NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 28, 2015

PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 PITTSBURGH PAINTS/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed his solid start to the season, his outlook for this weekend at Martinsville Speedway and many other topics. Full Transcript:

YOU ARE OFF TO VERY GOOD START, NINTH IN POINTS RIGHT NOW. JUST TALK ABOUT YOUR GOOD START AND WHAT YOUR OUTLOOK IS FOR THIS WEEKEND HERE AT MARTINSVILLE:
“Sitting ninth in points it is a good spot, we are looking for more. RCR (Richard Childress Racing) cars overall have been running really fast. Our affiliate teams with the No. 47, No. 78 and No. 13 are also fast, so it’s very rewarding for the shop guys, engine guys to see. We had a good run last weekend. Two top five’s with the RCR cars in Fontana. It was a weekend where we had a lot of speed. I think I hear Aric (Almirola) saying that he didn’t have speed, but his car drove good. Our car had speed, but it didn’t drive good. We made a lot of changes Saturday night and got the car so it didn’t fall off as much on Sunday. Daytona, Atlanta, Vegas, Phoenix, we had solid races. We didn’t have great races by any stretch. Had a really good run going at Daytona the last lap and got caught up in a wreck. I think we finished like 12th, 13th and 14th or something in the next three races consistency and starting to get some fast cars. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Paul Menard →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 27, 2015

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media and discussed what Martinsville Speedway means to him, his plans for the off week next week and many other topics. Full Transcript:

COMING BACK HERE TWO MORE TIMES HERE AND IN OCTOBER, TALK ABOUT MARTINSVILLE AND THE SUCCESS YOU’VE HAD AND KNOWING YOU HAVE TWO MORE CHANCES AT IT.
“I’m excited about those opportunities. This has been a fantastic racetrack for me throughout my career. Martinsville is probably the reason when we made the announcement in January why we left that little bit of window and door open. This is probably the first track that comes to mind for me that if I ran another race – not that I have plans to – that I’d do it at Martinsville… Truck, Cup, maybe Late Model. I just love this track. The least amount of things change at Martinsville that changes at any other track we go to. Aerodynamics don’t make as big of a difference. Tires don’t change much here. The speeds may gradually change here. When you look at every other track on the circuit and especially the bigger tracks when aerodynamics start to make a huge difference, that changes how you drive the car, how you set up the car, and the knowledge you have to have of all the data and technology that’s going on with the cars. This one, you don’t have to worry that near as much. This week, of course, with the lack of power it’s going to change things a good bit and how we’re going to drive this track. But those are the reasons why I love this track so much and I always loved coming back here. I’m looking forward to these final two here this season.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Jeff Gordon →

CFH RACING DRIVERS JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND LUCA FILIPPI met with members of the media at Streets of St. Petersburg and discussed:

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 67 HARTMAN OIL CFH RACING CHEVROLET: ABOUT THE SEASON-OPENING WEEKEND AT ST. PETERSBURG: “It’s great to be here always. First off, it’s the first round. I’m very excited to be back and racing again. It was a long offseason for all of us. We’ve done a lot of work, all the teams have. For us, we’re a new group with the merger of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing. There’s been a lot of work merging both teams. It’s nice having a teammate and having Luca (Filippi) this weekend. It’s been fun working with him and working both sides of the garage with having two cars. I’m having a good time. We just need to find more speed. We were good at the start of the session but didn’t finish well. We just need to find speed.”

ABOUT ADJUSTMENT TO HAVING TEAMMATES: “It’s a new challenge in itself. A lot of people look at our new group at CFH Racing and said, ‘Well that’s automatically be better.’ I think we have a lot of very good people and we had strengths and weaknesses on both sides. Hopefully we kept all of our strengths and reduced some of our weaknesses together as one group. It is still difficult. You have to figure out how to make two cars run well. Most of these teams that have multiple cars have had multiple cars for many years and they know the system they work with and it works well for them. For us, we’re still figuring that out and how to maximize having two cars during a weekend. We’re so used to working with just one car that it’s a little different when you have someone to look at and two data sets and two sets of engineers. It’s still positive but it’s difficult to get the most out of that. We’re trying to work the strengths of both sides. Luca is a little bit different than me, which is good, because we can learn from each other. He’ll do something better, and then I’ll do something better and we’ll improve from it. As a driver it’s nice to have during a weekend. To look at someone’s data and finding out how to improve.”

