Category: NASCAR Cup Series

TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Notes & Quotes Auto Club Speedway — March 25, 2011

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Why do you think this track tends to produce a fuel mileage race? “It just depends on how the race is shaping up. A lot of the 1.5-mile, especially here at California, it seems like here and Michigan are two of the biggest fuel mileage races and I’m not sure why that is. I don’t know if it’s because it’s a two-mile track or what. I would say 90 percent of the time here, we’re going to be waiting on fuel. This is one of those places where you have to fill it. You only get in a green flag run 40 laps or so — it’s very short. You just can’t afford to not wait. If you have a green flag stop with 20 to go, of course you’re going to put tires on and go. If it’s early in the race, most guys I would think would fill it up no matter what — caution or green flag, either way. Unless their strategy or window was a little different, if they knew they had to stop three more times no matter what. The 20 laps or 15 laps wasn’t going to hurt them. They would probably do that. For the most part, I think we’d be waiting on gas. It’s no fun, especially when you see cars going by you and you’re like, ‘Come on. I just want to go.’ But you can’t. The easiest place to pass cars is on pit road. That’s it — period. It’s a lot easier than passing them on the race track. When you see guys going by and you’re waiting on gas, you’re not a happy camper.”

What are your thoughts on NASCAR reducing the size of the restrictor plate at Talladega? “I think that is roughly 20-some horsepower so it’s a pretty big deal. I think they understand that we’re smarter going to Talladega this year than we were last year. Our cars are going to be able to push longer, everybody is going to have worked on that. After what we saw at Daytona, we could have done that at Talladega last year. You’d see guys get the two car draft going at Talladega, but they’d get way out front, they’d get too hot and then they’d break apart and next thing you know the field was swallowing them. They didn’t realize you could just swap, get back to the guy and take off again. I think the reason they made the plate smaller was they realized we’re going to run faster this time, even with the same package we had there, we would run faster because we can stay hooked up longer. They have to slow it down. That’s why they did it, obviously. I believe the race will be much different than it was last fall, it’ll be more like the Daytona race — the two car draft. Lots of little two car packs, not so much four or five wide, big pack like we used to see. Even last fall, we saw the big pack but there would be two guys that would hook up and take off and leave and then they’d get split up and come back. It’ll be more like Daytona this time. The plate would be necessary to keep us under that magic number.”

What is your role in the development of your brother Ryan Truex racing? “I’m just trying to be there for him (Ryan Truex) to lean on if he needs me. I don’t tell him how to do things. I try to just stay off to the side and if he has questions or needs someone to chew his ear, than I’m there for him. It’s also never a bad thing to pay attention to what others are doing to learn yourself. It’s cool to be a part of that team. Not so much be the driver, but listen to how they do things and maybe learn something here or there. For him, it’s more trying to help him out and speed up his learning curve. We all understand how important it is to make a good impression fairly early and he’s had a little bit of a difficult time this season with his new team getting results. It’s been a little difficult on him, but he’s a good little driver and he’s working hard and I think he’s going to do just fine.”

Is it time for drivers to panic, like Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle, if they are pretty far back in the point standings? “It just depends. They know more than anyone how their cars are running. How their team is doing, and whether they should panic or not. Both of those guys have been around long enough to understand what it takes to run up front and what it takes to overcome four bad weeks. I think in 26 races it’s going to look a lot different. Obviously, we talked about it last week. Those guys know more than anybody inside of their teams how things are going and what their problems really are. Is it just bad luck? Are we running well enough to overcome it? So, they understand all that. It’s hard to look in from outside another team and say, ‘Well, they haven’t run very well.’ It’s easy to look at finishes and say that’s a bad start. But, based on their feelings about how they run and how their team is working it could be a decent start just with bad results.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing (continued) Do you believe luck has played a part in where you are at this point in the season? “Bad luck is a tough thing. I’ve had my share of it the last two years — two-and-a-half (years). Last year is a perfect example. People say you make your own luck — you do somewhat. But, there are times when there is nothing you can do about it. We had a flat tire last week at Bristol. Which was bad luck, but the caution came out — so it kind of saved us. Nobody ever really knew we even had a flat tire. So, there are times like Homestead — we had a flat tire and we had to pit under green and we lost two laps. It took us out of a chance of winning the race. So, we were in the same position, the same circumstances, but at Bristol, nobody even knew we had a flat cause we got a caution. And at Homestead we lost two laps and we didn’t have a shot at winning the race. Luck plays a big part in what we do. I’ve said it before, it takes a million things to go right to win of these races. It only takes one to go wrong — a flat tire, the caution coming at the wrong time, a debris caution after you pit under green — things like that. There are some things where it doesn’t matter what you do, you can’t change them — and that’s luck. And it’s tough to deal with. Especially when you’ve had a good day and your team’s done everything right. Last year, it seemed like for three or four months, every time we had a good car and we were very competitive and had a shot at running up front something like that would happen. And when we didn’t run good, we just didn’t run good and nothing bad happened. So, luck is tough. But again it goes back to what we talked about with the bad start. You have to just forget about last week, move forward, try to do the best you can with what you have and you know when your team is doing good and when they’re not. You know if you’re finishing 20th but you’re really a top-five team but because of bad luck you’re finishing 20th. A lot of that plays into your mind set and you just have to forget about all those bad things and push forward and work on the things you can control.”

Friday, March 25, 2011

Dodge Motorsports PR

Auto Club Speedway

Auto Club 400

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Tweets by TeamDodge

www.media.chrysler.com

KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Auto Club Dodge Charger R/T) YOU ARE LEADING THE POINTS, THE ONLY DRIVER WITH FOUR TOP 10S; ARE YOU IN BETTER POSITION THAT YOU THOUGHT YOU’D BE? “I think that we’re right on par. It’s been a good start to our season. We haven’t had anything seriously go wrong other than the spin that I had at Las Vegas. We were running in the top-five at that point and (the spin) put us in the back at the halfway mark in that race. I had to charge up through there and our car was good enough and get back up in the top 10. We’re just looking for a good, smooth race again this weekend. You have to win if you want to build on the points lead; you just can’t maintain top-10 finishes. So that’s what we hope to do and go get a win.”

