NASCAR CUP SERIES: VERIZON 200 AT THE BRICKYARD

August 15, 2021

A.J. Allmendinger

Matt Kaulig

Chris Rice

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: We're going to start with our post-race presser here this afternoon for today's Verizon 200 at the Brickyard for the NASCAR Cup Series. We've now been joined by our race winning team, including driver AJ Allmendinger, team owner Matt Kaulig and president of Kaulig Racing, Chris Rice.

First of all, AJ, you've made several comments in your interviews before that you're only going to keep doing this as long as it's fun, so my question is, was that fun?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: That was fun. Yeah, I mean, it was -- that was chaotic. Honestly we didn't really have a race-winning car on outright speed, probably about seventh to tenth. I sped on pit road, so I just kind of carried on for how I felt yesterday, so put us in the back there, and we were just fighting hard.

I thought we probably maybe would get in the edge of the top 10 and have a solid day. For a makeshift really pit crew -- I shouldn't say makeshift, but a crew that we don't work with all the time, they did a fantastic job, great pit stops.

But yeah, once that chaos started happening and we started getting close to the front, I had a really good restart on the front. I think we were restarting 17th with eight to go and was able to get to seventh through all that mess and thought, all right, now we're at least in shouting distance of it.

Knew a couple of the cars had older tires, and that second restart, got to third, and it's like, okay, now we've got a shot at this.

The best part is when you've got Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice on the radio just going, Hey, we're not here for friends, we're not here for points, we're here to win this race, so win it or basically bring it back on the hook. That kind of frees up a race car driver to go after it.

I just can't believe the way it played out. I had a great restart. I thought I might take the lead off Turn 2, and Denny kind of leaned on me, which he should; I would have done the same thing.

I saw Chase come back on the racetrack. Well, at that point they were just telling me that he had a penalty, so I thought, all right, maybe I can kind of make a run for the last lap and a half here with Denny, and then had contact, and all of a sudden the seas parted and then from there it was just run like hell because I knew Kyle and Chase and Ryan were back there and they were pretty good all day. I put in about as good of a lap and a half as I could.

THE MODERATOR: Matt, congratulations on this NASCAR Cup Series victory. You guys had so much fun kissing the bricks and enjoying the celebration. Just give us a quick recap of what it feels like.

MATT KAULIG: Well, it's a really surreal situation. I've been coming here since I was a little kid. I lived in Cincinnati, grew up in Cincinnati and then lived in Chicagoland, so we'd come down to the Indy 500 every year, and just to be -- and I was at the very first -- the Brickyard 400, that inaugural race, I think, back in '94. So I've been to several of those.

To actually be the team that gets to do that is just -- it's actually surreal. Even just sitting in front of you guys right now and looking at the empty track and knowing that we were just out there and have this trophy now is just -- I'm really excited for these guys that have been doing this.

These guys have been doing this their whole life. I've been doing it for six years. Just really proud of you guys and all of our teammates that have made racing their life and NASCAR their life.

So the fact that we were able to deliver this is really cool.

THE MODERATOR: Chris, give us your thoughts. I was afraid there for a minute you might fall off the pit box when AJ crossed the finish line. Tell us what it means to bring home today's victory.

CHRIS RICE: It's unbelievable. I thought I was going to throw up walking down pit road.

The day AJ walked in I didn't know who he was. I knew I liked AJ and I liked his fire, and I knew we needed somebody to help us grow our program with Justin Haley, Jeb Burton and all those guys, and I knew AJ if he came and had fun would win races for us. He made us so much better at these right-hand turns and left-hand turns and he's made us great.

To win a Cup race and to sit in an amazing venue like this and think about it, I don't even know what to say.

I told somebody down there just a minute ago, they said, just soak it all in, and I said, I can't; I don't even know what to do. I still have cold chills.

