NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SYLVANIA 300
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PRO SERVICES CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 6TH
GREAT COME BACK RUN TO FINISHING IN THE TOP 10 AFTER HAVING A FLAT TIRE:
“Yeah, it was really weird. I went into Turn 3 and got on the brakes and the car traveled and slowed down. It felt like something broke in the left-front, but they said there was a lugnut inside the wheel. I guess when I hit the brakes to slow down a lugnut hit the valve stem and took the tire out. Fortunately some cautions fell in quick order to let us get back on the lead lap. We had a solid car and got up there to ninth or something and some guys ran out of fuel and got us to sixth.”
A FLAT TIRE SENT YOU FROM THIRD BACK TO 23RD, BUT YOU RECOVERED TO A 6TH PLACE FINISH. HOW DID YOU GET IT DONE?
“It was just a good race car. We were fortunate to catch a couple quick cautions to get us back on the lead lap and get new tires on the car. From there, we had to go racing with I think, 50 (laps) or so, to go. The car was strong. Maybe it wasn’t a race winning car, but certainly a top 5 car. I think we got inside the top 10 and then it sounds some guys ran out of fuel and got us to sixth, which I’m really happy about with this Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet. We had to deal with a lot of adversity today and overcame and got a great finish.”
WHAT IS YOUR GAME PLAN HEADING INTO DOVER NEXT WEEK?
“You can’t put your guard down. You’ve got to go in and race. Dover is a great track for us. A victory could be a huge shot in the arm for our team and really get some good momentum going for us. We’ll go there and give 100 percent and hopefully it’s a trophy; if not, hopefully it’s an advancement to the next round.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 7TH
ON HIS DAY:
“We had a tough day that is for sure. We had to make some adjustments on the car to get it tuned up. I was really proud of Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the team. They did a great job getting the car where we needed it to be. It wasn’t perfect, but it was certainly a top-10 or top five car. We didn’t have much go our way, but at the end we finally did have something go our way, which was Alan made the call to put four tires on and had a decent restart and had a long green flag run. That is what we needed and maybe a couple of the guys to run out of fuel too.”
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/VISSER PRECISION CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 8TH
ON HIS DAY:
“We needed this really bad today. We worked hard all weekend. We didn’t have the speed we needed in the racecar. We really struggled all weekend with it. We struggled again in the race today. Fortunately we were pretty good on restarts for a few laps. We were able to get our track position. I thought Cole (Pearn, crew chief) called a perfect race. We did two (tires) once and it worked out just perfect. We had a little tough luck last week. We caught a few breaks this week, so it’s nice that it went the other way for once. Now we are going home next week and looking forward to seeing what we can do at Dover.”
A GOOD PLACE TO GO NEXT WEEK TO GET TO THE NEXT ROUND FOR YOU:
“Yeah, for sure a good place to close out this first round for us. It’s been our best track for the last two years. It’s been one of my best over the course of my career. We were super there in June. I felt like we let one slip away, so hopefully we will be able to go back there and capitalize and have a good day. Who knows maybe come home with a win.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 10TH
“Our biggest challenge today was restarts. We ran most of the day in 13th. We just needed a little more out of our Caterpillar Chevrolet to be a top-10, top-five contender so to come out of here with another top-10 finish feels great heading into the final race in this round. If we keep doing what we’ve been doing, our chances to transfer into the next round look good. Dover is another track I’ve won at so I hope for more good things to happen to this race team.”
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS – Sidelined in accident on Lap 205 while running 12th:
YOU DROVE YOUR CAR BACK TO THE GARAGE AND THEN WALKED TO THE CARE CENTER. ARE YOU OKAY?
“Yeah, I’m fine. I definitely got hit hard enough to knock the breath out of me for a second. But, to be honest, I went because I actually wanted to get my carbon monoxide levels checked and I thought okay, I’ve got time now. So, I’m fine. I feel fine. But, I definitely got hit and I think that when I got hit in (Turns) 1 and 2, by the car (No. 55 of David Regan) and not the wall, it seemed like the worst of it. But, it’s such a shame. We were having a good race and the car was definitely pretty decent. We took two tires on that last stop and it was definitely a little bit too loose, but I was kind of waiting for it to come to me and (Ryan) Newman has always been super fair and I know that he was working to get by me. But, it sounds like maybe Jeff (Gordon) got into him, or something. It’s that time of year. It’s the Chase and people are racing hard and they want everything they can get and maybe Jeff couldn’t see exactly where he was in relationship to the No. 31 (Newman) and me. But I did not get the good end of the stick.”
YOU WERE HAVING A PRETTY GOOD DAY AND PASSED THE NO. 31 (RYAN NEWMAN) CLEANLY EARLIER IN THE RACE WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT SITUATION?
“I don’t know. My spotter said that it seemed like the No. 31 just hit me, but then my spotter said that the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) might have gotten into him that got into me. I was just saying that by all means its aggressive racing, but it is coming down to the last part of the race and it’s the Chase. They both are in it. I know that I was definitely not quite as quick as I needed to be right there. We took two tires and I definitely was a little loose with the right front air being down. I was just trying to hang on for a few laps to get a little air pressure up. It was not soon enough. We kind of got caught in the crosshairs.”
ARE YOU OKAY?
“I’m alright. I came to the infield care center on my own. I didn’t have to. I really actually just was more curious about carbon monoxide. I feel like for a month now I have been asking about it because sometimes after the race I get a headache. I just talked to the doctor in there and they said that could happen very easily from dehydration. It seemed like a little bit more than that to me, but it makes sense. We sweat like crazy in these cars. Just got to take my hydration game up a notch I guess. I feel fine. What is not good is that we were on track to have a potentially good finish today. It was kind of back and forth with the two and four tire cycle that was happening. Definitely on the long run with everyone with four tires or when everyone pitted and was stringing out we were right there. It sucks. It seems like nothing ever goes wrong on those days that you are just trudging along in 22nd. It happens when you are having a good race. With that said, especially at this point in the year when you get in the midst of the drivers that are in the Chase they are pushing hard. I guess it is probably more likely now and it’s definitely everybody’s feeling I’m sure that pressure to get to the next round. I don’t blame them. I don’t think that it was anyone’s fault right there I probably wasn’t quite as quick as I needed to be because I was a little loose on two tires. The No. 31 was pushing hard and I know at one point the No. 24 got into him so I don’t think anyone was intentionally doing anything, but I’m sure there was some intentional hard racing.”
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