NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOBOWLING.COM 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 2, 2013
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PLANES CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER
YOU WERE 1 SECOND FASTER THAN YOU WERE IN PRACTICE. HOW DID THAT FEEL?
“Yeah, it might even be more than that. I think we were like a 51.l5 was my fastest lap in qualifying runs and then just to run a 49.80-something; so (laughs). I’d like to have another shot at it. I think I could do a better job. But all of my senses said that was awesome and my fun meter was certainly pegged. It was a lot of fun to drive a car that good on a track with so much grip. So we’ll see if it holds up. Certainly it was a very strong lap time. Kyle (Busch) time held up throughout the majority of qualifying here, so we’ll see if my Disney Planes /KOBALT Tools / Lowe’s Chevrolet can fly around the track and get us a pole.”
YOU THINK YOU COULD HAVE DONE BETTER?
“Well I went over a second faster than what I did in practice. Another shot at it I think I could polish up my lap and flow a little bit better. It took everything I threw at it and then it made me question if there might be a little bit more. What a great race car. Conditions are great now that this cloud cover came in the early part of the session. I got the most of it there on my lap.”
YOU WERE A LITTLE LATE GETTING OUT TO THE LINE THERE WAS THERE A PROBLEM?
“No, we had to go through a second time. The left-rear tow was off a whopping one thousandth of an inch. We had to go through again and rolled up there and ran our lap.”
THE TEMPERATURE HAS CHANGED. DO YOU FEEL IT’S GOING TO CHANGE ANY MORE TO MAKE IT EVEN FASTER OUT THERE?
“I think it’s going to be a lot like the last race here. From what I’ve seen of the forecast, temps are going to be low and more spring like; so with all that in mind, we had a very fast race car in the spring, so hope our Chevrolet can do that once again.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 HAAS AUTOMATION 30TH ANNIVERSARY CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED FOURTH
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN:
“It was a good run. Hopefully it stays in the top five, which I think we’re in good company with the guys that we practiced around. So, we’ll see.”
ON THE CONDITIONS DURING QUALIFYING:
“It was a good lap. We picked up over a second from what we practiced. Awesome job by the guys. Man that is fast here. Kyle (Busch) laid down a heck of a lap and I think that will put us top five with the Haas Automation Chevrolet. I don’t see the conditions getting a whole lot better than what they are right now, but it was fast.”
ON TURNING AROUND HIS WINNING BRICKYARD 400 CAR IN LESS THAN A WEEK:
“Fortunately the guys in the paint booth didn’t have to do anything. It was a wrap on both sides. It was just an amazing effort in turning it around because you don’t get the car back now until Tuesday after lunch because of the NASCAR inspection deal. It’s a little tougher than it used to be, but they did an amazing job.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED FIFTH
ON HIS QUALIFYING LAP:
“Just a little bit tight. The pace was so fast that you are on that edge. To be on the conservative side is fine, but if you are on that edge to go for pole and we were just a little bit too tight. We might get top five with that. We will hopefully hang on to the top 10 and go get them tomorrow.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 12TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING LAP:
“I thought it was a really good lap. Historically this hasn’t been a great track for me. I think our expectations are maybe a little bit less here than what you would have at a place like Charlotte or somewhere that you typically run really well. It was a good lap for our Cessna Chevy. We were a little off in turn one. I thought turn three we were extremely good in and in the race I think that is what you work on is getting good in that corner. It’s the easiest corner to pass off of. Hopefully we have learned something today that we can apply to our race set-up for tomorrow and it will make it a little bit easier to pass. It’s one of the most challenging tracks we come to, to pass on.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 23RD
ON HIS QUALIFYING LAP:
“That is the problem with going first you never really know just how much grip is out there. I was really happy with the balance of the car compared to practice. We made some really good adjustments on our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet. It’s the most solid qualifying lap that we’ve had in quite some time. I’m pretty happy about that and we will soon find out just where it’s going to stack up.”
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