MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
GOBOWLING AT THE GLEN
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 5, 2018
RICK HENDRICK, TEAM OWNER, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS – RACE WINNING OWNER
CAN YOU START OFF BY TALKING ABOUT CHASE ELLIOTT AND HOW HARD HE HAS WORKED TO GET TO THIS POINT IN HIS CAREER?
“Chase is such a great young man and such a super, unbelievable driver and he should have had this win his first season. He should have about, I don’t know, seven or eight wins and for him to… I hated he had to wait this long, but boy what a show he put on today pressing two of the best in the business and being up there all day and not making mistakes. He has got an awesome amount of talent. I think today was a statement. A road course, battling Kyle (Busch) and Denny (Hamlin) and Martin (Truex, Jr.) it was so much fun to see all the fans that think so much of him to show their appreciation. It was exciting.”
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING IN THOSE CLOSING LAPS AS YOU ARE SITTING AT HOME WATCHING THE END OF THIS RACE?
“I was not sitting. I was pacing. Road courses are long laps anyway, but man, when he missed that turn in (turn) 1 I couldn’t believe he thought of it so quick to take the car out of gear to keep from spinning out. It was the longest 20 laps that I have ever watched in a race. I wore out a pair of shoes walking around the living room. Just glued to the TV and on my phone texting. It was nerve racking, but man, what a great win.”
YOU AND YOUR ORGANIZATION HAVE BEEN SITTING ON THE 249 WIN MARK FOR ALMOST A YEAR NOW. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO FINALLY HIT 250 WINS AS AN ORGANIZATION?
“It felt the same way when we were at 199. It just seemed like it took forever to get to 200. And then, you know, we have had a dry spell. This has been one of the longest dry spells that we have ever had. We could see we were gaining on it, but it feels so good to get a win for Chevrolet and for our sponsors. Really happy for SunEnergy1, NAPA, Hooters and everybody on Chase’s car. 250 is a lot of races. I guess it means I’m an old man.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS WIN IS GOING TO DO FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION AS FAR AS MOMENTUM? I KNOW OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND THE CAMARO ZL1 HAVE SLOWLY BUT SURELY BEEN FINDING THEIR STRIDE AND NOW TO GET THIS WIN CLICKED OFF WHAT DO YOU THINK IT’S GOING TO DO FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION TO BUILD SOME MOMENTUM AS WE HEAD TOWARD THE PLAYOFFS?
“Well, you know, when you have a dry spell, this is the right time to get the momentum. This is the right time to be closing the gap and building that momentum. I’m so proud of all the folks at Hendrick Motorsports for keeping their head down and working hard. The last three weeks Chase has won stages in every one of the races and to see Alex (Bowman) and William (Byron) run well, I think Jimmie (Johnson) got turned there today, but I’m just so proud of the effort for everyone. And everybody at Chevrolet has worked really hard. When you go to a new car there are some things you’ve got to figure out, and then we had some organizational changes with the way we do business and putting everybody in one building. We had a lot of change, new drivers, young drivers, but I feel really good about the future. I feel good going into the Playoffs. It’s going to be super competitive, but I think we know we still have a lot of work to do, but this is going to motivate our people to just step it up again. It’s a great shot in the arm for the whole organization.”