ABOUT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 2014 AND 2015 CARS: “I think practice speeds are already a second faster from last year’s first practice. There’s a noticeable speed increase and that’s from downforce without a lot of drag penalty. They’re very efficient packages and Chevrolet and Honda have spent millions of dollars into making the best aerodynamic pieces that they can. They are quite impressive. They do things better than before. They brake better. You can go deeper in corners and carry more speed through a corner. The rear end is a little more secure. Everything on the car is lot more refined and it’s just faster. That’s the big difference in plain terms. But trying to get the most out of it is what everyone is struggling with. Probably looks straight forward, but there’s a lot of work that everyone is doing to get the most out of the new aero kits. It all depends on the team and driver, but it has changed how you drive the cars. You have to use what the kit gives you. You did before, but it’s even more so now. There’s also an engine battle going on as well and there’s some differences on both sides. It’s not all about aerodynamics, it’s about making the engine work well with that.”

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO FIGURE OUT HOW DEEP CAN YOU GO?: “Really about two laps. In winter testing you could feel that you could immediately brake deeper in Turn 1 (at NOLA). It was like 50-75 feet deeper. My neck was really sore after one day of testing. Usually I’m not and I get used to the downforce level of a car. The back of my neck from braking was not used to it. It took a day or two to get used to it. All of these guys are so good, if you give them four or five laps to figure it out.”

HOW WILL AERO KITS AFFECT RACING: “I don’t think we know yet. That’s the big hot debate and certainly I’m interested. I think after this first race gets over with, we’ll know if the racing is better or worse. I don’t think you could beat Indy car racing before. It was the most phenomenal racing on the planet. You could follow closely, the cars were incredible to drive in a race condition. You saw some many passing attempts. I don’t think that’s going to change. That’s what we’ll find out on Sunday.”

LUCA FILIPPI, NO. 20 FUZZY’S AWARD WINNING VODKA CHEVROLET: ON BEING AT ST. PETERSBURG:
“As usual, lap times are so close and within a few tenths. We were very close and I think we had an opportunity for one of us to be top-five. Hopefully tomorrow it will be sunny so we can have some more running in practice before getting into qualifying. It’s my first time here so I also need to learn the track. I like the circuit very much. It’s fun to drive and very challenging. Now that we have had this first session, we can get up to speed and try to get a good result.”

YOU SAID THIS WAS YOUR FIRST TIME DRIVING THE TRACK BUT IT’S NOT YOUR FIRST TIME HERE AS YOU’VE SEEN A VERIZON INDYCAR RACE HERE AT ST. PETERSBURG. HOW HAVE YOUR IMPRESSIONS CHANGED?
“I came here two years ago to watch the race and when I was looking to get an IndyCar seat. I was in the grandstands having fun and dreaming about racing IndyCar one day, so I’m happy to be here finally. I did some IndyCar races before but now I have a deal for the whole season, so now I can start working and learning from that. Learning tracks is going to be one of the keys this year for me. So far, this is a circuit that suits my driving, so I’m enjoying it. I’ve already learned more or less how to drive around here. I’m hoping tomorrow we can be on the front row.”

HOW HAS THE CAR BEEN SO FAR?
“Being one second a lap quicker (than last year) with the new aero kit and with actually less downforce under us means that the work that Chevy and Honda have done is amazing. It’s probably more than two seconds a lap better. This is why IndyCar had to reduce the downforce in order to stop us a little. They’ve done a very good job, and from our side we’re very happy with Chevrolet and what they have done so far.”

WITH THE CARS MORE DEPENDENT ON WINGS, AS A DRIVER WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE YOU DON’T BREAK ONE? IS IT A BIGGER FACTOR NOW?
“On our side with Chevrolet, we have less parts in front of our front wing. So if you break a piece, it’s not such a big problem. Our kit is solid. I can say that the downforce that our team has is not coming from the pieces you see on top of it. This is not going to be a big issue for us.”

THIS IS THE FIRST SESSION YOU HAD. DID YOU GO OUT THERE WITH ALL THIS NEW STUFF TO LEARN AND TRY DIFFERENT THINGS? YOU WERE BOTH RIGHT THERE TOGETHER TIMEWISE IN THE PRACTICE SESSION?
“In looking at the telemetry, my engineer always keeps an eye on what Josef is doing. Between runs, they can just tell me how to change my driving style, brake deeper here and there, and I can adjust my driving style how I need it between every run. So it’s a big help because there is some of the circuit I hadn’t seen.”

HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT TAKES YOU TO LEARN A TRACK?
“If you’re talking about getting close to the limit, it’s around seven to eight laps. On the limit, I’d say on one set of tires. When you go to the next set, you can get up to speed and be very close to the limit. So that’s about 35 laps more or less. If it takes longer, then you just need to change jobs!”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 27, 2015

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
RIGHT NOW, THIS TEAM IS JUST KNOCKING DOWN TOP FIVE FINISHES
“Yeah, it was a good run for our Quicken Loans Chevrolet today. I wish we could have been just a tick quicker and gotten that pole, but nevertheless it this is the best starting spot we’ve had and it’s obviously a great place to have a good starting spot. Pit selection is important and close. I’m just proud of the guys and we’ll see what we can do with it on Sunday.”

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO GET THAT GOOD PIT SELECTION?
“Oh, because it’s even tighter than the race track is, and you see how much we get into each other on the race track. It’s a place where you can gain or lose spots, and you want to have every advantage you possibly can.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Driver Press Conference →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 27, 2015

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
RIGHT NOW, THIS TEAM IS JUST KNOCKING DOWN TOP FIVE FINISHES
“Yeah, it was a good run for our Quicken Loans Chevrolet today. I wish we could have been just a tick quicker and gotten that pole, but nevertheless it this is the best starting spot we’ve had and it’s obviously a great place to have a good starting spot. Pit selection is important and close. I’m just proud of the guys and we’ll see what we can do with it on Sunday.”

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO GET THAT GOOD PIT SELECTION?
“Oh, because it’s even tighter than the race track is, and you see how much we get into each other on the race track. It’s a place where you can gain or lose spots, and you want to have every advantage you possibly can.”

MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/VISSER PRECISION CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 3RD
ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT AND STARTING UP FRONT:
“Yeah, it feels good. Earlier today we were laughing thinking ‘eh it’s going to rain out we will start third’. We went through a Chinese fire drill of changing the car to qualifying trim. With that rain and all that stuff was happening and only getting two runs in practice and going through all that and we are still third. So, all-in-all it was a lot more work that way, but another good day. The guys did a good job. The car felt good off the trailer. We got off a little bit in that second round there in qualifying and had to make some adjustments. They did just what they needed to do.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 4TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT:
“I am pretty pleased starting fourth. This is a tough place. You are just out there pushing as hard as you can to carry speed in the corner and the car is sliding around on you. When you have three rounds of that it definitely makes things challenging. That is the best I think we have qualified here in a while. I’m pleased to be starting that far forward.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 5TH
YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE A GOOD CAR FOR THIS WEEKEND
“Yeah, we’re excited about our race car. It’s been real fast. It’s no shock. I’m not the best qualifier that’s out there. I do much better in a race situation. So, to have the car here starting in the Top 5 with this much speed on Friday is awesome. We get a good pit stall pick with that, and we’ll go racing on Sunday in this Lowe’s Chevy and be just fine.”

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 CODE 3 ASSOCIATES/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 6TH
ON GAINING GROUND AND HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT:
“I definitely think so. We’ve got Code 3 and Associates on the hood this week, Bass Pro and Rush Truck Center, Mobil 1 they have all been behind us. I think last week was big progress. I think Phoenix was too, I just couldn’t finish it off at the end. I think we made gains at Phoenix. We made bigger gains at California. We got a great start to the weekend here. I mean this place is so tough. Qualifying is half the battle here if you can just get a good pit spot and get a decent starting spot to where you do not have to beat the thing to death trying to get to the front, that is half the battle.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 7TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT:
“Yeah that is something new for me (starting up front) here at Martinsville. I was really happy with how that went. Probably more so shows how good of a Target Chevy they brought here because I’m not good here. I’m happy with how that went.”

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 9TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT:
“Qualifying went pretty good for me. The last couple of times I don’t feel like I’ve qualified that well here. It was nice to be in the top 10 in each session, ended up ninth. I would have liked to have been a little better, but the car feels really balanced. It is just about running a really nice lap.”

