Matt Tifft and No. 2 Nexteer Automotive Team Earn Top-10 Finish in Debut Roval Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway "That was exactly what we needed out of today with our No. 2 Nexteer Chevrolet Camaro - a quiet day. No one really knew how this race was going to go, so I'm proud to come out of there pretty much unscathed with how on edge every single lap was here. My crew chief Randall (Burnett) and the team really did a great job getting the balance of our Camaro better and better throughout the weekend."
Austin Cindric kicked off his Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway by winning the pole position, his third in 28 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, and was the first-ever pole winner at the ROVAL.
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 98 Nutri Chomps Ford Mustang – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW -- “It’s pretty special. Winning really two of the most different races we have all year between Eldora and the Roval. Honestly, they had a lot of similarities because we didn’t have very much grip. I found myself a lot of time not even getting over half-throttle, just trying to keep the tires hooked up. Honestly, I can’t believe it. We were so far off in practice. The car was great. The driver was not. I watched a lot of video, a lot of on board stuff trying to get better overnight. It seemed like everyday we came back we’d pick up a second and I knew when we got in the race and I got around guys I could see more of what they were doing and where they were beating me. That was really the biggest key there is just getting around other cars and seeing what they were doing different.”
Kurt Busch has quickly developed a good rapport with the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL™. Busch dedicated the new ROVAL™ infield fan bridge on Wednesday and took Bojangles’ Qualifying by storm on Friday – earning the pole for Sunday’s inaugural running of the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400, the first playoff road-course race in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series history.
KURT BUSCH, No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion – “It’s pretty special to get the pole at an inaugural event and to do it here at the Roval, I mean, there’s so much going on. There’s so much that everybody has to manage, crew chief, lead engineer, myself, engine tuners, everybody chipped in on this 41 car the right way. We had a plan for the first two rounds and it paid off. I struggled this year qualifying at Watkins Glen and at Sonoma, so we came here with a plan and it worked.
AJ Allmendinger was second quick in road-racing-style qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race, Round 29 on the 2018 tour. Allmendinger posted a lap speed of 106.811mph in his No. 47 Kroger Clicklist Camaro ZL1, and will start on the outside front row at the new 17-turn, 2.28-mile road course, which includes a portion of the existing oval. The run marks Allmendinger’s second top five and third top-10 start thus far this year.
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 2nd - WAS THERE ANY PART OF THE RACE TRACK YOU FELT LIKE YOU COULD HAVE PICKED UP A LITTLE BIT MORE SPEED? “All of it. I mean this is the way this place is. It’s what makes it interesting and fun. I kind of look back like my Champ Car days it’s a street course. Yeah, you can nitpick and say I could have got a little more here or there, but you could also be in the wall very easily. We weren’t very good in practice, so Trent and all the boys went to work on this Kroger Clicklist Chevy. Got it way better than in practice because I was not very happy. That close, but good starting spot.”
ERIK JONES, No. 20 Reser’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - Qualifying Position: 12th - Talk about advancing to round two in qualifying and starting 12th on Sunday. “It was okay. I think we had a car that probably could have contended for the pole, but we got in trouble on the first round, so we just had to make the most of it and survive. Not too much damage, but we’ve got some work to do on the Reser’s Camry to get it back in race condition. We’ll work on it and go from there.”
Richard Childress Racing announced today they have promoted one of their current Xfinity Series drivers, Daniel Hemric to drive the No. 31 Camaro ZL1 in 2019. The announcement featured Richard Childress, chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing, Torrey Galida, president of Richard Childress Racing and Daniel Hemric. Full Transcript:
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval and discussed the on-track incident in the first practice session, what portions of the Roval are the hardest, his thoughts on Daniel Hemric, and many other topics. Full transcript:
Strong Run Catapults Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester AA White Flyer Chevrolet Team to Sixth-Place Result at Watkins Glen International
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Snap on Ford Mustang Dark Horse – DID YOU MAXIMIZE TODAY’S PERFORMANCE? “I think so. In a lot of ways we maximized our day with points in most stages"
Roczen who emerged with his maiden premier class title at 32 years of age to become the oldest champion in Supercross history, in his 13th season at the highest level.
