Category: Race Central

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 2, 2015

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – POLE SITTER
“We definitely have a fast Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet. I think we’ve shown that all weekend long. But you never know what you’ve got until you put it on the clock. I am so proud of this pole because we got the pole in Daytona, but it was a totally different format. I knew the car was fast there. For this team to bring another car, a different car here, and all the hard work from the engine shop and what they do with the bodies, and chassis and prep. A lot of hard work goes into this and Alan Gustafson (crew chief) takes a lot of pride in these. They should, this is awesome. And awesome for Hendrick Motorsports to be on the front row. This was all them.  I played a small role at Daytona, but I played NO role today, but it was fun.”

 

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2^ND
“The Hendrick (Motorsports) cars are really strong, and the engines are running great. Our Farmers Insurance Chevy was fast right there.  I told Jeff (Gordon, pole sitter) I was coming to the front row. I knew I wouldn’t beat him because he is really quick, but I knew we could get up to second.  I was really happy with that. It is a good starting spot. Hopefully tomorrow we stay out of trouble and we are  there at the end and have a shot.”

ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT:
“It’s great to be on the front row. I knew I wouldn’t beat him (Jeff Gordon, pole winner) because he’s really quick. But I knew we could get up to second with a couple of things there. So, I was really happy. That’s a good starting spot. Hopefully tomorrow we stay out of trouble and are there at the end and have a shot.”

 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 4^TH
ON QUALIFYING:
“The car ran good.  We got into that last round.  We don’t have as much speed as some of the other guys, but we will work on it.  Get to go ahead and get ready for the race.”

YOU SAID YOU DON’T HAVE AS MUCH SPEED AS THE OTHER GUYS CAN YOU MAKE THAT UP WITH KNOWLEDGE AND SMARTS?
“Oh I mean we were close.  There were only a couple of guys that were a little quicker than us.  I feel pretty good about our car really to be honest with you.  We are right up there.  We have good speed.”

HOW WAS THE QUALIFYING RUN FOR YOU?  HOW HAPPY ARE YOU WITH THE RACE CAR?
“I’m glad we made the last round.  It shows the car has good speed.  I feel pretty good about it.”

THOUGHTS ON NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT:
“It’s the way it ought to be.  The fastest car gets the pole.”

 

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 5^TH
ON THE NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT:
“I think it’s a great way to manage the requirement of qualifying.  We tried to make it more exciting with group drafting and that had some issues to it.  I think it’s a good balance.  It’s an efficient way we have two rounds not necessarily the most exciting thing, but still far better than the old single car three lap deal that we had.  I think it’s a good kind of blend of the two worlds.”

 

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 6^TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN:
“We are definitely going to be in the top 10 right now for sure.  I’m proud of Chad (Johnston, crew chief) and really proud of our guys in our fab shop.  You kind of wish – this is the event where you wish those guys could all be here because it really shows the fruit of their labor more than it does what we do here at the track.  The work that takes place before you get to the shop shows up when you get here.”

 

PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 QUAKER STATE/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 7^TH
ON THE NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT:
“It’s a lot better than the alternative.  The old style with the single car two times laps that was just way too long.  So this format we can get it done a lot sooner.  The drafting deal everybody just played so many games and you put yourself at risk of tearing up a race car.  This is the best of the three for sure.”

YOU’VE BEEN REALLY FAST ALL SEASON DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE A WINNING CAR FOR SUNDAY?
“Oh yeah.  We definitely have a winning car for Sunday, but unfortunately at Talladega about 30 other people do too.”

 

CASEY MEARS, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 11^TH
HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH EVERYTHING?
“I think it went well. Anytime you can be this good on a superspeedway, it’s all very close and tight. I’m excited about the Geico 500 this weekend. Our guys brought a really fast car, so it should be a fun race tomorrow.”

WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO CELEBRATE WITH THE GEICO FOLKS OVER THERE IN VICTORY LANE?
“I tell you what, it would mean a lot to me to be in any Victory Lane, but definitely with this being a Geico race and a lot of their folks being here, it would be a lot more fun for sure. We’ve got a good shot at it. Every superspeedway this year and last year, we’ve actually ran real well. So hopefully we can be there at the end and have something to say about it.”

 

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 13^TH  
“I think we had decent speed. Happy we did single-car qualifying because normally the way we qualify on superspeedways I somehow miss the draft and end up…I think we started 42nd here last time.  So, the Target Chevy should be alright. We’ll see.  Everybody’s kind of equal here, so we will see.”

 

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 14^TH 
ON THE NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT:
“I like it.  I think it’s the way it should be.  I think it’s great for the guys they take a lot of pride in this.  You see a lot of nervous crew chiefs out through there wanting to make sure they show some speed in their cars.  I think it’s good to show.  This matters to me just to see where all your cars are.  The No. 27 (Paul Menard) was quite a bit faster than us.  We obviously got some stuff we can learn to get better.  It’s good for the guys.  In my opinion I like it, it’s simple and now we can go race.”

ARE HERE AND DAYTONA YOUR TWO BEST SHOTS TO GET IN THE CHASE?
“Yeah, I think we definitely have to get a win.  I think Michigan, Pocono, Kansas are all good tracks for us too, the big 1.5-mile’s.  We have gotten better and we have another shot at Bristol too where we had a good shot at winning a couple of weeks ago.  I’m optimistic to what is ahead.  I definitely take a lot of pride in Talladega and Daytona.  ECR engines run well here and hopefully we can put ourselves in a position to win.”

