MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 26, 2019
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
4th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
6th Chris Buescher, No. 37 Kroger Thrill of the Grill Camaro ZL1
7th Alex Bowman, No. 88 Nationwide Patriotic Camaro ZL1
8th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Patriotic Camaro ZL1
9th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty Patriotic Camaro ZL1
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
2nd Joey Logano (Ford)
3rd Kyle Busch (Toyota)
4th Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
5th Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Ford)
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Pocono Raceway with the Pocono 400 on Sunday, June 2nd at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 4th
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR RUN TONIGHT?
“We had a really solid car. It was a solid race all around. We just needed a little bit more there at the end and needed to not give up control to get to Martin (Truex Jr.) in those last 40 to 50 laps. We just needed to finish a little stronger. I think I have some work to do on my end to make sure I’m keeping up with the track, giving the right information and not getting behind. I feel like I’ve made some mistakes the last couple of weeks and have just gotten a little off.”
DID THE CAR CHANGE A LOT FROM DAY TO NIGHT?
“Yeah the track just gains a lot of grip when the sun goes down. Yesterday in practice it was kind of weird that it didn’t really lose any grip during the day, but when the race started today, I felt like it was the normal Charlotte. I had to adjust to that a little bit and luckily we were able to hit it pretty close. We just needed a little bit more there at the end.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 KROGER THRILL OF THE GRILL CAMARO ZL1– Finished 6th
VERY INTERESTED NIGHT OUT THERE. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE TONIGHT?
“I end up sixth; what a great night for us. Our Kroger Thrill of the Grill Camaro ZL1 had great speed from the drop of the green. The second stage we just tried to get it up a little too high and I got up in the fence. I cut a tire down later and lost a lap. We knew we had speed still, but this group did a terrific job of repairing it. We worked really hard after practice making a lot of changes. It was just a great effort all around; the pit crew did a terrific job. We were able to come out there at the end and get an awesome finish. We have to keep improving a little bit, but it was a pretty awesome night.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 7th
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON YOUR RUN TODAY?
“I fired off pretty poorly; it was just really tight to start. The guys did a really good job of getting our car better. We got up towards the front and then late there I decided to get up in the fence and tear the right side off of it. I’m really glad we were able to fix it, overcome a flat right rear, and still end up 7th. I just need to not make that mistake and we definitely had a top five car.”
DID YOU FIND THAT YOU ARE STILL KICKING YOURSELF BECAUSE OF THE MISTAKE?
“It was my fault that I drove it into the fence, so that makes me frustrated with myself. People make mistakes and that was just one that I made. I’ll just learn from it and move on. Stuff happens.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 8th
“This has always suited my style well. I’ve always taken a lot of pride in being competitive in this race (both) physically and mentally. We did that tonight and had a strong performance. I had some handling issues. We got ourselves through most of that and got into a good position and I hit the wall with about 10 (laps) to go and took us out of like a fourth or fifth place spot back to eighth. But, all in all, it was a solid performance. We had respectable speed and I was in the mix most of the night.”
DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAD PERFORMANCE UP UNTIL THE POINT THAT YOU HAD THE INCIDENT THERE AT THE END? WERE YOU EDGING-IN ON IT OR WAS THAT ABOUT AS FAR AS YOU THINK YOU COULD HAVE GONE?
“I think we could have been….clean air was a lot. So, I don’t know. I never really got a look at the lead. The No. 9 (Chase Elliott) led a lot and then was just right there in front of me in the end and I was trying to pass him when I hit the wall. So, I feel like we were probably fourth or fifth, if fifth, they way things kind of unfolded. And then I hit the wall and the car got super loose after that.”
SO WHEN YOU HIT THE WALL, AFTER THAT, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE PROGRESSED ON BUT YOU WERE ABOUT AS GOOD AS YOU WERE GOING TO GET?
“Yeah, to have that trouble late and slip to eighth is good. We stayed in the mix for most of the night, so that was encouraging. We’re going the right way.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE CLOSING IN ON BETTER FINISHES? NOT ONLY YOU, BUT THE HENDRICK TEAM AS A WHOLE?
“Yeah, we have. And we took a more basic approach to things this weekend and they really paid off well in the race for us.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 9th
HOW WAS THE RACE OVERALL FOR YOU?
“It was okay. I expected the track to kind of come to us when night time came but it just didn’t really. We didn’t have the best restarts on the bottom. And, we had a couple of restarts on the top at the end and were able to finish 9th. So, that was good. We’ll just keep working and figure out what we need to do next time.
“We were pretty good during the day. I had pretty good speed. Top five. And I knew we were pretty tight-off but then it just kept escalating as the runs got longer. When night time fell we were just too tight. So, it is what it is. But ultimately it was a good solid two weeks in a row. And a ninth place finish is not bad.
“It seems like we’re getting better, for sure. With all four of us (Hendrick Motorsports teammates) in the top 10 is pretty good. And we’ll just work from there.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO MILITARY CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 23rd
“We had a great night going in our GEICO Military Camaro ZL1. I was really happy with it while the sun was out. I could run any lane around the track, and my front end cut great through the corner. As it got darker, I started to lose my front end and kept building tight on each run. But, we were still having a good night. We were running in the top 20 and had stayed on the lead lap all night, really showing the strides that we have made with our intermediate track program. It’s unfortunate that a flat tire in Stage 3 ultimately ruined what was going to be a solid night for our team. Our strategy to make up those laps we lost almost worked out, but we got caught up in that final stage wreck while we were sitting in the free-pass spot to get back on the lead lap. We’re going to be proud of all the positive improvements from this night, though, and keep building on them for our next mile-and-a-half track because that’s what we do. We will keep grinding.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined in multi-car crash on lap 316; Finished 32nd
“I just got in there and lost grip and slid up into Clint (Bowyer). I got stuck in the middle and then just put myself in a bad spot and got sideways. So, it was an up and down day for us. I finally put myself in a good spot for about a lap and then screwed that up. So, that was all me. So, we’ll go wherever we race next week and try to do better.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 COCA-COLA ZERO SUGAR CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined in multi-car crash on lap 316; Finished 33rd
“I saw the No. 42 (Kyle Larson) spinning. I don’t know if I should have just slowed down and try to get stopped but I thought I had a gap there and maybe squeeze and get by as best as I could and it didn’t work. We shouldn’t have been back there. We just really didn’t have the car I thought we were going to have. I’m disappointed because I felt like in practice we were pretty decent and it just looks like the No 18 (Kyle Busch) made it through and I was the one that got wrecked. It’s just part of it. But, we’ll try better next time and get our cars a little better and hope it’s better for us.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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