CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
POCONO INDYCAR 500 FUELED BY SUNOCO
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST QUALIFYING RELEASE AND TRANSCRIPT
JULY 5, 2014

Juan Pablo Montoya Grabs the Pole; Sets New Track Record with Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Power; Will Power Gives Chevrolet a Pair of Front Row Starters for Pocono IndyCar 500

LONG POND, Penn (July 5, 2014) – Juan Pablo Montoya was the last car to make a qualifying attempt for Sunday’s Pocono IndyCar 500, and the driver of the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet made it count. With a new track record of 223.871 m.p.h. two-lap average, Montoya won his first Verizon P1 Pole Award since returning to Verizon IndyCar Series competition this season.

Montoya’s Team Penske teammate and current Series’ points leader Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, was second fastest, also breaking the old track record with a two-lap average of 223.725 m.p.h. to give Chevrolet IndyCar V6 power two of the three front row starters for Sunday’s 200-lap/500-mile race on the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway, also known as the “Tricky Triangle”.

“Chevrolet extends a proud congratulations to Juan Pablo Montoya and Team Penske for putting up a pair of stunningly fast laps at Pocono Raceway today, besting last year’s pole by 2.598 mph, and winning his first pole position since returning to IndyCar racing,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager for Verizon IndyCar Series. “Next to Juan Pablo on the front row will be his teammate Will Power who also beat last year’s pole by 2.452 mph.  The innovation and skills that exist in the Verizon IndyCar Series today are made visible by results like these.  We are looking forward to the Pocono INDYCAR 500 mile race tomorrow where Team Chevy and our technical partners will have the opportunity to demonstrate innovation and preparation under race conditions.”

The third Team Penske driver, Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Hitachi Chevrolet, turned in a two-lap average that also broke the existing track record set in 2013 and will start seventh tomorrow in race No. 11 of the 18-race season.

Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Tony Kanaan, No. 10 Target Chevrolet, and Ryan Briscoe, No. 8 NTT Data Chevrolet, will start eighth and 10th respectively to give the Chevrolet IndyCar V6 five of the top-10 starters in the race.

Carlos Munoz (Honda) will complete the front row of three.
Live television coverage of the Pocono 500 is set to start on Sunday, July 6 at NOON ET on NBC Sports Network. The command to start engines is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.
Live radio coverage will be on IMS Radio broadcast on XM Radio Channel 209 and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 213. In addition, IndyCar live timing and scoring with the radio broadcast can be found at www.indy.car.com.
POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

AN INTERVIEW WITH:
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, POLE WINNER
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 2ND

THE MODERATOR:  We’ll get started with today’s Verizon IndyCar Series post‑qualifying press conference.  We have joined by Will Power.  Will will be starting second in tomorrow afternoon’s race.  He started fourth and finished fourth last year.  Will, tell us about qualifying and the conditions out there today.
WILL POWER:  Yeah, it was a pretty good run.  I had probably too big of a lift on my first lap, too much understeer, but apart from that, Juan ran a bit more downforce, so I thought if he can be flat or have less of a lift, he’s going to be very tough to beat.  But still very good for Penske to have a one‑two.
Q.  Will, how important is qualifying for a 500‑mile race?  I know it’s a long race.  Does it really have much implication?
WILL POWER:  No, I mean, it’s always good to start at the front.  You’ve got less of a chance of getting caught up in something at the start of the race and probably on restarts, as well.
But you know, apart from that, you look at Dixon who won it last year, all the Ganassi cars last year came from quite a ways back.  Strategy is going to be a big deal, fuel, windows and so on.  Yeah, it’s not a ‑‑ if you qualify last, you can win from last.  You know, it’s not something to worry about, but it is good to be in the front.

Q.  There is no difference like red and black tires here and there’s no Push‑to‑Pass, so how difficult is it going to be to pass here, and which part of the track can you pass on?
WILL POWER:  It’s tough to pass, yeah.  I mean, really when it all sorts out, man, it’s going to be difficult to get by.

Q.  It sounds like a lot of teams went conservative on setups.  Was that based off of the wind from the earlier practice sessions?  Did that factor into maybe toning things back a little bit?
WILL POWER:  Yeah, and also lack of practice.  You don’t get much mileage going into a 500‑mile race, so I think it’s a place you’ve got to really creep up on, so if you go over the top, you know, it can be pretty bad to get caught out.  Yeah, you didn’t have time to really do good qualifying sims.

Q.  Will, this question is for you being atop the points standings, second half of the season here and it’s a short season, so is it great to be in that point position or is it a little bit scary because there’s only one place to go?  What is the strategy?  I don’t mean to be negative, but that’s really ‑‑
WILL POWER:  You look at it black and white, you have more points than anyone accumulated right now, so it’s obviously a good thing.  You would rather have that than not.  So you’ve just got to look forward and just focus on your job.  I mean, that’s all you can do.  You can’t sit there trying to points race.  You’ve just got to go and race.

Q.  Helio said during the session after his run that he felt the track was improving as the session went on.  How much of an advantage was it to run late?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  It always helps a little bit, but it’s the luck of the draw.  Some weeks are good for you, some weeks are bad.  I think the big thing for us was balance and we had a hell of a balance.  I know Helio struggled a little bit with the balance during qualifying, and in a way of running late when you’ve got good teammates is you can see how much they struggle and you can adjust the car so you always get a little more information.  It’s like I know like what Will did, they came in ready straight away and he did this and he did this and he helped, so I already knew before I started where to go, so you’re already in a better place.  But they were a little more trimmed than me.  I’m like, I was faster and I was right.
WILL POWER:  You were, you (expletive deleted).  It was only a couple hundredths, too.  Man, why did I lift?  Damn.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  You were good through 3 or not?
WILL POWER:  I was flat through three, but 1 I was like ‑‑
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I had a small lifts in 1, tiny little lifts.
THE MODERATOR:  Carlos, good luck in tomorrow’s race.  Juan, I have some history for you.  Last pole in an IndyCar, Gateway 2000 ‑‑
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  No, Surfer’s Paradise.
THE MODERATOR:  15th career pole, obviously 2012 won pole here in NASCAR.  Now that you’re back here in an IndyCar, tell us about your qualifying run.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I had no idea what to expect because this morning I felt like we had a really good car in race trim and really struggled.  Started trimming the car down, and every time we trimmed it, it was just balance‑wise it was awful, had a lot of understeer in the car.  Made quite a bit of changes for qualifying and it was really, really good.  You had a little bit understeer and stuff on the front bar, took a little crossweight out here or is it crossweight we did here?  Yeah, we don’t say wedge, it’s crossweight.  Took a little bit of crossweight out, and as soon as we did that, the car started hooking really nice, and it was good.  I mean, it was a bit of a handful through 3, but it was good through 1.  The big thing here is if you can hold it wide open in 1.  As trim as you are, if you can hold it wide open, it pays off because it’s just all momentum.

Q.  I think you never raced here in open wheel racing, only in NASCAR.  How do you approach this in event?  Did you ask for advice or information from your teammates?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  No, you watch ‑‑ I watched last year’s race, a little bit how the race developed and how everything went, and that’s all you can do, be as prepared as you can be and take it as it comes.  That’s all you can do.
It seems like I run really well on ovals this year, so it’s fun.  It’s nice to have a good track position.  For the next race we have pit good stop, as well, so that pays off big time.

Q.  Last Friday at Houston you said we’re getting there, and then you had a pretty good run at Houston on Saturday.  Now you’ve won a pole.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  We’re getting there.

Q.  I think getting there, you’re almost here.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  No, I feel I’m still lacking a little bit.  I’m getting a lot better.  I feel a lot more comfortable in the car.  Like I feel at home in the car now.  But I need to be a little more proactive with the car, understand it a little better, help the engineers a little more.  Like I can tell them what the car is doing, but the more I learn the more I can tell them which direction we need to go with the car to make ourselves better because the series is so close and we’ve got two really good teammates between Will and Helio, and we help each other and everything, but I feel to be able to get an edge on them I’ve got to do a better job of understanding the cars so I can get ahead of them.  It’s the only way.