WHAT IS THE TRACK LIKE? HAVE YOU SEEN ANY WEEPERS? “I haven’t ventured down to the bottom on either end just to be on the safe side. Do I feel safe? Yes, I feel very safe. You’re taking the cautionary road plus the race track is bumpier on the low groove so it seems to benefit it you run a little bit higher. Just make sure that you don’t find any moisture.”

IS THE TRACK DRY AND HOW HAVE THE SHORTENED PRACTICES BEEN FOR YOU? “From what I can tell, the track is dry. It’s just a matter of having the confidence to venture into the bottom lane. For qualifying, we’re just trying to pick off a lap as fast as we can make it. You’re not necessarily worried about handling; we just have to get the speed out of it. The track seems to me to be safe. Tomorrow will provide more of an indication of how the car is. I expect the sun to be out and the track to be dry.”

FROM WHEN YOU STARTED IN THE SPORT TO NOW, HOW HAS PHYSICAL FITNESS CHANGED FOR THE DRIVERS? “It’s good that we wear driver’s suits; it good to cover up if we’re fit or not. You have to get out there and do the cardiovascular and do the strength training just to make sure that you’re not falling behind. Every part of the car is gone over with a fine-toothed comb these days to find hundredths of a second and driver fatigue can fit into that. I think drivers know that they need to be their best and a nutritional regiment as well as physical training and cardiovascular is key as well. It’s different from years past as the fun factor was definitely higher in the 70s and 80s with guys going out and having beers all night long and coming to the track the next day and focusing through it. You don’t see that as much anymore. The group is very committed. Everybody is trying to be their best in the race car at all times.”

IN GENERAL, DO YOU FAVOR SHORTENING THE RACES FROM 500 TO 400 MILES? “Yes, it seems to be a good fit. The way that information travels these days, people’s attention spans on how they want their information just seems like it’s tougher and tougher for a four-and-a-half hour audience to maintain that same channel the same day. It’s amazing how people can get their information through the Internet and through social media. Everybody’s mind just works quicker. I think 400 miles is a welcome addition to what we’re doing here at Auto Club Speedway. Other race tracks, you can do it as well. Pocono can be a long 500 miles. Would it make a difference if we went to 400? Sure. Let’s try it out and see how it works.”

WHAT NASCAR DATES DO YOU “CIRCLE” ON YOUR CALENDAR? “You’re pumped up no matter where you go. You have to be ready to race. Bristol is a race that I always circle. Las Vegas, Daytona and a place like Indianapolis is always circled. The weeks in-between, there are important races every week. We’re going to Martinsville next week. It’s not one of my favorite tracks, but they’re handing out 48 points if you have a perfect day. That’s what we have to do each and every week.”

IS THERE ANYTHING NEW IN THE PIPELINE FOR DODGE MOTORSPORTS COMING ALONG? “Not that I know. We’ve got a great group with Bryan Viger (Head of Dodge Motorsports) and Ralph Gilles (President and CEO of Dodge) that are very committed to the racing program. We’ve got the Dodge Challenger that’s over on the Nationwide side that I’d love to see here in the Cup series. We’ve got to have the pony cars over there in the Nationwide, which is a good way to sell cars. And then we have to have the sedans over in the Cup series with our Dodge Charger. We’re trying to sell as many vehicles as we can for Dodge. I know that 2013 is a target date to see the new cars out on the track and I know that all the auto manufacturers are working close together with NASCAR to make that happen.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

AUTO CLUB 400

AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

March 25, 2011

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET met with media and discussed how the season is going, upcoming races at Martinsville and Talladega, his relationship with his crew chief, and more. Full Transcript

LOOKING BACK TO BRISTOL WHEN YOU STRUGGLED EARLY AND GOT A LAP DOWN AND THEN GOT THE LUCKY DOG AND PICKED THINGS BACK UP, WHY DID YOU NOT UNLEASH ON THE RADIO? HOW IS IT DIFFERENT NOW WITH STEVE LETARTE AS YOUR CREW CHIEF?

“I really don’t know why if my actions seemed different than they were in the past to you guys (media). I think I was just doing what I do. I want to finish good and tried to do whatever I could to finish good. And I gave Steve the benefit of the doubt that we would improve the car and we did. And it was a pretty decent day. We should have finished higher. I screwed up speeding on pit road and that cost us a lot of spots there. But I’m just trying to do the best you can each week.”

YOU HAVE THREE STRAIGHT TOP 11 FINISHES. AT WHAT POINT DO YOU NOT BE AS HAPPY WITH A TOP 10 NOW?

“I was last week. I was a little disappointed with myself and a little disappointed at how we began the race. I was just frustrated that we weren’t closer. We felt like we were a little bit better than that at the end of practice, so it was frustrating that the car showed a lack of grip it has at the start. It was just tougher for all of us on the team; and in the end I was frustrated with myself but we just gotta go to the next race and try to not make those mistakes and try to get the finish the car is capable of getting and you can’t give away too many spots in this series with mistakes. So I was a little frustrated last week.”

BUT YOU HAVE GOTTEN BETTER IN RACES AS THE RACES PROGRESS, AND BETTER IN PHOENIX WHEN ALL THE CARS STRUGGLED. DO YOU NEED TO GET BETTER WHEN YOU UNLOAD?

