NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOODY’S HEADACHE RELIEF SHOT 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 25, 2013
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway following his qualifying run.  He discussed the announcement that National Guard will once again sponsor the No. 88 Chevrolet SS in 2014, NASCAR’s mandate of baseline testing for concussions and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
TALK ABOUT YOUR EXTENSION WITH NATIONAL GUARD:
“Yeah, just real excited to get a deal done.  It seems like that the guard has been really thrilled with the way things have gone over the last several years.  I have enjoyed the relationship tremendously and we got a great new paint scheme for next year and we are just really enjoying the relationship.  Glad to be able to look forward to another season with the guard.”
 
NASCAR ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK THERE WILL BE A MANDATORY BASELINE TEST GOING INTO 2014 WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THEM MOVING FORWARD ON THIS?
“We were told last year that this would probably be mandatory in ’14 it was no real surprise.  I think it’s a great move by NASCAR to have another tool in the tool box to sort of help diagnosis, but as equally as important help treat the concussion.  It’s a great tool not only to help diagnosis but really to understand the type of injury and the style of injury that you have and how to treat that particular injury with the information that you get from the baseline test.  As much as the baseline test really is just good to do regardless it can really help you in the long run when you are needing that kind of treatment.  It’s just valuable information.  If you care about your wellbeing and your health and quality of life it’s a smart move to embrace.”
 
WERE YOU GIVEN ANY INDICATION THAT YOUR SITUATION LAST FALL HAD BEARING ON THEM MAKING THAT DECISION TO IMPLEMENT THAT TESTING?
“I don’t know if it did.  I don’t know if what I went through had any effect on the choices they are making today, but I know that I learned a tremendous amount about how important all this is.  I know that I did not take it that seriously.  I didn’t take the impact test that seriously because I didn’t know much about it.  I went to Pittsburgh and met the people up there and they explained to me how useful it is for them and to be able to help treat not only your own concussion.  Concussions are like snowflakes they are all different in the way you are injured and how your symptoms are different from every person.  Everybody reacts differently to it.  This information that they are getting from a baseline test and then the retest of an individual like myself it helps further down the line treat other individuals.  I think everybody is still learning about the way to treat a concussion and the best way to treat it obviously.  All the information that they can get from these impact tests are valuable way on down the line.  It’s important to look further ahead.  It’s important to look on around the race track instead of driving right out the windshield just off the nose.  It’s a pretty big deal. I think it’s a great move and I’m sure that NASCAR is going to be better off for it.”
 
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS GROUP QUALIFYING POSSIBILITY FOR NEXT YEAR?
“I’m excited.  We’ve had a lot of changes in this sport in the last several years.  It seems like every year we make a tremendous amount of changes.  I think that these new ideas and the things that they proposed are going to be pretty exciting.  I think driver may not like it.  I might not like it particularly as a driver, but I think for the sport it’s better to be more exciting and to sort of give the fans what they want.  I think we will all end up enjoying it though as far as drivers go.  I think we will work the kinks out.  Nothing is ever going to be perfect the first go around.  We will adjust on it just like we always have.  NASCAR will make adjustments and try to improve it for everybody and we will all end up enjoying it for sure.”
 
DID YOU UNDERSTAND THE CONCERNS SOME DRIVERS HAVE ABOUT THE BASELINE TESTING?  SOME DRIVERS ARE WORRIED ABOUT IN ESSENCE DOCTORS SAYING YOU CAN’T DRIVE WHEN MAYBE THEY FEEL LIKE THEY CAN?  DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?
“No, I don’t understand any concerns like that. Going through what I went through I don’t understand that.  I think that you have to know how the test is taken and how the test is scored and how you are evaluated in the retest. It’s not two plus two equals four and ‘oh well you chose three you are out’.  There is no right or wrong answers.  It’s a test that really gives you an image of how someone thinks, how quickly they make decisions and how they make decisions, how they rationale.  It’s not really a test of what’s the capital of North Carolina.  There is not a grade.  You are not graded to it. Steve Letarte (crew chief) and I took the test together.  He did well on some things.  I did well on some things, but when I was concussed my grade was dramatically lower, not just a few points.  It’s not a guess for a doctor when they see an individual that is concussed on the test results.  There is no gray area.”
 