WITH THE CHANGE IN HORSEPOWER AND THIS PACKAGE DO YOU HAVE TO NURSE YOUR BRAKES A LITTLE BIT MORE?
“I think you are probably going to have to. The biggest thing to me is usually when you lift here you feel the engine slowing you down as you go into the corner. Today, you don’t really feel like anything is slowing you down except the amount of pressure you are given putting on the brake pedal. That to me is going to be much different in the race.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 BUSH’S BEANS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 10TH:
THIS IS A GOOD REBOUND AFTER A TOUGH WEEKEND IN FONTANA
“Yeah, I’m proud of the guys. There’s nothing we could have done last week. It’s just one of those things. We had a fast car last week, so I was proud of that. But overall, the Bush’s Beans Chevy has been fast since we unloaded it. We’ll see, really, once we begin tomorrow. I think first practice it will be like 22 degrees. But the platform of the race car feels really good. The guys have worked hard to keep improving. We’re not quite there yet, but every weekend we keep getting better and hope we have 500 solid laps on Sunday.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 14TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT:
“We improved a little bit from last year. Still not good enough, but we definitely made a little gain on it. We weren’t that good in practice and they made a lot of changes. And got us to where we were at least semi-competitive there. Still need to gain quite a bit to get to run the lap times of my teammates. On the second, third, fourth run the car just didn’t have the rear grip to be able to get in the throttle and use all the throttle. We made some small gains.”

DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 TAXACT CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 16th
ON THE RADIO YOU SAID THE CAR WAS A BIT ‘DARTY’ UNDER HEAVY THROTTLE, IS THAT WHAT YOU’LL BE WORKING ON TOMORROW?
“I think a lot of the things are sometimes just qualifying stuff. So, you do whatever you can to get it to turn and roll through the corners as fast as possible. It was a little bit loose in and a little bit ‘darty’ in the center and on throttle, so I think we were just trying to get it to rotate maybe too much. But it was good to have a solid run for the TaxAct car. It’s the first time we’d had it on the car as a full sponsor. It will give us a decent starting spot. I don’t like the outside. I thought I was 15th. I’d rather be 15th instead of 16th, or first instead of second. We’ll move forward and everything has been pretty easy-breezy so far.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER/JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 17TH
“Qualifying has never really been my strong suit at Martinsville. We’re okay in race trim and our Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet will be ready to go on Sunday.”

CASEY MEARS, NO.13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 24TH
WHAT HAPPENED?
“I think it was the transmission. All the axles are in it and the driveshaft is sitting there so I think something in the transmission might have broken. But it broke every gear, so it’s something major. We had a really fast race car. It’s unfortunate because we had a really good car. We’ve got speed at every track this year. Unfortunately we’ll be starting in the back and this is a tough place to rebound.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 26TH
“The Haas Automation Chevrolet was tight on corner exit. It was like the rear end was planted too well. We made some adjustments and went back out for a second attempt, but we weren’t able to improve and advance. We’ve got two practice sessions tomorrow to get it ready for the race on Sunday.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 25 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 27TH
DO YOU FEEL RELIEVED?
“Oh, definitely. That was goal number 1 to get in. So it’s definitely a big relief for us. We’re excited. It’s weird being excited about qualifying, wherever we qualified, 27th, but we’re in the show, our first Sprint Cup Series race with NAPA on board. We’re excited for Sunday.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 27, 2015

CHEVROLET’S RYAN NEWMAN TO START ON THE OUTSIDE POLE IN MARTINSVILLE
Chevrolet SS drivers earn eight of top 10 starting positions

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – (March 27, 2015) – Ryan Newman placed his No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS on the outside pole position for Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway, round six of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. A fast lap of 19.258 seconds (98.328 mph) earned Newman his fifth top 10 start of 2015 and 17th in 27 races at the paper clipped-shaped track. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Ryan Newman on Outside Pole →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 27, 2015

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media and discussed what Martinsville Speedway means to him, his plans for the off week next week and many other topics. Full Transcript:

