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12 Questions with Brett Moffitt

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The series of 12 Questions interviews continues this week with Brett Moffitt, who recently completed a two-race stint for BK Racing at Watkins Glen and Michigan. Moffitt, 25, was the 2015 Cup Series Rookie of the Year and won the Truck Series race last year at Michigan.

1. How much of your success is based on natural ability and how much has come from working at it?

I would say up until I got to the Cup level, most of it was natural ability because it was all short-track racing. I didn’t really race any Truck races or Xfinity races, so it was all just short tracks — run as fast as you can and win the race.

After I got to the Cup level, it’s mentally a lot more challenging. I’d say that’s the biggest part I had to work at: Mentally how to break a race down and not get mentally exhausted by the end of the race, just know what strategy you’re on and everything like that. So I would say at this level, it’s probably 70 percent talent, 30 percent work.

2. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and now Dale Earnhardt Jr. have all either retired in the last couple years or will retire soon. What’s your pitch for fans of theirs to become fans of yours?

I would say I need to get a full-time ride here first. But I guess if you like me, that’s great, and if not, I mean, everyone has opinions. So I don’t really have a pitch, but I’m always just gonna be myself and if you like it, awesome.

How is the search for a ride coming? Do you just have to bide your time? Do you have to make phone calls? How do you work on that?

It’s all of the above. Starting the year out with Red Horse Racing, which was gonna be a really great opportunity for me, I was really heartbroken when that fell through (Moffitt was 10th in the standings when Red Horse shut down after five races this season). I felt like I was finally in good equipment and we could make something out of this.

So it’s been tough, but I guess everything happens for a reason, and that light came out of the tunnel (in late July at Iowa) by running the Xfinity race for GMS and now these next two weeks, running back in the Cup series for BK Racing. But yeah, you’re making phone calls, trying to stay in front of team owners and crew chiefs all you can.

3. What is the hardest part of your job away from the racetrack?

Finding a job. (Laughs) Yeah, for me, it’s trying to stay in a seat. I don’t have a bunch of money I can bring to the table, and I need to make a living doing this. So it’s really hard to just keep composure through all of this and not let your emotions get the best of you and just try to stay relevant.

Is it tough, staying patient like that and watching races on your couch at times?

It’s extremely hard. I’ve talked to a lot of people and they’re like, “Yeah, we really want you here, but we would need some (financial) backing to do it.” So it’s just tough. I want to be out there racing every chance I get, whether it’s Trucks, Xfinity or Cup. That’s why I’m just super excited for this month — I get to race at least three times. My birthday is (Aug. 7), so I guess this is a good birthday month. But yeah, it’s hard to watch.

4. Let’s say a fan spots you eating dinner in a nice restaurant. Should they come over for an autograph or no?

I’m all about it. Yeah. Bring me a beer, maybe. I’m good with that.  (Laughs) I’ll trade you a Bud Light for some talking time.

Seems like a pretty good trade.

Yeah! But even if you don’t, I’m good with it. That’s why we do this sport: We’re entertainers. I think I would honored to have people come up to me and ask me for my autograph.

5. What’s a story in NASCAR that doesn’t get enough coverage?

I really like what they’re doing with all the pit crew guys now (on NBC), kind of spotlighting them because they’re extremely good athletes.

I would just say people don’t realize how much work truly goes into it, especially on these smaller teams who have a quarter of the employees and they still have to run the same 36 races that everyone else does. So just to see all these teams work with limited people is pretty amazing.

6. Who is the last driver you texted?

It’s actually my hero, Jimmie Johnson. He was silly enough to give me his phone number for some reason, so anytime I have a question about a track or anything, I tend to lean on him first because he’s always been nice enough to respond. So I guess I’m not too much of a nuisance yet.

I’ve always looked up to him and so I asked him what the shift points were (at Watkins Glen), because I’ve never been here in a Cup car, and he was gracious enough to tell me what he does. He said, “I can’t promise you that with the new package (they’ll be the same), but that’s what I’ve been doing and I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

So totally open book from what you can tell?

Yeah, as far as I can tell, unless he’s holding out on me — which I don’t think he is because we’re not in the same caliber stuff right now.

