Helio Castroneves Continues to Lead IZOD IndyCar Series Points; Team Chevy Drivers Claim Five of Top-10 Finishing Positions at Mid-Ohio
 
LEXINGTON, Ohio (August 4, 2013) – Helio Castroneves, No. 3 PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Chevrolet, extended his points lead to 31 points in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship battle with a sixth-place finish in today’s 90-lap/203.222-mile race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
 
It was the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner’s 10th consecutive top-10 finish and 13th of the 14 races run to-date this season including a win at Texas Motor Speedway.
 
A total of five Chevrolet IndyCar V6 drivers captured top-10 finishes in today’s race.  Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, finished fourth; defending Series’ champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 1 DHL Andretti Autosport Chevrolet, finished fifth to remain third in the standings and gain a few points on the leader; Marco Andretti, No. 25 RC Cola Andretti Autosport Chevrolet finished ninth and James Hinchcliffe, No. 27 GoDaddy Andretti Autosport Chevrolet finished 10th in the final order.
 
Andretti sits fourth in the standings and Hinchcliffe is seventh in points.
 
The race was won by Charlie Kimball.  Simon Pagenaud and Dario Franchitti completed the podium finishers.
 
Next on the schedule is the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma August 22-25, 2013. The race is scheduled to start Sunday, August 25,2013 at 4:00 p.m. ET with live television coverage on NBC Sports Network. Live radio coverage will be on XM Radio Channel 94 and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 212. In addition, IndyCar live timing and scoring with the radio broadcast can be found at

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOBOWLING.COM 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 4, 2013
 
KASEY KAHNE SCORES SECOND WIN OF SEASON IN AGGRESSIVE FASHION AT POCONO
CHEVROLET SWEEPS TOP-FIVE FINISHING POSITIONS
 
 
LONG POND, Pa. – August 4, 2013 – Kasey Kahne saw a seven-second lead in his No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS erased by a late caution, but rallied back on the final restart of the GoBowling.com NASCAR Sprint Cup race to make an impressive pass on the outside in turn two for the win, with two laps remaining.  It was a bittersweet win for Kahne in that he had to take it from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS, on his birthday.  With their 1-2 finish today, both drivers moved up one position in the point standings, to eighth and ninth respectively.
 
Kurt Busch was also hunting for a win in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevy SS on a birthday that he shares with Gordon, but brought home a third-place finish.  Busch stays very much alive in the hunt for the Chase with his 13th position in the point standings with five races until the cut-off.
 
Last week’s winner Ryan Newman, No. 39 Haas Automation 30th Anniversary Chevrolet SS, was in the thick of things for much of the race and brought home his second straight top five with a fourth place finish at Pocono Raceway. With the finish, he moves to within nine markers of the final Chase “Wild Card” position.
 
Another Hendrick Motorsports driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., rounded out the top-five in his No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet SS to give Team Chevy their first top five sweep of the 2013 season.
 
After starting on the pole, and leading 43 laps, Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Plane Chevy SS cut a right-front tire at the mid-way point, but consistent repairs by the pit crew enabled him to rally back for an impressive 13th place finish.  Johnson remains the series point leader with a 77 point advantage over second.
 
The next stop on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour will be Sunday, August 11 on the in road course in Watkins Glen, NY.
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – RACE WINNER
 
KENNY FRANCIS, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – RACE WINNING CREW CHIEF
 
THE MODERATOR:  Let’s hear from our race winner for today’s 40th Annual GoBowling.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race here at Pocono Raceway, and our race winner is Kasey Kahne.  He drove the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.  It’s Kasey’s 16th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win, his second victory in 2013, and his second win at Pocono.  Kasey now is 8th in points in the current championship point standings; however, he’s got two all‑important victories now heading into as we go five races to go before we set the Chase field.
 
Congratulations, Kasey, certainly an outstanding race down the stretch with you and your teammate Jeff Gordon.  Maybe just talk about that final part of that race there, that last restart.  Let’s go back to the restart before that.  You had the lead, caution came out, Gordon took the lead. Maybe just kind of go back over that for us, because that was some really good racing.
KASEY KAHNE:  Yeah, I just felt like we had our Farmers Insurance Chevy was the best car.  Kenny called a great race with strategy and kept me in the front the whole time once we got there.  We started 18th, so we had a little ways to go, but we were gaining on the leaders from the time the race went green off of everything I could see with markers and things.
 
But, yeah, when the caution came out, we had a pretty big lead.  I knew Jeff was going to be tough.  I felt like he was beating me on restarts a little bit.  I always struggle on them.  I need to work on that and just keep getting better with my starts, but he got a great start.
 
He was on my left rear off of turn one, and was able to kind of side draft me down the backstretch and just stayed under me.  He finally got by off turn three.  So at that point, I just tried to stay with him.  We had five laps, so I thought I may get another opportunity to get by, but it was tough.  It seemed like with him in clean air; it was going to take more than five laps.  It was going to take more like ten laps.
 
Then the caution came out, and on that caution, I just knew it was two laps to go, it’s whoever gets the lead, whoever gets clear is going to win the race.
 
I had some help from Kurt Busch, pushed me down the front stretch, and I just drove into one as far as I felt I could, and I got some speed and momentum down the back and beat Jeff to turn two.  That was kind of the race at that point.  Once I cleared him getting into two, from there it was just don’t make a mistake and try to run the quick lap on that last one.
 
THE MODERATOR:  Kenny Francis, congratulations on the win here today.  You and Kasey Kahne certainly have teamed up over the years to turn in a lot of wins.  But this has to be one of the more, I would think, gratifying wins that you all have put together.
 
KENNY FRANCIS:  Yeah, they’re definitely all important, but this one was pretty special looking at all the crazy stuff that’s happened to us over the summer and the past eight to ten weeks.  We’ve had a lot of good race cars and didn’t have much to show for it.  So to come here and dominate the race and get the win in the end, that was pretty cool.
 
So that was a really cool pass he made on that last restart.  We were all about to jump off the box when he did that.  So, you know, it was kind of nerve‑racking.  You’re sitting there racing your teammate, and you want them to have a good finish too.  But at the end of the day, we’re out for ourselves.  I’m just thankful that we were able to get the win.
 
Q.  When you saw the extra caution come out, what was going through your mind?  First of all, you got three guys behind you who are desperate for wins.  You know, Junior just, he’s good in the point standings, but he still would like to win desperately.  Then Jeff and Kurt that really need a victory to solidify their chase aspirations.  I mean, what was going through your mind?
 
KASEY KAHNE:  I just knew that it would probably be three‑wide going into turn one and down that front stretch everybody gets such a good run.  The draft comes into play as you come up through the gears.  So it was just crucial getting into one and getting to the backstretch.  I was able to drive in.  My braking and the way the car was set up, I could drive into one and into two really hard all day long.  So I felt like if I got there and I was close to anyone, I could drive in as far or further than them, and that’s what we were able to do.
 
I knew I had my hands full because those guys want to win just as bad as we do.  I needed one bad.  I felt like our team did.  We’ve been, like Kenny said, we’ve been really fast this whole season, especially through the summer months.  Just things have happened and we don’t have much to show for, but today we finished it off and put a full race together.
 
Q.  Kasey and Kenny, talking about some of those issues this race in June, you didn’t even get to finish the first lap before you had to pull into the garage, and now this one you were in victory lane.  If I remember correctly in that race, you felt once you got the situation fixed, you were running really strong.  So what does it feel like to capitalize on what you may have had in June?
 
KASEY KAHNE:  Yeah, this was the same car.  So Friday we started practice similar to that and felt really close to how
I felt in June.  The track didn’t change much and the tire didn’t change.  So it was not having practice yesterday didn’t bother me at all because I knew that we had put 40, 45 minutes in on Friday and we’re in a good spot.
 
Just preparation, the guys did a great job,  Kenny and the whole team, bringing back the same car.  It was fast the first time we were here, and we were able to show how fast it was today.
 
KENNY FRANCIS:  Yeah, that first race, we had that U‑joint problem and went behind the wall, and it took us about 50 laps to figure it out and get it sorted back out.  But we went out and ran that whole rest of that race and started off kind of easing around there and realized how fast the car was.  It was after the race, it was amazing how many other crew chiefs and crew members and stuff came up to us over the next few weeks.  We were like, wow, I can’t believe how fast your car was.  So it was cool to bring that same car back and actually win the race.  It doesn’t always happen that you come back the next time to Pocono and the set‑up works.  Usually you’re scrambling again.
 
Just fortunate that we hit on such a good set‑up on the first event that transferred over.
 
Q.  Little bit more about the emotions of coming back to Pocono, as I heard in your post-race television interview, you mentioned Jason Leffler and another friend who had been in the hospital, and Eldora had happened a couple of weeks ago, and you only had one break.  Was it a little emotional coming back?  You recalled leaving and hanging out with Jason?  Just you’re a family it seems in the NASCAR community.  Your job goes on and on, so was there some kind of poignant memory coming back here since June?
 
KASEY KAHNE:  I think there definitely is.  I think this summer has been tough on some racers.  A lot of things have happened with people I know and different guys involved in racing.  Jason, I thought about it on my way up here on Friday, I was like, man, the last time I was here he flew with me here and flew back with me.  Just me and him.  We spent a bunch of time together and then that happened that Wednesday.  So it was tough.
 
There are so many people that are good friends with Jason and knew him really well, so I just wanted to mention something about him. Then Gary Zeronian is a guy that when I moved to Indianapolis in ’99, I met Gary, and we became really good friends and I drove his Silver Crown car on and off for a few different years, probably like three or four years.  We won some races together.
 
He’s just a great guy.  He was at Indy with us.  We had lunch and spent Sunday together.  He was at the car before we took off for the race, and then after the race he had a heart attack walking to his car.  So he’s been in Methodist all week, but he’s recovering.
 
I think it’s just been a tough summer, and I wanted to mention some of that because a lot of my friends feel the same way about those two guys.  So I just said something when I was in that interview.
 
Q.  Kasey, on the second to last restart, you chose the outside and Jeff Gordon passes you.  On the last restart he chooses the inside.  Did you have any regrets that you should have chosen the inside on the second to last restart and when he chose the inside did you think this is my second chance and it’s going to come to me?
KASEY KAHNE:  I thought Jeff would probably choose the inside because I knew he was good down there throughout the whole race.  I had the restart on the inside early in the race and stuck with Keselowski until I cleared him.
 
So I felt good about being down there, but to me it was more about getting momentum off turn one.  When Jeff gave me the outside, I was pretty happy about that because I thought that that may have given me a chance and an opportunity to get back by him.  It’s tough though.
 
You go down the front stretch, everybody’s pushing and the air is working differently, the transmissions and gear ratios are a little different, so everybody has a different run.  Then once you get to turn one, if you miss your mark a little bit, you don’t pick up the throttle, he hits it right. That’s what he did to me on the start before.  He just got off turn one a little bit better than I did and was able to get the lead.
 
So it’s all so close.  The competition and I think my car and Jeff’s on those restarts were really similar.  I don’t know.  It could have gone either way, and I’m just glad I didn’t give that one away, because I knew we had the best car.  If I didn’t win the race today, I would have felt pretty bad about giving it away.
 
Q.  Is it getting tougher on restarts to know which lane to choose?
 
KASEY KAHNE:  Yeah, because I ‑‑ I mean, I don’t know.  I think everybody’s car you kind of have the spot that you want to be and you’re looking for.  Jeff was tight so he wanted to be on the white line and try to hook his tire on it, he was telling me after the race.  But you’re thinking about going down the straightaway, some tracks you have more grip on the inside or outside on the initial start, and other tracks once you get to the corner, you have more grip on the inside or outside.  So just how do you play that?
 
A lot of times the leader is just in control and can make that work.  But with these long straightaways, it seems that this place is a little more difficult as a leader.  I think everybody’s just a little bit closer together on these starts, so it could go either way.
 
Q.  It doesn’t matter and we’ll never know, would you have caught Jeff without the last caution or ‑‑ you were making up ground, but was it enough time that you even worry about that now?
 
KASEY KAHNE:  I don’t know.  I felt like that first lap I was right with him, and the second lap I was on him and got loose in the middle of three, and he pulled me down the front stretch and I was reeling him back in.  I think we had two to go or three to go.  So we would have definitely had a shot.
 
We had speed.  I could move around.  But to actually clear him and make the pass, I think it would have been really difficult.  So I’m glad that second caution came out there and gave us another shot.
 
Q.  Those restarts, obviously there are always a lot of hair‑raising moments in the cars.  Can you get a sense of what kind of hold‑your‑breath moments those restarts were or any more so than what you guys go through a lot of race weekends at the end of the race?  Can you also talk about just how Kurt Busch pushing you, how that helped and how that was such a factor for you on that last restart?
 
