Daytona Track Facts: 2018 Advance Auto Parts Clash

The Advanced Auto Parts Clash At Daytona Tidbits

·        The number of participants has ranged from a low of seven in 1981 to a high of 28 in 2009.

·        Like last season, the starting field for the 2018 Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona will not be a predetermined number of cars; rather, the field is limited to drivers who meet more exclusive criteria. (20 drivers are eligible for this year’s event).

·        Jeff Gordon has appeared in the most consecutive Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona races, competing in 22 consecutive events from 1994-2015.

·        Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in consecutive Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona starts with 15 (2003 – 2017).

·        The top five drivers (all-time) with the most Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona appearances: Mark Martin (24), Bill Elliott (23), Jeff Gordon (22), Ken Schrader (19) and Rusty Wallace (19).

·        The top five active drivers with the most Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona appearances: Jimmie Johnson (15), Kurt Busch (14), Kevin Harvick (13), Ryan Newman (13) and Denny Hamlin (12).

·        There have been nine multiple winners in the Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona:

o   Dale Earnhardt won six events, most all-time (1980, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995).

o   Dale Jarrett won in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

o   Kevin Harvick won in 2009, 2010 and 2013.

o   Tony Stewart won in 2001, 2002 and 2007.

o   Denny Hamlin won in 2006, 2014 and 2016.

o   Other multiple winners: Neil Bonnett (1983-1984), Ken Schrader, (1989-1990), Jeff Gordon (1994 and 1997), and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003 and 2008).

·        Bonnett, Schrader, Stewart and Harvick are the only drivers to win back-to-back Clash at Daytona races.

·        No driver has won three consecutive Clash events.

·        Buddy Baker (1979), Dale Earnhardt (1980), Jeff Gordon (1994), Dale Jarrett (1996) and Denny Hamlin (2006) all won the first Clash at Daytona in which they competed.

·        Only six times in the 38-year history of the race has the winner gone on to win the Daytona 500:

                    Bobby Allison (1982)

                    Bill Elliott (1987)

                    Dale Jarrett (1996 and 2000)

       Jeff Gordon (1997)

       Denny Hamlin (2016)

·        There have been four winners from the pole: Darrell Waltrip (1981), Bill Elliott (1987), Ken Schrader(1989) and Denny Hamlin (2014).

·        Two drivers have swept the Clash at Daytona, Daytona 500 pole and Daytona 500 from 1979-2017: Dale Jarrett (2000) and Bill Elliott (1987)

·        One driver has swept the Clash at Daytona, Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400 from 1979-2017: Bobby Allison (1982).

·        Seven drivers have won the Clash at Daytona (1979-2017) and the championship in the same season. Dale Earnhardt is the only one to have accomplished it multiple times (four).

Tony Stewart (2002)

Jeff Gordon (1997)

Dale Earnhardt (1993, 1991, 1986 and 1980)

Darrell Waltrip (1981)

·        Four drivers have won consecutive Clash at Daytona races (1979-2017). None went on to win that year’s Daytona 500.

Kevin Harvick (2009-10)

Tony Stewart (2000-01)

Ken Schrader (1990-91)

Neil Bonnett (1983-84)

·        The format for The Clash at Daytona has changed 14 times since its inception into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 1979.

·        Danica Patrick is the only female driver who has competed in the Clash at Daytona (1979 – 2017). Her best finish in the Clash is fourth last season.

The Clash At Daytona Manufacturer Wins Recap Manufacturer         Victories          Last Victory - Driver Chevrolet                20                    2013 – Kevin Harvick Ford                       8                      2017 – Joey Logano Toyota                    4                      2016 – Denny Hamlin                Buick                      2                      1982 – Bobby Allison Oldsmobile             2                      1980 – Dale Earnhardt Pontiac                   2                      2002 – Tony Stewart Dodge                    1                      2011 – Kurt Busch

 

By the Numbers: The Advance Auto Parts Clash At Daytona

.013 – Margin of victory in seconds by Kyle Busch over Tony Stewart in 2012, the closest margin in the Clash at Daytona history

.058 – Margin of victory in seconds by Kurt Busch over Jamie McMurray in 2011, the second closest margin in the Clash at Daytona history

.08 – Margin of victory in seconds by Dale Earnhardt over Sterling Marlin in 1995, the third closest margin of victory in the Clash at Daytona history

1 – Laps led by Rusty Wallace (1998), Neil Bonnett (1983-84), Dale Earnhardt (1980), Dale Jarrett (2000 and 2004) and Kevin Harvick (2009) in the Clash at Daytona races they won

2.75 – Average finish by Dale Earnhardt, best by any driver with multiple starts

4 – Number of drivers to win the Clash at Daytona from the pole position – Darrell Waltrip (1981), Bill Elliott (1987), Ken Schrader (1989) and Denny Hamlin (2014).

