NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
CAMPING WORLD RV SALES 301
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
JULY 11, 2014

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
YOU MISSED THE POLE BY JUST A COUPLE THOUSANDTHS OF A SECOND:
“It’s so tough to get a good lap around here.  The first outing put up a decent time fastest of the day for ourselves still knew that we had to go faster and to come out for the second session on older tires and improve by over two tenths is something to be proud of.  Of course we want to get the pole, want to be faster, but Kyle (Busch) found a little bit more out there than us.  We feel really good about our Lowe’s Chevrolet.  We did some race runs to start practice off.  The car was right where we wanted it based on our test session here a month ago and q-trim went really well too.  This helps make the weekend so much easier to race.  You get a good pit stall pick, good track position and you can fine tune from here.  Hopefully we will be able to fine tune and make a race winning car.”

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 5TH
“We had a good session. So that was nice. It’s always frustrating to not back up what you do in practice, but it was really good. It’s a really hard race track I think, for everybody. I don’t know anyone that says Loudon is easy. It’s hard to pass on. It’s hard to be fast here. It’s hard to have your car right.

“Our McDonald’s Chevy is good in race trim, we’ll get a good pit stall; it takes a lot of things to get a good result here so, we’ve got a lot of things going our way.”

HOW’S THE CAR FOR RACE DAY?
“It’s so hard to practice here because we’re not on ‘our’ rubber. We’re on the Modified rubber a lot. So on Friday, you don’t really get to work on your car because you’re on the wrong rubber and you’re working on qualifying trim. But we tested here. So I think we have a really good notebook of what we need to do. The race, I think, this is all about having good pit stops and the crew chief being on the right strategy because you can take a really good car here and put it in the back and it’s not a very good car; or you can take a bad car here and put it in the front and it’s pretty fast all of a sudden. So, track position will be massive.”

MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 9TH
“The guys did a great job from practice to qualifying to find a bunch of speed. I am proud of their effort because the starting position is important here. It gives you a good feeling going to bed and getting ready for two practice sessions tomorrow. We learned a lot today that can help us on Sunday. New Hampshire is a special track for me and the Truex family and it would mean a lot to me to run well here.
So far this is a solid start to the second half of the season.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 11TH
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO MANAGE THE CAT AND MOUSE GAME THAT HAPPENS OUT THERE WITH KNOCK-OUT STYLE QUALIFYING?
“Well I don’t know.  I think sometimes if you have a shot at the pole then there is cat and mouse if you are trying to make it in the top 12 some of that.  But most of the time we just focus on what we are doing trying to get the best clean lap and best track conditions and me trying to hit my marks and get a good solid lap and today that was a real challenge. We just missed it a little bit with our Drive to End Chevrolet.  We were just really struggling trying to put both ends together.  We felt fortunate to make it in the top 12.  Unfortunately there at the end we just didn’t have anything left after all the laps we put on the tires.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 13TH
WAS THERE A PARTICULAR AREA OF THE RACE TRACK OR YOUR RACE CAR THAT YOU WANTED A LITTLE BIT MORE TO GET MORE SPEED?
“I guess looking back I wish we would have run two laps the first time out on the track.  In practice our first lap was fastest.  We thought we would just run one and come in.  But it seemed like a lot of the people went faster on their second lap.  Maybe if we had done that we could have made it to the final round.  We tried really hard.  We were close, just missed it by a little bit.  Not too bad.  We had a pretty good day for the Target Chevy.  We were pretty good in practice in race trim.  We still have some work to do there, but we will figure it out tomorrow and hopefully have a good run on Sunday.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KINGSFORD CHARCOAL CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 20TH
“It is so close here. I’m proud of the guys because in the first run we were a little bit loose and in the second run we picked up almost two tenths. Lap times were so close, there. You can nitpick everything and think oh, I could have found a half a tenth here or there. I think with the new rules package it makes it tough to get around this place. Overall, I’d always like to be a little bit better but it’s a good start for tomorrow.”

WHY IS IT SO TOUGH TO GET AROUND HERE?
“Well, it’s just flat. Last year I only did one of the two races. So I’m trying to figure out whether it’s the ride heights or that the track has gotten a little bit bumpier. It seems like there are more cracks and seams in the race track. I’m just trying to figure that out and get the car stable to get in the corner and make sure you roll around the center and get off the corner.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 23RD
TALK ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING RUN AND WHAT YOU HAVE TO WORK ON TOMORROW:
“Disappointed with our qualifying run.  I think we will figure it out tomorrow in race trim.  We have put ourselves behind all year qualifying truthfully.  I don’t know what it is, what we are lacking, air pressure or what, but we just have to do a better job at qualifying.”

JUSTIN ALLGAIER, NO. 51 ACCUDOC SOLUTIONS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 25TH
“Our Chevy is pretty good. We feel like we learned a lot in race trim today. We tried a couple of things that we learned in race trim and unfortunately in Q-trim it just didn’t seem to have quite the speed we were looking for. We fought grip a little bit there. But, it is a solid starting spot for where we were when we started qualifying and I think we can keep working on it tomorrow and get to where we need to be.”

CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
IOWA CORN INDY 300 PRESENTED BY DEKALB
IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 5, 2014

TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 TNT ENERGY DRINK CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET,  met with members of the media at Iowa Speedway and discussed his success at Iowa Speedway, being with Chip Ganassi Racing and other topics.  Partial transcript:

ON WEATHER ISSUES: “First of all, we’d like to have more track time. Hopefully the weather works out. Iowa (Speedway) has been a good track for me. I’ve actually finished on the podium the last four years in a row. We’re hoping for a much better weekend than last weekend for sure and try to get our first win of the season here.”

ABOUT CONSISTENT PODIUM FINISHES IMPROVING CONFIDENCE:“It does help, but it’s a different year. The weather and some other things are different. So you can’t say that just because we had such good results in the past four years that we’ll have a good year again this year. It doesn’t relate to it, but this has been a track where I’ve done well.” “The biggest thing is how fast you can come up to speed during qualifying since it’s such a short track. It’s green second time by which usually happens very fast. This track feels the quickest as far as speed. It’s not as quick as Indy or Pocono or Texas, but because it’s so short and so fast, the speed feels much quicker.”

ABOUT LONGER RACE AT IOWA: “It’s a longer race. It will add one more stop to the race and that’s pretty much it.”

ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DAY AND NIGHT RACES: “Night races are cooler. The track is completely different. We never have a chance to test at night for a night race. The track will change a lot between practice and the race. It’s a bigger challenge, an extra thing we have to think about, how the track will change and come up to you.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Iowa Speedway and discussed his thoughts on Iowa Speedway so far, winning last weekend at Pocono, his current position of fourth in the point standings and many other topics.  Full Transcript:

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THIS TRACK SO FAR?
“We tested here and it’s weird because it’s very different this morning.  I don’t know if it is because of the NASCAR rubber, but it was a handful this morning.  Like when we tested it was nice, predictable, fun to drive and this morning it was like ‘oh really’ how many more?  We don’t want to be that unstable.  It looks like we will be okay for practice.  We will see whatever it brings.”

YOUR ONLY EXPERIENCE HERE WAS VERY DIFFERENT IT WAS EIGHT YEARS AGO IT WAS AN ARCA RACE.  YOU WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT STOCK CARS.  CAN YOU TAKE ANYTHING FROM THAT EXPERIENCE?
“The track when I came here the track was brand-new there were no bumps.  It was really smooth.  There is a big bump in the tunnel.  [Turns] Three and four is still pretty smooth, but now you run pretty close to wide open.  Some people actually do run wide open all the way around.”

IS THIS THE FIRST TIME YOU’VE DONE A COMBO RACE LIKE THIS WHERE THE RUBBER IS SO DIFFERENT?
“No the only difference is the first time I’m going to race a short oval with high wings.  Back in the day we used to run the little wings, superspeedway wings on the road courses.”

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
“We have the bigger wings we will have twice as much downforce in the car.”

HOW MUCH IS HAVING A VICTORY NOW PUT A LITTLE MORE SPRING IN YOUR STEP?
“People are happy because a lot of people are still around from back in the day so they are happy for me.  That is pretty cool.  I still try not to get overly excited about it.  It’s fun.  I had a great time, the guys loved it.  It was really good for Verizon and PPG and Hook Performance, everybody that supports us, Chevy as well.  I mean we still have to come here and get the job done.  I think it does build a lot of momentum.  It gives a lot of confidence that you can get it done.”

300 LAPS TOMORROW IT GETS TO BE A TRAFFIC JAM AT TIMES WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT IS GOING TO BE LIKE?
“Learning, it’s going to be harder because it’s all about learning again. I’ve got to figure out, okay I know with the superspeedway wings how close you can run to cars and how you’ve got to run.  This is a little bit of a mix of like oval and road course with the road course wings.  I’ve got to figure out how close you can run.  Are you comfortable running the second groove and you’ve got to experiment, but you’ve got to experiment carefully because if you get it wrong you are out.  Right now we just really need to be smart about how we do things.”

IS IT BETTER TO BE AGGRESSIVE OR A LITTLE MORE PATIENT ON THE SHORT TRACK?
“I mean if you are leading there is not a lot of rush because you are going to get to traffic in 150 laps, but if you extend that a little bit it’s not a bad deal.  It doesn’t matter how easy you are going to take it you are still going to get to traffic.  I think managing traffic is going to be really important.  If you are not leading keeping up with the leaders is going to be key.”

SEVEN RACES TO GO YOU ARE UP TO FOURTH IN POINTS TWO RACES NEXT WEEKEND AND THEN A DOUBLE POINTS ONE AT THE END OF THE YEAR. YOU ARE RIGHT THERE HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THE REST OF THE SEASON?
“I think we have been doing a good job we have been smart about how we run races.  We just have to keep doing what we are doing.  I told the guys this week it’s great that we won, but one thing is getting there the other thing is staying there and to stay there we are going to have to really step it up.”

WITH WILL IN FIRST, HELIO IN SECOND AND YOU IN FOURTH IN THE STANDINGS WHAT IS THE FEELING AROUND THIS TEAM RIGHT NOW? YOU HAVE TO REALLY FEEL LIKE THINGS ARE ROLLING.
“We have but we have been in this position before.  The last few years they haven’t won so we just have to make sure and we talked about it as a team.  We’ve got to be smart about how we race against each other and then we can seal the deal.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, met with member of the media at Iowa Speedway and discussed his outlook on this weekend’s race, the challenge of different rubber on the track and many other topics.  Full Transcript:

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS 300 LAP SHORT TRACK EVENT?
“It’s always good to stay in the front.  I don’t think it’s an advantage in terms of to win the race especially now that they have added 50 more laps.  But like I said it’s always good to start at the front.  At least it’s one less problem, especially if the leaders are really fast.  If you are in the back of the pack you could be facing issues with set-up because of the lack of time you are practicing so it’s always good to start up front.”

