BACK TO GALLERIES
Best quotes from 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Media Day
By Staff Report | Published: September 2, 2022 17
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NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Media Day has come and gone at the Charlotte Convention Center. Take a look at the best of what each driver had to say before the playoffs begin with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday (6 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
On whether having more playoff points than previous postseason appearances is unfamiliar: “It is. We talked about that a lot. We’ve never been in that position before. This is a good thing. I’d love us to put ourselves in that position more often year after year. It means you’ve probably had more fun that year. It also means you’re trying to hedge your bet. Nothing is guaranteed but it can certainly help. That’s the big one… we want to hedge that bet and better our odds as much as possible.”
On whether his 40 playoff points provide comfortable cushion: “I don’t think anybody is safe at any point in time. You have to respect this format from Week One all the way to Week 10. I don’t think there is ever a period of time where you should think anything is taken for granted. No amount of playoff points is ever safe. Each round is so short. You could have two bad weeks back-to-back and do nothing wrong. Next thing you know, you’re in a position where you have to win the last race. That can happen to the guy who is first in points or the guy that is last. No one is safe from that.”
On whether having more playoff points than previous postseason appearances is unfamiliar: “It is. We talked about that a lot. We’ve never been in that position before. This is a good thing. I’d love us to put ourselves in that position more often year after year. It means you’ve probably had more fun that year. It also means you’re trying to hedge your bet. Nothing is guaranteed but it can certainly help. That’s the big one… we want to hedge that bet and better our odds as much as possible.”
On whether his 40 playoff points provide comfortable cushion: “I don’t think anybody is safe at any point in time. You have to respect this format from Week One all the way to Week 10. I don’t think there is ever a period of time where you should think anything is taken for granted. No amount of playoff points is ever safe. Each round is so short. You could have two bad weeks back-to-back and do nothing wrong. Next thing you know, you’re in a position where you have to win the last race. That can happen to the guy who is first in points or the guy that is last. No one is safe from that.”
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Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
On the emotions of qualifying for first playoff appearance: “It’s pretty wild. This week has felt almost awkwardly normal. I didn’t expect that. Sitting here, yes this is different. You go back one calendar year and the guys that I trained with were all here. I was the only one in the group not. That was humbling. I was out training and probably pushed myself too hard that day, but it was motivating. Not that pedaling the bike harder that day was going to make me get here. But it’s pretty wild to be here. I worked to get here but I just never thought I would get here, honestly.”
On how philosophy changed at the shop transitioning from Chip Ganassi Racing to Trackhouse: “Everybody is different, and there are strengths and weaknesses on all sides. It takes someone with strong belief in their thinking to get up in front of a shop and say that if you don’t believe in this new car and where NASCAR is going, we don’t need you here. That was blatantly said. For a lot of people, this was their time to step out. If I had been at that point of my life, I may have made the same decision. You never know. For me and for Trackhouse, it was the perfect time to fully be in the sport.”
On the emotions of qualifying for first playoff appearance: “It’s pretty wild. This week has felt almost awkwardly normal. I didn’t expect that. Sitting here, yes this is different. You go back one calendar year and the guys that I trained with were all here. I was the only one in the group not. That was humbling. I was out training and probably pushed myself too hard that day, but it was motivating. Not that pedaling the bike harder that day was going to make me get here. But it’s pretty wild to be here. I worked to get here but I just never thought I would get here, honestly.”
On how philosophy changed at the shop transitioning from Chip Ganassi Racing to Trackhouse: “Everybody is different, and there are strengths and weaknesses on all sides. It takes someone with strong belief in their thinking to get up in front of a shop and say that if you don’t believe in this new car and where NASCAR is going, we don’t need you here. That was blatantly said. For a lot of people, this was their time to step out. If I had been at that point of my life, I may have made the same decision. You never know. For me and for Trackhouse, it was the perfect time to fully be in the sport.”
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Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
On if he feels good heading into postseason despite less wins than 2021: “Yeah, I feel good about it and we have contended often, we just haven’t executed well enough to win. There have been plenty of times this year where the guy that won the race, we were faster than them. Their team just did a really good job. I feel like lately, we have been executing our races good and we have been contending a little more. We won at Watkins Glen because we executed a good race. So, I think we are in a good spot. And like I said, there are a lot of good tracks for me, and I think we can contend and go get some wins.”
