MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FOOD CITY 500
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES & QUOTES
APRIL 5, 2019
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Camaro ZL1
2nd William Byron, No. 25 Axalta Camaro ZL1
10th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
14th Alex Bowman, No. 88 Nationwide Camaro ZL1
15th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Symbicort Camaro ZL1
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Chase Elliott (Chevrolet
2nd William Byron (Chevrolet)
3rd Ryan Blaney (Ford)
4th Erik Jones (Toyota)
5th Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
The Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway gets underway on Sunday, April 7th at 2 p.m.ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, PRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Pole Winner
HOW BIG OF A DEAL IS IT FOR YOU TO GET THE POLE HERE AT BRISTOL?
“It’s awesome. I’ve really been wanting a pole outside of Daytona and Talladega for a long time now. So, I feel like I was finally able to contribute from my end a little bit more and get a pole that my team certainly deserves. We’ve got a fast NAPA Chevy. I appreciate everybody’s efforts at Hendrick Motorsports and the engine department and the chassis shop and everybody back home. They’ve been working really hard to try to get better and this is a big deal. We have some work to do, I think, for Sunday and we’ll go to work tomorrow and try to get it driving good for 500 laps. That’s a long time.”
THERE WERE SO MANY UNKNOWNS. SOME WERE TIGHT AND OTHERS GOT LOOSE. WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE FOR YOU IN ROUND 3?
“Yeah, we were kind of tight. Every round, I feel like we got tighter. And we were freeing up as each round went, too. So, I actually thought we got a little behind for that last round. I kind of missed my lap. I didn’t feel like I got a perfect one and I was frustrated because I thought it could have been a little bit better. And as tight as it was, I was looking there at one point and a tenth and a half was separating first through 13th or 12th. So, a tight field when I was running around the bottom like that and I’m sure it’s going to change a lot for Sunday. It’s awesome. I’m happy to get a pole. It’s really cool. But it’s just a starting spot. So, we’ve got to go to work for race trim. Actually, I am excited. Take that back I am excited to have that first pit box. That’s a big deal. So, we’ll go to work Sunday.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 2nd
YOU ARE ON THE FRONT ROW FOR THE THIRD TIME THIS SEASON
‘It’s awesome. To be one-two for Hendrick Motorsports two weeks in a row; I hate to be on the second end of it, but it’s still fun to start on the front row. I feel like we’re making huge strides in the speed of our cars and it just makes things easier at the track. I feel like (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) and I are starting to gel a little more. Thanks to Axalta and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for this race car, and Chevrolet, obviously. This is fun so hopefully we can keep it going on Sunday.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 10th
ON QUALIFYING:
“We had a great qualifying session. Practice was so different with the grip strip not really coming alive, and us running in the middle of the track, which is really rare here. I think we all knew deep down it was going to go lower or higher. The bottom came in due to the Xfinity practice. The car was great. Ran really well. Wish we could have gotten a little bit more. I think our lap count on our tires was ultimately high. It took me two or three laps to get my fast lap. We’ll have to work on that before we come back here, but top-10 starting spot here. We’ll take it.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 SYMBICORT CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 15th
YOU MADE A BIG JUMP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FROM PRACTICE TO QUALIFYING
“Yeah, we were way off in practice and looked through our notes. The guys did a good job dialing it in a lot closer. If I knew what I had going in here, I think we could have made the top 12. Some small changes could have taken us a long way. So, I’m happy with where the car was. We can really improve on that for tomorrow. Starting position means so much here. To start 15th, I’m happy with that.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 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.
