NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AAA 400
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
OCTOBER 4, 2015
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER/JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – WINNER
WHERE DOES THIS WIN STACK UP WITH ALL THE BIG ONES?
“I think all these guys thrive in these moments and do such a great job week in and week out. It almost just felt not right where we were after the first two weeks and to come in here with the attitude really that we have every week and just be that more detailed and that more on top of everything that we are doing is something that is special. Really proud, it’s not me, I get to ride this thing and hopefully not screw it up. Those guys over there and back at Stewart-Haas Racing are the ones who make all this go around.”
WHERE DOES THIS WIN RANK AMONG ALL THE SPECIAL ONES YOU HAVE RECORDED?
“Well, I think when you look at them all they are all special for different reasons obviously. We are on the verge of being down and out for this one and to be able to pull this off is just one of those moments that you enjoy. I told people before this, this is a lot of fun to be in these situations and succeed. When you don’t succeed it’s not near as much fun, but it just makes them extra special.”
WHAT SORT OF STATEMENT DID THE NO. 4 TEAM MAKE THIS AFTERNOON?
“I’m just so proud of everybody from Stewart-Haas Racing to do everything that we’ve done the last three weeks, really. Obviously, we weren’t in a great position coming it to today. That’s what these guys are made of and that’s what teamwork is all about. I’ve just got to thank everybody from Budweiser, and Jimmy John’s and Chevrolet; it’s the 750th win for them, and everybody who helps us on this car. This is what it’s all about, those big time moments.”
YOU CAN HEAR THE EMOTION IN YOUR VOICE. HOW EMOTIONAL WAS IT FOR YOU BEHIND THE WHEEL IN THOSE LAST FEW LAPS?
“Well, it’s just one of those weekends where the car was really good and they believed. Everybody wins. That’s why there are so great.”
IS THIS TEAM BETTER UNDER PRESSURE?
“I think we’re better than we were last year just because of the experiences and things that we’ve had. I think when we look at everything that’s gone on over the last couple of years, it’s just been a lot of fun. So, it’s just that never quit attitude. That’s what Tony Stewart said when we went to Homestead last year. He said, ‘Whatever you do, do not quit until they throw that checkered flag’”.
THE PAYOFF IS A LOT SWEETER WHEN YOU SURVIVE IT. HAVING SURVIVED THIS, IS YOUR TEAM A LITTLE STRONGER?
“Oh yeah. Anytime you can go through moments like this and gain some momentum and prove to yourself that you can do things like this, there’s no way you can’t be stronger. I’m just do proud of those guys and so proud of our fans and everybody for all their support all week. There it is, stay the course. That’s what he (Tony Stewart) always says. Tony is just one of those guys who always puts everybody before him and that’s really what makes Stewart-Haas what it is. It’s just a lot of fun to be a part of this team.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE PLENTI CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 3RD
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED YOU WILL BE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ROUND:
“Yeah I knew we were a good enough team to get in there. We made some mistakes together last week in New Hampshire and put ourselves in a bad position, but I knew we were a good enough team to make it to the next round. I just feel like our team is a lot better than the guys we are competing with. I just have that good confidence in my guys. They really support me and pump me up and give me the confidence to go out there and work hard. We have been building this team for a long time. A real good day for us. The car did everything we needed. We kind of got lucky to start on the outside of that one restart and just kind of went around them somehow. I just drove it in there and it stuck. I hate some guys don’t get to make it and some guys do, but I’m glad we are able to move on to the next round. It kind of resets and hopefully we don’t make any more mistakes and make it too hard on ourselves to try to get to that next round.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 NATURE MADE CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 4TH
TALK ABOUT THE END OF THE RACE:
“Well, it was a great move that Dale, Jr. made on the outside. I was waving at Matt (Kenseth), hoping that he would let me in, and I really didn’t feel like the outside was the place to be and he just did a really good job and got a great run on me. I thought we were better than him the run before. I thought I would be able to get back by him. We were driving so hard those last few laps and it’s just hard to make up any ground. And it seemed like our car was maybe better on stickers. He was a little bit better on the scuffs. We haven’t run this well, honestly. We talked earlier today about that. So, I’m thrilled with our performance today. It’s frustrating that we weren’t able to make it to the next round, but it was a good day for the Nature Made car. We just needed one more point.”
DESCRIBE WHAT IT MEANS TO EXIT IN YOUR FIRST CHASE
“Well, running fourth today is really good for the overall points. And right now you focus on trying to finish fifth in points. If we would have a car like this every week, we realistically can get there and that would be a great year for us.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 HENDRICKRIDEALONG.COM CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 6TH
ON HIS DAY:
“We had a good car as the run went on. Good job today guys. Way to fight back. Good effort guys.”
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/VISSER PRECISION CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 11TH
WEIRD START TO THE DAY AND YOU RALLIED BACK AND GOT A TOP 10 FINISH AND WILL BE MOVING ON:
“Yeah we had to start last. It is what it is we moved on, we did what we had to do. It wasn’t a great day for us. It wasn’t a great weekend. We have been just struggling trying to get the thing turning. All-in-all we had good speed when we would get track position. We would lose track position and being in long lines on the restarts then we couldn’t really go anywhere. It was really difficult to pass today. We had good speed out front, top five speed and then just never really could get back there once we got back in traffic.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AARP MEMBER ADVANTAGES CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 12TH
AFTER BASICALLY A DRAMA-FREE DAY, WAS THIS WHAT YOU NEEDED TO DO TO GET THROUGH?
“I wouldn’t call it ‘drama-free’. I was freaking out there at the end. We were pretty solid in the top 10 all day long. I’m really proud of this team and what they’ve accomplished. We’ve gone through a lot and it hasn’t been pretty. That’s kind of the way today was. We knew we needed to be in the top 10 or top 11, or maybe 12th, if we were lucky. We did that. Until the end, when that caution came out and people swapped-up their strategy; we just got ate up on that restart and were falling back and I didn’t know what was going to happen. So, it wasn’t easy. I’m really proud of this AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet. We’ll re-set and go see what we can do in the next three (races).”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 19TH
NOT THE DAY YOU WERE LOOKING FOR BUT YOU ADVANCED:
“Yeah, it was not pretty as far as our performance today. But it was a team effort in three races and that was the math that we worked with and we were fortunate to kind of squeak in. We didn’t have the kind of day we wanted to have and we will need to do our homework before Charlotte. But I am proud of the guys, good job by the guys on pit road. There were no mistakes and that was important today. You know you saw the 48’s deal there. All it takes is one little slip up and one person’s fault on the team can make all the difference.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 41ST
ASSESS THE DISAPPOINTMENT THAT YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW:
“Defintiely disappointed. It’s tough having a very inexpensive axle seal be the culprit and take your championship hopes away. It’s racing, I’ve had mechanicals take me out of championships growing up that led to some success for myself and I’m sure helped me with a championship or two. It’s just part of racing. It just shows how critical everything is on a race team. And how important every component is and you can’t take anything for granted. Heartbreaking for sure, but I don’t know what else we can do about it we just have to go on and try to win races and close out the season strong.”
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