Toyota NCWTS Atlanta Post-Race Recap - 2.24.18

BRETT MOFFITT, No. 16 AISIN Atlanta Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing
> Finishing Position: 1st
> What does this win mean to you?
> “First of all I have to thank Shige (Hattori, team owner), AISIN, TRD  and Mark Cronquist and JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) engines and just everyone out here. This is unbelievable to even be in a race car at this point let alone in victory lane. We had a really good truck all night and Kyle (Busch) spun his tires earlier and that put us back, but I knew the 13 (Myatt Snider) was a sitting duck (on the final restart) and I just wanted to get a good restart. Hopefully they got into a battle behind us and they did – it’s pretty surreal.”
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> How were you able to make the move on the final restart?
> “It was crazy, we ended up at the perfect spot at the perfect time. Without these tools, I wouldn’t have been able to be up there, but we had a really good Tundra all night and we were just fighting track position all night. We were able to drive right by people and it was a hell of a night.”
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> Did you expect to be this strong early in the season?
> “I thought we would be good, I didn’t know we’d be that good. Every time I get to work with these guys – Scott Zipadelli (crew chief) and Mike Grecci (general manager), they just do an amazing job. I can’t thank all our partners enough and those guys for just busting their tail all winter not knowing who was going to drive it and thankfully it was me.”
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> How were you able to get such a big lead on the final restart?
> “I was wide open for two laps there and I knew once I got clear I would be able to be wide open and thankfully they got side-by-side behind us and that opened up the gap even more.”
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> What does it mean to be locked into the Playoffs?
> “That’s a hell of a way to start the year right there.”
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> What does this early success mean for your season?
> “I expected to be good, Shige (Hattori) has put all the right people in the right places and we don’t have the biggest shop and we don’t have the most trucks, but he’s made damn sure we have the right people all the way down to the pit crew and they did a great job all night too. I knew we would be successful, I just didn’t think it would  be this early.”
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> Why are you so good at Atlanta Motor Speedway?
> “I’m liking it, that’s for sure. It’s close to home – my second home in North Carolina and the old asphalt is just fun. You have  to be really strict with your line and we made a lot of passes tonight because we were able to move around and be strict with the bottom and hook that yellow line in three and four, I was able to make up a lot of ground there and get around people.”
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> What keeps you motivated?
> “It’s extremely difficult, I’ve always been told that you have the talent and we’d really like to have you, but we need the  funding to go along with it and that’s the part that I haven’t been able to offer too much. To make due with the opportunities I’ve had, I feel like I’ve been able to show my talent, whether it’s in the Cup Series or the Xfinity Series a couple years ago filling in for (Matt) Tifft with Zippy as my crew chief and we had a lot of success then. A lot of the motivation comes from my father because he went through some really tough times in life while I was growing up and I  would have never knew it, just how strong he was and how motivated he is to build his business back up. He’s the one that always tells me to keep digging and we’ll have the opportunity, that’s what keeps me motivated.”
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> SHIGE HATTORI, team owner, Hattori Racing Enterprises
> What does this win mean to the race team?
> “It’s just so emotional – everybody, Scott (Zipadelli, crew chief) and all the team members did a good job. Brett (Moffitt), he did our first K&N win and now our first truck win. I’m just so happy.”
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> SCOTT ZIPADELLI, crew chief, No. 16 AISIN Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises
> What advice did you offer Brett on the final restart?
> “Actually I didn’t give him a lot of advice, I told him that he knew exactly what to do  and on channel two I was talking with our spotter and I knew the only option we had was to push the 13 and then go to the bottom and go three-wide and clear him. He did exactly what I was thinking and that plan turned out pretty well.”
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> How did you feel the OEM engine in your truck stacked up tonight?
> “It is a little sensitive and that’s a really tough question. It’s inevitable that we’re going to have to change, that seems like the direction we’re going to have to go. When we’re going to go there, it’s probably not too far away. At times I felt like the NT1 had an advantage and then I felt like our truck on the initial takeoff, it felt like our engine by Mark Cronquist was really strong. I think both engines could run competitively throughout the season at every race track if there was some little tweaks – now I think we’re close. I know Ben Kennedy is probably not going to want to talk to me Monday about the engine anymore. He came down to victory lane and jokingly said that. We’re happy with the OEM engine, we’re accepting change and if it helps our business model long term and we’re able to keep racing and balance the budget then we’ll be there.”
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> How hectic was your off-season when you had to make the driver adjustment?
> “It was very hectic when we learned that Ryan (Truex) was leaving and I’ll be honest, Brett (Moffitt) was the top of my list and Mr. Hattori knows that because we’ve talked about it several times over and over and I think we all felt the same way,  we just had to figure out how we were going to do it. We fielded tons of meetings with other potential drivers and took up most of our month in January and February, but we did everything we possibly could to get him in our truck and look what we did and look why we did it, we worked really hard for that. I think we have good chemistry together and this is one of those nights when you laugh. We were running third and then we win, tonight was easy and these are the nights we look forward to in the future.”
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> NOAH GRAGSON, No. 18 Safelite Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
> Finishing Position: 2nd
> Where did you come from on that last restart?
> “I came from ninth. And I think I was in second halfway down the back straight away on that first lap. It was pretty hectic there at the end. I made a mistake there on pit road that cost us probably a position or two but everything happens for a reason. Restarting ninth and coming all the way to second and that’s that.”
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> Did you feel a disadvantage in your motor?
> “No, honestly I felt like we had a really fast Safelite Auto Glass Toyota Tundra all day and really all weekend. Yesterday, we just tried to get the tires – that was our biggest concern for me. It was keeping that tire life on it and having everything there. I felt like we were one of the best trucks here. Practice went really well, qualified good and raced at the beginning good. I just didn’t get the job done.”
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> How important was it for you to have a good run tonight heading to Las Vegas next week?
> “I felt like keeping that momentum throughout the practices yesterday and just with my feedback, and getting to know my crew chief Rudy Fugle, and trying to learn that communication was the biggest thing. I feel like that will help when we get to Las Vegas where I have one start under my belt there. I am really excited to get there. Just in the race, I need to go back. I felt like I prepared really good this weekend. I watched a ton of film and talked to Christopher (Bell) a lot. I really just tried to focus a lot on what I can do this weekend. Just need to get better. I am disappointed in myself overall throughout the race on my feedback with Rudy and the race. I need to execute better personally. It’s good having a second-place finish. We weren’t there on that last restart – we kind of just made things happen at the end. But just need to execute better in the middle stages so I can be up on that second and third row, and have that shot to win the race.”
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> Did you hope for the best there at the end tonight?
> “It was a green-white-checkered. Two laps. I basically had in my mind it’s time to yank the belts tight and get on the gas pedal and get there at the end. Try and get after it as much as I can. I think I was on the apron in Turn 1 next to Stewart Friesen in four or five wide. It was crazy. Just held the pedal down, and stab and steer type of deal, and hope for the best. Racing (Johnny) Sauter, I was pretty loose there on that last lap, barely edged him out. I am not sure how close it was but finished second so it’s better than third.
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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 2018, Issue 2, Posted 9:52 PM, 02.24.2018