NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
FEBRUARY 24, 2013
 
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS, INVOLVED IN MULTI-CAR INCIDENT ON LAP 32 OF THE DAYTONA 500:
WHAT HAPPENED: “Somebody backed-up to my grill. It was just a little touch. I saw them when they were all getting together, and I said ‘Oh, they are wrecking’. And as soon as I said they were wrecking the No. 5 (Kasey Kahne) went left into me. I managed to brake, and just touched him a little bit with nose. Then somebody else wrecked a lot harder behind him, and came on my side and killed the car on the side. So, we are fixing it. We’re going to run out there and try to score some decent points.  You could see it coming. They were all checking up. And I thought ‘Somebody isn’t going to check-up and screw-up’. And, then, they did.”
 
UP UNTIL THAT POINT, HOW WAS THE CAR AND THE RACING? “It was good. For me, we were just counting laps. We felt we had really good speed, we worked with Tony (Stewart) earlier. Then I decided I was just going to get in line and ride here. We didn’t need to do anything. We were riding where we wanted to be. We said top-10, top-15, as long as we ride there, we’ll be fine. That was plan. Now we are adding pieces to the car again.”
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – INVOLVED IN MULTI-CAR INCIDENT ON LAP 32 OF THE DAYTONA 500:
WHAT HAPPENED?
“I let off a little bit to miss the wreck. It looked like the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) hooked the No. 5 (Kasey Kahne) and that kind of just started a chain reaction. I don’t know who was behind me, but just one of those deals.”

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 BASS PRO SHOPS/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – INVOLVED IN MULTI-CAR INCIDENT ON LAP 32 OF THE DAYTONA 500:
NOT THE WAY YOU WANTED TO START OUT YOUR SEASON TELL US WHAT HAPPENED?
“The hell with the season, I wanted to win the Daytona 500. We had a car that we could pass with today. We were passing cars by our self so. Happy with our car, was just waiting for it to all get sorted out again. I don’t know what started it, but we just got caught up in another wreck.”

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – INVOLVED IN MULTI-CAR INCIDENT ON LAP 32 OF DAYTONA 500:
YOU GOT BUMPED FROM BEHIND. IS THIS THE NATURE OF PLATE RACING?
“We were just running the line. The front three cars, for whatever reason, slowed down pretty quickly. So I was just on the brakes and trying not to hit Jeff (Gordon). The other cars behind me didn’t slow down in time. When I hit the grass is when it did the most damage to the car. But we had a fast car. This Farmers Insurance Chevy SS the last week has been fast. I wanted to race. I didn’t want to sit single file up by the wall like everybody was doing. I didn’t want that at all.”
 
CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED?
“The cars in front of us slowed up so I was just slowing up right on Jeff (Gordon’s) bumper there. I got hit from behind. Kyle (Busch) was probably getting pushed and it all happened so quick. But we had a fast Farmers Insurance Chevy SS and just got hit. I shot to the infield and when I hit the grass it blew the front end up pretty good. So that’s when we got injured the most, car-wise.
“The guys in front of me were all checking up. I was trying not to run over Jeff (Gordon) and I could feel a lot of momentum right there, so I was trying hard not to run over Jeff. Kyle (Busch) was probably feeling the same momentum from behind and hit me, which shot me to the infield. There were a lot of cars close together.”
 
TO BE OUT THIS EARLY, WHAT ARE YOUR EMOTIONS?
“Oh, it’s crazy. I can’t believe it. I mean, I wanted to race. I didn’t want to run single-file by the wall. That’s what we were doing and you still got caught in something. I really don’t know how it happened like that. I understand how that happens but it’s restrictor-plate racing and anything can happen here.”
 
IS THAT JUST RACING?
“There’s just a lot of momentum. I could feel a ton of momentum between like all of us right there except the three cars in front of me were stopped for some reason. So I was trying not to run over Jeff (Gordon), which I didn’t. The guys behind me obviously couldn’t stop because they hit me. But there was a ton of momentum for whatever reason.”
 
DID YOU EXPECT THAT SINGLE-FILE RACING?
“I expected it. I didn’t want it. I’d rather be racing all day than staying up by the wall.”
 
HOW IS THE NEW CAR? DO YOU THINK THE NEW CAR HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH WHAT’S GOING ON OUT THERE?
“Oh, the new car is great. There is nothing wrong with the new car. It’s a 500-mile race, so everybody wants to take it easy and wait ‘til later on and I’m not going to get to be there later on. I want to be part of that. It’s going to be pretty exciting there in an hour or so.”
 
DO YOU THINK WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY WAS A FREAK THING AT THE END OF THE RACE?
“Yeah, that was a freak deal at the end of the race yesterday. It’s crazy. It’s scary. I’m glad that everybody is okay to this point. There were some injuries and things, but it was just a scary situation. You look up in the stands and it’s packed with people and excited fans that want to see a show. There’s going to be a great show here today, but yeah, that was definitely a freak accident yesterday.”

 
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 23, 2013
 
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway and discussed the final practice session, how important getting a good start to the season is and other topics.  FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
IS THIS THE FIRST TIME YOU HAVE SEEN BULLSEYE THE DOG BEFORE?
“No, the dog we had him…I’ve seen him a couple of times.  I think the last time I saw it was at Target 50th anniversary last year they had the dog there.  It’s amazing.  It’s pretty cool.  With the race suit on, I hadn’t seen it with the race suit on that is pretty cool.”
 
THE RACING SUIT IS AWESOME.
“I think so.  It’s called Bullseye.  It’s a great thing the Target dog.  It’s a cool dog and obedient as hell. (Laughs) not like me.”
 
IS HE A GOOD LUCK CHARM?
“I hope so.  Dario (Franchetti) took him last year to the (Indy) 500 and won.  So, it’s here and I think it would be cool.”
 
SO NO PRESSURE ON THE DOG THEN RIGHT?
“No, or me (laughs).  No, I think it’s pretty cool for everybody on the Target team this is awesome.  We worked really hard this year.  Last year was a tough year for us. We worked really hard and to start this year the way we have been running so far it’s pretty encouraging.”
 
PRACTICE WENT WELL WERE YOU PLEASED WITH EVERYTHING?
“Yeah, we finished third in our Duel and we practiced sixth today.  Yesterday we didn’t do any practice.  Our car seems pretty good.  It’s stable; it does everything that I want the car to do.  You still have to run 500 miles, be there at the end to have a shot at it.”
 
WHAT DID YOU WORK ON IN FINAL PRACTICE?
“A little bit of everything.  We felt we were too tight in the Duels.  I think most of the people were shocked how tight they were.  So we worked on it and we freed it up a little bit and it seemed to work a little better so it’s pretty good.”
 
WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY FOR THE RACE?  
“We got a good starting spot.  We are starting seventh and I think that is a great thing.  It’s always a big question mark as to what do you do.  You still have to run 200 laps. You still have to be there at the end.  The first 150 doesn’t really matter.”
 
A LOT OF DRIVERS ARE TALKING ABOUT PATIENCE.  THAT DOESN’T SEEM TO GO HAND IN HAND DRIVERS AND PATIENCE:
“You do have to be very patient here.  We haven’t had the 43 cars on the track together yet. I think it might be a little bit different.  If you really think about it you look at the Duels were 20 cars each.  With 20 something cars each you don’t have enough cars to have two proper lanes. I think the race might be a little bit different because if you look at every other race the bottom works.  In our races the top works.  We will see.”
 
SOME DRIVERS HAVE SAID THEY ARE HAPPY THAT ALL THE ATTENTION HAS BEEN ON DANICA (PATRICK) THIS WEEKEND AND IT HAS KIND OF GIVEN THEM A CHANCE TO BE UNDER THE RADAR.  WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT?
“I think it was cool for Danica and the sport to have her on pole.  Its attention that is great for everybody, all of us.  But when the green flag drops it’s the same feel for everybody.  Whoever can do the best job over the weekend and on that day is going to take the trophy home.”
 
YOU HAD GREAT LUCK HERE WITH THE ROLEX 24 HOUR WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO BE IN VICTORY LANE ON SUNDAY?
“This year has been really good for me.  I have no complaints.  The Rolex win, I finished third in the Duels, we finished 10th in the Unlimited.  Things are going our way.  After last year I will take any bit of luck.  I’m excited.”
 
IS THERE A LOT OF PRESSURE TO GET THE YEAR OFF ON A GOOD START?
“We work as hard as we can.  That is all I can do.  I drive the car as fast as I can every time I’m in it.  I try to drive the wheels out of it every time.  That is all you can do.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 23, 2013
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway and discussed not participating in the final practice session, working with rookies at Daytona and other topics.  FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR FINAL PRACTICE TODAY?
“We don’t have any plans to go out today.  We feel like this entire week we have been able to learn everything we need to get prepared for the race tomorrow.  We feel like yesterday was just getting the feel for our race engine.  We did a little bit of drafting with some teammates and Stewart-Hass and just fine tuning.  We’ve got a great race car.  We are excited.  We’ve got a great opportunity here.”
 
YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH SOME CHANGES WITH CARS OVER THE YEARS.  CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE PROCESS OF LEARNING ABOUT THE NEW CAR?
“It’s been awhile since we have gone through a change like this.  It is an adjustment.  So much work goes on back at the shop just building cars.  Then there is the whole learning process with the engineers and Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) trying to figure out what this car needs to go fast.  There are a lot of different components to getting a car down here ready to win the Daytona 500.  Some teams are just trying to get here and get in the show and others are trying to win it.  I’m really proud of the effort that has been put in by our team to come down here, sit on the front row and have as good of a race car as we have.  It shows what kind of organization that we are and the depth that we have.  These are the moments where I feel like where we can shine because of being through this process before in the past.  Knowing how to bring the whole team together, not just the No. 24 team, and other teams as well it’s the engine shop, the chassis shop, hanging bodies and everything that goes into a process of a new car.
 
“It’s a learning process for sure.  Trying to understand what kind of balance the car is going to have out front or in the draft or further back in the draft.  That is still going to be a learning process.  We were out front most of the time in the 150, so that is why we wanted to do some drafting yesterday being behind cars and get a little bit of an understanding with some adjustments to see how they affected the car.”
 
WITH ALL THE HYPE SURROUNDING DANICA (PATRICK) THIS WEEK IT’S KIND OF FUNNY HOW YOU HAVE KIND OF FLOWN UNDER THE RADAR  AS FAR TURNING OUT THE NUMBERS YOU HAVE. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW IT HAS BEEN THIS WEEK WITH ALL THE HYPE AROUND DANICA (PATRICK) AND NOT ON YOU?
“I think we are in the best position to win the race.  Everybody has sort of been under the radar other than maybe (Kevin) Harvick winning two races.  I think those guys look very strong with a great chance to win the Daytona 500.  Obviously, Danica brings a lot of attention and that is fantastic for our sport.  For us we are just doing our jobs, doing our thing and we have a great race car, great race team.  It’s nice to be able to just go about it without too much attention on us, too many expectations and hype so that there are not any distractions.”
 
ALAN (GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF) WAS SAYING THE OTHER DAY AS MUCH AS YOU GUYS WANT TO WIN THE DAYTONA 500 YOU ALSO REALLY WANT TO GET OFF TO A GOOD START AND NOT PUT YOURSELF IN A HOLE LIKE YOU DID LAST YEAR IS THAT WHAT YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO FOCUS ON?
“It’s true you know.  We experienced that last year and as competitive as this sport is, it’s hard to climb your way back up into those top-10 in points when you get that far behind. That is definitely something that when we look at our season of 2012 and we look at approaching 2013 what is important to us it’s to get more consistency early on in the season and get off to a good start.  Of course we want to win, we want to win every race, but we also want to make sure that we are crossing our ‘T’s’ dotting our ‘I’s’ and when we have a bad day that it’s a 10th-place finish, not a 35th-place finish.”
 
EVERYBODY IS TALKING ABOUT THE UNKNOWN FACTOR HERE WITH THE NEW CAR.  WILL THAT BE THE SAME NEXT WEEK IN PHOENIX?
“Oh absolutely, there are a couple of teams that have tested out there, but even since then the cars have evolved and changed.  The teams are constantly learning what these cars need and taking them to the wind tunnel and trying to make improvements to the aerodynamics.  Then the drivers in that learning curve of how this car is going to drive different and how to get the balance with this car that you need to go fast.  You go from here having a low downforce package to going to Phoenix with a high downforce package in completely different scenarios.”
 
YOU HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN TWO DIFFERENT STYLE RACES THIS WEEKEND, PACK RACING AND SINGLE FILE.  WHAT TYPE OF RACING DO YOU THINK WE ARE GOING TO SEE TOMORROW?
“Personally, I love the kind of racing from a driver standpoint this is the type of racing that I enjoy doing at Daytona.  You have to think, you have to be smart, you have to be aggressive at times and you have to have a good handling car.  So it brings the whole team aspect into it.  I hope the fans can appreciate this type of racing because I think when it comes down to the end of this race the excitement is going to be there.  But in between it’s going to be strategy, it’s going to be thought provoking and there are going to be moments of some side-by-side great racing.  There is also going to be moments where people are trying to plan out and strategize.  To me that is the best of all worlds and why I love this package that we have here.  It’s not going to be like the Truck race was last night.  Some people might say, well I wish it was.  For me, I don’t.  I love this type of racing.  I think that we are going to see a little bit of both.
 
“I think that when you put 43 cars out there…what I love about this is you have a purpose and a challenge to make passes to get to the front.  You need to be at the front because your car is going to drive much better at the front.  You don’t want to hang around the back because your car is not going to drive well and you’ve got a chance of losing the draft.  You are going to push yourself to figure out a way to get to the front.  There are cars that are going to be handling good at the beginning of a run and not so good at the end of a run.  So you are going to start to see passes happen in those last 10 laps before a pit stop.  Then you are going to have cautions where they are going to stack up and everybody is going to be jockeying for position being aggressive and there is going to be sparks flying and action.  I can’t predict exactly what we are going to see, but I think you are going to see guys being more aggressive than they were in the 150’s because that was the 150.  That was just trying to get position for the (Daytona) 500.
 
“This is the Daytona 500 this is what it is all for the biggest race that we have and everybody wants to win it.  So you are going to see some guys be more aggressive and you are going to see other guys strategizing trying to just maintain and keep that position that they need, that they feel like is going to get them the win.”
 
YOU MENTIONED (KEVIN) HARVICK EARLIER.  DO YOU THINK HE’S MOTIVATED AT ALL BY THIS BEING HIS LAST YEAR AT RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING (RCR) AND TRYING TO PROVE THINGS GO OUT ON A HIGH NOTE?
“Yes and no, I think that he seems to me to be a guy who no matter what he is driving he is going out there to win.  I think there is probably some relief in some ways that he has made th
is announcement and that he can just go about his business.  When things are good everything is going to be good.  When things start to get challenging and difficult that is when we are going to really see what kind of connection and team that they really are.  Harvick is a professional.  He is going to be professional about it and so it RCR.  They have got a car and a team that can win the Daytona 500.  They are going to go out there and try to win it. I wouldn’t expect anything any different.”
 
WHAT DOES A VETERAN NEED TO SEE FROM A ROOKIE OR NEWCOMER TO WANT TO WORK WITH THEM AT THIS TRACK?
“I think you just want to see them being patient not making hasty decisions.  Rookies usually are impatient they get in line and they just want to jump out of it and go backwards.  Or just not really making things work.  If you see their car out of control, sliding around then it doesn’t matter if they are a rookie or not you are going to stay away from them.  Somebody that is kind of just going along with the flow of the race and when you they don’t do anything that sends a message to you  where you think ‘oh that’s a rookie’ other than that yellow stripe on the rear bumper you are going to work with them.”
 
WHAT KIND OF PROCESS DID YOU USE TO WORK WITH TREVOR BAYNE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN HE WAS A ROOKIE?
“Trevor was pushing me to the front, so I kind of liked that. (LAUGHS). That’s always a good thing…it doesn’t matter. My car wasn’t out of control. He was being smooth. Right away we realized he had a fast race car, and we could work our way to the front. So, that was definitely a positive.”
 
ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT STARTING ON THE INSIDE WASN’T THE BEST PLACE TO BE?
“I expected that. I am anticipating that. We’ll do everything we can to make that inside lane work. Having Harvick behind me, we’ll try to keep him there to make that inside lane get up there. With our series, it looks like the outside in the beginning definitely is an advantage. For whatever reason, it just seems like that outside lane is able to stall that inside lane, and not allow it to get the momentum that it needs. We’ll see what happens.”
 
IS IT UNUSUAL TO SEE SO MANY TEAMS SIT OUT PRACTICE? DID WE SEE THIS BEFORE, OR IS THIS A PRODUCT OF THE NEW CAR?
“I don’t know. I think the more accidents you see earlier in the week, the less people want to practice the day before the Daytona 500. I feel like we, for us, all I can speak for is us, we’ve had a good week. I think we learned a lot in the 150 (Duel Qualifying Race), and we just need to fine tune. We were able to do that yesterday, so we don’t really reason.  If there was something that popped up that we wanted to try and do, then we’d be out there today. Unless something has changed, we don’t anticipate going out today. When you feel like you’ve got a car that is in position to win the race, and you learned almost everything we need to learn…the thing is unless you are in a big pack, you are not going to learn a whole lot more. We don’t want to risk being in a big pack in practice. We’ll do that in the race when it really counts.”
 
DO YOU THINK THIS NEW CAR IS GOING TO TAKE A FULL YEAR TO SOLVE THAT LAST MYSTERY, TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT IT?
“There are some things you can’t resolve. When you are in 15th or 20th in a line of cars, it’s not going to drive good. I don’t know that there is a whole lot you can do to fix that. You can play around with shocks; and rebound; and different types of geometry to try and help that. But you can’t resolve air not touching the car and pushing the car down into the race track. Beyond that, we’ll just have to wait and see of the 500 goes. Based on how the 150 went, I feel like we are very well prepared; as prepared as I think we’ve been in a very long time for the 500. I think we are always learning. I think we are always learning. We are always trying to be better. We’ll go through this race, and afterwards we’ll debrief and see what we could have done better. And, that’s even if we win the race.”
 
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BRAD KESELOWSKI CONVERSATION WITH BRIAN (FRANCE) AND LESA (FRANCE KENNEDY)?
“We don’t know what the conversation was as far as I know. It’s kind of hard to comment on. They might have been supportive. They might have been reprimanding, who knows. It is not out of the ordinary for a new champion to feel confident to be able to express their opinion on things. Brad cares a lot about the sport. He’s not trying to do anything that would hurt the sport. When you are that open, it doesn’t surprise me that NASCAR is going to talk about it. I don’t think it necessarily means that they are saying ‘Don’t do that’.”
 
ACTUALLY THEY SAID SOME OF HIS OPINIONS WERE LESS THAN INFORMED, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS THEY WANTED TO TALK TO HIM:
“I can see that coming from them. I think wanting him to have all the details. He was pretty descriptive with a lot of it.”
 
DID YOU TAKE ISSUE WITH ANY OF IT?
“Listen, I applaud a guy who’s passionate about the sport, and wants to give his opinion.”
 
EVIDENTLY YOU AREN’T THE ONLY DRIVER WHOSE DAUGHTER WANTED TO MEET DANICA PATRICK. WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT HER POTENTIAL TO BE RELEVANT MUCH BEYOND THE RACING SURFACE?
“Oh, absolutely. Very relevant. Taking this sport into a whole new territory. I think that is fantastic. When my daughter wants to meet somebody, whether it is Danica or Minnie Mouse, I’m going to do all I can to try to make that happen. That tells you what kind of relevance and impact that they are making. I think it is fantastic. I hope to see more of it.”
 
DO YOU THINK CHEVYS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE HERE?
“I can say the same thing I’ve always said when we come down here to Daytona and you see one manufacturer look good. Yes, Chevy…they love racing. They put a lot into it. But, the teams of Hendrick, and Stewart-Haas and Childress are very strong teams. Always have been. They have always represented their manufacturer very, very well. Especially when it comes to big races like Daytona.”
 
KEVIN HARVICK WAS SAYING THAT THE RACING IS A LOT LIKE 2003. OTHERS SAY IT IS A LOT LIKE THE MID-90S. DO YOU SEE THAT? DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE AN ADVANTAGE BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH BOTH OF THOSE ERAS?
“I’m very comfortable with what we have out there. I like this package which means it will probably change. (LAUGHS) I like the fact you’ve got to be careful. The cars, they change over a run. There’s no more of this tandem drafting, which I was never a fan of driving blind at over 200 miles per hour pushing somebody into who knows what. You have to strategize. You got to think.  You have to decide whether you want to run the inside lane or the outside lane. You have to pass one at a time sometimes. I think that is cool. The fact that you can pass; it’s not easy to, but you can. It takes laps to build that run, and that momentum. You have to take risks, but you also have to have patience. I think that suits me very well. I’m happy that it is back to what it was several years ago.”
 
DO YOU THINK THAT FAVORS THE VETERANS?
“It does. But at the same time, it’s how drivers are able to adapt to that. The drivers have gotten used to pushing one another around have got to get used to something completely different. The ones that can adapt quickly, or the veterans that are used to that type of racing, I think they’ll be the ones that are going to shine.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA 500
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
 
RYAN NEWMAN AND MATT BORLAND (CREW CHIEF), NO. 39 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway and discussed the reuniting of the two as crew chief and driver for the 2013 season, winning the Daytona 500 in 2008, and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE MATT BORLAND BACK AT THE HELM CALLING THE SHOTS?
RYAN NEWMAN: “Really excited the four races we had together at the end of 2012 I think our average finish was 7.9.  Just really glad, most people don’t realize that Matt was the best man in Krissie (wife) and I’s wedding so he is obviously always been a great friend.  From a competition level, professional level and a crew chief to driver relationship level we have had great successes and we have always had our failures because you can’t succeed all the time in this sport.  We have learned from both the things that we’ve succeeded at and the things that we have failed at.  Really look forward to just getting back on the success train of wins and poles and leading laps and having good finishes for Quicken Loans and all of our other sponsors.  What we put together last year for those last four races from a team standpoint, Matt has done his homework in the off season and we are really excited to start 2013 with a good shot at winning the (Daytona) 500.  They did a really good job of bringing a fast Quicken Loans car down here to qualify fourth.  I made a mistake in the duel.  Those guys have worked really hard to get the car ready for the (Daytona) 500 and I think we are getting really close to having a very competitive car.”
 
MATT TALK ABOUT BEING REUNITED WITH A DRIVER THAT CERTAINLY YOU HAVE SHARED A GREAT DEAL OF SUCCESS WITH DURING YOUR CAREER:
MATT BORLAND: “It’s definitely been great.  Ryan is an awesome guy, obviously a great driver.  It’s a little nerve racking being back on the box making all the mistakes again all those kinds of things.  Getting nervous about things, but it’s awesome to work with him again.  Just hear all his feedback and be able to go out there and compete for top-five’s and lead laps and do all those things that make the sport what it is and make it a lot of fun.”
 
THERE IS SOME SPECIAL NEWS TODAY FROM YOUR SPONSOR QUICKEN LOANS. TELL US ABOUT THAT:
RYAN NEWMAN: “We are really excited about the partnership with Quicken Loans, Stewart-Hass and myself to have them double up with their sponsorship of races.  Something that really connects them to the fans is their sweepstakes programs.  We had two successful ones last year and this year’s ‘Bring it Home’ sweepstakes every time I finish in the top five regardless if it is the Quicken Loans race or not five fans get their mortgage paid.  They do that by going on qlracing.com website and register.  Obviously, the more times you register per race or each race the better opportunity you have to get that reward.  It’s a great way…who doesn’t want their mortgage paid?  Quicken Loans can offer that to be able to tie it all together with the race fans and our race car we are really proud and excited to do that with them.” 
 
WOULD YOU TALK ABOUT THE ROLE OF A TEST DRIVER TO HAVE SOMEBODY LIKE SCOTT RIGGS TO COME IN FROM THE OUTSIDE AND WHY WOULD YOU CHOOSE SOMEBODY FROM THE OUTSIDE?
MATT BORLAND: “Scott and those guys were actually doing a test while we were down here running the 150’s and it just gives you that much more opportunity to go and do more testing and do more research to try and get everything right so when we go and race, we have everything right. There’s a lot of durability things with this new car. There are a lot of new questions and a lot of new things that are going to go right and wrong. The more of those things you can figure out that are going to go wrong and get them fixed before the race, the better off you’ll be.”
 
RYAN NEWMAN: “It’s supposedly a homework program for myself and Tony (Stewart) and Danica (Patrick). Scott can give us some feedback about the way the car is driving but a lot of it really is the durability-side of it, the testing-side of it, especially this year with the rear-end stuff as far as the camber and the axels and things like that so when the questions we’ve had in our testing and how that can be mileaged-out. You can’t really mileage it out on a race weekend other than racing it. We mock all those things up on a race car and take it to the track and testing everything at different race tracks makes a huge difference. You go to a place like Martinsville where you get the heavy braking and heavy deceleration; you go to a place like Las Vegas and you work on wheel-bearing loads and things like that with more downforce in the race car. So there’s a lot of things that we don’t want to have to have any worry about when we get strapped in for 500-miles here at Daytona.”
 
INAUDIBLE
RYAN NEWMAN: “I don’t think it’s as much that, otherwise they would have us doing it. I mean it’s just you want to have somebody that you respect and you trust with the information that you have to be able to make it beneficial for everybody; otherwise, there’s no point in doing homework, just have somebody else copy it.”
 
