Schatz Wins Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup XXIII at Lernerville Speedway
Outlaw Cody Darrah battles the Posses Danny Dietrich to win the second feature of the night
SARVER, Pa. – July 15, 2014 – Donny Schatz went back-to-back at Lernerville Speedway’s Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Tuesday night, winning his second Silver Cup in as many World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series seasons and scoring his fifth overall.
HIGHT LOOKING FOR THIRD WIN ON THE MOUNTAIN
DENVER, CO (July 15, 2014) — A year ago the rumbling fans heard on the mountain was not thunder but the swapping of crews and crew chiefs in the John Force Racing camp. In a dramatic move John Force swapped teams with teammate Robert Hight in a bid to create long term stability and make a run at an unprecedented 18th team NHRA Funny Car championship. The move worked and in the 23 races since the swap John Force Racing has won twelve times with Hight picking up six of those wins.
Dyson Racing Team Bentley Gets Ready for Toronto
HERNDON, VA – After a strong finish in their Pirelli World Challenge debut, Dyson Racing Team Bentley is poised for their next race. The team will once again take on the competition in a pair of sprint races, this time on the street circuit around downtown Toronto, Canada beginning Saturday 19th July.
Continue reading Dyson Racing–Dyson Racing Team Bentley Gets Ready for Toronto
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS, WAS THE GUEST OF THIS WEEK’S NASCAR TELECONFERENCE.
BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPT:
AMANDA ELLIS: Good morning, everyone. With us today is Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Jeff has one win and currently leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings. Jeff, thanks for joining us. Next week we head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where you’ll celebrate the 20th anniversary of your win in the inaugural Brickyard race. Talk a little bit about that win and what it’s like going back now 20 years later.
Continue reading Chevy Racing–Tuesday Teleconference–Jeff Gordon
• Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b Hondas qualify second, fourth
• Ryan Dalziel, Scott Sharp contend for victory until sidelined
A promising start to the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix for Honda Performance Development and Extreme Speed Motorsports ended in disappointment Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, as separate mechanical problems ended the runs of both HPD ARX-03b Hondas prior to the finish of the two-hour, 45-minute contest.
Continue reading Honda Racing–Mechanical Issues Hamper HPD Efforts in Canada
• Ryan Hunter-Reay scores his third win of 2014 in a 1-2 finish for Honda
• Josef Newgarden finishes second, equaling career-best finish
• Honda’s sixth IndyCar Series race victory of 2014
Honda-powered Ryan Hunter-Reay became the first three-time winner of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Saturday night at Iowa Speedway, when his Andretti Autosport team made a bold call to give up track position and make a pit stop for fresh tires during a late-race caution period.
Continue reading Honda Racing–Honda Finishes 1-2 at Iowa Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Camping World RV Sales 301 Post Race Report
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 13, 2014
Race Highlights:
Continue reading Richard Childress Racing–Camping World RV Sales 301
CORVETTE RACING IN CANADA: Garcia, Magnussen Earn Hard-Fought GTLM Win
Corvette DPs take two spots on overall podium at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
· Second victory in a row at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for Corvette Racing
· Westbrook, Valiante finish second overall for Spirit of Daytona
· Chevrolet maintains leads in both Prototype, GTLM manufacturer championships
Continue reading Chevy Racing–CORVETTE RACING IN CANADA: Garcia, Magnussen Earn Hard-Fought GTLM Win
Crushing day in Canada for ESM Patrón
Electrical and exhaust issues plague two-car team
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada – July 13, 2014 – Extreme Speed Motorsports was confident heading into today’s Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). Following second- and fourth-place qualifying efforts on a track that showed some favoritism to the Tequila Patrón prototype machines, ESM’s day came to an abrupt end following electrical and exhaust system issues in the two-hour, 45-minute race.