5 – Drivers who have won the event in their first appearance (Buddy Baker, 1979; Dale Earnhardt, 1980; Jeff Gordon, 1994; Dale Jarrett, 1996; Denny Hamlin, 2006)

6 – Number of the Clash at Daytona wins by Dale Earnhardt, the series leader (1980, 86, 88, 91, 93, 95)

7 – Number of fewest starters in the field for the Clash at Daytona (1981)

11 – Number of starts before winning, most since race began in 1979 (Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin)

14 – Number of different leaders in the 2009 event, most since race began in 1979

20 – Number of wins by Chevrolet in the Clash at Daytona, leads all manufacturers

22 – Most consecutive starts in the Clash at Daytona by a driver - Jeff Gordon (1994-2015).

27 – Kevin Harvick’s starting position in 2009, the lowest by a race winner in the event’s history

28 – Number of lead changes in the 2011 event, highest number since race began in 1979

44 – Laps led by Greg Biffle in 2005, the most by a driver who did not win the event

47 – Laps led by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2008, the most in a single Clash at Daytona.

197.802 mph – The fastest average speed of the race for the Clash at Daytona was in 1987 won by Bill Elliott.   

Breakdown of Clash at Daytona Winners:

Year	Driver		Year	Driver
1979	Buddy Baker		1999	Mark Martin
1980	Dale Earnhardt		2000	Dale Jarrett
1981	Darrell Waltrip		2001	Tony Stewart
1982	Bobby Allison		2002	Tony Stewart
1983	Neil Bonnett		2003	Dale Earnhardt Jr.
1984	Neil Bonnett		2004	Dale Jarrett
1985	Terry Labonte		2005	Jimmie Johnson
1986	Dale Earnhardt		2006	Denny Hamlin
1987	Bill Elliott		2007	Tony Stewart
1988	Dale Earnhardt		2008	Dale Earnhardt Jr.
1989	Ken Schrader		2009	Kevin Harvick
1990	Ken Schrader		2010	Kevin Harvick
1991	Dale Earnhardt		2011	Kurt Busch
1992	Geoff Bodine		2012	Kyle Busch
1993	Dale Earnhardt		2013	Kevin Harvick
1994	Jeff Gordon		2014	Denny Hamlin
1995	Dale Earnhardt		2015	Matt Kenseth
1996	Dale Jarrett		2016	Denny Hamlin
1997	Jeff Gordon		2017	Joey Logano
1998	Rusty Wallace

2018 Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona Betting Preview

Martin Truex Jr, Joey Logano and Jamie McMurray last February at Daytona.

We get our first taste of some NASCAR Thunder this Sunday with the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona, a 75-lap race broken into two segments featuring 17 drivers who either won a pole position, made the 2017 playoffs, or won a past Daytona 500 pole. It's basically every driver that is somebody in this wild new era of NASCAR.

Let's call it the Bud Shootout Unlimited Clash.

“The Clash is a nice way to kick off the season,” said 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Martin Truex Jr. “It’s mostly just a fun race to knock the rust off and learn a little bit about the competition and who will be strong. We’ll be racing against all the fast guys in the Clash and that’s a good measuring stick for Speedweeks. Both the Clash and pole qualifying will give us a feel for our race package and to see where we stand against the competition.”

Truex is the new face of NASCAR. Sure, he's a bit vanilla, but he's the champ, the best. Kyle Busch can still pay the villain and stir the pot. Kyle Larson is going to be a champion someday. Denny Hamlin hopes to grab his first title soon while still having a sweet Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Seven-time champ Jimmie Johnson, and his 83 career Cup wins, keeps calling himself grandpa among his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates who have zero wins in their career. Chase Elliott, one of those winless drivers, will be driving the No. 9 from now on, the same number his father drove to a Clash victory in 1987.