I love these guys. AJ knows how much I love him. He was at my house the other day. And yeah, to win a race here, I still want to cry, but I can't -- everybody at Kaulig racing, my wife that's here and put up with me when we didn't even have nothing. When Matt Kaulig said, Hey, you want to start a race team? I'm like, You're crazy; it's October 31st. He said, No, let's do it. To win it at Indy five and a half years later, I love it. Thank you.

Q. Dinger, how special is it to get your first win here the same year that your good friend Mike Shank won his first INDYCAR race, the Indy 500?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah, Memorial Day weekend there I sat in my house bawling, like watching -- when Helio won, just knowing everything that Mike had been through, I like literally just couldn't stop crying during the day because I was so happy for him. I just remember thinking, God, I wish I could just share that with him.

Like to show who Mike Shank is, he came to our race at Mid-Ohio the next week. He had better things to do, but came and supported us, and we won there.

I mean, it's just unbelievable to be able to like now have this rich history and be able to share that with him and do it in the same year, it's like both of these -- I drive for Mike and it's the same thing with Matt and Chris. Like I drive for them, but I'm not the driver and they're my bosses. Like they're -- we're all brothers and close friends, and you want success for that, and you want to be able to share that.

Like to be able to do this now on the same year, it's like -- I'm sure me and him are going to -- we actually have his golf tournament tomorrow so that's going to be fun. Like I don't know what to do. Like it's going to be insane. We're going to be sitting there like, really? Like the same year we just did this?

It's so -- special is not even -- like the biggest understatement in the world.

Q. Also you drove for Roger Penske in NASCAR. You led laps here in the 2013 Indy 500 and now you were able to basically get the trophy from him in Victory Lane. How cool is that?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: Well, I saw him right before the race. As I was getting in the car, he hugged me, and I said, Roger, I love you because everything that Roger has always done for me. At that time I was like, I'm not a big fan of yours right now because you beat me yesterday in the Xfinity race, so I wasn't a big fan of that.

But no, I mean, it's -- what Roger has always done for my life and my career and what he's done for this place, it's always been so beautiful, but now you look at it with all of his staff and the IMS staff that have really upgraded this place, it's so cool looking.

CHRIS RICE: The bathrooms are really nice. I'm going to give him that.

AJ ALLMENDINGER: It's quite amazing. 2013 happened and it's always in the back of your mind, was that my real chance to win at Indy. I was so disappointed yesterday because I thought, man, maybe that was my closest chance to win at Indy and we didn't make it happen.

Even after at Watkins Glen, all the ups and downs through the next couple years, kind of like, I'd like to win another Cup race but it's freaking hard. It's hard to win a Cup race, and we did here at Indy.

Q. AJ, the emotions you're feeling right now, how do they compare to what you experienced in Watkins Glen seven years ago now?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: Well, I think Watkins Glen was something that -- I mean, it was amazing to go through all the ups and downs and win that race and for Tad and Jodi and Brad. But in a way it was kind of almost like a relief, as well, like I don't ever have to be asked about will you ever win a Cup race.

So you enjoy it, but at the same point you're kind of like, okay, thank goodness now, the relief is gone, I don't have that hanging over me anymore. So it kind of takes a little bit of the enjoyment away.

This is, I'm like, I don't even know -- we know showing up at the road course races we have fast race cars, but like at Indy, the way that played out, I mean, this is just pure enjoyment that I don't -- I'm going to tell them I'm retiring now. Sorry, guys. I'm done, I'm out. I'm not going to Michigan next week.

I'm kidding, by the way. I'm going to Michigan. We've got a championship to win.

Q. Matt, this team is basically eight months away, whatever, from starting its first full-time campaign in the series. Does this feel like you announcing your arrival moment? Is this like a shot across everyone's bow? What does this mean in that sense?

MATT KAULIG: No, I'm really proud of the team. We went into this season knowing that we were going to run a handful of Cup races, maybe eight or ten. We're running the road courses, we're running the superspeedways.