Continue reading Extreme Speed Motorsports–Crushing day in Canada for ESM Patrón
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
CAMPING WORLD RV SALES 301
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 13, 2014
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – SIDELINED ON LAP 11 DUE TO TIRE ISSUES
WHAT HAPPENED?: “The first one (tire) I was able to drive the car all the way through Turns 1 and 2. I knew I had a flat and then got down the back and came in. The other one just blew on the straight as soon as I hit the brakes. I’m not sure what caused it. I’m sure there will be a lot of speculation and I’m sure finger pointing back to the teams or our team. But we saw some issues here especially with that particular tire the last couple of days. We will try to dig in and learn more, but I can promise you one thing is wasn’t low tire pressure. I’ve been out here for two days running around and haven’t had a flat.”
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Sta-Green 200 presented by Lowe’s
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Saturday July 12, 2014
Race Highlights:
Eldora Speedway Crowns King Kerry the 31st at Kings Royal
Kerry Madsen scores his first Kings Royal victory, his seventh podium finish in a row and his fourth win of the season
ROSSBURG, Ohio – July 12, 2014 – Kerry Madsen did something Saturday night few before him have ever done – he won the Kings Royal, one of the most coveted prizes on the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series schedule, and the right to be called ‘King.’
Continue reading World of Outlaws–Eldora Speedway Crowns King Kerry the 31st at Kings Royal
CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
IOWA CORN INDY 300 PRESENTED BY DEKALB
IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
JULY 12, 2014
TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 TNT ENERGY DRINK CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3RD
Front Row Start for ESM Patrón at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Dalziel qualifies No. 1 second; No. 2 qualifies fourth
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada – July 12, 2014 – In an intense 15-minute qualifying session on Saturday, Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) traded barbs with the competition for pole position. Among those swapping the lead for the top spot was ESM’s Ryan Dalziel in the No. 1 Tequila Patrón Honda Performance Development (HPD) ARX-03b. At the end of the session, Dalziel settled for the second starting spot at 1:09.456 (127.453 mph), less than three-tenths behind the pole-winning car.
CORVETTE RACING IN CANADA: Garcia Second in GTLM to Lead Qualifying Efforts
Gavin fourth in GTLM; Westbrook third in Prototype qualifying
· Garcia, Magnussen on GTLM front-row for shot at fourth straight win
· Westbrook third overall in Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP
· Chevrolet leads both Prototype, GTLM manufacturer championships
CAMARO Z.28.R AT CTMP: Bell, Lally Score Tough GS Victory for Stevenson Motorsports
Chevrolet grows lead in Grand Sport manufacturer championship
· Second consecutive and season’s third victory for Camaro Z/28.R
· Call for two tires on last stop proves to be difference for No. 9 duo
· Four Camaros finish in top-seven in lone Canadian stop
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 12, 2014) – Matt Bell and Andy Lally made the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R a winner again Saturday with a victory for Stevenson Motorsports at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the seventh round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Lally led the final 46 minutes to take the first win of the year for he and Bell by 1.014 seconds in the No. 9 Camaro Z/28.R.
The No. 9 Stevenson crew opted to take two tires on its last stop just before a full-course caution period. Lally left in fifth but moved back into first for good minutes later when the leaders pitted under yellow.
“Congratulations to Andy, Matt, John Stevenson and everyone at Stevenson Motorsports on an outstanding effort and victory today at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park,” said Mark Kent, Chevrolet Director of Racing. “The performance of the Camaro Z/28.R was very solid with all four of them competing today placing in the top-seven of the race. This win was also important as it increased Chevrolet’s lead in the manufacturer championship standings.”
The Camaros were strong from the start. Andrew Davis in the No. 6 Stevenson Camaro qualified on pole and led the first 35 laps. Eric Curran set the fastest race lap in the No. 01 CKS Autosport Camaro. Saturday’s victory was the third for the Z/28.R in its first season of competition. Liddell and Davis were winners at Sebring and Watkins Glen – the championship’s previous round.
