NASCAR Cup Series

Kurt Busch led a Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) onslaught Saturday in Foodland/Food Giant Qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway, taking the pole for Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500. The top four positions – meaning, the first two rows – will be filled by SHR drivers, in the pivotal NASCAR Playoff race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

KURT BUSCH, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion – POLE-WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE – HOW DO YOU BEAT TEAM PENSKE TOMORROW? “That was the first question I asked when I got out of the car to make sure that all of us were 1-2-3-4 because I saw that after the first round and, man, that’s impressive. It’s impressive teamwork and it’s a commitment level to build restrictor plate cars at this level and to get all four of us up there. It starts with Doug Yates, Roush Yates Engines, the way that our Fords have always worked together since Ford came aboard a few years ago at Stewart-Haas. This is awesome. It’s a great way to celebrate a 10th anniversary and one of the key partners that we have that’s behind the scenes that deserves a lot of credit for today is Mobil 1. They’re a technology partner of ours. We all went on a field trip up to Philadelphia earlier this year to see a lot of the basic chemistry sets and the way they go about developing their new products and the innovation and technology that they pour into our engines. I can’t thank them enough. I’ve been working at this for almost 20 years, to get a restrictor plate pole, and now I have one. I’m really happy about this one. This is a huge bucket list item for myself and I have everybody at Stewart-Haas to thank.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing What did you learn in practice and what is your outlook for tomorrow’s race? “We only ran a handful of laps. Made a qualifying run and then checked travels. Making sure everything looked normal. When we come here, everyone says you always got what you got. It’s hard to learn a whole lot about the car in practice. It all felt normal and fine. Get ready to qualify here soon. Go to sleep tonight and pray for some good luck.”

TALLADEGA, Ala. – All four Stewart-Haas Racing cars were amply endowed with speed for Saturday’s knockout qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway. Kurt Busch was just glad he got the pick of the litter.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion, visited the Talladega infield media center before today’s practice session to discuss his status in the Playoff standings and tomorrow’s race.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA NIGHTVISION LAMPS CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed the relief of being locked into the Round of 8 heading into the unknown of Talladega, how the Hendrick Motorsports cars will work together at Talladega, the impact Darian Grubb will have in his new position at Hendrick Motorsports in 2019 and many other topics.  Full Transcript:

Alex Bowman, No. 88 Nationwide Camaro ZL1, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed what the changes at Hendrick Motorsports will mean for the No. 88 team in 2019, what he has learned about the Playoffs his first time through the system and many other topics.

Liberty National Life Insurance Company has extended its partnership with Richard Childress Racing and the No. 31 team for the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Liberty National will remain a primary sponsor for select races with Daniel Hemric and the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and will be an associate sponsor for select races on the No. 3 Chevrolet with driver Austin Dillon.

Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace, Jr., No. 43 Medallion Bank/Petty's Garage Camaro ZL1, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed his thoughts on the 2019 rules package, returning to his “home” track Talladega Superspeedway and many other topics.

“It’s always coming back to the place where you got your first win,” Stenhouse said. “Excited to get back on the track. I think we had a real good run here in the spring (fifth-place finish). I wish I had done a few things different coming down to the last few laps. Hopefully, I learned a little something that if it comes down to it [Sunday] we can put ourselves in a better position to cross the finish line first.”