NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400
RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 5, 2014
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2nd
ON SECOND ROUND QUALIFYING:
“These conditions are tough out there. It is hot, and it is slick out there. You are trying to adjust your car for a night race, and know that you are qualifying in the late afternoon, early evening here. So I am really proud of that. It is Hunger Action month. Love having this orange paint scheme on our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet. The team did an awesome job; I just don’t feel like I did the best job. I never made (turns) one and two the whole session. I nailed three and four. My car is awesome down there. I can overdrive it; I can do a lot of things down there. Maybe some of it is the shade, I’m not sure. I kept getting real loose into one. I’m happy we are on the front row, but at the same time I see how far behind that No. 2 car (Brad Keselowski). I feel like we have a race car that can compete with those guys. We’ll just go out there and try to make it happen tomorrow night.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 3rd
YOU QUALIFIED THIRD AND JEFF GORDON QUALIFIED SECOND. THAT SHOWS THE POWER OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. TALK ABOUT PRACTICE AND HOW YOUR CAR IS SHAPING UP AND YOUR OUTLOOK FOR TOMORROW NIGHT:
“It’s been really stressful to be honest. The time of day when we practice and how abrasive the track is really makes it tough to know what your car is doing and if your changes are improving your balance. So there was plenty of confusion through practice. When we switched into qualifying trim our last two runs on scuffs were pretty fast but amongst all the confusion on our stickers we were slower. And you never go faster on scuffs; especially here. So it was kind of a bizarre set of circumstances for us. But we stayed the course and tried to find a little bit of truth through our notes and just conversation in the transporter and came out and had two great qualifying sessions. So, I’m very pleased with the effort. But again when the sun was out today and if you weren’t going out on stickers each time, it was really difficult to know if you were advancing your car. Evidently we did throughout the course of the day, but it didn’t make the practice sessions easy for us.”
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 4TH
IT’S NOT THE POLE, BUT EVERYONE IN THE GARAGE IS PICKING YOU TO WIN TOMORROW NIGHT HOW IS YOUR CAR?
“It’s really good. It doesn’t drive very good, but it drives – I guess as good as anybody’s. The Budweiser team has done a great job and we just have to put it all together.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 8TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN:
“We kind of barely squeaked in to that final session. It went better than the first session. I think we gained a couple of spots. I guess I’m happy with it. We will start maybe eighth or so. It sounds like there are a couple more going out. A decent starting spot hopefully we can work on our car a little bit more and try and get it better for the race.”
DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE CAR TO WIN TOMORROW NIGHT?
“I think we have a competitive car so you just put yourself in contention throughout the whole race and hopefully be there at the end. I think we have a car – we definitely don’t have the fastest car, but I think we have a top six or seven car.”
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 13TH
“We were a little bit loose off, so it made me be a little bit more patient getting back to the throttle all the way. I had a little bit of that in practice, but I tell you. I said after the Atlanta race last weekend that I wasn’t very good here. I think I used the word ‘sucked’ (laughs) at Richmond. But we were seventh in final practice and 13th here in qualifying and it is frustrating to be so close because it’s like being on the lead lap versus being the first car one-lap down. When you’re in the top 12 even if you’re 12th, you’re like you’ve got a chance at every spot still because everyone starts over at the same place. But, being 13th doesn’t allow that. But it’s much better than we’ve been here before and I think our race runs were good in practice and the GoDaddy car is in a spot where we can, I feel like, have a strong night. The guys have done a really good job of making the car better this weekend and that’s why we are much further up the grid.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 15TH
ON THE QUALIFYING SESSION:
“You just really have to get it that first time out. We were just a little bit loose and the track changed I feel like quite a little bit from practice. Just didn’t have the speed we needed those next couple of runs out. I think if the clouds could of come in then you had a fighting chance.”
LIKE THE CLOUD COMING NOW?
“Yeah that would be the huge cloud that has rolled in now. You just really with the sun being out if you didn’t do it your first time out it’s hard to run the lap times that you needed to for those top 12 positions.”
TELL US ABOUT THIS NEW TIRE THAT WE HAVE HERE?
“Yeah, everybody has made a really big deal out of it. I haven’t noticed a huge difference. The wear is say a lot less than we had in the spring time. I noticed earlier we would run like 30 or 40 laps and the tires look new, but they still slow down similar to what we had before. Tires are still going to be really important. It will still be Richmond when you pit guys will put four tires on. But I don’t think we will have any tire issues this time, which is great. Another thing that I noticed and I don’t know if it is the tire or the fact that we practiced and it was so hot out is that the track finally started to get wide, which is what we used to have at Richmond. That produces really good racing. It is part of the reason they sold the race out so many times. I can’t wait to see how this Nationwide race plays out and what we have tomorrow night.”
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