COMING BACK HERE TWO MORE TIMES HERE AND IN OCTOBER, TALK ABOUT MARTINSVILLE AND THE SUCCESS YOU’VE HAD AND KNOWING YOU HAVE TWO MORE CHANCES AT IT.
“I’m excited about those opportunities. This has been a fantastic racetrack for me throughout my career. Martinsville is probably the reason when we made the announcement in January why we left that little bit of window and door open. This is probably the first track that comes to mind for me that if I ran another race – not that I have plans to – that I’d do it at Martinsville… Truck, Cup, maybe Late Model. I just love this track. The least amount of things change at Martinsville that changes at any other track we go to. Aerodynamics don’t make as big of a difference. Tires don’t change much here. The speeds may gradually change here. When you look at every other track on the circuit and especially the bigger tracks when aerodynamics start to make a huge difference, that changes how you drive the car, how you set up the car, and the knowledge you have to have of all the data and technology that’s going on with the cars. This one, you don’t have to worry that near as much. This week, of course, with the lack of power it’s going to change things a good bit and how we’re going to drive this track. But those are the reasons why I love this track so much and I always loved coming back here. I’m looking forward to these final two here this season.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Jeff Gordon →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 27, 2015

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media and discussed what Martinsville Speedway means to him, his plans for the off week next week and many other topics. Full Transcript:

COMING BACK HERE TWO MORE TIMES HERE AND IN OCTOBER, TALK ABOUT MARTINSVILLE AND THE SUCCESS YOU’VE HAD AND KNOWING YOU HAVE TWO MORE CHANCES AT IT.
“I’m excited about those opportunities. This has been a fantastic racetrack for me throughout my career. Martinsville is probably the reason when we made the announcement in January why we left that little bit of window and door open. This is probably the first track that comes to mind for me that if I ran another race – not that I have plans to – that I’d do it at Martinsville… Truck, Cup, maybe Late Model. I just love this track. The least amount of things change at Martinsville that changes at any other track we go to. Aerodynamics don’t make as big of a difference. Tires don’t change much here. The speeds may gradually change here. When you look at every other track on the circuit and especially the bigger tracks when aerodynamics start to make a huge difference, that changes how you drive the car, how you set up the car, and the knowledge you have to have of all the data and technology that’s going on with the cars. This one, you don’t have to worry that near as much. This week, of course, with the lack of power it’s going to change things a good bit and how we’re going to drive this track. But those are the reasons why I love this track so much and I always loved coming back here. I’m looking forward to these final two here this season.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Jeff Gordon →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 27, 2015

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 DIET MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed what he’s learned about Martinsville over the years, safety barriers, the West Coast Swing, Kevin Harvick’s success, and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

YOU WON YOUR FIRST RACE HERE IN THE FALL. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS TRACK THAT WORKS WITH YOUR DRIVING STYLE?
“I do enjoy racing the short tracks. I think that in general, I’ve done better on the short tracks than any other tracks. The first time I came here, I hit everything, even the pace car. It looked like, at that time, after my first race here, that it was going to be quite a challenge to sort it out and understand what I needed to do. And then, me and Tony Jr. and Tony (Eury) Sr., came up here and tested in 2001 or 2003 or sometime around there. And we hit on some stuff and was really good for a long time. We just ran a lot of good races and finished in the Top 5 quite a few times. It’s been one of my favorite tracks ever since. I love the action and I love the short track mentality. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Dale Earnhardt Jr. →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 27, 2015

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS AND CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed Hendrick Motorsports success at Martinsville Speedway, what is happening with the tires in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the importance of their drivers having high success rates at Martinsville Speedway and many other topics. Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT YOUR HISTORY HERE AT THE TRACK AND YOUR STRATEGY GOING INTO THE WEEKEND:

GUSTAFSON: “This has been a good place for Hendrick Motorsports in general. The company got its first win here and has had a lot of success since that point. It’s always been a special place for us. It’s close to home and I think for all of us short track racing is close to our hearts. When you come here this is definitely a true short track. We always enjoy coming here. Fortunately having good teams and good drivers we have had some success here and been able to win some races. Always fun to get back here, the place doesn’t seem to change much. It seems to stay pretty true to its form which is special in this sport now-a-days. It’s nice. It’s good to get back here and look forward to getting the weather out of here and get a chance to get on track and get to work.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Alan Gustafson, Chad Knaus →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 22, 2015

KEVIN HARVICK LEADS TEAM CHEVY WITH RUNNER-UP FINISH AT FONTANA
Chevrolet SS Parade Features Eight Race Cars in Top 10

