Official Release

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion (Qualified 3rd) “We have done a phenomenal job qualifying all year. I hadn’t been more nervous for one than this one just because I feel like it will be a crucial track position game to dictate your strategy and get the stage points that you need that you need to be up front. They did a good job. I didn’t know if we were going to make it with all the inspection stuff going on. We came out at the last minue. Kurt did a great job getting the pole. We needed him to get the pole, not the 11.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 9th - YOU GUYS QUALIFIED AN IMPRESSIVE SIXTH HERE AFTER SOME ISSUES THIS MORNING IN PRACTICE WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS GOING INTO SUNDAY? “We had a fuel issue in practice and that didn’t give us many laps on track. Then to go out and qualify in the top ten like that is a great sign. We brought a few different things to the track this weekend and it just seems like there is just some more raw speed in the car. I am excited about it and again, we just had a couple of laps of practice and then qualified in the top ten, so I am pretty happy about that.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR, No. 78 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing - How confident are you here at Texas with the success you’ve had at mile-and-a-half tracks this year? "Definitely confidence is high. Feel good about it."

Click n’ Close™, a division of Mid America Mortgage, Inc., has entered into official partnership agreements with the sanctioning body, NASCAR, and one of the most iconic race teams in the sport, Richard Petty Motorsports. The collaborations designate Click n’ Close as the “Official Mortgage Provider of NASCAR®” in addition to becoming a partner of Richard Petty Motorsports.

ERIK JONES, No. 77 Sport Clips Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing - You have a special paint scheme on your car on Saturday with your sponsors from the state of Texas. Talk about racing in their backyard. “It's cool. Both sponsors located here in Texas, so always fun to race at home for a sponsor. They get to bring all their folks out from the headquarters, join in on the race. It's just cool to see a lot of people you don't get to see throughout the year too much. I always want to put on a good show for them. We've done a good job for GameStop in the XFINITY Series, able to grab a couple wins for them. This is my first time racing for Sport Clips in Texas. Looking forward to everybody coming out and hopefully putting on a good race for them.”

Team Penske and Discount Tire announced today that beginning in 2018, the world’s largest independent tire and wheel retailer will build on its established and successful partnership with the motorsports team and become a primary sponsor of the No. 2 Ford Fusion driven by 2012 champion Brad Keselowski in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS).

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Texas Motor Speedway and discussed his position in the Playoffs, what advice he has given Chase Elliott, his success at Texas and many other topics.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 HOOTERS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Texas Motor Speedway and discussed his chances for victory at Texas, last week’s race at Martinsville Speedway, his thoughts on younger drivers competing with veteran drivers and many other topics.

RYAN BLANEY, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion -- WHAT DO YOU AND YOUR TEAM NEED TO DO HERE TO PUT YOURSELF IN POSITION TO WIN THE RACE AND ADVANCE IN THE PLAYOFFS? “I think we just need to have a solid weekend like we had in the spring race and try to finish it out better. We got behind there and slid through my box the last pit stop which put us back. We need to have a good, solid race. That is the best thing we can do. Cut down on mistakes like we have the whole playoffs. We haven't had huge mistakes. We have been consistent and gotten good finishes. We are coming to a track that has been decent for us in the past and the 1.5 mile stuff has been really good for us. Hopefully we can have a solid weekend and a good run on Sunday and put ourselves in a decent spot going into Phoenix.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE/JUSTICE LEAGUE CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Texas Motor Speedway and discussed his upcoming Appreci88ion event during banquet week at Las Vegas, last weekend’s race at Martinsville, what Texas Motor Speedway has meant to his career and many other topics.