Toyota NCTWS: Notes & Quotes
What does it mean to know you will run a full NCWTS season in 2015?
"We've been working hard over the past probably three months now to get this deal done and it's finally come together to where I'll be in the full season next year for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series as well as Joe Gibbs Racing for some Nationwide races too. Definitely an exciting year ahead for me. It's been a long time — I felt like it was coming, but we all worked hard for it and to finally have it come together and get to run a full season in one of the NASCAR series is pretty special for me. Happy to see it all come together and really looking forward to it."
What do you remember from the win at Phoenix a year ago?
"Pretty much everything — that's a memory that I don't think will ever fade away for me. Coming here and just picking up our first win in the Truck Series. We ran five races that year and to pick up a win in one of those five starts was a goal I had set for myself and it was a tall order really the whole year. To get it done and to pick up a win was pretty special. It really helped the 51 pounce towards an owner's championship too. To have a part in not only the owner's championship, but picking up a win was pretty special for me. I know it meant a lot to KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) and Kyle (Busch, team owner) and everybody — just a cool night."
What will it be like to race for points versus strictly race wins?
"I feel like it — it's obviously not going to be the same as it is now. The last time I ran for a points championship was in a Late Model in 2011. There's definitely a different mindset for me and the team really in general. I feel like now we really have the one goal of winning the race, especially I do. That's not going to change. We're still going to come to the race track and try to win the race every week, but maybe some of the calls we make and some other things we do on the race track may be more conservative at times depending on the way the points are looking. It's obviously a little different mindset, but at the end of the day we're still going to show up at the race track and try to pick up a win and try to bring home the trophy."
What is your relationship like with Rudy Fugle and what number do you want for 2015?
"Obviously my relationship with Rudy (Fugle, crew chief, 2015) is one of the strongest I've ever had with a crew member of crew chief. I've had a great run with Eric Phillips (crew chief, 2014) this year on the box and we've had a lot of success and I enjoy working with Eric. Rudy was the crew chief in 2012 and this year he's been on the team as an engineer still. We have a great relationship and definitely looking forward to working with him again as a crew chief. As for a number, it doesn't make a whole world of difference to me, but I like the number 51. I think it looks better than the 54. Hopefully we can stick with that one, but it's whatever they throw on it at the end of the day."
Do you know how many Nationwide races you will run in 2015?
"It's definitely going to be double digits. We haven't really worked everything out yet. We're still trying to figure all that out, but hopefully we'll be able to announce that in the next few months — the entirety of the plans over there. Definitely going to be double digit races and looking forward to that. It's a pretty great aspect for me along with the truck season. Definitely will be a busy schedule, but I'm really looking forward to being in a car multiple weeks in a row and having a shot at it all."
How important is this move in your career?
"This is obviously a huge step for me and my racing career in general – a step towards even having a shot at a championship really, so this is my first opportunity to go out and race for a championship in any of the three NASCAR Series, so it's obviously one of the bigger steps I've taken in my career and I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge it's going to bring. Obviously it's a new challenge, not one that I've had before and I'm looking forward to learning from it. I've got a great position at KBM and I feel like I'm in the best position I've been in my career. Just looking forward to it all, it's going to be fun and I'm looking forward to chasing down a championship."
When you won here last year did you think you'd be sitting here making this kind of announcement?
"Not really. At that point before we came to Phoenix last year and picked up a win — I really didn't have anything for this year even at that point. In 2012 it was the Snowball Derby that jumpstarted it into five races and then at the end of last year, it was the Phoenix win that jumpstarted it into 12 races so all along — it's been something that's jumpstarted me to the next point, so I was fortunate enough to pick up a few wins this year and just have some good runs that have helped me kind of jumpstart into this next year, into the full season in the trucks and also some Nationwide races. It's hard to ever see into the future in racing, it's such a wild west type of sport, so I never really pictured myself as being in the position I'm in and trying to get a deal is so tough. When we started having talks about it, obviously you get excited, but until it's all signed and done you're pretty skeptical until the end — it's just cool to have it all done."
Has your judgment been affected by the recent post-race altercations in the NSCS?
"I don't think my judgment has been affected at all. We're all fierce competitors, we're all going for the same thing at the end of the day and we all want to win the race, so obviously sometimes our emotions boil over to the point where we don't want to be and it's just always tough when you see an event like that, so it's definitely been an exciting event for the fans. I think they all love the new format – I enjoy the new format, so I don't think it changes my judgment at all. We're all trying to win a race and sometimes our emotions go a little farther than we wanted them to."
Will you continue Late Model racing next season?
"We've had a lot of success at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) in the Late Model program over the past couple of years and had a lot of fun and I really enjoy going Late Model racing. It's going to be a lot tougher next year to get Late Model races in, but hopefully there's still some open weekends I can go out and run. I don't know about the Snowball Derby. I've run there quite a few times now, we've won a couple of times and we'll go run this year and try to pick up another win so whether or not I go back there I'm still trying to figure that all out and if I want to continue to run that race. I like going Late Model racing, it's just kind of a fun side of the sport where there's no pressure and we're just going out to win a race and have fun. I'd love to keep doing it and hopefully there's some open weekends next year when I can go out and win some races. We'll run it this year, but we're not sure about next year."
Toyota Racing