KASEY KAHNE:  Yeah, I think the hair‑raising spots are when somebody’s pushing you and they can hook you a little bit.  I think it happened with Newman and with Dale.  Both times it got me kind of whipping right before I got to turn one, so that will get your attention.  Then just trying to drive into turn one as far as you can and downshift to third and still make the corner and not enter too hard and push your tires, but go as hard as you possibly can.
 
So those are the spots that, to me, are interesting.  I think the further you get back in the pack where the air is ‑‑ more guys have runs and things like that, they’ll get three and four wide, that is a tougher spot.  When you’re coming off the front row it seems you can enter the corner about two wide, which isn’t too bad.
 
But, yeah, Kurt pushing me was key.  I don’t know if he had a lot of places to go when he first got to me, because we weren’t to the line, so he had to push me.  At that point we got through the gears fine and we just kind of h
ooked together like we were at Daytona and started making ground, and we were catching those guys all the way to turn one and then drove up beside Jeff once I got there.
 
Q.  Kenny, I heard you tell Kasey near the end that he had a different second gear than what Jeff had.  Can you talk about the decision to choose the certain gear?  Also, is that something that is common in all organizations?  Is that something that each team gets to choose or would other organizations say everybody’s running the same gear?
 
KENNY FRANCIS:  I think it’s pretty common that different drivers and different driving styles use different ratios.  Everywhere I’ve been, it’s been multi‑car teams.  But here in particular, NASCAR changed the rule for second gear for this particular race, so I think there were a number of different people trying philosophies.  So that is the advantage of having your teammate and you know what he’s got.
 He knew that already.  I just wanted to make sure he remembered.
 
KASEY KAHNE:  Jeff knew we had it too because he slowed down on that restart, so that would benefit him with the ratios.  I noticed that.  I knew he was going to.  But, yeah, Jeff knew what was going on.
 
KENNY FRANCIS:  Yeah.
 
Q.  He said that he did, yeah.
 
KASEY KAHNE:  Did he?  Yeah.
 
KENNY FRANCIS:  No one really knew what to do.  With the lack of practice, we didn’t really get a chance to do any restart simulations, which we were planning on doing.  Here, it’s not like another ‑‑ here you’re allowed to change ratios through the weekend, so we had some opportunity to play with it if we’d had practice.
 
So I think there was just some uncertainty with the rule change and wondering what the right answer was.  I think we picked the wrong answer, but luckily we got away with it.
 
Q.  You got that all‑important second win today as far as towards the Chase.  You talked about you haven’t had anything to show for it the last couple of weeks.  You probably thought you were a championship contender all along, but does this win kind of signal to maybe some of the other people that, hey, don’t forget about us, we can make some noise if we make the Chase?
 
KASEY KAHNE:  Yeah, I feel like it does.  It gives myself confidence and gives the whole team confidence, Kenny, and the pit crew guys and everybody that’s part of it.  It closes the gap.  If we finish in the top 10 and get into the Chase, it will be closer to Matt and Jimmie who already have four wins.  So I think wins are key for sure.
 
Then just for our points, I mean, the Chase is what it’s all about in NASCAR.  I mean, you need to make it for the sponsors, for the teams. We’ve been right there on the edge with kind of the way our summer went.  So it was nice to get two wins.  It gives us much more hope going in. We’ll just start a lot closer.
 
KENNY FRANCIS:  I think also it gives you a little more flexibility to be able to take more risks in the upcoming races.  You’ve already got your two wins.  There is a good chance you’re going to make the Chase either way, so now you can maybe take a little more risk.  Where if this doesn’t work out, it could hurt bad.  Now you’ve got something to fall back on now.
 
There was a call today we had to make that was a little risky that I thought, well, we’ll just have to do it and see.  It was one of those two‑tire stops and we couldn’t quite get as much gas in it as we wanted, or if we did, it was going to take more time.  So definitely having another win gives you some more opportunity to play a little different strategy or take a chance or maybe take a chance on your set‑up before the race or something like that in the upcoming races.
 
Q. (Indiscernible)?
 
KENNY FRANCIS:  It was one of the yellow flag stops where we took two tires.  It was, I don’t remember, two‑thirds of the way through the race or something.
 
Q.  I think we covered this when you won in 2008 here, but I think you spent some time on some of the smaller tracks around here a few years ago when you were just coming up.  Can you talk about coming back here and what it means to you to win here?  Can you also talk about the unpredictability of the races here?  We had a very different race here in June; can you explain why these races are so crazy in varying differences?
 
KASEY KAHNE:  Yeah, I felt like the track was really similar today to what it was in June.  Not a lot of change in the racetrack and the tire and the combination of the cars and things.  So the race may have played out a little different today, but I felt pretty similar to how I did in June.
 
Yeah, I raced a lot in Pennsylvania.  Raced Sprint Cars and midgets and things around here.  I lived in Tower City for like a month and a half one year, which was hard on me.  That was a long time in Tower City.  But I had a good roommate, Rick Hawk.  I lived with him and his family, so we had a lot going on.
 
But it was cool.  Pennsylvania racing is tough.  All the Sprint car racing is really hard, really difficult.  The guys are on top of their game all the time, so it’s a good spot for myself when I was in Sprint cars to race and learn.  I felt like I made a lot of gains when I was racing around here.
 
Q.  The Hendrick cars the last two weeks in particular have been really, really strong or cars with Hendrick engines too.  Is it more difficult or easier to close a gap or gain an advantage when you’re trying to do it against your teammate versus another organization?
KENNY FRANCIS:  I think it’s more difficult.  Those guys are hard to race.  It’s hard to beat Jimmie and Jeff and Dale and the Stewart‑Haas cars are strong.  They’ve been getting stronger every week for the past couple months.  I don’t know.  What do you think?
 
KASEY KAHNE:  I think it’s more difficult.  You know you have very similar cars and engines and all of that, so you know you can run those lap times and things if one of the other guys is beating you.  But at the same time, when someone hits on something and it’s working for them, it’s tough.  Jimmie and Chad do the best job of that each year.
 
I have a great team with Kenny and Keith and all the guys behind us.  I feel like we can run with them if we do everything right.  So we’re just doing the best job we can and trying to get to that point and have some confidence here when we enter the Chase.
 
THE MODERATOR:  Kasey and Kenny, congratulations on certainly a big win here today at Pocono, and we’ll see you at Watkins Glen.
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED SECOND
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING/DENVER MATTRESS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED THIRD
 
THE MODERATOR:  We’re going to roll into our post-race for today’s 40th Annual GoBowling.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race here at Pocono Raceway.  Our race runner‑up is Jeff Gordon.
 
JEFF GORDON:  Could you have fixed that last caution for me?
 
THE MODERATOR:  I tell you, Jeff, yeah.  The race runner‑up is Jeff Gordon.  He drove the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, and certainly, Jeff, as you alluded to here right now, you had that race in your grasp there.  That last caution came out, and certainly it was tough to overcome the 5 car.  He had a great run on you there.
 
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah, he was superfast all day.  I mean, those guys they deserved and earned that win today.  We had them though. We certainly had the position.  We got a good restart.  I’m pretty
disappointed that I allowed them to get to the outside of me down in one.  That is the advantage you have of being second.  Just like the restart before that, I had a little bit of an advantage by being in second to get position on him.  And I thought that last one that I did everything I needed to do, and I looked in my mirror and I really thought that the inside lane got a good run on Kasey, so I thought all I needed to do was get in here and get the bottom and I’d be good.  But, man, he got a killer run and blasted on the outside of me.  Caught me by surprise, I’ll be honest.  In that case, and in that scenario, it just kills your momentum.
 
So I feel fortunate to finish second.  I feel like we had a great day all in all, and I’m very proud of that.  It’s something we can build a lot of momentum on.  Yeah, I’m frustrated right now because we had a shot at it.  We know how important wins are, but second is a great points day for us as well.
 
THE MODERATOR:  Ninth in points right now, Jeff.  We’ll take questions for Jeff Gordon.
 
Q.  You alluded to this, but as we saw in the truck race yesterday and to a large extent today, being the leader on the restart didn’t seem to be an advantage.  Could you just comment on that a little bit?
 
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah, the bigger the rear spoilers get on the vehicles, cars, trucks, the bigger hole you’re punching in the air and easier it is for guys to get runs either behind you or stall you on that side.  But that wasn’t necessarily the case today for me in that last restart.
 
I got a good restart.  I think I caught them off guard.  I took off a little early, maybe.  It was questionable.  Yet, I got up in front of him and did what I felt like I needed to do, but, obviously, that wasn’t the case.
 
Yeah, once he got to the outside of me, then that same scenario and aerodynamics really stalled the car out and put me in a bad position going into the tunnel turn.  I really just kind of had to give it up at that point.
 
The caution before that, I was able to get the run and be the car that was in a better position.  You know, he did a great job.  I mean, that’s all you can say.
 
Kurt Busch, come on up here and have some fun with me.  Come on.
 
THE MODERATOR:  Kurt Busch, the birthday boy.
 
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah, absolutely, let’s celebrate.
 
Q.  Kind of following up on what he was asking, Kasey chose the outside on the restart prior to that, and I think most guys were choosing the outside all day long.  Was that not a consideration for you because you had taken the lead by being on the inside and choosing the outside wasn’t even a given?
 
JEFF GORDON:  I was terrible on the outside all day.  The outside is good if you have the run on the exit, but I was having so much trouble getting in the corner on the outside that I was more afraid of losing it that way.  My goal was to get a good restart and have the lane to myself, which I did.
 
Now, looking back on it, I probably would have rather put him on the inside.  If I had known I was going to get that good of a restart, I think I would have rather put him on the inside and then I don’t think he could have gotten to the outside of me.
 
It doesn’t matter.  You’ll go through that a million ‑‑ I’ll go through that a million times.  Listen, I’ve given away a lot more races than I’ve won.  So whether it’s restarts ‑‑ I mean, I’ve missed shifts here before.  So I’m happy that we were in position.  I’m bummed that it worked out the way it did.  I’ll try to do it better the next time, and hopefully it works out.
 
THE MODERATOR:  Let’s now hear from our third place finisher in today’s race and that’s Kurt Busch.  He drove the No. 78 Furniture Row Denver Mattress Chevrolet to a fine showing here today.
 
Kurt, congratulations on a good performance.  Kurt’s 13th place, but he’s only 11 points out of that top 10 position, so it gets very interesting now with five to go before we set the Chase field.  Kurt, congratulations.
 
KURT BUSCH:  Thanks, Kerry.  It was definitely a run that we were able to close the chapter, so to speak, on having a little problems here or little problems there.  What I mean by that is we executed really well today with pit strategy, the pit stops, two tires, four tires, and to be in position at the end.
 
We even, when the 48 had their trouble and hit the fence and threw debris out on the track, we were even able to get into the pits before they closed them and get some tires on the car.  So that’s just Todd Berrier, a head’s up call.
 
The way we made changes to the car, it just seems like the team is flowing really well, and I’m excited for this portion of the season, because we now getting to back to all these tracks a second time, and we have fresh notes of working together on this Furniture Row Chevy team.
 
What I’m happy about is this group of guys, we’re small, but we can shoot from the hip a lot and make up a lot of ground by being aggressive with going back to a track a second time knowing exactly what we did wrong the first time around.
 
So even though we didn’t win, I feel good about this third place finish.  Even though we didn’t gain points, this was a championship‑effort‑type day.
 
Q.  Kasey was told something on his radio before that next to last restart, that him and you had different second gears.  Is there or what is the reason for that?
 
JEFF GORDON:  Because I wanted the one that I had and he wanted the one that he had.  I mean, NASCAR has given us the flexibility to play around with second and third gear.  We shift here and that’s probably why.  So we felt like we were getting beat on the restarts the last time we were here, so, as a company, we adjusted that and they went a little further than we did.  I think it helped me.
 
But when you get that good start, you’ve got to make the most of it, and that’s where I feel like I let the ball drop there.  But, yeah, we did have a little bit different, and we knew that going in.  He was having pretty decent restarts all day long.  They were very minor.  I mean, we’re talking little tiny bits of difference.
 
Q.  How critical was that last pit stop, and you did fight back from that, but did that play out in the end result or whatever?
 
KURT BUSCH:  Yeah, I felt like our last pit stop wasn’t ‑‑ it wasn’t great, and maybe it was a little less than average, so it put us behind the 24 and the 39.  I was trying to hustle as much as I could on those fresh tires to get in front of those guys, and it didn’t materialize.  So when you’re pushing hard early and then you get stuck behind guys, it just adds to some of the ill‑handling of the car.
 
So, yeah, I mean, this is a game where you have to be perfect, and getting on and off pit road is my duty and the time that we spend in the box is the pit crew’s, and we win as a team and we finish third as a team.
 
