NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING NOTES & QUOTES
FEBRUARY 10, 2021
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
- ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
- WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
- RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE
- RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
- AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
- Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
- William Byron (Chevrolet)
- Aric Almirola (Ford)
- Bubba Wallace (Toyota)
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Chevrolet)
FOX will telecast the 63rd Running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway live at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, February 14. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Pole Winner
ALEX, FOURTH-STRAIGHT YEAR YOU’VE BEEN ON THE FRONT ROW. THIS IS YOUR SECOND DAYTONA 500 POLE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TOT YOU? GREG IVES JUST TALKS ABOUT FOCUSING ON THIS NIGHT IN PARTICULAR.
“It doesn’t really have a lot to do with me; it’s a testament to these guys and everybody back at the shop at Hendrick Motorsports. They work so hard on these superspeedway cars. They’re beautiful when they get to the race track. Our Ally Camaro has been really fast since we unloaded and they focused a lot on trying to get the pole for the Daytona 500. It means a lot to us and we were able to achieve that.”
“I’m just really proud of everybody; all our partners at Hendrick Motorsports. Thanks to Team Chevy for giving us great racecars. It feels really good. It’s awesome for Ally. I don’t know if they’ve gotten a pole yet. I figured they probably had a pole with Jimmie (Johnson) somewhere, but I don’t know. Man, it’s just awesome to be driving this No. 48 car.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 2nd
WAS IT KIND OF WHAT YOU EXPECTED OF YOUR TEAM FOR YOU AND ALEX (BOWMAN) TO BE THIS FAST? IT WASN’T NECESSARILY LIKE THAT IN PRACTICE, BUT YOU GUYS SEEM TO BRING IT WHEN YOU HAVE IT.
“Yeah, I feel like it’s always — Hendrick always gives us great cars to come down here and qualify well and also race well, so you never know which guys are going to have the speed out of the four of us.To see how we approached the weeks leading up to this race and how we were really determined to go out there and start off strong with obviously the Clash last night, finishing fifth was great for us, good solid start, but our goal today was to go out there and try to qualify on the front row.
It’s nice to be able to kind of check that off. And great to see both Alex and I – the 48 team and the 24 team – both up there.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 5th
“It was a really strong night for our whole JTG Daugherty Racing organization as a whole, but I’m really happy with my Kroger/NOS Energy Drink Chevrolet. We didn’t have quite the speed for the top spot, but we are fast and the car was handling really well in the single car runs in practice today. I’m excited to get in the draft and race tomorrow night. We have a really good starting spot and definitely have a car that I think we can be aggressive with and learn some things for Sunday.”
RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 8th
“I knew we would have speed in our No. 37 Cottonelle Chevrolet, but I am really proud of the effort that everyone at JTG Daugherty Racing organization put in to get our car as fast as it is and qualify on speed into the DAYTONA 500. We ran some solid laps in practice today and I think that prepared me for tonight and to put down one solid lap to qualify us in to the race on Sunday. We’re also racing in the same duel as our teammate, and it’ll be good to practice drafting with them tomorrow night. This is the best start to Speedweeks and the 2021 season that we could think of and I’m looking forward to a strong night tomorrow and a stronger race on Sunday.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 9th
“Our team did a good job bringing a car that’s got some speed. It’s always a good thing to come here and qualify toward the front because people want to work with you more if you’ve got some speed. I’m happy with it; we ran some good lap times. We qualified ninth, so anytime you’re in the top-10, you feel good about the speed of the car. The next thing is to work on is the drivability and have a good starting position come Sunday.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 IFLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 10th
HOW MUCH OF A RELIEF WOULD IT BE IF YOU MADE IT IN ON SPEED?
“Well, I don’t have to make anything. We’re going to be in the show anyway. I know the car is going to be somewhere in the top 12 or 15, I think. The car drove extremely well. Overall, I’m very proud of my team. They’ve been working very hard on this car and it shows.
COMPARED TO YOUR NERVES LAST YEAR, HOW ARE THEY THIS YEAR?
“It’s pretty different; not just today but the last three months. It’s way different when you actually use the pre-season to work with your team and try to be better and to find speed instead of working to show up at the race track. So, it’s way different. I’m just very glad to be in this position with Trackhouse Racing and Chevrolet. We have great teammates at RCR. We have the same goal and the same vision.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 12th
ARE YOU SURPRISED YOUR TIME WASN’T BETTER?
“No, I think for us, we realized what’s really important and that’s obviously Sunday and having our car driving well for the event. That’s where our head is, and it would be nice to grab a pole; but at the end of the day, what does it really get you? At the end of the day, we try to be good on Sunday.”
