Jeff Gluck

USA TODAY Sports

Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews continues with Brennan Poole, who occupies the bubble spot heading into the first elimination race of the Xfinity Series Chase. Poole, a Chip Ganassi Racing Driver, is three points inside the cutoff.

Q: What is an errand or chore in your daily life people might be surprised to learn you do yourself?

A: I mean, I clean my own apartment and stuff. I do the dishes, take out the trash. All the normal chores. I read Brad Keselowski’s 12 Questions, and he was saying he goes grocery shopping. You don’t think about guys like that going to the grocery store. So I don’t think people would think of me taking the trash out and stuff. Although I do have a trash chute, and that’s a lot of fun. It’s 31 floors, and I listen to it like (makes thumping noises).

You have a vlog on YouTube. How come the trash chute hasn’t made it on there yet?

You know what? That’s a good idea. That’s probably going to make it when I get home, because I’ve been trying to come up with new ways to add cool stuff. I want to put more clips of my personal life into the vlog.

Q: If you could do any race over again, which race would you choose?

A: That’s a hard one, because as a race car driver you’re trying to look past the past races. You don’t dwell on them. But this year at Richmond (in April), we started 31st and drove to the front and we stayed out (which eventually resulted in a wreck on a restart). I think Chad (Norris, crew chief) and I both would like to go back and pit and see how that would have turned out.

Q: The longest race of the year is 600 miles. How long of a race could you physically handle without a driver change?

A: I saw where Brad said he could do 24 hours. But that’s a long time. And going to the bathroom is an issue. I mean, I struggle with that now — in Xfinity, with only two-hour races! The longest I’d want to do would be like 12 hours. If you had some snacks in there and some waters, I think 12 hours is like a reasonable crazy long distance. I’d like to attempt it.

12 Questions with Brad Keselowski

Q: Let’s say president of NASCAR was an elected position voted on by the drivers — and you decided to run. What would one of your campaign promises be?

A: I’d just try to do everything I could to help build the sport and bring in new fans. I mean, I think that’s what the goal is now, that’s what NASCAR is trying to do, and I’m on the same page.

Q: At the start of this year, exactly 1,160 drivers had ever raced in the Xfinity Series. Where do you rank among those 1,160?

A: I don’t thinking about ranking myself as much as I think about what I want to be known for, and that’s how I handle myself. I don’t know if I could put a number on myself yet. I didn’t race full time last year, so this is my first full year. I’m not going to say anything and jinx myself, but maybe if I have a great ending to this year, maybe I’d consider ranking myself.

It’s hard to put a number on it, because those are all guys who have run in the second-highest form of motor sports. So I’d like someone else to rate me.

Q: What do you think your reputation is — and is that reputation accurate?

A: There are three things: You have a view of yourself, a view other people see and then the actual truth. So I don’t know. I think most people just see me as a guy who is hard-working. I’ve gone through a lot to get to this point, and people see that in me a little bit. I’m just determined to go after my goals and be a good race car driver and win races and championships. And I’m willing to do anything it takes to do it.

I feel like I’m just now getting back to where I was at before I sat out for two years (when he didn’t have a ride). I’m just now getting back to the driver I was. I don’t know if my reputation is quite where it’s going to be; can I say that? But it’s headed in that direction.

NASCAR: Who said it best on race weekend?

Q: A famous chef wants you to invest in the new restaurant he’s opening, but he wants you to pick the cuisine. What type of food would your restaurant serve?

A: It’s like 100%, without a doubt Tex-Mex. I grew up in Texas and I miss it so much living on the East Coast. It’s just not the same. If we could make it possible where we brought really good Tex-Mex to the East Coast, I think it would be a grand slam. Like, it would be out of control. There would be people there from the second it opened up until it closed. We’d be like kicking people out — like, “Get out of here!” — because it would be so good.

I deal with this with Lindsey (Giannini, his girlfriend) all the time. Like if you’re Italian and you’ve had good pizza before, then when you travel or something, the pizza just isn’t up to standard. You’re like, “Oh, this just isn’t as good.” It’s kind of the same way for me and Mexican food.

Are we talking a fancy place or casual or what?

It’s not super fancy, but it’s not like a chained-out place like a Chili’s. It’s going to have booths and tables and probably a giant fish tank in the corner with fish that are too big for the tank. That just reminds me of the places I went to growing up.

Oh, and it’s going to have salsa that’s warm. That’s like a key. Salsa, to me, is not supposed to be cold when it comes out. It’s supposed to be temperature warm. And you need hot chips with it.

That’s how I tell if a Mexican place is good: Salsa and queso. And steak flavor, too. I really like Enchiladas al Carbon. It’s like fajita steak that’s chopped up with enchiladas. It’s just not a thing in North Carolina. If you were to ask for that there, they’d be like, “What are you talking about?” So that would be the number one thing on the menu. That’s what I’d want everyone to come there for — the Enchiladas al Carbon, salsa and queso. You know what? I don’t even know if you’d need anything else on the menu.

Q: What is the most daring thing you’ve done outside of racing?