Q.  Jeff and Kurt, for you guys, we talked on Friday about the inconsistency of all the guys that are in this fight to get into the Chase.  At this point, it’s not a win, but just putting together a couple of good finishes in a row and doing that for a few weeks, do you think that’s going to be enough to make up the difference, because everybody can’t seem to get it together for more than a couple weeks in a row?
 
JEFF GORDON:  Well, for us, I feel like we’ve pulled together some decent finishes but it hasn’t been pretty.  Today was an impressive run for us internally.  Just well‑executed, like Kurt was saying, good stops.  Everything just kind of went ou
r way.
 
It’s too competitive.  The cars are too tight in how they’re built, how they perform, and everybody’s too good on pit road, and the drivers and the crew chiefs.  So you’ve got to execute well.
 
I feel like we’ve been fortunate to get some of the top 10s that we’ve gotten here recently, and today I felt like we finally actually went out and earned that one.
 
KURT BUSCH:  To follow up, I feel like we’ve been fast every week when we unload and practice, and we qualify well and we start the race decent.  We’re just not closing the door.  Today was one of those finishes where we closed the door, and it just gets me so excited to know that an area that we’re weak in, we need to polish up on it and fix it.  The only way we’re going to make the Chase is to fix that weak area.
 
The way that you run consistent, even though Jeff finished second today and Biffle finished top 10, Truex, I think, was struggling today and came back and finished 15th.  This is a competitive group.  The top seven guys, I would say, are locked in.  Kahne probably moved himself into a pretty good spot with two wins now, but there is still a lot of see‑saw going on with guys.  Like Biffle with one win, Stewart with a win, Truex with one win, and me and Jeff are winless, but here we are finishing second and third, so it’s tight.
 
Q.  First of all, you’re top 5 this race is all Chevrolet.  So want to talk about your confidence in that manufacturer, and also with Watkins Glen coming up, you talk about a lot of these tracks you’ve come back to for a second race.  But Watkins Glen is a one‑off. It’s the second road course, but just this one race coming up, you’re both excellent road course racers.  Obviously, Jeff you have several wins, Kurt, not at the Glen, but you have a win and you’re a strong road course racer.  How much effort are you putting into that race?  I know they’re all important, but the notebook is looking for those second visits to the other tracks, but talk to me about Watkins Glen?
 
JEFF GORDON:  You approach Watkins Glen like every track.  It’s a track that you have to go perform well at.  I think the competition has gotten so much stronger at the road courses than it used to be.  Where I used to go to the road courses feeling confident that we were going to gain points and have a shot at winning, these days, I’ve got to fight hard to get a top 10.
 
But I feel good about our road course program this year.  We finished good at Sonoma.  Felt like we learned a lot at the end of the second half of the race at Watkins Glen last year.  We kind of more did a test more for Watkins Glen than we did for Sonoma prior to Sonoma, so I’m hoping that pays off.
 
But I’m looking forward to the Glen.  This stretch of races that are coming up, I think it’s one of the reasons we made the Chase last year. They’re just good tracks for us, and if we can start to put the execution together with the performance, I feel like we have a shot at staying in the top 10.  You always want those wins, as Kurt was alluding to because you don’t want to see yourself just squeak outside the top 10 and then not have the win.
 
We’re going to be on ‑‑ the closer we get to Richmond, the more aggressive we get.  But I also think consistent top 5s would do it.  I think that would get us in.  But that’s a lot to ask for.  But I think the Glen is a race we can perform well at.
 
KURT BUSCH:  For us, we actually went and used one of our NASCAR tests at Watkins Glen, and I’m glad we did.  I feel like there are track that’s I’m good on, and I feel like there are tracks that I struggle on.  When we went there, we opened up Pandora’s Box with some braking issues, brakes, so we were able to master that by the end, and I feel very confident now heading back there not to just have speed in qualifying but to have speed throughout the race.  It’s an important race.  Sonoma is on the calendar in June, and the middle of August is much more important.
 
Q.  Kurt, I saw you guys looking at the replay.  Can you talk about the last restart, because it seemed maybe Kasey got a little bit of a slower start and Jeff got a really good one, and maybe you kind of gave Kasey a little bit of a push there?
 
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah, man, what’s up?
 
KURT BUSCH:  Yeah, I was waiting to get out of here before Jeff saw that.
 
The way it all turned out is Jeff just caught Kahne sleeping.  I’ve seen Kahne struggle a little bit on some restarts, and when he did, he slipped the tires at least twice.  Then when he shifted to third gear, it was all wrong again, and I hesitated.  My front bumper hit his rear bumper, and the only option I had at that point was to push.
 
I could have went four wide or five wide.  I mean, the 88 got to my inside, and at that moment I was just hoping for the best.  Who knew Kahne was going to squeak out and get alongside the 24 and beat him down into turn two.  So the only option I had was to push him at that point, and it’s just the way that things fall.
 
It wasn’t premeditated.  It wasn’t planned.  Gordon went from winning to finishing second, and Kahne went from finishing second up to winning.  My car might have had something to do with the draft on the outside lane.
 
Q.  Kurt, you’re up to 13th, 11 points out of 10th.  If you top 5 the rest of the way or top 10 the rest of the way do you feel like you’ll make the Chase?
 
KURT BUSCH:  We just need to have nice, smooth races and execute just like today.  What’s amazing is we finished 14th last week and gained one point.  We finish third this week and gained two points, so it’s so tight.
 
When you’re running against Jeff Gordon, a four‑time champion, Keselowski, a champion from last year is in this mix, Biffle is strong, Truex won earlier at Sonoma, this group of guys are all Chase material.  For us, we’re just putting the blinders on and worried about the 78, and I’m just excited to go back to these tracks a second time and execute with the mistakes we made the first time around.
 
Q.  Chevrolets sweep the top 5 today; I think Chevy has had six of the top seven at Indy.  These are tracks that are usually indicative of how you guys run it at the big speedways.  Is the difference that pronounced?  Does Chevrolet have that much of an edge at this point in terms of horsepower and everything?
 
JEFF GORDON:  I’ve never driven a Ford or Toyota, so I don’t know.
 
KURT BUSCH:  Let me answer that.  I’ve driven them all.
 
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah, go for it.
 
KURT BUSCH:  No, go ahead.
 
JEFF GORDON:  Not driving those, I don’t know.  I know we’re making great power at Hendrick.  I’m very happy with my horsepower.  I think that our cars are really good right now as well.  Chevy certainly contributes to that in their research and development in how they work with the teams.  I know three of those top 5 were Hendrick cars.
 
I think Jimmie had an issue, I think he would have finished in the top 5 too.  So Hendrick cars last week and this week were pretty strong.
But, honestly, I give Kurt a lot of credit, because those guys ran so well earlier in the year at some of these bigger tracks doing some things that our Spies out there capture, and we had to go to work because we were getting beat by some things that we weren’t trying and doing.  We went to work, and I think we’ve made some gains.
 
Q.  Do you have any thoughts?
 
KURT BUSCH:  When I saw the group of Hendrick cars up front, it’s that sheer torque that they have on corner exit.  I had the chance to drive the Phoenix Raci
ng Chevy, and it might not have had 100% effort, and what I mean by that is they didn’t go to the chassis dine owe a lot, so some of the power might have been lost in the drive train.
 
But to experience the low‑end torque, it shows up here every time you have a corner exit.  In turns 1, 2, and 3, and the Hendrick power just has great power on the low end.
 
I think where I am with the ECR Engine and Childress’ group, they have great top end, and that shows when we unload, and the track is fast, and we keep the RPMs up.  That is just a little difference, and that is just a little difference in Chevys versus the Fords.
 
The Toyotas the first time here were detuned a little bit, so we were able to take advantage of that the first time.  But overall the Hendrick guys last week, there were four of the top 5.  It’s a combination that when they start rolling, it’s a tough steamroller to slow down.
 
Q.  Jeff, when you took the lead from Kasey coming off the restart, that was great racing.  How hard is it, how fun is it to go two‑wide all the way around this track?
 
JEFF GORDON:  It’s not something I recommend, but it was necessary at the time.  To be honest, I got a good restart on him on the inside, and I was able to pull in there and get even with him into one.  I tried to roll around the bottom to get a good shot off and he slipped.  I was pretty surprised I was able to actually get to his left rear and by catching him where I did, sort of like he did with me, it just stalled him out, and I had a good run going into the tunnel.
 
I was pretty aggressive through there to hold the position.  Because I thought if I could get underneath him or stay underneath him going into three, it seemed like the inside was the preferred line.  The outside was pretty slick and that was the case.  He kind of had to give it up to me when we got to three.
 
I was driving as hard as I knew how to drive once I got in front of him and when I was up beside him.  But at the same time, he’s your teammate.  He’s a good friend of mine, and the last thing I wanted to do was wreck either one of us as well.  But he was fighting hard, I was fighting hard, and it was fun.
 
When it all ends up like that and you’re the leader, it’s a lot of fun.  I didn’t want to see that last caution that’s for sure.  He was better than me.  He was going to catch me, whether he could have passed me, I’m not sure.
 
THE MODERATOR:  Okay, Jeff, Kurt, congratulations on a strong performance today, and we’ll see you at Watkins Glen.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOBOWLING.COM 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 4, 2013

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – WINNER
TALK ABOUT THOSE LAST RESTARTS:
“I ‘bout gave it away when Jeff (Gordon) got by me. And then I spun the tires a little bit and he got a great jump and Kurt (Busch) pushed me all the to Turn 1, which really helped; and then I had one opportunity. It was either to go for it and make it work, or not. And as good as our car was, our Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, all day long, I thought we could make that work on the outside. I just needed to clear him. And when we got to Turn 2, I was able to do that. It was a great race. We had a really fast car. Kenny (Francis, crew chief) called an awesome race and the whole pit crew did a perfect job. We needed this one to get in the Chase. We really did. It feels really good. We have a strong team and they’re doing a great job.”
 
TALK ABOUT THE LAST RESTART AND GETTING AROUND JEFF GORDON:
“Well Jeff (Gordon) was getting great restarts and he was fast once we got going.  I was in a tough spot once I got behind and I felt like I needed at least five laps to get back by him.  We had a better car.  The Farmers Insurance Chevrolet was better once we were out there.  Passing was…you had to work for it a little bit and work hard at it.  That final one he beat me to turn one.  Kurt Busch gave me a great push all the way down the front stretch which helped a ton.  Once we got there I just had one shot.  It was either make it stick on the outside or go home in second.”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED SECOND
NOT THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT YOU WANTED. WHAT A RUN FROM 22ND TO 2ND. TAKE US THROUGH THE FINAL RESTART AND THE BATTLE WITH KASEY KAHNE:
“It’s funny how our emotions to go up and down in this sport. Before the race, if you told me that I’d finish second, I’d say that was a great birthday gift. But when you’re leading, and take the lead from Kasey (Kahne) the way we did you know, on that restart, I thought we had him. He was better than us but I thought getting out in front I could hold him off. I got a perfect restart that last one and probably jumped him a little bit and I moved up front of him and it looked like I needed to block the inside. I tried to protect the inside and he got out the outside and flat outdrove me through (Turn) 1. I’m disappointed that we didn’t get this win. This team has worked so hard to put ourselves in position. I’m really proud of all the efforts by Drive to End Hunger and what they do for the millions of older Americans who are hungry out there. And this is certainly going to contribute toward that. But I’m a little disappointed, but also excited. It was a good point’s day for us and we needed that.”
 
WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE AT THE END?
“Well first congratulations to Kasey (Kahne) he did an awesome job down there in (turn) one getting to my outside.  We had a great restart the time before that.  I don’t know maybe it was an advantage being second not first because we got inside and we were able to get by him the restart before that.  Just an incredible effort by this Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet team.  These guys were awesome in the pits, great calls by Alan (Gustafson, crew chief), and fast race car.  I’m just having fun up there duking it out for the win.  Kasey was the guy to beat.  We got a good restart, got in front of him and then that last one I got the perfect restart.  I thought I needed to protect the inside and man he drove right by me on the outside.  Hats off to him and a little bummed for the team, but also got to look at the bright side a pretty good birthday and pretty good points day.”
 