Q.  I know you guys have the new right sides this time around.  Now that you’ve had more laps on the track, more laps on them, do you like the balance with them?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Tires‑wise?  Tires are fine.  They’re not dropping that much.  I mean, if anything it’s going to be a hard race because it seems if you do a really good job through Turn 3 and you suck up in there and you get close enough into Turn 1 then you’ve got a big understeer in 1, and if you miss Turn 3 then it takes you all the way around to get back into Turn 3 and it’s like a vicious circle.  It’s really hard to pass here, so I think track position is important.  Also I think fuel mileage is key, as well.  We’ll see.  I mean, we just ‑‑ we’ve got to plan the race and see what it brings.  That’s all you can do.  Whatever it gives you, you’ve got to be smart, you’ve got to run all day.  It’s double points, and you’ve got to take that into consideration and you’ve got to be there at the end.
THE MODERATOR:  Will, do you have any comments on tire usage here at Pocono?
WILL POWER:  Yeah, they’re very consistent really.  It’s one of the few tracks we go to where they don’t really degrade at all.  I think the speed over the whole stint we stayed the same.  If anything get a bit quicker as the car gets lighter from fuel.  It’s not going to be a tire game tomorrow, it’ll be strategy versus fuel, depending on where a yellow may fall and trying to make it one less stop than everyone else.  If it happened to be green, yeah, it’s that type of race I feel.

Q.  Getting back to the ‑‑ am I getting here, is he here now?
WILL POWER:  He is.  He’s definitely ‑‑ I mean, he’s brought a lot of good stuff to the team from the very beginning actually even when he was coming up to speed.  Definitely good ideas, and I think just the experience of the three of us I think is really helping like push the car in a good direction, the development.  Because at the end of the day ‑‑
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Make sure you mention that to Roger.
WILL POWER:  At the end of the day the drivers push the development in a certain direction, and the beauty of driving for Penske is you’ve got the resources to develop what you want, so it’s good having experienced drivers in the team to push you in the right direction.

Q.  Juan, is it my imagination, it seems like when you’ve taken steps, you haven’t reacted like the veteran that you are.  You’ve kind of looked like a new guy doing something new every race, but you do a little better.  Do you feel like you’re kind of getting into new they are try all the time?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  It feels like new territory because I haven’t done it for such a long time.  I know how to do it, but knowing how to do it and actually getting to do it is two different things.  It takes time.  It’s all about believing in what you can do and believing how far like in street courses how far you can actually go before you actually really hit the wall, before you actually bounce off the wall, and that’s one of the things ‑‑ like in street courses I’m still missing.  I’m getting better but I’m still missing in qualifying especially I’m terrible ‑‑
WILL POWER:  So am I.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Yeah, you learned from me there.
WILL POWER:  That’s one bad thing you taught me, qualify badly.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Exactly.  Yeah, it was funny because we were in Long Beach and I think I qualified like 14th and he’s like this is our worst qualifying ever, it’s embarrassing, and he’s like, boom, boom, it’s getting worse.
WILL POWER:  Now it’s like 19th, 18th every week.  But it’s fun in the races, man.  You start back there, it’s great fun.  It’s boring from the front.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Really?  It’s amazing it doesn’t matter where you qualify, if you’ve got a good car and you make a couple of good calls you’re there.  You’re always going to get a couple opportunities in the race to do something different, and if you do it right it’s going to pay off and you’re going to get a good finish.  So qualifying is important but it’s not crucial.  It’s good for the pit stop, for the race, for the next race and for the pit stall, and it’s great for the team.  This week we’ve got the PPG Chevy car and it seems to be really good, and Verizon has supported us a lot, so we have the two Verizon cars, the drivers in the front row.  It’s pretty cool.

Q.  We keep hearing it’s really hard to pass here, it’s really hard to pass here.  What is it about this track that makes it hard to pass and how do you overcome that?
WILL POWER:  Straight through the corners, they come back on themselves.  It’s not like Indy has got four corners so they’re at a 90‑degree.  These get passed.  It’s very difficult to make it stick when you rely on aerodynamics to stay close to someone.  I think it’s the same for NASCAR.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Yeah, NASCAR it’s pretty hard to pass, same thing, because the last time I had the same thing.  The corner is so long and there’s really only one groove that is the bottom groove.  I think Turn 1 is a little wider, especially because people coming out of the pits should run a little high to go around them, but I’ll be honest with you, if I’m running wide open and somebody comes out of the pits, I ain’t going to run wide open around the outside of them just for the sake of it.  Hell no.  I’m going to make sure I pass them, but I’ll be cautious about it.  But it’s like Turn 3, for example, you’ve got to be on the bottom the way the corner is, especially being so flat, it makes it pretty hard.  If you could run two grooves, then it would make life a lot easier because the cars are very aero sensitive.  That’s where they are.

Q.  Because of the difficulty with passing, how crazy do you expect the start to be just because everyone is going to be right on top of each other?
WILL POWER:  500 miles.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Yeah, it’s a long race.  I mean, it’s all about making sure you work on your car all day long and get a good balance for when it really matters.  It’s all about strategizing and putting yourself in a good position to have a shot at the end.  That’s all you can do.

CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
POCONO INDYCAR 500 FUELED BY SUNOCO
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
JULY 5, 2014
PAGE 8

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, POLE WINNER: WALK US THROUGH THAT RUN.“Our PPG car was really good with the Chevy engine. It’s fun to be in the Verizon IndyCar Series. We have great cars and great partners. I’m just so proud to be at Team Penske. Being able to get this is huge.”
THE TEAM WAS CELEBRATING. ARE YOU JUST AS HAPPY? “I’m excited. It’s the first time we’ve gotten here together. It’s great to be on the pole. Now we need to start getting some wins.”
WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO WIN THE RACE? “I think we have a good car. Let’s see what it brings.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 2ND:  “Yeah, it was good. I probably lifted a little too much into Turn 1. I knew Montoya was going to be tough to beat. They ran a little more downforce. Since I wasn’t flat, I think he probably went wide-open on that run.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 7TH:  A LOT OF DRIVERS ARE USING A SLOW WARMUP LAP. ARE YOU EXERCISING TIRE MANAGEMENT SO YOU CAN SAVE YOUR TIRES FOR THE TWO HOT LAPS? “No, I was just trying to make sure the wind wasn’t bothering me. Even though there is just a slight wind out there, I wanted to make sure that the controls and tools in the car were set up because we stalled a little bit going out. So yeah, I thought everything is under control but wanted to make sure the car was ready to go. And it was.”

TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 TARGET CHIP GANASSI CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 8TH: ““I’m pretty confident in the Target car and it’s obviously a very long race with 500 miles so you have to let it play out.  I think we went a bit conservative on the setup and the No. 10 car had more in it for sure.  We have a good race car under us and today is a decent start to the job we’ll have to do tomorrow. I’m confident in my race car. The No. 10 Target car is hooked up for the race. It’s a 500-mile race and it doesn’t matter where you start.”

RYAN BRISCOE, NO. 8 NTT DATA CHIP GANASSI CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 10TH: We had a good run today in qualifying.  The No. 8 NTT DATA Chevrolet was the best it’s been all day.  I think the conditions are just really good right now and we maybe could have been a bit greedier with the downforce but it was a good solid run. The car was the best it’s been this week. The conditions are really good right now. We could have been a bit more greedy with the downforce, but it was a good solid run. The gears were right. The car felt solid so hopefully it gets us in good position for tomorrow.”

ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 13TH: WHERE DO YOU THINK THAT WILL PUT YOU? HOW IS THE BALANCE OF THE CAR? “Probably 10th or 12th. We left a lot on the table and missed on the balance. We’ve been off today and it’s been frustrating. We will have to get things together for tomorrow and come back strong.  I’m not sure what happened on those two laps.  This place is important for track position so I didn’t want to qualify too far back. I feel like our race car is pretty good, and it is a 500-mile race so you can make certain changes on pit stops and from the cockpit.”

SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 15TH: ““Today we spent both practice sessions working on the balance of Target car.  I think we’ll be okay for the race but you just have very limited time here at Pocono. Each of the three turns here is distinctively different so you really have to be able to compromise the setup to get things right.  Last year we showed you never know what can happen here after starting back in the pack and finishing 1-2-3.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. . 83 LEVEMIR® FLEXTOUCH® CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 17TH: “I’m not too worried about our qualifying position right now. We qualified mid-pack last year and then we ended up finishing strong in the race.  Tonight we’ll take some time to look at what our teammates did and compare notes and see what kind of data they have.  I think the No. 83 Levemir® FlexTouch® Chevrolet looks really good and I’m excited for the 500 miles tomorrow. We qualified mid-pack last year and ended up running strong in the race. We spent all day today running on one set of tires and working on the race car. Really focused on tomorrow’s 500 miles. I think the car is pretty good. We will look at what our teammates did, see what the 10 does and learn from it for next year.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 No. 11 Team HYDROXYCUT – KVSH RACING CHEVROLET   QUALIFIED 18TH: “I’m obviously not happy with qualifying. It’s not where we want to be. The car seems to be a little better in race trim, but we still have a lot of work to do. Hopefully, we can figure something out and have a decent result in the Shatter car tomorrow

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 17 AUTOMATIC FIRE SPRINKLERS, INC. – KV AFS RACING CHEVROLET QUALIFIED 19TH: “Of course we wanted to be a little more up front, but not being able to test at ovals as much as we want, is showing and starting to hurt us. Our main focus this morning was to just mileage out the car, which we managed. My Automatic Fire Sprinkler guys were then super impressive to change my Chevrolet engine in an hour and a half! In qualifying, I bottomed very hard in turn one on my first green lap and that killed everything because I had to lift and that lost me speed. My second lap was much quicker but by then I had lost the momentum. On a positive note though I think we have a good race car so we will just have to see how the race plays out tomorrow.”

CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
POCONO INDYCAR 500 FUELED BY SUNOCO
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
JULY 5, 2014
PAGE 8

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, POLE WINNER: WALK US THROUGH THAT RUN.“Our PPG car was really good with the Chevy engine. It’s fun to be in the Verizon IndyCar Series. We have great cars and great partners. I’m just so proud to be at Team Penske. Being able to get this is huge.”
THE TEAM WAS CELEBRATING. ARE YOU JUST AS HAPPY? “I’m excited. It’s the first time we’ve gotten here together. It’s great to be on the pole. Now we need to start getting some wins.”
WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO WIN THE RACE? “I think we have a good car. Let’s see what it brings.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 2ND:  “Yeah, it was good. I probably lifted a little too much into Turn 1. I knew Montoya was going to be tough to beat. They ran a little more downforce. Since I wasn’t flat, I think he probably went wide-open on that run.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 7TH:  A LOT OF DRIVERS ARE USING A SLOW WARMUP LAP. ARE YOU EXERCISING TIRE MANAGEMENT SO YOU CAN SAVE YOUR TIRES FOR THE TWO HOT LAPS? “No, I was just trying to make sure the wind wasn’t bothering me. Even though there is just a slight wind out there, I wanted to make sure that the controls and tools in the car were set up because we stalled a little bit going out. So yeah, I thought everything is under control but wanted to make sure the car was ready to go. And it was.”

TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 TARGET CHIP GANASSI CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 8TH: ““I’m pretty confident in the Target car and it’s obviously a very long race with 500 miles so you have to let it play out.  I think we went a bit conservative on the setup and the No. 10 car had more in it for sure.  We have a good race car under us and today is a decent start to the job we’ll have to do tomorrow. I’m confident in my race car. The No. 10 Target car is hooked up for the race. It’s a 500-mile race and it doesn’t matter where you start.”

RYAN BRISCOE, NO. 8 NTT DATA CHIP GANASSI CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 10TH: We had a good run today in qualifying.  The No. 8 NTT DATA Chevrolet was the best it’s been all day.  I think the conditions are just really good right now and we maybe could have been a bit greedier with the downforce but it was a good solid run. The car was the best it’s been this week. The conditions are really good right now. We could have been a bit more greedy with the downforce, but it was a good solid run. The gears were right. The car felt solid so hopefully it gets us in good position for tomorrow.”

ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 13TH: WHERE DO YOU THINK THAT WILL PUT YOU? HOW IS THE BALANCE OF THE CAR? “Probably 10th or 12th. We left a lot on the table and missed on the balance. We’ve been off today and it’s been frustrating. We will have to get things together for tomorrow and come back strong.  I’m not sure what happened on those two laps.  This place is important for track position so I didn’t want to qualify too far back. I feel like our race car is pretty good, and it is a 500-mile race so you can make certain changes on pit stops and from the cockpit.”

SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 15TH: ““Today we spent both practice sessions working on the balance of Target car.  I think we’ll be okay for the race but you just have very limited time here at Pocono. Each of the three turns here is distinctively different so you really have to be able to compromise the setup to get things right.  Last year we showed you never know what can happen here after starting back in the pack and finishing 1-2-3.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. . 83 LEVEMIR® FLEXTOUCH® CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 17TH: “I’m not too worried about our qualifying position right now. We qualified mid-pack last year and then we ended up finishing strong in the race.  Tonight we’ll take some time to look at what our teammates did and compare notes and see what kind of data they have.  I think the No. 83 Levemir® FlexTouch® Chevrolet looks really good and I’m excited for the 500 miles tomorrow. We qualified mid-pack last year and ended up running strong in the race. We spent all day today running on one set of tires and working on the race car. Really focused on tomorrow’s 500 miles. I think the car is pretty good. We will look at what our teammates did, see what the 10 does and learn from it for next year.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 No. 11 Team HYDROXYCUT – KVSH RACING CHEVROLET   QUALIFIED 18TH: “I’m obviously not happy with qualifying. It’s not where we want to be. The car seems to be a little better in race trim, but we still have a lot of work to do. Hopefully, we can figure something out and have a decent result in the Shatter car tomorrow

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 17 AUTOMATIC FIRE SPRINKLERS, INC. – KV AFS RACING CHEVROLET QUALIFIED 19TH: “Of course we wanted to be a little more up front, but not being able to test at ovals as much as we want, is showing and starting to hurt us. Our main focus this morning was to just mileage out the car, which we managed. My Automatic Fire Sprinkler guys were then super impressive to change my Chevrolet engine in an hour and a half! In qualifying, I bottomed very hard in turn one on my first green lap and that killed everything because I had to lift and that lost me speed. My second lap was much quicker but by then I had lost the momentum. On a positive note though I think we have a good race car so we will just have to see how the race plays out tomorrow.”

CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
POCONO INDYCAR 500 FUELED BY SUNOCO
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 5, 2014

CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 83 No. 83 LEVEMIR® FLEXTOUCH® CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET met with members of the media at Pocono Raceway and discussed racing at Pocono, his season to date, outlook for rest of season and other topics.  Full transcript:

ON BEING BACK AFTER PODIUM FINISH HERE AT POCONO IN 2013:  “It is always race; at least it was last year for us.  The track itself is pretty challenging, at least from my perspective. All three corners are very different. You have to balance the setup of the three corners very differently. But overall, it’s great to be back. It’s nice to need a sweatshirt in the morning after last weekend in Houston.   I’ll admit, not complaining, after last weekend, I’m not going to complain about the coolness. It is nice to be up here in the Poconos. It is such a beautiful setting. I really enjoyed the drive over from the airport yesterday. It’s nice to be able to enjoy the July 4th weekend in such a beautiful setting.”

ON THE REST OF THE SEASON: “I think the first half (of the season) has been kind of a tale of two stories.  When we’ve finished, we’ve been inside the top-10; you mentioned those three top-fives.  We had a really good battle to claim a top-five in the second race at Houston last weekend. And, the second race in Detroit to get that podium. But we’ve also fought a few DNFs. A couple of mechanical challenges, and then getting caught-up in incidents both during the 500, as well as race one at Houston. For the second half of the season, I think we are trying to solidify that consistency, and continue to get to the end of races, and keep our streak going of getting to the end, and finishing well when we do.”

