NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUAKER STATE 400
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
JUNE 28, 2014

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 3RD
THIS IS YOUR BEST RUN OF THE YEAR. KNOW YOU WANTED TO WIN THIS THING, BUT DOES 3RD PLACE PUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE AT THE END OF THE NIGHT?
“It’s a big gain for us and our Caterpillar Chevrolet. All the guys at RCR and ECR got us that first top five of the season. I’ve got to thank everybody from Caterpillar and Quicken Loans for the opportunity they’ve given us this year. It was a good run. The No. 2 (Brad Keselowski, race winner) was obviously the fastest car all night. The No. 18 (Kyle Busch) got a little bit better there at the end. We were pretty solid. We never really changed the car. It felt like we were pretty neutral and didn’t want to screw it up. So, we ended up where we did.”

IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN REPLICATE AT FUTURE 1.5-MILE TRACKS?
“Well, we sure don’t come back here (laughs). So I hope it translates. And I think it will. I think we’ve got some stuff coming. Pocono and Indy are a couple of races that I really look forward to.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 5TH
YOU WORKED YOUR WAY TO GET YOUR THIRD TOP-5 IN THE LAST 1.5-MILE TRACKS. THAT’S PRETTY IMPRESSIVE
“Yeah, I didn’t have any answers for why we were struggling yesterday. Steve (Letarte, crew chief) and the engineers got in the hauler and talked all night long, and all day today and put a great car underneath us. And the pit crew did an amazing job tonight. Those guys were gaining spots for me every stop. Even when we were taking four tires, we were beating a lot of guys off pit road. They’re just a great group and deserve a lot of credit, too. The National Guard Chevy was way better today; a lot more fun to drive. This place is a bit of a handful for me. I don’t think I’ve got it figured out just yet. And I don’t exactly know what I’m looking for and how I need the car to drive. So Steve and the guys did a good job in having to deal with me and trying to put a good car under me this weekend. It was a lot of fun in the race. The strategy was good on pit road. Steve’s fuel strategy gained us a lot of track position.”

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 8TH
ON HIS NIGHT:
“We battled hard.  I had to fight we had some damage when the No. 1 (Jamie McMurray) stopped when another car was spinning.  I couldn’t get stopped I hit him, the No. 43 (Aric Almirola) hit him, just too many cars in one spot on the road.  We had a bad pit stop at the end that put us 18th and got back to eighth so I was really happy with the speed of our Great Clips Chevy just too many errors if you want to run up front.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 10TH
WAS THE PENSKE DOMINATION TONIGHT DEMORALIZING AT ALL? OR WERE YOU ABLE TO RUN YOUR RACE DESPITE WHAT THEY WERE DOING?
“We had issues that started on Friday.  We didn’t qualify well that had us in a terrible spot with track position.  I would work my way to the front and get in the top 10, top five and then come down pit road and because of our poor qualifying position we just didn’t have a good pit stall.  I was between the No. 10 (Danica Patrick) and the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) and they were both fast all night long.  I would lose five or six spots on pit road each time.  According to lap times what I heard in my ear I think we were a competitive car and we could have been up there and maybe had a look at those guys in some clean air.  But we just messed up on Friday and got behind the eight ball.”

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 RUSH TRUCK CENTERS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 11TH
STARTED BACK IN THE BACK BUT BATTLED FOR A GOOD FINISH:
“Yeah I mean I would have liked to have been a little better than what we were there at the end, but I think we definitely had to fight our way up there through the day.  We never did anything trick to get track position.  We pitted every time the pits were open.  We didn’t do any less than anybody else did on any stop.  All in all I thought we had a pretty honest day there can’t complain about that.”

WAS IT ANY HARDER TO GET THROUGH TRAFFIC HERE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE?
“No, the race track was wide enough and guys were moving around enough that if your car was working you could get through there.  It’s just we just weren’t working good enough.  I was kind of stuck in one or two spots on the track and not in a wide enough spot to really do anything.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU GUYS ARE MAKING PROGRESS?
“Yeah, I think so across the board.  Kurt (Busch) and I talked about our cars right after the race and we both were fighting the same thing with our cars.  I think the No. 10 (Danica Patrick) and the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) were fighting a different set of problems.  I think as an organization as a whole we were pretty good.  Danica (Patrick) was pretty good all night just got kind of off on the tire sequence there and I think that bit them.  I think all four of the cars were pretty good.”

MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 19TH
“We had a lack of grip and no rhythm tonight. We fought for every inch to finish 19th.  At the beginning of the race we didn’t have any rear grip. Once that got better we started to have trouble with our front-end grip.  Leaving our pit stall was also a problem tonight. We took a good hit from behind on one pit stop that caused damage to our Chevrolet and later in the race we were blocked in after taking two tires and hoping to gain on track position. We obviously wanted a better finish for World Vision but hopefully we’ll get another opportunity with them down the road.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – EXPERIENCED A TIRE ISSUE ON LAP 77 WHICH RESULTED IN CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WALL

ARE YOU OKAY?
‘Yeah, I’m okay. Blew a right front (tire). This is the first time that’s ever happened to me in stock car racing. So, big hits. But is sucks. We were hoping for a good points day to pad our points were we are before we go to Daytona where it’s a real crapshoot. It’s disappointing to have two weekends that didn’t end up very well the last couple of races. Oh, well. That’s how it goes. We’ll try and go to Daytona and rebound and gain some more points.”

DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THAT WAS COMING?
“No, not really. I saw Denny (Hamlin) blew his right front and I’d been pretty tight. But I didn’t think we had any tire issues all weekend, so I was kind of shocked when he blew his right front. And then we were pretty tight on our run. I felt like I was using up my right sides; and run up in the grey a lot trying to get the top working. I told myself to get back down just in case there would be tire problems and I guess I just used up my tires too much.”

IT APPEARED THE SAME THING THAT HAPPENED WITH DENNY HAMLIN EARLIER HAPPENED TO YOU IS THAT ACCURATE?
“Yeah the same thing that happened to Denny (Hamlin) I think.  It looked like he blew a right-front (tire) and so did I.  I heard a big ‘pop’ and then it just went straight.  It sucks it happened, but I didn’t know we had any tire issues at all throughout the weekend.  I don’t know if the rain had an effect and washed the rubber off the track or what.  It sucks it happened but we will go to Daytona next week and try to get the Target Chevy into Victory Lane.”

ANY INDICATION IT WAS GOING DOWN?
“No I didn’t have any warning just was a little bit tight the whole race so far.  I didn’t really feel like I was abusing my right-front tire that bad, but apparently I was.  It just went.”

IT SEEMS REALLY ODD THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TWO ISSUES SO CLOSE TOGETHER ALMOST WITH THE SAME AMOUNT OF LAPS ON THE TIRES:
“Yeah, I was surprised to see Denny (Hamlin) blow a right-front because I didn’t think that many teams had tire issues at all.  I hadn’t heard anything.  Then it happened to us.  Hopefully, it doesn’t happen to anybody else out there tonight because those hits definitely hurt.  Oh well, we will go to Daytona and try and do better.”

CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
SHELL PENNZOIL GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON
MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 28, 2014

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA LEADS CHEVROLET INDYCAR V6 CONTINGENT AT GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON

HOUSTON (June 28, 2014) – Team Penske driver Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 2 Verizon Chevrolet, saw a fantastic chance at his first win since returning to the Verizon IndyCar Series slip through his fingers on the final restart of Race One of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston double header.

Lined up in second place, Montoya was ready to make his move in his Chevrolet IndyCar V6 twin turbo powered car with time running short in the event. But before he could make a challenge for the lead in the first corner, the caution flew for the final time because of a spin behind him.  The race ended under caution as time expired.

With his fourth top-five finish of the year, Montoya moves up two positions in the point standings to fifth.

The event was scheduled to run a total of 90 laps but due to heavy rains that delayed the start, IndyCar officials elected to make this a timed race that would last one hour and fifty minutes.

Montoya’s Team Penske teammates Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, and Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet maintained their 1-2 lead in the series standings despite a challenging day for both on track.  Power started in 18th position and was looking to overcome the deficit and treacherous conditions.  However, he was involved in an incident late in the race that he could not overcome and finished 14th.

Castroneves started on the outside front row and raced inside the top-five for most of the event.  The team decided to pit for tires on the final stop and he could not overcome the lost track position as many others decided to stay out and the team would finish ninth.

Other Chevrolet IndyCar V6 finishers were:
Sebastien Bourdais, No. 11 Mistic KVSH Racing Chevrolet, finished 4th
Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Team Penske Chevrolet, finished 9th
Ryan Briscoe, No. 8 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, finished 12th
Tony Kanaan, No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, finished 13th
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, finished 14th
Sebastian Saavedra, No. 17 Automatic Fire Sprinklers KV AFS Chevrolet, finished 15th
Mike Conway, No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, finished 17th
Charlie Kimball, No. 83 Levemir Flex Touch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, finished 18th
Scott Dixon, No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, finished 19th

Qualifying for Race No. 2 of the second doubleheader of the season is set for 10:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, June 29, 2014.

The 90-lap/153-mile race on the 10-turn/1.683-mile temporary circuit is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. ET with live coverage on NBCSN. The action will be carried live on IMS Radio Network XM 209/Sirius 213 as well as IndyCar.com

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 2ND:
COULD YOU HAVE WON THAT RACE? “Yes, I had a good jump (on the restart) there. It is one of those deals; it’s racing. That’s what happens.  I had a shot once at passing. It was really close. I thought he wasn’t going to make it on gas, but congratulations to Carlos (Huertas). I think my Verizon Chevy was unbelievable today. This race, especially when it rains, is all about keeping it off the wall and running smart all day, and we did that. I liked passing Tony (Kanaan), I really enjoyed that. I’m starting to get there, and I’m pretty happy.”

AGAIN, IT CAME DOWN TO STRATEGY AND MAKING THE CALLS ON PIT ROAD
“Yeah, we were running pretty good, like seventh or something; and then we came in and put on black tires and that really hurt us. We suffered there a little bit, but in a way it forced us to do something different and it paid off. I was amazed with this timed race. There were like 35 minutes to go and I am counting 30 laps, you can’t make it. At this pace, you can’t make it. Why are they not stopping? I was kind of surprised nobody pitted. And I’m like oh, thank you.”

YOU GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND WENT IMMEDIATELY OVER TO CARLOS (HUERTAS, RACE WINNER) AND GAVE HIM SOME ADVICE. WHAT WAS THAT?
“No, I just told him congratulations. He’s a good kid; you know what I mean? And he did a good job today. He did what he had to do to win.”

