CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Bidding for Eighth Class Victory
Following successful Test Day, Corvette C7.R to make its Le Mans debut
 
LE MANS, France (June 9, 2014) – The biggest race on Corvette Racing’s calendar is here: the 24 Hours of Le Mans – one of racing’s marquee events. The twice-around-the-clock endurance classic will see the Le Mans competition debut of the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R in its toughest test to date. The C7.R is the first completely new racing Corvette to compete at Le Mans since 2005 when the C6.R made its debut.
 
The goal is simple: an eighth class victory for Corvette Racing since 2001. The lineups in each of the two Corvettes are formidable. The No. 73 Corvette C7.R has Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen – winners of the last two races in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship – driving with Jordan Taylor. Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook share the No. 74 Corvette. The driver pairings in each of the Corvettes are the same for the third straight year.
 
Gavin was fourth-fastest in the GTE Pro class during the annual Test Day on June 1, and Magnussen was sixth. Less than two seconds separated the top six cars around the 8.3-mile track that is a mix of purpose-built race track and public roads.
 
Corvette Racing will go for its first win at Le Mans since 2011 with a race car that has the latest in engineering technology. The C7.R, based on the 2015 Corvette Z06 production car, has a 40 percent stiffer aluminum chassis compared to the C6.R. It gives the driver a more stable and predictable car – a facet noted by the Corvette Racing roster on multiple occasions.
 
On the aerodynamic front, the team tested its low-downforce setups during the Test Day and earlier this month at Road America. The aggressive aero advancements help the C7.R go faster on the straightaways while still being consistent under braking and during cornering. Those areas traditionally were strengths in previous versions of the Corvette but are that much more enhanced in the C7.R.
 
The use of direct-injection technology within the Corvette’s 5.5-liter engine provides another advantage over recent years. It has been five years since Corvette Racing competed with a direct injection engine as part of the GT1 era. Corvette engineers believe the C7.R can see as much as a 3 percent gain in fuel economy, which could save Corvette Racing at least one regular pit stop over the course of the race.
 
The next time Corvette Racing takes to the circuit at Le Mans is 4 p.m. CET/10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, June 11 for free practice and qualifying. Corvette Racing will go for its eighth class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2001 at 3 p.m. CET/9 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 14 with live coverage on SPEED.
 
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 73 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
(Expectations) “The main thing about having a new car is that we don’t know how the car will behave during the race. We proved at all the TUDOR Championship races – including Daytona – that we have the speed although we had some issues in the first couple of races. We are confident in how fast the car is, so I think we will have the baseline to compete with the rest of our competition. But we have to be careful and not to make any mistakes. We will see if that’s enough to win the race. If everything runs according to plan, I think we have a good shot.”
(About Le Mans) “The event is huge and very important, and it’s very good to be a part of it. At Le Mans you always need to wait and see on things. There can be surprises that come up. It helps that now I’m on the best team to approach the race. If something wrong does appear, I’m on the best team to work through it.”
 
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 73 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
(Test Day recap) “We made some good changes to the car and found a good balance. Our Corvette C7.R feels comfortable and not on edge like (the C6.R) last year. At Le Mans it’s very important to have a comfortable car because often you’re out in a situation where you’re not on the ideal racing line – either overtaking slower cars or being passed by the prototypes – and that’s a lot easier when you have a comfortable car. It’s still new and you can’t guarantee a good result at any 24-hour race because it is so hard on the equipment. We go there well-prepared but also with the aim to win.”
(About Le Mans) “I wasn’t a big fan of Le Mans when I first started coming there. That all changed when I joined Corvette Racing, and we’ve had a chance to win every time out since. That makes a huge difference. You can really enjoy it, and it really motivates you when you know you have a team behind you and the car to do it. Year after year and since I’ve joined Corvette, Le Mans has grown on me and it definitely is the highlight of my racing season. I look forward to going there to compete and be part of the world’s biggest sports car race.”
 
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 73 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
(About Le Mans) “The past two years, I’ve left Le Mans thinking, ‘Wow that was a whirlwind of emotions during the whole week.’ It’s hard to remember what happened the whole time. The first year was very hectic, and my head definitely wasn’t in the right place. But going back for the second time, I knew what to expect and had a lot more focus on the driving side of it rather than just experiencing Le Mans.”
(Driving in last year’s race) “Last year with all the condition changes throughout the race, it felt like we got a year’s worth of experience in that one day. Oliver Gavin said it was the toughest race he’s ever done… and he’s done this for 14 or 15 years. For him to say that – and for us to make it to the finish and not making any mistakes – I was really happy. It makes me a lot more comfortable knowing that no matter the conditions, we’ve already been through it once. We can focus on going forward.”
 
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 74 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
(Test Day recap) “The C7.R has very nice and stable characteristics around this track and feels very strong through Porsche Curves. It’s still difficult to know where we are compared to the competition, but all in all, with the weather being nice and sunny, it was almost perfect conditions on the Test Day.”
(Preparation) “New gearboxes have been saved for this event. Lots and lots of bodywork, spares and new bits all get set aside for this. We haven’t been able to run all the newest, brightest and shiniest bits of equipment through the first few races of the season so we can run them at Le Mans. It’s our biggest race and our biggest event. Le Mans carries that cache because it’s that event in the sports car world that you want to win. You’re going to show up with your crew, team and car as finely tuned as possible with the newest parts so you can compete against the strongest competition in the world.”
 
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 74 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
(Long-distance racing) “It doesn’t hurt that we’ve done a 24-hour race and a 12-hour race. Does it help? Maybe a little bit. We were able to run the car in long-distance endurance races to prove some parts and find some weaknesses; unfortunately we found a couple of those at Daytona and Sebring while we were leading. The good thing is that we were able to correct them as best we can. In the first year of a car, getting miles and races under its belt means more than with another team or manufacturer who has had a couple of years. All the teams we race against are professionals and they’ve all done long races like Le Mans many times.”
(About Le Mans) “In some ways, Le Mans is just another race. As a driver, you don’t want to hype the race up too much and get yourself too excited about it. Inevitably, you realize how big of a race Le Mans is and how important it is on many levels. So it’s not just another race but you try to go about things as you would at any other. Certainly it’s a race that you have to see what it gives you. You sta
rt clicking off laps and try not to make any mistakes. That’s the name of the game – having a clean race. It doesn’t have to be perfect but keeping it out of the pits is a key.”
 
RICHARD WESTBROOK, NO. 74 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
(Expectations) “We’ve made massive strides in developing a more advanced racing car and a faster racing car. I feel a lot more confident after the test than I did before. It’s definitely something that suits me when I step into it. All we can do as drivers is get in the maximum out of the car. I feel like we will be able to do that. I have every faith in Corvette Racing that it will be giving us a car that is capable of fighting at the front because usually that’s where we are.”
(About Le Mans) “You always try and treat Le Mans like it is another race but you can’t. When you get there, you just can’t ignore the atmosphere, history and importance to every manufacturer in the GTLM field. You can get carried away with that. With the nature of the circuit, the development in tire technology and the cars, every lap is flat-out. You’re qualifying every lap. It’s the most intense racing I’ve ever been involved in and you can’t treat it as routine. Everyone has to be at the top of their games and you have to give it 100 percent for every single minute.”
 
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“The Test Day proved to be a very rewarding experience for all our guys. Both cars ran flawlessly, responded well to the planned testing protocol and looked to be very competitive. The drivers were particularly pleased with both the handling and braking of the new C7.R. The initial look at the new BOP standards was promising with the entire field closely bunched. So now on to qualifying and see what that brings. The challenges of Le Mans are many and diverse. But we have the experience, the product and the personnel to bring home victory number eight and that remains our primary objective.”

CHEVROLET INDYCAR V6
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE 600
POST RACE
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
 
Ed Carpenter Gives Chevrolet Fifth Win of Season in Verizon IndyCar Series
 
FT. WORTH (JUNE 7, 2014) – Ed Carpenter led a Chevrolet IndyCar V6 podium sweep of the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. Carpenter scored his first victory of the 2014 season over fellow Team Chevy drivers Will Power and Juan Pablo Montoya.
 
Carpenter, who started fifth behind the wheel of his own No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet, led a total of 90 laps on the way to his third career Verizon IndyCar Series victory. It is the second 2014 victory for Ed Carpenter Racing.  The team visited Victory Lane earlier this season as Mike Conway captured the win on the Streets of Long Beach.
 
Pole winner Power spent the most time at the front of the field in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet leading a race-high 145 laps on the way to a second-place finish, his fifth podium finish of the season including two wins in eight starts. 
 
Montoya, in his best run to-date in his first season returning full-time to IndyCar Series competition, led a total of 13 laps in his Team Penske No. 2 Verizon Chevrolet to take the third-place step on the all-Chevrolet podium.
 
“What a well-executed night in Ft. Worth, Texas for Ed Carpenter and his whole Ed Carpenter Racing Team!” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, Verizon IndyCar Series. “Congratulations to the team on their second win of the season.  Keeping the tires in good shape seemed to be the name of the game to run up front tonight.  Team Chevy also showed its depth of talent tonight by sweeping the podium and taking 7 of the top 8 finishing positions.  The testing window will be open for the next couple of weeks and Team Chevy will be busy preparing for the second double header of the year, the Grand Prix of Houston, at the end of the month.”
 
Scott Dixon, No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, finished fifth to give Chevrolet four of the top-five finishers in the 248-lap/372-mile/600-kilometer race.
 
