Official Release

“I thought the crowd today was great but with this weather, why wouldn’t it be? We had a mechanical issue this morning and only got to run a handful of laps. The second practice was more of what I expected. Our car was good this morning but we just didn’t get to see it through before we had the issue. We are the fastest Honda but we have a little work to do to catch the Penske’s."

If history repeats itself on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, Matt Kenseth won't have a problem with it. The last time Kenseth won a pole at the high-banked .533-mile short track—back in 2005—he followed with a victory in the race.

MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - Starting Position: 1st - How strong was the Camry in qualifying? "Our Dollar General Camry had some really good speed. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and the guys made some really great adjustments."

Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet SS – Qualified 4TH - On his qualifying effort: “We just got really loose on entry into the corner. We carried that through all three session. Just kind of really had to guard against it all three runs. All-in-all the Jimmy John’s team did a great job and still a solid starting spot. We have a lot to work on, but a good starting spot for us.”

GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 Ortho Ford Fusion – YOU SPUN ON YOUR FIRST QUALIFYING RUN AND THEN HAD TO GO BACK OUT ON SCUFFED TIRES. HOW BIG OF A HANDICAP WAS THAT? “It was a pretty big handicap. The track just changed quite a bit. We made a change to our Ortho Ford Fusion."

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet SS, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway and discussed the addition of the SAFER Barriers and how it has affected the track, his history of racing success at Bristol, the effect of crashes on a driver and many other topics.

Todd Parrott, Interim Crew Chief for the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS, met with members of the media to discuss his challenge filling in as crew chief of the No. 31.

Darrell Wallace Jr., driver of the No. 6 EcoBoost Ford Mustang in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, ranks fourth in the current standings going into this weekend’s event at Bristol Motor Speedway. He visited the infield media center to discuss the start to his season before today’s practice.

"I'd like to thank the Appeals Panel for taking the time to hear our appeal today. While they decided to reduce the penalties to the minimum penalties for a P5 violation, I am disappointed that the entire penalty was not overturned given the facts we presented.

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel today heard and considered the appeal of a P5 penalty issued on March 31, 2015 to Richard Childress (owner), Ryan Newman (driver), Lucas Lambert (crew chief), James Bender (tire technician) and Philip Surgen (race engineer) relative to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series vehicle #31 at Auto Club Speedway.