NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUICKEN LOANS RACE FOR HEROES 500
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
NOVEMBER 13, 2015
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PATRIOTIC CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER
A WIN AND A POLE, ARE YOU ON A ROLL?
“Yeah, we are. We didn’t have the summer that we wanted, but these guys have been working so hard on the No. 48 team and at Hendrick Motorsports. So, I’m very happy to see the progress and the direction things are going. It’s been a little bit, everywhere. If we keep doing that, we’re going to close this season out just like we want to and be ready for 2016.”
ARE YOU SHOCKED THAT YOUR FIRST POLE COMES AT PHOENIX, THAT’S NEARLY THE LAST RACE OF THE YEAR?
“Yeah, especially at the ‘new’ Phoenix. The ‘old’ Phoenix was great for me. This has been a lot harder. But a big shout out to Lowe’s and Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet; and I certainly want to send my thoughts and prayers across the pond to everybody in France.”
AND I’M SURE PLAYING THAT ‘SPOILER-ROLE’ IS FUN, TOO; LIKE YOU DID LAST WEEK
“There’s nothing better. If you can’t be in it, you may as well go out there and spoil it.”
FIRST POLE OF THE SEASON, GREAT RUN HERE TODAY:
“Qualifying has never really been my sweet spot. It’s nice to get one. I definitely wanted one this year. I didn’t think it would come at this ‘new’ Phoenix racetrack. The ‘old’ Phoenix was real good to us, but we have been searching to get it right here. I’m just so thankful that everybody on this No. 48 team and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports have been working so hard to get better. We picked up a lot in many place or a little in a lot of places I should say and it’s turned into a lot. Very proud of this Lowe’s team, everybody at Chevrolet and also want to send and prayers across the pond to everybody in Paris and France.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
HOW BIG IS FOR YOUR TEAM TO START FROM THE FRONT ROW?
“It’s great. The Haas Automation Chevy has been fast since we got here. The way that this weekend is shaping up for us it’s a great start. We know we need to win. The car, the crew and everybody we are all clicking on eight cylinders. We just didn’t quite get the pole, (Jimmie) Johnson put down an awesome lap, so congrats to him. We are outside pole and we will go from there.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 3RD
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN:
“I think we are starting to head in a new direction for our qualifying efforts. That is two weeks in a row I think we made the last round. I don’t know if we done that all year long. We think we have some winning cars; we just need to qualify a little better and give ourselves an opportunity to get a better pit selection. Not only start toward the front, but get a better pit selection that really gives you an advantage in the race.”
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/VISSER PRECISION CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 5TH
YOU’LL START 5TH ON SUNDAY, BUT YOU WERE KIND OF SWEATING IT OUT THERE TO EVEN ADVANCE TO ROUND 2. HOW MUCH DID YOU GUYS HAVE TO ADJUST THROUGHOUT THIS QUALIFYING?
“Well, we adjusted quite a bit. But the thing was, we knew we were going to be off that first run, just because our car, for whatever reason, was really bad on stickers. It was like that practice. And then after that, the second and third run, it was really good. So, it was close. It was a nail-biter. I was pretty confident throughout the whole thing, but all-in-all, it was a great job by all the guys and fifth is a really good starting spot for us here and we’ll get a good pit stall. I feel like our car will race better than it qualifies. We’ve struggled here in qualifying for whatever reason, the past few times; but we’ve raced really well. So, we’re looking forward to tomorrow and getting ready for Sunday.”
WITH ONLY ONE PRACTICE, WHAT’S YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL OF KEEPING THAT RELATIVE SPEED WHEN YOU GET THIS CAR IN RACE TRIM?
“Higher than fifth. We tested here a month or so ago and it was definitely hotter and slicker, but our car was really good and it was really fast against some of the cars that were here. So, we’re looking forward to that.”
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER/JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 8TH
MAYBE NOT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED FOR QUALIFYING TONIGHT, BUT HOW IS THE CAR IN RACE TRIM?
“We didn’t qualify as well as we did last time, but the car was really good in race trim as we practiced today. We just never really found anything that worked for us in qualifying trim.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 PEPSI CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 11TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN:
“I’m pretty optimistic. We had a good race run in practice and we struggled in qualifying trim, but we made it better. That last run wasn’t our best, just got too tight there. So, we will start 11th, but still definitely an improvement from practice.”
Connect with Team Chevy on social media. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TeamChevy, follow us on Twitter@TeamChevy, and add +TeamChevy into your Google+ circles.
Team Chevy racing photos are available at:
About Chevrolet:
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling around 4.8 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
