NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA 500
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 22, 2015
KEVIN HARVICK FINISHES IN SECOND PLACE IN DAYTONA 500
Jeff Gordon Leads Most Laps, Gets Caught Up in Last-Lap Wreck
(DAYTONA, Fla., February 22, 2015) – Defending series champion Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, finished in second place to lead six Team Chevy drivers in the top 10 in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS), the defending race champion, was third. The race ended under caution.
“Definitely, for us, it was a good solid day to start the season,” said Harvick, who won the Daytona 500 in 2007. “Obviously, you want to try to win the race, but sometimes you’re just happy to keep rolling and going out of here and head to (next week’s race at) Atlanta with a solid day.”
A single-car incident with three laps remaining set up a green/white/checkered finish.
“We didn’t get time to make a run,” said Earnhardt Jr. who was seeking to become the first driver since Sterling Marlin in 1994 and ’95 to win back-to-back Daytona 500s. “I wasn’t in a good position to think about winning, but we were going to do what we could.
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet SS, fifth place), Casey Mears (No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS, sixth), and Martin Truex Jr. (No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet SS, eighth) and Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS, 10th) also finished in the top 10 for Team Chevy.
“With about 10 to go, I thought we were in position to win the Daytona 500,” Johnson said. “I wish we were in Victory Lane right now, but with plate racing you honestly have no clue what’s going to happen.”
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS) started from the pole and led a race-high 87 laps in his final start in The Great American Race, but got caught up in a multi-car wreck on the last lap to finish in 33rd place. Johnson, who also started from the front row, paced the field for 40 laps, and Earnhardt Jr. led 32.
Overall, seven Team Chevy drivers combined to lead 163 of the 203 laps.
Michael Annet (No. 46 Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet SS, 13th place), Austin Dillon (No. 3 DOW Chevrolet SS, 14th), Regan Smith (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS) and AJ Allmendinger (No. 47 Kroger/USO Chevrolet SS, 20th) also finished in the top 20.
Tony Stewart (No.14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS) got caught up in a multi-car wreck on lap 41 and lost a number of laps for repairs. He retired for the day in 42nd place after completing 72 laps.
The series continues next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER/JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 2ND
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 3RD
KERRY THARP: What a race we just witnessed, the 57th Annual Daytona 500. Joining us at the podium is our race runner‑up, Kevin Harvick, and our defending race winner, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Let’s hear from Kevin first.
Kevin, talk about how you thought the race unfolded. Certainly it was just one heck of a Daytona 500.
KEVIN HARVICK: Yeah, definitely, for us it was a good, solid day to start the season. Obviously you want to try to win the race. But sometimes you’re just happy to keep rolling and going out of here and head to Atlanta with a solid day.
Really proud of my team and how they handled the week, adjusted on the car, did everything they needed to do and came out of here with a solid day.
I thought we were going to have at least a chance, back up to the 88 there, come up to the 22 coming off of turn four. But in the end that didn’t all pan out with the caution. Still a good weekend for us.
KERRY THARP: Our third‑place finisher, defending race winner, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Dale, talk about your run out there today. You had a very strong racecar.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, we did. I made a mistake on the restart with 20 to go, didn’t do what I needed to do. Got shuffled to the middle there. Had a fast car, was able to get some spots back. Get a good finish. Pretty happy about that.
You don’t get cars that good too often. You like to try to capitalize. A little disappointed.
Congratulations to Joey. He’s done a good job the last several years. I’m sure it’s a great feeling for him.
And Kyle in the hospital, hope he’s doing okay, enjoying the race.
KERRY THARP: We’ll take questions.
Q. Kevin, before the caution came out, did you feel like you had Joey set up to make the pass?
KEVIN HARVICK: Coming to the white, you never know what’s going to happen. Obviously everything is shuffled out to where these two guys were nose to tail behind me. Maybe I should have backed up a little bit harder. But I didn’t want to back up so much that they drove right by me. I wanted to try to time it so I could have them to my bumper, have a good run coming off of four and have a shot.
That didn’t pan out. Didn’t even have a chance to try to time it out. But still just really proud of my team, the way they act and react to things. Just really good. Feel really good about where we are.