On whether each Hendrick team works independently or collectively during playoffs: “If I am being honest, I feel like everyone works better together in the playoffs. I think because Rick (Hendrick) has four opportunities to win and we want to give him 100% opportunity to win once we get to Phoenix. I feel like we all work together closer, just the way I experienced it last year in the competition meetings and stuff like that. It’s no different, if not, better.”
On if he feels good heading into postseason despite less wins than 2021: “Yeah, I feel good about it and we have contended often, we just haven’t executed well enough to win. There have been plenty of times this year where the guy that won the race, we were faster than them. Their team just did a really good job. I feel like lately, we have been executing our races good and we have been contending a little more. We won at Watkins Glen because we executed a good race. So, I think we are in a good spot. And like I said, there are a lot of good tracks for me, and I think we can contend and go get some wins.”
On whether each Hendrick team works independently or collectively during playoffs: “If I am being honest, I feel like everyone works better together in the playoffs. I think because Rick (Hendrick) has four opportunities to win and we want to give him 100% opportunity to win once we get to Phoenix. I feel like we all work together closer, just the way I experienced it last year in the competition meetings and stuff like that. It’s no different, if not, better.”
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William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports
On whether the team is circling particular tracks or attacking one week at a time: “Certainly, there are certain places where you kind of highlight and you’re like ‘OK, I feel like I can have a good run there regardless of the circumstances, regardless of how the rest of the season has gone’ and things like that. Darlington is definitely one of those that – based on our last few runs there – I’m like OK, this could be a good track for us. Even last year in the playoffs, we got into Alex [Bowman] early when he had a flat tire, knocked the whole right side off the car and still was running like sixth before we had a tire issue. So it’s like, if we can have a car that’s together with all four tires and all four fenders rolling; I feel like Darlington is one of those tracks for us that’s good.”
On if it's just coincidence last Darlington race appeared to be turning point: “Yeah, it’s definitely a coincidence. I wish we knew what happened or why things have gone the way that they’ve gone. But yeah, it’s definitely just a coincidence. I think we had a lot of really good tracks in the beginning of the year. As we started to chase some speed and chase some things, we got off a little bit throughout the summer.. just the way the car drove and things like that. I think we’re getting back to where we need to be now. We know what works; we know what doesn’t work. We definitely know what doesn’t work after the last month or so, so that’s a good thing.”
On whether the team is circling particular tracks or attacking one week at a time: “Certainly, there are certain places where you kind of highlight and you’re like ‘OK, I feel like I can have a good run there regardless of the circumstances, regardless of how the rest of the season has gone’ and things like that. Darlington is definitely one of those that – based on our last few runs there – I’m like OK, this could be a good track for us. Even last year in the playoffs, we got into Alex [Bowman] early when he had a flat tire, knocked the whole right side off the car and still was running like sixth before we had a tire issue. So it’s like, if we can have a car that’s together with all four tires and all four fenders rolling; I feel like Darlington is one of those tracks for us that’s good.”
On if it's just coincidence last Darlington race appeared to be turning point: “Yeah, it’s definitely a coincidence. I wish we knew what happened or why things have gone the way that they’ve gone. But yeah, it’s definitely just a coincidence. I think we had a lot of really good tracks in the beginning of the year. As we started to chase some speed and chase some things, we got off a little bit throughout the summer.. just the way the car drove and things like that. I think we’re getting back to where we need to be now. We know what works; we know what doesn’t work. We definitely know what doesn’t work after the last month or so, so that’s a good thing.”
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Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
On if he has less control on outcomes in these playoffs: “Yes, I would say that you have less control this year. You can control your execution. There’s no excuse for us to have race-winning cars and blowing it through some other way, shape or form that you find a way to do, but we have to make sure we do our best job to execute on our good days and our bad days. That’s what’s going to keep us going through these playoffs. We don’t have enough playoff points to have one or two bad races. We’re going to be out pretty soon if that happens.”
On whether close title runs in past add more pressure: “I just try to control what I can control and not get too emotional with the things that I can’t. That doesn’t keep me from getting frustrated when things don’t go my way or we don’t have the speed that I know we should have. You just try to optimize and quietly sneak our way through this deal. I think that’s going to be the way that it works this year. We’re just going to have to quietly, under the radar, find a way to make it to the next round.”