IT WAS EASY IN YOUR CASE BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T FEEL GOOD.  IF YOU FEEL GOOD…
“I don’t know that you would feel good if you were concussed. I mean I understand that drivers are going to be concerned that things could go wrong for them and they could get incorrectly diagnosed. I will be honest with you in my situation see I didn’t have a baseline to really go off of.  I hadn’t taken the baseline first and I took the test after I was concussed and they had to grade me against the norm, the average of all the individuals that they had tested before.  That was my mistake because I got graded against some other individual.  They had to make an educated guess on whether I needed to be in the car or not.
 
“To prevent that from happening I think it’s smart to go get the test.  I mean it’s going to be mandatory, so I think a lot of drivers went and took it anyway this year.  I think it’s a really good move and it’s really smart.  I think once people understand.  I encourage you to go take the test.  It takes 30 minutes and you will know what the test means, how it’s scored, how your graded, if you will.  It’s a really loose term.  Then you will see a bit more of the doctors point of view and you will understand there is not a big need for concern on the driver’s point of view.  Like I feel just as comfortable knowing everything I know now as I did before I didn’t know anything.  I don’t feel more worried about getting a concussion and being held out than I did before going through the whole process and understand how the test works and how they verify the test and all that.  It is kind of frustrating, but I think we get about a year down the road and everybody understands how the test works especially when all the drivers are forced to take it. It is no sweat and I don’t think they are going to be too worried about it.” 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOODY’S HEADACHE RELIEF SHOT 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
OCTOBER 25, 2013
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED THIRD
THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAP 1 AND LAP 2. WHAT WAS THAT DIFFERENCE?
“I guess just getting the right rhythm and matching the grip level that’s out there. There’s some grip but it’s just a fine line (laughs). And it always is here, for sure. But these cooler temperatures kind of make it a little more difficult to get tire temps. It was a good rebound and a nice qualifying effort. Hopefully we can stay in the top 5 and have a good race on Sunday.”
 
YOU SPENT A LOT OF TIME EARLIER TODAY TALKING ABOUT HOW ADVANTAGEOUS THAT FIRST PIT STALL IS.  WHAT IS THE NEXT BEST ONE YOU ARE SECOND ON THE BOARD RIGHT NOW?
“There are so other good ones, but for sure that first pit stall is the place to be.  We won’t get that opportunity, but hopefully we can stay in the top-five here as this winds down and have a nice opportunity on pit road and good track position to start the race.”
 
THE GUY YOU ARE NECK AND NECK WITH IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE TRACK RIGHT NOW I UNDERSTAND YOU GUYS HAD A LITTLE FUN THIS WEEK TEXTING WITH EACH OTHER?
“Yeah we have had a lot of fun over the last couple of weeks.  Kind of harassing one another but he is doing a good job and he’s on a decent lap here right now, right behind me.  So it will be interesting come Sunday.
 
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED SEVENTH
ON HIS LAP:
‘I felt like I had a good first lap, but I was a little bit greedy with the McDonald’s Chevy in Turn 3. I slid up the track, not a lot, but a little bit. I was shocked that it seems like the track has actually lost grip from practice. We’re so used to it when it comes time to qualify, it actually picking up. I was really thankful that I was just able to run a little bit quicker because from inside the car, it felt like a slower lap than I ran in practice. So, hopefully it will be a top 10 or top 12 starting position. I don’t think it has any chance for the pole, but it would be a good spot for the McDonald’s Chevy.”
 
