NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA 500
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
FEBRUARY 21, 2016
KEVIN HARVICK LEADS CHEVROLET WITH FOURTH-PLACE FINISH AT SEASON-OPENING DAYTONA 500
Team Chevy Places Five in the Top 10
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 21, 2016) – With a late surge, Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, finished in fourth place to lead five Team Chevy drivers in the top 10 in the 58th running of the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) on Sunday.
“I was hoping that they (the leaders) would start pushing and shoving like they did to get that outside lane going,” said Harvick, the 2007 Daytona 500 champion. “You just want to be the first one to be in that outside line. Denny (Hamlin) pulled up in front of us and he got the honor of being the first car in that line with all that momentum.”
Also finishing in the top 10 for Chevrolet: Kyle Larson (No. 42 Target Chevrolet), seventh; Regan Smith (No. 7 Golden Corral/Nikko Chevrolet SS), eighth; Austin Dillon (No. 3 DOW Chevrolet SS), ninth; and Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS), 10th.
Pole-sitter Chase Elliott (No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet SS) led the first three laps, but spun through the grass on lap 19 and lost 40 laps to repairs. He finished 37th.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS), who started third after winning the Can-Am Duel #1 on Thursday, was running toward the front on lap 169 when he slid into the inside wall coming out of Turn 4, ending his day in 36th place. Earnhardt Jr., a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, led twice for 15 laps.
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS), also a two-time winner of The Great American race, led 18 laps, but lost a lap on lap 156 when he was penalized with a pass-through penalty because his crew went over the wall too soon during the race’s first green-flag round of pit stops. Johnson fell to 33rd place following the penalty before rallying for a 16th-place finish.
Other Team Chevy drivers finishing in the top 20: Ryan Newman (No. 31 CAT Chevrolet SS), 11th; Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS), 13th; Michael McDowell (No. 59 Thrivent Financial Chevrolet SS), 15th; Jamie McMurray (No. 1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet SS), 17th; and Paul Menard (No. 27 Peak Antifreeze/Menards Chevrolet SS), 18th.
Chevrolet barely missed a complete sweep of the race weekend. Of the three NASCAR national touring series events held at DIS, Chevrolet won two races and all three poles. A Chevrolet won the Xfinity Series PowerShares QQQ 300 (Chase Elliott, No. 88 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet Camaro) on Saturday and the Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Johnny Sauter, No. 21 Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff Chevrolet Silverado) on Friday. In addition, a Chevrolet (SS, Camaro and Silverado) won the pole for all three races.
Denny Hamlin (Toyota) was the race winner, followed by Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota) in second, Kyle Busch (Toyota) third and Carl Edwards (Toyota) fifth to round out the top five finishers.
The series continues next Sunday with the Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. The race can be seen on Fox, and heard on Performance Radio Network (PRN) affiliates starting at 1 p.m.
POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 4TH
HOW WAS IT IN THOSE CLOSING LAPS?
“I was hoping that they would start pushing and shoving like they did to get that outside lane going. You just want to be the first one to be in that outside line. Denny pulled up in front of us and he got honor of being the first car in that line with all that momentum, but congrats to them. Just have to thank everyone – Jimmy Johns, Busch, Mobil1, Chevrolet, Outback, Ditech, Bad Boys Buggies and Morton Buildings for everything they do for this Stewart-Haas team. These guys did a great job. I am ready to go race on a week-to-week basis. It feels like we’ve been down here for a long time.”
HOW MUCH DID TRACK CHANGE?
“Well I think the racing is definitely going to be different. I think Atlanta was going to be slip and slide anyway, but I think as you look at the new package, it is probably going to be a lot worse. I think the drivers are looking forward to it and will put on a great show for the fans.”
WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AS YOU GUYS WERE SHUFFLING AND MAKING SOME MOVES?
“I wanted to be the first car in that outside line because I really thought they would really start pushing and shoving like they did and finally get some momentum coming toward the end of the race. Denny saw that momentum and was able to jump up in front of us. You look at our day, that first big slide we could have been on the wrecker pretty early in this race. All-in-all just have to thank everyone Jimmy John, Busch, Mobil 1, Ditech, Outback, Chevrolet, Hunt Brothers, Morton Buildings, Bad Boy Buggies, everyone on this Stewart-Haas car for everything they do.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 7TH
ON FINISHING A DAYTONA 500 AND A SOLID FINISH TO START THE SEASON:
“The whole time, all the hairy moments we were in, it was just like ‘oh I have to get out of here so I can get to the checkered flag’. The last lap there it got really hectic. I was pushing the guy in front of me. I was getting pushed from behind. I was just trying to hold a steady wheel. Happy to get a finish. I would like to have a top-five here at the 500 or possibly a win, but I will have plenty of opportunities, hopefully in my career. Just happy to finally start hopefully a trend of finishing every race this year.”
REGAN SMITH, NO. 7 GOLDEN CORRAL/NIKKO CHEVROLET SS – Finished 8th:
“It was a good, smooth day for us. The car, other than the spin at the beginning, I don’t know what happened there. But I got on the brakes and it just spun out. It handled great all day long. All the guys at Tommy Baldwin Racing, gave me probably one of the better handling cars I’ve ever had here. Once it came down to it in the end and we were able to get a little bit of position, and we got four tires and made the most of an opportunity on that last pit stop and it came to life. I’m proud of this team. It’s a small team. We work hard. Tommy pours everything he’s got into this race team. And we’ve got some great partners and great investors, and we’re going to work hard all year.”
SO YOU’RE NOT SURE WHAT CAUSED THE SPIN EARLIER? DID IT DO ANY DAMAGE?
“No, I knew it didn’t do any damage. I was watching the wall and the grass just trying to stay in the middle of it. That’s all I was worried about. You don’t want to rip the splitter off of these things and ruin your day there. And then after the spin, all four tires were flat, so I had to nurse it back around and also not lose a lap in the process. But, I wasn’t worried about it, I just didn’t understand what happened. I barely touched the brake pedal and the car went 180 in the other direction. That’s not good! But I was steering the whole time. I didn’t want it to snap back into the wall. I was shifting gears and doing the normal deal and hitting the brake and hitting the gas; whatever you can to keep it safe.”
DID YOU HAVE LATE OVERHEATING?
“Not really. At Daytona, let it blow up if it’s going to. The ECR engine shop builds a great motor. I put it through its paces today and there’s probably not any water in it.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 9TH
ON HIS DAY:
“It was a lot about handling. My guys did a good job. The first two runs we were pretty far off. We were tight through the exit of the corner. We kept freeing it up and we had a free race car there at the end. But it was fun. They did good pit strategy. I’m proud of my guys. I wish we could have got in. That bottom lane was really fast.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION/MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 10TH
ON HIS DAY:
“I thought it was a good first half of the race. We seemed to have things where we wanted them and the second half of the race things didn’t seem to go as smooth. I made a couple of drafting errors and then one of the pit stops we had to wait on fuel. When you are at the tail end of the lead draft we just had to come in, put four tires on it, fill it up and then go after it. I was able to work my way back up. I fell to the back again. The bottom line was surprisingly where people would make up their time. I did what I could to gather the draft. I’m real proud of everybody not giving up and the spotter helping me. We worked our way back up to 10th.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 13TH
“I just never really had a chance there at the end, but we had a really good Farmers Insurance Chevy. Keith made good adjustments during the race but we needed to be closer to the front at the end.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 16TH
ON HIS DAY:
“That didn’t go our way today but the Lowe’s guys gave me a great Chevy and worked so hard this week. I’m excited about this season with this team.”