WE ARE AT THE HEIGHT OF THE SEASON WITH THIS RACE AND GOING TO A DOUBLE- HEADER AT TORONTO YOU HAVE BEEN IN THIS SITUATION BEFORE BUT YOU KNOW HOW TO TAKE IT IN STRIDE:
“Any type of double-header is always a tough one.  I haven’t thought ahead much right now I’m thinking Iowa first and so we are just hoping that we come out of here with a good result as well so we can continue fighting.”

WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET A WIN AT IOWA?
“We keep working.  Now they have added 50 more laps so we keep trying to make sure that we know what we need to do. We led a lot of laps before in the past, but we want to lead the last lap.  But it’s just the name of the game.  The competitors learn from it as well and we learn from them so it’s both scenarios.”

WHAT WOULD BE MORE IMPRESSIVE TO FINISH 1-2-3 TODAY OR TO HAVE DONE IT BACK IN 1994 WHEN TEAM PENSKE ACCOMPLISHED THAT FEAT?
“Today not taking anything from the past, but because everybody has most of the same chassis, same tire and most of the engines it certainly a different phase.  It would be amazing to finish 1-2-3.  Hopefully it would be one (point’s at himself), two and three with whatever happens with my teammates.  That is the goal that we always go and try to reach every weekend.  That is what we are going to try to do here at Iowa.”

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A RACE AT WENT AS POORLY AS THE BRAZIL VS. GERMANY GAME IN THE WORLD CUP?
“Oh I have had several races that I wish ‘okay let’s pack and go home’.  I just hope it will not be this one.  For sure things get out of hand sometimes.  It happens. It’s tough when it’s a team because to get 11 players to get in that same rhythm it’s hard.  I guess it happens.”

WHEN YOU DID TALK TO WILL (POWER) WHAT DID HE SAY? (IN REFERENCE TO LAST WEEK’S FINAL LAP BLOCKING INCIDENT)
“In that terms when I spoke with him it was right after he was still kind of like not knowing what happened.  You know what it doesn’t make sense to bring it up and try to understand because first I don’t think he did in terms of purpose like some people try to take in a negative way.  I just think it’s a reaction as a driver you are trying to protect the position.  I think we already talked to the team and make sure that we want to bring this championship to the team and that is our goal and we are going to do whatever it takes.”

IS RACING AGAINST YOUR TEAMMATE FOR POINTS MORE DIFFICULT THAN WITH SOMEONE ON ANOTHER TEAM?
“Oh no it is as you said.  The one goal here is to bring the championship and when you are fighting with your teammate that had the same chance how are you going to do that?  Because not only he has the same equipment, the same set-up and you are on the same team.  I dealt with this scenario before.  This is not my first rodeo, which is a good problem to have.”

WILL (POWER) HAS SAID REPEATEDLY HE IS NOT WORRIED ABOUT CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS HE JUST WANTS TO GO OUT AND WIN RACES.  DO YOU THINK THAT MENTALITY HAS MADE HIM MORE RECKLESS THIS YEAR?
“I don’t know.  Certainly I don’t think the mentality of not looking for the points changes the way you drive.  In the mind maybe subconscious maybe, but I don’t know.  It’s a good question.  I just think things happens and unfortunately one season one year you learn from your own mistakes, but at this point I don’t think just because he says he is not paying attention to the championship that he is in this position.  He already in the past he was in the position before.  I think it’s just the way of putting your mind set to get to where he wants.”

WITH THE NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES HERE AND THE RAIN IS IT HARDER TO ADJUST TO A GREEN RACE TRACK OR THE DIFFERENT RUBBER?
“I think the track is going to start with the different rubber no matter what.  But it happens before like that.  Probably the rain is cleaning the Truck rubber and I think it will be better in those conditions.  If it is raining nobody can run.  We just have to wait and see.  If we complete qualifying great if not hopefully we have dry weather for the race.”

HOW MUCH DOES IT CHANGE YOUR APPROACH EITHER HANDLING OR DRIVING WITH THE DIFFERENT KIND OF RUBBER ON THE TRACK?
“Well you’ve got to adjust the tools that you have in the car.  Remember the toughest thing here we are talking about 17 second lap times.  You don’t have much of a luxury if the first stint your car is not very good to set-up on the next one.  Here it’s going to be extremely important to at least have a decent start.”

ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Iowa Speedway and discussed Iowa Speedway, difference in tracks and other topics .  Partial transcript:
ON BEING AT IOWA SPEEDWAY: “I enjoy short-track racing. This is the most unique short-track we go to because short-track and high-downforce racing. At the same time it’s fast racing, multiple lanes, so it’s a lot of fun wheel-to-wheel action. I like the type of racing that’s close and fast and multiple lanes. It’s always nice when the high line develops, which usually can here. It’s fun.”
ON TRANSITIONING BETWEEN DRIVER AND TEAM OWNER “As awkward as it can be going back and forth, it’s become more natural, knowing when and how to transition between different mindsets. So it’s become a little easier, but I don’t know if it’s easier being out of the car. I still enjoy my time in the car as much as anything, but at the same time (being a team owner) is a different type of challenge working with Mike (Conway) on the stand outside of things. I enjoy the challenge of it, but I’d be lying if I told you I was having as much fun doing that as when I’m driving.”
ON DIFFERENCES IN SETUP BETWEEN SHORT OVAL AND SPEEDWAYS: “It is a totally different package with the short oval – high downforce package makes the car feel entirely different than it does in speedway trim.  But when I look at a place like this it is similar to like how Kentucky used to be when we raced there. It is a very bumpy place. Very bumpy through turns one and two. I like that element, and the challenge that that adds to getting the balance right on the car, and managing those bumps and getting your car to work on multiple lines.  But you’ve got to have good rear grip, which is something I think you  have to have at Indy as well. It’s a different type of car. A different mindset, so not a whole lot crosses over.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
CAMPING WORLD RV SALES 301
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 11, 2014

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS, met with media and discussed racing at New Hampshire, testing for future Chase races, the upcoming off-weekend, the newly-formed RTA, and more. Full Transcript:

YOU HAVE THREE WINS HERE AT NEW HAMPSHIRE. TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL THIS WEEKEND
“We’ve had great cars and things have been building through the course of the year and we’ve got a lot of speed in our race cars. And so, I’m happy to have so many top 10’s and three wins (here). Coming to a track that’s really important, obviously, this track is in the Chase, we felt it was important enough for Hendrick Motorsports and we came up here and tested. We’re definitely excited to be here and hope that the things we learned through our test session up here, although we did have some weather up here that we were dealing with, that we are able to advance and have fast race cars right off the truck today.”

IN LIGHT OF LAST WEEK’S RACE AT DAYTONA, TWO OF THE THREE ELIMINATION RACES IN THE CHASE ARE AT TRACKS THAT DO NOT HAVE LIGHTS. DOES NASCAR NEED TO LOOK AT PUTTING MORE EMPHASIS ON TRYING TO FINISH A CHASE RACE OR AN ILLUMINATION RACE REGARDLESS OF HOW LONG IT TAKES? OR, ONCE IT REACHES HALFWAY, THAT’S FINE BECAUSE EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT THE RULE IS?
“I was already in North Carolina so I don’t know how things looked at the end of that race (laughter). But  my memory is saying that rained-out events that I have been a part of when we all knew it was going to keep raining and we’ve all fought the battle for days and there wasn’t an opportunity to go back racing. I don’t know if that was what happened in Daytona or not, but NASCAR of anybody, understands the importance of letting the racing take care of itself and letting a race win or a championship happen on the race track and not due to weather. So, my reaction has been they’ve always fought hard to get the race in and to do the right thing at each moment.”

GOING BACK TO THAT TEST HERE, WHAT WAS THE HENDRICK MOTIVATION TO BURN A TEST HERE? IS THERE STUFF YOU CAN LEARN HERE THAT CAN TRANSLATE TO OTHER TRACKS? WHAT WAS THE THINKING ABOUT NOT SAVING ALL FOUR TESTS FOR THE CHASE SINCE YOU ALREADY HAVE THREE CARS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
“It really was Chase-focused. I think there are multiple factors a team looks at in picking the tracks you go to. If you lock-in early, that helps your strategy and you can look more toward the end of the year. But something teams also look at is where we are the weakest as an organization. Where do the four crew chiefs and drivers get the most frustrated? For Chase-related race tracks, this is one of them for us. That’s why the decision was made as a group. All four drivers and crew chiefs agreed; yeah, let’s go do Loudon. We need to work there. What we do work on and learn here can apply to Phoenix, if you’re looking at Chase-related tracks. Sometimes, what you learn here can help you at Richmond; which can also help us in the regular season with another event there. So, it was more about the group collectively saying that out of the Chase tracks, this is our weakest Chase track.”

GIVEN THAT YOU HAVE THREE WINS AND GIVEN THAT THIS WILL BE THE SECOND RACE IN THE CHASE WHEN YOU COME BACK, WHAT DO YOU LOOK TO ACCOMPLISH ON SUNDAY? IS IT DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF THOSE FACTS?
“For us, we hope that we work through all the little details and when we get on the track today that we’re able to be in the top 5 in speed and qualify in the top 5 and have track position working on our side from the start of the race. This is a short event. If you can have track position at the start, and maintain it, it can set you up for a little different fuel strategy and tire strategy and just make life so much easier. Honestly, in the afternoon today, we’ll know if things went well and if we’re setting up how we want for the rest of the weekend.”

ARE YOU MORE FOCUSED ON SEPTEMBER THAN YOU NORMALLY WOULD BE FOR A RACE LET’S SAY, LIKE, MICHIGAN THIS WEEKEND?
“From that perspective, absolutely; notes and understanding what the track does and all of that, yeah. We work hard at all of them, but when you compete at event that you know is in the Chase, there seems to be an extra little step-up in paying attention to the fine details.”

HOW WAS IT THAT YOU LEARNED THIS TRACK? THIS IS A TRICKY TRACK. CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW YOUR LEARNED IT?
“There are points in time when I feel like I’ve had this track under control and other times that I don’t. I think it speaks to the car set-up and how important it is here. You just can’t say it’s the car’s fault because the driver and crew chief are responsible for how the car acts and responds, but there are times that we have just had it. When you have a good driving car here, you can make stuff happen. And that’s what makes this place fun. On the flip side, if you’re off, it’s a flat track and it’s a small track. You’re in the way. It can be such a frustrating track if you’re off. And I think we won one year back-to-back here and I had so much fun around here (laughs).  So, the opportunity is there to have a lot of fun.”