ANY ILL EFFECTS FROM THE HEAT LAST WEEK? “We all knew in the off-season it was going to be tough physically. As a result, we trained for it. I did a lot of work; pulled a lot of resources from different exercises physiologists, and some of the science side to learn as much as I could during the cold winter months in Indianapolis. Overall, I felt really good. I got out of the car, and yes, I was tired on Monday, but no more than I was after the doubleheader at Detroit. No more than I will be Sunday night here after 500 miles tomorrow. No ill effects. Re-hydrating was as important as pre-hydrating. As I said, it’s nice to the ambient temperature down a little bit. It is nice because I think because the drivers have a better opportunity to interact with the fans on race weekend. All last weekend we spent going from air conditioning to pit lane; pit lane back to air conditioning trying to stay cool and save as much energy for when it counted. So at least here, it’s nice to be able to be able to enjoy the time outside, and interact and thank the fans for coming out. Because I think that is an important part.”

CAN YOUR POSITIVE RESULT HERE LAST YEAR ADD TO YOUR CONFIDENCE FOR SUCCESS HERE THIS YEAR? “I think that the confidence for us as a team having had that podium sweep here last year, and myself with that second place finish, you come in with a good understanding of where the car was, and what direction….Firestone made a small adjustment to the right front tire for this year. We were pretty happy in first practice. We had a small mechanical issue so we didn’t get to finish the fast five, or 10 minutes, and keep up with the track as it sped up at the end there. The conditions are quite a bit different than last year. It is 15 to 20 degrees cooler, and the wind is a little bit stronger…but other than that, we have a lot of confidence heading into the weekend. It changes the strategy a little bit with it being 500 miles versus 400 miles. Last year I think I would have taken a 500 mile race. Hopefully when we get done with 500 miles tomorrow, I would be happy to have 550 or 600 miles. We’ll see how it goes. It does change the strategy and as a team you’re looking towards those extra 100 miles from lap one. Even today in race trim, we’re working towards that direction. It makes some adjustments, but having that great result it meant that the two weeks off testing wise we could go focus on some areas we needed to improve rather than feeling we had to come here, and run at Pocono. Overall I think this morning has gone well. I feel like we have picked up pretty close to where we left off. As a team, we have a lot of confidence heading into the rest of today, and tomorrow.”

ON EASE OF CHANGE FROM HONDA ENGINE TO CHEVROLET: “The biggest thing from my side is the sticker on the engine cover climbing in the cockpit. In as far as the car or the engines drive, they are very similar. You see a little bigger differences I think, or at least from the engine I ran last year being a single turbo to the twin turbo DI (direct injection) Chevy this year more on the road and street circuits where you are at a higher boost level and it’s more dynamic as far as the throttle applications and lifting, and braking and downshifting and cornering especially here at Pocono. You are pretty close to flat, or flat all the way around. It’s a big challenge to feel much difference within the cockpit. Overall it’s been a lot of fun this year working with Team Chevy guys. It was really nice to get that podium in Detroit in their backyard for them. That always helps when the management is there to go out and sweep a podium. Hopefully we can get a good result for them here. I know they have struggled a little bit on the big ovals. Didn’t get the win that they really wanted at Indy, so hopefully we can do it in the two last 500 mile races for the Triple Crown.”

ON THE WEATHER FORCING CHANGES TO THE CAR: “I think it is very similar to how we started last year, how we started today. The car’s not as sensitive as you might imagine. It changes a little bit what we do in the cockpit based on looking at the flag and seeing how hard it is gusting, and how hard it is blowing especially in turn three when you don’t have the banking kind of shading the line from the wind. Overall you start very similar, and you do have to make some adjustments both in the cockpit with my tools, as well as the line driving throughout the corner. We’ve made a couple adjustments set-up wise to compensate for the wind and the temperature, but overall, it is very, very similar.”

AT WHAT POINT IN LAST YEAR’S RACE DID YOU REALIZE THE GANASSI STRATEGY WAS GOING TO WORK? “How many laps did we do last year? 160? About 159! You never know how it is going to play out. Even last week in the street circuit race at Houston and the Indy road course, because of a late yellow the strategy flipped on its head. Some guys were able to go the distance on fuel, and some guys had full fuel and were just trying to get as much of a gap at some point to try to get that stop it late. I think it was probably about half way through that last stint when everyone started to peel in for a splash of fuel at the end and we’d done our last stop, and thought okay, we were good to go. I guess maybe earlier when people were starting to save fuel and play back strategy from the end of the race. We knew it could come to us. Front lap 20, we knew we had a good car. We just had to keep it under us and be smart with it. Make it better the whole race rather than dialing it out, and we were able to do that. And, we had four really good, clean pit stops. I know the No. 9 (Scott Dixon) and the No. 10 (Dario Franchitti) were right there as well.  I didn’t realize that Dario had gotten past Will (Power) for third until maybe a lap to go. Dario got a run on me, but wasn’t able to make anything happen, but my spotter was saying ‘The No. 10 car coming’, and I was thinking it was the No. 12 car, how did that happen?  I didn’t know it was going to be that good until a few laps from the end.”

I SAW A SPECIAL PIECE ON A NASCAR DRIVER WITH DIABETES AND DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISM – A SPOT ON HIS UNIFORM THAT LOOKED LIKE A BULLSEYE – THEY USE TO MONITOR HIM, CAN YOU EXPLAIN DIFFERENCES? “I talked to Ryann (Reed) this week. We were both down at a Children with Diabetes conference in Orlando. It is an annual event. They bring young children with diabetes; their friends; their families. They do specific sessions of parents, grandparents, friends; all sorts of activities. There are patient ambassadors; Ironman Jake Hewitt; football player Kendal Simmons; cross country skier Chris Freeman. In the past they have had the Jonas brother that has diabetes come down and speak. I was there doing a couple of different events on Wednesday, and I was talking with Ryan a little bit about it.  He wears a similar system to me in that he wears a continuous monitor so he can keep track of his blood glucose level, a lot like I do. His is a little different because it is mounted on the cockpit dash because they (NASCAR) don’t allow any telemetry or computing during races. Where with mine, it is integrated with the telemetry. So not only can I see it on my electronic dash, but the engineers are able to keep track of it. I think him what they were talking about with his suit is. If the sugars got out of control, and he needed an insulin injection that would be the area in which he would be able to metabolize it, and make an impact so it wouldn’t hold him back. Fortunately, knock on wood, everything I have had in the last five years of racing with diabetes, I have never needed insulin during the race. I’m set up in case my sugars go the other way,  and my blood glucose goes the other way and goes lower, I’m set-up with a drink bottle with orange juice in it so I can get some carbohydrates back into my  system and bring my sugars up so I don’t have to stop. But again, I’ve never needed the orange juice during a race to treat a low blood sugar. The idea is that if you keep it within that range, then you don’t need either carbohydrates or insulin.”

CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
POCONO INDYCAR 500 FUELED BY SUNOCO
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 5, 2014

TEAM PENSKE’S HELIO CASTRONEVES, JUAN PABLO MONTOYA AND VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES LEADER WILL POWER met with the media at Pocono Raceway following today’s opening practice to talk about track conditions, being back at Pocono, contact on street races and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

HELIO CASTRONEVES
HOW DID IT GO OUT THERE THIS MORNING?
“Pretty good. The wind conditions hit us and threw a little curveball. At the end of the day, it’s the same for everyone. The Chevy engine is working good. We were able to try a race setup, which is what we wanted. Hopefully now in the second session we will be able to work a little bit on qualifying.”

WHAT DOES THE WIND DO TO THE CAR?
“It makes it a little tough to set up, especially when you are going from one corner to another, even though it is an oval. When it’s a constant wind, it’s not a problem. When it’s a gust of wind, that’s when it’s a problem. On one lap, the car is one way and the next one is, ‘Whoa, what happened?’ The inconsistency is what makes it difficult for us.”

LOOKING BACK AT LAST WEEKEND, THE STREET RACES ARE BECOMING MORE OF A CONTACT SPORT. IT SEEMS THE ONLY WAY MOST PEOPLE FEEL THAT CAN GET AROUND IS TO PUSH SOMEONE OUT OF THE WAY. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
“Certainly I don’t like it, and I don’t think anyone likes it especially if you are the one getting the contact. For one thing, the car is too strong. It gives opportunities for guys not to be careful. If there is a small opening, they are just ‘eh, whatever happened happened’ and not thinking of the consequences. But it became a good show with the contact like that. Unfortunately it hurts when you do have contact like that. It’s not going to change any time soon.”

