NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES
FEBRUARY 15, 2015
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – POLE SITTER
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO GET THE POLE IN YOUR LAST RUN AT THE DAYTONA 500?
“The team at Hendrick Motorsports always puts so much effort into these restrictor plate races and every race. So much pride in the engine shop and the bodies and the engineering that goes into these cars. This year with this qualifying format the driver finally gets to play a role. With a fast race car and a lot of coordination between the spotter, Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and myself and our teammates that was pretty nerve racking. I didn’t think we were going to wait that long. I really wanted to go sooner than that, but that just feel very gratifying just as a total team effort to be able to have a 1-2 for Hendrick Motorsports and the front row.
“Whew, that feels good that is awesome. This is one of the most gratifying poles here at Daytona that I have ever had. Not just because my final Daytona 500, but because you have to try to plan it out and you have to try to play that chess match and we played it really well. I went to go off pit road pretty hard I knew I had Jimmie (Johnson) behind me and I saw the No. 20 and the No. 11 checking up and I said ‘nope, I want to be behind them’. It worked out perfect. I thought Jimmie (Johnson) was going to get it and right there on that last lap I got a little bit of a surge and sucked up to those guys. I thought ‘this might be enough’ and you knew you wanted to be in the back and that is part of the waiting game. At Talladega it bit us here it won the pole for the Daytona 500. Awesome job to my team, everybody back at Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick, this is pretty awesome to be on pole.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALFIED 2ND
WHAT WAS THAT LAST LAP LIKE FOR YOU?
“I was kind of torn because if we stayed on pit road and didn’t roll off I think we had pole based on the way the rules are written. I’m sitting there thinking sure guys let the clock run out I will sit here on pit lane and wait it out, it’s no problem. Then once we got rolling I wasn’t sure what would happen if the No. 78 crossed or maybe four or five crossed and we didn’t. So then I’m like ‘man I hope I get there on time’. We did and then I’m the last car and it’s that line I thought ‘man I’ve still got the pole, I’m in great shape.’ But it was good enough for second. Very interesting qualifying session to say the least, but I just want to say thank you to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for their hard work to have all four cars in that final 12 was pretty cool. Obviously, the front row is very special big thank you to Chevrolet and then my awesome sponsor Lowe’s.”
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