Charlie Kimball led the Honda field Friday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, qualifying fifth for Saturday night’s season-ending MAVTV American Real 500.  Kimball’s two-lap average of 217.986 mph will place him on the second row of the three-wide starting grid being used for the 500-mile IZOD IndyCar Series event. 

James Jakes and IndyCar championship points leader Scott Dixon posted identical qualifying speeds of 217.979 mph, but Jakes was placed ahead of Dixon on the provisional starting grid based on the tie-breaker of posting his speed first.  Honda-powered Dixon comes to Auto Club Speedway with a 25-point lead over rival Helio Castroneves in the drivers’ championship standings, and can secure his third Indy car championship with a finish of fifth or better, regardless of where Castroneves finishes. 

Josef Newgarden continued his streak of strong oval qualifying performances in 2013 and will start 10thfor Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing.  Newgarden also posted top-10 qualifying runs on the Texas and Milwaukee ovals earlier this season. 

Saturday night’s 250-lap race, the 19thand final round in the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series to decide both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships, starts at 8:30 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on the NBC Sports Network. 

Scott Dixon(#9 Target Chip Ganassi RacingHonda Dallara) championship points leader, qualified 7th:  “I didn’t know we did the exact same time [as James Jakes].  A three-wide start should be pretty interesting around here, but it’s fun to come back to Fontana for the championship finale.  It’s fun to be in this position and fight for the championship.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
CAMPING WORLD RV SALES 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTS
OCTOBER 20, 2013
 
 
JAMIE MCMURRAY AND DALE EARNHARDT JR. TAKE 1-2 FINISH AT TALLADEGA
JIMMIE JOHNSON MOVES INTO SERIES POINT LEAD WITH 13TH PLACE FINISH
 
TALLADEGA, Ala. – October 20, 2013 – With 15 laps remaining in the 188-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway, Jamie McMurray powered his No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet SS to the front of the pack and held off a charge by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the No. 88 Mountain Dew/XBox One Chevy SS to win the Camping World RV Sales 500.
 
The race ended under caution when a crash on the final lap involving rookie Austin Dillon, who was subbing for injured Tony Stewart in the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS and another car froze the field and secured the win to McMurray.
 
The victory was the seventh in 398 Sprint Cup Series career races for McMurray, which also squashed his 108-race winless streak. It marked McMurray’s first victory and eighth top-10 finish in 2013 and his second win and seventh top-10 finish in 23 races at the 2.66-mile track.
 
Earnhardt Jr., who led eight times for a total of 38 laps, gained three positions in the standings and gave Team Chevy a one-two finish. He moved up three positions in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings and is now sixth in the hunt for the title.
 
With a 13 place finish in his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, championship front runner Jimmie Johnson moved into the Series lead and now holds a four point advantage over rival Matt Kenseth (Toyota).
 
With a solid day in his No. 27 Menards/Duracell Chevrolet SS, Paul Menard finished fourth in the final order. Rookie-of-the-Year contender Stenhouse Jr. (Ford) was third, and Kyle Busch (Toyota) finished fifth to round out the top-5.
 
With four races remaining in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, five Chevy contenders finished as follows: Ryan Newman, No. 39 WIX Filters Chevy SS was ninth and moved up one spot in the standings to 11th, while Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS finished 12th and dropped one position in the order to fourth.  Jeff Gordon scored a 14th place finish in his No. 24 Axalta Chevy SS and is now fifth in the standings, Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Wonder Bread Chevy SS finished 18th and is ninth overall, and Kasey Kahne’s 36th place race finish in the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevy SS held him in 13th in the order.
 
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup resumes next Sunday, October 27th with Round Six in Martinsville, Virginia.
 
JAMIE McMURRAY, KEVIN ‘BONO’ MANION AND FELIX SABATES, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS – RACE WINNERS
 
KERRY THARP:  Let’s hear from our race winning team of today’s 45th Annual Camping World RV Sales 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race here at Talladega Superspeedway, and our race winner is Jamie McMurray.  He drives the No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi with Felix Sabates Racing, and he’s joined up here by his crew chief Kevin Manion and car owner Felix Sabates.
 
Jamie, congratulations, just a super win for you here today, your first win in 2013, but your seventh win in the Sprint Cup Series.  You’ve won twice now here at Talladega.  Talk a little bit about what your strategy was there at the end because it certainly worked.
 
JAMIE McMURRAY:  Yeah, I felt really good about our car in practice.  When you come to Daytona or Talladega you run 10 laps of practice and your car is either good or it’s bad.  Spring race here I didn’t feel very good about the car, didn’t suck up very well, just didn’t seem to have any speed in it.
 
On Friday I felt really good about it.  I told Bono, it’s really good, it’s fast, it sucks up, it drives well.  If we get ourselves in the right position we can win on Sunday.
 
Just overall had a really good week leading up to this.  Bono and I were talking about it just a little bit ago.  When you come to a plate track, the mentality, it goes both ways.  Sometimes you’re excited, sometimes not so much.  I just was really excited about and looking forward to coming here this weekend.  Had a good week leading up to this.  We had a good practice on Friday.
 
I was a little discouraged that I couldn’t get to the front earlier in the race.  I felt like I put myself in a good position a few times, and I just could never get to the lead, and I felt like we had a car that had enough speed in it that if I could get there it would be hard to pass me.  I saw the 48 and I think the 88, it looked like they led a lot of the race, and they could change lanes and kind of pull each lane with them.
 
And finally at the end with 25 or 30 to go I saw the outside lane come in, the spotter is like the 17 and 88 are really moving along quick in that lane.  I got up in front of them and then I was a little bit shocked that the 24 and the 18 let me have the outside. Those guys were in the middle and I got a big run off 2 on each of them at different times at the end, and both of them let me go to the outside, which I was shocked that they did.  Once I was able to clear them, though, it went single file and then you’re just kind of counting the laps down at that point trying to figure out what the 88 is going to do for a move.
 
KERRY THARP:  Kevin, maybe just talk about some of the things that you all worked on from the time you unloaded in practice Friday and now to victory lane that you saw were some of the keys maybe in today’s win.
 
KEVIN MANION:  Yeah, really not too much over the weekend.  You know, preparation on a plate track, especially these impound races, are all done at the shop.  So this is the same car we had in Daytona that led a lot of laps and finished seventh.  We were able to have a well‑prepared car from the guys at the shop, and like Jamie said, we unloaded and made just a handful of laps in the first practice, went from the back of the pack to the front of the pack, felt really good about it, and made one small adjustment to adjust the toe, the wheel, more so that the wheel was centered for Jamie, and pretty much parked it.  Just waxed it and fluff and buff and do the things you do and just prepared for the race.
 
Really, like Jamie said, it’s been a good week leading up to it.  We had a good practice, had good speed, and really ‑‑ I’m not going to say this too ‑‑ but an easy weekend, so to speak.
 
KERRY THARP:  Felix, congratulations.  Talk about just the thrill of this win here today, and I know it’s important to obviously Jamie but important to your race team.
 
FELIX SABATES:  It was ironic; I have never missed a Talladega race since I’ve been in racing, and last night I had a long night, and when the alarm clock went off this morning, I said, man, I’m not going to Talladega.  I got up, yeah, I am going.  I didn’t feel like getting out of bed.
 
And when I got here, I sat down with Bono just before the race, before we left to go to pit road, he said, we’re going to win this race today.  He had that feeling, which was a great feeling.
 
We’ve struggled this year a little bit.  This does a lot for both of our race teams.  It shows that we’re capable of winning.  Jamie can drive at these places. He can drive anywhere, but any time you get Jamie on a superspeedway, he’s a force to be reckoned with.  I’m not surprised that we won because we have a team that’s capable of winning every week.
 