YOU ARE BOTH ENGINEERS. CAN YOU TRY TO GIVE US A SIMPLE EXPLANATION OF HOW THE SHAPE OF THE CAR AND THE SHARK FIN AND ALL THAT HAS AFFECTED THE AERODYNAMICS AND THE SIDE DRAFT?
RYAN NEWMAN: “I think if you look at the front of all the cars, they’re a little boxier. They for sure match their production counterpart, in which we’re proud to have Chevrolets because the actual race car and the production car are both rear wheel drive, fuel-injected cars. But if you look at the shape of the car, it punches a little different hole. It’s got some upper edges to it. If you look at our old cars, whether it was back to the original car that I started with or the car of tomorrow, they were much more rounded and these cars have much less of that teardrop effect but ideal shape that you would have for drag. That makes the cars buffet around and the air moves around a little bit differently. I think we’ve got a different situation now with the shark fin and the spoiler and the way that the two match and made up in essence that the spoiler used to actually stick out past the shark fin and now it doesn’t anymore. And the shark fin is just as tall as the spoiler. So, you get some different aero-interactions with cars on the inside of you and behind you than you typically were used to. We were used to that for three, four, or five years. It wasn’t as much of a change, I would say, in the way that the cars aerodynamically drove, when we went from a wing to a spoiler as we went from the Gen-5 car to the Gen-6 car.”
 
MATT BORLAND: “Just to add on that, next week when we go to Phoenix and for all the downforce tracks, the package is totally changed and different from what we’re racing here in Daytona where we’re having a lot more downforce on the car and a lot bigger spoiler and a lot bigger pan, whereas at Daytona we’ve got less spoiler, less splitter, so you have a lot less downforce on the car. There’s also sort of two totally different packages within this same year and this same car.”
 
HAVE YOU MADE A DECISION ON WHETHER YOU’LL TEST AT LAS VEGAS JUST BEFORE THAT RACE?
RYAN NEWMAN: “We are, right?
 
MATT BORLAND: “Are you talking about the day before the test, or the open test? The extra day? Yes. Are you talking about an open test at Vegas, or the day before the race weekend? Because the day before the race weekend is open to everybody.
 
RYAN NEWMAN: The Thursday before the race weekend which they originally called a test day, then they changed it to a practice day.  Yes, we’ll be there.
“
 
CONSIDERING WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE A RESOURCES, WHETHER IT’S DEVELOPING THE TEST TEAM, OR HAVING AN IN-HOUSE WIND TUNNEL, HAS IT SURPRISED YOU THAT THE THREE CARS PLACED IN THE TOP-FIVE IN QUALIFYING?
MATT BORLAND: “Surprising, maybe yes, maybe no. Obviously the guys have done a lot of work over the winter. A lot of focus was put on trying to make the cars qualify really well. So from that aspect, no it is not surprising. But, you never know when you come down here what you are going to have, and it was fantastic with all the work Mobil did, all our partners did helping us get those cars ready. And, then just executing on qualifying day. It was great to see. Like I said, it is kind of a double-edged sword there. You are surprised, but you are not surprised.”
 
RYAN NEWMAN: “We were second in Talladega by thousandths of a second last year. So, we had speed last year. It wasn’t like all of a sudden we just got speed.”
 
TONY KEEPS GOING TO THE FACT THAT WITH MOBIL 1 THERE IS SOMETHING BEYOND JUST BEING A SPONSOR:
RYAN NEWMAN: “We have integrity in our answers, yes. We believe they make a difference, that is why we say it.”
 
WHEN YOU THINK BACK TO WINNING THIS RACE, WHAT COMES IN THERE?
RYAN NEWMAN: “I think it was an amazing moment in my racing career; my driving career; my family; and all those things that go into it – for myself personally, Roger (Penske), my Dad, so many people. But it’s in the past. The track’s changed; the tires have changed; the cars have changed; my crew has changed; a lot of things have changed. I know I still have the ability because the walls and the banking are still there, and are virtually the same. I have the confidence to do what I need to do, but, you can’t just say because I’ve done it, I can do it again. If you do, and you do do it, you merely got lucky. It takes a lot of things to make it right so that you can be in Victory Lane on Sunday.”
 
WHEN YOU LOOK AT TONY, WHAT DO YOU SEE IN HIS BODY LANGUAGE AFTER THE WEEK HE HAS HAD WITH YOU, DANICA AND HIS OWN CAR?
RYAN NEWMAN: “Just that he needs a couple of hours at the chiropractor, that’s about it. (LAUGHS) No, I think he’s definitely very happy to see the way that the cars qualified. That is a big part of coming here, and we were very open about it when we tested that we were putting our emphasis on speed, not drafting. At least from the No. 39 side. To come here and do what we did in qualifying made somewhat of a statement, no doubt. Tony also knows that when the racing starts that the speed is only a part of it, there’s a lot more to it. We all have be shiny in what we have to achieve. But body language-wise, he’s Tony. He’s usually got a bruise from a rock in a sprint car. His neck hurts a little bit because he got it up on his side. That type of thing. That’s his body language.”

Mark Reuss Named Honorary Pace Car Driver for Daytona 500
President of General Motors North America Instrumental in Bringing Chevrolet SS to NASCAR
 
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Mark Reuss, General Motors North America president , who was instrumental in bringing the new Chevrolet SS to NASCAR, will be the honorary pace car driver Sunday for the 55th running of the Daytona 500.
 
He will be behind the wheel of a 2014 production Chevrolet SS.
 
“Leading the Daytona 500 starting field to green driving a 2014 Chevrolet SS pace car on one of the most famous race tracks in the world will be a special honor for me,” Reuss said. “I can’t wait to drive across the start/finish line and on into Turn 1. I know it will be difficult to turn down onto pit road when it’s over because I will want to make that moment last as long as possible.”

The 2014 Chevrolet SS pace car has been busy during its Speedweeks debut, earlier pacing The Sprint Unlimited and both Budweiser Duels. The 2014 Chevrolet SS is the first V-8, rear-wheel drive performance sedan for Chevrolet since 1996.
 
“The Chevrolet brand was largely built on the strength of rear-drive performance sedans, yet it’s been 17 years since we’ve offered one,” Reuss said when the production car was unveiled at the track last weekend. “The all-new Chevrolet SS fills that void and fills it better than any other vehicle in the brand’s rich history. The comfort, convenience, spaciousness and V-8 power make the SS a total performance package unlike any other on the road today.”
 
The Chevrolet SS accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in about five seconds – making it one of the quickest sedans on the market.
 
The 2014 Chevrolet SS will be available in the fourth quarter of 2013, with prices set closer to the on-sale date.
 
This is the first time that Reuss has been an honorary pace car driver for a NASCAR race.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
 
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 BASS PRO SHOPS/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed his outlook for the Daytona 500, his charity involvement, new sponsorship for three races, Danica Patrick, and more.  Full Transcript:
 
ON NEW SPONSORSHIP
“We talked during the Media Tour about having nine races left to sell and we’re proud to announce this week that we’ve got three of those sold to Rush Truck Centers. They’re going to be on the car at Fontana, the spring Martinsville race, and spring Richmond races. We’ve had a relationship with them since 2010 and it’s obviously growing. It’s grown to three primaries this year. Mobil 1 will be the ‘b’ sponsor on the car for all three of those races. So, we still have six races of inventory left, but we’ve got three committed to Rush Truck Centers now.”
 
ON THE DAYTONA 500 AND HOW HIS CAR IS
“It’s kind of weird on Friday to be sitting here and I won’t see that car again until Sunday. So, we’ve actually run all we’re going to run the car until the 500, which the motor that was in the car today is the race engine, so we basically worked on our chassis set-up and made sure we did our final run on the motor just to make sure there were no vibrations and no leaks and no problems. I don’t know where we ended-up in the second session, if we were still on the top of the board or not, but it seemed like it had really good speed and I’m excited about Sunday now. It’s going to be kind of nice to have a day off from the Cup car and be able to focus strictly on the Nationwide car tomorrow. I’m excited. We’ve made it through the whole week without a scratch on that car and it’s about as ready as it can get for the 500. So I’m excited. I feel like we’ve got a car that’s capable of winning the race. It’s just a matter of whether the driver does a good job behind the steering wheel and puts it’s it the right positions.”
 
WHERE WAS YOUR FOCUS ON CHASSIS SET-UP THIS MORNING?
“I was actually tight yesterday too. So, we went to free it up to see if we could get it more neutral. I think we ran 28 consecutive laps out there, so we had plenty of heat in the tires during that run. We ran the top of the track; we ran the bottom of the track, so we pretty much know what we’ve got now and have a pretty good handle on it.”
 
YOU WERE STRONG IN THE UNLIMITED AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE A GOOD CAR FOR SUNDAY. DOES THAT MAKE YOU MORE ANXIOUS OR FEELING LIKE MAYBE THIS IS THE YEAR WHEN YOU WIN THIS RACE?
“Well, even with the way the cars run all week, it’s no guarantee. It’s still a chess match. You’ve still got to put yourself in the right position and be there at the end. I’m comfortable, I guess, more than anything right now. I felt good when I got out of the car today. I didn’t feel like we still have work to do to get the car balanced or to get speed out of the car. I feel like we’ve got both of those right now. So, as far as the car is concerned, I’m really happy and content with it. Like I say the weird thing is just knowing that we do have practice tomorrow and we won’t run a lap in that car tomorrow. So, I guess I’m just calm at this point. It’s just a matter of waiting until Sunday and going out and doing our job.”
 
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU AND YOUR FELLOW DRIVERS SPEND SUCH A LARGE AMOUNT OF YOUR TIME DOING CHARITY WORK; FOR EXAMPLE WITH DARRELL GWYNN?
“Darrell has done this twice a year for a long time now; I don’t know how many consecutive years he’s done it here and at Homestead. You’d never have a hard time getting drivers to go do it. All the drivers are supportive of charities like that. We’re all very supportive of each other’s charities as well. It’s something you’re pretty proud of when you come into this sport and realizing how hectic all of our schedules are, but at the same time, how willing the drivers are to donate the limited about of free time that they do have to really good causes to help generate money.”
 
IS IT UNUSUAL FOR YOU TO BE CALM BEFORE THIS RACE OR DOES THIS RACE MAKE YOU NERVOUS MOST YEARS?
“Oh, it always makes you nervous because you always want to win the biggest race of the year. But when I say nervous, it’s not like you lose sleep over it. But I guess today when I say I’m calm about it, it’s like I’m really happy with my car. I got out and I looked at (crew chief) Steve Addington and he’s like I’m content if you are and I’m like I honestly don’t know what else to ask for with the car. So, it’s nice from a driver’s side to be able to say I don’t know what else to ask you for. I don’t know what else I need. So, it’s a good scenario. When there’s not a scratch on it, it’s ready to race. Those guys are going to have the whole day tomorrow to just get everything ready and go over everything with a fine-tooth comb and make sure everything is absolutely perfect and ready for Sunday. That’s a position I don’t know that we’ve ever been in. I think we’ve always run final practice and if nothing else, at least run 15 or 20 laps in final practice. To have this year and know that we’re finished and ready to go, it’s nice for those guys to have that opportunity and time to get ready for the race and we’re not going to be doubled-up tomorrow, so we’ll have a pretty relaxing day tomorrow to get ready for Sunday.”
 
RESTRICTOR PLATE RACING HASN’T ALWAYS BEEN RELAXING TO YOU. CAN YOU COMMENT ON THE CHANGE AND THE NATURE OF PLATE RACING WITH THIS GEN-6 CAR AND IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT
“I love it. I love actually being able to see through the car in front of me and see what’s going on and not just being cramped up the bumper of the guy up in front of you and trying to make sure you’re in the right spot to try to get an opening of air. It’s a lot more fun, at least from my standpoint as a driver. I like it a lot better than the tandem style that we had. You’ll never hurt my feelings if I never have to physically push another car again in the Cup Series the rest of my life.”
 
TONY, YOU DIDN’T HAVE THE SEASON YOU WANTED LAST YEAR, HAS DANICA’S PERFORMANCE THIS WEEK AND THE SUCCESS OF YOUR THREE CARS ENERGIZED YOU?
“I don’t know that Daytona energizes you. It is once you go to two or three 1.5-mile tracks that you get excited about what you’ve got. Daytona is Daytona. It is kind of a separate entity than the rest of the season. This week has been an awesome week. We didn’t end up with the finish we wanted in the Unlimited the other night, but still had a strong run. Showed strength in the race. Sunday (qualifying) was a dream for a car owner to have your three cars in the top-five spots on the grid. Danica and I got through unscathed. Ryan (Newman) had a problem yesterday (in the Duel races). We know what it was. We know what to do to solve it to keep that from happening again. He’s in a backup car, and he seems to like his backup car so far. As far as the 10 days that you are down here, it is kind of a mini season of it’s own just getting through the 500. Up to this point, it’s been really, really good. Obviously, being here today talking about a new sponsor for three races – that’s been the icing on the cake so far.”
 
WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WOULD MEAN FOR THIS SPORT IF DANICA WERE TO WIN ON SUNDAY? AND IF YOU TWO ARE RUNNING ONE AND TWO, WILL THAT THOUGHT CROSS YOUR MIND AT ALL?
“No, it will not. And you guys will know more what it means than we will.  We just try to figure out how to win races. I mean, it was huge obviously. You are asking me before it happens, and I got to see how big it was after she got on the pole what it meant, and how big it was news-wise. I’m just guessing knowing how big it was after qualifying, if she were to win the race, it would be huge.”
 
DO YOU THINK DANICA HAS BEEN HANDICAPPED JUST
WORRYING ABOUT NOT WRECKING THE CAR, AND NOT REALLY DOING A WHOLE LOT OF DRAFTING AS FAR AS PREPARATION FOR THIS RACE? THE NATIONWIDE RACE WILL BE A TANDEM RACE, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE FROM THAT RACE TO SUNDAY?
“No, not at all. It’s two totally different forms of drafting. Two different styles. So tomorrow won’t do anything. As far as handicapping, I don’t know that it has handicapped her at all. It is a 500 mile race, she is going to learn a lot during the race as well as what she learned yesterday. Yesterday her car was tight. She just didn’t have the car to get up there. She had speed today in practice. Her car is really fast too, so I mean, she’s got the car she needs. It’s just a matter of being in the right positions. Yesterday it was hard to be in the right position. I think the 500 miles will be a trial and error process for everybody including her to learn what we need to do for those last 100 miles to get in position to try and win.”
 
DANICA SAID SHE WILL GET AFTER IT ON SUNDAY.  WILL YOU RUN YOUR OWN RACE, OR WILL YOU WANT TO GO WITH HER AND GET IN THE DRAFT WITH HER TO GIVE HER SOME SUPPORT?
“You obviously want to work with your teammates. Nobody has mentioned Ryan Newman. I don’t know if you guys know, but he’s my teammate too. He drives the No. 39 car for Stewart-Haas. Been there for five years now. Just to let you know that we do actually have another teammate too that runs for us. Yea, we’ll do anything we can to work with our teammates. For 400 miles…working with your teammates for the first 100 miles isn’t going to accomplish anything. You aren’t helping anything, but you aren’t hurting anything. You have to try stuff that you want to try when you want to try it, and learn the things you need to learn for those last 100 miles.  Other than that. In a perfect scenario, you are helping a teammate, or a teammate is helping you at the end. That’s what you would like to have. But, there’s going to be times and scenarios during the day – pit stops – there’s going to be a lot of things that happen that don’t lead you to necessarily being around your teammate all the time. You can’t just stop what you are doing because you have a teammate somewhere else in every scenario.”
 
YOU’VE BEEN IN THE POSITION WHERE YOU’VE SWEPT EVERYTHING COMING INTO THE 500 AND EVERYBODY SAID ‘OH HE’S THE FAVORITE’, AND YOU KNOW THAT DOESN’T TRANSLATE TO ANYTHING. NOW KEVIN (HARVICK) IS SORT OF IN THAT POSITION, AND HE’S BUILDING STEAM AS THE GUY TO BEAT. NO. 1 IS HE THE GUY TO BEAT? NO. 2 WHY CAN YOU RUN WELL AND WIN EVERYTHING AND THEN NOT PULL IT OFF ON THE BIG DAY AND THE ONE THAT COUNTS?
“You don’t have the whole field in either of the two races leading up to it is part of that reason. It is a 20-car or 22-car shootout on Saturday night. You have half the field, which is about the same amount of cars, 22 or 23 cars, on Thursday. Sometimes the scenarios just don’t work out. Sometimes you have bad luck that didn’t creep up in the first two races. There is just a number of things that can happen on Sunday’s race that don’t happen, or hadn’t happened up to that point in the other two races. I think it is actually a good position for Kevin this week. It doesn’t seem to be as easy to come from the back to the front as it has been in the past. I think having that experience, and the laps that he has led up front, he’s learned a lot that can be really, really valuable at the end if he’s in that scenario again. That is good knowledge to have going into Sunday’s race.”

DANICA PATRICK AND TONY GIBSON (CREW CHIEF), NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway and discussed starting on the pole for the 55th running of the Daytona 500, their strategy for the rest of the weekend and the Daytona 500 and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
TALK ABOUT HOW PRACTICE HAS BEEN GOING; HOW THE DUEL WENT FOR YOU AS LOOK AHEAD TO THE DAYTONA 500:
DANICA: “The Duel was fine. I started on the bottom. Tony (Stewart) was right behind me if I started there, so we thought that was kind of the best place to be. We didn’t really know that it was going to be so obvious that we needed to start on the top; that’s why we will do that for the 500 on Sunday. Tony just stayed back there, so I just stayed with him. We just kind of fell back; we got three-wide a little bit at one point, and I just got out of it and let that pass and then dropped to the back. The car was pretty tight, so there wasn’t a lot I could do anyway. Passing seems tough without a fair amount of help. And even when you get that, it sometimes get stopped-up by somebody dropping down in front of the lane, and slowing it up. So, it is going to be interesting to see how things end up working out on Sunday. Practice today was really the most amount race running I felt like I’ve had. We did 32 laps straight. I was running with great cars – Jeff (Gordon), Kasey (Kahne), Tony. I think Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) got in mix at one point. It was a good group of cars to be with. We stayed out there for a long time. Just got a feel for things. I don’t think we even expected to do so much running. The car was good from the get-go. Tony (Gibson, crew chief) made some nice adjustments from the Duel to today. We’re feeling much more comfortable and confident with the balance going into Sunday.”
 
TONY, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS FROM THE CAR? SOME OF THE THINGS YOUR CREW HAS WORKED ON, AND HOW THINGS ARE SHAKING OUT FOR YOUR TEAM: TONY GIBSON: “We’re just trying to keep speed in it. We were way, way, way too tight for the Duel. We kind of over-adjusted there; we weren’t sure. We figured with the weather that we needed to be tightened up a little bit: especially starting on the front row on the inside. Our plan was to stay with Stewart right behind us. We were hoping to be able to pull away – at least both of us at the start and get to the high-side. But that didn’t happen. So once we got back there…just stay out of trouble and help Stewart if he got in some trouble and had to catch back up. You are going to have to have all the speed that you can get in these race cars. We were just too tight. I felt like we killed our speed with over-adjustments. We worked on some things last night based off her comments mainly just to keep speed in it. Mid-corner speed is going to be big. I think you get runs; pushes from other cars and you suck up really well. But, your mid-corner speed is going to have to extremely good to duck down and pass somebody on the inside and get a run. I felt like we made some pretty good gains today. I felt like there are a couple of other things me and Danica talked about that we need to be a little bit better at car-wise. So we are going to work on those tonight and go into the 500…just some small things.
 
“Some shock adjustments we’ve been working on to keep speed in the car, and the right front spring we worked on a little bit. Just things to keep it in traffic. Keep the car consistent because when you are out front, all the air is on the front-end and the back-end gets light. And when you are in traffic, the whole car kind of lifts out of the race track, and you lose that pressure on the nose. Just working on things to make the car consistent no matter where she is at. We were in the front; we were in the back; we were the fourth car; third car; second car today around some really good race cars. Some fast race cars. Some of the guys you are going to have to contend with for the win. I felt like we did make the car better. We have some more stuff to do to make sure we can win this thing. We have speed, and she can definitely get it done. I think we have some partners out there that seem to me are committed to helping us there. I know we’ve been holding her back. We haven’t been letting her race, and I know that is frustrating to try to protect your race car so you can lead the field down. But, we are going to cut her lose on Sunday. I told her she can treat it like a video game. If you feel like you want to pull out and pass, go for it.”
 
DANICA: “I finally said in the hauler after we were done ‘We are definitely, definitely, definitely starting on the front row for the 500 now because we are done.”
 
TONY GIBSON: We’re done.”
 
DANICA, WITH ALL THE ATTENTION YOU ARE GETTING FOR BEING ON THE POLE, DOES THAT PUT ANY MORE PRESSURE ON YOU TO BE COMPETITIVE AND THAT YOU ARE SORT OF BECOMING THE FACE OF THIS RACE?
DANICA: “I’m just going to answer your question about if I feel more pressure. I can understand that there will be more hope out there, and there will be a lot of people that will be excited, and anxious to see what happens. But, I put plenty of pressure on myself, and I want to go out there, and I want to win the race, and I want to run strong all day. I want to do all those things for myself. I don’t think that anyone can make me feel it anymore. I guess I’m okay. I’m noticing by the attention that is getting that it would be….when you are already being watched a lot in those moments. It happened in the Indy 500 in 2005 where qualifying came and went, and we missed out on the pole, and everybody was watching me to see what happened in the race, and have it go down in an exciting fashion and come close to winning it, it blows up even bigger then because so many people are watching. I can understand that could happen. It’s going to be a big challenge no doubt. There are a lot of really good drivers that know what they’re doing. I need to go out there, and I need to just hold my own. I also need to…I’m thinking about more what I have to do, not what’s going to happen. Doesn’t do me any good to think about what’s going to happen.”
 
IT WILL LIKELY CHANGE DURING THE RACE, BUT ARE THERE PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO DRAFT WITH? IS THERE SOMEBODY YOU HAVEN’T HAD A CHANCE TO DRAFT WITH YET?
DANICA: “You’ll take anybody you can get. It really doesn’t matter. It’s a little bit different now that we’re not bump drafting. So, it’s not like you have people that you feel more comfortable with or not. It’s just pushing with air. So, I think that you’ll take anyone you can get to try and pull out and pass people. It’s going to take a fair amount of them. So, I’ll take ‘em where I can get ‘em.”
 
DON’T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY. BOTH OF YOU TALKED ABOUT WINNING THE RACE. PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT OH, SHE WON THE POLE AND THAT’S GREAT. BUT SHE PROBABLY WON’T BE UP THERE RUNNING FOR THE WIN ON SUNDAY. WHY ARE YOU BOTH SO CONFIDENT THAT YOU CAN BE A CONTENDER AND GO GET THIS WIN?
TONY GIBSON: “Well, I can answer that. I have 100 percent confidence in her skills and her ability. I’ve seen it just in the two races we did last year. We were sitting there running 11th or 12th in Phoenix on the lead lap and running with guys I never dreamed we’d be running with. So, she’s got the talent and she’s got the ability and she’s already proven in the Nationwide Series, from what I’ve seen, on the speedway stuff she definitely gets the respect and people know she’s fast. She can draft. She knows how the air works. She gets a lot of that from IndyCar. So I have 100 percent confidence that she can win the Daytona 500. I can remember Derrike Cope and nobody gave him a chance either, but I saw him in Victory Lane and I actually hung the body on that car so I know it can be done. And I think she’s definitely got the support from her team and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing and Hendrick Motorsports that she can get it done. From what I’ve seen out there today with practice and we
ran 32 laps and we had four of the Hendrick cars and us and the No. 14 (Tony Stewart) car and we shuffled around and moved. She would lead and run second and third and Jeff (Gordon) and those guys were just like she was a part of them. They had no concerns. I definitely have all the confidence in the world we can win it.”
 
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CONCERN ABOUT THE HANDLING OF THE CAR AT THE STAGE YOUR AT RIGHT NOW?
DANICA: “I was saying earlier that I think one of the things that I have worried a little bit too much about on these speedways is being really fair and caring about every single driver out there and trying to show them I’m loyal being behind them or things like that.  What you end up noticing with a lot of guys that are at the front is they go.  When other drivers see someone that wants to go they want to go too and they will go with them.  I think I just need to be a little bit more aggressive from that standpoint and stop worrying so much about being in line and being loyal and worry more about getting to the front if I’m not there for some reason.  I guess I’m concerned that I will pull out and I will just keep shuffling to the back because nobody will go with me.  I guess that would be the big concern for Sunday.  There is nothing you can do about that you’ve just got to try.”
 
YOU LOOK AT THE PROGENY OF A LOT OF THE ESTABLISHED STARS RIGHT NOW THEY ARE ALL LITTLE GIRLS.  DO YOU THINK YOUR POLE VICTORY MIGHT CREATE THE NEXT WAVE OF DRIVERS?  CAN YOU WIN THIS RACE?
DANICA: “It’s funny because a couple of nights before that Carl Edwards came over with his daughter.  I have known since last year she was a huge fan of mine.  She was over at the bus and Carl was saying that it’s good that she sees me in real life and in person because he’s like ‘because to her you are like some mythical creature that doesn’t exist’. She had green shoes on, green GoDaddy shoes on.  She is a big fan.  After qualifying Jimmie Johnson brought his little girl over because she wanted to meet me.  I mean that is three pretty big drivers that have little girls that wanted to meet me that is very flattering.  I don’t know, but I think you can only lead by example and I don’t necessarily want my example to be to step outside the box and be a girl in a guy’s world.  That is not what I’m trying to say, but, if you have a talent for something to not be afraid to follow through with it and not feel different.  Not feel like you are less qualified or less competent to be able to do the job because you are different is to ignore that and let it be about what you potential is. Can I win?  Yeah, absolutely I believe the statistic is a 17 percent chance starting from the pole.  That is what somebody told me.  I feel comfortable in this kind of race situation.  I feel comfortable in the draft.  I feel comfortable with these speeds they are not a problem.  For me it is just about finding out how to pass cars and having who I need to do it with, if I need somebody how to use them the best ways to get by.  If I get shuffled back, which to be quite honest, it’s probably going to happen.  I doubt that you will see someone lead the whole thing.  You are going to have to figure out how to pass.  I know I’m inexperienced, I know that I’m a rookie out there.  I will do the best job I can.  I believe I do have a chance to win.  I do believe experience would help but it doesn’t mean that I don’t have a chance to win.”
 