One of the reasons that Chris and I talked about doing that is just to get -- just almost to get familiar with the Cup Series. It's a little bit different than the Xfinity Series, and the garage is different and people -- we wanted people to know who we were and what we're all about.

We knew putting AJ in the car every week at these road courses would actually give us a chance to run really well, and so I don't think it's -- it's not an announcement to the sport or to other teams that we're here. I mean, we've been here -- we feel like we've been here and growing towards winning this championship in the Xfinity Series and then being able to compete in the Cup Series.

But you know, what it does allow us to do is it more legitimizes us as a successful race team so that you get -- it's better for your employees, it's better for your drivers, it's better for your crew chiefs and engineers. It allows you to get more and better people. It allows sponsors to trust that you're going to show up and be great.

So for me, it shows that more than anything, and that's what I'm really happy about. All the success that we're having on the track, I get happy for all of our teammates, but I'm really -- it's growing our business as Kaulig Racing. So that's really exciting.

Q. AJ, you kind of had a front row seat for a lot of that late race chaos that went down. I was kind of curious to hear your opinion on this. You won at Watkins Glen and throughout all of NASCAR they tend to allow drivers to use as much and as all of the track as they possibly can. After what you saw today, do you think that NASCAR should continue to allow for you to use any part of the track, or would you like to see them maybe police track limits a little bit more?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: No, I mean, I think it's tough with these cars. I get it in the sense that we've all got to race within the limits of the racetrack, too, but these cars are so big, and it's not -- and haven't driven an INDYCAR. When these things get out of control, like you're along for the ride at times. In INDYCAR you can kind of correct and save sometimes and it's a little easier. These things, when you get side by side, they're wide, you're beating on each other. Like you need room to be able to maneuver, to make a mistake and get away with it.

I mean, I thought today with the curbing out like from the Xfinity race yesterday, that was a good call, and I thought the track limits were fine. The biggest problem obviously was the curbing that was coming up.

I was shocked where they were having to fix it because you get shoved over there sometimes or you start using more of it, and that's when it becomes a problem because I felt like I was hitting the curbing, like I never had an issue with it. Where they were having to fix it was almost like way before where cars were kind of jumping over the top of it.

But the thing is with those curbs you pay a price anyway, and we saw it. When you hit them wrong, you pay the price.

Now, unfortunately today it was a huge price for a lot of cars, and we don't need that. We don't need to be tearing up race cars that much. I mean, that's a lot of money that these team owners have to go through. I was sitting under red like watching it, like holy moley, we're going through a lot of money right now.

But at the same point, it's our own job to not run over it that way. So there's a fine line. Like you can't just drive wherever you want to.

But this racetrack doesn't allow that because it has grass. You get off in the grass, it tears stuff up.

I thought the racetrack has the right limitations. It's just unfortunately the curbing was starting to come up in the wrong spot when he hit it.

Q. AJ, your progress through the field after the caution for the second stage break, how were you able to manage your way through the field like that the way you did before everything went crazy?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: Chris going, Hey, don't tear off the front of this car. Still need the front of it.

That was actually a pretty good impression right there. Feel good about that one.

You know, like it's -- at the end of the day it's still important to get the best finish possible. Even if you don't -- like at that point I didn't really feel like we had a shot to win. It's still big for the team to run inside the top 10 so that's always my goal is to try to get the most out of the race car and get the highest finish possible, whether that's 20th that day, 10th or whatever.

So it was just trying to be smart, get up through the field. I thought we were going to get to maybe 12th, 11th and thought, okay, I cost us some track position. I thought we were like a seventh- to tenth-place car. So I'm like, all right.

And then once the restarts happened, when you're restarting 17th, winning was not even in my mind, but after that first restart with all the chaos that happened, getting up to seventh at that point, there was only about three cars that were ahead of us that were on good tires, and at that point it was game on.

