NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
PENNSYLVANIA 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
JULY 29, 2016
PAUL MENARD LEADS TEAM CHEVY IN QUALIFYING AT POCONO
Six Chevrolet SS Drivers in Top 12
LONG POND, PA (July 29, 2016) – Paul Menard put his No. 27 Moen/Menards Chevrolet SS in third place during qualifying for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway. This was his sixth top-10 start at Pocono; fourth in 21 races this season and the first time at-track with his new crew chief, Danny Stockman.
“The car has been good since we unloaded and Danny spent a lot of time in the shop this week,” said Menard, after the three-round knockout qualifying session. “And he’s never been on a Cup team before, so he’s been working with the guys and trying to get everything sorted out with the car for this weekend. This is a new style car that RCR debuted last week at Indy, and everybody at RCR worked out a lot of bugs with it and I think we’ve got it tuned up right now.”
Menard’s teammate, Ryan Newman, qualified his No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS in fifth place; and Austin Dillon was 12th in the No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet SS, which put all three Richard Childress Racing (RCR) Chevys in the top 12.
Tony Stewart, a former two-time winner at the track known as the ‘Tricky Triangle’, qualified his No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet in sixth place, Chase Elliott, was the top qualifying rookie for the 15th time this season recorded the eighth fastest time in the No. 24 Napa Auto Parts Chevy SS, and Kyle Larson qualified 11th in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS to give Team Chevy six of the top 12 overall.
Jeff Gordon, the most successful driver at Pocono Raceway with six victories to his credit, making his second Sprint Cup start of the season in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr., was 24th-fastest finish in the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS.
Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota) won the pole position, Carl Edwards (Toyota) qualified second, and Denny Hamlin (Toyota) was third to round out the Top-5 starting spots.
All the action from Pocono Raceway is scheduled to begin July 31 at 1:30 p.m., ET. Live coverage will be available on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), MRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.
QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES:
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MOEN/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 3rd
IT SEEMS LIKE INSTANT CHEMISTRY WITH YOUR NEW CREW CHIEF, DANNY STOCKMAN. HOW WOULD YOU SUMMARIZE HOW QUALIFYING PLAYED OUT FOR YOU TODAY?
“The car has been good since we unloaded and Danny spent a lot of time in the shop this week. And he’s never been on a Cup team before, so he’s been working with the guys and trying to get everything sorted out with the car for this weekend. This is a new style car that RCR debuted last week at Indy, and everybody at RCR worked out a lot of bugs with it and I think we’ve got it tuned up right now.”
TALK ABOUT YOU DAY TODAY WITH YOUR NEW CREW CHIEF AND YOUR QUALIFYING EFFORT:
“I’m proud of all my guys. We have had a rough year. We are not where we expected to be and need to be in points, so we had to make a change. Danny (Stockman) came in here and gave us a good car right off the truck. We stuck in qualifying trim all day. We know we have to improve our qualifying that just starts your race off way better. A good way to start it off.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 8th
ON QUALIFYING:
“We just needed to put a lap together. I did a really bad job that last round and didn’t put all three corners together like I was hoping or wanted or needed to. Just need to do my homework better.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 11th
ON QUALIFYING:
“I was a little too tight on exit of every corner. I needed to be a little bit freer. I don’t know if we had enough to get the pole, but it was good. A lot better qualifying effort than we had last time here. It’s hard to pass here, so starting towards the front is nice.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 SCOTT PRODUCTS CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 13th
ON QUALIFYING:
“Just a little bit too free all around. The second lap I thought I was really free and it was faster. It’s not bad we just got to make it a little bit better. The car was a little bit free. It’s a fine line around here between being too free and too tight and finding speed in the car. I actually thought the second lap was terrible and I was kind of shocked when I looked at the lap time when I crossed the line. We are okay we’ve got to get the Scott Products Chevy a little bit better.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 23rd
WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED ON THAT QUALIFYING RUN?
“We just needed more turn. In practice earlier the car was turning really well. Right there we needed it to turn better. I don’t know we just got a little behind there I guess. The first run I was tight, the second run I was tighter and then we freed up. It’s interesting I don’t know. It is tough to find that sweet spot that we are looking for, but we will keep working.”
HOW MUCH TIME DID YOU SPEND IN RACE TRIM TODAY?
“I feel good in the car, but that doesn’t mean I will be fast. It’s all about getting things right, getting the car right, keeping it turning and having drive at the same time and being able to do everything you want to do. We will work hard for that tomorrow. We ran two race trim runs today and had consistent lap times. They weren’t as fast as some, but they were consistent. So, tomorrow hopefully it will be faster and still consistent.”
JEFF GORDON, INTERIM DRIVER, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 24th
ON QUALIFYING:
“Well the first time out the car was pretty close, a little bit tight, but we should been better that first time out and then we wouldn’t of had to gone out the second time, but overall just too tight over the Tunnel (Turn). The car is really good down in (Turn) 1. I picked up speed every time we went out. I think having to do that last run our third time on tires didn’t really give us a good chance to advance and get the lap that we wanted. It’s still a work in progress.”
Connect with Team Chevy on social media. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TeamChevy, follow us on Twitter @TeamChevy, and add +TeamChevy into your Google+ circles.
Team Chevy racing photos are available at:
About Chevrolet:
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 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.