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON, EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT THE NO. 48 WASN’T WINNING. THAT OBVIOUSLY CHANGED. MATT KENSETH IS STILL IN THAT SITUATION. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE HIM TO GET THROUGH HIS SITUATION LIKE YOU GUYS GOT THROUGH YOURS?
“I don’t know if I want to give Matt any advice (laughter). He’s pretty damned good. Just generally speaking, it doesn’t take much for it to shift and change. I can say that the No. 20 has been on the right side of the computer sheet and the monitors that we look at on the left side. They’ve had speed. They’ve been up front. It’s coming. And it doesn’t take much just to have that crossover center and have it work for them. I think our team was proof of that earlier this year. I’m not counting them out. Even though they haven’t been to Victory Lane yet, I feel that they are going to make it into the Chase. With the Chase being ten weeks long, it’s still a long, long period of time to find your way and get going. So, I’m not counting those guys out.”

OFF-WEEKEND IS COMING UP. IS IT ONE YOU WANT TO SEE OR NOT WANT TO SEE BECAUSE YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN SO GOOD LATELY?
“I’m happy to see it.  I think we could use six or seven more of them.  I think everybody in the room would agree.  Get down to a 25-race schedule or something with more weekends off would be awesome.  I’m excited.  Even if we were winning and didn’t want it to stop from that momentum stand point, I can’t wait to chill out with family and relax.”

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?  DO YOU HAVE PLANS?
“As little as possible.”

THERE WAS A LOT OF SURPRISE THROUGH THE NASCAR WORLD WHEN IT WAS ANNOUNCED ABOUT THE RACE TEAM ALLIANCE (RTA) EARLIER THIS WEEK.  WERE YOU SURPRISED?  WHAT IS JIMMIE JOHNSON’S REACTION TO THIS?
“I’m excited for the teams and the opportunity they have to work together and hopefully drive costs down. And have a more clear and concise voice in the industry on a variety of aspects, not only to NASCAR, but across the board.  We will see how things go.  It’s obviously very new, but I’m happy that they teams are working together to drive costs down.  It’s a very expensive sport and I’m fortunate to drive at Hendrick Motorsports and have the best of any situation and it’s still tough and it’s still lean.  Hopefully we are able to have all of the stakeholders strengthen their positions and make our sport stronger.”

LAST YEAR AT THIS RACE BRIAN VICKERS WON AND YOU AND SEVERAL OTHER DRIVERS TALKED A LOT ABOUT BEING EXCITED ABOUT THAT JUST BECAUSE OF WHAT HE’S GONE THROUGH.  CAN YOU TAKE US BACK THROUGH THAT, AND THE EMOTION OF THAT WEEKEND?
“Brain (Vickers) has overcome a lot of issues that many drivers never will go through.  To have to step out of the seat due to injury for a long period of time and then try to come back into the sport, find your way, find a team, find a sponsor and get it going again.  It’s so difficult and knowing him as I do I think it has helped him see the world in a different light.  See our industry in a different light and have a stronger passion for our sport.  When he went to Victory Lane last year I know that it meant far more to him than a traditional win would.  From climbing the mountain and he has been up that mountain a couple of times now.  So he’s done a nice job with that.”

DID RICK (HENDRICK) TELL YOU OR GIVE YOU A HEADS UP, YOU AND THE OTHER DRIVERS, ABOUT THE RTA?  IS IT SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS WILL BE MONITORING IN THE FUTURE?
“No everybody is paying attention for sure.  We were briefed on it at the beginning of the week that the announcement would be coming out.  That was the first that I had heard of it.  Absolutely, I think there are a lot of people; it doesn’t matter if you are an owner or a driver, NASCAR, or a fan, everybody wants to see this sport succeed and grow.  Everybody is paying attention to whatever alliances maybe put together or opinions that someone may have or the direction NASCAR wants to take things in.  Absolutely, I love this sport and want the best for it and paying attention to what others do that care for this sport as well.”

THERE WILL BE THOSE PEOPLE WHO WILL BE WORRIED THAT THE RTA COULD CREATE A SPLIT.  WHY SHOULD OR WHY SHOULD PEOPLE NOT BE WORRIED ABOUT THIS CREATING DIVISION?
“I just think it is human nature for some to worry.  It doesn’t matter what the topic is.  A third probably care, a third don’t care and a third are mad, it doesn’t matter what the topic is. I just don’t see any downside in the owner’s working closer together in sharing what is important to them, what is important to them to run their business, to run a successful business and to be able to put a race car in the field each week.  I don’t see anything wrong with that.  That environment is there today it is a far looser structure than it has been and now hopefully it’s going in a direction where there could be a more calm and clear voice.  If it is within our own industry from a team owner’s side, if it’s directed toward NASCAR, directed towards license merchandising, a variety of angles this could be beneficial in a lot of ways to have a clear voice.  Instead of well I was over at Hendrick and I heard this and I was at Roush and I heard that and I was at Penske and heard something altogether different.  For everybody to be together on all topics I don’t think there is any down side in being organized.”

