NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SAVE MART 350
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 20, 2014
 
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 MOBIL 1/BASS PRO SHOPS CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the first practice session, drivers on the road course, tire maintenance, how much he likes road course racing, and more. Full Transcript:
 
HOW IS YOUR CAR THIS WEEKEND?
“I think it’s hard to gauge this early. A lot of guys didn’t do any qualifying mock runs so, we did one there; so I’m not sure exactly where we’re at. We’re just trying to get the car balanced and I think if we get balanced, the speed will be there during the race.”
 
HOW DO YOU THINK THE NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT IS GOING TO WORK HERE ON A ROAD COURSE?
“By looking at practice, I think everybody will be mindful of whether guys are on lap and guys are trying to come in and cool everything off. So, there’s plenty of places where you can over. So, I think everybody will be fine. It’s going to be a lot more work for the drivers than what it used to be, just from the standpoint that you’re going to try to be courteous; and once your lap is over, you’re going to try to make sure you don’t mess somebody’s lap up.”
 
TALLADEGA AND DAYTONA USED TO BE THE WILDCARDS. BUT WITH THE CHASE FORMAT WHAT IT IS NOW, DO YOU CONSIDER THE ROAD COURSE RACES THE PLACES WHERE GUYS WILL GAMBLE MORE FOR THAT WIN?
“I don’t think so. It’s always the same old debate on whether we’re going to do it in two stops or three stops, so I think we’ll see here this second practice and see if guys do long runs, how much the tire falls off and I think that will give us a better read on what we’re going to do tomorrow. And then I think that will answer your question when we know that.”
 
DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE ROAD COURSE RACING HAS GOTTEN MORE AGGRESSIVE IN RECENT YEARS?
“It’s gotten more chaotic, that’s for sure. You’ve got first gear corners here that have really wide entries, so if there’s a hole, guys fill it and it creates a lot of problems. There are other guys that just are back in 20th and they don’t care; they’ll just bounce off somebody to get a couple spots. You definitely want to be in the top five on a restart and try to get away from a little bit of that group before you get down to (Turns) 4 and 7. If you can get through (Turn) 7, I think you’re all right. It just seems like getting down to Turn 7 on a restart is where all the action is.”
 
THE LAST FOUR WEEKS, YOU SEEM TO HAVE BEEN FAR MORE CONSISTENT THAN WHERE YOU FINISHED EARLY IN THE SEASON. DO YOU SENSE PROGRESS BEING MADE? ARE YOU HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?
“Yeah, I think so. I value the consistency more than I do having a couple top 3 finishes and then running 20th the next week. So, I do. I feel a lot better about where we’re going right now and the direction across the board; our cars are getting more consistent with all four teams. That’s really what I’m basing how we are as a company right now and I think it translates to each individual team, as well.”
 
DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A PLACE LIKE THIS WHERE YOU ARE USUALLY GOOD?
“If we can get a balance, I feel like I can for sure. This is one of the places I love coming to each year. So, if we get it close, I feel like I can get something done here.”
 
WHY DO YOU LOVE COMING HERE SO MUCH?
“It’s just a road race. We’re not at an oval like we were last week. It’s just something different.”
 
REGARDING HIS CRASH LAST WEEK AT INDIANAPOLIS
“We blew a tire. It destroyed the car, so it was a good hit.”
 
INAUDIBLE
“I think more times than not it’s accidental. I think the intention is to get in there and take a lane away and then try to gain a spot. A lot of times though, the intentional part is they get down there and they are over-committed or the door starts closing when they get there and can’t get out of the scenario they’re in. I think more times than not, especially late in the race, I think that’s not intentional. But there are guys who will get their feelings hurt on Sunday and they’ll take it out on somebody.”
 
ON THE BLOWN TIRE AT INDY
“I’m not sure what the cause of it was. I’ve asked them what the cause of it was, but that’s part of tire testing. That’s why you go to the test. I’m sure they’ll learn something from it and go on.”
 
WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE OF TIRES HERE?
“The Cup series, it used to be years ago, that was the challenge every week. This is a track where you have to budget your tires. You can’t just go run 100 percent every lap and make it run to the end. And that’s what makes this place so fun is you can’t just flog the tires and run a flying lap every lap and expect to do well. You have to budget your tires. It is a challenge. It’s fun where you get in that scenario where there’s times when you want to be that guy on older tires and up front so you don’t have to worry about the chaos on the restarts; and then there’s time when you want to be that guy who has fresh tires that might restart 10th or 12th with ten or 15 lap laps to go and be able to charge your way up through there. I think the biggest thing that becomes the question mark, is what happens on the restarts and what happens behind you the whole time. That dictates whether having those fresh tires work or not.”
 
WHAT DO YOU THINK QUALIFYING WILL BE LIKE?
“I think it’ll be a big drama. Like I said, I think all the drivers will be pretty courteous. Even in practice, nobody knew who was trying to make qualifying runs and nobody knew who was on tires, so I saw a lot of guys that were being pretty patient, which is kind of uncharacteristic for here, but I thought everybody in practice showed a lot of patience and a desire to work with each other to make sure they’re not messing each other’s laps up. I think it will be that way in qualifying as well.”
 
ON KYLE LARSON LAST WEEK AT MICHIGAN
‘He’ll learn it’s not a good idea, too. If he didn’t learn it last week, he’ll learn it in the next couple of weeks. We had a really good car. We had a top 5 car for sure, and a top 3 car in my opinion according to listening to our lap times what the leaders were running. And then on a restart, he swerves over to block us and puts a big hole in the nose that we’ve got to come in and fix. By the time we get it fixed we’re buried so far back at the end of a race like that, we couldn’t do anything. So, I think he’ll learn, just like we all learned when we were rookies, one way or the other. He’ll either slow down enough and think about what he’s doing or he’ll be forced in a situation where he’ll have time to think about it and they’ll still be cars on the race track.”
 
WITH SO MUCH AGGRESSION ON THE ROAD COURSES THAT’S DIFFERENT FROM THE OVALS, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS ‘OVER THE LINE’? WHAT CAN PEOPLE GET AWAY WITH?
“This is one of those places where most of the time you shake your head when you’re leaving here going thank goodness it’s over. The first half of the race is a blast because everybody is being patient and they’re driving like they have sense. The closer to the end of the race, the more that goes away and the more guys just try to take advantage of every situation and every hole that’s available.”
 
HOW PHYSICAL IS IT TO RACE HERE WITH THE HEAT?
“You’re busy. You just don’t get any chance to rest. You go to a track like Pocono and you spend 90% of the lap driving in a straight line and resting. You can actually think about what you’re going to do. Where here, you really only have probably 2 or 3 seconds during the lap that you’re actually not doing something, whether it’s turning or shifting, upshift, downshift; so it gives you plenty to do here. It makes it fun because you can’t let your guard down.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SAVE MART 350
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 20, 2014
 
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KINGSFORD/CLOROX CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Sonoma Raceway and discussed racing Sonoma, progress team is making and other topics.  Full transcript:
 
YOU ARE A NATIVE OF LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA. SONOMA COULD BE A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO PICK-UP A WIN THIS WEEKEND. TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BEING HOME IN CALIFORNIA AND BEING AT SONOMA:
“It is always good to come back to Sonoma. I missed it last year for a good reason, I was winning at Road America (Wisconsin – NASCAR Nationwide Series), so we will just put that out there (laughs).  I missed being here. Being a home race for me, it is nice to see my family, and some friends and all that. But it is one of those things that you have to split up between doing your job, and then seeing all your friends and kind of hanging out and catching up.  A good opportunity to try and get a win. But, you can’t put too much pressure on yourself getting here saying this is the only race we have a shot to win at. Just kind of taking the weekend as it comes, and really going from there – step-by-step. Really proud of this team so far where we have gotten. Excited to announce that Clorox signed up for three more years, so that is good to have that on our race car and to get that solidified. By the end of their contract, I think it will be 20 years that they have been with this race team. Just a great brand to have on this car. Good things going into this weekend and hopefully we can build on that and have a good weekend all together.”
 
DO YOU REALLY LOOK AT THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY WITH ALL OF YOUR ROAD COURSE EXPERIENCE TO MAKE IT INTO THE CHASE WITH A WIN HERE?
“I would be lying if I said I didn’t come in here with the mindset that we have a shot to win this thing. But at the same point, the Sprint Cup Series every weekend, it is so tough now. It is a lot different than 10-15 years ago when I thought you looked at the series and said maybe there are five, or eight or ten guys at most that can win on a road course race. Now it is so deep and everybody has gotten so good at road course racing in general. We tested here for two days, which was big because I felt like what we started here with at the test, we would have been way off if we had come back and hadn’t tested. It was a good two-day test. I don’t want to walk into this weekend saying ‘If we don’t win this race, then it is a disappointment’.  We just need to have a solid weekend, and if we can run inside the top-10, good.  And, if we can be inside the top-five and have a shot to win it, then it’s a great weekend. That is how I look at it.”
 
THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, YOU HAVEN’T HAD GREAT RUNS, ARE YOU IMPROVING?
“You have to look at the nature of our team, it just doesn’t happen overnight. Last year this team was 30th or 31st in points. I feel like the Series itself has gotten deeper with everybody stepping up their level of competition. We are going to have those weeks, up and down.  We’re not a Hendrick team.  It is what it is.  We are a one car team that is slowly building. I think if you look at RCR as a whole, just the general from the alliance to RCR itself, we’re all a little bit behind. It’s not like the RCR cars are dominating, and we’re hanging on to the back. We’re all pretty close together. I think it has opened the question, are we good? We have the potential of being good. Are we there yet? No. On our best weekends like this, can we go win a race? I think we can, but are we going to have weekends to where the last couple of weeks we just struggled to run 20th. That is the nature of it. I was kind of….you look at it last week, and I was frustrated after we got done with the race and thinking ‘man, we are struggling’. Then you look at the guys I was racing around during the race – Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle – those type of guys.  It is tough in this series right now. We just have to keep getting better each weekend. We’re going to have our ups and downs. We’ve had some great runs this year. We’ve had some runs that you would expect from a single-car team that is trying to build. So, the good thing is our team owner, Tad Geschickter, he is the most patient person, and I’m not. So, I get done and I’m like “we’ve got to fix this’. As he told me when we started this, ‘this isn’t a one-weekend, a one-race, a one-year thing.  I’m in this team for a long-term period’. We just have to keep getting stronger together.”
 
HAVE YOU USED THE STRONG RUN AT TALLADEGA IN MAY TO PROPEL THE TEAM FORWARD AT DAYTONA IN JULY?
“The good thing is our ECR engine has a ton of power when it comes to the superspeedway races.  A lot of that is based on luck too. I thought we had a fast car, but I had to miss all the wrecks, too.  I was around about three of them, and that is just part of it. I look where we are strong and we are weak…our superspeedway program. At Daytona, we had a fast car, and we had a mechanical failure. At Talladega, obviously as you said, finished fifth. Our short-track program has been pretty good.  I think the places we struggle are really the mile-and-a-half race tracks.  I feel like those are the tracks where you really see the bigger budgets really come out because aerodynamics are so critical there. Just having those extra resources, and that extra testing that those teams do, really help them on the mile-and-a-half race tracks.  So I feel like that is where our weakness is. We got to Daytona in a couple weeks. Hopefully it is off of a couple of really great runs here and at Kentucky next week. We’ll just play it out and see how it goes. The way I look at those races is you just have to put yourself in the right place. If it goes wrong when you are in that spot, then it goes wrong. As you are not the cause of the big one. That’s all you can do.”
 
HOW MUCH OF AN UNKNOWN IS QUALIFYING HERE?
“It will be interesting. I think out of all the places we have been to, this will be…I won’t say crazy, but I think it is hard to determine. The spotters and the teams I feel like throughout the course of the qualifying, they’ve done a good job.  You don’t want to get in anybody’s way. You don’t want anybody to get in your way. I’m sure there are people who have gotten blocked for a lap or two, but for the most part I feel like qualifying has worked out where teams are nice to each other, and spotters work with each other to get their driver a clean lap.  Here it is hard to do. You can sit here on pit road and say ‘okay, there is nobody coming into (turn) 11 for 10 seconds, roll out there and have a clean lap. Well, by the time you get back to 11 to start your lap, how many more cars could have rolled out. And that is something you don’t want to use your tires on your out-lap. You kind of want to get them up to temp, but you don’t want to over abuse them. I think those are what is really going to be critical, especially the first group. As you start getting less cars, it’s not as big of a deal. But the first group you are going to have a lot of cars that are maybe on a cool down lap, or are trying to get their tires in when somebody is on a hot lap. It’s hard to hide around here. You can’t really hide and get out of the way.  I think that is what will be the most critical. Hopefully we have good speed out in practice, and we see that and can go out in the first group and can nail a lap, and then just sit and wait and let your tires cool down. It will definitely be interesting.”
 
HAVE YOU NOTICED THE RACING HERE GETTING MORE AGGRESSIVE HERE IN THE LAST FEW YEARS?
“I think just the competition level has stepped up. It’s not like if you are fast, you kind of blister through the pack and you have a few guys you are racing.  You look at how deep the field is now at t
he road course races, that’s why it is aggressive, because it is hard to pass. Everybody is so close. If you get kind of stuck in the back of the pack, it is hard to go anywhere. You look at Marcos (Ambrose) last year at Watkins Glen – he was leading the race, and pit strategy worked out where he restarted 20th, and it was hard for him to go anywhere, and he dominated that race. It just shows how deep the field is especially around this place. It is so tight. The double-file restarts are some of that. Before when it was single, everybody was kind of in line and then if you made a pass, you made a pass.  You go through these first how-many corners side-by-side and that is when you can really make your most time. So it’s definitely gotten more aggressive and I think the competition level has just gotten higher, and that is what it relates to everybody being so aggressive. Also around this place, your fenders don’t matter as much as Watkins Glen, so people seem to use them up a little bit more.”
 
WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF THIS COURSE FOR YOU, AND WHY?
“The biggest thing to me is just saving your rear tires. That is something that this place – especially with how much horsepower these cars have now – just being able to save your rear tires. You’ve seen in these races the person that is able to have better forward drive as the run goes on; the first few laps the tires have a lot of grip and everybody is kind of getting after it. But after about five, six, seven laps the rear tires really start to off and you see the cars that have better forward and lateral bite off of the esses and off of 11 here; those are the good cars. In practice it is really forcing on getting good forward drive and saving the rear tires. Then in the race, when you are behind someone, that is really the critical thing is to not fall into their tempo and their mistakes, and using your car more trying to get around them.  It is real easy to see a guy make a mistake or just try to be aggressive, and you quickly burn your rear tires off, and then you are done the rest of the stint. I think that is what everybody works on here, and that is what they focus on is trying to get the forward drive. If you don’t have that, you aren’t going to win the race, so it is the most critical part of this race track to me.”
 
WHEN YOU GO TO WHERE YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE NEAR HERE, DO YOU CRUISE AROUND, OR WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I hated high school, so I definitely don’t go back to high school. My goal of high school was just getting through it.  I had to have a 3.0 to make sure I got through it so I could race every weekend. That was it. I made the mistake one time, it was during the winter. I always found my grades going into the winter were better because I wasn’t racing go karts all winter.  I made the mistake one time and thought I would see how good I could get my grades, and I got a 4.0, and my Mom was like ‘hmmm, okay I see now’.  I don’t go back to high school. I wouldn’t even say I roll through my old town. Nobody really knows me, and that is the way I like it. I sneak under the radar, and nobody really knows me, that is my happiest moment. I actually don’t get back much. I am fortunate enough that my parents come to a lot of races; they come to all the west coast races. They still live in Hollister, and they come to at least 10 or 12 races. I only come back really for Christmas.”
 
TALK ABOUT KENTUCKY – THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT RACE TRACK AND THE CHALLENGES:
“It is definitely the most unique mile-and-a-half race track that they had. It is definitely bumpy. It is kind of wavy. It’s not like harsh bumps, but there are a lot of waves in the race track. I think one and two is way different than three and four the way you drive them. It is unique. It makes it a lot of fun. There is not a top of grip on the race track; I think that is why we see such good racing there. The line kind of moves out and the tires go off, but it is a tough place to set your car up for. It is one of those weekends if the weather is right where you practice during the day, and then you go into the night, and it makes it critical to try to guess what the setup is going to do as you go into the nighttime. It is a fun race track. I never got to run a lot of trucks or Nationwide there. I didn’t do any races. Only tested there a little big, so it’s been a lot of fun when we race there.”
 
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SAVE MART 350
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 20, 2014
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Sonoma Raceway and discussed his recent trip to his hometown of El Cajon, California, his assessment of what qualifying will be like tomorrow and many other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
YOU HAVE HAD A BIG WEEK HERE IN CALIFORNIA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT COMING BACK TO CALIFORNIA AND RACING HERE AT A ROAD COURSE FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SEASON:
“Definitely excited to be back in California.  We had three or four days down in the San Diego area.  I had an amazing experience on many levels.  Very successful Jimmie Johnson Foundation golf tournament we raised $650,000 which we will be able to distribute in Southern California, Oklahoma and the Charlotte (NC) area.  We had a new venue at Torrey Pines and played their south golf course over there.  To have the views and the golf and the scenery and to know this history of golf on that course and watching some of those awesome battles myself, made that experience all the sweeter.  Then Tuesday I guess it was went back to El Cajon and I knew we were having an event in El Cajon, but I had no idea it was going to be that big and they were going to make so many amazing things happen.  They gave me a guitar to the city instead of a key to the city.  Named it Jimmie Johnson day, the senator was there so it was not only for El Cajon, but the whole state of California.  Just a crazy experience and fans were everywhere.  I couldn’t believe how many people showed up.  It was just an awesome experience.  I got up here yesterday relaxing and enjoying this nice warm weather.  I’m looking forward to some left and right hand turns.”
 
CAN YOU PUT FANS BEHIND THE WHEEL AND DESCRIBE THE ELEMENTS YOU THINK OF AND STAND OUT TO YOU WHEN YOU RACE A ROAD COURSE LIKE THIS?
“This track is way different than anything we run on because of the elevation changes and then how narrow the course is.  Our cars are so big and heavy we need a lot of real estate to slide our vehicles around.  It makes a huge challenge and at the end of the day the tires take all the abuse and that is really the magic around here.  One – developing a set-up that is easy on the rear tires and then two – being patient with the car and not running the rear tires off of it.  Hopefully, we have that magic, but there are blind corners where you crest the hill and you are just looking off into the brown grass or whatever that stuff is hoping you’ve got the right angle.  There are marks in the asphalt that you remember from past experiences here where another road ties in and that’s a breaking reference point.  Just a very cool track to make laps around.  On an oval you probably have three to four moments that really get your attention so corner entry and then occasionally out by the wall.  Here with 11 corners around this track every braking zone you are on edge and then with it being so narrow track out points you are usually if your left-side is in the dirt at least once around here a lap.  It makes for a fun lap.”
 
