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NASCAR CUP SERIES: FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500June 7, 2020Kevin HarvickHampton, Georgia THE MODERATOR: Kevin, thanks for joining us. Congratulations on the win at Atlanta. Just take us through a little bit of your day today and just what it means to be able to take home another victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway. KEVIN HARVICK: For me, this place is pretty special just because of the fact that this is where I got my first win, so for me coming back here, it brings back a lot of memories. It brings back a lot of things that we didn't really know how to celebrate on that particular day, and I think as you look at being able to go back and win another race here and celebrate the life of Dale Earnhardt, everything that he meant to our sport in the right way, each time we're able to come here is obviously pretty special for me, and to be able to win at Atlanta is a lot of fun for me because it's one of my favorite racetracks. It was a battle today. The car didn't really handle like we wanted it to most of the day. They made some great adjustments at the end of the race and were able to get the car right when it counted there at the end. Got the track position that we needed to get to the inside lane on the restart, and the car actually turned, and we were able to take the lead from Kyle and get the track position and then just start clicking off laps. Really proud of everybody on our Busch Light Ford. Q. You participated in the driver video that was aired right before the start of the race; a lot of drivers have not wanted to kind of engage in that type of conversation in the past. Why do you think this was the moment for drivers to start addressing these issues? KEVIN HARVICK: You know, for me, something just has to change, and I think when you look at what happened in Minnesota, it's just disgraceful to everyone. To be able to have conversations about things, I'm definitely a person that wants to hear a plan that has actions included in it, and just try to support each other and do the things that we can do to try to help our communities and help the conversations because there's so much that everyone doesn't understand of what we need to do and how we need to do it. But I can tell you that we need change. The actions from that event in Minnesota, it's just unbelievable that we sit and watch these things happen, and it's just really confusing. It makes you confused, mad, not know what to do, where to start, and that's just where a lot of guys talked about it, and we started. I think it's definitely a step, but there's a lot of work to be done. Q. Kevin, can you reflect on how cathartic that initial win was in Atlanta, what it meant to the team, what it meant to you to finally break through at the top echelon of the sport? KEVIN HARVICK: Are you talking about 2001? Q. I'm talking about 2001, yes. KEVIN HARVICK: Well, I can tell you this: I didn't expect to be there, and we had no idea or any conversations about winning. The week before that we were celebrating our first top 10, and Delana and I had got married and we were on the plane ride home with Richard, and he brought his favorite bottle of wine, and who knows how much he paid for it, from about 1940 something, and he said, if you win, we can drink this bottle of wine, and I held him to that one. I know it was painful for him to have to pull the cork on that bottle of wine and open it, but I don't think anybody expected it to come that soon. We were just happy to go to the racetrack and happy to keep RCR going at that particular moment, and for me it's definitely something that you didn't really know what to do on that particular day. Lots of emotion in all kinds of different directions. Didn't know how to celebrate, didn't know what to say, and you look back at all those events, and I was able to celebrate it the right way in 2018 and pay tribute to how much Dale Earnhardt meant to this sport for so many years, and to be able to do that same celebration at the same racetrack 20 years later is pretty special for me, just because of the fact that you just‑‑ you don't get the opportunity to do those types of things very often, and now that's the second time we've been able to pay tribute the right way. Q. And to move up to 12th on the all‑time win list, for a kid from Bakersfield, could you ever have imagined 51 career wins? You have a long way to go, but still... KEVIN HARVICK: Yeah, sometimes I just laugh because you talk about that list and you talk about the names on it and everything that's happening, and it's just a situation that you almost just‑‑ you shake your head and you're like, man, I can't believe this is happening. It's pretty crazy to think about that. I tell people all the time I'm very lucky to drive cars for a living and call it my job, and to be able to have won so many races with a couple different teams and be able to contend. Winning races is what it's all about, and to be able to do that is something I'm really proud of. Q. You alluded to how special it is to win at Atlanta, and obviously we know the circumstances behind why it's so special, but because of that, do you put any extra pressure on yourself coming back here, or is it a case where it's almost more relaxing in a way because you guys know you've had the