MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
BASS PRO SHOPS NRA NIGHT RACE
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 17, 2018
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1ST KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 DC SOLAR CAMARO ZL1
2ND CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1
5TH WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1
13TH JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S FOR PROS CAMARO ZL1
18TH AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW NORKOOL CAMARO ZL1
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1ST Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
2nd Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
3rd Kyle Busch (Toyota)
4th Paul Menard (Ford)
5TH William Byron (Chevrolet)
The Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race is scheduled to begin on Saturday, August 18th at 6:30 pm, ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES & QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 DC SOLAR CAMARO ZL1 – Pole Winner:
THAT QUALIFYING SESSION WAS REALLY TIGHT
“Yeah, the top 5 was tight. I saw William (Byron) run his .04 there before I went out and I thought man, that’s going to be tough to beat. And, I would have never thought that three other guys would have squeezed in between him and me. That just shows how tough our sport is and our series is. But, our DC Solar Chevy has been really good all day, both in the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series. I felt a little off in first practice, but we got it going good in the second practice and then was fast every round in Qualifying. It’s my favorite track. I have yet to get a win here. We’ve been close so many times. I feel like Kyle (Busch) and I are the two best here, but he always seems to edge me out. Hopefully this weekend is a little different.”
YOU’VE BEEN VERY CLEAR THIS WEEK THAT BRISTOL IS NOT ONLY YOUR BEST TRACK, BUT YOUR FAVORITE TRACK AS WELL. WHAT HAS BEEN THE DIFFERENCE IN NOT GETTING TO VICTORY LANE HERE?
“I guess a little bit of choking (laughs) at the end of the races. Man, there have been so many that have slipped away; all within the last 10 laps, I feel like. I don’t know. I think Kyle (Busch) has a lot of experience here. Really the closest I’ve been is when I lost to Kyle the first time here. I feel like I get better and better every time I come to Bristol. I feel like our team gets better as well. We’ve just got to keep working hard and being calm and consistent throughout the day and hopefully we put ourselves in position; line up in the right lanes for the re-starts, have good pit stops. The first pit stall is going to be huge tomorrow, so I’m happy I got the pole for that. It seems like everything is kind of falling into place. We’ve just got to capitalize on it.”
ARE YOU SURPRISED EVERYBODY QUALIFIED IN THAT TOP GROOVE AND HOW MUCH OF AN ADVANTAGE WILL THAT BE FOR YOU TOMORROW?
“I actually wasn’t one of the first up there in first practice. Denny (Hamlin) and Kyle (Busch) all went up there before me. Kyle actually texted me during the first practice and said he was disappointed in me that I didn’t go straight to the top. But I said I’m used to all those pavement racers that don’t run the top up until about halfway through the second practice. So, I got fed up with me and (Ricky) Stenhouse being the ones to dust the top off every time we come here that we let the pavement guys finally nut-up and get up to the top.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 2nd
HOW CLOSE WAS YOUR LAP IN WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR?
“It was close. It wasn’t perfect. But I got through (Turns) 1 and 2 pretty good and maybe gave up a little bit in (Turns) 3 and 4. But I mean, heck, two-hundredths of a second. I don’t really know how to characterize that. But, I just hate we couldn’t grab a pole. We put a lot of effort into it. Our KKB Chevrolet was fast today and if there was ever a place still, with these closer segment times on pit road, that you want that first pit box, this is it. So, that would have been big. But, we’ll go get it from second.”
GREAT TO HAVE THE SECOND FASTEST CAR IN QUALIFYING, BUT WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET THE WIN?
“Yeah, just to be close to perfect I feel like. You have to be really, really close to perfect if not perfect here now-a-days. It’s so hard to be good for 500 laps, but that is what it takes. Working lap traffic and the whole deal. Really, really wanted that first pit box. That makes such a huge difference here. If there were ever a place anymore now-a-days with the timing lines being so close this is it. We put a lot of effort into trying to grab that pole. Just so close, two hundredths. I hate it. I had a really good car. I feel like my car had that speed in it and didn’t get quite all of it.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 5th
ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT:
“It was good for us. I feel like we have been kind of teetering on the edge of too loose all day, but I feel like that last run changed a few things line wise. I think we are getting close, so tomorrow should be a lot of fun. It’s a long race, so I’m just going to prepare myself for that and try to be around in the last 50 laps.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO START UP FRONT AT BRISTOL?
“It makes it a lot easier pit selection and also just easier on the driver the first half of the race, hopefully. It’s not fun being back mid-pack at the start of this race, especially here. It’s refreshing to start up front, so it will be good.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S FOR PROS CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 13th
WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED TO GET TO THE FINAL ROUND OF 12?
“We had a decent run going but we got held up by traffic and didn’t get the run in that we needed.”