HOW MUCH DID THE TRACK CHANGE FROM PRACTICE ON FRIDAY?
“I don’t know.  We made so many changes from Friday to today that I know our car was certainly a lot better today than it was on Friday.  It changed, but it mainly changed throughout the race.  It was a little slick there at the beginning, but I was also in 22nd position.  When you get out front there, boy, it is amazing how much grip it has.  The further we got to the front the better the car drove and hung in there all day.  We’ve had good cars here for a while we just haven’t started good and got that track position today things went our way.”
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING/DENVER MATTRESS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED THIRD
A SOLID DAY, BUT AT THE END YOU SAID YOU FELT LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CAR?
“I was just right there in the mix, you know; on restarts I felt like we gained spots each time. The lap times that we were running before that final pit stop, we weren’t able to maintain those at the end. And so temperatures on the track increased. I don’t think we changed anything on the car, but I’ve just got to thank the guys. This was a phenomenal run today to execute and learn from what we did here in June, to post a Top 3, and to run with the guys that we have to run with to make it in the Chase. I’m just real happy with these guys and Furniture Row and our mattress brands that are with us and Monster Energy. It’s just good to run strong when it’s time. And right now, we’re getting that job done, even though we haven’t crossed the threshold to win. On that last restart, the only option I had was to push (Kasey) Kahne and I felt like we got hooked-up in one of those two-car drafts and got him clear of the NO. 24 (Jeff Gordon). I wanted to go to his high side, but I would have definitely been a fish out of water in the grey area in Turn 1. It would have been pretty big. So, I’m happy for this finish and this team and just the job we’re doing.”
 
DESCRIBE JUST HOW DIFFICULT THIS RACE WAS WITH ALL THE CAUTION FLAGS AND RESTARTS:
“Lots of restarts today, but we had a really strong Furniture Row car.  We ran up front and had great pit stops and put ourselves in position to win.  The final restart (Kasey) Kahne actually got a poor restart and I had no option except just to push him.  It was like we hooked up in one of those two car drafts driving down into turn one.  He cleared the No. 24 and we couldn’t quite maintain and ended up coming home third.  It’s exciting for us because we are in this mix of trying to race our way into the Chase.  You have to do it with top five finishes like this.”
 
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 HAAS AUTOMATION 30TH ANNIVERSARY CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FOURTH
ON HIS RACE:
“It’s a good run not as good as it could have been.  We struggled in the pits today but overall a good effort.  Racing a lot of the guys around us it’s where it’s important to get the victory.  Jeff (Gordon) was really close there and he’s fighting for his Wild Card spot.  We have a win and we are fighting for a top 10 Wild Card spot, but none-the-less it was a good effort.  Just a horrible day in the pits for us.  We have to get that figured out.”
 
A COUPLE OF SLOW PIT STOPS TODAY, BUT YOU RECOVERED WITH A TOP 5 FINISH TODAY. TELL US ABOUT YOUR RUN:
“We had a really fast car. The Haas Automation Chevrolet was really good. We just struggled in the pits like you said and there is no doubt that hurt us. But it was good comeback.”
 
ANOTHER GREAT RUN FOR YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR AFTERNOON:
“Well it was a good run no doubt.  We struggled a lot on pit lane.  The guys did an awesome job too I had a good car. Just those restarts man they are so crazy.  I was telling (Dale Earnhardt) Junior it seems like Martinsville restarts, short track restarts every time.  A good run for us today.  Big for Quicken Loans and their ‘Bring it Home’ sweepstakes.  Go to qlracing.com about that.  Obviously a ‘Bloomin’ Monday’ so Outback on Monday.”&nbsp
; 
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD YOUTH FOUNDATION CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FIFTH
TOP FIVE FINISH, THE VIBRATION ALL WEEKEND LONG HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THAT AND WAS IT STILL A FACTOR HERE TODAY?
“Well we changed every part on the car but the engine.  I think we helped it a little bit today.  We got it to where we could drive it.  I want to thank Steve (Letarte, crew chief) and the crew they did a good job putting a good car on the starting line today that was competitive and had a good strategy to get us up front because we qualified so poorly.  Just didn’t have the edge we needed.  I felt good coming in here thought we might win the race, but come up a little short.  I want to thank National Guard Youth Foundation for everything they do and helping us out this weekend, being a part of this weekend.  I thought it was a good race.  I really love coming here.  The Mattioli’s do a good job; the fans love us coming up here.  I would just like to win here one time.”
 
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE RESTARTS HOW INTENSE THEY ARE?
“Yeah, they are pretty frustrating.  Those debris cautions can be quite unique and really change the complexion of the race.  I think that it definitely makes it more exciting at the end. Sometimes they go for you and sometimes they go against you and you just try to be on the good end.  You’ve got to get pretty aggressive in turn one down there and I’m sure it’s a lot of fun to watch.”
 
A GREAT DAY AND YOUR PIT STOPS WERE SOLID. BUT ON FRIDAY, YOU HAD A SERIOUS VIBRATION. YOU CALLED IT A ‘SHAKE’ ACTUALLY. THEY CHANGED EVERYTHING THAT COULD ROTATE. HOW GOOD WAS THE CAR TODAY AND HOW DID YOU GET IT BETTER DURING THE RACE?
“It was better as far as the vibration goes. The guys worked really hard. We changed everything in the car but the motor. I’ve got to thank the National Guard Youth Foundation for everything that they do and for being a part of this weekend for us. We didn’t have a good car. It was not as good as we needed to be. We changed it a little bit from the last time we were here to try and get it better. I don’t think we did. It was a little bit loose-in all day and a little tighter in the center and just didn’t have the edge that we needed. But I felt pretty good coming in here this weekend; real confident. But the weather set us back and then all that vibration stuff; we never got to work on the car real good on Friday. So we just had to shoot in the dark today. I’ve got to thank my guys. They gave me a good car and did a good job on strategy and great pit stops.”
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED NINTH
ON HIS DAY:
“Good strategy by the crew chief because the driver screwed up today.  I got us the pit road speeding penalty and put us back there.  Steve’s (Addington, crew chief) pretty keen on the pit strategy and what to do to get us back up there.  Got us back the track position I just was a little too tight to stay there.  Definitely didn’t need the last two cautions there.  We were going to run sixth or seventh there.  If it went green we would have stayed there instead we end up with a ninth.  A long day, but glad to have a good day for GoDaddy, Mobil 1, Chevrolet and Bass Pro.  I don’t know how it was with the point’s day, but we had a solid day we’ve just got to keep clicking them off like this.”
 
YOU HAD AN IMPRESSIVE DAY AFTER THAT PIT ROAD SPEEDING PENALTY. YOU LIKE TO TALK TO YOUR CREW CHIEF AFTER THE RACE WHEN THINGS ARE FRESH ON YOUR MIND. WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND NOW?
“Oh, we were just a little bit tight on entry versus where we were in the spring. I’ve got a very short memory, so I’m better off staying an extra couple of minutes and talking to these guys on this GoDaddy Chevy after this race. We just talk about it while it’s fresh on our minds and it gives them something to think about while they’re on the plane ride back and have our debrief tomorrow morning. But I was pretty happy. Steve Addington (crew chief) did a good job and the pit crew did a good job getting us some track position after I made a mistake. So, they definitely carried me today.”
 
YOU ARE KNOCKING OFF THOSE TOP 10’S. THIS IS THE THIRD ONE IN THE LAST FOUR RACES. HOW MUCH ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE AND THE CHASE? OR, DO YOU FEEL SOLID WHERE YOU’RE GOING?
“We’ve been running good. It’s just we still need to be a little bit better. There are cars that are still a little bit better than us right now that we’re trying to get caught-up to. So, I think our focus is more on that than making the Chase. It’s one thing to make the Chase, but it’s another thing that once you get there, you’ve got to have something you can contend with. So, we’re staying focused on just taking it one week at a time and working on our program and Bass Pro and Mobil 1 and we’ve got GoDaddy this weekend on our car. Everybody is working hard; all of our partners are excited, especially after Ryan’s (Newman) win at the Brickyard last weekend. We’re proud of him for that and we’ve just got to keep plugging away. Everybody at SHR is doing an awesome job and Hendrick engines and chassis have done a great job too. So everybody is working hard and doing a good job and we’ve just got to keep clicking them off and just keep getting a little bit better each week.”
 
IS THE TEAM NOW THAT WE ARE HITTING AUGUST WHERE YOU WANT IT TO BE HEADING TOWARDS THIS CHASE PUSH?
“Well it’s hard to say.  We tested here.  This is one of the places we used to test and we ran good in the first race here this year.  I think we are still reaping the benefits of that test.  Definitely Indy last week we both ran well and this week.  It gives you some confidence for sure going into the next couple of races.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PLANES CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 13TH
NOT THE DAY YOU WANTED BUT NOT BAD CONSIDERING WHERE YOU WERE 20 LAPS AGO:
“Yeah, my day kept needing to be calibrated as the day went on at first.  I really felt like we had a shot to win, unfortunately blew a tire off of turn one and ended those hopes there.  We worked on the car and got it better.  Then I hit the wall so hard that it knocked a spark plug wire off the spark plug.  They were able to find the right plug and get everything hooked back up and the engine took off.  Off we went and salvaged a very nice finish.”
 
TALK ABOUT THE TEAM IN GENERAL BECAUSE WHEN YOU WERE OUT THE OTHER GUYS WERE ALL UP FRONT:
“From a Hendrick (Motorsports) stand point I was kind of focused on our issues trying to get stuff worked out, but I knew on the last restart my three teammates were sitting there one-two-three and I’m not sure how they finished, but I know it was a one-two.  Really proud of Hendrick Motorsports and what they continue to give us week in and week out.”
 
GOOD YEAR SAYS YOU LOST AIR THROUGH A BEAD.  HAVE YOU EVER HAD THAT HAPPEN BEFORE?
“I know I lost air.  There is no doubt about that (laughs).  I don’t know why.  I wouldn’t think brakes, brake temps sometimes the bead issue is relative to brake temp when you melt a bead.  I don’t know I haven’t really heard much.”
 
AS GOOD AS YOU WERE EARLY IN THIS RACE YOU TALKED FRIDAY ABOUT NOT WANTING TO LEAVE ONES ON THE TABLE.  HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS COMING OUT OF IT?
“It wasn’t late enough in the race to have that same feeling as other events we’ve not capitalized on.  Today was just racing.  You have that happen from time to time and it got us today.”
 
AFTER HAVING YOUR HEART BROKEN LAST WEEK AT THE BRICKYARD, YOU HAD ANOTHER TOUGH DAY. BUT YOU MADE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING AFTER THAT FLAT TIRE TO FINISH 13TH. YOU’VE GOT TO BE PROUD OF THIS TEAM:
“I’m really proud of the efforts of the whole crew. Th
e damaged race car; and I guess I hit so hard it knocked one of the spark plug wires off and I was running on seven cylinders. We finally figured that out and put the spark plug wire and then the car ran good again. And I don’t know how with all the trouble we had today that we salvaged a 13th. It was just a team effort. I’m very proud of everyone involved. Unfortunately we had that flat after leading the race, but stuff happens. It’s racing.”
 
DID YOU HAVE ANY INDICATION AT ALL THAT YOU WERE HAVING RIGHT-FRONT TIRE PROBLEMS BEFORE IT LET GO?
“No, the way it went, it just exploded. So, I’m not really sure what caused it. But late off of Turn 1 it just exploded and that was it.”
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS – Sidelined in an on-track accident on lap 110 – FINISHED 35TH
ON THE INCIDENT:
“These cars rely on side force, so when someone’s on the outside of you, it always makes you a little bit looser. But, I didn’t feel like I went in any more hero-like that time. We were tight in the race and so we had freed it up a little bit and it was better. But then, when they’re outside of you, you just get loose. So, just chased it up and it spun around and unfortunately it ends the day for the GoDaddy car. And it was a good day, you know? For me, I have to sit in my car and say, ‘Today’s going good if it’s a Top 20; it’s a good day for me.’ So, that’s what was happening. Unfortunately we won’t come away with that. But we were better off today than what we’ve been a lot of other days. So, that’s about all there is to say.”
 
WHAT HAPPENED?
“There was a car outside of me and when there is a car outside of you going through fast corners it takes the side force off of it and the car gets looser when someone is there.  It hadn’t been a problem all day.  I didn’t do anything different that time.  I even kind of told myself going into the corner ‘it’s fine just run through the corner’.  I don’t know if he was closer than other cars had been to my outside or not.  We had freed the car up just a little bit, but not drastically just a little bit because we were tight.  I don’t know if that was enough to just tip it over the edge from where it was.  It’s never as much rear grip when someone is outside of you.  I feel bad for the team because we were having a good day and I know it’s nice to finish those days off and it would have been nice to finish in the top 20. That is just my goal.  It’s simple, it’s nothing crazy, but it’s been a challenge this year.  It would have been nice to do that and we were just having a steady race and a good race and it’s over.  We were way better than we were last time.  We were competitive and we were making good calls in the pits.  Everything was going just it’s just it happens.”
 
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 FXI GUTTERCLEAR 365 CHEVROLET SS – Sidelined in multi-car accident on lap 110 – FINISHED 36TH
 
ON WHAT HAPPENED:
“They just got together and by the time I got there, they were wrecked. It’s just kind of how the year’s going. We had a good car today but we just kept getting in trouble. We kept getting ourselves out of track position. When you’re in the back of the pack like that, you’re more likely to have things happen. I thought we had about a top seven or eight car, and then we had one run where we weren’t so good and we lost track position and then we went three-wide into the tunnel and got the quarter panel tore up and we had to fix that. And that just kept putting us further and further back. So, it’s just kind of the way the year is going.”