Let’s go to Martinsville and win Martinsville, and that would really make for a nice month.  Chip won the championship in IndyCar last night, so it was a great weekend.  Last weekend we won the Grand American Series Championship, so the last 10 da
ys have been pretty good for us.
Q.  Felix, you kind of just hit on this, and any of you can speak to this.  Obviously not being in the Chase, this is the kind of thing, though, that moving forward and looking towards next year, there’s a lot of exciting things happening with the team, if you could just talk about looking ahead and what this does going forward.
JAMIE McMURRAY:  Well, from my perspective, it’s weird the things that go through your mind after you win a race.  I talked to one of the guys from ‑‑ one of the main guys from McDonald’s last night, and he had sent me a text, and he said your car looks like it’s going to be good.  I said, I really think we have a chance to win.  And we got into texting back and forth.
 
I feel like every time we’ve had McDonald’s on our car, we have not run as well as we have when we’ve had Cessna or LiftMaster or any other sponsor, and McDonald’s has 20‑some races.
 
So when I crossed the start‑finish line, as excited as I was, I was thinking about that text message and a phone call, and I’m like, I would just love to get McDonald’s to victory lane.  They’ve been in our sport for as long as really any sponsor, maybe not full time, but McDonald’s has been around for a long time.  It’s nice to be able to win with any of them, but I feel like in 2010 when we won three races we had Bass Pro Shops on our car for all three races and then Donald’s on the car for the others.
 
It’s important for the whole organization, Chip obviously winning the championship on the IndyCar side and the Grand‑Am side.  But Chip has made a huge ‑‑ and Felix, have made a really big financial commitment to our team.  The switch to the Hendrick engines was not even par with the ECR engines. It was a big financial tax on the team, and I think it’s made our cars better.
 
Our cars have definitely been better this year, but getting to victory lane, it really doesn’t matter what track, it definitely is a momentum builder for our whole organization.
Q.  Felix, could you speak about that, too?
FELIX SABATES:  Well, you know, looking ahead is what we do in this business.  You can’t look backward because what happened today is history. We’ve worked very hard this week.  We spent millions of dollars on the new seven‑post shaker.  Every car we have is new.  We switched to the Hendrick motor. We have made a big, big, investment, and we did it because we think we can win. If we didn’t think we could win we’d just take our money and go home.
 
I think we’ve had a lot of opportunities to win this year, and we have some bad luck.  If you look at all our races this year, some it’s our fault that we lost, but some of the races we just get caught in accidents that wasn’t our fault.  I’m excited about next year, but I’m more excited about the next five races because we have our own Chase.  The guy that finishes first out of the Chase gets a huge bonus and that could help a lot of the expenses we had this year if Jamie finishes the first guy out of the Chase.
Q.  Jamie, Earnhardt was in here just a while ago describing coming through 2, out of 2, and he said, I felt the run end, and then I looked in the mirror and I saw guys out of control.  Could you talk about what you could see?  You said you could see the 88 coming.  Can you talk about what you could see from the middle of 1 and 2 on and what your thoughts were as you saw that?
JAMIE McMURRAY:  Well, I ran the last 20 laps, never looked at the windshield.  I looked out the rear view mirror the whole time.  The one thing I noticed early in the race was when they would get single file and everybody would run against the wall.  The guys on the bottom could make up a lot of ground because it’s such a shorter distance around the bottom, and then as we’d get towards the front, the guys that were on the outside that had been leading would move down to the middle of the track and it would stall out the bottom line.
 
So when I got to the lead I was trying to enter a little bit lower so we weren’t using so much racetrack so that if everyone behind me would follow, maybe the bottom line wouldn’t develop and move up as fast.
 
That being said, every time I entered lower, I would get away from the 88, and I feel like he was getting more of a run on me off the corner.  As those laps counted down I was kind of trying to do something different each lap so that he couldn’t prepare for it.  That’s exactly what he’s done for the last 15 laps; this is what I’m going to do.  I was trying to do something different each lap.
 
And the other thing I noticed about this package is it’s easy to get a big run, but the car will stall out if you don’t have another car behind you helping.  The package, I think it races really well.  I felt like a lot of racing today, but when we all got single file, I didn’t really think the 88 could get me if the 14 wasn’t pushing him, and I ‑‑ I’m looking in the mirror and I saw the wreck before the spotter said anything.  Honestly it didn’t cross my mind that the race was going to be over at that point.  I thought we’d have a green‑white‑checkered.  You’re so focused on what’s going on that I’m like, we’ve actually taken the white, so if I could just get back to the start‑finish line, you’d be the winner.
Q.  So there was no sigh of relief there when you felt the pressure come off you from the 88 car?
JAMIE McMURRAY:  Well, when the 88, when a car gets a run behind you, you can feel your car accelerate a little bit.  You can hear the engine change pitch.  Honestly I didn’t feel like he had stalled out.  Like from my perspective I was getting ready to start swerving to try to get in front of him.  If the guy behind you can break that plane of your rear bumper, it’s over, and so I just wanted to make sure I could keep my car in front of him.
 
He would have had a much better opinion of what was going on because I don’t know how much he had left or what he didn’t.
Q.  He also said it might not have been the greatest run in the world but it might have been a run that got him up on your quarter panel and then you go from there.  If you said once he broke your bumper that would be a problem, if he could have got to your quarter panel, would that have been a real tough situation for you at that point?
JAMIE McMURRAY:  Well, if he would have gotten to my quarter panel it would have slowed both of our cars ‑‑ honestly I don’t know if the 88 would have won if he would have gotten to my quarter panel because I feel like it would have slowed both of our cars down, especially in the middle of the back stretch. Maybe coming to the start‑finish line it would have been different.  But the closing rate was big for the guy third or fourth back, and earlier on in the race you would just go up to whoever you wanted to push because when you would pull out of line it would only benefit you for a couple of ‑‑ for a mile, and then you would fall back.
 
But coming to the start finish it just would have fanned out.  I don’t know, it would have been interesting to see if he could have broken the plane of our bumper where we would have ended up.
Q.  Jamie, you said earlier that winning at any track is a good momentum builder.  How about for you personally?  Obviously over this past season you guys have improved and you’ve had better finishes, but is that enough for a driver’s confidence, or does winning and getting to victory lane kind of ‑‑ because it’s been I guess 108 races since you won?
JAMIE McMURRAY:  I appreciate you pointing that out.  That’s nice.
 
I mean, winning, it’s not just about me; it’s about everybody within our whole group.  You know, probably more so the 1 guys because they’re the ones that are in victory lane.  But it’s so cool to se
e their faces in victory lane and know that when we go to Martinsville, you have confidence, everybody does.  It’s so big for us because Martinsville ‑‑ to me plate tracks are probably my best tracks, and Martinsville is probably my next best.  I love getting to go there.
 
This is a great place to be able to win at to take not only my confidence but everybody else within our group to that track where I feel we’ll run really well at.
Q.  You talked about not having McDonald’s on your car.  You had the Auburn logo on the car.  Did you pay any attention to the game last night, Auburn getting a big win, and also, what reaction did you get from fans today with that?
JAMIE McMURRAY:  I really wanted to watch the game last night, but it was Halloween night in the motor home lot and I had a three year old to dress up as a dinosaur and take trick‑or‑treating, and that took priority over watching the football game.  I did Google it as soon as I could to see who won because I knew I was going to do a meet‑and‑greet with some of those guys today, and I wanted to make sure I had my facts straight.
 