A QUICK LAP OUT THERE YOU WERE 17TH IN PRACTICE THOUGH YOU FOUND SOME EXTRA SPEED IN YOUR QUALIFYING LAP HUH?
“Yeah, it was an okay lap.  It was a little quicker than I ran in practice.  I actually thought the track had a little bit less grip than what it did in practice which this track doesn’t change a lot, but I expected to go quicker.  I thought the track had a little less grip.  Overall it was a good day for our McDonald’s Chevy.  We have had a really good week with winning at Talladega.  It’s been a pretty good weekend for us so far.”
 
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS/TURTLE WAX CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 23RD
YOU GUYS SPENT SOME TIME UP HERE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO TESTING.  IT LOOKED LIKE IT HELPED YOU ARE THIRD ON THE BOARD RIGHT NOW WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THAT?
“Well we didn’t do any qualifying runs so we weren’t really sure what to expect there.  The car had good speed in practice.  We didn’t do a whole lot to qualify here.  The tires never really came in we didn’t change a whole lot.  The tires never felt like they gripped.  In practice you do runs and everything gets heat soaked.  It felt a lot better in practice I guess.”
 
WHAT ABOUT FOR THE RACE TOMORROW WHAT CAN WE EXPECT?
“We will switch over the race trim and do a lot of long runs and see how the tires hold up.  I felt like the test was really good as far as the drivability and the cooler temperatures now we will see how that applies to tomorrow.”
 
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 SLEEP INNOVATIONS/DOW CHEVROLET SS, QUALIFIED 22ND:
HOW WAS YOUR LAP OUT THERE?  “We kind of struggled all day and just never quite had a grip on it.  We came here and tested and the track is a ton different than the way it tested.  That wasn’t great by any means but I don’t think it was horrible.  Looks like we slowed down a little less than the other guys did and right now, that is a good thing.”
 
EARLIER THIS WEEK NASCAR ANNOUNCED THERE WOULD BE MANDATORY BASELINE TESTING.  WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT MOVING FORWARD? “I am a fan of that.  I think the reason I am a fan of it is that they didn’t rush into this and they are taking their time at it and understanding exactly what it means rather than just jumping at it.  The big concern for everybody is that someone else is going to be making the decision whether you can race and that concerns everybody.   On the other hand, they are experts.  Its not like a bunch of people doing it as a hobby and there is nothing wrong with somebody looking out for your best interest.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOODY’S HEADACHE RELIEF SHOT 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 25, 2013
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed racing at Martinsville Speedway, wheel hop and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
TALK ABOUT THIS RACE TRACK OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE FOUR RACES TO GO AND THIS IS A PLACE I WOULD THINK YOU WOULD THINK THAT YOU COULD COME OUT OF WITH A WIN:
“Absolutely, we come in here feeling really good about this race track and our race team. We have had a lot of positive things that have happened to us over the last six weeks.  Then to come with a good feeling about where we are at as a race team and our race cars and come into one of my favorite race tracks, a track that we have had good results at, not only in the past, but this year it definitely is something that we come into very excited about.  We focused on qualifying today; feel like getting that number one pit stall is so worth it here so we are fighting hard for that.  Looking forward to that opportunity today and hopefully we can achieve that and if not hopefully we can just still put a good qualifying run together.  Then really looking forward to focusing on the race tomorrow and get ourselves prepared for Sunday.”
 
YOU WON AT PHOENIX IN 2007 AND 2011 CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT THOSE WINS BRIEFLY AND WHAT KIND OF TRACK IT IS FOR YOU?
“Back in 2011 it was a great track for us.  I wish it would have stayed the same.  They repaved it and that changed our entire world at Phoenix.  Phoenix has always been kind of a hit or miss track for me in general.  When Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) came on board as a crew chief or really I went on board with their team I was pretty excited about Phoenix.  It showed when we went there and we won that race.  Ever since they repaved it, it is completely different.  Between that and Kansas those are the two tracks that we put on our calendars as tracks that we have to improve.  That we have to really focus and execute and we could struggle there if we are not careful.  Kansas went pretty well for us and I’m optimistic that Phoenix can as well.  Each time we go there it ages and it feels like it gets more and more back to a feel that I like and a track that we can be competitive at.  Right now just the way things are going in general I look forward to going to every track.  I just think as a race team we are in synch.  Our race cars are driving well, my confidence is up and I feel like that is going to bode well for us at Phoenix as well.”
 