JUAN PABLO SAID THERE ARE STILL GUYS YOU CAN RACE AGAINST. HOW DIFFERENT IS IT FROM BACK IN THE OLD CART DAYS? IS THERE STILL THE SAME ETTIQUITE OR IS IT A LITTLE MORE AGGRESSIVE NOW?
“In the past, there was more power so it was more difficult to get out of the corner. The close racing was a little different, and the approaching speed was a little different. Now because everyone is so close to each other… the braking marks are so close to each other. In the past, if you touched it used to break you more. It was a little different game. But the competition has adapted and I have to say this field is very close, probably because of the way the equipment is. We don’t have as much torque as we did in the past. Saying that, you see the younger generation driving a little different. Some of the new rookies have very huge respect – some not so much. But it’s never going to change. But it’s always fun to race like in the Indy 500 with Hunter-Reay when we are pushing each other to the limit. It was a great show with lots of respect.”

WITH A DOUBLE-POINTS RACE, DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS WEEKEND IS A CHANCE TO GAIN GROUND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
“Absolutely. Those are the races where we need to focus. But we can’t just focus on the championship. We have to focus on having good performances. Whatever comes out will sort things out.”

DOES IT MATTER TO YOU THAT YOUR TEAMMATES ARE THE ONES YOU ARE FIGHTING OFF?
“No. It’s a good problem for a team to have and that’s what we are looking for. It’s great to be battling with Will. I think the biggest one is how to manage that so we can bring both guys in and at the end of the day we will accomplish our goal – give the championship to Roger (Penske). We still have that mentality of wanting to make that happen.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE THINGS ARE STARTING TO COME TO JUAN?
“I never doubted him. You have to give credit to the guy who jumped back in after seven years in NASCAR. He’s doing extremely well. I was never thinking anything different. I’m glad he’s adapting fast, and I think that’s his biggest strength.”

WHICH TURN HERE REQUIRES THE MOST CONFIDENCE FOR YOU?
“I think Turn 3 is the toughest one because of the circumstances of the angle of the corner and how you approach behind from someone. In front, it’s not so much (difficult). Where the laptime is is at Turn 1. Put those together, that’s the toughest part for the engineers and drivers.”

DO YOU ENJOY RACING AT A TRACK THAT YOU KNOW IS ONE OF THOSE GREAT TRACKS FROM 30 YEARS AGO WHERE SOME OF THE GREATEST NAMES IN INDYCAR RACING HAVE WON?
“Oh yeah. The tradition is always great to keep adding to the series – Milwaukee, here. Unfortunately we don’t have Nazareth. Phoenix is another place we used to race. Laguna Seca is another place. But we gotta go where we are welcome. And I think the series is doing a great job of going places where we are welcome.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA
HAVE YOU STARTED LOOKING AT THE STANDINGS A LITTLE BIT MORE LATELY?
“It’s good now. I was looking at them at the beginning when I was 12th or 14th in points, and I was like, ‘I don’t really wanna look at this. It’s embarrassing!’ But I think where experience pays off is you don’t put yourself in bad positions and you finish more races. I feel I’ve been doing a good job for Team Penske, Verizon, PPG, Chevrolet and everyone who supports us. As long as the man (Penske) is happy, then I’ll be happy.”

DO YOU ENJOY THAT IT’S YOUR TEAMMATES THAT YOU’RE CHASING DOWN?
“In a way, yes. But in another way, it’s nice that they are running 1-2 at the moment. Neither of them have a championship yet, and I think both of them deserve one. So we will see how their interaction continues.”

HOW DID IT GO THIS MORNING?
“Good. It’s amazing how fast this place is. Even though you test here and you know what you have to do, it’s hard. To commit yourself into Turn 1 or Turn 3 to hold it down, it takes a lot of self-confidence.”

YOUR RESULTS HAVE PICKED UP A LOT IN THE LAST FEW RACES, AND YOU HAD A HUGE WEEKEND LAST WEEKEND. ARE YOU FEELING MORE COMFORTABLE?
“I’m starting to figure it out. If you’re not comfortable, you’re not confident. Now I know I can outbrake anybody. I get there and I can throw the car in and I’m still going to stop. So the confidence level is starting to go back up. It wasn’t going to happen overnight. You have to go racing to really understand. You test and you push until you think you’re comfortable. Then you go into a race and when you push you’re a second off, you have to get out of that comfort zone and figure it out. That’s what we’ve been doing.”

THE STREET RACES ARE BECOMING MORE OF A CONTACT SPORT. DO YOU REMEMBER IT BEING THAT WAY IN THE CART DAYS?
“It’s a contact sport with some people. It depends on who you are racing. If you’re running with guys that are experienced, you don’t have any problems. You’re running with Kanaan, Power or people like that, if you get out inside of them they will give you the room. They are smart enough. But then there are kids who would rather end up in the tires that give up a position.”

WAS IT THAT WAY IN CART?
“Michael (Andretti) was a guy you could race against always. He was a fair guy. Then you had other people who were desperate. When you’re desperate for results, you’ll do anything.”

WILL YOU WATCH THE SPRINT CUP RACE TONIGHT JUST TO WATCH IT?
“I will be in my hotel room. Last night I was watching the Nationwide race last night and fell asleep. But not in a mean way; I really wanted to watch it with 30 laps to go. It woke me up, the screaming at the line. That’s the thing with restrictor plate racing. We should do 10 five-lap races. That would make it so much more fun.”

YOU HAVE SO MUCH MORE EXPERIENCE HERE THAN ANY OTHER DRIVER. DO YOU FIND THAT IT HELPS?
“No. In a stock car here, you brake and downshift. You downshift in these cars here but it is very different. There is no technique and you press a button. It’s completely different. The IndyCars are very sensitive to the aero. Any gust of wind changes how the car behaves. But they are fun to drive.”

IS THE TRACK DIFFICULT TO DRIVE IN THE SAME PLACES DRIVING A STOCK CAR THAN AN INDYCAR?
“No. In a stock car, if the car was bad it doesn’t matter how good you are. When the car is good, it doesn’t matter how bad you are.”

HOW IS THE WIND HERE?
“It changes the balance and makes it hard because every corner drives different. You go into Turn One and you have tons to understeer. You go through Two – it shouldn’t be a corner in these cars it’s so easy. You turn in and you’re saying ‘please don’t snap, please don’t snap!’ You get into Three, and you have a ton of instability in the entry and feel like the front gives up. You think you’re going crash and you turn the wheel, the car doesn’t turn.”

THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN GREAT LATELY. HAS THE TEAM FOUND SOMETHING OR IS IT MORE OF A PROGRESSION IN YOUR RETURN?
“It’s a progression. I always said it would take time. If you thought it wasn’t, you were dreaming. I hadn’t been in an open-wheel car in six years and not in an IndyCar in 10 or 12. I feel like I’m getting there. I can feel it start to click, and the more it starts to click the more confident you get in the car and the more you can push it.”

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PENSKE AND GANASSI?
“They are very different organizations. They are both great organizations, and I’ve been lucky enough to run for both of them. But the way Chip and Roger wants their things are completely different.”

WILL POWER
HOW DID IT GO FOR YOUR THIS MORNING?
“Good. In the first session, we were trying to work on stuff to try and get the car better. It seems quite difficult to follow. We have to work on that.”

THE STREET RACES ARE BECOMING MORE OF A CONTACT SPORT. ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH THAT OR WOULD YOU PREFER MORE PLACES TO PASS SO IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A CONTACT SPORT?
“I mean, you can’t hit someone hard but the good thing about these cars is that you can rub. So it has become a little more push-and-shove. Obviously if you go too far you’re going to get a penalty. That’s street racing and how it is right now. You play to the rules at the time. That’s how we are playing right now.”