But that's always the way I feel. Like for these guys and for all the men and women at Kaulig Racing, no matter how it's going, I still want to get the best finish possible. That's how I look at it, no matter what's going on, whether it's a chance to win or you're running 15th and you have a chance to finish 13th. That's the goal is finish as high as you can.

Q. You have a long relationship with Michael Shank. You've seen him build up his INDYCAR program from a part-time program to a one-car full-time, now two cars next year. Do you believe that this is the right way that your team owner is doing it now? How well do you think he's doing it the right way?

MATT KAULIG: How am I doing?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: It's going all right. I think it's okay.

No, like all joking aside, I didn't know Matt, I didn't know Chris. When they called me at the beginning of 2019 and said, Hey, will you run some races for us, I said, Sure.

Now, I had watched the program for three years. They were a single-car team, and I liked that because I thought, okay, they're at least building it the right way because you can start trying to just add cars to it and make it better, and that becomes worse.

In 2019 we ran one full-time car, as a part two cars, and obviously at Daytona it was three cars when Ross won, and then the next year it was kind of starting to add more and then this year the right people in place, and you have the right resources to run three full-time Xfinity cars, and then you start the Cup program.

So I've always thought the way Matt and Chris go about it are the right ways because you're not trying to get too big too early because that can really kill a program, and that's part of the attraction to the team, as well.

Q. AJ, you talked about when Shank won that you cried. Why didn't you cry for yourself today?

CHRIS RICE: He will. Just give him a minute and a couple more beers.

AJ ALLMENDINGER: Because Matt would make fun of me if I started crying is the biggest thing. Yeah, that's true.

MATT KAULIG: You're a race car driver.

AJ ALLMENDINGER: Because it means -- like I'm going to really enjoy this; don't get me wrong when I say this. But it means more to me to watch my close friends, my brothers have success than it does for me because I'm okay in life. Like life is good. I've got a great wife. My parents have been fantastic. I love driving for them. Like life is good.

Seeing especially like Mike and me and him having our ups and downs together where there was times he had to pull me up, like Dude, come drive for me, and there was times where he was like, I can't pay you, and I'm like, I don't care, I'll drive for you, like whatever you need.

That means more to me than anything is to see my friends and my close brothers have success, especially at the Indianapolis 500, you can argue the biggest race in the world so that's what meant so much to me, and that's why I was just lost for emotion there because it's huge for him.

I love what we're sitting here being able to do right now, but for me I'm like, this is awesome for me, but for them, I'm like, they deserve it because he puts so much of his own money into it. He puts every -- you can ask Tammy -- every dying moment into this race team and all the men and women.

I love it for myself, but I always say I drive really for a couple of people. I drive for myself because it's pure enjoyment, challenging myself, and it's really pushing myself for all the men and women at that race team because they're the ones putting their heart and soul and really my life in their hands.

That's why I enjoy it so much really.

Q. AJ and Matt, you've talked about for next year AJ would be in a partial Cup ride at this point. Obviously things can change. Does this give you consideration to change, and AJ, would you even want to --

AJ ALLMENDINGER: I've retired. I'm done.

MATT KAULIG: He's done.

AJ ALLMENDINGER: Before Matt answers, I will do whatever they want me to do. I've told them that from day one. Whatever they feel like I can help raise the organization and help push it, I'll do that, whatever that may be. Whatever program we're on, like I'm enjoying it.

MATT KAULIG: Yeah, and we're working on it, and he does say that, and he has said that, and he truly will. We'd have to make sure whatever the situation is -- we would like to run two full-time Cup cars next year, and we're working out the details as far as drivers and sponsors and just how all of that looks.

CHRIS RICE: You opened up a can of worms, by the way.

MATT KAULIG: You think?

CHRIS RICE: He's done talking right now.

MATT KAULIG: All right, I'm done talking. (Laughter.)

AJ ALLMENDINGER: Hey, good luck tomorrow.

Q. You had a great view of the 14 getting into the 11 --

CHRIS RICE: Did they fight, by the way?

