NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
KOBALT TOOLS 400
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES & QUOTES
March 4, 2011
LAS VEGAS (Mar. 4, 2011) – A total of 17 Team Chevy drivers will take the green flag for Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Ryan Newman, No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet and Mark Martin, No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, posted top-10 qualifying efforts for the 267-lap/400.5-mile race securing the eighth and 10th starting positions respectively in the 43-car field.
Matt Kenseth (Ford) won the pole. Marcos Ambrose (Ford), Carl Edwards (Ford), Greg Biffle (Ford) and Kyle Busch (Toyota) complete the top-five starters.
FOX TV, PRN Radio and Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 will bring live coverage of race three of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season set to start at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 8TH
The Haas Automation Chevrolet bounced around really badly in turns one and two on that lap,” Newman said. “We weren’t as fast as I thought we would be in qualifying, and I think we probably could have had a better lap if the car would have been more stable. That’s something will have to work on tomorrow in practice, but based off our practice earlier today, I think we’re going to have a pretty good racecar on Sunday.”
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 10TH
WAS THAT ONE OF THE WILDEST LAPS YOU’VE TAKEN IN A WHILE?
“Well, it wasn’t the wildest but it was pretty exciting. Just kudos to Lance McGrew and the GoDaddy.com team. We were really off and they were slinging wrenches and getting in there and doing it in practice. They made the car better every time and that was a big pickup. Obviously it won’t be a top five. It probably won’t be a top 10 but it will be close to it and that’s much better than we were in practice. We’re proud of the gains that we made and I’m proud of them and I like seeing them work and I like seeing them with such great attitudes and we’re having a little fun.”
CAN YOU DRIVE IT LIKE THAT FOR 400 MILES HERE ON SUNDAY?
“Yeah, I’ll slow down just a little bit but I can do it (laughs)!”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 13TH
THIS WEEK YOU’RE GOING TO TRY TO PUT DUPONT BACK IN VICTORY LANE, RIGHT?
“Oh, yeah, we’d love to do that. They’ve been amazing over the years and it’s fun to have them on board this weekend. It’s been an adventurous weekend for us with the DuPont Chevrolet starting practice with the way we did (spin). I thought we laid down a pretty good lap. That’s why you’ve got to be good in practice. You want to get that late spot in qualifying. And now we’re really starting to see some guys put down some laps. So a good lap. A decent lap; and a great effort by the team. And now we go from here.”
ON HIS LAP
“Mark Martin laid a pretty good lap down. I didn’t think mine was flawless. So to come as close as we did to him, I was pretty happy. And with this new format, you just know cars are going to keep getting faster. I like the pick-up. I like the grip the car had. And it’s been an interesting day for us. I think we’re going to end on a fairly positive note here and I’m happy about that. So we’ll take it for the DuPont Chevrolet.”
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> .