A: It’s not like I’ve gone skydiving or even diving in the ocean. The most scary things I’ve done that most people would be like, “You’re nuts!” are probably when I was skateboarding as a teenager. Like board-sliding a seven-stair handrail. One time I tried to ollie down a 10-stair when I was 15 or 16. I remember being so nervous to do it, and then I landed and fell and face-planted and slid into a picnic table in the park. I eventually did go back and make it as I got a little bit older though.

I used to have videos of me skateboarding, but I don’t have any now. It’s like whenever you get a new phone, all the stuff that was on your old phone is just gone, right? So 15-year-old me was not thinking about keeping videos on the phone I had. Like the phone that slid out with the keys, I don’t have it anymore.

Are the skateboarding days over for you or scaled back?

Way scaled back. I’ll skate in the offseason, but I’ll only do it for about a month. The day after Homestead, I’ll probably skate a little bit and skate into Christmas. But starting in January, I won’t. You’re just getting ready for Daytona. And I’m in the gym working out all the time now too — shoutout to Mike Metcalf for training me — and when you’re sore and you try to skate, it’s difficult.

You have to be really flexible to skate. People don’t think about that. And I’m getting older and less flexible. I think it’s because I’m sitting down. Like I’m only 25, but it’s true. I think it has something to do with sitting down for multiple hours on a weekend. You’re just like in a cocoon for several hours at a time.

Oh, and Oreos, too. I have fresh Oreos here every week.

Uh, fresh Oreos?

Yeah, sometimes they get stale. I’ll say to Bugzee (hauler driver David Hicks), “Bugzee, c’mon man, I need some fresh Oreos in here.” So for the Chase they promised they’d have fresh packs of Oreos in here.

A couple weeks ago, I opened a new pack of Oreos and they were just like soft. They didn’t taste right. So I’m like, “Man, I can’t even have my one pre-race Oreo that turns into three or four.”

So Oreos are like on your concert tour rider, except you’re not a musician.

(Imitates a rock star) I need the M&M’s, but with all the green ones out. (Laughs) No, I don’t request much. I don’t! Oreos and peanut butter Clif bars and I like some bananas in the morning to get some potassium. That’s pretty much it.

Chase nuggets: Toyota out front, Johnson's quest for seven

Q: In a move to generate more excitement, NASCAR decides in an upcoming race they’re going to require every driver to have a passenger in the car. You get to pick the passenger. Who do you choose?

A: I would probably pick my dad (Tom). He got in my Legend car one time when I was 12 or 13 and was driving in the parking lot, and that scared him then. So I can’t imagine what riding along with him would be like. He’d probably be hitting me or something, like slapping my arm midway through the race.

Another one that would be awesome is my sponsor, Jeff Carpoff (president and CEO of DC Solar). I took him around Charlotte Motor Speedway in a two-seater at the school they had out there. And he was a little nervous, so that makes me think it would be fun to have him along. He’d get to see some crazy stuff. Like if we were in the pack at Talladega or something, that would be amazing.

Q: How often do you talk inside the car without hitting the radio button?

A: Not often. I’m pretty quiet even when I am pushing on the button. But there are always those times where I could have done something different on the restart or I didn’t put myself in the right spot. It’s not words, necessarily, but I’ll be like, “Arghhhhh!”

Q: Who will win the Sprint Cup in 2021?

A: I think there are a lot of really good young guys in there. I think I’m going to be there by then. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at the end of this year. I had gotten really rusty and lost some confidence in those two years I sat out, and I wasn’t sure what I was doing, you know? Now I have that confidence back and I’ve been close a few times with winning some of these races.

But there are a lot of good guys. Kyle Larson is going to be there. (Joey) Logano is absolutely amazing. I’d be surprised if Logano doesn’t have one before then. Keselowski is really good, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch for sure. Denny Hamlin might get one too in the next five years. And I look at guys who just left the Xfinity Series, too — like Chase Elliott.

It’s funny, racing these guys growing up at different levels — it’s all the same guys. We’ve all been racing each other for so long. And the guys who are making it to the Cup garage now, it’s the guys you thought were going to be there when we were coming up through the ranks. I think that’s pretty neat.

Q: I’ve been asking each driver to give me a question for the next interview. Last week was Brad Keselowski, and he wanted to know: What do you think an athlete’s responsibility is to the community?

A: Well, I read the last 12 Questions, so I knew this was going to be the question for me. I was thinking about it, and it’s more about a quality.

For me, just having humility is the biggest thing. It’s not a view of being under someone, but a view that you’re not more important than anyone else. It’s putting others first and going the extra mile for others. It’s not being afraid of making mistakes and admitting them to help other people. And when you do that and have humility, all the other responsibilities to your community take care of themselves.

And do you have a question for the next interview? It’s scheduled to be Kyle Busch.

This is a good opportunity to have a question answered. I’d say now that he’s had a lot of experience in his career and is a little bit older, what has changed as far as how he prepares himself for a race weekend. Whether it’s watching film or going over Dartfish (video) or going over notes, what does he do? Or does he do anything? I don’t know.

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck