NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUAKER STATE 400
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JULY 10, 2015
KYLE LARSON TO START FROM FIRST STARTING POSITION AT KENTUCKY
Qualifying for Quaker State 400 Cancelled Due to Rain
SPARTA, KY – July 10, 2013 – Qualifying for Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway has been cancelled due to inclement weather.
The starting grid has been set per the provisions in the NASCAR rulebook. Starting positions are based on the times from the first practice session held on Friday.
There will be 22 Chevrolet SS drivers in Saturday’s race. Starting from the first starting spot will be Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS. This is the first time this season Larson will start from the first position. This is the third time in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career that he will lead the field to the green flag. Other Team Chevy drivers starting in the top 10 will be: Jeff Gordon, No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS – 3rd, Martin Truex, Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet SS – 5th, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet SS – 6th, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet SS – 7th and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS – 10th.
A total of 46 cars were entered for Saturday’s race, and the qualifying rainout determined that Ryan Blaney (Ford), Michael McDowell (Ford) and Travis Kvapil (Chevrolet), will miss the race.
Brad Keselowski (Ford) will start second and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano (Ford) will start fourth to round out the top five starters. .
The Quaker State 400 is scheduled to start on Saturday, July 11 at 7:30 p.m., ET and will be aired live on NBC Sports Network, PRN Radio and Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS will lead the field to the green tomorrow night in the Quaker State 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway. Larson was fastest in practice with 182.537 mph. Congratulations. Talk about how your car is handling and how it’s going with the new rules package:
“I was glad we got a little bit of track time there. We were quick off the truck, which I was really proud of my team for just because we haven’t had any laps on this new package, unlike some of the other teams that have gotten to do some testing. So, I was happy with that. We were quick in race trim off the truck. And then we went to mock qualifying trim and we were really fast. I was able to lay down a really fast lap. And then went back to race trim, and felt good there, too. So, yeah, I’m happy with how the day has been. I feel bad for the teams that aren’t going to get a shot to qualify (due to inclement weather), but it’s nice that we’ll get some more practice in here in a little bit once the track dries up; and try and learn this new package even more.”
THIS IS A SET-UP THAT EXISTED LONG BEFORE YOU JOINED THE SPRINT CUP SERIES. SO, DOES THIS SET-UP TAKE YOU ANYWHERE ELSE BACK IN YOUR CAREER IN THE FEEL THAT YOU GET WITH IT?
“Maybe to the last 1.5-mile track we ran. I don’t know. Stock cars are stock cars. They all drive close to the same. So, we’re on a pavement track, so it doesn’t take me anywhere close to back to my dirt roots at all. So, stock cars are heavy. They’re sluggish in a way. It doesn’t really feel a whole lot different to me other than just a little bit looser in the corner and you have to lift a little bit sooner and maybe use a little bit more brake. But other than that, it doesn’t drive too differently.”
OBVIOUSLY YOU DIDN’T GET A WHOLE LOT OF TRACK TIME. BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW THE RACE IS GOING TO BE LIKE?
“I don’t know. It will be nice if we can get another hour and a half, or so, whenever we do get back out on the track. Maybe we’ll be able to get around some more cars the next time we get out there because I haven’t really been close to anybody out there, so I don’t know how it will handle in dirty air or anything like that. I don’t really know if anybody has been around cars in traffic yet. So, we’ll just have to wait and see. I think the whole idea behind the new aero package was to try and make the racing better. So, hopefully they’ve made the right changes and we’ll be better tomorrow.”
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES TO BEING THE POLE SITTER IN THIS PARTICULAR RACE WITH THESE PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES? ARE THERE ANY DISADVANTAGES TO BEING THE POLE SITTER?
“No, I don’t think there’s any disadvantage, ever, in being the pole sitter. You get the number one pit stall, or number two pit box I guess it is, and you’re starting off the race in clean air. So, just as long as you can maintain that track position, you should have a good race. Judging off the truck race last night, it seemed like two tires and stuff were good. So, I think you’ll see a lot of pit strategies going on to try to gain track position, and then also maintain it. So, we’re starting up front and hopefully will keep the Target Chevy up there.”
WERE THERE ANY PLACES ON THE RACE TRACK THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN CONCERNED WITH WHERE IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A LITTLE DAMP; OR, WHERE YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN WEEPERS DURING THE COURSE OF PRACTICE?
“I didn’t really see anything that was bad or feel anything that was bad, especially in the corners where the racing line is. I didn’t feel anything. I think down the front stretch, I might have seen like a couple of damp spots on the very bottom, where we aren’t even running. So, I thought the track was in good enough shape to race, for sure. This track has always been kind of bad for weepers. I thought what they did yesterday to fix that was good. I’m sure once we leave this weekend, this track will be working hard to make sure they cure any more issues they might have with weepers and stuff like that. As long as it doesn’t rain any more for the rest of the weekend, we should be okay for track conditions.”
WITH THE FIRST PRACTICE AND DRIVERS STAYING ALONE OUT THERE, IS THIS SECOND PRACTICE GOING TO BE MORE LIKE TWO OR THREE DRIVERS WORKING TOGETHER TO SEE WHAT THE CARS WILL DO?
“I don’t think so. I really don’t think it will be any different than like a normal Happy Hour practice. Most weekends, our first couple of practices we’re all by ourselves. And then it seems during Happy Hour, the track kind of gets a little bit more busy. We aren’t necessarily racing around each other, but the track is busier, so you’re closer to other people, so you get a better idea of what it’s going to handle like. I imagine at some point in the next practice, we’ll probably see a little bit busier track, but I don’t think you’re going to see much of people racing around each other just because it’s just practice and there’s a lot of unknowns with the new package. You don’t want to go in there behind somebody and get loose or anything like that. But, I don’t know. We’ll see.”