DOES THAT MEAN THE DRIVERS SHOULD BE NEXT?
“That opportunity is definitely there.  I don’t know where others stand and feel with it.  I haven’t put any thought into it myself.  I guess in some ways Pandora’s Box has been opened with this topic and discussion.  We will see where it leads.  Again, the way I see this is everybody cares for our sport and people are trying to be more organized to help lead and direct our sport in all ways.  We will see what the future holds and I feel like there is a positive outcome. This is a good thing.  I don’t feel like this is going to drive separation or a split.  And I don’t even know where that separation or split would take place.  The things that have been discussed through the RTA, it’s all about saving costs.  It’s all about driving costs down I don’t see how that’s a bad thing.  I know the conversation is owners against NASCAR, but NASCAR is trying to help bring costs down. So is the RTA.  I think everybody is working the same direction.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO INDIANAPOLIS DO YOU CIRCLE THAT ON THE CALENDAR STILL AS A MUST WIN NO MATTER WHAT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES ARE CHASE WISE?  WHAT KIND OF RACE DO YOU EXPECT THIS YEAR?
“For sure, Daytona and Indy everybody is going to risk it all for those two events.  I’m excited because for a long stretch now we have been able to go there and get it right and be competitive.  For the longest time the responsibility and the fault fell on my shoulders.  I wouldn’t drive the car right until we got in the race, spent two or three days of setting the car up and drive it wrong.  Get in the race and I’m like ‘oh wow’ man I’ve been doing it wrong.  We need to go behind pit wall and change spring and all kinds of other things to get this thing right for the race.  So now I unload there and I understand how to drive the track and I’m able to get us in that window to be competitive.”

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TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 11, 2014

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and discussed his outlook for this weekend at New Hampshire, recent testing at the track, his Chase hopes and many other topics.  Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THIS WEEKEND:
“I always kind of like coming to New Hampshire.  It’s a pretty neat race track.  It’s the only one on the circuit quite like this.  It reminds me a little bit of IRP (Indianapolis Raceway Park) in Indiana.  I enjoy it.  We got to come here and test a few weeks ago and I thought that went pretty well. We learned a lot of stuff.  Then we learned even some things at Richmond the other day that I think might help us here too.  Excited to get on the track for practice and hoping for good things this weekend because we have had some bad luck the last three weeks.  We’ve got to get back to finishing races and get back up in the points because now we have fallen out of being in the Chase.”

CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT TESTING:
“It went pretty good.  We were here with the Hendrick (Motorsports) cars and I thought they were a little bit better than us, but at the midway point of the test I thought we were pretty good.  We just kept testing different things and slowed down a little bit.  The conditions that day were a lot cooler than what they will be this weekend.  It’s hard to judge off that, but I thought it was a decent test.  Anytime you test you are learning a lot.  It was good to get here to New Hampshire a place where I haven’t raced a Cup car yet and get some laps.”

THERE WERE FOUR TEAMS THAT TESTED, ALL TEAMS THAT ARE LOOKING TO GET DRIVERS IN THE CHASE.  DO YOU THINK THE STRATEGY WAS IF YOU TEST MAYBE THIS IS A PLACE YOU OR JAMIE (MCMURRAY) COULD GET THAT COULD GET YOU IN THE CHASE?
“I don’t know.  I don’t know if they struggled here last year is why they came or what.  I don’t seem to do particularly well on short tracks or tracks you have to use a lot of braking.  That might be a reason we came here.  I don’t know if there is any strategy for the Chase to come here and test or not.”

YOU GUYS DIDN’T REALLY DISCUSS THAT? I MEAN YOU ONLY GET FOUR TESTS…
“I’m sure when you only get four any test they use is to get yourself in a better position for the Chase.  I would say so.”

DO YOU FEEL BETTER COMING HERE AFTER THE TEST?  DOES THAT GIVE YOU SOME CONFIDENCE NOW THINKING MAYBE YOU COULD BE A FACTOR ON SUNDAY?
“Yeah I think so.  I feel like anytime we’ve gone to a track to test we usually race pretty good.  At Pocono we went there and tested and ran fifth.  I’m not quite sure where else we tested.  You look at last year they tested at Dover and almost won that.  Anytime you go to test somewhere you gain some confidence going back because you know your car is going to be better than had you not spent 300 laps on the track already.  I know the team loves testing because they get to learn as much as they can and it always helps them at other race track too.  Like I said I think we learned a lot at Richmond probably that will help us here too.  I’m definitely excited because I think our car will be pretty fast.”

WHAT IS YOUR PERCEPTION AS WE APPROACH KIND OF THE CRUNCH TIME  IN RELATION TO THE CHASE OF WHERE YOU STAND AND WHAT YOUR CHANCES ARE IN THESE FINAL RACES LEADING UP TO THE CUT OFF?
“Our chances were really good up until three weeks ago. Then we lost power steering at Sonoma and finished in the high 20’s.  Kentucky we were pretty fast and blew a right-front tire and then at Daytona we got caught up in a typical Daytona crash and got a 36th-place finish or something like that.  I think we went from being tied for seventh to eighteenth in points over three weeks.  It was looking great up until now.  It makes you stress out a little bit just because each week it gets closer and closer to the Chase.  Now we have fallen to where we have to fight really hard again.  It makes it nerve racking, but we are all pretty close.  I think there are six or so guys that are pretty close in points.  I have to have a couple of good runs and hopefully get back up there.  It would be nice to get a win soon for sure.”