Q. No, they didn't. We were trying to egg them on but it didn't happen. You had a great view of that; what went through your mind when you saw that?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: I honestly didn't -- I saw that as it happened.

I was kind of more worried about -- I think Blaney at that point was right behind me because they were telling me that the 14 had a penalty, and I knew Denny was on old tires, so in my mind I was like, I made a run at Denny on the restart and he used me up, and I'm like, okay, that's fair, I would do the same thing.

I was trying to hold Ryan back, and I thought, okay, if I can just get through these couple of corners, maybe I can make a run, like a last-lap run at this and go for it. Well, when I saw the 14 hook the 11, I was like, well, okay, that's easier.

At that point I knew the 14 they were still saying had a penalty. In my mind I figured he wasn't going to stop, he was going to run it out, and if I caught him that was going to cause a problem with Ryan behind me or whoever was going to be behind me.

I didn't really see how it happened. I just saw the aftermath of it. And then thank goodness Chase went down in the next corner and overshot it, so at that point it was just trying to put in like the best last lap of my life and try to get away, because here at the Brickyard I think all bets are off. Anybody behind you is going to come send it and move you out of the way, so I was just trying to make sure I got out of that area of that happening.

Q. And when they dropped the green flag to restart, was there a lot of blocking and tackling between you and Chase and --

AJ ALLMENDINGER: Actually, no, not really. Denny had a good restart. I had a good launch with him, and I kind of went low and he defended it, and Ryan kind of stuck to my bumper. I think we were all trying to get the inside row to go, and I shot the middle and got in there, and Denny got in wide and I got to the outside of him, and that's when he kind of used me up, which, like I said, I'd have drove myself straight into the field if I had to. But it was fair.

You know on the restarts anything goes, especially here because it's a long straightaway into a hairpin corner. I was just happy to get through the first couple of corners clean and then from there see what was really going to happen.

Q. Matt, you have three cars probably in the Xfinity playoffs. I assume you came into the season looking for an Xfinity championship, but does this win no matter what else happens this year does this win make this a successful season math?

MATT KAULIG: Yeah, it's been a very successful season. We've got three wins. AJ has got two in the Xfinity Series and now this. This is like -- we wouldn't have dreamed this -- literally wouldn't have dreamt that even this could happen this year. It wasn't even part of the plans. You're trying to run well.

But no, so it's -- again, a surreal experience to be -- we've got a bunch of races left. We feel like we're, what, halfway -- we're more than halfway through the season, but no, we're completely focused on the Xfinity Series. We're completely focused on winning a championship in the Xfinity Series.

We'll run a couple more Cup races. Obviously we'll go out there and try to win those, but believe me, the focus is 100 percent on getting these guys, whoever it is, if it's AJ or Jeb or Justin, an Xfinity championship, and that's what we're doing. That's what we want. That's what we want for us.

Q. Chris, was there any thought, did you think that NASCAR might just stop the race with the issues with the curbs, and if they did would you have been okay with it?

CHRIS RICE: I would have been fine with it, but I didn't think they would. It was the first race here on the road course, the inaugural race. I felt like they wanted to finish it.

You don't know what the challenges are that they're going to have with these cars that are low. We ran here for two races and had no issues with that. Our cars don't have -- well, the Xfinity cars are not low-ride cars.

They did a great job. I mean, I applaud NASCAR for even coming here to try something different, so I would have been fine with it, but I applaud them for letting us race it out obviously because we won, but I was happy sitting there seventh to be honest with you. No, I never had a thought in my mind that they would quit it.

Q. Matt, you mentioned you've been coming here since you were a kid. Could you share what is your absolute earliest memory attached to this facility or the first time you ever stepped foot on the property?

MATT KAULIG: Let's see. The race that I remember most was when Danny Sullivan won. What was that, '85? So I think that's my earliest recollection of actually -- we'd come to the track. It's huge and fun. But I don't think I was a giant fan of all the racers.