7. Do you consider race car drivers to be entertainers? I think you just said that you do.

I do. I think we’re definitely a sport, but at the same time it needs to be an entertaining sport. I think statistically we’re the second-biggest sport in the country, and I you’re not gonna compete with the NFL, at least in my mind. They play X amount of games in a week and everyone’s got a hometown city.

But yeah, I think we’re entertainers and it’s our job to put on a good show. I like the drivers that have been trying to have more personality outside of the car, too, and not just being a robot of just thanking sponsors and (saying) everyone had a good day and holding your tongue. I think that Monster helped influence that, where the more you speak out, the more rivalries, I think that’s gonna be better.

8. What is your middle finger policy on the racetrack?

I’ve given it a few times. I’ve gotten it a lot. (Laughs) I don’t necessarily mean it like, “Hey, F you,” but like, “Dude, cut me a break next time.” Some people will race you way harder than they need to for a spot or make it harder to lap them for a spot. I’ll use it every now and then, but I try not to.

What’s your reaction when somebody gives it to you?

I normally laugh. Most of the time I know when I’m going to get it, and then if I don’t get it, I’m kind of surprised and I laugh a little bit. But you know when you’re kind of expecting to get it and when you’re not.

9. Some drivers keep a payback list in their minds. Do you also have a list for drivers who have done you a favor on the track?

For sure. It all boils down to respect. If I respect a driver, I’m not going to give him as hard of a time probably racing him unless it’s the last few laps. If it’s early in the race, it’s not worth slowing us both down.

But also the opposite of that. I mean, I’ve had guys point me to the bottom (to pass) and then get on my door. It’s like, “If you take all the air off of me, I can’t pass you.” So there’s definitely that list of how you race people.

Racing in Xfinity race (at Iowa), I haven’t raced many of those people, so I had to kind of learn that real quick. But the more you race around people, you kind of just have that, “OK, he’s gonna race me like this, I’m gonna race him like this,” and so on.

10. Who is the most famous person you’ve had dinner with?

I always joke around about this, that the most famous person I know is Simon Pagenaud’s dog. So I guess we’ve had dinner at his house a few times, so probably Simon or his dog (Norman).

I hope you had different food at least.

We did. Well, he gives his dog some steak every now and then. He normally cooks a good dinner for us.

11. What’s something about yourself you’d like to improve?

I guess lately I’ve been trying to open up more and be myself — I’d like to keep improving on that. And just keep learning, you know? It’s good to be in the place to learn and I’d like to get back to a place where I’m consistently at the track and consistently in a car and just able to keep growing my knowledge.

12. The last interview I did was with Johnny Sauter. His question was: If you weren’t pursuing racing, what would be a career path that you would pursue?

Oh man, I was ready for Blake Koch’s question. For some reason I thought that was the last one. (Laughs)

That’s the last one I published (as of the time of the interview), so you can answer that, too, if you want.

No, I’ll go with Johnny’s. My dad grew up homebuilding in Iowa and I was around that a lot. So I would say if I wasn’t in racing, I would be in the lines of being a general contractor or something like that.

Did you help him out on that kind of stuff?

Every now and then, if I was home, I would drive his truck around because he used to have to run from job site to job site, house to house all day. So I would drive along with him and try to pick up on a little bit of it.

I don’t know who the next interview is going to be with, but do you have a general question I can ask the next guy?

Hmm. Has anyone asked, “Whiskey or beer?”

I don’t think anyone has asked that.

I’ll say for the next driver: Are you a whiskey or beer drinker, and why?

This interview was brought to you by Dover International Speedway. The cutoff race for the first playoff round takes place at Dover on Oct. 1. Here’s a link to buy tickets (and make sure to come say hi at the tweetup).

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Fan Profile: Justin Rector

These 12 Questions-style fan profiles are one of the rewards offered as a tier on my Patreon page. You can catch up on the other profiles so far this season here.

Name: Justin Rector

Location: Winston-Salem, N.C.

Twitter name: @joostinrextin

Age: 25

1. How long have you been a NASCAR fan?

Since I was old enough to be trusted not to ingest my Racing Champions diecasts as a toddler. (So 1993, I’ll guess)

2. How many races have you attended?

Sixteen races across the top three series entering this season; 17 if you count being in my mother’s womb while she attended Rockingham.

3. Who is your No. 1 favorite driver?

Landon Cassill.