YOU WERE MENTIONING EVERYTHING YOU DID TO THE CAR YOU LIKED IT.  EVERYTHING YOU DID MADE IT FASTER.  WHAT WAS IT YOU WERE PLAYING AROUND WITH MORE COMING FROM A FORMULA SET-UP BASIS AND DO YOU THINK IT HAS ANY IMPACT ON YOUR SETTING UP THE CAR THE INCREASED CAMBER CHANGE?
DANICA: “I would love to sound smart right now, but I have no idea what they do to these cars. I have no idea.  I really don’t.  I tried in the very beginning when I jumped into stock cars to read set-up sheets.  I don’t even know how to read a tape measure.  I am not qualified to give you that answer, but this man is.  I’m not sure if he is going to give you the answer because then he would be telling you what we did to the car, but I’ll let him take it from here.”
 
TONY GIBSON: “I think the difference in the cambers can be taken either way.  There are going to be tracks that taking advantage of the max camber rule NASCAR has given us it’s not going to work everywhere we go, there are going to be certain tracks it’s going to want more in the right than it is in the left.  It’s going to want to be maxed out and not maxed out.  We have had three different housings in our car since we’ve been here just experimenting with that.  Today was a prime example we had a totally different housing in today with different cambers and things that we didn’t have in the 150’s.  I think it’s just a matter of we are building a notebook on what she is going to want to feel and what the car is going to want on different tracks and different tires.  I don’t know that we will ever pin point every track will want this.  That is some of our gains.  This whole week and a half with the new camber rule in the back, but it’s an ongoing process.  It’s not easy a lot of guys are doing the same things.  I don’t think I’ve seen as many housings change at a race track in all my life.  When NASCAR gives you a rule that you can work within you are going to work within it.  Just right now everybody is just trying to figure out what this tire is going to want, what this car is going to want and I don’t know that we will figure it out this year.  It may take us two years to figure out.  If they give us the opportunity to work in that area we are going to work in it pretty hard.”
 
FOLLOWING UP ON THE DAUGHTER’S THING WITH CARL (EDWARDS), JIMMIE (JOHNSON) AND JEFF (GORDON) ANYTHING OUTSIDE OF RACING THAT HAS ALSO HAPPENED OVER THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE DAYS THAT IS PRETTY COOL LIKE THAT?
“Not really around anybody else.  I’ve been stuck here at the track (laughs).  The only other outside things I see are the articles you guys write.  I think that it is a strong enough example with Carl (Edwards) and Jimmie (Johnson) and Jeff (Gordon) that something is impacting kids.  In fact I did have one other thing happen with a guy.  I was in the gym and I didn’t know him, but he obviously works on a team.  He wanted to show me this video of a couple of kids that were two years old.  They were both his kids so unless they were twins they must have been two and three or two and four or something, they were young.  It was a magazine that I was on the cover of.  The kids were shown a picture and asked ‘who is this’ they both knew who I was.  They said my name and he said I have no idea how they know who you are.  I have no idea.  I don’t get it either.  I don’t know where it is coming from.  I don’t know if it’s something that they see on TV that doesn’t seem to be so obvious to a parent or if their kids once they are in school if it’s part of some curriculum. I’m not really sure.  I think it’s an interesting thing though.  It’s very flattering and it’s a fortunate situation to find myself in.  I enjoy being inspirational to these kids.  I’d love to know why.”
 
TONY GIBSON: “I will say this much.  I have handed out more lugnuts to little girls at those little windows in the garage area than I have since I have been here.  It’s pretty amazing to see the little kids and the girls especially walk up with their GoDaddy stuff on and their hats.  All they want to do is get a glimpse and get a picture and be part of it.  That part of it I know you guys probably don’t see, but from being in th
e garage and having the windows down and the kids coming up writing things on the window.  I’ve gone through I bet you 50 lugnuts that I have handed out to little girls.  I think that is really cool for our sport and I think it’s going to help our sport grow.”
 
CAN YOU SIGN A LUGNUT?
DANICA: “Yes, you can.”
 
TONY GIBSON: “What I do is I write little 10’s on them. I just take a Sharpie and put a 10 on the lugnut and hand it to the kids.  We have gone through a whole bag of lugnuts since we have been here.”
 
DANICA: “You made a good point about the window.  The window for the garage there is tons of writing on the window and I didn’t know it was all there.  I’m going to have to go out and read it all.  I’m sure there are some pretty cool messages.”
 
YOUR BOSS TONY STEWART DIDN’T HAVE THE KIND OF YEAR HE WANTED TO LAST YEAR.  DO YOU THINK YOUR WEEK THIS YEAR HAS ENERGIZED HIM TOO?
DANICA: “That is not a question I can answer.  I have no idea.  I think that if anything all I can say is that he should feel proud that he has three very fast cars.  He should feel proud that a team with his name on it and that he has helped build put a car on the pole for the Daytona 500.  He should feel proud that he was a part of putting us together.  Those are all things that I think he should feel proud for.  Now does it amp him up or give him excitement I really don’t know.  I have definitely shown how appreciative I am for everything that he has put in front of me and the opportunities he has given me.  And just the fact that someone like Tony Stewart will endorse me that means a lot to a lot of people.  It helps out on the track, it helps in the garage area and it helps the general public.  I’m grateful.”
 
YOU ARE A PETITE DRIVER FOR SUCH A BIG CAR DO YOU DO ANY EXERCISES TO INCREASE YOUR STRENGTH TO DRIVE THESE CARS?
DANICA: “I work out of course.  I lift weight and I do cardio.  Those are the things that I think are important.  Power steering is pretty nice in these cars so I think the moments I need to be prepared for are when it goes out, if it goes out.  These cars are really repetitive so I feel like it’s important to take care of your body too.  Just for that repetitive motion so you don’t get any kind of like over use fatigue.  Really with stock cars, indy cars were very physical especially on the road courses without any kind of power steering.  These cars are hot.  They are really hot and in the summer months when it comes along I’ve just learned a lot about hydration and how important that is.  I’ve always worked out as much to drive the car and have that be easy as to feel good.  And be able to do a nice job and look good for my sponsors.  There are lots of reasons.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
BUDWEISER DUEL AT DAYTONA QUALIFYING RACE I
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER NOTES & QUOTES
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – WINNER
TWO FOR TWO SO FAR HERE DURING BUDWEISER SPEEDWEEKS AT DAYTONA THIS CAR, THIS RACE, THIS TYPE OF WEATHER CONDITIONS HOW MUCH DIFFERENT WAS THE HANDLING OF THIS RACE CAR TODAY?
“The handling was definitely a lot looser for us than what we were the other night.  It stayed consistent so it was manageable.  I just want to thank everybody on our Budweiser Chevrolet team.  To win the sponsors race in the Bud Duels here it’s hard to align all that and put it all together.  It all worked out for us today.  Gil (Martin, crew chief) made a great call on pit road and it all worked out.”
 
SO MANY TIMES THIS WEEK WE’VE BEEN HEARING THE WORD UNKNOWN FROM ALL OF YOU DRIVERS ABOUT HOW THIS GENERATION SIX RACE CAR IS GOING TO HANDLE IN THE DRAFT WITH LIMITED DRAFTING PRACTICE WHAT ARE YOU LEARNING?
“You’ve just got to be precise in your moves if you get yourself in the wrong spot like we did at the beginning of the race in the middle you just can’t go anywhere.  The only place you are going in backwards.  It’s hard to get yourself into the hole that you need when you make a mistake.  Usually you go back several car lengths you’ve just got to be precise about making the right moves.”
 
EARLIER IN THE RACE WE SAW YOU GUYS RUNNING THE OUTSIDE LANE WHEN IT WAS TIME TO COUNT THE LAPS HERE IN THE CLOSING STAGES THE BOTTOM SIDE.  IS THERE A PREFERRED WAY TO ATTACK THIS TRACK?
“When those guys were coming up through there we were kind of 10th or 12th in that pack.  I saw them coming on the bottom and we were able to kind of break that top line up a little bit and get them spread out.  Finally, a couple of holes to jump up into then the bottom would come back.  We would get past a couple more there at the end especially after that pit stop I figured the bottom was going to be the place; since we didn’t have the biggest pack to make the least amount of time so that the pack behind us could make up the least amount of time.  Luckily, it all played out our way.  Hopefully, we can do it one more time.”   
 
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST THING YOU LEARNED TODAY?
“I think the biggest thing is the cars were definitely a little bit freer. My car was a little big free up off the corner, but man, the way the draft worked out, you really had to be precise on timing because if you weren’t you’d get hung out. I want to thank all the race fans, Sprint, Budweiser, Jimmy John’s, Chevrolet, Champion, Hunt Brothers, Bad Boys Buggies; everybody that helps this Chevrolet out, and all these guys on this RCR team.”
 
ARE YOU GOING TO PUT KEELAN BACK IN THE CAR? YOU’VE HAD HIM IN THE CAR TWICE, AND TWICE YOU’VE WON:
Hey, I don’t know what that is, but man, we are just having a good time. Having DeLana and Keelan here just adds a great balance to my life. Just relaxing. Ready to race.”
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 BASS PRO SHOPS/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED SIXTH
WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN TODAY’S RACE?
 “The top line seemed to be where you needed to be. I think there were a lot of guys who weren’t going to be content just riding in line. They kept trying to make a move, and it seemed like the more guys did it in the back half (of the field), the more guys started getting lined up together and working with each other, and I think we started to make a dent at it before pit stops.
 
“Pit crews are going to make a huge difference on Sunday. That’s going to be the difference between which pack you come out in. You’re going to have to have good stops to stay up there all day.”
 
HOW MUCH DO YOU BALANCE APPLYING WHAT YOU LEARNED TODAY DURING THESE NEXT COUPLE OF PRACTICE SESSIONS WITH SAVING YOUR RACE CAR FOR SUNDAY?  
“It’s just risk versus reward. Every time you go out there you’ll try to be selective about who you go with, and I think you’ll see what we’ve already seen to this point in practice. I don’t think you’ll see big packs. I think you’ll see a lot of smaller packs go out and run with each other versus one big group.”
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 17TH:
WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN THIS RACE THAT YOU CAN APPLY ON SUNDAY IN THE DAYTONA 500?
“I definitely learned that the outside is pretty good. But I think do I have to start on the inside on Sunday? I’m not really sure. Where does the pole start? The outside is looking pretty nice. So they definitely carried a lot of momentum. I was really tight to start the race off. We were really conservative with the set-up and we wanted to make sure the back was locked-down, but it was just way too tight; especially around (Turns) 3 and 4. So, we freed it up at the first stop. Speaking of the first stop, my tach was way off.
 
TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY
“Yeah, it’s not an exciting mission when you’ve just got to bring it home. But, it is for the Daytona 500, so you’ve got to keep that in mind. I learned that the outside is strong and it carries a lot of good momentum. And then I learned that you need some friends. I also learned that you can’t be too tight because that outside is what’s good but you can’t be too tight, which mine was. It was way too tight at the start. But we wanted to be conservative. We didn’t want to have any issues with the GoDaddy car. We wanted to make sure we’ve got it on that front row for Sunday. Again, it’s not the most exciting way to race, but something was wrong with the tach. I didn’t know what speed I was doing, so I just went really slow. I tried to hit the right revs and I realized there’s no lights for those revs. So, I knew there was something wrong and then when I got out there on the track it showed I was going 10,000 rpm. I’m sure I’d love to have the kind of speed that comes with 10,000 rpm gives you, but it wasn’t right. So, it’s good to get those little bugs out of the way. We’ll fix them and be solid for Sunday.”
 
DO YOU FEEL YOU LEARNED SOME THINGS IN TERMS OF DRAFTING DURING THIS RACE?
“I’ll be really honest. I didn’t feel like I got a lot of great experience on how to pass or the draft so much. I was able to hang with the group. I guess I did learn that being too tight is pretty detrimental here. If you can’t keep your foot in it and run up behind cars, then you’re going to struggle to make moves. It looks really hard to pass, to be honest.
 
“Jimmie (Johnson) was walking by the car and he said it was just tough to pass unless you’ve got a bunch of people behind you. So the outside got the momentum, but the inside is the shorter distance so they kind of end up being the same if not worse, on the bottom; so it might cause for some anxious drivers come Sunday.”
 
DID YOU MAKE SOME FRIENDS OUT THERE?
“I don’t know. I hung around the back. I’m not really sure what I did or if I made friends. But, usually you make the kind of friends you want when you’re running up front and you’re pulling people along and they’re like, you’re fast and I want to go with you. But we were definitely a little too tight and being a little too conservative to put ourselves up there in the mix.
 
“I hate coming to the end like that and just lying back on those starts. That’s not fun. But it’s also really ignorant to drive up into the pack and be part of an accident for absolutely no reason. You’re really not going to learn much there. So, we just finished the race off and made another change and it kind of ended up being like a test session for us.”
 
DO YOU FEEL AS PREPARED AS YOU CAN BE GOING IN ON SUNDAY?
“No. I think I wish I knew more. I wish I felt more situations. But again, let’s not overlook the fact that we’ve got Saturday practice.”
 
TELL US ABOUT Y
OUR DAY: “I learned some. I think what I really need to do is go down to (Kevin) Harvick’s bus tonight and figure out what he’s got going on. Because he’s got it figured out here this year. So, good job to him. The top line was the way to go. I lifted a little on the start because I got a bit of a jump, and I didn’t want them to close so fast and then get freight-trained in a real scary way. I lifted a little on the start; I don’t know if I should have or not. But the top was the way to go. Once I dropped back, we just hung there, and I was really tight. We tightened up yesterday, and we tightened it up even more for today. I feel like we kind of overshot there.
 
“But that’s alright. It ended up being kind of like a test session. Then when we pitted with Tony with a bunch of others, something happened with my tach, and I wasn’t getting the revs I needed to know what I was doing on pit lane. When I was running out there, I was doing about 10,000 rpm and I am pretty sure that’s not right!”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FOURTH
SOLID DAY FOR YOU, WHAT DID YOU LEARN OUT THERE?  WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THE RACE?
“It’s really tough to pass.  When another car gets near your rear tire it’s like you threw the parachute out.  Just a new vehicle, a new way to race we are trying to understand how to make our car better in those situations, just trying to learn really.  Great run, a Chevy won, I think we were in position to win ourselves too so a very good day.”
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FIFTH
TALK ABOUT THE RACE:
“We will take a top-five in a qualifying race that is nice.  It just boosts up the team and now they have a car they can polish on.  We just need to keep pushing harder to find a bit more speed. It’s unique with the draft on how squirrely the cars can get.  I’m happy that we had enough of a car that was underneath me to stay stable and to be able to draft, not on the aggressive side but to not have to play defense.”
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS, FINISHED 9TH: WHAT DID YOU LEARN OUT THERE:
“We’ve got to work on our handling. Our car was really really tight. At the first, we were on the splitter pretty bad; we worked on it yesterday and went a little too far. Got a little too aggressive with that. But put a packer in on that pit stop, and it was still real tight. I was having to lift in the center of three and four, just to get off the corner. I had to lift real big getting into one on the first lap where Juan (Pablo Montoya) got into the fence behind us. We hadn’t been around any packs. I didn’t anticipate really the balance being a big deal because the car does have a good downforce package; we thought the balance would be pretty close. Figured we would be fighting loose a little big. We have to work on it. We will; we’ll fix it.”
 
ANYTHING YOU LEARN GOING TO HELP YOU FOR THE 500?
“We’ve got a good car. I was able to do some things. I did learn a few things about when those guys get up top. I found some ways to make gains; make passes one car at a time. If you get greedy and try to get a couple, you end up getting trained to the back. Learned a lot of things out there. Just how this car is working with this package that will help us on Sunday.”
 
HOW INDICATIVE IS THAT OF WHAT WE’LL SEE ON SUNDAY?
“I think it is exactly what you are going to see. You’ll see a lot of racing. It’ll be single file around the bottom some. It will be single file around the top some. Then all of a sudden everybody will start racing for no apparent reason. Then it’ll go back to running single file for awhile. We don’t really dictate that as driver. Not the field. The field really is at the mercy of the guys of front. If those guys up front chose to race a certain way, the filed sort of has to follow suit just to be able to maintain the draft. I think it will be a good race. It’s a long race, you know. We can’t run three-wide every lap as much as everybody would like to see that. I think its good racing.”
 
CAN YOU WIN?  “Anybody can win, but we’ve got a good piece. We’ve got a real good car. We get that balance right, and get the thing to turning good, we’ll have a great shot.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
BUDWEISER DUEL AT DAYTONA QUALIFYING RACE II
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER NOTES & QUOTES
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED SECOND
GOOD SOLID EFFORT, YOU GUYS WERE PATIENT THEN WHEN IT WAS THE CLOSING LAPS OF THIS EVENT YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY TO JUMP IN THERE AND GAIN SOME SPOTS.  WHAT DID YOU LEARN DIVING OUT OF LINE LATE IN THE RACE?
“I had a really good pusher Austin Dillon so that helped a lot.  I wanted to do it with two (laps) to go, but we didn’t have a run at that point so we had to wait until one (lap) to go.  I was able to get by the No. 20 and then get close to the No. 18, but Kyle (Busch) was strong.  We would have needed more laps to try to work together to see if we could have passed him at any point.  It was still a great run for our Farmers Insurance Chevrolet.  Looking forward to the (Daytona) 500 we made some gains since Saturday nights Sprint Unlimited race, just feel like we are getting closer and closer.  I’m excited about where we are at right now.”
 
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 33 HONEY NUT CHEERIOS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED THIRD
YOU GOT 60 LAPS UNDER YOUR BELT IN A DRAFT FINALLY WHAT DID YOU LEARN OUT IN 60 LAPS?
“Quite a bit, it was fun out there.  I had some good people helping me with (Jeff) Burton and Kasey (Kahne).  I wanted to get a Chevrolet in Victory Lane, but it was awesome to get in the race.  When they told me we were in I was looking forward to just having that Sunday.  It’s going to be awesome; I will always remember the first one.”
 
DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAD ENOUGH CAR TO PULL OUT SHOULD YOU HAVE NEEDED TO?
“I could get some runs every now and then through the tri-oval.  There at the end that is why I was kind of like ‘let’s go right now’ it happened and we got there pretty quick, but just not enough to get the No. 18.”
 
NOT A BAD JOB FOR A ROOKIE IN YOUR FIRST QUALIFYING DUEL.
“Yeah, that’s awesome. After that first one, we still weren’t in it so we got a little nervous before that. So, we stayed in it all day and rode that top line. I ran behind Kasey (Kahne) the whole time. I was waiting for a Chevy to get into Victory Lane right there.
 
“I just couldn’t get enough of a run at Kyle (Busch). His car was really good. But I want to thank Honey Nut Cheerios for giving me this opportunity and this is an awesome feeling and I’ll always remember the first one.”
 
ON HIS EXPECTATIONS FOR DAYTONA
“”Yeah, we’ve got a good hot rod. This thing is all about being there at the end; going into conservation mode early and then getting them at the end.”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET, FINISHED 12TH:
HOW WAS IT? “It was great. Real happy with the Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet SS. The car is fast; drove really good. Of course, I was out front the whole time, but there are two things that I take from this. This is why you want to qualify on the front row, because of a little incident like that (pit road speeding penalty). As well as, that is why we race this race. It’s nice, because we need to learn that now on the tach, and on pit road to make sure that doesn’t happen in the 500.”
 
DID YOU HAVE A TACH GUAGE PROBLEM? “I think we just missed on…you want to maximize everything you have out there. Every opportunity. You don’t want give up anything on pit road, and we were just a little bit too aggressive with our setting. I ran it spot on where it needs to be. They gave us the numbers, it was just a tiny bit over in three segments. It wasn’t that we had a problem or anything like that, we just pushed it too hard.”
 
IS IT DIFFICULT TO PASS THE LEADER? “I would have liked to have been up there with Kasey Kahne. You have got to have somebody go with you; you can’t do it by yourself. But you can get a run, definitely. No doubt about it. I knew Kasey was just sitting there behind me just waiting for the right moment and opportunity late in this race. This is a real thinking race now. It comes down to the way it used to. You get yourself in position. Everybody kind of rides, and thinks about what they have. You have to have your car handling pretty good, which is tough to do further back in traffic. It looked like a few guys had a few small issues; nothing major. But it is hard to make it up through the field, and everybody is working together like that in that single file lane. That is the way it used to be. Long enough runs, especially when it’s a little warmer and sun out, you are going to be able to make some moves. I was happy to see Kasey get up there at least to second. I think in the closing laps of a run, you start to see some moves happening.”
 
WERE YOU ABLE TO LEARN SOMETHING OUT THERE THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW?
“I was out front, but I learned we have a very fast race car, which is the best thing to learn. Car handled good. Drove good. But, we were out front. The only thing you kind of wish is that you got a little bit further back to see what to expect. But, I feel good. We had a great day. Brought the car, our Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet SS back in one piece. We’re starting on the front row of Sunday’s Daytona 500 with a very good race car.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS, following engine failure during practice for the Budweiser Duel at Daytona Qualifying Races:
 
WHAT HAPPENED?
“We broke a motor, it’s as simple as that. They’ll figure out what happen. I’m sure there is some logical explanation as to what happened, but, we’ll just put a new one in and start at the back of the Qualifier tomorrow, and race up through there.”
 
WILL YOU GO TO BED A LITTLE WORRIED TONIGHT?
“No, it’s just part of racing.”
 
IS THIS ANY SORT OF A SETBACK?
“Not really. Everything is good. We were just making some single car runs by ourselves. Everything seemed like it was working. Just trying to find a little more speed, and we found a few things that seemed to help the car. We’ll try to get out in this next practice, and see what else we can learn, but everything should be fine.”
 
DID YOU HAVE ANY WARNING THAT IT WAS GOING?
“No.”
 
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET SS – Crashed during first practice run; will repair the car – not going to back-up.
 
WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE?
“I don’t know.  I want to watch first (after watching the replay).  My car came around.  I don’t know if it was the air off of Carl’s (Edwards) car or what.  My car just came around.  (Referring to the replay) You can see the backend getting light there.  I think it’s just an aero situation, but that was news to me.  Carl (Edwards) came over and said ‘hey man’… I said ‘I don’t even know what to tell you yet’.  It was unfortunate for our Quicken Loans Chevrolet, but that is why we had practice.  That was my first experience, but I guess my car just got light in the back going into the corner.”
 
HOW BADLY WOUNDED IS YOUR CAR?
“I think it’s totally fixable, it’s just a matter of time and getting practice and everything else.  Matt (Borland, crew chief) and the guys are assessing the situation.”
 
CARL (EDWARDS) CAME OVER IMMEDIATELY TO TALK TO YOU.  WHAT DID YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT?
“Just what happened.  I didn’t know what happened and he honestly admitted that he didn’t know what happened.  Just all of a sudden my car was going across his nose.  He did say that he tried to come up and put the air brakes on me.  I think in doing so it just made my car that loose.  I hadn’t been loose the entire time.  It was just something new and a different characteristic of this car I guess.”
 
YOU HAVE NOT FELT THAT SIMILAR SITUATION WHY IS THAT DIFFERENT?  A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT A WEIRD AERO DEAL THERE?
“I think some of it has to do with the huge shark fin that we have on that side.  When you pack air up on that side it’s not going to the spoiler it’s getting blocked off from the spoiler.  There are a lot of things to think about and talk about.”
 
YOU GUYS ARE PLANNING TO FIX THE DAMAGE RIGHT?
“We are going to fix it.  It’s a Catch-22 we brought this car for a reason.  The engine is fine; it never spun backwards all that stuff is good.  We don’t think we will make it back out for the second practice, but we will be fine.”
 
EVEN IF YOU DID WOULD YOU PRACTICE DRAFTING OR DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DONE?
“No, we will still practice drafting.  That is what it is going to take to win the (Daytona) 500.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA 500
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 20, 2013
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway and discussed making his 400th Sprint Cup Series start, what winning the Daytona 500 means to him and other topics.  FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
JIMMIE WILL BE MAKING HIS 400TH  START DURING THE 55TH RUNNING OF THE DAYTONA 500 AND LOWE’S HAS BEEN HIS SPONSOR FOR ALL 400.  JIMMIE AND JEFF GORDON ARE THE ONLY TWO DRIVERS TO HAVE THE SAME SPONSOR FOR ALL 400 STARTS:
“That’s awesome.  Time flies by it’s hard to imagine 400 starts already.  So proud of the fact that every one of those starts has been with Lowe’s on the side of the race car.  They are an amazing sponsor and look forward to many more great years together.”
 
HOW DID YOU APPROACH IT WHEN YOU WERE ON THE POLE AS A ROOKIE?  HOW DO YOU THINK THEY SHOULD APPROACH IT?  IS IT OKAY FOR THEM TO JUST PARK AND NOT RISK WRECKING THE CAR AND LOSING THAT STARTING POSITION OR DO YOU TRY TO TAKE AS MUCH OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN?
“Well, it’s really up to them.  They are not the only team facing that decision.  I think all the cars that are secured a spot are trying to balance that right now.  It just isn’t worth it.  We all know everybody is low on car count.  If you are fortunate enough to be on that front row do you really want to push it?  There is no need to.  It’s going to be a fine balance and there is going to be a lot of internal struggles and arguments with drivers, teams, crew chiefs especially trying to give their driver the direction they want to go.  Whatever she decides to do it’s to her best interest and we’ve got our own stuff to worry about on the No. 48 car.  We are wrestling with the same notion.  In 2002, my situation was a bit different.  If I didn’t win the pole I wouldn’t have been in the (Daytona) 500.  I had an incident on the back straightaway where I was forced below the yellow line and had to serve a penalty for him.  I wouldn’t have made the race.  If we qualified third I wouldn’t have been in the show.  It was very nice to have locked in and had that in my back pocket.  Or we would have been here at 399 starts instead.”
 
DID YOU TREAT THAT RACE AS JUST I’M GOING TO RACE ALL OUT REGARDLESS?
“At that point in time we really didn’t have a concern about car count.  We raced and I was trying to learn it was real important for me to get every lap that I could.  Sure we didn’t want to crash the car, but we were in that old style car for a long period of time. Cars would come from the fall Talladega race if you made it and you would carry them into Daytona and kind of update them a little bit as the rules changed.  We had a much deeper inventory of cars to pull from.”
 