 

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 24^TH
ON THE NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT:
“I think it definitely shows a more traditional way of showing who has the fastest cars and it rewards the efforts that the guys put into it.  I think it’s gone pretty smooth and I think it was a great adjustment.”

ON STARTING POSITION FOR SUNDAY:
“Our starting position won’t be very good, but I feel good about where our car is in the draft.  That is the main thing.”

 

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 27^TH
ON THE NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT:
“I think the qualifying is good. It seems like it’s going to go by fairly fast.  The fastest car will be on the pole, which is ultimately I think what you want when you come to a place like this.  Yeah, I think the qualifying format is good.”

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IN THE RACE?
“I don’t think the race will be any different than what we typically would have had because at some point it all gets shuffled around.  I don’t think qualifying will have any effect on the race.”

ON THE CHAOS OF THE FINAL LAPS:
“With 10 laps to go everybody is a crazy man.  No one puts themselves above anyone else on what they are willing to do to win.  It’s very circumstantial so you get to the front and once you get to that front pack to be able to hold on it.  You have to have a good car, you have to make good decisions and you have to be lucky.”

HOW DO YOU ASSESS YOUR CHANCES?
“We just have to wait and see how the race plays out tomorrow.  You have to finish and avoid the incidents. We blew a tire out here last year in the front.  There is a lot that can happen.  You just have to survive.”

 

MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/DENVER MATTRESS CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 36^TH  
“Good thing this happened at a superspeedway where qualifying doesn’t carry the importance as it does on intermediate and short tracks. I wish we could have done better but didn’t have the speed. We’ll just have to be patient while working our way to the front and avoid in early wrecks.”

 

 

 

 

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RICHMOND, Va. – Suspension to redemption.

After being suspended for three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races earlier this season after an alleged domestic violence incident, Kurt Busch won Sunday’s postponed Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway in a dominating performance, virtually locking up a spot in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Busch, who was reinstated March 11 and granted a waiver into the Chase. “It’s a total team effort. And the way that everything came together, it just seemed like we were building, building and building towards a great finish like this.

“I have this opportunity because of Gene Haas and everybody that’s a part of our family at Stewart-Haas. It’s an unbelievable feeling when you pull deep from within, you go through troubles and you know when you’re accused of something and things go sideways. Your personal life doesn’t need to affect your business life and I’m here in Victory Lane. It feels great to do it at Richmond.”

Pole sitter Joey Logano led the first 50 laps of the race until the scheduled competition caution waved allowing teams the opportunity to pit for fuel, tires and adjustments. The top 10 left pit road as they entered, but Jamie McMurray had to come down pit road a second time after being informed his team left lug nuts loose.

Logano led the field back to green and maintained the race lead through Lap 94 when Kurt Busch challenged and inherited the lead on Lap 95. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver pulled to an eight-tenths of a second lead by Lap 100 and extended it until a Lap 127 caution when Joey Gase wrecked on the backstretch.

Busch won the race off pit road and controlled the field through the halfway point with a 0.826 second advantage over Brad Keselowski in second. Through the long run, McMurray climbed through the field and momentarily challenged Busch for the top spot on Lap 259, but Busch reasserted himself a lap later.

McMurray regained control of the lead a lap later and led until green flag pit stops began on Lap 263 with McMurray pitting on Lap 265. Meanwhile, Keselowski stayed out and shuffled into the lead. Nearing the end of green flag stops, Brett Moffitt made contact with the wall in Turn 4 bringing out the fifth caution of the day, leaving only three cars on the lead lap.

Keselowski, Justin Allgaier and Busch all pitted under the yellow, with McMurray benefiting from the free pass, putting himself back on the lead lap. Fifteen cars behind them elected to take the wave around, putting 19 cars on the lead lap for the restart.

Busch checked out on the restart, ahead of Allgaier and Keselowski. Meanwhile, McMurray had to make another climb back through the field and made his way to the bumper of Allgaier on Lap 315 for second. Once past the HScott Motorsports driver, McMurray trailed Busch by more than four seconds.

With 50 laps to go, McMurray trimmed the lead down to less than three seconds, but the yellow flag waved a lap later, saving a number of the front-running teams from making their final planned stop under green.

The race resumed with 42 laps remaining and unchanged at the front. Two quick cautions set up for a 26-lap shootout between Busch, McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Logano.

Escaping the field quickly, Busch checked out, with the battle on for the runner-up spot. Harvick – aptly nicknamed the “The Closer” – made the pass on McMurray on Lap 382 and set sights on his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate for the win.

Harvick chipped away at his deficit, but the reigning champion was no match for Busch, putting a period on a stellar performance by claiming his 26th-career Sprint Cup Series victory and second at Richmond. The 36-year old led a race-high 291 of the event’s 400 laps.
“Tony Gibson is an amazing crew chief and I’m glad I’ve got the chance to work with him,” Busch said. “We got it done today.”

Behind Busch and Harvick, Johnson was third followed by McMurray, Logano, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. to round out the top 10.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series resumes next Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway for the GEICO 500. Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner.