the race started I actually talked to you upstairs in the media center about the fact that you were over running the ARCA car before you were here for your first practice, and two laps into your practice you set the fast time for that first practice session, and I asked you about going into Turn 1 after having been over at Raceway Park how you did that, and you said it was just inherent. On this last restart you had to beat Kyle into Turn 1 and Matt Kenseth was in here earlier and said that you just drove it in until you were clear of him. Is that basically the mindset you had when you started the first time you ever raced here, you drove it in until you had to turn left? TY DILLON: Yeah, sometimes that works for me and sometimes it doesn't. I've looked up to the way Kyle Busch races and Brad Keselowski, and those guys go until they hit the wall, and usually they're the best. I knew if I could get in front of him, I could hold him off for another turn and another turn and I could just‑‑ then all I had to do was stay consistent and not mess up. I knew I had to clear him getting off into the corner, and whether it meant hitting the wall I was going for it. I don't hold back. When I have an opportunity I try to give it all I've got, and I'd rather hit the wall and say you know what, I gave it all I got, than feel like I didn't give it enough. Q.  Ty, you were pretty vocal on the radio during that first run that the car was pretty loose. When did you realize that the car was starting to come around and that you had something you could work with to win? TY DILLON: Well, our car had been fast all week and I was just complaining. We had those left side tires and I didn't know what was going on. I couldn't hear Danny on the backstretch, and as a driver I guess you just get to complain sometimes. It gets a little distracting but I was loose and I didn't want to be loose. It's kind of a scary place to be loose at. I even think I complained about the bugs on the windshield at that point. But I had faith in Danny, and I was‑‑ we were really fast to begin with. I thought I was better than the 22 on the very first run, just needed the right time to catch him. Then we came in and we just played strategy from that point on, and Danny was right on the money with the strategy, and like I said, we made it all the way until off of Turn 1 after the race. Q. Was there any time this year where you lost confidence, and if you did, what were you concerned about? TY DILLON: I never lost confidence. I've always gone to the racetrack knowing that I can win and knowing that I have the best team there is because they just came off a championship year. So I never lost confidence. I've just been upset with myself. I have been upset with myself, and I know we all have. We just made mistakes that we are better than, and there's been a lot of reasons that we haven't been here already in victory lane. We finally put it together for two weeks in a row, and this is what we're capable of, coming off a top 5 at Chicago, really did well at Eldora even though it wasn't a points race, but that momentum is just carrying us right now, and hopefully we can ride this good upswing. I've always had the confidence in my guys and I've always had the confidence in myself that I can get it done. I've never lost confidence. Maybe been really upset at times, but always try and stay confident. Q. Had you ever gone through that type of feeling before in your racing career? TY DILLON: Yeah. I went through a string of running asphalt late model races where I qualified last, and I didn't even think I could drive a race car. I got in one of my East cars and got in and finally won, and I finally got my confidence back. It's racing, man. You go through times that you think you can't do it and then you get times that you think you're on top of the world, and you've got to remember those times when you're on top of the world and the people that you beat and you've got to keep that confidence in you all the time, and I've learned that over the years. I learned it through the ARCA series, I learned it through the Truck Series. We had a slow start to both our Truck Series seasons doing the same thing. It wasn't bad, we were just finishing eighth, ninth and tenth every week, and that's not what I hold myself to and I know that's not what my team holds itself to. I know what we're capable of, and we showed it today. Q. You guys have talked about having some struggles at the start of the season, but when you saw your teammates Paul Menard and Brendan get their wins, did that kind of give you confidence that you guys had the tools necessary now, and how much did that kind of light your fire a little bit? TY DILLON: Yeah, definitely. When you see Paul and Brendan get in victory lane, two awesome victories where the guys were pretty dominant in the race. I knew our program was there. All we had to do was work on ourselves, and there was no more time to complain about cars, motors or anything. We had the power, so me and Danny have dug deep. We've changed a little bit of our program the past couple weeks and what we do leading up to the races, and we've really buckled down and focused, and we've showed what we're capable of. Q. What sort of momentum does today's win give you to Iowa Speedway? TY DILLON: It gives us all the momentum in the world. We got that win off our back and we got it at Indianapolis. Now we can stop thinking about points again. Someone told me we were 15 out or something. We'll stop thinking about that now that we got that win. We're just going to chase wins all the way to the end of this thing. KERRY THARP: And I failed to mention at the beginning of this, I'm sorry, I'm getting forgetful, but anyway, he won the Dash for Cash today. TY DILLON: That's pretty nice, too. That's a nice little bonus. KERRY THARP: $100,000 Dash for Cash money, Ty Dillon, and winning that, I mean, the top finishing series contender gets that, but to win the race and get the Dash for Cash, quite an accomplishment against that field that you raced against today. Congratulations. TY DILLON: It's cool to‑‑ I knew coming into