MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
CONSUMER ENERGY 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 10, 2018
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
5TH AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW WE ARE INNOVATORS CAMARO ZL1
6TH RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 GRAINGER CAMARO ZL1
10TH ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1
15TH JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S/CESSNA CAMARO ZL1
17TH KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 DC SOLAR CAMARO ZL1
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1ST Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
2nd Kyle Busch (Toyota)
3rd Kevin Harvick (Ford)
4th Erik Jones (Toyota)
5TH Austin Dillon (Chevrolet)
The Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway is scheduled to begin on Sunday, August 12th. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, MRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 at 2:30 p.m.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES & QUOTES:
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 5th
TALK ABOUT THAT RUN AND MAKING THE PICK-UP THERE AT THE END OF THIS FINAL ROUND OF QUALIFYING:
“Yeah, that was solid for our No. 3 team. We felt like we had a good car throughout practice that was capable to turning a lap. We had one extra lap on our tires right there, so that was a really good lap for four runs on tires. We just had to keep tweaking on it. We didn’t ever have the balance quite perfect until that last run. I think the driver gave up a little bit in (Turn) 3 of speed. Proud of the guys, this is our highest qualifying, I think, all year long. So, we are really pumped about that. It’s good we’ve got to get this momentum going before the Playoffs start. This is a good place to do it.”
TWO RCR CARS IN THE TOP SIX. DO YOU THINK YOU GUYS MIGHT HAVE FOUND A LITTLE SOMETHING HERE THIS WEEKEND?
“Yeah, for sure. We have been working hard. You are fighting against guys every weekend, just a little bit goes a long way and it proves back at the shop the hard work and effort they’re putting in is paying off.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 GRAINGER CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 6th
SOLID QUALIFYING EFFORT FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAMMATE HERE AT MICHIGAN CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING SESSION:
“We really didn’t change a whole lot all day and they relied on me to pick up the speed and I needed to. Just kept building confidence in what I had to work with. Obviously, the track kept getting a little bit faster there at the end, but a good run for our Grainger Chevrolet. An improvement over where we were in the first race here. We need the biggest improvement on race day, so we have some more work to do tomorrow.”
HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DOES IT GIVE YOU TO HAVE SPEED IN THE CAR ON FRIDAY?
“Well it helps for sure. It was a good run for our Grainger Chevrolet, an improvement upon where we were here the first race and then we struggled in the race. We’ve got some work to do for tomorrow to make sure the car drives good, feels good and we put ourselves in position for Sunday. Just want to do the best we can, that is what we always try. Guys did a good job today and we will keep working on it.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 10th
NICE TOP 10 STARTING SPOT FOR YOU HERE AT MICHIGAN. WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED TO GET THE POLE?
“Just got too tight off of (Turn) 4 there and I had to lift. That hurt us. To get the pole, more grip everywhere, but we should have been a little better than 10th, but it’s better than we have been so we will take it.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S/CESSNA CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 15th
FIFTEENTH NOT WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR IN QUALIFYING TODAY, WHAT WERE YOU MISSING?
“No, the times are super close and I thought we did a good job getting our car better throughout the qualifying session, it’s just man it was so close it didn’t take much to be good to average.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S FOR PROS CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 19th
WHAT WERE YOU MISSING IN THIS QUALIFYING SESSION?
“Just too loose. We didn’t get a chance to make a qualifying run the way first practice went and it hit us a little bit there. Just too loose to go and I thought I crashed in the opening lap of Round 2 and luckily didn’t throw it away. Definitely a handful to drive.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 21st
WHAT DIDN’T YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR CAR?
“It’s just wasn’t quite turning like I was hoping it would. But, we had a hard time here in the spring race, too. I’m not real sure why. Hopefully we can get it worked out tomorrow and move forward because that was not good.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 25th
WHERE ON THE TRACK DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU COULD HAVE MADE UP SOME SPEED?
“Everywhere. I mean it wasn’t very good. Practice was tough we only got one qualifying run in and I thought the car was actually a decent balance in practice. It was kind of strange it looked like some cars had about the same amount of grip they did in practice, some seemed like they slowed off a little bit. I was just kind of fighting two things each end. I was tight in (Turn) 1 and loose in (Turns) 3 and 4. So, the first lap wasn’t very good and I tried to get a little bit better, but I knew it wasn’t great. So, I have never been great at qualifying here, so we will go and try to get the Kroger Chevy to get a little bit better balance for race trim tomorrow and try to get as far through the field as possible.”
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