It was really cool to have that on our car.  Cessna has done a really cool thing with putting their customers on the hood, the deck lid, bringing them, letting them have the NASCAR experience.  A lot of people that can afford a jet airplane can afford a lot of luxuries in life.  Getting to come to a NASCAR race and come to the hauler, sit on the pit box, have that, it’s something you can’t buy.
 
It was cool to have Auburn on here.  When they told me they were going to do the paint scheme here, I’m not a huge college football fan, but I know enough that this would be a 50/50 crowd here of some liking and some not.  So it was interesting.  It was fun to see the fans in the garage area either high five you or the opposite.
Q.  Jamie, you were mentioning that the last ‑‑ pretty much after you took the lead with 15 to go you were watching your rear view mirror the whole time. Usually in a restrictor plate race the last 10 laps lines there’s mad scrambling going on, there’s lines forming, but here there was virtually single‑file racing from like 14, 15 laps to go until pretty much the final lap.  Were you surprised looking out your rear view mirror that you didn’t see that kind of charge coming or did you expect people to start making moves?
JAMIE McMURRAY:  Yeah, completely surprised.  I don’t know how many laps I led at the end once we finally got single file.  But I felt like that was going to last about five laps, and then the bottom would start forming.  Because earlier in the race it seemed like if the guys were running against the fence single file that you could get the bottom to make a move, and definitely in these races when you get towards the end, it becomes much more intense and everyone starts taking bigger risk, and I was listening to the spotter, and he’s like ‑‑ he said there’s a line forming, but he said it’s not very organized and they’re not really making up any ground.
 
I was, I was really surprised that they weren’t able to put something together and make more of a run.  Yeah, I was shocked by that.
Q.  You said you were shocked by it.  Any theories about why kind of the way we always expect it to go here the last 10, 15 laps didn’t materialize this time?
JAMIE McMURRAY:  Yeah, I really don’t know.  You know, I don’t know if you can see it on TV, but when you’re the guy that’s 10th or 15th in line, you’re getting out of the throttle 50 percent entering 1 and 3.  I don’t know why.  You get big runs and you have to let out the throttle, and the further back you are the more you have to get out.
 
Yeah, I really don’t ‑‑ I really thought that the bottom would form.  The flipside is that you get that big run, and if you make the commitment to go to the bottom and you can’t get 10 good cars to make the commitment with you, you go backwards.  And so if those guys don’t go with you, then you lose 10 or 12 spots, and the risk isn’t worth the reward.  I thought guys would take a bigger chance at the end.  I know the 29 car run the back most of the day.  I thought he would be able to get a group of cars together.  It seemed like the 31 could always make the bottom work and move towards the front.  But they just couldn’t ever put it together.
Q.  You talked about the trick‑or‑treating last night with a three year old.  To be in victory lane with your child, who now probably has a little bit more understanding about victory lane, what was that like?  What was it like to see your family there?
JAMIE McMURRAY:  Well, that was ‑‑ I mean, that’s top two or three moments of my life, to get to experience that with them.  I don’t know if you guys heard, but when ‑‑ I remember going to Matt and ‑‑ I rent a space from Matt Kenseth to keep my go‑karts and stuff in at his shop.  So I was out in the front where they have some office space, and he’s got pictures hanging inside, some trophies, and there was a picture of Matt and Katie and Grace and Kaylin, and I think it was Dover victory lane, and I remember seeing how excited Kaylin was.  She’s a little bit older than Grace.  I remember seeing how excited she was, and seeing that picture, I’m like, gosh, I went home and told Christy, I hope that we get to have that moment.  That’s a really special ‑‑ especially having a little boy who is into Lightning McQueen and racing in general.  That would just be the coolest thing ever.
 
Yeah, to get to have that with my family is really cool.
Q.  Did he get that picture do you think?
JAMIE McMURRAY:  He was more excited about ‑‑ I said, Carter, look at the camera and smile, and he got shy, and then I informed him he could have all the M&M’s he wanted if he would just do one picture, and he turned right around, smiled and held his No. 1 up.  It was a good compromise.
 
KERRY THARP:  Congratulations, Jamie.  Congratulations, Bono, and congratulations, Felix Sabates.  Big win here for your race team, and we’ll see you at Martinsville.
 
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 MOUNTAIN DEW/XBOX ONE CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED SECOND
 
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 DURACELL/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FOURTH           
 
KERRY THARP:  Let’s roll right into our post‑race for the 45th Annual Camping World RV Sales 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, race No. 6 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.  Our race runner‑up is Dale Earnhardt Jr.  He drove the No. 88 Mountain Dew/XBox One Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Dale, certainly you were up front just about all day long, led some laps, and just talk about your run out there today here at Talladega.
 
DALE EARNHARDT JR.:  Yeah, I was wondering if we might have led the most, but if we didn’t we were up there close.
 
We had such a good car.  You know, since I’ve been working with Steve, we just haven’t really had a good combination here, and maybe I’ve torn up some really good cars and just never got to see how good they were in races in the past.  I knew in practice the car was strong, and just wondered if everybody was showing everything they had.  Once you get the whole field out there it’s a little bit different, but our car was a rocket and we were able to be aggressive, and I just tried to lead every lap of the race.
 
I felt like what I’ve seen be successful with this package and this car this year, if you’ve up front all the time, you tend to be there at the end when it counts, and we were.  We got shuffled out there on that last run when we come out of the pits.  I thought we pitted a little bit early, gave up a lot of time.  My crew chief Steve di
dn’t really agree with that, but I just felt like if we could stay out on the racetrack we had a better shot at coming out in front of them guys.  We ended up coming out behind a bunch of people and worked our way up toward the front there on the outside.
 
It’s all kind of a blur as to how we ended up in second, but I had no reason to make a move before the last lap being in second place.  I was in perfect position to be patient and wait as long as I wanted to.  So that’s why we didn’t go any sooner than that.  I just can’t anticipate a caution coming out every single time we run at Talladega race on the last lap, so I just assumed it would go to checkered and was planning my move on the back straightaway.
 
We sort of let the 1 car get out there a little bit going down the front straightaway into Turn 1 and we mashed the gas in the middle of the corner and got a run with the 14, and I was moving around just a little bit to see where the 1 thought I might be going, because I gotta sort of fake him out, and I noticed the run stopped, and I looked in the mirror and guys were out of control.
 
We didn’t get an opportunity to see what would have materialized.  It wasn’t the best run in the world.  It wasn’t what I dreamed it would be, all those last few laps.  But it was a good enough run I think to get up to his quarter panel and get beside him, and then we would have found out who our friends were at that point.
 
But really happy with the way the car ran and it was good to run up front, good to lead.  We’ve really struggled this season with being competitive, and to drive up through there and do that like we did today, and it felt great.
Q.  So many different things can happen here, but we have had situations recently where a lot of the races that have ended with a situation where you at least have to think about, well, maybe there might be a caution that’s going to end like that.
DALE EARNHARDT JR.:  Can you remember the last race here that didn’t?
Q.  Exactly.  How much does it go into your thinking maybe I might need to be out front just in case we get…
DALE EARNHARDT JR.:  I wished I was out front, I really did, but I knew that I had everything to lose and really one spot to gain by going early, and if I waited until the last lap I could possibly defend off a failed run and get a relatively decent finish.
 
I guess pulling out early and that not working and finishing 25th was worse than trying to take the chance.  Waiting and being patient I thought would pay off.  Every race we have here we all wreck on the last lap, and it’s fortunate that that wreck wasn’t any worse than what we typically see here.  But for some reason it was a lot calmer the last few laps.  Everybody was pretty good about staying in line.
 