Simon Pagenaud (Honda) finished fourth to complete the top-five finishers.
 
Tony Kanaan, No. 10 Suave for Men Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet finished sixth with teammates Ryan Briscoe, No. 8 NTT Data Chevrolet, and Charlie Kimball, No. 83 Novo Nordisk Chevrolet finishing seventh and eighth respectively. Chevrolet IndyCar V6 2.2 liter direct injected twin turbocharged powered drivers and teams collected seven of the top-eight finishing positions.
 
Next stop for Team Chevy in the Verizon IndyCar Series is The Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston, the second doubleheader of the 2014 season, on June 27-29, 2014.
 
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
 
An Interview With:
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER
TONY GEORGE, ED CARPENTER RACING TEAM CO-OWNER
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, SECOND PLACE FINISHER
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, THIRD PLACE FINISHER
THE MODERATOR:  We’ll start our post‑race press conference coverage.  We’re joined by tonight’s winner of the Firestone 600, Ed Carpenter, driver of the Fuzzy’s Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy.  Your third career victory here in the Verizon IndyCar Series, first at Texas Motor Speedway, second win of the season for Ed Carpenter Racing.  You led 90 laps tonight.  Coming off a disappointment at Indy, talk about this run and what it means for you and the organization.
            ED CARPENTER:  It’s just good to bounce back.  Nothing really totally makes up for a missed opportunity at the speedway, but at the same time it always feels good to win, especially at a place like this.  I’ve enjoyed coming to this racetrack for a long time and appreciate the job that Eddie does here for our series and the drivers.  This is a big win for us.
            THE MODERATOR:  What is it about oval racing that brings the best out of you, a win here at Texas?  You had success here last year, too.
            ED CARPENTER:  Yeah, we’ve been pretty fast here the past couple years.  I’ve always liked this place and ran okay, just haven’t had good luck here to be honest, so it was nice to finally break through tonight.  The team gave me a great car.  They’ve been giving us great cars all year for myself and Mike, so it’s nice to be able to deliver, just really proud of the whole team and the effort and proud to be able to represent Fuzzy’s and do a good job for them with how much they’ve supported us the past two‑and‑a‑half years.  It’s good for everyone involved.
 
            Q.  Tony George, talk about the win tonight, what it means for your organization, two wins already on the win.
            TONY GEORGE:  Well, I’m very proud of Ed, obviously, and this whole team led by Tim Broyles and Bret Schmitt and Matt Barnes.  They’re a great group of people, and our plan this year was to be competitive every week we showed up at the racetrack.  This is a great win for Ed in 2014, and we think we can win more with Mike and Ed, and our intent was to show up this year prepared to contend every weekend and try to win the championship.
 
            Q.  When that last caution came out, what was going through your mind?
            ED CARPENTER:  On one hand I was nervous, just because I wasn’t sure what the right decision was for us to make.  It’s hard to pit, but we were pretty far into our tires, and you know new tires are going to be strong.  I figured we’d stay out with that few a laps left.  I wasn’t sure how many guys would pit.  I knew some would, but just fortunate there were three laps left, and we were able to get a good enough restart.  Montoya stays out on old tires, I think Dixon was behind him maybe, opened up enough of a gap that the rest of the guys couldn’t get close to me that had newer tires.  I’m guessing probably many more laps left than what we were going to have, we probably would have had to have pit.  It was a handful the last couple laps, but you get in that position I’ve got to make sure I bring it home for the guys because they did such a great job all night with the changes on the car during the race, the pit stops, I felt like it was our race to win.
 
            Q.  A lot of drivers have had frustrations from Indy and were able to race them out last weekend at Detroit.  You were up there on top of the pit box watching Mike Conway racing.  How comforting was it to get back at it and get beyond the frustrations you felt at Indy?
            ED CARPENTER:  It felt good.  There’s no denying the fact that I was really mad after Indy.  It’s not that I’m still mad at Hinch, but I’m still mad at the situation and that we lost an opportunity.  I want to try to win every session, every race that we go to, whether I’m driving or Mike is driving.  We’re just going to try to keep the intensity up and try to keep fighting for wins.  The team is certainly capable and they give us cars.  Just got to put it all together week in and week out.
 
            Q.  Juan Montoya was a little miffed about the restart.  Can you talk us through it, how it was
for you?
            ED CARPENTER:  I figured he’d be miffed.  I was kind of sick of him.  He was lagging back, trying to lay back, so yeah, I was slowing down because he was lagging back.  I didn’t want him to get a jump on me.  I’m the leader of the race.  You’re not supposed to lag back.  We talked about that in the drivers’ meeting.  If he wants to talk to me about it, I’ll be happy to.  He ended up finishing third anyway, right, so it doesn’t matter.
 
            Q.  Will said before he thought it was perfect tonight.  What was your take?
            ED CARPENTER:  Yeah, I thought it was really good, especially by the end of the race when it had finally cooled off, I thought the track was very racy and the tires were degrading but not as much as we’d seen in the past.  We had one tough stint early, but I liked it.  It’s still really challenging, yet we were able to go out and use multiple grooves pretty much the whole race, especially towards the end.  I thought IndyCar did a good job.  I think Firestone did a great job with the tire.  So yeah, they always do.
 
            Q.  With as good as Power was early, what did you do to keep your focus that you could really need at some point?
            ED CARPENTER:  Well, most of the race he had the benefit of clean air.  It seemed like throughout the race he would kind of get a bit of a lead and then when he would get into lap traffic the group would close in on him, so I felt like maybe he was struggling a little bit in dirty air, and that’s when I was finally able to get by him was in lap traffic.  He got caught out by some guys and we were able to time it right and get by him and then kind of open up a little bit of a gap.  You know, his car may have been a little bit quicker than ours, but I don’t think it was as good as ours all around through a whole stint in clean air, dirty air.  Really happy for the guys.
 
            Q.  With one more lap do you think Power would have gotten by you?
            ED CARPENTER:  I don’t know, I don’t know how big the gap was.  When I crossed the line I was just trying to get every bit of speed out of my car as I could the last couple laps.  I felt okay about it after the first lap because I got a big enough gap on Montoya on the restart.  Yeah, it’s hard to say how many laps it would have taken for Will.  Certainly new tires are a pretty big advantage when we were about 30 some laps into mine.  They definitely drop off quite a bit right around the halfway point.  Certainly wouldn’t have been able to hold him off much longer, but there were only four laps to go, three to go when we took the start, so the guys made the right call.
 
            Q.  Tony, with what Texas Motor Speedway has meant to this series from ’97 there’s only been two tracks on the schedule to post a race every year, Indianapolis and Texas.  How big a moment is this for you to get a victory at Texas for what it’s really meant to the current series?
            TONY GEORGE:  Well, and until this year, Texas was the only one who had hosted two races in a year.  But I always enjoy coming here for the same reasons Ed has mentioned.  Eddie does a great job.  He is very much a part of the IndyCar Series, the Indy Racing League from its very beginning, and the track is very challenging, so it’s a big kudos to this team for being able to be the best car this evening.
            You know, over the time the track has changed.  It’s got more difficult to come here and be good over the course of however many laps the race happens to be, and tonight was our longest, and this team did a great job, Ed did a great job actually.  A lot of credit goes to him for managing the whole race.  I wasn’t sure the strategy kind of kept changing and weren’t sure where we were going to go, but we did have to pit early once but that kind of caused some other dominos to fall, and it was a big win for us here at Texas.  I’m glad Ed finally was able to post a win here.
 
            Q.  You and Eddie Gossage, looked like you had a pretty good time in victory lane.  What was going on?
            TONY GEORGE:  Well, I haven’t seen Eddie very often when I come to the race.  I’ve been to every race, but in the last five years I’ve only run across him a couple of times, and I’m glad to see he’s doing well.  I love Big Hoss, and we were just kind of sharing some ideas.  He was giving me a hard time.  I think Ed told him about an encounter I had with Fort Worth’s finest this afternoon just trying to get back to the hotel.  But it was nothing, we were just kind of joking having a good time.
 
            Q.  Ed, you’re in contention at Indy, you come here, you win.  How do you stay so sharp at ovals with such big gaps in between?  What’s the secret?
            ED CARPENTER:  I don’t think there is one.  I work hard all year‑round.  I train in my office and in the shop every day.  I mean, what I said before Indy, no one had run an oval since Fontana, and we’d tested as much as anyone.  I’ll be testing twice this week.  So just because you’re not in a car doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared.  I’m engaged with the team every day.  I don’t feel I’m missing anything.  I mean, I’d like to run more races always, but I’m happy to run the ones I am and want to make the most of it, and like I said earlier, every time we get in the car I feel like Mike and I both have a chance to win right now with the job the team is doing for us.
 
            Q.  Ed, I just wondered about Fuzzy’s.  You guys made the decision to bring in Mike Conway.  I’m just wondering what that does for a sponsor that’s stood behind you?
            ED CARPENTER:  I hope they’re happy.  You can never speak for anyone else, but Stewart, one of our partners and partner in Fuzzy’s is here somewhere, he hasn’t been able to make it down; he was up in a condo in Turn 2, so I’m sure they’re having a good time tonight.  Hopefully this is just one of many more to come.
 