YOU WERE TEASING HIM TELLING HIM TO ZIP-UP HIS DRIVING SUIT
“I’ll be honest with you. Our Verizon Chevy was really good today and I thought we had a chance to win, but at the end the tires went off. But I do tease him a lot. He had the suit all open and I’m like, you’ve got to look good (laughs).”
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS:  NO. 11 TEAM MISTIC E-CIGS – KVSH RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 4TH: ON HIS RACE:  “A very solid day for the KVSH Racing Mistic machine and the whole group. We did everything right and everything we had to do. We just got hurt by the yellows. The first yellow, when we switch to slick tires, a lot of things didn’t quite work out, but we seemed to come out of it strong, P2 behind Hinchcliffe. Unfortunately, another yellow came out and that really did it because we were good to go on fuel with one more stop and some of the other guys behind us stopped on an earlier yellow. But since it was a timed race, every time there was a yellow the race got shorter and shorter and they were not using as much fuel. So, a few of them stayed in front of us, but we salvaged a fourth which was a very solid result. Of course I am disappointed in a way because I think we could have finished higher, but I am pretty happy for the Mistic crew.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 PENNZOIL ULTRA PREMIUM TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 9TH: “Obviously we were looking for a better day today after qualifying on the front row with the Pennzoil Chevrolet. With Brazil winning their World Cup match on penalty kicks I was really feeling good about the day. The rain, I think, through all of us for a bit of a loop. It was very wet to start and there were some corners that never dried. We just weren’t prepared for that. But we know we have a fast car in dry conditions. Hopefully we will qualify well again tomorrow and have a better ending.
TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET –FINISHED 13TH:  YOU HAD AT LEAST A PODIUM FINISH, MAYBE MORE, BUT YOU WERE TURNED BY GRAHAM RAHAL GOING INTO THE LAST RESTART. YOU ARE NOT SHOWING ANY EMOTION. I KNOW YOU ARE STEAMING (ANGRY). HOW ARE YOU DEALING WITH THIS? WHAT HAPPENED?
“Well, you’ve got to be professional. I have a team to defend and a lot of good sponsors. So, I can’t do what I really want to do. What a shame. It was a great run by the Target Chip Ganassi boys. We fought all the way; all day long. And to be taken out like that I think it’s stupid. But he was having a good day, too and then ruined his day. I guess I wanted to believe the best. I wanted to believe he didn’t do it on purpose. Of course he came and apologized. But that still doesn’t take the frustration out of me.”

DID HE ACCEPT ALL THE BLAME FOR THAT?
“Yeah, he has to man, come on. He’s a humble guy. It’s just a shame. What am I going to say? Am I mad at him? Yes. Can I turn back in time? No. So, we’ve got to turn the page and move on to tomorrow.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 14TH: “Hard day today if we could have hung in there a little longer we could have been in good shape. I made a mistake there and I feel bad for the Verizon Chevy boys after I went into the wall. That’s racing. We’ll try it again tomorrow and go for better result.”

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA
NO. 17 AUTOMATIC FIRE SPRINKLERS, INC. – KV AFS RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED: 15TH: ON HIS RACE: “It was a crazy race. I am very sad because the result does not show what an amazing car we had. We were very strong in the wet, making a lot of passes when the conditions were at there worst. With a great strategy and fantastic  pit stops by the Automatic Fire Sprinklers – KV AFS Racing crew we were able to get up front. Unfortunately at the end I got taken out by Ryan Briscoe while looking to have a top-five or better finish. I’m disappointed, we came from so far back in the field and worked so hard that we deserve a lot better. We have a good car and just need to re-group for tomorrow. Big congratulations on the Colombian 1, 2, 3 finish today and of course in the World Cup with Colombia winning their game, which is huge for my country…I wish I could be there!”

MIKE CONWAY, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA CHEVROLET, FINISHED 17TH:  ON HIS RACE: “The track was drying and we decided to pit (on lap 26) and put on the red Firestones slicks.  I wanted to make some time but I locked up the tires in turn 3. It was still a little wet on the outside.  And I got the car into the tire barrier.  The right front wing was wrecked and the car stalled.  The impact bent the steering column a bit and it twisted my left thumb pretty well too.  It is hurting but nothing serious.  It will be sore tomorrow.  I just feel badly for the ECR/Fuzzy’s team because the way the race finished up.  We could have been in the mix at the end. We need to get ready for Sunday’s race now.”

POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE:
An Interview With:

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA

THE MODERATOR:  We’ll get started with today’s post‑race press conference.  We’re please to be joined by Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya who finished second in today’s race.  We are very pleased to have three Colombians on the podium so they will be accepting questions in both Spanish and English.  Juan, a second‑place finish here.  This is Juan’s best finish since returning to the Verizon IndyCar Series.  His previous best finish this season was third at Texas.  So, Juan, the state of Texas has been very good to you.  How excited are you to get another podium finish here?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  It’s exciting.  Our Verizon Chevy was very good.  Yesterday was a difficult practice.  We really struggled in the morning.  I had a lot of braking issues, and we fixed them.  In the afternoon I felt like we made good gains.  Qualifying was good, and I was kind of mad we put black tires on the dump truck.  I was going on the radio going what are we doing, what are we thinking?  Everybody was passing us, so that wasn’t the best.  But it is what it is.
I was kind of amazed nobody took that caution.  When it’s a timed race, you look at it, I mean, why?  Why wouldn’t you?  You know what I mean?  You could make it to the end, and I passed Tony ‑‑ I really felt I was going to be racing with Tony for the win, and I passed Tony when I needed to pass him, and with Huertas, a couple of times I could have passed him, but I just don’t risk the car.  It’s pointless, and then we’re here and he won the race.

Q.  Juan, did you think that you were in the position for the win I guess before the caution, and then under caution what was your plan going to be if you had one lap was green?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I was going for it.

Q.  How do you go for it?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I felt like I had a hell of a restart.  Like oh, I’m there, I’m there, and caution came out, and I’m like, oh.  I thought the caution came out because he jumped the start a little bit, but it seems you can jump the start here.

Q.  Did you have any ‑‑ did you not know what Huertas had?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  No, I never thought he could make it to the end.  On the radio it was like ‑‑ I mean, those two haven’t pitted, they’re not going to make it, we’re good.  You’ve only got to protect from behind, and then they said, oh, I think you might want to try to pass Huertas, and I said, I think I’m out of tires.
It’s good.  We got another good finish.  It’s something we can build on.  I thought we had a pretty good car at the beginning of the rain and I was very cautious.  Here you’ve end of losing your place and taking your time than stuffing it in the wall or spinning or anything.  When we went to black tires I was running sixth or seventh or something and they went on like an anchor.  When it was completely dry, it was okay, but whenever it was damp it was like oil on the track, and everybody else was like beautiful.  It was kind of frustrating.

Q.  Juan, you had some complaints about restarts over at Texas and possibly here with Huertas jumping the restart like you just said, but you had a pretty good start on him.  Do you feel like there’s an inconsistency there with restarts?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  The line is in the middle of the corner, and when we passed the entrance we were wide open.  He wasn’t as fast ‑‑ he jumped it by 50 yards or something like that.  I don’t mind that.  In Texas it was like 300 yards and he was already wide open, I’m like, you know ‑‑ I talked to IndyCar, you were a little bit behind.  I said, look, if you think I’m trying to tag him, then penalize me, too, but two wrongs doesn’t make one right.

Q.  This is for both of you.  Juan, the winner and the third‑place finisher all say that you were their idol when they were coming up racing.  How do you feel ‑‑
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  They should have respected me and let me win.

Q.  How do you feel to know that you’ve kind of had this type of influence on a lot of the guys that are getting to the point where they can win races here in IndyCar?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  When I grew up, I had Guerrero, he was the only guy racing.  He made Formula 1, he made it in IndyCar.  He was on the pole in the Indy 500.  He was really good.  So for me, apart from Senna, I looked up to him.  So when I went up, karting and racing in Colombia was there, a couple people tried it but nobody ever thought you could make a career out of this.  I’ve been racing for so long at a top level, you know what I mean, I’ve been lucky enough to have a great career, great teams, people start realizing, I want my kids to do ‑‑ the same thing with golf.  Here Tiger Woods, everybody thinks they’ve got to practice when they’re five years old every day, 20 hours a day to hit golf balls and one day the kid turns 14, looks at a girl and throws away the golf club.  It’s definitely that kind of deal.

Q.  Colombia won their World Cup match right before this race ended.  Are we making too much of it?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Oh, it’s going to be a huge day.  Three Colombians, I think the first time in the history of motor racing in the world that three Colombians are on a podium top at the IndyCar level, a top motorsport level, it’s unbelievable.  It’s really exciting.  On my team, I think they’ve got a good shot at the World Cup, as well.  They’re playing really well, and yeah, next match is against Brazil, so that’s going to be fun, having Helio as a teammate and kicking his ass.
CARLOS MUÑOZ:  I think right now we’re really lucky to be here in America, not in Colombia.  I think right now Colombia should be really crazy to go out in the streets and celebrate.  It’s been a big deal for us this year.  Today was a big day for Colombia, for the first time 1‑2‑3 on the podium in IndyCar in a motorsport race, and the first time we go to quarterfinals.  So should be a really fantastic day.  We show what Colombians are made of.  I think we show the bad image people have, because they don’t know about Colombians, they only know about one thing.  You know what I mean?  Finally we showed that we have plenty of talent in Colombia, not only in motor racing but there’s a lot of Colombians in other sports.

Q.  Carlos, did you ever think you’d be on a podium with Juan Pablo, and Juan, do you feel like an old guy?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I am old.  I don’t have to feel like.  Compared with them, yeah.

Q.  All these kids grew up idolizing you are now beating you.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I’m OK.  If I don’t do a good job I deserve to be beaten.  If I do a good job, I’m going to kick your ass.  It’s normal.  That’s what we’re here to do.  It’s about getting the job done, and I feel I’ve come up and proven that I can get the job done here, and every week it gets better and better.  We have really good days.  We keep building on it.  We keep getting better.  It’s just a matter of time, you know what I mean?  I think the wins are coming, and I think once it clicks, it’s going to click pretty well.  Finally starting to get the overtaking.  I felt I made a really good move on Kanaan today.  I was smiling in the car when I passed him.  Yeah, it was pretty cool.

Q.  Could both of you talk about how sloppy the race ended up being?  It seemed that obviously when you go to the slicks you’re going to have some sloppiness, but the driving today had a lot of moments that could have been avoided.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I don’t know, it’s just racing.  It’s hard because only the race line dries.  It’s very hard to make any moves because every time you get to somebody you’ve got to stay in line.  You can’t get into the damp and say, oh, here I go because you’re probably not going to make it.  I think every time somebody tried it, that’s what happened.

Q.  Juan, the last time that you raced in Houston you finished second.  Would you say that it’s a lot different now emotionally considering you’ve been away from IndyCar so long that it’s a lot better today?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I’ll tell you, the last time I finished second here, Jimmy Vasser was the guy who beat me and it really sucked and finishing second place really sucked.
Am I happy?  Yeah, I’m happy I finished second and I’ve shown that I can get the job done and everything, but it still sucks.  And I think that’s why I can get the job done.  I really want to win.  It’s all about performing, and I’ll tell you, this year right now in the IndyCar Series is really tough.  Our Verizon Chevy is really good, and even having such a good car, you’re off a little bit and you’re 15th.  You know what I mean?  It doesn’t take much to be nowhere.
It’s great racing, but you’ve got to be on your game every day.

Q.  Speaking about every day, what about coming back tomorrow?  Do you think each of you can get back on the podium, maybe you’ll get your win, and just how you feel physically going into tomorrow?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I think the rain really helped everybody.  The only thing was like I have leather gloves, and they were all wet, but my hands are fine.  I’m sure tomorrow when we get in the car, you’re going to go, oh, that hurt.  Like your elbows ‑‑ like the elbows, the only thing you can feel all the time here from racing when you’re turning is your arms are bouncing, like hitting against the chassis.  Really, can we stop bouncing, please?

CAMARO Z/28.R AT WATKINS GLEN: Victory at Watkins Glen for Stevenson Motorsports
Second win for Liddell, Davis nets GS manufacturer championship lead for Chevrolet

·         Liddell holds on for 0.169-second victory

·         Davis sets fastest lap of the race

·         Camaros ran 1-2-3 for much of event

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 28, 2014) – Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis drove the new Camaro Z/28.R to victory for the second time season in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge with a dramatic victory in the Continental Tire 150 on Saturday at Watkins Glen International. The win unofficially moved Chevrolet into the lead of the Grand Sport (GS) manufacturer championship after six rounds.

It ended a dynamic two days for the Camaro Z/28.R. Eric Curran claimed pole position for CKS Autosport in the No. 01 Camaro. In addition to winning the race Saturday, Davis also set the fastest lap at 2:01.790 (x mph) in the victorious No. 6 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro Z/28.R.

“What an great event for the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R program,” said Mark Kent, Chevrolet Director of Racing. “Congratulations to Robin Liddell, Andrew Davis and everyone at Stevenson Motorsports on Saturday’s victory at Watkins Glen. The second win of the season was doubly important in terms of the GS championship standings. The progress of this first-year program is remarkable but a long season remains.”

Liddell held off a hard-charging B.J. Zacharias on the final lap to win by 0.169 seconds. The Liddell/Davis pairing scored the Camaro Z/28.R’s first victory in March at Sebring.

A trio of Camaro Z/28.Rs ran in the top three positions for most of the race. Matt Bell and Andy Lally went on to finish fourth in the No. 9 Stevenson Camaro with Curran and Aschenbach seventh. Ashley McCalmont and Bob Michaelian were 10th in the No. 00 CKS Camaro Z/28.R.

“Watkins Glen was an unqualified success for Team Chevy,” said Lisa Talarico, Chevrolet’s Program Manager for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. “The Camaro Z/28.R showed great speed and balance in practice, qualifying and the race. The work done by the team at Chevrolet Racing, Pratt & Miller and our partners at Stevenson Motorsports and CKS Autosport has been fantastic all season and our efforts continue to pay dividends.”

Saturday’s race will air on FOX Sports 1 at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 6. The next round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge is Saturday, July 12 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park outside Toronto.

ANDREW DAVIS, NO. 6 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CAMARO Z/28.R
“I’m very excited and proud for this Stevenson Motorsports crew and everyone at Team Chevy and Pratt & Miller Engineering. It’s always special to win a race but to win another race at Watkins Glen is a great achievement – such a historic track. I can’t say enough about our Camaro Z/28.R. The crew guys did a great job. I was able to get a great restart after a botched start of the race. I got a great jump and was able to get in the lead before Turn 1. From that point, I had the best view in the house so I put my head down, focused on that view and tried to drive away from everybody because I wanted to give Robin the car in first. The guys did a great job and we achieved that.”

ROBIN LIDDELL, NO.  6 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CAMARO Z/28.R
“The support from Chevrolet and Pratt & Miller with this new Camaro Z/28.R has been fantastic. Two wins in the debut season is great. Today was an interesting finish to say the least. It was a massive scrap over the last three corners. The guys made some great pit stops – both the No. 6 and the No. 9. In terms of strategy, we called it perfectly. We didn’t gamble for any yellows. We did our stops as if it were going to be a green race, and we ran out of gas on the last lap essentially with a loss of fuel pressure. I’m really happy with the execution from the team. Thanks to Stevenson, Pratt & Miller and Team Chevy. The Camaro Z/28.R was a brilliant car all weekend.”

JEFF GORDON, NASCAR SPRINT CUP POINT LEADER, LEADS THE WAY FOR
TEAM CHEVY AT KENTUCKY
Eight Team Chevy SS Drivers Qualify in Top 12

SPARTA, KY. – June 27, 2014 – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point leader, Jeff Gordon, led the way for Team Chevy in qualifying today at Kentucky Speedway, the 17th stop on the 2014 tour.  Gordon took his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevy SS around the rough, 1.5-mile track with a fast lap of 28.903 seconds/186.832 mph, which was good enough to claim the third starting position for Saturday night’s 267 lap/400.5 mile race.  The four-time NSCS champion was one of only four drivers to break the 28 second barrier in the final round of knock-out qualifying.

“Oh my gosh you never want to be satisfied unless you are on the pole or in Victory Lane, but this sort of feels like a victory for me because that first run was not pretty,” said Gordon following the qualifying session. “That was a pretty wild session for the Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, but those last two or three runs were just so solid.  We made some good adjustments really proud of Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the guys on the adjustments they made. I don’t know how far off of those guys we were, but solid.  That is a great place to start this race.”

Out of three previous races completed at Kentucky Speedway this marks Gordon’s best qualifying effort to date at the track, the only track currently on the NSCS schedule where he has yet to capture a win.

In Saturday night’s 42-car field, Team Chevy will occupy eight of the top 12 starting positions. Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS team continued to show a strong qualifying program by recording their sixth top-five start of the season. When the green flag flies, Harvick will pilot his Chevy SS from the fifth position.  He will be followed by Rookie of the Year contender, Kyle Larson, who will start sixth in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS.

Nicknamed ‘The Rocket Man’, Ryan Newman will guide his No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS toward the top spot from the seventh starting position.  Last week’s pole sitter, Jamie McMurray, in the No. 1 Lexar Chevrolet SS, follows him in eighth.

Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS and Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Danica Patrick, No. 10 GoDaddy Chevy SS, will start ninth and 10th, respectively, in their Chevy SS race cars.   Paul Menard rounds out the top 12 Chevy qualifiers and will start 12th with his Chevy powered No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet SS.

Brad Keselowski (Ford) won the pole, Joey Logano (Ford) will start second, and Denny Hamlin (Toyota) will start fourth, to round out the top five starters.

The Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday June 28th. Live coverage will be available on TNT, PRN Radio, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.

POST-QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 3RD
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 6TH (TOP ROTY CONTENDER)

YOU’VE BEEN A PRETTY AMAZING QUALIFIER ALL YEAR LONG. WAS THERE ANY SPECIAL CHALLENGE ABOUT THIS TRACK?
LARSON: “No, I knew we were going to have a good car after our mock runs and stuff and practice. Like I said, I was a little bit disappointed we ended up sixth because I thought we had a good shot for the pole before qualifying started. But yeah, we’ve been qualifying pretty good this year. Last year and for pretty much all my racing career I’ve been a really bad qualifier so I’ve been happy with how it’s been going this year. Our cars have just been really good is why we’ve been qualifying well. Jamie (McMurray) has been qualifying well, too. I think it’s all got to do with our team and how well our cars have been.”

KYLE LARSON DEPARTS AND JEFF GORDON JOINS.
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’VE GOT A PRETTY GOOD RACE CAR THIS WEEKEND HERE IN KENTUCKY. I KNOW YOU’D LIKE TO CHECK THIS ONE OFF.

GORDON:  “Boy, we sure would. And we do. We have a great race car. That was an awesome qualifying session as far as I’m concerned with the No. 24 car. We’ve kind of been hit or miss with this sort of format. When we’re good and we qualify up front, we usually start good and stay pretty good but don’t seem to have it at the end. And today, we made our first run and it was not very good. And we decided to make another run. I thought it was going to rain the whole time. I have no idea where the rain went. I looked on the radar before I got in the car and there was no doubt in my mind it was going to rain, but we got the whole thing in. I’m just blown away but I’m really glad.

“I don’t like being too excited about third, because you always want to be on top and you always want to be in Victory Lane and I do; but I’m telling you that was an awesome third-place qualifying session and run for us. It’s a tough place. Our car has been good but our first run was mediocre at best. The second run was a little bit better. The third run we made was, I thought, all we had in it. And that last run, I really flew through (Turns) 1 and 2, but when I got to (Turns) 3 and 4, I got in there good, got it rotated, jumped back on the gas, but it just didn’t stick. So, I was a little disappointed with (Turns) 3 and 4, but came back third. Of course it was a long ways off from the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski, pole winner). They really have their act together when it comes to qualifying.”

DO YOU LOOK AT THE PENSKE CARS AND WONDER WHAT THEY ARE DOING?
“If they were beating us in the race every weekend, then I’d be concerned. But if you just look at practice, they have something that has that front-end speed. Even in race runs in practice; maybe they’ve got the balance figured out, something mechanically, or with air pressure that they’re doing. They get faster every run. Now of course, we did too, today. But I mean they take it to another level in the third session. So, at this point, we’ve kind of gotten used to it and accustomed to it and we’re going to always work hard to try to beat it and figure out what they’re doing. But they are really doing an amazing job with their cars for qualifying. But we seem to have something for them when they drop the green flag in the race. So whatever it is doesn’t seem to correlate to race runs as much.”

THERE WAS A TIME IN YOUR CAREER WHEN THAT’S EXACTLY WHERE YOU WERE. EVERYBODY LOOKED AT YOU DURING QUALIFYING AND WONDERED IF THEY COULD KEEP UP WITH YOU. DO YOU REMEMBER THOSE TIMES? IS THAT WHERE WE ARE NOW?
“I know what you’re saying and I’ve always been proud of being a good qualifier throughout my career, but I’ve always felt like when we qualified well, we backed it up in the race. Those guys are just so spectacular in qualifying. They’ve won races; don’t get me wrong. But they’ve typically won races when it’s a real short run and they kind of get it done in a short run. So, I would like to think that the times when I was sitting on the pole, all those weeks, and everybody was like what do they have? We had a fast race car and a great team that we were getting it done in qualifying as well as in the race.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUAKER STATE 400
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
JUNE 27, 2014

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 3RD
ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT:
“Oh my gosh you never want to be satisfied unless you are on the pole or in Victory Lane, but this sort of feels like a victory for me because that first run was not pretty.  I don’t know the car just didn’t do what I wanted it to do.  It was so crazy we thought it was going to rain and then it didn’t.  That was a pretty wild session for the Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, but those last two or three runs were just so solid.  We made some good adjustments really proud of Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the guys on the adjustments they made.  Even that final lap there I really got through (Turns) one and two good.  I said ‘okay don’t mess up three and four’.  I got down into three got it turned just the way I wanted to got back in the gas and the front end just did not quite stick for me.  I don’t know how far off of those guys we were, but solid.  That is a great place to start this race.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 5TH
TOP FIVE IN QUALIFYING HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK THAT IS GOING TO BE FOR TOMORROW?
“I think it’s going to be pretty important.  We kind of have battled I think everybody has battled just a tough race track to get ahold of.  To get over the bumps and make your car turn and do all the things it needs to do. We didn’t have a great first run, made it better every run and wound up with a top five start.  I think that is a great improvement for our Budweiser team.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 SCOTT PRODUCTS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 15TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT:
“I’m okay with it.  I think the first run we were so tight we tightened up from practice when it was really loose.  I probably over drove it just a little bit so that put us right on the edge of making it into the second group.  So we made one more run, the car was a lot better, still too tight overall throughout all of qualifying, but I think that second run on tires probably hurt us a little bit.  The third run I was proud of the guys they kept making the car a little bit better each time, but I think I hurt the right-front too much. That was all I had.  I was pleased with the lap.  I don’t think I could have got much more out of it.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CHEERIOS PROTEIN CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 16TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN:
“I don’t know the car drove really good.  Just need some more speed.  The car is driving good that is the good thing.  I think we should be fine tomorrow night.  The car has been decent since we’ve been here and long run speed is good.  Didn’t have an issue right there as far as drive so I’m looking forward to tomorrow night.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 25TH
“Race-trim-wise, I think we’re in good shape. We made a qualifying run at the end of practice and went slower than our race run (laughs); so, it’s discouraging coming into qualifying. We didn’t get the lap that we needed out there and didn’t transfer. But I feel actually decent about our car in race trim. We put up a great two runs in the final practice session. We just couldn’t get out of our own way in Q-trim.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD SS – QUALIFIED 29TH
“We were slow in practice. We’ve been fighting the car all day and haven’t had any gains. We haven’t been able to figure out what we need to do. But we just haven’t had good speed. The car is rough. It’s just really bouncing all the way down the straightaway all the way through the corners. We’re having a real rough go of it. The car is just way too rough and has way too much movement and it’s hard to control it that way.”

IS IT THE CAR YOU’RE FIGHTING, OR THE TRACK?
“The car bounces because of the track. But it doesn’t take a scientist to figure it out. But this front straightaway is pretty mean. The corners are fine. We can figure that out. But this is something else. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
SHELL PENNZOIL GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON
MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 27, 2014
HOUSTON (June 27, 2014) – Will Power, Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves all posted practice times today fast enough to land them in the top-five quickest as the opening day of the Shell Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston for the Verizon IndyCar Series concluded. Power was second in the order, Briscoe third and Castroneves fifth as the Chevrolet teams prepared for Race One of the Houston doubleheader weekend.
Firestone Fast Six qualifying for Race One is schedules for 10 a.m. CT Saturday, June 28.
The first of the two 90-lap races of the weekend around the 1.683-mile/10 turn temporary street circuit is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. CT with live TV coverage on NBC Sports Network. Additionally IMS Radio Network will carry the action live on XM 209/Sirius 213 as well as IndyCar.com
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET-2ND IN COMBINED PRACTICE,  AND RYAN BRISCOE, NO. 8 NTT DATA CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET – 3RD IN COMBINED PRACTICE, met with members of the media at the Shell Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston at the conclusion of Friday practice.
WILL POWER: IT SEEMS LIKE YOU PICKED UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF LAST YEAR FINISHING FASTEST OVERALL IN TODAY’S COMBINED PRACTICE.  HOW HAS TEAM PENSKE HELPING YOU PREPARE FOR THE RACE TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND QUALIFYING TOMORROW MORNING?  “It’s hard to tell actually we didn’t have a good session that last run was really difficult to get a lap.  It’s normal IndyCar it’s really difficult.  Obviously being in that front bunch is very competitive, but I think we’ve got a good chance tomorrow with about 10 other guys so we are doing everything we can tonight to really work out the set-up.”
IN YOUR WORDS HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TRACK FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR?  “It’s a little bit different.  It’s very similar honestly.  It’s no big deal it’s basically the same track to me it’s just you getting your car to ride the bumps well.  I think that is the key.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL IF EITHER OF THESE TWO RACES GOES TO RACING IN THE WET?  “Well that always makes things really interesting.  I mean it just depends how much it rains and how it dries up and when you go to slicks and when you put on wets and so on.  It’s all stuff you’ve got to do on the fly you just can’t predict it.  You don’t know how it’s going to be but it will definitely make it exciting for the fans.”
HOW DO YOU THINK THE STANDING START PRACTICE ON THE FRONT STRETCH WENT AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WAS NEEDED FOR YOU GUYS? “Yeah I think it was a good idea.  No one stalled so hopefully that is the case in the race.  The reason we are doing it is because of what happened at the Indianapolis road course. Obviously we had a pretty big crash there so trying to prevent that.  Obviously things are a little different when there is a bit of pressure on and everyone is packed up there on the grid.  Hopefully everyone gets away.”
I KNOW YOU HEAR A LOT THAT FANS THINK INDYCAR RACE CONTROL FAVORS YOU OR DOESN’T MAKE CALLS AGAINST YOU:  “I thought that was the other way around.”
DO YOU THINK THAT IT’S ACTUALLY THE OTHER WAY AROUND?  “Yeah, I mean I probably have gotten the most penalties of anyone this year.  Four of them have come in the last five races.  I would be surprised if anyone has had even two drive through penalties let alone four.  I’ve been penalized enough.  Everyone has that.  When people stop talking about you that is when you’ve got a problem.”
IT DOESN’T SEEM LIKE THE CAR HAD ANY DAMAGE FROM JUMPING THE CURB IN THIS MORNINGS PRACTICE SESSION.  THIS AFTERNOON ANOTHER DRIVER DID THE SAME THING AND ENDED UP IN THE WALL.  HOW WAS YOUR CAR AFTER THAT CONTACT WITH THE CURB?  “The car was fine. I just kept going.  Luckily it was early in the session and we were running very slow and I didn’t even make the wall.  That hurts.  You don’t want to do that.  It jolts your neck.  Yeah, I’m sure it hurt more for (James) Hawksworth if he did the same, but got to the wall.”
RYAN BRISCOE:  YOU RACED HERE IN 2007 IN A SPORTSCAR, WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE BACK HERE AT HOUSTON IN AN INDYCAR? “Still bumpy.  It feels way better than last year looked, so I am thankful for that. I’m thankful for all the changes and upgrades to the track. I think it is going to be a tough weekend for sure. It is an exciting track. It’s not that hot outside, but it feels hot. It is just the humidity. It takes it out of you. It is going to be grueling weekend. But, really pleased with the way we have opened up today with the car. The first session was really about me getting back into the groove of getting around this track. Sort of re-learning it after, what, seven years since I was here in a sports car. We’ve had a pretty busy schedule since the last race in Texas. We went to Iowa, then Milwaukee and then a couple of days in Sebring. I feel like that has really helped this team, and especially on the No. 8 car. We will just keep building on what we’ve been learning all year long. Hopefully we keep going strong tomorrow.”
ON KICKING OFF THE LONG STRETCH OF RACES THE SERIES HAS IN FRONT OF THE TEAMS: “The next four weeks, we have six races including a double-points race in Pocono. It is going to have a huge impact on championship points. It is crucial to get it kicked off with a strong result in both races here at Houston is important. We’ve seen in the past what can happen over a doubleheader weekend. You always hope to be on the positive side of that.”
THERE IS A CURB IN TURN TWO THAT SEEMED TO HAVE CAUSED A PROBLEM TODAY FOR A COUPLE OF DRIVERS, ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? “I think it is alright. It is very usable, you just can’t hit it with the center of your tub. I think it is really nice that IndyCar has been going towards standard curbing around the whole track. At least that way we know what to sort of expect around each corner. That has been a huge improvement since last year, and the year before.”
HOW CRUCIAL WAS THIS BREAK BEEN TO HELP RAISE PERFORMANCE OF ALL FOUR TEAMS? “It has been crucial. We were looking forward to having those tests come around. It’s been a battle, and we’ve been learning a lot, making improvements as the season moves forward, but it is so hard when you come to these race weekends and you have such short practice sessions. It is hard to go too far out of the box, and go too far out there on trying things. The testing the last couple of weeks gave us that opportunity. We definitely learned some things. This is a unique track for sure, it’s difficult at Sebring to simulate what you are going to get here at Houston. I believe we found some really good items that we carried over, and we have confirmed as being positive. We just need to keep working hard, keep going. I know the team has always been known as getting stronger, and stronger as the season is going forward. The No. 8 team guys are all working hard. We are looking forward to winning races. We’ve worked on a bit of everything. For sure, depending where we are going, you work hard on that track, but we don’t’ give up anywhere. You can’t look past the superspeedways. There is Indy, then the other two are double points and mean so much. We are working on things for Indy to apply at Pocono and Fontana. But, so much of what we do is street course racing, and that is probably where the most time has spent.
OTHER TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES:
TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, 10TH IN COMBINED PRACTICE:  “We tried a couple of different things in the second session and they obviously didn’t work as well as we would have liked.  We know exactly what needs to be changed and we have a teammate in the top two, so we want to head in that direction and see what we can do tomorrow.”
SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, 11TH IN COMBINED PRACTICE:  “We were able to get a lot of good practice in today and Tony and I both were able to work on qualifying on both sets of tires.  We had a little bit of contact in the first practice, but we rebounded pretty quickly with that and finished both practices in the top 10.  We obviously want to be higher than that, but we’ll put in some time tonight and get the car ready for the first race tomorrow afternoon.
CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 83 LEVEMIR® FLEXTOUCH® CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, 17TH IN COMBINED PRACTICE:  “Overall we were pretty happy with the second session.  We didn’t get a chance to run new right there at the end like most of the guys did.  We made some changes to the car that weren’t quite as good, so I think we’ll go back and take that direction and head into qualifying in the morning.  The No. 83 Levemir® FlexTouch® Chevrolet looks great and it seems to be pretty quick already.”
MIKE CONWAY, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, 23RD IN COMBINED PRACTICE:  “The car just didn’t handle as we would have liked today.  We made some changes from the morning to the afternoon but it just wasn’t enough.  We’ll have to work overnight to find some settings that can handle this circuit.  I feel they have improved the surface of the track from last year.  Especially the turn one surface is much better and it feels smoother.  There are smoother spots in other portions of the circuit too.  Overall, we just have to find the setup that works well on this new surface.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUAKER STATE 400
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 27, 2014

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media and discussed the bumpy Kentucky track, his thoughts on marking Kentucky off as the final track on the schedule he has yet to record a victory at and many other topics.  Full Transcript:

TELL US HOW PRACTICE WENT FOR YOU GUYS:
“It went pretty good.  This is a tough place obviously you hear a lot about the bumps.  We expected that coming in.  It’s hot and slick like normal as well, but I thought the Drive to End Hunger Chevy was pretty good.  I’ve been happy with the grip level just working with the balance and then we switched over into qualifying trim and had a pretty good run there too.  Yeah, right now I’m fairly pleased.”

IS THIS TRACK HARD ON YOUR BACK?
“Yeah, I mean this track is hard on everybody’s back.  If they could just repave the front straightaway I think we would be good here.  I love the corners.  I love the challenges of the grip, the cracks, the bumps and the corners.  Those don’t bother us.  That front straightaway is pretty absurd.  Yeah, it’s going to play a slight toll on my back, but that kind of stuff is not what really bothers my back like what happened at Charlotte.”

HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT HOW STOKED YOU WOULD BE IF YOU CROSSED THIS ONE OFF THE LIST AND HAD WON AT EVERY SINGLE TRACK ON THE CIRCUIT?
“Yeah I mean I have thought about it a little bit.  It would be very cool.  Most of my energy is spent with do we have a shot at winning at this track.  I feel like we have run solid here the last few times we have been here.  I feel like as good as our cars are this year that this is probably the most legitimate shot that we’ve had of crossing that one off the list.  It would mean a lot.  It would be quite an accomplishment and it’s something that I would love to say I have done.”

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SECRETS TO SUCCESS TO WIN AT THIS TRACK?
“Being out front when the checkered flag waives which is the secret of success everywhere.  Last year it was a day race on Sunday and I feel like we were really in position and I just didn’t get the best restart.  That was one thing.  The challenge is that you are practicing during the day when it’s hot and it’s slick and you are racing basically at night.  It’s that guessing game of what the track conditions are going to be like, how the car is going to react, how the pace is going to pick up and what your car is going to do.  Especially these days we’ve got these ride heights down so low on a rough track like this it’s about trying to keep that splitter sealed up or as low as possible and the platform being right on the car. Yet you are crashing into the race track like you do here it’s a compromise.  The team that does the best job managing that I think is going to be the team to beat that is going to have a fast race car.  But the tire is so hard.  This is such a conservative tire.  I haven’t had a chance to talk to Goodyear about what challenges this surface has for them.  Because they have an ultra conservative tire which is making track position so important.”

WHEN YOU SAY THEY BROUGHT A CONSERVATIVE TIRE WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
“That means it’s really hard, not a lot of grip and it doesn’t wear at all.”

YOUR TEAMMATE DALE EARNHARDT, JR. WAS PRETTY AGGRESSIVE AT SONOMA.  DO YOU THINK THAT JR FEELS IT?  YOU KNOW THE FEELING OF KNOWING THAT YOU’VE GOT A SHOT AT A CHAMPIONSHIP DO YOU THINK JR. FEELS IT THIS YEAR?
“I think when you hear people say ‘oh that guy’s got confidence that is a different driver’.  The cars are giving you that feeling.  When it happens week in and week out on a consistent basis it doesn’t matter if you go to a road course that you don’t typically run well at or what track you go to.  You have confidence that you can get the job done.  When you are in that position it makes you drive a little harder.  It makes you get up on the wheel a little bit more and just gets you more excited.  I feel like other than Kasey (Kahne) having some bad luck that is kind of how all of us feel at Hendrick right now.”

DO YOU SENSE ANYTHING DIFFERENT ABOUT DALE, JR. THIS YEAR?
“I haven’t seen anything different other than the confidence.  I have seen that ever since he and Steve (Letarte, crew chief) got together.  It just seems like the communication is more open he is sharing more and I think he feels like he has cars and a team that are capable of winning on a weekly basis.  I think his driving is showing.”

WHAT IS THE KEY TO FINISHING UP FRONT AT DAYTONA?
“I have no idea.  It’s been a long time since I’ve done a very good job of it.  In Daytona this year we got fortunate and missed the wrecks and were there at the end.  It felt great. We didn’t pull that off in Talladega.  We will try to go back in July and do the same thing.  Daytona in July is a little bit different because it’s hot and slick and the car has to handle good. It’s really just these days to me it’s just pure luck.  There are some guys that seem to do a better job of it than others that find their way to the front and get to stay there and avoid some of the big ones.  Most of all I think it’s just purely coincidental and luck.”

DO YOU THINK WE WILL SEE THE SAME CHAOS WE SAW AT TALLADEGA DURING DAYTONA KNOCK-OUT QUALIFYING?
“Oh yeah it’s going to be hairy.  It’s going to be chaotic.  As much as we all sit there and go ‘okay qualifying is not that important here’ we still all want to be starting up front.  It’s obvious there you want to be the last car off pit road at the back of a big pack and everybody is jockeying for position and playing all kinds of games.  It gets really interesting.  It was pretty exciting in Talladega.  I think we all learned a lot from that session that we will take to Daytona.”

WILL YOU TRY TO RUN QUALIFYING AGAIN LIKE YOU DID IN TALLADEGA WITH ALL THE HENDRICK POWERED CARS TRYING TO GET TOGETHER?
“We didn’t do that in Talladega.  So we will probably do a better job of that in July at Daytona.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS CHASE FORMAT WILL BE LIKE WITH THE KNOCK-OUT ROUNDS?  WILL IT JUST BE SUPER AGGRESSIVE?
“I think so.  I think it’s going to be exciting.  I’m looking forward to it.  It’s certainly going to be intense.  I think everybody keeps talking about how important it is to win.  I don’t think it’s that important to win the first couple of rounds.  I think it’s important to really run solid.  I think that after those first knock-out rounds you are going to have to be on your ‘A’ game.  I think the best team is going to win like usual, but it’s which team is going to be rising to the top and the best at that time and through those final 10 races is what is going to be so interesting.  Then can they be the best in that final race at Homestead.”

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY SINCE DOVER IN 1996 WHERE A FULL FIELD DID NOT SHOW UP.  SHOULD ANYBODY READ INTO ANYTHING ABOUT THE HEALTH OF THE SPORT OR IS THAT NOT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE A CONCERN?
“We don’t need 43 cars out there to put on a great race.  I’m not really that focused on it. There is no doubt that times have changed with how much the cost has gone up.  How much we are asking out of our sponsors and some of the crowds have gone down.  We are searching hard to find the income to match what the cost is.  That is about the only thing that anybody should make of anything that is going on out there.  Whether there are 35 cars or 45 cars to me that doesn’t really make a big difference.”

CAN YOU PUT WHAT JIMMIE JOHNSON HAS ACCOMPLISHED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS IN PERSPECTIVE AND WILL WE EVER SEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN?
“I don’t see how we will ever see that again.  I think it is incredible.  I don’t think he gets nearly enough credit for it and I think down the road he is going to have to struggle at some point in his career for people to really appreciate it and maybe give him the credit that he’s really due.  It is so difficult I don’t care how good you are, how good your team is, it’s so difficult to do what they did and very impressive.  They are a great team and Jimmie is a great driver and I think that he deserves more credit for that.”

YOU’VE HAD THESE BACK PROBLEMS AND SOME OTHER INJURIES THAT HAVE SLOWED YOU UP IS SOMETIMES JUST THE PHYSICAL WEAR AND TEAR THAT YOU TAKE BEING A DRIVER DOES THAT PRECLUDE SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENING AGAIN?
“It’s a long schedule it is hectic there is testing.  We all have health issues, maybe family and friends that we have to attend to.  All of us have obstacles in our life so when you look at a 38 week schedule that you have to be basically at every one of those races and then you have to be on top of your best ‘A’ game.  Then you look at all the obstacles that are in your way in each race, especially those final 10 how difficult that is.  That is to me what makes it even that much more impressive to go do five in a row like that.”

TALK ABOUT THE KENTUCKY TRACK YOU SAID A LOT OF DRIVERS AT FIRST WERE CRITICAL NOW THEY LIKE THE CHALLENGE WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
“Nobody enjoys it from about 100 feet off of Turn 4 to about 200 feet getting into Turn 1.  There is nothing enjoyable about that, but we put up with it because it’s on the straightaway and it’s just uncomfortable.  Once you get in the corners this place is fun.  We all like a challenge of the grip level going away, maybe a crack or a bump that you have to get over and you can use that to your advantage.  Just search around the race track before somebody else gets out of shape and you take advantage of that.  So the corners here are great.  We don’t want them to repave this track, none of us do.  But I would like for them to pave that front straightaway.”

WHAT IS THE HOTTEST YOU HAVE EVER BEEN IN THE RACE CAR AND DO YOU REMEMBER THE DAY JIMMIE JOHNSON CAME INTO YOUR COACH AND ABOUT COLLAPSED OF HEAT EXHAUSTION?
“Well I went to his.  He had the text message that said ‘help, mayday, mayday’ he was in bad shape that day.  He had run that Daytona Prototype race in July.  I don’t know the air conditioner or drink system something failed in the car and it usually doesn’t catch up to you for about 45 minutes to an hour after.  Boy it did and I happened to be parked next to him and his fingers could only dial a few different numbers and it got to me.  I was happy to help him out and get him to the infield care center to get him some fluids.

“I have been through some situations not as bad as that but that was about the worst I have ever seen.  It shows you just, especially when I watch LeBron James go through what he went through recently it reminded me of Jimmie actually.  It was even worse than that. The hottest I’ve ever been, the only time I’ve ever had cramps like that was after a Pocono race where there were a lot of green flag runs and I just didn’t hydrate myself well enough throughout the race.  I started cramping after the race.  The hottest I can remember being inside the car was one year at Sonoma it was really hot and they had a red flag late in the race and we just sat and cooked inside the cars on the back straightaway.  I remember that.  We are doing such a better job of cooling inside the cars and hydration and preparation just in general now.  I’ve been in pretty good shape so far.”

HOW PHYSICALLY DEMANDING IS KENTUCKY?
“Well I mean the bumps are not physically demanding they are just aggravating.  It’s just you are sitting there getting beat up.  You just kind of ride it out. The day after, yeah, you might feel the effects.  In the corners it’s pretty slick the tires don’t have much grip and the track is fairly abrasive so it loses grip very fast.  Other than the bumps it is not physically demanding expect for the humidity and how warm it can be inside the cars.  Compared to some of the other tracks, Charlotte to me is the most physically demanding because the speeds that we carry, the G-Loads that we have in the corners especially when it’s cool there.  When it’s hot it slows down so you don’t pull the G’s but yet you hot set the car.  That is kind of where we are at here.  It’s not the most physically demanding because of the speeds and the grip level in the corners, but the heat definitely and the bumps get to you.”

