SM Archive

DODGE QUOTES: “It’s kind of a new race track for everybody. I think getting a lot of practice Thursday is really going to help us out. I think it’s like four hours of track time. That’s really going to help us out and put us on more equal terms with everybody. It was great the way the No. 22 Dodge ran last week at Charlotte. I’m really, really excited. I think we’ll be good. I think NASCAR does a really good job of giving us enough practice time with a new surface and enough tires. It’s definitely a lot more practice than what we’re used to. The test we did at Nashville a couple weeks ago really helped out. We’re definitely getting there.” --Ryan Blaney

Clint Bowyer smiles a lot. He’s smiling even more these days. He’s become the quiet surprise of the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He’s got momentum on his side and two welcome tracks in front of him.

Debut from the Bayou? Martin, a Galliano, Louisiana native, brings his Bayou roots to the Midwest this weekend at Kansas Speedway. A longtime racer of Gulf Coast historic tracks like Mobile Speedway and Five Flags Speedway (home of the Snowball Derby), Martin hails from an area best-known for seafood, beautiful beaches, Mardi Gras and Drew Brees. He hopes to not only make his home state proud, being the only current Louisiana driver in any of NASCAR's elite three series; but also have a learning experience going into his bid for NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2013.

Nate Caruth had an eventful conclusion to his 2012 rookie ARCA/CRA Super Series season. Caruth said, "This has been a great year with Lorz Motorsports in our #76 Ford. We had an exciting rookie chase, and enjoyed ending our season at such a historical race and track." The Iowa native competed in his first Winchester 400 race; but Caruth is no new comer to the high banks of Winchester Speedway.

Sunday October 21st – Jamie McMurray will visit the Team Chevy stage at 9:15 a.m. followed by his No. 1 over-the-wall pit crew at 10:00 a.m. Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick will stop by the Team Chevy stage for a question and answer session at 10:15 a.m.

Four days of NASCAR action will return to Phoenix International Raceway next month with the AdvoCare 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event weekend at PIR November 8-11. The event schedule for the fall race weekend, which features the semi-final race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, hosts a race from four different NASCAR racing series: Sprint Cup, Nationwide, Camping World Truck and the K&N Pro Series-West.

If you haven't heard of Larry Phillips just ask Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, Kenny Schrader or any of the NASCAR crew members from the area around Phillips’ Springfield, Mo. race shop and they’ll tell you all about him.

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to today's NASCAR teleconference with Kevin Harvick. Kevin currently sits 10th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings, 56 points behind Brad Keselowski. He has one top five and six top 10 finishes at Kansas Speedway.

McMurray at Kansas: McMurray has made 11 starts at Kansas Speedway. In those 11 starts, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet has accumulated two top ten’s and four top 15’s. McMurray has completed 2,740 out of a possible 2,885 laps (95%) with a total of 26 laps led. He has an average start and finish position of 20.8 and 20.3, respectively. His best start at the 1.5-mile oval was fourth in 2004.

Carl Edwards on racing at Kansas Speedway: “We are coming off a strong run this past weekend at Charlotte and headed to Kansas this week, which is similar to Charlotte. We’ll build on this and hopefully get that first win of the season. That would be huge. I don’t know what I’d do if we won at Kansas. It’s the closest track to home for me and I’ll have a lot of family and friends there. We’d have some fun for sure.”