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NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: NASCAR RACING EXPERIENCE 300February 15, 2020Noah GragsonDaytona Beach, Florida THE MODERATOR: We are joined by our race winner, Noah Gragson, driver of the No.9 Bass Pro Shops BRCC Chevrolet. We will open it up to questions. Q. This is a long way removed from a garage area with a Legends car, isn't it. When you started years ago cutting your teeth there, could you have pictured this day on this stage? NOAH GRAGSON: Never. Never. I started racing when I was 13 years old and raced Bandoleros for a year and then Legends cars, and I've always looked up to guys that I'm racing out on the racetrack, these bigger name guys. I'm still a big fan of theirs. So to be able to race against them and be able to race here at Daytona, I never would have dreamed about racing here. It's a privilege to be able to be here at Daytona driving a fast Chevrolet and for JR Motorsports, man. It's a privilege. And then to be able to win, I can't put it into words what I'm feeling right now. I'm trying to soak it all in and never thought this day would have come, but very, very thankful for everybody who's been there along the way, and wouldn't be here without them. Q. Dale was in here a couple minutes ago and really talked about the growth he's seen from you the second half of last year into this year. What's that process been like for you just trying to come into your own and still be yourself but really figure out your path and what you need to do to be successful here? NOAH GRAGSON: Just trying to set my priorities, sacrifice hanging out with friends and going to bed early, waking up early, going to work out, finding the priorities. I've worked really hard this off‑season and worked hard with Josh Wise, worked hard with my crew chief Dave Elenz just trying to be the best I can be, and spent a lot of time with Dale here earlier this week trying to pick his brain and trying to learn. I was asking him questions, came prepared with questions with him, and sat there for about two hours and just tried to pick his brain, tried to observe everything he was trying to say. And I think without that talk, I don't know if I'd be sitting here right now. Very thankful for everybody at JR Motorsports who just gave me this opportunity. I'm just a Las Vegas kid who started racing at 13 years old and have had great people along the way to be able to get me to this point, and it's a privilege and an honor to be able to race here at Daytona and for JR Motorsports, and I'm very grateful for it. Q. When it came to your frontstretch after‑show after the race, it was long and it was very entertaining for a lot of people. Was that just how it hit you, just whatever came to mind you were going to do, or was it just on the moment or was it something you kind of had planned that you were going to do if you won here? NOAH GRAGSON: I played NASCAR Inside Line when I was racing Bandoleros and Legend cars and K&N Series, and I'd do like a 10‑minute burnout after I'd win and stuff and figured, man, if I could ever do that in real life that would be pretty damned cool, and I was able to today. I caught the track on fire. I thought that always would be really, really cool to catch the track on fire from doing a burnout, and I was able to do that. And yeah, just trying to give the fans a show. Coming off of Turn 4 and through the tri‑oval on that last lap and the checkers were waving and I saw everybody up on their feet and could hear them cheering. Like I said, it's a privilege to be able to race here at Daytona. They spend their hard‑earned money to be able to come out here, and for me to try and put on a show I feel like I'm a weird energetic bold personality guy. I feel like, man, if I can just give them a show, that's what they want. I'm thankful for all the fans that came out today. It looked like a packed house. The infield was packed. I've never seen it this full for an Xfinity race, and tomorrow it's going to be unbelievable. I threw the water bottle, too. Hopefully someone got it. I was thinking about giving them my gloves, too, but I only get like two pairs of those a year, so I've kind of got to sacrifice those a little bit and keep them, get them worn out a little bit after the first race. But yeah, it's a good day. I told myself I was going to buy some AirPods if I won the race today because people were giving me shit for wearing the corded Apple earbuds, earphones that come with the iPhone. Yeah, there's a lot of positives coming after this race right now. Q. You've got to work on the cannon a little bit, took two shots at it. NOAH GRAGSON: I know. I was doing 100 push‑ups a day over the off‑season. I got up to 43 days. I thought I miscounted. I thought I was on day 30 but I was really on 43, so I went an extra 13 days for no reason kind of. Maybe I needed to go 60 or something. I finally got it over on the third time, 3 for Dale, so it worked out. Hopefully someone got something cool, and it was a fun day. Q. On the note that you're a weird, energetic kind of exciting personality, Dale had mentioned earlier, and Dave, too, that it's important to them that you remain true to yourself but that at the same time they ask a lot of you, they want you to work on certain things. That's kind of been a constant theme throughout your career, that everyone wants you to stay you but it's a matter of focusing on the priorities, the things you talked about earlier. How has that process changed from your time at KBM to now, what teams are asking of you, and how much do you feel like you've changed and what's still the same? NOAH GRAGSON: I feel like my personality, I feel comfortable. Some people when they're joking around it's because they're nervous. I feel more comfortable joking around and more focused when I'm joking around, and it might come off that way, but I'm very narrowly focused. That's just how I operate. I guess it's different for everyone. I know there's a common goal, and we work really hard throughout the week. We were working hard over