On if he has less control on outcomes in these playoffs: “Yes, I would say that you have less control this year. You can control your execution. There’s no excuse for us to have race-winning cars and blowing it through some other way, shape or form that you find a way to do, but we have to make sure we do our best job to execute on our good days and our bad days. That’s what’s going to keep us going through these playoffs. We don’t have enough playoff points to have one or two bad races. We’re going to be out pretty soon if that happens.”
On whether close title runs in past add more pressure: “I just try to control what I can control and not get too emotional with the things that I can’t. That doesn’t keep me from getting frustrated when things don’t go my way or we don’t have the speed that I know we should have. You just try to optimize and quietly sneak our way through this deal. I think that’s going to be the way that it works this year. We’re just going to have to quietly, under the radar, find a way to make it to the next round.”
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Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Richard Childress Chevrolet
On if playoff experience matters and whether it worries him: “I have been experienced at it, just not on the Cup level. Certainly, the experiences of failing last year, I learned a lot from that. But the experience of being in these pressure-filled moments on the Xfinity level, and getting it done two years in a row, also has its benefits too. So, certainly I don’t have the experience of a Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and guys like that have; but every race is one of those pressure-filled moments. Every point in every race has that Game 7 moment in every single race and it’s really important not to misstep when that moment happens.”
On if he believes he enters this year's playoffs in a better position than 2021: “Honestly, not really, as weird as that sounds. We were really good at Darlington in the spring of last year. Bristol is a good track for us too. Richmond is the only one that was in there where we struggled a little bit, but it’s not now. Last year in talking about it too, we just didn’t execute, and we were off a little. It was a strange way for us to have that first round go. I feel good about it, really good.”
On if playoff experience matters and whether it worries him: “I have been experienced at it, just not on the Cup level. Certainly, the experiences of failing last year, I learned a lot from that. But the experience of being in these pressure-filled moments on the Xfinity level, and getting it done two years in a row, also has its benefits too. So, certainly I don’t have the experience of a Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and guys like that have; but every race is one of those pressure-filled moments. Every point in every race has that Game 7 moment in every single race and it’s really important not to misstep when that moment happens.”
On if he believes he enters this year's playoffs in a better position than 2021: “Honestly, not really, as weird as that sounds. We were really good at Darlington in the spring of last year. Bristol is a good track for us too. Richmond is the only one that was in there where we struggled a little bit, but it’s not now. Last year in talking about it too, we just didn’t execute, and we were off a little. It was a strange way for us to have that first round go. I feel good about it, really good.”
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Kyle Busch, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
On if he can win a third Cup title this year: “Sure. We’re a top-five, top-six team right now with myself, Ben [Beshore, crew chief] and my team and where we’re at, we just need to clean up some of our mistakes. Speeding on pit road, that’s on me, running over the air hose or whatever, things. But some of the things we’ve had happen to us, we can’t really clean up because it’s not of our doing and it’s just getting caught up in wrecks and stuff like that. I do feel like we’re a top-five, top-six team and I don’t think that the ones that are all in front of us are going to be perfect when it comes to making the Round of 8. We can surprise, I wouldn’t say we would surprise ourselves, but we could put ourselves in the top four.”
On whether stressful situations -- like this year's contract negotiations -- can fuel title runs like others led to the 2015 and 2019 championships: “Boy, that would be nice. I think [Kevin] Harvick said it a few years ago, didn’t he say that the lifespan of a driver was going to be much shorter now with this format? Just with all the stress of it and all that it takes. The stress of the last two or three months is like going through the Round of 8 so I’m already living it. I’m already there. These bozos haven’t been there yet. They’re only going to feel it for three weeks, I’ve dealt with it for three months, bring it on.”
On if he can win a third Cup title this year: “Sure. We’re a top-five, top-six team right now with myself, Ben [Beshore, crew chief] and my team and where we’re at, we just need to clean up some of our mistakes. Speeding on pit road, that’s on me, running over the air hose or whatever, things. But some of the things we’ve had happen to us, we can’t really clean up because it’s not of our doing and it’s just getting caught up in wrecks and stuff like that. I do feel like we’re a top-five, top-six team and I don’t think that the ones that are all in front of us are going to be perfect when it comes to making the Round of 8. We can surprise, I wouldn’t say we would surprise ourselves, but we could put ourselves in the top four.”
