NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
AAA TEXAS 500
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
NOVEMBER 6, 2015
KEVIN HARVICK PUTS CHEVROLET SS ON THE OUTSIDE POLE AT TEXAS
Team Chevy takes five of top-12 starting spots in Lone Star State
FT. WORTH, TEXAS (Nov. 6, 2015) – Kevin Harvick put the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS on the outside front row for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway; the second race in the Eliminator round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The qualifying effort marks the seventh time in 2015 the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has earned the second starting spot. Harvick has 23 top-10 starts this season and has started in the top 10 at Texas Motor Speedway six times in 26 races at the 1.5-mile venue.
“It’s a great start for our Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet team,” said Harvick. “The team did a great job. Pretty much ran the same speed in all three rounds there. Didn’t quite have the raw speed in the first round, but this is a racetrack where you want the car to keep going as long as you can. I felt like we had a good start to our race trim practice today and going to have a good spot to start on Sunday.”
Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate and fellow Team Chevy Chase contender, Kurt Busch, placed his No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS in the seventh starting position for Sunday’s 334-lap/500-mile contest.
The additional two Chevrolet SS drivers still in championship contention, Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex, Jr. will start from deep in the Texas field.
Gordon placed his No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet SS in the 18th spot during the three rounds of knock-out style qualifying at Texas, while Truex, Jr. put up the 23rd fastest time in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevy SS.
The remaining Chevrolet drivers that made it to the final round of qualifying in the Lone Star State included Kyle Larson who will start fifth in the No. 42 Target Plaid Chevrolet SS.
Five-time Texas winner, Jimmie Johnson, will take the green flag from the eighth starting spot in the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS.
In search of a second Cowboy Hat Trophy, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. behind the wheel of the No. 88 Kelly Blue Book Chevrolet SS will start his quest for victory from the 10th position.
Danica Patrick rounded out the Chevrolet power in the top-12 by earning her best starting spot of the season, an 11th-place qualifying effort in the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS.
Brad Keselowski (Ford) was the pole winner. Kyle Busch (Toyota) will start third and Joey Logano (Ford) will start fourth to round out the top-five qualifiers.