YOUR 400TH START, RICHARD PETTY FINISHED WITH 1100 OR SOME STARTS, THREE TIMES WHAT YOU HAVE.  COULD YOU IMAGINE MAKING THAT MANY STARTS?  ALSO, I DON’T THINK YOU HAVE HAD A RELEVANT FINISH HERE IN SEVERAL YEARS IS THAT SOMETHING YOU THINK ABOUT AT ALL?  DO YOU EVER GO BACK AND THINK MAYBE I’M NOT APPROACHING THIS RIGHT OR SOMETHING?
“First of all for the ‘King’, one I think he had more opportunities to race than we do today so that helps.  I don’t know how many years of service he put in, but it’s 20, 30, I still might be wrong.  Definitely over 20 I would assume.  It is just amazing.  All of the years that he put in helped build the sport to what it is today.  I thank him for all 1100 starts that he put in and the growth that he kind of spurred along within the sport.  I doubt that any current driver will get to that number.  Mark Martin is trying and I’m not sure where he is at.  I assume he is pretty short still in that number count.
 
“The 500 has been tough I have won Duels, I’ve won the Shootout and we have been here in July and have been very competitive and have finished in the top three.  But, the 500 it has been a trophy and I think I might have a 10th or something, but my memory says a lot of DNF’s (Did not finish).  Last year’s was about as bad as it gets.  Leaving the first lap crashing that wasn’t a good one. We will hopefully make 2.7 miles this year before anything happens.”
 
WHAT DID THAT 2006 DAYTONA 500 CHAMPIONSHIP MEAN TO YOU?  IT DID TRIGGER YOUR FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON.  WHAT DOES WINNING THIS RACE MEAN?  WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE MEDIA TOUR THAT FOLLOWS IT?
“For me I wanted to be in elite company.  My dreams were to try to be the best in this sport.  The way you do that is by winning big events and championships.  That was prior to a championship.  First realistic goal on my list was a (Daytona) 500 win or a Brickyard win.  I think we were able to get both that year.  It was a big year in a lot of ways.  We all know the history of the sport, the history of this track and dream and wish and hope that you can come in here and win.  The way the race turned out I drove a very smart race, stuck to a certain mindset.  Was able to get some help on the last lap to maintain the lead and defend my position to the finish line.  I was so excited and had a big night with my crew guys.  Then I think at 7:00 a.m. things kicked off over here at the speedway.  As much as I love that day that was one of the most painful days in Jimmie Johnson’s history.”
 
WHY IS THAT?
“I may have celebrated a bit too much the night before.  Then dealing with that, being asked the same question over and over and trying to look awake, alert and happy.  Man, I was having a lot of pain, but it was worth it.”
 
WHAT ABOUT THE NEXT FEW DAYS?  WHERE DID THEY WISK YOU OFF TO?
“I had no idea what that media tour was like.  I can’t remember exactly, but I assume New York.  I don’t know if we went to the (ESPN) car wash or not after that one.  I had heard about and watched I think not long before Ward Burton won and I remember seeing Ward Burton everywhere the following two days.  I thought ‘man that is so cool I want to do that’.  Halfway through I’m like ‘I just want to go home’.  Is this thing over yet?  That’s amazing that one race packs such a punch and can do so much for a team, driver, sponsor and it means so much within the sport.”
 
FROM WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN OF THIS CAR HOW DO YOU IMAGINE THE PLANNING, THE STRATEGY OVER THE LAST FIVE OR 10 LAPS SUNDAY IS GOING TO CHANGE?
“The cars look a lot like the ’05, ’06 car to me.  I feel like track position is going to be important.  You are going to have to race for it.  I was surprised to see the middle lane work so well in the Unlimited.  Defending your position is going to be important.  Before you could fight your way up and just kind of sit in the first couple of rows and let the race kind of evolve from there.  It seems to me that the outside lane does carry a bit more momentum.  They can stop the inside lane.  If you work your way to the front you can’t just be content sitting in the bottom lane or really even the middle lane.  You might have to move around from the head of the line.  Even if you are a row or two back and there is an opening stay open minded, keep your eyes open and move around it to help stay up front.  Track position is going to be key on that last, I assume, last restart.  You are going to need to be in the first couple of rows to have a shot at it.”
 
IS THERE ANY ADVANTAGE TO A DRIVER TO START RACING SOONER AND HAVE A SHORTER RAIN DELAY? SECONDLY, DO DRIVERS THINK DANICA (PATRICK) HAS ANY SORT OF WEIGHT ADVANTAGE BECAUSE SHE IS LIGHTER?
“It doesn’t hurt to have things turned around quicker.  I think sure it helps the driver some, it helps the teams.  Hopefully, we are at the track for a shorter period of time.  It’s just good for everyone, especially, getting into the next work week.  More importantly for the fans, the viewing audience at the track and at home I think it’s key to get the tracks dried faster. I’m very happy with that.  The way the weight works I think they adjust it and they put weight on cars where you have lighter drivers so it all balances out.”
 
CONSIDERING HOW MANY DRIVER’S IN NASCAR HAVE RACED FORMULA AND WITH THIS NEW CAR WITH THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE SUSPENSIONS IN THE BACK AND THE WEIGHT THAT THEY HAVE CHANGED AND THE AERO PACKAGE THAT THE FORMER FORMULA DRIVERS PERHAPS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT?
“Well, I think the aero balance is helpful for the Formula drivers just because the vehicles they raced in had so much downforce.  The sensation that comes with downforce the car is very secure and stable and you can drive the car hard.  I think the Gen-6 car will help the open wheel guys some.  I’m not sure it will overcome the advantage that a NASCAR driver has that always been in a sedan or in a stock car, but it is directionally helpful for the open wheel drivers definitely.”
 
YOU SHOWED US A PHOTO THAT DIDN’T MAKE IT IN YOUR BOOK WHEN YOU WERE LEAVING TALLADEGA I GUESS IT WAS LAST YEAR IS THAT SUM UP HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT PLATE RACING RIGHT NOW?  I THINK YOU TWEETED AFTER THE RACE THE OTHER NIGHT YOU ARE TRYING TO LIKE IT, BUT YOUR JUST NOT SURE.
“It is.  It’s such a balance too because one win and you are in Victory Lane and it’s the coolest rush because you are gambling the whole race.  When it hits, it’s a lot like hitting it in the casino.  The rush is amazing, but it’s a different kind of racing.  Especially for the No. 48 team we have had a lot of torn up race cars lately.  It’s starting to get a little old, but we will keep racing.  We will keep building cars and be out there trying to get all the points we can.”
 
GOING INTO THIS RACE THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME CURIOSITY WEATHER OR NOT SOME OF THE VETERANS WILL DRAFT WITH DANICA (PATRICK).  WILL YOU DRAFT WITH DANICA?
“When I was a rookie coming in Jeff (Gordon) told me quickly.  There may be some of that going on where guys won’t work with rookies, but the biggest reason that Jeff (Gordon) said that he wouldn’t work with a rookie was that they make the wrong moves.  He says to me ‘make the right moves.  Give people a reason to follow you and it won’t matter.’ Once the race progresses and gets going, you really forget about paint jobs and who is in what car.  It is who is making the right moves.  Who is going to help me, because you can’t do it on your own out there. It gets real selfish and greedy and if somebody is making the right decision and the right move you are going to go with them.  It doesn’t matter how much experience they have.  That is really the key.  I’m sure at times even with Jeff (Gordon) telling me that I felt like nobody worked with me, they would much rather go with a veteran, no the veteran was making the right decision that is why they went with the veteran.”
 
IN TERMS OF MAKING THE RIGHT MOVES WHAT TYPES OF THINGS ARE YOU GOING TO BE WATCHING HER DO? 
“She has shown through the Nationwide Series that she is competitive and she can get in there and mix it up.  Kind of hold a straight wheel in the important situations and has led laps and has been up front.  I think through a large degree she is great.  She is there, she’s fine.  It’s really about when you get close to the front and if you make a move and the wrong move you lose 15 spots.  You don’t want to make those decisions.  You don’t want to be back in the eye of the storm.  If she is making the good offensive moves to move forward you stay with that person, you stay with her.  If it’s a move that you know hasn’t worked over your own experience and past history.  ‘Nope, go ahead’ and back they go and start all over again.  You just don’t want to be in that position.  Because once you get some track position you finally relax a little bit and know that you are up there with guys that are playing the game right and being mindful that it’s a long race.  When you get in the eye of the storm everybody is so eager to get out of there that it gets a little bit chaotic.”
 

Danica Patrick Makes History at Daytona as the First Female Driver to Win A NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pole; Jeff Gordon Makes it an All Chevrolet SS Front Row for the 55th Running of Daytona 500
 
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla (February 17, 2013) – Danica Patrick made history today behind the wheel of the No. 10 GODADDY Chevrolet SS by winning the pole for the 55th running of the Daytona 500. Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) champion Jeff Gordon powered the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet SS to second in the final order giving the all-new Chevrolet SS the front row for the Great American Race set for Sunday, February 24, 2013.
“We are so proud of Danica Patrick, Tony Gibson and the entire Stewart-Haas team on putting the No. 10 Chevrolet SS on the pole for the 2013 Daytona
500,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Danica was focused and drove a great line to secure the pole. She gave tremendous credit to her entire #10 team for this accomplishment. She is a determined racer, a team player and we’re proud to have her on Team Chevy.

“It is also great that three-time Daytona 500 champion, Jeff Gordon, will be on the outside front row with his No. 24 Chevrolet SS. It was a proud moment for us yesterday when Jeff drove the all new Chevrolet SS production car into the Daytona Fan Zone for its first public reveal. And, today he qualified on the front row of the Daytona 500 for the fourth time in his career.

“In addition, we are honored to that the new Chevrolet SS production car will pace the Daytona 500, and that it will lead an all Chevrolet front row to the green flag.”
 
Patrick’s accomplishment marks the first time in the 64 year-history of the NSCS that a woman will lead the field to the start of the Great American Race. Patrick, who led the first two practice sessions leading up to today’s all-important qualifying, was eighth in the order of the 45 cars making qualifying attempts today. Her lap of 45.817 seconds – 196.434 m.p.h. proved to have staying power as one-by-one the remainder of the cars made their runs.
 
Team Chevy drivers captured five of the top-six qualifying positions giving Ryan Newman, No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS (fourth), Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS (fifth) and Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS (sixth) excellent starting positions for Thursday’s Budweiser Duel at Daytona Qualifying Races.
 
Other Chevrolet SS drivers in the top-20 qualifiers were: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS – 11th; Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS – 13th; Paul Menard, No. 27 Menards/Peak Chevrolet SS – 14th; Austin Dillon, No. 33 Honey Nut Cheerios Chevrolet SS – 16th and Jeff Burton, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS – 20th.
 
The first of the two ‘Budweiser Duel at Daytona Qualifying Races’, which will determine order for the Daytona 500, is scheduled to start on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage will be provided SPEED TV, MRN Radio and NASCAR Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 90.
POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTS:
An interview with:
DANICA PATRICK
TONY GIBSON
 
KERRY THARP:  We have our Coors Light pole winner for the 55th running of the Daytona 500, Danica Patrick.  She’s joined by her crew chief Tony Gibson.  Danica, congratulations on just a superior effort out there today.  I know the team worked extremely hard.  Certainly history in the making.  You’ve also qualified for the 2014 Sprint Unlimited.
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  That’s right.
 
            TONY GIBSON:  One more car I have to build (laughter).
 
            KERRY THARP:  What does it mean to be the polesitter, know that you’re going to be leading the pack a week from today for the most famous race in stockcar?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  Thanks a lot.  You just made me feel nervous right there.  I’m supposed to be excited and relieved today.  I feel like a broken record.  I probably will feel even more so by the end of the day after all my interviews.
 
            But I appreciate the recognition, but it really falls, as I think I said before I went out on the track, 90% on Tony and his guys, everybody that gives me the car to go out there and be fast, and maybe 10% on me.
 
            All I have to do is think about going out there, being smooth, not letting the car bind up, running on that yellow line.  Outside of that, I think it shows how well‑prepared Tony and everybody was, how strong the Hendrick engines are, how good the new Chevy SS is.  We’ve been fast since practice in January.
 
            Last year I was pretty decent in practice and came for the race and it wasn’t the same situation.  This year it continued.  I think that just shows how well‑prepared they all have been, how hard they’ve worked over the winter.
 
            It’s really amazing how much effort is put into a qualifying car for Daytona, for the 500, and really only the front row is what sticks for Sunday.  It’s nice that all that hard work can pay off and that we can give ourselves that opportunity to lead the pack down into the tri‑oval for the green flag of the Daytona 500.
 
            KERRY THARP:  Tony Gibson, congratulations.  Certainly a big day for this race team and the entire Stewart‑Haasorganization.  Just talk a little bit about the performance of the No. 10 team, the significance of getting this pole here today.
 
           TONY GIBSON:  It’s a team effort.  Like I told Danica, it’s more than 10% driver.  I was talking to David Green on the line, about five cars away.  He’s just like, Remind her hit her shifter.  I’ve messed up and overshifted and messed the lap up.  It’s more than 10% because you can put a good product out there, but if you don’t have the person to drive it, put everything else together, it canreally damage your day.
 
            We just gave her a product that was really good and she took it the rest of the way.  It’s more than 10%, I promise you.  It’s 50/50.
 
            I’m proud of her.  I know there was a lot of pressure on her to come here and qualify well, in the top six, to lock us in.  I’m proud of her to carry that weight on her shoulders.  She didn’t falter.  She did everything right.  She hit her marks, hit her marks on theshifts, and here we are.
 
            It’s a big deal for me, for sure, personally.  I’ve been knocked off these front rows several times by just a little bit.  It’s really nice to come here and get it done, especially for the Daytona 500, my hometown.  It’s a big deal.
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  This is your hometown?
 
            TONY GIBSON:  I was born in the hospital right across the street.
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  Your mom making us dinner tonight?
 
       &
nbsp;    TONY GIBSON:  Mom and dad went to the tractor show (laughter).  My wife took my grandmother shopping, so she’s worn out.
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  I’ll make dinner if she’ll make the monkey bread.  Deal?
 
            TONY GIBSON:  Deal (laughter).
 
            Q.  Danica, Jeff Gordon was just in here saying that even for a guy that’s been in the sport for 20 years, it’s hard sometimes not to go into protect mode when you’re on the front row.  How do you maintain the aggressive attitude that you need to get through the Duels and practice and get to the 500?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  I have no idea.  Tony, what am I supposed to do?
 
            TONY GIBSON:  Don’t put yourself in any bad positions.
 
            For her, it is new.  You don’t want to take the chance of wrecking the car, nobody does.  Sometimes there’s nothing you can do about it.
 
            She’s going to have to put herself three‑wide, four‑wide, there’s no way around it.  If we tear it up, we tear it up.  We have another one on the truck.
 
            You can’t run scared all the time.  She’s going to have to get out there and race.  Definitely we’re not going to put ourselves in very bad positions.  If it looks like it’s getting hairy, she can get out, go to the back and ride.  We’re in a position to do that.
 
            She needs to get out there just like every driver here.  The Gen‑6 car is new.  The Chevy SS is really fast, won last night.  Even the guys that ran last night still don’t have the answers.  There’s still a lot of things that are not answered.  She’s going to have to get out there and let us know what we got to do to make the car comfortable for her, two‑wide, three‑wide, whatever it takes.
 
            Q.  Danica, another of your moments at the brink of history, May of 2005, quickest at practice, everybody is anticipating you win the pole.  You catch a gust of wind at one, end up qualifying fourth.  People were talking about gusts of wind today.  Were you okay with that or did you have to battle some puffs out there?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  Everything seemed pretty smooth.  I didn’t notice anything that threw me offline or made me move.  The car moves around through the corner a little bit.  It’s hard to keep a perfect arc so you don’t hit the apron.
 
            Coming off of two, I felt like the car felt bound up.  I let it out a little bit more than I would have.  If that was wind, I don’t know.  But that was something that felt a little bit different compared to yesterday.
 
            But I think ultimately at the end of the day, too, everything happens for a reason.  In fact, I thought about Indy ’05, thought about how I was the favorite to win the pole going in.  I thought, you know what, maybe I wasn’t ready.  Maybe my life would have changed and been different because of that happening or whatever.  I just feel like I’m comfortable, I’m cool.  I’ve been around for a long time now.  Maybe now was the time.
 
            Q.  Launched off of that Indy of ’05, with the Ricky stuff this past week, and this.
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  There’s a lot going on.
 
            Q.  Because of all you’ve been through, the stage you’ve had, is the limelight really your comfort zone?  Are you maybe at your greatest comfort zone when there’s a whole bunch of stuff like this going on around you?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  You’ve been writing about me for a long time.  I think that’s a perceptive observation.  I think when pressure’s on, when the spotlight is on, I do feel like it ultimately ends up becoming some of my better moments, better races, better results.
 
            I don’t know why that is.  I’m grateful for it because the opposite of that would be I’m guessing I probably wouldn’t be here today, and I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in.
 
            I guess thanks Mom and Dad for the genetics, thank you for all that.  I just understand if you put the hard work in before you go out there that you can have a little bit of peace of mind knowing you’ve done everything you can, and just let it happen.
 
            Q.  You’ve had so many significant historical things.  You’ve come through every time.
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  Makes me sound kind of old.
 
            Q.  In your short career, how about that, you’ve had all these different things.  You’re about to embark on a week where you’re going to get a ton of attention.
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  What am I going to have to do?  Go places?  I told them, I get Monday and Tuesday off.  I need to recoup.
 
            Q.  Do you really think you’re going to get Monday and Tuesday off now?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  I better (laughter).  Don’t be scheming over there.  I feel a scheme coming on over there.  I’ll be the young rookie, it’s okay.
 
            Q.  Can you speak about all these various things you’ve been able to accomplish.
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  Thank you and I’m grateful for all those things.  I feel like, first and foremost, I grew up with good values and good goals.  I was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl.  That was instilled in me from very young, from the beginning.
 
            Then I feel like thriving in those moments where the pressure’s on has also been a help for me.  I also feel like I’ve been lucky in my career to be with good teams and have good people around me.  I don’t think any of it would have been possible without that.
 
            For those reasons, I’ve been lucky enough to make history, be the first woman to do many things.  I really just hope that I don’t stop doing that.  We have a lot more history to make.  We are excited to do it.
 
            Q.  You talked a little bit about fate earlier, what’s meant to be.  A lot of times you’re
not in control of what happens, particularly at Daytona.  What is your game plan?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  Jesus, take the wheel.  Serious.  Go ahead, sorry.  It is Sunday and I didn’t go to church today, so…
 
            Q.  What is the game plan then since sometimes you really don’t control your destiny here?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  And I think that’s part of the lure of the Daytona 500 and races like this.  There’s a lot of people that get a little taste of success or potentially getting to Victory Lane.  That’s what keeps us coming back for more.  I always feel that was what was special about Indy.  There’s so many pit stops, so much that could happen, so many ways that it could play out, there’s a lot of drivers that taste victory but don’t get there.  You just have a love for it.  Not to mention that it’s the biggest race of the year.
 
            Q.  (No microphone.)
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  It got a little crazy.  I mean, I think I expected it to be even more crazy.  Didn’t seem like the cars got unhooked easy.  That was a good save by Tony.  That’s what I remember about last night.  Unfortunately there was a little accordion effect.
 
            We’re going to do everything we can.  I understand my position.  I have a good car.  Tony has given me a good car.  I’m going to do my best to keep it clean, keep it out of trouble, get a feel for the traffic throughout the day, and hopefully put myself in a position, position‑wise and knowledge‑wise, to do a good job and bring it home where it started at the end of Sunday.
 
            But I have a lot to learn, too.  I understand that.  I mean, I have Jeff Gordon starting next to me.  I have, oh, my God, a herd of them behind me.  I’m a rookie and I am going to be learning as much as I can for 499 or maybe till the last 10 laps.  When you implement your plan, it depends where you are.  Hopefully at the end of 500 we’re rolling and we have a chance.
 
            Q.  Has the significance of what you did, which is make history, has that really sunk in yet?  What kind of message would you like that to be to young racers, female racers, coming up?  As a follow‑up, what are you fixing for dinner?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  I’m not fixing anything tonight.  In fact, I’m probably going to have some beers.  I think somebody is making me a sandwich.  I went to Cracker Barrel and I’m glad I ate the bacon because it’s probably what is keeping me alive right now.  And the pole position, too.  I need a sandwich really bad.  I’m getting close to dinner anyway.  Pole position was like a free diet.
 
            What was the first part of your question?  That one was much more fun to answer.
 
            Q.  Has the significance of what you’ve done sunk in?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  I mean, I’ve had the experience with mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, listening to them say the reason why they’re here as a family today is because of me out there, whether it brings the girls out, the guys out, whatever it is, I don’t care.  That’s nice to hear.
 
            It’s also nice to hear families talk about the fact that a little girl might say, But, mommy, daddy, that’s a girl out there.  Then they can have the conversation with their kid about you can do anything you want and being different doesn’t by any means not allow you to follow your dreams.  I love to think that conversation happens in households because of something I’m doing.
 
            Q.  Where does this rank among your career accomplishments?
 
            TONY GIBSON:  Pretty high up.  My wife asked me that same question.  I’ve been fortunate enough to win a lot of races, the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, some championships and stuff.  But this is really, really high for mebecause I feel for some reason we’re the underdogs.  When we won a championship with Kulwicki, we went into that race with nobody giving us a shot.
 
            When we left testing down here, I knew we had a shot.  You still never know.  I told Danica, bring back the same car.  I could tell she was a little nervous when I told her that.  I was nervous, too.  But to come back here and pick up where we left off testing, to run good yesterday, you still have that little bit of nervousness of can you repeat what you ran yesterday in practice after you go through the room of doom and all that.
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  I love that, room and doom.
 
            TONY GIBSON:  To get all that accomplished, come down here, it means a lot to me.  It’s a tremendous feeling right now.  I’m just happy for my team.  I’m happy for Danica.  Like we talked after all this, I told her, we know there’s going to be low points, but the key to success for us is to enjoy the highs and pat each other on the back and enjoy it.  When we hit our lows, pick each other up and get to the next one.
 
            Right now we’re enjoying this and it’s real big for me.  I’ve accomplished a lot of things, but this ranks up there in the top two or three.
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  Big accomplishment to be a part of for me.  So much that goes into it than just the driver.
 
            As I told Tony, I said, I’m going to keep pounding this one home, I said, You built a fast car and I’m just lucky I got to drive it.  So we’re going to enjoy this pole and we’re going to get to enjoy it for a week.  But it definitely ranks very high.
 
            Q.  You’re such a cool customer under pressure, yet you admittedly had some nerves.  Where did they stem from today? You blazed so many trails in motorsports, how does this compare to your other accomplishments?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  I was literally listening to you going, Nerves, nerves.
 
            You know, nerves today were really just about I feel more nervous when I know that there’s more on the line, and I knew that we had a good enough car to qualify very well around the pole today.  So for me it was just don’t make a stupid little mistake, don’t hit the apron, don’t use too much road, all the way up against the wall around the outside.  Little things like that.
 
            If we weren’t in contention, you do
n’t think about it that much.  Knowing it can come down to a hundredth, a driver can make that difference.  That’s where you hope you’ve done everything right.  That was my nerves.
 
            Q.  Comparison to leading a lap at Indy and winning Motegi?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  This is a pretty big stage.  There’s a lot of people that benefit from this and a lot of people see it.  I feel like there’s a lot of people win more so than ever with this one as far as the team, Tony, Go Daddy, Hendrick, Chevy. There’s a lot of people that benefit from this because of the big platform that it is.  It’s not just like the high point of my name or what I’ve done.  There’s going to be a whole story here.
 
            It’s a cool day.  I’ve been lucky enough and very blessed in my career to have had a lot of really, really cool days, a lot of things that in 20 years ‑ got to be careful here ‑ in a really long time I can reflect on and be very grateful.  I was going to say when I’m old and decrepit.
 
            My dad said he was going to show up with a lot more gray hairs when qualifying is over with.  My hairstylist the other day said he saw one.  I cried a little (laughter).
 
            Q.  You’ve seen a lot in your career, so this might be hard to answer.  This was obviously a big deal with the way it was received after you were on the pole.  You had Mike Helton come up and congratulate you.  You tend to downplay the significance, racer first, woman second.  Was there a moment that felt surreal to you, Wow, this is happening?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  I think some of the coolest feeling was just being able to go into qualifying.
 
            I love it when people put me on the radar, I do.  I think it’s good.  It’s a confidence boost when people are saying, I heard Mr. Childress say he thought I was the one to lose the pole.  When people put you on the radar, that feels good to me.
 
            I like that after practice in January and yesterday after practice that people were saying I was the one that could go out there and get the pole.  That to me was some of the coolest feelings.
 
            Today was about executing and doing everything right, just having a clean run.  So, I don’t know, that’s kind of what feels best to me.  It was a little too nervous to sit on the pole throughout the whole thing.  Watching all those cars, that’s nerve‑wracking, especially on an empty stomach.  What did I decide to do?  I decided to go workout.  I mean, really?  I’m old enough to know better (smiling).
 
 
            Q.  After three days of the romance, romance talk, is it refreshing or does it matter at all to you now the reset button gets hit and everybody is now going to be talking about you, the racer, the driver?
 
            DANICA PATRICK:  I definitely think it’s good for the team and it’s good for Go Daddy, it’s good for NASCAR.  It’s good for the race itself.  When they mention who is on the pole, they’re going to mention when the race is.  That’s good for the whole sport.
 
            I don’t mind answering questions about the other stuff.  But I get that it’s not about racing.  It’s nice to change the tone of the questions because of what’s going on on the track.  That is a really good sign and I like that.
 
            KERRY THARP:  Congratulations, Danica Patrick and Tony Gibson.  Thank you.
 