“It was a great day for all four of our Camaro Z/28.Rs,” said Lisa Talarico, Chevrolet Program Manager for the Continental Tire Sports Car Championship. “The No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports team ran a near-perfect race with a great call on the last stop for two tires. Both Matt and Andy did exactly what they needed to do to deliver the third win for the Camaro Z/28.R.”
The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge next races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, July 25.
ANDY LALLY, NO. 9 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO Z/28.R – RACE WINNER
ON THAT FINAL LAP WHEN YOU GOT TO TRAFFIC, WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND?
“That was tough because we hit traffic in a couple of difficult spots. There were some guys that tried to do the right thing, but unfortunately didn’t judge the gap right and it really hurt our gap. Matt (Bell) was talking about tire conservation, but I tell you this is a 3,500-pound car. We beat the heck out of these Continental tires and they took it all day and pulled away from the competition. I’m really thrilled with the Stevenson Motorsports team and Team Chevy… the Camaro Z/28.R is awesome. I really have to give a shout out, Mike (Johnson, team manager) and I haven’t won a race together in 10 years. This is Matt and I’s first race (win) together after I raced against Stevenson Motorsports for all these years. Finally getting a win with them is really cool… Especially at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. This is a special place; everybody knows this is a driver’s track. I knew I had some good cars behind me to hold off. It was fun race.”
MATT BELL, NO. 9 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO Z/28.R – RACE WINNER
YOU DROVE THE OPENING STINT AND A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD SAY THAT IS THE MORE DIFFICULT STINT. CONSERVING TIRES IN THE BEGINNING AND MAKING SURE YOU HAD A CAR TO HAND OVER… HOW DIFFICULT WAS THAT?
“It is tough. This is the greasiest we’ve seen this track all week. It was the hottest. Coming out of (Turn) 5 with this much torque, you are not full throttle until it feels like you are halfway down the straight and you actually roll all the way into it. It’s very tempting just to light them up and come off the corner, but when you take a look at the big picture you’ve got to take it easy. I know I was trying to save the car for Andy (Lally). I didn’t know how long I was going to stay in the car. We did a full-fuel stint so it was good that I saved my tires. The guys setup this Camaro Z/28.R perfect. We were taking not big swings, but it felt like big swings; we kind of fine-tuned it a little bit. It was just what I needed… just a little bit of understeer in and a little bit of oversteer out. Andy did an awesome job. He was just running the same lap time all day long. I believe one of his faster laps was one toward the end. He killed it.”
• Seventh top-10 qualifying performance of 2014
• First “short oval”round of 2014 IndyCar Series
• Second Saturday night event of the season
For the second consecutive Verizon IndyCar Series race weekend, rookie points leader Carlos Munoz led Honda qualifiers Friday at Iowa Speedway, posting the fifth-fastest speed in his Andretti Autosport Honda. Today’s result follows his third-place qualifying effort last week at the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway oval in Pennsylvania.Munoz currently holds a 77-point lead in the Rookie of the Year standings – over fellow Honda driver Mikhail Aleshin – and is ranked sixth in the overall Drivers’ Championship standings.
Munoz and teammate Marco Andretti were the only Honda-powered entries to record top-10 qualifying runs on the banked 7/8ths mile Iowa oval, as changing track conditions – brought about by intermittent rain showers throughout the day and NASCAR Truck Series qualifying immediately prior to the IndyCar session, caught out several teams and drivers.Saturday night’s 300-lap run, the first of two “short oval” races in the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series, begins with live network television coverage at 8 p.m. EDTon the NBC Sports network.
Carlos Munoz(#34 Andretti Autosport Honda) 5thfastest in qualifying: “Today the teammates’ help was totally different than the help I had at Pocono, because I was almost the last to qualify [at Pocono], and we were almost back-to-back to qualify today in Iowa. For sure, it’s always helpful [to have teammates] because you have an idea of what the track will be like. It was an okay qualifying. I think everyone gets better as the session goes on. More important is the race tomorrow – it is 300 laps, a long race. We’ll see what happens.”
