NASCAR Cup Series

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 SHAZAM/Smithfield Ford Mustang – “The 24 just got loose under me. He struggled to get going on the initial start. He spun his tires and then was just loose and out of control that whole first lap. When we went down in turn one he lost it under me and wiped us out. I’m pretty frustrated. You work all weekend, all week getting ready for the event and to make it one lap is kind of uncalled for, so I’m disappointed, frustrated, but life goes on. We’ll go to Richmond.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway following Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice for the Food City 500. Johnson was second fastest in the session.

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang, posted the fastest single-lap speed in today’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Happy Hour practice at Bristol Motor Speedway. Logano, who qualified seventh for tomorrow’s scheduled Food City 500, spoke about practice and how the track is changing.

For the fifth time in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) career, and first at Bristol Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott will lead the field to the green flag for Sunday’s Food City 500 behind the wheel of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1.

“We were close. We just missed it a little bit. The Craftsman Camry had good speed. We just didn’t quite have the balance we needed. That was good from practice. We didn’t really practice in the PJ1 so the transition into qualifying, we had to make some big changes and we did a good job of it. We just didn’t have quite enough. It’s good to start up front and get a good pit stall here which is really important. Hopefully it will play out good on the initial start and we’ll stay up there all day.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Pole Winner HOW BIG OF A DEAL IS IT FOR YOU TO GET THE POLE HERE AT BRISTOL? “It’s awesome. I’ve really been wanting a pole outside of Daytona and Talladega for a long time now. So, I feel like I was finally able to contribute from my end a little bit more and get a pole that my team certainly deserves. We’ve got a fast NAPA Chevy. I appreciate everybody’s efforts at Hendrick Motorsports and the engine department and the chassis shop and everybody back home. They’ve been working really hard to try to get better and this is a big deal. We have some work to do, I think, for Sunday and we’ll go to work tomorrow and try to get it driving good for 500 laps. That’s a long time.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – IS THE TRACK MORE SLICK THAN USUAL? “No, not really – just more unpredictable than before.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway. Selected questions and answers.

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 PPG Ford Mustang – WHAT WAS THE TRACK LIKE AND HOW WILL QUALIFYING BE? “It was interesting. No one went down in that bottom lane and it looks like no one still is going down in it. I was kind of surprised, to be honest, but I was kind of surprised we didn’t go down in there. I hit once with my left side tires and it was pretty slick. You just need a lot of cars running on it to get it going."

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 BLUE-EMU CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway. Selected questions and answers. WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM IS AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR? “We are kind of behind. I think the biggest thing is dollar signs and over the years we have kind of tip-toed around that, but that’s enough of that. We are kind of behind on money. It’s all about being up front and being blunt."