MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 23, 2019
WILLIAM BYRON PUTS CAMARO ZL1 ON THE POLE AT CHARLOTTE
CONCORD, NC (May 23, 2019) – Behind the wheel of his No. 24 Liberty Patriot Camaro ZL1 at 21 years of age, William Byron became the youngest driver ever to capture the pole for the 60TH Annual Coca-Cola 600 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Charlotte native turned a lap of 182.424 mph/29.440 seconds to lead the field to the green on Sunday in NASCAR’s longest race.
This marked the second pole in 49 MENCS races for Byron, who also sat on the pole for the Daytona 500. It was the sixth pole for Chevrolet in 2019.
Austin Dillon was fourth quick in his No. 3 Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Camaro ZL1 was fourth quick to give Team Chevy two of the top four qualifiers.
Aric Almirola (Ford) qualified second, Kyle Busch (Toyota) was third, and Kevin Harvick (Ford) qualified fifth to round out the top 5.
FOX will telecast the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway live at 6 p.m. ET Sunday, May 26. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY PATRIOT CAMARO ZL1 PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT:
YOU ARE THE YOUNGEST EVER POLE WINNER AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY. EARLIER TODAY YOU MENTIONED THIS IS YOUR CROWN JEWEL RACE AND YOU WANT TO WIN THIS MORE THAN ANYTHING. WHAT DOES STARTING FIRST MEAN TO YOU?
“It means a lot. Obviously to win the pole here is a good first step to the weekend, but it means a lot just being here and sitting in this room before racing here when you think what it’s like to go around the big track, let alone win something at it. So, it’s been a good couple of weeks. Hopefully it just continues and we can keep that momentum going, which is definitely on our side. I’m excited for it and that number 1 pit stall will pay huge dividends later in the race, for sure.”
YOU USED TO WATCH THIS RACE EVERY YEAR AS A KID. BUT THIS TIME, YOU’LL BE LEADING THE FIELD. HOW DO YOU TEMPER THOSE EMOTIONS?
“Yeah, it’s really cool. Obviously, I’ve had one race here other than this one and it didn’t go so great last year. I really had that thought in my head going into this week is to just make it better than what last year was because that was miserable. I think that I honestly learned from that and the mistakes I made. I’ll take that and use it as momentum or motivation going into this year. And, it helps when the guys bring a really fast car and that just makes your job easier. I think it’s going to be added motivation going into the weekend.”
IN LOOKING AT THE GHOST CAR, IT LOOKED LIKE YOU GOT OFF OF TURN 2 BETTER THAN ABOUT ANYBODY ELSE. WAS THAT THE KEY FOR YOU?
“I didn’t really look at that. But, the question was how much were you going to have to breath it through (Turns) 3 and 4 and manage some of the bumps and handling characteristics. I was just committed to what I was going to do and went out there and luckily it stuck. At some of these tracks we’ve been easy wide-open. I can’t speak for everyone. But it was definitely a lot tougher to be closer to the mat today. It’s good. It think we’ve got the handling and the speed in the car in the right balance and that’s what paid off for us. We were able to have a really smooth lap and the car had speed. So, that was good.”
WHEN YOU HEAR THAT YOU ARE THE YOUNGEST TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING, IS THAT A NEW FEELING FOR YOU?
“Somebody was asking me that a bit ago. I don’t really like having the youngest term attached to me because I’ve always been the young guy and I just want to be part of the conversation as a normal person, no matter what age I am. So, I don’t really look at myself as younger than other guys, just as what I’m doing and how I’m doing it compared to them or everybody out there. But yeah, it’s cool. But I really just look at myself as a race car driver.”
TALK ABOUT SOME ADVICE CHAD KNAUS MAY HAVE SHARED WITH YOU ABOUT RUNNING A 600-MILE RACE
“We had a really good conversation today about a 600-mile race. Just the balance characteristics and the changes the track goes through, but the cool thing about him is that there are certain tracks where he really lights up and likes to talk about and Dover is one of those and really Charlotte is the other one where he has that knowledge and background. It’s really cool to listen to him about what he’s got to say about this place. He’s got a good idea of what we need to do to be successful here. Hopefully we can get the balance right on Saturday and have a really good Sunday.”
HAVE YOU LET YOURSELF THINK ABOUT WHAT IT MIGHT MEAN TO WIN THIS RACE IN THE NO. 24 CHEVROLET (FORMERLY DRIVEN BY JEFF GORDON) ON SUNDAY?
“I think you take it one step at a time. There are a lot of things we’ve got to do right to get to that point. But, I think the speed has been really good and the execution of our race last weekend was nearly flawless from a team’s perspective and then from my perspective. So, I think we’re getting there, for sure. We’re close.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet
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