| Once you began having success at Richmond, did it make a climb on the list of tracks you like? “I’ve always really liked it, to be honest. From the first time I raced there in 2003, I’ve always enjoyed the track. There was a long period where I didn’t have great numbers there, but I felt like I loved the track and always ran well there and had a lot of crazy things happen there throughout my career. Once I got to Furniture Row (Racing), we started leading a ton of laps there. We also had a couple of heartbreaking finishes there where we should have won the race but didn’t, and I wondered if it was ever going to happen. Then we went on a streak there, so it’s been a great track and it’s a ton of fun. We had a great run going there in the spring and thought we had a shot at winning, then we were down a set of tires and the cautions didn’t go our way. I think we’ve improved our program a ton and have been putting on a show at some of the short tracks and places like Richmond. I hope for myself and my team we can get our Bass Pro Shops Toyota back in victory lane there like we’ve done before. We had such a dominant run there in the spring and the caution came out and our race went haywire from there. Would like to get back out front and stay there on Sunday.” How do you view Richmond and your success there? “The wins stick out as usual. Everywhere, the wins are huge. That place has been really, really good for us. And also very frustrating with the amount of times when we’ve dominated and came up short, including this season. It’s a very unique track, very old school track. Tire wear, you have to manage your stuff and that really plays into my strengths. It’s going to be different this time around with the tire combination from what we had in the spring. Going to have to figure out how to recapture it and hopefully come up with something that worked like it has in the past.” This weekend at Richmond NASCAR is offering an option tire much like it experimented with at North Wilkesboro in May. What are your thoughts on the option tire and how it could change the racing at Richmond this weekend? “The problem with options like that on a tire in the Cup garage is that everyone is so smart and people are on the same agenda. You are going to have to see a very specific set of circumstances to decide to put the soft tire on. You’re not going to be in the middle of a green-flag run and make a pit stop to pass a few cars because you’re going to wear them out and be in trouble. Tire wear at Richmond is a huge deal and most of the field is going to be on the same strategy until it comes down to some special circumstances. There’s still the potential that it could make some interesting things happen, it just depends on how the race plays out. You get a restart with 10 laps to go and everyone is going to put the soft tires on, and if it’s the end of the stage, then everyone is going to put the hard tires on like normal. We’ll just have to see how it plays out.” What are the challenges that come with racing at Richmond? “I love the track, it’s great. Been very successful there, especially lately with our Bass Pro Shops Camry. Been lucky enough to win some races there. I really enjoy the track because it’s kind of unique. It’s a short track, but it races like a bigger track than it is. You can really move around there the way the tires wear out and the track is really slippery, and that makes it fun and a challenge, and it’s always a good race for the fans.” | 