ARE YOU FOCUSING A LITTLE BIT MORE ON RACE TRIM AND DOES THAT MAKE IT EASIER?
“I don’t necessarily think it makes it any easier or harder. Everybody has what you have when you get here. You can’t rebuild your car once you get here. You are kind of set with what you put your effort in before you showed up.”
WAS THE PLAN TO FOCUS MORE ON THE DAYTONA 500 AND NOT QUALIFYING, OR IS THAT JUST HOW IT WORKED OUT?
“We try to put all our effort into the race for sure, but that’s just kind of how it worked out. Like I said, it’s nice to qualify good but at the same time we’d much rather have our car driving well and just put a lot of effort into that.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 14th
“Qualifying for the Daytona 500 – it’s always special to have a car with a top-notch team to race. I’m just really proud of the guys and the effort from all the way back to the beginning when this car was built. We just cranked off our lap. We might end up top-15; if not, we know we’ve got a car that can do a lot of things. That’s to race hard in the draft, two-tires, fuel only; you have to adapt to a lot of things at Daytona. It’s not all about just raw speed. This is a good start and that was fun. It was the first time ever qualifying at night.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 NATIONS GUARD CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 15th
HOW WAS YOUR FIRST DAY OF REAL RACING ACTION WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS?
“It was good to get out on track and kind of go through the motions of practice and buckling-up into a stock car. So, thankfully it’s Daytona and a little easier to just go out there and do single car stuff and not get too stressed out. It’s good to get back out there and I’m looking forward to the rest of the week.”
THERE WERE A LOT OF SPARKS COMING OUT OF YOUR CAR ON YOUR QUALIFYING RUN. WAS THAT EXPECTED AT NIGHT HERE?
“I don’t know. I guess I really don’t get too much into the set-up stuff. I haven’t seen my laps, so I don’t know if I sparked more than other people. We were a little bit off of our couple of teammates up there; so, I’m not too worried about it. I’m excited to get into the Duels tomorrow and go racing.”
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 24th
YOU’VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE IN THIS RACE BEFORE AND YOU’VE FINISHED WELL IN THIS RACE BEFORE. HOW IS IT DIFFERENT THIS WEEK COMING IN WITH A PREMIER TEAM AND KNOWING YOU HAVE A SHOT TO POTENTIALLY WIN THIS THING SUNDAY?
“The good part, for me, that I have done it. So, that experience, and even more, was magnified with the amount of fans that were always at Daytona the last few years. I’ve had those kinds of nerves, but now it’s a totally different competition side and I got a really good taste of it last year with the No. 77 car, Spire Motorsports and everybody at CGR. Now, we’re setting off on a season-long goal. It’s a little different mentality on my side, where mistakes cost points and points are what make or break your season. I’m glad I had the experience that we’ve already been here and went through all this at least once or twice.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ARMOR ALL CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 29th
LAST NIGHT IN THE CLASH, YOU LOOKED PRETTY SPORTY IN THAT NO. 43. WHAT DID THAT TO FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE FOR YOUR FIRST LAPS IN THAT CAR?
“It was good for me. It’s kind of more nerve-racking than normal. When you switch to a different car, you don’t really know how everything is going to feel. You’re kind of going over your stuff making sure you have everything right in your mind of what you need, as far as switches and stuff in the car. So, it’s kind of a big adjustment. But as far as confidence goes, I think it helped a lot. It was pretty encouraging for me, just to get a feel and see where everything’s at. I’ve never drove a different in my Cup career, so it was good to just get something new and, like I said, encouraging to see how we ran and some of the stuff the car was doing. I feel like we can improve on it even when we come back, so I feel really confident to come back and definitely run towards the top-10 and, if not, better than that. It was a good way to get our feet wet, for sure.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 LENOVO CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 31st
HOW BIG IS THE MANUFACTURER GAME GOING TO BE ON SUNDAY AND HOW SELFISH WILL YOU BE WHEN IT GETS DOWN TO CRUNCH TIME?
“If I talk about it too much it isn’t much of a game, right? We all know the manufacturers and the shared interest, whether it’s Chevrolet or Ford of Toyota to get to Victory Lane. Obviously, there’s going to be some teamwork there as there is in other aspects of racing in NASCAR. So, it will come into play. It’s no secret. But it’s all about yourself getting to Victory Lane and you’re going to do whatever is going to help get you there. And if that’s working with Chevrolets then yeah, obviously I want to work with them.”
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