4. What made you a fan of his?

After he was dropped by Hendrick, I really admired how he made the most out of his situation by keeping his head up and delivering solid results for smaller teams like Phoenix and TRG. As time went on, I found him on social media and his presence is great. I love the humor he brings to it. He’s near my age, so that’s cool. I admire his fitness regimen and his dedication to living a healthy active lifestyle. Finally, those paint schemes he had on the Hillman 40 car were some of my all-time favorites, especially the 2014 CRC Fiberlock scheme he ran. It’s great to see him constantly grow and improve as a driver.

Justin Rector poses with his favorite driver, Landon Cassill. (Photo courtesy of Justin Rector)

5. Who is your most disliked driver?

Clint Bowyer.

6. Why don’t you like him?

Richmond 2013 left a bad taste in my mouth. However, it was his attitude during the 2016 season that really did it in for me. He may not have been in the best of situations, but demeaning his team and the equipment they provided him showed a lot of his true colors to me. He was sort of the anti-Landon when it came to how he handled his time with HScott. Thus I feel he’s undeserving of the ride with Stewart-Haas Racing and look forward to a more appreciative driver taking over the No. 14 ride.

7. What is your favorite track?

Off what I’ve seen in person, Talladega can’t be beat. Watkins Glen, however, is the race I most look forward to on the schedule.

8. What is one thing you would change if you were in charge of NASCAR?

This is a beaten drum, but the schedule’s lack of road courses is what I’d have to fix if I was in charge. I understand the tracks are locked into contracts and there’s little to no room for expansion on the schedule. Thus, the idea going around of NASCAR running rovals at places like Charlotte and Indianapolis would pacify the situation until the current deal with the tracks has expired. So, to sum that up, fall Charlotte and Indianapolis would both become road course events. (Editor’s note: Justin wrote this response before the Charlotte roval became a reality.)

9. What is one thing you would keep the same if you were in charge of NASCAR?

Honestly, I’m excited for the current set of rules that have been set forth and I wouldn’t touch that. I love the idea of stages and adding points. The Chase bonus points continuing on through each round should have been implemented when the current Chase was introduced in 2014.

10. How often do you yell at the TV during a race?

I’m not much of a homebody, so I listen to a lot of MRN and PRN radio. That being said, I have been known to yell and cheer and groan the further into a race it goes. So I’ll say I yell as necessary.

11. Do you have any advice for other fans?

Pick a race at a track you have always wanted to go to but have never attempted to go for whatever reason and make a list of reasons why you CAN make it happen in the next year. Over the past year, I’ve attended several tracks I’ve always wanted to see (Darlington, Martinsville, Talladega) and plan to add more in the next year (Watkins Glen, Homestead, Daytona) thanks to doing extensive research on how to go as cheap as possible. My student ID gets me discounted tickets to some places as I discovered last year, but that was just one of many different ticket deals I found (military discount, family packages, etc). Tent camping is also fairly inexpensive and serves its purpose: a place to sleep in between races and drinking beverages. Don’t let a high hotel bill be your reason for not attending a race. Go online to the speedway’s website, call their ticket office and speak to someone, do your research and you can find some great deals to get to your new favorite track.

12. What else do you want the NASCAR world to know about you?

I firmly believe that Regan Smith won the 2008 fall Talladega race and don’t tell me otherwise.

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The Top Five: Breaking down the Michigan race

Five thoughts following Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway…

1. Oh, that restart

Kyle Larson’s brilliance behind the wheel of a race car — it doesn’t matter what kind — is the sort of raw ability that every race fan can appreciate. And that was on display for all to see on Sunday.

Larson’s fourth-to-first move on the overtime restart — first slicing his way up the middle, then getting right to the bottom before anyone had time to really counter — was perhaps the best moment of his NASCAR career so far.

Today’s NASCAR is so much about the car and less about the driver, but Larson has shown several times how much the driver still matters. He is willing to try things others do not or cannot, and it provides for quite a show whether the attempt succeeds or fails.

This time, it worked — and Larson completed a week where he forced those who scoffed at his “last true racer” comment several months ago to wonder if maybe he was right.

2. Truex vs. Kyle

In the majority of races this season, the fastest cars have been either Truex or Kyle.

It’s just that the “Kyle” role has switched between Larson and Busch.

Larson was leading the points until he dropped off a cliff recently and tumbled to third with five finishes outside the top 20 in a seven-race stretch. It looked like he lost all his momentum as the Toyotas took over, but questions remained whether that was a product of losing his crew chief to a suspension.