FONTANA, Calif. – March 22, 2015 – Kevin Harvick led a parade of Chevrolets to the checkered with a second-place finish in his No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevy SS in the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, Round 5 of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. This weekend’s race marked the third and final race of NASCAR’s West Coast Swing, in which Harvick took Chevrolet to victory twice at Las Vegas and Phoenix. With his second place run at Auto Club Speedway, the reigning Sprint Cup champion has now finished first or second in eight consecutive races. The Series record is 11, posted by Richard Petty in 1975. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Auto Club Speedway Post Race →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MARCH 22, 2015

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 JIMMY JOHN’S/BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 2ND
AFTER WINNING THE LAST TWO RACES IT’S GOOD TO BE DISAPPOINTED FOR SECOND. DESCRIBE THE AFTERNOON FOR YOU GUYS:
“I’m not disappointed at all. I’m just glad to be a part of such a good race there. I’m really happy that all the fans got to come out and see a great finish to a great day. I’m just really proud of everybody on our Jimmy John’s/Budweiser team. You could have flipped a coin as to what the right strategy there was at the end with tires. Just proud of Rodney Childers (crew chief) and the pit crew and everybody for just having a solid day.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Auto Club Speedway–Post Race →

Donny Schatz Scores Close Win at the FVP Western Spring Shootout
Becomes the first repeat World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series winner of 2015 and ends winless streak in California
STOCKTON, Calif. – March 21, 2015 – Shane Stewart had victory in sight as he rounded turn four on the final lap of Saturday night’s FVP Western Spring Shootout at the Stockton Dirt Track. Reigning World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz had other things in mind though as he dove to the bottom of the track and drag raced Stewart to the finish line. Continue reading World of Outlaws–Donny Schatz Scores Close Win at the FVP Western Spring Shootout →

CORVETTE DPs AT SEBRING: Action Express Racing Leads Podium Sweep
Barbosa, Fittipaldi, Bourdais lead charge for Chevy power in No. 5 Corvette DP

· First overall Sebring victory for Chevrolet-powered car since 1965
· Winning trio has completed every lap in TUDOR Championship competition
· Corvette DPs from Wayne Taylor Racing, VisitFlorida.com Racing round out Prototype podium

SEBRING, Fla. (March 21, 2015) – The Corvette Daytona Prototype wrote a new chapter in Chevrolet’s road-racing history with the manufacturer’s first overall podium sweep at Sebring International Raceway on Saturday. Action Express Racing’s Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Sebastien Bourdais won the 63rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida for Chevrolet’s first overall victory at Sebring since 1965. Continue reading Chevy Racing–CORVETTE DPs AT SEBRING: Action Express Racing Leads Podium Sweep →

CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: A Florida Sweep for No. 3 Corvette C7.R
Briscoe, Garcia, Magnussen follow Rolex 24 win with Sebring 12 Hours victory

· Ninth class win at Sebring for Corvette Racing since 2002

· No. 3 Corvette C7.R increases early-season GT Le Mans championship lead

· No. 4 Corvette strong early before mechanical issues sideline challenge

SEBRING, Fla. (March 21, 2015) – Corvette Racing won in class for the ninth time at the 63rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida as Ryan Briscoe, Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen added Saturday’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) victory to their Rolex 24 At Daytona win from January. The trio started the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season with consecutive victories and lead in GTLM points after two rounds.

Garcia won by nearly one minute as the Corvette Racing team played out its fuel strategy perfectly. Garcia pitted with 54 minutes remaining and stayed consistent as two cars ahead of him fell into trouble. Briscoe recovered from a small spin in his opening stints to post his fastest laps of the race, and quick pit work by the Corvette Racing crew and a key out lap by Magnussen early in the race gained two positions during a full-course caution period.

The winning Corvette completed 330 laps for 1,221 miles.

“The win by the No. 3 Corvette C7.R team in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring was a total team effort by everyone at Corvette Racing,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “The win was the result of great driving, quick pit stop by the crew and strong race strategy. Congratulations to Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Ryan Briscoe and the team on winning today.

“We were very proud to have so many Corvette owners on hand to watch the No. 3 C7.R become the first team and driver combination to win their class in both the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Sebring 12 Hours in 15 years,” Campbell added.

Saturday’s win was Magnussen’s fourth at Sebring – all with Corvette Racing. Garcia won for the second time at the event to go along with his 2009 victory, also with Corvette Racing. Briscoe likewise is now a two-time Sebring winner.

On the other end of the spectrum, the No. 4 Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Simon Pagenaud left the race with less than two hours remaining with a mechanical issue. The trio had challenged for the class podium in the race’s opening half.