the off‑season. Tuesday the night before we left I was at the shop until 9:30 just helping them put together the trailer and then was up at 4:30 to fly out down here for media day. We're really jiving as a team right now, and I think just earning their trust, earning their respect was the biggest thing over this past year, and it took two‑thirds of the season for myself to understand Dave and Dave to understand me, and the team chemistry is better than it's ever been. The confidence is there. We need to still keep our heads down. We need to still stay focused. We can't let what today take our mindset off what we need to do for next weekend, the weekend after that and the rest of the year. We're here to contend for a championship, and I'm very, very thankful for everybody who helps me out at JR Motorsports. We're one team. I think it showed there in the first stage when we were one, two, three, four, and to be able just to be a small part of this No.9 team, it's a privilege and it's an honor. Q. And a process question for you: Right before the last restart with you and Jeb on the front row, it sounded like the plan was you wanted to be able to jump in front of him and ride the top together, and then on the backstretch you guys were in a drag race. What changed on that restart and what kind of complicated with the pushes behind you guys, and how did that kind of unfold? NOAH GRAGSON: I just was trying to get the best start as possible. Feelings are up. I didn't really feel like I could do anything in the situation. It was just all about his timing, and it didn't really work out. But hey, it is what it is. We're racing for the win. We were going to have a good shot there, and the caution came out, and I don't know, it all went by so fast. But I think just if I could go talk to him‑‑ well, I'm going to go talk to him and just tell him to execute it a little bit better. It was really big at Kyle Busch Motorsports doing teammate restarts and stuff. I've had a lot of experience doing that. I was happy when we crossed the start‑finish line first and wish he would have been there to be second, but hey, it is what it is, and we'll move on for another week, try it again. Q. Was that a bad block on Chase when you were on top and he comes up, or what happened there? NOAH GRAGSON: He was clear, and then I got‑‑ like I almost hooked him in the right rear quarterpanel, and he felt that, and he pulled away, and he was clear for a sec, and then I was able to pull right back up to his quarterpanel. His block wasn't big enough. If he would have stayed there, then I don't think I'd be sitting here right now, but yeah, I turned him enough left rear out, right front to the right, enough to be able to get back to his quarterpanel, and it goes by super fast there those last couple laps, but yeah, it worked out. We were able to execute the next restart. I think I had the 20 behind me on that next restart, and we were able to lead the top lane and side draft and execute perfectly. Just trying to manage the guys behind me. That was a big part of the discussion with Dale earlier this week, just trying to prepare as best as possible. I knew the guy who was best prepared was going to win this race, and I feel like I did the best job possible to prepare myself for this weekend. Q. You talked earlier about the sacrifice and the work that you've had to do over the last year. It's one thing for people to tell you things about what you could do to get better. It's another to see it actually come to fruition. You got to do that in the first race of the year, in the biggest race of the year. What does that do for you, a guy who kind of lives off your confidence, going forward from this point? NOAH GRAGSON: Well, the time is now, the opportunity is now. I just need to execute here this year, and it's a big year for me. I have a once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity to try and be the best I can be, and I know when I lay my head down at night, if I feel like I've done all the reps in the gym, I've prepared the best I could, I'm spending good quality time with my team, if I feel like I've done everything to the best I can with no regrets, then no matter the result, you can't control the results necessarily, you can just control what you can do. If I feel like I can do everything possible to make me better and lay my head down at night, then I'll be satisfied regardless of the results. Q. Obviously this is a huge win for you. Next week you head to Las Vegas, your hometown track and obviously a lot of friends and family there, so taking so much energy and momentum to that racetrack, what's it going to be like in Vegas next week? NOAH GRAGSON: It's huge. It's huge not only going to Vegas next week but to be able to spend quality time with my family and get the win here early on in the season, first race of the year. We're locked into the playoffs. We've got five playoff points and some good points throughout the race. We scored points in all three of the stages. I'm really proud of this team. I'm really proud to be able to go back to Vegas. I've got some friends and family there. I'm going to spend some quality time with my family and try and get prepared. We're going to enjoy this one, but come Monday morning, 6:00 a.m. I'll be up ready to go, drinking some Black Rifle Coffee and headed over to Chip Ganassi Racing for a workout, and just start it all over again, try and get another one. Q. When you were lifting that trophy, what was exactly on your mindset, because the last time at a NASCAR‑sanctioned event the trophy didn't last all that well at Sonoma. How did you feel this time around winning at Daytona, and above all, how important in this day and age is it to have the fans support you and giving back? NOAH GRAGSON: It was a lot heavier than it looked in the drivers' meeting, I know that. But that's all right, I'm thankful to just be able to race here, like I said, and to be able to hold that trophy up, it's a dream. I'm glad we fulfilled that today. There's been a lot of sacrifice with everybody at JR Motorsports, my