NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MARCH 30, 2014
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – WINNER
ON HIS RACE:
“I didn’t know if we’d be able to do it. The No. 48 car is king here – him or the 24. The old theory is if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. We have a Hendrick chassis prepared by Stewart-Haas Racing. Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet… thanks to those guys. I’ve been on this journey for a while. Every time you come to Martinsville you draw a line through it; like ‘there’s no way I’ll be able to challenge those Hendrick guys or challenge for a top-10’. These Stewart-Haas team gave me a team to do it. Now I know what I need to do on Saturdays: don’t even practice. Just show up and race on Sunday that way I won’t dial out the car! It’s a dream come true to have Gene Haas call you and tell you that he wants you to drive and he wants to go for trophies and wins. It’s an unbelievable feeling to deliver.”
THE PIT LANE INCIDENT WITH BRAD KESELOWSKI
“We won. We’re not worried about any of that nonsense right now. We are a winner. We’re not guaranteed in the Chase but we have a win and we’re moving forward. Thanks a lot to everyone on this team. I can’t thank them enough.”
TALK ABOUT THE PASSES YOU MADE ON JIMMIE JOHNSON STARTING WITH THE ONE ON LAP 489:
“It was a battle. I never knew we would have a shot at beating Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville. I always drew a line through this track because I was never good here. I battled for 15th all the time. So what better way to bring the Haas Automation Chevy into Victory Lane than beating Jimmie Johnson.”
WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE?
“It’s a little bit of that antidote if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. I’ve got a Hendrick chassis and a Hendrick motor and it was prepared by Stewart-Haas Racing. Thanks to Tony Stewart, Gene Haas and Daniel Knost, unbelievable. It’s been awhile. It’s been a journey and I’m happy to be back to Victory Lane.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TAKE GENE HAAS AND TONY STEWART TO VICTORY LANE THIS SOON?
“Haas Automation and all their employees they are all about winning and making this name known in the world of motorsports. I just can’t thank them enough for choosing me and putting me in this No. 41 car.”
WHAT HAPPENED ON PIT ROAD WITH BRAD KESELOWSKI?
“Brad drove into the No. 5 car on pit road and I was just going around a wrecked car and then he turned into our door. You know accidents happen on pit road and then he drug it out on the race track wanting to start some nonsense. There is no need for that. Brad and I we have always been good before, but it’s battle time now.”
DANIEL KNOST, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET CREW CHIEF:
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST WIN AT MARTINSVILLE WITH KURT BUSCH:
“Yeah man, it’s just awesome! You know I was looking at that clock this morning and I was thinking, ‘man, I sure would love to win that thing’. It’s just a really great day for us.”
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 CODE 3 ASSOCIATES/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 17TH (WINNING CO-OWNER)
ON HIS DAY AND KURT BUSCH’S VICTORY FOR STEWART-HAAS RACING:
“Really happy for Kurt Busch and everyone on the Haas Automation team. Kurt drove a great race and beat one of the best. And Daniel Knost – a great win for him. He’s in his first year as a crew chief and he’s obviously doing a really good job. We knew he was capable and he’s proving that. And this is a big win for Gene Haas. He had a big hand in putting this all together, and for him and Haas Automation to get a win this early in the season, I think it says a lot about his vision.
“You know, it wasn’t the day we wanted for our Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevy by any means, but for the whole Stewart-Haas Racing organization, it still feels good to get a win.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 2ND
ON HIS RACE:
“I’d been loose in the final third of the race and was hanging on there. When (Kurt Busch) got back by me, I was hopefully that he’d wear his stuff out and I could get back by him. He did but I couldn’t hold him off. I started to get looser and looser. That’s all I had. I ran the rear tires off the car. I flipped every switch and knob I could get front brake and turn fans off to bring my balance back but it was a little too loose to get the win. I hate it. We had a very fast race car. I wish we could have gotten this for Rick (Hendrick’s) 30th anniversary.”
YOU HAVE HAD A LOT OF GREAT RUNS AT MARTINSVILLE AND YOU CAME IN SECOND TODAY. WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED TO WIN TODAY’S RACE?
“Man that is all I had, that is all I could do. I got back by him and then he got back to me and I was really, really loose in the closing stages of the race. Once he got back to me and put the pressure to me, I couldn’t keep the back under me. I put all the front brake in it that I could and was just hoping I could hold him off, but just wasn’t able to.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 DIET MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 3RD
DESCRIBE THE AFTERNOON FOR YOU TODAY:
“Well it was up and down. We just had to save tires, keep the tires on the car and keep the left-rear on the car. We didn’t have enough to win the race. Just thought when we got to third maybe we could get up there. Those guys were working their cars pretty hard, working their tires pretty hard, but we ran out of tire there just trying to get by those lap guys that were giving me the top in the corner and I don’t need to be up there running. That costs us a little bit to be able to get a shot at getting to their bumpers and maybe making another run at it. Real happy with the job the guys did on the car. We weren’t happy Friday at all with the car. We made the car a lot better.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – INVOLVED IN A CRASH ON LAP 199
IN REGARDS TO THE ON-TRACK INCIDENT:
“He (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) barely got into me and you hope that wouldn’t happen and he would get off of you, but he didn’t. I went around and got into the wall pretty hard. I don’t know if they will be able to fix it, but we had a really good run again and had a great McDonald’s Chevy and it’s just unfortunate.”
WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE?
“There was a lap car holding up our pack. I thought the No. 88 would be a little more patient with me. I had gotten by him in lap traffic. Then he got on my inside. When he got into me it was like it couldn’t get off and spun me around and just got into the wall there. Really unfortunate had a good car, every race we’ve had good cars. You just wish you weren’t racing for points because that is the hardest part to swallow is the point’s loss. It’s fun to run well but that is what you will think about for the next five days.”
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