HOW DAUNTING IS IT TO GO FROM A DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND TO A 500-MILE RACE?
“I don’t know about daunting. One thing that is daunting is this place. But it’s fine. The temperature will make the race more comfortable. That and the lack of humidity. But it’s great – racing every weekend and having fun.”

YOU’VE SAID YOU’RE NOT LOOKING AT POINTS…
“You have to focus on the actual weekend. It can be a big swing one way or the other. You have to focus on your job and do everything you can to have a good day.”

TALK MORE ABOUT THE HUMIDITY AND HOW THE WIND IS AFFECTING THINGS?
“We’re running out of gear on the frontstraight a lot. So the wind is pushing us along pretty good. It’s actually pretty fast now, the track. The wind always affects these cars. It’s not too bad right now – the direction of the wind. Sometimes when you get a bad direction, it can really upset the car. This isn’t too bad.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
COKE ZERO 400
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 4, 2014

CHEVROLET DRIVERS CAPTURE FOUR OF TOP FIVE STARTING POSITIONS
IN RAIN-SHORTENED QUALIFYING SESSION AT DAYTONA

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – July 4, 2014 – After a bizarre and rain-shortened qualifying session for the Coke Zero 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Daytona International Speedway, there were a few uncommon names at the top of the final time sheet, but another solid contingent of Chevrolets at the front.   Reed Sorensen led the way for Team Chevy with his first top-10 start of the 2014 season by qualifying on the outside of the front row in his No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet SS with a lap of 45.176 seconds, 199.322 mph.

During the first 20-minute session a number of strategies were unfolding between the 44 teams vying for transfer spots.  At times there were packs of cars on track but running considerably slower speeds on purpose and cars jockeying for partners on pit lane and on track.  Just as the session came to an end, steady rain began to fall and eliminated any further qualifying rounds.  NASCAR set the field based on speeds from the first and lone session.

Landon Cassill, No. 40 Newtown Building Supplies Chevrolet SS, earned the best start of his NSCS career by qualifying third with a time of 45.182 seconds,199.194 mph.  Bobby Labonte, making just his second NSCS start of 2014, scored a top-five start by qualifying his No. 33 Thunder Coal Chevrolet SS in fourth position.  Jimmie Johnson notched his seventh top-five start of the season by posting the fifth fastest time in his No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet SS.

In Saturday night’s 43-car field, Team Chevy will occupy nine of the top 15 starting positions for race No. 18 of the season.  Daytona 500 winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., will start his quest for a Daytona sweep from the seventh starting position in his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS while Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate and NSCS point leader, Jeff Gordon, qualified ninth in his No. 24 Pepsi Real Sugar Chevrolet SS.   Stewart Haas Racing teammates Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet SS and Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet SS will start 12th and 13th respectively.  Kasey Kahne, in the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS, qualified in the 14th position.

David Gilliland (Ford) won the pole for the race to round out the top-five.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
COKE ZERO 400
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUALIFYING NOTES & QUOTES
JULY 4, 2014

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 7th
ON DESCRIBING THE FLOW OF THE FIRST QUALIFYING SESSION TO HIS TEAM
“I gave up trying to describe it to them. But I sure they want to know what’s going on. It’s a mess. You have to be in the very back and try to get a big tow. I ain’t ever seen anything like it. It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.”

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 36TH:
CAN YOU DESCRIBE QUALIFYING TODAY?
“Well, it’s just about being lucky as to who can make it through and who gets the right run. It’s just so crazy that everyone pulls out and doesn’t go and then stops. It is what it is. Everyone has the same conditions. It just doesn’t feel like racing I think is the way to put it because half the time people are running 40 mph. I don’t even really know what to say because it’s so messed up that I can’t explain it.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER FOLDS OF HONOR CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 13TH:
Qualifying was a better spot for us than it would have been if we had gone on practice speeds. The new qualifying format is great. It is probably not 100% refined for Superspeedway racing yet. It was a definitely a chess game.  It worked out okay because our car is still rolling.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 19TH:
DESCRIBE WHAT THAT WAS LIKE? THAT SEEMED MORE DIFFERENT AND WILDER THAN TALLADEGA?
“It was definitely interesting. Everyone knew what everyone else was trying to do. There was no way to get a small line of cars behind a big line of cars. Everybody was trying to do the same thing so it was kind of interesting. I don’t know… I think they need to look at doing something a little bit different here for next time. I wish we could get another round in because we made the top-24 and we were hoping to get a good starting spot out front and good pit spot.”

WHEN THE RCR ALLIANCE GOT TOGETHER TOWARD THE END, YOU WERE TRYING TO PACE YOURSELF TO GET THAT ONE LAST LAP. WAS THAT THE CASE? IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS HARD TO DO THAT WITH SO MANY OTHER PACKS OUT THERE.
“Yeah, it was hard to get in the right position. Again, everyone was trying to do the same thing. Everyone was trying to get behind a big pack of cars so they could get that big run, but no one wanted to go and be that big pack of cars.”

HOW GOOD IS THIS CAR?
“It’s the one we ended up racing in the 500, and it was awesome in the race. It didn’t last very long. But I don’t know. It’s hard to say. We didn’t do much drafting yesterday. We kind of did what we were doing today… we got in line, put in a lap and parked it. It’s driving good. I know it will have good speed so looking forward to tomorrow night, getting in the right spot and hopefully be there in the end to win this thing.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 WIX FILTERS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 20TH:
YOU WERE QUICK HERE IN FEBRUARY AND AT TALLADEGA IN MAY. I KNOW THE ENGINES ARE GOOD BUT WHAT IS THAT HAS MADE THESE CARS SO GOOD AT THESE (RESTRICTOR) PLATE TRACKS?
“It’s a combination of everything. It takes a little bit of everything on top of keeping your foot off that middle pedal, which is an important part of this as well. Qualifying went kind of the way we wanted it to but we just didn’t have control of the weather. We made the top-24 cut but in the end, our Wix Filters Chevrolet isn’t going to be on the pole so we will get ready for tomorrow night.”

IN THE RACE, WE TALK ABOUT HOW THE TRACK IS DIFFERENT HERE NOW THAN HOW IT IS IN FEBRUARY.
“It used to be 10 times different just because of the slickness of the track before it was repaved, which has been the big differential. The new asphalt kind of narrowed that gap between the February race and the July race. Overall, it’s somewhat the same; it’s just so much hotter inside the race car. You still have to deal with the track position side of it and you still can’t afford to make mistakes on pit road. A speeding penalty can end your night really easily. There don’t seem to be a whole lot of cautions here no matter what the race is, but in the end just keeping your head above water will keep you there to the end.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
COKE ZERO 400
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 3, 2014

MICHAEL ANNETT, NO. 7 PILOT/FLYING J CHEVROLET SS AND REED SORENSON, NO. 36 GOLDEN CORRAL CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the season to date, changes of making the Chase, racing at Daytona, and more. Full Transcript:

DO YOU THINK THIS IS YOUR BEST OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THE CHASE WITH A WIN HERE AT DAYTONA?
ANNETT: “I think so. It’s hard to say. We’re both very competitive race car drivers but we also know what we’re up against. Just going off of the past, you see small teams that circle the superspeedways as probably the most even playing field that we’re on. The way we ran at Talladega, I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t come out of here with a win. I’m 30th in points right now and it’s something I keep looking at thinking man, if we go to Daytona and won that race, we’d be in the Chase. If our team is going to pull that off I think it would be something pretty special.”
SORENSON: “I agree. It’s pretty special. This is probably the best chance for us to win a race. Any of the restrictor plate races kind of evens the field. Everybody knows that. So, yeah, if one of us could get a win that would be great.  And that’s what the new system has kind of enabled a smaller team like ours to have that opportunity if you were able to win a race. So, this would be a place to do it, for sure.”

