MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
FEBRUARY 10, 2019

RICK HENDRICK, OWNER OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS
YOU JUST KEPT SAYING, ‘I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’.
“You know, you work all these years coming down here and you want all the cars to run well. And if you have one up front and a couple in the back, in the middle; but this is a tribute to our organization, the engine shop, the chassis, body shop, and the teams, to come down here and run with four cars running that good. So, I can’t believe it.

Congratulations to Chevy for their 700th pole and our fifth in a row down here. I’m so happy for William and for all our guys, for Alex (Bowman) on the outside and Axalta and all the sponsors. This is Ally’s first race. So, we’re just pumped. It’s a good way to start the year.”

AND NOBODY BLEEDS BOWTIE GOLD MORE THAN YOU. 700 POLES IN CUP, AND YOU WERE THE MAN WHO GOT THEM THEIR 700TH
“Well, you know, Chevrolet has been awfully good to me. That was my first dealership. It’s all I’ve ever raced. It’s all my dad ever raced. That bowtie, we’re bowtie-proud; thinking about Jim Perkins today and man, what a great day for Chevrolet, our organization, and these drivers. I’m really proud.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – POLE WINNER
THIS IS YOUR FIRST CAREER CUP POLE AND ALSO THE 700TH CUP POLE FOR CHEVROLET. CONGRATULATIONS.
“Yeah, it’s awesome for Chevrolet. The Axalta Chevy was really fast. Credit to (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) and all the guys. It’s been a great off-season. We’re prepared. We’re ready. This is kind of the first step of our process together, so hopefully it goes well next Sunday. We can kind of chill out throughout the Duel races and learn a little bit. I’m looking forward to it. This is awesome.”

YOU SAID YOU FELT LIKE THERE WERE A COUPLE OF AREAS YOU COULD HAVE IMPROVED ON IN THE FINAL QUALIFYING ROUND
“We lacked a little bit getting up to speed. A think a little bit too much wheel spin. This thing is fast and it’s obviously a lot of credit to the guys. I’m looking forward to next Sunday.”

THINK ABOUT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN YOU HADN’T DRIVEN A RACE CAR AND THEN JUST A FEW YEARS LATER YOU’RE ON-POLE FOR THE BIGGEST RACE.
“Yeah, it’s pretty special. It’s definitely a huge blessing.”

CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1
YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT MAKING MEMORIES AND HAVE MADE MANY THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER. YOUR OLD DRIVER, JIMMIE JOHNSON, WALKED UP AND EXTENDED HIS HAND. WHAT DID HE TELL YOU?
“He said, ‘You got me my first pole and you got William his first pole. That’s pretty cool.’ Yeah, man, that’s pretty fantastic. I couldn’t be more proud of everybody on the No. 24 team; and honestly, everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. A lot of effort went into all four of those cars. So, to come down here and qualify on the pole with these guys, a new team, a new driver; representing Axalta and the No. 24 car has been a lot of fun.”

YOU JUMPED UP ON THE WALL AND WANTED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE SCOREBOARD BECAUSE AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, IT’S BASICALLY FOUR CARS IN ONE TEAM
“Yeah, it’s such a huge accomplishment. We’ve got a small little military group of guys that really work hard on our Superspeedway program. And all these guys really put a lot of effort into them. There are many others, obviously, as well; but they work really hard over the off-season. To be able to see those cars 1-2-3-4 on the first two rows, is awesome. It’s a cool photograph. I’m enjoying working with William and the guys. It’s really neat to come down here and be able to perform like that for Axalta and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports.

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CAMARO ZL1, QUALIFIED 2ND FOR THE DAYTONA 500
ON YOUR RACING RESUME IT SAYS A POLE AND AN OUTSIDE POLE AT DAYTONA. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS PLACE YOU LIKE SO MUCH?
“You know a driver can’t really do much. It’s all car and crew, so very proud of these guys, the Hendrick engine shop and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. They do a great job. It’s neat. Really cool to have a fast race car down here.”

NOW LOOKING AHEAD TO SUNDAY AFTERNOON:
“You got to get your stuff driving better than it drove here. We will approach the Duel as necessary. I think this car has a good bit of handling in it. So, we could probably race the Duel pretty aggressively. We will learn a lot in The Clash today as long as the rain stays away. It should be good.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1, 3RD IN DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING
700th POLE FOR CHEVROLET AND TOP FOUR SPOTS FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT?
“Yeah, that is pretty awesome. Super happy for the company, Chevrolet, all of our partners. A great way to get things started with Ally. So, just a great Sunday. It is what we had hoped for, it’s what we talk about internally at the shop all winter long. ‘It would be great to go down and get 1-4’ and then to do it is pretty awesome.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR CAR FOR THURSDAY’S DUEL RACE?
“I don’t know yet. This one I haven’t had in the draft. Clearly, it has speed which is just hard to find, but until we get into those drafting practices, I’m not too sure.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1, 4TH IN DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING
700TH POLE FOR CHEVROLET AND TOP FOUR SPOTS FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. NOT TOO MUCH MORE YOUR GROUP COULD DO TODAY:
“Yeah, cool deal. Everybody knows qualifying down here is such a reflection upon the work over the off season and luckily, I know a lot of organizations don’t, but I feel like Hendrick Motorsports has always put a lot of effort into our speedway cars and why not? I mean, they all count and why not try for these things too. I know some people don’t like to, but we are trying to push in all areas and this is a good way to get started.”

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 8 BASS PRO SHOPS/CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1, 5TH IN DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING
TOP FIVE IN QUALIFYING FOR YOUR FIRST DAYTONA 500, NOT BAD:
“Oh my gosh I’m incredibly proud of all of the No. 8 team, everybody on this Bass Pro Shops/Caterpillar Camaro ZL1 for picking up the speed we picked up. I didn’t know what we had for speed based off yesterday and we exceeded what my expectations were. Proud of these guys, so cool to have the whole top five be all Chevy Camaro ZL1’s. It’s cool to be here and I’m looking forward to next week.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1, 10TH IN DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING
NOT THE POLE, BUT STILL THE ENTIRE RCR TEAM HAS SHOWN LOTS OF SPEED:
“Yeah, it’s a good showing for RCR. I’m really proud of the guys for all the effort they put in back at the shop. That is all you want to ask for is to have a car that is fast enough. You get in the top 12 I’m happy. We will go race from here.”