“Well, I don’t think that it means that we need to get better when we unload. Even the race cars that are really going fast aren’t desirable to drive. The guys that are up there leading the race, they have things they’d like to fix about their cars. So I mean, we’ve done a pretty good job of working well in practice and starting to race with some decent cars. And I’m really happy with the way that things have went during the races and how the car has gotten better during the races. That’s a really good thing.”

WITH THE SHORTENED RACE AT FONTANA FROM 500 MILES TO 400 MILES, WILL THAT CHANGE THE NATURE OF THE RACE AT ALL?

“No, to shorten the race up 100 miles will not change the way the race looks.”

ON BRISTOL AND MARTINSVILLE, WHICH TRACK DO YOU PREFER AND WHY?

“Well, I don’t know; I kind of like Martinsville a lot. I like Bristol, but I think Martinsville is probably my favorite. There’s something about trying to get around the corner of that place that’s a lot of fun. And it’s just an interesting race track. It’s so unlike anything else we do but Bristol is too. Martinsville is pretty interesting. It’s a lot of fun.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE A TOP 10 TEAM WEEK IN AND WEEK OUT RIGHT NOW?

“Yeah, I do. We’re capable of that. We’re good enough for that. You should come to the race track and expect to run around the guys that are in that position. I feel like we’re legitimate, yes sir.”

HOW IS (CREW CHIEF) STEVE LETARTE CHALLENGING YOU?

“We just have a lot in common and our personalities make it where it seems like it’s easy for us to have a conversation. I’ve been spending a ton of time around the hauler all day long during each day on Friday and Saturday and when you’re sitting there you just never know when that idea or that thought is going to come into your head or come into his head about what might really be able to help the car. And if you just sit around long enough, eventually it’s going to pop up and I want to be there for that conversation; I don’t want him texting me on the phone while I’m in the bus going hey, I think I know what we can do. I want to be there so that I can understand and talk about it. I think that’s helping us too.”

WHY AREN’T YOU ON TWITTER?

“I used to have a myspace.com page and I used to have a facebook.com page; I don’t anymore because it was just too much responsibility. I felt like you had to plug in and be involved with it so much and I just thought that personally, I don’t need to do it. I understand and we utilize the business side of it and how it works for JRM and all and how it helps us there, but I personally you know, it would be fun for about a month and then I would start to feel like it was a job, where people expected me to do it. And I’ve had some other drivers tell me that some of the people aren’t too nice about it. So that part of it, why do I need to put up with that anyway? (laughs). But if I don’t have to put up with it, why do I want to bring that into my life? But you know, I think that never say never, but with my experience with myspace and facebook, which worked great, I ended up in the end going this isn’t necessary for me. It was fun trying to be cool, and creating your page and being the hipster that you thought you were, but in the end, I was just, I needed to get outside and I just needed to get rid of it. It just wasn’t for me, I guess.”

YOUR FANS ARE REALLY CHARGED UP RIGHT NOW. ARE YOU HEARING FROM THEM?

“That’s good. I just hope we can run a little bit better and get a top five and challenge for some wins to really give them something to cheer for. I’m glad we’re running better, but in the grand scheme of things we were unable to run 10th or 11th last year. I think we can do better. We’re showing good signs of improvement and hopefully we continue to get better and we can challenge for some wins.”

ARE YOUR CARS FASTER THAN THEY WERE LAST YEAR OR ARE YOU JUST DOING MORE WITH WHAT YOU’VE GOT?

“I don’t really know. I really don’t know about that. I think we had some good cars last year. We’ve ran competitive in a couple races last year and showed some speed. For some reason this year, we’ve been able to improve a little bit better throughout the race and have been able to race in traffic a little bit better. And that might be a company-wide deal where we’ve got the new nose and we’ve learned a lot about that and how to travel the car and I feel like it’s definitely different where I can definitely see a difference is how I can be more aggressive in the race with the car. Everything in practice and everything about the team, I don’t feel like we’re a ton different than last year. But when I get in the car in the race, I just feel like I’ve got a little bit more grip and a little bit more ability to be aggressive and challenge people. And at least that’s how it’s been for three weeks. Something may be different with the overall company that we’re doing as a group to be better. Maybe it has something to do with the nose, but I would highly doubt that. There’s just something about the car to be able to race a little bit more and race around guys. Normally man, you’re just hanging on to your car and just trying to keep your car underneath you and you’re not really able to race other guys. You can’t really even consider racing another competitor (because) you’re so consumed with trying to control your own car. But this year that seems to be a little bit different where we’ve been able to go, all right, the car is kind of under us. Let’s just race this guy real hard and take some risks and makes some passes and see what we can do. Before, that’s been a little bit different.”

WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF NASCAR, THE VIDEO GAME 2011? WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DID THEY USE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CAR?

“I don’t know. I haven’t tried it. I don’t have my copy yet. I’m waiting on those guys to tell me where I can go buy it.”

I DON’T THINK YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO BUY IT

“Well, I was not going to assume that I was going to get a free one but if they wish to send me one, I’ll be glad to try it. I enjoy those kinds of things and I’ve got some friends that work at the company in Europe that made it and I was pretty excited to see, and I’m a big longtime EA sportsfan, but I was excited to see a new developer get an opportunity to try the game and try their hand at NASCAR and see what kind of product we could get out there. Hopefully the fans really enjoy it. I’m excited to be a part of it in any way possible. It’s one of my favorite hobbies and I look forward to seeing the job they did.”

DO YOU CONSIDER MARTINSVILLE AS MUCH OF A WILD CARD AS TALLADEGA?

“No. Martinsville is a good short track and there is a little bit of roughness to it. But you don’t see groups of guys taken out of the event in a big swoop like you do at Talladega. You’re in control of your own destiny much more at Martinsville where you know what your car is doing and it’s got a handle and you’re driving it and the driver’s involved and in control of whether you’re going forward or backwards.”

