NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
TOYOTA SAVE MART 350
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
JUNE 26, 2016
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 CODE 3 ASSOCIATES/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – RACE WINNER
IS THE IMPACT OF THIS WIN EVEN MORE MEANINGFUL BECAUSE OF THE TIMING OF IT?
“They’re all good; it doesn’t matter where you get them. But, we ran close to those guys all day. We just got stuck back in traffic. It’s pretty ironic the last one we got was in a Code 3 car and I’m proud to do it again. I’m proud of Mobil 1 and Bass Pro and everybody. It’s just an awesome job.”
WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR LEGENDARY CAREER AND YOUR EIGHTH ROAD COURSE WIN AND YOUR FINAL YEAR, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CHALK-UP ANOTHER ONE ON YOUR RACING RESUME?
“Especially at a place you’re going to for the last time, it means a bunch. It’s special, trust me.”
I REMEMBER YOUR DAD, WHEN YOU WON THE BRICKYARD FOR THE FIRST TIME. HE KEPT WAVING YOU ON. THAT’S WHAT HE WAS DOING TODAY. WALK US THROUGH THAT EXCITING LAST LAP, AND THEN DENNY HAMLIN’S COMMENTS THROUGH THE CAR WINDOW TO YOU
“I made mistakes the last two laps. I had just a little bit too much rear brake for Turn 7, and wheel-hopped it two laps in a row. But, I felt a nudge when I got down there and he knew where it was and he did the right thing doing it there; but if I could get to him, he knew what was coming. He told me he was proud of me. He knows what it means. We were teammates for a long time and we respect each other a lot.”
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 6TH
AFTER A POOR STARTING SPOT A GREAT TOP 10 FINISH FOR YOU CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR DAY AND YOUR BOSSES BIG WIN?
“Yeah, I’m just really proud of Tony (Stewart). That is really the best thing. We didn’t have a lot of good happen today. We fought all day on pit road and got a decent finish out of it. But other than that we had a little bit of a struggle with getting it to turn.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 9TH
ON HIS RACE:
“We started off pretty good and I just needed to be a little looser we were on the tight side. So, we tried to loosen it up and for whatever reason it was the exact opposite. I got really tight then. So then we started going the other way with adjustments. We lost and got back to 20th again, basically where we started and came back there at the end I felt really good again. We just kind of gave up the middle portion of the race. If we hadn’t done that I think we were maybe better like a top five, but ninth is okay.”
THOUGHTS ON TONY STEWART GETTING THE WIN:
“It’s cool he got a win. He was strong throughout the race. I saw him, I was around him at times and he got the track position and held on. It’s got to be a nice relief for him. I was with him last week he was doing his deal running dirt tracks and running the series and stuff like that, doing things that he really enjoys. Then he comes here and puts on probably his best performance in a good while. I think he is doing pretty good.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 MONSTER ENERGY/HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 10TH
ON HIS RACE:
“We battled really hard, I was somewhat surprised by the lack of grip in the rear of the car. It showed a little bit of that in practice and some of the other guys had the same issues as far as our teammates. We just didn’t correct it enough. It’s my fault that I didn’t relay the information well enough to the Monster Energy guys and thanks to Gene Haas. Congratulations to Tony Stewart, this is a huge day for SHR. To have three cars in the Chase, to have Tony’s confidence up, to have him battle Denny Hamlin like that this is the best way for a champion like him to go out. He deserves this now. He can settle in and run until September. He knows what to do in the Chase.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 13TH
ON HIS DAY:
“We were okay. We had the same strategy as the No. 14 going and then we were coming in the next lap and the caution came out. It kind of hurt us there to leap frog those guys and the transition we were looking for. We just kind of rode from there.”
WHAT DID YOU STRUGGLE WITH TODAY?
“Just getting the power to the ground. The rear tires were spinning pretty easy and beating up the rear tires.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON TONY STEWART GETTING THE WIN?
“Clearly, just stoked for him. He is a great friend and has been through so much. I hope there is a big smile on his face right now it is well deserved.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 RALPH’S/KINGSFORD CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 14TH
“Randall Burnett (crew chief) and all the guys Brain Burns, Tony Palmer, all my guys they did a great job. We weren’t very good. We were pretty junkie on Friday. They worked hard to get this thing as good as it could be. Such a strange race. At one point you think the tires go off and then you find something and manage them again. I thought whatever it was, 25 to go, we were coming. So in the end just a bad pit stop and let the tire get away and penalty. That took away our chance to win the race. Overall, I thought the Ralph’s/Kingsford Chevy was pretty good. It was for sure a top three, top four car. We just need to be up there at the end and we weren’t.”
HOW TOUGH WAS THIS TO TAKE?
“It’s racing. You know you are not guaranteed anything until the checkered flag. It is part of life we win and lose as a team. We have to get our stuff straight if we actually want to be a Chase team and consider ourselves a Chase team. Another fast race car that is all I can ask for.”
CLINT BOWYER, NO. 15 5-HOUR ENERGY CHEVROLET SS – Experienced an electrical issue with his race car on lap 7
WHAT HAPPENED?
“It had to be the ignition. It was a wiring fire. I’ve had oil smoke and stuff like that before in the car blowing out but I’ve never had an electrical fire. Man it shook me out. I couldn’t breathe. I bailed out and the thing starts rolling, so I had to reach in and put it in gear. That’s a great start to the day.”
WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR RACE CAR HAVE YOU GUYS FIGURED IT OUT?
“I haven’t. It’s just a shame. It caught on fire. Smoke is never good in the cockpit and it stinks. Hell, I couldn’t breathe.”
THIS HAS TO BE REALLY FRUSTRATING FOR YOU:
“Yeah, it’s terribly frustrating. This is my favorite race track and I’ve run really good at it. I don’t know. It kind of sometimes inexcusable when stuff breaks that quick, but who knows what happened. I’m sure a wire was rubbing on something or something and just shorted out and burnt up. It’s a shame.”
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