HENDRICK IS GOING FOR SIX WINS IN A ROW, WHAT IS THE LIKELIHOOD OF THAT HAPPENING AND WHICH DRIVER DO YOU THINK MIGHT BE ABLE TO PULL THAT OFF?
“It’s been such a different race the last five or six years when you look at the winners.  People you might not put into that road course ringer category, myself included.  I won, Martin (Truex, Jr.), Clint (Bowyer), Kasey Kahne was in there at some point.  More traditional oval guys, so I think this is the hardest race to pick yet.  Then when you add the fuel strategy that typically plays in that shakes it up as well.  I think all four of our Hendrick cars will be capable of it and we certainly want to keep the streak alive, but I can’t pick a favorite here.  I could probably pick a favorite, but I don’t think there is a safe bet on a winner.  I think there are 20, 25 cars that could win here.”
 
OUT OF ALL THE ACCOLADES, HAVING A STREET NAMED AFTER YOU, JIMMIE JOHNSON DAY WAS THERE A MOMENT THAT STOOD OUT TO YOU?
“I guess the moment would have been leaving and getting back on the interstate and driving out of there with all that took place.  We all know you go back home the memories come up in your mind and you think of what happened here, what went on there.  All these stories start to emerge in your mind.  To have that feeling of being back home and then to leave the event with all that they gave me and the huge fan support, friends that were in attendance and old school teachers.  A lot of my friends their parents are still in El Cajon and they made a trip out, faces I haven’t seen in 20 years.  Leaving there and to feel the pride that El Cajon has for what I have done on the track and the respect they paid me that all tied into driving out of there and had a very cool moment.”
 
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IN QUALIFYING?  THIS IS OUR FIRST ROAD COURSE QUALIFYING UNDER THE NEW SET-UP ARE YOU GUYS DOING A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH STRATEGIZING AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO?
“This track has a high wear aspect so I think keeping the laps down is going to be key especially to get the pole.  The variable that we can’t control is cars on their out lap and cars on their in lap.  That is going to be tricky.  We do it in practice and we are able to accommodate each other and take care of things.  Hopefully, everybody is plenty polite and the spotters are on top of it sending word down where a fast car is.”
 
THERE ARE A LOT OF DRIVERS WHO CAN WIN HERE THAT DO NOT HAVE WINS YET THIS YEAR.  DO YOU START THINKING ABOUT THEIR DESPERATION LEVEL?  WOULD YOU WANT TO KNOW IF THEY ARE BEHIND YOU?
“Yes, restarts I think we know that there is going to be chaos.  In (turns) seven and 11 you go in there and you just put your head against the back of the headrest waiting to get drilled from behind.  Once you get spread out and get going, this track once you get through the opening lap or two we get spread out and it’s really an individual race.  You are challenging yourself and your car and just getting in that zone and go.  But restarts just bread so much chaos around here.  No one is safe.  I have seen guys in eighth or 10th pull out of line to pass and wheel hop and clean out the guy in second or third.  There is nowhere safe on this track on restarts.”
 
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE AGGRESSIVE NATURE OF ROAD COURSE RACES IN RECENT YEARS?
“When there are only a couple of passing zones on the entire track everybody up and down the line is trying to set-up a pass.  So there are moments where you have worked hard and been patient and you are making your move and you don’t realize that the car behind you has set-up a move on you.  Or maybe in the process of getting alongside someone you have slowed down your section of the road and now everybody back behind you is thinking wow I can go three-wide, four-wide or the line stops too quick just like in bumper-to-bumper traffic.  All of a sudden the line stops too quick and the person fourth or fifth in line just the reaction time isn’t there and ‘pow’ you’ve turned somebody around.  It’s wild.  I think what aggravates most is the blocking.  After a restart or two or a few laps of blocking you just have to make that decision.  Are you going to tolerate it or are you going to send them?  It’s turned into sending them lately.”
 
WHAT HAS BEEN THE DIFFERENCE FOR JEFF (GORDON) AND HIS TEAM AND CREW THIS YEAR?
“Honestly, I think they have been finishing where they have been running.  The last two, three, four years it seems like fast cars, laps led and running well. But not the finishes that we hoped that he
would have or that he would hope he had based on the first half of the race.  They are finishing off the races, which there have been small mechanical issues and bad luck. That stuff has seemed to kind of fade away fortunately.”
 
THREE DRIVERS SINCE 2004 HAVE RUN EVERY CUP RACE SINCE THEN AND NOT FINISHED LAST.  TWO OF THEM ARE HENDRICK DRIVERS. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DURABILITY OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS EQUIPMENT AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS AT A ROAD COURSE?
“It definitely is important and I think championships probably speak more to durability than kind of that finishing stat.  In some cases I wish I would have been 43rd so I could have gone home earlier, didn’t have to ride around and finish 42nd (laughs).  That stat speaks more to the guys getting the car fixed.  I think all these crew members they are supposed to delicately work on the race car and take care of it.  When there is crash damage they are looking for the biggest hammer and the biggest saw and just looking forward to cutting stuff up and trying to get you back out.  I’ve got a group of guys that love to swing hammers and run saws.  They do a nice job of getting us back on the road.”
 
ON A TRACK LIKE THIS HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR SPOTTERS?
“They are very important for sure.  I think awareness inside the car is also important.  A lot of us come from a form of racing where you didn’t have spotters.  There seemed to be a lot less incidents when you are aware of your surroundings and not solely relying on spotters.  Good awareness in the car is important here as well.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SAVE MART 350
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 20, 2014
 
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the new qualifying format, opportunities for making the Chase, how he likes road course racing, and more. Full Transcript:
TALK ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS OF THE WEEKEND HERE AT SONOMA RACEWAY
“I always look forward to coming out here. First off, it’s a really pretty environment to be at and it’s also maybe one of the more comfortable tracks for me on the circuit. I came here and tested in 2003 and it’s just been a great place for me. I’ve qualified exceptionally well here. I think I finished second here once. But it seems like every year something has happened to us in the race. We had a flat tire last year with 40 laps to go or something and lost a bunch of track position and could never regain it. But it’s just a fun race track. I really enjoy road course racing. It’s a little different than Watkins Glen because the speed is so much slower and it’s so hard to get drive off the corners. But, it’s a fun track and a fun environment and I always look forward to it.”
 
IN RECENT YEARS, WE’VE SEEN A LOT MORE AGGRESSION HERE, ESPECIALLY IN THE LATE RACE RE-STARTS. WHY IS THAT? DO YOU EXPECT IT TO BE THE SAME ON SUNDAY?
“To me, when I look back, when we used to have a lot of the road course ringers come in, I wouldn’t say it was aggressive as much as just poor decision-making. Turn 4 and Turn 7 on a re-start here are horrible. And when you have a guy that’s in 12th or 15th and just makes a complete dive-bomb; at least when I would watch a replay there’s like no way their going to make the corner. They would wipeout somebody that was having a good day. Those are really frustrating. But now, I feel like it’s really aggressive, but its guys making moves that seem realistic. And sometimes it doesn’t always work out. But I feel like everyone has gotten smarter about road course racing and making sure they make it to the end. Maybe it’s because there are more regulars now. We just don’t have as many of those guys coming in that don’t race with us every week. Yeah, to me, the road course races are some of the best we have all year long. I wish that we had more of these on the schedule. It just always turns out interesting with fuel mileage, and then the restarts are just crazy.”
 
HEADING TO DAYTONA HERE AND KNOWING YOUR SUCCESS ON RESTRICTOR PLATE TRACKS, WHAT ARE YOU AND YOUR TEAM DOING TO PREPARE FOR THAT RACE?
“Well, there’s a lot of effort that’s put into the Daytona 500 because we do the testing and then we’re in Daytona for two weeks preparing for that race. But I would say honestly, from my side, I don’t really think about speedway races until we get there that week. There’s really not a lot you can to the car once you get to the track, so the team prepares the car. I think our speedway car is already done, sitting there, maybe waiting on an engine or getting an engine put in it. To me, when I look at Daytona and the races, it kind of is what it is and you know what to expect. Qualifying was so much different at Talladega than what we had had before. And we didn’t even make it to the second round, which was deflating. With this new qualifying process, if you don’t advance. At Daytona and Talladega now, it’s kind of about getting in that right pack to run that qualifying lap. So, to me, I’m more thinking about qualifying and not really thinking about the race right now. I’m just trying to get a good qualifying effort in and make sure we get with the right group there.”
 
DO YOU HAVE ANY PARTICULAR SUPERSTITIONS OR THINGS THAT YOU DO ROUTINELY BEFORE A RACE?
“Well, I’ve been superstitious sometimes. I maybe still am a little bit. But I’ve also had really good days when a $50 bill appeared or the green sharpie. And then I’ve had really bad days when I think I did everything correctly. So, I’m maybe not as superstitious as I used to be. But I am really structured in everything that happens before the races. But I think that’s just kind of my life in general. I tend to do the same thing every day. I wake up around the same time and have the same routine, whether it’s working out or going to the shop. I don’t know. I’m just not big into changing things. So, I’m maybe a little superstitious in just kind of wanting to do the same thing each week.”
 
WITH THE NEW RULES ABOUT A WIN AND GETTING INTO THE CHASE, HAVE YOU ENVISIONED WHAT A LATE-RACE RE-START WOULD BE LIKE HERE?
“Yeah, first-off, you hope you’re in that position that you can be one of those guys (to contend for a win), but you never know here if you’re going to have a late-race restart. So, I really haven’t put much thought into that. And when we get to the races, you don’t get to decide if you have a good short-run car or a good long-run car. So, that changes your mentality on the restarts because sometimes you have a car that’s great on restarts and you’re like oh, I hope we have that because maybe I can advance my position. And then there are other instances when your car is not good on restarts and so you’re dreading that to come out. Until you get out and you kind of get into the race, it’s hard to worry about those things.”
 
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON QUALIFYING HERE? WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING?
“Well, I think that it the talk in the garage right now. There are some unknowns. I guess we have 30 minutes and then a break and then 10 minutes maybe. Initially they talked about that this would be three segments but now it’s only two. And this is one of those tracks where somebody could get in your way and really kill your lap. And for the first run, the sticker tires are going to worth a lot versus going out on the scuffs. I don’t think you’ll see anybody go out on scuffs and knock anyone out because the tires are so important here. But really, we’ve talked about it for a week now. Do you want to go right out? Or, do you want to wait and let some of the guys run and then the track be cleaner? I don’t know. I don’t think anyone really has the answer right now. I think the ideal situation would be to go right out on the track. That being said, it’s a big race track. I think they blow it off; I don’t know if they do. But you don’t know if there’s a corner that’s going to be covered in dust from wind or from a car that has run off late in practice. So, it will be interesting tomorrow to see how that works out and what guys’ strategies are.
 
“Also, where you draw dictates a lot of when you go out. If you draw number 1; you know we spent the last 30 years in NASCAR wanting the biggest number we could get when they draw because you wanted to go out late because it would be cooler. Well, now everyone fights to get the first pull, so that you have the option to go right out or to wait. So pit road gets blocked up when everybody backs out and pulls down there. If you draw in the 20’s, you know that you’re not going to make the first wave out on the race track. So, some of that is depending on what your draw is.”
 
REGARDING QUALIFYING, HOW DOES THE NEW FORMAT AFFECT HOW AGGRESSIVELY YOU TAKE EACH LAP?  YOU WON THE POLE HERE LAST YEAR. AND THEN YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TIRE WEAR.
“I think you’ll see most guys run one lap and that’s going to be your fast lap. When we looked back to last year, it was about a second a lap slower your second time on the track. So, it’s all about getting that perfect lap. And that’s what makes the road course pulls so special is that it’s hard to make a perfect lap here and have the best lap. Last year I think I barely beat Marcus (Ambrose) for the pole. And I think about the places where I could have been better and I’m sure he thinks about where he messed up at, right? But road course racing, the qualifying is tough. It’s a little different now because last year they started the European qualifying where you got
to have multiple laps. But, your best situation is to put the most tape on the car for just one lap and the air pressure, so that for only one lap you can put it all on the line. Even though you have the option to run more, I think the pole guy will do it, is to put the most tape on in his first time by.”
 
HOW MUCH OF AN OPPORTUNITY DOES THIS RACE GIVE YOU THIS WEEKEND FOR MAKING THE CHASE? THE DRIVERS THAT HAVE BEEN WINNING A LOT THIS YEAR NORMALLY AREN’T GOOD HERE. HOW MUCH OF AN OPEN DOOR IS THIS FOR YOU?
“Honestly, I thought we had a car capable of winning last week at Michigan and then I did a terrible job on a restart and we struggled a little bit to get fuel in the car. But honestly, I look at each week as a chance to win. I don’t use Sonoma as like the opportunity for other guys. There is so much that can happen here with fuel mileage and the way the cautions fall and the way you pit. The whole race can change in a matter of four or five laps if the caution falls at the right or wrong time for guys. So, I don’t look at this as a better opportunity. I really feel like each race between now and Richmond, we’ll have the chance to win if we make all the right decisions. So yeah, I think this weekend is as good as any.”
 
WHY DO YOU THINK WE’VE HAD NINE DIFFERENT WINNERS IN THE PAST NINE RACES HERE?
“I don’t know. I remember the year that Kasey Kahne won here; it was kind of a surprise to everybody. But I think that all of us have gotten so much better at road course racing over the years that if you put someone in the right position in the end, they’re capable of winning. And MWR has been really good here. I think they’ve won the last two races here. I love Clint Bowyer to death, but I would never have put him in winning a road course category, right? But when you look back, he’s done really well at road course racing. So, yeah, it’s kind of circumstantial. You’ve got to have a really good car. We are so limited. We go and test at all these road courses for Sonoma or for Watkins Glen, and it seems like the set-ups you develop don’t work when you get here. So, we’re so limited on time, like we only have three and a half hours of practice today. That’s not a lot. That’s not a lot of tires. So, you don’t really get to try a lot of stuff. And I think when the teams get here and they unload and they’re close, that’s a huge advantage. And if those guys can call the right race, then they have a chance to win. But it is interesting. It seems like there’s a surprise winner here a lot.”
 
ON QUALIFYING, THIS YEAR WE’VE SEEN A FEW TEAMS HAVE ISSUES (LIKE) NOT GETTING OUT AND GETTING THEIR LAP STARTED BEFORE A SESSION ENDED. WE’VE SEEN GUYS HAVE FLAT TIRES AND ARE UNABLE TO CHANGE THEM TO ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND. WE SAW YOUR TEAMMATE WITH A DEAD BATTERY, UNABLE TO ADVANCE. HOW MUCH OF A CONCERN IS THAT FOR YOU WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO DECIDE IF YOU WANT TO GO EARLY OR LATE?
“Qualifying has turned into an incredible 50 minutes, I think, for all of us. It’s like another race, I feel like. I feel like every weekend you get in the car and you know you’re probably going to be sitting there for the next hour. And the emotions that happen over the first 30 minutes, especially if you’re right on the bubble, or if you’re only in by a three or four positions. You sit there for the next 15 or 20 minutes while your call cools down. And then you’re waiting for the next guy that hadn’t advanced in, to go. You want to see if the track is faster. At Michigan last week, people could go quicker on their second run. So, qualifying has turned into what was exciting for 30 seconds at a place like Atlanta or Texas, to an hour of an emotional roller coaster for all of us (as to) whether you’re going to advance or not.
 
“I look back at Fontana and (Greg) Biffle bumped me out with one second to go. And I was 25th and he ended up being 24th. So, I was just devastated. I left the track mad. I didn’t even pay attention to the rest of qualifying. He bumped me out with one second to go and then to go for the next round, his tires were hot and he wasn’t any good, right? And when the race started on Sunday, he started one row in front of me; he was like 24th. And I’m like why did I get mad over that? I would have been in the same position if I had been the guy that made it in. So, it’s interesting how we all want to win. We all want to be on the pole. And you have like really three chances now and it’s really interesting how the guy that’s fastest in the first round is not guaranteed to be on the pole. He might not even make it to the third round at some of the tracks. So, it’s a lot of fun. I like qualifying. I think it’s great.”
 
HOW INVOLVED ARE YOU IN RACE STRATEGY – WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A TWO-STOP STRATEGY WITH OLD TIRES OR WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE THREE STOPS WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF FRESH TIRES? ALSO CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW PHYSICALLY CHALLENGING THIS TRACK IS?
“On the strategy, that’s really left up to the crew chief. You have to see the track position you have. I think every driver would prefer to have the best tires on the track. It’s a helpless feeling when you’re the last one to pit and everyone behind you has tires. But it depends on how the car is, how the cautions fall. So I leave all that up to the crew chief and let him know what the car is doing.
 
“I think Watkins Glen is way worse than Sonoma. I’ve looked at the weather and it’s not going be hot here, which is great. This is one of the places we come to where you’re doing a little more work than we did on the ovals. The cars are hotter; you’re not going as quick so there’s not as much air moving around. So that is a place that can be a little hot and tiring. But it will be only like 75 degrees on Sunday so it should be really good.”
 
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE GROWTH YOU’VE SEEN FROM YOUR TEAMMATE KYLE (LARSON) JUST FROM THE START OF THE SEASON TO NOW. HE’S FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND HAS NEVER RACED HERE. WHAT KIND OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE HIM FOR THIS RACE?
“He’s done an awesome job. Kyle has done a great job all year long. He’s a great kid. I really enjoy having him as a teammate. We were in the hauler a few minutes ago going over the track and was telling him the little things I think about when I come here and what I look for – shifting points and just things to look for on the track. He’s done a great job. This will be his biggest challenge all year long – to come here and not really practice in a limited amount of time we have on the track. He’ll figure it out. Kyle’s best quality is that he is able to put it all together at the end of the race. Even if things don’t go well at the end, he seems to be able to find a way to finish well. That’s why he is where is in the points because they’ve been able to pull all that together. So yeah… great teammate and great kid. He’s done an awesome job.”
 
THEY GAVE HIM THE KEY TO THE CITY IN HIS HOMETOWN. DID THEY EVER GIVE YOU THE KEY TO JOPLIN?
“I don’t believe so! I knew that Kyle was from California. But I have to be honest… is it Elk Grove where he’s from? I couldn’t point on a map where Elk Grove is or how big it is!”
 
A LOT OF ROAD COURSES BRING OUT THE ROAD RAGE IN SOME DRIVERS. ON THE HIGHWAY, WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE?
“My pet peeve on the highway is people who don’t want to go the speed limit in the faster lane. When I drive down the interstate – even if I’m speeding slightly –  and I see someone coming faster than me behind, I’ll get out of the way. I also hate people that try to become the police in their car when maybe you’re passing them on the shoulder leaving the track… the guy who pulls over to cut you off. If a guy wants to go on the shoulder, let him go on the shoulder. I don’t really have an issue with that.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUICKEN LOANS 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE DRIVER TRANSCRIPTS
JUNE 15, 2014
 
 
SETTING THE GOLD STANDARD – CHEVROLET WINS AT MICHIGAN
Jimmie Johnson Takes the Gold Bowtie to Victory Lane for Fifth Consecutive time in 2014 and collects his first career win at MIS
 
 
BROOKLYN, MI – June 15, 2014 – With nine laps to go in the Quicken Loans 400, Jimmie Johnson retook the lead for the final time and never looked back.  Johnson, who led the 200-lap event four times for 39 laps, took the checkered flag for his first career win at Michigan International Speedway (MIS).  It took the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion 25 tries to record his first victory at Chevrolet’s home track.
 
“We have figured out every way to lose this race,” said Johnson from Victory Lane. “And today we were able to get it done. A huge thanks to Lowe’s and KOBALT and all the employees at Lowe’s. Thanks to Chevrolet, and the fans, and my fans. I’m excited to win on Father’s Day, having my family here, and having the boss here and for Chevrolet to win in their own backyard. We need to switch that stat where that other brand wins too much here and we need to get the bowtie more victories here.  Just a lot of things to be happy for.”
 
The victory was Chevrolet’s ninth win of the 2014 season; it’s fifth consecutive. It is the third time in the last six seasons the Bowtie Brand has completed this feat.  With the win, Chevrolet will take home the Heritage Trophy, a special award presented by MIS to the winning manufacturer.
 
“This is a big deal, said Alba Colon, Chevrolet program manager for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. “It’s a big deal for Chevrolet and especially it’s a really big deal to win at your home track in our backyard, so we are very excited. In the past, you know, this track hasn’t been that great for our Chevy teams, you know, so to be here today and be able to win and dominate, and having Jimmie, who has tried many times to win at this track, and he had some unfortunate luck the last year, and to be able to be some dominant here and to have other six drivers for a total of seven drivers in the top 10 is really great.”
 
Johnson has accumulated three wins thus far in ’14, and has now been victorious at every venue on the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule with the exception of four tracks: Kentucky Speedway, Watkins Glen International, Chicagoland Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
 
Johnson led Team Chevy to victory, but Chevrolet not only dominated the race, but the top 10 by earning seven of the highest finishing positions.  Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS finished second. Paul Menard followed in his No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet SS finishing fourth matching his career best finish at the 2-mile track earning his third fourth-place finish.
 
After getting involved in an on-track incident on lap seven, Kasey Kahne and the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS team rallied to earn a fifth-place finish, his second of the season.  Jeff Gordon had a solid run finishing sixth.  The run helped him and the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet SS team maintain the point’s lead by 15 markers over fellow Chevrolet driver and MIS race winner Johnson.
 
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. moved up to third in the point standings with his seventh-place finish at MIS.  The driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Superman Chevrolet SS fought a loose race car in the closing laps, but held on to earn his 10th top 10 finish of 2014.
 
Rookie of the Year contender Kyle Larson earned the title of top finishing rookie for the 11th time this season earning an eighth-place finish during his first trip to the 2-mile track.  Larson now sits eighth in the series standings and rounded out the Chevy power finishing in the top 10 at Chevy’s home track nestled in the Irish Hills of Michigan.
 
Brad Keselowski (Ford) was third to round out the top five finishing order.
 
The Sprint Cup Series travels to the West Coast next weekend as Team Chevy drivers and teams get ready to compete turning left and right on the 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course in Sonoma, California on June 22nd. 
 
 
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS, CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF AND TEAM OWNER RICK HENDRICK – RACE WINNERS
          
KERRY THARP:  We’re going to hear now from our winning owner of today’s 46th annual Quicken Loans 400 here at Michigan International Speedway, winning for the first time, the No. 48 team in the Lowe’s Kobalt Tools Chevrolet here at Michigan, but it’s the third win of the season.  Certainly right now that looms big as the season continues to unfold.  Rick, congratulations.  This is your fifth straight win in the Sprint Cup Series, the third time that has happened in your organization’s history.  You did that twice in 2007, and that time you also had a streak of six straight wins back in 2007. Congratulations.  Maybe just talk about this win today and just about how the overall organization is performing.
            RICK HENDRICK:  Well, this is a great win for a lot of reasons.  One for here in Michigan for Chevrolet, and being a Chevrolet dealer and racing Chevrolets, this means a lot to win this race.  It’s good to see Jimmie after leading so many laps here close the deal because we’ve run out of gas, broke motors, blown tires.  I think I remember a couple times coming off of 4 and losing it.  For him to be able to finish it off today, it was really good.
            And again, to keep the streak going, get five, that’s great.  This was a good race, and it just played out the way we needed it to play out, and all our cars ran well, and I think we were a little off early in the year, and we’ve been kind of clicking here lately, and real proud of all the guys at the Motorsports because of working hard together, and Kasey had a good day, and just a tribute to Chad and all the crew chiefs and drivers working hard, working together, the engine shop, chassis shop.  Everybody is really putting out a lot of effort right now, and it’s paying off.
            KERRY THARP:  And our winning crew chief is Chad Knaus.  Chad, certainly it was a good race.  It featured a little bit of everything, and certainly the role that the entire team played today was big.  I think it just showed again today how big of a team sport this is but certainly 48 once again made the right calls and things came your way, and now you’ve got five straight wins in the Hendrick camp and then three wins for Jimmie Johnson.  That leads all Chase drivers, so just talk about the significance of today’s win.
            CHAD KNAUS:  That’s pretty cool stats you’ve got there, Kerry.  Thanks.
            Today was just great.  My allergies are kicking in right now so I’m struggling a little bit.  But it was a long time coming.  Obviously we enjoy coming up here to Michigan, and we’ve raced very well up here, and we haven’t been able to close the deal on quite a few occasions, so coming in here very optimistic after what we did at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the way the company ran at Pocono, as well, so we felt like we had an opportunity.  We qualified solid.
            The Kobalt Chevrolet this weekend was really, really fast.  Same race car that we had at Charlotte Motor Speedway so that was a good decision on our part to g
et that joker turned around and brought to the track.  The guys had solid pit stops today, good strategy.  We knew there was going to be some opportunities to play some strategy today.  We also knew that if you had a fast race car you could maybe overcome strategy that maybe somebody else would play.  So we were fortunate enough to have a very fast race car and hit the strategy correct at the right time, and obviously put it all together for a solid win.
            And as far as Hendrick Motorsports goes, I think if you go back and look starting at Daytona, the engine shop and the chassis shop, the way that the Hendrick Motorsports affiliated teams and team itself has performed has been pretty impressive as a whole.  The chassis shop, we know we build chassis for a lot of the other competitors, as well, and those cars have ran very, very well.  The teams that have run with our engines have run very, very well, as well. It’s been pretty awesome, and I couldn’t be prouder of the guys in the 48/88 shop to be able to win four races in a row.  I think that speaks volumes about how well both of our race cars are running out of that one team, out of that one building.  The fact of the matter is I think we’ve got to be a little bit better.  Last week we were a whisker away from losing that one.  This weekend maybe we were one pit call away from not winning this one.  We’ve got to continue to improve our product so by the time we get to the Chase we’re where we need to be.
 
            Q.  Chad, you talked about having strategies.  How many different game plans do you have to come into a race with so that if something happens, you’re like, okay, if it’s fuel mileage, we do this.  If somebody short pits or ‑‑
            CHAD KNAUS:  It’s tough.  That’s why I have Rick stand on my box.
            RICK HENDRICK:  I told him in victory lane, I could never be a crew chief.  Never.  I admitted that as soon as you got to victory lane.  I said, I could never do that.
            CHAD KNAUS:  It’s tough.  It really is tough.  We work really hard to try to understand and follow what’s going on.  Last weekend we were only just a little bit away from being able to pull off last weekend.  We did that last pit stop, we came out ahead of the 2 and the 88, and if I hadn’t messed up last weekend and torn up our race car we probably would have had a shot to win there, as well.  It’s really hard and you’ve really got to pay attention.  It ends up being how much are you willing to dedicate to your time, and watching film, paying attention, watching what other teams do leading up to the event, and that’s one thing that Dave Elenz, my lead engineer, and myself, we pride ourselves on paying attention to what happens leading up to an event. So coming into it we feel like we’ve got a good idea what we need to do when situations arise.  It doesn’t always pan out, trust me, but we try really hard. How’s that?
 
            Q.  Chad, with what you guys have been able to do the last seven, eight years, the expectations for your team being so high, I know everybody kept a cool hand before Jimmie’s first win this season, but when the 48 is not winning, is it pressure on you?  Is it miserable?  Like you said, I know you keep a poker hand, but behind the scenes I’ve got to think the expectation is almost win every week or somebody did something wrong.
            CHAD KNAUS:  That is the expectation, obviously.  We go to the racetrack every week with the hopes and the intent of winning the race and sitting on the pole and leading the most laps and doing everything we possibly can.  The reality is that’s very difficult to achieve, so when we don’t run well, I can be grumpy I would say from time to time.  But that’s the way it is.  The expectation is for us to go out there and perform on a weekly basis as the best team out there, and that’s my expectation, and it’s the expectation of all the fans and especially all you media guys because if we falter for two weeks we’re washed up and we’re all getting fired and everything is going crazy.  So if we don’t do that, that’s the only way to keep you guys quiet.
            But it’s been a great year, and we started off a little bit slow.  We said coming into it that we thought it was going to be May time before we were able to hit our stride, and I think that May showed up and we started to run a little bit better, and I hope that we can continue to improve.
            KERRY THARP:  We’re joined now by our race winner, and that is Jimmie Johnson.  He drives the No. 48 Lowe’s Kobalt Tools Chevrolet.  Happy Father’s Day.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Thank you.
 
            Q.  Congratulations on your first win here at Michigan, your third win of the season, and I like how we displayed that on your nameplate with the three wins.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  That was quick.
            KERRY THARP:  We like to work quick in NASCAR.  Jimmie, just talk about the significance of today’s win.  Certainly as I mentioned earlier, five straight wins now for Hendrick Motorsports, but your third win of the season.  We’ve still got several to go here before we set the Chase field, so just talk about now how your team is really starting to kick into gear.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Yeah, I’m just thrilled on multiple levels.  The success that we’ve had as a team, kind of hitting our stride and getting to victory lane three times in the last four weeks, our teammates and their success, the company, and you look at our engines in our cars and what they’re able to do, Rick gives us all the tools to go out there and do our jobs and to have everything so fast and so good, you want it to last forever.  We know that it won’t, but it’s just a good time to sit back and reflect and enjoy it.
            Excited about all those pieces, plus winning on Father’s Day, having my family here, having the boss here.  He wasn’t here at the last race win that we had, so it’s fun to see his face in victory lane, for Chevrolet to win in their own backyard.  We need to switch that stat where that other brand wins too much here and we need to get the bowtie more victories here.  Just a lot of things to be happy for.
 
            Q.  This question is for Jimmie:  When you were going through those final laps, did you have any flashbacks at all of some of the shortcomings you’ve had here or did you focus just on this race, and how did Chad motivate you?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Well, we had a good lead, so it allowed me to take care of my stuff.  When I heard 10 to go, and I’ve been there before with the lead.  I heard 5 to go, I’ve been there before, didn’t win.  Taken the white with the lead and didn’t make it back.  So I was really ‑‑ I wasn’t taking anything for granted on that final trip around, and about 200 yards before the finish line I knew if the ca
r exploded I’d still slide across the finish line and it didn’t matter.  That’s finally when I relaxed and let it go.
 
            Q.  Just for Jimmie, I guess it’s 69 wins, but when you hear first‑time winner Jimmie Johnson anywhere, does it still lighten your mood or make you happy?  When was the last time you were a first‑time winner at a racetrack?  Can you remember that?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  That’s a good question.  Maybe Bristol a couple years ago.  I can’t believe I won to start with.  I don’t know what Rick saw in me or Jeff back in 2001 when they put me in that car, and believe me, when I won my first race, I was like, I thought I had these guys snowed and they’ve given me a year to go out and race.  They did see something.  It is very cool to hear it, and believe me, even at 69 wins, I still cherish them all.  It is not easy to win in this sport, and just thankful for the opportunity.  I’ve been with Rick and with Chad and Lowe’s, you look at that whole synergy of that, we’ve all been together through this entire ride of the 48, and it’s special each time we win.
 
            Q.  Rick, I know you’ve had conversations with these two guys before when things weren’t going as well as you’d hoped, but when things are going really well, do you just completely take a hands‑off approach and let those guys do what they do?  Do you have any conversations with them at all?
            RICK HENDRICK:  No, not really.  I mean, if they need me, I’m there to help them, and they use all the tools that are in the toolbox, but I have nothing ‑‑ not a whole lot I can add, other than just each department doing everything they can do.  I sit in their Tuesday meetings and listen to the feedback from the drivers and the crew chiefs and the engineers, the motor shop and all, and it’s just got to be a crisis for me to get involved.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  He’s the fireman.  He just puts out fires.
 
            Q.  Jimmie, inside NASCAR everybody knows about the crew chiefs and the crews.  Maybe in the general public that’s not the case.  35 laps to go and on the green, you’re in the lead, and the crew chief says this is the time to do it.  Can you just talk about the faith you have in him and the call he made there, taking four tires at that point?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Yeah, you know, I could tell in his voice that he was setting up for something.  I could sense what it was.  When he pulled me to pit lane and the gap that I had over the second spot at that time, I knew that four would be the call.  You may as well put four on if you’ve got time for it.  He made that call and got out on the track, and then again, just going off the tone of his voice and what he was asking me to do with the car, and he kept asking me to save my tires in case there was a caution.  I knew we were good on fuel.  So that gave me a lot of optimism.  And then honestly, once we had our four tires on and fuel in our car, if the caution came out, I still think we were golden.  We had enough to go the distance whereas everybody else was short.  Chad saw an opportunity and really let that develop and took great advantage of it.  I’m sure there was some risk at a small window of time in there, but it really was a win‑win.
 
            Q.  Jimmie, when Brad was in here, he said that he felt like Penske had a little bit of an edge on the aero side but that Hendrick’s edge right now in engines is like a full season ahead of where everybody else is.  Can you size up where you are compared to the competition, and is Penske the primary threat outside the walls of Penske and SHR right now?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I’m not smart enough to tell you whether it’s aero or motor.  I just know our cars are fast.  They run good.  It’s hard to say. The cars are all pretty equal aero‑wise with what the rules are from NASCAR.  But I’m not good enough to pick it out and tell you that we’ve got people beat in just one area.  It’s a team effort.  Our engine shop is very strong.  We’ve always known that.  But it’s hard for me to say exactly where it is.
 
            Q.  Is Penske still looking like maybe the threat outside of ‑‑
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Well, gosh, you look on Fridays and how much speed they have and you can argue a couple points.  Maybe they’ve got great power and able to execute in qualifying trim.  I don’t know.  They seem to have short‑term speed, like big short‑term speed, and we’re slowly working our way that direction.  But I’d say the car that seems to be the best car off the truck to when the checkered falls is still the 4 car, week in and week out.
 
            Q.  I asked Chad a similar question earlier about expectations.  When you’ve won as much as you’ve won, I’ve got to believe it gets more difficult when you don’t win.  How do you prevent that from eating away at you, and how have you been able to overcome what we’ve seen so many other teams fall victim to when there’s expectations?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Honestly I think what’s working for us is the amount of time we have together.  We’ve lost races together.  We’ve lost championships together.  And certainly we’ve had success.  But 69 wins and six championships out of 13 years of racing is a pretty small percentage.  Some of the losses you have are ‑‑ you got what you could that day and you went on, but a lot of those losses in there sting, and I think experience through those moments make us stronger and better.  Everybody knows about 2005 and the milk and cookies meeting that Rick had with us.  I think from that moment on, we were able to be more comfortable, oddly enough, in our own skin, and as a part of team 48.  Nobody is going anywhere.  We’re in this thing together, and we are team 48.
            Falling back on that is really what I tell myself, and it helps us through whatever the stretch might be.
            KERRY THARP:  Congratulations to the No. 48 team for the win here today, and continued best wishes to the 48 team and Hendrick Motorsports the remainder of this season.
 
 
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – HIGHEST FINISHING ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CONTENDER, 8TH:
 
KERRY THARP:  Next up is our top‑finishing Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender.  Finishing eighth today and overcoming certainly several setbacks as the race unfolded, but he battled his way back, and that is Kyle Larson, and he’s the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet.  Kyle, just talk about certainly you had some bad things happen early, then I believe you had a pit road speeding penalty, but you had to admire the fortitude and the persistent effort of the 42 team today.
            KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, man, we had to fight really hard today.  I hate it for whoever got collected in my spin in the begin
ning.  I’m sure Martin Truex was in it because he was racing me really hard all day and he was beat up, so I feel bad for him.  We fought our way back to the top 5 and pretty much stayed there for most of the race, and then with under 50 laps to go I sped on pit road.  I was really bummed about that because I knew we would have a shot to win.  Then I fought really hard after that to finish eighth, and I think Shy made great pit calls all day long, and I screwed up.  I hate it, but still somewhat happy to get a top 10, just disappointed I let my team down.
 
            Q.  It seemed like you were faster.  A lot of drivers were saying it appeared you had more downforce after the bumper cover came off.  Were you surprised by it?  Tony seemed like he was displeased by something.  Did you understand what was going on there?
            KYLE LARSON:  Yes, that’s Tony being Tony.  Yeah, with the Tony issue, I was pretty tight on whoever was inside of me on the restart, and I was looking in my mirror and saw him juke to the right so I juked to the right and he hit me, and I don’t know, he was just trying to teach me a lesson I’m guessing.  Oh, well, that’s two weeks in a row.
            You know, the rear bumper, yeah, I’ve never had that happen before, and it happened so early in the race that I don’t know how it would have handled had I had a rear bumper.  Either way I think we would have had a really good car because we were good in practice, but it probably did help a little bit.
           
            Q.  The track and tires out there today, how did you find the race line, and how did the tires wear?
            KYLE LARSON:  I was surprised how wide the racing actually got.  We were all the way up into the third, fourth groove probably there at the end of the race and running up in the gray, which I was really surprised by, just because in my past Michigan experiences, it normally just gets ‑‑ the groove gets lower, and today it got lower, then worked its way up.
            And as far as tire wear, I don’t think there was any issues, at least I don’t think there was in my camp.  I don’t know about the other teams.  But we usually don’t see much tire wear on a newly repaved track.
 
            Q.  Kyle, in light of Friday’s news, your big news, how important is it to you or what does it mean to you to have another strong run on Father’s Day and how close do you feel you are to a win?
            KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, it would have been cool to get a win today.  I don’t know, I guess it’ll mean more next year.
            I didn’t get to see my dad today.  I texted him.  They’ve been in Indiana watching Midget Week for the USAC series and I’ll actually go there after this to go watch.  Yeah, I texted him, asked him if he was even coming, and he said I’ll probably get there right before the race starts and go sit in the stands.  I told him to make sure he came to victory lane if I won.  Oh, well, we didn’t get it done, but it was still a good day, and I’m sure he was happy to see me get a top 10 after all I had to deal with.
    
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH ALBA COLON, CHEVROLET RACING PROGRAM MANAGER, NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES ~ ACCEPTING HERITAGE TROPHY ON BEHALF OF CHEVROLET FOR JIMMIE JOHNSON’S WIN OF THE QUICKEN LOANS 400 AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:
 
KERRY THARP:  Joining us now is Alba Colon, and she’s a Chevrolet program manager for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.  As we know, the Michigan International Speedway last summer instituted the Heritage Trophy that they present twice a year to the winning manufacturer in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race here at Michigan International Speedway, and it’s a big deal.  That’s a beautiful trophy, and Chevrolet will hang on to that trophy at least until August.  But congratulations, Alba.  Jimmie wins for the first time here at Michigan, but Chevrolet certainly continues to assert itself as just a first‑class manufacturer.  Just talk about what it means to win here today at Michigan.
            ALBA COLON:  Thank you, Kerry, and thank you, everybody.  First of all, I don’t think that we’re planning to return the trophy for many years to come.  No, first of all, thank you very much for having me here today.
            This is a big deal.  It’s a big deal for Chevrolet and especially it’s a really big deal to win at our home track in our backyard, so we are very excited.  In the past, you know, this track hasn’t been that great for our Chevy teams, you know, so to be here today and be able to win and dominate, and having Jimmie, who has tried many times to win at this track, and he had some unfortunate luck the last year, and to be able to be some dominant here and to have other six drivers for a total of seven drivers in the top 10 is really great.
            Trust me, there’s a lot of work that goes on behind everything that we are doing here, not only us but the other manufacturers, and it’s great to have friendly competition and to be able to bring this trophy home to our office, and we’re looking forward to the next August race to see how things go.
 
            Q.  Some of the competitors from your competition were in here earlier and were basically saying that particularly Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet seem to be very much ahead of the game with the new rules package this year, and it’ll be difficult catching up.  I know that trophy is important to you, but how do you see your chances going forward to get the other trophy at the end of the season?
            ALBA COLON:  Thanks for your question.  You know, the season is young.  This is race No. 15 of 36, and we have seen for many seasons that you can be hot, cold at different times of the year.  We have been working very, very hard to be where we are today.  We’re still working on stuff for the future, and of course to get ready for the Chase, what is important, you know, and we are taking it one race at a time.
            It’s great we won today, but next week we have a brand new race that we need to get ready, and one race at a time until we can get both trophies, the manufacturer’s and the driver’s championship.  But do not discount anybody yet.  All the other teams are doing good, and I know that they are working hard, also, one race at a time, to be able to claim both prizes in Homestead.
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUICKEN LOANS 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE DRIVER TRANSCRIPTS
JUNE 15, 2014
 
 
SETTING THE GOLD STANDARD – CHEVROLET WINS AT MICHIGAN
Jimmie Johnson Takes the Gold Bowtie to Victory Lane for Fifth Consecutive time in 2014 and collects his first career win at MIS
 
 
BROOKLYN, MI – June 15, 2014 – With nine laps to go in the Quicken Loans 400, Jimmie Johnson retook the lead for the final time and never looked back.  Johnson, who led the 200-lap event four times for 39 laps, took the checkered flag for his first career win at Michigan International Speedway (MIS).  It took the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion 25 tries to record his first victory at Chevrolet’s home track.
 
“We have figured out every way to lose this race,” said Johnson from Victory Lane. “And today we were able to get it done. A huge thanks to Lowe’s and KOBALT and all the employees at Lowe’s. Thanks to Chevrolet, and the fans, and my fans. I’m excited to win on Father’s Day, having my family here, and having the boss here and for Chevrolet to win in their own backyard. We need to switch that stat where that other brand wins too much here and we need to get the bowtie more victories here.  Just a lot of things to be happy for.”
 
The victory was Chevrolet’s ninth win of the 2014 season; it’s fifth consecutive. It is the third time in the last six seasons the Bowtie Brand has completed this feat.  With the win, Chevrolet will take home the Heritage Trophy, a special award presented by MIS to the winning manufacturer.
 
“This is a big deal, said Alba Colon, Chevrolet program manager for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. “It’s a big deal for Chevrolet and especially it’s a really big deal to win at your home track in our backyard, so we are very excited. In the past, you know, this track hasn’t been that great for our Chevy teams, you know, so to be here today and be able to win and dominate, and having Jimmie, who has tried many times to win at this track, and he had some unfortunate luck the last year, and to be able to be some dominant here and to have other six drivers for a total of seven drivers in the top 10 is really great.”
 
Johnson has accumulated three wins thus far in ’14, and has now been victorious at every venue on the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule with the exception of four tracks: Kentucky Speedway, Watkins Glen International, Chicagoland Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
 
Johnson led Team Chevy to victory, but Chevrolet not only dominated the race, but the top 10 by earning seven of the highest finishing positions.  Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS finished second. Paul Menard followed in his No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet SS finishing fourth matching his career best finish at the 2-mile track earning his third fourth-place finish.
 
After getting involved in an on-track incident on lap seven, Kasey Kahne and the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS team rallied to earn a fifth-place finish, his second of the season.  Jeff Gordon had a solid run finishing sixth.  The run helped him and the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet SS team maintain the point’s lead by 15 markers over fellow Chevrolet driver and MIS race winner Johnson.
 
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. moved up to third in the point standings with his seventh-place finish at MIS.  The driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Superman Chevrolet SS fought a loose race car in the closing laps, but held on to earn his 10th top 10 finish of 2014.
 
Rookie of the Year contender Kyle Larson earned the title of top finishing rookie for the 11th time this season earning an eighth-place finish during his first trip to the 2-mile track.  Larson now sits eighth in the series standings and rounded out the Chevy power finishing in the top 10 at Chevy’s home track nestled in the Irish Hills of Michigan.
 
Brad Keselowski (Ford) was third to round out the top five finishing order.
 
The Sprint Cup Series travels to the West Coast next weekend as Team Chevy drivers and teams get ready to compete turning left and right on the 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course in Sonoma, California on June 22nd. 
 
 
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS, CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF AND TEAM OWNER RICK HENDRICK – RACE WINNERS
          
KERRY THARP:  We’re going to hear now from our winning owner of today’s 46th annual Quicken Loans 400 here at Michigan International Speedway, winning for the first time, the No. 48 team in the Lowe’s Kobalt Tools Chevrolet here at Michigan, but it’s the third win of the season.  Certainly right now that looms big as the season continues to unfold.  Rick, congratulations.  This is your fifth straight win in the Sprint Cup Series, the third time that has happened in your organization’s history.  You did that twice in 2007, and that time you also had a streak of six straight wins back in 2007. Congratulations.  Maybe just talk about this win today and just about how the overall organization is performing.
            RICK HENDRICK:  Well, this is a great win for a lot of reasons.  One for here in Michigan for Chevrolet, and being a Chevrolet dealer and racing Chevrolets, this means a lot to win this race.  It’s good to see Jimmie after leading so many laps here close the deal because we’ve run out of gas, broke motors, blown tires.  I think I remember a couple times coming off of 4 and losing it.  For him to be able to finish it off today, it was really good.
            And again, to keep the streak going, get five, that’s great.  This was a good race, and it just played out the way we needed it to play out, and all our cars ran well, and I think we were a little off early in the year, and we’ve been kind of clicking here lately, and real proud of all the guys at the Motorsports because of working hard together, and Kasey had a good day, and just a tribute to Chad and all the crew chiefs and drivers working hard, working together, the engine shop, chassis shop.  Everybody is really putting out a lot of effort right now, and it’s paying off.
            KERRY THARP:  And our winning crew chief is Chad Knaus.  Chad, certainly it was a good race.  It featured a little bit of everything, and certainly the role that the entire team played today was big.  I think it just showed again today how big of a team sport this is but certainly 48 once again made the right calls and things came your way, and now you’ve got five straight wins in the Hendrick camp and then three wins for Jimmie Johnson.  That leads all Chase drivers, so just talk about the significance of today’s win.
            CHAD KNAUS:  That’s pretty cool stats you’ve got there, Kerry.  Thanks.
            Today was just great.  My allergies are kicking in right now so I’m struggling a little bit.  But it was a long time coming.  Obviously we enjoy coming up here to Michigan, and we’ve raced very well up here, and we haven’t been able to close the deal on quite a few occasions, so coming in here very optimistic after what we did at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the way the company ran at Pocono, as well, so we felt like we had an opportunity.  We qualified solid.
            The Kobalt Chevrolet this weekend was really, really fast.  Same race car that we had at Charlotte Motor Speedway so that was a good decision on our part to g
et that joker turned around and brought to the track.  The guys had solid pit stops today, good strategy.  We knew there was going to be some opportunities to play some strategy today.  We also knew that if you had a fast race car you could maybe overcome strategy that maybe somebody else would play.  So we were fortunate enough to have a very fast race car and hit the strategy correct at the right time, and obviously put it all together for a solid win.
            And as far as Hendrick Motorsports goes, I think if you go back and look starting at Daytona, the engine shop and the chassis shop, the way that the Hendrick Motorsports affiliated teams and team itself has performed has been pretty impressive as a whole.  The chassis shop, we know we build chassis for a lot of the other competitors, as well, and those cars have ran very, very well.  The teams that have run with our engines have run very, very well, as well. It’s been pretty awesome, and I couldn’t be prouder of the guys in the 48/88 shop to be able to win four races in a row.  I think that speaks volumes about how well both of our race cars are running out of that one team, out of that one building.  The fact of the matter is I think we’ve got to be a little bit better.  Last week we were a whisker away from losing that one.  This weekend maybe we were one pit call away from not winning this one.  We’ve got to continue to improve our product so by the time we get to the Chase we’re where we need to be.
 
            Q.  Chad, you talked about having strategies.  How many different game plans do you have to come into a race with so that if something happens, you’re like, okay, if it’s fuel mileage, we do this.  If somebody short pits or ‑‑
            CHAD KNAUS:  It’s tough.  That’s why I have Rick stand on my box.
            RICK HENDRICK:  I told him in victory lane, I could never be a crew chief.  Never.  I admitted that as soon as you got to victory lane.  I said, I could never do that.
            CHAD KNAUS:  It’s tough.  It really is tough.  We work really hard to try to understand and follow what’s going on.  Last weekend we were only just a little bit away from being able to pull off last weekend.  We did that last pit stop, we came out ahead of the 2 and the 88, and if I hadn’t messed up last weekend and torn up our race car we probably would have had a shot to win there, as well.  It’s really hard and you’ve really got to pay attention.  It ends up being how much are you willing to dedicate to your time, and watching film, paying attention, watching what other teams do leading up to the event, and that’s one thing that Dave Elenz, my lead engineer, and myself, we pride ourselves on paying attention to what happens leading up to an event. So coming into it we feel like we’ve got a good idea what we need to do when situations arise.  It doesn’t always pan out, trust me, but we try really hard. How’s that?
 
            Q.  Chad, with what you guys have been able to do the last seven, eight years, the expectations for your team being so high, I know everybody kept a cool hand before Jimmie’s first win this season, but when the 48 is not winning, is it pressure on you?  Is it miserable?  Like you said, I know you keep a poker hand, but behind the scenes I’ve got to think the expectation is almost win every week or somebody did something wrong.
            CHAD KNAUS:  That is the expectation, obviously.  We go to the racetrack every week with the hopes and the intent of winning the race and sitting on the pole and leading the most laps and doing everything we possibly can.  The reality is that’s very difficult to achieve, so when we don’t run well, I can be grumpy I would say from time to time.  But that’s the way it is.  The expectation is for us to go out there and perform on a weekly basis as the best team out there, and that’s my expectation, and it’s the expectation of all the fans and especially all you media guys because if we falter for two weeks we’re washed up and we’re all getting fired and everything is going crazy.  So if we don’t do that, that’s the only way to keep you guys quiet.
            But it’s been a great year, and we started off a little bit slow.  We said coming into it that we thought it was going to be May time before we were able to hit our stride, and I think that May showed up and we started to run a little bit better, and I hope that we can continue to improve.
            KERRY THARP:  We’re joined now by our race winner, and that is Jimmie Johnson.  He drives the No. 48 Lowe’s Kobalt Tools Chevrolet.  Happy Father’s Day.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Thank you.
 
            Q.  Congratulations on your first win here at Michigan, your third win of the season, and I like how we displayed that on your nameplate with the three wins.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  That was quick.
            KERRY THARP:  We like to work quick in NASCAR.  Jimmie, just talk about the significance of today’s win.  Certainly as I mentioned earlier, five straight wins now for Hendrick Motorsports, but your third win of the season.  We’ve still got several to go here before we set the Chase field, so just talk about now how your team is really starting to kick into gear.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Yeah, I’m just thrilled on multiple levels.  The success that we’ve had as a team, kind of hitting our stride and getting to victory lane three times in the last four weeks, our teammates and their success, the company, and you look at our engines in our cars and what they’re able to do, Rick gives us all the tools to go out there and do our jobs and to have everything so fast and so good, you want it to last forever.  We know that it won’t, but it’s just a good time to sit back and reflect and enjoy it.
            Excited about all those pieces, plus winning on Father’s Day, having my family here, having the boss here.  He wasn’t here at the last race win that we had, so it’s fun to see his face in victory lane, for Chevrolet to win in their own backyard.  We need to switch that stat where that other brand wins too much here and we need to get the bowtie more victories here.  Just a lot of things to be happy for.
 
            Q.  This question is for Jimmie:  When you were going through those final laps, did you have any flashbacks at all of some of the shortcomings you’ve had here or did you focus just on this race, and how did Chad motivate you?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Well, we had a good lead, so it allowed me to take care of my stuff.  When I heard 10 to go, and I’ve been there before with the lead.  I heard 5 to go, I’ve been there before, didn’t win.  Taken the white with the lead and didn’t make it back.  So I was really ‑‑ I wasn’t taking anything for granted on that final trip around, and about 200 yards before the finish line I knew if the ca
r exploded I’d still slide across the finish line and it didn’t matter.  That’s finally when I relaxed and let it go.
 
            Q.  Just for Jimmie, I guess it’s 69 wins, but when you hear first‑time winner Jimmie Johnson anywhere, does it still lighten your mood or make you happy?  When was the last time you were a first‑time winner at a racetrack?  Can you remember that?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  That’s a good question.  Maybe Bristol a couple years ago.  I can’t believe I won to start with.  I don’t know what Rick saw in me or Jeff back in 2001 when they put me in that car, and believe me, when I won my first race, I was like, I thought I had these guys snowed and they’ve given me a year to go out and race.  They did see something.  It is very cool to hear it, and believe me, even at 69 wins, I still cherish them all.  It is not easy to win in this sport, and just thankful for the opportunity.  I’ve been with Rick and with Chad and Lowe’s, you look at that whole synergy of that, we’ve all been together through this entire ride of the 48, and it’s special each time we win.
 
            Q.  Rick, I know you’ve had conversations with these two guys before when things weren’t going as well as you’d hoped, but when things are going really well, do you just completely take a hands‑off approach and let those guys do what they do?  Do you have any conversations with them at all?
            RICK HENDRICK:  No, not really.  I mean, if they need me, I’m there to help them, and they use all the tools that are in the toolbox, but I have nothing ‑‑ not a whole lot I can add, other than just each department doing everything they can do.  I sit in their Tuesday meetings and listen to the feedback from the drivers and the crew chiefs and the engineers, the motor shop and all, and it’s just got to be a crisis for me to get involved.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  He’s the fireman.  He just puts out fires.
 
            Q.  Jimmie, inside NASCAR everybody knows about the crew chiefs and the crews.  Maybe in the general public that’s not the case.  35 laps to go and on the green, you’re in the lead, and the crew chief says this is the time to do it.  Can you just talk about the faith you have in him and the call he made there, taking four tires at that point?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Yeah, you know, I could tell in his voice that he was setting up for something.  I could sense what it was.  When he pulled me to pit lane and the gap that I had over the second spot at that time, I knew that four would be the call.  You may as well put four on if you’ve got time for it.  He made that call and got out on the track, and then again, just going off the tone of his voice and what he was asking me to do with the car, and he kept asking me to save my tires in case there was a caution.  I knew we were good on fuel.  So that gave me a lot of optimism.  And then honestly, once we had our four tires on and fuel in our car, if the caution came out, I still think we were golden.  We had enough to go the distance whereas everybody else was short.  Chad saw an opportunity and really let that develop and took great advantage of it.  I’m sure there was some risk at a small window of time in there, but it really was a win‑win.
 
            Q.  Jimmie, when Brad was in here, he said that he felt like Penske had a little bit of an edge on the aero side but that Hendrick’s edge right now in engines is like a full season ahead of where everybody else is.  Can you size up where you are compared to the competition, and is Penske the primary threat outside the walls of Penske and SHR right now?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I’m not smart enough to tell you whether it’s aero or motor.  I just know our cars are fast.  They run good.  It’s hard to say. The cars are all pretty equal aero‑wise with what the rules are from NASCAR.  But I’m not good enough to pick it out and tell you that we’ve got people beat in just one area.  It’s a team effort.  Our engine shop is very strong.  We’ve always known that.  But it’s hard for me to say exactly where it is.
 
            Q.  Is Penske still looking like maybe the threat outside of ‑‑
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Well, gosh, you look on Fridays and how much speed they have and you can argue a couple points.  Maybe they’ve got great power and able to execute in qualifying trim.  I don’t know.  They seem to have short‑term speed, like big short‑term speed, and we’re slowly working our way that direction.  But I’d say the car that seems to be the best car off the truck to when the checkered falls is still the 4 car, week in and week out.
 
            Q.  I asked Chad a similar question earlier about expectations.  When you’ve won as much as you’ve won, I’ve got to believe it gets more difficult when you don’t win.  How do you prevent that from eating away at you, and how have you been able to overcome what we’ve seen so many other teams fall victim to when there’s expectations?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Honestly I think what’s working for us is the amount of time we have together.  We’ve lost races together.  We’ve lost championships together.  And certainly we’ve had success.  But 69 wins and six championships out of 13 years of racing is a pretty small percentage.  Some of the losses you have are ‑‑ you got what you could that day and you went on, but a lot of those losses in there sting, and I think experience through those moments make us stronger and better.  Everybody knows about 2005 and the milk and cookies meeting that Rick had with us.  I think from that moment on, we were able to be more comfortable, oddly enough, in our own skin, and as a part of team 48.  Nobody is going anywhere.  We’re in this thing together, and we are team 48.
            Falling back on that is really what I tell myself, and it helps us through whatever the stretch might be.
            KERRY THARP:  Congratulations to the No. 48 team for the win here today, and continued best wishes to the 48 team and Hendrick Motorsports the remainder of this season.
 
