NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 JIMMY JOHN’S/BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
HOW MUCH OF AN ADJUSTMENT DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE FROM ROUND 1 TO THE FINAL ROUND?
“I just did a bad job. Obviously, In Round 1 I missed Turn 1 and in the last round, I missed Turn 1 again and just didn’t get to the bottom like I needed to in order to get back in the throttle. I’m just really proud of everybody on our Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet for everything that they’ve done. We have a fast car. The No. 22 (Joey Logano) has probably been the fastest in a single car run, but I feel really good about our car on the long haul and that’s what matters.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 3RD
ON QUALIFYING:
“We had a really good day yesterday. We unloaded and were the quickest car off the trailer in the first practice. Then the second practice I thought was one of the best practices I’ve had. It was really methodical and we used our tires in a proper manner. Then today we weren’t very good and we made some adjustments and got the car quite a bit better in Q trim. I thought we were really good in race trim and okay in Q trim. To be third is great because it is a challenging place because tires fall off fast here and we kept going faster every time we went out which is unheard of. With this rules package, the entry speed is quite a bit slower so that makes it a little bit easier. It’s been pretty cold all day, but it did cool down quite a bit more in the last hour. But the track had a lot of grip from the time we unloaded. It has been so cool, the sun hasn’t really affected it.
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 7TH
ON QUALIFYING:
“I’m not worried about others, I’m just happy the Caterpillar Chevrolet kept improving from where we started in qualifying practice all the way through qualifying. I had a really good lap until (turns) three and four. I’m sure there are a lot of girls that say that. It is a good place to start, but hopefully we get a better place to finish.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 9TH
ON QUALIFYING:
“It (qualifying) really went better than I anticipated. We had struggled in practice and didn’t have a whole lot of speed to show. A lot of guys had trouble getting out of tech. We still had good speed and ran a good lap in the second session to get us in the top 10 there. The last segment we got really loose, didn’t do enough adjustments to really give ourselves a better shot. But still we learned a lot and gained a lot, so pleased about that. Really was frustrated this afternoon and hoping not to be too disappointed tonight. I think this is a big gain for us. We struggled in qualifying last year so we are really focusing on trying to improve that. It was important that we got through tonight. I feel like we made some gains.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON SOME DRIVERS, INCLUDING YOUR TWO TEAMMATES NOT MAKING IT THROUGH TECHNICAL INSPECTION AND GETTING A CHANCE TO QUALIFY?
“I don’t know what my thoughts are because I don’t know what the situation is over there. I don’t know enough about what the problem is and why guys are having problems. Whether it’s NASCAR, whether it’s the teams, so it’s hard to make a comment because I would be speaking without any education on it. I am sure it’s something NASCAR doesn’t like to see. The teams certainly would like to get a lap in so they will work together to try to figure it out I’m sure to improve the situation. We’ve had a little trouble with the technical inspection over the last couple of years. A lot of new things implemented, the cars changing and the rules changing. It’s a bit of a struggle for NASCAR and the teams to sort of make that inspection process as smooth as possible and still learning.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 BETTER THAN BOUILLON CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 11TH
ON QUALIFYING:
“I think for me it’s about trying to learn this package. I think that is what is hard for me right now is trying to figure out what I need for the package. But I’m learning a little bit. The car is pretty good. Just have to keep making gains on it. There are little things I think we could slowly improve on to make the car better. But I think a lot of it is in me just trying to learn the commitment level and all that. Just kind of keep working on that.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. DURACELL/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 13TH
YOU MISSED MOVING INTO THE LAST ROUND BY JUST ONE SPOT. YOU HAD A BIG WIGGLE THERE. WAS THAT THE ISSUE? WERE YOU JUST A LITTLE TOO LOOSE?
“We fought tight yesterday at the test and then the car was actually really good in race trim. We switched over to qualifying trim and really weren’t that bad, but we decided to try to free it up a little bit and went too far. It was a lot of fun. The cars are really fun to drive with this new rules package. They are sliding around and it’s Atlanta and it’s slick and it’s fast and it’s a lot of fun. As close as we were, I knew that as loose as I was, we could have been a lot better.”
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 14TH
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE TEAM?
