KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED SECOND - ON HIS RUN: “We had a really good Farmers Insurance Chevrolet. We were fast. Kenny (Francis, crew chief) made a great call to get the tires and not worry about fuel and I just didn’t get it done. I didn’t win. I had the better car. The guys did a great job in the pits and I feel bad I didn’t win. We needed this. I would have been big for us. But, we ended up second. It was still a good point’s day and we’ll try to get one in Atlanta.”
CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion – WE HEARD IT WAS THE ENGINE. HOW MUCH WARNING DID YOU HAVE? “I didn’t have any warning. I’ve just got to thank all the guys. That’s the most fun I’ve had in a race car in a long time. Jimmy did a great job. The car was almost perfect and the engine ran awesome until it broke. We had great pit stops and I think we’ve got some good things to get forward to. This is what we needed, a race like this – with the engine aside – I think we were the dominant car here tonight. We’ve got some good races coming up.”
David Gravel continues to recover from a case of mononucleosis and a double ear infection and will sit out this weekend’s Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series. The native of Watertown, Conn., will return to action with the series once he is cleared by doctors.
Even though there were no points on the line during the opening day of practice for the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, the championship contenders didn't see it that way.
CASEY MEARS – No. 13 Geico Ford Fusion – “I think more than anything just going out first was tough because the rubber, for some reason, it did it in practice too, the rubber is really built up and when it sits in the sun it just gets a little greasy. After a few cars run it gets better, but it was really slick that time. We picked up a little bit from where we were and the track is just really gonna get fast, so I don’t think that’s gonna be too good.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING/SEALY CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED SECOND - TALK ABOUT THAT LAP:“Yeah pretty eventful. They had to fix all the damage that I gave the car through practice. Things get bent and things that you measure show straight and then when you get over to that big inspection rig with lasers and measuring calipers it really shows that you were wrong."
Kurt Busch, No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet SS, who has five career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Bristol Motor Speedway, will start the race on the outside of the front row for the second straight week. Busch has now earned seven outside, front-row starting spots so far in 2013. He will be looking to keep his hot streak alive and stay inside the Top 10 in the point standings in the last three races leading into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - Starting Position: 1st - How did the car handle in qualifying?"We felt like we had a pretty good handle on our car during practice and for whatever reason when that small rain storm came, it obviously changed the race track a bunch -- washed a little bit of what cushion we had on the top line away and you saw a lot of guys slipping over that edge during qualifying."
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing - What is your outlook for the race at Bristol? "We definitely want to win. Looking forward to Bristol. We've had some really good success here the last couple of years at Michael Waltrip Racing and we've had a great car throughout practice this afternoon."
The 25-year-old Green from Concord, North Carolina, is set to become the 10th competitor to pilot Spire Motorsports' No. 77 Chevrolet entry throughout the 2026 Truck Series season and for his series' debut at Talladega Superspeedway on October 23.
The 36-year-old Ellis from Torrance, California, is Alpha Prime Racing's first full-time competitor signed for the 2027 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season.
In 150 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has scored six victories, led by Kevin Harvick with four wins (including a sweep of both races in 2006 plus fall races in 2012 and 2013).
Ryan Ellis was announced as Young’s Motorsports’ full-time driver in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series as the organization enters its third season of competition.
