NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
PURE MICHIGAN 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 16, 2015
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 JIMMY JOHN’S/BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 2ND
WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE TODAY?
“We just fought a lot of things today. Just really proud of everybody on our Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet for fighting back today. We had some handling issues at the beginning of the race and then they were able to really make the car handle a lot better and then we overcame the running out of gas there and we were able to put ourselves back in position up in the front. The No. 20 (Mat Kenseth) was the class of the field today, but everybody on our Jimmy John’s team did a great job.”
HOW HOT WAS IT IN THE CAR?
“It’s kind of like everything else my guys do a better job of preparing the cars inside too. They just make me look good week in and week out with these fast racecars and just glad to be driving them.”
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/VISSER PRECISION CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 3RD
TALK ABOUT THE AFTERNOON FOR YOU AND THE PACKAGE HERE AT MICHIGAN:
“It was a good day for everybody on the Furniture Row Chevy. We worked hard all day. We came a long way from where we were Friday in qualifying. I felt like at the end of the day yesterday we had a car capable of winning and felt like that all day again today. We struggled to get that track position. It seemed like we kept getting in the wrong lanes on restarts. We finally got the right one once and the No. 19 (Carl Edwards) got a bad start in front of us and shoveled us back to seventh or eighth. We really had to work for it today.”
WHAT WERE THOSE RESTARTS LIKE?
“They weren’t too good for us. We had some good ones early in the race and then it just seemed like we could never be in the right lane and it seemed like we were always in the wrong spot. We finally got on the outside where we wanted to be on that one when we were fourth, and the No. 19 (Carl Edwards) spun his tires and it took us backwards. So, we just couldn’t get a right lane. But all in all it was a good day for our Furniture Row Chevy. The guys did a great job. We had a loose wheel in the race and lost some track position and just fought it all day. We passed a lot of cars, we just couldn’t ever get that track position to fight for the win. We felt like we were maybe as good as the No. 20 (winner, Matt Kenseth), close at least, and it would have been nice to see if we could have fought it out with him.”
IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE YOU’VE HAD TOP-5’S. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE GAINING MOMENTUM AND HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE CHASE?
“Man, honestly, we’ve really had momentum. We’ve had such fast cars. I feel like at Watkins Glen we had the race won but we had a flat. I felt like at Pocono we were right there. We had a fast car but at the end of the race we ran out of gas. So, we’ve been doing what we need to. We’ve probably maybe been gambling a little too much and maybe being a little bit too aggressive, but all in all, the guys have brought fast race cars. If we could just not make mistakes and be consistent and execute, there’s no reason we can’t run in the Top-5 every week and contend for some more wins. We’ve got a couple more weeks before the Chase and we’re gearing up for that. Hopefully we’ll come out of the box strong when it starts.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 4TH
WHAT WAS IT LIKE INSIDE THE RACECAR WITH THE HEAT AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE ON THE RACE TRACK WITH THIS NEW PACKAGE?
“Well I had fun. We gained a lot of spots starting 43rd and got to fourth where we qualified. Just overcame a lot today. I’m proud of my guys. Slugger (Labbe, crew chief) made a good call at the beginning. We kind of had made that plan to ride around and save fuel and it worked out for us. Good track position and then staying up there we had a good racecar. We drove up to where we were and I’m just proud of my guys. Hopefully, we can build on this and maybe go win Bristol.”
TALK ABOUT YOUR AFTERNOON AND HOW THIS ALL WORKED OUT FOR YOU
“I just want to thank Dow for sticking with us. This was a great run for them in their hometown. Slugger (Crew Chief) did a great job making that call at the beginning. We were saving fuel like crazy, trying to get our track position back, and it worked out. The caution fell perfect and then we had a fast car. We just got a little too tight and lost a little track position at the end, and then we fought our way up. But it was just a good career day and hopefully we can build on this.”
YOU WERE DICING A LOT FOR THE LEAD. WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO DRIVE THAT CAR WITH THIS RULES PACKAGE TODAY?
“I had fun racing Matt (Kenseth, race winner) up front. I just couldn’t lead very well when we got out front. It was a little bit of a learning experience, I think, for me. You know Matt’s been up there a lot in his career. For me, it was my first time. So, I will learn from it and get better next time.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 RICHMOND/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 12TH
“It was a decent day. I didn’t practice or qualify very good, but made up a lot of spots early in the race and then we just kind of got too tight during the second half of the race to really do much. The guys keeps fighting hard. We finish top 15 like every week. I just want to get in the top five and the top 10 more often. That is what we need to do to compete in the Chase.”
LOOKING AT THE CHASE IS THIS THE SHOWING YOU WANTED TO HAVE?
“We can always do better. We finished 12th I think it was. That is not good enough, but we will keep fighting hard.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 PEPSI CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 17TH
ON HIS DAY AND THE ASSESSMENT OF THE AERO PACKAGE:
“Our day didn’t end the way I was hoping. We were able to hover around the top 12, which I was extremely happy with. Unfortunately that is not where we ended up. Just couldn’t get going on the restarts which is no surprise. It happens to us every weekend.”
CASEY MEARS, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – Sidelined with an internal issue on lap 50 (Finished 42nd)
WHAT PUT YOU IN THE GARAGE SO EARLY IN THE RACE?
“From what I understand it was a clamp. The motor didn’t break per se, it did eventually, but there is a Wiggins clamp that is on that is on one of the lines that comes out of the radiator. The clamp itself actually broke. So the motor wasn’t getting water to cool off and it just burned up and broke. It’s unfortunate. We have had a really rough weekend to start here. We qualified terrible and the guys did a really good job. We made some ground in happy hour that we were pretty happy with and then they made good calls to start the race as well as far as what we changed. I honestly thought we were going to have a really competitive day. It’s disappointing we have had a number of just things happen this year like that. Hopefully we can get past that and carry on the rest of the year.”
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