So while Cup stalwarts like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are no longer in the series, I think the sport is in good shape moving forward. Attendance shouldn't be the only measuring tool.

Read More Here....Top-5 Finish Prediction

Odds to win 2018 Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won at Daytona and Talladega last season.

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPER BOOK
ODDS TO WIN ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CLASH
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2018 - 3:20 PM ET

Brad KESELOWSKI 6/1
Joey LOGANO 7/1
Denny HAMLIN 7/1
Kyle BUSCH 7/1
Kevin HARVICK 8/1
Chase ELLIOTT 8/1
Martin TRUEX JR 10/1
Kyle LARSON 12/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 12/1
Jimmie JOHNSON 12/1
Erik JONES 15/1
Kurt BUSCH 15/1
Ryan BLANEY 15/1
Jamie McMURRAY 20/1
Austin DILLON 25/1
Ryan NEWMAN 25/1
Kasey KAHNE 30/1

Micah Roberts' Clash Betting Preview


DRIVER VS DRIVER MATCH-UPS

Brad KESELOWSKI - 120
Joey LOGANO EVEN

Brad KESELOWSKI - 120
Denny HAMLIN EVEN

Joey LOGANO - 110
Denny HAMLIN - 110

Kyle BUSCH - 120
Kevin HARVICK EVEN

Kyle BUSCH - 120
Chase ELLIOTT EVEN

Kevin HARVICK - 110
Chase ELLIOTT - 110

Martin TRUEX JR - 110
Kyle LARSON - 110

Martin TRUEX JR - 110
Ricky STENHOUSE JR - 110

Kyle LARSON - 110
Ricky STENHOUSE JR - 110

Erik JONES - 110
Jimmie JOHNSON - 110


*DRIVER MUST START RACE FOR ACTION

*WAGER IS ON DRIVER ONLY, NOT TEAM OR CAR

ADVANCED AUTO PART CLASH IS A 75 LAP RACE

RACE MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN ONE WEEK OF SCHEDULED DATE FOR ACTION

IF RACE IS SHORTENED FOR ANY REASON AND NASCAR DEEMS A WINNER,

ALL BETS ON MATCHUPS AND FINISHING POSITION HAVE ACTION

RACE WILL BE POSTED AT ITS CONCLUSION

NO PARLAYS ON MATCHUPS

Kyle Larson fastest during Las Vegas test sessions

Kyle Larson likes his new Camaro a lot.

For the second consecutive day, no one could top #42-Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The budding NASCAR star turned the quickest lap of the day and of the two-day NASCAR test at the 1.5-mile speedway in Thursday's afternoon session, crossing the line in 28.234 seconds at 191.259 miles per hour. Veteran #31-Ryan Newman was second-fastest at 28.417/190.027, with reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year #20-Erik Jones in third at 28.420/190.007.

Larson was pleased with the two-day test session, which was free and open to the public.

"I feel good about it, and it's been good to get back in a stock car after a couple months," Larson said. "It felt like we had good speed, especially on that last long run we made. I feel like it was a good test, and it's nice to know we still have a lot of speed in our cars with all the changes to the new Camaro."

More than a dozen NASCAR drivers - including Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champions #2-Brad Keselowski and #41-Kurt Busch - spent two days knocking off the offseason rust and helping their teams collect crucial data at the track. The session was a chance for drivers and their teams to prepare for the 2018 NASCAR season, which begins with the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 18 and makes its first of two LVMS stops on March 4 for the Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube.

Larson, Newman and the other Chevrolet drivers were particularly in need of information, considering the manufacturers' switch to the Camaro ZL1 for the upcoming season.

"I feel like we got a good start with the new Camaro ZL1," Newman said. "We'll go through our notes and see how good we can do on our homework. The guys definitely want loads of data with the new car, and we definitely collected that."

One of this year's Rookie of the Year favorites, #24-William Byron, enjoyed his first career NASCAR test session. He was the fastest from Thursday's morning session and fifth-quickest overall at 28.529/189.281.

"It's been awesome and has been a dream come true to get in one of these cars and have Hendrick Motorsports behind me," Byron said. "It's been a blast. I'm looking forward to racing this year. It's going to be a lot of fun, and I can't wait to get back here (to Las Vegas) in the spring."

