Describe what it meant to you to accomplish your personal mission by getting the U.S. Army to victory lane at New Hampshire last July?
“We’d tried so hard for two-and-a-half years to get the U.S. Army in victory lane. We’d been close, but we hadn’t been able to do it. It was disappointing because it’s a very personal and honorable thing to represent a million Soldiers, and we wanted to make them proud by getting their racecar into victory lane. When the checkered flag waved and I realized we had finally accomplished the mission of getting the U.S. Army a win, I was so happy. If it weren’t for the Soldiers who protect and serve our country, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. Carrying the American flag in my racecar after that win was very special and something I will never forget. I hope we can make them proud again this weekend.”
You have six poles and three wins at New Hampshire. What makes you so good at New Hampshire?
“That’s actually kind of funny because I used to say New Hampshire was my least favorite racetrack. But it’s far from that now. It’s still not my favorite racetrack, but I really look forward to coming back there each year. New Hampshire has always been a good place for me. I’m not 100 percent sure why. It’s the place of my first win, and when I hadn’t won in a long while, 70-some races, I won again there. Last July, we were able to qualify and finish 1-2 at Stewart-Haas. So, I really look forward to it, obviously. For whatever reason, and I still don’t know the answer as to why, I enjoy Loudon. New Hampshire was huge for our team and even bigger for our organization. I don’t know that I realized how big until the next day when I was doing interviews and someone told me the stat about the last time a team started 1-2 and finished in those exact positions. As much as I study the history of this sport, I was stunned by that stat and was really honored that I was part of something so big. We made that race ours. All the guys came together and made it happen. And I’m just really proud of what we accomplished.”
Why did you say New Hampshire was your least favorite racetrack?
“Loudon has just always been a difficult track to pass. And from a racecar driver’s standpoint, you want to go out there and say that, if I have a good car, I can go out there and start last and win this race. And you can’t always do that there. That’s just a rule of thumb and generic explanation for why it’s not perfect. Other than that, it’s short-track racing. It’s fun but it’s really difficult to pass, at times, there. It all depends on the tire they bring and how good your car is. To me, personally, I feel like I’m competitive as a driver at all the tracks but, obviously, it takes a good crew that understands the car and the track and strategy and everything else. We’ve just done well there. It’s clicked.”
What are the keys to running so well at Loudon?
“I think this track is the key place when it comes to being aggressive and patient all at the same time. There is a different style of driving that you have to have there. You can’t really be overaggressive at this racetrack. It’s kind of a combination of patience and aggressiveness. You want to take what the car will give you because the track is flat. With banking, the faster you go, the more it pushes the car down into the racetrack. We don’t have that there, so it’s just a matter of feeling that razor-blade-edge of grip and getting everything you can and I’ve been successful at it there. It’s kind of clicked with me since the beginning. I really like the racetrack and obviously know how to drive it, which is a big part of it. It’s a good place to start up front because it’s a short race, and it’s not the easiest place to pass.”
Assess where you are at this point in the season.
“Finishing the race at Daytona was so big for us on a lot of levels. I would like to think it will give us some momentum heading into this final stretch before the Chase. Loudon is a place where we at Stewart-Haas have done an awesome job in the past. We look forward to going there. The stretch going into Indy and, obviously, the Chase, it’s important.”
This weekend, you have the Army ROTC on your hood. Talk about that.
“I always say what an honor it is to represent a million Soldiers but, for me, it’s especially cool to carry the Army ROTC logo. As a college graduate, I value the importance of that education and, in my role with the U.S. Army, I talk to a lot of high school students about how valuable that education is. It’s special to have the Army ROTC on the car because the ROTC provides the youth of our nation multiple educational and leadership opportunities.”