CHEVY NSCS AT TALLADEGA TWO: Post Race Notes and Quotes

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
CAMPING WORLD RV SALES 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
OCTOBER 20, 2013JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS – RACE WINNER

WHAT A FINISH.  TAKE US THROUGH THE DAY YOU HAD AND WHERE YOU CAME FROM IN THE FINAL 35 LAPS:

“I knew that our Cessna Chevrolet was good in practice and I just could never get the right line.   At the plate tracks to get the right line, it requires a lot of risk and I felt like I was pretty patient all day and I saw the 17 and the 88 coming on the top.    It just seemed the top was the better place to get hung out than if you got hung out on the bottom.  Fortunately I was able to get myself in position.  I don’t know how the last lap would have played out because I could see the 88 trying to set me up and trying to figure out where he could get a run on me but when I saw the caution come out behind me. Honestly, I wanted to see it end under green but at the same time, I said if there was a caution I would be okay with that right now too.

Really cool for Cessna and we have the University of Auburn on the hood of our car I’m also really happy for McDonald’s.  Our cars have been so much better this year and we haven’t been able to get to victory lane.   Chip (Ganassi) won the IndyCar championship yesterday so it’s been a good day.  But quite honestly the best part about it for me and I told Christy, it would be so cool to be able to take our kids to victory lane.  Pretty awesome.”

 

YOU HEARD DALE EARNHARDT JR SAY HE HAD A PLAN.  HAD IT COME DOWN TO THE FINAL LAP, HOW DO YOU HOLD OFF EARNHARDT JR?

“Well, I don’t know.  And the thing about the package we have right now is that you can get the third guy in line to push the second guy and it’s hard to defend.  You just have to make your car as wide as you can.   Quite honestly, I don’t know what I was going to do.   With ten laps left to go I kind of thought that it wasn’t reality yet, then with five to go I could tell he was being patient.   Then when they could never get the bottom line to form I knew it was going to come down to the first three or four cars.  It’s unfortunate that the caution came out, but for me, I don’t know how I was going to defend that.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 MOUNTAIN DEW/XBOX ONE CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED SECOND

ON THE LAST FEW LAPS:
“I had a plan we were going to get a run down the back straightaway me and the No. 14 and whoever else wanted to go.  They got together behind me getting into their quarter panels and we just never really got a chance to see what we could do.  We had our run formed in the middle of (turns) one and two and we were coming off of (turn) two with pretty good steam when they spun out behind me.  My car quit going because we weren’t being pushed anymore.  We didn’t lose to no slouch.  Jamie’s (McMurray) a great restrictor plate racer and he has got really good engines with Hendrick power so real happy to run second and definitely an improvement on what we have been doing here in the past.”

 

DID YOU HAVE THAT STRATEGY READY IF THE YELLOW HADN’T COME OUT?

“Well, we were kind of forming our run around the middle of one and two and I think we had a pretty good head of steam coming off turn two and they got together behind us and that was that.  I was going to try something down the back straightaway, but we just never got a chance.  We finished second to a pretty good race car driver at these plate tracks.  Jamie wins a lot of races here and Daytona, and always runs well.  He has Hendrick power, so hard to outrun that.   But we are real pleased with how our car did today.   The Mountain Dew/XBOX One Chevrolet SS was real competitive all day.  We ran up front, could pass, and had fun taking the lead and leading some laps.  I definitely felt like we improved on how we have run in the past.  So, excited about coming back.”

PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 DURACELL/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FOURTH

WHAT WAS IT LIKE BEHIND THE STEERING WHEEL IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT IN THOSE CLOSING LAPS?
“It was kind of sitting around waiting for something to happen really.  We had a really good car all day.  The middle lane when you are three-wide you could really gain some spots.  Ultimately the outside won out.  After everything played out the outside was the way to go.  The last 10 laps it was riding around on the outside waiting for somebody to make a move.  You didn’t want to be the guy that made a move and nobody went with you.  So, there really wasn’t a whole lot we could have done there at the end.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 WIX FILTERS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED NINTH

ON HIS DAY:

