| Your first race at Atlanta was back in February. So, seven months have passed and the weather is now a lot hotter and a lot more humid. How much does Atlanta change from late February to early September? “With it being in the South and as hot as it is this time of year, I think it’s going to change a lot. It would help if it was a night race, which would make things a lot cooler and would give us a little more grip. But it is what it is, and it’s the same for everybody. We’ve been racing in these conditions pretty much every week since the beginning of summer, so it’s just another week of keeping focused and mindful of our hydration all week and through the race weekend.” When you get to Atlanta, it’s just 10 more races until the season is over. What do you want to accomplish in these last 10 races at Stewart-Haas? “Being competitive and staying competitive is the main thing. We want to run top-15, top-10, top-five, maybe even sneak in a win before all is said and done. But bottom line, no matter how it happens, it would be great to send it out on a good note.” Now that you’ve run three Cup Series race on the current track configuration at Atlanta, how much does the racing at Atlanta emulate the racing you experience at Daytona and Talladega? “I would say Atlanta versus Daytona and Talladega, they’re the same but they’re different. They’re different because Atlanta is still a mile-and-a-half, so we’re restricted on horsepower, we’re wide open like a superspeedway, but the runs happen twice as fast. Handling is, by far, way more important than it would be at Daytona and Talladega. Not only that, it’s a lot tighter of a corner at Atlanta, so when you’re going into turn three and you’re three-wide and four-wide, it gets tight really quick.” Once again, single-car qualifying is all the track time you’ll have at Atlanta prior to Sunday’s race. How do you prepare for the race when you know so little about how your car will perform? “You go into it completely blind. There’s nothing like showing up at a racetrack and going green and not really having an understanding of where you’re going to be. I guess that really just emphasizes how close the tools you’re using are as far as making sure your car drives well. But, yeah, we’re going to be completely blind.” Is competing at Atlanta mentally taxing? “Well, it’s different than it used to be, for sure. It’s not like the old Atlanta where you had balance shifts and you were trying to take care of your tires. Now, it’s about positioning yourself in the right lane, and potentially you can see handling becoming an issue and people trying to hang onto the draft. It’s going to be very mentally taxing, so hopefully our cars are really fast. That fixes everything.” What do you need in your racecar to be fast at Atlanta? “You need downforce, you need horsepower, really you need everything. Ultimately, if someone asks me that question, I’d say you need the total package. If you don’t have a lot of horsepower, or a really good-handling racecar because it has plenty of horsepower but a lot of drag, you could potentially struggle.” Daytona and Talladega races are known to be a crapshoot, where there are so many things out of your control. Is that also the case at Atlanta, or are you still able to make a little bit of your own luck at Atlanta? “I feel like at Atlanta you can control your destiny a little more. Yeah, you’re going to have to have track position, but if you have a really good-handling racecar at Atlanta, you’re going to have a good day. At Daytona and Talladega, sometimes it’s just luck of the draw.” | 