CAN WE COUNT YOU AS A FAN OF KENTUCKY?
“I am a fan. Yeah, I like it because it’s a challenging race track and I like a good challenge and our cars have been good here the last few times and so if I feel like we have a shot at winning I usually like that track.”

DO YOU DO ANY TYPE OF BEEFING UP THE SUSPENSION WHEN YOU COME HERE?
“I was talking about that earlier.  I think that most of our suspension components are beefed up so much that we find out just what they are truly capable of when we come here.  I don’t know if we beat up anything as much as we beat it up last week at Sonoma bouncing off the curbs the way you do there.  That is probably about as much abuse as you could put on a car.  But if you throw in the high speeds here, yeah, this is definitely a good test.  As far as I know we don’t.  I hope that doesn’t bite us, but I think that we have a pretty good indication when we go through a race after a race is over we look at what is cracking, what is showing signs of stress and we address it.  Unless something completely out of left field is going to pop up on us here I think we feel pretty comfortable with it.”

DO YOU THINK THEY SHOULD PAVE THE TRACK OR LEAVE IT ALONE?
“I don’t want them to pave this race track. I want them to pave the front straightaway.  But I don’t want them to pave the rest of it.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUAKER STATE 400
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 27, 2014

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed his ‘best/worst’ season to date, the characteristics of the Kentucky race track, upcoming qualifying at Daytona, and more. Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT CATERPILLAR RENEWING THEIR SPONSORSHIP AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO THE TEAM
“It’s great for all of RCR and it’s great for me, personally. Caterpillar has been such a big sponsor and a great name in NASCAR for so long. It’s a great way for them to get their dealers involved, and the dealers who are fans involved, and some that don’t know it yet. It’s been a lot of fun this year working with Caterpillar, so it’s nice to see them sign-up to come back and keep doing this.”

YOU HAVEN’T WON A RACE THIS YEAR YET, BUT THERE ARE SOME GUYS WHO WILL GET IN ON POINTS. YOU ARE CURRENTLY RANKED #2 OUT OF THE SIX THAT ARE POTENTIALLY IN THERE NOW. ARE YOU BASICALLY TRYING TO FIND TWO WAYS TO SKIN THE CAT?
“This is probably the best worst season I’ve had (laughs) as far as just not having the ultimate numbers. Our average is good, which is still a part of getting yourself into the Chase if there are not 16 winners. So, we have to win. We want to win. If you’re going to win the championship, you’re probably going to have to win something. I don’t see that the winner of the championship doesn’t have a race victory under his belt.

“But we’ve been working hard at it. The guys at RCR as well as ECR have been working really hard at it and I think that we have some things in the works that are going to make us better. But I know that everybody else does, too.”

IN LOOKING AT YOUR FINISHES. YOU HAVE CONSISTENCY
“It’s probably the longest in my career to not have a top 5 in any given season, but at the same time we’re sitting eighth in points, which is probably twice as good as I was at this time last year if I remember roughly. So, that part of it is better. That’s why I said it’s the best/worst year I’ve had without top 5’s and a few top 10’s; and yet consistency-wise, we’re eighth in points.”

IS THERE SOMETHING TECHNICALLY THAT YOU THINK CAN MAKE THINGS A LITTLE BIT BETTER?
“It takes a little bit of everything. From underneath the hood to pit stops to myself; the race car, strategy-wise, some racing luck.  We’ve probably had about as bad of racing luck as you could have had last week at Sonoma. We were going to pit twice when the caution came out twice, two different times. So it changed our strategy and our track position. Had we have gotten to the pits when we wanted to, or if the caution didn’t come out, we would have been right there with Carl (Edwards, winner) and Ambrose right up front.  Not to say that we would have won the race, but we were good. We had to fight back from 21st to 11th in the last 17 laps. Just things like that. We’ve made mountains out of molehills and we’ve made molehills out of mountains.”

THERE IS AN OLD SAYING IN BASEBALL THAT THE LONGER YOU PLAY; THE MORE LUCK TURNS YOUR WAY. IS THAT TRUE IN NASCAR?
“You can create your own luck. And some of it is there to haunt you. In the end, you’re going to catch a piece of debris and run over it and get a flat tire. It’s going to happen throughout the year. But it doesn’t mean it happens on the first lap or the last lap, but that’s where the good luck or the back luck comes in, is if you have a chance to rebound. When it’s happened to us, we haven’t had a chance to rebound. It’s usually been on the last pit stop or the last cycle and here we are fighting back at the end of the race and you can’t do that after everybody gets their stuff sorted out.”

HOW DOES THE KENTUCKY TRACK DIFFER FROM OTHERS
“Well it really is a big circle with the exception of the back straightaway. So that’s one of the biggest things. It’s got a D-shape appearance from the sky, but it drives like a big circle with a small straight. And the character of the bumps is probably like no other right now, as far as the roughness of the race track. It seems like Goodyear has brought a really good tire here that hangs on and it’s rubbering the race track up. One of the best things I think I’ve seen all weekend so far is the fact that the track rubbered up before we even got through half of our practice. Usually it takes, like Michigan, it takes until the end of the race for the track to get good. And we’re starting with a better race track here.”

CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW BUMPY IT IS WITH THE NEW SET-UP NOW?
“It bumps you around to the point that it’s difficult to see at times. The front straightaway is really, really rough.”

WHEN YOU SAY ‘ROUGH’, IS IT ‘CORNFIELD-ROUGH’ (LAUGHTER).
“You’ll see the in-cars (cameras) and if you just do that with your head and try to stay focused, it’s not easy.”

HOW MUCH DOES IT CHANGE FROM YEAR TO YEAR?
“Well, the cars have changed more than the track has. It’s always been a typically rough track, but we’ve gotten stiffer with the chassis because we’ve gotten lower with the chassis and that part of it just makes it that much rougher. It’s like taking a car with no suspension over the railroad tracks. It doesn’t ride like a Cadillac.”

AT DAYTONA COMING UP, WHAT’S THE KEY TO FINISHING UP FRONT THERE?
“Daytona, it’s just so much different than it used to be, which is how I liked it when you could slip and slide around. But you have to have a fast race car and you have to put yourself in position for that last little section. And you have to have a good enough car to not get shucked out of line. It all depends. It could end up being a fuel mileage race. It could end up being a multiple green-white-checkered race. You just never know there.”

WE WILL HAVE KNOCKOUT QUALIFYING THERE FOR THE FIRST TIME. DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE LIKE THE CHAOS WE SAW AT TALLADEGA?
“Yeah, I’m not a fan of it at all.”

WILL YOU HAVE A PLAN WITH YOUR TEAMMATES?
“Oh, we’ll have a plan; but to me it’s not what qualifying is all about.”

WHY?
“Well, it’s not qualifying. Qualifying shouldn’t be chaos. You said it yourself. It’s not what we’re here for. It’s not what I’m here for.”

CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
SHELL PENNZOIL GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON
MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 27, 2014

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET,  HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 PENNZOIL ULTRA PLATINUM TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET AND JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET met with members of the media at the Shell Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston. Selected quotes below:

HAVE YOU DONE ANYTHING SPECIAL FOR THE WEATHER THEY PREDICT THIS WEEKEND?  “I think you would have had to do that in the off season like just turn up fit.  Which I did turn up pretty fit and then maintain it.  You couldn’t do much in a two week break.  It’s going to be hot for sure.”

HOW WAS THE LACK ON THE CURB? “Uh that was hard.  Man, you think they would at least make tape for that nicely when cars are going to … oh my God that was hard.  But I kept going.”

YOU’VE HAD BACK TROUBLE WHEN YOU GET A WHACK LIKE THAT… “Yeah I know that is not good.  I don’t need it.  I know so well when I break my back now because I’ve done it so many times.  Usually you get winded and it’s like ‘oh,ugh, uh’.  Yeah that is bad to hit that at high speed.  Man that would be bad.”

ANY DAMAGE TO THE CAR?
“No I was actually at low speed.  I didn’t even make it to the wall.  It was just violent the way it goes up like that.  Just horrible.”

HAVE THE CHANGES TO THE TRACK BEEN SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FROM A YEAR AGO?  “Yeah they have totally resurfaced the area there was a big problem with.  It’s a lot better.”

WHAT ABOUT THE WEATHER SITUATION?  IT’S NOT NEARLY AS HOT AS SOME PEOPLE EXPECTED IT TO BE AND IT MIGHT RAIN TOMORROW:   “It definitely affects the way the race rolls if it rains during.  You just have to be ready for it.  You’ve just got to be on your game.  If it rains it’s going to make us pit sooner and then go to slicks or wet/dries (tires).”

HELIO CASTRONEVES:
ON THE HEAT: “It is challenging. But I think it is more challenging for the mechanics. Standing out there with helmets and (fire) suits. At least, we (drivers) have air conditioning. (SMILES) Just open the visor, and everything is good.  It’s a challenge. The drivers are all fit, and really strong. I guess we have to see who is the strongest. Hopefully with a good setup combination, will be in good shape. All the performance for everyone is very tough. We are talking the heat – engine performance, sometimes it could be troublesome. Like I said, in terms of us, pit stops could also be a crucial moment because you are losing a lot of fluids. You have to think of all of the details so when you get to race day, you don’t have any issues.”

ON BEING AT HOUSTON: “It is a great atmosphere. You see fans coming over. It is pretty cool Especially having the Shell Pennzoil headquarters here, it’s awesome.

“It is very humid, and it is tough, but we have trained well enough to make sure we don’t have any problems out there.”

ARE YOU MORE ABLE TO ADAPT TO THE HEAT? “It is hot out there.  For Juan (Pablo Montoya) it probably feels more cool, because coming from (NASCAR) Cup when you have the engine in front and the heat comes inside, that is probably nothing. A 45 minute practice is not a practice. But, when you are talking about a two-hour race, the last half-an-hour, when you put full fuel in the car, that is going to be the toughest.  Last year unfortunately we were 50 laps down. We had a little break. We intend this year to not have that kind of scenario.”

HOW DO YOU NOT HATE THIS PLACE AFTER LAST YEAR? “You can’t. That is why racing is challenging. Just because something out of your control goes wrong, I don’t want to think that way. I want to overcome that result. It gives me a purpose to come here, and make it even more of…trust me, I want to win as much as anybody. Plus, Shell Pennzoil headquarters are here, and want to make sure their party is complete!”

IS THE TRACK BEING BUMPY THE ONLY CONCERN? “Yes. It is very difficult to pass. I wish we had a little more straightaway. But, it is fun to drive. But at the end of the day, whoever starts in front will have a huge advantage.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:
THIS TRACK IS NEW FOR YOU WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS PLACE?
“I only had 45 minutes out there and out of 45 minutes you probably get 20 minutes on the track and 25 minutes working on the car.  We had a lot of issues the car was pulling to the right really bad so we were trying to figure out what it was.  Changed shocks, we changed a lot of stuff and it got a little better at the end. I think it’s a process about learning the track and figuring out where to brake and what to do.  The left-front tire was locking a lot.  I don’t know why.  It was making it pretty hard because I was more focusing on not going off than going fast.  You get to the braking area the front tires smoke you are like ‘I will get off the brakes’, I overdrove this corner, oh don’t hit the wall, it was one of those days.  But it’s okay being the first session it is what it is.  You are going to be a little bit behind.  I’ve got some time to look at the data and understand a little more what they are doing and how we go from there.”