An interview with:
TONY STEWART
 
            KERRY THARP:  Tony Stewart, whose teams performed exceptionally well during qualifying.  Stewart‑Haas Racing qualifying first, will be on the pole for the Daytona 500, with Danica Patrick.  The fourth fastest time today was turned in by Ryan Newman.  The fifth fastest time was turned in by team owner Tony Stewart.
 
            All three of your cars in the top five as far as speed, Tony.  Got to be just a testament to the hard work, the commitment to excellence put in by this race team.
 
            TONY STEWART:  Yeah, it really is.  Just really proud today more than anything.  Very appreciative of everybody at Stewart‑Haas Racing, the Hendrick engine and chassis department for all the work that they have put forth to get ready for Daytona.
 
            This was, not only for our organization, but for all the organizations and teams, this was probably one of the most difficult winters that I can remember from my 15 years of going through off‑seasons here for teams to actually get prepared to come down here to Daytona.
 
            And to have three cars in the top five like that, just really, really appreciative and excited that we were able to bring three consistent cars down like this.
 
            So appreciative to the people at Mobil 1.  I honestly believe that’s what made the difference today.  We’ve been working with those guys for two years now.  To come down here to Daytona, they work just as hard to help us on the lubricant side as we do on building the cars.  I think we make a great team.  I think today showed that.  It’s their commitment, too, that has helped us get here.
 
            Like I say, I’m proud of my teams, my drivers, all of our crews.  Greg Zipadelli has worked his guts out all winter with the crew chiefs, Matt Borland, Tony Gibson, Steve (Addington), have had a rough winter trying to get everything ready.
 
            Real appreciative and excited of their hard work.
 
            KERRY THARP:  We’ll take questions from Tony.
 
            Q.  With these three immaculately prepared cars, you’re accustomed to winning poles; Ryan is as well.  Can you talk about the fact you had three great cars out there, but Danica is still the one that had to drive it to the pole.
 
            TONY STEWART:  Yeah, it’s been fun to watch the telecast today because they’re showing the Dartfish.  We can watch each other’s laps. Her car, she just did a really good job of carrying speed off of turn two, where she made all of her time up was down the backstretch.  Carrying that speed off of two is a big key to that.
 
            I think all three of us ran great laps.  But I don’t know if she did something a little different or if it was Tony Gibson and her guys, but as a package they did a great job.
 
            It’s easy to come down here in your first or second year as a driver and clip the apron trying to run too tight a line or do something and scrub speed off.  That’s something she did an awesome job.  Watching her lap, she runs so smooth.
 
            We talked about it two years ago when we ran the Nationwide race together, I said she was probably one of the easiest people to push around the racetrack, she runs such a smooth line.  That’s what you have to do here.
 
            She did her job behind the wheel, for sure.  She did a good job.
 
            Q.  Tony, no secret you get your engines from Hendrick.  They build your chassis.  You guys were all faster than the Hendrick cars.  What was the difference?
 
            TONY STEWART:  Like I mentioned a minute ago, I honestly believe it was the preparation at our shop.  I don’t think we’re doing a bunch of stuff different than the Hendrick guys are.  But our guys did as good a job obviously, if not better.
 
            But I really truly believe it’s the Mobil 1 products.  We’ve been working really hard the last year trying to find stuff specifically for restrictor plate tracks.  The technology that we get from those guys, it is so cool to have a partner that not only is painted on the hood of the car but can actually help our racecars go faster.  That’s what we’ve got with those guys.
 
            The Mobil 1 people have done an awesome job.  I told them last night they should be proud, the way we drove from the back to the front.  Everybody can have the same car.  Nobody drove from the back to the front last night like we did.  I think that’s what made the difference.
 
            Q.  Tony, with no disrespect to the intensity you said has occurred throughout the off‑season, was today’s effort the easiest part of Speedweeks from a driver standpoint?  Is Thursday’s Duels maybe the most stressful of what we see from a driver?
 
            TONY STEWART:  I think it progresses.  Today definitely is the easiest day, no doubt.  Thursday is intense just because you’re trying to win the race, you’re trying to get the best finish you can, but at the same time you’re trying to make sure you take care of your racecar.
 
            The 500 is still the most stress that the driver goes through.  It’s definitely no secret.
 
            The thing is, we say we don’t make a difference today, but we all do as drivers.  The stuff we have to do compared to what we have to do any other week is fractional as drivers.  We have to hit three shifts and be smooth for two laps.  It’s stuff that we’re used to having to do for 500 laps at racetracks.
 
            It really is more about what the teams and their preparation does, that is what shows up today.  Thursday and Sunday, it’s their preparation, but it’s us making sure we’re doing the right things.  That brings more of us back into the equation Thursday and Sunday.
 
           Q.  Can you balance the pride in ownership of pole winning, three out of the top five cars, against your own envy and desire to win the pole and the race?
 
            TONY STEWART:  I’ll be honest.  The pole didn’t matter to me personally.  It was more as an owner, wanting Danica to be in the top two today.  That way she’s locked in, we don’t have to worry about what happens on Thursday.
 
            To me, my eye is still on next Sunday.  Ownership side this Sunday, next Sunday I want it from the driver’s side.
 
            Q.  Tony, this is going to be a very big story nationally for the next week because of the historical significance and allthat.  This is good for your team as well.  Can you talk about the attention and how big this is really going to be here for the next few days.
 
            TONY STEWART:  You guys know the significance more than we do.  But just the history books in itself, you know, it’s something also as an owner that we’re proud to be a part of.
 
            We’re proud for her, too.  That’s a huge accomplishment.  It’s not like it’s been 15 or 20 years she’s been trying to do this.  It’s her second trip to Daytona here in a Cup car.  She’s made history in the sport.  That’s stuff that we’re proud of being a part of with her.  It’s something she should have a huge amount of pride in.
 
            It’s never been done.  There’s only one person that can be the first to do anything.  Doesn’t matter how many do it after you do, accomplish that same goal.  The first one that does always has that little bit more significance to it because you were the first.
 
            Q.  From your experience here, when you have a car good enough to win the Daytona 500, when do you know it?  Do you know it already?  Does it take Thursday?
 
            TONY STEWART:  I think it’s more next Thursday.  It gives you an idea.  But even at that, you still only see half of the equation.  You have the second qualifying race.  I think the bigger the packs are, the more things change.  Like I say, we’ll see half the field on each race Thursday, then Sunday you’re going to see 43 cars.  I think you learn early in the 500 what you got, then it’s a matter of positioning yourself at the end of the race, middle parts of the race to be in the right spot at the end.  I think you do find out, but as much as we’d like to think it’s Thursday with these cars, I don’t think it’s going to be Thursday like it has been the last couple years.  I think it’s going to betransferred to Sunday before you really know.
 
            Q.  You hear on great teams about the chemistry you have.  A lot of people in your organization talk about the chemistry you have.  How would you describe it?  Almost fraternity like, you’re so close.  Talk about that, how that’s been able to develop so quickly.
 
            TONY STEWART:  This will probably be a sound byte for you guys.  I think Danica has two boyfriends, she has Ricky and she has Tony Gibson. They are all but holding hands in the shop when they’re there every day together.
 
            It’s good for me to see as an owner.  I like to see that chemistry that you’re talking about.
 
            Ryan is happy being back with Matt.  Tony and Danica are happy.  I’m happy with Ste
ve.  That’s something that having three teams that the drivers and crew chiefs are getting along, happy to be paired up where they’re at, that’s something that goes a long way.
 
            It’s not this early that we’ll really see that, but you’ll see that in the first 8, 10, 12 weeks of the season, of how powerful those pairings really are.
 
            Q.  (No microphone.)
 
            TONY STEWART:  My personality, whether it’s good or bad, transfers everywhere we go (laughter).
 
            But I think we’ve always had the mindset.  I learned a lot from Joe Gibbs.  I said that every year I’ve been a car owner.  I learned a lot from him.  We said it as a two‑car team, we said it as a three‑car team.  We’re three separate racecar teams, but we’re all working together for a common cause and goal.
 
            That’s what makes days like today so special, when you have all three teams that run that well together.  We’re all sharing in the success.  Our team is sharing with Danica.  Ryan’s team is sharing with Danica.  She’s sharing our success.  We’ve got a lot to be proud of, and those pairings are a part of that.
 
            Q.  One of your fellow team owners this morning said the media and the general public underestimate how good she’s going to be this year.  She may not be top five every weekend, but she’ll be a solid top 15 runner everywhere.  Is that how you have it figured?  Do you know more about it than we do?
 
            TONY STEWART:  Oh, no, I’ve listened to you guys.  You guys definitely know more than we do (smiling).
 
            Honestly, I honestly don’t look at it as a number.  I’m not going to say top 15 or top 12.  That to me is a number.
 
            More so than the finishing position I think is looking through the course of the race.  There’s so many things that can happen.  Something happens at the end of the race that can throw that number off.  I think it’s just watching the course of the race.
 
            I think she’s got potential.  I think she’s got a lot to look forward to.  I think she’s going to turn some heads this summer.  Whether it’s consistent or whether it’s one or two races at a time, none of us really know.
 
            It’s as much my guess as your guess at this point.  But I believe in her.  The team believes in her.  Our organization believes in her.  We’re going to do everything we can to make her as consistent and fast every week.  The thing that I caution everybody is, everybody puts high expectations.  Since she’s got here, everybody has put her under such a strong microscope.
 
            Nobody said, Tony Stewart is going to be a top-15 car every week the first or second year.  Nobody cared.  But everybody is so focused on what she’s going to do.  You just strictly have to wait and see.  It’s still a rookie year for her.  That makes it hard to predict where she’s going to be.
 
            We feel like she’s got the tools and mindset to go out and do a good job each week.
 
            Q.  Tony, given how she performed yesterday in the practices, limited time, when you walked out of here did you get an inkling that this was possible?
 
            TONY STEWART:  All you had to do was look at the time.  She ran the fastest lap of the day.
 
            We knew it was possible.  The thing that we didn’t know is was anybody not showing their hand until today.  After watching everybody’s runs today, I think everybody pretty muchshowed their hand yesterday either in the first session or somewhere in thesecond session, showed what they had, knew what they could run.
 
            If I’d have known today was going to be like it shook out, I would have rested a lot easier last night.  We felt confident that even if she didn’t get the pole, she was going to be able to stay in the top six I thought at that point.
 
            Q.  She said she was nervous.  Did you detect any nervousness from her today when you saw her?
 
            TONY STEWART:  No.  Like I said, the talent that she has, she had to use a fraction of it to run her two laps.  If she was nervous, it was more for the guys than her ability what she had to go out and do.
 
            I didn’t really detect it.  She texted me after the Unlimited last night, talking about the race.  Seemed like her normal joking, having fun self.
 
            Q.  Undoubtedly there will be naysayers who point to the fact that the car at Daytona is more important than the driver.  Why is that not totally accurate?  Does it matter on a day like this?
 
            TONY STEWART:  I think I touched on that earlier.  All of us can pretty much do the same thing here.  We’re using a fraction of the talent we all have at this level to go out and do two laps of qualifying.  That percentage changes later in the week.
 
            You can have the fastest car, but if you don’t know where to be and when to be there, you can be at the back, or you can have a car that may not be the fastest and running up front because youknow where to be to win.
 
            Naysayers are naysayers.  They’re people that are unhappy with their life and are trying to bring somebody else’s life down to their level.
 
            Q.  As far as your team goes with all the changes and everything, with the testing as it went along, did you get a feeling that your team was maybe a little bit ahead of everybody else?
 
            TONY STEWART:  No.  You just honestly don’t know who is showing their hand.  We used to come down here to testing, when we just had a minimum spoiler angle, guys would run two or three degrees extraspoiler angle, it made it look like they didn’t have speed.  When we would come back, they would lay it down for qualifying where it was legal, at the best.
 
            You just never know what people are doing.  You never know what they’re doing at test sessions.  A lot of testing is A, B things, not trying to run the fastest lap, just trying to see what works,what doesn’t work.  When you go back home, you look through all that data and put the package together for w
hat you’re going to bring down for the race.
 
            You can look at what the testing results are, but they’re never 100% of what could happen when you come down for a race weekend.
 
            Q.  Tony, Kevin Harvick was asked about Danica’s run today.  He said he was able to talk about the racing, that was great.  Is it nice for you to know for the majority of the next week the headlines are going to say Daytona 500 pole winner Danica Patrick or does that not matter?
 
            TONY STEWART:  You guys are in charge of what are going to be the headlines each day.
 
            I’m excited about this week.  I thought last night was a fun race to run.  I’m glad we’re not actually pushing each other.  The cars still get a little nervous when guys are pushing.  It doesn’t seem as effective.  It actually seemed to be the opposite of what you would think, versus when we used to push, we gained speed.  It seems when we physically are pushing each other, the cars slow down.
 
            You’d have to get Newman in here for that.  It’s way over myhead.  I don’t understand why they slow down when we push, but they do.  We had two cases last night when we had somebody pushing us, it actually slowed the speed of the car down.  It was pretty consistent across the board from manufacturer to manufacturer.
 
            I saw Jim Campbell (U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports) sneak in over there.  He should be proud over there.  Chevy has done an awesome job.  It’s easy today to talk about the engine builder, talk about the chassis builders, the people at the shop.  Today we actually get to thank ourmanufacturers again for building us a car that is a fast racecar again, it’s not just a car with stickers on it.  We actually have an SS, a production car, that’s fast.  That was proven today, too.
 
            KERRY THARP:  Tony Stewart, congratulations.  Strong effort today from Stewart‑Haas.  Thank you.
 
An interview with:
JEFF GORDON
 
KERRY THARP:  Starting second, the outside pole position, will be Jeff Gordon.  This is the fourth time that Jeff will be starting on the front row for the Daytona 500.  He won the pole in 1999 and started second in 2006 and 2011.
 
            Jeff, congratulations.  Got to feel really good about the performance coming out of the gates that quick and being up front for next Sunday’s race.
 
            JEFF GORDON:  Absolutely.  This is big, to be on the front row at Daytona.  It’s an accomplishment in itself just because of how many people put so much hard work into it, not just from our team but all the teams that are out here.
 
            When you have all winter long to prepare, you have the biggest race of the year as your first race, there’s a lot of effort that goes into those two laps.
 
            I’m very proud of my team.  Very proud of Hendrick engines, to see how well the new Chevy SS and Hendrick engines performed today was fantastic.
 
            We’re here to win the Daytona 500.  Sitting on the front row is a great step towards accomplishing that goal.
 
            It’s great to be a part of history with Danica being on the pole.  I think we all know how popular she is, what this will do for our sport.  Congratulations to her.  Proud to be on there with her.
 
            KERRY THARP:  We’ll take questions.
 
            Q.  Jeff, do you come away feeling a bit surprised with that lap, thinking, I could have gotten the pole, or do you come away pleasantly surprised?
 
            JEFF GORDON:  When it’s Daytona qualifying, I should never question Alan Gustafson and this team.  With the way testing went, we were so‑so.  The way yesterday went, I didn’t feel like we had a shot at the pole.  So my expectations were kind of low.
 
            When I started the lap, the car definitely carried good momentum and rpms.  I thought this is going to be certainly better than where we were yesterday.  I thought the wind was in our favor.  The gusts were huge today.  If you got a big gust, it could really affect your lap.  I really think that’s what happened to Tony.  When he came around to the back straightaway, he had a pretty big headwind.
 
            So, yeah, I’m surprised.  I didn’t expect to be that close.  I told Alan, if I had known we might havebeen that close, I might have driven across the apron to win the pole (laughter).
 
            Listen, I’m thrilled.  This team is thrilled.  It’s a great accomplishment just being on the front row.
 
            Q.  Some of the TV commentators indicated they thought that you might have caught some kind of a puff or gust of headwind yourself somewhere that maybe left you alittle bit short.  You’re saying the wind was totally in your favor.
 
            JEFF GORDON:  Until we go back and look at all the stats, we can look at what I call Dartfish, the TV calls it ghost imaging, we’ll be able to run our lap and see exactly what the wind did during that lap, see if it did affect us.  But, yeah, then you’d be a little disappointed.
 
           But, hey, that’s the luck of the draw.  That’s just kind of the way it goes qualifying here at Daytona and Talladega, that you always understand.
 
            Like I said, I didn’t have high expectations going into it ’cause I just didn’t think, based on practice times, we had a shot at the front row. I’m sitting here happy regardless of what any of those stats may show.
 
            Q.  You’ve been around the sport a while.  Danica is a rookie.  Can you rank what this means to our sport to see the first female ever in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series score a pole, especially at the Daytona 500?
 
            JEFF GORDON:  Yeah, as popular as she is, too.  She comes into this with racing background, with a tremendous amount of exposure, momentum, just popularity that we’ve never seen before, especially from a female driver.
 
            For her to then follow that up or start the season off with a pole, it’s huge.  It’s big.  Surprised you’re even talking to me right now, right (laughter)?  I’m glad I didn’t win the pole, we would have messed that story all up (smilin
g).
 
            I’ve always been a big believer in what’s good for the sport is good for all of us.  So this is great for the sport.  The rest of us will benefit from that, as well.  I’m proud to be on the front row this year side‑by‑side with Danica.
 
            Q.  Jeff, you jokingly referred to yourself as the fastest guy today.  Do you allow yourself to step back and savor the moment, the historic magnitude of this feat, allow her to have her moment in the spotlight?  When you came away yesterday, having seen the way she performed, did you get a sense she was going to be a strong contender for the pole?
 
            JEFF GORDON:  I didn’t think anybody else had a shot.  I was surprised we got as close as we did.  They were fast yesterday, put down a very good lap today.  When she made her lap, I was pretty sure that no one was going to beat that.
 
            Yeah, you know, I always think that you never really quite grasp history in the making at the moment.  Everybody maybe understands it and captures it in different ways.  For me, it’s easy to recognize looking at the media surrounding her, the hype that’s been built into the Daytona 500 as well as the last day of her being so fast in practice, then all day today.
 
            To back that up and for her to pull it off, I think we won’t really know until you guys write all your stories and we see what’s on the front page, the headlines in the news, on the Internet, everything else.  But I think it’s obviously a big moment in history and, like I said, a great boost for the sport.  It’s awesome.
 
            Q.  You mentioned drama earlier this morning.  Talking about going through inspection.
 
            JEFF GORDON:  Our car fell off the jack onto the jack stand and completely tore our rocker panel off as we were getting ready to pull the car out of the garage.  I came in with my kids this morning just keeping them busy.  My car was the only one in the garage area of all the other cars that were going through inspection.  I went over and Alan was covered in dust.  He was like, You don’t want to come over here right now.  We had that to start our day.
 
            Then they got all that fixed, then we had to go through inspection.  I don’t even know, I didn’t even talk to him, but I don’t know what kind of issues we had, but I knew the car was late getting out to pit road.
 
            Q.  As the years wind down, what is going to be a good year for Jeff Gordon with everything you’ve accomplished in this sport?  What do you still have left to accomplish?
 
            JEFF GORDON:  I’ve never won a Sprint Cup ever since they’ve gone to this format.  I’ve come close in ’07, but we got beat.  Obviously to me there’s only one thing left, and that’s to win the Sprint Cup championship.
 
            What I’ve realized as I get older, the things that matter to me, I like to make other people proud, people that put a lot of effort into our race team, my parents along the way, crew chiefs like Ray Evernham, my wife, my kids.  Those are the things that motivate me, drive me to work harder and accomplish goals that I haven’t been able to accomplish.
 
            So I think Alan is one of the best if not the best crew chiefs out there right now.  I think he deserves to be a championship‑caliber crew chief or recognized crew chief.  I love taking my kids and family to Victory Lane and experience the spoils ofgreat accomplishments like that.
 
            Q.  Jeff, it’s probably likely that Danica is going to be a little nervous come next Sunday at the green flag.  As someone who has started up front, when you were really young, will you say anything to her about it?  I know there’s no gamesmanship, but are you okay with how that could go?
 
            JEFF GORDON:  There’s a lot of things that are going to happen prior to next Sunday.  We’ve already seen what can happen in 15 laps of the race last night, testing.
 
            First you have to get through the Duels.  For me, we’re locked in the front row.  I’m not going to be able to breathe until we’re looking at the green flag waving, sitting on the front row.
 
            The good thing about being on the front row is that you’re locked into the Daytona 500.  The downside is you don’t want to put your mind into protection mode that I don’t want to mess this car up because I want this car to be our car for the Daytona 500.  If you want to win the Daytona 500, you have to practice like you’regoing to win the Daytona 500, race in the Duels like you’re going to win the Daytona 500, do everything to prepare yourself and your team to win the Daytona 500.  Sometimes being in the front row can be a hindrance to that mindset.
 
            We’re going to put a lot of effort in, Alan, me, the team, Rick, myself, are going to put a lot of effort into how we approach the Duels.  Once you get through that, we’ll start thinking about how we’re going to approach the Daytona 500.
 
            If I were going to talk to Danica about anything, I’d say what I just said.  A lot left to do and how you want to approach the Duels.
 
            Q.  I wanted to ask you about the man of the hour, which would be Tony Stewart.  He drove well last night in the race.
 
            JEFF GORDON:  I don’t even get to be the man of the hour.  Shoot.  I thought I at least had that part accomplished (smiling).
 
            Q.  We’ll give you the fastest guy.
 
            JEFF GORDON:  I’ll take that, but that’s not always a good thing (laughter).  I couldn’t resist.  What were you saying (smiling)?
 
            Q.  Tony Stewart, man of the hour.  Three of the top five cars in qualifying.  Showed again last night how good he can be in the draft.  Seems like there’s an Earnhardt quality here.  He’s never won the race.  Do you look at him and wonder how he hasn’t won it?
 
            JEFF GORDON:  Just like Earnhardt, give him time.  The greats of motorsports, of this sport, find a way to win the big races.  He’s so good on the restrictor plates.
 
            To me, I thought they were shining last night, the 14 team.  I thought he looked to me like he had the car to beat.  Yeah, you know, he went to the inside lane and pr
obably should have stayed on the outside lane.  But odds are more in favor that he’s going to make the right moves and be in position to win the Daytona 500 before his career is over if not this coming up week.  I look for him to be very, very strong.
 
            Q.  If this wasn’t a brand‑new car, if you could just park on Thursday, would it even be considered to make sure you made it to Sunday?  Also, how important is the next practice going to be in everything you do?
 
            JEFF GORDON:  I mean, every moment you can get on the track and learn something is important.  I don’t think you’re going to see us getting ourselves into a large pack of cars on Wednesday practice.
 
            But Thursday, you know, it’s a race.  When you go into a race, you’re racing to win.  I think on Thursday ‑ and this is what we have to talk about ‑ it is a very good opportunity to learn what we need to do to win the Daytona 500.  But it’s also very risky to put yourself in some of those positions.
 
            You have to go in approaching it to learn all that you can, build momentum and confidence.  You do that by winning that race.  You’re not just sitting on the front row, but you go and win that race.  That’s the best thing you can do.
 
            But you got to be smart about it, too.  You get shuffled back, find yourself in a bad situation, you try to fight through it, stick your nose somewhere it probably doesn’t belong, tear the racecar up, that just wasn’t very smart.  It’s a fine line between those.
 
            Honestly, if we didn’t have to go out onto the racetrack other than practice, go out there and sit on the front row on Sunday, I’d be fine with that.  Like any other race, I would be totally fine with that.  But that’s not the way Daytona works.
 
            Q.  You mentioned about the uncertainty of the Daytona 500.  Does starting up front take away any of the worries at all?
 
            JEFF GORDON:  Starting up front in the Duels as well as the Daytona 500 is a great thing.  When you look at how the race unfolded last night, I think the way that the drafting and races are going to unfold on restrictor plates just in general this year, Ithink being up front is a premium.  I think it always is, but I think possibly even more so this year with this aero package.
 
            Q.  Janet Guthrie wrote about the icy reception she received from drivers when she tried to break in in the ’70s.  What do you think has led to some of the changes in attitude toward having a female driver, minority drivers?  What’s led to this change over the last 20 years?
 
            JEFF GORDON:  I mean, I think that question can be answered throughout sports and throughout history, our culture, what’s accepted, unexpected over the years.  Not just unexpected, but accepted.
 
            I think for me it’s not about the color of your skin or your gender, it’s about your abilities.  You have to prove that.  I think Danica’s a talented racecar driver.  She proved that by getting herself into IndyCar, doing what she did in IndyCar.  She has taken on quite a task to take on stockcars that are completely foreign to her.  I kind of admire somebody that’s willing to take that leap.
 
            No different than the way I look at Sam Hornish, Juan Pablo Montoya, any of the guys that have been driving open‑wheel cars most of their career and then get in a stockcar.  It’s completely different.  But I love people that are willing to take chances and challenge themselves.
 
            That’s more of the way that I look at Danica, not just accepting a female.
 
            KERRY THARP:  Thank you, Jeff Gordon.  Congratulations on a great showing today.  Look forward to seeing you the remainder of Speedweeks.
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER NOTES & QUOTES
FEBRUARY 17, 2013
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED ON THE POLE
THAT WAS A FAST LAP, HOW WAS IT?
“Everything went smooth. This is very much a moment to talk about being proud of the guys who prepare the car. For us drivers, it’s very important for us to hit your shifts, and be smooth, and all that out there. But, there is a certain amount of speed that the car has as potential, and that is what you are getting to. As far the GoDaddy crew, Hendrick for the power and Chevy with the car, those are the elements that are really important. The driver plays a part, but a small part.”
 
WERE YOU JUST TRYING TO BE SMOOTH OUT THERE?
“You are just trying not to scrub off any speed. You go all the way around the top and give yourself as much time and space to build the momentum up, and get the car really rolling. You are just trying to run as little distance as you can without scrubbing too much speed off in the corners. That is what I did and hopefully it’s enough. I think either way there is a lot to be proud of for the GoDaddy guys.  They obviously prepared a car that has been fairly fast and sweet since we got here in January.”
 
HOW DO YOU SPEND THE REST OF THE TIME WAITING FOR EVERYONE ELSE TO QUALIFY?
“No matter where I am, Daytona, or qualifying anywhere, I absolutely despise waiting for qualifying to be over. Especially when it is going pretty well, because there is only down to go. So I know of course I am going to pay attention and be watching. But I’ll probably find something to keep my time busy.  Outside of doing media. I think of relaxing and waiting to see what happens in the end I think is what I am going to do.”
 
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE, IF THIS HOLDS UP, OF BEING THE FIRST WOMAN TO WIN A POLE HERE?
“Those are nice things. That’s nice. I think more than anything, I heard a stat yesterday, that getting the pole at Daytona is like winning the fourth biggest race. For publicity wise it’s the Daytona 500, I think the Coke 600, the All Star Race, and then I think it is the Daytona 500 pole. For someone like GoDaddy who has been really patient waiting for me to get to full-time to Sprint Cup, it’s very important for someone like that. All the people that have been supportive along the way. For me that’s who it really pays off for.”
 
THOUGHTS, PLANS, STRATEGIES FOR THE DUELS:
“I think we saw a pretty good showing from Tony last night as far as a teammate goes with the car, the feel that he had. Now, I am not Tony Stewart. But, I think that it is always good to see when your teammates are running well. I talked to him last night and he thinks we are all going to have really strong race cars. I trust him. He’s been doing this for a long time. Let’s hope that happens. I haven’t done any drafting yet, so the drafting that happens Wednesday will be the first of them. Hopefully it goes well.”
 
ARE YOU RELIEVED AFTER THAT RUN?
“The relief will come if I’m on the pole at the end. That is where the relief comes.”
 
WHAT ABOUT IF YOU JUST GET IN THE RACE AND YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT?
“If I’m in the race and there is nothing to worry about I think that is always a nice little… even if I was eighth and you just have to be smooth and keep it in the race and there are only a couple of cars that won’t make it.  It could be you.  I have been there before.  I have been at Indy when it could be you and you could miss it because of rain.  You could miss it because it didn’t go well, I’ve been there.  I understand that anything is possible.  It would be nice to know going into this week and next weekend especially for the crew and for the sponsors that there is nothing to worry about.”
 
I NOTICED WHEN YOU GOT OUT OF THE CAR YOU WERE PRETTY BUSINESS LIKE HAVE YOU ALLOWED YOURSELF TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT THIS YET OR DO YOU NEED TO WAIT UNTIL QUALIFYING IS OVER?
“You see these microphones in my face there has really been a lot of time to do anything.  No, I appreciate it.  I appreciate it, GoDaddy appreciates it, the team appreciates it, so I don’t mind.  It is work.  I am at work and I am doing my job and I am also aware enough to know that anything can happen and I miss the pole.  I might miss the top-six and that would be disappointing.  The time to relax and be happy or be sad or mad comes after it is all over with.”
 
KEVIN HARVICK WAS KIND OF HAVING FUN JOKING ABOUT YOU LAST NIGHT AT THE START OF HIS PRESS CONFERENCE TRYING TO GET YOU AND RICKY (STENHOUSE, JR.) ON THE FRONT PAGE AFTER HE WON A RACE.  HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW KEVIN?  
“I know Kevin (Harvick) really well and so does Ricky (Stenhouse, Jr.).  We both are friends with Kevin.  I am imagining it’s like a big brother role where the kind of joking around.  I think also at times I think people we are closer friends with or I’m closer friends with also try and protect us, protect me and say leave them alone and things like that.  I think that the people that I’ve heard make jokes are the ones that are my closest friends here in NASCAR.  I definitely feel like it’s more of a fun sort of perspective of fun being able to make a joke and a little protective.”
 
DO YOU LIKE HIS BRAND OF HUMOR?
“I like everything about Kevin (Harvick).  I have been friends with him since the first year.  I really like him; I really like DeLana (Harvick).  If I didn’t like his sense of humor we wouldn’t be friends.”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
GREAT LAP.  WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON TODAY’S QUALIFYING SESSION?
“I’m excited about seeing all of those Chevys up front there, certainly those Hendrick engines as well.  This is a bit of a surprise we have not been as good as I was hoping in practice.  Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and our team they work so hard and they know how to qualify here at Daytona and on these restrictor plate tracks and they proved it again today.”
 
I KNOW YOU DIDN’T HAVE AS MANY LAPS LAST NIGHT AS YOU WANTED TO, BUT DID YOU LEARN ENOUGH TO SEE HOW YOU THINK THURSDAY IS GOING TO SHAKE OUT IN THE DUELS?
“I don’t really feel like we learned much.  There was a couple laps where I was back in traffic and feeling the car move around and seeing some things that were happening handling wise.  I think that the conditions are going to be so much different.  There is not going to be a night race and it’s going to be warmer.  I think the handling is going to be a bit more of a factor for Thursday and for Sunday.”
 
HOW WOULD YOU JUDGE THIS AS A START?
“Anytime you come down here and you put down a good lap, everybody puts in an extreme amount of work for Daytona, but not everybody gets the rewards.  That is a great lap.  It would be awesome to be on the front row.  We will see what happens, the No. 5 car is going to be tough and a couple of others there too.  No matter what that is a lot better than I was anticipating after testing and practice yesterday.  Great job to the team, the just continue to do impressive things that build confidence with me and with themselves and make for a great combination.”
 
HOW MUCH OF A BOOST IS WINNING THE LAST RACE OF LAST SEASON? DOES IT KIND OF INSPIRE THE GUYS BACK AT THE SHOP AND YOURSELF TO GET OFF THE GROUND RUNNING?
“It’s been a long time since I’ve done that.  I can honestly tell you it’s been big.  The guys are just fired up all winter long.  It’s the little perks sometimes.  When you call into Hendrick Motorsports there is a hold radio communication and broadcast from whoever won whatever last race they won. Every time I called into talk to somebody at Hendrick Motorsports or my d
ad or somebody I was listening to the final five laps of Homestead all winter long.  That was pretty cool.  The team I think with this new car all the hard work that is going into getting them built we needed as much energy boost as we possibly could to get us through the winter.  It’s been great.”
 
HOW BIG A DEAL WOULD IT BE IF DANICA (PATRICK) IS ON THE POLE?
“I think it would be huge.  I think between (Dale Earnhardt) Junior and Danica that is about as much exposure as this sport could possibly get.  In this case being history making I think this is about as big of a deal exposure wise as you could possibly get.  I’m not surprised they have been fast in testing, fast in practice and that is a heck of a lap.”
 
SHE HAS LIMITED CUP EXPERIENCE WOULD EVERYBODY BE COMFORTABLE WITH HER LEADING THE FIELD TO THE GREEN FLAG?
“Yeah, I think that everybody exploits inexperience and disadvantages in this race as it progresses.  It might happen on lap one, it might happen in turn one, and it might happen on lap 170.  It’s just to me you’ve got to take advantage of any opportunity that you have.  If somebody has a lack of experience then they leave that door open somebody is going to exploit it and take advantage of it.”
 
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 4TH
WAS IT WINDY? HOW WERE THE CONDITIONS?
“The guys did a lot of hard work last night and gave me the confidence to hold it wide-open today. I just went for it.”
 
DO YOU TAKE ANY PLEASURE IN THAT BOTH YOU AND DANICA PATRICK BOTH BEAT YOUR BOSS (TONY STEWART) IN QUALIFYING, NO MATTER WHERE YOU END UP?
“There is no real pleasure in that today because today is about the crew chiefs and what they can do and get through and learn from all the testing and practice that we’ve had. From my standpoint, my job was to not screw-up. Everything else was pretty easy.”
 
FROM THE BIG-PICTURE PERSPECTIVE, IF DANICA’S TIME HOLDS-UP, WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR THE SPORT AND YOUR ORGANIZATION TO HAVE THE FIRST WOMAN WIN THE DAYTONA 500 POLE?
“It’s a matter of opinion in how you look at it. I look at everybody out here as a driver; not necessarily as a man or a woman. Yes, she is a woman. I’m aware of that. But when I’m strapped in that race car, we’re all drivers. So, from my standpoint, it’s different than the average fan.”
 
ANY THOUGHTS OR PLANS OR STRATEGIES FOR THE DUELS ON THURSDAY?
“I haven’t done any drafting yet with our Quicken Loans Chevrolet, so my biggest thing is to learn. I sat on the No. 14 (Tony Stewart) pit box last night and tried to learn a few things and listen and watch as to what he was doing and experiencing and debriefed with him probably about 30 minutes after the race. So, that was my homework, the only homework I could get in because we haven’t done any drafting to figure out what we need for Wednesday and probably more importantly, for Thursday.”
 
WAS THAT BY DESIGN NOT TO DO ANY DRAFTING?
“Yeah, our goal on our side was to build the fastest race car up until the 500 qualifying and then we’re going to work on the car driving well. So, you can get all the speed you can and then the drafting isn’t so big of a deal.”
 
WOULD YOU PREFER TO BE IN THE FIRST OR SECOND DUEL?
“It doesn’t matter. With a new car or a new tire or a new pavement, it doesn’t matter.”
 
DO YOU HAVE BETTER STUFF THAN OTHERS BY RUNNING MOBIL 1?
“I think the stuff that Mobil 1 does definitely shows up more at a place like this where you’re working on drag and driveline drag and things like that, that can pay off when you’re really taking the drive out of it from the qualifying standpoint and just holding it wide open and keeping the shortest distance possible.”
 
YOU HAVE BEEN SOLIDLY IN THE TOP 10 IN PRACTICE AND TESTING. DO YOU THINK YOU HAD A SHOT AT THE POLE TODAY?
“No, I thought we were going to be a Top 10. I think the No. 33 (Austin Dillon) is going to give the No. 10 (Danick Patrick) a run for her money. But in my opinion, the guys have been a top-10 competing car with our No. 29 Quicken Loans car in the tests as well as here. We didn’t put much effort in the first practice session to go back out. We did one run and that was it. And that was our goal.”
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 BASS PRO SHOPS/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 5TH
YOU WERE THE FIRST CAR OUT. HOW WAS IT?
“I guess it was okay. I don’t know. We’ll see. But so far, so good. I can’t complain. We ran faster than we did yesterday and that was the main thing. But it’s literally just a waiting-game right now and watching the board up there and seeing how we stack up. So it will be a long day of waiting.
 
DID YOU WANT TO GO OUT EARLY?  IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE IN WHEN YOU GO OUT?
“It just depends on what the weather does. I don’t know. It can change here every half hour. So, I don’t think anybody wants anything unless they know exactly what the weather is doing to do and I don’t watch weather channels.”
 
DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE DUEL RACES? WOULD YOU RATHER WATCH THE FIRST ONE AND BE IN THE SECOND ONE ON THURSDAY?
“It doesn’t matter which one we’re in. You’ve still got to just run your own race. We learned enough stuff last night so hopefully we’ll be ready to go no matter which race we’re in.”
 
DID YOU HAVE A GOOD BREAKDOWN AFTER THE RACE LAST NIGHT AND SPEND SOME TIME HANGING OUT WITH YOUR TEAM?
“We talked about everything that we learned. Ryan (Newman) was there and we talked about how the race went and stuff that he’ll want to know getting ready for Thursday. It’s just the stuff that you do when you have multi-car teams like that. We only had one car in the Unlimited last night, so it was important to communicate the information we learned with our teammates.”
 
ALL YOUR CARS HAVE BEEN FAST. DO YOU FEEL LIKE USING MOBIL 1 HAS GIVEN YOU AN ADVANTAGE?
“I think so. The best thing is we have a sponsor on the car that actually contributes to making it go faster, too. They work as hard with our team as our guys do. So, this is a day that showcases what their products are about. We ran a decent speed there I think. So, I think last night and today just showcases what Mobil 1 does.”
 
YOU MUST HAVE A LOT OF PRIDE IN SEEING THE PRACTICE SHEET AND HAVING DANICA PATRICK BE GOING SO FAST.
“To have three cars in the top eight was awesome. It looks really good to see two Chevys sitting there in the top two spots. Hopefully. We’re the only Chevy up there right now but it’s in the spot that matters.”
 
HOW DO YOU SPEND THE REST OF THIS TIME? IT’S SUCH A LONG WAIT FOR QUALIFYING TO BE FINISHED, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GO OUT FIRST
“I’m going to go change my uniform first because I got wrestling with one of my crew guys and it blew the zipper out of my uniform (laughs); so that’s why I’m wearing a jacket. Honestly, I’m going fishing with Johnny Morris with Bass Pro Shops Monday and Tuesday and I’ve got three reels that need line put on them. So I’ll go back and just watch qualifying on TV and I’ll get my gear ready to go fishing tomorrow.”
 
WHAT ARE YOU FISHING FOR?
“Bass.”
 
FOR TODAY, HOW WERE THE CONDITIONS? WERE THEY IDEAL FOR WHAT YOU WOULD WANT?
“As long as it stays the same for everybody, it doesn’t really matter. The biggest thing is being consistent. If the conditions get better as the day goes, it’s not going to be ideal for us by any means. If it gets worse, it will be ideal for us. So, you just have to wait. We didn’t have any gust of wind or anything so we’ll just go do our deal.”
 
AFTER THE SPRINT UNLIMITED, KEVIN HARVICK MENTIONED THE SIDE-VIEW MIRROR BEING IN A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT SPOT AND NEW WINDOW NETS MAY HAVE CHANGED DRIVER JUDGMENTS WHEN LOOKING TO THE LEFT.
“I didn’t notice any of that.”
 
MARK MARTIN SAID
SOMETHING ABOUT THE WINDOW NET, TOO. HE SAID IT WAS MORE DIFFICULT TO SEE.
“I didn’t notice it. It doesn’t mean that other guys don’t. We’ve all had different window news until now. I think it’s just personal preference in what you’re used to.”
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 6TH:
ON HIS LAP
“The Farmers Insurance Chevrolet was fast. We were close. We were right in the hunt. Hendrick engines are very strong; we’re all right there in the top five and the Chevy SS is obviously very good. I feel good about where we’re at. We’re right there. It’s all really close.
 
HOW WAS YOUR HALF-MARATHON TODAY?
“It was awesome. I enjoyed it. I’m glad I did some training to be somewhat prepared for it and not lose it the last couple of miles (laughs). I made it home, so it was good. I had a blast. And running down the beach was probably the best part. The sun was coming up and it was cold and just running down the beach was really neat.”
 
HOW WAS THE SECOND TRIP OVER THE BRIDGE?
“It was definitely tougher than the first trip over the bridge. We were getting further and further along there. The bridge was tough. And then for me, the last two miles my legs were burning and I was going as hard as I could to make it back.”
 
HOW WERE THE WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING YOUR QUALIFYING RUN?  DID THE WIND DIE DOWN?
“It was either the same or it had died down, one or the other. It seems like it died down a little bit. I think we had a great draw and we were right there; we just barely missed the pole. But it was certainly a good run.”
 
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE DUEL RACES ON THURSDAY?
“I want to get a little more practice in on Wednesday and try to figure this drafting thing out a little bit more. I learned a lot last night, but I felt like I made some bad decisions at times and I need to work on that and just kind of get my end of the deal together a little better. I just want to learn more and be prepared for Sunday.”
 
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU LEARNED LAST NIGHT AS FAR AS WHAT THESE CARS WILL DO?
“I think, to me, you need race cars out there. The more cars you have on the track, the bigger runs you can get and the better you can just move around and pass cars. The less cars out there, the more difficult it made it to pass the car in front of you or two cars in front of you, and that showed. I think with the big field, the big pack, it’s going to be an exciting Daytona 500 when everybody wants to go.”
 
DO YOU THINK WE’LL SEE A LOT OF SHUFFLING FROM FRONT TO BACK?
“If the guys want to race, depending on who wants to race at what time, there will be a ton of shuffling and a ton of movement front to back. It is a 500-mile race and you want to be there at the end. But the way the car is, and things, it could definitely make for a lot of shuffling.”
 
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 11TH
HOW WAS YOUR LAP?
“Oh, it was all right. We just held it on the mat, pretty much. That’s all you can do. I wish it would have been a little bit faster, obviously, but we still surely have some things to learn about the car to get some speed in the car.
 
“We’ll work on that in the next couple of days. I’m sue we’ll have a good car for the 500. It’s got a lot of speed in it.”
 
IF DANICA PATRICK WOULD TO WIN THE POLE AND MAKE HISTORY HERE AT DAYTONA, WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WOULD MEAN?
“Well, it would be a big deal for her and her team. It would be a good confidence-builder going into the season. It just gives you good confidence going into the 500. She’s got a fast car. She’s got great teammates.
 
“So if she gets the pole position she can feel really good about her chances in the race to have a good run.”
 
WHAT DO YOU THINK IT MEANS TO THE SPORT IF A WOMAN IS ON THE POLE FOR THE BIGGEST RACE OF THE YEAR?
“I think it just shows a lot about her abilities and her team’s abilities. She’s got a great team. She’s got a good engine package ‘cause I know all about that. We have the same one. You’ve got to give her credit for how far she’s come in her career to where she is today. Today it’s all about the race car and the ability to get around the track so you’ve got to give the team and the guys that build the cars and the bodies and the engines a lot of credit, too.”
 
YOU HAVE A FEW DAYS TO WORK ON THESE CARS BEFORE THURSDAY DUELS. WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET AS WE GET CLOSER TO THURSDAY’S DUELS?
“You just want to find a little more speed and take advantage of practice and maybe do a lot of single car runs too, to see if you can find some things to improve the speed on the car. To gain another tenth or two would be awesome on the car’s speed alone. That carries over in the drafting when you can improve on the speed of the car by itself. Obviously it’s going to be a better car in the race pack. So, we’ll just try to work on some of those things and see what we can gain. We just need a little bit more to feel real happy. We’re pretty good.”
 
WHAT KIND OF SENSE DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CARS IN THE DRAFT AND HOW THEY WORK?  HAVE YOU SEEN OR FELT THAT BEFORE?
“Yeah, we really didn’t have a big enough pack to learn everything we want to learn or get a good sense of what the race is going to be like in the 500. It’s always kind of different just depending on what side of the bed everybody wakes up on.  But, I think the racing will be good. It’s the kind of racing where you can work with a lot of different and different people in drafting, but you’re really looking out for yourself and trying to get yourself moved forward instead of having to team-up with a guy and then work in tandem, which is never really much fun. It’s a good style of racing that will provide a good race. I think that’s what’s important, to provide a good product.”
 
IS IT A THROW BACK TO WHAT WE’VE HAD BEFORE? DO YOU THINK THEY’VE GOTTEN IT PRETTY CLOSE TO WHAT WE HAD PRIOR TO TANDEM?
‘Well, it’s similar to that. But you always want to be better. You always want to do things better than you’ve done it. So I don’t think you want to get satisfied with something. If you could just snap your fingers and go back to 2006 and be happy.
 
“I think you want to be better than that. I think you always want to be striving to be more and be a better product. But this is similar. The racing is definitely the style of racing is similar to that.”
 
EVEN THOUGH SHE HAS LIMITED EXPERIENCE, WOULD YOU BE COMFORTABLE WITH DANICA PATRICK LEADING THE FIELD?
“Absolutely; yeah, absolutely. She’s raced enough cars. Everybody in the field has got enough respect to get the pole and lead the field at the Daytona 500, I think.”
 
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS OR PLANS FOR THE DUELS ON THURSDAY?  DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE AS TO WHICH RACE YOU’RE IN?
“No, not really; just to get out there and have a good car and you want to see things out of your car that get you excited about the rest of the weekend, really.”
 
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 13TH
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR LAP: 
“It was okay.  Here there is only so much you can do.  We had our engine change yesterday.  Our main engine blew.
 
“For having a back-up motor I think it is pretty good.  We ran a little better than the No. 1 car.  We are not far from the Hendrick (Motorsport) cars so we are pretty happy.  I think it is a good starting spot for the duels.  Just got to go there and see what it does.”
 
TALKING ABOUT THE DUELS WOULD YOU RATHER BE IN THE FIRST OR THE SECOND RACE?
“I have no idea.  Either, you have to be in it and run and see where you finish.  You’ve got to remember if you have a really good car the duels don’t pay anything.  Unless you have a strong car to win and be there
to win you don’t want to risk the nice race car on Thursday.  At the same time you say that, but if you have a shot at it you are going to go for it.  So, we will see.”
 
THE WEATHER IS GOING TO BE MUCH DIFFERENT NEXT SUNDAY.  HOW WILL THAT AFFECT YOU?
“It’s going to make it harder to handle.  Like last night in the race we had a problem with when I went below the race track with that much splitter in the air I hurt it a lot of speed of the car.  Before that we were actually pretty good so we will see.”
 
DID YOU LEARN SOMETHING LAST NIGHT THAT WILL HELP YOU?
“Absolutely, I think we have an upper hand on anybody that didn’t race.  Understanding how these cars run, how these cars race, what these cars want.  I think that is a plus.  At the same time you’ve got to be smart about how we execute the race.”
 
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 14TH
HOW WAS YOUR LAP?
“We picked up like a tenth from practice.  Which is hard to do, in practice everything gets heat soaked, everything gets hot.  I’m glad we picked up a tenth.  A lot of guys are picking up more than that though.  This is all about the guys.  It’s almost like an off weekend for us drivers.  We are just out here making laps.  These guys put all the work in at the shop.  We have a really good piece.  Just looking forward to Wednesday and seeing how the cars are going to drive in the draft.”
 
DID YOU LIKE YOUR QUALIFYING POSITION? WERE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE WEATHER OR THE WIND?
“I thought that our draw was…historically our draw would be really good, but it’s been windy all day long.  I’m not sure if it’s getting better or worse.  Historically, as the qualifying goes on it gets windier which is not a good thing.  I think it’s staying pretty consistent today though so it doesn’t really matter.”
 
IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE REALLY HOT NEXT SUNDAY.  DOES THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY?
“I don’t like hot.  I haven’t seen the weather, but I’ll take your word for it.  If it’s hot it’s going to be a long race.”
 
THOUGHTS, PLANS, STRATEGIES FOR THE DUELS ON THURSDAY:
“Nobody is really locked in so you’ve got to go race.  After watching the shootout last night even though it was really cold last night the cars were driving pretty good it seemed like.  We are going to be racing Thursday in the daylight.  I’m not sure what the temperature is going to be, but nonetheless it’s going to be a little more of a handful.  Obviously keep your nose clean, but you’ve got to race hard.”
 
DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE LIKE MAYBE WATCHING THE FIRST DUEL AND BEING IN THE SECOND?  
“It really doesn’t matter.  It’s whatever it is.”
 
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 33 HONEY NUT CHEERIOS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 16TH
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING RUN AND HOW YOU ARE FEELING FOR THE DUELS:
“We have fast car, felt like we were going to be faster than that in qualifying.  I’m happy with that I think that will have us solidly hopefully the top-15.  It’s a tight field right there just so close.  I don’t know if wind or what could get you.  It’s really good though that we have ECR engines out here.  They are in the top-10 right now so hopefully we can keep it that way.”
 
WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY GOING INTO THE DUEL RACE ON THURSDAY?
“Do whatever it takes to get in the show because we don’t have points.  Whatever it takes to get in the show and after that have some fun.”
 
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 20TH
TALK TO ME ABOUT QUALIFYING:
“We were really disappointed with that.  We were quick in practice here, we were quick yesterday.  We thought we had a lot more than that.  We just didn’t pick up from where we ran in practice for some reason.  It is what it is.
 
“We thought we had a solid shot at a top-10 and didn’t get very close to that.  We were really disappointed with it, but it’s just part of the Daytona 500 and we still have the 150’s to get where we need to be.  That is where the focus will turn to.”
 
WAS KEVIN’S (HARVICK) WIN LAST BIG FOR THE ORGANIZATION?
“We felt really good about last night.  But, we are really disappointed about today.  At our test down here and in practice yesterday we thought we had much more speed than what we have shown today.  That is just disappointing.  Everybody put a lot of effort into coming down here and laying down a good lap time and just didn’t get it with any of us.  We are all disappointed with that, but as far as SpeedWeeks hardly anybody goes through SpeedWeeks happy with everything.  We will just turn our focus to the 150’s.”
 
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE 150’S DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT?
“I go into the 150’s all the time kind of with the same strategy that is just go run the best you can.  I think it is the only race all year long we get to practice for the race.  That is how I view it. I view it as a great opportunity to go practice.
 
“I will say with the points structure the way it is this year you still have to finish.  You have to run well enough to get in the race.  A big wreck could really have a huge complexion change on who makes this race.  That is going to be on everybody’s minds.  It is a great opportunity to learn.”
 
IF THE NO. 10 STAYS ON TOP OF THAT SCORING TOWER THAT IS GOING TO RESONATE WELL BEYOND HERE ISN’T IT?
“Well it will be a big story for sure.  Who know I’m sure there are a lot of people that would love to see that.  It would be a huge story.  Having a female sit on the pole for the Daytona 500 would be big.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 21ST
HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS YOUR LAP?
“It is what it is.  We didn’t think we were going to have a shot at the pole.  We thought we would be a little quicker than that.  With the qualifying race, then the (Daytona) 500 being such a long race it’s important for handling.  We knew coming down here we weren’t going to be racing for the pole.  We were more concerned about the race itself.  It looks like we will start 20th, 25th, something like that and go from there.”
 
IT LOOKS LIKE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THIS COULD BE A HISTORIC DAY FOR NASCAR IF DANICA (PATRICK) DOES WIN THE DAYTONA 500 POLE.  WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD MEAN FROM A MILESTONE PERSPECTIVE?
“It would be a great milestone for the sport.  For her to come in and hopefully…I want to see it happen.  It’s Hendrick (Motorsports) equipment, Stewart-Haas Racing I think it would be great for our sport, great for her, great kick start to the year for everybody within NASCAR.”
 
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 22ND
HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING LAP?
“It was okay a little slower than we ran in practice, but just pretty simple here.”
 
ANY THOUGHTS, PLANS, STRATEGIES FOR THE DUEL RACES ON THURSDAY?
“I am going to have to think about it a little bit.  I watched the shootout race from the spotters stand last night which is a lot different perspective.  We didn’t really have enough cars last night.  Even when they had the full field I don’t think that is comparable to what you are going to see in the 150’s and definitely not what you are going to have in the (Daytona) 500.  I don’t know that anyone really knows just yet.”
 