“I feel great about the team. All the guys are doing a really good job on the Furniture Row Chevy. We were fifth the first round and I thought we could do a little bit better. I just got into (Turn) 3 a little too hard and I got through (Turns) 1 and 2 even better than I did the first run. So, I got into three a little too hard and got tight and kind of screwed up the lap. I’m disappointed in the driver, but all in all, it’s been a pretty good weekend so far and hopefully we’ll get to work on it some more tomorrow and have a good race on Sunday.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 15TH
HOW MUCH DID THE TRACK CHANGE FROM WHEN THE SUN WENT DOWN FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND SESSION?
“It helped a lot. The grip was there. We dropped the track bar just a little bit. It wasn’t enough the first time. The second round we picked up from our first run from a .90 to an .85. I wish I could have known. But the Dow Chevy is fast. We made big improvements from the test. So, I’m really happy. My teammates are right there. We’re really close to them. Moving forward, we’ve got a really good race car as far as long runs go, from today. So, I’m happy. I thank everybody that helps us out. I’m looking forward to Sunday’s race.”
JUSTIN ALLGAIER, NO. 51 BRANDT PROFESSIONAL AGRICULTURE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 16TH
TALK ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING, 16TH IS PRETTY GOOD: “Unfortunately we thought we had a car to get it to this third round to contend for a top-10, top-five starting spot. We just didn’t get it done on the first run of the second round. A little disappointed for where we are going to start but we have a really strong Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevy and really proud of the HScott Motorsports guys. We worked hard all week through the test session and then obviously through practice this morning and got a good handle on it so we are excited for Sunday’s race.”
WHAT WAS GOING ON IN TECH?
“Fortunately we were better than most because we at least got out on the race track. I don’t know what happened. I know they have some procedures in place that didn’t really seem like there was going to be anything crazy today. For those who didn’t get laps, it really stinks. I can only imagine how it feels not to get any laps. We will just look forward to Sunday’s race.”
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 18TH
ON WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE INSPECTION ISSUE:
“I don’t know if it is the team’s fault: if it is the series’ fault; if it is the track’s fault or if it is logistical. I literally have no idea… I’ve never been through tech before. I think we got a little bit lucky today but we’ll take it because there are days when you are unlucky and you are mad at that. So, take the lucky days when you can, especially with some of the good cars that didn’t get out there for qualifying. We improved on our second run. We had a third run that was pretty darn close to the second run and we only had three minutes to pull it off. I think there were some real positives to take from the weekend so far. We are still in the early stages of our relationship as far as crew chief/driver and engineers. I think we have had a good start.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 3M CHEVROLET SS – Did not participate in Round 1 Qualifying session
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN AT THE RACE TRACK AND NOT BE ABLE TO QUALIFY?
“First time ever. There’s a first time for everything, I guess. This is absolutely embarrassing. I just feel so bad for my guys and for 3M. To not even get a chance to go out on the race track is ridiculous. I know the fans deserve an apology. I don’t know how many cars there must be back here (the garage) that never even got a chance to go on the track. I know we went through twice. When you have this many…..I’ve seen five or six or even 10 cars that have issues going through (tech) with certain little things. But this many cars that didn’t go; that’s not on these teams. And they deserve better than this. I can’t believe how disappointing this is. I assume I made the race; I mean, who knows what even happened with the points and what’s going on? There are guys that don’t have the points that are going home that never even got a chance to even get out there. It’s a big letdown for me and for our series, right now, that this happened. There is no way that this should ever happen.”
ON QUALIFYING:
“There is something wrong. Or there is something wrong with the system. Or there is something wrong with the amount of time they allot to get through. There is no way this many good cars, talented people that they can’t figure out how to get these cars through inspection. These guys are too smart. Yes we are pushing limits, but there is something wrong here. I’m embarrassed; I’m embarrassed for our series right now that this just happened. I’m really upset for my sponsor 3M that just came on for this weekend where we didn’t even get a chance to qualify. We are just fortunate – I’m assuming we aren’t going home because of points from last year. I know there are a lot of teams out here that aren’t going to be that fortunate. I hate it for these guys that work so hard. We were excited about qualifying today. I thought we had a great shot at being up front. This is absolutely ridiculous.”
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