IS IT AS BUMPY AS YOU HAVE BEEN LED TO BELIEVE?  “It’s normal.  I don’t see what is the big deal.”

WHAT DID PEOPLE TELL YOU TO EXPECT COMING HERE AND RACING THIS COURSE?
“Oh it’s so bumpy, ‘oh my God’.  It’s okay it’s just a race track.  I don’t know.  Is it bumpy?  Yeah, but I think it’s fun.  I think it’s got a lot of character.  The only thing I don’t like is there are no apexes.  The apexes are curves not walls.  I don’t know why.  I think the drivers all complained that ‘oh you don’t see, you don’t see’, but I think that is the nature of a street course.  That is where when you have an open apex it’s really easy to commit to the wall.  When you don’t have an open apex and it’s a wall it makes it a lot harder for a driver and I think it makes it a lot more fun.”

WHAT ABOUT THE WEATHER?  NOT THE TYPICAL 110 PEOPLE WERE EXPECTING:
“It hasn’t been.  It doesn’t look that bad.  It’s been nice and windy and I don’t know it’s been okay.”

ON PRACTICE:
“Yeah we had a practice.  It was okay.  It is not as bad as people you hear them talking ‘oh my God it’s so bumpy’.  Yeah it’s a street course.  I’ve never been bothered by stuff like that.”

ARE YOU HYDRATING A LOT?
“Yeah, but I always do you have to.”

IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE IN GREAT SHAPE:
“Yeah it’s kind of funny because I was talking to my guys today.  They asked me if I was going to be overweight and I said I think it’s going to be up. It’s kind of crazy this week I trained and every day I trained the weight going up.  I know I’m hydrating I know I’m training a lot, but it should go the other way and it doesn’t with me.  It’s kind of frustrating.”

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO SONOMA IN THIS CAR?
“Oh my God yes I tested there and we run like an extra mile and we run the same lap times as them (NASCAR).  Yeah we do the whole course and I think our lap times are within a second or two.”

DO YOU LIKE THE WHOLE COURSE OUT THERE?
“You know what is amazing I’ve been out there for so many years in the Cup (NASCAR Sprint Cup) that to get used to the Indy car was hard.  Because you see them like they showed (Kevin) Harvick that on-board of his pedals and you see how easy he is driving.  In this thing (the Indy car) you are like pedal to the medal you are going.  It’s completely different.”

ARE YOU AFRAID YOU MIGHT TAKE A WRONG TURN?
“No, because the only place you can make a wrong turn is on top of the hill like 3A or whatever it is.  For us it’s nearly wide open so.”

CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
SHELL PENNZOIL GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON
MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 27, 2014

MIKE CONWAY, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at the Shell Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston. Full transcript:

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING SINCE THE LAST RACE YOU COMPETED IN AT DETROIT?
“Not racing anything, but was in Le Mans.That is about it really.  Spent a bit of time in Europe and then back here about a week ago.  Not loads to report I’m afraid.”

YOUR TEAM HAS BEEN PRETTY BUSY IN THAT PERIOD WINNING AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.  HOW IS PRACTICE HEADING OFF OF THAT MOMENTUM?
“A huge congrats to the team on Texas, I was watching it at about 3 a.m. in the UK (United Kingdom).  So far it’s been okay.  Some good track improvements from last year which has been good.  We struggled a little bit in the first session I think.  We put on new tires at the end, but just didn’t get to execute a good time.  We have some work to do I think between the two sessions, but not too bad of a start I suppose in terms of what we think we can get out of the car.”

CAN YOU TALK A BIT MORE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE CHANGES TO THE TRACK? WHAT HAVE THEY IMPROVED AND HOW IS IT REFLECTED IN HOW YOU DRIVE THE CAR AND THE LAP TIME?
“I suppose the biggest one was as you went through Turn 1 big improvement on the straight there.  We are not taking off anymore.  It’s really smooth now you hardly notice that section which is good.  It feels like the curbs have changed slightly through (Turns) two and three.  It just seems like it’s more of a chicane now whereas last year you could kind of really pound through it.  I don’t know if there is much of a change there, but the rest of it is not too bad.  Typical kind of street track, very bumpy into (Turn) three and then it feels a bit smoother through four, five, that seems like they have ground down some more areas through there.  Yeah, pulled the curbs back in three I believe or four and then the rest is fairly similar.  Still pretty bumpy most places, but the trick is I think the last corner where it’s so quick.  You’ve got big kind of rise and then a dip as you go in.  But it’s not too bad but yeah it gets your attention if you get sideways through there that is for sure.”

ED CARPENTER SEEMED TO SUGGEST DURING THE RADIO BROADCAST FOR PRACTICE THAT THE TEAM WAS REALLY STRESSED OR FRUSTRATED GIVEN THE CURRENT CONSTRUCTION OF THE SCHEDULE.  WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN OUT OF YOUR TEAM DURING THE TESTING AND LEADING UP TO THIS RACE WEEKEND?
“Yeah, they have had a really busy schedule, three test days after Texas.  They had everybody on a coach and they kind of toured around for like a week and a half.  They are really busy and I think the guys got a few days off, but it’s been a really hectic schedule this year.  They all look fresh and rejuvenated and ready to roll this weekend.”

BEING THAT THIS IS A STREET COURSE LIKE DETROIT WHERE WE JUST HAD ANOTHER DOUBLE HEADER DOES YOUR TEAM SHOW UP WITH THE SAME KIND OF SET-UP OR ARE THERE CHANGES THAT YOU MAKE TO IT?
“I think since Long Beach we have had quite a good base set-up for the car.  We pretty much turned out to most of them with that base set-up and then we just tweak it with some things and final adjustments that the circuits need.  But it’s fairly similar to what we rolled out with at Detroit and not too dissimilar to what we had at Long Beach.  We need to make a few adjustments, but nothing drastic.  It’s normally the smaller things once you are in the window.”

DO YOU FEEL THAT ED CARPENTER RACING MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF AN ADVANTAGE BECAUSE BOTH YOU AND ED (CARPENTER) GET TO BE A LITTLE BIT FRESH GOING INTO THE STRETCH OF RACES COMING UP?
“Maybe, yeah, I suppose there could be some of that, but I think all the boys are pretty fit in this paddock.  I think the more seat time whatever the track is, is better anyway.  I think it is pretty similar.”

WHAT DO YOU RATE YOUR CHANCES OF HAVING ED CARPENTER RACING SWEEP THE TEXAS ROUNDS OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP?  THE LAST TIME THAT WAS DONE WAS A LITTLE OVER 30 YEARS AGO?
“I would like to think we’ve got a good chance to. Ed (Carpenter) got some guns and a Stetson (cowboy hat) and we got the chance to get some boots to match the outfit this weekend (laughs).  We could have a complete outfit.  I don’t know we will see. I think everyone is pretty confident, but double-headers are always tough and this track is I don’t know.  They are long races, tough races and hot temperatures.  We will see.”

CAMARO Z/28.R AT WATKINS GLEN: Curran Lands First Pole Position for New Camaro
Watkins Glen veteran quick and consistent in qualifying; Stevenson Camaros second and fourth

·         Curran quick and consistent at a home track for CKS Autosport

·         Davis P2 and Bell P4 in Stevenson Camaros

·         Camaros quickest in practices as well ahead of Saturday race

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 27, 2014) – Eric Curran made Camaro history Friday with the first pole position for the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R. The Massachusetts native driving for CKS Autosport set the fastest time in qualifying for Saturday’s 150-minute race for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Watkins Glen International – 2:00.749 (101.367 mph) in the No. 01 Camaro.

Three Camaro Z/28.Rs will start from the first four positions on the Grand Sport (GS) grid for the series’ sixth round of 2014.

“Congratulations to Eric Curran and everyone at CKS Autosport on the first pole position for the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R,” said Lisa Talarico, Chevrolet’s Camaro Z/28.R Program Manager. “It’s the result of many hours of development and engineering to have three Camaro Z/28.Rs in the top four of qualifying at Watkins Glen. We are seeing the potential of this program with our partners at CKS and Stevenson Motorsports. Everyone is cautiously optimistic for tomorrow’s race.”

Curran, driving with Lawson Aschenbach, set the two fastest times of the session. He was 0.155 seconds quicker than Andrew Davis in Stevenson Motorsports’ No. 6 Camaro Z/28.R. His best time was a 2:00.904 (101.237 mph) to make the two Camaros the only cars under the 2:01 mark in qualifying.

“For me, this is one of my home tracks. I grew up in the Northeast and I’ve been coming here since 1996 or so,” Curran said. “I get in the car and ‘boom’. I know this place like the back of my hand. The combination of that and having such a good Camaro Z/28.R was perfect. The car was perfect and consistent. It shows that all the work is paying off. We’re getting better and better.”

Matt Bell was fourth in Stevenson’s No. 9 Camaro at 2:01.563 (100.689 mph). Both the Stevenson and CKS teams will go for the Camaro Z/28.R’s second victory of the season. Davis and Robin Liddell won at Sebring in the Camaro’s second race.

Live coverage of Saturday’s race begins at 11:35 a.m. ET on IMSA.com. FOX Sports 1 will broadcast the race at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 6.

ERIC CURRAN, NO. 01 CKS AUTOSPORT CAMARO Z/28.R
“Kirk Spencer and the guys at CKS Autosport have been working like crazy. This is the most amount of work I’ve ever seen them do in a year. All that is paying off, and you see it today. The Camaro Z/28.R has been really good all year but it’s the first year for it. It’s still sorting it out and trying to find little tweaks. We’ve been fast and consistent.”
(The Camaro in race trim) “Lawson did the long run today in practice because he will finish the race tomorrow. We gave him that longer run to feel it out and he was still pretty quick even then. We keep making the car better and better and sorting it more and more. This Camaro is so much fun – love the car and it’s such a blast. I’m hoping we can finish tomorrow where we start.”