Day 2 morning speeds

Day 2 afternoon speeds


Byron and Larson fastest during first day of testing at Las Vegas

William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports and Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing led the morning and afternoon sessions, respectively, during open testing Wednesday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Byron's top speed of 188.298 mph was good enough to beat out Ryan Newman, who was second at 188.186 mph for Richard Childress Racing. Stewart-Haas Racing's Kurt Busch, Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing's Erik Jones rounded out the top five during the morning session. Full results are at the bottom of this story.

In the afternoon session, Larson led with a top speed of 188.403 mph, which held up as the top speed of the day. Newman again finished second (187.162 mph) with Byron, Kurt Busch and Jones rounding out the top five. Sixteen drivers tested Wednesday on the 1.5-mile track, site of the third Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the 2018 season and the NASCAR Playoff opener in September.

NASCAR's 2018 rules package changes

Ryan Newman's Camaro turns laps at Las Vegas test session Feb 1.

LET'S REFRESH OURSELVES ON THE 2018 RULE PACKAGE CHANGES FROM A KENNY BRUCE ARTICLE WRITTEN OCTOBER 3, 2017 

CONCORD, N.C. — After several seasons of reducing downforce and limiting horsepower, NASCAR’s 2018 rules package won’t take quite as big of a bite out of the aerodynamic platform currently employed by teams competing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

There are changes, but overall the 2018 package, delivered to teams Tuesday, is more about maintaining the positive momentum from years prior.

“We’ve got some things we would still like to try,” NASCAR Vice President of Innovation and Racing Development Gene Stefanyshyn told NASCAR.com. But 2018 will be about “just … hold things,” he said. “Let them settle down and then we can talk about what we will do for ’19.”

Chief among the handful of changes on the aerodynamic and technical front are the use of a common flat splitter and radiator/oil cooler for 2018.

The radiator/oil cooler move is something that is already in play at superspeedways. The common splitter, meanwhile, will be new for all venues.

“As we do that, some of the downforce will be removed from the car, so we will see a rearward shift in the balance of the car,” he said. “We estimate somewhere between two to two-and-a-half percentage points backward (approximately 100-120 pounds of downforce).

“So there will be an aerodynamic change. For that reason, we’ve decided to kind of leave things as they are because that will be something that teams will need to deal with. That’s basically the big thing on the non-superspeedway tracks as far as the aero package is concerned.”

New for superspeedways (Daytona and Talladega) next season will be the elimination of the current ride height rule, a move that should provide safety and perhaps competition benefits.

Tests conducted in the wind tunnel and on the track have verified what NASCAR officials were looking for prior to making the ride height move.

“In doing so we make a significant advancement in liftoff speed,” Stefanyshyn said. “Somewhere in the order of 30 mph; very, very significant.

“As we do that — we’ve had superspeedway specific shock absorbers and springs in the rear of the car. We can now do away with those and just use what we’ve got for the other tracks. It kind of brings all the packages together.”

Part of the reason for a limited number of rule changes can be linked to an evolution in the inspection process that will roll out next season.

The camera-based system which scans the car will replace current grid, module and Laser Inspection Station portions of the inspection process. Engine, chassis and safety inspection stations will remain in place.

“As we move to the next generation at-track inspection we’ve had engagement with the teams,” Stefanyshyn said. “What do we officiate, to what kind of tolerance? The teams and OEMs have given us a lot of input. They want us to bring that in tighter. As we do that there will be some more aerodynamics that will come off the car.”

In addition to the 100-120 pounds that will be gone with the common radiator and splitter changes, another 150 or so “is coming off due to the new officiating process and the tolerances we’ve agreed to,” he said.

“When you look at it you say you don’t see a lot physically different with the car, but those two element themselves are a fairly significant change, which was another reason we decided just to kind of hold where we are.”

Engine rule changes for ’18 were announced earlier this year. They include use of a sealed short-block engine for a minimum of 13 races; use of a long-block engine in the Clash and All-Star Race, the series’ two non-points events; and a single-engine rule for all races.

On the safety front, Stefanyshyn said incident data recorders will be powered by batteries from the vehicles, a move that will allow the IDRs to continuously record instead of recording only upon being triggered by an impact.

“When we run vehicle power, (the IDR) will be looping and we will be able to catch the frames or the information pre-crash which is very, very important as opposed to at-crash start,” he said. “We can actually go back in time and watch as that develops.

“Now we are actually going to have high speed video to be able to tie that exactly and it will give us a much higher understanding of a crash incident, and then being able to put in solutions to improve our situation in crashes. That’s a big step for us.”

