Official Release

Flawless execution earned Kyle Larson and the No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS team the pole for Saturday night’s Monster Energy All Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Larson’s first career victory at Michigan International Speedway in August 2016 earned him a spot in the All-Star event lineup. Today’s lap of 143.839 mph was not the quickest combination of the three lap average and pit stop time, but mistakes by other competitors now places him in the pole position for the start of the million-dollar non-points event on Saturday night.

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – Pole Winner: “I decided I might not change because if I ended up second they’ll probably want an interview. So, I stayed in the (drivers) suit; so yeah, that’s pretty cool. It’s my first time doing this. It’s nice that we had a second round there to get a second tenth out of that. I picked up some time there. This was all about not making mistakes. Everybody but us made mistakes in that last round. So, I am proud of everybody on this Target Chevy team, especially our pit crew. Our pit crew saved me in that first round to get us into this second round. And getting the pole is pretty sweet. It’s so much fun. I’ve been wanting to do that. It’s my fourth season in Cup now and I have wanted to do it every year.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – HOW DO YOU SIZE UP THE ALL-STAR RACE? “It’s a race that’s always been about change. It’s about trying new things. It’s a good chance for the sport to expand its horizons and I think it’s gonna do just that with the new tire compound option rule.”

Roush Fenway Racing will host its annual spring fan day at its headquarters in Concord, N.C. on Thursday, May 25. The event is open to the public and will feature autograph sessions with each of Roush Fenway’s drivers.

Regan Smith will be filling in this weekend as driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion for the injured Aric Alimrola. Smith spoke to the media this afternoon about the opportunity. REGAN SMITH – No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion – WHEN DID YOU GET THE CALL? “Roughly Wednesday morning, right around there. It was something like that. I didn’t know much until then. Obviously, I knew that he was hurt, but didn’t know to what extreme or anything like that."

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO MILITARY CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Charlotte Motor Speedway and discussed coming to Charlotte Motor Speedway as a kid, running double duty, his team’s performance thus far, the Rookie of the Year points battle and many other topics.

Furniture Row Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to the media at Charlotte Motor Speedway: MARTIN TRUEX JR, No. 78 5-Hour Energy Extra Strength Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing - Talk a little bit about your week, finally getting a win in Kansas and your outlook for the All‑Star Race this weekend. “Yeah, it was definitely a great week."

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion, was involved in a multi-car accident last weekend at Kansas Speedway in which he suffered a compression fracture of his T5 vertebra. Almirola held a press conference today at Charlotte Motor Speedway to update his progress. Regan Smith will fill-in for Almirola this weekend.

Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) driver Aric Almirola, who suffered an acute compression fracture to his T5 Vertebra after a multi-car accident at Kansas Speedway last Saturday night, will be forced to miss races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series during his recovery. The standard healing time for the injury is eight to 12 weeks. Regan Smith will drive the No. 43 Ford this weekend in the Monster Energy Open.

Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Christopher Bell and ThorSport Racing driver Ben Rhodes were made available to the media at Charlotte Motor Speedway: