NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AAA TEXAS 500
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
NOVEMBER 2, 2012

DANICA PATRICK AND CREW CHIEF TONY GIBSON, NO. 10 GODADDY RACING CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Texas Motor Speedway and discussed racing at Texas Motor Speedway,  working with each other this weekend and beyond, the importance of getting a head start for next season now and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
TELL US ABOUT RACING HERE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY YOU HAVE BEEN HERE SEVERAL TIMES NOW:

DANICA PATRICK: “Yeah I was trying to think of how many times.  Somebody while I was giving ride and drives for Chevy yesterday in the middle of the day, convertibles with my hair are just a really bad thing at around 120 mph around here so, they were saying it seems like you have been around here a few times.  I was thinking about how many and I think this will be maybe my 11th race here between IndyCar and NASCAR stuff I have done.  Always love coming to Texas, I would sort of describe it as my favorite style track.  It has a lot of grip, banking, and speed and had pretty good success here over the years with whatever I have driven.  I think this is a great place to start with Tony (Gibson, crew chief).  I think this is a nice way to kind of get towards the end of my Cup races this year and hopefully we can have a good weekend.”
 
TALK ABOUT COMING OVER TO THE NO. 10 TEAM AND GETTING A LITTLE BIT OF A HEAD START ON NEXT YEAR:

TONY GIBSON: “Yeah it’s good.  The communication side of it, her hearing my voice on the radio and working with her and finding out this is one of her good tracks.  I’ve done some research on that, she really gets around here pretty good.  Hopefully, we won’t screw it up and we can give her something good to drive today.  To get any kind of time in is crucial.  Not only on a communications side, but as far as the balance of the race car we have to learn.  We don’t want her to adapt to our set-ups we want to adapt to her driving style.  These two races will be crucial in gaining a head start on that.  So over the winter time we can make plans and do some testing and get further on down the road for us.  She has the capability of winning races; she’s a winner so we don’t have to teach her how to win.  We just have to make sure that our race team is solid and can comfort her and give her the things she needs to win in the Cup Series.”
 
HOW OFTEN HAVE THE TEAMS YOU’VE BEEN WITH WANTED TO ADAPT TO YOU VERSUS YOU ADAPTING TO THEM?  HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT TO YOU?

DANICA PATRICK: “It is a nice thing to hear.  I think that is something you hear from someone who is open, ready and smart and knows that every driver has a different style.  It is just a matter of how to maximize that.  It’s kind of music to my ears as a driver.  I know that there is a lot for me to learn about these cars and Tony (Gibson, crew chief) is extremely smart.  I already know that as well as everybody who works with him.  I have a lot to learn, but that is nice to hear.  I hopefully can convey exactly what it is that I need and be able to point them in the right direction.  What is really nice about working with each other these last couple of races of the year is that every driver has a unique way of describing the car and how it feels.  When I say the car is two out of five tight that is not the same for anyone else.  So learning what that really means and how big a change you need to make to fix that is the kind of stuff that we are going to get a really good head start on now.”
 
WHY IS THIS A GOOD PAIRING FOR YOU TWO TO WORK TOGETHER?
 
TONY GIBSON: “I just think the biggest thing is Tony (Eury Jr.) and Danica got a long really well and I’ve worked with Tony Jr. we are great friends and we worked together for several years at DEI (Dale Earnhardt Inc.) so I think putting us together is a better fit.  It’s a really good fit.  It’s a good fit for my race team we are old school racers.  We are the Tony Jr., Tony (Eury) Sr. style of racers and I think that fits Danica pretty good.  I think they have done a great job as a company at Stewart-Haas putting the right people with Danica and her with us because we are going to grow together.  We are going to grow fast.  There are going to be some bumps in the road, we know that.  But, my team is ready for that and we are ready to grow and we are excited about this new venture for us.”
 
DANICA PATRICK: “He hit is right on the head to be honest.  I agree.  It’s funny I think of that too.  I think about how well I got along with Tony (Eury) Jr. and how he is definitely a little more old school.  Just the personalities are just cool, laid back, get down to business, but still have fun.  I think that is a great attitude to bring to the track every weekend.  I feel like it gets a really good team to rally around them.  It speaks volumes that the guys stayed all together to come onto the No. 10 car.  I think that just shows what a great leader he is.”
 
TONY GIBSON: “It was one of the things that I talked to Danica about earlier was everybody on the No. 39 had an option of what they wanted to do as a team.  It took them like 30 seconds to answer back that they were on board and everybody was excited for it.  Hopefully, that is comforting to Danica and just sends a message to her that we are behind her 110 percent and ready to move forward.”
 
WHAT HAPPENS THE FIRST TIME YOU CALL HER ‘OLD MAN’?
 
TONY GIBSON: “(Laughs) I don’t know.  I’m not really sure.  If I do say that I’m sorry.  It just comes out for some odd reason.  I don’t know.  I have no idea hopefully she will forgive me.”
 
DANICA PATRICK: “In what context do you use ‘Old Man’?”
 
TONY GIBSON: “Pretty much, I don’t know it slips out.  I don’t really know why I say that.  For years it’s just been what I say.  I’m not sure where that came from to be honest with you.”
 
DANICA PATRICK: “I don’t mind.”
 
TONY GIBSON: “If I do say that I am sorry and I don’t mean it.  I was Mark Martin’s crew chief and everybody is like ‘man that is really insulting to him’.   I’m like I have no idea; I don’t realize I’m saying it to him.  It was a big joke.  Aric Almirola, I was the crew chief for Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. and it was the same way.  I don’t know.  It just comes out so I’m probably going to say it a few times, but if I do I’m sorry forgive me.  As long as we are successful we can call each other what we want to.”
 
DANICA PATRICK: “I don’t really care what people call me.  Tony (Eury) Jr. would call me ‘babe’ and things like that on the radio and he would apologize.  I’m like I really don’t care what you call me.  I don’t care if you pronounce my name wrong as long as it starts with a ‘D’.”
 
TONY GIBSON: “I think I have called her ‘D’ every time I have called her and talked to her on the phone.  I will try to just stick with just calling her ‘D’.”
 
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE LESSONS  IN THE THREE YEARS YOU HAVE BEEN HERE WHAT ARE THE GREATEST LESSONS THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED WHAT DO YOU STILL HAVE TO LEARN TO REALLY GET ABSOLUTELY COMFORTABLE HERE?
“For me I have just transitioned through quite a bit over these years.  It was just coming every month or so into the car and doing a race and trying to get comfortable quickly after driving and IndyCar for a while.  There was that transition for two years then this being the first full time year then sort of sprinkling in some Cup races then next year going full time Cup.  That is a lot o
f transitions and a lot of changes and a lot of things to get used to whether it is new cars, new schedules or new crew chief.  It’s just been a lot to get used to, but I think that it all helps me adapt quicker.  It helps me focus on what being more specific with my words and being more poignant with what I want.  There has been a lot that I have learned for sure and I have a lot left to learn.  Just understanding the cars and how they change from practice to the race and how they change throughout the race.  Those are things that are just so much more unique to NASCAR than they are to IndyCar I feel.  In IndyCar you could set the car up in practice and it would feel the same in qualifying and the race for the most part of adapting some weather changes to the downforce levels to that they were equal.  You could calculate that.  There is a lot more transitions within the weekend itself in NASCAR.  So getting used to that has been something I am still learning.”
 
HOW WILL YOU KNOW IF THINGS ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION NEXT YEAR AND WHAT WILL BE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR DANICA TO KNOW IF SHE IS IMPROVING?
 
TONY GIBSON: “Well, there’s no pressure on us. I think the communication will get better and smoother. Understanding when she is tight like she said earlier, a two out of five, we go through that every weekend. Every driver I’ve ever had is different. Even (Tony) Stewart and (Ryan) Newman are totally different. The offsets that we had to do for Newman versus Stewart are just on the other side of the spectrum. Just learning those things for what she needs going into qualifying trim, as the races go on how do we adjust, and me learning the tone of her voice. I can tell by a driver, because the tone of his voice is getting higher and higher and higher that it’s pretty serious. Those things we are going to learn. She puts more pressure on herself to do good because the media puts pressure on her to do good. For us it’s all about learning and growing together. Like I told her, we are going to set small goals and achievable goals for us. Whether if it’s by the end of qualifying practice to be on the left side of the board and qualify 25th, 23rd, 20th, 18th; let’s set goals that we can achieve together as a race team and grow together. I’m not putting any pressure on her or any set we’ve got to win a race or we’ve got to run a top-five, so I’ll judge everything off how we are getting along, how our team is building more than I am results.”
 
YOU’VE BEEN WITH DALE (EARNHARDT) JR, SO YOU’VE BEEN WITH HIGH PROFILE, DANICA IS OBVIOUSLY VERY HIGH PROFILE, THERE’S NO DOING ANYTHING UNDER THE RADAR, WILL THAT HELP YOU THAT YOU WERE WITH JUNIOR AND YOU UNDERSTAND BEING WITH SOMEBODY THAT EVERYTHING YOU DO IS GOING TO BE SCRUTINIZED?
 
TONY GIBSON: “Absolutely, anything in this business. I was with Bill Elliott for a while too and he was probably one of the biggest ones in the sport then. It’s difficult, it’s different, but at the end of the day you still have to do your job. No matter who is driving the race car you have a job to get done. My job is to fit a race car and a set up for Danica’s driving style and that’s what we are going to work hard on. She is in the lime light all the time. It’s like last weekend the deal with Landon Cassill and all, I don’t want her to lose that fire. That’s the fire you need. There has been guys that have spun people out and done things like that when they are rookies and nobody talks about it but being a female it gets blown out of proportion. I hope she keeps that fire and desire and we’ll work on the rest of the stuff.”
 
GOING BACK TO WHAT TONY SAID EARLIER, WHY ARE YOU SO COMFORTABLE WITH OLD-SCHOOL RACERS?
 
DANICA PATRICK: “I don’t know. Doesn’t that seem funny? I’m kind of fancy. I buy fancy things, I eat at fancy restaurants, drink fancy wines, I don’t know. Honestly I think it’s opposites attract. It’s more fun to be honest. It’s just more fun. I think back to being a kid growing up and go-kart racing. That sort of style is also why I love NASCAR in general, everything from the language to describe the car, to the style of people and the camaraderie. It just reminds me of growing up and racing all over the east coast and the south. It’s more normal to me probably than what I did for over 10 years with seven years of Indy Car and from 16 to 19 being in England. I guess I realized how European style Indy Car was when I came to NASCAR and was I remember the word tight, I used to use that. It’s just how everybody gets along and how much fun we have here, and kind of almost how much racing we do. In go-karts we would do 40 or 50 races a year. In NASCAR we obviously do a tremendous amount and I think it’s just more normal to me than what I was doing. From the first time that I got into a car at Orlando Speedway a couple of years ago, I pulled out of the pit area to go on to the track and I really felt .. I was like oh my God, what have I been doing. I feel like I’m at home. I felt comfortable and it just felt like I was where I was supposed to be.”
 
TONY WILL BE YOUR FOURTH CREW CHIEF SINCE ENTERING NASCAR, DO YOU HAVE A BETTER SENSE OR APPRECIATION OF WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR, WHAT YOU NEED, AND IS IT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER SERIES?
 
DANICA PATRICK: “You know I think that it’s not necessarily a specific person as much as it is their demeanor and their openness to listen and going down the paths that I go down sometimes in practice, and being ready to just kind of adapt what I say to the car and trust me, and want to be there. I think that may be one of the biggest things, when someone wants to be there it just gives me confidence and give me comfort. It makes me feel better. No matter what I’ve been doing that’s one thing I’ve learned, the person has to want to be there. There’s so much racing and so much time together that if they don’t, you just don’t feel it. I really get that feeling from Tony, that he wanted to be here and from his guys. I just think that’s like a perfect remedy for success moving forward.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/DIET MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET, met with members of the media today at Texas Motor Speedway and discussed how he is feeling going into this weekend’s race at Texas, his frustrations with the ending of last weekend’s race in Martinsville  and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
STILL FEELING GOOD ABOUT GETTING BACK IN YOUR ROUTINE AND GETTING BACK TO NORMAL?
“Yeah especially after last week not getting the finish we wanted to get. We were really anxious to get back to the race track and get back to work.  Anytime you don’t finish things like you want you kind of want to get another shot or start over.  You hate to have to sit around for a couple of days waiting on the next opportunity to do it the right way.  That is what we have been thinking about all week.  Just been kind of preparing going over last week and writing down all the comments about the race and then looking over the last race here at Texas all the notes of that just trying to get ready.”
 
HOW DID YOU FEEL SUNDAY NIGHT, MONDAY?  DID YOU FEEL NORMAL?  THAT WASN’T A HARD HIT BUT YOU STILL KIND OF TAPPED THE WALL:
“Yeah, it wasn’t that bad.  I felt pretty good.  I’ve been in contact with the doctor’s everyday throughout the whole process just keeping them aware of how things have been going.  I thought the weekend really went well in terms of how I felt especially Saturday and Sunday.  I was really nervous I think Friday, just anxious and real nervous.  Obviously, talking to you guys in the media center I was really nervous.  Saturday and Sunday really felt great.  That was kind of a little breakthrough for me.  To get back to the track and see things work like I wanted them to work, really kind of connect to the race car like I wanted to
felt really good.”
 
WHAT WAS THE MOST FRUSTRATING THING ABOUT LAST WEEK? WAS IT PURELY THE RESULT THAT UPSET YOU OR WAS IT THAT PEOPLE WERE BEING STUPID THERE AT THE END?
“No, I wasn’t really worried about how people were at the end.  We were coming back from missing a few weeks and just trying to really get in a solid week of work.  Obviously, even finishing seventh or whatever wasn’t exactly where we wanted to finish, but I needed a little closure on the whole process.  I really didn’t get it last weekend.”
 
INAUDIBLE:
“We talked about it just a little bit.  When we made the decision to stay out I was positive coming to that restart I was positive about what we were doing.  When he made the decision for us to not pit I didn’t immediately throw my hands up in the air at that moment.  I was still like ‘alright you know I’m going to go as hard as I can go here.’ I was starting up front and I really didn’t think we were going to be as bad as we were on that little run after that restart.  So I really wasn’t that upset about it at all.  Then we had the restart and the car was real tight, real slow and just in the way. People were all over me trying to get by me.  I know I was a pain in the ass and I was just getting more and more frustrated.  I think I lost control of my emotions a little bit in how I expressed my opinion after the race to him, to you, to everybody.  Because looking back now I really wasn’t that mad about it.  I didn’t even think it was a bad call when we made it.  I was being a bit of a back seat driver or arm chair quarterback after the fact.  He had done a great job been real supportive of me and I need to realize he is trying to help me.  He’s not trying to throw me to the wolves.  He is trying to help me win races.”
 
IT WASN’T THE FINISH YOU WANTED, BUT HOW ENCOURAGING WAS IT BEING OUT OF THE CAR FOR TWO WEEKS COMING BACK AND RUNNING AS GOOD AS YOU GUYS DID?
“Yeah that was real good.  Real encouraging the laps in practice, how we were working on the car, all the communication was good.  Had a lot of good energy, felt good, the race went pretty well throughout the whole race, felt good.  I felt like we were running a smart race.  Really didn’t have the car like we wanted, we were trying a little bit different stuff with the track bar in the back.  I think we were a little bit better there in the spring, so we will just have to go back. It’s a good track for me and I’ve run pretty well there every time we go there and I would just really like to win there.  Just have to go back and try again.”
 
HOW DO YOU HANDICAP THE CHAMPIONSHIP?  OBVIOUSLY, IT’S YOUR CLOSEST TEAMMATE ON ONE SITE AND IT’S ONE OF YOUR REALLY CLOSE FRIENDS ON THE OTHER SIDE.  DO YOU HAVE TO GO WITH YOUR TEAMMATE IN THAT SITUATION?
“Yeah I’m a company man first I think.  I want what’s good for the guys.  Inevitably, indirectly no matter what driver it is when there is success at Hendrick (Motorsports) it affects all of us in a good positive way.  Obviously, I want to see Jimmie (Johnson) win the championship between the two.  But, I’m real happy for Brad (Keselowski) to be experiencing the season he has had.  He has earned it. He’s a really good competitor and he is a great asset to the sport for years to come.  He’s going to have a lot more opportunities aside from this one; he is going to have a lot of opportunities to win championships.  He’s got to be excited about that.”
 
GIVEN THAT SITUATION WOULD YOU RATHER BE THE POINTS LEADER OR THE ONE CHASING?
“I would rather be the leader.  You want to be out front and put the pressure on the guy behind you.”
 
IS IT KIND OF WEIRD THAT YOU SAW BRAD (KESELOWSKI) WHEN HE WAS A TOTAL NOBODY AND NOW HE COULD POSSIBLY WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?  IS THAT KIND OF WEIRD TO YOU?
“Well yeah, I mean it’s pretty impressive.  I knew he was a pretty raw talent and had a lot of good qualities.  He definitely made all of our stuff at JR Motorsports look really good there for a couple of years.  When he got in the Penske stuff he has not done anything but move forward.  I think we kind of forget just how far along that program has come.  To be competitive in a Dodge no less; in a manufacturer that has signed its papers leaving the sport.  It’s impressive and I think like I said he is going to be able to race for a very long time and for all intents and purposes he should be able to compete like this for years and really enjoy a great career.”
 
REGARDING PHOENIX WHAT KIND OF RACE ARE YOU EXPECTING?
“I don’t think it’s going to change a whole lot.  I don’t know these repaves have been pretty indestructible.  They are not aging quite as fast as the drivers would hope.  They did a good job on that track and I haven’t run good there since they repaved it.  Just kind of anxious to go back and hoping we can find some speed and be competitive because I do like the race track.  I’ve ran well on all the repaves this year so maybe we’ve got something for them going back.”
 
THAT CORNER TWO (AT PHOENIX) WAS KIND OF WHERE BRAD (KESELOWSKI) WAS GOING DOWN ON THE APRON THERE WHY DOES THAT WORK?
“It’s shorter.  It’s a shorter distance.”
 
IS JIMMIE (JOHNSON) PERHAPS A BIGGER FAVORITE THAN TWO POINTS MIGHT SUGGEST JUST BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS AND WHAT HE HAS DONE?
“Yeah, I think he has definitely got to have the odds in his favor winning five championships in a row isn’t done by accident or by luck.  I think he has got the entire package as far as not only is he one of the best drivers in the series, but he has got possibly one of the smartest minds on his pit box in Chad (Knaus) controlling the entire team.  Everybody around that team, all the road guys all the pit crew everybody is just really maxed out in talent and ability.  They are a tough opponent.  They are a real tough opponent especially when they’ve got some confidence and it’s late in the Chase and they are leading like this.  You are really going to have to work hard and do some miraculous stuff to be able to beat them.”
 
THIS YEAR THERE HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF THE MIND GAMES GOING ON.  HOW MUCH DOES YOUR HEAD PLAY INTO RUNNING FOR THIS CHAMPIONSHIP?
“I don’t know.  I think it just depends on the person.  Some people aren’t affected by that stuff and some people might be affected by that.  I think it just depends on how insecure you are and how much you respect the guy you are racing.  It comes down to different individuals and different people react different ways to it.”
 
IS IT A USEFUL TOOL?
“Yeah sure.”
 JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET met with media and discussed participation in the Disaster Relief Fund, his focus on the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the pressure, the competition, and more. Full Transcript:
 
YOUR FOUNDATION HAS BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN SUPPORTING THE RELIEF EFFORTS FOR HURRICANE SANDY. CAN YOU TOUCH ON THAT?
“Yes, definitely. Myself, Hendrick Motorsports, and Lowe’s are proud and happy and more than willing to donate money to the Disaster Relief Fund. It’s something that Lowe’s is very passionate about; and Hendrick Motorsport and I certainly want to join in support and help spread the word and hopefully influence others to donate. In the Manhattan area in the building that Chani and I have an apartment in has been flooded and it’s still evacuated. Nobody can go in the building and the bottom two floors are underground and have been flooded and the main lobby had some major damage too. So it’s impacted us in a small way; to many others, in a much greater capacity.  But it’s just a wild, wild deal up there. And to talk to our friends about the experiences they’
ve had; and to know how many people in Manhattan and all the surrounding area that are dealing with all the water issues, It’s a sad thing. Hopefully what we’re doing will help influence others to donate and try to help our friends up there.”
 
TALK ABOUT COMING TO TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY WITH THREE RACES TO GO; YOU’VE GOT THE POINTS LEAD. WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET FOR THIS WEEKEND?
‘Honestly it’s really been the same thing throughout the Chase, and that’s to go out and get as many points as possible. I’m in the mindset of sitting on the pole and winning the race. I think that’s what you have to do with as tight as the points have been and with how strong the competitors have been on the race track.  Denny’s (Hamlin) troubles have put a gap for Brad (Keselowski) and I over third spot. And I guess in some respects, you can look at two guys and a two-guy breakaway right now, but I’m not putting too much stock in that. A mid-pack finish for myself and Brad will bring everybody back into it and that’s not too big of a margin in my eyes. So, I’m still very focused in getting as many points as possible and trying to win the races.”
 
THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF JABBING BETWEEN YOU AND BRAD KESELOWSKI. HOW MUCH DOES THE MIND GAME ISSUE PLAY INTO YOUR STRATEGY ON AND OFF THE TRACK?
“I wasn’t aware of any verbal jabs yet, but it’s racing. There are different aspects to it I think. Personalities of drivers; some are eager for those opportunities and like to play it out in the media and stir the pot. It’s really not been my outlet. I like to go out and perform like I did last week; and send a message on Friday with a strong qualifying effort. If that doesn’t work out, make sure that I rebound and come back on Sunday with a strong performance. So I look over the last couple of weeks and what our team was able to accomplish at Kansas with a damaged race car and then what we did last week, is quite a statement in that we’re serious about this championship and we’re doing the right things to go out there and try to win this thing.”
 
ON THE BUSCH-WHACKED MUD RUN AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY DIRT TRACK, DID YOUR TEAM END UP WINNING AFTER ALL?
‘Yeah, we won the overall team competition last night, which was cool. It was fun. It was my first opportunity to run a Mud Run. I’ve done some triathlons. I’ve done a few 5K’s. And to do a Mud Run was quite a different discipline. I think the distance of the race was like just over a mile; 1.2 miles, with 10, 12, or 15 obstacles; something like that. So, in the running areas, you’re trying to keep a good pace going; and then you’re challenged with some obstacle that for whatever reason would elevate your heart rate higher than you wanted it to be. And then you’d get over or through or under the obstacle and take off running again trying to catch your breath.  It was an intense 13 minutes during my lap. I ended up second overall, which was cool. My throat is still kind of raspy just from breathing so hard yesterday in that event. It was an aerobic workout to say the least. It was a fun event. I think the awareness from this event will, if Kurt (Busch) decides to continue to it, I think it has potential to be pretty big; and incorporate the fans and the competitors in the garage area. A lot of team planes didn’t send their crews early, but I have a feeling in the future there would be enough crew members lobbying for an early plane to get out here and be a part of it. There are so many guys who go over the wall and work in this garage area that they’d get involved in a heartbeat. And it’s for a great cause; I need to also mention; with the charity component. So I hope it was a successful fund-raiser for them. I know I had a lot of fun in the event.”
 
THE APRIL RACE HERE FEATURED A LOT OF LONG, GREEN-FLAG RUNS; AND FROM THE FAN PERSPECTIVE, NOT THE MOST EXCITING RACE OF THE YEAR. DO YOU EXPECT THE SAME THING SUNDAY? OR WITH DIFFERENT WEATHER CONDITIONS AND DAY INSTEAD OF NIGHT, DO YOU THING THIS RACE COULD BE DIFFERENT OR DO YOU EXPECT IT TO BE THE SAME?
“I think it will be like that, to be honest with you. I’m trying to think back to Kansas and what created all the cautions. I think a lot of it was the narrow racing groove and the uncomfortable or unbalanced aero situation that the pack was in and it did create some slipping and sliding and a lot of cautions. But here, we’ll be from the line to the wall all the way around the track ad we’ll have options, which the drivers love. It creates fewer cautions because we have an opportunity to race and move around. The flip side of that is there’s a lot of green flag racing. So I’m preparing for that, in my mind.”
 
WHILE THE VOTING IS JUST A THEMED SORT OF PRESIDENTIAL THEME BECAUSE OF THE ELECTION IT REALLY IS FACING YOU AND BRAD (KESELOWSKI) OFF AGAINST EACH OTHER EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK.  DO YOU TRY NOT TO LOOK AT THAT?
“I walked through the garage and I didn’t see it I guess.  I was too busy catching up with (Kristine) Curley on, I don’t even know what it was.  It’s great I think the hype is great for our sport.  It is certainly great for Brad and I both.  It’s a tough thing to dodge that excitement and notoriety all that comes with it.  I’m glad I’ve missed it so far because it’s just a distraction at the end of the day.  I will just keep my blinders on and keep going in circles and hopefully fast circles.”
 
OBVIOUSLY THERE IS AN AGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND BRAD (KESELOWSKI) BUT DO THE TWO OF YOU HAVE ANY KIND OF PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP AT ALL?  DO YOU KNOW EACH OTHER TO ANY EXTENT?
“Well he was at Hendrick for a while, but that was four or five years ago something like that.  He was pretty new in the sport, eager, and talented.  He showed a lot of speed and a lot of potential.  I watched him in (Dale Earnhardt) Junior’s car for those couple of years.  I was excited for his success there and happy to see that he went to Penske as well.  I know Roger (Penske) well and certainly respect his organization and everything he has done in motorsports.  I think it’s been a good fit along the way, but my relationship with Brad has really been at track or racing related.  We haven’t had a chance to hang out too much off the track.  For the longest time he hasn’t been old enough to have a beer so it has been hard to hang out too much.  We’ve got a good relationship and I feel a great deal of respect for another and I think that is why we have handled things how we have so far and raced like we are.”
 
CLINT BOWYER WAS IN A LITTLE BIT AGO AND WAS RATHER LOOSE; HE REALLY HAS NOTHING TO LOSE. DO YOU THINK THAT DEMEANOR HELPS HIM?   THE WAY HE HAS RUN THE CHASE DO WE SORT OF DO OURSELVES A DISSERVICE TO OVERLOOK HIM BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN STRONG ON THE 1.5-MILE TRACKS?  HOW ARE YOU SIZING UP HIM IN THIS BEING A TWO MAN RACE, BUT WITH A DARK HORSE LOOMING?
“I feel like if Brad (Keselowski) both have a mid-pack finish it really opens this thing up at this point.  A finish in the 20’s something like that man this thing is real tight.  There is some pressure taken off you when you are back. I think there is more pressure on the point’s leader, but there is more control as the point’s leader.  Just a week ago was sitting there seven back thinking okay if I got two a weekend or if I got three a weekend or how you play that game.  Right now I don’t have to think about that.  There is the pressure to maintain, but I would much rather be leading the points than be anywhere else.  Pressure shows up in a lot of different ways.  Clint (Bowyer) is a serious threat so is Kasey (Kahne).  Those guys have been very strong.  I think both have shown their best in the Chase and have really delivered and stepped up.  I’m glad that we have a gap over those guys because I like when it’s down to one person and not three or four to
deal with.  If we slip up they are going to be right there in the middle of it and strong, good tracks for both of them.  I’ve said this about Kasey (Kahne) too if you look at his performance every year he always finishes so strong.  I’m happy from my own selfish perspective to have a little gap on him right now because he could finish this thing our really strong.”

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Texas Motor Speedway and discussed morning practice, Donny Schatz World of Outlaws championship and other topics.  Full transcript:
 
HOW WAS PRACTICE?  “It was okay. Nothing spectacular. We’ve got a ways to go.”
 
TALK ABOUT DONNY SCHATZ CAPTURING HIS WORLD OF OUTLAWS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR TONY STEWART RACING: “I’m proud of those guys, especially Donny. It was a really trying first half of the season for the whole team. They were just struggling to try and find a balance in combination with the engine and chassis package that he was looking for.  The second half of the year, those guys really dug in, and got going there, and really dug themselves out of a hole. They definitely earned it the last half of the year.”
 
ARE YOU GOING BACK FOR THE WOO FINALE IN CHARLOTTE? “No, it is too far. We’ll watch on the internet tonight and tomorrow. Actually, we’ll see it on the Internet tonight, and watch it live on SPEED tomorrow night.”
 
DANICA SAID SHE WAS A WINE AND FANCY RESTAURANT KIND OF GIRL, AND TONY GIBSON IS AN OLD-SCHOOL RACER. WHY DO THEY GET ALONG? “Why wouldn’t they get along? They aren’t going out to eat dinner together, they are racing together. That’s where they have to be on the same page.”
 
HOW DO YOU THINK SHE IS GOING TO REACT WHEN SHE GETS CALLED “OLD MAN”? “Probably the same way we all did. Look at him funny, and realize that it doesn’t matter who you are, or how old you are, he (Tony Gibson) calls you “Old Man”. That’s just Gibson.”
 
HOW DIFFERENT FOR YOU IS IT IN YOUR SITUATION THIS SEASON AT THIS POINT THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR, A SITUATION SIMILAR TO WHAT BRAD KESELOWSKI AND JIMMIE JOHNSON ARE IN? “You don’t always have that situation like we had last year. If you look at the history, we’ve had more years like we are having this year, than we had last year. You’d rather be in the situation they’re in, but it is what it is.”
 
LAST YEAR, YOU ARE CARL APPEARED TO HAVE VERBAL JABS GOING BACK AND FORTH, ALL IN FUN. HOW USEFUL OF A TOOL IS THAT WHEN YOU ARE FIGHTING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP? “It worked for us. (CHUCKLES) That’s all I can say is it worked for us.”
 
HAVE THERE BEEN ANY TALKS ABOUT ELDORA HAVING A NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK RACE? “No.”
 
JUST A FUN QUESTION, THERE IS A MOCK DEBATE GOING ON FOR NASCAR PRESIDENT BETWEEN MATT CLARK AND JIMMY SPENCER. WHO WOULD YOU SUPPORT? “Out of the sake of the entire nation, I would have to pick Matt Clark. I’m sorry. I love Jimmy Spencer like a brother, but that’s not a brother I would put in the Presidency.” (LAUGHS)
 
IS JIMMIE (JOHNSON) A BIGGER FAVORITE THAN TWO POINTS WOULD INDICATE? “I don’t know. It’s one week at a time still. It is what it is each week. It doesn’t who’s a favorite. It matters what those points say at the end of the day each week.”

 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET met with media and discussed the current point battle between Johnson and Keselowski, head games, the upcoming Phoenix race, and more. Full Transcript:
 
HOW WAS PRACTICE?
‘We’ve been trying some things out to learn so we come up with a good plan for tomorrow and for Sunday. We were a little disappointed when we switched over to qualifying trim. We of course, knew the track was a little bit slower from the guys that went out early, but still we were two our three tenths off of what I felt like we needed to be there at the end. So, we’ve got some speed to gain and to pick-up for our qualifying run.”
 
IF YOU COULD TAKE YOUR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS HAT OFF AND LOOK AT THINGS OBJECTIVELY, AND YOU HAD TO PUT MONEY ON BRAD KESELOWSKI OR JIMMIE JOHNSON GOING DOWN THE STRETCH WITH THREE RACES REMAINING, IS IT EVEN A QUESTION GIVEN JIMMIE’S HISTORY?
“Oh, it’s definitely a question. And Brad has put a good fight. If you’re putting money down on it, it’s hard to go against that No. 48 teams. They’re just so rock-solid at so many different tracks. They’ve won five championships so it’s not like they’re nervous. They’re pretty relaxed and in a comfort zone and it’s really nothing to lose. They’ve won five championships and they’re in great position.
 
“But, where Brad going for it, basically for the first time, but you know what, they’ve done a great job. So, it’s not just a hands-down; one’s got it in the bag.”
 
JIMMIE’S LEAD FEELS ALMOST BIGGER THAN IT IS BECAUSE OF HIS HISTORY AND THE TIME OF THE YEAR AND ALL THAT STUFF.
“Well, it’s just like what happened to the No. 11 car (Denny Hamlin) last week.  Anything can happen at any time. There’s just no way to predict it. If you just look at flat-out speed and performance, then I would give it to the No. 48. But that’s not always the case.”
 
DO YOU SEE JIMMIE JOHNSON PLAYING THOSE HEAD GAMES WITH BRAD KESELOWSKI AT THIS POINT? OR, IS IT JUST THE REPUTATION AND THE SUCCESS RATE THAT GETS INTO PEOPLE’S HEADS?
“The No. 48 has one things on their side and that’s five championships and the fact that they go out there and perform. I think the only thing that Brad has done this year that’s really combatted that was what they did at Chicago. That was a great way to get it started as well as they’ve hung in there. Like last week. To come out of there I think with a sixth place finish for Brad at Martinsville they way his day was going, that was actually a very positive result for them that I think they actually, even though the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) won, they carried a little bit of momentum themselves out of there. So, I’d kind of call it even, really.”
 
WOULD YOU RATHER BE THE CHASER OR THE CHASEE?
“No, you always want to be leading. I think you’d rather be leading if you’re the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) because they’ve won it five times. So, by being up front, they don’t sit there and protect and worry about what we have to do to win this championship. They just go out there and perform, focus, and do their jobs. But when you’re new to it and you’ve never won a championship, being out front sometimes can get you off your game. So I think it’s better for Brad to be chasing and I think the NO. 48, as long as they’re in reach, they’re comfortable and have a great shot at it.”
 
YOU’VE BEEN THERE BEFORE; WHAT ARE THE LAST THREE WEEKS LIKE AS FAR AS PRESSURE? “You know, it’s intense. Every practice lap; every lap in the race; every position; every moment is intense. You know that there is a lot riding on everything that you do. As a team you have to come together, and step up. It’s tough. It’s intense, and exciting as well. All at the same time. I’m just anxious to see how these next couple of weeks go because I think we all want to see a great battle come down to the final race at Homestead.
 
“I think you have to think, with the results the last time we were here, that the No. 48 has an edge here. I don’t know about Phoenix with the new surface, but at Homestead, the No. 48 has struggled there. Not run as good. This thing could be very interesting.”
 
WITH THE NEW LAYOUT AT PHOENIX, HOW DIFFERENT IS THAT TRACK NOW? “It’s changing fairly rapidly as it goes through the weathering that you go through, especially during the hot summer in Arizona. The tires haven’t changed as far I know, so that is kind of keeping things fairly even. We saw the grooved widen out the last time we were there; I would like to see that again. Track position is still going to be
very, very important.”
 
HAVE YOU CHANGED THE WAY YOU DRIVE THAT TRACK NOW? “I’m going to have to change the way I drove it the last couple of times just because we haven’t done very well there.”
 
BRAD WAS A PART OF THE HENDRICK FAMILY FOR A SHORT WHILE; DID YOU GUYS GET A CHANCE TO KNOW HIM AT ALL? “He was more of a JR Motorsports guy, so they probably got a chance to know him better than we did. But, he definitely was a great addition; we just didn’t have a place for him, or sponsorship to keep him there longer.  It certainly is nothing but positive things to say.”
 
AT THIS POINT OF THE SEASON, DO THE WEEKS KIND OF SLOW DOWN AND SEEM TO COME FURTHER APART, OR DOES IT PICKUP AS YOU HEAD TO THE END OF THE SEASON? “It is amazing how fast a season goes by, and you are at this point. You go ‘Wow, I can’t believe we only have three races left, then this season is over’.  For us, we’re sixth in points, and we are just focused on how we get to fifth, and, how we perform in each race, and make the most out of these last three races and come out with something positive from what has been a pretty up and down season. That makes the time go by pretty fast.”
 
NASCAR RACE HUB IS DOING A MOCK ELECTION FOR THE OFFICE OF THE NASCAR PRESIDENT BETWEEN MATT CLARK AND JIMMY SPENCER AS YOUR CANDIDATES. WHO WOULD YOU SUPPORT FOR NASCAR PRESIDENT?
“Why would either one of those guys be NASCAR President? (LAUGHS) I like Mike Helton! (LAUGHS)  I love Jimmy, but sometimes he’s a little bit too far out there, so I’m going to go with the one that I think that would use the best common sense most of the time, so I would go with Matt.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
TUMS FAST RELIEF 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
OCTOBER 28, 2012
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET – WINNER
THIS IS YOUR FIRST RACE IN THE CHASE THIS SEASON. YOU TOLD US THIS WAS GOING TO BE THE DAY YOU WOULD WALK OUT OF HERE IN CHAMPIONSHIP FORM. YOU ARE NOW THE POINT LEADER BY TWO POINTS. WHAT GOT IT DONE TODAY?
“We just had a great race car. And I think we’ve also learned our lesson here in the past in not pitting late and that certainly came into play and we made the right decision there. I’m so torn with emotion right now with winning here; and I’m so happy to be in the point lead. But I can’t help but think of all the people in 501RH a few years back. Also you can see on my car, Rick (Hendrick) wrote here in here Todd Rose passed away recently and I certainly want to mention him as well. I’m ecstatic about the win today and ecstatic about the point lead, but this is no cake-walk. These guys are bringing their best each and every week and we’ve got to keep working hard to keep this Lowe’s Chevy up front; and we’re in good shape.”
 
KNOWING HOW FAR BACK BRAD KESELOWSKI STARTED AND TO KNOW HE WAS AHEAD OF YOU ON THAT LAST RESTART HE WAS AHEAD OF YOU AND OPTED TO STAY OUT.  WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
“I felt like it was going to be a problem for him. I mean, we’ve been there before and have stayed out and gotten beaten. I expected him to drop a little further back, so with only a 2-point margin, he must have stayed up in the top five somewhere. You just can’t count out good race teams. When you’re in the playoffs, it doesn’t matter what sport it is, teams step up to show what they’re made of. We’ve seen a lot of teams do it this Chase. Out team came out on top today, and a few more racing doing that, we should be in good shape.”
 
NORMALLY YOUR WIFE WATCHES BACK IN THE BUS, BUT THE BABY WASN’T HERE TODAY. SHE WAS ON THE BOX. WAS SHE THE LUCKY CHARM?
“I think so. She was at a wedding yesterday with some great friends and got here right before the race started without our daughter. I know Evie is watching at home and I can’t wait to get home and see her. This is a great day. I with my daughter was here, but Chani made it and we’re going to have a nice drive home tonight.”
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET – FINISHED THIRD
YOU GUYS HAD TO WORK ON YOUR RACE CAR THROUGHOUT THE DAY. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
“Yeah, we had to battle pretty hard. But luckily all the Hendrick Motorsports cars were pretty good today and congrats to the No. 48 team. Those guys did a great job. We were right there. We just, man, I think my window to race in is really small at this track. I make it hard on (crew chief) Kenny Francis and the guys. But Jimmie Johnson’s window is I guess big, and mine’s (not); it’s hard, like I’ll be loose, and then the next round I’ll be tight and it’s just so hard to find that fine line. But we ended up third, which is my best run in a long time here and I felt pretty good all day.”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 PEPSI MAX CHEVROLET – FINISHED SEVENTH
THOSE FINAL LAPS TYPICAL MARTINSVILLE?
“Yeah we were on the outside and I mean we were sitting ducks on the outside.  I was just trying to get down.  I felt like I got down in front of him (Clint Bowyer) but maybe I didn’t I don’t know I haven’t seen the video.  Pretty typical Martinsville with Clint Bowyer and the No. 24 car here it’s not the first time.  I like Clint (Bowyer) a lot we race really hard together and we were just racing hard right there.”
 
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOUR TEAM TO HAVE A GREAT RUN TODAY BECAUSE THE CAR WAS STOUT?
“It was really strong especially the first half. That meant a lot to me and this team and our sponsors Pepsi Max, Drive To End Hunger, DuPont and Quaker State everybody that makes such a great effort.  This team made an amazing effort the pit stops were great, the car was dialed in.  I don’t know I think we wore the left-rear tire out or something on that real long run and it started getting extremely loose.  We made a nice come back from there and the last thing we wanted was to be on the outside on those last two restarts and we were and it costs us.”
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING/FARM AMERICAN CHEVROLET – FINISHED 15TH
“As was the case in Kansas last week our performance today was better than the finish. We were running in the top five when I got hit and spun out. That knocked us back in track position and we were fighting to get back on the lead lap. This is our third race together and I am happy with the progress. The potential is there and we’re getting closer each week. The pit stops were phenomenal and they played a big role in getting us to the front. The spin was obviously a major blow to us today, but we also had a vibration in the Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet for the majority of the race and that affected the car’s handling.”   

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 DIET MOUNTAIN DEW/NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET – FINISHED 21ST
HOW DO YOU FEEL AND WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THAT RUN OVERALL?
“I don’t know it was alright.  We didn’t have a really good car and fought some issues all day long.  Just made some poor choices at the end that got us run over.”
 
CARL (EDWARDS) CAME OVER HERE AND TALKED TO YOU WHAT DID HE SAY?
“That it was just a tough deal.  Somebody had run over somebody from way back.”
 
HOW DID IT FEEL TO BE BACK IN THE CAR?
“It felt pretty good.  I was just really pissed off about how we finished that race.  That was really ridiculous.  I mean you’ve got to use a little common sense that was not a good move.”
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 RHEEM CHASING THE CURE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 32nd
SIDELINED ON LAP 474 WITH ENGINE ISSUES:
“The motor wouldn’t run all day. Couldn’t restart in second gear. Just hasn’t been a great year. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another. At least we got the car handling pretty good and we were up inside the top-10. Motor blew-up.”

Chevrolet Clinches NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers’ Championship; 2012 Title is the 10th Consecutive and 36th Overall for the Bowtie Brand
 
DETROIT (October 28, 2012) – Jimmie Johnson’s victory in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway clinched the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers’ Championship for Chevrolet. It is the 10th consecutive year, and the 36th time overall that the Bowtie Brand has captured the prestigious title in NASCAR’s top series.
 
“Chevrolet is truly honored to win the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers’ Championship for the 10th consecutive year and the 36th time overall,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “This award is the result of a relentless effort by the Chevrolet team owners, drivers, crew chiefs, crews and technical partners. Many laps remain to be run in the balance of 2012. Chevrolet and the teams remain committed to a strong finish.”
 
In the 33 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races run to-date in 2012, Chevrolet drivers have captured 12 victories.  Chevrolet won its first Manufacturers’ Cup in 1958, and now with the 2012 Cup secured, Chevrolet has reached an unprecedented 36th title.
 
“Winning Chevrolet’s 36th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers’ Championship has been a dedicated effort of focus and cooperation by our teams, technical partners and Chevrolet’s engineers,” added Pat Suhy, Chevrolet Racing NASCAR Group Manager. “Everyone associated with Team Chevy in the Sprint Cup Series has worked tirelessly throughout the season to meet the challenges, and to give our drivers race cars that are competitive and reliable. Thank you to everyone whose passion has brought this award to Chevrolet.”
 
The Team Chevy drivers that have contributed manufacturers’ points that resulted in the title for Chevrolet are:  Jimmie Johnson (four wins); Tony Stewart (three wins); Kasey Kahne (two wins); Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (one win); Jeff Gordon (one win); Ryan Newman (one win); Kevin Harvick; Paul Menard and Jamie McMurray.
 
“I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to our teams, drivers and technical partners on winning the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers’ Championship for Chevrolet for the 36th time,” said Alba Colon, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. “The spirit of cooperation among all of our teams is extraordinary, and has allowed us to give them the right tools to be competitors on the track, as well as partners for the benefit of Chevrolet.  To achieve this accomplishment 10 consecutive years is a remarkable feat with the level of competition in the Sprint Cup Series.”
 
With three races remaining in the 2012 season, Jimmie Johnson is the current points leader and Kasey Kahne sits fourth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. Other Team Chevy Chase drivers current ranking in the top-12 point standings: Jeff Gordon – sixth; Tony Stewart – 10th; Kevin Harvick – 11th and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 12th.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
TUMS FAST RELIEF 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 26, 2012
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET, met with members of the media and discussed his success at Martinsville, earning points during the Chase, the stress among championship contenders, his teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. returning to race after two weeks on the sidelines, and more. Full Transcript:
TALK ABOUT COMING TO MARTINSVILLE
“You drive in here and you still get a sense of a previous era unlike a lot of race tracks. I really enjoy coming here and Darlington. You got to have a view back into what NASCAR was years ago. I still think that environment exists here and it’s fun to come to the track and race. Then from a fan prospective you get a great action packed race. You’re up and close and right near the cars. I enjoy watching cars myself here on the race track. It’s just a fun place and I’m excited to be here.”
 
HAVE YOU REALLY GOT WITH CHAD (KNAUS, CREW CHIEF) AND RON (MALEC, CAR CHIEF) AND GONE THROUGH EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN KANSAS? ARE YOU STILL KIND OF BLOWN AWAY BY WHAT TOOK PLACE AND THE CAR YOU HAD ONCE THEY WERE FINISHED REPAIRING IT?
“Yeah, after the race we looked around and did some serious bench racing about the car. On Tuesday through our team debrief and walking through the shop and seeing the guys just impressed with what they did.
 
“Also during the crash we were fortunate that the way in which the rear bumper hit the wall, the tubing in the back of the car the direction it went, one piece of tubing was down which everybody could see dragging, but there was another piece back there that stayed intact and went up and added support for the deck lid, spoiler and all that. That was key. If that piece of tubing fell out or hit in a different way or pushed in a different direction, we wouldn’t have been able to support the decklid like we did.”
 
WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOU GUYS MOVING FORWARD? THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF COMPARES BETWEEN YOUR TEAM AND THE NO. 2 TEAM IN CERTAIN RACES. DO YOU THINK IT MADE A BIG STATEMENT FOR YOUR GUYS TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO?
“It did and we will have to wait until Homestead to see where that fits into the story. On one light, I look at it and think I made a mistake and gave up points. I really felt like we could have won the race. It was a day that Brad (Keselowski) wasn’t leading and running in the top two or three and we could have closed the points up if not got ahead. I hope it’s a story that we preserved the championship, minimized the damage, and minimized the loss. At the same time, I still regret that I didn’t take advantage of that opportunity.”
 
BETWEEN YOU, BRAD (KESELOWSKI) AND DENNY (HAMLIN), WHO DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE PRESSURE IS REALLY ON IN THE CHASE?
“It’s on all of us, but the points leader I think has the most pressure. I like being in that position because you are still in control. When you’re leading the points, it’s in your hands but with that control comes pressure especially later in the season and in the Chase too. During different parts of the season it’s an honor to lead the points. That honor is still there right now but that light at the end of the tunnel is becoming much more vivid. There’s a picture there at the end of that tunnel and that pressure starts to set in.”
 
A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT STRUGGLING AT BRISTOL AND THEN SUDDENLY THINGS KIND OF CLICKED FOR YOU AND YOU STARTED TO FEEL COMFORTABLE THER EAND GET IT. WAS THERE A SIMILAR MOMENT LIKE THAT FOR YOU HERE (MARTINSVILLE)?
“Yeah, I was pretty lost my first few trips here. We tested for both races. Maybe my second time back or sometime early at the time I was disappointed but the leader Tony Stewart caught me and lapped me. Following him just turned the light switch on in my head as what to do around here. I was able to keep pace with him and get a lap back and have a decent finish that day. That really set things in motion for me.”
 
LAST WEEK WAS AN EXAMPLE OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS RESOURCEFULNESS. DO YOU THINK THERE IS A MYSTIQUE AROUND HENDRICK AND ITS ABILITY? IS IT AN ADVANTAGE FOR YOU?
“I really think so but to be honest when you get to the end of the year and the teams that are fighting for the championship are there for a reason. It is a team sport; it’s not just the driver getting the job done in the car. It’s the people preparing the race cars. It’s the pit stops. It’s crisis management which we had last weekend. I would expect that out of the top team and I certainly expect it out of my team. They exceeded expectation with how well the car performed after the wreck, but I would assume other teams are capable of doing that too at this stage of the game.”
 
IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIAL THAT HENDRICK DOES?
“Within the No. 48 team we’ve been together for a long time and we have all the tools and resources we need to go compete for a championship. Rick (Hendrick) is an amazing man, a great guy to work for, and knows how to lead people. I think the amount of time the No. 48 team has been together, the low turnover rate, and how consistent the personnel has been gives us a big advantage.”
 
WITH THINGS SO CLOSE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE, DOES WHAT HAPPENED AT KANSAS LAST WEEK CHANGE YOUR THINKING AT ALL ON WHERE THE EDGE IS AND HOW CLOSE YOU CAN RACE ON THAT EDGE WITHOUT GETTING IN AN ACCIDENT AND CAUSING A BIG DROP IN POINTS?
COSTUME CONTEST
 “I want to learn from my mistakes, but it’s such a fine line we walk and it’s hard to look at yourself in the middle of a race and say alright am I at 100 percent or 101, 99, the line is getting ever smaller. With what we had and going down a lap after leading the race and the caution coming out when it did, my eagerness to get through traffic, the No. 56 bobbled in front of me and I was more eager to jump in the gas and try to get position on him and went through his dirty air, being hard on the throttle shook my car loose.
 
“There’s just little tiny things that add up and it’s hard in the moment to recognize that. But, that’s something that we’re all faced with and something I’ve done a very nice job with in years past. Everybody makes mistakes and I would rather side on the aggressive side because I know what my competition is. I know the No. 2 car is certainly racing that way and Denny (Hamlin) is as well. You’ve got to stay aggressive. You can’t protect and you can’t conserve at this stage. It’s all about living on that ragged edge.”
 
MARK MARTIN RECENTLY SAID I’M OLD SCHOOL AND WHEN IT COMES TO DECIDING WHETHER I’M INJURED TOO MUCH TO BE IN A RACE CAR, I WANT THAT DECISION TO BE MINE AND NOT A DOCTOR. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
“I’m not familiar with the new protocol that could potentially be coming or Mark’s comments, but in all sports and just your general medical exams, we all go in and get a physical every year, I’m sure we’re all squinting extra hard to read the eye chart and you leave there thinking I made it, good! That’s just a bad example of what it’s like in the doctor’s office. I feel like in our sports, like others, especially relative to concussions, we need to be sure we’re not putting a driver back in harm’s way. We know that a series of concussions within a short period of time is very dangerous and we need to keep our sport safe. Change is coming. I know if somebody is living through it, it’s probably going to be tough and might be on the slow side of returning to the track. With safety in mind I think it’s important.”
 
WITH THE WAY THE POINT SYSTEM IS NOW, WOULD YOU FIND IT TO BE REALLY HARD TO BACK OUT WITH TWO OR THREE RACES LEFT IN THE YEAR IF YOU WERE STILL IN THE HUNT FOR THE TITLE?
“Yeah, that’s tough. Knock on wood; I’m so fortunate to not have that in my auto racing career. Now racing dirt bikes, the very first championship I won I blew my knee
apart and had reconstructive knee surgery, missed two weekends but still had the points lead. I figured out that if I started the last two races, I would get a starting point and I would tie my competitor and I would win the tie-breaker due to wins. So at eight years old, I rode around that dirt bike track with my leg in a cast and rode my one lap to tie points so I could get the big trophy at the end of the year. So, it’s just wired in competitors. It’s what you do. It’s crazy and this is what we do.”
 
YOU AND DENNY HAMLIN HAVE REALLY GOOD RECORDS HERE. EVEN BRAD KESELOWSKI9 HAS HAD A PRETTY SOLID RECORD. WHEN YOU LOOK THESE GUYS YOU’RE RACING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP, IS IT MORE PRESSURE, MORE DIFFICULT, AND HARDER TO PREPARE FOR WHEN YOU KNOW THE GUYS THAT YOU’RE COMPETING AGAINST ARE ALSO GOOD AT MARTINSVILLE? OR, DO YOU TRY NOT TO WORRY ABOUT THE COMPETITION’S RECORD AND FOCUS ON YOUR OWN?
“I try to stay focused on my record and my team. But there is a part of my mind that thinks of strengths and weaknesses of the other drivers. In general, I feel like the way everybody is running, you might get a point or two; if you’re fortunate enough to win, you’ll get three (points) on a guy and that’s what we’ve seen. And that’s where my disappointment of last week (Kansas Speedway) comes into play because I feel like I could have gotten a good chunk on the No. 2 (Keselowski) and the No. 11 (Hamlin). But coming here, the way we’re sitting in points, I would hope to get a handful of points on the No. 2 car. And at the same time, Denny, I got a few points on him last week so if I gave up a few it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. And I really think going down the stretch, it’s going to be a game of a few points at a time. That’s just the way my mindset is. Where in years past, there were bigger chunks between the guys. I guess some of it might have just been the point system at the time. You’d be 35 points out and feel pretty good about it; but you’re only now I guess, five cars away from someone (laughs). So that probably plays into it a little bit. But I’m focused on it this week a little bit and if I lose a little to the No. 11, it’s not what I want but I got a few last week; and if I’m able to get some on the No. 2, then we did what we should here.”
 
ON THE STRESS FOR (CREW CHIEF) CHAD KNAUS AND THAT HE SAID HE JUST LIVES FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR, AND IS SLEEPING LIKE A BABY. HOW DO YOU FEEL THE STRESS AND HOW DO YOU SEE THAT IN CHAD?
“I think that when you have fast race cars and the team is well-rounded and performing on all fronts, it’s easy to sleep. And that’s where we are right now. That’s where Chad is. I’ve been more calm and relaxed in this Chase than I can remember in quite some time. If I look back to last year, and the frustration of putting in all the time and working as hard as we do as team No. 48 and not having the speed and watching guys pull away from you and outrun you, that’s tough. That’s when the frustration sets in. But right now, we’re competitive and we’ve put a lot of stock in that and we feel good about it.”
 
YOU HAVEN’T MISSED A RACE PROBABLY IN MORE THAN A DECADE, BUT IF YOU WERE TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT TOOK YOU OUT FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS, WHAT KIND OF A CHALLENGE WOULD THAT BE? IS THERE ANYTHING MORE DIFFICULT ABOUT THIS TRACK IN PARTICULAR IF THAT WERE THE CASE?
“I think this track would be really good for most injuries in coming back. I would assume a road course or Bristol or Darlington would be on the tougher side. At Bristol, the repetition is so much that from a head injury I could imagine it would be tough and hard to keep your head straight there to start with, let alone a head injury. And then the physical demands, if you had a broken bone or something, would be tough. That also speaks to road courses from a physical standpoint. And then the hand/eye coordination of braking points and turning points and all that would be really tough.
 
“But here, it is a small track and there is a bit of repetition to it, but I think it’s about as good as you get for a track to return to after an injury. I can also speak to the Gresham track (referring to half-mile Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, GA where Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran 123 laps during a test session monitored by Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty). I’ve tested there. That’s a fast, fast little race track. So if you come out of Gresham feeling good and don’t hit anything over there, I think you’ll come to Martinsville and things will fall in line pretty quick.”
 
AT THIS POINT, BOTH BRAD KESELOWSKI AND DENNY HAMLIN BOTH HAVE FIVE WINS. YOU HAVE THREE. DO YOU REALLY FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO WIN TWO OF THE NEXT FOUR RACES?
“I do. I feel like we’ve been close and I hate that a few have slipped away this year, especially in the Chase. But that stuff is behind me. I’m looking forward. We’re at a great track. I feel like at all four tracks remaining, we’re one of the favorites to win. I feel like you have to win (laughs) and you have to win during the Chase to be the champion. It certainly can be won without, but my mindset right now is win, win, win.”
 
YOU HEAR DRIVERS TALK ALL THE TIME ABOUT THE THING THAT WORRIES THEM DURING THE CHASE IS WHAT HAPPENS WITH OTHER DRIVERS ON THE TRACK THAT IMPACTS THEM. WHEN YOU KNOW THAT KYLE BUSCH AND RYAN NEWMAN WERE TICKED-OFF AT EACH OTHER AFTER LAST WEEK’S RACE AND THERE COULD BE SOME RETRIBUTION HERE AT A SHORT TRACK. IF THEY ARE RACING AROUND EACH OTHER AND YOU GET IN THAT AREA, DOES THAT GO THROUGH YOUR MIND? DO YOU WORRY ABOUT IT? DO YOU STRESS ABOUT TRYING TO GET AROUND THEM?
“Yeah, it does; and there’s far more on the line now for the championship contenders. But, when we come back to short tracks, everybody is aware of what risks exist out there and when we see those guys get around one another to give them some space, and just try to be heads-up and avoid something. But yeah, we pay attention. I feel like sometimes the 1.5-miles are a bit more dangerous when there’s a riff going on and guys are racing real hard. Here, you can hit things within reason and not destroy your race car. But on the faster tracks or Phoenix even, it’s hard to get away from anybody at Phoenix if there are paybacks going on there and the speed is so much higher. If you hit the fence, you’re behind the wall working on something.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 DIET MOUNTAIN DEW/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET AND CREW CHIEF STEVE LETARTE, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed returning to competition this weekend and the process Dale has gone through in healing his concussion.  Full transcript:
 
TALK ABOUT HOW THINGS HAVE BEEN GOING SINCE WE LAST SAW YOU AT CHARLOTTE: “It’s been just a lot of time off. A lot of time on my hands. Just exercising, and doing what the doctors told me to do. Feeling better every day. Just going through the process. You just have got to be patient and let thing happen. I’ve learned a ton, just about what I’ve went through. Feel like I’m a lot smarter. A lot more prepared, and understand the situation a lot better now than I did beforehand. So, that’s really good. It’s been a good experience. It’s something I’d rather not have went through; I learned a lot from it. It’s been good for me. I’m just excited to be back to work. Get back in the car, and get back to normal. Get back to the life that I’m used to.”
 
STEVE – WE KNOW DALE RAN SOME LAPS EARLIER THIS WEEK AT GRESHAM MOTORSPORTS PARK AND YOU WERE PLEASED WITH HOW IT WENT: “Yes. Part of the sequence of events that the doctor laid out was that Dale and him had things they had to work through. But then from a team standpoint, they expected us to take the car to the race track and just run some laps. We went down to Gresham; it’s a nice little short track that we were able to run. I think we ran 125 laps. I thought the laps were great; the times were great. His (Dale, Jr.) feedback was as good
as it always it. So, that was really encouraging. Excited to have him back here at Martinsville.”
 
DALE, WHAT SORT OF SUPPORT DID YOU GET FROM OTHER DRIVERS, FROM YOUR FANS DURING THE TIME YOU WERE OUT OF THE CAR? “I was really kind of shutoff from everything. I got some text messages from people that it was nice to know people are thinking about you. Most of the guys that I got contacted by were just wishing I was at the race track. Wishing I was racing with them. That it just didn’t seem normal not to be racing with me. And, I felt the same way. It wasn’t normal for me to be sitting at home. I had great support from the fans, and my family and everybody.”
 
A LOT OF SPECULATION THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE REST OF THE YEAR OFF. DID YOU EVER CONSIDER SITTING OUT THE REST OF THE YEAR? “I left the table of options really kind of open.  Like the decision to get out of the car in the first place; I wanted the doctors to make that decision instead of me. If I could race, I wanted to be at the race track. It’s what I love to do. If the doctors felt that I was healthy enough to do that, I wanted to be doing it. I’ve really kind of left all that up to them throughout the whole process. And, I’ve been honest and upfront about how I felt every day and when we go through exercises – how those are affecting me.  I’ve been pretty honest, and so far they’ve been real pleased with what they’ve seen, and feel like I can get back in the car. That is what I want to do. I felt like I could have raced in Kansas for sure, and probably ran at Charlotte with no problem. I feel foolish…you know…I feel kind of foolish sitting at home feeling okay, and not being in the car. It feels really un-natural. I feel good, and the doctors say it’s okay, I want to be in the car.”
 
WHAT HAVE THE LAST TWO AND HALF WEEKS BEEN LIKE FOR YOU?  HAVE YOU BEEN SCARED? HAVE YOU BEEN FRUSTRATED OR DO YOU KIND OF GO WITH THE FLOW? “Just probably more going with the flow. There have been times when it’s frustrating because you want your brain to clear up, and the fogginess to go away, and all those symptoms to go away. Every concussion is different. They’re kind of like snowflakes. Everyone is different and you react differently to each one. Like I said, I’ve learned a whole lot about it. I feel good knowing what I know now about it; know what I’ve learned about it. It’s just been really frustrating at times. Regan (Smith) did a really good job for the team. I told him that I was worried about the momentum we’d built as a team, and he maintained that. I feel like we didn’t miss a beat and I can get back in the car as if nothing has really been changed. That couldn’t have went better. It was really hard to see your car out there running around turning laps without you in it. That was difficult. I just know we had a really good test up until the tire blew at Kansas, and I was really expecting to go there and run really well; so it was frustrating knowing how good of a car we had, and not being able to enjoy that with the team. But, you just kind of have to be patient and stay in regular contact with the doctors. Once I got to know the guys at Pittsburgh (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Center for Sports Medicine Concussion Program -UPMC), I was on the phone with Micky (Dr. Michael Collins) twice a day, just talking about everything that I was doing and everything I was feeling, because I just wanted to do it right. I didn’t want to take any chances, and I wanted to get back in the car as soon as I could. But, I wanted to make sure it was not too quick.”
 
WITH ALL THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, WILL YOUR APPROACH GOING FORWARD CHANGE WHEN IT COMES TO ISSUES LIKE THIS AS FAR AS YOU LOOK AT ANOTHER INCIDENT IN THE FUTURE? “Yes, absolutely. It changes the way I feel about it to where if I know I’ve suffered another concussion, or if I have symptoms after an accident, I’m definitely going to be a lot more responsible about it. I can understand people’s opinions that they would try to push through it, or they would ignore it to stay in the car because I did the same thing in the past. Some concussions are kind of light, and the symptoms are real light. If you don’t have another incident, you feel like you can get through it. Some concussions are really bad, and I don’t care how tough you think you are, and your mind is not working the way it is supposed to, it scares the shit out of you. You are not going to think about race cars. You aren’t going to think about trophies. You are not going to think about your job. You’re going to be thinking about what do I got to do to get my brain working the way it was before. That’s going to jump right to the top of the priority list, I promise you.  I definitely take it more seriously now after everything I’ve learned. I’m glad I did what I did. I hate the attention that it got, and hate kind of being in front of you guys talking about it. But, I’m glad it did what I did. I’m glad I took the time off and made the choices that I made. They were hard to make, but I had to do it. I had to do it. I didn’t have a choice. I knew something wasn’t right. You can’t ignore concussions. It’s really dangerous doing that. You read about it in the papers, and I was going through it. I was living it. So, I had to make a choice, and I feel like I made the right one.”
 
HOW DO YOU APPROACH THIS WEEKEND? DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN GET IN THE CAR AND BE THE OLD DALE?  OR DO YOU KIND OF HAVE TO EASE INTO THE FIRST PART AND KIND OF GET YOUR BALANCE? “I feel like I’ve been out of the car for a year. It doesn’t feel like a couple of weeks. But, I think we can go right to it. I felt good at the test. I like this race track, and I feel like we can run good here, and I want to do a good job over the next four weeks. I want to run hard, and I want us to go into every weekend trying to do what we’ve been doing all year long.”
 
YOU MENTIONED BEING SHUT OFF FROM EVERYTHING, JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT THE LAST TWO WEEKS WHAT YOU WERE LIMITED TO AS FAR AS TELEVISION, AS FAR AS CONTACT WITH THE TEAM.  WHAT DID YOU DO DURING THE LAST TWO WEEKS?
“The first 48 hours they told me not to do anything so I just kind of didn’t do anything.  I slept a lot.  No TV, just basically just standing walking around the house doing nothing.  It was really weird. So I went back to the doctor and I told him that I couldn’t do that anymore that I need to watch TV or play video games or something.  I needed some kind of entertainment.  I went to Pittsburgh and they put me on a physical and mental exercise program that I did every day.  That really made the biggest difference it was really crazy because I went to Pittsburgh a mess.  I was just really mentally a mess.  The doctors up there we talked for the whole day and went through these exercises and did a lot of stuff and in 12 hours I felt really good.  I felt completely different, I couldn’t believe it.  It’s been pretty normal the last 15 days or so have felt a lot better and everything about my life is back to normal except for the driving part.  I just haven’t been able to do my job so I’m glad to be doing this.”
 
YOU KNOW BRAD KESELOWSKI, HE DROVE FOR YOU, HOW IS HE GOING TO HOLD UP IN THIS SITUATION?  A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY HE MIGHT CRACK UNDER THE PRESSURE:
“I don’t think he’s going to crack.  I think he’s going to be hard to beat.  I think he will be a tough competitor all the way through.  Brad has been waiting on this opportunity all his life so I don’t expect him to crack under the pressure.  I think he will be tough.”
 
YOU SAID YOU WENT TO PITTSBURGH FEELING LIKE A MESS AND I KNOW THAT THE TEAM RELEASE SAID YOU HADN’T HAD ANY HEADACHE SYMPTOMS FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS, BUT WERE THERE MOMENTS HERE LIKE UP UNTIL YOU GOT IN THE CAR AT GRESHAM AND UP UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY GOT CLEARE
D TUESDAY WERE THERE MOMENTS YOU THOUGHT MAYBE YOU WOULDN’T MAKE IT BACK, MAYBE THIS ISN’T GOING TO WORK OUT?
“The part of the two concussions, I’m trying not to get long winded, but the two concussions were completely different as far as where my brain was injured.  As far as I can understand what the doctors have told me.  The first one at Kansas was your typical concussion where the frontal lobe and the headaches and the fogginess that you typically feel.  The one that I had at Talladega was a vestibular is what they call it.  It’s more in the back or the base of the brain where the brain and your spine sort of connect.  It sort of mixed up a lot of anxiety and emotional stuff so they symptoms were more like anxiety driven.  If I would get into sort of a busy situation I would just get a lot of anxiety.  I was already that way anyways I’ve never really been much on being around crowds and a lot of people.  So the two concussions were completely different.  I was dealing with different symptoms.  When I went up there to Pittsburgh I was just really frustrated, when I say I was a mess, I was just really frustrated and having a lot of anxiety about, man how long is this last, is this ever going to be right again.  I had no answers, didn’t know anything.  These guys up there are the professionals and I just asked them everything I wanted to know.  Then we went through all these drills and exercises, they ran me ragged.  It was a fun day.  By the end of the day I felt like I understood what I was dealing with, understood what the process was and I felt a whole lot better.  If I ever got any doubts I would just call Mick up and we would talk about it for an hour.  Really that was the best therapy for me just kind of understanding what was going on.  The typical symptoms of being foggy and having headaches those were really prevalent in the first concussion, not so much in this one.”
 
IN RACING YOU CAN TAKE SOME FEARSOME HITS, BUT WHEN YOU COMPARE IT TO SAY FOOTBALL OR HOCKEY A PERSON MIGHT TAKE FIVE FEARSOME HITS IN ONE GAME.  I JUST WONDERED WHAT YOU HAD LEARNED OR IF YOU HAD THOUGHT ABOUT THAT AND THE FACT THAT YOU DO HAVE RECOVERY TIME? DOES THAT MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT LESS TROUBLE YOU MIGHT GET IN THIS SPORT THAN IN OTHERS?
“I guess you could say that.  I don’t have any statistical facts or anything, but I was surprised to hear how much more often the guys in the NFL have issues than we do.  We were talking about how many concussions I thought I’d had in a year and it was somewhere between four… or how many I had in my career and it was somewhere between four and six.  They were saying that most of the guys in the NFL have that many a season.  I just can’t imagine.  That would be a scary situation to be in.  The symptoms alone are frustrating trying to just go through your everyday life.  I would compare it to like a computer that has too many processes running in the back ground that slows it down and it just doesn’t work as fast.   Programs don’t start up as quick and things sort of hang up in the middle.  That is kind of what it’s like.  The G-forces are way different for the different sports and everything sort of happens differently in the event itself as far as a race car versus a guy having a helmet to helmet hit.  The even itself is quite different in the way the brain handles the traumas different.  I felt like that our sport I do have an opportunity to get back in the car probably sooner than you would on the football field because on the football field you are going to go out  there and you are going to run into somebody head on the first opportunity you get.  You better make sure you have your melon in good shape if you are going to do that.”
 
DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL AT ALL LIKE YOUR CAREER COULD BE FLEETING AT THIS POINT WITH LAYERING?  DO YOU WORRY THAT ONE MORE BAD ONE AND YOU WOULD HAVE TO STOP?
“I guess I don’t really think about that too much.  The one thing that I can tell you is that I’m definitely going to be honest with myself and honest with the doctors.  I’m going to do whatever they tell me to do.  I want to be able to live a full life and not have any issues down the road, but I feel pretty fortunate to have recovered from this concussion rather quickly.  I feel lucky that I made the choices that I did to give myself that opportunity.  I think that had I tried to push through this second one I would have really put myself in a lot of danger.  I think we can just hope that I don’t have any more big hits for a while and race another five, 10 years and have some fun.”
 
WHAT WAS THE SINGLE THING YOU MISSED MOST ABOUT BEING IN THE CAR?  
“The team, just working with the team, working with the guys, we’ve got a pretty good relationship and I really enjoy working with them and being at the track.  Just going through practice, making a change, it working and everybody getting excited about that just that small improvement that we made.  It’s hard to put your finger on one detail, but when you are sitting there watching the race go on I miss hearing Steve (Letarte) and T.J. (Majors) voices and just being in the car and going through the process.  Begin out there and competing watching all my peers compete and just wishing I was in the mix being out there doing it.  Just being around the guys, every one of my guys we’ve gotten a great relationship built over the last couple of years.  It’s fun to race with them, it’s fun to go to work with them.”
 
GROWING UP DID YOU SEE YOUR DAD HAVING THE SAME SYMPTOMS AS YOU HAD AFTER HE TOOK HE TOOK SOME HARD HITS?  
“No, it’s really hard to tell when somebody has a concussion unless they speak up and say something.  Concussions are pretty easy to hide.  I’ve never known anyone that had one or been around anybody that had a concussion and wasn’t being honest about it.”
 
ON WEARING A NEW HELMET THIS WEEKEND:
“I am going to wear a new helmet this week.  I know that is going to draw a lot of attention it might not.  It’s a Stilo helmet and I had worn one before.  I like the helmet back then a couple of years ago when I decided to wear it back then, but there was a particular part about the helmet that I didn’t like that they weren’t able to make an adjustment for at the time so I went away from the helmet.  I’m going back to it.  This was all sort of in the process prior to all this concussion stuff.  I didn’t want anybody to really put two and two together thinking that I’m changing away from my Impact helmets because of the concussions. That is not the case at all.  I have just wanted to try to the Stilo helmet since they made some modifications to it.  It’s definitely not a final decision I’m just checking it out because I liked it before.  It’s a nice helmet, but I’ve enjoyed my Impacts too but I’m going to try this one out and see how it works.  I’ve enjoyed working with Impact and I do like their helmets and I just didn’t want anybody to get the wrong idea there.”

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed practice, racing at Martinsville and other topics.  Full transcript:
 
HOW DID PRACTICE GO? “I think we gained on it. At the beginning of the session we struggled a little bit,  but I think the longer the session went, the better we got.”
 
IS THERE A SECRET TO RACING HERE AT MARTINSVILLE? “I don’t know there is a secret to it. At least, if there is, I haven’t found it yet. It’s just one that you have to get in a rhythm here. Getting in a rhythm is a really big deal at this race track.”
 
MORE SO THAN BRISTOL OR ANOTHER SHORT TRACK? “Yes, I think so, I definitely think
so.”
 
WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT MATT BORLAND WANTED TO GET BACK TO BEING A CREW CHIEF?  “No. He’s pretty much a company guy. He wants to do whatever is best for the company. That’s what Ryan wanted, so that’s what we made happen.”
 
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT A TIME WHEN YOU DROVE A RACE CAR WHEN YOU WERE REALLY BEAT UP? “If you can go down through this garage and can find one driver that hasn’t raced while they were hurt, I’d be surprised. Everybody has done it. This isn’t something new. I can recall thousands of them. There is a lot of times that it’s happened. It’s part of what we do.”
 
TALK ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU TO HAVE YOUR USAC AND WOO GUYS DOING SO WELL THIS SEASON. “I’m proud of Bobby East We fell a little short on the car owners side, but Bobby won the (2012 USAC) Silver Crown (Series) Championship. I think all Donny (Schatz) has to do is just qualify on Thursday for the (World of Outlaws) Finals at Charlotte and he wins the championship. We still have a (USAC) sprint car championship we are trying to win too. I’m really proud of our guys there. They have all fought really hard this year, just like everybody does. That’s one thing about all of our teams; there aren’t any of them that quit. Levi (Jones) had to end his year a little early because of a neck injury that he had to have surgery on. Steve’s (Kinser) been fighting through. Everybody has done a great job. I’m really proud of our guys.”
 
IS THE RACE HERE AT MARTINSVILLE AS LONG AS IT SEEMS? “It’s a long race here for sure. Especially if your car isn’t right, it seems like it takes forever. It is one that being a little bit off can cause a bad day just because of where you end up in the pack. This is a place, especially on starts and restarts, guys drive like idiots trying to get to the bottom, and it creates a lot of havoc. Guys are going to constantly do stupid stuff on restarts, and it’s going to cause problems because of that.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 PEPSI MAX CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed the first practice session, changing track conditions and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
HOW DID PRACTICE GO FOR YOU GUYS?
“That practice went really well.  You will always know track conditions are a little bit different here on Friday than they are even on Saturday and especially on Sunday.  So I think we took that into account. I felt like we had some really good notes and baseline to start with from the last race where we ran so well.  We were able to actually kind of use today as more of a test session than anything else.  I thought it went really well.”
 
YOU TALK ABOUT TRACK CONDITIONS.  SUNDAY LOOKS LIKE IT COULD BE OVERCAST LIKE TODAY, BUT MUCH COLDER.  HOW MUCH DOES IT BEING OVERCAST TODAY GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT YOU WILL FACE ON SUNDAY?
“The difference is that it doesn’t matter if the weather is changing a whole lot or consistent and the same.  The track just changes when you get 43 cars out there putting rubber down.  The groove changes and a lot of things change.  We know what the weather is predicted to be on Sunday and on Saturday night we will take those things into consideration on what we think they may or may not do with the balance of the car.”
 
THE WAY THINGS ENDED HERE IN THE SPRING WOULD YOU CHANGE ANYTHING NOW HAVING GONE THROUGH IT THE WAY IT WAS?
“Oh yeah, if you know everybody behind you is coming in then you come in too, but you don’t know that.  If you come in somebody is going to stay out.  Obviously, when you have 100 plus laps on your tires we were sitting ducks.  We were in a position to kind of force those guys to knock us out of the way and they did.  It cost them, well at least (Clint) Bowyer as well.  The best way would have been to come in and probably at least got two tires.  I don’t know in that position that is the worst position to be in because they are going to do the exact opposite of what you do.  You are kind of in a pretty deep hole right there.  You hate to give up that track position because you feel like somebody is probably going to win the race by staying out, but looking back on it; it’s pretty easy to say we probably should have come in.”
 
OF THE TOP THREE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE CHASE WHO DO YOU THINK HAS THE MOST PRESSURE ON THEM?
“Well this weekend I would say it’s Brad Keselowski and that is because this is not his best track.  It’s a track that he is up against two guys that are very good here.  So that puts a little bit more pressure on him.  He’s leading the points and been doing a great job.  I think this will be a real test for Brad.  I feel like he handles pressure well.  Leaving here I think he is in pretty good shape so this is a big test of how they survive this weekend.”
 
IS IT THEM YOU PUT YOUR MONEY ON OR ARE YOU GOING TO PUT IT ON YOUR TEAMMATE?
“It’s hard to go against the No. 48 they are pretty stout.  They know how to step up.  I’m not putting my money on anybody, but I think that they are going to be very difficult to beat.  When they are in contention they rarely ever give it up.”
 
YOU SEE ALL THE TIME WHERE DRIVERS SAY THE THING THAT WORRIES THEM ARE THE DRIVERS THAT AREN’T IN THE CHASE, TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THEIR WRECKS AND THAT KIND OF THING.  WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE NO. 10 CAR (DURING THE SPRING RACE) KIND OF SCREWED YOU GUYS. IN A SITUATION LIKE WHAT HAPPENED WITH KYLE (BUSCH) AND RYAN (NEWMAN) LAST WEEK WITH GUYS THREATENING REVENGE AND ALL THAT,  IF YOU ARE AROUND THOSE GUYS ON THE TRACK ARE YOU AWARE OF THAT? DO YOU WORRY ABOUT THAT?
“First of all I’m not one of those drivers that ever say those things that you are talking about.  What happened with the No. 10 car was a totally different situation and would have been uncalled for, for any moment in the season.  I think that when I’m out there in the Chase and I’m racing for a championship I try to recognize the situation that I’m in and I hope that my competitors recognize the same situation.  This is a perfect example here at Martinsville.  You’ve got a championship battle on the line, three guys up front that could be up here battling for the win.  You could have somebody who is further back in points very hungry for a win and has a really good car that day that is going to be really aggressive.  If you are in the points battle do you race that guy and say well he should know that I’m racing for a championship so give me a little more leeway or should he you go wait a minute I’m racing for a championship this guy is being really aggressive maybe I just need to get out of his way.  I think that is what makes it so unique and challenging and exciting the format that we have because those different mind sets are happening all the time.  As long guys are out there on the race track then they deserve the respect to try to go win the race and get their position.  Even guys that are a lap down, they are racing for a position as well.  They are not just moving out of your way.  Those are the challenges that come your way trying to win a championship that are not just an easy matter to deal with and understand.”
 
CAN YOU RECALL TIMES WHERE YOU HAD TO PLAY HURT SOMETIMES MAYBE YOU QUESTIONED WHETHER YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE OUT BUT YOU HAD TO BECAUSE IT WAS YOUR JOB?
“Yeah, when I had that bad wreck at (Las) Vegas several years ago I was hurting.  I had to test that week.  I could have very easily sat that test out and probably should have.  I had a lot of minor internal injuries.  I don’t know I probably didn’t need to be out there. I don’t know if I had a head injury or not, but the only other times I had some bruised ribs from the Texas wreck.  Luckily I had a weekend off the next week because I remember going on vacati
on and not being able to do much on vacation. Thinking there is no way I could have driven a race car this weekend.  Then the next race was Bristol and I was hurting, but had I taken another hit I would have been in really bad shape, but I made it through the race okay.  Again it wasn’t a head injury I think it was a little bit different.  You know people play and compete hurt all the time in sports, but when you are dealing with a head injury it’s a lot different.”

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed the first practice session, being a championship contender and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
TELL US HOW THE CAR WAS AND HOW IT WAS IN PRACTICE OUT THERE TODAY:
“We just tried some things so we would have a lot of practice tomorrow so we just tried some stuff compared to where we raced in the spring to see if we could make any gains for tomorrow.   And in qualifying we were off and weren’t quite as fast as we would have liked to have been.  But it feels pretty close and the engine feels good and it’s the same car we raced and I think we ran pretty well when we were here in the spring so I think we will get it going good for tomorrow.”
 
YOU ARE 30 POINTS BACK FROM THE CHAMPIONSHIP, HOW DO YOU RATE YOUR CHANCES?
“I still think we are in it, and still think we have a shot.  We are still running strong and have made up a couple points the last couple weeks, not many, but we have made up a little bit.  So, anything can happen at Martinsville and hopefully we can put together a good race Sunday and gain a few more points and just keep doing that till the end and I don’t know if that will be enough because the guys we are racing against are pretty darn good.  So it’s going to be tough to beat them but we are going to try.”
 
SEVERAL DRIVERS HAVE TALKED ABOUT RACING HURT.  HAS THERE BEEN ANYTIME YOU CAN REMEMBER WHEN YOU GOT REALLY BEAT UP AND JUST KIND OF BIT DOWN ON IT?
“I think over the years I have had lots of sore days where you go race and you are pretty sore.  I would say back to Sprint Cars to where I would have been hurt the most and felt the worst getting into the car and it’s a struggle getting in and getting buckled in, but you get on the racetrack and you don’t even feel it.  So I had days like that, but it’s the way that things are these days with the seats and the walls, helmets, HANS Device, and all the things we have; I haven’t had near as many in my last 5 years as I have for my last 10 or 15.”
 
HAVE YOU EVER RACED WHEN YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE?
“I don’t think I ever have.  I have been pretty fortunate to get beat up but not to get too beat up to race. So I feel like I have been in a good spot and I have haven’t raced when I shouldn’t have.  I feel like when I’ve raced – I should be out there.”
 
IS THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALIFYING MAGNIFIED HERE BECAUSE YOU DON’T WANT TO BE IN THE BACK?
“Yeah, it helps a lot.  I was only in about half of the first race here and we started first and had the best pit stall and that is how I gained three or four spots every pit stop.  Just because you just maintain.  You can have a long stop, and you can do some extra things and you can still maintain where you are at.  So that one stall is really good and for the rest of them there is probably not a huge advantage but for that first stall, it’s by far the best stall here.”
 
DO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO WHERE OTHER GUYS ARE DURING THE RACE OR DO YOU FOCUS ON WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING?
“Yeah, I have been pretty focused on just what we have been doing lately and you know who you are racing with and if it’s somewhat the same guys each week but I saw Jimmie (Johnson) spin last week….well, I didn’t see him spin, I saw his car was damaged.  I saw Kyle Busch do that, and throughout I saw a few guys wreck or something but I didn’t actually keep track of where the guys were that I am racing for the points are.  Until I saw (Greg) Biffle hit the wall and I knew that wasn’t good for his day as far as our points were going you know, since we were pretty close in points….myself and Greg.   I don’t know, I think it’s just hard enough to win and get up front than to worry about where guys are that you are racing for 4th or 5th, or 1st or 2nd in points.  You just have to focus on your race and whatever you get out of that and then you will find out after it’s over.”
 
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO SERIOUSLY BE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP HUNT FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH FOUR RACES TO GO?
“It feels good, but I wish I was closer.  You know, I wish we hadn’t given up some of the points that we have but we have also had a pretty decent Chase and we have some really good tracks to go so I like being in that top-5 and kind of in that mix.  You know, we are on the outside but we definitely still have a shot.”
 
ARE YOU FEELING ANY PRESSURE? WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE FOR YOU?
“Oh no, I don’t feel any pressure.  I am going to run 5th, 6th, 4th…not a lot of pressure to that.  I would like to have a lot of pressure and be battling with Jimmie and Brad but as of right now we are just out there racing as hard as we can.”
 
IS THERE SOME PROGRESS BEING MADE BY OTHER DRIVERS HERE AT MARTINSVILLE ON JIMMIE JOHNSON?
“I would imagine that everybody is working on beating those guys.  I know I have and Jeff (Gordon) has always been really good here.  And it was Jeff or Jimmie’s race the first race and it wasn’t even close.  Those two were, by far, better than the rest of the field and they got wiped out so it was one of them that would have won the first race here for sure and other guy’s got lucky with their results because of that. But I would say that they are still the favorite.  Jeff, Jimmie, and Denny; they just always run good here.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET – POLE WINNER
IS THIS THE PLACE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO SCORE THOSE POINTS?
“You know, on paper it kind of looks that way. But you just never know. When the playoffs hit, it doesn’t matter what sport it is, crazy things happen. And with that being said, yeah, we come here thinking that we should be able to get some points on the 2 (Brad Keselowski), but you never know. It’s going to be a long race. We’ve helped ourselves out dramatically today by qualifying on the pole, we’ve got the safest pit stall, and starting with track position is very important. So, stats show one thing, but you’ve still got to go run the race and I feel really good about my Lowe’s Chevrolet and I think we’ll be in strong, championship-form leaving here.”
 
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 ODYSSEY BATTERY / ENERSYS CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED FOURTH
ON HIS LAP
“We were tighter than we wanted to be. But in practice we struggled; on one run we were tight and the next one we were too loose and we actually went a little quicker when we were tight. So we actually tightened it up more than I wanted to. That isn’t going to be a pole or anything, but it’s better than we were in practice. Making a gain is real important and that was about a tenth-and-a-half gain from practice. So that was a good pick-up.”
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED SIXTH
HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING RUN?
“We’ll have to see. I think it’s supposed to get cooler the rest of the weekend. But we had a decent practice. I think we made gains right at the end of our race runs before we switched over to qualifying. So we’ll see. I think we’ll definitely get a lot of use out of the two practices tomorrow.”
 
ON HOW IMPORTANT QUALIFYING IS HERE:
“It really is. We’ll just take what we’ve got, which is somewhat decent. Hopefully we can stay ahead of the melee.”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 PEPSI MAX CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 11TH< br>ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN:
“It was pretty disappointing.  We were really good in practice and it was just a little bit too free there.”
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 15TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN:
“It was pretty good actually.  The car was pretty good I was just a little bit tight, just didn’t turn the center of the corner quite as strong as I would have liked.  The car still felt really good.”
 
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 17TH
YOUR FIRST WEEK BACK WITH MATT BORLAND AS YOUR CREW CHIEF HOW HAS YOUR WEEKEND BEEN THUS FAR AND HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING LAP?
“The Quicken Loans Chevrolet, our first change we got off on the race car and we played catch up all the way through qualifying.  We’ve got a better race car than we showed today and we will prove that tomorrow and Sunday.”
 
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 51 PHOENIX CONSTRUCTION CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 26th
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN:
“We struggled today a little bit. The whole day has been kind of messed up. We have really been struggling with some brake trouble. The guys are working hard. I think in race trim, it’s not as bad as the outright speed in qualifying trim. We’ll just keep working hard. We’ve got two practices tomorrow. I started 29th here in the first race here and finished second so we will be alright and good to go.”
 
MATT BORLAND, CREW CHIEF, NO. 39 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed his reunion as crew chief with driver Ryan Newman, the progress of the 2013 car and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE BACK AT THE TRACK?
“It’s nice.  It’s good to be back with Ryan (Newman) and we’ve got a great group of people at Stewart-Haas. Everybody has just jumped on board and hopefully make a good run at these last four and get things rolling for next year.”  
 
HAVE YOU AND RYAN (NEWMAN) STARTED OFF LIKE RIGHT WHERE YOU LEFT OFF ON THE SAME PAGE?
“We are getting there.  It’s going to take a little while.  He’s obviously been doing this every weekend for the last 15 years and I’ve been not doing it for the last six or so.  It’s getting me back on the same page, but things are going pretty good.”
 
WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO WANT TO COME BACK AS A CREW CHIEF?
“It’s just a situation with our company it made sense right now.  We needed to get a good strong team under Danica (Patrick) for next year with her coming on board full time.  Tony Gibson and that No. 39 team have done an awesome job the last four years so it’s a good solid group to work with her and make that program solid.”
 
WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING BACK?
“It’s nice it’s good to see everybody.  It’s good to be back in kind of a familiar job setting.”
 
HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED AND HOW HAS RYAN (NEWMAN) CHANGED?
“I’m not sure yet we will find out when things get really bad (laughs).”
 
TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR JOB AND HOW YOUR DAY HAS CHANGED NOW TRANSITIONING FROM WHAT YOU WERE DOING:
“The biggest thing is just being at the track more and being a lot more hands on with the set-up side.  The last four years I’ve been spending a lot more time working on parts for the car, working on more R&D (research and development) type stuff whereas now it’s more about tuning the car whatever we’ve got making the most of it on that day.”
 
WHAT DOES THIS TEAM NEED TO STAND UP AND GET BACK TO WHERE IT WAS A YEAR OR SO AGO?
“I think the biggest thing we have just been lacking a little bit of speed.  Obviously, other teams have caught up they have done some things to get faster.  We are just that little step off each week that I think we are just still searching for.”
 
FUEL MILEAGE RACES HAVE BEEN A KEY FOREVER IT SEEMS LIKE, BUT WHAT HAS CHANGED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT IT SEEMS LIKE WE ARE FACING THIS SCENARIO WEEK TO WEEK FROM A CREW CHIEF’S PERSPECTIVE?
“I think the biggest thing I think is it’s always been there it’s just now every teams taking advantage of it whereas I think before you had 10 percent of the teams were really looking at it.  Now you’ve got 80-90 percent of the teams really looking at it.”
 
THE 2013 CAR COMING IN NEXT YEAR AND IT BEING ALL NEW DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS PUTS YOU BACK ON A MORE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD WITH EVERYBODY ELSE NOW?
“Yeah maybe; I think it’s still going to be the teams that are the strongest in being able to figure out things quickly.  Definitely, everybody is going to go back kind of to ground zero and then it’s just going to be a race to see who can find that package that works.”
 
WHAT MADE YOU AND RYAN (NEWMAN) SO SUCCESSFUL BEFORE?
“I think just attitude probably and work ethic.  Everything was about racing, everything was about winning and everything was about that particular moment in time being the best you can be.  I think having everybody on that team that was in that mindset the program was able to run very strongly.  I think that was the big piece.”
 
CAN YOU RECAPTURE THAT YOU THINK?
“You never know.  Obviously that is the goal.  We are going to do everything we can to get back to that, but a lot of the teams that is what they are after so it’s a challenge.”
 
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU GUYS, YOU WERE THE BEST MAN IN RYAN’S WEDDING, THAT RELATIONSHIP THAT YOU HAVE WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT?  DOES THAT ESTABLISH A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP AS WELL?
“I think the biggest reason is in (the) Cup (Series) you don’t have data acquisitions on the car. You’ve got to be able to trust what that driver is saying.  You’ve got to be able to know that what that driver is saying is right.  So you’ve got to spend a lot of time talking about what is going on with the car, what he’s feeling.  Sometimes you might not get that answer in the first 30 seconds of a conversation.  It might be four hours down the road and you’re talking and you’re like ‘wait a minute you just said something here, I remember you said something over here that matches that.’ If that relationship is not good you don’t have those two, three, four hour conversations you end up with those 30 second conversations.  So then when you are making decisions you don’t really have all the information that you need.”
 
YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE 2013 CAR WHERE ARE YOU GUYS AT WITH THAT?  WITH YOU MOVING OVER HERE NOW, I KNOW YOU WERE BEHIND THAT HOW IS THAT GOING TO IMPACT THE 2013 PROGRAM?
“We have got a couple of cars built.  We just tested Phoenix last week. We are testing Charlotte with Ryan (Newman) in a week and a half.  So the program is going along pretty good.  Obviously, it’s a tough situation for all of the teams, everybody is trying to get sheet metal, trying to get cars built, trying to go testing at the same time.  That part is tough.  Hopefully, in this roll maybe I can help with getting us to packages faster that we can do well with.  Like I said it’s going to be a race between all these teams trying to figure out how to make that car fast and if you can get to that answer three to four weeks before everyone else that three to four weeks you could get race wins and poles and all those good things.”
 
 

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 51 PHOENIX CONSTRUCTION CHEVROLET – Sidelined due to a blown right-front tire on lap 71
 
YOU SAID YOU FELT IT COMING, WHAT HAPPENED?
“It was getting tight the last couple of laps, but I just thought that was how the race track was going. I had that for the first run. Then I went in turn one, and felt it get really tight. I actually radioed in and said ‘I’m pitting this lap’.  I tried to checkup down the back straightaway and try to save it and make sure it didn’t blow. Unfortunately it did. I just feel bad for everybody at Phoenix Racing. James Finch; Hendrick horsepower. The car was really fast. We were running so well. I thought we could have an easy top-10, if not a top-five. Just so disappointed. These guys work so hard. This small group of guys, they’ve been through so much this year. They work their butts off. I really enjoyed it. I hope I’m in the car next week. I don’t know, but if not, James Finch, everybody at Chevy, Hendrick giving me this opportunity. It has meant the world to get back in this sport. I love this sport, and I hope I’m back next week. But if not, I thank James, Steve Barkdol and everybody for what they’ve done.”

MR. RICK HENDRICK, OWNER OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS (HMS), SPOKE BRIEFLY WITH MEDIA DURING THE HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400 ABOUT THE MEDICAL STATUS OF DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/DIET MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET
 
MR. HENDRICK:
“I want to apologize to all you guys (the media). I gave you a little bad information out on pit road today. I’ve been out here at the dealerships and I did talk to the doctor (Dr. Jerry Petty, neurosurgeon) with Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) and he said everything looked good and everything was fine. However, I didn’t know until (HMS PR director) Jesse (Essex) informed me that I had gotten ahead of myself and that there is a closed test Monday that Dr. Petty will attend. Dale will be back in the car (for that test) and he’ll make the decision with a final test on Tuesday. So, we don’t foresee any problems but I didn’t read my emails this morning and I kind of got ahead of myself. I talked to the doctor myself and everything went good in Pittsburg (PA, tested Tuesday Oct. 16th)) and Dr. Petty felt real good about it. And I did know that they were going to shake down a car, but I didn’t know that the doctor was going, and that he would actually be evaluating him Tuesday (two separate tests/evaluations). I apologize for that. The test (next) Tuesday is in his (Dr. Petty’s) office. The test Monday is in the (race) car.”
 
ARE YOU STILL FEELING VERY POSITIVE THAT HE’LL BE BACK IN THE CAR AT MARTINSVILLE?
“I will be shocked if he’s not in the car. Everything looks good. His attitude and the way he feels; he’s had no headaches since Thursday or Friday of Charlotte; and the tests have gone real well. I think Dr. Petty is just being super-cautious and I applaud him for that. I think the sequence is that he (Dr. Petty) will be with him at the test Monday; they will evaluate him in his office Tuesday, and then he will notify NASCAR if he’s okay. Maybe I just heard what I wanted to hear when I talked to (Dr.) Petty because everything in Pittsburg was good.”

 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET – Sidelined with an on-track incident on lap 155
 
WHAT HAPPENED?
“I have just been really frustrated with the No. 83 (Landon Cassill). He slammed into me on the front straight for no other reason than his radio communication ‘She was in the way’. I’ve always played fair. If it’s one time, I can imagine frustration. But it’s been pretty consistent with him getting in to me. So at some point in time, I have to stand up for myself, or everybody’s going to do it. So, the bummer is that this is my Texas car. We were having a good run, we were making the car better. And, I’m out of the race and he’s not.”
 
YOU TALKED TO YOUR CREW CHIEF GREG ZIPADELLI, DID HE GIVE YOU ANY WORDS OF WISDOM?
“Be honest.”
 
ON THE ACCIDENT:
“I’m fine but the car’s not, unfortunately. The GoDaddy crew and Zippy gave me a really good car today. I know we struggled in practice, but we made a lot of progress here today and were making the car better. My situation with the No. 83 is really a product of frustration. He got into me on the front straight and said I was just in the way. That’s really no good reason to hit me. If it’s one time, I can imagine it’s frustration, but it’s been quite a few times with him. At some point I have to stand up for myself so this doesn’t happen with other people. I chose today. The bummer about it is that my car is out, and he’s still out there going, so I’ve got to work on how to do that.”

PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 CERTAINTEED INSULATION/MENARDS CHEVROLET – FINISHED THIRD
ON HIS RACE:
“We had Slugger (Labbe, crew chief) back this weekend. He is well rested after six weeks off, and had some good ideas to try this weekend. Our Rheem Chevrolet in the Nationwide (Series) was probably the best car yesterday. And, our CertainTeed/Menards today was good too. It’s a game of track position, and we had a good car. It was just a matter of getting us up there and having good pit stops and gained track position. Once we got up there, we just couldn’t hang on.”
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET – FINISHED FOURTH
ON HIS RACE – DID THE CAR NOT RE-FIRE?
“Yes, it just wouldn’t re-fire. Disappointing. But we got through there. We had a good car; we got back to fourth.  We passed a lot of cars there. The Farmers Insurance Chevrolet team did an awesome job. Great pit stops; great pit calls. A lot a tire and fuel strategy race throughout. Our guys did a really nice job. I had an awesome car. It was a little loose there taking off. It was coming to me and getting good there at the end. We just weren’t close enough at that point in time. But still, a solid day.”
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET – FINISHED FIFTH
ON HIS RACE:
“An eventful day. Happy to get a top-five out of it. We have a ways to go, but I’m really proud of our guys. We had stuff early on in the race and our guys never quit. They never gave up, but we’ve got some work to do still.
 
“Our guys led by (crew chief) Steve Addington, they never gave up today. Really proud of the effort they gave. That’s how we won a championship last year, by never giving up. We probably had to pass more cars than anybody today, but that seems to be our M.O. We seem to have to do that every week. We’ve got a little bit of work to do, but we’re gaining on it. Proud of my guys. We worked with a little different package this week. We still didn’t get it right, but we got pretty close.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET – FINISHED NINTH
YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE BACK OF YOUR CAR AT THE DAMAGE WHEN YOU SPUN. WHAT HAPPENED? HOW DID YOU DRIVE IT BACK TO A TOP-10 FINISH?
“I had to get a look at it here. It is pretty tore up. I’m definitely proud of this team, and the fact that we never give up. We continue to fight to try to get every point that we can. I think that yesterday’s Nationwide race showed that this thing isn’t over until the checkered flag falls on any given Sunday. All that said, I’m very proud, but also disappointed. I crashed the car. I spun out trying to get inside the No. 56 (Martin Truex, Jr.).  He bobbled a little in front of me and I thought that was an opportunity to jump in the gas real hard. When I did that, my car took off and I couldn’t catch it.  All-in-all a good day, but it could have been a lot better. I think we could have been in Victory Lane, and stretched some points on these guys.”
 
 MR. HENDRICK PRAISED THE NO. 48 LOWE’S TEAM OR IT’S QUICK REPAIR OF YOUR CAR. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
“I’m just now getting a chance to look at the damage on the car and it’s pretty severe. One, I’m impressed that
they fixed it as they did and got the spoiler and deck lid back in place. Two, I’m surprised that the car was as fast as it was. It drove fine through the turn. I could tell on the straightaway that I didn’t have the efficiency and I can see why with this left-rear quarter-panel. It’s blown out; a big parachute sticking in the wind. So, all things considered, without my mistake, I think we had a shot to win. And then even after that we had a great pit stop and came out up in the top five or six probably, but we had some issues with getting fuel in the car and I had to go to tail-end and still got back to ninth. So, I’m proud of myself for all but one corner. Everything else today and this weekend was really good except for one corner. And truthfully, I was just trying to get inside the No. 56 (Martin Truex Jr.). He was loose in front of me. I could see his car moving around and I was trying to put some pressure on him and his car bobbled. When his car bobbled, I jumped on the gas hopeful to get an opportunity and mine took off, just quick, just gone. So that was the crash.”
 
HOW CRAZY WAS THIS RACE?
“It was (crazy). It’s weird that all the cautions came back. Now we see this type of driving at all the race tracks, but we don’t get cautions out of is and today we got a lot of cautions out of it. And restarts were pretty wild. You had to run so hard that when something happened and you lost grip, the car just stood up on the tires and would take off and you couldn’t control it and the guys were sliding everywhere.”
 
WHEN YOU LISTENED TO (CREW CHIEF) CHAD KNAUS ON THE RADIO, YOU SEEMED SO CALM THROUGH THE WHOLE THING. HE WAS VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT ‘DO THIS, DO THAT’. WHAT’S THAT LIKE FOR YOU SITTING IN THE CAR AND THAT TONE HE WAS USING?
“It’s big. And that’s what truthfully we didn’t like about our attitude and execution at the end of last year. When things got a little trying for us, we didn’t communicate and work as we needed to. That’s all people; not just the guy calling the shots and what to fix on the car, but all of us. And today we executed like there really wasn’t anything that happened and did our best to get the car back on the track and get our best finish. It’s more mature racing here in 2012.”
 
HOW DID THE CAR FEEL AFTER THE CRASH?
“The deck lid and all that is so sensitive, I really thought I was in trouble when I hit the wall. It’s tough to get the support to hold that deck lid where it needs to be. And if there isn’t enough support back there, NASCAR will park you. So when I backed it in, I was pretty bummed out and assumed that we were going to be many laps down.”
 
YOU SEEM REALLY SHAKEN-UP.  OR WAS IT JUST A REALLY LONG AND HARD RACE?
“I had a couple of hundred miles to think through the mistake I made. And I want to be happy because of this amazing comeback the team had, but one little mistake. We didn’t lose many points if any, at all today; maybe it’s a draw because I led a lap. I’m not sure if Brad (Keselowski) did. But it could have been so much more. You don’t want to leave points on the table.”
 
HOW LONG WILL YOU KICK YOURSELF FOR THAT?
“Humm, through the night. Tomorrow I’ll get back to normal.”
 
DOES KNOWING YOU ARE GOING TO MARTINSVILLE HELP?
“I really hate missing an opportunity to get points on Brad (Keselowsi) on a 1.5-mile track. That’s his strong suit and they’re just good on them. Today we had a fast enough car that I think we could have gotten some points on him. So I’m disappointed in that, but at the same time, what we went through to finish and have it be even still is pretty good. So, we’ll take it and we’ll go to Matinsville and hopefully things will go well.”
 
HOW DID YOU CONTINUE TO REFOCUS AS YOU WENT THROUGH THE RACE AFTER THE CRASH?
“Luckily the damage to the car was really cosmetic. The suspension was still true and straight and the car drove correctly. That helped me more than anything. If the car was wicked and evil to drive, it would have been
a long, long afternoon. Luckily nothing was all that bad and it was just cosmetics.”
 
YOU FINISHED ONE SPOT BEHIND BRAD KESELOWSKI. WAS THERE A MESSAGE THAT GOT SENT TODAY?
“The best way to send it is how you perform on the track and today we showed what our team is capable of. Outside of that, and the one mistake I made, everything else went pretty awesome. I’m proud of the team and I hope the other guys are paying attention.”
 
REGAN SMITH, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/DIET MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET – FINISHED SEVENTH
TODAY WAS A REALLY SOLID DAY FOR YOU AND THE NO. 88 TEAM, BUT IT LOOKED PRETTY TREACHEROUS OUT THERE HOW WAS YOUR DAY?
“The track conditions were difficult.  I think a lot of it was just over done by guys maybe not being smart on restarts from what I saw.  Everybody was fighting for the bottom you didn’t want to lose positions on the top side, but then the top side would come in as runs would go on so that was kind of weird.  All the guys on the National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevy did a hell of a job.  These past two weeks we had arguably a better car last week had we had a chance to run the whole race.  It’s been nice to be able to step in and have them treat me like their normal driver.  I know Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) is excited to get back so that is going to good for him. Looking forward to whatever comes next for me.”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET – FINISHED 10TH
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE TRACK CONDITIONS TODAY?  A SOLID 10TH –PLACE FINISH FOR YOU TODAY:
“It wasn’t that bad.  It was hard to pass you just couldn’t reach the edge of the grip level really easy.  My car stuck pretty good so I had pretty decent grip on the restarts and we were able to make up some spots.  We did pretty good strategy so all in all it was a decent day for us.  I thought we could pull off a top five at one point, but we just didn’t.”
 
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/ARCTIC CAT CHEVROLET – FINISHED 15TH
ON HIS RACE:
“Our guys worked really hard today on this Bass Pro Shops team.  We were forced to short pit early and got caught two laps down when the caution came out.  Our guys thrashed and never gave up; we got position back on the lead lap and just battled through all the cautions to bring home a 15th-place finish.”
 
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TAYLOR SWIFT/TARGET CHEVROLET – FINISHED 16TH
ON HIS RACE:
“I’m proud of our Target team today. The guys did a great job and we went through a lot these last few days with a wrecked race car in practice and a flat tire during the race. Overall I was pretty happy with our car. What a crazy race that was. You never knew what to expect out there; everyone was wrecking. We just tried to run a safe race and thankfully we were able to stay out of everyone else’s mess.”
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING/FARM AMERICAN CHEVROLET – FINISHED 25TH
ON HIS RACE:
“Our overall performance was indeed much better than our finishing result. There was just too much to overcome. But on the bright side, we have a race team that proved today that we can run up front. There is no doubt in my mind that we had at least a top-five car. ”
 
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 CODE 3 ASSOCIATES CHEVROLET – FINISHED 30TH
THE ACCIDENT THAT YOU HAD WITH KYLE (BUSCH) CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH IT?
“I’m not real sure other than the fact that he got loose and I ended up hitting him in the middle of (turns) three and four and spinning him around.  Then we got clobbered by the No. 22.  A chain of events, but he just got loose in front of me and it’s so fast here it’s hard to check up when he is getting sideways.  Saw he already lost control of the car once earlier in the race it’s kind of treacherous on the tires.”

PAUL MENARD LEADS TEAM CHEVY AT KANSAS WITH A THIRD-PLACE FINISH
 
AL
L SIX CHEVY CHASERS HAD STRONG RESULTS
 
KANSAS CITY, KS – October 21, 2012 – Paul Menard led the Team Chevy train across the finish line in third place at the close of a crash-infested Hollywood Casino 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race today at Kansas Speedway.  This was the second top-10 finish in eight races at Kansas for Menard, driver of the No. 27 Menard’s/Certain Teed Insulation Chevrolet. There were 14 caution flags for 66 of the 267-lap race; most of which were brought out by accidents. Menard managed to steer clear of the melee, and led the field once for a total of six laps.
 
Behind Menard were Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet (4th), and Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy (5th). Regan Smith, who is temporarily substituting for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevy finished 7th.
 
Jimmie Johnson, five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion in the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, hit the wall in Turn 4 just after the half-way mark in the 400-mile race. Quick repairs by the team put him back on track; and Johnson managed to bring it home in the ninth position. Johnson remains in second place in the CHASE for the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings, just seven (7) points shy of the leader.
 
Teammate Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevy was 10th, and Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet finished 11th.  All six Team Chevy contenders finished in the top 11 for the day.
 
Caught in accidents and sidelined early were Ryan Newman, No. 39 Code 3 Associates Chevy (30th), Danica Patrick, No. 10 GoDaddy Racing Chevy (32nd), and A.J. Allmendinger, temporary driver in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevy (35th).
 
Rounding out the top five were race winner Matt Kenseth (Ford) and Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota).
 

PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 CERTAINTEED INSULATION/MENARDS CHEVROLET – FINISHED THIRD
THE MODERATOR:  We’ll go ahead and get started with our post race availability.  We welcome Paul Menard, who finished third in today’s race.
Paul, talk a little bit about your run out there today.
 PAUL MENARD:  Just a good weekend in general.  We had a couple days of tests; work on a couple different packages.  Slugger came back fresh off of a six‑week vacation.  He had a lot of ideas.  Luckily we had two days to work through them.
 
Kind of hit on something yesterday morning that we liked, thought was promising, stuck with it.  Obviously running the Nationwide car on a new surface, we learned a lot about tire pressures, what grooves come in.  The second groove came in a hell of a lot better than I think anybody thought.  You could make lap time and pass cars.
 
Overall, just really happy with the weekend, the repave.  The track came in real well and it’s just going to keep getting better.  Real proud of my Menards guys.
 
THE MODERATOR:  We’ll take questions.
Q.  Paul, you sound happy with the repave.  What led to all the mayhem out there?
PAUL MENARD:  I was pleasantly surprised with it.  Anytime you repave a track, you expect the worst, single groove, hard to pass.  We’ve been breaking a lot of track records with all the repaves this year.
 
Going into the Nationwide race yesterday, I thought it was going to be a single file, right around the bottom, get out of line, be real treacherous.  It wasn’t.  The second groove burned in.  The third groove came in today.
 
 For a first race on a repaved track, I thought the track came in really well.  Would I rather have the old surface?  I would.  But with the surface falling apart, they had to do something.
Q.  Why all the cautions?
PAUL MENARD:  I don’t know.  People being impatient.  A lot of restarts.  Doesn’t matter what track you’re at, if there’s a restart, you have to get all you can.  Carrying a lot of speed here, so it’s hard to pass.  Very aero dependent.  I’m sure everybody was going for it.
Q.  Paul, you’re not necessarily someone particularly you see up front a lot, but you were dominant yesterday, you were up front most of the day today.  Is it the racetrack?  Did you hit on something?  What was it?
 PAUL MENARD:  This year we’ve lacked speed overall week‑to‑week.  Last year we qualified really well, had a lot of good speed, but very inconsistent results.
This year RCR as a whole has kind of lacked speed.  We found some things in the last month or two that’s helped us pick up just overall speed.
 
Then our consistency this year we’ve had, even though we haven’t been as fast, we’ve been more consistent.  This is just one of the weekends where we put it all together.
 
THE MODERATOR:  Paul, we appreciate your time this afternoon.  Congratulations on the run.
PAUL MENARD:  Thank you.
       

Chevrolet Clinches Bill France Performance Cup for the 15th Time
Award Recognizes Manufacturers’ Championship in the NASCAR Nationwide Series
 
 
DETROIT (October 20, 2012) – With Austin Dillon’s second place finish in the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, Chevrolet has clinched the Manufacturers’ Championship in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The 2012 achievement marks the 15th time the Bowtie Brand has captured the prestigious Bill France Performance Cup.
 
“Chevrolet is honored to win the 2012 Bill France Performance Cup, and capture the Manufacturers’ Championship in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the 15th time,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports.  “Our success is the result of dedication and determination of our Nationwide Series team owners, crew chiefs and their crews as well as the drivers giving it their all on the track. We salute the efforts of everyone who worked tirelessly to bring this award to Chevrolet.”
 
On the way to securing the Bill France Performance Cup, Chevrolet drivers have won 11 races in the 30 Nationwide Series races held to-date. The quest for the coveted Manufacturers’ title began at the first race of the season when James Buescher took the win at Daytona International Speedway.
 
“Winning the Bill France Performance Cup is a tremendous accomplishment for everyone involved in the Chevrolet NASCAR Nationwide Series program,” added Pat Suhy, Chevrolet Racing NASCAR Group Manager. “Our technical partners, in conjunction with Chevrolet engineers and those on every one of our teams have put in a dedicated and focused effort throughout the season that resulted in this Manufacturers’ Championship.  Thank you to everyone for their contributions to our success.”
 
In addition to Buescher, the following Team Chevy drivers that contributed to Chevrolet’s capturing the Manufacturers’ crown with manufacturers’ points-paying finishes are: Elliott Sader (four wins); Austin Dillon (two wins); Kevin Harvick (one win); Justin Allgaier (one win); Nelson Piquet, Jr. (one win); Kurt Busch (one win); Paul Menard, Cole Whitt, Ty Dillon and Ron Fellows.
 
“Congratulations to our teams, drivers and partners on winning the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Bill France Performance Cup,” said Shane Martin, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, NASCAR Nationwide Series. “While the organizations are competitors on the track, we are all Team Chevy, and the cooperative effort has resulted in this exciting and important achievement.  I am very proud of the contributions made by everyone involved in this program, and look forward to more success as the season winds down.”
 
With three races remaining on the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule, Dillon is in third place in the driver’s point standings and Sadler is the current points leader.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
OCTOBER 19, 2012
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET, POLE WINNER:
ON HIS QUALIFYING LAP:
“Our Farmers Insurance Chevrolet was awesome right there. It was great. I tried to get a little…I went into (turn) three, and felt like I could go wide open. So I went back to wide open, and then I started just chattering a little bit. So, I eased off the throttle and back down. I definitely gave up a little time doing that. So far so good though.”
 
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 CODE 3 ASSOCIATES CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED SIXTH
ON HIS QUALIFYING LAP:
“It was a good lap for our Code 3 Associates Chevrolet. The guys did a good job making it better. I don’t think we made it good enough; that is the problem. I think a couple other guys are going to be really fast, probably pushing the 27 second bracket.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED SEVENTH
ON HIS QUALIFYING LAP: DID YOU SEE ELVIS ON THAT RUN?
“I did, I saw him again.  There is an old saying, drive it in the corner and don’t hit the brakes until you see, and there’s a few names that come about, and Elvis is the one I grew up hearing about. So, I saw Elvis again, and went a little further yet. I had a great lap. The car is very fast. It’s awfully close up there at the top. It’s hard to look back at the lap and see where I could have been faster because you are just driving your guts out, and really doing all that you can all the way around the track. You know it is fast; you just don’t know if it is fast enough. We had a very solid lap with my Lowe’s Chevrolet. I think we are going to be strong on Sunday. We’ve been here so many days, I can’t figure out what day we are on, but we’re on Friday, so come Sunday we’ll be great.”
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 10TH
HOW MUCH OF YOUR NOTES CAN YOU USE GETTING AROUND RACE TRACKS LIKE THIS ONE THAT ARE NEWLY REPAVED?
“Well you never really know exactly what you need as far as travels and what the speeds are going to be.  So you have to kind of get here.  You have a basic plan and it’s like a lot of places we go to that are really smooth.  We have had a lot of experience with repaves this year so we take that same kind of approach and go from there.”
 
WHEN IT COMES TO THE RACE ON SUNDAY WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU ANTICIPATE FACING UNDER GREEN FLAG CONDITIONS?
“I think the hardest thing is just going to be passing.  Hopefully, in the Nationwide race and the ARCA race the groove gets spread out.  The bottom lane is still the fastest right now and that is going to be the way around.”
 
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 51 PHOENIX CONSTRUCTION CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 13TH
HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING LAP?
“It was pretty good.  This place is really fast right now so when you kind of are in practice you get that rhythm of going out there.  We have been fighting just a little bit tight in practice. I got down into (turns) one and two and got right along the (white) line and it just got me a little free so I had to pedal it just for a second.  When the speeds are this high if you pedal it just a little bit you lose a little bit of time.  I’m happy overall so far the whole week has been really good.  As a driver you always want a little bit more, but that should I think keep us right inside the top-15 which will be good for us and we will try to get it good for 400 miles.”
 
HOW DO YOU THINK YOU CAR IS GOING TO BE FOR SUNDAY?
“I think it’s got out right speed so far the whole weekend.  I think the speed is there, but the biggest thing is the fact that as you keep going out there on tires you keep getting quicker.  Nobody has really gone out there on new tires and just run a ton.  I think we will be alright.  We definitely have good speed and track position is going to be everything so it’s the way that is going to play out.  All of us have to be smart and not make any mistakes.  I think if we can do that we can have a solid top 15 if not better on Sunday.”
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 7 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 41ST
HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING LAP?
“I feel like anytime I’m not last it just feels good (laughs).  For me the big indicator of how comfortable I am is how I can qualify the car.  I definitely feel like we were making a little bit of progress today.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get to do as many qualifying runs as I would have wanted to in practice because I came across the line after my second run and lifted, popped it out of gear, but when I popped it out of gear it ran into third gear.  So, they had to change the engine and we weren’t able to do anymore qualifying runs.  Shortchanged myself there, but I will definitely push the clutch in every time I take it out of gear from now on.  We are steadily making progress and that is what this is for.  I’m sure that the race will be even more as it seems to do every other time.  I know it’s going to be tough to pass and I know we are not going to start in a great spot, but we will make the most of it and we will be better off next year that is what I keep saying.  That is why we are doing this.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 19, 2012
 
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET, met with media and discussed his time at Kansas, what he expects to see during Sunday’s race, his qualifying effort, and going to Martinsville next weekend. Full Transcript:
 
ON HIS QUALIFYING LAP:
“I was as brave as I could be. We ran a decent lap, but it’s real tight from where I am up to the top. Looking back on it, I don’t know what to really ask for because it was a very strong lap. The last two days have been good for our Lowe’s Chevy. Good speed in race trim and qualifying trim. I think that the conversation has been about the track and the resurface and I think they’ve done a nice job with the track and I’m hopeful, like everyone else, that we get some warmer temperatures so we start moving up the race track and widen out the lane. We know there’s more up grip up there with that extra banking. We just haven’t had a need to go there yet and I think a race plus a race under sunny conditions will allow us to do that.”
 
THE CONDITIONS ARE GOING TO BE MUCH DIFFERENT ON SUNDAY. HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WILL PLAY OUT WITH THE REPAVING AND RECONFIGURATION OF THE TRACK?
“It’s going to be a big guessing game. Tire wear isn’t all that high. When the track was green, we did see some tire wear so maybe as we’re starting to work in the top lane we’ll need to put four on for the first half of the race, but I would have to assume that two tires and good fuel mileage are going to be awfully important.”
 
YOU ARE GOING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH SO MANY UNKNOWNS AT THIS TRACK, IS THIS KIND OF LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF A WILD CARD AS WELL? THERE ARE SO MANY UNKNOWNS PLUS THE WEATHER AND THINGS LIKE THAT
“Yeah, it is tough to work on a plan, but I think that the No. 48 has always adjusted well and I think our experience under pressure situations and at different race tracks helps us. So we welcome the change and the excitement. It’s been a fun couple of days and I’m looking forward to tomorrow and Sunday as well. I’m having a lot of fun in this championship battle. This has been a very competitive chase. I’m enjoying racing with the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) and the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) week in and week out, and I’m looking forward to pouring the pressure on now.”
 
ON GOING TO MARTINSVILLE
“I feel good. I really do. The track in practice and qualifying; the track isn’t what we race. If anything, we get a little frustrated through practice and then our qualifying effort usually isn’t what we want. But when they drop the green flag, and we are racing, we usually go the right direction and I know it’s been a good track for us. It’s also good for the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) and the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin); the No. 29 (Kevin Harvick) should be strong there too, but he’s a bit back in points and I guess the No. 24 is too; but there’s maybe a chance to pick some (points) up on the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski). I’m not sure what his record is there but I don’t remember seeing him up front a lot so there might be a good opportunity, but at the same time I don’t want to count those guys out. They’ve shown up each and every weekend and shown a lot of speed in a lot of situations. I’m excited for it, but I know a couple of other guys are too.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 19, 2012
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed the first practice session, a potential second groove coming in on the newly repaved surface and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
TELL US ABOUT PRACTICE:
“We were moving along there pretty good making progress and we made one adjustment to try to make the car go a little faster and unfortunately it went the wrong way on us.  We couldn’t get that out of it before that practice was over.  I feel like we had good speed in the car up until that point.  Every time you go out everybody is going faster and faster.  I find it hard to believe that we are going to run quite that fast in qualifying, but you never know with repaves and cold tires what it is going to do.  I feel pretty confident that we can be a lot better than what we were right there.  The track is fast there is no doubt about that.”
 
IS THE SECOND GROOVE COMING IN?
“Not yet.  Not enough of one to go out there.  I think that it’s going to get wider as the races go through the weekend with double file restarts and all those things.  I still think the preferred lane is going to be around the bottom.”
 
YOU KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO HAVE THAT VERY SPECIAL CHEMISTRY WITH A CREW CHIEF.  WHAT DO YOU SEE BETWEEN BRAD KESELOWSKI AND PAUL WOLFE?
“I don’t have to see it.  I don’t really know Paul (Wolfe) all that well.  I probably don’t pay attention to some of the things that maybe you guys pay attention to. But, I know what it takes to be a good team and to win races and be a threat for the championship or win championships.  You’ve got to communicate well and you’ve got to have confidence in one another.  That is obvious what they have.”
 
IS THAT THE TYPE OF THING THAT HELPS YOU GET THROUGH SOME TOUGH TIMES THEY HAD A BIT OF A STUMBLE LAST WEEK?
“Absolutely, one moment doesn’t define your relationship as crew chief and driver.  You build that up throughout the year and you build up the confidence and you go through times where you are going to struggle or you’re going to have difficulties.  How you make it through those times is what makes you stronger.  Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and I have gone through that this year.  However, when you’re committed to one another and you have a close driver/crew chief relationship or friendship and you believe in one another then you prevail, you get stronger, when things do go well it only makes you that much better.”  
 
AT MARTINSVILLE NEXT WEEK YOU WILL BE IN TRAFFIC ALMOST ALL DAY LONG.  WHAT KIND OF A DEMAND IS THAT MENTALLY TO TRY TO AVOID POTENTIAL TROUBLE THERE?
“Gosh, you’ve got me thinking about Martinsville.  I can’t wait to get there I’m already dreaming about it.  It all comes down to preparation.  Hendrick (Motorsports) gives me such great race cars it allows me to just go focus on my line and my entry speed.  Just how we can make the car go faster get back to the throttle sooner and make the tires last over long runs.  To me Martinsville is just that kind of place that you get into a rhythm and it’s important when you get into traffic to maintain that rhythm or get back into it as fast as you possibly can.  I think there is no other track that demands that kind of rhythm more than Martinsville.  It’s very easy to over drive the corners there.  When you are around other cars you have to change your line and change what you are doing in order to make a pass.  It’s about jumping right back into that rhythm that you had.  It’s a part of the challenge that comes with Martinsville.”
 
IS THAT YOUR FAVORITE TRACK?
“It’s certainly one of them.  I like to go wherever we run good.  For whatever reason things have changed the least amount when you think of aerodynamics and the things that we are doing to these cars, tires, track conditions have changed the least there.  So it allows what I can do as a driver there to be consistent and still give good feedback and we just get to fine tune which is a nice thing.  The difference is we go to all these other tracks and they were showing it there during practice.  These guys skewing the rear-ends and doing all these crazy things.  You are constantly pushing the limits for aerodynamics at these other tracks and doing some pretty crazy things.  Sometimes those changes you feel as a driver.  At Martinsville we don’t do near as much of that.  That allows an old school guy like me to still be able to go to a place like Martinsville and have success and do the things that 10 years ago worked for me and still work for me now.”
 
WE ARE ALL TRYING TO LEARN MORE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ABOUT THIS CONCUSSION SITUATION.  LAST WEEK YOU SAID SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF IF THE CHAMPIONSHIP WERE IN THE BALANCE MAYBE YOU WOULDN’T BE AS HONEST WITH THE MEDICAL PEOPLE.  YESTERDAY WE SAW DENNY HAMLIN, A CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER, HIT PRETTY HARD.  HE ADMITTED HE WAS DIZZY DID THAT SURPRISE YOU AT ALL THAT HE WAS SO FORTHCOMING?
“Yes and no, I think that is kind of normal if you take a big hit like that to have a little bit of dizziness.  It doesn’t necessarily mean you have a concussion.  I think that where I would question any forthcoming information is a day later, two days later if he had headaches or still had dizziness would he be forthcoming.  I’m not judging Denny (Hamlin) or anybody else.  It’s just that is a very difficult position to be in.  Here is a guy that is in the championship battle with five races to go. It only makes it that much more difficult to make the right decision.”
 
ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT THE NEW SURFACE HERE THAT AFTER MORE CARS HAVE BEEN ON THE TRACK OR YOU HAVE JUST BECOME MORE COMFORTABLE WITH IT WITH MORE TIME ON THE TRACK?
“It’s just got a lot of grip and is really fast especially in today’s conditions cool, the wind is not as bad as it has been.  It’s going to change on Sunday, it’s going to be warmer the sun will possibly be out.  Things are going to be a lot different on Sunday than they are today.  Today we have seen some extremely fast speeds, qualifying is going to be ridiculously fast.  We are definitely finding the limits of the tire, the grips level, aerodynamics.  From inside the car you’ve got to be extremely committed.  It is as fast of a track as I can imagine us being at this year.  It kind of reminds me a little bit of Michigan but maybe even more demanding than that.”
 
HOW SO?
“Just the grip level the track has so much grip and a track like this you are actually putting more wheel into the center of the corner because it’s a tighter radius than say at Michigan.  The amount of throttle and wheel that you are putting into the car in the middle of the corner you are putting a huge demand on the tires, the car, the aerodynamics, the engine and the driver.  We started reaching speeds there in that practice that were pretty darn demanding and impressive at the same time.” 
 
OBVIOUSLY THE EXPECTATION COME SUNDAY REALISTICALLY IS THAT THIS RACE IS GOING TO BE A STRATEGY RACE…
“Not necessarily because I think what you are going to see is, yeah tire wear typical pretty hard tire, new surface you don’t typically see a lot of tire wear and so tire strategy come into effect. But it doesn’t mean there are not going to be accidents and cautions and necessarily be fuel mileage race.  It’s just going to come down to whether you take tires, two tires, four tires, and then whether or not we don’t see a lot of cautions, but we don’t really know that until Sunday.”
 
WHAT IS YOUR ROLE IN HELPING ALAN
(GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF) WITH THE STRATEGY BEFORE AND DURING A RACE?  HOW HARD IS IT TO RELINQUISH CONTROL AND LET HIM MAKE THE CALLS?
“It’s tough as a driver because if you are let’s say 15th-place you are going ‘oh the car is doing this, this, or this.’ A lot of times that is just aerodynamics you are just not getting the downforce because you are behind on the cars.  You have to be very careful and the crew chief has to be careful too taking that information and taking it too literally.  Because sometimes a driver is frustrated out there and you can take that exact same car doing those things and put it right up there in the front in clean air and that seems to fix three quarters of your problems.  I think there becomes a certain point where you work on the car, try to make it better and then there becomes a point that you go ‘okay now is when we have to start working on track position.’ That is the crew chief’s job, but the driver helps contribute to that as well by the feedback and information he is giving.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 19, 2012
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET and RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 CODE 3 ASSOCIATES CHEVROLET met with media following the press conference to announce Code 3 Associates’ role with Stewart-Haas Racing, The non-profit organization specializes in animal rescue and recovery in disaster areas and has partnered with the Ryan Newman Foundation and the Tony Stewart Foundation, both of which specialize in animal welfare.  Among the topics discussed with media were the new track surface at Kansas Speedway, their expectations for the race on Sunday, Danica Patrick running full time in the NASCAR Sprint Series in 2013, their outlook for the balance of the season, and more.  TRANSCRIPT:
 
RACING HAS ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT IN YOUR LIFE. WHEN DID OTHER THINGS LIKE CODE 3 ASSOCIATES BECOME AS IMPORTANT AS JUST MAKING A LAP AROUND THE TRACK?
 
STEWART:
“I think for me it was about three or four years after I was established in the Cup Series and you sit around one day and just in casual conversation you talk to somebody about what it was like six or eight years before that; and you realize that there isn’t anybody, unless they have a wealthy family, that bought their way up here. There are a lot of people, at least in my case, that helped out. Whether it was somebody who gave me an extra $20 at the end of the night so I had gas money to go to the race track; or had a kid that was off to college that had a room that and knew I was traveling to a track and couldn’t afford a hotel room, that gave me a place to sleep. It was scenarios like that that made it to where we finally were at the level where we could finally pay it back. It’s a very gratifying feeling in knowing that having some of these partnerships with some of these associations is sometimes more gratifying than a win because you realize that it’s more than just what’s happening in the moment. It’s got lifetime affects that help out. That’s when it was big to me.”
 
NEWMAN:
“Same here. It’s the two or three years after you built the confidence in yourself to know that you have the potential to make a difference in other people’s lives for the greater good. With our foundation, the Ryan Newman Foundation, we chose animals and animal rescue and helping to reduce the overpopulation through spaying and neutering and pet adoption and things like that. You get to a point where it’s just like Code 3. You want to do it your way. And that’s why we’re starting our own rescue ranch, which will be a rescue shelter at some point. It’s starting out with an education building for an education side. We feel it’s important to connect with the kids through school systems and school programs and things like that. We want to make a difference in our local community as well as up and down the entire eastern seaboard. That’s why we’re starting Rescue Ranch as a separate part of our foundation and the desire is just the same as like Tony said, it’s heartwarming to know that you can make a difference. And together we’re stronger as a team and why we appreciate Code 3’s support.”
 
TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT THE REPAVE AND THE RECONFIGURATION OF THE TRACK IS GOING TO HAVE ON THE RACE THIS WEEKEND AT KANSAS:
 
NEWMAN:
“It’s faster. That’s the no-brainer. There’s a lot of grip with the tire combination, which is as equally an important part of the repave as it is the actual asphalt that they use. But in the two half-days we’ve had in testing, it’s very influential, as it was in Michigan, when the sun comes out, what it does to the race track and allows us to lay some more rubber down and move around. And from what I’ve seen and with the weather this weekend, it’s going to keep getting warmer and warmer and the sun is going to start beating down on the race track. I’ve seen the race track changing quite a bit; not just from what we’ve tested the last two days, but much more so in the next three days. You have Hoosier rubber as well as Goodyear rubber and multiple laps put on the race track, which are not going to really age it, but they are going to change it. So, the racing, I really can’t say until we get to that point where the track gets a little bit wider and we’re the last people to get to race it and it’s always better the later laps when the track has widened out.”
 
STEWART:
“Yeah, what still amazes me is how technology is and how they pave race tracks. To put banking in and have it so smooth; the transitions are smooth. It’s smoother than most highways that you go down. From that side it’s nice to see how nice it really is right now. It’s like Ryan said. It will be easier to get more rubber on the race track as it gets more heat. The cool temperatures like today, it’s a lot harder to get rubber transferred into the race track. But the more rubber that gets transferred down, the better it will be. So, like Ryan said, the temperature is supposed to keep getting warmer each day, so with that, it should keep making it better and better.”
 
THE PRELUDE TO THE DREAM IS GOING ON HIATUS IN 2013 IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THAT AND ALSO TALKS ABOUT MAYBE A TRUCK SERIES RACE THERE?  AT 50 POINTS OUT NINTH IN THE STANDINGS AT THE HALFWAY POINT OF THE CHASE WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FINAL FIVE RACES HOLDS FOR YOU, WHAT YOU CAN DO AND WHERE YOU MIGHT END UP?

STEWART:
“Last year we had a really good stretch about this time of the year, but we are in a little different scenario this year than we were last year we are a little bit further back. You never say never and this track obviously it’s new for everybody this weekend so that gives us the opportunity to try to take advantage of it on a track that is new.  As far as where we think we will end up I have no idea.  The hard thing with trying to predict something like that is there are just so many variables that are out of your control.  We really missed on an opportunity at Talladega.  I mean I had an opportunity to gain 20 some odd points and that would have put us in a very similar situation where we were last year.  That was an opportunity that got away because of a mistake that I made.  We have learned that until they mathematically tell you you’re out you still have just a good of shot as anybody.  We will keep plugging away.  We are only half way through this now so we are going to stay focused.  We are racing like we are still racing to win the championship right now.
 
“The Prelude on hiatus it takes a ton of work to put the Prelude on.  We are changing our format for how we run the Dream that weekend making it a three day weekend with that series.  We are trying to focus on that a little bit more and some changes that we think are going to be better for our late model race.  We just needed to take a year off while we focus on that and make sure that we don’t get overloaded for that.  The rumor about the Trucks, trust me I would be ecstatic if we could get any NASCAR race at Eldora that would be great.  I have talked to NASCAR they have been looking at all kinds of different tracks.  It has been brought up in conversation but that is about as far as it has come right now.”
 
WILL THE PRELUDE BE BACK?

STEWART:
“We have intentions of bringing it back.  Like I said we are just changing the format with the Dream this year so we want to make sure that we have enough resources to focus on that.  It made it a little bit harder to try to put the Prelude on the same weekend so we needed to take a year off with that to focus on the dream.”
 
WHY DOES A RACE TEAM NEED SOMEBODY IN THE COMPETITION DIRECTOR POSITION?  WHAT WOULD THEY BE AT A LOSS IF THEY DIDN’T HAVE THAT GUY THERE?

STEWART:
“I think for where the casual fan doesn’t understand is t
hat not every car owner can be at the shop every day and can be down on the floor every day and handling financials all the way down to the people that sweep the floor at the end of the day.  The competition director is very crucial in that connection between what is going on down on the floor and what is going on in the upper office.  He is managing the crew chiefs, managing the teams, managing the different departments at the race shop. He is that connection between downstairs and upstairs.  Especially on a race weekend, if we have any kind of a problem that is the guy, and in our case with Greg Zipadelli, he is the acting role as the car owner from my side.  He is very crucial in that role and having the right person in that role if very important to each organization.”
 
WHEN THINGS LIKE THE GODADDY DANICA (PATRICK) REPORTS THAT CAME OUT THIS WEEK DO YOU HAVE TO GET INVOLVED AT ALL WITH THAT OR DO YOU LET MIKE (ARNING) AND HIS PEOPLE HANDLE IT?  DO YOU EVER WORRY THAT ALL THE CRAZINESS THAT SURROUNDS HER WILL IMPACT HER ON THE TRACK?
 
STEWART:
“I never worry about how it is going to impact her on the track because when she started last year in the Nationwide Series everywhere she went it was crazy, but she is able to get in the car and focus on what she is doing.  As far as what came out yesterday it hasn’t even been to our department yet and our side.  We don’t really have anything to do with that at this point.  I think whatever happens it will be interesting to see when it comes Super Bowl Sunday for sure.  As far as what she is doing with the race team and the commitment there it is all the same. For us we read everything yesterday and laughed about it and going on.”
 
REGARDING YOUR OUTLAW TEAM: THE TIRE DEAL THAT IS UP RIGHT NOW, GOODYEAR IS OUT, SPECULATION IS WHAT TIRE THEY ARE GOING TO GO TO TALK ABOUT THAT, YOUR DRIVER ROSTER NEXT YEAR AND ARE YOU GOING ANY OF THE NATIONAL TOUR RACES (AMERICAN SPRINT CAR SERIES) TOWARD THE END OF THE YEAR?
 
STEWART:
“I’m a little disappointed in World Racing Group to be honest.  I don’t think that their decision was what they thought was good for all of Sprint Car racing.  I think they made a decision what was good for them only.  I think the tracks are finally speaking out and speaking back and saying hey you are not going to dictate how we run our races.  I personally think Hoosier is the perfect option.  It has been for years.  I’m kind of surprised that World Racing Group when American Racer brought them into the lawsuit years ago and then all of a sudden they are trying to partner up with them.  I find that kind of ironic.  I think World Racing Group has kind of lost focus on caring about its racers.  I think they are starting to show pretty clearly now that they are more worried about themselves.”
 
INAUDIBLE

STEWART:
“It makes it tough for everybody.  It’s really going to make it hard to get cars to show up at Outlaw races when they are not running that tire.  A lot of tracks around the country have already announced that they are going with Hoosier tires next year.  Hopefully, at some point World Racing Group takes a step back and realizes that they have to have partners around the country with race tracks and teams to do what they do and not just trying to make a quick buck by signing a tire deal.”
 
OUTLAW ROSTER FOR NEXT YEAR?

STEWART:
“Still got Donny (Schatz) and Steve (Kinser) on board for next year and real excited about that.  I’m really proud of both of them.  We had a one-two finish a couple of weeks ago with Steve (Kinser) winning.  I’m really excited to have our same lineup back next year.”
 
DANICA PATRICK WAS IN EARLIER TALKING ABOUT HOW SHE FELT SHE DID HERE YESTERDAY IN THE TEST AND AT CHARLOTTE.  SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE RACES THAT YOU PICKED WERE PRETTY TOUGH.  YOU HAVE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THAT BEING THE INTENT AND THAT SHE WOULD THANK YOU NEXT YEAR.  DO YOU INDEED THINK THAT SHE WILL THANK YOU NEXT YEAR?

STEWART:
“Yes.  I do.  I really do think she will thank me next year.”
 
WHY?
 
STEWART:
“Just like we said we picked races that were going to be hard.  They are not supposed to be easy.  Her scenario is a little different than a lot of other drivers.  She has been very eager to get to the Cup series and I still think more so than some people do that she has the ability to be successful at this level.  The learning curve that she is going through has been a lot shorter than what it probably should have been. But with that, that is why Ryan (Newman) and I are here as a support system to her, why Greg (Zipadelli) was chosen as her crew chief for this year.  I believe she can do it, but it wasn’t going to be easy.  There wasn’t anything to learn by going to easy tracks this year on a partial schedule.  The schedule she is going to have next year she is going to have to go to these hard tracks.  Being able to just have the experience of going the year before even if it’s a rough experience you at least learn and get a base of that track anytime you do something for the first time it’s tough.  The second time is always easier.  I don’t care what it is.  Next year she will see the benefits of that.  It is hard because she is running against top notch guys, top notch teams.  There is not enough time to allow her to get caught up at this point, but she is still learning.  She will realize that next year and she is a confident person and part of my job as a car owner is to say ‘hey I know it’s frustrating at times, but trust me there is a benefit to what we are doing.  I’ve been there before I know’.  Though she may not see the benefit of it right now she will next year.”
 
HOW DO YOU BALANCE GIVING HER THE TOUGH LESSONS WITH KEEPING HER CONFIDENT ENOUGH THAT SHE FEELS GOOD ABOUT THINGS?
 
STEWART:
“Because we have all done it, Ryan (Newman) came from totally different types of cars to this level.  I came from totally different types of cars to this level.  There is always that part at the beginning where you wonder if you can do it if it was easy at the beginning then you would have that confidence right away.  Anytime you move to a top tier series it’s going to be hard to be competitive right off the bat.  Having us having gone through those lessons and going through those experiences that is where we can help keep her confidence up and reminder her that hey there is a reason that we brought you into this program.  We can handle that side and help her out with that.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 19, 2012
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY RACING CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed how her season has gone and what she has learned, working with several crew chiefs, her expectations for next year and what she needs to do before the season starts and much more. Full transcript.
 
TALK ABOUT HOW THINGS HAVE GONE FOR YOU SO FAR HERE AT KANSAS.
“Yeah, we started practice a little late on Wednesday but we got some good laps for an hour and a half at the end of the day which was nice. Getting out on Thursday, I’ve struggled in the Cup car. I don’t really feel very comfortable. After I’m done with this I’ll be going over to figure out how I can feel more comfortable or what I’m doing wrong because I’m sure there is a lot for me to learn. I think in the Nationwide car we were pretty good actually. I felt like we had good speed. I actually expected to come and be relatively good on speed. I feel like JR Motorsports cars are very fast and they do well at big, fast tracks. Especially with how well we ran at Michigan I think we can take what we learned there and apply that really well here this weekend being a newly paved track like Michigan was. I was thinking I always tend to go pretty fast in the Tissot car when I drive it. It’s kind of weird. Each time it always seems to be a good weekend for me. Hopefully that keeps going.”
 
IT’S FOUR TO GO IN THE NATIONWIDE SERIES, AS YOU LOOK BACK OVER THE SEASON HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HOW IT’S GONE?
“I feel like we’ve been overall much faster than what our results have showed and performed better in the race than what our results have showed. We definitely had a pretty long stretch of bad luck through the summer, and I feel like that was maybe where we had the most speed. Everything from Elkhart to Daytona to Iowa, there were a bunch of races that things happened that were not completely out of my control but definitely not always in my control fully. I feel like with that in mind it’s been an okay season. We recognize as a team that we need to find speed and that’s why you’ve seen the changes happen in the team that have happened. We all want to get faster. We all want to be more competitive and I feel like we’ve been inching a little bit closer here at the end of the year. I don’t know if we’ll get all the way by the end of this season but making progress is key. For me, ultimately because I’m moving on, it’s about learning and understand cars, understanding changes, and just getting a better grasp of all of the elements for the weekend. Ultimately I am disappointed with the results. I wish they were better. I wish there were better things on the record books. I would imagine a lot of drivers can say that at the end of the year.”
 
IS THIS A GOOD WEEKEND TO DOUBLE DIP, WHEN YOU HAVE A NEW TRACK?
“I don’t know if you are asking about other drivers or not, but for me the reason why this was picked was because there was this much more track time to do a Cup race, to get more comfortable. So, yeah it is a good choice.”
 
IS IT ADVANTAGEOUS TO RUN BOTH SERIES THIS WEEKEND?
“I don’t know. It depends on what everyone’s motives are. I don’t know why they drive the car. Do they do it for sponsorship? Do they do it for their team? Do they do it for track time? Why do they do it? That’s the question that needs an answer to decide whether or not it’s a good weekend for it. If they just do it for track time, you’re already getting a lot of it. So, that’s probably different between driver to driver.”
 
WITH ALL THE TALK ABOUT THE GODADDY SPONSORSHIP AND THE SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS THIS WEEK, DOES THAT STUFF BOTHER YOU OR IMPACT YOUR FOCUS?
“It’s more work for the general Danica racing team than anything as they are working on my behalf to make sure that everything is going the way it should. It’s just how it goes. It’s really not a problem. I know they were saying sorry for the drama, but I just drive the car.”
 
WITH THIS NEW TRACK, WHEN YOU CONSIDER DALE (EARNHARDT, JR.) CRASHING BACK IN AUGUST AND DENNY (HAMLIN) CRASHING YESTERDAY, ARE THERE ANY CONCERNS ON YOUR END?
“Any time you have a really wide track, I feel like the accidents can be bigger because you have further to go. When you’re running a narrow track and you bump the wall coming out of the corner or you lose it in the middle, you don’t travel very far and your trajectory is a lot less t-boning the wall. I think accidents can be pretty big at a place like this where not only is it fast from the re-pave, fast because it’s a 1.5-mile track, but because it’s wide. I remember my dad telling me that at Indy (Indianapolis Motor Speedway).
 
“It’s a fast track sure, but you’re running along the wall a lot of the time and the accidents can be big but at least you’re clipping as opposed to having so far to travel. I think that new tracks need to come in, they need to grip up and you need to lay the rubber down. The grip level outside of that is not the same. It’s very different as opposed to tracks that are seasoned. When you get off line it’s going to be really tricky and dodgy for sure. I think the tire here is hard and it doesn’t feel like it’s got a ton of grip. You know there is a lot of track time so hopefully that helps, but I think it’s going to be really tough to pass. I mean I could see that in practice. The times at least in the Cup car, I’m not that fast at all and people could come up behind me and I would just let them go because it’s hard to pass. You take the air away from them because you’re running the same line. It could make it a little interesting in the race if there’s not two grooves.”
 
WHAT IS THE EXPECTATION FROM THE SPONSOR AS FAR AS RACING? ARE THEY GIVING YOU THE TIME TO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO GET WHERE YOU NEED TO BE?
“Oh yeah. I think my sponsors and partners have always been great about that. They don’t just sponsor me and put the name on the side of a car. They go beyond that for sure. They use my platform and my reach with fans. I always believe that’s what makes the relationship really work. While they want me to do well, I want to do well and that’s my primary goal. The relationship has legs outside of that and that’s what I feel like makes them work really well and why I’ve been fortunate to have sponsors stick around for a long time.”
 
WE’RE ALL STILL TRYING TO LEARN AS MUCH AS WE CAN ABOUT CONCUSSIONS AND THE WAY DRIVERS DEAL WITH THEM, I KNOW YOU’VE DEALT WITH BASE-LINE TESTING IN INDY CAR, DO YOU SEE A PLACE FOR THAT HERE IN NASCAR?
“I guess in a simple word, yes. I don’t think additional precautions or testing or knowledge is a bad thing. I’ve been asked a lot about people sandbagging the tests and my answer is at first a foremost my competitiveness comes out so I just had to do as well as possible because of my personality. The other side of that is if you choose to sandbag and not perform as well on the original test so that you can do better later, it’s your own fault. It’s your life. If you choose to do that you can, but it’s only affecting you.
 
“I thought baseline testing was a good thing. I think a lot of sports do that. I know when I had a big accident in Homestead at my first Indy Car race in 2005, I was fortunate enough to have a weekend off between that one and the next race which was Phoenix, and I took the baseline and retested the baseline at ASU (Arizona State University). I think it’s a good thing. I don’t think it’s a lot of fun to have to take the time to do it, it takes a while being about a 30 minute test, but knowing more about your mental status and health is always good.”
 
YOU’VE DEALT WITH SEVERAL DIFFERENT CREW CHIEFS, HOW DO YOU SHIFT GEARS WHEN YOU ARE GETTING INFORMATION MOVING FROM CAR TO CAR?
“I think it’s
fine. I don’t mind having different crew chiefs. I think the hard part is them understanding how to take what I’m saying and apply that to a car. When I say the car is pushing three out of five, that’s not the same for me as someone else. That’s the learning process and that’s the tough part. I think if you can get in sync with one or with two, then I think you are fine.”
 
PREPARING FOR A FULL-TIME CUP SEASON, DO YOU FEEL LIKE GOING INTO IT NOW THAT YOU ARE GOOD TO GO AND FEEL LIKE YOU’VE ACCOMPLISHED ALL THE THINGS THAT MAYBE YOU HAD IN MIND? IF NOT, WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO WORK ON A LITTLE BIT MORE AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST BENEFIT TO YOU HAVING RUN THESE CUP RACES BEFORE DOING A FULL SEASON?
“Just getting over the hurdle of running at difficult tracks and unique places. I think it’s going to be helpful to have some sort of baseline set-up going to these places next year. The new places are always challenging for me. It was the same in Nationwide. I get frustrated when I think about how I’m doing out there in Cup some times in practice.
 
“Then I remember back to Nationwide and I remember it didn’t go so great there either, and you end up figuring out how to drive the car and how to get it to the limit. You have to feel that out and be able to believe in that. I’m just not quite there, so each time I get to a new track it’s always the same. I’ve got to build up my confidence.
 
“I’m not the kind of driver that goes out there and goes past it to figure out where it is. I build up to it. Another thing I’m not very good at doing early on is take a car that’s not right and make it decent. I just don’t have the confidence to do that yet. When they make a change that’s right all of a sudden a bunch of time comes off. Plus the fact that I’m methodical, I was just talking to the team the other day about that, those are definitely characteristics of me.
 
“They’re not great, but they’re also not horrible. Being methodical is also what helps me be able to repeat it time and time again. I know that the team has been really encouraged in the races where a lot of times through the middle or the end of the race my pace is really good and they’re really happy with it. So, that’s the kind of stuff we need to focus on and keep in mind. Hopefully that will improve. I know that in Nationwide when I finally kind of figured out how to drive the 1.5-mile tracks at least, it helped on all of them. So I’ve just got to figure out those characteristics of the car and how to wrap my head around it.”
 
TONY (STEWART) HAS SAID MANY TIMES THIS YEAR THAT WHEN HE SET YOUR CUP SCHEDULE HE PICKED REALLY HARD TRACKS FOR YOU AND HE SAID YOU WOULD THANK HIM NEXT YEAR. NOW THAT IT’S ALMOST OVER, DO YOU EVER SEE YOURSELF THANKING HIM FOR WHAT HE PUT YOU THROUGH?
“I think the fact that I’m going to get to drive at his team is enough thank you for all of it. What doesn’t kill you makes your stronger right? I actually have had a lot of fun at some of the more challenging tracks. I really enjoyed Darlington. I really enjoyed Bristol. There have been some tracks that I didn’t expect to like. There are times that I go to places like for the Coke 600 at Charlotte and I thought I could do better there, and personally I thought I sucked. I think I surprise myself sometimes of what I catch on to and what I don’t. I’m sure it will help and just knocking 10 tracks off the list is one of the biggest things.”
 
WERE THEY TOUGH?
“All of them? Yeah, I feel like the toughest thing for me is I’m just so slow in practice. Guys are so fast. I feel like in the race when everything kind of evens out and there’s not new tires any more, all there is the beginning of a run which I still struggle with, once everything kind of settles in I’m better and I fix my car more throughout the race. There’s a lot more time to do it in the Cup race and by the end I feel pretty good, but practice is fast and furious. I just have to keep getting better.”

Chevrolet Scores Double Win in GRAND-AM Rolex Series Season Finale at Lime Rock Park
SunTrust Racing Corvette DP Scored Race Victory; Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R Took the Win in GT; Corvette DP Fills the Podium
 
LAKEVILLE, Conn – September 29, 2012 – Chevrolet was a double winner in today’s GRAND-AM Rolex Series season finale at Lime Rock Park.  Max Angelelli and Ricky Taylor took the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype to Victory Lane, and Robin Liddell and John Edwards driving the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R were with winners in the Grand Touring class.
 
It is the third victory of the 2012 season for Angelelli and Taylor, and their third consecutive win at Lime Rock Park where the pair has led an amazing 340 out of 524 possible laps. The duo jumped from ninth to fifth in the Rolex DP final team standings.
 
Today’s win also is the third victory of the season for Liddell and Edwards, which put them solidly second in the final GT team standings. It is the second consecutive Lime Rock win for Liddell and Stevenson Motorsports.
 
This is the eighth win of the season for the Corvette Daytona Prototype, and the fourth win for the Camaro GT.R in Rolex Series competition.
 
“Congratulations to No. 10 SunTrust Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype, and the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R on winning today’s GRAND-AM Rolex Series season finale at Lime Rock Park,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, GRAND-AM Road Racing. “It was an exciting race with close action from the green flag to the checkered. Having an all-Corvette Daytona Prototype podium is a tremendous way to end the season and cap-off the Engine Manufacturers’ Championship.  It was a strong finish to the season for the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R as well to solidify their second place finish in the GT team standings. I am extremely proud of the dedication and determination of all of our teams this season.”
 
Taylor took the lead the final time on lap 118 of the 167-lap race. The SunTrust pair led 92 laps, and in total, Corvette Daytona Prototype drivers led 156 laps during the 2.75-hour race on the 1.5-mile, seven turn road course.
 
“The team worked so hard all year, said Taylor from Victory Lane. “They gave us great cars. At times I was doubting myself, but Max and the whole team stood behind me. This is an unbelievable feeling. And I can’t believe it.”
 
Angelelli added: “He (Taylor) did well; not just this weekend, but all season long. So it’s great. I’m very happy for him. I’m very happy for Wayne (Taylor) and for everybody.”
 
“It took me a stint to really get my head into it,” said Liddell. “And actually feel like I’d gained the confidence I could start pushing the car to proper pace. But it all worked out pretty well in the end, obviously. And another great result for the guys at Stevenson Motorsports and Chevrolet with the Camaro. It was an absolutely brilliant, flawless season for these guys. They’ve done such a great job.”
 
“Robin really did a great job today,” Edwards added. “This track, with as much green-running as we had, can really take its toll on you. It’s all about getting in a rhythm and staying there. And it’s easy to break that. He really did a great job. Stevenson (Motorsports) has been executing well all year and we won Lime Rock! The team has won it two years in a row, and I won it with Adam Christodoulou the year before. So, I’ve got a lot of good memories at this place and hopefully we’ll come back and repeat next year.”
 
Filling out the all-Corvette DP podium were the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Corvette DP driven by Antonio Garcia and Richard Westbrook followed by the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP with Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty handling the driving duties.
 
In the final Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race of the season, the Stevenson Motorsports No. 9 Camaro GS.R finished fourth, and moved to third in the final team standings. The finish moved driver Matt Bell to second in the final driver points, and co-driver John Edwards finished 10th after missing two races early in the season due to an injury.
 
Lutz concluded by saying: “Stevenson Motorsports also had a strong showing in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race today, with the No. 9 Camaro GS.R finishing fourth.  The finish moved them to third in the team standings, and move Matt Bell to second in the driver standings.  Congratulations to all our team owners, crews and drivers on a great season.”
 
Team Chevy in the GRAND-AM Road Racing Series will start the 2013 season at the January 26-27, 2013 running of the 51st Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona International Speedway.

Chevrolet Wins 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex Series Engine Manufacturers’ Championship
 
LAKEVILLE, Conn – September 29, 2012 – Chevrolet has won the 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex Series Engine Manufacturers’ Championship. Today’s win by SunTrust Racing in the season finale at Lime Rock Park capped the championship-winning effort by the five Corvette Daytona Prototype teams.
 
“Chevrolet is honored to have won the 2012 Engine Manufacturers’ Championship in the GRAND-AM Rolex Series,” said Jim Campbell, US Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports.  “This accomplishment, in the debut season of the Corvette Daytona Prototype, is the result of the dedication and hard work of our team owners, crews and drivers, along with that of our technical partners.”
 
On the way to winning the coveted title, Chevrolet’s Corvette Daytona Prototype teams and drivers won eight of the 13 races held during 2012 season.
 
“Our partners at Earnhardt-Childress Racing put forth an extraordinary effort building the engines for all of our Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype teams that culminated in this championship,” said Mark Kent, Director, Chevrolet Racing. “With the technical support Pratt and Miller provides, as well at the expertise and input from GM Racing Powertrains, Chevrolet Racing in the Rolex Series has accomplished a great deal this season.  We are very proud of this achievement, and thank everyone involved for their dedication.”
 
The Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype team and driver roster that contributed to Chevrolet capturing the Series’ Engine Manufacturers’ title are: Action Express Racing (two cars) – David Donahue, Terry Borcheller, Darren Law, Joao Barbosa and Paul Tracy; GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing – Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney; Spirit of Daytona Racing – Richard Westbrook, Antonio Garcia and Michael Valiante and SunTrust Racing – Max Angelelli and Ricky Taylor.
 
“Congratulations to our Chevrolet teams and all of our technical partners on winning the 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex Series Engine Manufacturers’ Championship,” remarked Jim Lutz, Chevrolet Program Manager, GRAND-AM Road Racing. “The level of cooperation and dedication among our Corvette Daytona Prototype teams, in addition to the tremendous support from our technical partners were the key components of this championship-winning effort. I am very proud of the contributions made by everyone involved in this program, and celebrate this achievement for Team Chevy.”

The motorsports world lost iconic racing journalist Chris Economaki today at the age of 91.  Below please find a statement to attribute to Jim Campbell, US Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports.
 
“Chris Economaki made an impact in motorsports like no other. He was a trailblazer in journalism, and his passion and depth of knowledge across the spectrum of world-wide racing brought the sport to life for millions of fans. His contributions have been endless, and he will be deeply missed.  The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Chevrolet and Cadillac Racing are with his family and friends.”
 

CHEVY QUICK FACTS
GRAND-AM ROAD RACING
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND
LIME ROCK PARK
LAKEVILLE, CONNECTICUT
September 28-29, 2012
 
INSIDE THE GRAND-AM GARAGE – JIM LUTZ, CHEVROLET RACING PROGRAM MANAGER –  GRAND-AM ROAD RACING:  “It is hard to believe we are heading into the last GRAND-AM race of the season. Heading into Championship Weekend at Lime Rock Park, Chevrolet has a 25 point lead in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype Engine Manufacturer Championship standings. Winning that championship will be a tremendous accomplishment for Corvette Daytona Prototype in its the first year of competition in the Series.
 
“Lime Rock Park, the oldest, continuously operating road course in America, is a 1.5-mile up and downhill circuit that remains much the way it was when completed in the spring of 1957. The pavement has been replaced through the years, but the technical aspects of the track remain the same – something for everyone.  The track is a relative short distance per lap, and pitting under the green will put a team a lap down, so strategy will be a key in both the Continental Tire and Rolex races. And in the Continental Tire series there will be separate races for the ST and GS classes, so the GS race will be a flat out sprint with much less traffic for our Camaro GS.R drivers to contend with.
 
“We are looking forward to ending the season with strong showing from our Camaro teams in both GT and GS.  In both classes, our teams have been working hard to maximize the performance in their cars, and are anticipating a strong finish to the 2012 season.”
 

Chevrolet claims two wins in US
One win each for Muller and Huff, now tied in Drivers’ championship
 
 
SONOMA, 23 September 2012: Chevrolet won both races in the first visit ever WTCC event in the USA. Yvan Muller and Rob Huff won a race each, and are now tied in points in the Drivers’ championship.
 
Muller and Huff completed a one-two success in Race 1 after Alain Menu was forced out of the lead by technical problems, sustained after contact with Gabriele Tarquini at the start of the race. Huff won Race 2 after a drive-through penalty dashed Muller’s hopes of a double. Alain Menu, who started Race 2 from 10th, finished in 4th position.
 
Today’s results mean Chevrolet is now very close to mathematically securing its third WTCC Constructors’ title. The RML-run Cruzes fell 10 points short from conquering the crown today, and the team will have to wait until the next round in Japan before opening the champagne bottles.
 
The fight for the Drivers’ title is more open than ever, with Muller and Huff now tied with 315 points. The Frenchman remains on top of the standings as he has won more races. Menu is 49 points behind but still in contention despite his misfortune at Sonoma.
 
Race 1 saw a great start for the Cruzes, which quickly took the first three positions. Poleman Menu was ahead of teammates Muller and Huff, but the Swiss had to lift off as he developed a steering issue on lap 4. Menu was forced to the pits for repairs, losing four laps in the process.
 
Despite starting from the middle of the grid in Race 2, Muller and Huff quickly progressed to
3rd and 4th position respectively after a couple of laps. With race leader Mehdi Bennani in a BMW spinning on lap 4, the duo gained a position, but on lap 5 contact between Muller and Franz Engstler, also in a BMW, paved the way for the Frenchman to take the lead.
 
The stewards, however, penalized Muller with a drive-through, effectively ending any hopes of a points finish and paving the way for Huff, who controlled BMW’s Norbert Michelisz’s attacks in the closing laps.
 
The WTCC now crosses the Pacific for the Asian tour that traditionally closes the season and includes stops in Japan, China and Macau.
 
·        QUOTES
 
Rob Huff (2nd / 1st): “It’s been a fantastic day here in Sonoma. I couldn’t have asked for more and the championship situation is now completely open again. There was little I could do against Yvan in Race 1. I was struggling to follow him, but 2nd was a good result.
 
“In Race 2, I was following Yvan again and then he was handed a drive through penalty, which was a lucky break for me. In the final laps, Michelisz was very close, I was very cautious not to damage my tires, even because I knew Norbert is a very fair driver and he wouldn’t do anything crazy. Interestingly, someone seems to have forgotten the chequered flag at the end of the race, so we all did an extra lap at race speed, I found that pretty entertaining.”
 
 
Yvan Muller (1st / 14th) : “Race 1 was tough, but I started well and then used every opportunity I had. When Alain had the problem with the steering, I took the lead and focused on controlling the race. It’s a very nice feeling to win in America, the home of Chevrolet.
 
“I had a very good start in Race 2, but then there was a very slight contact with Engstler which did not even leave a mark on my bumper. Despite this, I was still handed the drive through penalty. I do not want to comment on the stewards’ decision; what happened, happened. The result is that the championship is now completely open and everything will start from scratch in Japan.”
 
Alain Menu (17th / 4th): “I was very unlucky to have the steering problem in Race 1 when I was leading. Since the very start of the race, I noticed something was wrong with the steering wheel. It got harder and harder and was locking at times, so I decided to stop in the pits because the car was impossible to drive.
 
“It’s a pity because I lost a lot of important points. Race 2 was pretty uneventful, I didn’t start  well, but managed to climb to 4th position.”
 
Eric Nève: “It’s wonderful to win both races in the US and to be so close to the third Constructors’ title. Both races were very exciting and rich in emotions. The fight in the Drivers’ championship is now completely open again and that promises a thrilling end of the season. I’m sorry for what happened to Alain in Race 1, but that is racing.”
 
Ron Hartvelt, RML Project Manager: “We had a challenging weekend but the results were superb. It was great to claim two wins on home soil in our first trip to the States. The Drivers’ championship is still wide open and we are looking forward to the final three WTCC rounds in Asia.”

Four Cruzes in top six at Sonoma
Menu takes pole sensational, Muller and Huff in 3rd and 4th
 
SONOMA, 22 September 2012: The Chevrolet Cruzes did not miss their first important rendezvous on American soil, claiming pole position, and filling most of the top spots in today’s qualifying for the WTCC’s first visit ever to the US in Q2 after an intense battle with teammate Yvan Muller and SEAT’s Gabriele Tarquini.
 
Alain Menu took an incredible pole, his second this year, in the dying seconds of the session with a perfect lap on the hilly and technical California track, beating his rivals by almost three tenths of a second.
 
Tarquini took second spot while Muller qualified in third position ahead of teammate Rob Huff. Alex MacDowall, of the independently-run Bamboo Engineering Chevrolet Cruze, finished sixth fastest.
 
In a warm and sunny afternoon, the RML-run Cruzes proved competitive, raising a lot of expectations ahead of the two races tomorrow, which could see Chevrolet secure its third WTCC Constructors’ World Champion title with three rounds to go. To achieve this, the Cruzes will have to end the day with 42 points more than BMW and 37 more than SEAT.
 
The fight for the Drivers’ title, for which only the three Chevrolet drivers remain in contention, remains wide open.
 
 
·        QUOTES
 
Alain Menu (1st): “It’s a great feeling to be on pole on such a driver circuit. I have to thank my engineer and all the boys because the car was simply perfect. We worked well on the set up and the balance of the Cruze and it paid off.
 
“The track conditions evolved between Q1 and Q2 but the car was fantastic throughout. I managed a clear lap with no mistakes and the right rhythm, which is so important here.”
 
Yvan Muller (3rd): “Alain did a great job today. Third is not bad and I am pleased with that, but I have some regrets because I didn’t drive that well, I made a couple of mistakes in the decisive laps, and I think I had the car to do better. The circuit is definitely not easy …”
 
Rob Huff (4th): “I’m happy with my performance as I could have improved my time by two tenths compared to the time set in Q1. My first fast lap was a bit messy; I made a couple of mistakes and struggled in turn 2, but the second time round was much better. I am pleased because that’s everything I had on my car today. We’ll work on the set up tonight and I am sure we can make some improvements.”

SONOMA, 21 September 2012: The World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) cars had their first taste of a US circuit today as they took the track at Sonoma, California, for the first testing session which opened the inaugural series event in the United States.
 
Alex MacDowall, at the wheel of a Bamboo Engineering Chevrolet Cruze, posted the best lap time, making it the first time the British outfit is ahead of the field in an official session.
 
The three RML-run Cruzes had a good working session, with the three drivers using the half-hour testing session to discover the circuit and to work on the initial set-up simulations. Yvan Muller was 4th fastest, with Rob Huff and Alain Menu in 6th and 7th respectively.
 
Today’s session took place in excellent weather conditions and the team will continue work tonight to fine tune the cars’ set-up ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying.
 
Chevrolet leads the Manufacturers’ Championship and could mathematically secure the title on home soil this weekend.
 
QUOTES
 
Yvan Muller (4th): “It was a session devoted to learning the circuit. Unfortunately, we could not use the entire 30 minutes allocated as the session was red-flagged and did not resume until five minutes before the end. The surface was quite slippery today and we have quite a bit of work on set-up ahead of us.”
 
Rob Huff (6th): “I went off into the gravel in my first lap and that resulted in a slow puncture, which I realized only a couple of laps later. That cut my session short. Eventually, I only did one fast lap. We still have a lot of work on set-up. No doubt this is a very interesting track, with a lot of uphills and downhills and many corners, which means you basically never rest.”
 
Alain Menu (7th): “I went through the entire working program drafted with my engineer and did eight laps, which is basically half a race. It’s a beautiful track, but there are definitely two or three very delicate corners and a lot of blind spots.”
 

Ed Carpenter Captures Win in IndyCar Season Finale at Auto Club Speedway; Brings Home 11th Win for Chevrolet IndyCar V6 of the Season
 
FONTANA, Calif (September 15, 2012) – Ed Carpenter let the competition know early in the weekend of the IZOD IndyCar Series season finale at Auto Club Speedway that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with in the MAVTV 500. And the first-year team owner/driver did just that with a gritty performance that delivered his first victory of the 2012 season.
 
“Congratulations to Ed Carpenter, and the No. 20 Chevrolet team on their exciting victory tonight at Auto Club Speedway,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, IZOD IndyCar Series.  “Wow, what a race!  It was a nail-biter throughout the entire 250 laps.  We couldn’t be more proud of the effort of our Chevrolet IndyCar V6 teams throughout the entire IZOD IndyCar Series season.”
 
Carpenter started his No. 20 Fuzzy’s Premium Ultra Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet fifth in the 26-car field, and worked his way to the lead on lap 66 of the 250-lap/500-mile race.  He was credited with leading eight times for a race-high total of 62 laps.
 
But it was Carpenter’s last-lap pass of former Series’ champion Dario Franchitti that secured the win. It is his second IZOD IndyCar Series victory, the first coming in the 2011 season-ending race at Kentucky Speedway where he also bested Franchitti on the last lap.
 
A fourth place finish netted Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda Andretti Autosport Chevrolet, the title of 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Champion, as well as capturing the Oval Championship. The double championships are his first in the IZOD IndyCar Series.
 
Hunter-Reay entered tonight’s race with a 17 point deficit to Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, in the battle for the title. After Power received substantial damage in a single car on-track incident on lap 56, Hunter-Reay had to finish fifth or better to secure the crown. When the checkered flag flew, Hunter-Reay scored a fourth-place finish, and captured the Championship by three points over Power.
 
Berube concluded by saying: “And, congratulations to Ryan Hunter-Reay and the No. 28 Andretti Autosport Chevrolet team on winning the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series’ Driver’s Championship as well as the A.J. Foyt Oval Track Championship! They fought hard to win the crown, and will be a great champion for the IZOD IndyCar Series, and for Chevrolet.”
 
Giving Team Chevy five of the top-10 finishers in tonight’s race were: Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Auto Club of Southern California Team Penske Chevrolet – fifth; Marco Andretti, No. 26 Team RC Cola Andretti Autosport Chevrolet – eighth, and Katherine Legge, No. 6 TrueCar Dragon Racing Chevrolet – ninth.
 
Completing the top-five finishers were Dario Franchitti (Honda) – second, and Scott Dixon (Honda) – third.
 
Chevrolet, in its first season back in IndyCar competition, captured the Series’ Manufacturers’ Championship with 11 victories in 15 races. In addition to Hunter-Reay’s two titles, Power captured the Road Course Championship for the third consecutive year.
 

Ryan Hunter-Reay Wins IZOD IndyCar Series Championship with Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Power
 
FONTANA, Calif (September 15, 2012) – With a fourth place finish in the MAVTV 500 season finale at Auto Club Speedway, Ryan Hunter-Reay is the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series driver’s champion.  Piloting the No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda Andretti Autosport Chevrolet, Hunter-Reay took the crown with six podium, and nine top-10 finishes that included a Series’-high four wins in the 15-race schedule.
 
“Congratulations to Ryan Hunter-Reay and the No. 28 Andretti Autosport Chevrolet team on winning the coveted 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series driver’s championship,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Everyone at Chevrolet is very proud of Ryan and his team for securing their first driver’s crown with Chevrolet IndyCar V6 power. This championship caps off an exciting first year back in IndyCar competition for Chevrolet. We are looking forward to competing next season, and beyond.”
 
His finish tonight also clinched the Oval Championship commemorated with the A.J. Foyt Oval Championship trophy. On his way to the prestigious title, Hunter-Reay won two of the five oval track races and posted a top-five finish tonight in the season ending race.
 
The Championship is a culmination of Hunter-Reay’s ninth season in IndyCar, and his third season with Andretti Autosport. He is the first American driver since 2006 (Sam Hornish Jr.) to win the IndyCar title.
 
In addition to Hunter-Reay’s championship effort, Chevrolet won the Series’ Manufacturers title with 11 wins in the 15-race season in its first year back in IndyCar competition. Chevrolet competed previously in Indy-style competition as an engine manufacturer in 1986-93 and 2002-05 with V-8 engines, winning 105 races. The wins powered Chevrolet to six driver champions, and included seven Indianapolis 500 victories.