That meant Michigan was going to be a huge test: Would Larson run well on a 2-mile track (a layout which has now generated all four of his career victories)? If not, that would seem to confirm his summer slump.

Apparently, things are just fine. Even though Larson didn’t have a dominant day, he was there at the end and figured out a way to win.

We’re back on the bandwagon now. Pencil him back in for the Final Four at Homestead, along with Truex, Busch and Jimmie Johnson.

3. Kenseth’s nightmare scenario

Matt Kenseth was in a lose-lose situation on the final restart that ended up with the lesser of two evils.

Going into overtime, Kenseth lined up third — on the inside of the second row — behind Erik Jones. His best shot would have been to push Jones on the restart and hope he could make it three-wide, but that could have resulted in a Jones victory.

And that was not going to be good for Kenseth. A new winner from below Kenseth’s spot in the points could have knocked him out of the playoffs (he’s currently holding on to the last spot). Plus, it would have meant helping Jones, the driver who is replacing Kenseth, get his first career win. That probably wouldn’t feel great.

I am not sure what happened and didn’t see any quotes from Kenseth after the race. But on the restart, Kenseth appeared to lay back and try to get a push from Chase Elliott (either that, or he spun his tires).

Ultimately, Kenseth ended up with a flat tire in the ensuing mess and finished 24th. He’s now 31 points ahead of Clint Bowyer for the final spot (see standings below) with three races to go.

The overtime finish cost Kenseth roughly 20 points, which is pretty painful in the battle for a playoff spot. But actually, that wasn’t the worst-case scenario. Because if Jones had won, Kenseth might not have had any points race to worry about at all.

4. Did you notice?

Chris Buescher is having a much better season this year than 2016, when he made the playoffs thanks to his rain-shortened Pocono win.

Buescher finished sixth at Michigan — his best finish of the year — and was right in the mix for a top five on the overtime restart. That was really impressive for a car that doesn’t typically contend there.

Overall, Buescher has improved his average finish from 26.1 to 20.7, already has as many lead-lap finishes as all of last year (11) and picked up his third top-10 of the season.

He’s not going to make the playoffs this season, but he’s trending in the right direction regardless.

5.  Uncertain futures

Bubba Wallace’s victory in the Truck Series race on Saturday was both a feel-good story and a frustrating reminder of the state of NASCAR.

Wallace has been sitting at home for a month, got into a truck for a one-off deal — and won. That’s great on the surface, because everyone watching probably went, “Yes! This will help his chances of getting a ride — and he deserves it.”

But will he get one? Despite being both talented and marketable, there’s no good news yet.

It’s the all-too-familiar problem of today’s NASCAR: Unless a driver personally has money — whether through family or a loyal sponsor — he can only hope the exact right opportunity at the exact right time magically comes his way.

I got another reminder of this on Sunday while watching the race with Gracin Raz (we recorded the post-race podcast, which you can find here). Raz finished fourth in K&N West Series points as an 18-year-old and then was fifth last year. Now 20, Raz has been forced to cut to a part-time schedule running a Late Model he and his dad work on in their garage.

We were chatting during the race and I was asking what the next steps are. The answers aren’t clear, but the solution is: Money. There’s not really much — if anything — Raz can do to jump in a car and prove himself, because that’s not what matters. It’s what money he can bring somewhere to get an opportunity.

Here’s a talented young driver who was just starting his career (and won a K&N West race in 2015), but there’s no pathway forward. The ladder to the top has broken rungs. The same can be said for Wallace, who waits in the same situation — just at a higher level.

It’s a sobering reminder: How many young drivers are there out there, scattered across the country, who could excel if they got the right opportunity?

Sadly, only a lucky few will ever find out — and that’s not healthy for a sport that should be built on the best talents.

———–

PLAYOFF PICTURE

By patron request, I’m going to start including the playoff picture at the bottom of the Top Five each week. Here’s how it looks now:

IN (13): Truex, Larson, Harvick, Ky. Busch, Keselowski, Hamlin, Johnson, Blaney, Ku. Busch, Newman, Stenhouse, Kahne, A. Dillon.

