NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SYLVANIA 300
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 25, 2015
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 DITECH CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
YOU KNOW YOU NEED A WIN. HOW DO YOU GET TO VICTORY LANE ON SUNDAY?
“Well, we all need wins. I think obviously the situation that we’re in with our Ditech/Budweiser/Jimmy John’s team is that a win would make it a lot easier and less nerve-wracking, but everybody has done a great job and I feel like I left it down in (Turns) 1 and 2 down there and just probably not aggressive. It’s a fine line of being really aggressive and going for it and not getting enough. So, the lesser of two evils is usually not getting enough and I just didn’t get enough down there.”
ANYTIME YOU’VE HAD A FINISH OF 15TH OR WORSE, YOU REBOUND. WHAT IS IT ABOUT YOU THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO TURN IT BACK AROUND SO QUICKLY?
“I think we just do the same thing every week. I think we just stay in there and grind away and don’t let circumstances really bother us. I think we go back and prepare and do things we have to do to prepare for each individual race track, and some with a fresh start on Monday. So, these are all situations that we’ve been through before and our guys have done a great job in the past and we’ll just keep digging.”
TELL US HOW IT FELT OUT THERE:
“It has been a good day for us. To have speed in the car and go out and back it up in qualifying was what we needed to do. The first step of the process of the weekend is over. Just like any other weekend and you go about what you need to do tomorrow morning to be prepared for the race and today went well. I felt like I probably left those few hundredths of a second just not being aggressive enough on the exit of Turn 2 as good as the car was off of Turn 4. Small crumbs it’s just hard to balance that here because if you push the car too much you wind up giving up two or three tenths instead of two or three hundredths. It is definitely a fine balance. Definitely could have been a little more aggressive in Turn 2.”
WHERE DO YOU STAND WITH JIMMIE AFTER LAST WEEK?
“I’m just here so I don’t get fined (laughs).”
CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHERE YOU ARE AND CAN YOU, SINCE YOU HAVEN’T SPOKEN SINCE LAST WEEK, CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT LED TO WHAT HAPPENED POST RACE?
“I don’t have a lot to say about any of it. I’m here to race and do what I have to do to do what I need to do in the next two weeks.”
LOOKING BACK DO YOU THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE GIVEN UP POSITIONS AT THAT POINT OR COME INTO PIT WHEN YOU HAD THE TIRE RUB? SHOULD JIMMIE (JOHNSON) BE WORRIED ABOUT YOU AS FAR AS RETALIATION?
“I don’t look back. I just do what we have to do to focus on what we need to do looking forward. We are not going to use you guys to make threats. I can do that myself.”
AFTER QUALIFYING TODAY DO YOU RACE ANY DIFFERENTLY WITH ANY OF THE COMPETITORS?
“I still think there are a few different ways that you make it into the next round. In this situation last year when we were in Phoenix a second-place finish still wouldn’t have gotten us into where we needed to be to move on in the Chase without a win. So, I think you still have to go out with the mentality of trying to win a race. I think everybody around us knows that. I think they are very aware of the aggressive nature that we need to go after that win.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 3RD
YOU’VE WON AT NHMS THREE TIMES TALK ABOUT HOW YOUR CAR WAS FOR YOU IN QUALIFYING AND HOW YOU FEEL LEADING INTO SUNDAY’S RACE:
“Really pleased with the way the Haas Automation Chevy has been driving. All the guys are putting in extra effort this week supporting Tony Gibson (crew chief). He had to have his appendix removed and I’ve been told I’ve been hard on crew members before – this is taking it to a new level (laughs). The heart and the soul of this No. 41 team revolves around Tony Gibson. I really wanted to try to get him a pole today, didn’t push hard enough on that first lap. I was going for it on lap two and our first lap ended up faster. Maybe I needed to push harder on that first lap.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PRO SERVICES CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 5TH
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE RACE LAST WEEK WHEN YOU WENT TO TALK TO KEVIN?
“Obviously I wanted to go to his Motorhome and try to talk to him about the situation at that point in time. I’ve been on the flip side of that before and although I wasn’t happy to see whoever it was. It meant something to me and I appreciated the fact that they came to my bus to see me. That is all I was trying to do there.”
THEY WERE TRYING TO GET YOU NOT TO TALK TO HIM RIGHT THEN. WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT HE WAS THAT UPSET?
“No I wasn’t surprised that he was that upset. Believe me I knew good and well going over there that he wasn’t going to be in the best mood. It was just important to me to try and make contact with him and try to talk to him. Based on experiences that I’ve had in the position that it has put me in. That is what led me to going over there.”
HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO HIM SINCE? HAVE YOU SPOKEN?
“No, nothing yet.”
HAVE YOU LOOKED BACK AT THE TAPE AT WHAT HAPPENED?
“It really was a racing incident. I was just trying to get back on the racetrack. Unfortunately, that contact took place. It just sucks for those guys. I mean I feel for Kevin. I feel for Rodney (Childers, crew chief). I feel for the Stewart-Haas folks, for Tony (Stewart), Gene (Haas) that is not the situation that any of us wanted to have happen. Unfortunately, it’s racing there was a lot going on on that restart and we had the contact.”
WHAT WAS YOUR INITIAL THOUGHT WHEN HE HIT YOU?
“Like I said I knew he wasn’t going to be in the best of moods. I was expecting anything and everything. I didn’t go over there to fight. I went over there to, again, handle a situation like I thought was handled well with me in the past. And was hopeful it would have the same impact.”
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN AND HIS OUTLOOK FOR THIS WEEKEND AT NHMS:
“These guys built me a brand new racecar with some new ideas in it and it’s been fast the whole time. For us to qualify in the top five and be that close to the pole I’m really excited. It’s going to be a good race.”
HOW ABOUT RACING KEVIN NOW?
“I truthfully don’t know what to expect. I certainly know what I hope for, but there is no telling what will end up taking place. I think that is the exciting part about this Chase and the way you can advance, the way you can win to carry on and the intensity that it brings. So, it’s definitely going to be an exciting Chase for everyone and right now everybody is focused on us, but who is to know after this weekend what conflict on track is going to be the next story.”
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/VISSER PRECISION CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 21ST
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN:
“We were just way too loose for whatever reason. I don’t know the first round was loose, but I thought we could make it better. We tried to make it better and it actually made it worse. I’m a little confused right now.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 FLIR CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 23RD
WHAT WERE YOU STRUGGLING WITH?
“We just got really loose in qualifying. It’s so hard when you’re trying to pick-up time in practice and every time we freed the car up, we got quicker. But we just got really loose. I don’t know if it was that the sun went down or just really frustrating. It’s a hard track to pass at and you want to qualify well. But if you have a good car, you can get to the front.”
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