After two races in the TUDOR Championship, Chevrolet and Corvette Racing lead all three point tables. Chevrolet increased its lead in the GTLM Manufacturer championship, as does the No. 3 Corvette C7.R in the team standings.

The No. 3 Corvette C7.R also won its second straight race in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup and leads in driver and team championship points. Chevrolet extended its lead in the manufacturer standings.

The next round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is the Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase from the Long Beach (Calif.) street circuit on Saturday, April 18. FOX Sports 1 will air the race starting at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 19. Live radio coverage will be available via IMSA Radio.

ANTONIO GARCIA, CORVETTE RACING NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – RACE WINNER
WHAT WAS THE KEY TO GETTING THIS WIN?
“I think strategy was a key thing here. I mean we definitely didn’t have the fastest car out there, but consistency was the key thing. We were putting pressure on them. Even though we were not able to be in the lead and pull away like at Daytona, we were hammering (the leaders). We didn’t want them to bail or just to take it easy. Maybe that is why they caught some problems, but at the end strategy was the key thing. Maybe they would run into problems, but they had to stop anyway. So, for Corvette Racing again the strategy was brilliant. I’m pretty happy for these two guys (Magnussen and Briscoe) and two in a row. I can’t say more.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, CORVETTE RACING NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – RACE WINNER
THIS IS YOUR FOURTH WIN HERE AT SEBRING WHERE DOES THIS ONE RANK?
“Sebring ranks high. It’s one of the biggest victories you can get. To win this way like was said before we didn’t have the fastest car, but we had a fantastic team and good strategy. Antonio, the closer, was fantastic.
“I have to say that two hours before the end of it, I didn’t think we would have a shot at winning. Once it became a fuel race, everything changed. We knew that a safety car would mess things up again. But this another fantastic day. A big thanks to the entire Corvette Racing team and to all the Corvette owners who came to support us and cheer for us the whole way. It was fantastic.”

RYAN BRISCOE, CORVETTE RACING NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – RACE WINNER
YOU ARE THE THIRD DRIVER NOW YOU HAVE TO STEP AWAY. HOW DIFFICULT IS THAT WHEN YOU ARE GOING OUT AFTER TWO RACE WINS?
“I know, it’s hard, I wish I could stay and be the third guy at all the races. What a great start to the year. This team has just been working tirelessly. We had some bad luck in these first two races last year. I think it’s really turned around for us. I mean just not making mistakes. The car has just been absolutely rock solid. I’m just so thrilled to be a part of this team and winning races. It’s awesome.
“This was just absolutely perfect running with great pit stops – purely just fuel and tires and drivers. There were no problems at all. It’s great to be rewarded with the wins for that preparation. The team is just doing a great job. I feel lucky to be a part of it all.”

OLIVER GAVIN, CORVETTE RACING NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED 9TH: “It’s an unfortunate end our race with the equipment malfunction. We showed throughout that our Corvette C7.R had good pace. I was able to challenge and post solid laptimes in both stints, and I felt like we had a car that could certainly challenge for the podium. Sebring is tough on drivers and the cars, as we saw again today.”

TOMMY MILNER, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED 9TH: “What another crazy Sebring race. We felt really good about our Corvette C7.R after last week’s test and practice this week. We struggled with pace in the heat but could challenge and were making gains as the temperatures dropped. A belt issue set us back first, then we had more mechanical trouble with Oliver in the car. It’s a tough result for us. But congratulations to the 3 car on another great win for Corvette Racing.”

SIMON PAGENAUD, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED 9TH: “It has been a good time for Corvette Racing. I enjoy driving the Corvette C7.R. It is a beautiful car. It is sad that this is last time I am with the team, but hopefully we will be able to be together in the future. I am quite excited to get back to my daily duties with Team Penske (No. 22 Team Penske Chevrolet in the Verizon IndyCar Series). This was really fun, and as you know I love sports cars. I still feel like I belong here. I hope I can come back and race again with Corvette Racing.”

