Q&A with Austin Dillon

Austin Dillon

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET met with media at DIS. Full Transcript:

CAN TESTING TURN A TEAM'S PERFORMANCE AROUND, OR IS IT OVERRATED?

"I think there is something to learn at all tests. You can definitely make gains. But it's one of those things where trial and error and finding something that works during a race probably means a little bit more."

DO YOU ENJOY TESTING OR DO YOU FIND IT BORING?

"I enjoy testing. I think sometimes we've over-tested at certain places but it is good to get out there and try different things in what you sometimes can't get done in practice."

TALK ABOUT LAST YEAR AND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR

"I thought last year was a solid year I think that we competed well with the competition and really hit some of our goals, which were to complete a lot of laps and we did that, for sure. I think this year, moving forward, we've got to capitalize on the stuff we learned from last year and run better and have more opportunities to win races. I think that's our biggest goal this year is to have opportunities to win races and win a race and put ourselves in the Chase and give us a shot to be there in the end."

REGARDING RACING WITH NEW DRIVERS

"NASCAR has definitely got a youth movement that's going to some through the next couple of years with some very talented drivers and I'm glad to be a part of that class. It's good to have that first year of experience already behind me, and hopefully I can have that edge of when these guys are coming in for their first year. We're excited about what we learned last year and hopefully we can improve on it."

INAUDIBLE

"When a guy like Jeff Gordon is retiring, and he's done so much for our sport, wrapping your head around that is going to be hard on Sunday's because a lot of people tune-in to watch Jeff. Hopefully that creates an opportunity this year for fans to find their new guy and follow him and have that guy fill a void for them."

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]WHAT HAS JEFF GORDON DONE FOR THE SPORT?

"I think Jeff has meant a lot to our sport. He's gone through a lot of different changes and movements through our entire rules to just the fan change and media. So, it's huge to have him and his name behind our brand at NASCAR. I'm just proud to be able to race against him on Sundays."

YOU AND YOUR BROTHER, TY, SEEM TO HAVE A LOT OF FUN WHILE YOU WORK

"Oh, it's got to be fun. If you start losing that fun-factor, your performance goes down and your availability goes down and it's just not a good job anymore. I enjoy being out here and having fun and meeting with you (the media). It's a part of a great circus, I guess you could say, of NASCAR and the entire part of being here."

DO YOU SURROUND YOURSELF WITH GOOD PEOPLE? CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT AND THE TEAM?

"Yeah, I think you've got to surround yourself with a group that puts you in a good environment mentally and physically and that motivates you. You want to have a group that's never down and is always pushing forward. I think that because of how long our season is, 36 races is a long time and you want people that you get along with and agree with. So, that's a big part of having good people is really huge to your success."

WHAT'S THE BIGGEST JUMP FOR THE SPRINT CUP CARS AS FAR AS ADJUSTMENTS?

"I think the biggest jump into Sprint Cup from the standpoint of adjusting on the cars and stuff; the rule package that we changed last year with no ride heights was pretty big from what I was used to where there was a ride height rule and where the distance the travel was. You kind of had a feel for it through Trucks and XFINITY. When you jump to the Cup series it was a pretty big leap of trying to find the different adjustments and working with bump stops and it's pretty cool to see the change, but it's definitely a harder way to understand the car at some point."

WHAT ABOUT THE DRIVING QUALITY OF THE COMPETITION?

"The competition in the Cup series, you're racing against the best 43 guys every weekend that have fought through the other two series to get there, and it's very tough. You learn who you're racing and what you're around. My first full year was a lot about that; trying to figure out how to race certain people. And after you try to gain that respect and make it through a full year, you really try and set your name out and that's my plan."

HOW CAN A DRIVER INFLUENCE A TEST IN TERMS OF GETTING THE MOST OUT OF IT? ARE SOME DRIVERS BETTER AT THAT THAN OTHERS?

"There are. There are guys who are more enthused about going to testing and there are guys who probably pull more out of a long test because it's a grueling day. You're sitting in the car a lot of the day. You're making changes and pulling the information that you need. You can trick yourself by making the car faster and really not overlaying to what is important; getting in the race and having something to drive that's good around traffic."

TALK ABOUT YOUR RACING THIS WEEK

"It started off Tuesday night at the dirt track; and started off with a win. That was pretty awesome. Hopefully that wasn't our forecast win of the year, but I'm looking forward to finishing out the week at the dirt track. We already had a little bit of success. Last night I finished third from seventh and Ty, finished second. So we've been going back and forth. I'll be out there tonight and hopefully tomorrow night after the Unlimited practice. And then I'll take Saturday off and go back Sunday and Monday and Tuesday."

IS THAT THE MOST YOU GET TO RUN IN THAT CAR?

"Yeah, actually every year we come down here, we run the dirt Modifieds and after we're done for those seven nights, we'll put them on the shelf for that year and they'll sit up on the shelf until about January when we get them out and start working on them and bring them down here."

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]WILL YOU RUN ANYWHERE ELSE THOUGH, MAYBE NOT WITH THAT CAR?

"Yeah, I'll run my dirt Late Model quite a few times; probably six races this year spread-out. But, I love getting to the dirt track when I can."

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OF JEFF GORDON?

"Probably when I was a little kid, getting to do a commercial with some dye cast cars with him and Dale Earnhardt. Being in the room with him when I was that young and looking back until now and being able to race with him this past year and again this year is really special."

DO YOU REMEMBER WATCHING YOUR FIRST DAYTONA 500?

"I've been coming here for what feels like forever since I was a little kid. My first one you really truly remember is probably going to Victory Lane with Dale (Earnhardt) and being in that moment and going through the hat dance and getting dragged by my grandma by the arm to get into Victory Lane because it was such chaos at that time. It was crazy. That was probably my first real memory of being here."

WHAT'S YOUR BIGGEST GOAL OF THIS SEASON?

"My biggest goal is to make the Chase. I want to win a race and try to get in however we can, but I'd like to win a race. That's our biggest goal."

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THE DIRT TRACK THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN A SUPERSPEEDWAY?

"I think I like the just relaxed feel that everybody has there. The atmosphere after the races and being able to hang out with drivers and crew chiefs and just being able to be myself away from the track because it's nice and it's definitely a totally different atmosphere. It's just about trying to get to the front and win."