 
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – HIGHEST FINISHING ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CONTENDER, 8TH:
 
KERRY THARP:  Next up is our top‑finishing Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender.  Finishing eighth today and overcoming certainly several setbacks as the race unfolded, but he battled his way back, and that is Kyle Larson, and he’s the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet.  Kyle, just talk about certainly you had some bad things happen early, then I believe you had a pit road speeding penalty, but you had to admire the fortitude and the persistent effort of the 42 team today.
            KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, man, we had to fight really hard today.  I hate it for whoever got collected in my spin in the begin
ning.  I’m sure Martin Truex was in it because he was racing me really hard all day and he was beat up, so I feel bad for him.  We fought our way back to the top 5 and pretty much stayed there for most of the race, and then with under 50 laps to go I sped on pit road.  I was really bummed about that because I knew we would have a shot to win.  Then I fought really hard after that to finish eighth, and I think Shy made great pit calls all day long, and I screwed up.  I hate it, but still somewhat happy to get a top 10, just disappointed I let my team down.
 
            Q.  It seemed like you were faster.  A lot of drivers were saying it appeared you had more downforce after the bumper cover came off.  Were you surprised by it?  Tony seemed like he was displeased by something.  Did you understand what was going on there?
            KYLE LARSON:  Yes, that’s Tony being Tony.  Yeah, with the Tony issue, I was pretty tight on whoever was inside of me on the restart, and I was looking in my mirror and saw him juke to the right so I juked to the right and he hit me, and I don’t know, he was just trying to teach me a lesson I’m guessing.  Oh, well, that’s two weeks in a row.
            You know, the rear bumper, yeah, I’ve never had that happen before, and it happened so early in the race that I don’t know how it would have handled had I had a rear bumper.  Either way I think we would have had a really good car because we were good in practice, but it probably did help a little bit.
           
            Q.  The track and tires out there today, how did you find the race line, and how did the tires wear?
            KYLE LARSON:  I was surprised how wide the racing actually got.  We were all the way up into the third, fourth groove probably there at the end of the race and running up in the gray, which I was really surprised by, just because in my past Michigan experiences, it normally just gets ‑‑ the groove gets lower, and today it got lower, then worked its way up.
            And as far as tire wear, I don’t think there was any issues, at least I don’t think there was in my camp.  I don’t know about the other teams.  But we usually don’t see much tire wear on a newly repaved track.
 
            Q.  Kyle, in light of Friday’s news, your big news, how important is it to you or what does it mean to you to have another strong run on Father’s Day and how close do you feel you are to a win?
            KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, it would have been cool to get a win today.  I don’t know, I guess it’ll mean more next year.
            I didn’t get to see my dad today.  I texted him.  They’ve been in Indiana watching Midget Week for the USAC series and I’ll actually go there after this to go watch.  Yeah, I texted him, asked him if he was even coming, and he said I’ll probably get there right before the race starts and go sit in the stands.  I told him to make sure he came to victory lane if I won.  Oh, well, we didn’t get it done, but it was still a good day, and I’m sure he was happy to see me get a top 10 after all I had to deal with.
    
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH ALBA COLON, CHEVROLET RACING PROGRAM MANAGER, NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES ~ ACCEPTING HERITAGE TROPHY ON BEHALF OF CHEVROLET FOR JIMMIE JOHNSON’S WIN OF THE QUICKEN LOANS 400 AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:
 
KERRY THARP:  Joining us now is Alba Colon, and she’s a Chevrolet program manager for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.  As we know, the Michigan International Speedway last summer instituted the Heritage Trophy that they present twice a year to the winning manufacturer in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race here at Michigan International Speedway, and it’s a big deal.  That’s a beautiful trophy, and Chevrolet will hang on to that trophy at least until August.  But congratulations, Alba.  Jimmie wins for the first time here at Michigan, but Chevrolet certainly continues to assert itself as just a first‑class manufacturer.  Just talk about what it means to win here today at Michigan.
            ALBA COLON:  Thank you, Kerry, and thank you, everybody.  First of all, I don’t think that we’re planning to return the trophy for many years to come.  No, first of all, thank you very much for having me here today.
            This is a big deal.  It’s a big deal for Chevrolet and especially it’s a really big deal to win at our home track in our backyard, so we are very excited.  In the past, you know, this track hasn’t been that great for our Chevy teams, you know, so to be here today and be able to win and dominate, and having Jimmie, who has tried many times to win at this track, and he had some unfortunate luck the last year, and to be able to be some dominant here and to have other six drivers for a total of seven drivers in the top 10 is really great.
            Trust me, there’s a lot of work that goes on behind everything that we are doing here, not only us but the other manufacturers, and it’s great to have friendly competition and to be able to bring this trophy home to our office, and we’re looking forward to the next August race to see how things go.
 
            Q.  Some of the competitors from your competition were in here earlier and were basically saying that particularly Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet seem to be very much ahead of the game with the new rules package this year, and it’ll be difficult catching up.  I know that trophy is important to you, but how do you see your chances going forward to get the other trophy at the end of the season?
            ALBA COLON:  Thanks for your question.  You know, the season is young.  This is race No. 15 of 36, and we have seen for many seasons that you can be hot, cold at different times of the year.  We have been working very, very hard to be where we are today.  We’re still working on stuff for the future, and of course to get ready for the Chase, what is important, you know, and we are taking it one race at a time.
            It’s great we won today, but next week we have a brand new race that we need to get ready, and one race at a time until we can get both trophies, the manufacturer’s and the driver’s championship.  But do not discount anybody yet.  All the other teams are doing good, and I know that they are working hard, also, one race at a time, to be able to claim both prizes in Homestead.
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUICKEN LOANS 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
JUNE 15, 2014
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS – Race Winner
THIS RACE HAS GOT TO HAVE BEEN A TOUGH ONE TO PUT THAT CHECKMARK NEXT TO IT WITH A WIN:
“Yeah, it has been. We have figured out every way to lose this race. And today we were able to get it done. A huge thanks to Lowe’s and KOBALT and all the employees at Lowe’s; I encourage everybody to enjoy this great spring weather and do a little shopping now. Thanks to Chevrolet and the fans and my fans. And for so many years, my dad was here and I wanted to win this race with him here. But I know he’s up in Upper Michigan with my two brothers, racing some off-road trucks. So, Dad, we did it finally. And then as a father (himself), what an awesome day. It tickles me deep. And I sure want to win everybody out there a Happy Father’s Day.”
 
JOHN KNAUS, CHAD’S FATHER, IS ALSO VERY PROUD OF THE CALL HE MADE ON THE PIT BOX.
“For sure. We just saw John in Chicago. We were doing a tire test there. It’s wild, I’m sure, for a parent, and I’ll experience it someday, to watch your kids take off and do something. I don’t want to get old, but I look forward to that day and I know it’s out there for me (laughs). But it was an awesome performance. I have to thank everybody at Hendrick Motorsports and Mr. H. That’s five in a row for the Hendrick organization. Great power under the hood. It was a fantastic race car. I thank everybody for all they do.”
 
ON HIS WIN TODAY:
“Just so happy to do it. We’ve always talked about winning here and have been so close. I want to thank all the fans for the awesome turnout today. There was a bunch of you out there. Big thanks to Lowe’s and Kobalt.  Want to encourage everybody with the rest of the afternoon, the nice day that you have, to  go to Lowe’s and buy some stuff and plant it in your yard, or whatever you have got to do. But just an awesome performance.  As those laps wounds down at the end, I was just wondering what was going to happen, and fortunately nothing did.
 
DID  YOU HEAR ANYTHING IN THE CAR?
“I’ve been through so much here, I just kind of put my arms up in the air and said ‘Well, if it going to happen, it’s going to happen – there is nothing I can do about it’. But we had a fast, fast race car, and Chad (Knaus, crew chief) knew the strategy he wanted to play at the end, and he nailed it just right.”
 
TALK ABOUT CHAD’S STRATEGY:
“We really were in a win-win situation. Those guys still had to come to pit road to make it to the end. Once I got an idea of how the race was unfolding, I knew we were in the catbird seat, and were able to take advantage of it.”
 
WHAT DOES THIS WIN SAY ABOUT WHERE THIS RACE TEAM IS? YOU HAVE WON THREE OF THE LAST FOUR RACES:
“We are getting stronger as the No. 48 – there is no doubt about that. I think it is obvious that Hendrick Motorsports produces fast race cars. They build fast engines. It doesn’t matter if it is Stewart-Haas, or the Hendrick organization. We’re winning a lot of races, and running up front. So, we just have to do the best that we can to get stronger as the Chase gets closer, and make sure we are on our game when the Chase gets here.”
 
CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS – Winnner
YOU HAVE COME CLOSE TO WINNING SO MANY TIMES. WERE YOU HOLDING YOUR BREATH FOR THOSE LAST 5 LAPS?
“Yeah, because it seems like we’ve had that opportunity in the past. And with less than five laps to go, we’ve had issues of some form or fashion. So, I just can’t say enough about everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. They’ve just done a great job and I’m really proud of Jimmie (Johnson) and the guys.”

CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Runner-Up Finish for Corvette C7.R
Garcia, Magnussen, Taylor lead Corvette Racing effort with GTE Pro podium
 
LE MANS, France (June 15, 2014) – The new Chevrolet Corvette C7.R is a podium finisher in its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor were runners- up in the GTE Pro class in Corvette Racing’s No. 73 Corvette C7.R thanks to late-race heroics by the trio.
 
Despite losing valuable laps due to safety car nuances and a faulty valve stem for the Corvette’s air jack system, the No. 73 Corvette and its drivers completed 338 laps and finished a lap shy of the team’s first victory at the French endurance classic since 2011. The runner-up Corvette traveled 2,862.52 miles in the event.
 
“It was an honor to race the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTE Pro class,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “While Corvette Racing has won in class seven times, we are proud of the persistence, determination and teamwork from the drivers, engineers and crew that delivered a runner-up finish for the new Corvette C7.R. The team’s ‘never-give-up’ approach was evident during each lap, pit stop and driver rotation.
 
“Every race, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, provides a great opportunity to learn on the track and then enhance the technologies in the Corvette road car.”
 
Campbell added: “Thanks to the Corvette and Chevrolet owners who supported the Corvette Racing efforts at Le Mans or followed the racing action this weekend from around the world.”
 
The first daylight hours Sunday saw the trio fighting back after losing laps to a faulty valve stem for the car’s air jack and twice being separated from its competitors by a safety car in the race’s opening 12 hours. The No. 73 Corvette led for extended periods in the early portion of the race.
 
The final four hours of the race started with Taylor trailing the third-place Porsche by about 90 seconds before the young American drove a storming triple-stint to close the gap by more than half to 47 seconds. By the time he handed the No. 73 Corvette over to Magnussen and the Dane completed his first flying lap of his final stint, the interval to the new second-place Porsche was 28 seconds with an hour and 40 minutes left.
 
Magnussen drove a single stint and handed over to Garcia. The Spaniard took out huge chunks of time and took the second position for good when the Porsche pitted with trouble 75 minutes from the end.
 
The No. 74 Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook placed fourth in class. The car had been running in podium contention as well before losing eight laps due to a slipped alternator belt and gearbox leak.
 
Gavin had reported a low voltage reading and a burning smell inside the car near the halfway point. Upon further examination, the crew found the alternator belt covered oil.
 
“As always, Le Mans was a stern test,” said Mark Kent, Director of Chevrolet Racing. “Achieving a runner-up position for the No. 73 Corvette is remarkable. It is a great reward for the dedication and work ethic of our team at Corvette Racing, Pratt & Miller and our Powertrain Group. We look forward to continuing this momentum when we return to the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship at Watkins Glen in two weeks.”
 
Corvette Racing’s next race is the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen on Sunday, June 29 from Watkins Glen International. The event will air live at 11 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
 
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 73 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“We weren’t able to go for a win at the end. Things don’t always work out the way you planned, and when they don’t you always try to go for the next best option. At some point all the lead GTE Pro cars had issues; we had ours and they had theirs. At one point we were really down the order but we dug our heels in and slowly climbed back up the order, ready to strike when possible. So throughout the night and morning we moved back up the leaderboard – at the same time putting as much pressure on the other as we could. For most of the race we had the fastest car out there and we managed to finish in second a lap behind the leader; exactly the amount of time we lost in repairs at the beginning. I therefore can’t complain, and the lessons learned today will be implemented next year.”
 
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 73 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It’s hard to be satisfied with second since it started so well for us a day ago. We had the car to win but as so often happens in Le Mans, things get in the way. We had some small issues in the pits and quite often picked up the wrong safety car. Three times I was stuck right behind the safety car which means you lose at least one third of a lap. But everybody performed flawlessly – especially Antonio and Jordan – but also the crew and the engineers did a stellar job.”
 
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 73 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“My last stint was my best-ever stint in Le Mans, no doubt about it. The car was awesome and we were much better on the tires than the Porsche we beat to third at the end. We triple-stinted our tires but they only double-stinted. Regardless we had the strongest package out there today. We were just unfortunate in the beginning  of the race.”
 
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 74 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“Our teammates did a fantastic job recovering from a broken air jack and losing some time. That’s pretty much what cost them victory but they got a great second place, and they are fully deserving of that.
“For us, the gearbox issue we had cost us seven laps and that’s how far we finished behind the leader. You could say that was what cost us victory. Our car wasn’t necessarily the fastest but we all worked extremely hard at it. Fourth is a good result but we were here to win. By not winning, you’re disappointed, you’re frustrated and you realize another year has gone by. But you also have to come back and shoot for it again the next year.”
 
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 74 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“First of all congrats to the winners, and to Jan, Antonio and Jordan. They drove a great race. All three of them were quick all weekend. We were just not quite there all weekend. In the race, certainly anything can happen. You look past the issues you had in practice. Obviously the first part of the race went fairly well. But still you could see that our pace wasn’t quite what it needed to be with outright speed. In these kind of races not having trouble, not making mistakes, that is the biggest key. We did that for the first 12 hours  then we started having little problems here and there. It is always fun to coming here to Le Mans, especially with this team. All the people in France seem to like our cars and the loud, thunderous V8s that we have. It is always an experience coming here. No matter if you finish first or last, it is a fun week, and one that I look forward to every year.”
 
RICHARD WESTBROOK, NO. 74 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“This race just shows you how far we have come in a year: with a new car fighting at the front for a good chunk of the race, for more than half the race. We had a couple of issues out there, but that famous Chevrolet and Corvette Racing never-say-die attitude shown through. I am really, really proud to be part of this team and seeing everyone fight at the end of the race and claw our way back. Like I said, we’ve come a long way and the future looks bright for this car.”
 
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“The race today clearly demonstrated why Le Mans is such difficult, demanding and awe-inspiring race. The final hours of the event required a passionate effort by Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor – along with the efforts of the entire Corvette Racing crew, engineers and the GM Powertrain team. The podium experience at L
e Mans is truly an Olympic moment. Congratulations to everyone at Corvette Racing and thanks to all our fans for their unequalled support. ”
 

CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Corvette C7.R Fights for Podium
Taylor racing toward third-place; No. 74 Corvette fighting back
 
LE MANS, France (June 15, 2014) – With six hours left to go, Corvette Racing’s No. 73 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R continued to fight for a podium position in the GTE Pro class during its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Antonio Garcia ran fourth as he tried to chase down the third-place Porsche with both cars on the same lap after 18 hours.
 
The Spaniard was 68 seconds from third place in the car he shares with Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor. The first daylight hours Sunday saw the trio fighting back after losing laps to a faulty valve stem for the car’s air jack and twice being separated from its competitors by a safety car in the race’s opening 12 hours.
 
Richard Westbrook was fifth in class driving the No. 74 Corvette C7.R. The car had been running in podium contention as well before losing eight laps due to a slipped alternator belt and gearbox leak. Oliver Gavin, driving with Westbrook and Tommy Milner, had reported a low voltage reading and a burning smell inside the car near the halfway point. Upon further examination, the crew found the alternator belt covered oil.
 
The next Corvette Racing update from Le Mans will be the final race recap at 3 p.m. CT/9a.m. ET.
 
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 73 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It’s going quite well, actually. We’ve got good speed in the car, handling is perfect and we’re going as fast as we can. We’re a lap behind the Porsche in third position, so it will be impossible to catch them on the track, but we’re trying. You never know what happens next. After all, this is Le Mans.”
 
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 74 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was quite tough. We lost telemetry. We had to change brakes; Richard was struggling with that. We thought we had fixed the telemetry but that didn’t work. We were trying to monitor the tire pressures, and that didn’t work. I thought I had a tire going down; the car was oversteering massively to the right and it was locking up the left-front. I think it was a symptom of the pressures being cold because we didn’t have a way to measure them with no telemetry. They couldn’t tell me what happened. The tire was low but it wasn’t going down. Then we had a belt come off the alternator and we may have a small gearbox leak. There are a lots of little things that just haven’t run with us over the last few hours. There is still long way to go so we can’t think it’s all over. But the car is quiet edgy to drive. Richard, Tommy and myself will try our hard to keep pushing and pushing. Everyone on the team is motivated but our backs are against the wall.”
 

CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Corvette C7.R Remains in Contention
Milner triple-stint keeps No. 74 Corvette in lead fight; Garcia’s triple keeps No. 73 close
 
LE MANS, France (June 15, 2014) – The Chevrolet Corvette C7.R remained in contention through the halfway point of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as Tommy Milner’s triple stint kept Corvette Racing’s No. 74 Corvette in the hunt for a class victory. Milner ran second in GTE Pro as green-flag pit stops cycled through at the 12-hour mark.
 
The young American stayed within reach of the GTE Pro class-leading Aston Martin after 12 hours of the French endurance classic while withstanding intense pressure from the highest-placed Ferrari at halfway. Earlier, teammates Oliver Gavin and Richard Westbrook each took turns leading in class.
 
As the race reached halfway, Westbrook was turning his opening laps of his stint. He and the leading Aston Martin were nearly on the same pit strategy with the Corvette in third place.
 
The top four cars in class were on the lead lap in the dark of night around Le Mans.
 
Jordan Taylor was fifth in class in the No. 73 Corvette – this after the car lost nearly two laps in the pits when the valve stem that allows the car to be raised on its air jacks failed. Jan Magnussen, Taylor’s teammate along with Antonio, led the race just 40 minutes in before, during and after a hard rain in the opening hour.
 
Garcia also ran a triple-stint during the night to inch the No. 73 Corvette toward recovering its lost lap.
 
The next Corvette Racing update from Le Mans will be the halfway report at 9 a.m. CT/3 a.m. ET.
 