Points Bubble with four races to go:

14. Chase Elliott +62

15. Jamie McMurray +52

16. Matt Kenseth +31

—-

17. Clint Bowyer -31

18. Joey Logano -98

(Everyone else more than 100 points or one win behind)

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Fan Profile: ANNOYING RACE FAN

These 12 Questions-style fan profiles are one of the rewards offered as a tier on my Patreon page. You can catch up on the other profiles so far this season here.

Name: ANNOYING RACE FAN

Location: SOMEWHERE IN WESTERN PA

Twitter name: ARF. THAT IS SHORT FOR @ANNOYINGRACEFAN

Age: 37 YEARS OF AGE, JEFF

1. How long have you been a NASCAR fan?

SINCE 1998 WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE. MY FRIEND HAD THE NASCAR GAME FOR NINTENDO 64 AND WE PLAYED IT ALL THE TIME. I THEN STARTED WATCHING THE NASCAR RACES ON TV.

2. How many races have you attended?

I LOST COUNT AFTER FOUR

3. Who is your No. 1 favorite driver?

(LEANS BACK IN CHAIR TO THINK) HMM…KERRY. THE OTHER EARNHARDT

4. What made you a fan of his?

NOBODY ELSE LIKED HIM, SO I FELT BAD FOR HIM. PLUS HIS MUSTACHE BACK IN THE DAY WAS PRETTY AWESOME.

5. Who is your most disliked driver?

WHOEVER WRECKS JUNIOR! THEY DID IT ON PURPOSE!

6. Why don’t you like that person?

HARD-HITTING QUESTIONS, JEFF. IN ALL HONESTY, JEFF, I DON’T DISLIKE ANY DRIVERS. I JUST ENJOY WATCHING TEH RACING EVERY WEEK. (Editor’s note: Annoying Race Fan often writes “the” as “teh.”)

7. What is your favorite track?

(PONDERS) I LIKE THE TRACKS THAT LIKE ME. BUT I DON’T WANT TO MAKE ANY TRACKS FEEL BAD.

8. What is one thing you would change if you were in charge of NASCAR?

THIRTY RACES IN A SEASON — 20 REGULAR SEASON RACES AND 10 PLAYOFF RACES, BUT THE PLAYOFF RACES WOULD BE AT TRACKS NOT ON THE REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE. FREE POPCORN, TOO.

9. What is one thing you would keep the same if you were in charge of NASCAR?

THE FLAGMAN. I’D FEEL BAD IF I PUT THOSE GUYS OUT OF BUSINESS. FLAG-WAVING IS A LOST ART THESE DAYS.

10. How often do you yell at the TV during a race?

(BLANK STARE) PEOPLE SAY I YELL ALL OF THE TIME, BUT I JUST THINK THEY ARE HARD OF HEARING.

11. Do you have any advice for other fans?

OUTSTANDING QUESTION, JEFF. EAT LOTS OF PIZZA. ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE IF YOU EVER GO TO A RACE. TAKE THE TIME TO TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE AT THE RACE. CREATE MEMORIES. TWEET-UPS! GO TO TWEET-UPS. YOU GET TO MEET OTHER PEOPLE FROM TWITTER. AND FOR A GOOD TIME ON TWITTER, FOLLOW @ANNOYINGRACEFAN.

12. What else do you want the NASCAR world to know about you?

BEHIND THE TWITTER FACADE OF ANNOYING RACE FAN IS A TENDER INDIVIDUAL WHO JUST WANTS TO BE LOVED AND ACCEPTED.

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Social Spotlight with Noah Gragson

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Each week, I ask a member of the motorsports community to shed some light on their social media usage. This week: 19-year-old driver Noah Gragson, who is currently ninth in the Camping World Truck Series standings for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

One thing that caught my eye recently on social media has been your, “If you give me a certain number of retweets, I’ll do this crazy thing.” And you ate a huge thing of wasabi because of it. What is wrong with you, Noah?

We were at lunch. I was with my helmet painter — a guy named Greg Stumpff, he paints all my helmets at Off Axis Paint. We were eating sushi, and it was me, a couple of my buddies and Matt Crafton was there, too. One of my buddies said, “If you get 1,000 retweets, you have to eat the wasabi. Tweet that right now.” And I was like, “Hell yeah” (because) I’m not gonna get 1,000 retweets, you know?

So he’s like, “That’s too much, you have to get 500 retweets.” And so I tweeted it out, 500 retweets and I tweeted a picture of the wasabi deal. And the deal was if I got 500 retweets by the end of the meal, I had to eat it.

