| JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM POLE-WINNER: “It was a stressful session. Everyone was kind of waiting and knowing that it was only going to take a couple of laps to maximize the tires and then you have a small drop-off. Most everyone was waiting toward the end to go out. We waited one or two minutes and then the red flag came out on our first timed laps. It was very poor timing for us. The 4 car had put in a quick lap; putting a heat cycle in a tire like that can take a knock on the performance. No one knew what they had going back out. Our Corvette performed really well. We haven’t done much light-fuel running; most of it has been race prep. So it really came alive. It’s been good all weekend no matter if it’s dry or wet, so whatever the weather brings tonight, we should be alright.” DIFFICULTY OF MANAGING THE CHANGING CONDITIONS: “It’s tricky, especially here at the Roval. There is no room for error. Everyone has been talking coming into the weekend how it feels like a street course and you’re on the edge everywhere. When you mix in rain and those conditions being on slick tires, it makes it pretty hectic. This morning’s practice gave us a little bit of a warm-up for the race to get an idea of what it will be like. It’ll definitely be tricky. With it being only 100 minutes, I still think it will be about execution and minimizing mistakes to maintain track position. I’m happy that we have the pole and can have some clear track at the beginning and hopefully control it from there.” DO YOU WANT IT TO FULLY RAIN, FULLY DRY OR IS THE CAR IS GOOD IN THE MIXED CONDITIONS? “I think any driver, and they may not admit it, is a little stressed if it’s a little rainy or mixed. I think our Corvette suits all the conditions pretty well. As a driver, I’d rather it either rain or be dry to minimize the risk of being out on slicks in mixed conditions. We had a little bit of running this morning to understand what it would be like. Thankfully the track grip level is pretty good in those conditions, so it should be an interesting race no matter what we see.” DO YOU EXPECT THE TRACK TO CHANGE MUCH AFTER THE XFINITY RACE? “I think everyone has a big question mark of what it’s going to be like. We haven’t run after Goodyear has put rubber down on a track in awhile, so no one knows what to expect. The difference from last night when we were putting our own Michelin rubber down to this morning when it was all washed away, the track was completely different. When you mix the rain with two different types of rubber, it’ll be something new to learn as well.” |
