Q. Kurt, we’re going to start off today, before we go to media, got a good question from a fan via NASCAR’s Twitter account. The fan is Eddie in Laurel, Maryland. Eddie wants to know that it looks like there are at least nine drivers right now that have a pretty good shot of coming up with the series championship. What do you think your chances are of being the guy?
KURT BUSCH: I think Eddie’s right. There are still plenty of guys that have a legitimate shot at this. And ours is still very high with our team at Penske Racing. We feel like the first couple of races have gone very well.
To finish 11th at Kansas was a bit off for us, but we struggled on pit road. We had loose wheels and the last adjustment we made on our Miller Lite Dodge didn’t allow us to take advantage of the double restarts at the end. So we still find ourselves in a great position. You just don’t want to have that bad race early on and have to dig out of a hole.
Q. I want to ask you about your future teammate Brad Keselowski. On the TV broadcast of the Kansas race, they were saying that NASCAR had asked Brad to kind of tone it down a little bit. He was maybe getting a little too aggressive around the Chase drivers. Is that something that NASCAR has been asking of other drivers? Or should all 43 guys have the same amount of chance to go out there and be as aggressive as they feel they need to be?
KURT BUSCH: I love the fact that NASCAR is looking at Brad and telling him to back it down. That means he’s fast. That means he’s right in the mix with the frontrunners, and he’s got a great car right now. The car that he has at Hendrick.
And the lack of experience is the only thing that NASCAR is concerned about. They don’t want him taking away a championship effort of one of the chase drivers by slipping up and doing something that he shouldn’t, so they’re a bit concerned.
But I think he’s great that he’s fast and in the mix. And he’s a smart enough guy that he can figure out where he needs to step in or step out of the way of a Chase driver.
Q. How do you feel about him as a teammate for next year?
KURT BUSCH: I think it will definitely help our program mature and develop with better feedback and information that can come across the board. Just having that young, youthful exuberance will definitely be an addition to our program.
Q. I wanted to ask you how do you prepare for a race, and what are you doing afterwards in the sense that I hear some drivers talk about watching tape of previous races before going to an event like they’d watch the California race before this weekend. I’ve even heard of drivers get on on computers and fill out notes, writing notes to themselves as much as on the plane after a race, things like that. What is your prep work before and what do you do kind of after a race?
KURT BUSCH: Yeah, before a race you’re looking at videotape, like you say. And you recall races of recent past to help you decide which set up changes you need to make. You go through the notebooks as far as what did you do recently at this racetrack, what are the general trends of the race team right now?
California Speedway, it’s a two mile racetrack. You’re always concerned about speed at that racetrack as well as handling. You just try to go over as many notes as you can that really. When you get to the racetrack you have a good understanding of what are the key things you need to focus on.
This time around, it’s the first time for us to go to California Speedway, Auto Club Speedway in October. Conditions will be cooler. Track will probably most likely be faster. After the race, you go through notes on what worked, what didn’t work. Where were some of the team’s weaknesses, and how can we advance ourselves for the next week. Even if you win, you’re looking to find different ways to be better.
Q. Also want to ask you go back to the first question that was asked about the Chase and non Chase guys racing. And I just want to make sure I have it clear. I know you’ve been on both sides since the Chase was created. Do the non Chase guys need to be more aware of the chase guys or more cautious of them. Is that something that when you were in the Chase that you tried to do? Where’s that balance in racing each other and respecting each other in that sense? Can you explain that, please?
KURT BUSCH: We’re all out there still racing each other very competitively. It’s a matter of the respect factor if you’re a non Chase guy. You in a sense this past weekend David Reutemann is a non Chase guy. And he blitzed up there through there at the end. Got up on the high side of Mark Martin. Passed Mark and went on to pass other guys.
He has every right to do so. It’s just in the back of your mind you’re hoping that he is conscious and aware of who he is racing around.
It just so happened that the Top 10 were all chase guys except him. So you know he’s going to do a good job. But in the back of your mind when I was a non Chaser, you definitely want to give a couple extra inches to those Chase guys when they’re out on the track.
Q. I’m doing a story on radio communication. It’s so crucial between the driver and the crew chief to have that communication right so that during the race for the car adjustments. How long does it typically take for a driver and a crew chief to get comfortable and get a chemistry with each other? And at the same time, drivers by nature get very excited and emotional during races. Is there ever any concern that the crew chief doesn’t have thick enough skin to handle those moments?
KURT BUSCH: Well, I feel like it takes at least ten races or so, and going through the different styles of racetracks to get that communication level. Daytona’s obviously different than Martinsville. And Bristol will be different than at Texas when you start the season off.
So whether it’s a new group that’s just getting together or a group that’s been together for a long time, it just gets back to that relationship that you have with the crew chief in handling the heat of the moment battles. And a guy like I have Pat Tryson, he’s definitely very animated, and has a very strong sense of what needs to happen and what the driver is going through out on the racetrack.
So the communication is great between him and I, and the group that we have. It gets back to that old saying, if it gets too hot in the kitchen and you can’t handle the heat, you need to get out. Because it is the heat of the moment and you have to get your job done pretty quick when it comes to making calls.
Q. Does it work for everyone that way? This, for example, this past week Jeff Gordon was very, very upset about the handling of his car. And Steve Letarte stayed very, very calm. Is everybody different? Can some guys get pushed back by a crew chief, and others it doesn’t work with, others need someone calm?
KURT BUSCH: Yeah, it works different for everybody. You’re going to have a rookie driver with a veteran crew chief. You could have a rookie crew chief with a veteran driver. You can have all different types of combination with different demeanors and the way they handle things.
Ultimately, it gets down to the car’s success, and how they’re able to get to victory lane or turn a bad day into a good day. Out there in the heat of battle, things get said and are twisted around, but at the end of the day you put your arm around the guy and say what do we need to do next week to be better?
Q. A follow up on a question about when you’re not in the Chase. What is that like? I mean, it seems like all the media focus is on the drivers in the Chase for these last ten races. When you’re not in it, do you feel like an outcast riding around? I know you’re still racing to win and everything, but is it a tough situation to be in?
KURT BUSCH: No, not at all. I still think it’s a great opportunity to do a number of things. One is to just throw yourself into position to try to win. Whether it’s staying out on a pit stop or short pitting for fuel. Then there is the next scenario of using those final ten races to advance your program for the upcoming season.
There are guys this year that didn’t make the Chase that are running very competitively: Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, David Reutemann. They’re making names and waves out there just as they would if they were in the Chase.
So plenty of action going on all the way around. Usually your top 15 to 20 guys, which is just normal during the regular season.
Q. I wanted to ask a question or two going off the news that Yates and Petty are merging teams, and Roush is going to have more cars to take data from next year just like Hendrick does with Stewart Haas this year. As a driver for a two car team, do you see that as putting you at any sort of disadvantage?
KURT BUSCH: Well, we have a three car program, so I hope that gives us another bullet in the gun. But, it does put us behind, especially with the way that there is no testing. The testing policy is definitely handcuffed some of the smaller teams because there’s not that much information coming back in every Sunday from the racetrack.
So, yeah, Hendrick Motorsports and Haas have a great combination. I can’t speak on what information travels between the two. But with Yates’ situation, along with RPM merging with the Roush program, obviously those Fords will all be able to share their information. That puts all their eggs in one basket, but it gives eight cars the ability to transfer information. So it’s the right move for them.
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