01/19/2005

You’ve just been announced as one of the drivers for the No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Busch Series. What are your thoughts?

“I’m very lucky to be given such a great opportunity. I know how hard it is to get to this level, and how many talented drivers never get a shot. I’m going to do everything I can to make the most of it, and to make everyone at Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe’s and its vendor partners proud for giving me this chance.

“It’s an opportunity I’ve always worked for, and I’m going to be able to work with good people and be in good equipment.”

What are your goals in the No. 5 car this season?

”Brian (Vickers) and Kyle (Busch) gave me big shoes to fill. They had a couple of good years there. Looking at my inexperience, just starting off and working toward putting the thing in the top-10, and then work our way up and hopefully we can win a few races.”

What is your biggest challenge at this point of the season?

“The newest challenge for me is representing an organization the size of Hendrick Motorsports and all their employees and also a company the size of Lowe’s and their vendor partners and all their employees. In a way, I’m looking forward to it, but it also adds a little bit of pressure.”

You’ve got a veteran crew chief in Jim Long. How helpful will that be to you as a rookie?

“I don’t think you can put a value on how much Jim will be able to teach both Boston and myself. I mean, he’s been doing this long enough that he can predict a lot of things we’re going to encounter and can hopefully help us from making some of the more obvious mistakes. I plan on keeping my eyes open and my mouth shut and learning as much from him as I can.”

How do you deal with that pressure? Do you just block it out?

“It’s hard to block out. I think it’s always there. I’ve always put more pressure on myself than I think I should at some times. I think it’s always something you’re going to have to deal with, so I just try not to think about it. So much of this sport is based on confidence, so as your confidence rises, if you have a good run one week, your confidence rises and then that makes the next week easier, and I don’t tend to put as much pressure on myself then.”

Didn’t you come from an open wheel racing background?

“Yeah, it was open wheel. I started in quarter midgets when I was 10, then started racing winged sprint cars in 1999 and worked my way up to running with the World of Outlaws part time. Then Jimmy Spencer gave me the name of a guy in Indianapolis who knew a lot of people down here, and that was Charlie Patterson. He knew Ken Howes at Hendrick Motorsports and in short, that’s how I got my foot in the door at Hendrick.”

Can you compare driving a World of Outlaws sprint car to driving a Busch Series car?

“It’s kind of like comparing apples and oranges. The sprint cars, everything happens pretty fast. You’re on dirt and you drive more on reaction than you do thinking and planning. And they’re shorter races. You have to get all you can get for those 30 or 40 laps. In the Busch cars, they’re a lot longer races you’re on pavement. A lot more strategy and thinking goes into racing the Busch car.”

Are you going to have to train yourself any differently driving the Busch car versus driving a sprint car?

“In the World of Outlaws car, I had to build up my upper body and get stronger. In the Busch car, I think it’s not so much muscle strength as it is preparation. You have to start preparing on Wednesday for the race (on Saturday) and make sure you’re properly hydrated. I think hydration is probably the biggest thing, because when you get dehydrated, muscle fatigue and mental fatigue come into play.”

Who were your racing heroes as you were growing up?

“My heroes were sprint car drivers, mainly. Steve Kinser, Jack Hewitt and Danny Lasoski and guys like that.”

Tentatively, the first race you’re scheduled to drive the No. 5 in 2005 is at Atlanta Motor Speedway. What are your thoughts on that track?

“I like Atlanta. I didn’t run very well there when I was there last year (in the No. 00 Chevrolet), but we get to go test there, so I’m looking forward to the test. That will be the first time I get to slide in (the seat of) that No. 5 car. I’m looking forward to the test probably, right now, more so than the race. Then once I get the test behind me, I’ll look forward to the race.”

Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of the fastest tracks in NASCAR. What’s it like for a young driver to strap into a car and make a qualifying lap around that place?

“Last year, it was a little difficult for me, just because I had never been there and we didn’t test there. I think you realize the speed, but then again, once you’ve been there and once you’ve been through practice, that kind of goes away. You don’t necessarily realize how fast you’re going. It’s a tough track, and the old surface is kind of coming into play where you need a lot of horsepower, but you really need the car to handle well, too. Hopefully at the test we can get the cars dialed in.”

After Atlanta, you’re tentatively scheduled to drive the No. 5 at Bristol Motor Speedway. What are your thoughts on that place?

“I liked it. I ran a World of Outlaws race there on dirt when they hauled dirt in. I had a lot of fun doing that. It was extremely fast in a sprint car, so I’m looking forward to going back. When I ran the Outlaw race there, I looked up and it’s such an amazing place with the size of the stands and everything. I thought it would be really cool if I could get to race there sometime in a stock car with all of the fans of NASCAR and having that place full. I’m looking forward to it.”