NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
COKE ZERO 400
DAYTONA BEACH INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUALIFYING NOTES & QUOTES
JULY 1, 2016
AUSTIN DILLON LEADS TEAM CHEVY AT DAYTONA
A Total of Three Chevrolet Drivers Will Start in the Top Ten
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (July 1, 2016) – Austin Dillon notched his seventh top 10 starting spot of the season after qualifying sixth for the Coke Zero 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway in his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/NRA Museum Chevrolet SS.
Jimmie Johnson, the 2013 Coke Zero 400 winner, posted the eighth fastest time in his No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet SS. Johnson also has two other NSCS victories at the 2.5-mile speedway in the Daytona 500 (2008 & 2013).
Kurt Busch, will pilot the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS from the 10th starting spot. Busch, the 2004 NSCS champion will try and break his winless streak at restrictor plate races with a win Saturday night.
Greg Biffle (Ford) won the pole, Carl Edwards (Toyota) was second, Kyle Busch (Toyota) was third, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Ford) qualified fourth and Brad Keselowski (Ford) will start fifth to round out the top five.
The Coke Zero 400 from Daytona International Speedway is scheduled to begin at 7:45 pm ET Saturday July 2nd. Live coverage will be available on NBC, MRN Radio, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 2 BASS PRO SHOPS NRA MUSEUM CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 6th
YOU HAD A STRONG QUALIFYING EFFORT TODAY
“Yeah, it’s good to be fast. Our car seems to have quite a bit of speed in it. And come tomorrow night, if we can keep it up there, it would be great to win. We want to put Chevy in Victory Lane here at Daytona and get our first win and get us locked into the Chase. It’s very important for us and Chevrolet to get another car in the Chase.
AND WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN, COMPARED TO THE OUTCOME OF LAST YEAR’S DAYTONA RACE?
“Oh, that would be huge. It would really be cool to turn around compared to how it turned out here last year, and finish with a win.”
Pre-Qualifying Comments:
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR SHOT IS FOR THE POLE COMING UP?
“I think we have a decent shot. Maybe we will get a push from the wind down the backstretch and that will give us a shot at the pole. We were really close there and maybe when it heat-soaked, it will give us what we need.”
THE TRACK IS COOLING, WILL THAT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE HERE AT DAYTONA?
“Yeah, it does. I think the motors just like it. When it gets too hot these cars just don’t like it. I think it’s good for the motors and nice for the drivers too. You don’t want it getting too hot in there.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PATRIOTIC CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 8th
HOW WAS QUALIFYING AND HOW WAS YOUR DAY?
“Good. We did a little bit of drafting and enjoyed the car and thought that it had a lot of speed. I think we qualified maybe 10th or 8th; so that’s all-in-all, good. It’s always nice to be in the final round of qualifying.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. MONSTER ENERGY/HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 10th
WE KNOW YOU’RE GOOD IN SINGLE CAR RUNS, BUT HOW WAS THE CAR IN DRAFTING THIS MORNING IN THE 45-MINUTE PRACTICE SESSION?
“Everything shook out really nice. The guys have put a lot of work into the plate cars. It’s nice to be in the final round and have a good Monster Energy Chevy underneath us. And now, it’s just a matter of making sure we make the last little adjustments to go from Q-trim to race trim. But overall, I’m very happy with have we’ve been so far, and just proud that we made that final round. It’s always a feather in the cap for the guys.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 16th
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE FOR THE RACE ON SATURDAY? “I think we will be good. We worked on our car to try and help it d better. That might take some straight-line speed out of it, but it;is going to hopefully help us be able to make moves we need to make in the race. It’s going to be slick in the race and handling is going to be real important. I’m more concerned really with the car driving good. Might not be the fastest car out there, that’s not the car that is going to win the race. I think the guy that’s got the best handling package. This place is going to be pretty slick.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 SUNENERGY1 CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 24th
ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT
“I thought it was decent. It was not as good as we’ve been in the last couple of plate races (qualifying) but, hey, we’ll try to focus on the race. That’s the most important thing, I think. I was pretty happy with how our car drove this morning in practice. But, I’m looking forward to the race and just trying to get going and hopefully not make the same mistake I made here in February.”
REGAN SMITH, NO. 7 GOLDEN CORRAL CHEVROLET SS: ABORTED QUALIFYING EFFORT WITH MECHANICAL ISSUE – Qualified 40th: “I don’t know. I crossed the start/finish line taking the green flag, and something happened that changed the pitch and it seemed like I lost a little bit of power. So, just to be safe, killed the motor and got it back in here (the garage) to see what is wrong with it. If there is a silver lining with this whole thing, at Daytona you can start toward the back and still make time and be okay when the race is on Saturday. We will race hard, and if we get a top-10, kids will eat free at Golden Corral.”
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