On whether stressful situations -- like this year's contract negotiations -- can fuel title runs like others led to the 2015 and 2019 championships: “Boy, that would be nice. I think [Kevin] Harvick said it a few years ago, didn’t he say that the lifespan of a driver was going to be much shorter now with this format? Just with all the stress of it and all that it takes. The stress of the last two or three months is like going through the Round of 8 so I’m already living it. I’m already there. These bozos haven’t been there yet. They’re only going to feel it for three weeks, I’ve dealt with it for three months, bring it on.”
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Daniel Suárez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
On William Byron calling Suárez most dangerous in the playoffs: “I get goosebumps by you saying that because I’ve been working really hard to do that. I’m the kind of guy where I like to do it that way. If you think about it – the year I won the [Xfinity Series] Championship – not a lot of people would bet on me. I did.. and I won it. I like it that way. I like to be under the radar and not to make a lot of noise. Go out there and beat them, but quietly.”
On being in the playoffs: “It feels nice, but honestly it feels normal. I believe that I belong here. When you have a team like the one I have, I feel like it’s more like a must to be in this position. I think we’re in a great position. I have an amazing team behind me. Trackhouse Racing has done a tremendous job this year. We have to continue to evolve. We cannot sleep in the next 10 weeks. It’s the most important part of the season, of course. We have to continue to do the same thing that we’ve been doing and continue to get better.”
On William Byron calling Suárez most dangerous in the playoffs: “I get goosebumps by you saying that because I’ve been working really hard to do that. I’m the kind of guy where I like to do it that way. If you think about it – the year I won the [Xfinity Series] Championship – not a lot of people would bet on me. I did.. and I won it. I like it that way. I like to be under the radar and not to make a lot of noise. Go out there and beat them, but quietly.”
On being in the playoffs: “It feels nice, but honestly it feels normal. I believe that I belong here. When you have a team like the one I have, I feel like it’s more like a must to be in this position. I think we’re in a great position. I have an amazing team behind me. Trackhouse Racing has done a tremendous job this year. We have to continue to evolve. We cannot sleep in the next 10 weeks. It’s the most important part of the season, of course. We have to continue to do the same thing that we’ve been doing and continue to get better.”
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Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
On his playoff outlook: “I think we are super motivated because its Greg’s [Ives, crew chief] last 10 races with me and we want to end on a high note. We know the summer doesn’t matter anymore, our troubles, and it’s a good reset for us going into the playoffs. Everybody is all in and I think we can definitely make some noise.”
On whether he's been behind teammates or if it's just poor results: “I think the early part of the summer we were definitely behind, but for the last couple of weeks it's definitely just results. So, I am definitely looking forward to the playoffs. I think my team is in a good spot and Greg is in a good spot. The last few weeks we have had good speed and have just not executed. We just have to keep digging.”
On his playoff outlook: “I think we are super motivated because its Greg’s [Ives, crew chief] last 10 races with me and we want to end on a high note. We know the summer doesn’t matter anymore, our troubles, and it’s a good reset for us going into the playoffs. Everybody is all in and I think we can definitely make some noise.”
On whether he's been behind teammates or if it's just poor results: “I think the early part of the summer we were definitely behind, but for the last couple of weeks it's definitely just results. So, I am definitely looking forward to the playoffs. I think my team is in a good spot and Greg is in a good spot. The last few weeks we have had good speed and have just not executed. We just have to keep digging.”
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Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
On if he's felt disrespected: "No. I look at social media and we’re not usually the most popular guy and I’m cool with that. I want to go out there and do what I’ve done in the past in the playoffs and make it to the next round. One round that really sticks out to me a couple years back is I was two away from transferring to the third round at Talladega. Denny [Hamlin] got me by like a point, so I know how much every position matters in this deal. I want to take advantage of this opportunity, and the Next Gen car has created a lot of opportunities with 15 winners this season. Good tracks coming up for us.”
On Darlington prospects: “I love that track. People ask me what’s my favorite track and I’ve gone to saying the places you win, so Daytona and Charlotte. But Darlington is my favorite. It’s like driving back in time. It’s a driver’s track. Tire management comes into play. It’s a long race and you’re racing the racetrack. Historically, that’s been good for me.”