YOUR PEPSI AD HAS BEEN GETTING A LOT OF PLAY DURING THE WORLD SERIES HAVE YOU GOTTEN MANY RESPONSES FROM THAT?
“Well I mean after it got 40 million hits on You Tube I think it’s kind of hard to top that.  It’s just been an amazing year when you look at how we started with the Harlem Shake and then that video.  We did all of that before the season started and had a lot of fun doing it.  You never know how people are going to react to it and what’s going to happen with it overall.  Obviously it’s been a great marketing strategy for Pepsi Max and they have certainly enjoyed it, so have I.  Every time it airs on something I still laugh and people react.  It’s not going to be as big of a reaction as what we got when it first came onto You Tube though.”
 
DID YOU ATTEND THE NASCAR MEETING ON THURSDAY?
“I had a Pepsi production day that day, so, no.  I would like to know about meetings like that more than two weeks in advance because I would like to attend them.  We just need to plan a little bit better to try to get those types of meetings together.  Not that I could have changed anything because we had that Pepsi shoot scheduled pretty far in advance.  I was really looking at it more from the concussion standpoint.  Dr. Petty is a good friend of mine. He’s somebody I have spent a lot of time speaking to.  I see him on a weekly basis because I got to their facility for my back.  It’s just a standard kind of workout that I do every week.  So we are always in touch.  I feel pretty confident from that standpoint.  I probably didn’t understand that there was going to be a lot more than that discussed at that meeting.  I have done a baseline test so I feel good about that and the direction that they are going and I agree with it.”
 
ONE OF THE THINGS THEY BROUGHT UP IN THAT MEETING WAS THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT DRIVERS HAVE ON TWITTER AS FAR AS WHAT THEY TWEET.  DO YOU THINK THAT DRIVERS SHOULD HAVE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF MATURITY AND KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG BEFORE THEY GET HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?
“Well I think every person should have good common sense.  I think that is what it really comes down to.  I think with social media we all recognize that the fun it can be.  We recognize the benefits it can have for marketing for our sponsors and so many other benefits.  But also you have to be careful you can’t just go on a wild spree.  You can’t always just speak your mind because it’s there.  I think we have all been there where we probably stepped over the line.  Every time I put a tweet together I read it two and three times going ‘is this what I want to put out there?  Do I want people to read this?’  Sometimes my emotions get the best of me and I push send and I probably maybe shouldn’t have, but I do try to use the best common sense that I can in everything that I send out there before it goes.  Plus, I’m a spell freak.  I like to spell things right. It’s hard to do on Twitter.”
 
DURING THE FIRST PRACTICE, PEOPLE WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT WHEEL HOP. WE HEAR IT A LOT, BUT NOBODY HAS EVER EXPLAINED IT. CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH IT AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF SET-UP OR DRIVING STYLE?
“We mainly hear about it on the road courses because you are braking so aggressively into the corners at the road courses. It happens here as well, on occasions. It’s definitely something that I’ve had to work on over the years.
 
“But basically, as you drive into the corner, and these cars, even as much as they’ve advanced in braking and weight transfer and downforce and everything over the years, when you try to slow that car down as abruptly as we’re trying to on these tracks, and the wheel speed starts to try to slow down faster than what the engine and rear gear speed and driveshaft and all those components that are connected are slowing down, then the rear tires start to lose grip and they basically go into a ‘hopping’ mode where you can’t control it. You just have to hang on tight and straighten the wheel out and hope that there’s some room for error out there, which there’s not a lot of room for error here.
 
“So really, to me, there’s not much you can do about the set-up, in my opinion; I mean a little bit with truck arm angle can help, but other than that, it really comes down to how abruptly you let out of the gas and apply the brake. And this is one place where I think how you apply the brakes is the most crucial part of success at this track; which is why I think some people really struggle here.”
 