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO
MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 3, 2013
 
Ryan Hunter-Reay Wins Pole at Mid-Ohio with Chevrolet Power
 
LEXINGTON, Ohio (August 3, 2013) –  For the third time this season, defending IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay has set the fastest time in the Firestone Fast Six to win the Verizon P1 Award. The driver of the No. 1 DHL Andretti Autosport Chevrolet missed breaking the track record by just two-hundredths of a second with his lap of 01:05.3519 minute/124.385 m.p.h. around the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Lexington, Ohio.
                                                             
Turning in the second quickest time of the session was Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.  It is his fifth time this season Power has posted a front row qualifying effort.

“Kudos to Ryan Hunter-Reay and the Andretti Autosport team for winning the pole today at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, IZOD IndyCar Series.  “Ryan and his DHL crew have been strong all week here and are again showing that championship form.  Will Power and his Verizon / Team Penske squad have been quick all week as well, and will start alongside Ryan on an all-Chevrolet front row for the 200 mile race.  Our focus now shifts to providing the Team Chevy contingent with the most reliable, powerful and tractable engine so they may execute flawless race performances on Sunday.  We will not rest until the Chevy bow tie is on the top step of the podium.”
 
Giving Team Chevy three of the Fast Six was Marco Andretti, No. 25 RC Cola Andretti Autosport Chevrolet. Andretti was posted fourth in the final order of 24 cars that qualified for the 14th race of the 19-race season.
 
Making up the remainder of the Fast Six were: Scott Dixon – third fastest, Charlie Kimball – fifth quickest and Dario Franchitti turned in the sixth fastest time of the day.
 

JOHNSON WINS POLE AT POCONO
 
LONG POND, PA – August 2, 2013 – Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion and current series point leader, Jimmie Johnson, put his No. 48 Lowe’s Planes Chevrolet SS on the pole today for Sunday’s GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway. Johnson posted a top speed of 180.654 mph in 49.819 seconds to claim his 31st Sprint Cup career pole, his fourth pole start on the 2.5-mile triangular track and a new track record.  He has three victories at Pocono, including most recently in June ’13.
 
Johnson had to make a second pass through pre-qualifying inspection after NASCAR determined the tow on his Chevy SS was off by one-thousandth of an inch. The No. 48 crew made adjustments and Johnson was able to start his qualifying run from the 29th slot in the order.
 
Fourth quick was last week’s Brickyard 400 winner, Ryan Newman in his No. 39 Haas Automation 30th Anniversary Chevrolet SS. Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of his No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevy SS qualified fifth, giving Team Chevy three of the top-five starting spots in the 43-car field.
 
Kyle Busch (Toyota) qualified second and Carl Edwards (Ford) qualified third to round out the five fastest entries.
 
The GoBowling.com 400 takes the green flag on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN.
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PLANES CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER
 
TALK ABOUT YOUR TRACK RECORD SETTING QUALIFYING RUN AND STARTING UP FRONT ON SUNDAY:
“Track records are cool it makes all drivers and teams smile.  We got one at Martinsville this year and then to get one here is really cool.  The wild thing though is I practiced at like a 51.15 and then to go out there and run a 49.80 the speed difference and the senses you have inside the car.  I knew it was fast I just didn’t know how fast.  Each corner I made I tried a little bit harder and was more aggressive with my entry speed, my throttle application and just kind of challenging the car and it stuck.  In some ways I think I could have gone a little quicker if I knew what that felt like and I’m sure a lot of guys are saying that in the garage area right now to be honest.  It was an interesting lap because I threw everything I thought I could at it in turn one and it stuck.  So then turn two try again, turn three try again and it made it all the way around that was pretty awesome.”
 
WHAT WERE THE ISSUES THAT YOU GUYS WERE HAVING IN INSPECTION AND DO YOU THINK IT’S POSSIBLE THAT ACTUALLY GOING OUT FOUR SPOTS LATER THAN YOU WERE SCHEDULED MIGHT OF MADE A DIFFERENCE?
“Only four spots?  No, it didn’t make a difference.  We had the left-rear tow was off by a thousandth of an inch.  The system is a pass/fail, a thousandth of an inch.  Glad we got it sorted out and we got on the clock, which is always a scary thing to be on the clock, but we beat the clock.”
 
KYLE BUSCH KIND OF INSINUATING THAT SEVERAL TIMES YOU GUYS HAVE GONE THROUGH TECH MORE THAN ONCE THIS YEAR AND YOU ALWAYS SEEM TO GET FASTER.  WANT TO COMMENT AND REPLY TO THAT?
“I wish that there was some master plan behind it all.  They are welcome to try it.  They are welcome to experience the stress that goes with it.  My heart was pounding out of my chest trying to get in the car and beat the clock.  I don’t wish that kind of stress on anybody.  I think it’s pretty awesome how we have been able to perform in those moments, but it’s not what I want to go through.”
 
IS IT SAFE TO SAY THAT POCONO IS BECOMING ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE TRACKS?
“Yeah, I mean shifting here makes this track so much fun. When we weren’t allowed to shift for a while the fun factor kind of went down some.  The gear change allows you to help turn the car it makes it interesting.  You’ve got to manage the tranny there is an RPM match you have to get right getting into third gear.  So, it brings back a lot of fun for me.  Trips to Victory Lane definitely increase the fun factor as well.  Sunday there is good potential for it to be pretty high on my list.”
 
THE FLAT TRACKS GIVE YOU A LITTLE MORE ADJUSTABILITY MAYBE. WHAT DO YOU HAVE ON THE FLATTER TRACKS VERSUS MOST OF THE 1.5-MILE COOKIE CUTTERS WHERE YOU CAN ADJUST THE CAR AND MAKE IT WORK BETTER FOR YOUR DRIVING STYLE?  WHAT FITS FOR YOU?
“I think that our team, Chad’s (Knaus, crew chief) and my driving style it takes all those pieces to make it work.  I think we have excelled on different kind of quirky race tracks.  It’s just been us all along.  I know Chad really enjoys setting the car up here because in turn one you have some banking which puts a lot of vertical loading in the car.  Turn two and turn three there is a lot less banking so it’s more lateral load.  There are different adjustments on the race car to affect those areas.  He enjoys the engineering side of it.  I certainly enjoy driving it, but we’ve just had that knack for odd-shaped race tracks.  If it’s Dover, if it’s Martinsville, here has been good to us.  It just works for some reason.”
 
I ASKED JEFF GORDON EARLIER WHEN HE’S GOING TO PUT THAT DAD OWNER HAT ON FOR ONE OR BOTH OF HIS CHILDREN WHEN IT COMES TO RACING.  IS THAT SOMETHING YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT FOR YOUR FAMILY? 
“We have another girl on the way and if they want to I mean absolutely.  I would love to teach my daughters how to race.  They probably won’t want to listen to me.  I didn’t want to listen to my dad.  I was talking with Ward Burton earlier today and tried to help Jeb (Burton) out as much as I can.  He was thankful because Jeb doesn’t want to listen to his dad.  I said ‘hey man I was there I know.’ So it might be more of a fantasy in my mind where it would be great to teach my children how to race and all that.  I can say that Genevieve is definitely on the girly route.  I’m not sure race cars are in her future. She is into anything pink and princess-ish. Maybe not her, but maybe the second one on the way will be.” 

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO
MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 2, 2013
 
Will Power Fastest in Opening Day of Practice
 
LEXINGTON, Ohio (August 2, 2013) –  Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, posted the fastest lap of the week just as time expired on today’s second practice session for Sunday’s IZOD IndyCar Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. With a lap of 01:05.4332 minute/124.231 m.p.h., Power set the stage for a strong run in tomorrow’s qualifying for the 90-lap/203.22-mile race around the 13-turn/2.258-mile track.
 
After setting the fastest time on Wednesday during the open test prior to the start of the weekend’s activities, defending Series’ champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 1 DHL Andretti Autosport Chevrolet, turned in the third fastest time of the day at 01:05.5018-minute/124.100 m.p.h.
 
After a 45-minute practice session on Saturday morning, the Chevrolet IndyCar V6 teams and drivers will prepare for Firestone Fast Six qualifying set to begin at 2:00 p.m. Qualifying will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network on Saturday, August 3, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
 
Sunday’s race is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET with live television coverage on NBC Sports Network.
 
Live radio coverage will be on XM Radio Channel 94 and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 212. In addition, IndyCar live timing and scoring with the radio broadcast can be found at

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOBOWLING.COM 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 2, 2013
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Pocono Raceway and discussed racing at Pocono, upcoming test sessions and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THE RACE WEEKEND?
“It’s a good track for us, a good place for us to come and fight and do battle like what we’ve been used to doing this year and last year to claw our way into the Chase.  There’s not enough points that are safe enough and you want to get those wins to try to secure things up for you.  We’ve got a lot of tough competitors that we’re racing and battling with for 10th in points as well as this wild card spot.  To me, our focus is just getting out there and living up to our full potential and get some consistency out of it.  It’s been one of those years where we’ve seen guys, they hit on something and they go out and win the race and it’s not necessarily, there is no way to predict when and who that is going to happen with.  That’s why we just have to continue to stay focused and work hard because that could be us and if it’s not then we have to make sure that we’re knocking down those top-10s.”
 
WILL YOU START USING YOUR TEST SESSIONS NOW TO MAKE SURE YOU MAKE THE CHASE?
“We also had some tire tests that we had scheduled.  We tire tested at Indy, we tire tested at New Hampshire.  I feel like the one at Indy paid off for us, the one at New Hampshire did not.   The conditions were different when we went back I felt like and now we’re having to go back there again.  We have a test planned there this coming week.  I think that we’ve got some good tests planned.  That’s the tricky part about it is that it has to balance out for all of your teammates.  It incorporates the whole organization on these tests.  We’ve got to compromise a little bit for us where we’re at in points versus where they are and they have to compromise with us a little bit.  I think we found the best balance right now and we’ve got a good plan.”
 
WHAT CHALLENGES WILL THE ADDED SPEEDS PRESENT AT WATKINS GLEN?
“This car definitely has a really good amount of downforce in it and drag, which helps you get in the braking zones and is definitely going to make lap times come down at a place like Watkins Glen that is such a fast road course.  I don’t know if the tire changed there compared to the past and if that contributed to that as well.  The faster you go and especially if you’re getting into braking zones harder than the harder it is to have an advantage in those braking zones versus your competitors.  The more challenges come along with that and of course the faster you go, the more on edge that you’re putting the grip of the tires and the car.  I look for it to be a pretty exciting race.  If it’s tough to pass then that means that the restarts and those double file restarts are going to get wild and crazy like we’ve seen so much of in the past on the road courses.”
 
IS THIS SPORT MISSING YOUNG DRIVERS TO COME BATTLE WITH THE VETERANS?
“I think that’s always great and it’s always exciting to have and Jimmie Johnson’s been the dominant force.  I don’t think a lot of people thought of him as the young gun because he wasn’t super young when he came in the sport, but he certainly has taken all the challengers and thrown them off to the side.  I feel like nobody has really rivaled him and he doesn’t really have a rivalry there.  If he can keep that up, which all signs point that he will then an exciting young driver comes along and is with a good team that can challenge him, that would be the best thing this sport could ever ask for in my opinion.  There’s a couple of them out there, but they’re a few years away unfortunately.  Then there’s always those surprises, guys you don’t anticipate, guys you didn’t know about that come out of nowhere and just blow you away.  Jimmie Johnson is sort of one of those guys.  I don’t think many people anticipated him to do what he did in the Cup Series and look what he’s done.  There’s guys that aren’t on the radar that could do that and then there’s a couple that we all know about that are on the radar.”
 
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE MENTALITY TO WANT TO RACE EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK? “You’re trying to compare my mentality to Tony Stewart’s mentality?  I think he could sit right here and argue that as well.  No, I remember 1991 when I was racing Nationwide and Silver Crown and midget sprint cars and it was cool and exciting and fun and everything, but when I got full-time in the Nationwide Series, I just wanted to focus on that.  I tried to do Nationwide and Cup a couple times and I didn’t really enjoy going back and forth, but my hats off to the guys that do that and enjoy it and do well with it.  I did not see his video and I spoke to him and he seems to be okay.  I’m glad to hear that, but sprint cars are to me some of the most exciting and fun race cars there are to drive.  Anything that you do, you could put yourself at risk so I think that he knows the risks versus the rewards and chooses to do that and I think that’s awesome and he certainly is very impressive when he gets in them how competitive he is and winning World of Outlaw sprint races or being competitive in those races is unbelievable.  I certainly look up to him in that way because I raced those guys in sprint cars and know how difficult that is.  Especially when you’re not doing it all the time.  But you know, if he was a young driver that was coming to work for Hendrick Motorsports, I would try to discourage him from doing that because that’s an investment to us as a team.  We ask a lot out of our sponsors and our team and everything, but he’s the team owner so there’s no asking that out of him.  You don’t want to take away that joy that those individuals have, you want them to make those decisions and choices on their own and just understand what they’re getting themselves into.  Some of the younger guys maybe don’t always appreciate that, but somebody like Tony does and handles himself well with it.”
 