I would have been a little more antsy if I would have been back there in 5th or 10th, but they weren’t jumping out, and had they jumped out and moved with five to go, nine to go, whatever, that would have changed everyone’s strategy, and we might have went sooner, been forced to go sooner than we did.  But nobody moved, so I was like, hey, I’m just going to wait until the end.  I don’t have to try until the very end.  I’ve got one guy to pass, and all I’ve got to do is make one run happen, and maybe it’ll work.
 
KERRY THARP:  Let’s hear from our third‑place finisher, and that’s Paul Menard.  He drives the No. 27 Menard’s Duracell Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.  Paul, maybe just talk about what you saw from your vantage point.
 
PAUL MENARD:  Well, first off, we started deep in the field, I think 34th or 35th, and knew that we had a real good car.  We just didn’t do much drafting on Friday.  Knew we had a good car, knew it was pretty stable but wasn’t totally sure how it was going to handle in a big pack.
 
At the start of the race we took off and tried to learn more than anything, and car drove really good, was fast, drove to the front, kind of hung out in the top 10 all day long and just could never get to the first couple rows to lead a lap.
 
Had a good Duracell/Menard’s Chevy all day long.  We could make the middle groove work to gain spots and then get to the outside and then ultimately the outside lane kind of won out over the long run.  That’s kind of where everybody shuffled out to.  Kind of riding around the last 10, 15 laps waiting for somebody to make a move.  I didn’t want to be the first guy to do it and get shuffled back to 30th.  I was kind of waiting for Dale to make something happen.
Q.  Dale, you said on TV just a minute ago that you were talking about your plan was you were figuring the 14 was going to go with you and you said whoever else wanted to come along.  It appears the 17 was what kind of glitched the situation back there.  Did you see him back there?  Did you know he was going to be ‑‑
DALE EARNHARDT JR.:  A wild card?
Q.  Yeah, part of the mix?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.:  Yeah, I knew everybody was going to be a part of the finish somehow.  I’m pretty sure Jamie wasn’t just going to let me go by.  He was going to side draft and it was going to ‑‑ we were going to play hell trying to get the lead from that point.  But I thought Austin would ‑‑ I don’t know what Austin would have done for sure, but I assumed, knowing him as I do, he was probably going to help me once. You know what I mean?  And after that you’re on your own.
 
But other than that, Ricky, I didn’t know what his plan was or anybody else’s.  We really hadn’t talked to the 14.  We were just kind of waiting until the last lap and going to make a run.  That’s what we were trying to do.
Q.  Paul, as you rode in line there those last 10 laps, were you kind of surprised that everybody kept waiting and waiting, that you didn’t go any earlier?
PAUL MENARD:  I was.  I thought for sure, as good as the middle was all day long, I thought for sure the 20, the 22, 48, some of those guys would get that rolling at the end, and it just never happened.  My spotter kept telling me where they were, and I think the closest guy was like six cars behind us.  I’m pretty surprised that it didn’t make further headway.
Q.  And June, you said you had the best car of the race, that this was the best car that you’ve had since you’ve been at Hendrick Motorsports.  Was there anybody in particular that you worked better with drafting with, one driver or the other?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.:  No, not really.  We had a really good car.  We’ve had some good cars at Daytona.  For some reason we come to Talladega we haven’t been able to get them to run or we’d tear them up and never find out how good they were.  For some reason today the car was fast.  I didn’t really have to worry about who we were working with or around.  I really didn’t try to piss anybody off, but I just didn’t worry about trying to help everybody and trying to be everybody’s friend out there.  You’ve got a run, you take it.  Everybody sort of understands what the situation is.  When you get a good run, they don’t come every lap, you’ve got to take your opportunities.
Q.  Junior, one of the things that we saw some people immediately went to the back and tried to use that strategy.  You never did, you raced up front all day, and obviously that worked out well.  If you could talk a little bit about that.
DALE EARNHARDT JR.:  Yeah, when you try to ride in the back and you try to go, it’s usually typically the race is two or three wide for the first 10 rows and you can’t go anywhere.  You can’t go anywhere.  So we always end up packed up behind that mess, and then we find our way into the last lap wreck.  So I decided that the car was pretty good in practice, and I felt like that if I could get
up there up front, that seems to be working for Matt.  He’s been doing really well this year on the plate tracks, and he’s always toward the front and never has to worry about working his way through the pack if he’s coming out toward the front on that last pit stop, and we were good enough today to be able to do that.  In the past I’ve tried to do it and just make the wrong moves or whatever and find myself in the back anyways.  But the car was really strong today.
Q.  This is for Paul.  I get the impression that Junior was going to wait until his moment to make the move, but for you guys is it kind of a risk versus reward scenario where you don’t want to be the guy to pull out and you’re waiting for the guys behind to make their move before you jump out in front of them?
PAUL MENARD:  My plan was to wait for somebody else to go to the bottom first and keeping track of where the 20, the 22 and those guys were, and I’d try to pull in front of them when they got to me.  I wasn’t going to be the first guy to do that because I’ve done that before and been shuffled out pretty quick.  I was going to wait for somebody else to make the move first and try to piggy‑back on.
Q.  How long do you let your breath out that this weekend is over and that you’ve got great finishes before you turn your mind to Martinsville?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.:  We’re testing in Texas Monday and Tuesday so we’re working on that and trying to prepare a good car for that race.  Looking forward to Martinsville.  We didn’t get to run there last time and feel like we always run real good there, so looking forward to that.
 
PAUL MENARD:  We all leave tomorrow morning for Texas to test for a few days, three 12‑hour days, and we did the same test that Ricky did at Martinsville to prepare for this coming weekend.  I think of Martinsville as a lot like a plate race.  You prepare all you can and then the last 20 laps all hell breaks loose.  You never know how you’re going to end up.
Q.  Dale, just looking at some of your stats, 22nd runner‑up in the Sprint Cup Series, four this year, four at Talladega.  Do they feel like a near miss or…
DALE EARNHARDT JR.:  Yeah, I’m not going to complain too much because I’m driving some of the best cars in the garage and got some of the best engines being at a place like that.  It really means a lot.
 
It’s frustrating because the worst part about it really is you go home and you’ll spend months thinking about what you could have done to not be second.  That’s the worst part about it. Actually the process of it happening and doing it isn’t that bad.  You’re kind of happy with being competitive and it was a good result.  But you’ll go back and think of a million things you could have tried different.
Q.  You said you’ll replay it and think about what you could have done differently.  It seems there really wasn’t anything you could have done differently because it all played out behind you, right?
DALE EARNHARDT JR.:  Yeah, I guess.  We have a last lap wreck every time, and I guess next time we are in that situation we’ll try to go a lap sooner. (Laughter.)
Q.  Dale, obviously as they pointed out, 22 runner-up finishes.  You run as hard as you can every lap and try as hard as you can.  What do you say to the multitude of people out there that every time Jimmie Johnson passes you as a racetrack, they’re screaming it’s team orders, it’s team orders.  We know that’s not true.
DALE EARNHARDT JR.:  Yeah, we hear about it on the radio every Monday on the Reaction Theater about how disappointed they are we haven’t won yet. We’re close, man.  I’ll tell you, looking at our runs since Chicago, this is the best my cars have been all year.  I’ve had some of the best cars the last five races that I’ve had all season, and they say they’re not doing anything different, but they sure are running really good.  I think we’re right around the corner from winning one of these races, and we’re just going to keep trying.
Q.  Paul, can you talk about the improvements that RCR has made in the closing months of the season, and what are your expectations for 2014 with the new lineup?
PAUL MENARD:  Yeah, I’m excited for next year.  We did a lot of work in the off‑season getting ready for the Gen‑6 car, as everybody did, and I feel like we started the year pretty strong as a company.  The 27 team particularly, and then the 29 and 31 have come on really strong thesecond half of the season.  We kind of fell off, and now we’re picking back up.
 