            Q.  Mr. Carpenter, your oval prowess over several years, no matter the cars, no matter the aero package has shined despite never having driven for Andretti or Ganassi or Penske.  Do you attribute any of that success to your experience in the U.S. Auto Club, and if so, what would you do to encourage more of those young men and women in those ranks to pursue a career in American automobile racing?
            ED CARPENTER:  I certainly think it did.  I learned a lot, driven in all three divisions.  I ran there when they did Midget, Sprint Cars, Silver Crown.  It has changed a lot from when I ran there.  There was a lot of pavement races, a lot of dirt races in all three divisions, and there’s no pavement Sprint car races anymore, w
hich I think is a travesty.  I think they need to have some pavement races back on, too.  The Silver Crown races were great for learning how to manage tires.  You’re running one set of tires, one tank of fuel for 100 miles, I think I learned more about patience and managing a car and dealing with something that’s not perfect all the time in the Silver Crown races, and those have kind of all gone away as far as pavement racing goes.
            I’d like to see them get into more of a schedule like when I was there and Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart and those guys were there, it’s just their schedule has changed and it’s going to make it harder for those guys to go anywhere.
 
            Q.  Ed and Tony, everyone talks about the big three with Penske, Ganassi and Andretti, so I’m curious now that both you and your teammate have won a race this season, where do you see you guys ranking against those three, and is there a timetable in place to maybe find another driver or a primary driver who can go chase a driver’s championship?
            ED CARPENTER:  I mean, we’d love to go to a team when we have the opportunity, but at the same time, we want to be able to grow at our own pace and do it in a way that’s going to allow us to continue to do things the way we’re doing them now, which we feel like is working.  You know, I wouldn’t trade any one person on our team for any other person up and down pit lane.  We’ve got a good group of people, and I think we’re able to show that on track right now.  Like I keep saying, really proud of the whole team, the whole effort, the whole group.  It’s a great team to be a part of.  We have a lot of fun, and it’s even more fun when you’re winning.
THE MODERATOR:  We’ll continue with our post‑race press conference.  We’re joined by tonight’s second‑place finisher of the Firestone 600, Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.  Third career top‑five finish here at Texas Motor Speedway.  Bright side of things you’re still the points leader, 43 over Helio Castroneves, you led 145 laps, unfortunately had a pass‑through penalty.  Talk about your evening and fighting back to get that second‑place finish at the end.
            WILL POWER:  Yeah, it was a lot of fun, awesome.  We changed the car a lot from last night because we struggled in practice, but man, what a great run, enjoyed it a lot.  Really disappointed I did that again.  That’s four drive throughs in five races.  Got to stop doing that.  It’s ruining our chances of winning.  But an awesome call at the end by the team to call for new tires and obviously got back to at least where we were, one more lap and we probably would have had it.
            But yeah, very good day.  Great day, really enjoyed it.
 
            Q.  With the penalties you just talked about four in five races, is there something you can change in the car to cut down on that?
            WILL POWER:  I’m just going too hard, obviously the pit thing and obviously last week with the contact early in the race.  Like I said, I just go for race wins.  I’m not looking at points, I just want to ‑‑ I just enjoy racing, and you do it for fun and try to get the most out of it, but those mistakes are just not good enough at this level.  I’ve got to stop it.  I’ve got to just take it a bit easier.
 
            Q.  Juan sounded unhappy about that last restart.
            WILL POWER:  I don’t know, I was just going for it.  I don’t think you need to see the car to know it’s fair.  Restart, he went, and there was no games, I think.  I don’t know.
 
            Q.  Can you talk a little bit about the high line that developed throughout the race if there was one, because I noticed that it was being used up a lot more than what we saw in practice.
            WILL POWER:  Yeah, the high line was ‑‑ definitely at the end of a tires stint, yeah, very good.  Definitely good for me.  I had a really strong car at the end of a stint, I’d run up high and early on it probably wasn’t that fast.  He’d be flat on the bottom.  But as you got in the traffic you had to decide just work out where to run and the quickest way around that traffic.
            THE MODERATOR:  We’re now joined by tonight’s third‑place finisher Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevy.  You led 13 laps tonight, best finish of the year, best finish here at Texas Motor Speedway, including your 14 starts here in the Sprint Cup Series.  Talk about your evening.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  It was good.  I was recovering from a flat tire at the beginning of the race.  We recovered and we did a good job there, and just a little mad at the end.  I don’t know, I want to go talk to IndyCar and clarify why the cones are there for the restart if you don’t have to use them.  I don’t know.  I understand if you wanted to go a little early or a little late, it’s okay, but like 200, 300 yards before we get to the cones and he was already going, I was kind of disappointed with that, that he got away with that.  But that’s what it is.  But overall for the Verizon team it was really good.  It was fun.  What a handful.  Oh, my God.  To be good here it’s got to be a handful.  We crank wing and crank wing and the more we cranked the better we got.  It was fun.
 
            Q.  Given what happened at Indianapolis with them red flagging the race with seven, eight to go, with the position that you guys were in, were you kind of deep down inside hoping that they’d throw the red flag out, and have you two been told this is when we will throw it and this is when we won’t throw it?
            WILL POWER:  I think they’ll only do the red flag thing at Indy.  To throw a red flag every time there’s a yellow during a race is kind of ‑‑
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I think it would be cool if they got to a green‑white‑checkered.
            WILL POWER:  No, not in IndyCar.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Why not?  It sucks if you’re winning but it’s better here for the fans.  I don’t think any fan here wants to see a race finish under caution.  Honestly as a driver it sucks ‑‑
            WILL POWER:  600 kilometers, I think I’d rather red flag.  Similar, I guess.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  So if you have a red flag and wait, then that’s okay.
            WILL POWER:  No, I don’t like that, either.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I agree with you, that red flag at Indy was kind of weird.  It made the race bett
er and everything, it put a better show for the fans that we need, but I don’t know.
 
            Q.  When there is only two or three laps left to go, kind of describe to me a little bit how frantic are these, and if we had a green‑white‑checkered how scary would that be for drivers?
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  That was a green‑white‑checkered right there, wasn’t it?
            WILL POWER:  Yeah, pretty much.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  That was it, you know what I mean?  I don’t know.
            WILL POWER:  Yeah.  Depends on the track.  You know, if it’s like two pack racing, green‑white‑checkered would be pretty bad.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Yeah, if you had fair restarts, it would be fun.  (Laughter.)
            WILL POWER:  In IndyCar, you’ve got to be ready, man.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  You’ve got to be ready to cheat?
            WILL POWER:  Last week he started way ‑‑ he was starting in the last corner.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  If he was doing that, then somebody should have said something.  For me, especially coming from NASCAR, you have the lines and you’ve got to restart ‑‑ if you want to jump it a little bit you can jump it a car length or two, but 200, 300 yards, are you kidding me?
            WILL POWER:  Well, I never even saw ‑‑ when there was a restart I never knew where they were.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  We were still on the bottom before you go into pit entrance out of 4, I mean, he was already gone.
            WILL POWER:  I actually went then, too, because I couldn’t see the cones.  I didn’t know where they were when I started and restarted.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  There’s a sign, big Verizon sign and cones and they’re 10 feet off the ground.
            WILL POWER:  I never looked at the wall, man.  I never looked at the wall.  I guess you’re right.  Rules are rules, right?
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Honest, if you’re going to make the rules ‑‑ like, we always complained, we didn’t want a zone, just let us restart and they say, no, we want to let you have the restart in a zone, then ‑‑
            WILL POWER:  I think they should take the win off Ed and award it to the next car, yeah?
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  If that’s the case, I don’t care, if it’s you or whatever it is, but if you jump the start the rules are rules, right?  I think there’s got to be a clear‑cut penalty that if you go before the cones, you’ve got to get a penalty and the penalty is a drive through and at the end of the race you’re going to get a time penalty on your result, and it’s that simple.  If the guy knows he’s going to get a five‑second penalty for jumping the start at the end of the race, he wouldn’t jump it.  But he jumped it because he knew they were never going to wave it off because if you wave it off the race is over.  Fun times.
 
            Q.  Tire degradation, was it better or worse than expected?
            WILL POWER:  It was actually better, wasn’t it?
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I don’t know, I don’t know what to compare it to, but it was freaking awesome.
            WILL POWER:  It was the perfect amount of downforce right there.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  The downforce was good.  I felt that one of the cooler things about it was if you looked up to the tires, you had a massive benefit at the end of the run.  You could really control the race and the pace and the benefit of it, and you could run high, you could run low.  It was fun.  I mean, I had huge slides a couple times.  I didn’t know you couldn’t get on the brakes hard on these cars when somebody wrecks.  That scared the hell out of me.  I went, whoop, and I went through the apron and everything.
            WILL POWER:  I did that at Fontana.  AJ Allmendinger crashed ‑‑
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Yeah, I’m like, ahh, I’m crashing.  I’m trying to get away from the cars and I’m actually crashing.  Great.
 
            Q.  Will, the decision to pit, you may have already talked about that, but in the end that might be a championship‑saving move right there, and also, when you were out ahead with that big of a lead, did you almost think this is just going too easy?
            WILL POWER:  No, it was just focus.  It’s not like it used to be when you were just wide open.  You had to work the grooves and work the traffic.  It was just fun all the time.  You never stopped focusing.  But the old style of racing where you’re just wide open, it was wait until the pit, the in lap, and that’s where you maybe make some time on somebody, but this way you drove it just great, great style of racing.
 