DO YOU THINK ABOUT BEING A TEAM OWNER FOR YOUR CHILDREN IN RACING?
“Oh yeah, when my son was born I thought about that.  My daughter, I kind of want to wait and see what kind of interest level she has.  Just knowing the things that she’s interested in, I don’t see her being that one, but she is very competitive.  My son just loves race cars already at a very young age.  He reminds me of myself.  I never wanted to get behind the wheel of a car, I was always like, ‘No, no, no, no.’  But when you got me in it, I loved it and I was good at it.  That’s kind of how he is.  Not really the first one to just go jump in at it, but once you do, he’s pretty excited about it and he does very well.  I think both kids will drive a race car at some time and then to me, it’s introducing them to it and seeing what kind of interest level they have and whether they’re enjoying it and whether they’re good at it and go from there.  It’s nerve-wracking for me to consider and think about that option because every parent that I talk to says that it’s like the worst torture you could ever have because you’re just not in control, that’s your child so you have this fear of just them not winning or getting hurt, all these things that you didn’t think about when you were doing it.”
 
CAN YOU UNDERSTAND HOW A DRIVER’S PERSPECTIVE OF A RACE IS DIFFERENT THAN THAT OF A FAN AND THEY WATCHED THE SAME RACE?
“Absolutely, but the driver is not watching the race, he is driving the race. There is a tremendous amount of excitement, pressure, and adrena
line rush that is going on inside that car. You could be racing for 26th and the camera never shows you and you may have had the best and most exciting racing you have ever seen but that doesn’t mean people watched it or enjoyed it from home.  So it’s a huge difference and with the world we are in today, it’s the people up there in the grandstands on watching on TV that matter the most.  Sometimes we wish we could change that from inside the car but we can’t so there is no comparison at all, and they are completely different views.
 
“I think what a driver means when he says that is that you wish the people watching, that are not inside the car….and even sometimes the pit crew guys….you wish they could get in there and understand what you are going through so that they would have a much better perspective.  Not only in talking, discussing, and criticizing the details of the race, but also to know what we are going through.
 
“When I watch a race for instance, I watch it with a different type of view because I am a driver and I go, ‘wow, that was an intense moment’, where that might not have even fazed someone who has never driven a race car.”
 
DO YOU HAVE A TESTING GAME PLAN THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH US?
“We are going to New Hampshire next week.  We are going to Richmond and a couple weeks after that I think we are going to Texas and then we are going to Homestead in the next month.”
 
HOW MUCH INPUT DO YOU HAVE ON THE TESTING?
“You know, again, we discuss it in our Tuesday meetings and I think all the crew chiefs get together Monday meetings and they come up with the race tracks they would like to go to. 

“They talk to their drivers and get that kind of information and then on Tuesday we look it up on a board and we come up with the best scenario that works for all of us.
 
“For me I think we have a good game plan that works for all of us.   Again, I said earlier that it’s a compromise with the organization.  When you have four teams, not everybody is going to be perfectly suited.  But in this case, I think it suits our needs to get ourselves in the Chase and if we get in the Chase, then it suits our teammates to be very competitive in the Chase.”
 
YOU WERE HERE THE WEEKEND OF THE INDYCAR RACE, WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? 
“Yeah, it was so cool to see those cars doing those types of speeds around this track.  You know, that was probably the thing that stood out the most and was most impressive to me.  The cars are very cool so I enjoy seeing them up close and seeing the technology that they have.  I think my son kind of liked that too – seeing the difference between our cars and the IndyCars.  I can tell you what.  I am very, very appreciative of this sport and this series that we are in because when you drive in that tunnel for an IndyCar race, and you drive in here for a NASCAR race – you get a perspective of how big our sport is.”
 
DID YOU TALK TO A FEW OF THE DRIVERS? 
“Yeah, I talked to a few of the drivers.  What I thought was interesting was that I thought at Indy it was some of the most amazing racing that I had seen in the IndyCar series in a long time and I was hoping that Pocono might offer some of that same type of racing.  But they were saying that turn three was too long and flat of a corner for them to maintain that momentum behind somebody to get that big draft and make those passes down the straightaway versus Indy.  I thought that was very interesting and it was true once the race started because that was pretty much what they had.  I was really blown away with the speeds they ran in qualifying.  I mean gosh, 222 (mph) and to go flat out around here….I was thinking about it today coming down pit road and how much I was braking going into turn three and I just can’t imagine those guys running wide open.
 
“The biggest thing that stood out when I got here last night was all the motorhomes and all the tents and camping and the number of fans that are here for the NASCAR races.  Sometimes we see the decline or something going flat and we are not seeing these grandstands filled up, but let me tell you, go to an IndyCar race and then a month or two weeks later and come back here.  We better be very thankful for all the people we have here.  It’s pretty amazing.”
 
REGARDING IF KYLE LARSON IS MAKING THE RIGHT DECISIONS, AND WOULD YOU CONSIDER RUNNING A TRUCK AT ELDORA NEXT YEAR?
“I go back and reference 1991 for me and that was my first full year in the Nationwide Series and at that time you are building your career, aligning yourself with the best teams that you can, trying to win races, and trying to establish yourself to get to the next level.  So I think that Kyle (Larson) is quickly doing that and getting a lot of attention.  I think he should race everything that he can possibly get behind the wheel of.   The tricky part is going to be when he is either running for a Nationwide championship or does make that move to Cup, is where he starts to draw the line on that.  Because
 
“Sprint Car racing is in your blood and you want to do it, but again, the Cup team and sponsors invest so much into it that you want full attention.  It can either be a distraction or it can either help you, you just never know.  So, everybody might handle it a little bit differently but I certainly think there might be some cutting back and might not be so much of that.”
 
“He is doing beyond what he should be doing.  Let me tell you what, that kid is unreal.  I wish we had five or six more of him.”
 
WOULD YOU GET IN A TRUCK AT ELDORA?
“They need to shorten the rear bumper on those things (laughs).  They look pretty loose to me before the rubber got down on the track.  They look like fun but my whole thing about what I am driving whether it’s a dirt late model or a Sprint Car, a truck, or a Nationwide car, Cup….I just want to be competitive and want to get enough laps in the car or truck to be competitive at it.
 
“For Tony’s (Stewart) charity event, it’s for charity and we go there to have fun but I can tell you the fun quickly went away in that event as soon as guys started ramping up the seriousness and competitiveness of their cars and teams.   To me, I didn’t have the time to commit to it so I was like, ‘hmm I’m not interested’, and if that is the way it’s going to be.  If you just show up and run whatever you have and go have fun and everybody is laughing about it, then that is one thing.  As soon as it gets very competitive then all the sudden the fun starts to come away and the whole meaning of it starts to get blurred.  But I never say never.
 
“I watched it.  I watched practice, I watched qualifying, watched the heat races.  So I certainly was glued to it from a spectator standpoint.  I was very impressed with the job that the drivers and the teams did.  I was expecting to see a lot more chaos.  So that part was fun and yeah, it made me think that I would like to get out there and try it.  But I have no plans to.”
 
REGARDING HOW BATTLING FOR A CHASE SPOT NOW IS AS INTENSE AS IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THE CHASE WAS AROUND:
“This year has been a strange year for us.  I feel like last year we showed a little bit more speed up to this point and I felt like all we needed were some breaks to go our way, and a few slight changes to get ourselves in.   This year we just can’t seem to really get ahold of it. I am approaching it the same way where I give the best information that I can to the team.  You know, continue to just work as hard as I can as a driver to bring us together to make those opportunities happen.  The last couple weeks have gone decent, but know we are capable of just doing so much
more.  So it’s frustrating. It is.  There has been frustration throughout the team that we haven’t been able to perform better than we have.
 
“So every year we have gone through this, it’s a different kind of stress level.  There are stress levels of meeting your full potential, there are stress levels of trying to not let some silly thing happen, or there is the stress level of one little incident.  For me this year it’s been a combination of needing more performance – especially in qualifying – and then I drew number one for qualifying.  So that is going to be interesting.
 
“And also this year I feel it’s been very difficult, because we haven’t qualified good and being further back in the pack and not being able to pass, and not being able to get up through there.   Or it seems like we are not able to get the strategy timed out at the right time.  Seems like there have been many times this year where we try to short pit the caution comes out, and when we try and stay out a caution comes at the wrong time.  So those kinds of things have been frustrating this year.  None of it stops us from working hard together.  We have been through enough that this team sticks together and they fight and we will continue to do that all the way to the end of the season.”  
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOBOWLING.COM 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 2, 2013
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the challenges at Pocono and of her year to date, her relationship with GoDaddy, the upcoming road race at Watkins Glen, and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
 
WHAT DID YOU LEARN AT THE JUNE POCONO RACE THAT YOU CAN BRING TO THIS RACE?
“Well, all I can think about is that we never did any qualifying runs last time when we were here, with the weather. And all we’ve done so far is qualifying runs. So it’s a very different Pocono, this time around. We’re just trying to work with it.
 
“We fired off okay and it just seemed like as we tried to increase speed, we were finding some issues that were preventing us from being able to go faster. So, we’re trying to keep up with what the car does in qualifying trim. So, it didn’t end up great, but hopefully it will be good in qualifying. It’s challenging to pass here. But I think that our race set-up is good. I felt like it was one of the more balanced cars that we’ve had so far this year, here. So, I think that we have a good direction to go for race runs, but we all know how important qualifying is.”
 
IS THERE A PARTICULAR AREA ON THE TRACK WHERE YOU CAN SEE POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENT?
“Umm, when you’re turning the wheel (laughter). All three corners are pretty different, but definitely in the race, (Turn) 3 is very important because it’s the longest straightaway. And in qualifying (Turn) 2 is very important because it’s so fast. I’m looking at like what Tony (Stewart) is doing and I’m like I can’t do that, yet! But I’ll keep working on it.”
 
WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN YOU SAW FOOTAGE OF TONY STEWART’S FLIPPING FIVE TIMES IN A SPRINT CAR?
“Yeah, I did see that footage. I think he really much love his Sprint Car racing.”
 
HE SAID THAT US MORTALS NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT WASN’T A BAD SPRINT CAR FLIP
“Was it because it was slower?”
 
BECAUSE IT WAS KIND OF A LAZY FLIP AND IT WASN’T VERY VIOLENT
“He didn’t do a double flip? Just a single is no big deal? Well, I do understand obviously with how much Ricky loves Sprint Car racing and racing on dirt, that flipping and crashing is very much a part of that sport. And you catch the berm or you clip tires; I mean, it’s an open-wheel car. So, as Tony would say, ‘It’s the open-wheel car; it’s the original open-wheel car’. So, it happens. And with how much they race, some of them race 130 times a year; some race 80 or 90 times a year. There are a lot of chances for accidents when that happens. So, it’s not for me, but those who love it, very much love it.”
 
DID YOU GET A NATIONWIDE RIDE FOR NEXT WEEK? ARE YOU GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT RACE?
“Not at this point. But I can’t say that for sure won’t happen because my Talladega ride was fairly last minute, too. At this point in time, I’m just doing Cup and the good news is I have been there in an IndyCar so unfortunately we wrecked on the first corner last year at Watkins Glen in the Nationwide car, but we’ll get some practice in this time and be ready.”
 
YOU TESTED THERE IN A CUP CAR, DIDN’T YOU?
“No. We tested at Road Atlanta this week. The car felt really good when we went and tested. It is about as good as it’s unloaded off the truck at any point this year; anywhere we’ve gone. So, I hope that translates to good things. It’s not a bad thing, anyway.”
 
DO YOU FEEL GOOD IN GENERAL ABOUT A ROAD COURSE?
“If you had asked me when I was at Sonoma or anywhere around then, I would have said I don’t feel very good. But our test at Road Atlanta was very good, and in general I feel very comfortable on road courses. So, it will be nice because the road courses are a real opportunity for me to get the GoDaddy car further up where some of these tracks are a little bit more challenging for me. So, it’s definitely not Nationwide, when you’re racing Cup on the road courses, but I still feel like there’s an opportunity to have a decent weekend if we can nail the balance of the car and qualify well.”
 
