NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
COCA-COLA 600
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 29, 2016
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 2nd
IT SEEMED LIKE THE LAST 150 LAPS YOUR CAR REALLY CAME TO LIFE, WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE?
“Yeah, we struggled tonight. Our Jimmy John’s Chevrolet was not very good in the first; I would say 450 miles of this particular race. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and everybody on our team did a great job to do whatever they did with the air pressure and just told me it was a really big adjustment. The last couple of runs I got tight. The one run when we had the first air pressure adjustment we were really good. The last two runs I was a little bit tighter once I got up behind those guys, right behind them, I just couldn’t go anywhere. Just really proud of the effort to turn the car around. We had a 10th place car and they turned it into a car capable of racing for the win. That is pretty awesome.”
YOUR CAR GOT SO MUCH BETTER LATER IN THE NIGHT, WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE EARLY ON?
“Early on, we were just really, really bad. Our Jimmy John’s Chevy was just tight getting into the corners and loose getting up off the corners and there were just a lot of problems that we really couldn’t narrow-in on one thing to change something. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) came on the radio and he said hey, we just made a huge adjustment. And from that point on, it was a lot better. I really thought we were just going to drive right by him (Martin Truex, Jr., race winner), but I got tight those last two runs compared to the run that we were really good and made up all the ground.
“I’ve just got to thank everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for turning this car around this week from the All-Star Race and being able to bring it back to the 600; and I’ve just got to thank Busch and Chevrolet and Mobil 1 and all our other sponsors for everything they do on this car.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PATRIOTIC CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 3rd
ON HIS THIRD PLACE RUN:
“It’s nice when you have a car like that. I’m so proud of the effort we put in tonight. This is the best car I’ve had in Charlotte for a long time. It just shows you how good that No. 78 (Martin Truex, Jr.) was and the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) got a little bit better than us at the end. I thought we had a chance at them a few times, a couple of times on the long run we would get close. A couple times on the restarts we would get close, but all-in-all a very strong performance for this Lowe’s Chevrolet. Very proud of the team work and the support that we have from all the employees at Lowe’s. Just came up a little short today.”
HOW IMPRESSIVE IS IT WHAT TRUEX WAS ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH TONIGHT?
“Yeah, I mean they have had a few runs where they have just been the class of the field and things have kept them from Victory Lane. Tonight he wasn’t going to be denied there was no way around that.”
YOU MADE ADJUSTMENTS AND HAD A GOOD CAR, BUT WHERE WAS THE NO. 78 (MARTIN TRUEX JR.) JUST THAT MUCH BETTER?
“I kind of felt like he was playing with us. He was so fast. I would flatfoot (Turns) 1 and 2, and have a nose on him, and he would drive right back by me into Turn 3 (laughs). So, it was so fast. It was very impressive. I’m happy for Martin. That team and those guys worked awfully hard to get where they’re at. And I’m very proud of this Lowe’s race team. It was just a very solid weekend from qualifying to the race. I’m very proud to carry a soldier’s name on the hood of the race car; and then also Lowe’s is doing something special where the men and women that serve our country get a 10% discount at Lowe’s. So, go over there and pick-up some supplies and enjoy your Memorial Day off tomorrow and I’m just happy that this Chevy was fast tonight.”
YOU SAID THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST CARS YOU’VE HAD IN THE 600. WHAT WAS IT ABOUT IT THAT WORKED SO WELL FOR YOU GUYS?
“It just drove really good all night long. The balance stayed very similar through corner entry, which is tough to do here. I could drive the car and the car wasn’t driving me. And the last few times we’ve been here I’ve been just kind of hanging on. So, I think we’re going the right way with the race car.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 8th
ON HIS NIGHT:
“Definitely a long one, very difficult. We fought hard and we are trying to get that next little bit.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 WHELEN CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 10th
ON HIS NIGHT:
“I messed up and sped on pit road and it sent us back. I don’t know that it cost us a whole lot. I’m just proud of everybody on the Whelen Engineering Chevrolet. They came on board for this race to sponsor us. Got a decent finish and decent point’s day, I guess, but congratulations to my buddy Martin (Truex, Jr.) he deserved that one. I think he led almost all of it. We will look forward to Pocono.”
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