|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NASCAR CUP SERIES: GOBOWLING 235August 16, 2020Alan GustafsonDaytona Beach, Florida THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by Alan Gustafson today, the race‑winning crew chief for the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. Alan, just talk to us about what you had to do to get that into Victory Lane today. ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, just obviously preparation in the shop is a big deal. Appreciate everybody at HMS Racing doing a great job and getting the car ready and in great position to go and try to win the race. So for us it was about executing, putting ourselves in position, and yeah, the car was great off the truck, and Chase is a phenomenal road racer and adapted really quickly, and it really went well for us today. Super happy about it. Q. Chase has eight career wins now, four of them on road courses, two at Watkins Glen and two unique tracks at the Roval and on this one, which was new to everybody basically. You mentioned him as a road racer. What have you discovered in the races working with him that seems to make him adapt so well in these races? ALAN GUSTAFSON: He's really good. I mean, he's just a very talented driver. With any good driver, they have the ability to slow things down, and when you're running a new track or running at the speeds they run they can slow it down to where it's slow and they can make the right decisions and adjustments, and he does a fabulous job of that. We knew really from the first time I worked with him at a road course, I knew he was really good and just needed some experience and needed to understand the cars. I've mentioned this before, we went to a Watkins Glen test his rookie year and were able to find some things that he really liked in the cars, and ever since we've been able to improve on that. Yeah, he's a tremendous talent. I think he's a world‑class race car driver, certainly a world‑class road racer, and just did an amazing job. It's a daunting task I'm sure to come here and not know anything about driving the track. You can drive the simulators all you want, but still, to understand this tire and the grip it's going to have on this surface when it's 100 degrees outside and traffic is around you and all of the above is a very difficult thing to do. He did a great job, and yeah, a lot of kudos to him. Q. I wondered if you could just compare a little bit if you remember the preparation that you did going into the first race at the Roval compared to what you had to do going into this race? ALAN GUSTAFSON: Well, the first Roval race we had a test, and I know there was‑‑ I can't remember the exact sequence, but there was a few tests leading up to it, and there was split‑test days, and I know the first time we were there it was us and the 48, and they were changing configurations and bus stops and chicanes and just a lot of time at the Roval. I think we were much more ready for the Roval and prepared. But really all‑‑ I don't want to say all, that's not true. But a lot of that effort was able to be used for here, right, and we could use a lot of that information and apply a lot of that to this place. They're not distinctly different. They are different for sure, more the grip in the track than I think anything, but yeah, so the Roval there was tons of testing and tons of buildup to it, and we knew everything from the gearing to the braking to the handling on the car, and here you're making some pretty big assumptions on getting that all perfect. Q. How does it feel to get the win at Daytona, considering it's been a track that's kind of eluded you from a points‑paying race perspective? Just describe how much determination he has on those road courses which has proven to be very successful to you guys as of late. ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, winning here at Daytona is a big deal. I think it's a big deal for everybody. Certainly a really big deal for me. I've been trying to do it for a long time and have been really, really close. The superspeedways are just‑‑ there's just so much ran doneness or circumstantial things that go into that. It's tough, and we haven't been able to put all that together correctly. We've been really close but haven't been able to do it so it's nice to come here and win at the road course. I've come here since I was‑‑ watched races on this road course since I was probably four years old. This is really where I started my racing here was more road racing than it was stock car racing. It's cool for me, and yeah, again, his ability is amazing, and his record speaks for itself. He's the best guy in the series when we go and turn left and right. He does an incredible job, and he's just really good at it, and he's phenomenal. It's nice to be able to come to a track and have the team support and then have the best driver on the grid climb into your car. It's an exciting thing. Q. You win early, and it takes pressure off you in the playoff. Those late‑season wins kind of build momentum to the playoff, and how important are wins later in the regular season heading into the playoff? ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, they're all important. I think you alluded to some of the particular things when you win early it's‑‑ you know, you slot yourself in, obviously, and there's some value to that, and when you win late, then there's some value to that momentum. We've all seen these races. We know that you're going to have to win and win often to be the champion. It's not going to be some situation where you're going to run fifth to tenth and make it. You're going to have to go and win and compete with the 11 and the 4 and those guys on a regular basis and win. It's important for us to do that, and we've kind of‑‑ our form slipped, obviously, the last couple months, and it's important for us to get our form back. This is obviously a step in the right direction. It's a very specific discipline of racing, but there's still a road course left, so yeah, it's good. Any time you win is good. The bonus points are good. The momentum is good. The morale is good. I've never found an ill effect of winning in my career. Q. Alan, you mentioned the 11 and the 4. They're at the top of their games right now. Do you feel you're half a step behind those guys? Early in the season you seemed to have as much speed as they did, and now maybe‑‑ or do you feel like it's just a matter of putting it together, you still have the speed, still have what it takes to run with those guys? ALAN GUSTAFSON: No, at the beginning of the year I thought we were the best car for a significant part of the season. I mean, it could be my rose‑colored glasses but I certainly felt like we were in contention to win about every week. We've had some issues and slips since then, and those guys have got the upper hand on us and we don't have the pace to match them right now, and we can't consistently compete to win on all different configurations of tracks. There's certainly specific tracks that we're still really good at. Obviously Bristol and road courses. I think we'll have our chances, but I do think we've got to find some pace and some speed to match those guys when it comes to the Texases and Kansases and racetracks along those lines. So we're working hard. I promise you there's nobody in the garage working as hard as Hendrick Motorsports is and the 9 team is to try to reel that back in, but those guys have got an upper hand on us, and I'm sure they did it by grinding hard and working hard, and kudos to them for doing it, but we've got to find something. Q. Since I'm based in New York, how disappointed were you guys that you couldn't come to Watkins Glen this season? Chase did say it was good to replace one road course with another, but how disappointing is it that you couldn't make the annual trip to Watkins Glen? ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I mean, it's‑‑ I love Watkins Glen. I love the area. It's gorgeous country. It's in August. It's so good. It's so nice. You know, you still have reasonably cool nights and it's just lush and green and beautiful. I love the area. I love going there. I love the track. Man, it's a wicked road course. It's so fast and unique. Yeah, it's great. I miss it, and I miss‑‑ I really love the dedicated road course circuits like that that are‑‑ you're like in the forest, you're out there kind of‑‑ it's not a big concrete jungle. You kind of race through the trees and you're in a‑‑ I don't know how to describe it. It just reminds me more of really truly dedicated road courses that I grew up on. So I love that part of it. But if we're not going to be able to race there, this is a great place to come and race, and I think everybody was excited to get on this track. It's so prestigious and so many good people have raced here and won, so many legends of the sport. You know, it's bittersweet. I would have loved to have been at Watkins Glen. I would have probably slept a lot better last night if we were going to Watkins Glen, but it was also a great challenge to come here. Daytona is my home. It's really what got me started in the sport. Any chance to come here and race is great, and certainly to win. Q. You noted earlier that your career started in road racing. Do you think that has helped you as a crew chief set up cars for Chase especially? ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I don't think it hurts. Yeah, I've always had a love for it. My best friends growing up still road race. They have a shop here and have raced at the highest level, in the 24 hours, and been very successful and won, and yeah, a lot of my roots are there. Yeah, it's always been‑‑ it's something I've really enjoyed and loved. Any time you enjoy something, it's a huge benefit. The cars we raced back then don't have anything to do with what we race now, but I think just embracing it, enjoying it and seeing the positive side of it, all that helps, and I've always enjoyed road racing and enjoyed the challenge. I think that certainly helps when it comes to having to go do it and execute it. Q. You seemingly go from one strong suit to another here. Dover has historically been a great place for you and Chase. How significant will it be for you guys to go in there and get good runs on a double‑header weekend, and how much does a win today help to start the week on a positive note? CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, it helps for sure, and you're right, Dover is another really strong track for us. Statistically it's certainly got to be one of the best that we run at. I'm looking forward to getting there. It's a lot of fun, too. It's certainly a different challenge and very unique. Yeah, we need to be able to go and win there. We need to be able to contend to win. It's that time of year. There's just no‑‑ we've got to be able to go everywhere and contend to win, and certainly we're going to go to Dover and give everything we can to put ourselves in position to win, and I'm looking forward to going there and seeing what we've got, and like I said, we're working hard to improve our oval track stuff. Certainly that's a little different configuration with the aero package, but yeah, we're pushing hard and we're excited to go. My expectation is we want to be able to go there and win. Q. In regards to heading to Dover, this will be the third double‑header that we've had this season for a weekend. Is Dover going to be the biggest challenge as far as double headers? And second part of that, is there a little bit of chip on you guys' shoulders knowing that the last race you ran there you only completed eight laps? ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think you've always got to have kind of a chip on your shoulder. You've got to find some way to motivate yourself and keep pushing yourself, and so yeah, we're ready to go. Dover is going to be the most difficult double‑header on the equipment for sure, to run the cars there. That's a very violent track. I don't think that‑‑ TV doesn't do it justice or watching the race doesn't do it justice. It's the loading and the bumps into 3 and the violence the car takes, all the components on the car. I mean, they are just getting punished lap after lap after lap after lap. This is going to be the most difficult double‑header as far as equipment goes for sure. And yeah, the double headers are not easy. It's tight schedules and a lot of long hours. I guess if you're in the 4 at Rodney's place, it looked pretty easy last weekend, but it wasn't easy for us for sure. Q. How have your guys handled those double headers? ALAN GUSTAFSON: Just a lot of hard work. You've got to prep the cars and you've got to have a good game plan on what you're going to switch out, how you're going to switch it out. From the time the race is over until the time the garage is closed until the time we put the car on the grid, it's nonstop. There's very few people there to support it, and you're trying to debrief, trying to get a game plan, and it's just a lot of work. Q. Considering your previous sports car experience and the next‑gen car that's coming up with a lot of sports car elements with aluminum uprights, do you see the next‑gen car being more suited for road courses or possibly street circuits than the ovals like traditionally we've seen? ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I'm curious, I think the car is more suited for road course racing and more suited for street course racing, and with the way the underbody is and the aerodynamic setup of the car, and it being symmetrical, I worried about it at Dover. I don't think it'll have any issue road racing. I think it'll be very V‑8 Supercar‑esque in my opinion. But when you go slam that thing around at Dover, the aluminum wheels and the rest of it is where that car is going to be put to a significant test, like I was saying earlier. There's nothing like Dover, period, that's it. There's no place in the world like that. There's no place that loads like that. There's nothing like that. It's a test for sure. Q. Do you see with the wheels growing bigger, and I'm assuming the rotors are going to grow bigger and possibly bigger calipers, do you see that helping out on certain courses? ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think the cars will be faster. You've got better brakes; I think you'll be faster road racing where you use a lot of brakes and Martinsville and places like that, but we don't use much brake at the intermediates or high‑speed ovals. Probably won't impact that. Q. As far as the individual links in the rear and specifically what I've heard of the tolling speed and kind of position of the wheels, do you see that as being a vulnerability or is that more to be able to save the chassis? ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I mean, it's hard to say. I can't say that I've worked with the car enough to make a whole lot of educated opinions about it, so it's tough to say. I mean, I think it's just more in convention with the majority of the rest of the racing industry. That's really where I think it's gone, and that's just much more conventional to really any other race car you'd see on any other circuit. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|