“I rode around in the back all day basically just trying to keep my nose clean. I was waiting for something to happen the whole race, but it never really did except for that wreck on the last lap that unfortunately took out my teammate, Austin Dillon. I’m happy that we came out of here with a ninth-place finish and a clean WIX Filters Chevrolet. That wasn’t very much fun out there, though. But, I’m proud of my guys for giving me a good racecar this weekend. That’s another top-10 finish, which we can go home happy about.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 12TH

ON HIS RACE:

“We got ourselves in position to be where we needed to be at the end of the race. Coming to the last pit stop and then lost everything that we gained on the last pit stop again. So, I just hate it for all our Jimmy John’s guys. We had a strategy that we stuck to and then we were just last off of pit road.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 13TH

YOU ARE LEAVING TALLADEGA FOUR POINTS AHEAD TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN AND TALK ABOUT GETTING TO THE TOP OF THE POINT STANDINGS AS WELL TODAY:

“We had a great race car and lead a lot of the race.  At the end there the No. 1 decided to run the top and took the bulk of cars with him.  As that happened the middle lane that I was in quickly became the bottom lane and then quickly didn’t exist.  I dropped like a rock for a while and was able to get in the outside lane and start making some spots back and fortunately missed the big pile up on the back stretch.  Obviously, was paying attention to where the No. 20 was.  I was the No. 29, the No. 24 and was in and around and ahead I think of most of those guys.  13th isn’t the best finish, but with what we are trying to do and win a championship we beat the competition today and that is good.”

 

WE TALKED EARLIER TODAY AND YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO BE NEAR THE FRONT AT THE END, BUT YOU WERE STUCK IN ABOUT 15th. WHAT HAPPENED?

“Yeah, the outside lane got going and everybody jumped up in it.   You just don’t know if people are going to chase the bottom or the top and when I saw the 1 car had the lead I figured the 1 and the 88 would take the top.   As that developed I was on the bottom lane and I worked my way to the middle lane and was able to maintain it for a little while and then everybody went single file and I dropped like a rock.  So it wasn’t a comfortable feeling and not the position I wanted to be in late in the race but we rallied back and got a few more spots.  Most importantly we got back in front of the 20 and missed the wreck on the backstretch.”

 

YOU LED THE MOST LAPS, YOU TAKE OVER THE POINTS LEAD AND YOU SURVIVED TALLADEGA.  HOW ABOUT LOOKING FORWARD FOR YOU, HOW DOES THIS SPRINGBOARD YOU TOWARD ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP?
“You know I feel that the races forward now are up to where the competitors go earn it.  You don’t have this luck issue that can take place at plate tracks.  So I am happy to have the points lead and we went through a lot of work to get there.   We were just getting one point at a time and we got a few more than normal today and were able to get the lead.  We just go racing from here and that is the thing I am most excited for.  Great race tracks, great race cars and it’s just going to be a dogfight to the end.”

YOU’VE GOT TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE AT HEADING INTO MARTINSVILLE NEXT WEEK:
“It’s been good to us in the past.  We’ve got to go there and race.  There is going to be a lot of strong competition.  We will make sure we get buttoned up and ready to go for this weekend’s race and go up there to that paperclip and see what we can do.”

 

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 14TH

ON HIS RACE:

“It was a good day. I thought that the car was fantastic. I thought the team did an awesome job of executing our plan and we were in perfect position. And it just didn’t work out. I got kind of shoved on the back straightaway and was trying not to wreck and that got me out of a really good position and then we were kind of a sitting duck at that point and just went to the back and wanted to see what we could do with them on that final lap. And of course you know, a wreck is going to happen. I hope Austin (Dillon) and Casey (Mears) are okay. That looked pretty nasty.”

 

WERE YOU SURPRISED IT WENT SINGLE FILE LIKE THAT?

“Shocking. Shocking. You never know. I mean it’s smart for those guys up front to do that because it eliminates a lot of cars out of the running for the win. But I’ve never seen guys have that much patience here in my life. So I was pretty shocked to see them just holding that line like they did. Of course they hold that line that one time when we were back there in 25th or whatever it was, so I wasn’t real happy at that moment. But we just hung in there and made a couple of moves there at the end.”

