"I'm very excited to be tackling the new format changes. It's going to be fun to figure out the risk versus reward for maximizing opportunities to get segment points and also go after those segment wins for playoff bonus points. There will be many scenarios that can play out each race, and figuring out when to be aggressive will be the key. Also, going down to Daytona and Atlanta early in the year and getting a race win would go a long way as far as opening up the opportunity to be more aggressive in the segments and amass points. It's going to be a blast for the teams and the fans."
No. 5 team crew chief Keith Rodden
"It gives you some opportunity to do some different things and score points in different ways. So, I like it. I think it's a new challenge, and with new challenges comes a lot of opportunity. Ultimately, having a fast car is still going to be the No. 1 criteria. You could see guys kind of sell out for the first stage or the second stage, which will be interesting in how it impacts the third stage. Just trying to get all that strategy right is going to be fun."
No. 24 team crew chief Alan Gustafson
"I'm all for that. We enjoy strategy opportunities with the 48 car and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, so I'm looking forward to that. The facts are you need to build fast race cars, you've got to have good pit stops and get yourself in position to take advantage of those segment wins when they're there. So, I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be a good way for us to get Lowe's back out there more often in the spotlight after we win a handful of these segments and I think it's going to be good for the team to be under a pressure situation throughout the whole course of the race and not just the end of the event."
No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus
“You’ve got two opportunities to see what people are going to do – pit for tires, only take two – maybe it’s kind of a dress rehearsal on how things are going to shake out. ... I watch a lot of old race videos, just trying to put myself in those situations, and see where everything plays out. You can’t (start) with a plan and think you’re not going to deviate from it, because something is going to happen. All plans are meant to be planned differently.”
No. 88 team crew chief Greg Ives