Ford Performance NASCAR - Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman Darlington Quotes

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford Mustang – HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU WITH PIT CREW COMMUNICATION?  “I’m not really concerned about it at all.  For us, we’ve had a lot of conversations and meetings about how things were going to flow.  Obviously, things are a little bit different with the amount of people and where people are, so our main source of communication comes from Rodney and Timmy Fedewa, who is my spotter.  Those are really the only things that I hear communication from during the race, so the rest of it is kind of up to them, but as far as my responsibilities and who I hear will be exactly the same as it always is.”

 

WILL YOU JUST UNLOAD WITH WHAT YOU RAN LAST YEAR AT DARLINGTON?  HOW WILL YOU APPROACH THAT?  “You obviously don’t know what condition you’re really kind of facing just because of the fact that Darlington last year went into the night.  This time it will be a relatively warm day in the sun most of the day, so Darlington is a very sensitive temperature track, so I think you kind of have to evolve as the race evolves.  You look at last year’s stuff, you look at the evolution of the cars as we’ve gone through the off-season and the first part of the season knowing that you at least get to race on the same tire that you had last year, so you take those common trends, you take the things that we needed to do differently from the last race and try to blend all those things together, and then just know that most likely you’re not going to hit that target of making the car drive perfectly and being able to have adjustments in either direction.  It will be a little bit tricky adjusting on your car at the beginning of the race just because of the lack of rubber on the race track.  It’s a race track that really evolves as the rubber gets on the race track and last year it was tough to drive on top of the rubber, so you really had to find different spots on the race track to move around.  As we always do, we want to have a versatile car that can run high or low and do things that you normally do, but I think the biggest goal in this instance is to just not be in right field, try to get yourself in the ballpark and be able to adjust on it so you don’t have to have a rebuild and a reboot.  A few days later you can do that, but you can’t do that during the race, so we’re trying to be solid through these first several races so you don’t shoot yourself in the foot and have to try to reboot in the middle of a race because that will be tough, but you’re definitely gonna have to make changes and evolve with the race track as it changes.’

 

THE ROUTINE FOR YOU WILL BE DIFFERENT NOW.  WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE WEIRDEST THING FOR DRIVERS TO ADJUST TO?   “For me it’s just gonna purely be the interaction with not being able to have the interaction with the people, and communication will just be drastically different.  How much you’re around people, how close you are to people and things of that nature.  I’ve started races with no practice.  We went through 911 and had a race cancelled and had things different, but this is just so drastically different that you just have to approach it drastically different with an open mind to know that there are gonna be things -- before you even get there you have to know that there are going to be things drastically different than the way it was before and just not be frustrated with things that don’t go right, things that are different.  The routine is different.  It’s not as different as Darlington as it’s going to be when we actually do start traveling further than somewhere we can drive because it is a race that we drove to, for the most part, back and forth each day and it is a race that is typically hot, it’s a unique race track, so there are a lot of things that aren’t completely outside of the box, but the people and your interaction with people is just a lot different, has been a lot different – not being able to go to the shop, not being able to have meetings face-to-face is just not normal, and part of the thing that I think we’ve all learned through all this is just your interaction with people is something that you just kind of took for granted and I think as you look at in now that’s the part that you’re missing the most.  So there’s a number of things that are different, but that’s the part that is different for me because we talk through so many things so well as a group, and you won’t have that.”

 

WHAT ARE YOU MOST CURIOUS ABOUT THIS WEEKEND?  “I think as you look at the world and you look at the way that things have changed over the last seven or eight weeks, you see a lot of changes in procedures, you see a lot of changes in the way that we’re preparing our race cars and the way that the guys work at the shop in shifts.  I could sit here and just go on and on about the way things are different, so I think for me it’s a different frame of mind that everybody is in and I think as you look it’s a much different situation than 2008, 2009 when we went through the financial crisis that we were in.  A lot of things changed when we came out of that and a lot of the things, a lot of the teams, a lot of things in the sport – businesses – everybody operated a lot differently for the most part as we came out of that.  To me, the same thing is going to happen here.  You’re going to operate differently.  I think, obviously, as we go through the screening getting into the race track, the screening during the week, all those things I think everybody expects right now because you’re seeing different businesses go back to work and the screenings that they’re doing that are required are just – that’s the way it is right now – but I think with all the meetings that I’ve been a part of at home and iRacing and the way that the teams are functioning there’s going to be some things that come out of this situation that are permanent and what those things are will start this weekend.  I don’t really know what it is or what they will be, but I think this weekend will be the start of a process that you kind of have to look around and say, ‘You know what, that wasn’t a bad idea.  We did it out of necessity to go in this race track and race and put on a show, but is that something we can carry forward?’  And I think that question is going to be asked a lot as we do things going forward.”