 

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CHASE AND GETTING THROUGH THIS ‘WILD CARD’ RACE?

“We didn’t really gain anything, but we didn’t really lose anything. So it was sort of a wash. And in that sense, we didn’t tear up a race car. I’m standing here. And we just move on to the next four (races).”

 

KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/WONDER BREAD CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 18TH

ON HIS RACE:

“Restrictor plate racing is all about being in the right place at the right time.  We were in the right place for the majority of the race, but when it counts at the end we weren’t there. I tried to make something happen, but couldn’t get there. It’s disappointing because our Wonder Bread car was fast and to finish 18th didn’t do us justice.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 14 BASS PRO SHOPS/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 26TH AFTER GOING AIRBORNE ON THE FINAL LAP OF THE RACE

WHAT A CRAZY RIDE DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENED ON THE LAST LAP:
“I was trying to go for the win there.  The No. 17 had a little bit of a run with the No. 27 and I tried to go with him and came back across and hooked me.  I can’t say enough about this Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 team.  That was a lot of fun right there coming to the white flag at Talladega and having a shot to win.  I was going to push (Dale Earnhardt) Junior right there.  He had a pretty good car.  Just trying to wait until the end and they made a move and I tried to block it and it didn’t work out.  I’ve got to say thanks to Bass Pro Shops, Tony Stewart for giving me this opportunity though it was fun.”

 

YOU HAD A GOOD DAY AND WERE RUNNING THIRD THERE AT THE END.  DID YOU GUYS ACTUALLY TOUCH?

“Yeah, we had a really fast Bass Pro Shops Chevy and it was really good.   Got to thank Tony Stewart and everyone at Stewart-Haas for giving me this opportunity because it was so much fun.   I was trying to help the 88 right there at the end and they had a run, the 17.   So I went low and when I was coming back up he just hooked me and when he hooked us it was over there.  But a wild ride.   I just have to thank NASCAR for everything they have done for safety.  That hit was fine.   I got to drive the car back and it’s a lot of fun when you have good safety equipment and can go after it like that.  It was fun though.”

 

YOU ARE LEADING THE NATIONWIDE SERIES POINTS, HOW GOOD IS IT FOR YOU TO GET THIS RACING EXPERIENCE IN DURING THE DOWN TIME?

“Well, it’s really good.   The No. 14 guys told me to bring back the steering wheel or the trophy.   We brought back the steering wheel, but we were close to the trophy.   That was fun and the Nationwide team has done a great job this year and hopefully we can end the year with a championship.   This was a lot of fun and like I said, I have to thank Tony Stewart, everyone at Stewart-Haas and Johnny Morris – he has done a lot for my career.”

 

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – INVOLVED IN AN ON-TRACK ACCIDENT ON LAP 78 AND FINISHED 41ST

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE TRACK OUT THERE YOU WERE RACING WITH MARCOS AMBROSE?
“I wasn’t really we were riding.  I saw the bottom line moving pretty good.  The Target Chevrolet was pretty good to be honest.  We were running two-wide so it was comfortable.  We started running three-wide and the spotter told me ‘get out’ and I backed up going into the tri-oval and the next thing I know.  I just saw out the corner of my eye somebody coming towards me and that was it.”

 

DESCRIBE THAT HORNET’S NEST OUT THERE.  IT LOOKS LIKE IT’S PRETTY CRAZY OUT THERE WITH GUYS GOING TO THE BACK AND GUYS COMING TO THE FRONT:
“I rode 90 percent of the time at half throttle, just riding.”

 

WHAT DID YOU SEE OUT THERE?
“I didn’t see much.  I was on the bottom and we were running two-wide and all of a sudden it started being three-wide.  My spotter and I both said I think we need to get out. I backed off actually right before going into the tri-oval to start getting out.  The No. 99 was getting out with us and the next thing I just saw out of the corner of my eye a car coming across and that was it.”

 

 

 

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