BRIAN VICKERS, NO. 14 BASS PRO SHOPS/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 26TH
ON HIS DAY:
“The high lane was just done. We ran as hard as we could the whole time. We almost had a shot at it once when the No. 3 was pushing us. We just couldn’t quite get there. The low lane was just so strong. No one could make any ground in the high lane. We did all we could. Just wasn’t enough today. I have to thank everyone on this Bass Pro Shop/Mobil 1 Chevy. They did a great job for me all day. We had ourselves in position. If we would have been on the inside lane on a couple of those last restarts I think we would have been in great shape. We weren’t. It was great to be back in the Daytona 500. I really enjoyed the race.”
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS – Sidelined by an accident on lap 170
ON WHAT HAPPENED:
“I got loose and just busted my tail. It was time to go. We were making some moves on the outside and moving forward and passing some guys. Just got loose trying to do too much at once.”
TALK ABOUT THE HANDLING OUT THERE:
“A huge shift from last year and the years before. The balance of the car was a big curve ball today. We really didn’t anticipate the balance being that big of a deal. You saw us struggling all day long trying to fix the handle of the car. We were just pushing real bad. Just couldn’t pass, couldn’t be on offense. We started getting it a little bit better there, but just got it too loose.”
DID YOU FEEL THE PRESSURE AND LIKE IT WAS ‘TIME TO GO’ WITH THE LAPS WINDING DOWN?
“If you want to win, yeah. I was moving forward, we were passing some guys on the outside.”
SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE GOT LOOSE IN THAT SAME AREA ON THE TRACK IS THERE SOMETHING TO THAT?
“The direction of the wind. The wind, it will make you tight. It’s like this every week at every race track. If the winds blowing one way, the car is going to handle one way at one end of the track and handle a different way at the other end. We were really tight. The wind was in the door all the way through Turn 4 and we were freeing the car up real big. I just got it out of shape there and lost it.”
DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAD ANYTHING FOR THEM TODAY?
“Yeah, we were up there around fifth or sixth there when we spun out. We were moving forward. We had passed about four or five cars there in the last three or four laps. We were making up some ground.”
YOUR CAR WAS SO FAST HERE THIS WEEKEND VERY DISAPPOINTING?
“Yeah, well it’s fast when it don’t have to handle good. But today it needed to handle and we weren’t handling.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET – Sidelined by an accident on lap 20
WHAT HAPPENED?
“I’m not sure, just got turned around there off of four. Got in the middle and got loose. Lost it and spun out. I hate it for everybody at less than 20 laps in and have something dumb like that happen. I apologize to my guys. We will try and get back out there I guess and make some laps.”
IS PART OF THIS GETTING USED TO THE CUP CAR? SO DIFFERENT FROM THE XFINITY CAR:
“Yeah, it’s definitely different. That wasn’t what happened, but yes, that is definitely different.”
THE CAR WAS GETTING TIGHT. WAS IT TOO EARLY TO TELL WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH IT HANDLING WISE?
“Yeah, too early to tell I think a lot of guys were fighting tight off there. That was just normal. It’s hot and tires were giving up a little bit as the run went on. I don’t think that was the cause of what happened.”
TALK ABOUT HOW WELL YOUR TEAM HAS DONE SO FAR DURING SPEEDWEEKS:
“They have done a good job. We had a real fast car all week. Like I said, I just hate it ended so soon. We will just try to get back out there and make some laps. Most importantly get ready for Atlanta.”
YOU SAID ATLANTA WAS REALLY THE START OF THE SEASON HOW DO YOU REGROUP AND KIND OF JUST LET THIS ONE GO:
“We don’t have much of a choice. It’s done now. We will let her go and get ready for Atlanta.”
WAS IT A HANDLING ISSUE?
“No, just got in middle there a couple of laps before and got loose off of (turn) four and just lost. I hate it-it had been such a fun week and you hate to end the race before it even got started. Just disappointed for everybody. We will just have to look past it and get on for Atlanta. That is the most important thing now. Can’t get caught up in what happened today, it is irrelevant now. We’ll try and get it fixed and make some laps. Then it’s on to Atlanta and if we can make some laps we will and move forward from here.”