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 73 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“I had a couple of hard stints as it seems we’re struggling to find the speed we had earlier. We also had a problem with the air hose of the jacks, which put us a lap down. Antonio is now running on a different tire compound and is making up some of the lost ground. The track also felt different than it did earlier today.”
 
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 73 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“That was pretty good – my first triple stint of the race, with no cautions, just racing. It was challenging to find out how far you could push and what to expect from the tires. After the first stint the tires felt great, and they still did after the second, but you still have that question mark in your head on whether they’ll last through the third stint or maybe suddenly drop off. But those Michelins are pretty consistent so no worries there. I managed to keep a pretty decent pace throughout my three stints, and I think I was one of the fastest in our class throughout. It’s a shame what happened to us earlier, because with the leaders racing as close as they do it will be difficult to catch up an entire lap. But I’m glad the other car is up there.”
 
RICHARD WESTBROOK, NO. 74 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“We were having a good battle with the Aston Martin and Ferrari. Unfortunately the safety car bunched things up to make it a lot more interesting. The Aston was very strong at the end. We have a very good Corvette C7.R. It’s cooling off now so conditions are changing. Grip level has come down somewhat but there is still a long way to go. It’s nice to be fighting at the front and we want to keep that going.”
 
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 74 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“For a little bit I had caught the Ferrari and the Aston Martin and had gotten by the Ferrari. I got a nice tow from the Aston for quite awhile that got my best laps of the day. It was fun. The car was pretty good. We tried to triple stint there, and it’s good to know we can go that long. The tire wasn’t that great at the end but it was still a benefit time-wise. The car is good and we have to keep pounding around.”
 

CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Corvette C7.R Leads After Six Hours
Westbrook has No. 74 Corvette out front in GTE Pro; Taylor fifth and gaining
 
LE MANS, France (June 14, 2014) – Corvette Racing’s two Corvette C7.R race cars have shown well in their debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After six hours, Richard Westbrook led by nearly 30 seconds in the No. 74 Corvette that he shares with Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner.
 
Westbrook led a group of six cars on the lead lap that included Jordan Taylor in the No. 73 Corvette C7.R that was less than 90 seconds off the sister car’s pace. Both Corvettes led in the opening quarter of the race.
 
Jan Magnussen, sharing the No. 73 Corvette with Taylor and Antonio Garcia, put the Corvette C7.R into the lead at Le Mans for the first time 40 minutes into the race. He swapped positions with the first of the Ferraris, moving ahead once again on a dangerous and damp track.
 
Gavin also led in the No. 74 car during his stint as the Corvette Racing team elected to keep him out on dry tires during the wet safety car period. After the next pit stop cycle, Milner passed two Porsches in the span of a minute to go from third to first at the 3:30 mark.
 
The next Corvette Racing update from Le Mans will be the halfway report at 3 a.m. CT/9 p.m. ET.
 
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 73 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
(Opening stint) “I’m happy with my first two stints. We have a really good car; I just had to be careful not to overdrive it. As soon as you do the car lets you know it doesn’t like it, so I took it easy, staying right within the limits. Then the rain came, at first a light drizzle. When I hit the wet part of the track I had the better momentum and passed (Gianmaria) Bruni for the lead. Then I just slowed down as the weather got worse. I had a big moment on the Mulsanne but managed to catch the car just in time. Even behind the safety car I was at the limit; one mile per hour faster and I might have shunted so I asked for rain tires. Even if it dries out quickly we have a car good enough to lose some time now and catch it back up later. We’re only two hours into the race, so why take the risk?”
 
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
(How unpredictable was the weather in your stint?) “Those were tricky conditions and difficult at times. I’m pleased we made the call to stay out. Certainly when it first started to rain coming into the first chicane when the Audi crashed, I was really unsure what was going to happen. There were sheets of rain coming down. You could see it sitting on the surface and the car starts to glide. You just have to let it glide and coast. Fortunately I was able to get the car slow enough to get through the chicane and stay out of trouble. Even under the safety car, I was going 30-40 mph and still aquaplaning. In those conditions you’re doing all you can to survive. Then we realized it was short-lived and we thought we could make it work on the slick tire behind the safety car so we stayed out. I wasn’t sure but Chuck (Houghton, engineer) convinced me enough, and we did it. That put us in a position where we could capitalize.”
(How was the car in the dry?) “It’s a little bit edgy and tricky in the full dry with the tire we were on. It looked like everyone was struggling with the same thing; it was a matter of how forgiving you’ve made your car. As the circuit rubbers up, the car should be easier to drive. That’s certainly what we are hoping. By the time we get through the evening and into the morning, we should be looking good.”
 
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 74 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
(How was the stint?) “It’s a good start to the race for us. I’m still a little cautiously optimistic. We haven’t been super-quick all weekend. Our teammates have had the better of us; not by a lot but they’ve been quick all weekend. It seems like we have more pace in the race than we had from practice. Some of that comes from me being more comfortable in the car. My laps this week have been limited. It was crazy conditions with the rain. I’ve never driven on a race track with that much rain on it in my life.
“I’m most happy about the pace we seem to have in the car. Now it’s about being patient and running laps. I don’t want to get too anxious. Before the race, I thought we wouldn’t have the pace; that we would have to run laps and stay out of trouble. That part still holds true. That’ll be the biggest thing. The guys have already made good strategy calls so let’s see how that holds up.”
 

BRITTANY FORCE PROV. No. 1 AT BRISTOL

BRISTOL, TN – Second year Top Fuel driver Brittany Force and her Castrol EDGE Dragster rocketed down the iconic Bristol Dragway with a 3.82 second pass at 317.94 mph. It was the quickest run of the first qualifying session today at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals and Brittany picked up three additional NHRA Mello Yello bonus points for claiming the number one qualifying spot.  

 “I didn’t think we ran that fast. The car actually felt kind of sluggish and slow. I felt the car shake around the 700 to 800 foot mark as it started dropping cylinders and I was expecting it to start smoking the tires. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I should lift and get out of it or keep my foot planted on the accelerator. I decided stayed in it until the end but I didn’t think it was that great of a run. I was shocked and even surprised when I found out I was number one qualifier for running that 3.82,” said Brittany Force.

If Brittany’s 3.82 second run holds tomorrow, it will be the second time this season she will compete from the one qualifying position on race day. Rain storms moved into the area and cancelled the second Top Fuel qualifying session much to Brittany’s disappointment as she was ready to jump back in the cockpit of her Castrol EDGE Dragster to see if she could improve her time.

“The Castrol EDGE team is pumped as we’re excited to be number one again. It is unfortunate the rain came before our second session as I was anxious to get up to the lanes and make the second pass. We’ll get two runs tomorrow so maybe we’ll step it up even more,” said Brittany Force

To say Brittany’s excited would be an understatement as she’s been qualifying in the top half of the field and going rounds throughout this season. She’s already been to her first Top Fuel final and has a claimed a much coveted number one qualifying spot in a tough field of fellow competitors. She’s also gaining valuable experience on every run that is making her seasoned driver and a formidable competitor.

“My years of racing in Super Comp and A/Fuel Dragster taught me a lot. I also spent a whole year testing in Top Fuel so I could gain more experience. If I had made the jump directly to Top Fuel without coming up through the ranks, I’d be a mess,” said Brittany Force.

Brittany’s experience behind the wheel is also paying off in huge dividends.

 “I’m definitely getting use to this Castrol EDGE Dragster. If it ran hard and shook the tires on a run like this last year, maybe I would have gotten out of it. But now, I know it if the car hasn’t done anything to act up on the run, I’ll stay in it. I learn something new on every pass and each run is always different,” said Brittany Force.

The Castrol EDGE Team led by crew chief Todd Smith and Dean Antonelli has tuned up the 10,000 horsepower Castrol EDGE Dragster and has given her one very fast and consistent race car that’s primed and ready to bring Castrol EDGE AND John Force Racing its first Top Fuel victory.

The John Force Racing Funny Car contingent opened the race with a stellar performance posting two of the three quickest runs of the first session. Mello Yello points leader Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang team were No. 1 after the first session with a strong 4.074 second pass at 315.27 mph. John Force, the 2013 Ford Thunder Valley Nationals winner, was No. 3 with a 4.099 second pass. Unfortunately when the rains rolled in near the end of the second qualifying session Hight and Force were still in the lanes along with Tommy Johnson Jr. and Cruz Pedregon. That quartet of Funny Cars did not get a second shot at qualifying. Del Worsham posted both ends of the track record 3.992 seconds at 319.45 mph to move into the provisional No. 1 spot.

“We wanted to get another run in but we totally understand safety comes first. There was lightning all over the place and then when it started raining we knew it was a long shot to get a second run. I am happy with how well we ran in the first session and that is closer to race day conditions. We got three bonus points and we will be ready to hit it again tomorrow,” said Hight.

Eventually Hight settled into the provisional No. 4 spot with John Force slipping to No. 7. Courtney Force stepped up in the second qualifying session moving from the No. 7 spot after the first session to the No. 6 spot. The youngest Force improved from a 4.142 second pass to a 4.077 second run in her Traxxas Ford Mustang.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUICKEN LOANS 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST QUALIFYING TRANSCRIPTS
JUNE 13, 2014
 
CHEVROLET SS SWEEPS TOP-THREE IN QUALIFYING FOR QUICKEN LOANS 400
Kevin Harvick Sets New Track Record En Route to Winning 3rd
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pole of the Season
 
BROOKLYN, Michigan (June 13, 2014) Kevin Harvick led the charge of Chevrolet SS drivers in securing the top-three spots in the final qualifying order for the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway. With a new track record of 204.557 mph, the driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet will lead the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) field to the green flag for the third time this season.
 
Harvick’s speed was the fastest pole-winning speed since April of 1987, when Bill Elliott set the all-time qualifying record of 212.809 mph at Talladega Superspeedway.  That makes Harvick the ‘Fastest Man in Michigan’, and the second-quick all-time qualifier in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Current NSCS point leader Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet SS, will start alongside Harvick for the 200-lap/400-mile race.  Coming off his win at Pocono last week, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will start the No. 88 National Guard/Superman Chevrolet SS from the third position on the grid.
 
Paul Menard, No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet SS, posted the fifth quickest time to give Chevrolet four of the top-five starting positions. Aric Almirola (Ford) complete the top-five in qualifying.
 
Defending and six-time NSCS champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS, and Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, qualified 7th and 8th respectively to give the Bowtie brand six of the top-10 starters in the 15th round of the 36-race season.
 
This marks the seventh pole for the Chevrolet SS in 2014 NSCS competition.
 
The Quicken Loans 400 is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday June 15th. Live coverage will be available on TNT, MRN Radio, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.
 
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER
YOU RAN A LAP OF 39.198 SECONDS, 204.557 MPH, CONGRATULATIONS. TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN:
“Obviously it was a really fast lap, a really fast couple of laps. But the car has been really good since we unloaded it off the truck and these guys put fast cars on the track every week and then we’ve been in contention for poles and wins every week. Today it just all came together from the time we unloaded. I’m just really proud of my guys and everybody at the Henrick Engine Shop and on these big race tracks when you have fast cars, speed makes the driver’s job a lot easier. So, it’s been a good weekend so far.”
 
YOUR SPEED IS THE FASTEST POLE-WINNING SPEED SINCE APRIL 1987, WHEN BILL ELLIOTT SET THE ALL-TIME QUALIFYING RECORD OF 212.809 MPH AT TALLADEGA.
“Just a little shy of that.”
 
BUT THAT’S STILL PRETTY QUICK. THIS IS YOUR 9TH POLE IN THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES AND THIRD POLE THIS YEAR, A SINGLE-SEASON CAREER HIGH FOR YOU:
“This format has obviously been good for me to I guess creep-up on it as you go through the sessions. And a fast car allows you to do that. A fast car really solves a lot of problems and Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and the guys have done a great job with that and we just keep at it.”
 
IN INSTANCES WHEN YOU THINK YOU’VE HAD A CAR CAPABLE OF WINNING, BUT FOR WHATEVER REASON COMES UP SHORT, TO COME BACK TO THE TRACK AND CONTINUE TO BE FAST, IS THERE ANY BETTER MEDICINE?
“Well, I think every week the cars are fast and you’re able to really be competitive. And when you have problems, you can leave with your head up still just for the fact that you know that you’ve got the speed to contend for wins and do the things that you have to do to win races and contend for poles. So it’s a lot of fun. But no matter if you’re running good or bad, Monday morning you have to forget about winning or losing the week before. Next week is a new challenge and a different style race track and a lot of different things come with it. So, I think the experience of myself and everybody on the team are, we’ve been tested (as to) whether we can do that or not this year, but I think everybody has proven week-in and week-out when we unload, usually every week, for the first practice the car is fast and we just keep plugging away.”
 
IS THIS TRACK TOO FAST? DO YOU HOPE IT SLOWS DOWN OR STAYS AS IT IS?
“Well, Michigan has been fast for a long time. I think how fast is too fast, you know what I mean? It’s the perfect storm with pavement with the cars in qualifying trim. The cars will slow down a tremendous amount when we get them in race trim and in a pack. It’s going to be quite a bit hotter on Sunday. They’ll slow down. Qualifying speeds are high. It’s just a matter of whose opinion is taken on whether it’s too fast or not.”
 
WHEN WE MENTIONED THE FAST SPEEDS BY BILL ELLIOTT, UNRESTRICTED. WOULD YOU EVER WANT TO GO THAT FAST ON A RACE TRACK? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE POTENTIAL OF THAT EVER HAPPENING? WHAT IS YOUR NEED FOR SPEED?
“This is one of those race tracks where you’re running fast but you really can’t put it all in perspective I guess until you hit something just for the fact that it’s so wide and so fast and so smooth. But you don’t really get that huge sensation of speed. So, we just want to win. So however fast we need to go to win, we’ll just call that ‘good’.”
 
ON FATHER’S DAY, TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS TO YOU:
“For me, it’s special to have him (son, Keelan) here and to be able to share these moments. I’m fortunate to be able to do this all the time, but to be able to share it with him a lot and to have him here this weekend is a lot of fun. He seems like he’s enjoying it. He wants to grab and throw the microphone at somebody, but it’s pretty special. I love how our sport embraces Father’s Day and our troops and (is) really just a family sport. I’m just glad to be a part of it.”
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/SUPERMAN CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 3RD
HOW WAS THE CAR IN PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING? WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR SUNDAY? “Real happy with the qualifying effort obviously, especially in the transition from the second round, to the last round. We’re making some good gains on how we need to adjust the car to find the balance we need as continue to cycle the tires each qualifying run. That is something we really needed to improve our qualifying efforts. The car has real good speed. The car is pretty comfortable. Both cars – the Nationwide car and the Cup car – seem to be very competitive. We’ll get a chance tomorrow to really work on our race trim package for the Cup car tomorrow. We ran a little bit of race trim this morning. The track wasn’t ideal, but we understand some balance things we need to work on, and some things we can do to ease the work load tomorrow. So that’s good.  We’ll see how the car feels in practice, and how confident we are. That determines how we will start the race, and how well we can do Sunday.”
 
PLEASE TALK ABOUT 203 PLUS (MPH) THAT IS AWESOME AROUND HERE:
“I don’t remember what we ran before. Is that a new record?”
 
MODERATOR:
“The 204.577 mph. is a new record. In fact, it is actually the fastest qualifying speed since Bill Elliott – 1987 when he ran 212 before the restrictor plate.”
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.:
“WOW! That says a lot about the cars. How comfortable the cars are. I didn’t really feel like we were going that much faster than what we have ran here in the past. We’ve added a good amount of downforce in the cars since last year. We’ve anticipated that we would be faster everywhere we went this year, and we have as a sport.  This place is no different. This is just an excellent race track. Really lends itself to a good motor – good power plant.&nbsp
; I think you have to give Hendrick a lot of credit for what they were able to accomplish today getting the pole, and having the top-three.  I also think that even though we got beat out there by a Stewart-Haas car, the relationship between the two companies is one that benefits both sides. It definitely appears to be pushing both companies to new heights taking something from a conversation I had with Steve Letarte.  We’re happy about the power plants. We’ve had some real good motors last week at Pocono. We knew coming in here it was going to be a plus for us. That is how it seemed to turn out today, like we expected.  Hopefully we can get this car to handle through the corner good, and utilize all that power on Sunday.”
 
IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE UP FRONT HERE AT MICHIGAN?
“When we practice, as much as you want to be out there running by yourself when the car drives great, you need to get in behind people and see what the balance of your car does.   I’ve experienced….JEFF GORDON INTERJECTS: Don’t tell them. Don’t tell them.  DALE EARNHARDT, JR:  Don’t tell them everything?  I experience different things depending on the track.  (LAUGHTER) So, we need to get out there and learn everything we can. That means getting behind guys and running. It might not look good on a stat sheet, or the lap times might not look the best, but you need to get out there in traffic and get an understanding of what you need to work on, and the balance, and things you can adjust, and what to expect on Sunday.”
 
IS THE HIGHER SPEEDS HERE TYPICAL OF WHAT HAPPENS WITH A RE-PAVE?
“They didn’t really change anything when they re-paved the track. The configuration is very similar, but it is just really smooth. It is standing up well even after this much time, you would anticipate a bump or two around the tunnel and maybe down in a couple of corners, and maybe the seams coming apart a little bit and they come in a fill up those seams with the stuff we don’t like to run on, but the track is holding up really well. We beat the asphalt up here because we are going through the corners so fast. But, it is holding up well. It is starting to lose a little bit of grip in three and four. That particular corner is lighter and one and two because of the way the sun sets here. That corner gets cooked and baked throughout the summer and winter time, a little bit longer throughout the day. So, it has a little less grip, so the car turns a little bit better through that corner. I think that corner is wider because of that. When I was here practicing, and even today in the Nationwide car, I could run near the apron kind of the preferred groove a lot of guys are running. At the test I was running about the groove with real comfort. You aren’t able to do that in one and two because the track is still a little bit polished down there. Even though it is as fast as it is, it has widened out a good bit, and the speed is due a little bit to the re-pave, but even more so due to the extra spoiler. We have so much spoiler on the back of these cars, and we have improved the front of these cars a lot. With the new rules to get the cars on the ground, it has also added additional grip and downforce, so we are really maxing out the downforce like we have never done before and that is why we are faster wherever we go, no matter what the surface.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
CERTAINLY A STRONG EFFORT TODAY BY THE FOLKS AT HENDRICK AND YOUR ARE RIGHT UP THERE KNOCKING ON THE DOOR FOR THE POLE.  203.776 MPH THAT IS PRETTY QUICK AROUND HERE.  HOW DID IT FEEL OUT THERE IN THE CAR GOING THAT FAST?
“It has to feel pretty good if you are going to go that fast because the speed obviously comes from the long straightaways and the big sweeping corners and the amount of grip that we have.  You have got to push it hard and as Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) mentioned the added downforce I think the combination of the spoiler and the downforce, but then what the teams have been able to do with those lower ride heights to maximize the amount of downforce as well as maintain a little car down the straightaway for good straightaway speed.  Then you take the horsepower on top of that and makes for a very fast race track and times there qualifying.  That was a great session for us.  The last two weeks have been great sessions for us.  We have improved in the final session, made it to session three solidly in all three session and then actually made our best lap on the final run.  It wasn’t enough for (Kevin) Harvick, he was strong.  Even the first time out I thought my lap was pretty good, which it was, but nowhere near Kevin’s.  That last time we actually got a little closer to him, had a good lap, but still not enough for Kevin (Harvick).  Those guys are really tough especially in qualifying, but great effort by Hendrick engines and to have me and Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) right there second and third and I know Jimmie (Johnson) is not that far back either.  Really am pretty excited, all day we have had a good car.”
 