But I remember -- and I actually got to have dinner with Danny a couple of years ago and met him. We were sitting at a reception in New York City, and he and I just started talking about racing, and it was just really cool because I didn't know it was Danny Sullivan. He looks different than he looked in 1985.

So I'm talking to him, and I said, Hey, what's your name? He said, Danny. I said, Well, what kind of work do you do? And he said, Well, I was a race car driver. I'm like, Well, that's cool, like what kind. He's like, like INDYCAR. I'm like, what's your name? He said, Danny Sullivan. I'm like, What? Why didn't you say you were Danny Sullivan?

I still talk back and forth. I'm sure he'll text me tonight congratulating us on the win. But that's my earliest memory.

AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah, for me, I grew up watching the Indy 500, and I think the one that always stood out to me as a kid was little Al and Emo going through Turn 3 there and having the contact and just the battle.

And I was always such a huge Jeff Gordon fan growing up. That was my guy was Jeff Gordon. Through sprint cars, I just loved watching him in sprint car racing and then when he got in NASCAR and obviously the inaugural race here watching him win that on TV as a kid I was really excited.

First time here honestly for me was like walking into the place was 2007, my rookie year in Cup, and I remember I smashed the wall off of Turn 4 trying to hold it wide open to try to make the show. By the way, that didn't work out very well; I didn't make the race.

I remember people always telling me like you walk into it but on race day it's different. I got to experience that in 2008 here, but really what stood out to me was 2013, like walking through Gasoline Alley for the Indy 500 and I had Roger Penske next to me; he was going to call my race.

Good or bad, I don't mean it when I say this, but it was like, I'm like, I'm walking with God right now. Like this is what God feels like. I'm walking with Roger Penske, Indy 500, and he's calling my race, and I'm driving for Roger Penske.

Like that moment will always stand out to me as like I felt like I was an out-of-body -- I was watching myself walk with Roger, and it was so special to me.

The way the race played out was crazy, and I remember leading, taking the lead, and in the car I kind of lost my mind, and almost like, Oh, my God, I'm leading the Indy 500. There was still 130 to go. I had to calm down. But all of a sudden, I go, Okay, now I get it; this is what it means here with the packed house and running the Indy 500 for Roger Penske.

That memory will always be special in my mind.

Part of the reason why people ask me if I'll ever run the Indy 500 again, part of the reason is I don't ever want to mess that memory up. It's true because it was so special to me.

CHRIS RICE: Mine is probably more NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt, I think it was '95 he won his first one. Is that right? And deep down inside I'm a huge Darrell Waltrip fan. Y'all know if you watch my social media how mouthy I am, how wide open I am. That's the way Darrell Waltrip was.

But Dale Earnhardt winning here probably meant more to me as a little kid than I can remember. Elliott Sadler and myself won a bunch of races that year and won championships, and I always said, hey, we were the Dale Earnhardts of late model stock car racing then.

I remember that race and I remember those cars, and I remember how cool it was to watch all the fans.

The first time I came here I think I was working with the Pettys, and I walked in and I think we tested, I told my wife this story this weekend, and I walked in and I go, holy moley, this place is amazing. It was just how -- we would go to St. Elmo's and you do things like that. I had raced at ORP a bunch of times, but walk in here and see all this and think about thousands and thousands of people packing in here.

I still sit here and cannot believe we kissed the bricks, and just something, that fame. That's something that is unbelievable.

So probably the Dale Earnhardt win.

Richard Childress Racing being a very, very crucial partner of ours, helping us get to the level we're at and being part of us is probably something that we failed to talk about today. But they've been very crucial. Richard is a good friend of ours. Matt now owns about 14 acres down there and owns a couple buildings.

But Dale Earnhardt probably, the late Dale Earnhardt is probably my favorite memory. I think he won three races here, and every time he won I kind of got cold chills.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, congratulations. We hope you guys enjoy this one, and we appreciate you spending some time with us.