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP AND CONVERSATION WITH THE NEW CEO OF GODADDY?
‘Yeah, Blake (Irving) is a great guy. I’ve met him quite a few times now and spent a lot of time with him. Well, the first time I met him I went in to just say hello and I spend 45 minutes in his office. He’s got a lot of great ideas. He’s got a lot of big plans for GoDaddy. He’s very good at what he does and he has the power to make what he wants to happen, happen because he has a lot of good people that he’s worked with over the years with the other companies that he has worked with. GoDaddy is an incredible company. They’ve grown so much over the last decade and that’s not going to end by any means.”
 
DO YOU FEEL LIKE HE WILL BE A FORCE TO HELP YOU CONTINUE ON?
“Well, Blake (Irving) loves racing with is good. He’s son is really into cars and that’s always a good thing when someone like that likes racing. But you know, it’s still about making that relationship work and making sure that there’s a return on investment for what they’re doing. It’s my job to get out there and represent the company well, to finish well for them so it’s in the papers and on TV. And it’s their job now as Blake really wants to do, is educate the consumer as to what GoDaddy actually does other than domain names. So there’s a big mission. But it’s all in the process right now.”
 
DID HE GIVE YOU ANY ASSURANCES THAT YOU’D BE WITH GODADDY?
“I mean, GoDaddy has been an incredible partner for a really long time and like I said, the most important thing is that there is return on investment for them and that their company keeps growing. And if they keep growing and I’m a part of that, I feel like we’re linked together and we help each other with the success. But it takes two. So my job is to do the best I can for them, and hope that it always continues. It’s been great so far for a long time and we’ve done a couple of contracts, so yeah. I like to think in my mind it starts today, every day it starts, you know? And you just go out and do the best job you can.”
 
YOU’RE NOT ONE OF THOSE DRIVERS WHO LIKES TO GO OUT AND RACE EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK
“No, I’m not.”
 
IS RICKY (STENHOUSE) LIKE THAT?
“Yes, he is.”
 
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT MINDSET AND WHERE IT COMES FROM?
“Yeah, you know, we were at a Kenny Chesney concert last night and this very topic came up and it was talking about how he could race every night. I just don’t have an interest in racing every single night. But coming from Sprint Car racing where you race 80 or 90 times a year, like he used to, 38 (races) is just nothing. So, Kenny was talking about how when he was younger, because well, Ricky is young, you know? And how he felt like he could perform every single night and do the same thing every day. And you get older and you know, maybe you don’t have that. Maybe you do. I feel like those Sprint Car drivers, man, they just love their racing. They are just are used to racing every night. I didn’t come from that background. I watched it. My dad was in it. He raced it and then he worked on the cars. And my mom and dad and sister would go watch on Sunday nights, but I just didn’t come from 90 races a year.”
 
YOU JOKED ABOUT TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL HERE, BUT IS IT A HANDLING ISSUE?  DID YOU SEE SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT AT INDY?
“I’m definitely working on getting into the corner better. I think that was an issue at Indy and it was an issue in qualifying out there, which is why when I started getting into the corner deeper that it was hitting the splitter and then it wasn’t able to turn and then it just sort of uncovers other issues. So yeah, I am. It started the year off really good from that perspective a
nd it was no issue getting into the corner, but for some reason a little bit lately, it is. I don’t know if it’s these bigger, faster tracks, or not; I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s Tony (Stewart) stepping-up his game (or) Ryan (Newman) getting more comfortable. But you know, it’s not a problem for me. I don’t mind when there are things that I have to work on because it’s something that I can control. When you’re doing everything you can and there’s no way to or you can’t seem to find speed or find a place to get it, then that’s frustrating. So, I understand that I’m a rookie. And I understand that I’m not Tony Stewart and I’m not Ryan Newman right now. And, they’re both extremely accomplished drivers. So, it’s not shocking me that I have things to work on. So I’ll just keep doing that.”
 
DO YOU FEEL ANY LESS PRESSURE OR IS IT CALMER HERE THIS WEEKEND AT POCONO THAN LAST WEEKEND AT INDY?
“No, I felt good last weekend, too. I have a good team around me that makes sure that I don’t feel overwhelmed or feel pressure from certain areas. We did a lot of work to promote the Brickyard 400, for sure, going back to Indianapolis to race a big event there. But I feel pressure every weekend. I don’t care where I go. I feel pressure going to a test. I want to do well everywhere I go and every time I get in the car. And it’s not a no-brainer for me yet. So, it doesn’t change from weekend to weekend for me.”
 
HOW DO YOU MEASURE THINGS? IS IT IN LEAPS AND BOUNDS, OR AT THIS POINT IS IT MORE ABOUT FINE-TUNING? HOW DO YOU ASSESS THINGS FOR YOURSELF?
“I think that it feels small right now, but I think when I look back in years from now, I’m going to see that it was big. But of course, being in the middle of it, the growth always feels small. So, it’s just a process I have to go through. And I hope I can look back and see the big growth because that will be a good thing for me.”
 
HOW DO YOU MEET THE CHALLENGE OF ACCEPTING THE GROWTH PROCESS? OBVIOUSLY, YOU’RE AT THIS LEVEL BECAUSE YOU ARE AN EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE PERSON. HOW DO YOU CONTROL THAT?
“It’s very hard to not get down when you’re not finishing where you want to, ultimately. But there are 42 other people that want to do the exact same thing that you’re doing or that you want to do. You just have to set small goals. That’s the only thing you can do to combat against getting frustrated in the process of where you’re at; set realistic goals. Realistic goals are the most important thing. For me, it’s just been Top 20 all year. And as soon as I finally start doing that all the time, I’ll adjust some. But for right now and for all year, it’s been that.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOBOWLING.COM 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 2, 2013
 
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 HAAS AUTOMATION 30TH ANNIVERSARY CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Pocono Raceway and discussed his week following winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the similarities between Indy and Pocono, his outlook for this weekend and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE TEAM HAVE GOT TO BE FEELING GOOD COMING INTO POCONO THIS WEEKEND?
“Well, we do especially because this was the place of our second top-five of the year here in the first race. Felt like we had a car then that was capable of winning and ironically it was the same chassis as what we ran at Indianapolis last week. Coming off of the win and the momentum of that on top of the fact that we have a little bit of history here with this car at this track, I really look forward to it.”
 
IN ALL THE CONGRATULATORY TEXTS AND EMAILS AND CALLS YOU GOT, DID YOU GET ANY FROM POTENTIAL SPONSORS OR TEAMS BECAUSE OF THE WIN?
“Nothing with respect to that. It was more a matter of friends and family and people that I hadn’t talked to that have helped me in my racing career at some point in my life. Those people I think reached out more than anything else. Obviously it didn’t hurt with respect to that but it’s not like a light switch where you can just flip it and everything turns on. I think it’s up to us as well to do the same thing we did last weekend and at least show that it’s not just a one off deal. We can duplicate and replicate the things that happened. We’ll see how things go.”
 
WITH WINNING AND BEING HIGHER NOW IN THE CHASE CONTENTION FOR THE WILD CARD, HOW DOES THAT CHANGE THINGS FOR THE TEAM? ARE YOU MORE COGNIZANT OF IT NOW?
“It gives us more hope. I mean we had hope in the first place and I’ve said it every time I’ve talked to you guys. We still have a chance of making the Chase whether it’s mathematically or winning. And a win answered the mathematically and winning. Another win would be amazing just based on the history of what I’ve seen with the wild cards. Two is pretty much going to lock you into a wild card spot. And we still have a shot. I think we’re 25 (points) out of 10th and there’s still a lot of racing to go. It hasn’t changed my mentality other than the fact that it changed I guess your hope. It doesn’t change my drive. My drive is to go out and do the exact same thing regardless.”
 
HOW DOES IT IMPACT THE TEAM?
“Same way. They have the same mentality that I do. We’re all on the same ship right now floating in the same direction.”
 
THIS IS A CAR YOU TALKED ABOUT RACING AT INDIANAPOLIS LAST WEEK AND YOU’VE RUN A NUMBER OF TIMES. GUYS HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE CARS ALL SEEM THE SAME, CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE WITH THIS CAR OR ARE THEY ALL THE SAME TO YOU?
“There’s nothing that stands out feel-wise that’s different. I think in the end maybe it’s just a matter of coincidence. Sometimes you do hit everything just right with a car where it bends the right way, the body is put on the right way, and things like that. But there’s nothing that I can say that says, ‘Man this car feels amazing compared to another car’. It’s not like we go to a test anymore and take two cars and run this car and then run that car. There’s no real answer that I can give you. Matt and the guys do a good job of taking each car to the wind tunnel and they seven-post the cars and things like that. But it’s hard to get that answer as far as if this car really is that much better. I just don’t feel it per se when it comes to just holding the wheel and pushing the pedals”
 
DID MONDAY FEEL ANY DIFFERENT? DID YOU DO ANYTHING TO CELEBRATE THIS WEEK? OR WAS IT JUST MONDAY AND THIS IS WHAT WE DO ON MONDAYS AND THE REST OF THE WEEK AND JUST FORGOTTEN ABOUT FOR THE MOST PART?
“I think more than anything else I was tired. I really was just tired and I’m still kind of catching back up. Between Tuesday and Wednesday at Eldora, and then we went over to my sister’s house on the west side of Indy on Thursday, and then the entire weekend and all the things. We stay really busy at Indy. It’s kind of like our second Daytona as far as media, events, and things like that. I was really just tired more than anything. I stayed up until 12:21 Sunday night responding to texts. I had 350 texts when I landed. So, that took me a little bit of time. And then everybody that you text responds with something else. It just made for a lot of work but I mean I was thankful for it. It was nice. I’d say of the 350, the coolest part was that there were eight people maybe where I had to text them back and ask who it was. It was just nice to see the people that reached out to congratulate me. There’s nothing that really felt different. I mean I’ve won races before. I’ve won Daytona. I’ve won Martinsville. I’ve won the big ones, I’ve won the “lesser” ones I guess you can say, but it’s still amazing. It’s just an amazing feeling to do what we did as a team. And a new team as I said with Matt and the guys. Matt and I have a lot of history but with these guys we had zero history at the start of the season. To win a big race like that felt amazing.”
 
YOU MADE CRAZY SPEED ALL WEEKEND AT INDIANAPOLIS, WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGE IS THAT? IT SEEMS LIKE THE 48 TEAM IS ABLE TO DO THAT A LOT CONSISTENTLY AT A LOT OF DIFFERENT TRACKS. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THEIR PERFORMANCE AND ABILITY TO DO THAT?
“I think there’s a part of it that is just pure preparation. There’s obviously an understanding. Whether it’s on Chad’s behalf or the engineer’s behalf or the engineering staff’s behalf back at the shop. I think that all that plays into a part of it. And Jimmie obviously, he has no Achilles’ heel. He’s good everywhere. That helps as well. I get to see the feedback of the drivers with our alliance with HMS and Jimmie has amazing feedback. Which I think definitely keeps things sharp. It keeps the pencil sharp at least for Chad to be able to keep doing the things that they do. They are not just good, they are great and that’s why it was additionally gratifying last week to beat somebody who is obviously one of the best and had proven to be the best last year at that race track.”
 
DO YOU GUYS FEEL LIKE YOU WERE AHEAD OF THE GAME AT INDY BECAUSE OF YOUR TOP-FIVE HERE AND DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE AHEAD HERE THIS WEEKEND BECAUSE OF THE WIN AT INDY?
“I think it helps, no doubt.  I think the tracks are closer than they have ever been basically on the premise of grip and ride quality.  But it doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen.  We can mess it up way easier than we can make it right when it comes to the car and the chassis, and everything else.  But yes, based on our experience in the first race and carrying that same car and information over to Indianapolis, it has great potential for this weekend and that is why I am looking forward to it.”
 
HOW HAS THE INDY WIN HAD AN EFFECT ON YOUR FUTURE AND DO YOU HAVE ANY SPONSORS TO TAKE TO A TEAM NEXT YEAR?
“I don’t know.  You can sit there and talk to somebody but until the writing is on the paper and the ink is dried, you really don’t know.  But I am in a situation where the phone has not rung off the hook with sponsors, or car owners, or manufacturers or any of that.  I didn’t expect it to and I think some people kind of expect it to.  I am working on what I need to work on I feel to be in a good, competitive position next year.
 
“The win helps, but it’s not a light switch.  It doesn’t turn everything on bright.  It helps and gives you a vision, but there is more to it than that.  The $20 million sponsor just doesn’t jump right after you. I wish it did, but it doesn’t.”
 