Sammy Swindell Overcomes Recent Bad Luck, Wins Knight Before the Kings Royal
Earns 294th career win and second of the season; bests non-Outlaw Tim Shaffer
ROSSBURG, Ohio – July 11, 2014 – After a string of near wins and some bad luck, three-time champion Sammy Swindell forged ahead Friday night, pushing back a challenge from non-Outlaw Tim Shaffer and winning the Knight Before the Kings Royal, his second World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series win of the season.
“It’s great – after the year we’ve had… We’ve been right there the last few races, just couldn’t pull it off at the end and tonight the car just got better and better,” Swindell said. “The Big Game Treestands car and team did an awesome job.”
Swindell has led at least part of three of the last four races – including the last Outlaws event at the Brad Doty Classic at Limaland Motorsports Park, where he dominated early but fell off toward the end of the event. At the first night of the Boot Hill Showdown in Dodge City, Kan., Swindell picked up the pole for the A main, but had his night ended in the first turn of the first lap, after Paul McMahan made contact with him and Swindell flipped.
Friday night at Eldora, Swindell put all of that behind him.
Shaffer, who sat on the pole, jumped out to an early and dominate lead after a short battle with Swindell to begin the A main.
“We were a little bit too tight at the start, let Shaffer get away,” Swindell said.
By lap five, Shaffer hit the first lapped traffic in his Canton Electric car but pushed through undeterred. Swindell however was in hot pursuit and by lap 13 had caught Shaffer. Swindell made the pass in his Big Game Treestands car through turns three and four and drag raced Shaffer into one and two. By the time the two cars hit the backstretch, Swindell firmly had the lead.
“Once I got in the front I was just trying to pace myself,” Swindell said. “I didn’t hear anybody or see anybody – I was just running some nice laps and then trying to keep the car under me.”
The first yellow flag in what would become a series in the middle of the feature fell on lap 16 after Joey Saldana’s right rear tire shredded. Once the green flag again flew, only two laps passed before contact between fourth-place Kerry Madsen and fifth-place David Gravel left Gravel at the bottom of the front stretch. Another short green with 18 complete, ended before the first lap could be completed with Brandon Wimmer on his roof after flipping.
The green flag flew for the final time with 18 complete. The final 12 laps saw battles between Kerry Madsen and Jac Haudenschild, and Madsen and Pittman, as Shaffer looked for one last chance.
Swindell took the checkered flag, scoring his 36th all-time win at Eldora.
“It was really awesome here tonight… Everything fell in place,” Swindell said. “If we can keep that up, we might win a couple more.”
Shaffer, who was pulling double duty Friday night, competing with the Outlaws and in a separate 360 sprint car, said running as well as he did felt great.
“I screwed up in lapped traffic,” Shaffer said. “I got there and I got my timing wrong. I was trying too early and I know better. Hopefully we learned a few things for tomorrow. It feels great to be up there in second.”
In victory lane, Swindell thanked his supporters.
“I’ve just got to thank everyone that’s been helping me and been behind me – all the guys, Pete and Tony; my wife Amy,” Swindell said. “Everybody knows that helps me.”
In the midst of all the excitement, two people Swindell forgot to thank were his longtime team owners Tod and Lisa Quiring. Swindell often credits the Quirings as his biggest and most strident supporters.
Swindell heads into the Kings Royal on Saturday night as a three-time winner of the event and looks to become the first winner of both the ‘Knight Before’ and the Kings Royal since 20-time champion Steve Kinser did it in 2003.
Kerry Madsen drove his American Racing Custom Wheels car to a third place finish – his sixth podium finish in a row. He said he had a really good car all night, but struggled on the restarts. Tempers flared on track and off between Madsen and Gravel, and Madsen and Pittman in the closing laps as the three drivers battled for position.
“There at the end of that run I had a quicker car than the two cars ahead but there really wasn’t much I could do unless they made a mistake in front,” Madsen said. “And then when someone made a mistake you had to commit to it and go for it – that’s part of racing at Eldora.”