Yeah, I feel pretty good about where we’re at as a company.  I know we’re making big gains, chassis, aero, and the motor has gotten a lot better, so small improvements everywhere make a big difference.  Ryan coming over next year.  He’s going to bring a lot of knowledge, too, and looking forward to working with him.  I don’t think we announced the third driver yet.
 
KERRY THARP:  Dale, Paul, Ricky, congratulations.  Good luck this week testing.  We’ll see you at Martinsville.
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
CAMPING WORLD RV SALES 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
OCTOBER 20, 2013
 
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS – RACE WINNER
WHAT A FINISH.  TAKE US THROUGH THE DAY YOU HAD AND WHERE YOU CAME FROM IN THE FINAL 35 LAPS:
“I knew that our Cessna Chevrolet was good in practice and I just could never get the right line.   At the plate tracks to get the right line, it requires a lot of risk and I felt like I was pretty patient all day and I saw the 17 and the 88 coming on the top.    It just seemed the top was the better place to get hung out than if you got hung out on the bottom.  Fortunately I was able to get myself in position.  I don’t know how the last lap would have played out because I could see the 88 trying to set me up and trying to figure out where he could get a run on me but when I saw the caution come out behind me. Honestly, I wanted to see it end under green but at the same time, I said if there was a caution I would be okay with that right now too.
 
Really cool for Cessna and we have the University of Auburn on the hood of our car I’m also really happy for McDonald’s.  Our cars have been so much better this year and we haven’t been able to get to victory lane.   Chip (Ganassi) won the IndyCar championship yesterday so it’s been a good day.  But quite honestly the best part about it for me and I told Christy, it would be so cool to be able to take our kids to victory lane.  Pretty awesome.”
 
YOU HEARD DALE EARNHARDT JR SAY HE HAD A PLAN.  HAD IT COME DOWN TO THE FINAL LAP, HOW DO YOU HOLD OFF EARNHARDT JR?
“Well, I don’t know.  And the thing about the package we have right now is that you can get the third guy in line to push the second guy and it’s hard to defend.  You just have to make your car as wide as you can.   Quite honestly, I don’t know what I was going to do.   With ten laps left to go I kind of thought that it wasn’t reality yet, then with five to go I could tell he was being patient.   Then when they could never get the bottom line to form I knew it was going to come down to the first three or four cars.  It’s unfortunate that the caution came out, but for me, I don’t know how I was going to defend that.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 MOUNTAIN DEW/XBOX ONE CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED SECOND
ON THE LAST FEW LAPS:
“I had a plan we were going to get a run down the back straightaway me and the No. 14 and whoever else wanted to go.  They got together behind me getting into their quarter panels and we just never really got a chance to see what we could do.  We had our run formed in the middle of (turns) one and two and we were coming off of (turn) two with pretty good steam when they spun out behind me.  My car quit going because we weren’t being pushed anymore.  We didn’t lose to no slouch.  Jamie’s (McMurray) a great restrictor plate racer and he has got really good engines with Hendrick power so real happy to run second and definitely an improvement on what we have been doing here in the past.”
 
DID YOU HAVE THAT STRATEGY READY IF THE YELLOW HADN’T COME OUT?
“Well, we were kind of forming our run around the middle of one and two and I think we had a pretty good head of steam coming off turn two and they got together behind us and that was that.  I was going to try something down the back straightaway, but we just never got a chance.  We finished second to a pretty good race car driver at these plate tracks.  Jamie wins a lot of races here and Daytona, and always runs well.  He has Hendrick power, so hard to outrun that.   But we are real pleased with how our car did today.   The Mountain Dew/XBOX One Chevrolet SS was real competitive all day.  We ran up front, could pass, and had fun taking the lead and leading some laps.  I definitely felt like we improved on how we have run in the past.  So, excited about coming back.”

PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 DURACELL/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FOURTH
WHAT WAS IT LIKE BEHIND THE STEERING WHEEL IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT IN THOSE CLOSING LAPS?
“It was kind of sitting around waiting for something to happen really.  We had a really good car all day.  The middle lane when you are three-wide you could really gain some spots.  Ultimately the outside won out.  After everything played out the outside was the way to go.  The last 10 laps it was riding around on the outside waiting for somebody to make a move.  You didn’t want to be the guy that made a move and nobody went with you.  So, there really wasn’t a whole lot we could have done there at the end.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 WIX FILTERS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED NINTH
ON HIS DAY:
“I rode around in the back all day basically just trying to keep my nose clean. I was waiting for something to happen the whole race, but it never really did except for that wreck on the last lap that unfortunately took out my teammate, Austin Dillon. I’m happy that we came out of here with a ninth-place finish and a clean WIX Filters Chevrolet. That wasn’t very much fun out there, though. But, I’m proud of my guys for giving me a good racecar this weekend. That’s another top-10 finish, which we can go home happy about.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 JIMMY JOHN’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 12TH
ON HIS RACE:
“We got ourselves in position to be where we needed to be at the end of the race. Coming to the last pit stop and then lost everything that we gained on the last pit stop again. So, I just hate it for all our Jimmy John’s guys. We had a strategy that we stuck to and then we were just last off of pit road.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 13TH
YOU ARE LEAVING TALLADEGA FOUR POINTS AHEAD TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN AND TALK ABOUT GETTING TO THE TOP OF THE POINT STANDINGS AS WELL TODAY:
“We had a great race car and lead a lot of the race.  At the end there the No. 1 decided to run the top and took the bulk of cars with him.  As that happened the middle lane that I was in quickly became the bottom lane and then quickly didn’t exist.  I dropped like a rock for a while and was able to get in the outside lane and start making some spots back and fortunately missed the big pile up on the back stretch.  Obviously, was paying attention to where the No. 20 was.  I was the No. 29, the No. 24 and was in and around and ahead I think of most of those guys.  13th isn’t the best finish, but with what we are trying to do and win a championship we beat the competition today and that is good.”
 
WE TALKED EARLIER TODAY AND YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO BE NEAR THE FRONT AT THE END, BUT YOU WERE STUCK IN ABOUT 15th. WHAT HAPPENED?
“Yeah, the outside lane got going and everybody jumped up in it.   You just don’t know if people are going to chase the bottom or the top and when I saw the 1 car had the lead I figured the 1 and the 88 would take the top.   As that developed I was on the bottom lane and I worked my way to the middle lane and was able to maintain it for a little while and then everybody went single file and I dropped like a rock.  So it wasn’t a comfortable feeling and not the position I wanted to be in late in the race but we rallied back and got a few more spots.  Most importantly we got back in front of the 20 and missed the wreck on the backstretch.”
 
YOU LED THE MOST LAPS, YOU TAKE OVER THE POINTS LEAD AND YOU SURVIVED TALLADEGA.  HOW ABOUT LOOKING FORWARD FOR YOU, HOW DOES THIS SPRINGBOARD YOU TOWARD ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP?
“You know I feel that the races forward now are up to where the competitors go earn it.  You don’t have this luck issue that can take place at plate tracks.  So I am happy to have the points lead and we went through a lot of work to get there.&n
bsp;  We were just getting one point at a time and we got a few more than normal today and were able to get the lead.  We just go racing from here and that is the thing I am most excited for.  Great race tracks, great race cars and it’s just going to be a dogfight to the end.”

