NASCAR Cup Series

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 KOBALT CHEVROLET SS, met with media and discussed the season to date, leading into the Chase, the new package at the upcoming Michigan race, his expectations for the Bristol race this weekend, and more.

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW/GREAT STUFF CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway and discussed the potential of making his first Sprint Cup Series chase, his up-coming 3-on-3 charity basketball tournament and many other topics.

“There is nowhere else in the country, at any racetrack, where you have the atmosphere like you have at Bristol. To have that many people surrounding a racetrack of that size, you just don’t get that anywhere else.

“The Bristol night race is one that has always been circled on everybody’s list as a race that they want to win. I think when you look at Bristol, it’s probably become harder than it used to be to pass, just for the fact that you run up against the wall.

“I’ve liked Bristol since I went there the first time. I remember when I set foot onto that track, it was the day before, it was load-in day and I looked out there and you’re standing on the straightaway, but it sure seems like a corner.

"Bristol is one of those tracks I get a little extra pumped up for. For me, I think that feeling gets a little stronger when you’re talking about the night race at Bristol. There’s just something special about that race.

Cale Yarborough once again will be driving on the legendary high banks of Darlington Raceway. On Sunday, Sept. 4, Yarborough, a South Carolina native and NASCAR Hall of Famer, will pace the field as the honorary pace car driver for the 67th running of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to sit as he waits for his concussion symptoms to run their course. Jeff Gordon gets to continue his second farewell tour, while we await Chris Buescher passing David Ragan in the standings to make his Pocono win count in the standings.

Roush Fenway has called victory lane at Bristol home in all three of NASCAR’s major divisions, including 11 NSCS wins. In addition, the organization has five wins at Bristol in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) and two wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS).

Toyota has amassed 24 victories at Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway across NASCAR’s three national series – and 15 of those wins have come at the hands of Kyle Busch. In total, Toyota has eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) victories at the 0.533-mile short track, nine wins in the XFINITY Series (NXS) and seven triumphs in the Camping World Truck Series. Camry driver Carl Edwards most recently won the NSCS race at Bristol in April and Erik Jones was victorious in the NXS event at ‘The World’s Fastest Half-Mile’. Busch has 17-career wins at the track, including a Cup victory and XFINITY win before he began piloting a Toyota. The reigning NSCS champion also won all three NASCAR series at Bristol in August 2010, becoming the first driver to sweep all three national series races in a weekend.