“Just trying to bring it home every night – that was a tough battle.”
The battle for the championship continues to tighten as Donny Schatz’s points lead shrunk again over Pittman to 66. Paul McMahan remains in third, 85 points out of the lead.
The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series returns to Eldora Speedway Saturday night for the Kings Royal. The Outlaws return to Pennsylvania next week for a four race swing that will take them to Lernerville Speedway, Lincoln Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway.
CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
IOWA CORN INDY 300 PRESENTED BY DEKALB
IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST QUALIFYING RELEASE AND TRANSCRIPT
JULY 11, 2014
Scott Dixon Puts Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Power on the Pole at Iowa
Chip Ganassi Racing Teammate Tony Kanaan will Start Second
Chevrolet Sweeps First Two Rows of Starting Grid of Iowa Corn Indy 300
NEWTON, Iowa (July 11, 2014) – It will be an all Chevrolet powered Target Chip Ganassi Racing front row as Scott Dixon put the No. 9 Target Chevrolet on the pole, and teammate Tony Kanaan, No. 10 TNT Energy Drink Chevrolet posted the second fastest time to lock down the front row for the Iowa Corn Indy 300 at Iowa Speedway.
It is the first pole of the 2014 season for the Verizon IndyCar Series defending champion, and the 21st of the three-time champion’s career. It is Dixon’s second pole at the .0875-mile oval track.
“Congratulations to Scott Dixon and the whole Chip Ganassi Racing Team for securing the pole as well as the front row with teammate Tony Kanaan,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, Verizon IndyCar Series. “Team Chevy carried the momentum from Pocono into Iowa tonight with a very strong qualifying result and all four of the Chevy teams represented in the top 10. The intermittent wet weather today demanded some flexibility from our teams and technical partners but we worked together to put up an impressive result. We are looking forward to racing under the lights tomorrow night in Iowa.”
Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves will start the No. 3 Hitachi Chevrolet in third, and Ryan Briscoe put the No. 8 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in the fourth starting position to give the Bowtie Brand sole possession to the front two rows for the 12th race of the season.
In total, eight drivers powered by the Chevrolet V6 2.2 liter direct injected twin turbocharged engine will start in the top-10 of the 300-lap/262.5-mile race: Sebastien Bourdais, No. 11 Mistic E-Cig KVSH Chevrolet – 6th; Charlie Kimball, No. 83 Levemir® FlexTouch® Chevrolet – 7th; Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet – 9th and Ed Carpenter, No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet – 10th.
Carlos Munoz (Honda) completed the top-five qualifiers.
Live television coverage of the Iowa Corn Indy 300 is set to start on Saturday, July 12 at 8:00 ET on NBC Sports Network. Live radio coverage will be on IMS Radio broadcast on XM Radio Channel 209 and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 213. In addition, IndyCar live timing and scoring with the radio broadcast can be found at www.indy.car.com.
An interview with:
TONY KANAAN
SCOTT DIXON
THE MODERATOR: We’ll get started with our post qualifying press conference. We’re joined again today by Tony Kanaan. Tony Kanaan was the winner here at Iowa Speedway in 2010 and finished on podium in the last four seasons, qualifying second for tomorrow night’s race.
Tony, we were talking this morning about how with different teams in different situations you never know if you’re going to come back and have the same strong results you’ve had before. But obviously a great result for tomorrow night’s race.
TONY KANAAN: Yes, it’s part of the job. The result will be tomorrow. But obviously a great qualifying effort from the team. Four cars in the top seven, that’s pretty good. The two Target cars in the front row, that makes Chip happy, makes Target happy.
I’m pleased with the car. The way the qualifying draw works, which is by luck, you just got to draw your number. Drawing an early number hurt us just a little bit. But front row, it’s all right.
THE MODERATOR: With all of the rain today and also different rubbers on the track, what were track conditions like for qualifying?