YOU’VE GOT TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE AT HEADING INTO MARTINSVILLE NEXT WEEK:
“It’s been good to us in the past.  We’ve got to go there and race.  There is going to be a lot of strong competition.  We will make sure we get buttoned up and ready to go for this weekend’s race and go up there to that paperclip and see what we can do.”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 14TH
ON HIS RACE:
“It was a good day. I thought that the car was fantastic. I thought the team did an awesome job of executing our plan and we were in perfect position. And it just didn’t work out. I got kind of shoved on the back straightaway and was trying not to wreck and that got me out of a really good position and then we were kind of a sitting duck at that point and just went to the back and wanted to see what we could do with them on that final lap. And of course you know, a wreck is going to happen. I hope Austin (Dillon) and Casey (Mears) are okay. That looked pretty nasty.”
 
WERE YOU SURPRISED IT WENT SINGLE FILE LIKE THAT?
“Shocking. Shocking. You never know. I mean it’s smart for those guys up front to do that because it eliminates a lot of cars out of the running for the win. But I’ve never seen guys have that much patience here in my life. So I was pretty shocked to see them just holding that line like they did. Of course they hold that line that one time when we were back there in 25th or whatever it was, so I wasn’t real happy at that moment. But we just hung in there and made a couple of moves there at the end.”
 
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CHASE AND GETTING THROUGH THIS ‘WILD CARD’ RACE?
“We didn’t really gain anything, but we didn’t really lose anything. So it was sort of a wash. And in that sense, we didn’t tear up a race car. I’m standing here. And we just move on to the next four (races).”
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/WONDER BREAD CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 18TH
ON HIS RACE:
“Restrictor plate racing is all about being in the right place at the right time.  We were in the right place for the majority of the race, but when it counts at the end we weren’t there. I tried to make something happen, but couldn’t get there. It’s disappointing because our Wonder Bread car was fast and to finish 18th didn’t do us justice.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 14 BASS PRO SHOPS/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 26TH AFTER GOING AIRBORNE ON THE FINAL LAP OF THE RACE
WHAT A CRAZY RIDE DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENED ON THE LAST LAP:
“I was trying to go for the win there.  The No. 17 had a little bit of a run with the No. 27 and I tried to go with him and came back across and hooked me.  I can’t say enough about this Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 team.  That was a lot of fun right there coming to the white flag at Talladega and having a shot to win.  I was going to push (Dale Earnhardt) Junior right there.  He had a pretty good car.  Just trying to wait until the end and they made a move and I tried to block it and it didn’t work out.  I’ve got to say thanks to Bass Pro Shops, Tony Stewart for giving me this opportunity though it was fun.”
 
YOU HAD A GOOD DAY AND WERE RUNNING THIRD THERE AT THE END.  DID YOU GUYS ACTUALLY TOUCH?
“Yeah, we had a really fast Bass Pro Shops Chevy and it was really good.   Got to thank Tony Stewart and everyone at Stewart-Haas for giving me this opportunity because it was so much fun.   I was trying to help the 88 right there at the end and they had a run, the 17.   So I went low and when I was coming back up he just hooked me and when he hooked us it was over there.  But a wild ride.   I just have to thank NASCAR for everything they have done for safety.  That hit was fine.   I got to drive the car back and it’s a lot of fun when you have good safety equipment and can go after it like that.  It was fun though.”
 
YOU ARE LEADING THE NATIONWIDE SERIES POINTS, HOW GOOD IS IT FOR YOU TO GET THIS RACING EXPERIENCE IN DURING THE DOWN TIME?
“Well, it’s really good.   The No. 14 guys told me to bring back the steering wheel or the trophy.   We brought back the steering wheel, but we were close to the trophy.   That was fun and the Nationwide team has done a great job this year and hopefully we can end the year with a championship.   This was a lot of fun and like I said, I have to thank Tony Stewart, everyone at Stewart-Haas and Johnny Morris – he has done a lot for my career.”
 
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – INVOLVED IN AN ON-TRACK ACCIDENT ON LAP 78 AND FINISHED 41ST
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE TRACK OUT THERE YOU WERE RACING WITH MARCOS AMBROSE?
“I wasn’t really we were riding.  I saw the bottom line moving pretty good.  The Target Chevrolet was pretty good to be honest.  We were running two-wide so it was comfortable.  We started running three-wide and the spotter told me ‘get out’ and I backed up going into the tri-oval and the next thing I know.  I just saw out the corner of my eye somebody coming towards me and that was it.”
 
DESCRIBE THAT HORNET’S NEST OUT THERE.  IT LOOKS LIKE IT’S PRETTY CRAZY OUT THERE WITH GUYS GOING TO THE BACK AND GUYS COMING TO THE FRONT:
“I rode 90 percent of the time at half throttle, just riding.”
 
WHAT DID YOU SEE OUT THERE?
“I didn’t see much.  I was on the bottom and we were running two-wide and all of a sudden it started being three-wide.  My spotter and I both said I think we need to get out. I backed off actually right before going into the tri-oval to start getting out.  The No. 99 was getting out with us and the next thing I just saw out of the corner of my eye a car coming across and that was it.”
 
 

Team Chevy driver quotes following the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway, the season finale for the IndyCar Series:
 
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER: WE TALKED ABOUT A WIN HERE EXORCISING SOME DEMONS AND YOU GOT IT DONE “It’s the most satisfying win of my life.  That is the most satisfying thing I have ever done and I have wanted to do it so badly all year and I knew in the early ovals I was conservative and I just wanted to finish every lap and this time I was just going for it.  It’s funny at the end that Ed and I were battling for it because I read a column where he said that Will Power did what everyone expected at this race last year.   And I thought that I wanted to beat that guy.  I respect him, but that comment disappointed me and it gave me a lot of motivation.”
 
HOW MUCH MOTIVATION DID IT TAKE WHEN YOU HAD A VISOR THAT YOU COULDN’T SEE THROUGH? “I knew we had a very quick car and I didn’t care.  I just said, ‘let’s fix this and we can win this’, and this is the most satisfying win and so stoked to win this for Verizon and this is a great way to end the season.”
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 2ND:  “We were trying.  We just ran out of laps and we were a little trimmed out for that last run and Will (Power) was fast and he got away from us on that last run.  Tony and I raced for a few laps there and then I just couldn’t catch him.”
TONY KANAAN, NO. 11 HYDROXYCUT KV RACING TECHNOLOGY – SH RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 3RD: AND IT LOOKED LIKE ED WAS TRYING TO KEEP YOU FROM HIS SPONSOR’S BONUS THERE AT THE END OF $250K : “Of course somebody came over the radio and said, ‘please don’t let TK win this one’, but I am happy but I am happy the way it ended up.  I didn’t have anything for Will (Power) and we had a pretty eventful race so I just want to say hello to Dario at home and he asked me to finish on the podium and Dixon to win the championship so you got your wish and we are going to ask for you to come back.”
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE, NO. 27 GODADDY ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, FINISHED 4TH: ON HIS RACE: “Man, what a race – 500 miles makes for a long evening. We had pretty much everything possible happen to happen to us. We got into Will (Power) on that restart, and he must have had a problem; he just didn’t accelerate. Unfortunately it did our wing in and we were sitting in a good position at that point. After (earlier) a stop put us two laps down, the team just fought so hard to get those laps back. To find ourselves back on the lead lap near the end there… it was just awesome. The car was great when it needed to be; not as good in traffic maybe as much as we needed, but we were up near the front and it was awesome. Our car died in pit lane, we got into it with (Sebastien) Bourdais on track – I mean, it was literally everything that could go wrong. Unfortunately, at the end, we had the temperatures skyrocket in the engine and we were losing some power. We probably had something for second and third, but I’m just happy to end this season on a high. The whole GoDaddy team fought so hard tonight and I’m really proud of that, and I’m really proud of the entire GoDaddy team. It’s a great way to end the season, a great way to end the relationships with GoDaddy and Chevy and to be able to bring them a strong finish, something they can be happy to remember. A big thanks to the whole team, GoDaddy and Chevy for an awesome year. I love the momentum we’ve got going into the offseason, and we’re just going to try and hit the ground running in 2014.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 AUTO CLUB TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6TH: ON THE RACE AND CHAMPIONSHIP: “I am so proud of the boys and Team Penske did a hell of a job, and I am so honored to be a part of this organization.   That is the good news and we have 2014, which is next year.   We fought hard and definitely pushed as hard as we could this last race and I had tons of fun out there.  But again, I want to thank the guy that cleans the floor at the shop to Roger (Penske) and everyone else and all the partners because without this combination working together we wouldn’t be able to be where we are.  So proud of Team Penske and so honored to be around next year, and congrats obviously Ganassi and Scott.  They fought hard, and did a great job, and unfortunately for us there was one weekend that went bad for us and cost us the championship.   Yeah, five hundred miles was amazing because, wow, nobody was running at the end and it was calm.  There was nothing calm about that.  But as I said, the team did a great job and it’s a shame we got in contact with the 83 and I knew he wasn’t giving an inch and it was a little bit of a hard-fought evening with Tagliani but hey, coming into this weekend I knew that we were going to fight hard and I knew that they knew that and again, I hope the fans had a great time.   I had a great time and thanks to NBC, thanks to the partners, we will see you again next year,  and hopefully we will make it happen.”
MARCO ANDRETTI, NO. 25 DR PEPPER ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, FINISHED 7TH: ON HIS RACE: “It’s just frustrating because I feel like we have had the car a (races this season) to win, but we just have to watch the lead slip away from us every time. It’s a frustrating way end the season, but I guess it’s on to next year, and I’m more determined than ever to win a championship.”
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, NO. 78 NUCLEAR ENTERGY/AREVA KV RACING TECHNOLOGY – SH RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 8TH: ON HER RACE: “I’m pretty happy with our eight place finish. I hope Justin is okay. I looked over and he seemed to be moving so I hope he’s doing okay. We kind of got tangled in the accident and had nowhere to go and spun out. Luckily I managed to not damage the car that much; I think some of the tow-links were a little bit bent so it felt a little bit funny. But, we stayed out there and people kept falling off. I’m pretty happy, but I think it was one of the longest races I’ve ever done.  Big thanks to the team. I feel like in the last few races we’ve really worked in the right direction and that was a lot of fun. I also want to thank my Nuclear Clean Air Energy sponsors Entergy and AREVA for all their support. I’m really happy that we were able to finish the season on such a strong note.”
RYAN HUNTER-REAY, NO. 1 DHL ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, FINISHED 9TH: “I think the DHL car could have won tonight; we led that whole first stint so it’s just really disappointing. We were running second when we had to come in for a flat tire, and then the overheating issues really are what ended the day for us. We came into the season determined to defend the No. 1, but had a lot of bad luck so it just didn’t play out. We’ll work hard this winter, come back next year and fight to earn the championship back. I want to thank everyone at DHL, Sun Drop, Chevy and the entire team for all their hard work and support this year. It was an honor for me to represent IndyCar as their champion this last season and it wouldn’t have been possible without so many great people standing behind me.”
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 7 MCAFEE DRAGON RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 12TH: ON HIS RACE: “We had an awesome night.  We were really fast. We were struggling really for the last 10 laps of the stint.  We were getting bottled up in traffic so I was really trying to get in the lead and get some fresh air, clear air.  I knew if we had any chance finishing well I was going to come through that. I guess were just not quite fast enough to clear these guys. I wanted to keep my tires so I started to run up there when I started to fight with Charlie (Kimball).  I had been running the bottom to get back there so I had used up my tires quite a bit. But the story of the night was strong runs.”
ORIOL SERVIA, NO. 4 NATIONAL GUARD PANTHER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 19TH: FIRST OF ALL ARE YOU OK
AY? “Yeah, I am one-hundred percent.”
TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED HERE, YOU WERE JUST AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER HERE: “Yeah, I was just behind Justin and I saw him getting loose and for a second I didn’t know whether to go high or low and I ended up going high which was good because I was going to miss him but just to my left Joseph was going to miss Justin but collected me but it was just one of those things.  We are all fighting for some little real estate and what are you going to do.  Joseph was just trying obviously to not t-bone Justin and  anybody he could.   Unfortunately we had a good car for the end of the race and we couldn’t show it.”
CARLOS MUNOZ, NO. 5 TEAM VENEZUELA PDVSA CITGO CHEVROLET, FINISHED 23rd:  I think I was doing a good job during the race although during practice I wasn’t feeling all that comfortable. But ever since we started tonight’s race, from the first lap, it was like my mind shifted – feeling really comfortable, the car was great, great first run and pitstops, great restart… in the end I just lost the car. It snappend, and I couldn’t do anything. It was my first crash on an oval, but there’s always going to be a first time. I feel really bad for the team. Obviously my plan was to finish the race, but we couldn’t do it. I’m happy with my performance up until the crash, and I’m just looking forward to next year.”

Chevrolet Wins 2013 IndyCar Series Manufacturers’ Championship
For Second Consecutive Year, Gold Bowtie Clinches Coveted Award
 
FONTANA, Calif. (October 19, 2013) – With Will Power’s victory tonight at Auto Club Speedway, Chevrolet has clinched its second consecutive IndyCar Series Manufacturers’ championship.
 
“We are proud of the teamwork and dedicated efforts of our drivers, teams and technical partners that culminated in Chevrolet’s second consecutive IndyCar Series manufacturers’ championship,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports.  “The Chevrolet IndyCar V6 engine gave our teams the right combination of power, fuel economy, and reliability that resulted in winning this prestigious award.
 
On the way to the coveted title, drivers of the Chevrolet IndyCar V6 twin turbocharged, direct-injected engine tallied a total of 10 wins in the 19-race 2013 IndyCar Series season that included the exciting win by KV Racing Technology Chevrolet driver Tony Kanaan in the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500.
 
“Clinching the 2013 IndyCar Series manufacturers’ championship with the Chevrolet IndyCar V6 twin turbo-charged direct-injected engine is the result of a collaborative and cooperative effort by our teams and technical partners,” said Mark Kent, Director, Chevrolet Racing. “Chevrolet, Ilmor Engineering, Hitachi, GM Racing Powertrains, Pratt & Miller Engineering and our Chevy teams worked tirelessly to put the best combination of performance and reliability that resulted in this title.  Congratulations to everyone whose contributions have made this second consecutive championship possible.”
 
The Chevrolet IndyCar V6 team and driver roster that contributed to Chevrolet capturing the Series’ manufacturers’ title are: Team Penske – Helio Castroneves, Will Power and AJ Allmendinger; Andretti Autosport – Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, EJ Viso and Carlos Munoz; KV Racing Technology – Tony Kanaan and Simona De Silvestro; Panther Racing – Oriol Servia and Ryan Briscoe; Ed Carpenter Racing – Ed Carpenter and Dragon Racing – Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Saavedra.
 