pace here the last couple years? KEVIN HARVICK: Yeah, it's not relaxing at all because everybody expects to win here. I think as you come here and lead laps and do the things that we've been fortunate to do, you expect to show up and have a chance to win, and if we don't do that, we're disappointed with our tail between our legs and just trying to‑‑ you know, it's definitely something that you have to be able to perform here just because the expectations are so high, so you have to control those expectations. You have to be able to really do what you know you need and communicate, and today we had to communicate a lot because our car was not where we needed it to be, and they did a great job of adjusting on the car and getting us where we needed to be. Q. Kevin, both here and Fontana seem to be the two most abrasive surfaces on the schedule, and both races so far this year have been pretty strung out. Is that more to do with off‑throttle time, tire falloff? Obviously you guys are sawing on the wheel at both places, but what do you attribute I guess the strung‑out nature of those races? KEVIN HARVICK: I haven't watched the race, so I don't really know. I can tell you that the racetrack is very abrasive, and every lap here you have to try and keep your car straight, and every lap is a challenge. So I couldn't tell you. I haven't watched. Q. Could you describe your relationship with Rodney Childers and the success you've been able to build today, especially considering today is Rodney's birthday, a very special day for him? KEVIN HARVICK: Yeah, what a birthday present, right? You know, to be able to do the things that we've been able to do and the accomplishments and races, but in the end we have a great friendship, we have a great relationship, like to help each other as people, and that goes a long ways in the trust factor that is there between Rodney and myself. But not only us but the team and the engineers and everybody believes in what we're doing with all the work and things that go into putting the cars on the track. Q. Does the fact that you guys have been able to build such a stable long‑term relationship since about 2014, I believe, does that help you guys as you continue to navigate the challenges of social distancing in this new era of racing? KEVIN HARVICK: I mean, it's definitely different. You know, obviously I think our experience is something that goes a long ways just because we have to communicate in a different way, but we also know each other very well, and we know that when we come to certain racetracks we have to do certain things because those are things that I like with the car and things that he likes to do with the cars to get there. It's definitely different not going to the shop and not being in the hauler and not having all the meetings and conversations and things that go with it, so it's definitely a strange time for sure. Q. The shorter schedules, the condensed schedules with no practice and no qualifying, a lot of fans seem to have taken to it, like maybe it's something that could be used in the future. But both Kyle Busch and Martin Truex talked about the benefit they might have had this weekend if they had actually had some on‑track practice. I wondered if you thought there was still a benefit to at‑track practice, and how have you and Rodney navigated the path of not having that? KEVIN HARVICK: I would much rather not practice, personally, but you know, it definitely‑‑ you can definitely have both sides to that equation. I think for me, the benefit is having an experienced team and being able to get things close is something that our team is really good at. I think when we get done with all of this and we look at our schedules and we look at our on‑track time and we look at the way that we qualify and the things that we do, you're going to have to look at it. You're going to have to look at how you function and how you do everything because it's been a success. It's been something that is‑‑ I mean, it's very different than anything anybody would have ever thought about, and now you're forced to try it, and it really hasn't affected the way that the race looks, it hasn't affected who runs up front. So there's just a number of things that I think we have to consider going forward from not only a cost‑saving but just a time‑saving, schedule‑crunching, there's a number of all the‑‑ with all the things that we've done, that have created a number of questions. Q. How important is it for you to have fans be able to return to the racetrack? KEVIN HARVICK: Well, look, that's a tough question because obviously we all want the fans here and it's just a much better experience with the fans at the racetrack, and we miss having the fans at the racetrack. But we're in this kind of Catch 22 kind of situation where you want to keep everybody safe, and we've got to understand what the coronavirus looks like and means to big crowds, so there's just a number of questions with a lot of things that are out of our control when it comes to the CDC or the health departments locally and all the things that they suggest are just for those big crowds to get together, there's going to have to be some pretty strict guidelines. It's a tough situation for sure, but we sure miss the fans. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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