NASCAR Cup PR

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 2nd WHAT ELSE DID YOU NEED TO WIN THE RACE? “Six inches less in the spoiler probably, for everybody. It was just really hard to pass. I think this package has been good for a lot of places but here. It’s a high grip track, already narrow. It was just tough to pass."

Denny Hamlin was the top Toyota driver in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Darlington Raceway on Saturday afternoon.

William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Autoguard/City Chevrolet Throwback Camaro ZL1 captured the top position in qualifying for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Darlington Raceway, with a fast lap of 28.51 seconds, 172.487 mph. It is Byron’s fourth pole and 12th Top 10 start in 2019, and his first career pole at the 1.366-mile track known as the “Lady in Black’ and the ‘Track to Tough to Tame’.

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 3rd “I felt good about my lap, the balance was fine. I could have maybe come to the green a little bit better, but I don’t think I would have had a shot at the pole. We had a lot of speed in happy hour, so I’m pretty confident going into the race tomorrow. You never know until the race starts, but I felt really good about it.”

PAUL MENARD, No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Mustang – “The time that we qualified I’m not sure being early or late is a big difference. The sun is gonna get a little bit lower in the sky, but the air temp is actually supposed to go up a little bit, so I don’t think that’s an issue. I felt there was more grip than I anticipated. Yesterday the track was hot and slippery with all the cars running and now you’re out here by yourself and the track doesn’t have as much heat in it, and it’s got a lot of grip.”

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 Media Breakout Session Highlights: TIRES HAVE BEEN A LITTLE BIT CONSERVATIVE THIS YEAR. TIRES ARE ALWAYS IMPORTANT HERE, BUT DO YOU THINK THEY ARE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THEY HAVE BEEN THIS SEASON?

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1 Media Breakout Session Highlights:

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Oscar Mayer/Velveeta Ford Mustang – ANY CONCERN THAT YOU COULD BE WORN OUT FOR THE PLAYOFFS WITH AS HARD AS YOU’VE BEEN GOING THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS? “It all depends on what you’re prepared for. When do you show up to play? We’ve been showing up to play every race this year and I don’t see us getting softer by any means when the Playoffs start, no matter what our position is. My focus isn’t gonna change. My goals aren’t gonna change. What I can achieve will have changed, but still I’m trying to win. I see it as a good quiz before the ultimate test.”

THE SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT HAS BEEN FANTASTIC. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT HAS GONE INTO THAT? “It has been fun, for sure. I think I’m pretty shy and keep to myself at times, so I had to get into character a little bit there during that photo shoot. It’s been fun to do. We have one picture per day for the whole week, so that’s been neat. It’s been a lot of fun.”

FLORENCE, S.C. (August 30, 2019) – Leavine Family Racing driver Matt DiBenedetto was made available to media at Darlington Raceway: