BYRNES: Edwards New Crew Chief Chad Norris Opens Up

Camping World Trucks

BYRNES: Edwards New Crew Chief Chad Norris Opens Up

Quiroga, KBM announce truck-series deal on tonight’s NASCAR race hub.

Steve Byrnes | Posted July 18, 2012 Charlotte, NC

Chad Norris replaces Bob Osborne as crew chief on the No. 99 Ford driven by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Yesterday, it was announced that Chad Norris, the long-time head of Roush Fenway Racing’s R&D team, would replace Bob Osborne as crew chief on the No. 99 Ford driven by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Carl Edwards. Osborne, who stepped down due to health reasons, is remaining with Roush Fenway as part of senior management.

Norris spoke with NASCAR Race Hub co-host Danielle Trotta about the switch.

Also, three-time NASCAR Mexico Series champion German Quiroga announced on NASCAR Race Hub tonight that he’s reached an agreement to drive in four races for the Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) Camping World Truck Series operation starting with the Oct. 6 race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Quiroga joined co-host Steve Byrnes in studio, discussing his new opportunity:

Danielle Trotta: You get the phone call, your Carl Edwards new crew chief. What’s the first thing you have to address?

Chad Norris: Really, just getting over here and getting to know the guys. And to see the cars and see what’s prepared already. Bob (Osborne) and his entire team (have) done a great job so far this year. So it’s just really about getting over here, getting with the guys, game plan to go to Indy and go there, and try and get a victory.

Trotta: Given Carl’s numbers so far this year, was the change inevitable?

Norris: I don’t think so. I don’t know the situation with Bob. Out of respect for him, I’ll let him do what he needs to do there, and I don’t really know what happened behind the scenes, but I’m super-excited for this opportunity to come aboard with Carl and try to get this car in The Chase.

Trotta: When they asked you to step on the box, what is it about Chad Norris that makes you ready for this job?

Norris: I’ve spent my time here. I’ve taken advantage of all the opportunities that they gave me to go win races with some Nationwide Series programs that we had. Some one-off programs that we had; some opportunities last year… I’ve been back in R&D working, just hard work, really.

Trotta: When you speak with Carl. What is at the top of his priority list? What does he want Chad Norris to come in here and make sure get done?

Norris: I think he just wants to make sure all the details get taken care of. We’ve probably got to over-communicate a little bit, and say things twice, just to make sure were both on the same page. We’re both kind of committed here to doing that for the first seven, so we don’t make a mistake down the road, and make a decision that might cost us some points or a victory.

Trotta: There’s millions of dollars on the line from sponsors, with incentives, to make The Chase. That’s a lot of pressure. How do you deal with it?

Norris: Well, the good thing is, Carl is one of the best in the business. I wouldn’t want to go into this fight with anybody else out there. So that’s a big helper on my side of the deal here. We’re just going to go out and do our best, put our heads down for the next seven weeks and go do what we know how to do. Win races, get in The Chase and fight for it at the end.

(Steve Byrnes interviewed German Quiroga on his opportunity with Kyle Busch Motorsports)

Steve Byrnes: Tell us about this opportunity.

German Quiroga: We’ve been working for a long period of time, about five months on this project. I wanted to race in the Truck Series since the beginning of the year, but we couldn’t find sponsorship. Finally, we got this opportunity from Net10, and I’m very committed to racing the Truck Series and the full schedule. I left everything I had in Mexico, my championships (and) expectations there, to race my way up to the next level.

Byrnes: Committed enough to move to the United States.

Quiroga: Yes. I quit racing in Mexico. I was focusing to really get to the Truck Series, so I stayed here and it paid off.

Byrnes: You have a long background in motorsports, not only in Mexico, but in other places as well. What was it about the Truck Series and NASCAR in general, that you said that’s where I want to be?

Quiroga: The last five years of my career, I’ve been working on (the) NASCAR Mexico Series. Then, three championships in a row, I had a great team. I knew if I wanted to go a step farther, I needed a great team to do it with. So I started working with KBM and last year we did two races, and I learned a lot. I know it’s going to be tough (in) the beginning. KBM is a great team, with experience. I’ve been working with Kyle (Busch), with Kurt (Busch), I’ve been going to the races in the Nationwide and the Trucks, and that’s helping me a lot. When I get into the truck, I’m going to be good.

Byrnes: Is it hard to be patient right now? I mean, racers want to race every day if they can.

Quiroga: It’s very hard, but it’s NASCAR. NASCAR is about being very patient, it’s not about being the fastest guy – one lap. I think I’ve learned a lot the past few years.

Byrnes: Why Talladega? What is it about that track?

Quiroga: I don’t know. When I heard it was going to be Talladega… at the beginning I thought it was going to be Daytona at the beginning of the year. I thought that was going to be – not easy. But Talladega, I think it’s… I’m going to have fun and I’m starting, watching the most races I can on the superspeedways. I know it’s going to be very, very difficult, but I got to get the experience, and I have to be comfortable at those speeds, going around many other trucks with rookie (and) experienced guys. I have to learn how to do it. If we have a full-time sponsor for next year, which I hope we can, starting (with) Daytona, I think we can do well.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Byrnes

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