NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 29, 2021
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 METROTECH CAMARO ZL1 1LE
2nd RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
3rd CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
4th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
6th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE
7th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE
9th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 CAMPING WORLD CAMARO ZL1 1LE
10th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL1 1LE]
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
- Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Chevrolet)
- Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
- William Byron (Chevrolet)
- Kevin Harvick (Ford)
FOX will telecast the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Moto Speedway live at 6 p.m. ET Sunday, May 30. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 METROTECH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Pole Winner
NINTH-CAREER POLE FOR KYLE LARSON. WELL DONE, YOUNG MAN. DID YOU FEEL LIKE IT WAS A POLE-PRODUCING RUN?
“It felt really balanced. A lot of times if that’s the case, you would think it might be slow. I wasn’t sure. I honestly didn’t even know what the No. 9 (Chase Elliott) ran for a lap. It was cool when they said I was P-1. Awesome to put our No. 5 MetroTech Camaro ZL1 1LE on the front row. Really cool for Chevrolet, too. There’s a lot of Chevy’s towards the front of the field in qualifying, so that’s nice.”
“A long race tomorrow – we’ll see what we can do. I’ve never been that great in the 600, but Hendrick Motorsports has awesome equipment. I’m excited about it. Thank you to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports, the engine shop, Chevrolet, Mr. H (Rick Hendrick). This is pretty cool to get a pole when we don’t get to qualify much this year.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 2nd
IN THAT SMALL OF A MARGIN, CAN YOU FEEL WHERE IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER AT ANY POINT?
“No doubt. The guys gave me a great No. 47 Cottonelle/Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE. I felt like I got to the green really good and through (turns) one and two. I knew down the back straightaway; it was all going to be up to (turns) three and four. I got a little bit tight down in three and four and it just scrubbed a little too much speed.”
“All-in-all, I’m really happy with it. It felt really good in race trim and looking forward to a long race. Starting on the front row with my buddy (Kyle Larson). I wish we could have got it, but really happy with our performance.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 3rd
“Really proud of our No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team for continuing to push forward. We had a nice win last week, which is always good. I feel like we’ve been in a good place really the last two or three weeks before that. I think we’re going to be plenty good enough for 600-miles and a good pit selection, which is important. Looking forward to it.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 4th
YOU ENDED UP FOURTH – GOOD STARTING SPOT. HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE YOUR QUALIFYING RUN?
“Yeah, I thought honestly we did everything we would hope we would do. To start in the top-four is great pit selection. The No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE has been really fast all weekend. It’s nice to have a weekend to practice and qualify. It’s kind of cool – working with my new crew chief, Rudy (Fugle), this is kind of our first true practice session with a normal style of race track, so looking forward to that. I felt like our race car drove really well in race trim by the end of practice. I feel like we’ll have a shot to win.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 6th
ARE YOU GLAD PRACTICE IS BACK?
“I like it sporadic; I don’t want it all the way back. Personally, I just like showing up and racing. It’s fun and the guys do a good job with the balance of the cars. We get a little more time at home. I think the racing has been better since we’ve gotten rid of practice. You don’t see the guys just pulling away and lapping up to the top-10, unless it’s a 750 package at Darlington. I think the racing has been great since taking practice away.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 7th
“Starting top 10 is good for our Ally Chevrolet. This race is one where you have to be able to manage what you have for 600 miles. Our handling still isn’t 100% where we want it to be, but this Ally team will get it dialed in during tomorrow.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 CAMPING WORLD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 9th
YOU SHOWED SOME SPEED YESTERDAY IN PRACTICE. HOW GOOD DO YOU THINK YOUR CAR IS GOING TO BE ON SUNDAY?
“I think our car is pretty good. I’m very happy with the car. We made some adjustments trying to be pro-active for Sunday. All-in-all, our car has speed and I’m very happy for that. We have to keep it up. We’ll see what tomorrow can bring.”
THIS RACE IS KNOWN FOR FIRST-TIME WINNERS. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN?
“I think we can. The car has it, we just have to make the right tweaks in it. I’m very happy. I think that with a little bit of luck and the right adjustments, I think we can get a trophy tomorrow.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 15th
“That’s not quite the qualifying spot we wanted for our No. 8 Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, but we had good speed yesterday so I know we’ll be in a good spot for the Coca-Cola 600 tomorrow evening. Our long run speed was especially strong, so that should play into our favor over the course of the 600 miles.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 PETTY’S GARAGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 19th
THOUGHTS ON HOW YOU’VE FELT, SO FAR, THIS WEEKEND?
“I’ve felt good. Obviously, lap times are a little circumstantial here with the draft and everything, but I still felt like our car had good speed and drove good. It’s good stuff for us. Looking back on the year, Las Vegas (Motor Speedway), we ran really well for a 1.5-mile track. Since then, we’ve just kind of struggled here and there. It feels good to have a car that has good tendencies.”
IS IT GOOD TO HAVE PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING BACK?
“Yeah, I’ve missed it. Just getting out there – it’s so nice to be able to go out and make a lap in your car, and come in and adjust on it. You miss that part of it; working with your guys. I don’t know – I miss every part of it. It’s good to be doing it again.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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