WOULD YOU LIKE TO WATCH THE FIRST DUEL AND BE IN THE SECOND ONE?  DO YOU HAVE PREFERENCE THERE?
“No, I would like to be in the first one and watch the second one.  I was in the second race last year and it’s dreadful to have to watch the first one
and then go do it.”
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 25TH
HOW WAS YOUR LAP?
“We knew that our lap wasn’t going to be great today.  We felt like our car for whatever reason the speed was a little off in single car runs.  All in all it’s really about putting ourselves in position on Thursday to get a decent spot for the (Daytona 500) hopefully be around at the end to have a chance to win the race.”
 
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE DUEL RACE? DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN THE FIRST OR SECOND RACE?
“It doesn’t matter to me whichever race is fine.  I think that for us it’s really just about getting out there and getting some more laps in and hopefully with a few more cars than what we had in the Unlimited so we can get a little better idea.  I don’t think anybody is really going to have a 100 percent idea until we get all 43 cars out there because it just takes a lot of cars to keep the lines even and moving and get the runs that you need.
 
“It’s really going to be a little bit trial and error until you get to Sunday.  It’s going to be a lot of trial and error at that point because the moves and things are going to happen a little bit quicker than what they happened last night.”
 
DANICA (PATRICK) WILL BE ON THE FRONT PAGE IT LOOKS LIKE TOMORROW.  HOW BIG A DEAL IS THAT?
“I think it’s a huge deal.  I think it’s good for everybody to shift the focus to what they are doing as a team and on the race track with performance.  It’s a huge deal for our sport to have her on the front row of the Daytona 500.  Definitely sets a new milestone in our sport and I think that is pretty neat.  I’m just glad it’s for all the right reasons.”
 
SHE HAS TAKEN WHAT YOU SAID LAST NIGHT AS JOKING DO YOU GUYS HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP?  DO YOU TREAT HER LIKE ONE OF THE GUYS OUT THERE?
“Yeah, you can joke around with her.  She knows when you are joking and poking fun.  I get along great with her and Ricky.  I was giving you guys (the media) more grief than I was her.”
 
IT’S FUNNY TONY (STEWART) IS THAT WAY IN A LOT OF WAYS.  I’M NOT ASKING YOU TO COMMENT ON NEXT YEAR, BUT IT’S ALMOST LIKE A FRATERNITY OVER THERE ISN’T IT?
“Well, Tony (Stewart) and I are good friends.  We always joke.  Sometimes people can take it the wrong way and I’m just glad she didn’t take it the wrong way.  It’s fun.”
 
SHE HAS SO FEW CUP RACES IS THERE ANY WORRIES OR CONCERN ABOUT HER LEADING THE FIELD DOWN FOR THE START OF THE DAYTONA 500?
“I don’t think so.  I think as you’ve gone through the past couple of years she has got enough experience now and takes enough of the knowledge in to be able to understand what she needs to do and not going to make any erratic moves, anything like that.  I don’t think she would do anything silly.”
 
AS FAR AS THE DAYTONA 500 IS CONCERNED DOES LAST NIGHT GIVE YOU ANY CONFIDENCE OR BELIEF OR ANYTHING?
“Well, for us we came down with the intentions of having a pretty big handling race and I think some of the speed in our car is not there because of the weather and I think as the week heats up hopefully that will kind of come to us a little bit more from a handling aspect of it.  I still don’t think you are going to get the full effect of how the draft is going to work until you get all those cars out there.
 
“Just like last night the side draft is so effective to slow those cars down.  When they don’t have a line of cars behind them you can just stop them.  It’s going to be much different when you get all the cars out there.”
 
YOU’VE WON THIS RACE BEFORE IS THERE A POINT DURING THOSE SPEEDWEEKS WHERE YOU KNEW THAT YOU HAD ENOUGH TO WIN THIS RACE?
“The great thing about these races is you can have the fastest car and not even come close to winning. You can have the slowest car and win the race.  We just feel like anytime we come here or Talladega that you can put yourself in a position to have a chance to win.”
 
WHY DOES HAVING DANICA PATRICK ON THE POLE MEAN SO MUCH FOR THE SPORT?
“I think the impact that she brings to our sport just when she started I think from a demographic stand point as far as whether it’s age groups.  When you look at that female fan base we have a good female fan base and for the fan base in general whether it’s male or female I think that she definitely brings a lot to the table that we will all benefit from.”
 
WILL THIS SILENCE THE CRITICS OR DOES SHE HAVE TO WIN A RACE FIRST?
“She is going to have a lot of pressure on her regardless because of all of the following that she has.  You guys have seen it.  It’s hard to ruffle her.  It’s hard to get her off track of saying the right thing and doing the right thing because she is just really good at that part of it because she has had so much put on her from the beginning.
 
“I don’t think that the pressure is going to bother her.  She is going to go out and do her own thing.  I’m sure a lot of people are going to write good things and a lot of people are going to write things that aren’t so good but all in all she is very open minded to listening to what you have to say and will go out and do better.
 
“You saw the performance get better as she went through the year.  I think having the people around her that she does, Tony (Stewart) is going to help her a lot to be able to lean on that experience there is a lot there.”
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 33RD:
“We’ve had our share of bad breaks this weekend, but the good news is that we have a fast car in race trim,” said Busch.  “We expected more in today’s qualifying laps, but we’re excited about the way our Furniture Row Chevrolet SS has performed in the draft. We’ve been fast, but haven’t been able to really show our hand due to being collected in a pair of accidents (in Friday’s practice and Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited race). We need our luck to change.”
 
Busch added, “We aren’t losing sight of our main goal and that’s the Daytona 500, it’s the biggest race of the year and that will be our only focus when we return to the track on Wednesday. What happened this weekend is history.”
 
REGAN SMITH, NO. 51 GUY ROOFING CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 37TH
TALK ABOUT QUALIFYING OUT THERE AND WHAT YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE FOR THURSDAY?
“I think our expectation is that we are going to have to race good because we don’t have much speed in the car.  We will work on handling and try to get the Guy Roofing Chevy to handle as good as we can.  It’s been a case where there have been times we have had speed since we’ve been here and there were times that is what the car has had in it.  I think we know what the car has in it now, so we’ve got to make sure it handles good.  We know that is going to be a factor.”
 
A LOT OF GUYS WERE SAYING LAST NIGHT THAT THIS CAR DOESN’T REALLY LIKE THE CLEAN AIR AS MUCH AS LAST YEAR’S CAR; DO YOU FIND THAT TO BE THE CASE?
“Well, I can’t speak to that because I have only got five laps of drafting and it was in the test and we kind of got caught up in that melee on the backstretch.  I don’t really know what it’s going to want.  I know my car was really loose testing.  I heard a lot of guys were loose last night that is why I think handling is going to play a pretty big factor in it.  We will just keep working on it and see if we can’t find speed in the next five days.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS SPRINT UNLIMITED
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 16, 2013
 
Kevin Harvick Wins Third Sprint Unlimited Race
Exhibition Win is First for the Chevrolet SS Race Car
 
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 16, 2013) – Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet SS, won his third career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Unlimited race in dominating fashion on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. 
Harvick led 40 of the 75 laps en route to capturing the first win for the all-new Chevrolet SS race car.  It is the eighth trip to the Sprint Unlimited Victory Lane for team owner Richard Childress.
 
Harvick’s victory gives Chevrolet its 20th win in 35 Sprint Unlimited races, more than any other manufacturer.  Eight Team Chevy drivers started tonight’s event and six of those drivers had previously visited Victory Lane at least once in the Sprint Unlimited.  
 
Tony Stewart, No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS, started 14th and won segment number one, of the three-segment event.   His Chevy SS was strong all night as he was able to come from the back to the front several times and finished fourth in the race. 
 
Hendrick Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS and teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS, finished the non-points race seventh and eighth respectively.   Their teammates Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Yellow Chevrolet SS, and Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS, were both involved in a multi-car incident on lap 15, in the first segment.   Johnson was relegated to a 14th-place finish while Gordon was scored 17th out of the 19 cars that earned starting spots in the race.
 
Other Chevrolet competitors in the field were Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS, 10th), and Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet SS, 13th) who was also taken out of contention in the early on-track incident in the race.
 
The 55th running of the Daytona 500 will be the first point-paying race of the 2013 season and will take place on Sunday, February, 24th at Daytona International Speedway. 
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS
GIL MARTIN, CREW CHIEF, AND RICHARD CHILDRESS, TEAM OWNER – RACE WINNER
 
KERRY THARP:  Joining us for the winner of our sprint Unlimited at Daytona, Kevin Harvick, Richard Childress Racing.  He’s joined by his crew chief Gil Martin.  Kevin has won three of the last five Sprint Unlimited events here at Daytona and won back to back 2009, 2010.  He joins Tony Stewart and Dale Jarrett as three‑time winners of the event, Dale Earnhardt all‑time winner of this event with six.
            New racecar, winning like that in fine fashion, how does that set you up for the rest of this week?
            KEVIN HARVICK:  Yeah, I think the biggest thing is how are we going to get Danica and Ricky on the front page tomorrow (laughter)?  I missed all you guys because you were all busy being TMZ the other day.  Saw now you all have to talk to me and I can be a complete prick (laughter).
            But, anyway, we knew that the racing was going to be different.  We just didn’t know because we hadn’t run in a big pack.  Honestly, we still haven’t because the pack got narrowed down as we got the race started there.
            The front bumpers, it’s very small contact patch as far as how you can push and how you can’t.  When things don’t line up correctly, you see what happens.  You just got to be patient.  Reminds me of how we raced 10, 11 years ago with that type of car and that type of package.
            Anytime you’re in Victory Lane here at Daytona, it’s a great day.
            KERRY THARP:  Crew chief Gil Martin, congratulations.  Looks like a strong team this year in the Sprint Cup Series.  Talk about tonight’s win and maybe just look ahead to the days ahead here at Daytona.
            GIL MARTIN:  It just shows that hard work pays off because these guys have worked long and hard, every team has, because of the things we’ve been up against.
            Tonight I couldn’t be prouder of the job Kevin did, our Chevrolet SS was strong.  The guys on pit road did a great job, coming in third, taking the lead going out, that set Kevin up.  Just looking forward for the rest of the week.
            Thursday is going to be another good race for us, but I think we’ll have enough time to get set up for Sunday and I think it’s going to be really good for us.
            KERRY THARP:  Richard, congratulations again.  Certainly Victory Lane here at Daytona is a very common place for you to visit.  I know it’s got to feel good right out of the gate winning this race.
            RICHARD CHILDRESS:  Yeah, to win the first race with the Chevy SS was a big deal for us all.  To win the Shootout like it was with the fans being involved, I thought that was really great.  I’m really proud of all the efforts at RCR.  Like I told Kevin before the race, You know how to do it.  I don’t have to tell you nothing.
            He did it right there at the end of the race, helluva job.  The pit crew, the whole team, couldn’t be prouder of the whole organization.
            Got a lot more to do.  This is just the start of a long, long 10 days here.  We’re going to be after it the rest of the week.
            KERRY THARP:  Questions now for this winning team.
 
            Q.  Kevin, you know Danica was fastest in practice today.
            KEVIN HARVICK:  Didn’t see her today, but she must not have won many poles and races in the past.
 
            Q.  Was the fact that there were 12 cars on track for most of the race limiting in how much you could learn about the drafting?  Junior and Joey Logano said the bottom didn’t get worked enough.
            KEVIN HARVICK:  I would definitely agree with that.
            I think obviously 19 cars, you knew it was going to be a smaller race than normal anyway.  But when you saw five, six, seven cars, whatever, got eliminated, you knew the moves, you were going to have to be pretty precise to make a good move.
            Everybody figured out you could really side draft and slow down that bottom lane.  The 20 definitely probably had the fastest car.  He couldn’t make it all the way by by himself through the corner and get on the straightaway because of the side draft.
            The side draft is pretty big.  We were able to run the top and kind of keep the bottom line at bay there because there weren’t enough cars
because everybody would stay up top except for three or four cars.  Didn’t have enough momentum.
            The cars are going to be able to move, things are going to move and shift a lot easier.
 
            Q.  It seems in years after what appears to be a crisis at RCR, you come back stronger.  Is there some kind of team marriage counseling you go through in the off‑season?  What did you do in the off‑season to come out of the box looking this strong?
            KEVIN HARVICK:  We went and hired these psychiatrists to tell us what we need to do.  Now we call them engineers (laughter).
            No.  I think with Eric and all the crew chiefs, the engineering staff, the amount of effort that Richard has poured in from a financial standpoint to a people standpoint, getting organized, there’s a lot of effort making sure the cars are prepared better.  Not that everybody wasn’t working just as hard.  There’s a lot more structure and engineering that goes into these cars nowadays than what there used to be.  He can tell you a lot more about that.
            Today when we were struggling with our car, there’s people with notebooks and iPads, computers.  They’re standing around talking about what everybody else has on their cars.  It’s pretty fun to see, see them all put everything together to try to fix a problem.
 
            Q.  Kevin, how did the cars react compared to what you expected?  The long range forecast for the 500 calls for highs in the low 80s.  How different do you think that’s going to be from tonight?
            KEVIN HARVICK:  Low 80s will be exactly what we were expecting because there was zero handling issues tonight.
            When we were here at the test, there were a lot of handling issues with the car sliding around.  I think that will fit more of what we were expecting when we went home from the test.  That will change the ballgame a lot if it’s not 40 degrees outside.
 
            Q.  Kevin and Gil, everyone has heard the talk about lame duck drivers, their situation.  I think you even referenced it on your radio when you won.  Why will you guys be different?
            KEVIN HARVICK:  I don’t think it’s been that big of a deal.  Kenseth did a great job with his situation.  For us, from his side of it, his guys, our guys, they don’t care.  They just want to win.
            For our side of it, it’s our jobs to control the atmosphere and the things that go around.  The atmosphere is great, honestly.  Everybody is just working towards the same goal.  That’s winning the races.  We have to be professional anyway, whether it’s lame duck or not.  You can call it whatever you want, we’re going to have a helluva lot of fun racing, having a good time, doing our jobs.
            That’s what we’re here to do.  His job is to put cars on the racetrack.  My job is to drive them.  His job is to make sure they run as fast as they can.  So as long as everybody does what they’re supposed to do, we’re all here to do a job and we have a responsibility to the people that are spending millions of dollars on the side of that car to do it as best we can.
            GIL MARTIN:  The same thing.  This is too hard to be miserable.  It’s too hard of work not to come out and try to win.  That’s not in his nature.  That’s not in our team’s nature to try not to win.
            Anybody that thinks just because of what the situation is that anybody’s going to lay down, they’re sadly mistaken because we’re going to try to win this championship.  We’re going to put forth the effort.  I know Richard is doing it, everybody at the shop is doing it.  We’re going to do whatever it takes to win it.  That’s pretty well the bottom line.
            KEVIN HARVICK:  Pride also comes in there pretty good, too.  It’s fun to prove people wrong (smiling).
 
            Q.  Kevin, when you first came in, you said it was like 10, 11 years ago.  Do you think it’s going to be the big pack when 43 cars get out there?  Is it correct that Keelan crawled for the first time today?
            KEVIN HARVICK:  He did crawl.  DeLana was actually sitting outside doing an interview.  He crawled forward.  He was good at going in reverse (laughter).  So he crawled forward for the first time.
            Actually steered the car before the race started, too.  Standing in the seat.  Left his shoe in there.  Maybe that’s a lucky shoe.
            What was the other question?
 
            Q.  When you have 43 cars out there, I heard drivers on the radio, some didn’t like being pushed.  What are we going to see?
            KEVIN HARVICK:  It’s going to be a pack, absolutely.  I think it’s going to be a pack.  I don’t think there’s going to be too many chances.  You’ll see some cars breakaway.  I think if you turn on a 2000 race, one of those races, it’s going to be very similar before we went to the wicker bill.
            You’re going to have a lot more advancing of positions when you get so many cars out there.  Tonight you’d have eight cars up top, four on the bottom.  Eight cars is always going to win over four.  It’s a difficult situation with fewer racecars.  But they were always in a pack.  Even though tonight they were somewhat in a pack.
 
            Q.  Kevin, could you talk a little bit about the block on Biffle on the last lap.  Did you have a sense of how close that was going to be?
            KEVIN HARVICK:  I knew I was going to have to block one way or the other.  I didn’t know which way it was going to be.  In the middle segment, I could tell Biffle was backing up, trying to time what his move was going to be as we got further into the segment.  I was working on my timing to back up and block that.
            With Tony, he was kind of starting to do the same thing.  As we went into the last corner, I wanted to make sure I backed up enough coming off of turn four where he couldn’t dive into turn one and block that move and make sure I backed up enough to do that.
            Those guys were coming on the outside.  I don’t know if the 14 and the 16 were side‑by‑side, but I just felt like I needed to move up and try to block that momentum.  We were able to block two of those moves.
        &nbsp
;   Everything was happening a little bit slower at that particular point then.  The cars we had in the past, you wouldn’t have been able to move up and make that happen.  Everything slowed down enough to where you could look and be able to block.  They’re just not coming 20 miles an hour faster than they used to.
 
            Q.  Talking about the block, when you’re making a move like that, how committed do you have to be?  If he made it an issue and stuck it in there, do you keep moving it up, eventually you collide?  Is it a game of chicken at that point?
            KEVIN HARVICK:  I flipped my go‑kart in my backyard on the last lap.  When you’re coming from white to checkered, it’s whatever you have to do to try to make it happen.
            I guess a game of chicken would be kind of the best way to put it.
 
            Q.  Can it be like the old days where a guy could make up dozens of positions in a lap and slice through the field like that?
            KEVIN HARVICK:  I think everybody who watched the race kind of saw how tentative everybody was in the middle at the beginning.  Then as the race went on, everybody realized that handling wasn’t as big an issue as they thought it was going to be.
            I thought I saw and heard after the race that some of those guys were making up several positions with runs through the middle.  If the cars are handling okay, you can make up those positions in the middle.
            The way it used to be, the middle was kind of the same way.  You could go through the middle, make up some time, but you had to find a way out when your momentum stopped.  You either had to go up or down.  If there’s not a hole in one of those lines to get up or down, you’re going to be stuck.  All that momentum you had going forward is soon to be stopped unless you have cars behind you, so…
            I think it’s possible, for sure.
 
            Q.  Was there something in the previous two days of practice that gave you great confidence that you had a good chance tonight to take the win?
            KEVIN HARVICK:  Yeah.  Nobody in the whole field had any clue what was going to happen, so we figured we had a good chance.
            As we walked out to driver intros, there was not one driver out there that said, Man, I feel like I can do this, do that, I feel like my car is fast.  Everybody was scared to death because they didn’t have enough cars at the test, then we came back to the Shootout.  We have provisions to have another car.  You’re just so short on cars, you didn’t want to take any chances.
            The first chances you had to take tonight were in the race because you had to because you finally got to the race.  You knew if you tore that car up, you didn’t need it anymore.  It was one of those deals where the time and the amount of cars that you had, you just didn’t want to risk putting the shop further behind for Phoenix and Vegas, all the places that are coming up, because you had to have stuff on the racetrack to be at the race.
            RICHARD CHILDRESS:  I think in the practice yesterday, whenever it was, they kept working on our car and kept making it a little better, a little better.  Like Kevin said, it’s a whole unknown for everyone.  The adjustments Gil and his guys made kept picking the car up a little.
            You got to have speed, for sure, to go out and win here.
            GIL MARTIN:  I agree.  We tried a couple of different setups actually last night because we were anticipating that the cars were going to move around a lot, were going to need a lot of grip.  As it turned out with the weather the way it is, the cars had plenty of grip, so we were having to basically race qualifying setups.  That’s kind of what we did tonight.
            I think that’s going to turn around on Thursday and Sunday with the temperature going up.  The cars are going to slip and slide a little more.  Hopefully we’re going to be prepared for that for what we have built in our car.
 
            Q.  Kevin, no one has really spoken much about the way the format all shook out.  How was that for you?  You were finding out in the cars.  Did it work out okay?  Was it a good thing?
            KEVIN HARVICK:  I think any format like this that you can involve the fans, I think it makes them appreciate that somebody’s paying attention to them and really appreciates them being a part of our sport.
            The only part, I think a lot of people look back and say, when they saw that wreck, you see the 12 cars, you see how hard it is to make moves with a limited amount of cars, eliminating cars would have been a bad deal because it just makes the racing that much harder and slows things down so much.  Because the runs are slower, there’s less people to make the bottom groove be as competitive as the top groove was.
            When you have more cars than one line, that line is going to run faster.
            All in all, I think it went pretty good.  The trophy’s really heavy (smiling).
 
            Q.  Richard, a little off topic.  Furniture Row has wrecked two cars in two days.  They’ve indicated they have something in place with you to maybe give them another car if they need one or fix them.  Can you tell us what the agreement is there?  How many do you actually have here?
            RICHARD CHILDRESS:  Well, each one of our teams, we got eight cars here, and we got three back at the shop ready to go.  We’re going to help them in any way we can.  We’ll probably have one of those cars back tomorrow, repaired.
            We got two or three more back at the shop.
            GIL MARTIN:  We have two more back at the shop.  Fortunately for them and us, this car will be sitting there.  Cleaned up, juiced up, ready to go in case it’s needed.  We got plenty of bullets in the chamber.
            RICHARD CHILDRESS:  As of now (laughter).
 
            Q.  Kevin, the wreck yesterday in practice was kind of a misjudgment of how fast one of the lanes was going.  The first wreck today was Tony somewhat misjudging where the bottom lane was.  How confident were you when you were trying to block near the end?  Do you really know yet how quick the draft can move if you get out of that lane?
     
       KEVIN HARVICK:  I think you’re exactly right.  I think everybody is trying to figure that out.  I think as the night went on, you kind of started to understand it.  I feel like things are a lot slower coming at you than what we had with the tandem stuff in the previous years.
            Just the way that things are in the car, whether it be something silly like your side mirror, mine is in a much different spot, much different shape than what it was.
            The first five or six times I looked for the mirror, it was in a different spot, and I didn’t see it because it wasn’t there.  It’s up here instead of down here, because that bar is straight.  The mirrors are in a different spot, the window nets are a little different.
            Silly stuff like that really matters because when you’ve been driving something week after week for four years, everything is in the same spot, and you move one simple thing six or seven inches, things become a lot different.
            You can anticipate where things are going to be.  But both wrecks, and I heard Matt talking about it today, both wrecks have happened because of that left side mirror, things being different compared to what they were in the past.  I’ve heard the same response from both of those guys.
            I know that sounds silly, but you know where all the keys are on your keyboard, right?
 
            Q.  Since you knew that guys could get such a run in the two‑car tandem, there wasn’t a lot of hope of blocking, are you maybe ‑‑
            KEVIN HARVICK:  ‑‑ cutting it a little closer?  For sure.  I saw the 16 coming tonight.  I looked in the mirror twice.  The spotter says I’m clear, I’m going to keep going.  I eased my way up there.  Luckily hit the bumper.  He kept saying, Clear up, clear up, clear up.  You just have to have the faith in that guy to hope he’s right.
 
            Q.  Richard, Austin was really quick this morning in the first practice.  If I’m not mistaken, he didn’t go out in the second practice.  What do you have going on with him and what are your expectations for him this week?
            RICHARD CHILDRESS:  Well, first thing, he’s got to make the race.  They got a little advantage right now.  All them guys have been doing is just tweaking, touching, rubbing, doing everything they can to that car, taking a few extra chances with the engine.  Let’s hope it makes it two laps tomorrow.
            While Kevin and everybody else has been out testing the downforce cars, they know they got to go fast to make the race.  That’s the first thing you got to do.  You got to be in the race to do anything else.
 
            Q.  Is he going to take a shot at the front row tomorrow?
            RICHARD CHILDRESS:  I don’t know.  He’ll be pretty good.  But who knows what will happen.  I think Danica right now has the star power.  She’s doing good.  I mean, she’s doing good.  They’re going to do good.  I think she’ll be the car to beat for the pole.  She’ll have a run.  We struggled today with the 29.  It was miserable as hell.
            Tomorrow will be better wherever we end up, right, Gil?
            GIL MARTIN:  That’s what I’m talking about.
            RICHARD CHILDRESS:  He ran from the back.
            KEVIN HARVICK:  If Danica sits on the pole, Dillon starts second, we might have some rumors.  Just saying.  It will be fun.  We’ll TMZ it all the way (laughter).
            RICHARD CHILDRESS:  It will be fun whatever.  I just wanted to make the race.
            KERRY THARP:  Thank you, guys.  Great show tonight.  Good luck the rest of Speedweeks.
                      

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – RACE WINNER:
THIS IS YOUR THIRD WIN IN YOUR LAST FIVE RACES HERE AT THE SPRINT UNLIMITED. YOU KNEW THE MOVE WAS GOING TO COME. YOU JUST DIDN’T KNOW WHEN AND WHERE. TELL US ABOUT THE LAST LAP COMING OFF TURN 2
“I could see those guys, the No. 16 (Greg Biffle) in the middle-half there, and then the No. 14 (Tony Stewart), they were kind of timing it as to how far they needed to get back to get that dive to the bottom, but with the top there, you could guard the bottom if they didn’t get all the way by you with the side draft and that’s really what you were looking for. So I just chose to stay on the top and I knew that the No. 14 was going to try to time it for getting down into (Turn) 1 and then the outside got a huge run and then we were able to block that run on the outside there. It was a great day for our Budweiser Chevy and I’m glad we got Speedweeks started off the right way.”
 
SO MANY UNKNOWNS; WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THIS RACE CAR?
“I think you just have to be patient with it. Handling was a lot less of an issue for us than we had anticipated. So that kind of caught us a little off-guard with the practices. But we’ve just got to wait a week and see what the weather is like as the handling may, or may not, be more of an issue as we get into the (Daytona) 500. So, there is still a lot to be learned with a full pack of cars and we’ll kind of ease into that with the Duels and then onto the big race on Sunday.”
 
