NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
FORD ECOBOOST 400
HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY FINAL PRACTICE
NOVEMBER 21, 2015
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS
TELL US HOW PRACTICE WENT, YOU WERE FASTEST OF THE FOUR:
“The very first run that final practice was great. I felt really good about it. We’ve got a few things on the longer run that I felt like we can work on. The second run was so/so. The track definitely lost some grip. I think we have a good indication what the track conditions are going to be like in the race, so that is all really valuable information that we can put into our database and make adjustments and hopefully good decisions for tomorrow.”
HOW DO YOU UNWIND THIS EVENING?
“I am just looking forward to getting some good rest here at the track. I’m going to go to dinner with Ingrid (wife) and some friends.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS
ON PRACTICE:
“It was good. The car has been pretty good the whole time. We just needed some time on the track and time to figure it out. We have gotten better every practice. The last practice was the best we have been. We still need to get better, but I think we are heading the right direction. That was really the first time we were able, since the first practice, we were able to make a sticker run, which is a big deal here. That helps also.”
WHAT ABOUT WEATHER?
“It’s going to be pretty volatile. I don’t really know what to do about it. We will have to play it by ear and see what happens. It’s going to be tough for everybody involved, all the competitors, the Chaser’s, NASCAR, we will just work through it. It’s South Florida, it could clear up and we could have no problem, but right now it looks like there will be some weather in the area.”
DO YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK YOU HAVE TO DO THIS EVENING?
“Yeah, always going through everything we can go through. All of our last nut and bolt and preparation to make the car as perfect as we can get it. We will look through all the notes and debrief with our teammates and try to get ourselves in the best position possible.”
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/DENVER MATTRESS CHEVROLET SS
HOW WAS THE CAR THERE IN THE SECOND SESSION? LITTLE BETTER?
“No, not really. We haven’t made any gains on it. It’s been a frustrating day. We have been struggling with the car and we really haven’t hit on anything that helped it. So we are going to go in there and work on it right now and hopefully come up with something for tomorrow.”
COLE PEARN, CREW CHIEF, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/DENVER MATTRESS CHEVROLET SS
YOU GUYS WERE BETTER THERE IN THE SECOND SESSION, HOW HAPPY ARE YOU WITH THE CAR NOW?
“Still pretty low grip. Low grip out there so it’s sliding around on both ends out there. We are just trying to find out what the right balance is on both sides of it. Still got a lot of work to do there. Just need to be a little better and get it a little more consistent to drive.”
RODNEY CHILDERS, NO. 4 BUDWEISER/JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS
ON FINAL PRACTICE:
“The car seems to have had pretty good speed. Definitely a lot better than what we were here last year. The guys did a good job. Kevin learned a lot running the top up against the wall. I feel like we got a lot of good information with those long runs. We will make a few adjustments for the race to try to keep the car tightened up and hopefully be good.”
IF THE TRACK IS GREEN STARTING TOMORROW’S RACE:
“You can’t really adjust just for the start. You just have to roll with it. The track will be tighter to start and then free up. It would tear the tires off and that kind of thing. We will just have to see what happens. Kevin will have to move his trackbar around and do the best he can in there.”
YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN IN THIS POSITION BEFORE. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TONIGHT?
“I’m going to sleep. (Laughs) Eat and sleep.”