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Every time we get into the playoffs, they're able to step up a notch.
They find a little bit more whenever the stakes are highest.
We want to control our own destiny. It does feel like it's gotten harder to do that.
Well, Christopher Bell, you got back into victory lane this weekend with what was a very, I guess I could just call it a very intriguing race.
But look, it looked kind of like one of those dry slick sprint car races where you were waiting for the right rear tire to blow out,
hoping that you weren't too hard on it.
I'm not very good at that. Never done that. So you'll have to tell me if that's a fair assessment.
Kevin, that is honestly a very good analogy. Yes, a very good analogy.
And I think it caught everybody in the industry off guard.
You know, I just, I don't even know what to say about Bristol Motor Speedway now.
Like you just never know what you're going to get whenever you show up.
Yeah, we were talking during the week and I kind of took some crap for saying that we should always race in the middle of the afternoon.
And I bet you they were wishing that they raced in the middle of the afternoon.
It's just wild to see how temperature sensitive that car.
So you talk about it catching you off guard.
At what point you run that first run and then you get about halfway through it, I assume.
And you're like, holy crap, this is not how we need to be racing.
Is that kind of when you, when you started realizing that you were at a different ballgame than practice?
So I went back and listened to my radio transcript from, from the race.
And it was like lap 15 to 20, where I started picking up on it.
And it would, I don't know, there were just a couple of moments inside of the car that, that felt bizarre.
And like I had a couple of slides a couple of times where the front end took off.
And the grip just felt really peaky.
And a couple of those moments happened.
And then I'm, I'm starting to pay, starting to look, I'm like, man, the track's not taking any rubber.
And then I'm looking up the race track and I, there, there, you can start to see more marbling.
And I'm like, Oh no, we're, we're heading down this path really early.
And, and fortunately, I think I was on the earlier side of catching it.
And I was able to extend that first run a little bit longer than, than, you know, some of the front runners.
But yeah, certainly the entire field took off with, with, you know, pace in mind, not tire management.
Yeah, it was definitely intriguing.
But in the end, you guys, you guys made it, made it work out.
And I want to talk about your cars.
These first three weeks of the playoffs, I mean, you guys at Joe Gibbs racing in Toyota in general have just been, been lights out.
Did you see that, that position of, of strength coming as you guys started the playoffs?
You know, I can't say that I did.
I, that's one thing that I'm really proud of for driving for Toyota Joe Gibbs racing is it feels like every time we get into the playoffs, they're able to step up a notch.
And a lot of people talk to the Pinsky cars and say that the Pinsky cars, you know, sandbag through the regular season and then they show up with the best stuff in the playoffs.
And you can see that a little bit, but I definitely feel the same thing from our group.
Like, not that we're sandbagging in the regular season, but there's just, they find a little bit more whenever the, whenever the stakes are highest.
And, you know, it was, it was just a great start to the playoffs for our company.
And I'm super proud of, you know, Toyota for putting all the resources into, you know, getting better.
And, and even Joe Gibbs racing with, with their success with Denny and Chase Briscoe and, you know, Ty had a great race at Bristol too.
It very easily could have been him in victory line.
So I look back at, and I know that you've probably answered this question a million times, but I've, I feel like I've been in the position that you were last week.
Super frustrated with where you finished and the way that things, things were going.
He had the early streak at the beginning of the year.
Explain to the fans just the difference between knowing that you have cars that can win and not capitalize on those moments and that frustration and how it boils over and how you guys went from the frustration last week to fixing it during the week to just going back on the racetrack.
How does that go with you and Adam?
Yeah, it, uh, man, I don't even, I don't even really know what to, or how to start with it. But, you know, it's that our teammates have been doing so well that it was clear and obvious that we have the tools we have the downforce we have the horsepower.
We have the equipment to win races and lead laps and that's where we want to be. That's what we need to be doing. That's where whenever I say we, I say myself, Adam, this entire 20 group, like we want to be winning races, we need to be leading laps and we haven't been able to do that.
And our teammates are showing us that the equipment is capable of doing it. So, you know, it was, it was week after week after week of just not living up to our expectations and obviously getting frustrated with that that led to, you know, the blow up a gateway.
And whenever we went down or whenever we talked about it on, or last week going into Bristol, you know, Adam, he opened my eyes a little bit and he said, look, where we want to be and where we are is not really that far apart.
Like we're really close and it didn't feel like that in the moment. But then this week at Bristol, it proved it. And, you know, any week, any given week, we can show up to the racetrack and have a shot at it.
We just have to have to put it all together.
Yeah. And, you know, for me, when I drove the next gen car and watching over the over the last couple of years, I feel like it's almost streaky. And there's so many things that have become out of your control, the circumstances, the cars being closer together.
All those things happen.
That's the frustrating part, Kevin. That's the frustrating part. Like, you know, and I think all of the drivers would be unified in that is, is we want to control our own destiny.
We want to be able to, if we have a bad day, we should run bad. If we have a good day, good car, like we just want to control our own destiny and it does feel like it's gotten harder to do that within the last, you know, certainly couple years.
So what are the strengths as you go forward everywhere because right now it appears Joe Gibbs racing is everywhere.
Yeah, I mean, I think that the schedule lays out really good for us. I don't see a weakness in the in the schedule, except for Talladega. And, you know, I would feel a little bit better about Talladega.
If it wasn't in the round of eight, but with that being said, you can kind of look at it with two different viewpoints, right? It's, it's not notoriously been a great track for the Toyota group and, you know, Joe Gibbs racing, but
especially since next gen. But with that being said, there is going to be a lot more opportunity for a non playoff car to win, which will open up another point spot to get into that championship event.
So, you know, I think everybody probably feels the same thing. But if I was a Pinsky guy, I'd be happier than what I am right now for sure.
Yeah, they definitely, they definitely run well on the super speedways, but haven't brought that, they haven't brought that magic to the playoffs this year. So last question before we let you go, anything outside a cup?
Are we just all cup races through the end of the year? No sprint cars, midgets, anything?
No, no, definitely no more, no more dirt track racing through Phoenix. There's a couple opportunities after Phoenix, but I'm kind of undecided on if I want to take a break or I want to keep going.
Yeah. Well, I'm happy that my, that my sprint car analogy was at least somewhat in the ballpark to start this, but it's, it's been fun to watch the progression of where everything went on Saturday night.
And you guys came back on top and I know you guys got on a hot streak at the beginning of the year. So this, maybe this is the beginning of another hot streak for that 20 team.
So good luck through the rest of the year and thanks for taking the time today.
Thank you, Kevin.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Switch today at QuantumFiber.com.
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