            Q.  And in the picture how that pit stop may have received your championship.
            WILL POWER:  Yeah, looking at it, great call by the team.  Just raced again tonight just get a race to win.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  How many cars were on the lead lap?
            WILL POWER:  Six.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  That was a no‑brainer.
            WILL POWER:  That was a great call, right?
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  But he told me to pit, and then said do whatever the leader does, and I did what the leader did, stayed out.
            WILL POWER:  Ed wasn’t going to pit because he wouldn’t have got to him, unless everyone went new tires, he would have been screwed.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Yeah, but if he would have pitted he would have been okay because he would have had eight cars gaps so he could have a bad pits and been okay.
            WILL POWER:  Yeah, one more lap and the guy with the tires was going to win.
     &
nbsp;      JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Yeah, I don’t know.
            WILL POWER:  Next time, Juan.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I’m getting better.  I had a hell of a race.  I’m happy.
            WILL POWER:  Right there you had weird things happen, but ‑‑
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I had a freaking flat tire in lap 2.  I was kind of lucky that the caution came out.
 
            Q.  Juan, you’ve been able to drive here in NASCAR and IndyCar now, complete your first full IndyCar race now here at TMS.  Can you talk about the difficulties in comparison between tonight and driving a NASCAR race?
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  It’s completely different.  NASCAR is back off the entry, back off the entry.  This you’ve got to drive it, you’ve really got to drive it.  It’s hard because you’ve got to drive it so hard and they’re so ‑‑ honestly you’re 40 cars behind somebody and you already start feeling the effect of the car in front, so you’ve really got to find ways to pass them.  It was fun.  I mean, it’s kind of fun because if you need to pass somebody then you go in the other groove and you just drive it in wide open, wide open, wide open and get there and lift, and even if you have a bad exit you got there.  I’ll tell you the truth, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time, even though somebody jumped the start.  (Laughter.)
            WILL POWER:  How much fun was it, like the whole race?  Crazy good.  Man.
 
            Q.  Juan, do you feel like you’re back at home in the open wheel series, and do you wish maybe that you might have done it a little bit earlier?
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  No, I had a great time in NASCAR.  I really enjoyed myself.  I learned a lot.  I wish ‑‑ we had too many ups and downs with those cars.  When we had good cars I had a blast there, I mean, I really enjoyed myself.  I mean, but having the opportunity to run for Team Penske here in IndyCar is a dream come true for anybody and have Will Power as a teammate.
            WILL POWER:  Having Juan Montoya, my hero, is not a kid, but as a Formula 3 driver, he can say, is also a dream come true.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  Oh, my God, we’re going to hug.  We do have a good time together.
 
            Q.  Juan, everybody else in the series supposedly has next weekend off, but you don’t, you’re going to Michigan.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I’m going to Michigan, yeah.
 
            Q.  Talk a little bit about that.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  I don’t know what to expect.  It’s going to feel weird.  I mean, it’s going to be fun to have the opportunity again with Team Penske cars, you look at Brad how he ‑‑ they qualify in the top 10 every week, so there’s a little bit of pressure.  It’s going to be interesting.  I had only one day of testing in Nashville, so since Homestead I have driven the car once, but felt within five laps, I felt at home.  They’re a great bunch of guys.  We’re taking actually a really good car there.  Talking to them they’re really excited about the car.  Get it in the race and go for it.
            I got a lot of advice.  It’s hard to keep up.  I’m being honest.
 
            Q.  Have you thought about maybe doing a morning talk show?
            WILL POWER:  Yeah, we are, actually.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  The biggest problem is if you bring Helio, as well, these two start singing everywhere.  I’m telling you, everywhere, every appearance.
            WILL POWER:  (Singing) same song, too.  I don’t know another song.
            JUAN PABLO MONTOYA:  The problem is I’ve got kids so I learn ABCs and Barney songs and stuff.
            WILL POWER:  Yeah, but seriously we are going to have a talk show, so listen and watch.
            THE MODERATOR:  Gentlemen, thank you very much.

CHEVROLET INDYCAR V6
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE 600
POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
 
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S VODKA/ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – WINNER
YOU HAD A GOOD FEELING ABOUT TONIGHT:
“Yeah, I mean I knew we had a good car.  We had a good test here back a couple of weeks ago or a couple of months ago whenever it was.  I just felt like we left some on the table in qualifying, but it made me extra motivated for tonight.  The first two stints weren’t great.  Had one bad stint, but the guys just made great adjustments all night.  The Fuzzy’s car was hooked up by the end.  I think we were for sure the car to beat at the end.  I was a little worried about that last yellow.  I knew guys were going to come in.  We talked about what we would do in that situation and we were kind of undecided.  But Tim and the boys made the right call.  Awesome night.  I have loved this race track for a long time and had a lot of bad luck here.  I have really always wanted to win here, so super excited.”
 
IS WINNING HERE SOME WHAT OF REDEMPTION FROM INDY?
“Yeah for sure.  We had the car to win Indy.  I’m not saying we would have beat Ryan (Hunter-Reay) but I think we were the best shot to have a shot at Ryan.  It’s nice to come back here and get a win. I’m really proud of the team two wins already this year.  It’s a good year.  All the credit goes to these guys.  Awesome pit stops they give Mike Conway and I both great cars and obviously to Fuzzy’s Vodka for making this all happen.”
 
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 2ND
IN REGARDS TO LAP TRAFFIC LATE IN THE RACE:
“Yeah, I don’t know what they were doing.  What an awesome call by my team to get tires.  I thought I just screwed it up for them again and got another drive through.  That is four drive throughs in five races it is not good enough. Anyone who says I don’t get drive throughs or penalties are crazy man.  I get them every race.”
 
YOU HAD LOST THE LEAD TO ED CARPENTER THERE LATE THAT WAS ALSO BECAUSE OF TRAFFIC WITHOUT THE PENALTY WOULD YOU HAVE WON THIS RACE?
“I don’t know.  It’s hard to say Ed (Carpenter) was awful strong.  He is an awesome driver and it would have been a good battle there at the end.  My car was good at the end of stints.  But real happy for the Verizon car to come in second and just a lot of fun.”
 
THE CALL WAS THERE ANY HESITATION TO COME DOWN AND TAKE TIRES?
“Tim Cindric and Dave, my engineer they always put me in great positions.  I was just happy to get back to second.  It was just an awesome last lap.”
 
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3RD
IT SOUNDED LIKE YOUR TEAM CALLED YOU IN TO PIT THERE UNDER THAT LAST CAUTION, YOU STAYED OUT WHAT WAS THE RIGHT CALL?
“Well the right call was they said ‘pit’ and then they said ‘do whatever the leader does’.  So I did what the leader did.  It was one of those cautions.  The thing that is disappointing is they have some cones for the restart and he went probably two or three hundred yards before.  How does it work?  I mean what is the rule?  If you are going to let them restart anywhere then don’t put the cones.  But if you put the cones it’s like NASCAR you have the two lines and you have to respect them.  Hopefully they really look at it because I think it was a bit of a joke.”
 
THERE WAS ALSO A CLOSE CALL WITH YOU AND CARLOS HUERTAS AND IT LOOKED LIKE YOU MAYBE EXCHANGED SOME WORDS?
“We talked about in the drivers meeting about closing up and staying close.  If we were going to pit I wanted to be as close to (Ed) Carpenter as possible.  The response was staying back and then turning down and hitting my front wing and everything.  That is just not paying attention.  Overall I think our Verizon car was amazing today.  Everybody on Team Penske did an amazing job.  We had a flat tire right at the beginning and drove through the whole field so that was fun.”
 
DO YOU FEEL GOOD LIKE THE JUAN PABLO MONTOYA OF OLD?
“Yeah every week we are getting better, we are getting there.  I don’t know I was kind of pissed off at that restart because you know what I mean you are expecting for them to go in a zone and that is why they have the zone.  For them to not respect it is kind of unfair.”
 
SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 5TH
“It’s good to get some points here in the Target car at Texas.  We hadn’t been strong the last two races here so it was a relief to finish I guess.  Not the result we wanted but we’ll take it and go on to the next race in Houston.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE FINISHING THIS RACE IN THE TOP FIVE TONIGHT YOU EARNED IT?
“Yeah, I think the racing was fantastic and I hope we put on a good show for the fans.  It was good to see a strong crowd out here tonight, thank them big time.  I’m just actually glad I got to the end.  The car was so loose the whole race I hardly had to turn left.  It was an interesting night really. We had some strong stints and then some stints where we fell off really big so big thanks to everybody on Team Target.  We had some close calls in the pits there with (Ryan) Hunter-Reay and Ed (Carpenter) on some of those cross overs when people were out of sequence.  Not a bad night we got some decent points it’s nice to finish here I haven’t finished here for a couple of years.”
 
TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 SUAVE FOR MEN TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 6TH
“We had a good car I think and were able to challenge for the lead early on.  The Suave For Men team did a great job tonight.  We ran strong but that’s not enough for this team.  We had to change the steering wheel near the end but made that time back up on track.  The racing was exciting tonight and we are definitely improving.”

THAT LAST STOP YOU STAYED OUT IF YOU WOULD HAVE HAD FRESH TIRES COULD YOU HAVE GIVEN IT A BIT MORE?
“For sure the tires made a lot of difference, but it was a risk that we decided not to take.  I got to thank the Target Chip Ganassi boys they did a great job for me in the pits.  It was a fun race.  Obviously, I think the tire degradation played a big role in the end of the race.  It was one of those things either you pitted and it was not going to work out or it was going to work out.  We decided not to and unfortunately it got us.  We got some pretty good points we move up in the championship so turn the page and head to the next one.”
 
DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS PROGRAM IS SORT OF PROGRESSING?
“It has to.  We are a team that is capable of winning championships so we have got to get better.   I think we are getting better.  We are not all the way up there yet.  I don’t think we had a car to win the race today so we need to work on it.  That is what we are going to do that is why we have good people.  We are going to go test this week and we will see what happens.”
 
RYAN BRISCOE, NO. 8 NTT DATA CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 7TH
“It was another hard-fought race for NTT DATA Racing and the No. 8 NTT DATA Chevrolet.  We started in 13th, so it feels good to end in the top 10 in seventh.  We’re still not where we want to be at the checkered flag, but we’re getting closer.  We have a couple of weeks off until Houston and we’ll be able to get some good testing time in next week at Iowa and Milwaukee.  I’m looking forward to the double-header.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 83 NOVO NORDISK GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 8TH
“Overall it was a pretty good night for the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Chevrolet.  The
Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew did a great job in the pits and it’s great to see all four Chip Ganassi Racing cars in the top eight.  This is honestly probably one of the hardest mental races that I’ve ever competed in.  The car slides around so much at the end of a stint and you go from driving at 213 mph laps to 190 mph laps. We’ll take another top 10 finish and stick with our streak of every time we see a checkered flag; we end in the top 10.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 AAA INSURANCE TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 10TH
 
SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 17 KV AFS RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 14TH
“It was quite a long race out there, but I’m so proud of the whole Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc – KV AFS Racing guys. It’s been a long weekend for us as we never had a strong car but we never gave up the fight. We should of had a top-10 finish, but I made a mistake hitting the outside rear tire in Will Power’s pit box and received a drive through penalty very late in the race, which cost me some places. Overall it wasn’t the position we wanted but hopefully we will learn from here and apply it to Houston in a couple of weeks’ time.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 HYDROXYCUT KVSH RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 20TH
“I haven’t seen the replay, but in talking with Justin (Wilson) he had a run and I thought I had blocked the inside. Apparently I left just enough room that he put his nose in there and when I heard ‘looking inside’ (from the spotter) I moved to the right but it was too late. I guess he hit the apron and just caught me as he was pulling out. I won’t say it was my fault or his fault. It was just a racing incident. If it is my fault I apologize. It is a shame because the Hydroxycut – KVSH Racing team struggled this weekend, but we keep working and were having a decent race.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
POCONO 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 6, 2014
 
 
CHEVROLET’S KURT BUSCH NARROWLY MISSES POLE AT POCONO
Six Chevrolet SS Race Cars to Start in Top 12
 
POCONO, Pa. – June 6, 2014 – Kurt Busch placed his No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS on the outside front row, missing the pole for Sunday’s Pocono 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race by just two thousandths of a second with a speed of 181.408 mph (49.612 seconds).
 
He joined pole sitter Denny Hamlin (Toyota) and third-place qualifier Brad Keselowski (Ford) in setting new track records that eclipsed the previous fast time set by Chevrolet’s Jimmie Johnson in August of 2013.  Busch was the first of six fast Chevrolet SS race cars to earn spots in the Top 12 positions in the final round of multi-car qualifying at the ‘Tricky Triangle’.
 
This marks the first time in 2014 Busch has started in the top-five.  He is joined there by his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick.  The two-time winner in 2014 will start in the fourth position in his No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS.
 
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will both start in the top-10 as they prepare to compete in 400-miles at the 2.5-mile track.  Four-time Pocono winner, Gordon placed his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS in the fifth starting spot, while Earnhardt, Jr. will take the green flag in his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS from the eighth position.
 
Austin Dillon was the fastest Rookie of the Year contender (179.326 mph) by qualifying 11th in the No. 3 Dow Chevrolet SS.  Tony Stewart, a two-time Pocono winner rounded out the Chevrolet power starting in the top-12 taking the final 12th position.
 
The Pocono 400 is scheduled for 1p.m. Sunday, June 8th and will be aired live on TNT.
 
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
 
YOU GUYS WERE FAST OUT THERE. IT SEEMED LIKE ALMOST EVERYBODY BROKE THE TRACK RECORD. TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN AND JUST HOW CLOSE YOU WERE TO THE POLE TODAY
“We came here with a new approach and to try to get out front ends to settle into the race track a little better. And this track can lead into finding some comfort with how smooth it is from the repave. I was really surprised that we had the speed for the pole today on just our first attempt at trying something a little different. So, it’s great to cash in. To be in position and advance through knockout qualifying is something that we’ve don’t this year, but we haven’t positioned ourselves for a pole run in that final grouping of 12. Those final 12, you’ve got to be spot-on. And after I made my lap, I felt like I left a little change on the track in Turn 1, a little pocket change. So, to come this close to the pole shows our car’s got some speed in it and hopefully that will translate into race day.”
 
DID THIS FEEL LIKE A MINI VICTORY BY HAVING SUCH A GOOD QUALIFYING RUN. YOU WON HERE IN AUGUST 2007. IT’S A DIFFERENT AND TEAM, BUT THIS IS STILL YOU. IS A WIN WELL WITHIN YOUR GRASP?
“The outside pole is great and it’s good for all day long on your starting position, your race sequence and your pit box selection. Our crew chief will get a nice pit box selection and that will help us with ease and congestion on pit road. And then as the race progresses, we just have to make the right changes to the car. I’m glad we were able to apply something new to the car this weekend and to see a good result right away. It’s not a big victory or a small victory. It’s just nice to confirm a change on the car and see it go the right direction.”
 
DOES HAVING A GOOD QUALIFYING RUN LIKE THIS GIVE YOU MORE CONFIDENCE GOING INTO THE RACE ON SUNDAY?
“Yeah, it always helps. If you don’t get the pole, it’s bitter sweet. But at the same time, the sweet side of it is that the car has speed in it. We’re going to be up against that No. 11 (Denny Hamlin, pole winner) and the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) and it looks like the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) is quick and our teammate (Kevin) Harvick and (Tony) Stewart, those guys made the final grouping. Speed and qualifying usually translates to race day and we hope to hang onto that. It’s our job to manage it on the No. 41 Haas-Automation Chevy now.”
 
YOU’RE ABOUT 13 RACES INTO THE NEW SEASON WITH A NEW CREW CHIEF, A ROOKIE CREW CHIEF AT THAT. WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN WITH DANIEL KNOST SO FAR THIS SEASON
“It’s been great with Daniel to watch his growth and to see him come up through the different challenges that come to a crew chief. I’ll never know all the things that his been through but I can see the progress that he’s made and just his overall confidence and how he’s able to direct orders to the team and how he is able to absorb my feedback and to then take the next step where I think he can be better is delegating more work. Daniel likes to do everything himself. And in this game, there is so much work that has to be done with templates and car set-up and shocks and springs and sway bars. He has to rely on the talent of the guys around him and that he’s positioned himself with.  So, that’s our next step is being able to allow the crew members to know that we’re going to grab another gear during these summer months and advance as a team together. It hasn’t been the results that we’ve wanted so far, so we all know we can work better and harder and we’re going to make this No. 41 car faster.”
 

CHEVROLET INDYCAR V6
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE 600
QUALIFYING
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
 
Will Power puts Chevrolet on the Pole at Texas
 
FT. WORTH (JUNE 6, 2014) – For the fifth time this season, a Chevrolet IndyCar V6 powered driver will lead the Verizon IndyCar Series field to the green flag. Will Power put his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet on the pole for Saturday’s Firestone 600 with a time of 47.8584 seconds/218.896 m.p.h. It is his second consecutive and overall pole at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) and 34th career IndyCar Series pole for Power, who won at the 1.5-mile oval in  2011.
 
It was a solid qualifying day for Team Chevy at TMS with Chevrolet IndyCar V6 drivers capturing with five of the top-seven spots in the final post-qualifying tally. Tony Kanaan turned in the third quickest time with Juan Pablo Montoya putting up the fourth fastest time. Ed Carpenter was fifth fastest, and Scott Dixon was seventh quickest in the order.
 
Josef Newgarden (Honda) completes the top-five qualifiers for the 248-lap/372-mile race.
 
The Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, June 7, 2014. Live television coverage of the 248-lap/372-mile race on NBC Sports Network will begin at 7:00 p.m. CT (8:00 p.m. ET). Live radio coverage will be on XM Radio Channel 209, and IMS Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 213. In addition, IndyCar live timing and scoring with the radio broadcast can be found at

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
POCONO 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
JUNE 6, 2014
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
YOU MISSED THE POLE BY TWO ONE THOUSANDTHS OF A SECOND:
“It didn’t feel that close in the car.  Turn 1 we ended up on the tight side on the exit of the corner.  I said to myself a lot of these laps aren’t perfect anymore.  Go get what you can in other spots of the track.  That is what it’s all about is the team work side of it.  I just have to thank Daniel (Knost, crew chief) for putting us in position to have a shot at the pole.  We haven’t been all that good this year with the Haas Automation Chevy.  Just have to thank Haas Automation, State Water Heaters, Monster Energy and everybody who has been pushing us and keeping track of us.  We haven’t done our job at the best of our ability and this is a good turn for the better.”
 
LOCKED INTO THE CHASE BUT THE IMPORTANT STRETCH TRYING TO BUILD MOMENTUM INTO THE SECOND PART OF THE SUMMER HERE:
“Yeah if we win one more race then we are definitely locked in, but it’s a matter now of developing the No. 41 team into a championship contender, not just a Chase contender.”
 