YOU GOT OFF TO SUCH A STRONG START FOR A ROOKIE HOW HUMBLING HAS IT BEEN ALL OF A SUDDEN TO HAVE THESE THREE WEEKS IN A ROW?
“I knew at some point with how well we were running everybody is going to run into some bad luck.  I was just hoping it wouldn’t be three weeks in a row worth of bad luck.  I figured we may have some bad luck one week or two weeks in a row not three.  It makes you stress out coming here to New Hampshire hoping that you get a good finish.  You can’t have four bad finishes in a row.  I mean I understand the whole luck factor so it was humbling, but didn’t surprise me.”

HOW DO YOU VIEW THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR BATTLE BETWEEN YOU AND AUSTIN DILLON RIGHT NOW?
“I mean I feel like we have been a little bit stronger than Austin (Dillon) mostly so I think once we get back to finishing some races hopefully we can pad that gap between him and myself in the rookie points.  I’m not really even sure how the whole rookie thing works. I don’t know if they base off points or votes or what.”

MEDIA INTERJECTS – A LITTLE OF BOTH:
“Yeah, so hopefully we have a big gap in points.  But I mean it sucks the last few weeks I think he’s been the highest finishing rookie, but I feel like our stats have been a little bit better than his so far this season.  Just got to keep sticking with it and trying to set it as a goal to beat him every weekend as well as get top 10’s.”

TALK ABOUT HOW YOU LIKE THE NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT CONSIDERING A TRACK LIKE THIS WHERE TRACK POSITION IS SO IMPORTANT:
“I like the new qualifying format.  It’s not like there are a ton of cars out on the track, it’s not like all 43 of us are out on the track at the same time qualifying.  We kind of all respect each other and maybe there are five or six cars out at a time and you are evenly spaced.  You are not getting messed up by the guy in front of you.  Where the qualifying format sucks is the superspeedways where you have to have a bunch of buddies or get lucky.  I guess in the Cup Series nobody wants to be the lead pack because everybody is getting a draft off you.  So like last week we saw where we roll around there at 20 mph that makes it really frustrating and probably not fun for the fans either.  It would be nice if they could tweak the superspeedway qualifying format a little bit, but I’ve enjoyed it everywhere else.”

HOW DO YOU DO OR LIKE FLAT TRACKS LIKE THIS?
“I would say they are probably my biggest weakness.  I feel like I’ve struggled at most flat tracks where you have to use a lot of braking.  Phoenix, Martinsville, Richmond and here last year in the Nationwide Series it is definitely a style of track I’ve got to get better at.  I’m sure that will come with time.  It’s a lot different than kind of the sort of style or racing I grew up doing.  Nothing I ever did you were hard on the brakes almost coming to a stop and making a U-turn and going the other way.  I think that is why I have struggled so far on flat tracks.”

CORVETTE DPs AT CTMP: New Challenge North of the Border
Championship-leading Corvette DPs to run for first time at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

·        New stop for contingent of Corvette Daytona Prototypes
·        Spirit of Daytona Racing, Action Express Racing coming off strong showing at Watkins Glen
·        Chevrolet, Wayne Taylor Racing remain out front in Prototype championships

DETROIT (July 8, 2014) – A new stop beckons for Chevrolet’s Corvette Daytona Prototypes as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship hits its stride for its summer schedule. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) is one of Canada’s oldest permanent road-racing venues and was the site of the first Formula One Canadian Grand Prix in 1967. It holds its first TUDOR Championship race this weekend – the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance.

The circuit played host to the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) from 1999-2013. With the advent of the TUDOR Championship – a merger of the ALMS and GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series – a new age of sports car racing is set to make its mark at the track. The Corvette DPs will be at the forefront and look for a third straight victory in the TUDOR Championship. Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante won the last round at Watkins Glen International for Spirit of Daytona Racing. Heading to Canada, Chevrolet continues to lead the Prototype engine manufacturer championship lead with three wins on the season.

Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor lead the driver’s championship in their No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP, which also is up front in the team standings. Action Express Racing’s Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi – winners of the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the season – moved into second-place following a third-place showing at Watkins Glen.

Marsh Racing’s Corvette DP of Eric Curran and Boris Said finished sixth in class at Watkins Glen to tie its best result of the year. Of all the teams in the Corvette DP camp, the Whelen Engineering group has the most experience at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with a number of races and victories there in SCCA World Challenge competition with a Corvette GT car; Curran won back-to-back races in 2007 and 2008.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – still known as Mosport to many – is a classic track and one of the fastest in North America. It has a number of medium- to high-speed corners that can amplify mistakes. Those sections also should favor the lighter P2 cars in the Prototype class.

“Our Corvette DP teams carry a tremendous amount of momentum to our only stop in Canada,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet’s Corvette Daytona Prototype Program Manager. “We have shown good pace and reliability with our Chevrolet V-8 power. We are faced with a new challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, which should be a thrill for our drivers and fans alike. It is one of the fastest tracks we run with huge amounts of elevation change and long, sweeping corners. The lighter P2 cars may have a slight advantage in those areas, but overall the performances of all the cars in the Prototype class appear to be good. It should make for a great race Sunday.”

Camaro Z/28.R Continuing Strong Debut Season
Chevrolet also had a bountiful weekend at Watkins Glen in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge thanks to a second victory for the new Camaro Z/28.R of Stevenson Motorsports’ Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis. The duo’s victory moved Chevrolet into the manufacturer championship lead of the series’ Grand Sport (GS) class.
CKS Autosport’s Eric Curran added to the history-making weekend with the first pole for the Z/28.R. Camaros ran 1-2-3 for much of the race, a testament to the amount of development by the teams, Chevrolet engineers and GM’s Powertrain group.