BEFORE THE KENTUCKY RACE YOU SAID YOU HAD A PRETTY GOOD CAR. WHAT DID YOU LEARN THERE THAT WILL HELP YOU MOVING FORWARD?
ANNETT: “Kentucky was just a whole weekend where you always go out for that first run when you unload off the truck and it kind of sets the tone for the whole weekend. I knew right away that it was a really good car just throughout practice, I knew it. I’ve had a lot of success at Kentucky in Trucks and Nationwide and everything. So I had a really good feeling about that weekend. I can’t pinpoint exactly one particular thing that we learned, it was just fun to be running up there in the top 20 all night. It’s a totally different ballgame. Moving up to the Cup Series was a big step, but when you actually have a good car like that and the whole night you’re racing with those guys, you definitely learn a lot. So, if (Kevin) Bono (Manion, crew chief) learned something, I don’t know. He’s forgotten more than I’ll ever know. But I just learned a lot the whole night racing with those guys.”

DOES IT GIVE YOU MORE CONFIDENCE COMING INTO THIS WEEKEND AT DAYTONA?
ANNETT: “Yeah, I’ve had a lot of success here and Daytona is a place where sometimes you love it and sometimes you hate it. I had to miss three months of the year a few years back when I broke my sternum here, but I won an ARCA race here and it’s a place you love to hate. But I’m looking forward to the weekend. It’s always a crapshoot, but I think we have as good a shot as anybody else to win the race.”

YOU HAVE TOP 20 FINISHES AT THREE OF THE LAST EIGHT RACES, HIGH HORSEPOWER TRACKS WHERE TYPICALLY A SMALLER TEAM DOESN’T DO AS WELL. SO WHAT HAS HELPED YOU IN THAT SENSE?
ANNETT: “I can’t point one thing out that we’ve been doing different. My relationship with Bono just keeps growing and our guys are working as hard as ever. We have a really good alliance with RCR and we’re starting to see those cars (like) Paul Menard in the top 10 every weekend. We have a good alliance there. When they learn, we’re learning the same stuff. Across the board, I think all the teams are starting to run better.”

LOOKING AT PRACTICE TODAY, IT WAS WINDY. IF WE HAVE THE SAME CONDITIONS FOR QUALIFYING TOMORROW, HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WILL PLAY OUT? DESCRIBE HOW THE CAR FELT IN THE WIND
SORENSON: “I asked how windy it was because I was in the car the whole time before that storm rolled in. My car was moving around, too. He (Annett) said his drove good, so maybe it wasn’t the wind, maybe our cars weren’t driving correctly. It shouldn’t affect qualifying.”
ANNETT: “The wind is going to be the least of our worries (laughter).”
SORENSON: “During qualifying at Talladega, our biggest issue was see-sawing back and forth trying to get runs on each other. It’s kind of a cluster out there. Even today in practice, we went out there and then pulled back in and then went back out. Everybody wants to be in the back to get that run. So, that’s going to be fun.”

WILL YOU RUN ALL THE ECR CARS TOGETHER IN QUALIFYING?
ANNETT: “We always have an idea.”
SORENSON: “I don’t know and I’m going to find out after this what the plan is.”
ANNETT: “Obviously we want all the ECR engines to qualify up front. So, that’s pretty much what we tried to practice today. There are a lot more small teams like us where guys want that run too, so they jump in line with you and that’s why we rode around. I was in second gear I think and then came down pit road.
SORENSON: “At Talladega, I was supposed to go with him in Qualifying, behind him; but I don’t think I ever saw him in Qualifying at all. It’s hard to plan it but I think that’s the plan.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE OUT THERE GOING IN SECOND GEAR?
ANNETT: “It’s something I’ve never been a part of until we started doing this. It’s pretty crazy. It’s different. I kind of laugh at how much thought goes into it because it doesn’t matter as soon as the green flag drops, where you qualify. If you’re lucky enough to get the pole, obviously that’s a huge boost for your team, but second through 43rd doesn’t matter where you qualify.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
COKE ZERO 400
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 3, 2014

DALE EARNHARDT JR. NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS met with members of the media and discussed the first half of his season, the recent plate race at Talladega, his quest to sweep the two races at Daytona this year, Twitter, and more. Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT YOUR QUEST TO WIN BOTH RACES AT DAYTONA THIS YEAR AND OUTLOOK THIS WEEKEND
“Yeah, I guess Jimmie did it last year and before that it was Bobby Allison who did it around ’82 or ’83 or something.  So it’s tough to do, especially the way the package is now.  It’s real hard to get by the leader and we know that pretty well now from the way we ran in Daytona earlier this year.  I really haven’t gotten a chance to see how this car is going to respond to the track.  I am certain it’s going to be competitive, but knowing it’s not the same car though; we are going to have to see if it has any different characteristics in the balance.  It’s a lot different surface temperature than we had in February so we have to figure out how that is going to affect the way a car drives and if the balance of the car is going to be different.  I would welcome the car to be more challenging as far as the balance at this place and to where we use a little bit more of the race track.  Getting handling to come into play would be a bit more fun.  Hopefully the surface is starting to age a little bit and we will see when we get out there, but I don’t anticipate it being a whole lot different in the change over time.”

TALK ABOUT YOUR INTERVIEW THIS WEEK WITH ELI GOLD AND HOW YOU WERE ALMOST APOLOGIZING FOR YOUR RACE AT TALLADEGA EARLIER THIS YEAR
“Yeah, it was embarrassing man.  I hate to talk about it.  The way we ran and what I chose to do at the end of that race is just really uncharacteristic of anybody that is in the field and trying to compete.  I just got really frustrated with the way things were working out for us.  I lost sight of the overall big picture, what you are out there trying to do, who all is out there depending on you to do it, and what you need to do.  I learned some lessons and you are never too old to learn them.  You are never too old to be taught a lesson either.  I definitely experienced that in Talladega this year.

“So I think when I was out there running this year, I got real selfish at Talladega, and how the result affected anyone – I never took into account.   I was just out there really thinking about me, and what I thought, and what I wanted to do, and how frustrated I was.  I forgot that there was a team behind me, and depending on me.  Lot of fans there to see us race, showed up to spend hard-earned money, so it was a difficult thing to go through.

“I would love to sweep the races at Daytona because that is a cool thing, but I just love winning here.  So to go to victory lane here regardless of what we did in February, would mean a lot to me.  I expect that we will try to do the best thing that we can to help us strategy-wise so that we are toward the front.   We did it perfectly for the 500 and we were in a position at Talladega to gamble and make it work like several guys did. We learned a little bit there too as far as how we could be a bit more aggressive with our pit strategy considering where we are in points and the wins we have.

“Hopefully we can do that.  If we run out of gas, I can take that if we are trying to win a race.  So we need to be willing to make that happen because I think that is what it’s going to come down to.  The way they do these races these days, you have to get that track position and you have got to be first.  When everybody is done pitting, you don’t want to have to drive through the pack.  It’s hard to pass and you get boxed in.  So what happens is that you need to be doing is putting fuel in your car as often as you can so that the last time you have to come down pit road to get in that window, you only need to put a few gallons in the car to reach that window.  It’s where most of the field is putting 12 to 22 gallons in on that stop and you are only putting in what you need, and you beat them off pit road.  And there you are – in position to win.  As long as you, as a driver, can maintain that track position over the restarts and all the things that are going to go on over that run.  So we know we need to do it that way, it’s just hopefully everything else falls in place that way such as the cautions and everything else.  Steve (Letarte) is the master of those things and I have seen him improve so much over the last four years.  So I feel like I have the right guy on the pit box.”

YOU HAVE WON BOTH OF THESE RACES.  IS ONE A TALLER ORDER THAN THE OTHER?
“They are both similar physically to win.  It’s the mental picture that the Daytona 500 gives you and the pressure that comes with that spectacle.  There are so many people here, and just the driver’s meeting alone will set the tone and take you out of the race and intimidate you if you let it.  There is so much happening, so many people on pit road, and you are being thrust in front of all these people to shake hands.  You just want to think about the race and get in your car and you don’t want any distractions so you are just kind of struggling through that in the pre-race.  It won’t be like that for the 400.  It will be a typical weekend.  The Daytona 500 is just so crazy before the race and that just gives you a different feeling and makes you understand how big that race is and how many people must be paying attention to what is going on at the moment.

“I don’t know if the viewers are any different, I am sure they are for the 500.  And you imagine that as a driver. But all those things really take a backseat once you get in the car.  I mean I remember when we were running there at the end and just how nerve-racking all those restarts were.  That is much more of a bigger deal in the Daytona 500.   But winning here regardless, it’s a great feeling.  So you are going to try your guts out but I think you get much more nervous and certainly aware of how big the situation is when it’s the 500.  So mentally, it’s tougher.”

