NASCAR Cup Series

Chase Elliott was Chevrolet’s highest-finishing Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Talladega Superspeedway ending the day with a third-place finish.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 3rd - AN EVENTFUL DAY. YOU HAD SOME CONTACT ON PIT ROAD EARLIER, A LATER TIRE PENALTY, AND YOU STILL MANAGED TO GET IN THE MIX. DID YOU THINK YOU WERE HAVING A SHOT AT IT? “I thought our NAPA Chevy was good. It wasn’t, I don’t think, as fast as we’ve been previously at the restrictor plate tracks, but I feel like it was a solid car. I got to the end and those guys around me were working together so much. I thought for sure one of them wanted to win a little worse than what they did. They were being very patient with one another and I was surprised by that. If it was me, I feel like I would have wanted to try or do something. Those guys weren’t having it. I was trying to move forward and make a lane and push and they were not interested in advancing. So, it could have been a lot worse, so we’ll move on to Dover.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/ 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing - Starting Position: 3rd - How did your car feel in qualifying? “It feels okay, I think for us the big deal is that the last couple restrictor plate races we’ve qualified really poorly. Came here with a little more effort on trying to have a faster race car and hopefully qualify good, stay up front and stay out of the wrecks. So far, so good."

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- A part failure by his teammate almost ruined the day for Kevin Harvick. But when he went back out, he topped the chart. When he pulled his car into victory lane to celebrate winning the Busch Pole Award, he was hugging crew chief Rodney Childers like he'd just won the race.

KURT BUSCH, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion -- Qualified 2nd - “I have never been on the pole for a plate race and I wanted to check that off the list. Thank you Doug Yates. We wouldn’t be in this position if we didn’t have great horsepower. That is the fun part of our qualifying, showcasing the talent of the engine builder and the way these guys build the aero package. To have two Stewart-Haas cars on the front row is great. We would have loved to gotten the pole but outside pole is great and I am proud of our Monster Energy Ford.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 5th - TOP FIVE STARTING SPOT FOR YOU AT TALLADEGA TODAY. ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THAT? “Yeah, I think it’s plenty good enough. Obviously, you are not going to run in the top five all day. I think that it is plenty good enough. I think our car has good pace and hopefully it drives good tomorrow.”

Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion, gave a statement to media members regarding the news earlier this week that Matt Kenseth will now share the seat of the 6 car for the remainder of the 2018 campaign, at Talladega Superspeedway prior to the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday. Bayne did not take questions.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Fusion, returns to Talladega Superspeedway one year removed from victory at the track. Stenhouse met with media members Friday morning ahead of opening practice.

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed his success at Daytona and if he can translate it to Talladega, the progress of the No. 88 team thus far in 2018, Hendrick Motorsports 250th victory and many other topics. Full Transcript:

DARRELL ‘BUBBA’ WALLACE, JR., NO. 43 PETTY’S GARAGE/MEDALLION BANK CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed how his second-place finish at Daytona might translate to this weekend at Talladega, his assessment of his progression and the team’s progression during his rookie season and many other topics. Full Transcript