Chevrolet returned to IndyCar Series competition in 2012 with Ryan Hunter-Reay capturing the driver championship in addition to the manufacturers’ title. Previously Chevrolet competed in Indy-style racing as an engine manufacturer in 1986-93 and 2002-05 with V8 engines that powered Chevrolet to seven Indianapolis 500 victories, and six driver championships.
 
2013 VICTORIES:
St. Petersburg – James Hinchcliffe
Barber Motorsports Park – Ryan Hunter-Reay
Sao Paulo, Brazil – James Hinchcliffe
Indianapolis – Tony Kanaan
Texas Motor Speedway – Helio Castroneves
The Milwaukee Mile – Ryan Hunter-Reay
Iowa Speedway – James Hinchcliffe
Sonoma Raceway – Will Power
Reliant Park (Streets of Houston) Race No. 2 – Will Power
Auto Club Speedway – Will Power

CORVETTE RACING AT PETIT LE MANS: Garcia, Magnussen Claim Drivers’ Championship
Sixth-place finish with Taylor enough to take title at Road Atlanta; No. 4 Corvette places 10th
 
BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 19, 2013) – Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen closed the American Le Mans Series era by winning the GT drivers’ championship Saturday at Petit Le Mans. The pairing drove with Jordan Taylor to a sixth-place finish in the No. 3 Compuware Chevrolet Corvette C6.R at Road Atlanta. Garcia won his first ALMS title, and Magnussen claimed another to go along with his 2008 GT1 championship.
 
Chevrolet and Corvette Racing clinched the GT manufacturers’ and team championships in the previous ALMS round at Virginia International Raceway two weeks ago. Garcia and Magnussen made it nine drivers’ titles for the manufacturer and team since 2001. The results were fitting ones in the final year of the C6.R in the hands of Corvette Racing.
 
“Congratulations to Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and the No. 3 Corvette C6.R team on clinching the American Le Mans Series GT driver’s championship,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Antonio, Jan and the team raced incredible competition in the GT class and persevered. Preparation, teamwork, efficient pit stops – along with a Chevrolet Powertrain that delivered the right combination of power, fuel efficiency and reliability – were key components of the team’s success.
“It was a total team effort for Chevrolet to win the GT manufacturers’ championship, Corvette Racing to win the GT team championship, and Antonio and Jan to win GT the drivers’ championship in the final season of the American Le Mans Series.”
 
Garcia and Magnussen led all drivers in the ALMS’ GT class with three victories – Laguna Seca, Baltimore and Circuit of The Americas. They also finished on the class podium six times in 10 races, despite finishing with zero points at Sebring to start the year.
 
Saturday’s race was not without its dramas for the new champions. Taylor was running second in the race’s sixth hour when he ran over an oil slick and spun the No. 3 out of control. The car ran fifth for most of the final two hours before safety falling back to its eventual finishing position.
 
“Antonio and Jan are very deserving champions of the ALMS’ GT class,” said Mark Kent, Chevrolet’s Director of Racing. “Their performance, along with that of the team’s crew members and engineers, set the standard in what arguably is the toughest class of sports car racing in North America. Congratulations to Antonio and Jan, everyone at Pratt & Miller and GM Racing Powertrain for a phenomenal end of the season and final race for the Corvette C6.R.”
 
The No. 4 Compuware Corvette of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook ran in 10th place and six laps down after two lengthy stops to replace a pair of alternator belts. Gavin had moved from seventh to second in the first two laps before the telemetry showed the alternator was not charging the battery at the 30-minute mark. Gavin brought the car in for fuel, tires and driver change to Milner along with a belt replacement. That belt proved faulty, and Milner pitted again on the next lap for another replacement. This time, the belt functioned properly and the car continued with the battery fully charging.
 
Corvette Racing will open the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with the Corvette C7.R race car at the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 25-26.
 
EDITORS: High-resolution images of Corvette Racing are available on the Team Chevy media site for editorial use only.
 
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“For sure this is a great day for us. We had a fantastic season. There is no way we could think about this after no points at Sebring. The Corvette Racing team just kept digging. We went from zero wins last year to three wins this year. It was a very competitive year, and congratulations to all our competitors who raced against us. They were all very good teams. So I am very happy for my first ALMS title. Now we are looking forward to the next era for Corvette Racing.
“It’s a really hard to celebrate anything. I lost a very close friend last week – Maria De Villota – and then Sean Edwards this week. Even when I went by the checkered flag, I didn’t feel like I could celebrate and be happy. I was more thinking about them.”
 
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“This is an incredible championship. I could not believe Antonio and I would walk away with this after how the season started for us. We both have to say thank you to the entire Corvette Racing team for their hard work and great pit stops all year. For sure we would have liked to win the race but I will trade that for a championship any day.
“It is a fantastic day. My son Kevin won the World Series by Renault this morning, so that was a good way to start the day. It was nice that he got it over with so I could concentrate on my own championship! I can’t even begin to describe how proud I am of him. I wish I could have been celebrating with him but it’s great we can have a chance to win a big championship on the same day. We will celebrate when we get home.”
 
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“Congratulations to Jan and Antonio on a terrific season. The guys really gave it everything they had, and they deserve this championship. The second half of the race didn’t go as smooth as we would have liked. The spin on a fluid leak from another car set us back. But at the end of the day, I’m glad to have helped the team win this championship. Topping this off with the Rolex DP championship makes this an incredible end to the season.”
 
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“These last few races have been extremely difficult and tough for us. But today is all about the No. 3 car. Antonio and Jan deserve this championship thoroughly. They bounced back from a heart-breaking Sebring. But since then they have driven brilliantly. They had great strategy and pit stops. They executed every weekend and scored points every time they were allowed to. A full, hearty congratulations to them.
“For Tommy and I, the 2013 season can’t come to an end soon enough. It seemed like every which way we turned, things were not going right for us. Our luck just ran out. I’m just now focused on 2014 with the new car and hitting the ground running at Daytona. We had two really big highlights – winning at Sebring and Canada was fantastic. But the rest of it has been under par to say the least.”
 
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“At the end of the day, we obviously would have loved to finish better. But Antonio and Jan got their championship, which is fantastic. We’re team champions and manufacturer champions just like last year. It’s a great send-off for the C6.R and we’re looking forward to the C7.R now. It was a rough day for us –that was our season in a nutshell. There were just little problems that sometimes can be easily fixed and solved. But this year, every little thing cost us a lot of time. All in all, and looking back on the season it was a great one again. The car was fantastic and it’s always a pleasure working with the guys at Corvette Racing. I’m looking forward to a lot more years.”
 
RICHARD WESTBROOK, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“I’m absolutely for Antonio, Jan and Jordan. They’re part of the Corvette Racing team, but they’re also mates. It’s great to see your mates celebrate like that. From our point of view, we can’t wait to get going on next year. Sebring seems like a long time ago. It was our high of the year. You can’t have good years every year. It will make us stronger and tougher. All of us will work harder over the winter. Today again, we proved we had a great car but Lady Luck was against us.”
 
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER“Today was probably the most important sixth-place finish in Corvette Racing history. As we closed out the 15th season of the American Le Mans Series – a historic run – Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia clinched the GT drivers’ championship. It gives Chevrolet and Corvette Racing a second consecutive sweep of all three ALMS championships. Jan and Antonio’s climb back from scoring zero points at Sebring is emblematic of the never give up fighting spirit at Corvette Racing. I couldn’t be more proud of Jan, Antonio, Jordan Taylor and the entire crew and engineering group on the No. 3 Corvette. As satisfying as this is, we are excited and looking forward to the start of a new era in Corvette Racing – the first race of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship at Daytona in January.”