 

AS SOMEONE WHO REPRESENTS ATHLETES IN OTHER SPORTS ARE YOU AWARE THAT OTHERS WILL BE WATCHING TO SEE HOW NASCAR DOES IN THIS FIRST STEP?  HAVE YOU HAD ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT IT FROM OTHERS?  “Obviously, the eyes are on the sport, but we’ve already been through this – the UFC has already been in the ring.  Our fighter, Donald Cerrone has already been through the screening processes and we had Dana White on my Happy Hours radio show a couple weeks ago kind of explaining the thought process and why they didn’t go sooner and how the UFC and their world put all the pieces together in order to put their fighters back in the ring.  Obviously, they already had a fighter test positive and how they worked through that, so there has been some things that have already happened from the KHI Management side of things and how it was dealt with on the UFC side of things.  So we’ve already seen it with one of our athletes first-hand, so I think as you go into this weekend, obviously, our competitors and our crew guys and everybody who is at the race track needs to remind themselves when they leave their house that the world is watching and our country especially is watching and we need to make sure that we make all the right moves and when you look at the procedures and the precautions taken so far by NASCAR, our teams and just understand that there’s a personal responsibility that comes with each one of us to make sure that that goes as well as possible.  There are going to be a lot of things that are right and there are gonna probably be some things that are wrong, but I think that’s one reason that everybody is as cautious as they can be leading up to this race and trying to make sure that we cover all our bases to make sure that we do it as well as we can.  So it’s obviously not a normal situation, but I think our sport is much different than other sports as far as the interaction between the competitors and the way that things function, so with every driver and every person in that garage being treated like they have the virus and being compartmentalized and doing the things that it takes to keep our sport safe.  It’s not a locker room full of guys that are getting ready to go throw a ball around or have to have that interaction with each other on a weekly basis, so it’s a little bit different, but from our side of it we’ve already seen it work and I think our sport has done a good job to prepare us for this.  We’ve got 40 guys that need to make sure that they take it seriously from a driver’s side and a whole garage that will do the same.  I think we’ll do that.”

 

UFC OBVIOUSLY DID TESTING BEFORE THEIR EVENT.  ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH THE FACT THAT NASCAR IS NOT TESTING AND ONLY DOING A TEMPERATURE CHECK ON TRACK ENTRY?  “Well, I’m not gonna get punched in the face by anybody else or be put in a head lock or be directly in contact with any of my other competitors, so I think it’s a drastically different situation and I think when you look at the guidelines of entry and exit and temperature checks during the week, and all the logs and things of where people are and who they have interaction with, I think we have done what we need to do from what fits our sport the best.  It’s just a much different situation than other sports that actually have human to human contact and have to be in each other’s face and things of that nature.”

 

HOW DO YOU THINK IT WILL GO PHYSICALLY HAVE TO RACE AT A TRACK LIKE DARLINGTON TWICE IN JUST A FEW DAYS TIME?  “The thing that I can tell you is the first hot race of the year is always kind of a wakeup call for all of us as we’re in the car.  It definitely gets your body’s attention and at this point, for me, I’m used to heat training during the summer months and with all my outside training we do that in the hottest part of the day outside.  You also wind up in racing shape as you go through the season, but that first hot race always gets your attention.  I think this weekend is definitely going to be warm.  Everybody not having been inside the heat of the race car is definitely gonna be the hardest thing to deal with on the first race.  As you go into the second race it’s really just gonna come down to how you feel, paying attention to your hydration and the things that you’re going to need leading up to this weekend, through the race weekend, and just really get back into that recovery mode as fast as you can on Monday morning.  The thing about it is everybody should be fresh.  As you look at it, we were still pretty early in the season and then you have eight weeks or so that we had a break, so your body should be fresh and able to tolerate it, but it’s gonna catch up to you pretty quick if you get behind as you go Sunday-Wednesday, Sunday-Wednesday, Saturday-Wednesday.  It’s a lot, but I think as you look at it, it’s also something that most of us have done before.  A lot of times you race 300 miles on Saturday and 500-600 miles on Sunday in the Cup car and the XFINITY car, so I think that part of it will be fine.  Obviously, the Wednesday races are in the evening so the heat will be less of a factor than it probably will be this weekend, so definitely just have to keep up with it, but you will have some sore muscles and necks and shoulders and things as you go through this first one.”