So I was like, “I’m not getting it. It’s 30 minutes, it’s not going to happen.” Anyway, let’s say it’s a 40-minute meal and we’re 35 minutes in and I’m rushing to get the check and everything because I’m like, “Hell yeah, this ain’t happening.” And 300 retweets in, I’m like, “There’s no way.”

And then Crafton tweeted Dale Jr. and NASCAR and few other people, he tweeted the Nascarcasm guy, and he said, “Listen guys, retweet this.” And we have five to 10 minutes left in the meal, and in 30 seconds, Dale Jr. retweeted it. And 30 seconds later, it was already up to 700 retweets. I was like, “Oh my gosh, this guy is a God, Dale Jr.” So that was the highlight.

I think I’ve watched that video three or four times to see your face. What was the reaction after that?

I kind of cheated the system. I haven’t told anyone — don’t tell anyone this — but as I took the wasabi, I kind of rolled it up and got a lot of it in my hands so I could make the ball smaller, like rub some off. And so I put it in my mouth and it all pasted down my throat, like rubbed down it. It was the most disgusting thing.

And I don’t really throw up from that kind of stuff, but I started gagging instantly. I was like, “Oh my gosh, this is so hot” and everything. So I put that in, and it was burning for about an hour. I’d say I had a rock pit in my stomach for two days straight. It was not good. But hey, I got retweeted by Dale Jr., so it was well worth it.

I was more asking about the social media reaction than the physical reaction. I mean, I’m sorry that happened to your body, but…

(Laughs) Oh, so the social media reaction, it blew up. I honestly didn’t think it was as big as it was going to be. I had people tweeting me like, “I’m watching TV in Canada right now and you’re on the TV.” Another guy tweeted me like, “Hey you’re on the ‘Mike & Mike in the Morning’ TV show right now.”

I didn’t even know you made Mike & Mike.

SportsCenter and USA Today Sports tweeted it. So I was like, “Yeah, that’s pretty cool.” My dad follows me on Twitter and everything, he saw all that stuff and I was with him and he was like, “Man, sports must really be struggling right now if you’re making all those headlines.” It was pretty cool. I got a lot of followers off it.

So now are people expecting you to do more crazy things because they followed you because of this and they’re like, “Well geez, what’s the next crazy thing?”

It’s actually kind of funny. So I did that and I got 1,000 retweets on that tweet and a few people followed me. And then we went to Texas and it was my first time at Texas Motor Speedway, and they have this big gas station Buc-ee’s there. Have you been there?

I just went there on a road trip recently. Yeah, that’s crazy.

It’s like a Walmart-sized gas station. It was so awesome. So I took pictures in there and I was standing in the middle of the store; I took it of one side of the store and then the other side. I tweeted those two pictures, I said, “This is a gas station in Texas. They really don’t lie that everything is bigger in Texas.” And that got like 3,000 likes and 1,000 retweets. I’m like, “Man, we’re doing something on social media.”

And then for the Fourth of July, I got these visor sunglasses. They’re like the most total redneck thing you can find. So I had those and (tweeted), “500 retweets and I’ll wear them at Kentucky.” I got 500 retweets, so I had to wear them all weekend.

You wore them in TV interviews, I saw.

Yeah, so that kind of blew up and everything. I gotta be innovative and try to get myself on other people’s Twitter pages. That’s kind of my philosophy: How can I get my Twitter on other people’s Twitter pages that aren’t following me? And so that’s kind of like why I do those retweet deals and all that. And just to be a funny guy.

It seems like it’s a natural fit for your personality because you’re a fun dude. But on the other hand, it is very strategic in some ways because as a young driver, it helps to put your name out there, get people knowing who you are. So I’m sure there’s some pressure on you to keep trying to come up with cool stuff where you can continually do more viral-type things.

Absolutely. I don’t wanna say everyone’s like this in the garage, but people are just so kind of scripted, like even on TV interviews and all that. So I try to be that guy that people want to see. You can rattle off your sponsors, which is good because the sponsors are the reason why we’re out here racing. But I like to be that guy where people want to tune in for your next interview and be like, “What’s he gonna say?” instead of being that guy where they’re like, “Ah, he’s gonna thank his manufacturer and his three sponsors and he’s gonna say the car is good.”