TODAY WE TALKED ABOUT THE TWO CONTENDERS FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP, MATT KENSETH AND JIMMIE JOHNSON.  MATT HAS MADE A MOVE THIS YEAR AND JIMMIE HAS LONGEVITY WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THE ADVANTAGES A PERSON WOULD HAVE WITH A SPONSOR AND A RACE TEAM AND HOW IS THAT BENEFICIAL?
“Well, obviously being comfortable and going through so many different scenario situations, stressful situations, positive situations, wins and championships, there is certainly a lot to be said about that continuity of that race team. I think it’s equally as challenging though, to try to stay on top of your game an
d continue to push yourself and every individual on the team and trying to constantly get better. I think that if a team that’s really good, like the No. 48, can stay together and have very little turnover but continue to push those limits, that’s the ultimate.
 
“I think all the time, back to when Ray (Evernham, crew chief) and I were together, and if we could have just made it through 1999. Now I don’t know if it would have changed his offer to go do the Dodge team, but that was a tough year for us. And I was growing and things were changing and we went through a time where I felt like I could do it without him and he felt like well, maybe he can do it without me but I’ve got another opportunity. And we’ve been able to stay close friends through it all, but we always talk about that time. And I really think that if you make it through those tough times it only makes you stronger. I think if we had done that, we could have really gone on to even win more championships together.
 
“So, I credit Jimmie and (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) and all that they’ve been through because not all of it has been great. It certainly looks that way. But they’ve gone through their ups and downs as well and I really give them a lot of credit for sticking together. They’re a great team and they’re going to win a lot if they can stay together, and they’ve proven that.
 
“With Matt, he’s a great driver and he goes over to Gibbs and they’ve got a great program. And I think that it just shows the quality of both, the quality of what Matt brings and the quality of what Gibbs has. By blending those two together, they’ve had a great combination. Sometimes you hit that right away and other times it takes years to find it. They obviously hit on some things right away and other than the penalty that they had earlier in the year, they’ve been able to just keep building on that throughout the year. I think everybody knew they were going to be a real threat for the championship when the Chase came around.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOODY’S HEADACHE RELIEF SHOT 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 25, 2013
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed racing at Martinsville, which driver and team he is focused on at this point in the Chase, the No. 48 Chevrolet SS team as closers and other topics. Full Transcript:
 
FOUR RACES TO GO THIS RACE TRACK HAS BEEN VERY GOOD FOR YOU TALK ABOUT AND JUST TALK ABOUT YOUR OUTLOOK NOW YOU HAVE A FOUR POINT LEAD WITH FOUR RACES TO GO:
“Without a doubt it’s been a good race track for the No. 48 team.  It doesn’t guarantee anything for this weekend’s race and we have to go out and get everything we can in this first practice session and then try to get our best two laps possible for qualifying.  We all know how important that first pit stall is and it can make life so much easier come Sunday afternoon.  Very happy to be here, the week was a comfortable week, one from having a decent finish at Talladega and taking the point’s lead. Then two rolling into a track that is historically really good for the No. 48. It’s been a good week, but again that doesn’t guarantee anything for the weekend.  We have to go out here and get the job done and work hard.”
 
DOES IT SURPRISE YOU THAT MATT KENSETH SAID THAT THEY MIGHT AS WELL JUST PENCIL YOUR NAME IN ON THE TROPHY FOR SUNDAY?
“Yeah, I mean it’s flattering, I appreciate it, but there are four or five guys that really stand a chance each time we come here.  I think the No. 24, No. 29 and the No. 18 has been knocking on the door.  Matt (Kenseth) ran in the top-five, even led laps here in the spring.  We have had a good run over the years.  I understand where that comes from based on past history, but again it doesn’t guarantee anything for this weekend.  At most it’s flattering, but we’ve got to go out there and get to work.”
 
