NASCAR CUP SERIES
XFINITY 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
NOVEMBER 1, 2020
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
5th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
6th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 PLANTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
14th MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE
16th TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICOWEEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
2nd Ryan Blaney (Ford)
3rd Joey Logano (Ford)
4th Brad Keselowski (Ford)
5th Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)
UNOFFICIAL CURRENT PLAYOFF RANK (Following Race 9 of 10 / Entering into the Championship Four)
POS. DRIVER (* = Chevy Contender)
1st Joey Logano (Ford)
2nd * Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
3rd Brad Keselowski (Ford)
4th Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series seasons concludes at Phoenix Raceway with the Season Finale 500 on Sunday, November 8,, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Winner
AT THE MOST IMPORTANT TIME, YOU SEE YOUR FIRST VICTORY AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY. YOUR CREW IS A LITTLE EXCITED, AS YOU ARE TOO, RIGHT CHASE?
“Oh, my gosh. This is the biggest win ever for us. I’m just so proud to be able to be backed into a corner like that and have to win tonight. I feel like that’s what we’ve been missing these past four or five years and perform when we don’t have a choice. And, to do that tonight; we couldn’t ask for a better night. This is unreal. Thanks to the fans for coming out. They’re here and I love to see it! I’ve just got to catch my breath. This is just unbelievable. We’re going to Phoenix with a shot to win a championship and have a beautiful blue NAPA Camaro headed out there with a shot to win a title. What more could you ask for?
WHEN YOU HAD YOUR CAR BACK IN THE PACK A LITTLE BIT AND A COUPLE OF MISCUES ON PIT ROAD, WHAT CONCERNS DID YOU HAVE?
“Yeah, I didn’t think our car was driving as good there at the end as it was at the beginning of the race. But those last couple of pit stops made some really good changes and had a good pit stop on that last one and a good last restart. And that was the difference. Everybody makes this possible. This is unbelievable. I’m just at a bit of a loss for words. Like I said, this is the piece we’ve been missing. I feel like we’ve had the group to do this. We just have to go make it happen and we did tonight.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 5th
KURT BUSCH FINISHES FIFTH, BUT THAT DOESN’T FULLY EXPLAIN THE DAY YOU HAD. YOU GUYS PUT A VALIANT EFFORT TO PUT YOURSELF IN POSITION TO WIN THIS RACE. WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED?
“We gave it all we had. I’m really proud of my guys. Chip Ganassi Racing put up a really good fight this year to get this far, to win and to post top-five’s through the Playoffs. We crossed over our threshold. Last week, we finished seventh at Texas, fifth tonight and we’re walking around kind of kicking the ground – like that wasn’t our best effort or we could have done this or could of done that. When I started here two years ago, we finished in the top-five and were celebrating. We’ve come that far in this short amount of time and I’m really proud of everybody back at the shop, Chevrolet, thankful for Monster Energy, GEARWRENCH and all of our partners at Chip Ganassi Racing. To come here with a shot at it, we knew we had to win. It takes a team all the way through. The driver has to make good decision – spotter, pit crew, crew chief and adjustments. We just came up a little shy. Our weakest area was pit road and we know that we need to work on that. But all-in-all, I can’t thank everybody enough. It’s cool to see the evolution of where we’ve come in two years.”
YOU’VE HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY YOU GUYS ARE AN UNDERDOG COMING INTO THIS ROUND OF EIGHT. I KNOW YOU GUYS MAYBE HAD A LITTLE MORE CONFIDENCE THAN THAT. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU SHOWED THAT WITH THOSE TOP-FIVES AND THE SPEED YOU HAD HERE IN THE ROUND OF EIGHT?
“You’re an underdog when you go in ranked eighth out of eight. We had an engine problem at Kansas and that just kicked us straight in the shin. From there, we had to win. Texas, we just didn’t get the job done – we got seventh. Today, we got fifth. Those are great quality finishes, but you can’t rely on those in the Playoffs against the best of the best. Right now, (Kevin) Harvick’s not in. That just shows you how tough this competition is.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 PLANTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 6th
“I drive this place so wrong. I try to roll the center really fast and then I am like oh we don’t have any drive off. You would think I would figure it out, but I kind of know what I need to do. All in all, a good day for our Planters Chevrolet. Mr. Peanut looked pretty cool. Really proud of Chase (Elliott) and making the final four there. Bummed we aren’t a part of it, but I think we have a solid shot at getting fifth in points. The progress this team has made over the past two months has been incredible. This is something they really deserve.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICOWEEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th
“Today was a good day for our Germain Racing team. Our GEICOween Chevrolet Camaro would build tight over the run, but Matt (Borland) and the guys continued to make it better with every adjustment. Our team never gives up and I had a lot of fun behind the wheel today. To finish 16th is a great way to end our final Martinsville start together as a team. We are going to head to Phoenix next week and give it everything we have to make the last race for Germain Racing a memorable one.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 MOTORTREND CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 24th
“This was only my second time at Martinsville Speedway in four years, and I definitely learned a lot today in the No. 8 MotorTrend Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. We fought pretty much the same problem all day, just too tight in the turns from about two-thirds of the way in through the exit. My team did everything they could today, and we tried every adjustment we could think of to loosen our car up but nothing seemed to stick. Our changes would help for a handful of laps on each restart, but then the track would rubber up and the tightness would return every time. Not our day, but I’m thankful for my team for sticking with it all race long and continuing to fight. We’ll look to finish out the season strong at Phoenix Raceway next weekend.”
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.