WHEN YOU COME INTO A WEEKEND, IS IT THE WINS THAT GET YOU GOING OR THE RACES LIKE AT SONOMA OR KENTUCKY WHERE YOU DIDN’T EXPECT A GOOD RUN BUT GOT ONE?
“Well, we have surprised ourselves a couple of times like at Sonoma and Kentucky after how practice and everything was going.  I just couldn’t believe how well they got that car put together as competitive as it was for that race.  Those are the things that build momentum and build confidence.  So when we struggled, I used to get really frustrated on Friday’s or Saturday’s when practice wouldn’t go well.  You definitely don’t allow it to affect you as much anymore knowing the potential of how it can turn around for this team so well.

“So on weekends like last weekend four or five years ago, we wouldn’t have rebounded or run as well.  The ship was sinking on Friday and it would have been under water on Sunday.  But we seem to be able to calm down, talk it out, patch it up, and make something work.  It just comes from a lot of experience, great engineers, and it’s really amazing work that they are doing.  The speed in the cars directly relates to Kevin Meendering and my engineers.  It doesn’t directly relate to Steve Letarte.  He is the orchestrator of the individuals, the people, and running the team.

“But the pure speed the car has comes from the engineers and how they choose to set the car up to work on it through the weekend.  They are doing an amazing job and when we can go to Sonoma and run like we did and then go to Kentucky and struggle and rebound so quickly in the matter of a day, it makes you feel good.  But that is how this sport has always been.  You can win the Daytona 500 one day and then the next day can be the worst day you have ever experienced in this whole deal.  And that is just the way it goes and I have had those days back-to-back.  You wonder why in the hell it’s like that but that is the way it goes.”

DID YOU WATCH ANY FILM OF THE DAYTONA 500 OR TALLADEGA TO PREPARE YOU FOR THIS WEEKEND?
“Not really, I didn’t watch any film.  I have a pretty good understanding of what I was going through and what I was thinking through the last 100 miles of the 500.   I understand what was working for me and what mentality I need to have.   You just really have to crack the whip and push yourself mentally as hard as you can for every position.  Once we got the lead in Daytona we started battling with (Greg) Biffle, the 99 car, and whoever else was up there.  You just had to really reinforce to yourself how important it was to not settle into second or third and allow that to be alright.  It was so important to be the leader on the restarts, to have that control, and to have that control of the person behind you and who was starting on the outside of you or if you wanted to be in front of your teammate and start on the outside line, or in front of your teammate on the inside line.  That was so important and we saw that on those last several restarts and to have Jeff (Gordon) behind me on that last restart.

“So you had to keep reinforcing to yourself as you were running, that if someone would get up beside you for the lead, how important it was not to let that person have the position.  You had to run extremely aggressive side drafting and try to box them in on the fence.  You wanted to make it really hard on them to take a position away.  I realized that if I get put in that position again that you are going to have to play to some pretty hardcore, cut-throat racing.”

WHAT IS IT YOU ENJOY ABOUT TWITTER THE MOST?
“Sometimes I feel like I am tweeting too much.  Sometimes I feel that Twitter has got filters on my account to keep me from seeing all the negative stuff.  But it’s been fun, and been so positive.  I really underestimated how enjoyable it would be.  I really enjoy sharing what I am doing, what I think is cool, and what is important to me.  I enjoy seeing that feedback and also that interaction, the conversational interaction about topics.  I enjoy a good comment, or a smart aleck.  My momma was a good smart aleck, so I can appreciate a good smart ass.  I enjoy the going back and forth and stuff like that.   And also just reading and seeing what everybody else is talking about or whatever interests everyone else has.  Basically and mainly in our own industry and just seeing what people are talking about, what they think is important today. It gives you so much access.  I know the fans feel like they get a lot of great access, but for me it just taps you into the heartbeat of everything.  What is going on in here (media center), what is going on in the garage, what some of the executives are thinking, and just gives you an idea of what direction everyone is going.  It’s pretty neat so I am having fun with it and not trying to make any missteps.  It’s been very positive.”

ABOUT HOW CONSISTENT YOU HAVE BEEN RECENTLY
“I am just thrilled with the way the team is competing obviously.  I don’t look at those stats directly but I know we have been doing some great work since the beginning of the Chase last year.  And maybe even a little bit before that.  I thought in the Chase we had done everything just right except for Chicago.  I thought that whatever happens in the offseason is going to tell us if we can be good enough to win a championship this year.  If you look at the graph going back to 2011 when Steve and I got together, if you look at our performance, it’s been a linear trajectory in improvement.  It just seemed to make sense that this year would be that much better.

“Then we won, and then we came out of the box and ran second a couple of times and I was thinking man, this is awesome, this is the best I have ever had it.  It’s as good as I have ever run at Hendrick and maybe even DEI – consistently.  We were running up front every week, and having a good car that could stay in the top-five every week.  I remember when we put together a couple of top-15s a couple weeks in a row, and then it became a couple of top-10s.  And then man, if we ran in the top-five a couple of times, we were really doing it.  So it’s steadily gotten better and that progression makes sense to me, but at the same time when you do look at the numbers it really surprises me that the team has been able to sustain it.  That has been the tough part for me over my career, is to sustain momentum and get ourselves running well for a long period of time.  We would start off great, then have a terrible summer, then end well. It just never was complete.  So it seems that this team is as good as it’s ever been and hopefully we can maintain it.

“We will worry about next year and the change at crew chief and all that good stuff.  But man, it’s important for us to sustain this for this season.  More important than anything else and we are going to concentrate on that.”

Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Teams Ready for Challenging Triangle-Shaped Pocono Raceway
·         Chevrolet  Leads Series Manufacturer Standings with 10 of 18 races in the books

·         Chevrolet IndyCar V6 has won 5 of 10 races held to-date in 2014

·         Will Power Continues to Lead Driver Point Standings 39 Points Over Team Penske Teammate Helio Castroneves

DETROIT (July 3, 2014) – The unique triangle-shaped Pocono Raceway is next on the schedule for the Chevrolet IndyCar V6 teams and drivers.  On the strength of five victories, Chevrolet heads to the 200-lap/500-mile Pocono 500 on the 2.5-mile tri-oval leading the Verizon IndyCar Series Manufacturer standings.

“We are eager to get back to Pocono,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager Verizon IndyCar Series. “We feel Team Chevy can really get it done there this year. Our speedway performance is solid and with double points and 500 miles to race, there is a lot on the line. Our Chevrolet IndyCar V6 engines will be in the sweet spot as most have mileaged out recently which has bolstered our lead in the manufacturer championship.”

Team Chevy driver Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, brings a 39 point lead over his teammate Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Hitachi Chevrolet, in the 2014 IndyCar driver standings.  Power scored the first victory in 2014, bringing the Chevrolet 2.2 liter direct injected twin turbocharged powered race car to Victory Lane at the Streets of St. Petersburg.  His second victory of the year that propelled him to the lead in the point standings was race one of the Chevrolet Dual at Detroit.  A total of six top-five finishes and eight top-10 runs thus far this season has kept him on top of the standings.

The first oval was the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Three time Indy 500 winner, Castroneves, came within just six one-hundredths of a second from claiming his fourth victory in the iconic track. Castroneves took the momentum to Detroit and scored a top-five finish in race one in the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit, and a dominating victory in Sunday’s race two of Chevrolet sponsored weekend.

Team Penske’s third driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 2 PPG Chevrolet, sits fifth in the driver standings in his first season returning to IndyCar competition.

Scott Dixon, No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Chevrolet, is the defending race champion at Pocono.  The 2013 Verizon IndyCar Series champion sits ninth in the standings, and is looking to repeat at Pocono, and score his first win of the 2014 season.

Sebastien Bourdais, No. 11Hydroxycut KVSH Racing Chevrolet, heads to Pocono eighth in the standings, and fueled by the momentum of two top-five finishes in the doubleheader Grand Prix of Houston.