HAS STEVE LETARTE TOLD YOU YET THAT YOU HAVE A SMALLER PLATE FOR TALLADEGA?

“Really? Maybe we’ll be able to get three or four of us pushing each other around there one time. They keep slowing it down and that’s what’s going to happen.”

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE AT TALLADEGA COMPARED TO DAYTONA BECAUSE DAYTONA HAD THE REPAVE. OR HAS EVERYBODY GOTTEN SO MUCH BETTER WITH THE CAR AND THAT 2-CAR DRAFT, ARE WE GOING TO BE AMAZED AGAIN AT TALLADEGA AT THE PROGRESS YOU ALL HAVE MADE?

“I really don’t know what Talladega is going to be like because the asphalt is worn just a little bit and it’s not quite as grippy as the new asphalt at Daytona after a year or two. But I want to be in control of my own destiny and I don’t want to have to worry about wrecking another driver while I’m pushing him around the race track. So I hope that’s not the kind of racing we have. But whatever you’ve got to do to win, is what you’ve got to do.”

DENNY HAMLIN AND JIMMY JOHNSON HAVE WON THE LAST 9 RACES AT MARTINSVILLE. HOW CLOSE DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE GETTING TO CHALLENGE THEM OR BEAT THEM AT THAT TRACK?

“Well, I feel pretty close to be honest with you. We’ve ran good there a lot over the last 10 years. And at times in the last several races we’ve been more competitive than them. Going there with Steve is going to be interesting to see what he does differently with the car to maybe improve it or what might be different about the car during the race that I might enjoy. They ran well there with Jeff (Gordon). So I’m excited about going there and trying to see if there is a difference in how I can compete versus what I’ve done over the last 10 years just due to having Steve.”

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THE NUMBERS for the AUTO CLUB 400

Auto Club Speedway

2 –races won from the front row at Auto Club Speedway; one from the pole

4 –number of drivers that have competed in all 21 races at ACS (Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek)

4 –fewest cautions for a Sprint Cup race at (6/22/97)

8 –number of jet dryers available for track drying during race weekend

9 –most wins by a car owner in previous 21 races (Rick Hendrick)

12 –most cautions (2/24/08)

13 –different winners in previous 21 races

14 –different pole winners

18 –fewest lead changes (twice, most recent 2/26/06)

22 –fewest caution laps (twice, most recent 4/30/00)

33 –most lead changes (2/24/08)

51 –most caution laps (9/5/04)

120 –minutes, the amount of time it takes to dry the .533-mile track after a significant rainfall

188.245 –mph, track qualifying record (Kyle Busch, 1/25/05)

1995 –year track construction began on site of the former Kaiser Steel Mill and completed in 1996

1997 –year first Sprint Cup race held at the track (6/22/97)

2008 –year facility name changed from California Speedway to Auto Club Speedway

2011 Caution Recap

41 –cautions in the first four Sprint Cup races of 2011

24 of 41 – cautions have been for accidents

195 of 1287laps completed have been under caution

275.881 of 1,499.000miles completed have been under caution

BONUS: Although only two tracks currently host NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, 15 California tracks have hosted a total of 129 Sprint Cup races over the years. Riverside International Raceway had the most – 48 – with the last event in 1988. Only Riverside, Ontario Motor Speedway (nine) and the two tracks currently on the Sprint Cup schedule – Auto Club Speedway (21) and Infineon Raceway (22) – have hosted more than six Cup races.

— The Numbers provided by Dodge Motorsports

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

AUTO CLUB 400

AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

March 25, 2011

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET met with members of the media at Auto Club Speedway and discussed restrictor plate sizing at Talladega, enjoyment of Martinsville racing and other topics. Full transcript:

IS CARL EDWARDS THE GUY TO BEAT RIGHT NOW?: “I don’t think so. He hasn’t won every race has he?”

DO YOU THINK THE OTHER RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING DRIVERS ARE LOOKING FOR MORE SPEED?: “I think those two teams obviously are in different situations than the 27 (Paul Menard) or the 29. Our cars have really had speed three out of the four weeks. Vegas was my fault, we drove up into the top-five and were where we needed to be and I got a speeding penalty and kind of ruined that day. We’ve had top-five cars every week and I felt like three out of the four weeks we had cars capable of winning races. I feel comfortable about where our team is.”

WERE YOU MAD ABOUT THE WRECK IN BRISTOL?: “Things happen. You’re going to be mad at the moment. You sit there and you led the race, ran in the top-three all day and something happens then your first reaction is to get mad. Things happen.”

HOW LONG IS THE MEMORY AND WHAT IS THE ETIQUETTE FOR PAYBACK?: “I think a lot of that just depends on kind of where you’re at with everything and a lot of times as you get to the end of the year you have to let a lot of things go. There’s a lot that rides on what you do on the race track from a results standpoint and it affects a lot of things that you do. If you carry a lot of things too far too long sometimes it affects your team and the results that you get on the race track. That’s not fair to those guys.”

WHICH SHORT TRACK DO YOU PREFER AND WHY?: “I’ll tell you, when I came into this sport Bristol was always my favorite race track and now that they changed it — it’s now to me just not near as much fun to drive. I think as you look at Martinsville and for us, it’s a home track and really close to our shops and our homes and everything that we do. Where we are right now with the world, I would rather go to Martinsville than go to Bristol.”

DO YOU CONSIDER MARTINSVILLE TO BE AS BIG OF A WILD CARD AS TALLADEGA?: “I don’t think there’s any bigger wild cards than Daytona and Talladega, that’s for sure. Just because of the types of racing and especially the way that it was at Daytona and has been at Talladega. You just never know what’s going to happen at those two places. Martinsville, if your cars fast, you can obviously get caught up in something, but the odds of it being like a Talladega or Daytona — it’s just much different.”