TONY KANAAN: Track was fine. The truck rubber plays a little bit of a fact, but I don’t want to make that as an excuse why I’m not on the pole. We got an early draw. Scott had the opportunity to change his car a little bit according to my run. That’s what we do for each other.
I told him next time if he gets an early draw, he’s going to pay me back (laughter).
I think the truck rubber was a little bit of an effect. It will be much bigger tomorrow. If they race tonight and it doesn’t rain all day tomorrow, the first two stops during the race definitely, you know, going to have to adjust the car.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Tony.
Q. When it comes to Chip Ganassi Racing, do you feel in some ways the sleeping giant has been woken up a little bit the last couple of weeks?
TONY KANAAN: I think Chip would never want the giant to sleep, I have to say.
So, yeah, I think we’re coming along. We’re doing a lot of hard work. We did a lot of tests in the past few weeks. That’s the nature of that team. They’re here to win. They proved that the past 25 years. So it’s not going to be any different.
I think if people count us out just because we were struggling in the beginning of the year, that’s a big mistake. We’re going to come back and we’re going to try to do our thing, minimize our mistakes, keep the level that Chip and Target expect us to be, which is winning races.
Q. You just mentioned you struggled in the beginning of the season. What was the weakest area, chassis or…
TONY KANAAN: It’s tough to point it out. I can’t get into much details. I think we took a direction with our setups that probably wasn’t the right one. We thought it was the right one. It cost us a little bit in the beginning of the year.
As a team we have a lot of capable people. Me and Scott work really hard. People don’t realize how the chemistry of the team has changed since we lost Dario. It was a big change. It was an unexpected change. For me to try to work with Scott, it took a little bit.
I think the more that we spend time and test together, we kind of find out what those cars need. We’re keeping on making it better.
I can’t single out one thing why we struggled. The reality was we were struggling. I don’t know. I can’t say we’re completely out of the hole yet. I mean, we had good results the past three weekends, with some unfortunate mistakes not by the setup of the car.
Hopefully we’ll keep at the same level we are right now and ramp it up and we’ll fight for this championship.
THE MODERATOR: Tony, good luck in tomorrow night’s race.
TONY KANAAN: Thank you.
THE MODERATOR: We’re also joined by the pole winner, Scott Dixon, with Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Scott started on pole here in 2007. Also started first in 2008 when the field was set by points. With this pole, Scott ties Gil de Ferran for 13th career all-time list for pole wins. Also Scott’s 21st pole. He also has won one pole for the last eight consecutive seasons in his career.
Scott, a great qualifying finish for you and the team. Tell us about your qualifying run.
SCOTT DIXON: I think we had a bit of a tough test here a few weeks ago with the setting on the car that we missed all day.
Coming back and having the car set properly has been a dream to drive. I think it’s been a lot of different things. I think with new people on the team, new engineers, teammates, I think we’ve changed some of the short track oval setups that we’ve maybe had in the past.
It’s kind of been eye opening and a lot of fun to drive something different. But, yeah, this weekend the car rolled off the truck really well. The first session we didn’t do a (indiscernible). The second one we kind of missed on the balance and had to lift quite a bit. But we still had the fifth quickest time so we knew that we had some good speed in the car.
With my qualifying going 14th and T.K. and Ryan having to go before me, we were able to translate how the track was. It seemed like the track had a bit of understeer, so we were able to put some front wing in and the car balance was pretty good.
The qualifying I think for all of us went very smooth. It’s great to see all four Ganassi cars in the top seven.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Scott.
Q. Tony said earlier four cars in the top seven. I think you share all of the information, setup. Is it fair to say you have nearly identical setups or totally different from driver to driver?
SCOTT DIXON: You know, I think the past two weekends actually we’ve been fairly close. The dampers can be kind of one thing. I think a couple of the cars were on the same dampers. I know Charlie went a little bit more conservative in qualifying. He could have been probably a little bit further up on their side of the team.