HOW IS RACING MATT (KENSETH) NOW AT THIS POINT IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO 2006 WHEN YOU GUYS WENT HEAD TO HEAD? HOW IS HE DIFFERENT?  OR IS THIS THE SAME MATT KENSETH AS 2006?  HE SAID HE TEXTED YOU THIS WEEK ASKING NOT TO ASK HIM FOR ADVICE THIS WEEK WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THAT?
“(Laughs) we have had a good banter texting back and forth.  For a guy that can come across dry at times, as we all know in here, he is awfully funny.  He asked me to not pester him and ask him for too many tips this weekend and a bunch of different things.  Certainly having fun with Matt he’s a great guy and one awesome race car driver.  We have all grown and changed a lot over the years.  I think that especially racing Matt with the experience that he has he understands the big picture, how to race, when to race, what to do.  I think his departure from Roush and then joining up at (Joe) Gibbs it’s filled in some weak spots that you would normally think that Matt would have.  This track is a perfect example.  I think his run in the spring was pretty darn strong. I think the relationship that he has with his team and his crew and his crew chief they are vibing pretty good.  I’m not going to put my guard down here even though it is one of our better tracks.  I look forward to a battle all the way to the last lap at Homestead with him.  If we slip at all the No. 29 and the No. 24 and the No. 18 have shown they are not going away.  We need to certainly worry about the No. 20, but also there are four or five cars we have to really pay attention to here.  If Matt and I slip those guys are right back in it.”
 
WHEN YOU WERE THIRD IN POINTS YOU SAID YOU ONLY REALLY FOCUSED ON THE GUYS IN FRONT OF YOU.  NOW YOU ARE FIRST WHAT IS YOUR FOCUS ON NOW?
“Really this weekend especially doing the best job that I can, in general that is really what I have done, Chad (Knaus, crew chief) has done and what we preach to our guys.  If we put our blinders on and focus on the No. 48 and do our jobs we will be alright.  That mentality definitely is there, but the first car I worry about right now is the No. 20.  Then it kind of goes back from there with the points.  I feel like (Jeff) Gordon and (Kevin) Harvick are going to be awfully tough this weekend.  It’s a good track for them.  I think the No. 29 was here and tested so that’s going to be helpful for those guys.  It is going to be a good race.  I think you are going to see the Chaser’s racing for the win.”
 
WHEN IT COMES TO FEAST OF FAMINE THIS PLACE SEEMS TO BE PRETTY EXTREME.  IT SEEMS THAT GUYS EITHER DOMINATE OR STRUGGLE.  WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS HERE?
“It’s a track that we don’t run on anything like this.  It’s the only paperclip out there for us to run on.  I don’t know why the switch was flipped for me.  I know how. I’ve said it a million times I was following Tony Stewart here as he came to lap me I think my sophomore season and something clicked.  We came up and tested my rookie year a couple of times.  Looked at data that Jeff (Gordon) was driving around the track and I couldn’t piece it together.  There was something that finally clicked.  I think once it clicks here for a driver it’s a place they always have.  If it doesn’t it gets under your skin and aggravates you and continues to fester and create the flip side.  You are happy and enjoy the place, you run well then the flip side is if you don’t and it festers you just have a tough time here and don’t like this place.”
 
IN THE PAST YOU HAVE TALKED SOME ABOUT RACING THE FIRST SEVEN RACES OF THE CHASE AND THEN REALLY WORRYING ABOUT WHOM YOU ARE RACING.  IT SEEMS THAT YOU HAVE REALLY FOCUSED A LITTLE BIT ON (MATT) KENSETH A LOT THE LAST FEW WEEKS.  ARE YOU MORE FOCUSED ON HIM THAN OTHER COMPETITORS IN THE PAST?  IF (KEVIN) HARVICK WAS SECOND COULD YOU HAVE RAN 29 MILES YESTERDAY?
“I might have to slide a few miles in on the bike if it was (Kevin) Harvick (laughs).  I don’t know I made 20 pretty well, but 29 that’s a whole other game.  I am focused mostly on the No. 20.  He’s been ahead of me, you know Talladega has been looming out there as we’ve all known.  I didn’t want to put too much stock in just chasing the No. 20 until we got out of Talladega.  But without a doubt that has been my focus.  I was pretty frustrated after Charlotte.  I was in front of him all day long and then when it finished up he was right there in front of me at the end of the race.  My focus is on the No. 20 first and foremost, but again if we slip.  I’m not sure at 25 back if Harvick heated up real good if there is enough time to really be concerned or (Jeff) Gordon or Kyle (Busch) is even a little further back yet.”
 