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT MARTINSVILLE?: “You just have to have your car turning well. You have to be able to really qualify up front — it makes things easier. It’s not a necessity, but just being able to keep the forward drive up off the corner all day and keep your car turning are the two biggest things.”

ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE RACE AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY THIS YEAR?: “Honestly I wish all the race tracks would be held accountable for how many people are sitting in their grandstands. I think sometimes there’s just certain places that we go to — I think this particular track is a good venue that when we first started coming here supported one race very well. Sometimes a lot of people want more and you try to make two races out of it. I always tell people there is no reason to make two mediocre out of one good. This is a good one event and there’s several race tracks that should be held to the same accountability on a yearly basis in my opinion. I think that new markets and new, fresh fans that haven’t been able to see the races year after year would be an eye opener for a lot of race tracks.”

IS THIS RACE WEEKEND A FAIR TEST FOR THE TRACK?: “I don’t see why it shouldn’t be considered a fair test.”

WHAT SPECIFIC OTHER TRACKS WOULD YOU WANT TO SEE LOOKED AT?: “You’re smart

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

AUTO CLUB 400

AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT March 25, 2011  

MARK MARTIN, No. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Auto Club Speedway and discussed his record in the Nationwide Series, working out of the same shop with Jeff Gordon, what it takes to run well at Martinsville and more. Full Transcript.  

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT GILLIAN BEING HERE? “I’m really excited. It’s fun to meet her. She’s got a lot of energy, Wow! It’s really cool. I’m not so much worried about the workout myself, I’m looking forward to the media members that are going to work out with us. That’s what is going to be really fun.”  

ARE YOU HAVING A LITTLE FUN WITH THE NATIONWIDE RACING WITH KYLE BUSCH? “The media is having fun with it. I’m a realist, I know that record is not going to stick. It will probably stand to mid-season this year and that’s it. But the media is having fun with it. So fine, may as well have some fun with it. You know Kyle is going to get it and he’s going to pass it this year probably by mid season the rate that they run. It’s all good. So it’s a lot of fun. I’m having fun with the Dollar General team and Trent and all those guys. We got lucky and won our first out together and that’s pretty cool. We’ll try to have a better race car and get up there and fight for another one.”  

TALKING ABOUT THAT, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT THINK KYLE IS COMING OVER AND KIND OF POACHING ON THE NATIONWIDE TALENT, IS IT THAT EASY TO SWAP BACK AND FORTH FROM A CUP CAR TO NATIONWIDE CAR? “Well Kyle has to beat Carl (Edwards) and a bunch of other great veteran race car drivers, so people will say what they want to say. What can I say?   “To me that’s nothing. It’s all about having great race cars. If you’ve got great race cars, you adapt going from one to another. It’s not like going from Indy cars to stock cars. It’s a different stock car, so it’s not that big of an adjustment and it never was a big deal to me.”  

YOU’VE GAINED A LOT FROM LAST YEAR FROM WHERE YOU WERE IN POINTS, FROM THIS TIME LAST YEAR TO NOW, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? “I don’t remember but I guess the biggest difference for us right now, I think we were up pretty far in the points last year. You’re thinking about ’09. In ’09 we broke an engine the second race out and it really hurt us and I think we broke one the third race as well, so that put us in the hole. This year the reason we are where we are is because the race team has done an incredible job. I’ve had accident damage in three of the four races and we still come back with our best finishes in those three events with tore up front ends so it’s pretty amazing what we’ve been able to do or what they’ve been able to do with the repairs they’ve been able to make and our good fortune and have good finishes.”  

YOU’VE GOT A NEW ROOMMATE THIS YEAR IN JEFF GORDON, HOW HAS THAT WORKED OUT WITH HIM AND DO YOU SEE NEW FIRE IN HIM AND NEW ENERGY ESPECIALLY AFTER WINNING IN PHOENIX? “He’s very, very energized right now and he’s with a race team that’s very energized. That very excited group that are fun to go to the race track with and I think he’s really enjoying life right now. It’s in the beginning. We’ve got four races down and a lot to go and we’re continuing to grow and work together and be stronger as we get more races under our belt.”  

DO YOU THINK THE TWO TEAMS TOGETHER ARE STRONGER THAN THE TWO TEAMS LAST YEAR? “I think that’s yet to be seen but it certainly is our goal. We made every effort possible last year to make it the super team and we didn’t succeed at that and we’ll make those same efforts this year to do it and hopefully we will do a better job of that.”  

HOW DOES IT BEING A 400-MILE RACE AS OPPOSED TO 500 CHANGE THE CHALLENGE FOR THE TEAM? “You know I don’t think it’s a big enough change in distance to really have that kind of impact. I’ve always said that after the first lap its only so many to go, so if it’s a shorter race or a longer race you start your strategy after you get the first one behind you. You start counting down from there and basing your strategy off of what’s left in the race. I think 400 miles is still a long enough race that it doesn’t really change things that much for us.”  

WE SAW A MORE INTERESTING RACE LAST TIME WE WERE HERE, TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK IS INTERESTING ABOUT THIS RACE TRACK, THIS RACE. “It’s just a spectacular race track and it’s just got great ability to have multiple grooves. It’s wide like Michigan and usable. Sometimes race tracks are wide and not usable and every inch of this race track is usable and it makes for great racing.”  

WHAT DO YOU THINK BURTON AND BIFFLE ARE THINKING RIGHT NOW AS FAR BACK AS THEY ARE? “They’re disappointed. Everyone is that’s back there, whoever is back there is always disappointed. They’re disappointed and they’re going every week is a new week and they’re going to every race with the mindset of having a great race and hopefully getting a win. If so they will start to march back toward the front. That’s what you really focus on. That’s the down side to points racing. It’s just one day in a whole lifetime. A bad race, that’s all it is, just one day in a whole life time but when you’re points racing its everything. That’s why it’s fun to go racing when you are not racing for points because you can race hard and if you have a bad day you just prepare for the next week. If you are points racing, you do the same thing you just prepare for the next week but you carry that burden around of how bad it was to have a bad week last week for a long time until you dig yourself up out of that hole.”  