DALE WAS SAYING HE DIDN’T EVEN REALLY NOTICE HOW FAST HE WAS GOING IT WAS JUST SO COMFORTABLE.  20 CARS ABOVE 200 MPH THAT USED TO BE A REAL DAUNTING NUMBER NOW IT SEEMS YOU GUYS HAVE GOTTEN ACCUSTOMED TO RUNNING THAT FAST HERE.  IS IT COMFORTABLE TO BE ABOVE 200 HERE NOW?
“It’s daunting if something goes wrong I can tell you that.  This weekend is going to be a real challenge for reliability.  We are going so fast.  From engines to just components on the car, tires, it’s concerning.  I’m glad it’s 400 miles, but even 400 miles you are going to have to manage it.  The cars are comfortable enough and stuck so well that is why you are not really noticing the speeds as a driver.  As a driver, I don’t know how much faster we’ve gone this year than last year, but I feel like it’s quite a bit.  My car was way more comfortable and those speeds were easier to handle this year than they were last year.”
 
HOW COMFORTABLE DO YOU THINK YOUR CAR WILL BE WHEN IT IS IN TRAFFIC?
“I mean we were really hoping that we would qualify well.  We had some issues getting switched over into qualifying trim in practice and we only got to make one run and it was a pretty good run.  I felt like I left quite a bit out on the track because I just wasn’t as aggressive as I could have been.  Sometimes you only learn that by making a run that is why you like to make two or three runs in practice.  Luckily I was able to learn a lot from that and then go apply that in qualifying the three sessions.  I think that luckily we are starting up front, but we know we are going to get back in traffic at some point.  I hope we don’t.  It would be nice to keep the track position, but you’ve got to believe that you are going to be in it.  You hope that by that time the groove is widened out a little bit more as Dale mentioned three and four is definitely a little bit wider so you have a few more options.  But one and two there are really not a lot of options.  The speeds that we are carrying even last week at Pocono we had some different strategies going on and I got back into about 15th or 18th at one time and it was like flipping a switched.  The amount of grip that the car had went from awesome to none.  It was very challenging.  We are just seeing more and more of that as the cars become more aero dependent.  I say that because we are maximizing the grip and downforce and so if you take any amount of that away it makes a bigger difference than it ever used to. You get back in traffic at a place like this in the corners for the length of time that we are in the corners it’s going to be a huge change.  That is another part of the survival is surviving traffic and being prepared for it.  There is nothing the team can do.  There is very little the team can do.  It’s yo
u having to figure out what is going to happen when you drive into the corner and recognize that the car is buffeting around and there is probably not a lot of downforce on it.”
 
LAST YEAR IT BECAME KIND OF A TIRED STORY LINE PEOPLE STARTED TO ASK YOU TO LOOK TOWARDS THE END OF YOUR CAREER AT THIS POINT LAST YEAR AND HERE YOU ARE LEADING THE POINTS CAN YOU REFLECT ON THIS LAST YEAR WHERE YOU ARE AT NOW COMPARED TO MAYBE A YEAR AGO?
“Man I’m just trying to go out on top.  (Laughs) That is going to get me in as much trouble as what I said in January.  Yeah, I have always said that the combinations are being healthy, being competitive and just enjoying myself out there.  I felt like if those first two things are working for me then the last is going to come as well.  As long as that is there then I want to keep doing it.  Obviously, I’m enjoying myself a lot right now.  I had a little health issue a couple of weeks ago, but that is subsided now and feeling pretty good.  The race cars are just so good that I’m just enjoying every time we are on the track every weekend that we are racing and that has certainly brought back some fire in me and the team.  I just feel like Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) has really worked hard to step things up to be a championship caliber team.  I think that the performance this year is showing that hard work and effort paying off.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUICKEN LOANS 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
JUNE 13, 2014
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER
BEFORE THIS KNOCKOUT QUALIFYING CAME INTO PLAY SIX NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES POLES.  YOU KNOW HAVE THREE WITH THIS FORM OF QUALIFYING:
“I think that is just a credit on our Budweiser and Stewart-Haas race team for putting fast race cars on the track.  When you put it together with the Hendrick Motorsports engine package it creates a lot of speed and it makes coming to these place a lot of fun.  Really excited to start on the pole and get that first pit box and hopefully we can put the whole day together on Sunday.”
 
WAS YOUR CAR JUST THAT GOOD BY ITSELF OR DID YOU TRY TO FIND SOME AIDE AS WELL?
“We just kind of wanted to go right at the beginning of that session.  The second session I got too close to the No. 88 coming to the green and I felt like it hurt my lap.  We just tried to get a clean lap that time.  The car actually ran the fastest that it had.  I think clean air for us was probably a better decision.”
 
YOU CAN’T HOLD YOUR BREATH AROUND HERE THAT LONG, CAN YOU?
“You know, it’s actually the opposite. You just have to relax and really pay attention to not overdrive it because it’s so easy to miss your line on the entry to the corner. So, I’ve just got to thank everybody on my Budweiser Chevrolet; and everybody from the Hendrick Motorsports engine shop. You put those two packages together and it creates a lot of speed. My guys are doing a great job and we just have to keep doing everything we’ve been doing, and we have fast race cars.”
 
HOW FRUSTRATING HAVE THE WEEKS BEEN WHEN YOU HAVE THE FAST CARS AND YOU HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO COME THROUGH WITH THE WIN?
“Well, it’s just part of it. In my career I’ve won a lot of races that I probably shouldn’t have won and lost a lot that you should have won. So, it’s a vicious cycle and we’ve had flat tires two weeks in a row and really fast cars to go along with it. But, you just have to keep plugging along week by week, and that’s where the experience in this sport, and a lot of these guys have been around this a long time. Monday morning, you’d better forget what you did last week because you’ve got to worry about the week coming.”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
IS THIS A MATTER THAT EVERY DEPARTMENT AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS HAS TO WORK HARD AND GET EVERYTHING OUT OF THESE CARS WHEN YOU ARE GOING THIS SPEED?
“Absolutely, you’ve got to get through the corners, but at this place you’ve got to get down these long straightaways and I think it’s just a full combination of all the hard work of the body, the chassis and the set-up as well as that great horsepower from Hendrick.  Hendrick engine on the pole, obviously that is what it takes to be on the front row here today.  We are pretty excited.  We put up a heck of a lap that I thought was just another great effort by this Drive To End Hunger Chevy SS team.  Just not enough to get Harvick those guys are really tough right now.”
 
YOUR CAR IS EXCEPTIONAL IN RACE TRIM, AND NOW ALSO IN QUALIFYING TRIM
“The car is just really solid. I’m really proud of all the guys and all the hard work they’ve put in as well as the engine shop. At a place like this, the only way that Drive to End Hunger Chevy SS is getting around here that fast is that you’ve got to have a lot of power under the hood. The engineers are doing a great job with the bodies and getting the cars through the corners as well. It’s been a fun day. I struggled here last year and boy, these last two weeks have just been phenomenal qualifying sessions and cars for us. You’ve got to take your hat off to (Kevin) Harvick and those guys. They are just superfast, especially when it comes to qualifying. We gave it a great effort but not quite enough to get those guys. But we’ll certainly take this second place and take it into Sunday with a lot of momentum and a lot of excitement.”
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/SUPERMAN CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 3RD
HOW WAS THE CAR IN PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING? WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR SUNDAY? “I’m real happy with the qualifying effort obviously, especially in the transition from the second round, to the last round. We’re making some good gains on how we need to adjust the car to find the balance we need as continue to cycle the tires each qualifying run. That is something we really needed to improve our qualifying efforts. The car has real good speed. The car is pretty comfortable. Both cars – the Nationwide car and the Cup car – seem to be very competitive. We’ll get a chance tomorrow to really work on our race trim package for the Cup car tomorrow. We ran a little bit of race trim this morning. The track wasn’t ideal, but we understand some balance things we need to work on, and some things we can do to ease the work load tomorrow. So that’s good.  We’ll see how the car feels in practice, and how confident we are. That determines how we will start the race, and how well we can do Sunday.”
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 13TH
“We just actually got through (Turns) 1 and 2 really good on that last run I was out. I think I overshot (Turn) 3, which I had to lift all the way out and gave up too much speed getting back to the throttle. So I would say I got through 1 and 2 so well that I thought there was a lot in 3 and there wasn’t. So I ended up pushing the car and making it a little too tight and we lost a little bit with our Farmers Insurance Chevy. But there is still a lot of speed in the car. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and working on it and getting prepared for the race on Sunday. It’s a pretty good track and we should run really well here. Our engines and cars are really strong.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUICKEN LOANS 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
JUNE 13, 2014
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER
BEFORE THIS KNOCKOUT QUALIFYING CAME INTO PLAY SIX NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES POLES.  YOU KNOW HAVE THREE WITH THIS FORM OF QUALIFYING:
“I think that is just a credit on our Budweiser and Stewart-Haas race team for putting fast race cars on the track.  When you put it together with the Hendrick Motorsports engine package it creates a lot of speed and it makes coming to these place a lot of fun.  Really excited to start on the pole and get that first pit box and hopefully we can put the whole day together on Sunday.”
 
WAS YOUR CAR JUST THAT GOOD BY ITSELF OR DID YOU TRY TO FIND SOME AIDE AS WELL?
“We just kind of wanted to go right at the beginning of that session.  The second session I got too close to the No. 88 coming to the green and I felt like it hurt my lap.  We just tried to get a clean lap that time.  The car actually ran the fastest that it had.  I think clean air for us was probably a better decision.”
 
YOU CAN’T HOLD YOUR BREATH AROUND HERE THAT LONG, CAN YOU?
“You know, it’s actually the opposite. You just have to relax and really pay attention to not overdrive it because it’s so easy to miss your line on the entry to the corner. So, I’ve just got to thank everybody on my Budweiser Chevrolet; and everybody from the Hendrick Motorsports engine shop. You put those two packages together and it creates a lot of speed. My guys are doing a great job and we just have to keep doing everything we’ve been doing, and we have fast race cars.”
 
HOW FRUSTRATING HAVE THE WEEKS BEEN WHEN YOU HAVE THE FAST CARS AND YOU HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO COME THROUGH WITH THE WIN?
“Well, it’s just part of it. In my career I’ve won a lot of races that I probably shouldn’t have won and lost a lot that you should have won. So, it’s a vicious cycle and we’ve had flat tires two weeks in a row and really fast cars to go along with it. But, you just have to keep plugging along week by week, and that’s where the experience in this sport, and a lot of these guys have been around this a long time. Monday morning, you’d better forget what you did last week because you’ve got to worry about the week coming.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUICKEN LOANS 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 13, 2014
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Michigan International Speedway and discussed resigning of Farmers Insurance, racing at Michigan, status of his contract with Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Busch and other topics.  Full transcript:
 
ON RENEWAL OF FARMERS INSURANCE AS PRIMARY SPONSOR: “It is really good news. It is exciting to have Farmers Insurance re-sign for three more years, and be part of our No. 5 team. We’ve done a lot with them, and have really enjoyed working with them over the years. We won some races. We have a good partnership. I think what we did this year with ‘Thank a Million Teachers’ was a…I had a lot of fun with it. It was a great promotion that they did just showing teachers how much we appreciate them. I spend a lot of time with teachers and then with students at the same time in the month of May in four different states, four different schools. I really enjoyed that. It is things like that that I am excited about that we will get to keep doing with Farmers Insurance. I’m looking forward to winning also, and getting them in Victory Lane more than we have at this point.”
 
ON SECURE FEELING OF HAVING SPONSOR SIGNED, AND CHALLENGES OF MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY: “It feels good when you know you have sponsorship. They are such a big part of what makes us able to race each weekend and put everything into it that Hendrick Motorsports does. I’m glad about Farmers Insurance. We have Great Clips there as well. I’m excited about it; I think there will be some good things there.
 
“As far as Hendrick at this track, I think that they have always been pretty strong here. I remember racing against them before I was at Hendrick, and they were fast. I know Fords have won here a lot for some reason, but I’ve watched Jimmie (Johnson), Jeff (Gordon) and Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) win twice here. I feel like it is a good track for us. We were leading here and had a tire problem in turn one. Jimmie was really good as well. We were fast today, and look forward to a solid weekend.”

WHERE ARE YOU WITH YOUR DRIVER’S CONTRACT WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? “I like being at HMS. It is just an unbelievable place. Getting to work with the three teammates that I get to work with each week is better than anything I’ve ever done in racing as far as guys I’ve been able to work with. I am getting information there from three of the best in racing. I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. Mr. Hendrick is always trying to help me as a driver; as a person and he gives us every opportunity. So, I want to be there a long time. We still have a year-and-a-half before my deal’s up. So I think performance, and sponsors that want to be part of them, and just getting our team back where it needs to be. We’ve struggled some this year for really no reason. We can’t have that. If we can get rid of some of those struggles, I would hope that I would be at Hendrick Motorsports for a long time.”
 
WHEN DO YOU START TALKING ABOUT RENEWAL? “I think you start talking about it whenever they start talking about it. I don’t know when that date is, but I think we have a lot of really good things going on, and with a little bit of performance here and there, maybe it will come up sooner than later. I would love to be there for a long time, so we will kind of have to see how that works out.”
 
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS TRACK AND YOUR PERFORMANCES ON IT? “It is a really smooth, high-speed different Michigan than what it was the first seven years I came here and raced. I enjoy it. It is going to be hot; it is going to be 83 on Sunday. I think there will be a little less grip out there which hopefully should open up the race track and give us more opportunity to make passes because the track is a lot grayer than it was last year. I think it will be good. It just takes time when a track gets repaved especially with this type of banking and this type of speed to really have the track open up and race really well. I think it is heading in that direction. As far as our performance, we ran pretty good in both races. We had a tire in the second one leading, so I felt like we had a top two or three car there. In the first one we got to seventh from the back, so that was pretty good performance.”
 
YOU ARE GOING TO SONOMA NEXT WEEK, AND TEMPERS CAN EASILY FLARE AT A ROAD COURSE, AS WELL AS IN YOUR PERSONAL CAR ON THE FREEWAY.  WHAT ARE THINGS THAT CAN MAKE YOU ANGRY WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING YOUR PERSONAL CAR ON THE HIGHWAY?
“There are a lot of things that make me angry out there. People driving slow in the fast lane, that is the first one. Not paying attention. Texting. Swerving because they aren’t paying attention.  Someone sitting at a stop sign and not paying attention…I saw this yesterday, and it got to me pretty good. It is just people not paying attention more than anything at the end of the day.  I just feel like when you are on the roads, it is a good place to pay attention. Things happen fast. Until you have been in accidents, you might not realize that. But once you get in one…even at 40 miles-an-hour, it happens a lot quicker than you are expecting it to.”
 
HAVE YOU AND KYLE BUSCH SPOKEN SINCE LAST WEEK? IF SO, HOW DID THAT GO?  “He sent me an email, then a text to ask if I got it. I told him I did, and that is how it went. I talked through every situation and scenario last year with him when we had them, and to this day, I’ve still raced him the exact same way. For him to do that, I knew it was coming as soon as he floored it in the corner. I was like ‘He can’t. He can’t. He’s going to run me right in the wall’. I think he was having a bad day, and just loses it. But as far as us talking, we haven’t. He did write me an email, but I don’t really care anymore. I don’t care to talk to him or anything.”
 
WHAT CAN BE READ INTO THE PRACTICE SPEEDS AT MIS, AND BEING FASTEST IN THE FIRST PRACTICE? IS THAT A GOOD READ OR IS THERE STILL ENOUUGH TIME FOR EVERYBODY TO CATCH UP? “Well it was all just qualifying, so the cars change a good bit for the race. They will change the setup a lot for tomorrow. The set-ups, and kind of the balance of the car and what you can get away with. This place when you are taped solid, and have all the downforce put in the car, it’s a much different feel than what we’ll have tomorrow, and especially what we will have Sunday when there is cars all around. I wouldn’t say you can read a lot into it, but definitely think that when you hit on something, you can carry some of that with you. I felt like at the end of practice we made some really big gains with our Farmers Insurance Chevy. I look forward to the whole weekend, I think we will be a strong car all weekend long after how we have started.”
 
HOW DO YOU KEEP THE PRESSURE FROM MOUNTING ON YOU AS THE RACES ARE COUNTING DOWN, AND WINS COUNTING SO MUCH? “Really where we are at right now, as a team, we need to show up each weekend, and put full weekends together; from myself to Kenny (Francis, crew chief) to everybody on our team. We all have talked about this all weekend, and all week long leading into this race. We just need to step up, and if we do that, I feel like ‘yes, there is going to be pressure, we want to be in the Chase’. But we have fast enough cars. We have all the equipment; everything there to do it. We just need to put those weekends together. Put ourselves in position, and there is still plenty of time to win races.”
 
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE GAME OF CHICKEN THAT GETS PLAYED WITH SOMETHING THINKING THE OTHER ONE IS GOING TO LIFT? “This is just when one guy in on the inside and one guy is on the outside and a wall is coming, the car on the outside is going to hit the wall first if he doesn’t…. you know, when you run out of space.  The guy on the inside
wants to use the entire exit of the corner to carry his speed down the next straightaway. My whole opinion, and my whole point on that was I had already passed Kyle (Busch) the reason he passed me back was because I was passing Ryan Newman and two cars, with no one in front of us-the next car was way up-going down the straightaway side-by-side gave Kyle the opportunity to get a big draft, and stick his nose in there when we got to turn one. So suddenly he is back and he knows if he didn’t clear me there, that we would be a position behind. So he just floored it, and if it is close someone is going to life. So that is the way I look at it. You just put someone in that position, and it’s all up to the guy on the inside. His spotter was telling him outside, outside, outside.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUICKEN LOANS 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 13, 2014
 
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed racing Michigan, home of Quicken Loans and auto industry manufacturers, team efforts to improve at-track, his plane ride to the track the morning, and more. Full Transcript:
 
ON QUICKEN LOANS SPONSORING THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP RACE AT MIS THIS WEEKEND
“Well, you know how when we come up here to Michigan we talk about the importance of the manufacturer’s side of it and what it means to win in the backyard of your manufacturer; so when you can win in the backyard of your manufacturer, your primary sponsor, and the sponsor of the race, it’s probably about tenfold more important. And we had an opportunity to come up here and test. We had a really good test. I feel like our Quicken Loans Chevrolet was pretty good here in practice. We didn’t get the absolute best qualifying lap as I think some other guys did, but it’s been a lot of fun working with the guys at Quicken Loans. Their backyard is Detroit. So this is their backyard race track and it was my kind of race track growing up being born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. So, it’s a good opportunity for us to get back to Victory Lane like we did in Indy.”
 
