Official Release

This weekend, Chevrolet is taking the opportunity to pay homage to Dale Earnhardt Jr., a key member of the Team Chevy family and a NASCAR fan favorite who is retiring at the end of this race season. The brand will debut a new TV spot celebrating the major milestones in Earnhardt Jr.’s professional racing career during the broadcast of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

With tonight’s victory in the JAG Metals 350 at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS), Johnny Sauter, piloting the ISM Connect GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado, earned Hendrick Motorsports Engine Department’s 400th NASCAR victory. This is Sauter’s 16th Career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) victory and fourth trip to Winner’s Circle at TMS.

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.