SPEAKING OF NEXT WEEK, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT MARTINSVILLE? “The same as everywhere else, good engine, good handling, good crew, good brakes, fast through the corners. The only difference is the brakes are a really important there and they are not at most places we race so that’s a big deal.”  

About Chevrolet:Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

AUTO CLUB 400

AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

March 25, 2011

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET met with members of the media at Auto Club Speedway and discussed racing at Auto Club Speedway, the race at Las Vegas and other topics. Full transcript:

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT COMING BACK TO CALIFORNIA?: “We had a great weekend in Bristol. Went the right direction in the points and certainly an uplifting weekend with good pit stops, good race cars and everything. In the season we’ve had a couple bumps in the road. We’re still learning a lot, but last weekend was a great shot in the arm. Coming to one of our best tracks and excited to be here.”

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE SINCE YOU’VE BEEN IN CALIFORNIA?: “I came out Wednesday afternoon and we taped for the show Breaking In — the new Fox show that will be out in April. Filmed that and played myself. There’s a situation that we have as a race team and the show is based on this. Christian Slater runs and owns this investigative service company and we have some issues on our team and we need their help. I go in and talk to his group and go through some things, get some help and they help us solve our problem. We have somebody that’s on the radio during the races and they affect me in a way to where I lose the race. We go to them for help. The whole episode is kind of built around the team, the car, us so it’s going to be really cool and I’m glad to be a part of it. That took most of yesterday to be honest. It was a long day. Didn’t seem like it, but once we looked at the watches when we got out of there, it took a full day. Came over this morning from Los Angeles, had a good dinner last night with some friends and that was it. I’m going to stay a day after as well — we’re taping a Lowe’s commercial for a program they have coming up. We’ll be out here an extra day and then come home Tuesday.”

HOW HAS SPLITTING UP THE RACE SHOPS AFFECTED YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JEFF GORDON?: “I honestly can’t say that there’s a big difference. The times I see the other drivers are really at track in our meetings and debriefs or our post-race phone calls, meetings that we go through and all of that is still the same. Inside the shop there are some changes — minor again because we only changed the drivers. We didn’t change the teams around. I think that it was a very well thought through plan. It’s worked well and I think we’re off to a good start. Shaking things up a bit has been helpful. We as a group are still trying to figure out the mouse trap that we’ve built over the off season so we’re all getting stronger and better as a team. It’s going really well. The one thing I can say is that just have (Dale Earnhardt) Junior teamed up with Stevie (Letarte, crew chief) — you all know their personalities and Steve is a fun guy. It brings that out in Junior a lot more. I see a lot of smiles on his face and Stevie is just Stevie doing his thing. It’s entertaining to say the least.”

HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS YOUR SEASON SO FAR?: “I think we’re in good shape. We’re not where we want to be. I think we still have a lot of room for improvement from the speed in the cars, a little bit on pit road — although if we hadn’t had that issue late in the race at Bristol, if you look at our average pit stop time, even including that — it’s the best we’ve had as the 48 team. Those guys, the stops leading up to that last one were in the 12s. They did an amazing job. We have speed on pit road. We’re finding the speed with the car and I think that if I can rate us — we’ve done maybe in the B or B minus range right now. Not bad with all that we’ve changed over the off season. A lot of room to grow.”

HOW CONCERNED WOULD YOU BE IF YOU DON’T RUN WELL THIS WEEKEND?: “The progression is absolutely right. So Vegas is the first mile-and-a-half and we’ve had a couple weeks to work on some new ideas and then hopefully we can get out and get to work today. Every lap is going to help us progress our cars. If we leave here with a poor run, it’s right in front of us, we know we have a lot of work to do. I feel like we have a direction and hopefully we’re competitive and run well. This weekend’s race will really tell the tale.”

DO YOU THINK YOUR TEAM IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS?: “It is a work in progress, but it’s weird how and I’ve seen this over my career, you could be out of rhythm, not have the runs going like you want, but you go to a track that’s good for you and the results come. In a small way, I know we’re here and I have expectations and hopes of winning, but if I really think it through, I would say that a top-five run would be our goal. Don’t want to lose anymore points and want to continue to build a gap between where we are and 10th. There’s still a chance that we could win here. We’ve come here before struggling and have found a way to win. I’m optimistic about our chances.”

ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE RACE AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY?: “Time will tell if this race date, I guess it was five months since we were here last, but at the end of the day NASCAR is faced with the decision of where are we going to race and have the most fans come out and show their support. We’ve seen some open seats here and that’s just the truth of the matter. I know there are a lot of dedicated race fans in the area, but we need to somehow get them in the seats. I don’t like seeing races taken away from my home state and the west coast because I grew up in an era where we didn’t really have it on television and there wasn’t any close by. I wish that it was closer to us so I hate to see it leave, but at the same time if we don’t have the support then we have to find the areas that will support our sport and fill up the grandstands and all that kind of thing. Only time will tell how this will work out. I feel in my heart that one race will create the buzz. I had a lot of friends who were season ticket holders that when they would miss the spring race, they knew that the fall race was coming, ‘We’re busy, we’ll come in the fall.’ The fall would come and they were busy again so they would go in the spring and before you know it they haven’t been in three or four years. I’m hopeful this will correct some of that.”

