NASCAR Cup PR

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 UNIFIRT CAMARO ZL1 – Pole Winner - SO YOU MESSED-UP THE LAST CHICANE? “Yeah, we’re going to have to fix a quarter-panel. I kind of missed that one, but I was trying to get all I could. I knew I was a little bit weak under the brakes the first couple of runs in Q-trim today, so I tried to fix it and maybe fixed it a little bit too good."

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course:

“It’s been OK. I’m just trying to get back in the rhythm here, it’s really hard. I feel like a lot of road courses have a flow to it and this place does not flow very well at all. So, you kind of have to create your own flow in my mind, that’s what I keep telling myself. It’s just kind of awkward. There’s awkward turns, awkward braking zones, and things that are just very uncharacteristic of typical road racing. I’m just trying to find a groove. I never really found it very well in that first practice, which is unfortunate. We were way off the pace in our qualifying run. I have some work to do. We see where we were slow, which unfortunately was a lot of areas. So, we have some work to do and hopefully we can hit it a little closer in qualifying.”

ON THE FIRST PRACTICE SESSION TODAY AT THE ROVAL “I’ve been surprised at the carnage we’ve already seen. I thought there would be less of it with the one year of experience that we have, but it shows how grip-limited this track is. It’s really awkwardly bumpy, which upsets the cars. Yeah, it’s been a handful for everybody. And then, the bus stop, I think is good. You have to slow down, and stuff, so it’s been a fun little change over there.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang – HOW DO YOU FEEL AFTER ONE PRACTICE? “I’m already way ahead of where I was last year, knock on wood. Last year, I think I made two laps in the very first practice and wrecked and tore the whole back of the car off, and then never made another lap until qualifying. So I felt like practice went well. I got in a pretty good rhythm. We did not make a qualifying run, just trying to manage our tires for the rest of the weekend for those practices tomorrow, and so we’re already ahead of where we were last year, and I feel like for me it’s really about just getting in a rhythm and then staying in the rhythm throughout the weekend.

“We are a certain amount of points behind, but we can pick those up in the stages. Yet, at the end of the race, the most important part is still finishing strong. It’s a matter of getting away from bad luck that has been these last couple of races, with a fender rub and a yellow came out when a back marker hit the leader and we had just pitted. So, we got trapped two laps down. We’ll see how it plays out.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE RETIREMENT PLANS CAMARO ZL1, met with media to discuss race strategy for this cutoff round in the Playoffs, the value of stage points and qualifying well, and more. Full Transcript:

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang – WHAT’S IT LIKE COMING BACK HERE AS A WINNER? “Coming back here, it’s nice coming back to a place you’ve won at no matter how you do it. Honestly, I was kind of more excited to come back here to see the new chicane. I think that was pretty unique, a lot different from what we had last year.

When Corey LaJoie graciously decided to put the Samaritan's Feet organization on board his No. 32 Ford at Watkins Glen International last month, he had a goal of raising $20,000.

NASCAR is back in its own backyard this weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) hits the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the second time ever. The opening round of the NASCAR Playoffs also conclude on Sunday with Ryan Newman sitting ninth in points, 14 points to the good.