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO UNLOAD FAST HERE AND BACK IT UP WITH SPEED?
“I was just thanking all the crew guys for putting us in position to go for the pole.  To advance through knock-out qualifying we have gotten to the second round a lot this year.  We haven’t gotten into the final round much and this was a final round type car.  We put ourselves in position for the pole and came away just two thousandths shy, which is cool.  The car didn’t feel that good, but that is the compromise that you have to make in this knock-out qualifying. You have to do three qualifying runs.  In the 15 years I’ve been doing this you only had to do one lap and make it perfect.  Now you have to get three that are pretty good.”
 
WHICH ONE OF THESE THREE DISTINCT CORNERS AT THIS RACE TRACK DO YOU HAVE TO ATTACK? AND WHICH ONE DO YOU HAVE TO BASICALLY TIPTOE YOUR WAY THROUGH?
“Each corner is different on each day and how far back you are in traffic.  For a qualifying lap most of your speed I think here is carried down the long front straightaway right here in front of the fans.  Turn 3 is important because what Turn 4?”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 5TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN:
“I feel really good about it.  We have certainly made some great improvements from practice when we first rolled off to make our first qualifying run.  Great job to Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and all the guys on this Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet.  We went faster each time out and qualified fifth.  You always want to be faster and some guys put up some really good laps.  Looking at just a few little areas where we could have gone faster.  All in all I’m pretty happy.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 20TH
WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE FIRST SESSION TO SECOND SESSION FOR YOU TODAY?
“The driver blew Turn 2.  I just got too greedy down in two and lost the nose in corner exit. I knew it killed the lap.  Sure enough when I came back around it was only good enough for 20th.  I feel bad for my guys, but this one is one me.”
 
HOW WERE YOU IN RACE TRIM FOR SUNDAY?
“I couldn’t tell you we hadn’t been there yet that is tomorrow.”
 
JUSTIN ALLGAIER, NO. 51 BRANDT PROFESSIONAL AGRICULTURE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 24TH
HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING RUN?
“Qualifying was okay. Our Brandt Chevy we had to make a second run there in first round and second round just missed it a little bit unfortunately.  All in all really proud of all these guys at HScott Motorsports and the direction we have gone over the course of the season.  We have a lot of work that we can try a lot of different things tomorrow in practice and see how that goes and hopefully on Sunday we can have a really good race.”
 
CASEY MEARS, NO. 13 GEICO CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 25TH
IT LOOKED LIKE EVERYBODY WAS WATCHING THE SKY IN THAT LAST ROUND YOU TOO?
“Well I mean it wasn’t as bad as it was in practice where the clouds were really in and out.  We were all hoping that a cloud would come in and we could run a little bit quicker there at the end.  Really we were just focused more on balance and then watching what everybody else was doing to try to get out there and make a last ditch effort to have a little better run.  It was close we got a little bit tight in (Turns) 1 and 2 and the tunnel turn and Turn 3 felt pretty good, but lost some time getting down into Turn 1.”
 
HOW MUCH MORE NERVE RACKING AND STRATEGIC IS THIS KNOCK-OUT QUALIFYING THAN WHAT WE USED TO HAVE?
“It’s definitely more nerve racking when you are on the bubble.  When you are well inside it you have the opportunity to start thinking about next round.  We have been working really hard.  We have been close it seems like we are right at this transfer spot when it’s three rounds of qualifying.  We have to figure out how to get just a little bit better, not much and we can get well in that top 24 to make that second round.”
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 27TH 
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST HINDRANCE ON YOUR SECOND ATTEMPT?
“We just didn’t have quite the speed.  I don’t know we were actually pretty slow.  We will work on it tomorrow get our Great Clips Chevrolet a little better for the race on Sunday, hopefully a lot better.  We will just have a little further on our ways to go on Sunday.  Pit stalls are all good here so hopefully we can move up through there.  Tomorrow will be key getting a couple of good practices in and trying to figure out where we are missing some speed.”
 
NOT MOVING ON TO ROUND TWO WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE OUT THERE TODAY IN QUALIFYING?
“We just didn’t have quite the speed we needed to go on to round two.  We were a little touch quicker there than we were in practice, but not near fast enough.  We just have to look at things for tomorrow.  We have two practices so hopefully we will be much better for Sunday.” 
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
POCONO 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 6, 2014
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the challenges of trying to obtain his first race of the season, his hopes to become the fourth Hendrick Motorsports team to make the Chase, the challenges of road course racing and the upcoming Sonoma event, and more. Full Transcript:
 
POCONO RACEWAY IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THIS YEAR. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TOWARD GETTING YOUR FIRST WIN THIS YEAR?  JIMMIE JOHNSON SAID EVERYBODY WANTS ALL FOUR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CARS IN THE CHASE
“At Hendrick Motorsports, we all want to be in the Chase. What Jimmie is talking about is making sure the No. 5 is in. He’s not going to give anything to me, but he’s definitely going to be happy if we pulled it off and won a race. Last time we were here we won. So, I feel good about racing at Pocono. We were really quick the first race and had an issue. The track is very similar. It’s a little different in the tunnel without the curbing but you still go through there in a very similar way; you just don’t have the curbing to avoid. So, I feel like we should be able to have a good car by the time tomorrow is over. We were off in practice. We didn’t hit on it right off the bat. It took a little while but we went to the opposite. We were real tight and got to the loose side when we made one qualifying run at the end. So now we’ll try to hit the middle of that and then tomorrow we have some practice where hopefully we can get it right. This is a track where I’ve run well in the past and with Hendrick race cars and engines it makes it a lot easier.”
 
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE CLOSER TO GETTING THINGS TURNED AROUND AND GETTING THAT FIRST WIN THIS YEAR?
“I think there has been a touch of bad luck and then we just haven’t put together full races. We’ve had great practices over the last month, maybe a little more than that. We’ve been really good in practice; great at times during the race, but we haven’t put together the full race. And when we have, it’s been one and then we forget how for the next three, and then come back for the fourth one and run pretty well. That side of it’s been tough and we’re all looking at that together to try to make it better. But I think as far as speed goes and getting the car right, we’ll be good on Sunday at points. We just need to put the whole 400 miles together. If we do that, we’ll have a shot to win.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON SAID HE THOUGHT THE UPS AND DOWNS HAVE GOTTEN A LITTLE FRUSTRATING FOR YOU. IS THAT AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION?
“It’s been a bit frustrating at times, but I think I’ve handled it all pretty well. In my opinion I feel like I have. Last Monday was probably the worst Monday I’ve had of the season after a bad result. We went from 17th to fifth and then just couldn’t hit on it from there. But we had a really fast car. We had a great test in New Hampshire Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m excited to be here this weekend and trying to get some things rolling.
 
“At Charlotte we were really good in the All-Star race, the best car there, and so Jimmie and Chad (Knaus) saw that started there the next week and then built that set-up from there. And they ran with it. They won and dominated the race and did a really good job. We weren’t on the lead lap the whole night so it was hard to race. We were a lap down from the 50th mile on. So that made for a tough Charlotte. But I think we’re really close. We just need to put races together. I get down a little, but I’ve actually handled it all pretty well and I’m excited to be here and I want to win.”
 
WE ARE HEADED TO SONOMA IN A FEW WEEKS; CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU THINK THE RACING IS LIKE AT A ROAD COURSE IN GENERAL? IS COMPETING AT A ROAD COURSE CLOSER TO A SHORT-TRACK RACING?  IS IT BETTER RACING?  ALSO, TALK ABOUT THE STRATEGY IN KNOCKOUT QUALIFYING AT A ROAD COURSE:
“The Sonoma road course is so much different than say The Glen (Watkins Glen).  It’s definitely more with the slower corners and the pace falls off so much at Sonoma.  I feel like at times you are at somewhat of a Martinsville type short-track.  Really everybody gets close together and you are getting beat by wheel spin or not.  I enjoy Sonoma.  I think it’s a great place to race and great country out there.  I look forward to that.  The qualifying will be different.  It will be the first time we have had this qualifying knock-out deal at a road course.  But I think with the tire wear that we have at Sonoma that it will be you will really want to hit it on your first lap.  That will be your money lap.  Some of these other tracks haven’t been quite that way.  Maybe Sonoma won’t be like that, but I would say if anything it will fall off after each run a little bit if you nail the first one it would be hard to go quicker I would think.”
 
HOW DO YOU AND KENNY FRANCIS EACH HANDLE THE FRUSTRATION BETWEEN EACH OTHER?
“We haven’t had too much between each other.  I feel like it’s kind of like, Kenny has a couple of engineers up there with him that they all need to work together.  My communication and feedback to what the car is doing throughout the race can always be better.  As a group we just look at that and try to make that better each week. Over the last few years I would say our inconsistency in those areas has been pretty bad at times and other times been really good.  It’s just about doing that stuff right.  Sometimes not talking like neither of us gets too upset at each other any of that I don’t know I see that kind of hurting you at times.  Maybe you need to get it out there and talk about it.  We have our Tuesday’s we spend a couple of hours, we had lunch yesterday for a couple of hours.  We are trying.  We are working at it.  We just need to hit on it; once we do hopefully we can run with it for a while.”
 
