NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOODY’S HEADACHE RELIEF SHOT 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 24, 2014

GREG ZIPADELLI, DIRECTOR OF COMPETITION FOR STEWART-HASS RACING, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed the crew chief (Daniel Knost and Tony Gibson) and team swap of the No. 41 Chevrolet SS and No. 10 Chevrolet SS teams. Full Transcript:

TAKE US THROUGH THE CHANGES THIS WEEK:
“This week obviously we have made some changes for Texas between the No. 10 and the No. 41. We are just basically looking to try to get both teams to be a little more consistent. They have had speed throughout the year, but haven’t necessarily put the whole season together all the races at the level that we expect from them. Tony Gibson has got a lot of experience. That group has been with a lot of veteran drivers. We just felt like it was worth moving him over to Kurt (Busch). We feel like his experience and things will help put that group together and get the finishes that we need out of that team. As far as Daniel (Knost) he is a young aggressive, very smart engineer. Danica (Patrick) is used to more of that dealing with the engineers from her background. She actually, a while ago, talked about having the opportunity to work with a younger engineer and build the relationship over time. I just kind of feel like it was the time to do it. We have three races with us not sure what the testing policy is for next year. This is a good opportunity for us to switch things up for Texas. The last three races and just see how things go.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Greg Zipadelli →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOODY’S HEADACHE RELIEF SHOT 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 24, 2014

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media today at Martinsville Speedway. He discussed his outlook on the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Martinsville’s history in NASCAR, short-track mentalities, readying for 2015 and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

WE’RE INTERESTED TO KNOW YOUR MINDSET OVER THESE FOUR RACES. YOU CAN’T DEFEND YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP BUT YOU CAN CERTAINLY WIN RACES.
The mindset is simple. We want to close out the year well and finish as high as we can in points. We want to win races. That’s what we’re here for. We did not have a good last three races for a variety of reasons. The results weren’t there. Frankly, two of those results would have eliminated us from championship hope (in past years). I felt like at Talladega, we were given a pretty big gift and we came close to taking advantage of that opportunity. We want to do well. We want to win races. At the same time, this does open up an opportunity for us to work on ’15 from a personnel standpoint and even from a 2015 test plan. Obviously testing is gone next year, so anything we can do to work on the 2015 package will suit us well. We’re not slowing down any. These last four weeks are going to be about as busy as any as we’re getting geared up for 2015.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Jimmie Johnson →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER RACE NOTES & QUOTES
OCTOBER 19, 2014

LANDON CASSILL, NO. 40 CARSFORSALE.COM CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 4TH
TALK ABOUT YOUR RACE: “We wanted to win this race. We came here to win it. My team deserves it. Carsforsale.com deserves it. We don’t have a lot to work with. But what we do work with, we set out to run good at these four superspeedway races, and we proved that this year. Fourth place is just amazing. ”

THERE IS A LOT THAT GOES ON IN THE CLOSING LAPS OF THESE RACES: “Yes, there was. I’ll be honest with you, the only scenario that I was aware of was the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) and the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson). I know the No. 20 (Matt Kenseth) had a lot of pressure but these guys build these cars for Hillman-Circle Racing, and we are out here to win. Today we came one step closer to that.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega Post Race →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
OCTOBER 18, 2014

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
WAS THERE ANY STRATEGY BEING PLAYED OUT THERE DURING THAT RUN?
“There were a lot of strategies being put into use. Having to really come through and work out for you is just the toughest thing, because 20 some guys and a lady have an idea of what is going to work and timing that right and finding what works for you is impossible. Not impossible, just the odds very low. Hopefully it is entertaining. You don’t really feel like you are doing your part as a race car driver in a qualifying session like this, but it is plate racing and if it’s entertaining I guess I’m okay with it.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Jimmie Johnson →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 18, 2014

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 DIET MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media today at Talladega Superspeedway. He discussed his standing in the Chase, needing a win Sunday to advance, how to control the race, Talladega preparation and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR YOU TO GET INTO VICTORY LANE TOMORROW AT TALLADEGA?
“If I understand this style of racing that this package creates, we need to be in the front and we need to be controlling the restarts at the end of the race – being able to choose the inside or outside line and who’s going to be pushing you on those particular starts. That guy there is going to be the one controlling the race. With this particular package, the leader is not impossible to pass but he really has the upper hand. With our cars and how capable I know our cars are and have been throughout the season at plate tracks, I know we can fend off pretty much most challenges that we’re presented with. We got the lead here in the race earlier this year and were a little short on fuel. We ended up coming down pit road and not taking the gamble. The gamble worked out for the other guys who were in the same boat as us. We didn’t do it for some reason. But when we were up there leading, I felt like I had control of the race. Guys were making some runs and trying to make passes, but were able to fend them off relatively easy. We need to run the race how we run the repaves or the road courses and run the race backward. We’ll probably have to gamble a little bit on fuel and be a little bit short. But to get that advantage over 42 other cars, you’re going to have to risk more in regards to fuel mileage or what pit strategy you have on pit road. We’re willing to do that. We don’t have anything to lose. If the race plays out that, it would be the best scenario for us.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Dale Earnhardt Jr. →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 18, 2014

JUSTIN ALEXANDER, CREW CHIEF, NO. 27 MOEN/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed moving from his current race engineering role to the crew chief position for Paul Menard and the No. 27 Chevrolet SS team. Full Transcript:

ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT THIS WEEKEND?
“Oh, very excited. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. It’s a special opportunity. I’d like to thank RCR and Menards and all for giving me this opportunity.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Justin Alexander →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 17, 2014

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway to discuss advancing to the next round of the Chase, the challenge of Talladega and the fallout from the Charlotte weekend, among other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

YOU CLINCHED A SPOT IN THE ELIMINATOR ROUND OF THE CHASE WITH LAST WEEK’S WIN AT CHARLOTTE. DOES THAT AFFECT YOUR STRATEGY COMING INTO TALLADEGA?
“Obviously it takes a lot of pressure off by not having to worry about a strategy. You just go race. Those guys have worked hard on the cars to make them as good as they can no matter the scenario. At the bare minimum, we owe it to them and the fans to race as hard as we can and take the same approach as we have all year – try to run well in practice, qualify well, lead laps and try to win a race. If it works out, it works out. That’s the thing that comes out of last week. If it works out, fine and if doesn’t, fine. Just race hard.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Kevin Harvick →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 17, 2014

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed post-race activities at Charlotte last week, his opinion of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format at this point, the upcoming Martinsville race, qualifying at Talladega, and more. Full Transcript:

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION OF THE CHASE NOW THAT WE’RE HALFWAY THROUGH IT?
“I think there’s definitely an increase of intensity on the track and off the track; there’s no doubt about that. You’ve opened it up to more competitors, which makes the intensity even more. You get more attitudes and egos in there. That, I think, is kind of expected. Some of the skirmishes (post-race, Charlotte) were a little bit unexpected. And probably the people that were in the skirmish were unexpected, as well. But you’ll have that, from time to time.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Ryan Newman →

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 17, 2014

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway, and discussed racing at Talladega, race strategy, teammates at Talladega, car setups and other topics. Full transcript:

ON BEING AT TALLADEGA: “Talladega is one of the more laid-back weekends for all of us. It’s typically one practice to see if the car feels good. I’m glad they base qualifying if it gets rained out on your practice speed because it gets all the cars on the lap for at least one session. Then it is pretty laid back for the rest of the weekend until the race starts. So, it is one of the calmer weekends we get to have.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Jamie McMurray →