IS THIS ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU’VE DONE IN THE PAST?
“No, I mean I guess maybe social media and other things allow people to see more of what goes on during the week, but I’ve always been focused on a particular guy when we get to the end of the year.  One year it was Carl (Edwards), one year it was Denny (Hamlin) you certainly do draw focus.  The later you go you focus in on one or two cars and drivers much more at that point.  Yeah, especially as you wind down I will be much more focused on individuals.”
 
WE GO TO TEXAS NEXT WEEK.  2007 YOU AND MATT KENSETH PUT ON WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE GREATEST RACE OF THE LAST 10 YEARS.  WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THAT AND DO YOU GUYS EVER TALK ABOUT THAT? 
“I think about it.  I don’t necessarily talk to Matt (Kenseth) about it.  I’m not sure he’s thrilled with the results of how it turned out.  We put on a heck of a show.  I was just there testing and remembering that battle.  I was inside of him for many laps.  Both of us are sideway
s and just driving the wheels off the cars.  From my standpoint I think it was an amazing race.  I’m sure Matt would agree on most levels, but the results I think he would want differently.  I just remember knowing that second would be okay, but that is just not in my DNA.  We had an opportunity to win and I also had confidence in Matt that we would race.  It wouldn’t cross that line and was able to push and put on a great show.”
 
HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO THE OTHER DRIVER’S ABOUT THE KIND OF ANTICLIMACTIC FINISH OF LAST WEEKEND’S RACE?  SECONDLY DO YOU KIND OF EXPECT THAT SAME KIND OF CAUTIOUS RACING HERE OR DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU GUYS GET OUT THERE BOUNCING OFF EACH OTHER THAT WILL ALL GO OUT THE WINDOW?
“Any team member or driver I’ve seen this week they all ask the same question.  Why wasn’t everybody racing?  I don’t know.  We had more side-by-side action on lap one, lap 100, on through than we did in the last few laps.  I think everybody especially in the first five to 10 positions they were waiting for their opportunity.  Waiting for someone to pull out and in anticipation no one made a move.  I can’t quite explain it.  I’m a little puzzled by it as well.  It falls within that strategy mindset.  Guys were trying to get their best finish.  At Daytona you might make a run down the backstretch.  At Talladega the finish line is out at the tri-oval a lot further away so if we made it to turn three, turn four, there would have been a lot going on at that point.  But we crashed down the back and didn’t get that chance.  For my sake I wish that we would have started racing earlier.  I tried a couple of times tried to get the bottom line going and nobody wanted to.  Then this weekend it’s a short track so all the cautious driving is going to go out the window.  It’s a short track.”
 
WHAT DID YOU TEXT BACK TO MATT KENSETH WHEN HE ASKED YOU NOT TO ASK FOR ANY TIPS THIS WEEKEND?
“Let me pull out my phone.  I will try to remember the exact dialogue.  He just texted me again and said ‘be ready for the media center.’ He basically said ‘we are friends and all but he would appreciate me from refraining of asking too much advice or pointers about this weekend at Martinsville.’  He hopes that ‘I would understand and I’m not offended.’  I told him ‘I completely understand and wish I could offer him some help one of these days.’  Then it just went back and forth.  Then he gave me the heads up what was going to happen in here (laughs).”
 