The in-car camera will be located to the right of the driver.

The mandatory rollout of the enhanced vehicle chassis (EVC) originally slated for 2018 has been pushed to 2019. All new chassis are still required to certify with EVC beginning Nov. 20, 2017.

So what can fans expect to see in ’18?

“I suspect there will be somewhat of a difference,” Stefanyshyn said. “How each team handles it and figures it out will be interesting.”

Jamie McMurray talks about NASCAR's 2018 Camaro

Jamie McMurray, driver of the No.1 Chevrolet, met with the media during the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media tour and answered questions. McMurray had a good season in 2017 but failed to win a race. McMurray doesn’t think the Camaro will give them an idea of how good the car is until the second race of the season at Atlanta.

When asked if he was excited about the new car, McMurray was honest and straightforward about the hope for the car.

“I don’t think the XFINITY Camaro will help us one bit,” McMurray said. “I think it is different. I think the bodies are different. I don’t know, to be honest with you. I am pretty sure they are different, so I wouldn’t say that if there is anything to correlate between the two.”

McMurray said that they will know more about how good the Camaro ZL1 until they get it to a normal track—Atlanta Motor Speedway. Is he excited about the new car?

“Excited. No…. they’ve done a lot of wind tunnel testing up to this point with the Camaro. However, the way NASCAR is going to inspect cars is a little different with the body scan, so the tolerances are a lot tighter than they were last year. Everybody is going to have less downforce than they did last year just because of the new Hawkeye System just because of how they are teching the cars now. It is a little bit of an unknown. We know the difference from where we were last year until now. But, you just don’t know the difference for everybody else. Until we get to Atlanta, we aren’t going to have any idea.”

The topic of the week seemed to be how veteran drivers like McMurray relate to the young guns, and he was asked the question.

“Well, look, all of us, as race car drivers, are human. Some seek attention more than others. I don’t really seek attention so I’m okay with all that. I think enough said. Some want attention more than others,” McMurray said.

McMurray has learning the new Camaro on his mind and was asked how long it would take for the ZL1 to become competitive.

“I don’t know the answer to that. Daytona is going to be unique, a one-off race, because it’s all about low drag, McMurray said. “The other thing that’s going to happen at Daytona that I haven’t heard anyone talk about is that there are no ride-height rules this year, so it’s going to be completely different for all of us. And then once we get to Atlanta, and you kind of see…. Actually the No. 42 (Kyle Larson) is doing a Vegas test. You’ll kind of know where they stack up against the other cars and maybe kind of compare that to last year to see where you were. But I think you have to see where you are and if you feel like the cars are just as fast as they were last year, then it will be a pretty easy learning curve. If you’re not, then it’s going to be a harder learning curve.

“The one thing in today’s world that is different than it was five or 10 years ago, is that the whole car is set-up off simulation and part of that program is that they take aero maps into account and they can kind of adjust the balance based on the aero maps. And so, we have all that information and so if the aero map is a little different or if a rules change comes into play, they kind of adjust the set-up for that. And it all makes sense. It’s not like it was 10 years ago where it was a little bit of a guess. So, I think it’s a different time now.”

McMurray did say he would be participating in three XFINITY Series this year and wished the Charlotte ROVAL would be first used for the All-Star race to give the drivers some practice on the circuit.

- Speedway Media

Kyle Larson talks with media during Las Vegas test session

Kyle Larson's vacation is over, jumps right in to 2018 test session at Vegas.  

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
PRE-SEASON TEST
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 31, 2018

Today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, eight (William Byron, Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Kasey Kahne and Justin Allgaier) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 drivers took their new Camaro ZL1 race cars to the track for their first times behind the wheel of the new race car. Kyle Larson, met with members of the media to discuss his experience:

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to discuss his first laps in the Camaro ZL1 ahead of its competition debut at Daytona, how it feels to be back to start the 2018 season, how much he learns from tests and many other topics. Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO GET BACK BEHIND THE WHEEL AND BE BACK IN LAS VEGAS:
“Yeah, it’s nice to get back in a stock car. I’ve still done a fair bit of racing this off season. But it’s been a couple of months since I’ve been in a Cup car. It was nice to get some laps here and feel like we’ve got some pretty good speed and good balance with our new Camaro ZL1. Pretty good test so far.”