TUDOR UNITED SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
MOBIL 1 TWELVES HOURS OF SEBRING FUELED BY FRESH FROM FLORIDA
SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
CORVETTE RACING AND CORVETTE DP DRIVERS POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MARCH 21, 2015

CHEVROLET CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE (DP)

JOAO BARBOSA, NO. 5 ACTION EXPRESS RACING MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – RACE WINNER
YOU THINK ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT THIS TEAM HAS DONE VICTORIES AT DAYTONA, THE RACE WINS, THE CHAMPIONSHIP, WHERE DOES THIS STACK UP?
“It’s right there. What an unbelievable race. The car ran flawlessly. These Action Express guys are really the best. The car ran no problem. It’s really good to bring Corvette back here in Victory Lane after over 50 years I think. Our Mustang Sampling Corvette was awesome the whole day, just kept improving and getting better as the night was going through. Obviously my teammates – what a phenomenal job. The car is still clean, it’s a little dirty, but all the pieces are still in there. What a tremendous result for everybody. They really deserve it they should be very proud of all the achievements they have done.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–TUDOR UNITED SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP →

TUDOR UNITED SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
MOBIL 1 TWELVES HOURS OF SEBRING FUELED BY FRESH FROM FLORIDA
SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
CORVETE RACING AND CORVETTE DP DRIVERS QUOTES – EIGHT HOURS
MARCH 21, 2015

OLIVER GAVIN, CORVETTE RACING CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “The car was better and we seemed like we hit it a little better. We got a clean run with some traffic and could fight with the BMW and overtake them. There is still a long way to go. It was very hard in the heat of the day and with all the sun to try and make the tire last. There is still plenty that can still happen over the next few hours. We’ll see how it goes with Tommy in the car. We seem to be working the rear tire quite hard – harder than the sister car – which is quite frustrating. We’ll see where we are in the last couple hours. Hopefully if this stays we’ll be able to fight at the front.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, CORVETTE RACING CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “That pit stop was really good, and I had a really good couple of stints. Antonio is back in, and we’re back in the hunt. We need to have another couple of hours and we can start to really push. It’s not like we’re relaxing out there; we’re still pushing out there but not taking the chances. It’s difficult to say (when we still start pushing harder). If it stays like this, then I think it will carry on like this except people will start taking more chances.”

JOAO BARBOSA, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP: “Very tough conditions out there. It is very, very hot. The track is very slippery, but we have a great car on the long runs. I would say it is actually running a little bit better than it was. The temperature is going to go down a little bit to help us inside the car. It is very hot out there, but so far, we are where we want to be but there is still a long way to go.”

TUDOR UNITED SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
MOBIL 1 TWELVES HOURS OF SEBRING FUELED BY FRESH FROM FLORIDA
SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
CORVETE RACING AND CORVETTE DP DRIVERS QUOTES – FOUR HOURS
MARCH 21, 2015

ANTONIO GARCIA, CORVETTE RACING NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “The Porsches seem to be really strong. What they showed in qualifying they are still showing in race pace. Now we’re going into a different period of the race where the track will be completely different. So far the car is behaving how we expected. It feels like the car is slowly coming to us. We need to stay where we are and keep pushing but not do anything crazy out there. If we can find just a little bit more from the car, it will be great.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–TUDOR UNITED SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 21, 2015

CASEY MEARS, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Auto Club Speedway and discussed the new 2015 rule package, working with the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) alliance, his time spent on the West Coast and many other topics. Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT YOUR PERSPECTIVE OF THE WEST COAST SWING AND SOME OF THE THINGS YOU HAVE BEEN DOING WHILE OUT HERE:
“I think it has been good. I think it was a great idea to put them all together. It can make for a long three weeks for guys that stay all the way out. I think getting all three of these races kind of knocked out in a row has been good. Vegas was a pretty good day for us, Phoenix we had a really fast race car and we are looking forward to this weekend. I had a rough go at it yesterday. The car wouldn’t turn very well at all, but excited about being here in my home state and hopefully have a good race on Sunday.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Auto Club Speedway–Casey Mears →

KURT BUSCH PUTS CHEVROLET SS ON POLE IN FONTANA
Chevrolet SS sweeps the front row for the Auto Club 400

FONTANA, Calif. – (March 20, 2015) – Kurt Busch placed his No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS on the pole position for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, round five of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. A fast lap of 38.889 seconds (185.124 mph) earned Busch his first pole of 2015 and 17th of his career. This is his fourth pole in 22 races at the 2.0-mile facility for Busch, a track record.

Busch’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet SS) set the second fastest lap of the qualifying session, giving Team Chevy a sweep of the front row for the second time in 2015. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Kurt Busch Puts Chevrolet SS on Pole in Fontana →