WHEN YOU WENT OUT ON YOUR RUN YESTERDAY DID YOU JUST HAPPEN TO RUN 20 MILES OR DID YOU HAVE THAT NUMBER IN MIND?
“No, for the last couple of weeks I’ve been building up.  Last week I ran 17, the week before it was 15.  20 was the number my coach and I talked about it last week when we got to 17.  As I got near the end of it I think my coach said 20 for the 20.  That kind of planted the seed in my mind and helped me run strong at the end.”
 
INAUDIBLE:
“No, I have just been training hard and working hard on things.  Running those longer distances and paying attention to your heart rate, I ran a conservative heart rate for the first 17 and then at the end started building my heart rate up.  I had some left in the tank.  I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but ran home real strong.  I was happy about that.”
 
WHEN IT COMES TO MATT KENSETH HOW MUCH DOES MAYBE KENTUCKY OR INSTANCES WHERE YOU KNOW IT’S NOT GOING TO BE OVER UNTIL THE END ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP THAT MORE IN MIND PERHAPS OVER THE NEXT FOUR RACES THAT HE IS NOT GOING TO GO AWAY EASILY?
“Yeah, for sure I don’t know how I can defend against it, but it is on my mind.  Charlotte was another good example of it.  I think he ran around the top-five, fifth, sixth, seventh somewhere throughout the night in that position.  We were up there dominating the race and I started to think that we might pick up a couple of points on him.  Then when the checkered fell he was one spot ahead of me.  He is a great driver, great team, and there is no quit in those guys.  It just means we need to be buttoned up until the end.  It’s no secret that we have missed some opportunity throughout the year.  The final laps of a race, restart situations, there have been a handful that have gotten away.  At this point I can’t let that happen anymore.”
 
I DON’T THINK WHEN YOU WON YOUR FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP YOU WERE RUNNING 20 MILES.  THE PHYSICAL FITNESS ASPECT OF THIS HAS THE PRESSURE OF GETTING OLDER RESULTED IN YOU LOOKING TO BE MORE PHYSICALLY FIT OR HAVE YOU JUST REALIZED THAT THE DEMANDS OF THIS JOB REQUIRE YOU TO BE IN BETTER PHYSICAL SHAPE?
“I have been in and out of different training routines and I would say really the last five years I have been focused and determined and on the right path with it all.  This fascination with the endurance stuff it’s just build over the course of the last year as I got strong been able to compete in a few different events and put up good times.  That kind of fueled the fire as well.  Then for me mentally as I dedicated more time to it and found a way to manage racing life, personal life and the training side it’s been a very good thing for me mentally oddly enough.  Sure there are physical benefits, but there is something in my mind where I feel accomplished, I feel I did all that I could that day to do my job and to be an athlete.  I sleep well.  I don’t sit up wondering about different things because I’m exhausted.  It just generally feels good to get this work done and to have that behind me in the course of the day.  There is a strong mental aspect to it that I have enjoyed.  Also in the moment suffering on the bike or swimming or running or whatever it’s a similar mindset to driving the race car late in the race or an ill-handling race car, where it’s not fun, but you have to figure out how to get to the end as fast as you can. That mindset has been fun to kind of live during the week days and not only on the weekends.”
 
THIS WEEK CARL EDWARDS SAID THE NO. 48 GUYS ARE GREAT CLOSER IF THEY ARE AT THE TOP OF THE STANDINGS OR AT THE LEAD IN A RACE THEY ARE GOING TO FINISH IT.  EVEN AT THE LAST TWO YEARS, THE LAST COUPLE OF RACES LAST YEAR YOU SURPRISED YOU STILL HAVE THAT REPUTATION IN THE GARAGE?
“Yeah, I mean last year didn’t buy us any stock in that.  There have been some races this year late in the event where things have slipped way, but I think people know what our team is capable of.  And through most opportunities we show that and we are able to get the job done.  We are human and we do make mistakes.  I make mistakes, the team does, stuff happens.  I’m glad that at least Carl (Edwards) thinks that and hopefully we can live up to that and get the job done and continue to enforce that message.”
 
 

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.”