I guess people would say I’m kind of out there, kind of like Kenny Wallace. I wouldn’t say I’m as bad as Kenny Wallace — because Kenny Wallace is a hilarious dude, but he’s a wild man. So I’d say I’m kind of a wild man, too. Just gotta keep the people wanting more.

What are all the forms of social media that you use, and can you rank those from your favorite to your least favorite?

I use four of them, I guess the four main ones. I’ve got Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Facebook. So Facebook, I’d say that’s the lowest. I have a lot of friends on there that are back in Las Vegas, older people like my grandparents and my parents’ friends who don’t normally have Instagram or Twitter. So I like to go on Facebook sometimes and post on my personal one to my friends. I also have a Facebook page that I post on for fans and everything. I don’t post as much on there (as on Twitter); I just scroll on the timeline and watch what seems to always be funny videos on there that people are sharing.

And then Instagram and Twitter and Snapchat. I’d say those are my top three. I’d say order-wise, I’ve noticed that on Instagram, the more I post, the more followers I get. So that’s why I kind of post quite a bit compared to some people that post maybe once a week or a couple times a month. So for me, I’m pretty daily on there for the most part. I don’t want to over-post, but I don’t want to under-post, either.

And then Twitter, I’d say that’s my top one, where I can connect more with the fans. I feel like stuff spreads more on there, like more people can see it just by retweets and everything. I can connect more with the fans just through messaging and just tweeting back and forth.

And then my Snapchat, I can connect with just my friends directly. You have to be following me to see my Snapchat story, so that kind of sucks because on Twitter, you don’t have to be following me to see my posts.

I get a pretty decent following on my Snapchat stories. I like to do funny stuff, like if I’m driving down the road and I see a car that’s all beat up, every time I see something like that I’ll put ‘Five minute clock, coming to ya,” and then it’s kind of an ongoing joke.

That makes sense about Snapchat because we were just talking about how on Twitter, you have some incentive to do crazy stuff since there’s a chance that other people could pick it up. Where on Snapchat, you can be as creative as you want and it’s gonna be completely missed — no one can really forward it out there, and they have to already be following you. So it’s sort of like Snapchat takes away that incentive. It would be good if they could do something where you could have it promoted in some way.

Yeah, I mean you can tweet your link to your Twitter and everything of your Snapchat handle and everything, but like you’re saying, you have to be following that person. It kind of takes away a little bit from it. Just being able to drive your Instagram followers or your Twitter followers over to Snapchat to follow you is really the main goal of mine.

You have all these accounts in public that you’ve talked about. Do you have any way to just privately communicate with your friends? Like if you want to post a picture or something just for your friends, not for public consumption, is there another way to do that?

I don’t have any other accounts. Back in Las Vegas — well, I think it’s gotta be countrywide or worldwide — but they call them finstagrams. I guess it’s like fake Instagram or whatever. Like let’s say someone has their public one for everyone to see — mom, their grandma, aunt, uncle from Zimbabwe or whatever they want. And then they got their private one where their close friends follow it and they post whatever they want while on that.

So I don’t have that. I’m not the type of guy that would post anything differently on the finstagram account that’s private just for close friends. What you see on my real Instagram is completely me. That’s what my private one would be.

So you don’t need a finsta because people are seeing how you are anyway?

Yeah, absolutely.

You talked about Twitter and how that helps you connect with fans. I feel like a lot of people around your age group, they’re not using Twitter as much anymore. They think it’s lame. Do you feel like you’d still find it valuable if you weren’t doing it for your job?

I feel like with the job, you have to grow your fanbase and you have to grow your following. I’m kind of the guy who likes to be in the spotlight; I’m more outgoing and talkative. I’m not real quiet. So I don’t know.

Like what I do on Twitter right now, just the position I’m in, I don’t think it would really work if I’m a normal 19-year-old kid who’s going to college. I don’t think it would work, because people wouldn’t find that really interesting. They’d be like, “Oh yeah, he’s just my buddy. I’m not a fan of his.”

I definitely wouldn’t have the following that I have now. I really don’t have a huge following (6,800 followers) compared to what those Cup guys do, but I appreciate all the people that do follow me right now. It’s cool to watch how much it’s grown this year and what it can possibly be in the future.

Well, thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.

Thank you. I’ve got question for you. Are there any other Jeff Glucks out there?

