MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
ISM CONNECT 300
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 22, 2017
SECOND-PLACE QUALIFYING EFFORT FOR TEAM CHEVY’S KYLE LARSON AT NEW HAMPSHIRE
Four Chevrolets Will Start in the Top 12
LOUDON, New Hampshire – (September 22, 2017) – Kyle Larson set the pace for Team Chevy with a second-place qualifying run in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He will start on the outside front row for the 300-lap ISM Connect 300, Round two of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) Playoffs. This marks the 18th top-10 start of the season thus far for Larson, and his fourth in eight races at the track known as the ‘Magic Mile’.
“I felt like maybe I got in the corner a little hot with my Target Chevy and got myself a little bit too loose and to the brakes too hard,” said Larson after his run. “But, I feel like overall my lap was pretty good. The No. 18 (Kyle Busch) has been really fast recently, and especially in qualifying all year. So, for us to be second to him is not bad. We had the pole here earlier in the year and got encumbered, but we had to back it up with a front row start. It feels good. We’ll have a nice pit stall selection. Hopefully we can have another smooth day.”
Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Road to Race Day Chevy SS, earned a ninth-place starting spot, followed by Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet in 11th. Seven-time Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, placed his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, a back-up car after an incident in the first practice session earlier today, in the 12th qualifying position to give Team Chevy four of the top-12 starters overall.
Kyle Busch (Toyota) was the pole winner, Denny Hamlin (Toyota) will start third, Ryan Blaney (Ford) qualified fourth and Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota) will start fifth to round out the top five qualifiers.
The ISM Connect 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is scheduled to begin on Sunday, September 24th. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, PRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 at 2:00 p.m., ET.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – Post Qualifying Press Conf. Transcript
REALLY GOOD QUALIFYING RUN OUT THERE HOW WAS IT FRO YOUR PERSPECTIVE?
“Yeah, it was a good effort for our Target team. One lap in the first round, one lap in the second round. I knew we would have a good shot at the pole for the final round. I felt like I ran a pretty good lap my first lap. Maybe I could have found a few tenths more, but overall, I felt like I hit my lap pretty good, but Kyle (Busch) was quite a bit faster than us throughout qualifying, especially that first round. But, yeah, it is a good starting spot for us on Sunday. I got the pole here earlier in the year, but didn’t get to start from up there and had to come from the back and pass a lot of cars, so hopefully, we can just maintain our track position this time around and get another good finish. A win would be great, but just some stage points and a top five or top 10 would be good.”
HOW WAS YOUR CAR IN RACE TRIM TODAY? DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU GUYS ARE SET-UP WELL FOR THE WEEKEND ASIDE FROM JUST THE GOOD QUALIFYING SPOT?
“Yeah, I thought our car in race trim was really good. All the (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) cars I don’t think were in race trim ever, but I was a couple of tenths faster than the other people in race trim at the time. So, I think we are good, but we will get a better idea tomorrow morning and then into Happy Hour as well. I think we unloaded exactly how we race. We know we will be in the ballpark we just have to fine tune it a little bit, probably.”
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