ROUND 8 OF 10
AAA TEXAS 500
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
NOVEMBER 4, 2016
AUSTIN DILLON PUTS CHEVY ON THE POLE AT TEXAS
· Second pole of 2016 season and third career pole for driver of the No. 3 Realtree/Bad Boys Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet SS, and his first at Texas Motor Speedway
· Dillon records Chevy’s 15th pole at Texas Motor Speedway
· Chevrolet SS drivers score three of the top-five qualifiers
o Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Chevrolet SS, qualified 3rd
o Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS, qualified 5t
FT. WORTH (November 4, 2016) – Starting on the pole is always a great achievement for a driver, but for Austin Dillon, winning the pole in his No. 3 Realtree/Bad Boy Chevrolet SS for the AAA Texas 500 is extra special. An avid outdoorsman, Dillon in now the proud owner of Henry Repeating Rifle, the coveted prize for getting the number one starting position at Texas Motor Speedway after laying down a lap of 28.081-seconds/192.301-mph was enough to put the second year driver on the pole for Sunday’s 334-lap/501-mile race.
“For me being an outdoorsman, love shooting and it’s probably the most special pole award that I could get as a driver,” said Dillon following his pole win. “It felt like a win. That was cool. They do a really good job here at Texas of making you feel good when you accomplish something. That is great. I don’t know about the lap. I changed my line a little bit looking at dartfish and it worked out for me. I actually thought I hurt myself because I changed my line, but it actually made me faster through (Turns) 1 and 2. I was watching (Kevin) Harvick’s line and I changed it to kind of mimic his and we went faster. Just glad our fall off was good and we get to start from the pole and have the number one pit stall.”
Chase contender Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Chevrolet SS, will roll of in the third starting spot followed by Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS in fifth, giving Team Chevy three of the top-five starters overall.
A total of six Chevy drivers transferred to the final round of 12 in knockout qualifying. Paul Menard, No. 27 Schrock/Menards Chevrolet SS will start sixth. Chase contender Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS, qualified 10th. Chase Elliott will vie for his first win of the season in the No. 24 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet SS from the 11th starting spot.
Point’s leader and first driver locked into the Championship Four at Homestead Miami Speedway, Jimmie Johnson qualified the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS in the 19th starting position.
The eighth race of the 10-race Chase playoff from Texas Motor Speedway is scheduled to begin Sunday, November 6 at 2 p.m. Live coverage of the 334-lap/501-mile contest will be available on NBC, PRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.
POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 REALTREE/BAD BOY CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER
THIS IS YOUR THIRD CAREER POLE, FIRST AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY; YOU ARE ALWAYS KNOWN TO WEAR A COWBOY HAT, NOW YOU HAVE A SHOTGUN TO GO WITH IT. TALK ABOUT THAT:
“Oh man, it’s a Henry Repeating Rifle, it is really cool. For me being an outdoorsman, love shooting and it’s probably the most special pole award that I could get as a driver. It felt like a win. That was cool. They do a really good job here at Texas of making you feel good when you accomplish something. That is great. I don’t know about the lap. I changed my line a little bit looking at dartfish and it worked out for me. I actually thought I hurt myself because I changed my line, but it actually made me faster through (Turns) 1 and 2. I was watching (Kevin) Harvick’s line and I changed it to kind of mimic his and we went faster. Just glad our fall off was good and we get to start from the pole and have the number one pit stall.”
DID YOU HAVE ANY MOMENTS DURING QUALIFYING WHERE YOUR CAR FELT AIRBORNE?
“Yeah, so there is a huge bump in (Turns) 3 and 4. Previously, I had qualified around the very top coming to the green. I tried it today and it bounced so hard that I had to move down the track a little bit. The first run I just kind of stayed in the gas across it and I felt like it hurt the tires, so I was a little bit worried about that. But my second and third run I just kind of waited to really go hard until I crossed the bumps, so it didn’t kill my tires coming to the green because it is kind of a throw away when you come to the green. You want to come to the green as fast as you can, but you don’t want to kill your tires. It worked out whatever I did, so I’m happy with it.”
IS THIS A COMMENTARY ON THE PROGRESS RCR IS MAKING?
“Yeah, it’s very impressive. The No. 27 (Paul Menard) was fast, the No. 47 (AJ Allmendinger), No. 13 (Casey Mears) all those guys were right there almost making the third round. The No. 27 ended up sixth, so that is very impressive it’s huge for RCR and hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come and a swing in our progress and moving the ship the right way at RCR.”