NASCAR '12: The Rise to the Cup

[b
The newest addition to Roush-Fenway Racing joined NASCAR Race Hub, talking with Steve Byrnes. You can find a small recap below, as Anderson talks about his Sprint Cup Debut in a few weeks at Daytona.
January 18th, 2012

Steve Byrnes: “You have pulled off a very interesting concept for your paint scheme for Chick-Fil-A.”

Matthew: [laughs] “Yeah, we really have. It was a joint effort in coming up with a great looking for the car, Chick-Fil-A really left it up to the team to decide what to do. Once we ran the idea by them, they loved it and thought it was a cool concept.”

Steve Byrnes: “Daytona is going to be your first Sprint Cup start, you've already got a big sponsor [Chick-Fil-A] on board, how did it all came about?”

Matthew: “Lately, many sponsors want to be on the big name drivers, which is understandable, but for Chick-Fil-A to jump on board my first Sprint Cup Season is amazing. I was in all of the meetings, which was great because I'm not wanting to be a driver who just shows up to race. I'm wanting to emerge myself in the sport, so to play a role in getting them into the sport, is great.”

Steve Byrnes: “We're a few weeks away from the 500, have you been looking for advice from your team?”

Matthew: “Of course, they have been a huge help in trying to get me ready, mentally. Carl [Edwards] has been fantastic with showing me the ropes, so to speak. They knew I didn't have any cup experience, so Carl and I went out to Charlotte [Motor Speedway] along with our teams to turn a few laps, just to get me use to being in the car. They didn't want it to be a huge shock at Daytona just being in the car.”

Steve Byrnes: “Roush-Fenway had a great year last year, coming so close to bringing him the championship, but not being able to do it. What is the mindset of the team heading into the new season?”

Matthew: “I think everyone has the same goal, which is to just be consistent enough to be a major player in the chase. There are some teams that, I think, go out there and worry about just themselves which makes their team suffer. I'm not going to let me ego get in the way and I think the entire Roush-Fenway team has the same mindset. ”

Steve Byrnes: “There are a lot of people who have knocked you for skipping the NationWide Series, saying you're not ready for the Sprint Cup. What is your response to them?”

Matthew: “It's not like I came straight into the Sprint Cup Series, I ran the trucks last year with Kyle Busch MotorSports, and Roush-Fenway was impressed with what I did in that little time. Let's not throw stones, but I was running truck's every single race at the end of last season. I wasn't jumping back and forth between sports, I'm here for the long haul.”

Steve Byrnes: “Is that a shot at Danica Patrick?”

Matthew: “You can take it however you wish.”

Steve Byrnes: “Before we let you go, Daytona is an interesting track with a lot of give-and-take with bump drafting. You haven't had a lot of experience with bump drafting, is that a concern heading into Daytona?”

Matthew: “Carl has really talked to me about bump drafting, which I've done before just not in the cup car, explaining how it's going to differ from bend in the truck. I'm not concerned about nor do I like the team is worried about it, as for me it's about running good. I'm not going to run good if I'm worried about it.”

Steve Byrnes: “Thanks for your time.”

Matthew: “Thanks for having me.”

You can check out the paint scheme that Anderson will run at Daytona, here