Official Release

KURT BUSCH – No. 41 Monster Energy Ford Fusion – WHAT WAS THE KEY TO GETTING TO THE FRONT? “It was good pit strategy. I was hoping for one more yellow. If there was a yellow with 30 to go, we were a really good car on short run speed. That was the longest run at the end and those guys caught us on their fresher tires, but just to be in position to win the Southern 500 is great. I didn’t quite get the job done, but third is really nice for a big, marquee race.”

As has been the case in the Verizon Verizon IndyCar Series since Chevrolet rejoined the Series in 2012 the Driver/Team as well as Manufacturer championships will come down to the season-ending race at Sonoma Raceway. Josef Newgarden came into the Grand Prix at the Glen with a 31-point lead in the standings in his quest for his first Series’ championship.

Fifth Third Bank (NASDAQ: FITB) has renewed its relationship with Roush Fenway Racing as primary sponsor on the No. 17 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford with driver Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in a multi-year deal.

Recap: Joey Logano started 10th and raced his way to second in the No. 22 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford Mustang in the Sportclips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway. Logano led a race-high 58 laps on his way to the runner-up finish, including down the backstretch on the white flag lap as he battled race winner Denny Hamlin through into turn 3.

KEVIN HARVICK – No. 41 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang – DESCRIBE THE EBBS AND FLOW TODAY? “Yeah, we had a great Hunt Brothers Ford. I want to thank Hunt Brothers and Fields and Bad Boy Off Road, Ford, Morton Buildings, everybody from Stewart-Haas Racing and Haas Automation for just letting us run this thing. It just didn’t wind up working out there at the end. I wound up on the bottom and I kept my foot in it over there, got loose underneath the 20. We weren’t the strongest for five or 10 laps and that didn’t really work out with that short run there at the end and we got stuck on the bottom. We got loose and then we got freight-trained, but just a great car. It wound up being a great race and that’s all you can ask for.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats 40th Anniversary Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing - Starting Position: 2nd - How did your Camry feel our in qualifying? “Feels good. That was definitely a good, successful qualifying session for us. It – we thought we were off a little bit the first round then just kept working on the car and kind of adjusted the driving style a little throughout all three rounds and we ended up second. So seems like we’ve been second a lot this year and it’s been a good number for us and hopefully it’ll be a good one tomorrow night.”

KEVIN HARVICK – No. 4 Busch Beer Ford Fusion – POLE WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE – “It feels pretty good. We’re on the pole. It’s been a good start to the weekend for us and the car is driving good and we w’re able to put three laps together. Everything is going well.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 4th “I got through Turn Three and Turn Four better (than previous runs) but I was still too loose to commit to wide-open throttle, which hurt my overall speed. It’s a lot better than I’ve ever qualified here, so hopefully that will give us a better pit stall selection for tomorrow’s race. This is a fun place, but it’s definitely tough.”

Propelling his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 173.320 mph, Kyle Busch put his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota atop the speed charts in Friday’s final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Darlington Raceway despite an earlier spin.

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Darlington Raceway and discussed the two practice sessions today, his love for Darlington Raceway, his thoughts on the potential for a cone rule in NASCAR, his emotions heading into Homestead and many other topics.