But, yeah, it’s hard when you get a lot of different people into the room for the first year. For us, all four cars are run out of one truck which definitely changes the dynamic. Trying to get all of us to agree on the same thing is pretty tough and most of the time it is unrealistic. But the cars are fairly close this weekend.
THE MODERATOR: Tony was just in here saying because he went before you, he gave you some advice before you went out and next time you go before him, you will have to return the favor. Will you be willing to do that?
SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, absolutely. I think I had to do that at Pocono, but my speed was so slow, I don’t think he even listened to me. So we’ll see.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Scott.
SCOTT DIXON: Thank you.
CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
IOWA CORN INDY 300 PRESENTED BY DEKALB
IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
JULY 11, 2014
SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET – POLE WINNER
WILL THIS CAR RACE AS WELL TOMORROW AS IT QUALIFIED TONIGHT?
“Well let’s hope so. It’s obviously a great day. I think to have all four Ganassi cars in the top seven it’s incredible. Especially for me it’s been a little while since we’ve been on the pole, especially on an oval. We have been close, but all the credit goes to the team. We have been in a bit of a rut right now, but thanks to all my teammates and everybody at Target Chip Ganassi Racing for having a strong run. Tomorrow is what counts. We are starting obviously on the pole and we are going to try to stay there and get a victory for this team. We are winless right now so we have a little bit of work to do. Hopefully we will put on a great show for everyone.”
DO YOU FEEL PRETTY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT YOUR CHANCES TOMORROW GIVEN THIS POLE WIN TODAY?
“Yeah it’s a nice feeling and it’s been a little while which is unfortunate especially for a team like this and still winless. I don’t want to be a downer right now we are sitting on the pole. We are starting at the right end of the field. We haven’t really been in this part. I’m excited for the race. Iowa is a fun track and we have never really had good luck here. We’ve had some great cars and had some great finishes, but hopefully we can put on a fantastic race for the fans tomorrow that is number one on the priority list and obviously try and win it for us.”
YOUR TEAMMATE TONY KANAAN GAVE YOU SOME INFORMATION HE THOUGHT WOULD HELP YOU GET POLE WHAT DID HE SAY?
“Both TK and Ryan (Briscoe) luckily went before us out there. They thought the track had a fair bit of understeer so we were able to make some wing changes to the car obviously to get it to turn a little bit better and it worked out perfectly for us. You never really know sometimes how your car is going to be compared to theirs. Putting more front wing sitting in the qualifying line is not always something you want to hear because it just makes the car looser, but it was definitely the right call. Huge credit to team Target just excited.”
TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 TNT ENERGY DRINK CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 2ND
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR RUN?
“Yeah we took what we had and with the Trucks running before us the track is going to get quicker so hopefully we end up up-front. I’ve got to thank my team they did a great job setting up the car. That is the fastest we’ve ever went here. I’m happy let’s see what is going to happen.”
TO PUT THE RUN DOWN YOU DID EARLY IN QUALIFYING ONLY SHOWS HOW STRONG YOUR CAR IS:
“For sure it was a great effort by the Target team to go 1-2. We have even (Ryan) Briscoe at fourth and Charlie (Kimball) at seventh. Great effort. We jeopardized that run a little bit by going early but that is the luck of the draw. When I got out of the car I told (Scott) Dixie that I think it would take a little bit more front wing and he did and ended up beating me. If I’m going to get beat I would rather be beat by my teammate.”
YOU ARE DUE FOR SOME LUCK:
“I wouldn’t call it luck. I think we are due to some focusing on doing our job right. We haven’t delivered yet so tomorrow will be the opportunity to redeem what happened last week.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 3RD
HOW WAS YOUR RUN?
“I was fine in Turn 4. I was having issue with Turn 1. Thanks for the Hitachi boys they did a great job again. It was just the first lap unfortunately because it was really good. You’ve got to do two laps here, not only one. Still so far if you are starting up there it is not that bad.”