 

HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK IT IS WE COME AWAY FROM THESE FIRST FEW RACES WITHOUT ANYONE TESTING POSITIVE FOR THE VIRUS?  “I don’t know that that is probably the actual goal of everybody is to obviously not have anybody test positive for it, but I think with the way that everything is laid out if somebody is tested positive for it, I think there’s a good plan in place to know where they’ve been, who they’ve been in contact with and the precautions that have been put in place to kind of build those walls so that if it does happen you have a good firewall built of trying to keep the people who have been exposed to it quarantined and the procedures that have been put in place are there to be able to deal with that, so I think it’s something that could happen.  I don’t know that it’s definitely not a make or break situation.  I think building in the possibility of that happening and the plans and in the procedures and understanding that that could happen before we get started was built into everything, so I can’t tell you whether it’s going to happen or not, but I can tell you that the plan is in place in case it does happen to make sure that we take the precautions that we need to keep it from spreading as much as possible.”

 

 

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang – WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE LIKE AT THE START OF THE RACE ON SUNDAY?  “I think it’s going to be a little tough jumping back into the swing of things after, I think I counted, 62 days off it will be and jumping in at probably the most difficult track that we go to and just lining up and racing, so that will be tough, but I feel like everyone will be pretty responsible getting going, being smart.  Even though it’s not a super-long race, you’ve still got time to work on your car, especially at the competition caution.  They’re giving a lot of time to kind of make wholesale adjustments if you need them, so I feel like everyone will take it easy for the first little bit, but, honestly, the muscle memory of everybody is pretty good, so once you get one run in and things like that I think we’ll be back to normal.”

WITHOUT PRACTICE OR QUALIFYING WILL THE START BE A DISADVANTAGE FOR YOU AND TOOD SINCE YOU’RE STILL TRYING TO LEARN EACH OTHER?  “Maybe a little bit.  I feel like a lot of people will be at disadvantages, just having the type of track it’s going to be, it’s going to be a green race track, so the track will change a lot throughout the day.  As far as me and Todd go, I feel like we’ve communicated great right off the truck at every track this year the first run of practice and I just kind of look at it like that.  It’s just a little bit different scenario because we will be racing people, but at the end of the day you’ve got to be able to quickly tell them what it’s doing to go work on it, so I don’t feel like it’s anymore of a disadvantage for us than anybody else out there with no practice time.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL AS FAR AS THE PROCEDURES NASCAR HAS PUT IN PLACE WITH A TEMPERATURE TEST AND NO COVID-19 TEST?  AND ARE YOU COMFORTABLE IF SOMEBODY GOT SICK THE SPORT COULD STILL GO ON?  “That’s a tough deal.  NASCAR has been doing a good job of putting some pretty good procedures in place to make sure everyone is healthy before we even get into the race track, and then throughout the weekend in quarantining the crew, the spotters, the drivers, the over-the-wall guys.  I think they’ve done a pretty decent job at it.  We’ve got a call with them tomorrow about some final procedures that are going on, which I’m looking forward to, but I feel confident in NASCAR.  We have to be really careful and safe, and I feel like everyone has been doing the best that they can in making sure that you don’t get sick and then expose other people, so I’m confident in the procedures that they have put in place for us and, hopefully, everyone is healthy and nothing happens in that way.”

WHAT IS YOUR RACE DAY ROUTINE GOING TO BE LIKE?  “I don’t think it will be really any different, whether you’re driving to the track being by yourself.  My family sometimes come to them, but my procedure won’t be any different.  You just get in the car on race day and you drive to the track.  The only thing different, obviously, is no practice or qualifying and not being able to go in the garage and not seeing all your guys.  That’s gonna be a little bit different.  The first time I’m gonna talk to them will be on the radio, so that will be a little bit different, but you’ve got to take it in stride.  You’ve got to understand what they’re trying to do and be safe, but as far as my routine goes it’s gonna be different, but you try to make it as normal as possible in getting yourself ready to go.”

HOW MUCH COMMUNICATION HAVE YOU HAD WITH YOUR CREW CHIEF?  “I’ve been talking to Todd a good bit.  We have a big group chat with all our team, trying to give everyone updates and see what everyone has been up to and how their families are doing and things like that, but we actually were able to go to the Ford sim last week.  It was very cautious the way we did it.  I felt like we did a good job of limiting people there and people in certain rooms, but it was nice to be able to talk to them in person from a distance for a little bit there at the Ford sim, but I think it’s been fine.  Obviously, it’s different not being able to go into the race shop, a lot of people haven’t been in the race shop in two months.  I went to the shop yesterday to sit in my Darlington car and we did it outside and it was me and one other person.  We were all facemasked up and making sure you were really safe, but I didn’t step foot in the shop.  That’s the way they have it right now, so it’s been a little odd but the communication has been the best it can be.”