KURT BUSCH LIKENED IT TO THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT?
“Yeah, I would agree with that. Especially with me, I haven’t even been around very much throughout the off-season because I spent about two and half weeks in New Zealand and then the Chili Bowl and out of the West Coast with family. I haven’t been in North Carolina a whole bunch to hang out with those guys in the shop, but yeah, the first test definitely feels like the first day of school a little bit.”

DOES THE SECOND RACE HERE CHANGE THE WAY YOU TEST OR THE WAY YOU APPROACH THIS OFF-SEASON TESTING?
“I guess maybe with an added race and it being in the Playoffs this test becomes a little more important. Every test is important because you want to come back and have good speed, but you know when you are coming back here for a Playoff race it’s just that much more important. I don’t know if we put anymore focus on the test or what, but hopefully, we learn a lot to where we are fast both races.”

HOW IS THE NEW CAMARO ZL1 PERFORMING ON THE TRACK SO FAR?
“It seems fine. It doesn’t seem too much different than the other car. Maybe it will be different once we get in traffic and stuff, but at a test you don’t really get to simulate that. It seemed to have good speed. I think we have ran about close to the same lap time as what we did last year, I think maybe at the test day or whatever with Jamie (McMurray) so it all seems fine with it.”

HOW MUCH DO DRIVERS ACTUALLY GET FROM THESE TESTS?
“I mean I get a lot out of it, especially being the first test of the year. Getting familiar with the car and just getting laps. And then you know, out here, obviously you don’t have a lot of cars, the groove doesn’t move up as much as it will for the race weekend, but the weather is always pretty consistent out here. The rubber and all that, it’s like I said, consistent and you can get a decent balance on your car from when you come back in a month or two, or whatever it is. This is the first time I’ve gotten to really test a 1.5-mile in the off-season, which is nice as well.”

ARE THERE NERVES A LITTLE BIT GETTING BACK INTO THE CAR? ARE THERE ANY DOUBTS, OR ANY ANXIETY OR EXCITEMENT?
“You know I think when you get going out there to make your first laps, not necessarily that you are nervous, but you are just a little rusty and trying to get that off and all that. No nerves or anything like that, just I guess excited to strap in and get going fast.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT LAS VEGAS GETTING A SECOND RACE? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT BEING THE FIRST RACE IN THE PLAYOFFS?
“Yeah, I’m excited about it. Vegas is obviously an awesome city and great to come hang out and good food and all that, but the racing is really good here. The fans are always great. The stands are always packed whenever we come. And then to have it be the kickoff to our Playoff’s I think that will be big and hopefully we can promote that a lot and carry that momentum that we build throughout the promotion of it throughout the whole Playoffs. I think moving or adding a second date here at Vegas and having it be the first race of the Playoffs was very important.”

YOU ARE ONE OF THE ONLY DRIVERS THAT HAS RACED AGAINST THE VETERANS AND THE ROOKIE’S YOU ARE SORT OF THE IN THE MIDDLE GUY. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?
“Yeah, I don’t really know, I mean, but it’s been cool to see kind of the change of how our sport has been. There has been some really, really big-name drivers retire the last handful of years and I’m happy that I got the opportunity to race with all of them and learn off of each and every one of them. But now it’s exciting that we have William Byron and guys like that, that are now in the Cup Series. It’s been a very quick kind of change of the guard in the Cup Series. I think that’s exciting for our sport and hopefully helps build it to new levels.”

CAN YOU JUDGE OFF FAST TIMES FROM THIS TEST AND TELL WHAT IT WILL MEAN DURING THE SEASON?
“I think you can get a decent judge off of kind of where you stack up against other teams. But, I don’t know it’s also hard because you don’t know who is pushing the limits on their bodies and stuff here or whatever they are doing. In that aspect you don’t really know where you stand, but I feel good about it and I think you can still get somewhat of a decent idea on who is going to be fast when we get to Atlanta.”

HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR SPEEDWEEKS?
“I’m excited. I guess it’s less than 18 days for my speedweeks. I’m going to go down early and race a sprint car at Volusia and then get going at the speedway for the Clash and all that. I’m excited. I leave next Tuesday, so my season gets going here pretty quickly. Yeah, I’ve only really felt like my off-season has been about two weekends now and I’ve been extremely bored. I’m ready to get going.”

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