YOU ALSO SAID YOU WERE KIND OF GLAD THAT MATT KENSETH GOT SHUFFLED BACK. WAS HE THE OTHER STRONG CAR OUT THERE?
“Yeah, I felt like he had the strongest car and he could make a lot happen on the bottom by himself. So, I was glad to see him get shuffled back there.”
 
THERE WAS SO MUCH UNKNOWN GOING INTO THE RACE TONIGHT. YOU KNEW TONY STEWART WAS GOING TO MAKE A MOVE. WAS THE MOVE THAT YOU EXPECTED HIM TO TRY? WHAT WAS IT LIKE JUST SITTING THERE WAITING?
“I was really kind of nervous about the No. 20 (Matt Kenseth) and the No. 14 (Tony Stewart). I thought their cars were a little bit better than what we had. But I want to thank Sprint and the race fans. This one was for everybody sitting in the stands and at home, Budweiser, Rheem, Jimmy John’s, Chevrolet and Bad Boy Buggies and Realtree, everybody that puts this team on the race track. It’s a good way to start off Speedweeks.”
 
WHAT KIND OF STATEMENT DOES THIS SEND TO PEOPLE UTTERING THE ‘LAME DUCK’ PHRASE FOR THIS YEAR?
“I think it’s just one of those deals where for us, it’s really not winning races; the politics and everything are one thing, but when we get to the race track it’s about sitting in this race car and making it as fast as it’ll go. Those guys, they don’t care about anything but winning and wanting to do good. So, we owe it to them and everybody at Budweiser and I guess we just had to take their name off the race to win it. So, it was an awesome say for us.”
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 MOBIL 1/BASS PRO SHOPS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FOURTH. TELL US ABOUT THE LAST LAP HOW IT PLAYED OUT IN YOUR MIND AND WHAT MOVES YOU COULD HAVE MADE/SHOULD HAVE MADE?
“That is why I haven’t won a Daytona 500 yet.  I’m not quite sure exactly which move to make.  I saw the No. 22 coming on the bottom. I thought they were going fast enough that I needed to move down, but I should have stayed where I was at.  We’ve got a good car anybody that questions whether Mobil 1 is the best lubricant brand in the world all they had to do was watch the first 20 laps of that race.  We proved it by going to the back, going to the front, going to the back, going to the front.  We’ve got really good race cars.  I’m really proud of the Hendrick engine department and everybody at Stewart-Haas.  To go through the winter these guys have gone through and trying to build cars at the last minute because of the shortage of parts and to bring two cars down here that are this fast.  I’m really proud of our organization right now.”

WHAT HAPPENED EARLY IN THE RACE WHEN THE BIG WRECK BROKE LOOSE?
“I got a big run on the No. 20 and I went to the bottom.  I thought I was clear.  The spotter did not clear me so I went on my own.  I thought I had enough of a run to be clear of the third-place guy.  I’m pretty sure I clipped whoever was in third.  I made a move for the lead and probably was a little anxious too early.  I was kind of stagnant where I was at and I was having fun moving forward and felt racy.”

WHAT DID YOU LEARN TONIGHT ABOUT THIS NEW GEN-6 RACE CAR?
“We learned a lot.  The good thing is we’ve got 500 miles to get it done this weekend.  We learned a lot that will help us going into Sunday.  Really proud of our team and organization that we were able to bring two really good cars like this down here.  This thing was fast today.”

LAP 15 YOU GOT TO USE SOME DIRT TRACK EXPERIENCE WHAT HAPPENED?
“I self-cleared myself I guess, I went down before the spotter cleared me.  I thought I had a big enough run that I cleared second, but I obviously hadn’t and I just barely nicked him. I just need about two more inches.”

WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST THOUGHTS ON THE WAY THE NEW CAR RACED TONIGHT?
“It is like nobody has missed a beat.  It’s almost like it’s not even a new car as far as how comfortable everybody got.  I think everybody was pretty solid right off the bat.  I think if it gets warm it could make this interesting and put it back in our hands again.  It’s still a chess match.  You’ve still got to play chess.”

YOU HAD A PRETTY EVENTFUL EVENING IF YOU COULD JUST TALK ABOUT THAT: 
“Self-cleared myself in (turn) one and wasn’t.  I don’t think I was clear obviously.  I clipped whoever was in third.  When Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. came down to the middle where he was at made me really tight.  I got up into him and then I got into him and couldn’t get off of him, bounced off of him about three times.  I made sure our spotter told him what happened, but I definitely was in enough interesting spots tonight for sure and most of them I put myself in.”

YET STILL ABLE TO RALLY FOR A GOOD FINISH SO THAT HAS GOT TO BE ENCOURAGING: 
“Tonight is the reason why I haven’t won the Daytona 500 yet.  I’m not sure where I’ve got to be on the last lap there and what to do.  We heard the Fords were ganging up and trying something.  Then saw the No. 22 car on the bottom all of a sudden, so I went where I thought was the right place to be and we lost two spots with it.  I would rather try something and it not work than stay and lose a bunch of spots and I would probably be more frustrated because I didn’t try something.”

WITH THE SIGNIFICANT CONTACT THAT YOU DID HAVE TONIGHT WERE YOU HAPPY WITH HOW THE CAR HANDLED AFTER THE FACT?
“Yeah, it really didn’t change it.  I honestly don’t know I haven’t even been to that side of the car to see what it did.  It really didn’t change my balance, so I don’t think it really changed anybody’s balance that made contact.  They are pretty solid race cars I’m pretty impressed.”

PRETTY GOOD DAY FOR YOUR TEAM YOU HAVE TO BE REALLY HAPPY: 
“I’m really proud of our organization to come in a clutch like this and have to build race cars at the last minute.  Because everybody was waiting on parts and to be able to bring three cars that today in practice were in the top eight and to have a car that we had tonight.  I couldn’t be more proud of the effort and the results that showed tonight because of it.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS, FINISHED 9TH:  HOW DID THE CARS HANDLE OUT THERE TONIGHT? “It was pretty good when we had more cars. I thought the racing was real good even with 12 cars in the second segment. At the end of the race, it was just few enough cars that w
hen about eight or 10 of them started controlling the top line, the basically controlled the fate of everybody else.  You really had to get more cars moving around, and going for the lead to get a little more racing, and a little more action. But, I thought what I saw the first segment and the second segment with just a few cars out there, it was pretty dicey.”
 
DID YOUR HANDLING GO AWAY QUICKLY? OTHER DRIVERS SAID THEIR’S DID: “Really?  My car drove real good. I never had any problems with the handling. I never had any problems with the handling.”
 
DID THE ADJUSTMENTS, OR WHATEVER THEY DID TO FIX THE CAR AFTER THE SECOND SEGMENT MAKE IT FINE? “I didn’t really have any problems with my car. I don’t think we changed anything. This is the car we tested and it didn’t really run that great when we tested it. I could get run and charge up into the top-five, but it didn’t like the clean air up there. It got real draggy, just real slow up front. The No. 20 (Matt Kenseth) had a great car, and the No. 14 (Tony Stewart) was real fast, but he’s real sharp at plate racing too. The No. 29 (Kevin Harvick) had a good car. I just didn’t make enough of the right moves or  have enough car to get it going there.”
 
YOU SAID IT SOUNDED SICK: “Well, I thought I had an issue with the engine, but it was just the draft was easy to lose. With this little spoiler on the back, it’s really easy  to lose the draft because the air gets to your nose pretty quick, and the distance of the draft isn’t as far back as it used to be off the car in front of you. So, you can lose it pretty easily. You have to be real careful.  Me and the No. 99 (Carl Edwards) both lost it right there at the end of the second segment.”
 
SO DRAFTING IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT WITH THIS CAR? “It’s different than it was last year for sure from what I saw in that race. You could still push guys, which we always…we pushed guys for years and years and years and years. Even before the COT, we were pushing each other down the straightaways and stuff. I think you can still do that. Everybody’s just got to kind of learn how we have to do it differently now. Everybody’s just got to go through trial and error on how to it. What works and what doesn’t.”
 
THERE WAS A WRECK EARLY IN TESTING. THERE WAS A WRECK EARLY IN PRACTICE YESTERDAY. THERE WAS A WRECK EARLY IN THIS RACE. HAVE YOU GUYS HAD ENOUGH CHANCE TO LEARN WITH A LOT OF CARS OUT THERE? “No, not really. A lot of the guys that weren’t in this race haven’t been in real race conditions with this car yet. So, half the field still has a lot to learn; a crash course you know. I think. So I think you are going to see a little bit of the same in the (Daytona) 500. Maybe even in one or two of the qualifiers. The qualifiers have always kind of been that way anyway. You always had one that had a big crash in it, and then one that was caution free. The bumpers aren’t perfect. They are imperfect when they line up, and that is going to cause some action and some drama out there. That is the way it used to be, and I think everybody is okay with that. The drafting and the way you work the draft, I think everybody is still kind of learning that. I learned a lot tonight, but I still think there is tons to learn.”
 
WHAT DO YOU KNOW NOW THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW BEFORE THIS RACE? “Just a lot of little nuances about the draft. I had a good run on the No. 16 (Greg Biffle) going into third in the second segment. My run was really strong, and I thought it would be enough to clear him, and it wasn’t. The car died out pretty quick when I got down to the bottom in the clean air. Technically I thought that would be an easy pass. Hopefully the 500 car has that kind of muscle, and maybe just this car didn’t. Passing is a bit of a challenge. You have to know what you are doing, and work the momentum and see what is happening around you. It is a good challenge. I think it is really challenging. Not just pushing the car as far as you can push it, and as hard as you can push it. You have got to really think about what you are doing up there and what decisions you make, and what lines you get in. We haven’t had to worry about what line you get in for year, so that is kind of neat wondering whether the top or the bottom is going to move. Lot of different things happening out there, and everybody is just going to have to learn what works and what doesn’t.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS SPRINT UNLIMITED
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER RACE NOTES & QUOTES
FEBRUARY 16, 2013
 
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – Sidelined in multi-car crash on lap 15:
WHAT DID YOU SEE FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE?
“I didn’t see much.  I was just kind of cruising along and I saw sparks in front of me.  I knew that wasn’t good.  Then before I knew it just the cars inside of me and around me everybody just slid up the race track and into me and around we went.  I still haven’t seen the video replay of exactly what triggered it, but it started in front of me and got a bunch of us.”
HOW DID THE CARS FEEL OUT THERE?
“Felt pretty good it seems to me that we are back to where we were with the old car ’06 era somewhere in there with how the cars drafted.  So it was fun, it was nice to see Tony (Stewart) and I working the outside lane like we did.  Some guys tried it and really didn’t get very far.  Tony and I started working together like the old days and really made up some ground.  I was encouraged by the speed of my car and by the way the cars raced on the track.  I’m looking forward to the (Daytona) 500.  Hopefully I go further.  My stats on restrictor plate tracks really aren’t looking very good right now.  I’ve got to pick that up.”
 
WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT HAPPENED SO SOON IN THE RACE?
“It’s hard to say.  Plate racing we are all running so close and again I don’t know what triggered it.  I am disappointed that it was that early in the race, but I’m not sure why it happened.”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – Sidelined in multi-car crash on lap 15:
“Half the battle and goal of this race is to learn something for next week’s Duel and the 500. The car was definitely, as far back as I was, they become a handful a couple laps before that. But handling wasn’t an issue. We had good handling. We need a little more speed, so we’ll work on that. But I can’t tell if guys are just getting out of control or if they’re getting hit or what’s going on. But several guys started shuffling back to the back and right there I saw somebody loose on the inside and the outside lane somehow was affected by it and it was a domino by the time it got back to me and we were in it.
 
CAN YOU TELL US YOUR VERSION OF THAT AND WHAT WERE YOU FEELING OUT THERE?
“I couldn’t see much.  We were in that bottom lane that just got shuffled back early and so we were just slowly working our way back up there.  I saw handling started to become an issue for quite a few guys, a little bit for myself, but not too bad.  I just saw somebody get sideways going down into (turn) one and then our lane checked up and they started getting turned and we started wrecking.”
 
TALK ABOUT THE HANDLING IS THAT A GOOD THING FOR NASCAR RACING?
“Yeah, but you as a driver have more responsibility now about how you are going to drive out there because the cars are going to move around a little bit more.  They are going to get turned around a lot easier, so you can’t be running into one another.  You can’t be turning across guys; you have to utilize that handling to your advantage after a longer run. I like that part of it.”
 
ANY SURPRISE IN YOUR MIND THAT IT HAPPENED THIS EARLY?
“Yes and no, I thought at the start of the race everybody was doing a pretty good job of watching.  Even when we were three-wide it wasn’t too bad. Then I started seeing some guys start to lose the handling on their car and start to get a little out of control.  I started paying a little bit more attention and was looking for cars to slide around.  They were, but no incidences until then.”
 
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE 150’S ARE GOING TO BE LIKE NOW?
“Well, if it warms up during the daytime handling is going to be a big, big issue.  That is going to be important and so we will look at the weather.  We weren’t there long, but we learned a little bit and now we will watch what these guys are doing and try to learn some more for the duels.”
 
IT SEEMED LIKE THE INSIDE LANE WAS A BETTER LANE?
“It wasn’t for me at the beginning.  At the beginning the inside lane was no good at all.  Usually it’s not the lane it’s just how it’s formed.  If you get guys stacked up that lane will start moving, the outside seemed to move early, but then it looked like the outside also started having some handling issues as we started to get more heat in the tires.”
 
HANDLING DIDN’T CAUSE THAT WRECK RIGHT?
“I haven’t seen it, but from what I heard no.  I think handling at the end of this race when people started getting more aggressive it will probably contribute to some.  The handling is what can lose some speed.  It shouldn’t necessarily cause a wreck unless you are trying to be aggressive towards the end of a run and the handling is just not going to be as good.”
 
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA 500
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 16, 2013
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway after leading the final practice session for the 55th running of the Daytona 500.  During the session she discussed what it would mean to win the pole tomorrow, her speed in practice and other topics.  FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
YOU WERE FAST IN BOTH PRACTICES HOW IS YOUR CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO QUALIFYING?
“I mean I suppose being the fastest going into qualifying is as good as you could hope for.  But, I also understand that it’s a whole different day.  We could go out there on the track and just for some reason not have as much speed as we had hoped for.  We could be in an unfortunate situation with wind or weather, temperatures, clouds, so I understand that.  We have done everything we can to prepare for it.  We all feel pretty confident, but tomorrow is a different day.”
 
YOU WERE FAST AT THE TEST HERE TOO SO IT’S NOT LIKE TODAY IS A SURPRISE:
“We came here this weekend for the race with another car than what we tested.  We weren’t sure if we were going to bring the same one back or not because it ran so well.  This other car was really good in the wind tunnel so we brought it.  You always hope that the numbers from the wind tunnel translate to speed on the track and it did.  I guess that is kind of the way that it has gone here at Daytona for us is that everything that we think is going to work a certain way works the way we expect it to.  What should be faster is and that is not always the case.  Everything just seems to be going really smoothly.”
 
ARE YOU HAPPY TO BE TALKING ABOUT RACING INSTEAD OF ALL THE OTHER STUFF THAT YOU HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT?
“Well, I have always felt in my career that when things go well on the track the media responds to it.  So, I appreciate you all showing up here and thank you.  Make sure that you write about how good the crew is that made this car and the last car that was really fast and how strong the Hendrick engine is.  I think that is really important here at Daytona.  We are going to spend plenty of time the rest of the year talking about if a driver does something at tracks that aren’t speedways. Here at Daytona and then at Talladega it is very much about the potential of the car and the engine.”
 
WHAT DOES 196.22 (MPH) FEEL LIKE ON THE RACE TRACK HERE IN THE NEW CAR?
“I’ve never been someone that is thrilled or drawn in to racing by speed so for me I just want to be a little faster than the rest of them.  It feels like we were a little faster than the rest of them.”
 
DOES THIS GIVE YOU A GLIMPSE OF WHAT TO EXPECT TOMORROW?  DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE A STRONG CONTENDER FOR THE POLE?
“Everything that we do is to make sure that we do whatever we can to be on the pole tomorrow.  That is what we all are shooting for.  As I said earlier tomorrow is a whole other day.  You’ve got to hope that the weather stays very consistent or perhaps better at the beginning when I’m going to go than at the end.  All those things play into it.”
 
YOU’VE DONE A LOT OF THINGS IN YOUR CAREER WHAT WOULD WINNING THE DAYTONA 500 POLE MEAN TO YOU?
“I think it would mean a lot of work for Joe (Crowley) and Haley (Moore) with the media (laughs).  It would be really nice.  It is a very big pole of all of them in the year for attention.  Especially for GoDaddy who is on the car, people like that, that is who that helps the most.  I mean there are other races throughout the year that as a driver you feel maybe more pleased or proud of yourself to get.  This one is a whole team effort.  I understand I know I don’t give much credit to myself about driving and turning left.  And that is true it’s very much about the car and the engine.  It is a team effort I understand that the driver can make tiny little differences out there, be smooth, and nail your shifts and being smooth with the wheel.  The pole at Daytona is very much a team pole.”
 
DO YOU THINK IT SENDS A MESSAGE IN THE GARAGE WHEN YOU ARE THE FASTEST ON THE CHART?
“I think being fastest on the chart, just being fast in general shows everyone else how dead serious Tony Gibson is with his guys and how he wants poles, he wants to give me the fastest car possible.  He is doing absolutely everything he can and is putting so much hard work into it.  I think that just shows his confidence in everyone including myself about what we can do.”
 
AFTER THE WRECK YESTERDAY DURING PRACTICE DID YOU GUYS HAVE A STRATEGY BEYOND SUNDAY AS FAR AS WHAT YOU WANT TO DO AS FAR AS LEARNING WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IN THE DRAFT WITH THE NEW CAR?
“Tonight will be very telling in the Sprint Unlimited race there is no doubt.  I saw Juan (Pablo Montoya) as I was walking back from my bus last night.  I asked him how it was and he was talking about how it felt.  He said there are five cars out there he said it is going to be completely different when we get 20 of us out together.  I have a feeling that it’s going to be what shows what you are going to see next weekend tonight.  I’m curious just like everyone else is.  I want to know how it feels and I will be listening on the radio and I will be paying very close attention to where the runs come, what the car feels like and the trouble zones.  You’ve got to get through all 500 miles to get to the end.  As I found out last year it’s not a lot of fun to fall out of the race after a few miles.”
 
HOW ENCOURAGING IS IT AS A DRIVER FOR YOUR FIRST FULL SEASON IN CUP TO COME RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX AND BE FAST WITH THIS NEW CAR?
“It feels good, it does.  There is a lot of year left and we are going to have a lot of challenging weekends.  I have no doubt about it.  But, we need to enjoy the good ones.  So far this has been a good one.  There is no better place to have a good race than the very first one of the year.  It sets the tone and gives the guys confidence and after we go away a good memory, which is nice to have too.  So far so good for us, however, all the stuff that counts is what’s next.  Hopefully, that keeps going in the way that it has already.”
 
HOW ABOUT THE VALUE OF GETTING LOCKED IN AND THEN HAVING ALL WEEK TO CONCENTRATE ON RACE PREPARATION?
“With the new qualifying scenario I think it would be really nice for all of us to know we were in the race for Sunday.  Obviously, there is not, there are only a couple of cars extra, but it’s still a nice thing.  It’s nice to know as a team, but it’s also nice to know for your partners like GoDaddy and all the other people that are involved in the car.  That is who really pays for you to be out there on the track and have their name.  Being on the front row would lock in a front row.  Being in the top-six would lock in a start which both of those would be very good.”
 

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – EXPERIENCED AN ENGINE FAILURE DURING PRACTICE
 
YOUR GUYS ARE GOING TO BE REALLY BUSY THIS SESSION WHAT HAPPENED?
“They are going to be really busy changing the motor.  Our Target Chevy has been pretty strong.  Jamie (McMurray) I think is second on the board right now.  We are pretty happy.  We will change the motor and give it a good go tomorrow in qualifying.  I think tonight is going to be a fun night and just looking forward to the (Daytona) 500.”
 
YOU ARE NOT LETTING THIS GET YOU DOWN AT ALL ARE YOU?
“It’s okay it’s part of racing.  It happens.  We will get it fixed and get out there.  We will be fine.”

Chevrolet Will Set the Pace at Daytona
 
For Release: February 16, 2013
 
DETROIT – The 2014 Chevrolet SS will be very busy during its Speedweeks debut, pacing all four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races – The Sprint Unlimited, both Budweiser Duels and the Daytona 500. And, it will be one of Chevrolet’s three newest models to pace NASCAR’s races at Daytona International Speedway next weekend:
 
·         2014 Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
·         2013 Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Drive4COPD 300
·         2014 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy 250
 
“Chevrolet is extremely proud to be a part of NASCAR’s season-opener by pacing all of the events at Daytona International Speedway,” said Jeff Chew, Marketing Manager for Chevrolet Racing. “In 2013, Chevrolet will launch 13 all-new or significantly redesigned products in North America. Included in those models is the Chevrolet SS, which race fans will get a chance to see on track when it paces The Sprint Unlimited tonight, the Budweiser Duels next Thursday, and the Daytona 500 next Sunday.”
 
The 2014 Chevrolet SS is the first rear-wheel drive performance sedan for Chevrolet since 1996.
 
The 2013 Camaro ZL1 brings supercar levels of performance and technology to the sports-car segment, featuring a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 that produces 580 horsepower, and can go from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds.
 
The 2014 Silverado all-new EcoTec3 engines, designed specifically for trucks, provide power and torque when needed, then switches seamlessly to 4-cylinder mode to save fuel for light-load driving.
 
In 2013, Chevrolet is campaigning the Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Camaro in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Silverado in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

CHEVROLET IS READY TO SHINE IN THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA
2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Previews New Chevy SS Race Car
 
DETROIT – Feb. 16, 2013 – As the excitement builds in the days leading up to the ‘Great American Race’ at Daytona International Speedway, Chevrolet is anxiously awaiting the beginning of a new era for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It’s the start of a new tradition. It’s a new season with new livery. It’s a time when NASCAR leaves behind the old and embraces the new. It announces the birth of the innovative and stylish ‘Generation Six’ race cars on-track, and in competition.
 
When the action at Daytona Speedweeks begins with the pre-season Sprint Unlimited exhibition race on Saturday, February 16, and then the 55th running of the prestigious Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 24, 2013, it will be the first time for race fans around the world to see the all-new Chevrolet SS in competition.  It’s sharp. It’s distinctive. It’s recognizable. It’s familiar. It shouts ‘Chevrolet’ from nose to tail.  Even better, it’s powered by a fuel-injected V-8.  It has rear-wheel drive. And, it features high-performance driving dynamics. To top it off, it sports an uncanny resemblance to its brand new Chevrolet SS brethren, soon to be available in dealerships around the country.
 
From the enhancement use of a Bio Fuel Blend in 2011, to the implementation of Electronic Fuel Injection in 2012, to the introduction of highly distinguished Brand Identity in 2013, NASCAR has incorporated the steps necessary to enable the Gen 6 race car to emerge with rivalries intensified more than ever.  And now, it’s all about bringing the ‘stock’ back to stock car racing.
 
“We’ve been working with our engineers and Chevy teams on the development process of this new car for quite some time, and it has finally become a reality,” said Pat Suhy, Chevrolet Racing NASCAR Group Manager. “We’ve made substantial design changes that we think are a pretty good expression of the Chevrolet SS production car. Our primary goal was to make the new Chevy SS have as many characteristics of its street version as possible.
 
“It’s fast, it has the aerodynamic qualities we need on the race track; and it also has room for our Team Chevy engineers and crew chiefs to make changes. Unlike last year’s Gen 5 Impala, this model gives them flexibility.  We hope the fans will applaud our Chevy SS race car as much as we do, and as much as our Team Chevy drivers do.”
 
Team Chevy has ample talent and on-track driver expertise to extend the winning success of Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Hot on the heels of a strong 2012 season, where the Bowtie Brigade collected its 700th Sprint Cup victory and swept all three NASCAR National Touring Series Manufacturers’ Cup championships for the fourth time, Chevrolet is ready to race.
 
The 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season-opener at the Daytona 500 features an impressive list of Team Chevy contenders to vie for the coveted honors.
 
2013 TEAM CHEVY LINE-UP (17 Drivers):
 
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS (HMS)
No. 5 Kasey Kahne, Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS / Kenny Francis, Crew Chief
No. 24 Jeff Gordon, Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS / Alan Gustafson, Crew Chief
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson, Lowe’s Chevrolet SS / Chad Knaus, Crew Chief
No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr., National Guard Chevrolet SS / Steve Letarte, Crew Chief
 
RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING (RCR)
No. 27 Paul Menard, Menards Chevrolet SS / Slugger Labbe, Crew Chief
No. 29 Kevin Harvick, Budweiser Chevrolet SS / Gil Martin, Crew Chief
No. 31 Jeff Burton, Caterpillar Chevrolet SS / Luke Lambert, Crew Chief
No. 33 Austin Dillon, Honey Nut Cheerios Chevrolet SS/ Scott Naset, Crew Chief
 
STEWART-HAAS RACING (SHR)
No. 10 Danica Patrick, GoDaddy.com Chevrolet SS / Tony Gibson, Crew Chief
No. 14 Tony Stewart, Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS / Steve Addington, Crew Chief
No. 39 Ryan Newman, Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS / Matt Borland, Crew Chief
 
EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING (EGR)
No. 1 Jamie McMurray, McDonald’s Chevrolet SS / Kevin Manion, Crew Chief
No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya, Target Chevrolet SS / Chris Heroy, Crew Chief
 
FURNITURE ROW RACING (FRR)
No. 78 Kurt Busch, Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet SS / Todd Berrier, Crew Chief
 
TOMMY BALDWIN RACING (TBR)
No. 7 Dave Blaney, Florida Lottery Chevrolet SS / Tommy Baldwin Jr., Crew Chief
No. 36 J.J. Yeley, Golden Corral Chevrolet SS / TBD, Crew Chief
 
JAMES FINCH PHOENIX RACING (PXR)
No. 51 Regan Smith, Guy Roofing Chevrolet SS / Nick Harrison, Crew Chief