MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES & QUOTES
MAY 19, 2017
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – Pole Winner:
“I decided I might not change because if I ended up second they’ll probably want an interview. So, I stayed in the (drivers) suit; so yeah, that’s pretty cool. It’s my first time doing this. It’s nice that we had a second round there to get a second tenth out of that. I picked up some time there. This was all about not making mistakes. Everybody but us made mistakes in that last round. So, I am proud of everybody on this Target Chevy team, especially our pit crew. Our pit crew saved me in that first round to get us into this second round. And getting the pole is pretty sweet. It’s so much fun. I’ve been wanting to do that. It’s my fourth season in Cup now and I have wanted to do it every year.”
WHAT’S THE ENERGY LIKE FOR YOU TO GET THE POLE AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO THE TEAM?
“May is a huge month for Chip Ganassi Racing in what goes on here and at the (Indianapolis Motor) Speedway. So, we are starting with a good starting spot here. I hope we win the All-Star race tomorrow. We were close last year. And the atmosphere of the All-Star race, well, there’s just something about it. It’s a lot of fun and not a whole lot on the line other than a lot of money. So, I’m excited for tomorrow’s events.
THE RACE IS FOUR STAGES THIS YEAR. TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF STARTING UP FRONT WHEN THE STAGES ARE SO LOW?
“Starting up front is a big deal. If we can get out there and win that first stage I know we’re going to be in the top 10, and then build on our average finish. I’m very excited for tomorrow. And I’m definitely excited about getting the pole because I wasn’t expecting to qualify this good. To get the pole is pretty neat.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 4th
WAS THAT ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING ALL-STAR RACE QUALIFYING SESSIONS YOU’VE HAD?
“No, it was what I expected. All my practices reps and the first round, I was in that later stall. I tried to make an adjustment in my visual reference point and I missed it by two stalls deep where I have been practicing the whole time. I just was too aggressive on pit road. I needed to back up my mark a little bit more.”
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 6th
THIS IS THE LAST TIME YOU GET TO PIT IN A STOCK CAR WITHOUT A SPEED LIMIT. DID YOU GET EVERYTHING YOU HOPED FOR?
“I don’t know. We didn’t practice it earlier today. I don’t know if I got in there good, or not. I don’t know how fast we were coming on to pit road. We just weren’t that good, handling-wise in practice, so we worked on the car trying to get it better. But I gave up a little bit. The car is a little bit edgy in (Turns) 3 and 4. I think everybody was having a little trouble with it. It’s greasy down there. So I didn’t feel like I got through there very good. The car has been free in the center of the corner. That’s usually where we fight the push. We’re ready to see how it goes tomorrow night.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 BUSH’S BEANS CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 11th
ON MAKING HIS FIRST QUALIFYING EFFORT FOR HIS FIRST ALL-STAR RACE:
“I’m still shaking a little bit. I was little bit nervous leading up to that, but we did get the Bush’s Beans Chevy in the pit stall, a little tight to the wall and that is on me. I felt like there was plenty of speed to be gained. I know what I could have done different and some for next time, there is more grip in the race track now that its cooled off, so could have gotten in a little deeper. Overall, pretty happy with that for never having done it before.”
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 15th
“I’m still not really sure what happened. I guess I went from going too fast to way too slow. I’m hoping making next year they’ll award slot points. But, I’m just really disappointed, obviously. I wanted to qualify better than that. It came out of nowhere and just jumped sideways on me. And then going down pit road I realized I was going way too slow. I wanted to give the guys a chance to do their thing. But, that was it for us. The Caterpillar Chevrolet will start from the back and hopefully drive to the front.