On if he's felt disrespected: "No. I look at social media and we’re not usually the most popular guy and I’m cool with that. I want to go out there and do what I’ve done in the past in the playoffs and make it to the next round. One round that really sticks out to me a couple years back is I was two away from transferring to the third round at Talladega. Denny [Hamlin] got me by like a point, so I know how much every position matters in this deal. I want to take advantage of this opportunity, and the Next Gen car has created a lot of opportunities with 15 winners this season. Good tracks coming up for us.”
On Darlington prospects: “I love that track. People ask me what’s my favorite track and I’ve gone to saying the places you win, so Daytona and Charlotte. But Darlington is my favorite. It’s like driving back in time. It’s a driver’s track. Tire management comes into play. It’s a long race and you’re racing the racetrack. Historically, that’s been good for me.”
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Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
On current playoff outlook: "I think that the Next Gen car has definitely leveled the teams out where no team has a really, really big advantage. So with that being said, looking at the first round specifically, Darlington, Kansas were two of my best races this year -- not best finishes, but best races. And I think that we have everything that we need to go out there and perform at a level that'll get us to the Championship 4. So, just got to get through there better than what we did last year. And last year, we had a very poor showing in the playoffs, and I've learned from that and hopefully I can better myself this year."
On current playoff outlook: "I think that the Next Gen car has definitely leveled the teams out where no team has a really, really big advantage. So with that being said, looking at the first round specifically, Darlington, Kansas were two of my best races this year -- not best finishes, but best races. And I think that we have everything that we need to go out there and perform at a level that'll get us to the Championship 4. So, just got to get through there better than what we did last year. And last year, we had a very poor showing in the playoffs, and I've learned from that and hopefully I can better myself this year."
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Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
On the title race: "I think it’s wide-open. We talked about this last week as a team. It’s just as wide-open as I’ve ever seen it. I don’t think there’s really anybody that sticks out and says I’m the guy, so I think the thing that factors in more this year is you know anybody is able to pop off a win – that they might hit it this week just because that’s what’s happened all year. You see somebody pop off a win and then they kind of fade away, but the ability to hit it on a week to week basis is there, so it’s like there’s no safe spot. I think you could wind up in the Truex scenario pretty quick from a points standpoint because you just don’t know.”
On challenge of Darlington: "I like Darlington just because of the fact it’s challenging to drive by yourself. You put all the other cars out there and then it becomes an even bigger challenge, so it’s just a race you still have to think through it in order of positioning your car and the things that you do with it. When you’re in a good scenario or a bad scenario or somebody is catching you is a little bit different than it used to be because you can hold them up so much more by keeping them in your wake, so it’s not as much give as it used to be because of that. You have to know when you’re in a bad spot in order to keep yourself from not getting torn up or sticking the car up in the wall and doing something that you don’t need to, especially early in the race.”
On the title race: "I think it’s wide-open. We talked about this last week as a team. It’s just as wide-open as I’ve ever seen it. I don’t think there’s really anybody that sticks out and says I’m the guy, so I think the thing that factors in more this year is you know anybody is able to pop off a win – that they might hit it this week just because that’s what’s happened all year. You see somebody pop off a win and then they kind of fade away, but the ability to hit it on a week to week basis is there, so it’s like there’s no safe spot. I think you could wind up in the Truex scenario pretty quick from a points standpoint because you just don’t know.”
On challenge of Darlington: "I like Darlington just because of the fact it’s challenging to drive by yourself. You put all the other cars out there and then it becomes an even bigger challenge, so it’s just a race you still have to think through it in order of positioning your car and the things that you do with it. When you’re in a good scenario or a bad scenario or somebody is catching you is a little bit different than it used to be because you can hold them up so much more by keeping them in your wake, so it’s not as much give as it used to be because of that. You have to know when you’re in a bad spot in order to keep yourself from not getting torn up or sticking the car up in the wall and doing something that you don’t need to, especially early in the race.”