HAS THE NEW CHASE FORMAT EASED THE PAIN FOR YOU WITH YOUR UP AND DOWN YEAR?  WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN MORE FRUSTRATED WITH THE OLD FORMAT?  ARE YOU AND KENNY LOOKING AT THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON AND TARGETING SPECIFIC RACES OR ARE YOU STILL TAKING IT WEEK BY WEEK TRYING TO SCORE AS MANY POINTS AS POSSIBLE?
“I look at it as we need to score as many points as we can each week.  Our stretch of tracks that we run really well at started about three weeks ago.  It goes for another month, so hopefully we can hit on something over this little span that we have.  We haven’t yet, but we are in a good group of tracks for myself and Kenny and our team.  We just have to do the best we can and hopefully as a group we figure it out and can start putting full races together.  If we can do that we will be in a good spot in a hurry because of the points system and the way that it is now.  Definitely not out until Richmond I guess that is when you would be out.  You have a much better shot this way to make the Chase even if you are not running very well throughout the first half of the year.”
 
HOW MUCH COMMUNICATION DO YOU HAVE WITH THE WORLD OF OUTLAWS TEAM? DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH THEM ALL THE TIME?
“Yeah I do.  Those teams I put a lot into it and those guys put a ton into it.  They are non-stop working at it.  I’m always trying to come up with ways and things for them to hopefully improve their programs.  Give them more opportunities, more tools to work with. Whatever I can do there I talk to them a lot.  We are always trying to get that deal better.  We have won – I think as a company we have won 11 so far this year.  We are not doing bad, but we are not doing good enough either so we just keep working at it.”
 
YOU TALKED IN THE OFF SEASON ABOUT HOW YOU ARE TAKING A DIFFERENT APPROACH THIS YEAR WORKING ON ATTITUDE AND WORKING ON COMMUNICATION WITH KENNY.&nbs
p; AS YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS HAS THAT PROVED HELPFUL?
“I don’t think it has changed performance at all.  It hasn’t changed any of that in my opinion yet.  Maybe eventually it will, but to this point I have handled everything a lot better than what I would have in the past.  My weeks aren’t near as down as some people maybe would think they should be after the way we have performed at times.  I mean you just have to move on after a race and figure out how you can make it better and then do that at the next track.  I’ve actually handled things pretty well and feel good about where I’m at and the things I’ve learned about myself over the last six months.  As far as our performance goes we are still working on that.”
 
DID YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE NEW HAMPSHIRE TEST?  HOW MUCH CAN THAT HELP MOVING FORWARD? 
“I was hoping some of that you could apply here, but we had a pretty good deal going here last year that we have kind of started with this year and looked at to make the balance of the car similar.  I guess in ways that you can with the new car this year.  I just think anytime you can go and test for a couple of day and we went 8 to 8 for two days.  That is a ton of laps and a lot of things that each team is trying.  Jimmie (Johnson) was really good at times.  Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) got good at the end.  I felt like we got pretty good at the end and Jeff (Gordon) was probably the best car the first day.  We were all over the place between the guys and which run it was, but we all learned a lot.  I think we can put together a really good package for Hendrick Motorsports for when we go back in July and then also at the start of the Chase.  I think that is a really good track to be good at.  Last year we were an average 10th.  That is about where I ran if I didn’t hit the wall.  We need to make improvements and we went up there and hopefully we did.  I felt good about it and so did the other guys.”
 
 
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
POCONO 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 6, 2014
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed various aspects and challenges of racing at Pocono, upcoming Father’s Day, key safety issues of NSCS race cars, and more. Full Transcript:
 
YOU ARE COMING OFF TWO WINS, WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO THIS WEEK TO KEEP YOUR STREAK ALIVE?
“Just get on the track and try to figure out what we need around here. Last year we had some great speed in our race cars and I really think we had an opportunity for the sweep and unfortunately blew a tire off Turn 1 after having a dominant day, and taking ourselves out of that opportunity for a win. But I still think we came back for an awesome finish with a torn-up race car. It’s a new year and a new rules package, so we have to work on that today and hopefully have what we need here.
 
“The thing that brings a lot of optimism to our team is this is (crew chief) Chad’s (Knaus’) favorite race track. He loves the challenge here of trying to figure out how to get the car to go down those long straightaways and then through three different corners. We’re excited and are looking forward to it.”
 
ANY SURGERIES YOU WANT TO REPORT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? (Laughter)
“No, I’m thinking about going to the dentist. Should I let everybody know? (laughs)
 
YOU HAD TO ASSUME YOU’D BE IN THE CHASE EVEN BEFORE YOU WON THESE TWO RACES. BUT HOW HAS WINNING TWICE CHANGED THE PREPARATION THERE AS FAR AS TESTING OR THAT SORT OF THING. CAN YOU LOOK MORE AHEAD NOW THAN BEFORE?
“Yeah, looking ahead it does start to change things for a test plan. There’s an old testing procedure and we can select tracks just for the No. 48 to test at, it would definitely impact that. But as a group, we want all four cars in the Chase, and we need to get Kasey (Kahne) a win. That part is still kind of out there. We’re three-quarters of the way there to having a full testing plan and focus solely on the Chase. So, hopefully we can get the No. 5 car a win soon and let that go the rest of the way.
 
“But really it changes your strategy at some race tracks. This would be one of them. Fuel mileage is a big part of the finish of this race. Tire strategy also comes into play and we can swing for the fences here which makes that a lot of fun. And hopefully I can save gas, which I really don’t do a good job of.”
 
JOEY LOGANO WAS AT DETROIT LIONS MINICAMP AND MADE A COMMENT THAT HE FELT LIKE NASCAR IS A SAFER SPORT THAN THE NFL. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
“I agree with that. I think that’s the case. I feel like what took place around 2000 and on and the changes that we’ve made, there are a lot of stats to show that. And then I also think from just casual injuries, I don’t even know what to really call them, but knee injuries and broken bones and things like that, we’re protected by a steel race car and it certainly helps that. Concussions are certainly an aspect of our sport that exists and something we’re all very sensitive to, but the amount of time we hit our heads versus how they hit heads every snap is different and plays into that as well.”
 
YOU’VE SEEN THE CAR CHANGE OVER THE LAST DECADE IN TERMS OF SAFETY IN THE COCKPIT. WHAT’S MADE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE FOR YOU?
“I’d say the seat; and the seat also would include that head surround that saves us from the basal skull fracture which is what took five guys from us in that 2000 timeframe. But the seat contains the driver. It keeps your legs in line and keeps the load going through your shoulders and not through your ribs. Broken ribs were a very popular injury years back. And it didn’t take much of an impact to pop a rib or two. So, I think the seat is a big portion of it. But there’s really three, especially with the ultimate concern that we have. Seat, SAFER barrier, and Hans device. That for the big one; but for the casual injuries, I think the seat has a lot to do with that and probably the SAFER barrier.”
 
POCONO WAS REPAVED LAST YEAR AND NOW YOU COME BACK WITH A NEWER CAR AND A NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR ALL THAT?
“I’m really just worried about a clean lap at this point. I think it will be easy to get on track and find a hole. But when someone is coming in after they’ve completed their lap, you’ve got a long distance to get around here and not a lot of room on the apron to get out of the way. So, that’s probably my biggest concern going into it. I think the new asphalt will allow us to repeat lap times and we’ll be able to have a second shot at it in the first session and potentially in the second. I think in the third outing, there’s not enough time on the clock. It’s going to be a race off pit road just to get out there and get your lap in within that five minutes.”
 
HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT PUTTING YOUR DAUGHTER IN A CAR?
“Yeah, I’m definitely entertaining quarter midgets and go karts. Genevieve has a four-wheeler. Lydia is a couple of years away from all that yet. But, in our race shop a lot of our crewmen have their kids in kid karts and driving at various places. So, I’ve considered it. I’ve been serving it up to Chani, and she’s semi-okay with it. And Genevieve is all about it. So, hopefully this summer I’ll get a chance to put her in a kart and just see how she goes. She’s been very responsible on her four-wheeler. So, now if I can find a pink go kart, I think she’s in.”
 
YOU TOUCHED ON HOW DOMINANT YOUR CAR WAS LAST YEAR EVEN BEFORE THE FLAT TIRE.  HAVE YOU SPOKEN WITH CHAD (KNAUS) YET ABOUT WHAT YOU EXPECT FROM THE CAR THIS WEEK? DO YOU THINK THAT WHAT YOU HAVE THIS WEEK IS COMPARABLE TO WHAT YOU HAD LAST YEAR?
“It’s just too early to tell.  We have tools that tell us where the aero platform is, what the mechanical grip will be like, but that stuff is helpful and they are tools, but it’s not the real thing.  We are coming in with what we feel is the optimized race car and will have a ton of speed and put us where we were before.  But until you get out there and make some laps you just don’t know.”
 
DO YOU SENSE SOME FRUSTRATION WITH KASEY KAHNE DUE TO HIS SEASON BEING SO UP AND DOWN?  SINCE HE WAS SO GOOD HERE LAST AUGUST DO YOU FEEL THIS IS A GOOD PLACE FOR HIM TO GET BACK ON TRACK?
“Yeah, I do.  I guess there is frustration there and I kind of put disappointment too because he has had a lot of solid runs going and whack things happen.  We decided to start looking at the No. 5 set-up and morphing our car in that direction for the (Coca-Cola) 600.  It turned out great for us.  I know after debriefing with him he had an awesome car in Charlotte.  We kind of together had a similar set-up going to Dover.  I know he had another great car in Dover and circumstances kept him from having the day he wanted to.  I give them credit for helping us get going at Charlotte and Dover.  I know their cars are fast so it’s kind of a frustration slash disappointment they haven’t been able to capitalize.  We are all working very hard together and very close with Kasey (Kahne). We were just at a test session in New Hampshire and talked in great detail about our cars and what is going on.  We even considered swapping rides.  Things got a little hectic in the afternoon because of some weather where it didn’t work out, but we are doing everything we can to really elevate Hendrick and then also help those guys get their win.”
 