CAN YOU USE ANY DATA FROM THIS RACE LAST FALL?: “We ran really good here and finished second or third — something like that. Think we had a late restart. I know we led a lot — us and the 5 (Mark Martin) ran really, really well so that will be the baseline setup that we work off of. Then from a concept standpoint, the areas that we’ve been exploring over the off season and at Las Vegas, we’ll start heading that way as the weekend progresses, but we’re going to come back real close or we are very close to how we left here last fall.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE WHOLE ACTING EXPERIENCE YESTERDAY?: “We spent a lot of time just doing the same thing over and over. They would change cameras and get different angles, close-ups of each person involved. Five or six hours went by and we taped a two-minute piece just for that. It was a long day. With the different scenes we ended up taping. The cast, there’s some characters on that cast and there wasn’t a dull moment all day long. I had a great experience with it. It’s an edgy show. Some of the stuff that the actors are going through, there’s no way it will make television, but it was good for laughs and had a great time with it. We did it in Los Angeles at the Sony studios.”

WHAT IS YOUR WORKOUT PROGRAM LIKE?: “It’s always changing and Mark (Martin) is one that I ask a lot of questions about — from a fitness standpoint, nutrition and a lot of different things. He has crazy knowledge in all those areas related to fitness. It does change and evolve. This year there is still a lot of cardio, but just so that you don’t plateau with the weights, my trainer is always changing things around. It is still very similar to where there is three days of weight lifting, five days of core work and then run schedules that come out anywhere with a short week would be 13 miles to a 25 mile week would be a long week.”

HAVE YOU HAD ANY ACTING TRAINING?: “No training — trial and error. I guess the commercials we shoot have been my training ground of sorts. The show Las Vegas, four or five years ago and I think I had more on camera time and dedicated three or four days to doing that where this experience was just one day. I would say the Las Vegas show was more intense time schedule. I think this was by far, which Christine (Curley, PR representative) even said I did a good job, which is hard to believe — she’s not one to pass out compliments. I knew Christian (Slater) from the different years that he has been out here promoting other programs and projects so hung out with him and talked and then the rest of the cast as well. They’re all going to come out for the race as well, we got them hooked up to come out. Hopefully you guys can grab them. The actor that was on Smallville, if you look on the website, his hair is all spiky. That guy is a riot. If you have a chance to ask him some questions, you’ll get quality answers. Not sure you can write or repeat much of what he says, but he’ll be entertaining.”

HOW WILL THE GREEN RACE TRACK AFFECT YOUR RACE ON SUNDAY?: “It will affect tire wear more than anything. Once we get the rubber down, the tires will last a lot longer at that point. This track is old enough to where we don’t need the bottom groove to rubber up too much to where we move around. We know right away that we can go to the outside — third, fourth groove or maybe even fifth groove in some places and make it work. We’ll spread out quick. That’s the great thing about an older track. I’ve seen four wide a few times and am not necessarily excited to be in those situations, but it’s worked out. Actually we’re below the line in three and four — there’s guys with all four tires below the yellow line in three and four all the way to the fence so it will be exciting.”

About Chevrolet: Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

AUTO CLUB 400

AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

March 25, 2011

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 US ARMY CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Auto Club Speedway and discussed start of the season, racing at Auto Club Speedway, wins for the wild car position, the new points system and other topics. Full transcript:

TALK ABOUT COMING OFF BRISTOL AND HEADING INTO AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY THIS WEEKEND: “I am really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing, the start that we have gotten as an organization. At the same time, prove that what we talked about we were capable of, we are capable of, at least this year. Coming into California after our finish as an organization last fall, Tony (Stewart) winning and us getting a top-five after battling back on the last restart. Happy to be where we are at now coming back to this race track with our past performance here last fall.”

FROM A DRIVER’S PERSPECTIVE, WHERE DOES THIS TRACK RANK IN DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY AND THEN FROM THE “FUN” PERSPECTIVE? “It is the most difficult I think, in just pure engine performance, what you have to have in an engine package here. It is extremely important to have a successful. Being able to get off the corners is one part of it, but its really got to run from the start/finish line as well, because there is so much straightaway. You get a big difference in RPM here that you don’t at other race tracks. Even a place like Michigan, you carry just a little bit more corner speed and don’t have to worry about the acceleration as much. At the same time, even though the RPM band is so far down, we’ll have to work on our forward bit and our forward drive a good bit here more so than other race tracks. Those are the things that we focus on here. But the most fun part of this race track now is its age and the fact that we can widen out the corners and get up in the gray. It really hooks the car up. I don’t know what it is going to be exactly like this weekend number one with the rain and the way the schedule works and the overcast we will have here now where typically in the past we’ve been dealing with 105 degree temperatures. Those are the things from a performance standpoint we will be working on and keeping an eye on.”

IS THERE THAT MUCH WITH THE TEAMS THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM THIS YEAR TO LAST YEAR? OR IS IT AS MUCH LUCK AND DIFFERENT THINGS? IS THERE THAT MUCH THAT HAS CHANGED AND EVOLVED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS? “Some of it is luck. Even the little bit of bad luck we had at Daytona we led the most laps. Then going into Phoenix, we were fortunate to stay out of the big one there at Phoenix and that was the luck we usually had, it was just that we were on the other side of the luck; we were on the bad luck side, not the good luck side. But in saying that, I think the team as a whole has done a good job of having cars that are performing well so that we are in a better position. Our pit crew has done a much better job this year to open the season than they have in the past. And in saying that, I think that with our start to the season, meaning the No. 39 side, I think that also helps the No. 14 side because we have two teams that are starting off well versus one team that has notoriously started off well, not as well as Tony is, but well. Just the overall strength and the backbone of our team and our organization is much better and stronger than it has been and part of that is just pure confidence from the first four races.”

