NASCAR CUP SERIESTALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAYGEICO 500TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTESJUNE 22, 2020
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER2nd     RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE 7th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE 9th      KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE11th    WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE 12th    TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LETOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Ryan Blaney (Ford)2nd     Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Chevrolet)3rd      Aric Almirola (Ford)4th      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)5th      Erik Jones (Toyota) The NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Pocono Raceway with the Pocono Organics 325 in partnership with Rodale Institute on Saturday, June 27, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the Pocono 350 on Sunday, June 28, at 4:00 p.m. ET on FS1. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2ndTHERE WERE CERTAIN POINTS IN THIS RACE TODAY WHERE YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU HAD THE FASTEST CAR AND MAYBE YOU WERE THE GUY TO BEAT. SO, SECOND MAY BE A LITTLE TOUGHT TO SWALLOW, BUT HOW DO YOU BALANCE THAT?“Yeah, we were so close there at the end. It was hard all day trying to break up the Penske cars and then there at the end, all the blue ovals were together. But, our No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Camaro ZL1 1LE was really fast all day. The boys brought a good one. I thought we had a shot there at the end, it just didn’t work out. But, all-in-all, a solid day. Really cool to see all the support of the fans that are here for Bubba (Wallace). That was a really special moment at the beginning of the race. We came up one spot short – we’ll go get them next week!” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th “Figuring out you are a couple laps short on fuel while leading a speedway inside 15 to go is not very much fun. We took the lead there and our fuel mileage number plummeted farther than we thought it would be. We thought we were good and then all of a sudden, we weren’t good. Led a bunch and had to give up the lead to try to make it there at the end. I saved enough once I gave up the lead, but so bummed. We had such a good car and definitely had a shot at winning. It is just one of those deals. Really appreciative of everyone at Valvoline and Hendrick Motorsports. P7 isn’t the end of the world, but man giving up the lead like that is a bummer.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 11th“Well, we finished 11th today. We had a shot there at the win with about 29 laps to go and just got a push from Logano in the corner. I don’t know why it got loose there but it did. We lost our track position and then really just fought to get back from there and tried to save fuel at the same time. We pitted with two to go to get some extra fuel and we made a pretty good charge to the front there in the third lane. We had a good number of cars to the inside but ultimately finished 11th. It would have been nice to finish top 10 but we did finish a superspeedway race in one piece which is nice. I thought we had some great speed at times and great opportunities to lead the race. We just have to build on that and continue to get better. I feel like these races are always unpredictable but at the same time there is skill involved. We did a decent job of controlling the skill part we just have to keep working.” TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th“Our GEICO Camaro was solid today. We had a strategy there at the end to save fuel to make sure we were good to the checkered. I stumbled a little bit on the final restart, but we had just enough fuel to make it. You just have to be in the right line at the right time at the end of these things. We got filed out on the bottom, but still brought home a 12th-place finish. I’m really proud of our result. We needed that and we will keep truckin’ along. I’m proud of my GEICO Germain Racing team. We are going to keep rebounding and getting better.” BUBBA WALLACE, JR., NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 14thNOTE: After the race, Bubba walked across the track to wave and say hello to fans in the stands. WHAT A RUN FOR YOU TODAY! NASCAR RALLIES AROUND YOU, YOU’VE GOT FANS IN THE STANDS. HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THIS DAY, THIS MOMENT?“This is probably the most badass moment right here. It’s been tough. It’s been hell. Well, I wouldn’t say hell; it’s just been hectic you know, carrying this weight, this burden. I wouldn’t really say burden, either. I’m proud to stand where I’m at and carry a new face. Look at this (turns around to face crowd to ask) is this the first time you’re here? From Atlanta? (cheers from fans) That is so cool! The sport is changing. “The deal that happened yesterday, sorry I’m not wearing my mask, but I wanted to show whoever it was that you’re not going to take away my smile and I’m going to keep on going. I’ve been a part of this sport for a really long time. I’m still kind of a rookie. I’m starting to figure this stuff out. We had a good race going today in our Victory Junction Chevrolet. But man, I know I should have won that damn race. We ran out of gas. It’s just the stars didn’t align for us complete, but all in all, we won today. The pre-race deal was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to witness in my life. From all the supporters. From drivers and crew members. Everybody here. The badass fan base; thank you guys for coming out here. “This is truly incredible and I’m proud to be a part of this sport. Like I said earlier, I’ve got a long way to go. And we’ll keep on trucking. Another top-15 for us. We’ll take it. And, we’ll just go on to Pocono, right? I’m still smiling. I’ve got a long week ahead of me; probably a couple of weeks. Probably a couple of months, but I’ll be ready for Pocono, though.” RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 15th“That was definitely a crazy day at Talladega Superspeedway in our No. 37 Kroger Chevrolet. We had nose damage early on in the race, and that caused us to use a little bit more fuel than the rest of the field during the long green flag run at the end. We got put in a position where we needed to pit early, then the caution came out after we pit. However, we had a really fast Kroger Chevrolet and were able to run in the front for most of the race and even lead a few laps, and to be able to finish P15 after the issues at the end is something, we can still be proud of. We need some positive momentum to continue turning the season around from our bad luck at the start and this is really going to help.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 REALTREE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 20th“We’re getting closer and closer to winning one of these races. We had a really fast No. 8 Realtree Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE today, really just needed a bigger fuel cell to make it through those closing laps without having to come to pit road. We were a little bit loose today, but the car was able to suck up to others really well, which made it easier for me to work with people and show them that they can trust and work with me in return. It was awesome to get my first Cup career Stage Win, even if we had to wait out a brief rain shower for it. I think that showed a lot of people that we really strong speed today. From there, we just played it smart and stayed out of trouble to be there in the closing laps. We managed to grab the lead with about 16 laps to go. It was tough to maintain the lead and save fuel since we knew we were right on the edge of making it. I thought maybe we would make it before that final caution came out, but then the No. 11 ran out of gas or had a bobble or something. Once he ran out, my main help was gone and the No. 12 was able to slide by as we slid back. But that is how it goes at plate-racing. Timing is everything. It was just chaos on that final restart, but we gave it everything we had. All in all, it was a great day. We were in the lead with a shot at the end, and that’s exactly where you want to be. I want to thank Realtree for letting me run their Timber camo pattern on my car, and I hope they enjoyed the show.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 MOUNTAIN DEW/LITTLE CAESAR’S CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 133; Finished 38th WHAT ULTIMATELY TOOK YOU OUT FOR THE DAY?“The splitter was in the ground a long ways and it was just dragging too much. It wasn’t getting any air to the engine, so it was getting really hot. So, it just wasn’t worth continuing.” “I hate it. We really started the day struggling pretty bad and finally got it going pretty good, I thought, later on. Ultimately, just got in a bad spot there and went around.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 133; Finished 39th“Unfortunate day for the No. 3 team. The Bass Pro Shops Camaro was pretty solid – we had to work on it a little bit. You try and race at these places and keep yourself upfront in a good position, and that’s what I was doing. Just missed our stage points twice – 11th and 12th at the end of both stages. Tried to work the middle groove there and when Chase (Elliott) got turned, I was just kind of the last guy standing when he came up the track. Unfortunately, it’s a part of these things.” “That was a lot of fun. I think the package was pretty solid that NASCAR gave us. There was some good racing out there. Looking forward to going to Daytona and come back to Talladega. I feel like our speedway program is pretty decent. (Tyler) Reddick leading those laps at the end was big. So, we’ll keep working. Unfortunate finish for us – probably hurts us in the points. But Pocono doubleheader next weekend, we’ll be solid.”