THIS IS THE SIXTH TIME YOU HAVE GONE FOR THREE IN A ROW SINCE YOU WON FOUR IN A ROW IN 2007.  HOW HAS THAT CHALLENGE EVOLVED, CHANGED THE DIFFICULTLY?  WHEN YOU LOOK BACK ARE THERE ANY OF THOSE TIMES THAT YOU THINK YOU COULD HAVE HAD THAT THIRD IN A ROW?
“Man, I had no clue we were in position that many times.  I don’t pay attention to much I guess (laughs).  I know that we have
had some great runs and usually when we are hot it carries from track to track.  Certainly hope we can keep it rolling.  This is a great place for us and I guess one of the, no maybe it wasn’t.  Was it one of them in the Chase against (Jeff) Gordon? Something in there reminds me of ’08, ’09.”
 
THERE WAS A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE NBA BASKETBALL GAME LAST NIGHT HOW IT WAS RIDICULOUSLY WARM.  CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE HOTTEST TIME YOU HAVE HAD IN THE CAR?  WHAT RACE THAT WAS?  WHAT HAPPENED, WHY IT WAS THAT WAY, AND HOW YOU GOT THROUGH THAT RACE?
“Yeah there have been plenty of moments in a Cup car with summer months.  There was a race at Indy, maybe three or four years ago, something like that, and it was just brutally hot.  Homestead seems to shock everybody when we get down there.  I guess we have had some fall events and then you get reminded that it’s still summer down in Florida.  That one usually gets you.  My worst experience by far was in a GRAND-AM car.  I can’t remember the year exactly, but I did the six-hour event in July with Beau Riley, and Marc Goossens was my teammate. We were in the No. 91 car.  I think I qualified the car; we had practice, qualified, then Cup practice and a whole bunch going on, then a six-hour race.  I got behind on hydration and didn’t keep up while I was in the car.  I had an electrical problem that took out the drink system in the car.  I had to pit maybe 10 minutes before it was time because I couldn’t push the brake pedal hard enough to get it stopped.  I missed the chicane on the backstretch.  I came to pit road.  I got out of the car.  Of course tried to get cooled down and have some fluids.
 
“But about an hour later I started cramping and I actually went into a full body cramp and was stranded inside my motorhome lying on the floor.  I wish I had a picture of what I looked like.  I mean I’m telling you every muscle in my body locked up.  I could barely get to my phone, which was on the table.  I knocked it off and then I don’t know if you have ever had a cramp, but try dialing a phone with everything like it is.  (Jeff) Gordon was next door in his motorhome and I called him and he didn’t answer.  When he didn’t answer I didn’t know what I was going to do.  Then shortly thereafter he called back.  I just started yelling at him to get over here.  As he came in my bus it took him about two or three minutes to stop laughing at me.  Then he got me to the Care Center, and three IV bags later I felt like myself again. That was a very tough experience for me.  I didn’t cramp in the car itself; but after, it got me bad.  That was a tough one.  That was Daytona, July.”
 
WITH FATHER’S DAY COMING UP NEXT WEEK DOES IT HAVE ANY MORE SPECIAL MEANING TO YOU NOW BEING A SON AND A PARENT?
“For sure. I’m so thankful for everything my Dad has done and the man he raised me to be.  The work ethic he poured in me, and the sacrifices he made for me growing up.  He worked in construction most of the time when I was young.  So if it was a rainy day I knew he would be home from work and I could expect him picking me up at lunch hour with our dirt bikes in the back of the truck and we were going riding.  Just a lot of fun memories and then to have it flip and experience it and have your children look at you.  Genevieve is at an age now where she gets it.  She knows it’s a special day.  We just went through Mother’s Day and had a total blast watching her get ready for Mom and make her a poster.  She is really big into art and stuff.  So she will make I’m sure a lot of posters or something on Sunday.  I’m just thoroughly enjoying it.”
 
DID YOU EVER SPEAK TO DONOVAN MCNABB AFTER HE MADE THE REMARK THAT YOU WERE NOT AN ATHLETE?
“We talked on the phone shortly after and then he came out to the Auto Club Speedway race earlier this year.”
 
WHAT DID HE SAY?  WAS HE CONVINCED THAT YOU GUYS ARE ATHLETES?
“On the phone he said that he didn’t single me out.  And I said ‘well actually you did’.  You said that I wasn’t an athlete.  He said well okay and kind of got lost in the small talk after that one.  Then when he was at Auto Club (Speedway) he still was very strong in his stance and believes that race car drivers are not athletes.”

Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 Teams Ready for Second Oval Track Race of 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Season
 
(June 4, 2014) – This weekend the Chevrolet IndyCar V6 contingent of teams and drivers head to Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) for the 248-lap/372-mile Firestone 600, the second oval track race of the 2014 season.
 
Six of the first seven races of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season have been contested on either a road or street course.  Team Chevy driver Will Power scored the first victory in 2014, bringing the Chevrolet 2.2 liter twin turbocharged powered No. 12 Verizon Team Penske to Victory Lane at the Streets of St. Petersburg.  His second victory of the year that propelled him to the lead in the point standings was race one of the Chevrolet Dual at Detroit last Saturday.
 
The first oval race was the Indianapolis 500 at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Last year’s Texas Motor Speedway winner, Helio Castroneves, came within just six one-hundredths of a second from claiming his fourth Indy 500 victory.
 
However, Castroneves took the momentum to Detroit and scored a top-five finish in race one in the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit, and a dominating victory in Sunday’s race two of Chevrolet sponsored weekend.  He is second in the standings behind his Team Penske Chevrolet teammate, Power.
 
“Texas Motor Speedway presents some unique challenges for the drivers and engineers given the combined vertical and lateral loading the car and driver must sustain due to the speeds achieved on this banked oval,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager for the Verizon IndyCar Series.  “In the last month, the Verizon IndyCar Series drivers have competed on a new permanent road course, the iconic superspeedway at Indianapolis, a street course double header on Belle Isle and now the high banks of Texas Motor Speedway.  It is evidence of the diversity in talent required to compete in, and is unique to this Series.  Chevrolet and our technical partners are proud to provide the power and support to Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Ed Carpenter Racing and KV Racing Technology.”
 
Five current Team Chevy drivers have TMS victories on their resumes.  Castroneves has hoisted the trophy at TMS four-times (2004, 2006, 2009 & 2013). Will Power wore the Texas-sized cowboy hat in 2011. Ryan Briscoe was the winner in 2010. Scott Dixon went to Victory Lane in 2008 and Tony Kanaan won the Texas race in 2004.  In addition, Sebastien Bourdais won the IROC race at TMS in 2005.

CAMARO Z/28.R AT KANSAS: Looking to Extend GS Podium Streak
Second ‘roval’ race for first-year Chevrolet GS challenger in Continental Tire series
 
·         Kansas Speedway sees quartet of Camaro Z.28/R race cars
·         Bell, Lally coming off third-place podium in Stevenson entry at Lime Rock
·         Chevrolet holds firm to second in GS manufacturer championship
 
DETROIT (June 4, 2014) – The Camaro brand goes for its second straight Kansas Speedway victory as four Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R race cars head to the Midwest for the fifth round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. On the strength of three consecutive podium finishes for the Camaro Z/28.R, Chevrolet stands second in the series’ Grand Sport (GS) manufacturer’s championship.
 
The 2.37-mile, eight turn circuit speedway is the second of two speedway-road courses on the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge schedule. The first race of the season – and the debut of the Camaro Z/28.R – took place in late January at Daytona International Speedway. Since that time, the Camaro platform has greatly benefitted from development and track time.
 
Stevenson Motorsports – which won with the Camaro GS.R last year – scored a victory at Sebring in the Z/28.R’s second race with Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell driving the No. 6 entry. Eric Curran and Lawson Aschenbach in the No. 00 CKS Autosport Camaro came home second at Laguna Seca in the next round. Stevenson’s Andy Lally and Matt Bell were third at Lime Rock Park in a hard-fought battle in the No. 9 Camaro.
 
Lally and Bell moved up to sixth in the GS driver’s standings following Lime Rock. Chevrolet picked up two points on BMW and moved to within five points of the championship lead.
 
The driver pairings from Lime Rock will be the same at Kansas. And although a Camaro won last year’s race, the Z/28.R differs greatly from its predecessor in that it’s much closer to its production counterpart.
 
The 7.0-liter V8 motor matches the road-going Camaro Z/28, as do many of the aerodynamic elements including the splitter, rear spoiler, hood extract vent, rockers and belly pan. Those features provide the closest link between production Camaro and racing version Chevrolet has produced.
 
“Three straight podium finishes and a second-place standing in the GS championship is a great start for the Camaro Z/28.R,” said Lisa Talarico, Chevrolet’s Program Manager for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. “Kansas will be another tough fight due to a number of factors, the additional weight we carry being one. That does not change our goals, however. Our aim is to have multiple Camaro Z/28 cars on the podium at the end of the race and gain more ground in the championship.”