ANDREW DAVIS, NO. 6 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CAMARO Z/28.R
“I’m excited. It’s our best starting position of the year, and it’s exciting to have our No. 6 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro Z/28.R up there. The car was really quite good in qualifying. We struggled a little bit in the first session yesterday and missed some time there and a little this morning. But the guys rallied and we made a good change for qualifying. I put down a really good lap on first lap, and I thought that would actually be good enough. But Eric (Curran) had a great run as well and nipped me by a couple tenths. We’ll have a really good car and a good race tomorrow.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUAKER STATE 400
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 27, 2014

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed visiting the White House last week, how his season is progressing, the rough track at Kentucky, his teammates, and more. Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT BEING AT THE WHITE HOUSE THIS WEEK AND BEING RECOGNIZED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
“Of course it was a huge honor for myself and the team. The fact that I was able to be there with my teammates to experience the tour and those few minutes that we had with the President, was great. Honestly, we’ve moved on from the 2013 season and are heavy into the 2014 season, so it was a nice opportunity to reflect back and to bring back those memories and feelings of accomplishment and to share that with my crew guys. Mr. Hendrick was there, of course, and Chad (Knaus, crew chief) for the first time after all these years. It was just an awesome experience. To look out into the audience and see my daughter there and my wife, it was just a very cool experience.”

CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT? I THINK HE COMPARES YOU TO MICHAEL JORDAN
“Yeah, it was a surreal moment standing on stage next to him and hearing him reference or compare me to Michael Jordan, with the six championships I assume is where he was going with that, and hear our foundation mentioned and all the hard work that we’ve put in there. I didn’t know what his speech would be. But to hear him go through and articulate with great detail, the things that we’ve accomplished as a team on and off the track and what the foundation has done, I sat there with goose bumps, head to toe just hearing all that stuff. It was pretty neat.”

TALK ABOUT HOW YOU STARTED THE SEASON AND HOW THINGS ARE GOING NOW AND WHY
“We’ve been learning this new package. We didn’t get off to the start we wanted to at the start of the season. Even though we were slow, I really feel there were opportunities to win. We had flat tires and various issues that kept us from going to Victory Lane. And, starting in Charlotte, we didn’t drop the ball. And when we had the chance to win, we took advantage of it and got it done. We won two or three there pretty quick. Really, I feel like the last five or six; we’ve been in position to win. Pocono, I think we had a car plenty capable of winning the race. Had the contact on pit lane and hurt our opportunity there. And then last week in Sonoma, we were one of the better cars on the track all day long. On one of those restarts and bumping and banging, bent the left front suspension on the car and slowed us down quite a bit. I’m happy that the speed is there and it’s just a little more consistent for us compared to especially the first quarter of the year. But more than anything, we’re taking advantage of opportunity and have been able to pull into Victory Lane.”

THE LAST TIME A FULL FIELD DIDN’T SHOW UP FOR QUALIFYING WAS 1996 AT DOVER. TODAY THERE ARE SUPPOSEDLY ONLY 42 CARS HERE. IS THAT ANY CAUSE FOR CONCERN? WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT?
“I don’t have any concern with it. When you compare our form of racing to others, we have double the fields compared to a lot of other major auto racing series’. I hate to see it, obviously. There’s that prestige of having 43 since way back. But I don’t think it has any bearing on the strength of our sport. When I look at all the markers our sponsors look at and why they’re partners on our race car, things are going in the right direction. So, I don’t think it’s a real reflection of the strength of our sport, (or) the strength of the competition on the track. The fact of the matter is this is the top form of racing, in my mind, in the world, and some maybe just in North America. And it’s not cheap. I understand why there could be a short field, but there’s no concern on my behalf.”

YOU KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO FEEL LIKE YOU CAN TASTE A CHAMPIONSHIP; EVEN THIS EARLY IN THE YEAR, AND KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO BE A FACTOR. YOUR TEAMMATE, DALE EARNHARDT JR., HAS BEEN PRETTY FRISKY BEHIND THE WHEEL THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. DO YOU THINK JUNIOR FEELS THAT THIS YEAR, AND THAT THESE OPPORTUNITIES ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN? IS HE UP ON THE WHEEL THIS YEAR BECAUSE HE CAN TASTE IT?
“I haven’t been around him at some of those friskier moments. It’s hard for me to speak for him on-track. But in a large respect, yes; he is taking advantage of opportunity. What he and (crew chief) Steve (Letarte) have built with the No. 88 team; we all know that the driver/crew chief pairing is the most important part, and Steve and Junior have hit it off. And there’s no guarantees that next year’s crew chief is going to be able to connect with Junior and create the same speed in the cars. In theory, yeah; I’m sure he’s trying to take advantage of opportunity.

“But sitting in meetings and being around him as close as I am with our situation of the No. 48 and No. 88 being in the same shop, I see a guy that knows his race car better than ever; and a guy that’s focused on all the details. He’s thoroughly involved, is much more open and communicating on a far deeper level than I’ve seen him, especially when he started at Hendrick Motorsports. As my years go on, teams slow down when the communication stops. And his team has gotten faster and faster and he is more talkative and involved and engaged and sits in meetings with notes and set-up sheets. He’s really in the game.”

WITH THE NEW CHASE FORMAT, THERE IS MORE EMPHASIS ON WINNING RACES. WHAT’S THAT LIKE FOR A DRIVER? DO YOU THINK THAT’S MADE IT BETTER FOR THE FANS AND HAS MADE FOR BETTER RACING?
“Inside the car, nothing has changed my approach. It might open up the door for some other teams, maybe teams that aren’t in the big four or five (like) Hendrick, Roush, and Gibbs-type organizations. But I firmly believe there won’t be 16 different winners. So points still matter in transferring into that first phase. I was saying that when we hadn’t won a race and I still believe it today even after winning three. I still think we’ll get a couple of guys in on points. That’s very similar to what we’ve had in the past. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t have a problem with that.

“I am excited to see how the conversation has changed and that so many people are talking about winning. I think that’s good for our sport. But as we work through the Chase, winning I think gets more important the deeper we’re into the Chase than it ever, ever has been. And then Homestead, we’ve never had that scenario before. We’ve never had four drivers with a chance to win the championship; let alone (be) tied for the championship going into it. As the season wears on, things will continue to heat up. Especially deep into the Chase, it’s going to be a pressure cooker.”

EXPLAIN TO RACE FANS HOW ROUGH THIS TRACK IS WHEN YOU’RE BOUNCING ALL OVER THE PLACE AND YOU SAY WE LOVE IT, DON’T TOUCH IT. AND FANS THINK YOU WANT GLASSY-SMOOTH TRACKS. DESCRIBE THIS TRACK AND WHY YOU GUYS LIKE IT SO MUCH
“The glassy-smooth tracks really give us one lane to race on. With the speeds we’re going, in order to pass a driver with one-lane of racing surface to really utilize, you’ve got to be half a second faster. And there really isn’t a half a second worth of speed the way the cars are anymore. It’s so well regulated through NASCAR and so competitive, that you’re lucky to get a tenth, maybe two, is as much as you get. So when you have a surface that throws the cars around and forces drivers to make mistakes, it forces a second lane, a third lane. I don’t think we really have a third lane here. And a lot of it has to do with the grinding that’s been done on the track. Last year I tried to explore outside the black and think about a fourth lane or a third lane near the wall, but the surface just won’t allow it. So we’ve got a good couple of lanes from the three-quarter mark down on the race track that we can use. And the bumps make mistakes out of drivers. They put us in situations where we blow it, and open a door to get passed or look for an opportunity to pass someone.”

WITH THESE CARS NOW PLANTED TO THE GROUND MORE THAN THEY WERE A YEAR AGO, ARE YOU GOING TO GET MORE OF A JARRING SENSE THROUGH THESE BUMPS AND PITCH YOU HARDER OR MAKE IT MORE PHYSICAL?
“Yeah, I think so. We hadn’t had ride quality issues at a lot of the tracks leading up to this point with the old car. We show up with the new car going man, the ride quality is terrible. But we’re going so much faster and on and on. So, yeah, the ride quality is definitely going to be compromised here.”

FOR JEFF GORDON, THE FIFTH CHAMPIONSHIP HAS BEEN ILLUSIVE. HOW FRUSTRATED DO YOU THINK HE IS WITH THE WAY THE SECOND HALF OF HIS CAREER HAS GONE? AND HOW DOES HE HANDLE IT?
“I don’t know exactly. It’s not something really that we spend time talking about. But, I know that the speed is there. I know that the desire is there. The last few years, luck has really played a factor in him making the Chase and the success in the Chase. I feel like a championship is a real opportunity for him. And this year, this format could really be the one. I know it means a lot to him. I know it’s what he wants. But as far as his mindset and frustration or whatever it might be, I’m not all that sure. But I see a guy that loves his job and is highly committed to it in all of our meetings. He’s got spring in his step and is ready to go racing.”

WAS THERE ANYTHING DIFFERENT AT YOUR WHITE HOUSE VISIT LAST WEEK THAN PREVIOUS VISITS THAT STANDS OUT IN YOUR MIND?
“I’ve been there, not for all of our championships but in general. The top 10 drivers that made the stage were able to go. So, I’ve been on that tour and on that trip eight or 10 times. You end up seeing the same stuff. They are only going to give you so much access to look around in the White House. There are only so many rooms you can go in. But, back to my earlier comments, to have my team there was the difference. Before, you were walking around with the other drivers and it was a great experience and fun, but to actually share those moments and watch the tour take place and all those fresh faces that are my teammates; and hear the story, go to all those different rooms, meet different Secret Service folks was fun. They hosted a very nice lunch for us in a private dining hall, which they said was the second most famous dining hall in the world. The first would be the President’s private space. We were able to share and experience a lot of things together and that really was the difference.”

YOU’VE COME CLOSE TO WINNING AT KENTUCKY, BUT HAVEN’T CLOSED THE DEAL. TALK ABOUT THAT
“We’ve been close. It’s just on that last run; varying mistakes have kept us from going to Victory Lane. We’ve had a car capable of winning; I think two of them, at least. I’m not sure about the third. So, it’s just executing in that final run.”

YOU WERE UPSET LAST YEAR WHEN YOU DOMINATED THIS RACE, BUT WITH THE RESTART YOU DIDN’T WIN. FOR A GUY WHO HAS ACCOMPLISHED AS MUCH AS YOU HAVE, DOES THAT STICK WITH YOU AS MOTIVATION A YEAR LATER?
“Yeah, and a lot has changed since then. Our restart procedure has changed and there were a lot of cat and mouse games going on through last year. That stuff has changed quite a bit now. So I’m happy with the rule changes and certainly still today, feel that the scenario and the games played there is what led to our issue down there in Turns 1 and 2.”

ON YOUR JACKMAN, ANDREW CHILDERS, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HIS IMPORTANCE AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR YOU TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TEAM THROUGHOUT THE SEASON?
“Those are your guys. That’s your group. They don’t get the credit they deserve. Not only the guys that go over the wall, but everybody back at the shop. We go out there and look good in the race car and pull into Victory Lane if you’re fortunate enough to do that, and smile and get all the accolades, but we’re just a piece of the puzzle. The way today’s racing is, pit road is just as important as out on the race track and creates as many opportunities. Andrew does an awesome job of being the jackman on the No. 48 car. Not a ton of experience; he’s in his second season of being the guy for us and is doing a great job.”