Stevenson Motorsports and CKS Autosport each will have two Camaros for the race. CKS’ Ashley McCalmont, driving this weekend with Mike Skeen, will race at her home track for the first time in the Continental series.

“Watkins Glen was a bit of a dream weekend for Chevrolet and the Camaro Z/28.R,” said Lisa Talarico, Chevrolet’s Camaro Z/28.R Program Manager. “Gaining the lead in manufacturer points is a huge accomplishment for everyone involved with this program. Keeping it will prove just as difficult. This will be the first time for the Continental Sports Car Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, so every minute on the track will be a learning experience.”

CORVETTE RACING IN CANADA: Aiming for Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Repeat
Team seeking fourth straight GT Le Mans victory in TUDOR Championship

·        Gavin, Milner enter as defending race winners
·        Garcia, Magnussen lead GTLM driver championship
·        Watkins Glen victory moved Chevrolet into manufacturer points lead

DETROIT (July 9, 2014) – After winning a round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship at an unfamiliar venue, Corvette Racing heads this weekend to more recognizable surroundings. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) plays host to the TUDOR Championship as Corvette Racing goes for an 11th victory at the storied road course just outside Toronto.

Following a victory in the last round at Watkins Glen International, Corvette Racing will arrive at the circuit formerly known as Mosport International Raceway with championship leads in the TUDOR Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) driver, team and manufacturer standings. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen rank first in points after their third straight series victory but teammates Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner are the defending race winners.

Last season, Milner held on in a pressure-packed final stint to win by 0.267 seconds in the final year of the Corvette C6.R. This year’s race sees the Canadian debut of the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, which has proven itself as a front-runner at each TUDOR Championship round to date.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is one of the most daunting on the schedule. The 2.459-mile, 10-turn layout is known for high speeds and high risks. The first three turns, drivers say, are among the biggest challenges on any track in North America.

The circuit has been like a second home to Corvette Racing since its first race there in 2000. Its 10 victories there are the most at any circuit – a tie with Road Atlanta – and the team has won two of the last three races there. Three of those wins were by Corvette Racing star and Canadian legend Ron Fellows, now a co-owner of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The character of the track hasn’t changed much since its first race in 1961. Through the years, CTMP has played host to Can-Am, Formula 5000, USAC stock cars, IndyCar, Trans-Am, Formula Atlantic, and of course the American Le Mans Series and IMSA. Most notably, the circuit was the site of the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix eight times between 1967-77.

Live television coverage of the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance starts at 2 p.m. ET, Sunday on FOX Sports 1.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is similar to Watkins Glen in that it is a track where you need good momentum over the lap. They are both classic circuits with a very old-school feel and very fast. For a driver, it is a big thrill to race there because of the speed and history. Corvette Racing has a strong history there with a number of wins and I hope Jan and I can continue that. It would be great to get my first victory there. Winning three races in the TUDOR Championship in the first year of the Corvette C7.R is remarkable. We knew we had a great team behind us and a good car that is being developed all the time. Even while we are racing, we continue to test new things.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“I do enjoy going to Mosport every year and I am glad it is part of the TUDOR Championship. It’s very fast and incredibly challenging especially on the first part of the lap – Turn 1 and Turn 2. You have to be fully committed each lap. It’s where I won my first sports car race in a prototype in the ALMS. So the track has been a good place for me and of course for Corvette Racing. We go there with a lot of momentum – more than I think we could have expected when the year started, I have to say. Three straight wins is a great feeling with the new Corvette C7.R. First in the driver, team and manufacturer championship is a good place to be.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“In a funny way, Watkins Glen should be a pretty good barometer for how things will go at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. You need downforce there to be quick, but you also have that very long backstraight where you need decent straight-line speed. It’s always a little bit of a toss-up between how you much downforce you run and how much drag you run. You have to decide before the start of the race which strategy you’re going to go with, particularly with where you are on the grid and whether you’re going to have pass cars or whether you feel you have the pace to drive away and fight from the front. There is plenty to think about going into the event and while we are there in order to maximize the performance of the Corvette C7.R. So it should be a fun weekend, as it always is.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was a great race last year – one of the races I feel was one of my best. To have that much pressure from a car that was quicker than us in the Viper… pushing me hard and running qualifying laps for an hour. The last couple of laps were definitely exciting. I had a disabled car that slowed me up into Turn 1 and that allowed the gap I had built up to go back to basically zero. So over the last two laps I had to defend in a lot of places. I used every bit of road and every car I could on the last lap to try and stay ahead and was just barely able to. I don’t think I was able to breathe until after the checkered flag. It was definitely a great feeling. It came at a time where we had a couple of bad races, but Oliver and I had been pushing hard to get some points and it reinvigorated our championship challenge. We’re hoping for the same this coming weekend.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“When it comes to testing a driver’s mettle, there is no more demanding track in North America than Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It is super quick and may very well be the fastest track we visit all season…and, from my perspective, Turn Two is one of the most challenging corners in all of road racing. We have had some serious success there and this week’s race should be a real shootout. I would encourage everyone to come out and see some great racing and all the improvements to Canada’s best professional racing circuit.”