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Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Team Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (Spoke to media on Tuesday)
On Round of 16 approach: “I think it’s not to eliminate ourselves in this first round. Darlington, especially, the Southern 500 there are gonna be a lot of opportunities to tear your car up at some point in the race running up on the wall. I think, just for me, the regular season and, like I was saying earlier, I just haven’t done a very good job of finishing where our car had the speed for, and I think these next three weeks if we have an eighth-place car, just try to run seventh or eighth with it. Don’t try to win with it and then end up costing yourself with a 10-spot difference. You just have to be smart about it in the playoffs and understand the bigger picture and that’s something I haven’t done a great job of this year. I think that’s my biggest focus these next three weeks is just limiting mistakes, doing all the little details right, and I feel like as long as you do the little details right this first round, you should be able to point your way through because there are gonna be guys that eliminate themselves just by making mistakes and if you can limit your mistakes and not make them super detrimental, I think then you should be able to make it out of that first round.
On Xfinity vs. Cup playoffs: “It’s hard because until you’re actually there and experience it I think it’s hard to say exactly what it’s gonna be like, but I know, for me at least in the Truck Series and even the Xfinity Series, the intensity definitely ratchets up. The stages, I remember in Xfinity I think it was at Kansas, battling for seventh was some of the hardest racing I’d ever done just because I knew that one point was gonna make a difference and now with the Cup Series I think it’s gonna be different this year too, just because of what I was saying earlier about all the non-playoff guys that can still run up front."
On Round of 16 approach: “I think it’s not to eliminate ourselves in this first round. Darlington, especially, the Southern 500 there are gonna be a lot of opportunities to tear your car up at some point in the race running up on the wall. I think, just for me, the regular season and, like I was saying earlier, I just haven’t done a very good job of finishing where our car had the speed for, and I think these next three weeks if we have an eighth-place car, just try to run seventh or eighth with it. Don’t try to win with it and then end up costing yourself with a 10-spot difference. You just have to be smart about it in the playoffs and understand the bigger picture and that’s something I haven’t done a great job of this year. I think that’s my biggest focus these next three weeks is just limiting mistakes, doing all the little details right, and I feel like as long as you do the little details right this first round, you should be able to point your way through because there are gonna be guys that eliminate themselves just by making mistakes and if you can limit your mistakes and not make them super detrimental, I think then you should be able to make it out of that first round.
On Xfinity vs. Cup playoffs: “It’s hard because until you’re actually there and experience it I think it’s hard to say exactly what it’s gonna be like, but I know, for me at least in the Truck Series and even the Xfinity Series, the intensity definitely ratchets up. The stages, I remember in Xfinity I think it was at Kansas, battling for seventh was some of the hardest racing I’d ever done just because I knew that one point was gonna make a difference and now with the Cup Series I think it’s gonna be different this year too, just because of what I was saying earlier about all the non-playoff guys that can still run up front."
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Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
On having to prove something in the playoffs: “I think everybody has something to prove. You always want to prove that you can go and compete for a championship and we have a chance to compete for a championship and it’s just a matter of how far you can go. I would love it if we barely sneak in by the skin of our teeth and then go out there and make it to Phoenix. That would be pretty good and I think this team is plenty capable, that’s for sure. I’ve got the utmost confidence in the world with those guys and I think everyone has something to prove, just showing they deserve to be here.”
On Darlington outlook: "I feel like, personally, we had a great car there in the spring and we just had a disaster day on pit road and would lose 10 spots every time we came down pit road. By the time we got them made back up, the caution would come out and we’d lose those again. It was kind of a recurring cycle and then we got caught up in that accident off two and that really hurt us. I look forward to going there. I thought we had a great piece and just try to clean some stuff up on pit road that could keep us in the game. That’s really what you’ve got to do, but I think we’ve gotten a lot better there over the years and hopefully we can show something this weekend.”
On having to prove something in the playoffs: “I think everybody has something to prove. You always want to prove that you can go and compete for a championship and we have a chance to compete for a championship and it’s just a matter of how far you can go. I would love it if we barely sneak in by the skin of our teeth and then go out there and make it to Phoenix. That would be pretty good and I think this team is plenty capable, that’s for sure. I’ve got the utmost confidence in the world with those guys and I think everyone has something to prove, just showing they deserve to be here.”
On Darlington outlook: "I feel like, personally, we had a great car there in the spring and we just had a disaster day on pit road and would lose 10 spots every time we came down pit road. By the time we got them made back up, the caution would come out and we’d lose those again. It was kind of a recurring cycle and then we got caught up in that accident off two and that really hurt us. I look forward to going there. I thought we had a great piece and just try to clean some stuff up on pit road that could keep us in the game. That’s really what you’ve got to do, but I think we’ve gotten a lot better there over the years and hopefully we can show something this weekend.”