COMMENT FROM JAY FARNER, PRESIDENT AND CMO OF QUICKEN LOANS
“There’s nothing better than doing something in your backyard. We’ve got 12,000 + team members out in the city of Detroit. We’re really actively involved in helping to make sure that Detroit and all of Michigan is growing, so this is great for our team. We’ll bring hundreds of our team down to watch the race and hopefully watch the No. 31 car have a great day. It’s also just great for the state of Michigan. I think it helps show off to the country all the wonderful things that are happening here in the state of Michigan and MIS is a beautiful place so we’re excited to be a part of it.”
 
RYAN, YOU’VE BEEN REALLY CONSISTENT WITHIN A NUMBER OF TOP 20 FINISHES, BUT HOW DO YOU GET TO THAT EXTRA GEAR AND GET IN THE TOP 5 AND HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN?
“We’ve been working on that. Pocono was a good rebound weekend for us after having a tire issue at the Coca-Cola 600 and then a transmission issue at Dover. So, we’ve been running where we’ve been finishing for the most part, but we do need to step that up, definitely. If you’re in the top 10, you’ve got a chance of finishing in the top 5, but rarely can you be in the top 10 and have a chance at winning. You have to be running in the top 5. So It’s just a combination of everything. Everybody’s got to step their game up a little bit; me included. Little things like watching your speed on pit road and capitalizing on not losing time. Pit stops; obviously the race car is the biggest part of that, but overall, it’s a compound effect of all the little things that really make a difference.”
 
THIS MORNING WE HEARD DALE EARNHARDT JR’S VERSION OF THE ‘TRAVEL MORNING’. THERE WAS SOMETHING LIKE THEY CHANGED THE TIME FOR THE PLANE TO LEAVE. WERE YOU AWARE OF IT?
“I talked to Junior Monday night and asked if I could bum a ride up here because my wife and the kids are coming up tomorrow on my plane, and it just made sense if I could just jump a ride instead of sending a plane back and forth. He said yeah, no problem. I double-checked and made sure that we were 8:30 Friday morning and everything was good because it was pretty much the last ride that I thought was going to go out to come up here. It was convenient and we were flying into the same airport and we were supposed to leave at 8:30 and I showed up before 8:30 and his truck was there and the airplane was gone.
 
“So, I knew I was in trouble at that point. I jumped in my truck and drove across the airport, literally, and happened to see Dale Jarrett’s plane sitting there. I walked in and Dale wasn’t there yet, but his pilots were. And I said, ‘I’m hoping you guys are going to Michigan, right?’ And they said yes and so I bummed a ride. It was extravagantly convenient and lucky at the same time.” (laughter)
 
HE SAID SOMETHING LIKE MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE CHECKED EARLIER IN THE WEEK
“We had texted back and forth a couple of times because he wasn’t sure about what FBO and all that stuff. I forget when the last confirmation was, but we were good. And it was just an honest mistake, I guess; he forgot. I don’t think it was by any means on purpose. He had more people on the airplane.”
 
DOES DJ’S SON STILL SPOT FOR YOU?
“Yeah. I got in the car and I told Jason his old man saved me on this one (laughs).  That’s probably the closest I’ve been to not making a practice. I made it from the Adrian Airport to here pretty quick.”
 
GOING TO SONOMA NEXT WEEK, TEMPERS CAN EASILY FLARE ON THE ROAD COURSE. TEMPERS CAN FLARE ON THE HIGHWAY AS WELL. WHAT THINGS REALLY MAKE YOU ANGRY WHEN DRIVING YOUR CAR ON THE HIGHWAY?
“The biggest thing is people driving in the fast lane with their phone in their hand. That really gets me going. But that’s the majority of it. I always say accidents happen because two people aren’t paying attention. If you cross the centerline, the other person has a responsibility, too. But when you’re out there driving and you think you’re just minding your own business and everything’s fine but you’re blocking up traffic, I’m just not big on that. I don’t like to lose time on the Interstate. It’s hard to make time.”
 
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT RYAN NEWMAN?
JAY FARNER:
“He’s smooth. He found a way to get up here when he missed his first flight. This guy makes it happen. He’s got a great personality and the reason we do sponsorships, and in particular NASCAR, is that we want to connect with the fan base. You don’t get a mortgage every day. It’s every five or seven years. We need to find ways to connect with our clients and fan base and let them know that we’re here. And so there’s not a better way than to pick a guy like Ryan who can do that for us. He has a good sense of humor, and he’s a quality guy; even his road rage stories are pretty tame. You don’t have to worry about him doing something crazy for your brand. So, he’s a sharp guy. We say that we’re engineered to amaze because we’re focused on the process and what we’re doing and that’s the same thing we’ve learned from him. He’s very thoughtful about everything that happens in that race car and on the track, so we just think he’s a good representation of our brand.”
 
RYAN, YOU WERE THE MOST RECENT CHEVROLET WINNER LAST YEAR AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY. CHEVROLET HAS 10 WINS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS THERE. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT CHEVROLET’S SUCCESS AT THAT PARTICULAR TRACK?
“Yeah, I was actually talking to Alba (Colon, NASCAR Sprint Cup program manager for Chevrolet Racing), and she reminded me of that when we were doing one of our hospitalities at Pocono. It’s a pretty impressive stat actually, to have 10 in a row at a race track that’s sponsored by Chevrolet is obviously pretty cool. But to be such a big race, it makes it even sweeter. For me, had I not won, Jimmie Johnson would have and it would have been another Chevrolet in Victory Lane. In the end, it’s just an honor. I’ve always said that with Chevrolet, the difference is in the nuts and bolts and the difference is in the people; and they have proven not just in winning the Brickyard, but also in championships, that they make a difference. Those people make a difference.”
 

CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Spirit of Le Mans Award for Fehan
Receives prestigious honor from Le Mans governing body
 
DETROIT (June 13, 2014) – Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan is presented with the Spirit of Le Mans award today from the Automobile Club de l’Ouest – the sporting authority of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Fehan, who oversees the Corvette Racing program on behalf of Chevrolet, received the honor the day before the start of the 82nd running of Le Mans.
 
The Spirit of Le Mans award is presented annually by the ACO to the person who has been instrumental in the growth in stature of the 24 Hours.
 
Fehan has been the program manager for Corvette Racing since its debut in 1999. Three years earlier, he and former GM Racing executive director Herb Fishel – a Spirit of Le Mans recipient in 2003 – helped put the plans in place to launch Corvette’s return to professional road racing in 1999, and the program debuted at Le Mans in 2000. A year later, Corvette Racing captured the first of its seven class wins at Le Mans.
 
“I am deeply honored and grateful to receive the esteemed Spirit of Le Mans award,” Fehan said. “To be in a group that includes some of endurance racing’s most famous names is extremely humbling.
 
“Returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans each year is a very powerful and emotional time for me personally, along with everyone at Corvette Racing,” Fehan added. “Le Mans is one of the world’s great competitions and one where we have had considerable success. But even without that, Le Mans would still retain the mystique that comes over me each time I drive into the track for the first time each year. Those experiences – and many others we have achieved at Corvette Racing – are ones that I will remember for the rest of the my life.”
 
Corvette Racing debuts the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R this year at Le Mans with a two-car attack in the GTE Pro class. Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor will drive the No. 73 Corvette with Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook manning the No. 74 Corvette.
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUICKEN LOANS 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 13, 2014
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/SUPERMAN CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Michigan International Speedway and discussed his Superman paint scheme on the No. 88 Chevrolet SS this weekend, fan reaction from his win last week at Pocono, leaving fellow Chevrolet driver Ryan Newman at the airport and many other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
YOU WON HERE IN 2012 WITH THE BATMAN SUPERHERO ON YOUR CAR, THIS WEEK YOU HAVE THE SUPERMAN PAINT SCHEME.  WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HAVING A SUPERHERO ON YOUR CAR THIS WEEKEND AND HOW DO YOU THINK THAT IS GOING TO PLAY OUT FOR YOU?
“Well we’ve got to prove to the fans that Superman is not bad luck for me.  We ran Superman on the car at Charlotte and everybody was very excited about the promotion with DC Comics that we are doing at Hendrick Motorsports.  We’ve got a program with them for a couple of years it’s going to be very exciting.  Pairing DC Comics with the National Guard seemed like a natural fit.  We went into Charlotte thinking we were going to do very well. The car was very fast and felt like we had a good shot of running really well maybe even winning the race.  But had some troubles in the race so my race fans were a little curious as to why we needed to have Superman back on the car.  We are here to prove this weekend that he belongs on the hood and that we can do some great things and hopefully win this race this weekend.
 
“I think it’s a great looking race car.  I thought it looked awesome at Charlotte. Now we’ve got the gold numbers on it this weekend and Superman is on the hood.  I’m excited.  I enjoy working with DC Comics they are a fun group of people with a lot of great initiatives that match well with our sport and fit well with our sport.  We like to have them around need to keep them around and hopefully win a race here and get them excited about the future.”
 
WHAT WAS THE THING THAT STOOD OUT IN THE CELEBRATION OR REACTION YOU GOT FROM PEOPLE DURING THE WEEK?  YOUR TEAM IS REALLY PUMPED UP AFTER LAST WEEK’S WIN:
“Well the one thing that stands out to me is the fans reaction.  Especially the stuff on You Tube, the stuff Mike Davis puts together and just being able to see that it’s a bit of an ultimate reward.  And is kind of at the core of why we go out and race.  It wouldn’t be any fun people would all be bored to death if there wasn’t anybody here watching.  To see somebody get that excited and that happy about our efforts is a hell of a pat on the back.  That is the big take away.  Obviously we are really happy about how we performed and felt worthy of winning that race and felt like that we are that kind of team that can go out there and win multiple races and compete very well.  I have felt for a while now that we were right on the brink of something good something new and hopefully that is what we are seeing this year and hopefully we can get even better. I think we can compete even better than we are now.  Hopefully we can make that happen in the next several months when the time is right.” 
 
HAS RYAN NEWMAN ANSWERED YOUR TEXTS?  CAN YOU TELL US THE WHOLE STORY ABOUT HIM BEING LEFT AT THE AIRPORT?
“No, is he here?  Let me check (checks his phone).  Yes, he did.  He said ‘I should have texted last night’.  But I still don’t know where he’s at.  Yeah, this is what happened, this is the honest truth.  Tuesday he asked me if he could get a ride to the race track which is common for drivers to do that.  We were leaving at 8:30 a.m. that is what it said on my calendar.  Then since Tuesday we have added some media to this morning, did a couple of things out front.  My PR guy Mike Hoag moved take-off time to 8:00 a.m.  I didn’t know about it. I didn’t look at my calendar. When I got up this morning I didn’t look at the clock, I just got in the shower, went downstairs, got in the car and drove to the airport and got on the plane.  I forgot about Ryan.  Even if we were taking off at 8:30 a.m. and he wasn’t there I probably would have left him.  Yeah, he should have texted me last night.  I think he got a ride. That was unfortunate for sure, but it happens.”
 
 YOU WON YOUR SECOND RACE OF THE YEAR LAST WEEKEND NOW EVERYBODY IS TALKING ABOUT HOW MANY RACES YOU WILL WIN THIS YEAR.  DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT AT ALL?  DOES IT SURPRISE YOU?
“Definitely that’s new. That’s the new conversation topic for us, but I just want to win the next one. We have so much fun winning and going to Victory Lane and last week was so much fun (with) the feeling that you have inside and that you have for several hours after that. It’s like the best feeling ever. And I want to do it again; I want to do it now, this weekend. So, I just want to win more races and take care of the car and finish as well as we can and I think that mentality and making that a reality can win us a championship. But, just one week at a time, trying to win a race, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
 
NOW THAT YOU HAVE TWO WINS, YOU ARE PRETTY MUCH PUNCHED INTO THE CHASE. DO YOU GAMBLE SOME TO GET MORE VICTORIES OR DO YOU PLAY IT CAUTIOUS?
“No, we don’t play it cautious. We’ve gambled pretty good, a little bit more than we typically would after we won Daytona because of the new point system, so I think we can even be a bit more aggressive and Steve (Letarte, crew chief) probably will in certain situations. We can definitely be more aggressive with our fuel mileage. That’s typically the one thing that you’ll be more aggressive with whereas say, if you don’t win a win and you’re three laps short, you might try to stay out and hope for them cautions or try to save that fuel mileage over that particular run. Whereas, with two wins, we might do that with something like seven or eight laps short, something ridiculous. But hey, if we get a couple of cautions, then we’re right on the fine line of making it work. And track position at some of these tracks is so important, for example this past weekend at Pocono, you could really gamble hard on that fuel mileage where two years ago, you would have definitely come down pit road and filled it up and tried to get a top 10, like we did in 2012, I think.”
 
WITH YOUR SUCCESS LEVEL AT MICHIGAN, WHAT IS YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL FOR THIS WEEKEND?
“I feel pretty good. You’ve got to be confident because we ran well here, but at the same time, this is a new package. We haven’t raced here with the cars slammed to the ground and all the new rules that we’ve got this year. We’ve got some new competitors in the battle. The No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) has been lightning fast every week, so you’ve got to be looking at him when practice starts today to see how they are because they’re going to be fast. And you’ve got a lot of new players and some new cars that are going to be up front trying to compete. And, a lot of new challenges that you’re going to have to face that you didn’t face last year or the year before. So, it’s a little bit of a whole new deal. So we’ll see how it works out. I think we can be quick. We came here and tested for Goodyear and had some time and opportunity to work on our car a little bit while we were at the test and maybe learn some things that we needed to learn. Hopefully that will give us an edge.”
 
YOU HAVE BEEN STRONG HERE SINCE 2012. LAST AUGUST THERE WAS A TIRE PROBLEM. WITH THAT TEST, DO YOU HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE AND DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE IN GOOD SHAPE?
“Well, we weren’t on them tires too long at the test. We would just run 15 or 20-lap runs and look at wear and let Goodyear decide on what tire they felt comfortable with. We blew a tire in the race last year; blew a right front and hit the
wall. We blew a motor at the other race. We were running well in both events; leading one and running in the top 10 in the other. So, I feel like we can be competitive here and we’ll just have to be real conservative on our right front camber, air pressures, and things like that to make sure the tire lives. That’s going to cost us some speed and cost us some competitiveness in our car, but to make sure we don’t have any problems, that’s what we’re going to have to do. And, maybe we can work around that with some other components in the car and regain that speed throughout the weekend.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUICKEN LOANS 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 13, 2014
 
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Michigan International Speedway and discussed the speeds at Michigan, his expectations for Sonoma and many other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
WHAT IS THE SPEED LIKE HERE FOR YOU GUYS?
“I don’t know I like Michigan a lot.  It’s a 2-mile track.  I think I do well on the 1.5-mile to 2-mile race tracks.  I wish I would have gotten to race here before they repaved it.  We did well here in the Nationwide race last year and looking for some good things again this week.  It’s probably a lot of a pit strategy race and track position race, but I feel like our Target team is good at getting me track position.  I’m really excited about this weekend.”
 
ARE THE SPEEDS DIFFERENT HERE THAN AT OTHER FAST TRACKS LIKE ATLANTA?
“I have never ran a Cup car at either Atlanta or here so I don’t know how the sensation of speed feels.  This track is so smooth or at least in a Nationwide car last year you don’t really feel like you are going 200 plus miles per hour, but it’s always different in the Cup cars.  These cars are extremely fast.  I bet it will be a fast race track.  This track has got a lot of grip though too.  That makes it feel like it slows down some.”
 
HOW DO YOU FEEL HEADING INTO THE SUMMER MONTHS? WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR YOUR SUMMER?  DO YOU THINK THERE IS A TRACK WITHIN THOSE RACES YOU COULD GET YOUR FIRST WIN AT?
“Yeah, I think Michigan is a good track for a first win.  It’s the size race track that I like.  We have been close a few times.  We have been pretty competitive every week so I think just keep knocking on the door and the wins will come.  Just have to stay consistent and put yourself in contention each week to try and sneak out a win.”
 
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR PROGRESS THUS FAR THIS SEASON?  YOU ARE TOP 10 IN POINTS, THINGS SEEM TO BE GOING WELL FOR YOU:
“Yeah, it’s all going really good so far.  Top 10 in points; we have been a top 10 car every week pretty much.  It really is fun I’m having a blast this year.  A lot of stuff going on, me and Katelyn (Sweet, girlfriend) just found out we are having a baby so it’s a really exciting time.  How good the racing has been going, a new house, all that and now that so it’s been a lot of fun.”
 
SONOMA NEXT WEEK HOW EXCITED ARE YOU TO GO ROAD RACING NEXT WEEK?
“I’m really excited I like road racing a lot.  I haven’t done much of it.  I did three Nationwide races last year and felt like I was pretty competitive at all three of those races.  Road America I ran third or fourth most of the race and got caught up in an accident in the last part of the race and was able to get back to seventh.  Mid-Ohio I came back from three laps down to be running third on the last lap and got moved out of the way which ended up in a bad finish there.  In Watkins Glen we were quick, but I missed a shift there and blew the engine up.  Really looking forward to going to Sonoma for my home town race.  I get to see a lot of friends, go to a sprint car race nearby to go watch on Saturday night.  It’s going to be a lot of fun going home.”
 
FOR YOU GOING TO SONOMA WHAT IS THE KEY FOR YOU GOING TO THAT RACE TRACK?
“I guess the key for every road course is to stay on track all day and you can get a top 10 finish.  There is a lot of chaos that goes on at road course races.  So just have to stay out of trouble and get a good finish.  We have worked really hard to get to where we are at in points right now so just can’t throw it away by doing something stupid.  Just stay out of trouble and hopefully get a good finish.”
 
WHAT IS THE HARDEST PART TO YOU ABOUT ROAD RACING?
“I haven’t done a whole lot of it so I don’t know it 100 percent yet.  I got to go do Bondurant this week and I feel like I learned a little bit that will help me a lot.  I’m excited to get to Sonoma just because of the stuff that I learned at Bondurant I hadn’t known really until now.  I think I will be even better when I get to Sonoma.”
 
WHEN IS THE BABY DUE?
“It was December 29th the first time she went then it was Christmas now it is kind of back to December 29th.  Christmas sounds cool so I will go with Christmas.”