mom, my dad, my sister, my family getting me to this level. Very, very thankful for that. What was the second part of that? Q. How important is it at this time with social media and everything to have this much support and also giving back to your fans? NOAH GRAGSON: Well, it's great to be able to have the fan base that I do right now. I see everybody's comments on Instagram and Twitter and everything, and I try and like them all and read them all, and I'm thankful for that support. I want it to be‑‑ I always looked up to Clint Bowyer as a kid growing up when I started racing Bandoleros when I was 13. I loved his personality and just felt like I connected on a personal level with him and always thought if I can maybe carry myself like him or Travis Pastrana and just be relatable to the fans and be myself, like I said, I'm a weirdo, so I know I'm weird, I'm energetic, I'm ADD, I've got all that stuff, and I kind of beat to my own drum, and that makes me me, and I'm thankful for all the fans who stick by my side and support me and tweet on me and buy some tee shirts and everything. I definitely notice it, and I'm very thankful for it. Q. Do you feel like you can win the championship? And a year ago did you feel like you were prepared or ready or had the ability to win it? NOAH GRAGSON: I thought from the beginning of last year that‑‑ I mean, it took two thirds of the year it felt like for us to finally get that snowball building up with momentum, and for us to be on the same page as a team communication‑wise, it takes time. It's hard. I'm fortunate to be able to work with Dave Elenz and the No.9 team again to start this year off the way we ended. I thought we ended strong at Homestead with a top‑5 finish. We were able to lead laps there. We had a really strong car there, and we built all year for that opportunity. Now that the final race of the season moves over to Phoenix, we're going to have to work really hard. I feel like that's one of my struggle tracks, and we're going to go there early this year, and it's going to be tough, but the adversity keeps us going, and just very, very fortunate to be able to drive for this No.9 team at JR Motorsports. It's a dream of mine, and I've got the best team to surround myself with, the best people and the most confidence leading into these next couple races and the rest of this year. Q. Last year at Sonoma you said that when you're in a position to win coming down to the stretch, you kind of tense up and you almost forget to breathe inside of the race car, and that's maybe one of the reasons why you release your inner demons after races, so to speak. Did that happen this time, or is this kind of out the window? NOAH GRAGSON: No, I didn't throw up. I don't know why I throw up after races. It's kind of weird. But I climbed the fence and my heart rate is through the roof, and yeah, I'm hot, I've got my helmet on, I'm thirsty, and then you get down and you've got all these ginormous pit crew guys just shaking you around and picking you up and you feel like a rug rat out there. I don't know why I throw up, but it's probably a combination of all that stuff; that I feel like I just ran a marathon, then stopped instantly, and yeah, it just comes out. But it didn't today. I paced myself. I tried to. It's fun; I don't mind throwing up because that means I win. Hopefully I can throw up some more this year, I guess. You know, I don't know. Q. Just kind of curious, do you think even though Daytona is a different animal that you have the opportunity to establish yourself as perhaps the next generation of big three drivers in the Xfinity Series? NOAH GRAGSON: I just need to do the best job I can do, and I can't really put that label on myself. I just want to stay focused on our team over at JR Motorsports, on myself, and just trying to be productive 24/7 throughout the week and on the weekends and just trying to put full focus into this. I've got a great opportunity, like I said, and I can't really put that label on myself. I've just got to go out there and do the best job possible, and hopefully the results will come. Q. And when you behave, does the boss let you play PUBG? NOAH GRAGSON: I guess I play PUBG 24/7 because I'm always behaved, right? Yeah, I've been playing some PUBG mobile lately, doing some iRacing with Tim, and he's a good guy. Dale Jr. is a good guy, and he's enabled me to have this opportunity with JR Motorsports, and without him none of this would be possible. Q. Noah, with no more big three in the Xfinity Series, do you think the championship goes through one if not multiple JR Motorsports cars this year? NOAH GRAGSON: Yeah, I think we're really strong. I think that showed there at the first stage and through practice, through the race. That first stage we met this earlier this week and talked about it, and our goal was to have all four JR Motorsports cars in the top four and be leading this race, and so to‑‑ I know it wasn't there at the end of the race, but at least we were able to score that Stage 1 victory with Jeb out front, and it was satisfying to see us four up there. I know Dale and Kelly, LW, everybody was happy at that point. I know they're happy right now with the No.9 car in Victory Lane, and to be a small part of the JR Motorsports team is quite the honor. It's something I never would have expected, and having an opportunity to hear that, I need to take advantage of. Working with my teammates closely, working with Josh Wise, everybody being on the same page is going to help this year. We've got Daniel Hemric as an add‑on this year. He's going to be very, very valuable to our company at JR Motorsports. We went through a little bit of a drought last year, and it was frustrating at times, but that adversity I think makes us all hungrier, it makes us work harder. There's a lot of late nights at the shops, early morning, and I'm ready to go. I know the team behind me is ready to go, and I couldn't do it without everybody at JR Motorsports. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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