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Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford*
On his playoff attitude: "I think there’s a balance in there somewhere. I’d say the last three or four weeks before the playoffs start is when I feel like you’ve got to start putting everything together. Before that, don’t get me wrong, you’re out there trying to win, you’re trying to get every point because every point is really gonna matter all season long, but it seems like there’s a point with three or four weeks to go before the playoffs where the intensity ratchets up a little bit and you are more and more concerned about any weakness that could be shown on your race team. So, I think you kind of start getting that way a little sooner than Daytona, but I always say you’ve got to find a fifth gear. Now we have five gears in our cars, so you’ve got to find a sixth gear now and you’ve got to keep looking for that little bit. Find that one percent. Well, where is it? What’s the difference and those little things when it comes to playoff time in sports.”
*Logano spoke Saturday morning at Darlington.
On his playoff attitude: "I think there’s a balance in there somewhere. I’d say the last three or four weeks before the playoffs start is when I feel like you’ve got to start putting everything together. Before that, don’t get me wrong, you’re out there trying to win, you’re trying to get every point because every point is really gonna matter all season long, but it seems like there’s a point with three or four weeks to go before the playoffs where the intensity ratchets up a little bit and you are more and more concerned about any weakness that could be shown on your race team. So, I think you kind of start getting that way a little sooner than Daytona, but I always say you’ve got to find a fifth gear. Now we have five gears in our cars, so you’ve got to find a sixth gear now and you’ve got to keep looking for that little bit. Find that one percent. Well, where is it? What’s the difference and those little things when it comes to playoff time in sports.”
*Logano spoke Saturday morning at Darlington.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
On first Southern 500: “I see the Darlington Southern 500 being the biggest mental challenge I’ve had in my career as far as races go, as far as race strategy. Obviously, you mix the playoffs into that. I think you get the length of a race, at least the mental focus you have to have of the Coke 600 mixed with the discipline and the focus that you have to have to run long runs at Richmond and you’re on a knife edge at Darlington, so I think you combine all of those and it’s a pretty big challenge and something I’m excited to experience.”
On playoff expectations: “I don’t have any expectations. I got the same questions before the start of the season on what my expectations were for my rookie year and, honestly, I want to do my job. That’s the only expectation I have is to have a team that has all of the resources and capability to be able to do that and we’ve certainly delivered on a lot of occasions. We were certainly having a great season if you look back and I have to give myself perspective sometimes that I’m racing round guys who are having career-best years and sometimes I want too much, so I think that’s a good thing, but, at the same time, I think the pursuit of being the best is what we’re about here at Team Penske. I don’t think we feel like we’ve got that covered at the moment, so between the three of us I think there’s still more that we want to get, but as far as the 2 car, I feel like we’re the best we’ve been so far. I think we’ve got our process down. The communication is certainly the best it’s been, so I think all of those things are important when I’m racing against guys that have decades with that experience.”
On first Southern 500: “I see the Darlington Southern 500 being the biggest mental challenge I’ve had in my career as far as races go, as far as race strategy. Obviously, you mix the playoffs into that. I think you get the length of a race, at least the mental focus you have to have of the Coke 600 mixed with the discipline and the focus that you have to have to run long runs at Richmond and you’re on a knife edge at Darlington, so I think you combine all of those and it’s a pretty big challenge and something I’m excited to experience.”
On playoff expectations: “I don’t have any expectations. I got the same questions before the start of the season on what my expectations were for my rookie year and, honestly, I want to do my job. That’s the only expectation I have is to have a team that has all of the resources and capability to be able to do that and we’ve certainly delivered on a lot of occasions. We were certainly having a great season if you look back and I have to give myself perspective sometimes that I’m racing round guys who are having career-best years and sometimes I want too much, so I think that’s a good thing, but, at the same time, I think the pursuit of being the best is what we’re about here at Team Penske. I don’t think we feel like we’ve got that covered at the moment, so between the three of us I think there’s still more that we want to get, but as far as the 2 car, I feel like we’re the best we’ve been so far. I think we’ve got our process down. The communication is certainly the best it’s been, so I think all of those things are important when I’m racing against guys that have decades with that experience.”