ARE YOU CONCERNED OR DO YOU THINK OTHER DRIVERS ARE CONCERED ABOUT ALL THE GOING BACK AND FORTH FROM DARLINGTON AND CHARLOTTE ABOUT SPREADING THE VIRUS?  “I’m not really concerned if we stay safe, if we’ve been doing what we’ve been doing these past two months of being kind of locked in and quarantined – just being smart about it.  With the way it’s gonna go on Sunday, I’m gonna get to the race track that morning, sit in my motorhome, and then when it’s time to go out there I’m walking right to my car and when I’m done I’m walking right back.  There’s gonna be really limited contact and I feel like everyone is doing a lot of things to try to make sure everyone is safe, not only at the race track of testing everybody, but in our shop every day this past week.  When guys go into our race shop they test them just to make sure that they’re OK to be around a limited amount of people.  I’m not concerned.  I feel like we’re gonna do the best we can to try to make sure nothing spreads like that, but I don’t think the back and forth should cause a huge issue because I think everyone is gonna be pretty separated in their cars, on their personal vehicles and things like that.  You can only hope.  That’s what you hope for.  At the end of the day, you just have to be smart about everything and be as safe as you can.  NASCAR has been doing a good thing, I think, to keep it that way.”

WHERE ARE YOU NOW?  YOU’RE OUTSIDE AND IT LOOKS NICE.  “I’m in my yard.  If I’m in my house I don’t have any reception, so I have to step outside whenever I do calls.  I’ve got the perfect quarantine setup.  I’ve got a decent amount of land over here north of Mooresville.  My dog has been happy I’ve been home a lot, but just trying to figure out new things.  I’ve been at dad’s shop a little bit.  He’s got this new business building trailers that I’ve been helping him out with.  Around here I’ve got a decent amount of acres, so it keeps me busy just doing different little projects and things like that.  It’s been the best that it can be, but it’s been nice to finally count down the days here and weeks to finally get back racing.  You miss your crew guys.  That’s your second family and I miss seeing all those guys and their families.  It stinks.  I won’t be able to see half of them for a while, but it’s the best you can be.”

WITH NO PRACTICE IT’S GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE.  DO YOU FEEL ANY EXTRA PRESSURE TO NOT MESS THIS OPPORTUNITY UP?  “Like I said before, I think everybody is gonna be pretty cautious to make sure that doesn’t happen.  There are gonna be a lot of eyes on our sport and a lot of eyes that haven’t watched our sport maybe before.  I feel like it goes back to the iRacing deal and seeing all the people that maybe never watched or new eyes that haven’t watched racing before or them watching the iRacing thing.  I feel like when we’re gonna come back we’re one of the very, very few sports that are back and a lot of people are gonna be watching, so it’s gonna be a really big day on Sunday to make sure we put on a good show, not do anything too bad like going into turn one and wrecking 20 cars.  I feel like we’re all professional enough not to do that.  It’s a long race.  Everyone know what’s at stake of making not only NASCAR look good, but making our sponsors look good as well.  They’re going through hard times just like everybody else with their companies, so it’s really big that they’ve stuck with everybody and it’s really important to give them a good showing, too.  There’s always that possibility.  That’s the random factor where you never know what can happen, but I feel like at the same time all of us are going to be very courteous to one another, especially getting going, and making sure we don’t do anything foolish early on to make it look really bad.  But I have confidence in the whole field.  They’re all really good drivers and I think we’ll be ready to put on a good show.”

WHAT CHALLENGES ARE THERE GOING INTO RACE MODE WITH NO PRACTICE OR QUALIFYING?  “I think with all the simulation and technology we have nowadays, you go back and look at last year’s setup and cars and things like that, it’s the same package we ran last year so I feel like you can take that information and kind of transfer it over and say, ‘OK, this is how we started the race.  This is how we ended the race, so let’s go somewhere in between.’  Or what you think you’re gonna go.  Todd and my engineers have been working really hard on the sim stuff.  Ever since we figured out Darlington was gonna be our first race they’ve been working non-stop, really via the internet to kind of work on simulation and things like that.  It’s not like back 20 years ago when there really wasn’t any of that, so I feel like you have a little bit better idea just from the technology side of kind of how you need to be.  Now saying that, you could always be way off.  You never know what could happen as far as your setups, your track temp or your tires or things like that, but I feel like you can get it fairly close – you would hope at least – just because of all the technology and all the work that those guys have and just looking back at previous races and data and things like that.”

WILL YOUR QUARANTINE BEARD AND MUSTACHE STILL BE AROUND ON SUNDAY OR HAS TEAM PENSKE RELAXED ITS RULES?  “I was waiting on that.  I was gonna give it a shot and I have a video with Advance Auto Parts today that me and my dad are doing.  My dad specifically told me that if I had my moustache he would not do it, so I have to shave it.  He said, ‘I’m not sitting next to my son, who looks 10 years older than me.’  I was like, ‘Well, I was just trying to make you look younger, dad.’  He didn’t buy that, so it will not be there, unfortunately.  Oh, well.  It was fun while it lasted.”

Ron Fleshman

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2020, Issue 5, Posted 12:08 AM, 05.15.2020