Yes. There’s a dude in Canada named Jeff Gluck and he has the @JeffGluck Twitter name, so I have to be @Jeff_Gluck.

I have the best idea. Times have obviously changed and you couldn’t get paid for expressing your thoughts or capturing what you do day-to-day like bloggers do, vloggers and all that stuff. You wouldn’t get paid for that 10 years ago. But times are changing and people are making money in different ways now.

I’ve been thinking about about it, and when a new social media app comes out, I’m going to make a bunch of accounts for it, like take the username “Kim Kardashian” and all those big usernames. And then you can go and sell it to those people and make money off it.

So the first week an app comes out, you’re going to take all these big celebrity names and you’re gonna make bank off it.

Wouldn’t that be smart? Would you pay a little bit of money for regular @JeffGluck?

Yeah, I don’t want the underscore anymore. Dude in Canada, if you’re listening, call me.

I totally understand. Thankfully, I have a unique name. Noah Gragson, like what kind of name is that? It’s cool just having it my name. I would have to have like two underscores after it and like a seven and random numbers and stuff. That would suck.

This interview was brought to you by Dover International Speedway. The cutoff race for the first playoff round takes place at Dover on Oct. 1. Here’s a link to buy tickets (and make sure to come say hi at the tweetup).

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What the hell are flange-fit composite bodies, and why do they matter?

Here’s a quick Q&A — with myself — to help explain Wednesday’s news that NASCAR will move toward flange-fit composite bodies in the Xfinity Series:

Uh, what is this?

OK, so you know how all stock car bodies in NASCAR’s national series are made of one steel piece? NASCAR is looking to change that in the Xfinity Series by introducing something called flange-fit composite bodies.

I had to Google this, but a flange is basically an attachment, like a hook. And then composite describes the laminate material the body will be made of.

I don’t really get it. How’s that going to work, exactly?

There are now going to be 13 composite panels that make up an Xfinity Series body, held together by these flanges. Remember those 3D jigsaw puzzles? It’s kinda like that, from what I gather.

That’s crazy!!! Why in the world would NASCAR do that?

Racing is expensive and this is going to save teams some sweet, sweet cash in several different ways. Also, it should promote parity if it works.

OK. How and how?

The cost savings part is legit. Let’s say a car wrecks in practice and the body is pretty much junk, but the chassis is still good. Well instead of pulling out a backup car, now the team can just take the damaged panel off and put a new one on. And if there’s a crash during the race, it will be way less of a time suck to just replace the panels as opposed to hanging a new steel body on the chassis once the team gets back to the shop.

As for parity? Well, everyone is going to be running the same panels and they are supposedly tamper-proof with security features that will prevent teams from manipulating them for aero advantages.

Can they change the panels during the race?

Nope, because the five-minute clock will still be in effect for crash damage and it would take too long to swap out the panels.

Huh. But the teams can’t possibly be on board with this, right?

NASCAR says they are. Officials say the teams have been asking for this and worked with NASCAR and the manufacturers on this project. And apparently NASCAR got some strong buy-in, because officials are expecting all but a few teams to run it at the first available opportunity — even though it’s optional.

When is that? You got this far down in the story and didn’t even say when this is all happening.

Sorry, my bad. It’s Richmond, Dover and Phoenix this fall, and then all races except for superspeedways next season.

Wait, back up a couple questions. Did you say this is optional? If so, why wouldn’t some teams keep running the steel bodies in the future?

As of right now, steel bodies likely offer a competitive advantage over composite bodies because teams can manipulate them right up to the edge of the rules.

But in the near future, that may not be the case. Brett Bodine, NASCAR Senior Director of R&D, hinted there would be competition restrictions on the steel bodies that would make them heavier and take the incentive away to use them next year.

Clearly, NASCAR wants composite bodies to be the wave of the future.

Oh. So they’re coming to Cup then, probably.

Eh, maybe. But NASCAR won’t say that and wouldn’t go there on Wednesday. Officials insist they’re “100 percent focused” on seeing how it works in Xfinity first.

And by the way, NASCAR says fans won’t be able to tell the difference between a steel car and a flange/composite car by just watching from the stands or on TV.

Interesting. Well, it doesn’t sound all bad. Did NASCAR do something right?

We’ll have to wait and see, but at least it seems that way on first glance.