INAUDIBLE (MEDIA MEMBER DID NOT HAVE A MICROPHONE): “It is kind of an ‘I’ll let you know’ because I haven’t always been the guy at Stewart-Hass organization the guy that is working his way back up from an unlucky or misfortunate start. I’m hoping that us being as good as we are at the start of the season on the No. 39 side, that we’ll see how that helps the No. 14 as well. I don’t know that it does, I’d have to say that if you look at confidence and momentum, we’ve both got a great opportunity and a great start to the season being tied for points four races in.”

ANY PRESSURE TO GET A WIN WITH THE WILD CARD SITUATION FOR THE CHASE? “I don’t think there is any pressure. It is I guess like an insurance program when it comes to the Chase. As it was last year, they said we would have been in the Chase if this year’s rules were last year’s rules. But, they weren’t and now they are different. But, we are here to win each and every race. If you get that win and you have four DNFs after that, then there is a chance you may not be in the top-10 but you’ll have a chance to make that top-12 part of it. But in saying that, two wins and you can pretty much play around in the summer if you aren’t worried about getting extra wins and play with some things with the race cars and strategies and things like that to put yourself in a different position potentially. But, ultimately, you have we are here to win whether it is now or in Richmond or Daytona in July, we don’t have the answer as to who is going to be those two guys locked in. The crazy part is you can have a guy that wins two races, be 25th in points and still make the Chase. CORRECTION FROM MEDIA MEMBER, NO MICROPHONE: “Ok, sorry, 20th in points which would probably happen anyway. But say he is 18th in points, doesn’t have any pressure to race his way in at Richmond, and there might be three or four guys racing for 10th at that point but he will be locked in because he got two wins back in April or May.”

IT HAS BEEN SAID IN THE PAST THAT LAS VEGAS CAN VALIDATE CALIFORNIA PERFORMANCE BECAUSE OF THE HORSEPOWER AND AERODYNAMICS, BUT SOMEONE WAS TELLING ME THAT BECAUSE VEGAS IS A LITTLE MORE ROUGH NOW, THAT MAYBE NOT AS MUCH CARRIES OVER THAT CALIFORNIA MIGHT HELP VALIDATE WHAT HAPPENS AT TEXAS NOW. CAN VEGAS VALIDATE WHAT HAPPENS HERE OR ARE THE TWO TRACKS BECOMING TWO DIFFERENT THAT IT IS CALIFORNIA AND SOMETHING ELSE? “I think whether they are the same or not the same, whether they are rough or different shaped, I think the biggest thing that validates each other is the confidence to be able to adjust to each of them. I don’t think that is necessarily that the bump in turn two at Vegas transfers over to the bump in turn four at California or Texas or whatnot. I think it is more so your ability to adjust the race car in those conditions and that confidence gives you the ability to kind of fight through those situations so that you are not necessarily comparing race tracks, but you know in the back your head, you are capable of achieving what you want on a given day. My point is that to me Vegas and California aren’t even close. And Vegas and Texas are closer than Vegas and California. So it all depends on who you talk to and what they struggle with at those race tracks. The No. 43 car may have problems with the bumps at Vegas and California but be great at Texas because of their setups and they not even know it. It is just a matter of opinion at that point.”

WHERE IS IT FOR YOU GUYS BECAUSE OF YOUR BETTER START THIS YEAR? “I think the biggest part of our confidence isn’t necessarily that we are tied for third In points as it is how we got to this point with our performances on the race track. To come to back from some of the things that we have dealt with and to have as good a start is nice, but the confidence of how we work together is I think what to me what is more exciting than actually being fourth in points because I think we have done much better as a team to get to where we are this year and done what we thought we were capable of the last two years, we just had bad racing luck that put us in a hole that we had to fight out of.”

DID YOU MAKE ANY CHANGES TO YOUR PIT CREW IN THE OFF SEASON? “Not that I am aware of, no. I am pretty sure all the guys stayed the same. We made one change with maybe 10 or 12 races to go last year, something like that. I think that is the way it has been from that time on.”

TO YOU FOLLOW-UP DO YOU SEE A TEAM THAT MIGHT BE 10TH OR 11TH OR 12TH, BUT JUST PUTS ALL OF THEIR EFFORTS ON WORKING ON MILE-AND-A-HALF TRACKS, IS THAT A WAY TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “I don’t think a team would do that number one I don’t think a team can win a championship in doing that number two. Because, of what it takes as an average finish in those last 10 races, you can’t bank it on mile-and-a-half race tracks. Between the restrictor plate track and a couple of short track races in there, your average can significantly fall if you weren’t any good at those other tracks. Ultimately we are trying to win each and every race as a team.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO MARTINSVILLE, THE LAST NINE RACES, ONLY TWO GUYS HAVE WON THERE. YOU’VE HAD GOOD RACES THERE, WITH HOW YOUR PROGRAM IS PROGRESSING, ARE YOU GUYS ON PAR TO BEAT THE NO. 11 (DENNY HAMLIN) AND THE NO. 48 (JIMMIE JOHNSON? AND WHY HAVE TWO GUYS DOMINATED AT ONE TRACK WHEN COMPETITION IS SUPPOSED TO BE SO CLOSE? “I think the competition is still real close I just think it is those guys have risen to the ultimate top at that race track which is entirely unique to anything else we have on the schedule. I think that in itself, Martinsville being Martinsville, is part of it. The other part of it is the drivers have to really modulate that brake pedal which is another part of it. You can have the best car there and burn the brakes off it is and finish 35th. I have actually blown two tires out, melted the beads on two tires at one time and blew both of them at the same time which I thought was pretty cool afterwards (LAUGHS). We’ve been good there, we have been really good, especially on Fridays and we seem to start off a little slow on Sundays and end up in the top-five or top-10. I think that last fall was going to be a good race for us had we not lost a gear because we were leading at the time. I think we have made some pretty big gains to try to catch those guys and surpass them.”

About Chevrolet: Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com ce5&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.chevrolet.com%2f> .