Q. Dale, if the caution didn’t come out, did you have a move for him?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I was in eighth, I think. I didn’t have nothing going on. The outside line got going really good. It was going good enough that you didn’t want to disrupt that by going outside of the guy in front of you. We needed to kind of get clear of that bottom lane before we got racing.
Once we got clear, we sort of strung out. Just not enough laps to form anything. I think even if Kevin backed up, I don’t know whether I would have stayed with him or whether Denny would have stayed with me. You never know what decision you would have made.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: You just never know what you’re going to do. You got to try to win the race. We didn’t get time to make a run. I wasn’t in a good position to think about winning, but we were going to do what we could.
Q. Kevin, when I talked to earlier this week we talked about the weather, how it was going to change today. Did it make as big of a difference as anybody thought it would?
KEVIN HARVICK: It was a huge difference. For us we were banking on it. I think we lowered the track bar four inches, put a couple percent of nose weight in it to start the race. Made some pretty big adjustments. Just trying to go off of past experience and what you felt in practice to try to anticipate where the handling went.
We went a little too far, wound up too tight. My car was very manageable so I could be pushed. My car was tight enough, Denny, to be pushed (smiling).
KEVIN HARVICK: We were all pushing and shoving. It was fun racing there at the end. I was in the top lane with the 15. We would just scrape off the wall a little bit. That’s when you knew you were high enough to push the guy in front of you. But it’s fun.
Q. Dale, about the move with 19 to go, did you think a teammate would go with you or were you trying to tuck in behind Jimmie?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Jimmie was on the quarter panel. He was in a great spot on the guy in front of me. And I thought if I could get in behind him, he was going to shoot past to the lead, I could tuck on the quarter panel a little bit as soon as I got on that right rear quarter panel.
I didn’t think they were that close on the outside line. I thought we had a couple car lengths on the outside line, but they were right there.
You know, just one of them moves. You made some good ones, you make some bad ones. I made a bad one too late.
Q. Compared to the week before, this was a relatively clean race. Does anyone have an opinion? Did the owners threaten you?
KEVIN HARVICK: We had two races to get it out of the way. We sat around all winter; maybe we were just off a little.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I think running the race during the day, with the low downforce package, all the drivers seemed more comfortable. We had balance issues to work with. I think that keeps you on your toes, helps you understand where your car can work, where it can’t.
Just a good package as far as the downforce. The track’s starting to age a little bit, starting to lose a little bit of grip. Running the race during the day helps a lot.
Q. Y’all seem pretty relaxed. Y’all drive for top teams. Does the Chase format, knowing you’re going to race probably for a championship at the end of the year make not winning today easier to swallow?
KEVIN HARVICK: For me, I’m ready to go to Atlanta. It seems like we’ve been here for a month. I’m glad today is over. I’m relieved for my team that we had a good, solid finish, a good start to the season.
I’m excited about, you know, everything that we do on our mile‑and‑a‑half stuff. I’m looking forward to going to Atlanta. That’s really what it’s all about, is trying to win a race to get yourself positioned in the Chase, be able to try to win more races if you can do that early enough.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, it’s just about trying to win races. Kind of disappointing we didn’t win today. It makes the rest of the season a whole lot different. You can get a lot more aggressive on pit road with fuel mileage and stuff. Worked for us great last year, getting that win early.
Q. Kevin, as reigning champion, do you ever hear from anybody back home in Bakersfield?
KEVIN HARVICK: That was the first place I took the Sprint Cup trophy back to, my high school. We had a pep rally. It was pretty cool to be able to take that trophy and set it in front of those 950 kids that were in the auditorium that day and show them if you put your mind to it, follow your dream, it can all work out.
We’re also going back there the week between Phoenix and California, too.
Q. Dale, you had the momentum of third place going. Talk about what that was like for you.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: You don’t imagine the 16 guys are going to win races, and you want to try to put points together in case you need to lean on that, fall back on that to make the Chase. But there are no guarantees.
You like to take good cars like we had today and win with them when you get a chance.
But I got a great team. I feel like Greg is going to be awesome. Hopefully we’re going to have more opportunities this year.
KERRY THARP: Kevin and Dale, congratulations on a great performance here today. Thanks for putting on such a fine race for us. See you in Atlanta.