THAT TURNED OUT TO BE A FANTASTIC SECOND LAP FOR YOU DID YOU MAKE CHANGES IN THE CAR?
“I just trusted the car was tough this morning. The first lap was I was loose like my teammates and the second lap I did some adjustment and went for it. It was a very tough one. Hopefully it pays off in the end.”
RYAN BRISCOE, NO. 8 NTT DATA CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 4TH
HAPPY WITH YOUR RUN?
“Yeah, very happy that is the quickest I’ve ever gone around this place. It was a solid run. We struggled a little bit in practice earlier so we made some changes coming into qualifying. With a little bit of information from TK (Tony Kanaan) it sort of helped us out moving into our run there. Really happy so hopefully we can get all four Ganassi cars up front.”
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 MISTIC KVSH RACING CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 6TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT:
“Pretty good; pretty good. Very happy. We didn’t come and test here. It was a bit of a compromise trying to keep the guys fresh, and keep some money for this winter as well, a little bit. So it was a bit of a gamble because it is only my second time here. Jimmy (Vasser) was confident that the car would be good, so I said okay, your call. We struggled a little bit this morning (in practice), and made some changes in the afternoon and it kind of all worked out in the end. I’m happy for the Mistic crew and the whole KVSH organization. The track just warmed up as the session was going down. Pretty sure it picked up understeer. I was very understeer on my run. We might have been a bit conservative, but we didn’t get any kind of read on the qualie sim (qualifying simulated lap) we did this afternoon because we had the front wing collapse. So we left and said ‘Okay, poker face. Let’s go out now’. A lot of Chevys at the front, so you guys did a good job again.”
CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 83 LEVEMIR FLEXTOUCH CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 7TH
WALK US THROUGH YOUR RUN:
“We had to work on some mileage for the engine earlier in the day and with the rain we didn’t have a lot of time to do a qualifying simulation. Following what our teammates did and the whole Chip Ganassi Racing team we had a really good test here. We knew we were going to have a good car we just had to see what the No. 83 Levemir Flextouch car could do.”
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 9TH
“I was a little too loose coming to the green I had a big moment on that lap. I was worried is the car going to stick for me. Made some adjustments and the second lap was not bad. It’s as good as I think we can expect. Hopefully we end up in the top 10 that would be nice.”
ON HIS RUN:
“Coming to the green I had a big wiggle so I didn’t know what to expect into (Turn) 1 so I lifted and adjusted the car. By the second one I was definitely had another moment coming to the checker, but not bad. It was all I could deal with as the car was being the first one out.”
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S VODKA/ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 10TH
“It’s not a bad run for here but the car did get a little loose on the second lap or we would have had better starting spot. You always want a better speed when you aren’t on the pole. But it has been a tricky day with the weather conditions. Waiting out the rain and the drying of the track is always tough. I think we have a good car for the race. We’ll have to see how the conditions go after the rubber from the truck race and possible rain. We were fast last year here and I feel like our race setup will be good. The 50 extra laps could prove to be a factor towards the finish. The track could really change throughout the race and you have to be able to adjust to that element.”
SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 17 AUTOMATIC FIRE SPRINKLERS KV AFS CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 17TH
“We went in to qualifying blind as we weren’t able to do a qualifying simulation during the final practice session. That of course influenced the small lift I had during my run, which really killed the speed at a track where you need to be running flat the whole time. The Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc. – KV AFS Racing car feels great in race mode, very fun to drive and we made a lot of passes during the practice session, it’s just unfortunate that we’re not starting a little further up. We will move forward to tomorrow and with the combination of a good strategy from the team and great pit stops, I’m confident we will have a good result.”
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 19TH
“I just made some changes and I think we went a little far. We have been struggling a little bit with the unpredictability of the car. The PPG Chevy has been pretty good we just tried a little hard. I went for it and it just wasn’t there. It stepped out and I thought ‘oh this is going to hurt’ and I was happy it came back to be honest.”