MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
CAN-AM DUEL AT DAYTONA 1
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES
FEBRUARY 23, 2017
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA CHEVROLET SS – Race Winner
LAST YEAR, YOU ALMOST BEAT YOURSELF UP TOO MUCH OVER WHAT HAPPENED ON THE RACE TRACK DURING YOUR ROOKIE SEASON. WHERE DID YOU IMPROVE THE MOST THAT IT SHOWED TONIGHT?
“Oh, man we had such a fast NAPA Chevy tonight. I didn’t think anybody was going to help us there at the first part of the race and I had a couple good pushes to get us out front and our spotter did a great job on the roof making sure he was calling the lanes correctly and we were able to get back in front. Just want to thank our partners and the Hendrick engine shop. They had some steam tonight at it was apparent.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON (CREW CHIEF) NEVER MENTIONED POINTS. IT WAS ALWAYS SAVE THE CAR. THERE’S A LOT OF RISK VERSUS REWARD, BUT YOU EARNED SOME GOOD POINTS LOOKING AT THE BIGGER PICTURE.
“Yeah, to be honest with you, we weren’t even thinking about that. So, that’s great. I’m excited about that. But really, I’m just more excited about how this thing ran tonight and keeping it in one piece. It’s a great way to start the season for us. I know it’s just a Duel win and it doesn’t count towards a win in the playoffs, but it still means a lot to me and it means a lot to our team. And like I said, this is a great way to start the season.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – Finished 2nd
YOU FINISHED 2ND AND YOU TOLD THE GUYS THIS CAR IS A LOT BETTER THAN THE CLASH CAR. WHAT, TO YOU, MAKES A GOOD DAYTONA 500 CAR?
“Well, our Cessna/McDonald’s Chevy sucked-up really well. I went home (after the Clash race) and watched a lot of video on Monday, of some of the cars I thought were really good, to see how they were getting runs and how they were doing restarts. And, this car just had a little more speed in it and was able to suck-up a lot better than our other car. The balance was a little bit better. Obviously running at night helps some of that. But, I don’t know. When you have a bad car, when you get hung out, you go to the back or you go to the mid-pack. And I got hung out a couple of times and I was able to maintain and come back in at around fifth. So, it’s a really good car. I’m proud of our guys and glad that it’s still in one piece and we can go back and watch now.”