NASCAR Cup Series

ERIK JONES, No. 20 DeWALT Tools Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - Do you think people are looking at you guys to win off the bat? "Yeah, I would agree with that. I think in the past, at least from what I can gather from how it was 10 or 15 years ago, you know, if you could kind of stay out of trouble and prove that you were a consistent guy, I think everybody thought the wins would come along with that. But as the times have evolved and changed, I think ‑‑ I can remember getting into my first year in the Truck Series part‑time, and the expectation was to kind of compete and win right off the bat even at that level, and that continued up through the ranks to XFINITY and now to the Cup Series."

HOW HAS THIS TRANSITION BEEN FOR YOU TO STEWART-HAAS? “Honestly it has been easy. The transition to Stewart-Haas Racing has been really easy. They have so many talented people that they just make the transition easy. Everybody from the marketing and PR side to the personnel on the shop floor and the guys on the team. It has been great. That transition has been fun. It has been easy, fun, all of the above. I have just been really looking forward to getting to the race track to go race. We go all off season and work on all the little things. Changing teams is a big undertaking. I would say that the most challenging thing has been learning 380 employees names and faces. That is one of the most challenging things. Besides that, just all the little things like getting your seat right and going and trying to work with a new team and new pedals and new seat and seat insert. All those things. Making sure I am comfortable when the season starts inside the race car.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL – No. 34 Ford Fusion – “To be here another year and to run full-time is not something that I take for granted because it’s something you have to fight for every year, so I’m thankful for the opportunity that Bob Jenkins and Front Row Motorsports has given to me and I’m excited about the potential of the race team. There are a lot of great things happening at Front Row right now, so I feel like my timing is good and timing is super-important in this sport as you know, so everything is lining up really well.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Ford Fusion -- DO YOU FEEL THIS IS A MAKE OR BREAK YEAR FOR YOU? “I have been doing this what, 12 years, and now it is make or break year? Every year is a make or break year. It doesn’t matter if it is your first year or your third year or your 12th year. It is always that pressure and it is always on. Nobody puts that on. We are competitors. I have raced since I was five years old."

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at the Charlotte media tour and discussed his outlook for the season, the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and the two-car team at RCR. Full transcript:

MATT DIBENEDETTO – No. 32 Ford Fusion – HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT TEAMS POSSIBLY LOOKING AT OTHER TEAMS’ EFI DATA? “That’s the first that I’ve heard of that. I’d be curious to find out because that could be a lot of interesting information being passed around or looked at.”

KURT BUSCH, No. 41 Monster Energy Ford Fusion -- YOU COME INTO THE YEAR AS THE REIGNING DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION. ANY ADDED PRESSURE? “I had some family members ask me that the last couple weeks. They asked if I feel less pressure. To me, I feel more pressure because I want to defend it properly. I want to go back to back. I want to bring it home again for Monster, Ford and everybody at Stewart-Haas. You give it that same attention to detail that you give Daytona every year. If you have won it or you haven't you still go after it hard.”

CONCORD, NC – The Opening day of the 2018 NASCAR Media Tour was held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield area. Most of the Speedway Motorsports tracks were present and held a briefing of different fan-friendly promotions for the coming NASCAR Series races.

This upcoming season we’ll see the CGR Chevys in the new Chevy Camaro ZL1 and in some occasions with matching paint schemes as DC Solar extended their sponsorship to the Cup Series.

Texas Motor Speedway will be creating a new club seating area featuring both indoor and outdoor lounges known as the Restart BAR Zone Club that will be unveiled for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 NASCAR doubleheader weekend set for April 6-8.