NASCAR Cup PR

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW UNIVAR SOLUTIONS CAMARO ZL1 – Pole Winner: THE WAY THE DAY STARTED, DID YOU EVEN THINK THE POLE WAS A POSSIBILITY? “Well, I felt like if we kept working on it; we had a good meeting between the No. 8 (Daniel Hemric) between first and second practice and kind of had a good idea of what we wanted to make changes on."

HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THE RACE THIS WEEKEND? “I don’t know yet. I think that the track surface is one of the most worn that we’ve been on. It seems rougher than anything we’ve been on yet. Usually here, Charlotte and Kentucky were some of the roughest places, but I’d say this is close to number one now."

Question about your teammate Erik Jones. He is kind of in this limbo if he is going to return to Joe Gibbs Racing. Have you had any conversations with him or given him any advice on how to handle it?

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 met with media to discuss the 2020 date change for Daytona, his thoughts on Bristol and past events at Chicagoland, how the new package will perform in Sunday’s race, and more. Full Transcript:

“I definitely think there is. I think you are going to see guys ringing the top and guys that can run the bottom. At this place, as more rubber gets laid down, you are just trying to constantly fight for clean track. If you can find clean track, there is a little bit of an advantage there.”

DO YOU FEEL GOOD IN PARTICULAR ABOUT ANY OF THE TRACKS YOU HAVE COMING UP? “It’s kind of a double-edge sword. I look at it and a lot of the tracks we go to, I feel confident in what I want and confident in what I need. You try to not lose faith in yourself through moments of struggle.

“I think it has been fun. Something that drives you, pushes you. Nobody wants to be third or fourth of the group. You want to be the best. You want to win championships. You want to be the fastest every week. But at the same time, it’s difficult because we are working together, and we are sharing everything."

“With Daytona being known for its big races, I definitely think it’s going to be something that’s going to be a loss to the racetrack. It’s cool to see all the paint schemes come out for our holiday weekends, especially for the Fourth of July. It’s always been a pretty neat weekend."

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 BodyArmor Ford Mustang -- YOU HAVE SOME COOL STUFF GOING ON WITH YOUR FOUNDATION THIS WEEKEND, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? “Yeah, it is Alzheimer's awareness month and that is the main focus of our foundation. This weekend we have a pretty neat promotional deal where you could go online and donate to the Alzheimer's Association and nominate a loved one to be on the decklid."

NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola, (#NASCARSalutes) a continued effort to show appreciation for the United States Armed Forces, concludes with two full weekends of military appreciation at Chicagoland Speedway and Daytona International Speedway, where a NASCAR Xfinity Series windshield header salute to military units and installations will take place during the Circle K Firecracker 250 Powered by Coca-Cola.