this race the guys that were in it were the stoutest guys in the series. Chase Elliott and Trevor Bayne has been on a hot streak here lately and my teammate Brian Scott has been super fast and I know his first win is around the corner. I know to win the Dash for Cash we had to win the race today, and that's what we were able to do, and I think that was kind of our whole mindset this weekend. Q. You said you only did half the burnout that you wanted to. I was wondering, where did you learn to do a burnout like that? And during the TV broadcast they were showing Austin up in the stands watching. Have you had a chance to talk to him, and what did he have to tell you? TY DILLON: He's been my No.1 doctor since the race has been over. He's been kicking everybody out of the way making sure I'm all right. I have the best family in the world, man. It's a blessing to come to the racetrack and hang out with your family and know that you have support every weekend. I know him and dad was on the radio cheering me on. I could hear it in his voice he was getting nervous. I know Pop‑Pop came on the radio, told everybody to shut up so he was getting nervous. I actually was driving down before the restart started, I was looking at one of the billboards and I don't know if it was a Coke commercial but it froze with Austin on there. It's like, well, he's watching me somewhere. I know he's out here somewhere, so I saw him, and I have the best support system there is. When you get in victory lane with your family, it just means so much. Q. Were you surprised when Kyle decided to take the outside lane on the final restart? At that point did you think maybe this is the one chance I've got, take advantage of it, I could possibly win this thing? TY DILLON: Yeah, I was a little surprised. I found that the bottom was pretty dominant the whole race on restarts. But I kind of had a feeling that him and Matt might have been playing a game with me or something. I didn't know if Matt was going to try and take me three wide, but I appreciate he pushed me off in the corner. Maybe he thought he was going to outrun me into the corner. But that closed the race, so I was going to give it all I had. I don't know what he was thinking. Q. Richard, you've now won here with four different drivers and your grandson is one of them. As you're standing out there and watching the race unfold and the laps are running down, what is going through your mind not only as a car owner and as a grandfather but this being the Brickyard and all the success you've already had here? RICHARD CHILDRESS: Well, this is such a historical place, and to win, we won with Dale in 95, Kevin, and then won with Paul. Paul's win was great because his father and the emotion that I seen in that family, and then for us to win it, John Menard was with me up there today, and I don't know who was more nervous, he or I. He kept telling me it was going to be okay. I said, man, I don't know about the gas. It's really cool, you know, this is a family sport. To have all of us there, this is definitely a special win right along with the other ones. It's just great. And to see Ty tough it out under some tough conditions and still be able to win, that's pretty amazing. Q. Ty, what about the first moment when you got out and seeing your grandfather, seeing Austin, just the family aspect of it? TY DILLON: It is so cool. That's the first thing I think about is hugging my family and hugging the guys who put all the hard work into it, and to see them, that's why I do it. I wish all the guys back at RCR could be here to share this with us because I know how much hard work it takes just to load these cars up every week, and the guys who don't get the honor that really should that are building the chassis in the chassis shop, the R&D shop, the engine shop, everybody, kind of the unsung heroes our sport that don't get the mentionings, and that's what it's about. I'm so glad to be able to take this trophy back to them. RICHARD CHILDRESS: I'll throw one more quick thing in. Danny Stockman, we have been pretty tough on him. Have we not, Danny? If you'd have breathed‑‑ DANNY STOCKMAN: It's been a little rough here the last few months. RICHARD CHILDRESS: Speaking of unsung heroes, Danny Stockman, the call he made today, and he told me after Chicago, they run fifth and had a really, really fast car up there, he says, we're going to turn this thing around, I'm going to go back and throw some stuff away, so I helped him to it. I'm so proud of Danny Stockman. He won the championship with Austin, won two championships with Austin, one in truck and one in Nationwide, and he just loves racing. There's nobody that's more passionate about racing and winning than Danny Stockman. I had to throw that in there. TY DILLON: That's for sure. Q. Richard, Ty talked about how he doesn't lose confidence, but I was curious, if this one had slipped away, would you have been concerned about him mentally and about the rest of the season? RICHARD CHILDRESS: No. You know, the toughest part about being a grandfather and being here, being an owner is tough enough. Being a grandfather, the toughest part is seeing how they take losing. Austin, to see him before and to see Ty, that's the toughest part about it. But I've never lost confidence in either one of them. We've got to get our whole Cup program better, and I told Austin today, he will win here. I'm just proud of what they do. It's a fun deal. I'm having fun again. Q. What did your dad say to you when he got out of the car? TY DILLON: He was just happy. I don't remember hardly what anybody said, I just wanted to hug him. He was proud. It was cool to have him on the radio again and to win with him. I always want him to be quiet, but he always does help. As much as we tell him to be quiet, he's one of the biggest helps we have at our team and at RCR. KERRY THARP: Congratulations, certainly a great win not only for Richard Childress Racing and Ty Dillon and Danny Stockman, but it's a good day for NASCAR, so congratulations. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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