REGARDING SINGLE WIN SEASONS, AND IF THIS TEAM IS REACTING DIFFERENT TO WIN ADDITIONAL RACES:
“I h
ave got some one-win seasons that I guess on one hand, to go along with your question – that I am proud of.  But at the same time I am not proud of – because when you win once, you should be able to keep winning if you have the tools to do it.  Some teams are fighting for that first victory for maybe not one, but three or four years.  So yes, I think for me it’s a challenge this weekend because I have never won at Indy, and Indy and Pocono are so close.  I think the last person to do it that I remember was Bill Elliott….to go back-to-back and get that done.  I see it as a challenge and I don’t necessarily see anything that our team needs to avoid other than the things we have learned in the first few races before Indianapolis.  We had a bad pit stop at Indianapolis too, but it just wasn’t the last pit stop.   And everything that is negative, you have to avoid.   You are still going to have the negative in there, and it’s how you overcome those things that make you a winner.”
 
GIVEN HOW WELL YOU DID HERE IN JUNE AND THE WIN LAST WEEKEND, HOW DO YOU CARRY THAT MOMENTUM IN HERE ON SUNDAY?
“There are no guarantees, but it’s the same race car and I feel like we have been able to sharpen up some of the things that we did in the June race here.  We have done a lot of testing since then and obviously a lot of racing, and the Indianapolis race was huge.  So hopefully we can make it happen but like I said, there are no guarantees.   It is probably the closest back-to-back races that we have in the season that are somewhat similar on the set-up side.”
 
YOU RAN LAST WEDNESDAY AT ELDORA, AND WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE DOWN THE ROAD NASCAR SCHEDULE A MONDAY NIGHT OR MID-WEEK RACE?
“I think it would be awesome and I have said that for a long time.  I said after Eldora that I can’t believe they are spending $400 million at Daytona when they just need to move dirt in. (laughs) Dirt is cheap…well, it’s not exactly cheap, but it’s cheaper than $400 million.   I think it would be amazing for our sport and I think Eldora was successful from a racer’s standpoint.  I did not see it necessarily from a fan standpoint, but I did actually watch the race afterwards.  I have a biased opinion sitting from my perspective, but I think it would be good and there is a market out there for it.  I think it makes sense to do it during the week, and I have said that for a while.  I wish that we could actually race on a week night and make it simple, and make it good for the fans so that they could come out and be a part of it and free up some of our weekends so that we can have somewhat of a normal life.”
 
REGARDING INDY AND POCONO, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE EITHER ONE OF THESE TRACKS IN THE CHASE?
“I don’t really see the need to have either one of these tracks in the Chase.   To me the only wild card in the Chase is Talladega.  I think it would be…..and I think I have said it before….whether it’s even achievable or not, but I would like to replace Talladega with a road course race in the Chase.  What we do at Talladega is so random and your success can be – or your lack of success can depend on, somebody else’s inability so easily there that it’s not the ideal place to have a Chase race.  That is my personal preference.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOBOWLING.COM 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 2, 2013
 
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 FXI GUTTERCLEAR 365 CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Pocono Raceway and discussed running at Pocono, similarities between Indianapolis and Pocono, what it means to be in the Chase verses not being in the Chase and much more. Full transcript.
 
TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT RUNNING HERE AT POCONO:
“I think coming off of last week in Indy and everything that was learned there it will be interesting to see who ran well at Indy and also who can run well here. The tracks aren’t the same by any means, but they are a lot closer since Pocono was paved. We came here and tested in the spring and thought that really helped our program. We came here and ran okay. We had a good car, but didn’t finish as well as we needed to or wanted to. It’s going to be interesting. I think the biggest thing about this weekend is the people that ran well at Indy can they take the same stuff and run well here. I think everybody’s going to try. It will be interesting to see. We had a better car on Saturday than we had on Sunday. It seemed like everybody was affected by traffic for sure. I think our set up was affected a little more than most people’s. We didn’t run quite as well on Sunday as we did Saturday last week, so we made some adjustments and hopefully we learned something from Indy that we can apply here.”
 
WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF TRAFFIC SORT OF IN AND OUT OF THE TOP 10 IN POINTS OVER THE LAST FOUR TO SIX WEEKS; DO YOU SEE THAT CONTINUING OVER THESE NEXT SIX WEEKS?
“I see it continuing. I think there is a lot of inconsistency this year. You look at the teams that are from 10th to 20th, there’s just a great deal of inconsistency in there. None of those teams have shown the ability to maintain momentum. None of those teams have shown the ability from a speed standpoint or a reliability standpoint to get on a roll. Someone will, but I don’t know who that is. Honestly going into Indy I felt like there had been so many things that had gone wrong for us and we had been running so much better that I really felt like we were on the verge to getting on a roll then we had that issue last week. I think all those teams can make that comment. It just seems nobody can get in a rhythm. Someone will, but I expect to see a lot of inconsistencies. Now we’ve got Ryan (Newman) winning last week. That puts more pressure on more teams. That more pressure forces people to do things that otherwise they wouldn’t do and mistakes pop up. So, I think the next six weeks is going to be really interesting. I think it’s going to be a dog fight.”
 
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE NO. 48 TEAM’S PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR, AND HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THEIR PERFORMANCE AND THE REST OF THE FIELD?
“I think Matt (Kenseth) and his team have in some ways matched it, and in some ways maybe even out performed them. If you look at the mechanical issues the No. 20 team has had and you take those out and you match the reliability of the No. 48, maybe they look the best. Those two teams to me have stood out as being the two best, the two teams that have been able to make the most speed, the two teams that have been able to execute when the opportunity was there. It’s hard to talk about the No. 48 and Jimmie (Johnson) and what they do because what they’ve been doing is what is expected of them. They’ve set the bar so high that when they do phenomenal things it’s oh well its Jimmie. It’s not that big of a deal. It is a big deal, but it’s not perceived as a big deal. So, it’s really hard to put your finger on them because they have such a lofty expectation level. It’s like a football team that wins 14 regular season games. Nobody talks about it because it’s expected and that’s kind of how they are. What they have been doing is phenomenal but it’s almost expected of them.”
 
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE IMPACT OF MAKING THE CHASE VERSES NOT MAKING THE CHASE FOR TEAMS LIKE YOURS?
“It’s big. When you go into that 10-race shootout and you have a chance to win the championship, there’s a completely different feeling and a completely different environment that revolves around a team. Now you may be going into it without really looking at it by any means being the favorite, you might be going into it being the favorite, but you all go into it knowing you have a shot. Those weeks leading up to the Chase, whether you’re fighting to get into it or you already know you’re in it, that’s what it’s all about. When you don’t have it, it’s extremely disappointing and extremely discouraging to everybody involved. These team members, not only the ones on the road but the ones at home; they put their heart and soul into this thing. When you have a goal of making the Chase, and all your efforts are about making the Chase and you’re not going to, what’s your goal? If you have to diminish and lessen your goals, that’s not what any sporting team or business or anything else wants to do. So, it’s a demoralizing event. When that time comes where you are like we can’t make it, it’s just demoralizing. It is. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve still got to keep digging. But it’s a whole lot harder to bring the same effort that a team that’s in the Chase is bringing. It’s harder to bring that effort. You try and you put your effort into it. You get up in the morning thinking about it and you’re wanting to go and prove yourself, your team is wanting to prove themselves and you want to do it together, but it’s not the same as being in the Chase.”
 
WE’VE HEARD FOR YEARS WHERE DRIVERS WILL SAY, FROM WHERE I WAS SITTING THAT WAS AN EXCITING RACE BUT THE FANS WATCHING ON T.V. ARE SAYING ONE LEAD CHANGE UNDER GREEN ALL DAY, IS THERE ANY WAY YOU AS A DRIVER CAN APPRECIATE WHAT THE FANS ARE THINKING? AND IS THERE ANY WAY THE FANS CAN APPRECIATE WHAT YOU’RE THINKING WHEN THE RACE SEEMS TO BE SO DIFFERENT FROM THOSE TWO PERSPECTIVES?
“Not completely. Some drivers aren’t race fans. They race because it’s about them which is fine, there’s nothing wrong with that. We have other drivers that are big race fans. If a driver is a race fan, I think he can understand what the race fans are thinking and what they are saying but not in the extent that you pay however much money as you pay to sit in your seat and you watch a raced that wasn’t satisfying to you. The driver, no matter what the quality of the race is for the fan, his effort and his dedication it might be racing for 15th but he’s doing is best all day to find a way to go to 14th. I go up in the tower a few times a year, go up on the spotters stand or whatever and watch a race, man it’s a different perspective. It looks like everybody is just riding around. I’ll be honest, I’ve driven these things for a long time, there’s times I’m up there thinking man just drive it in the corner, but it’s just not that easy. It’s hard for both sides to see the other side, but I think drivers understand the fans want to see exciting racing. I think the fans know that the drivers want to be involved in exciting racing. It’s way more fun to run side by side and be in the middle of a real tight battle than it is to be nose to tail trying to find your way around one guy. It just is, so we want to be part of that too.”
 
THIS IS KIND OF A UNIQUE TRACK STARTING WITH THE CONFIGURATION, BUT OVER THE YEARS WE’VE SEEN SOME ODD THING HAPPEN LIKE A FAN WALKING ACROSS THE TRACK, KASEY KAHNE’S CAR GETTING INTO THE TREES OVER AT THE TUNNEL TURN, WHAT’S THE STRANGEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU AT THIS TRACK?
“The fact that they paint a lot of rocks here I think is pretty strange. That must be a Mattioli thing. I thought you were describing Saturday night racing at South Boston there for a little while, people throwing coolers and wildlife running across the track. I can’t say that I’ve had anything all that strange happen h
ere, but when you’re at a 2.5-mile race track and you have three distinct corners, this is a recipe for strange things to happen. It’s in a really interesting part of the country and there is so much wildlife here. It’s a very rural area. All that opens a door for opportunity for things you won’t see necessarily at Indianapolis for example. It’s a unique facility. There’s a lot of history here. When you come in here you can’t think but of Doc (Joe Mattioli) and everything they did to make this race track. I think the boys deserve a lot of credit, the newer generation for really trying to make this track a premier race track. Not only the big track, but the road course too. This new road course that they’ve put in is just a phenomenal facility. I think they deserve a lot of credit trying to step up the quality of the track, the quality of the experience for the fans and the competitors. They have taken a big gamble. Doc was very, very conservative in spending the money as related to continuing to update it. They have taken a different approach. It’s a bit of a gamble for them. They deserve a lot of credit. They’ve made some major expenditures in an effort to try to improve racing for people in this area. Not just stock car racing, but other kinds of racing as well. They need to be commended for that.”
 
DO YOU THINK THAT THIS SPORT NEEDS SOME YOUNG DRIVERS TO CHALLENGE SOME OF THE VETERANS TO BRING IN THE YOUNGER FAN BASE?
“I think we’ve seen a shortage of young drivers coming in over the years because of the lack of sponsorship. I think that part of the cycle of this sport is young drivers. Part of the cycle of this sport is veterans verses new guys. I think that’s exciting. As a 46-year-old driver I understand there’s a lot of young guys that want my seat. By the way, when I was 26 I wanted their seat. That’s how it works and that’s part of it. I think it’s good for the sport to see a mixture of veterans, a mixture of young guys, and a mixture of guys that are kind of on the brink of being one or the other. So, yeah I do. I think we’ve had a shortage, we haven’t seen a lot of rollover. Because of what has gone on in Nationwide, Trucks and other series no driver has ever really stood out because not a lot of drivers are getting the chance that I got or some other guys got. Sponsorship is dried up; a lot of things have happened that’s made it harder for younger guys to break into the Cup level. Yes, I do think it’s good for the sport. It’s natural, it’s what happens. You know, Richard Petty doesn’t drive anymore. Harry Gant doesn’t drive anymore. Those things cycle and it’s good for our sport.”
 
IS THE NEW CAR WHAT YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE LACK OF CONSISTENCY YOU MENTIONED EARLIER?
“I don’t think so. Really the new car is an aerodynamic change. Parts and pieces aren’t breaking on the new car, because of the new car rather. I think it’s just competitive. This sport from first to 24th is pretty darn competitive. The 30th place car isn’t as competitive as in the sports heyday, there’s no denying that. Those top 23 or top 24 are just really good teams. When you have a bad day it stands out. It really stands out. Good teams can run 18th. That’s what I think has created the inconsistency. It’s just so hard to be good everywhere. Our teams are getting smarter and smarter. It used to be that we would come to Charlotte, Atlanta, Chicago or whatever race tracks and we would run the same set up. Maybe the sway bar is a little different, maybe a little less right rear spring, maybe the track bar a little lower, but it was pretty much a basic set up. Today, every race track has its own unique deal because of engineers and all the science and technology that has gotten into our sport allows that to happen. Somebody gets good somewhere at a particular race track; they could be good there but not be good the next week. We really see that in those teams that are from eighth to 20th. Those other teams, they seem to run well everywhere. That eighth to 20th deal, none of those teams, that includes us, have found a way to be good at almost any kind of race track.”
 
REGARDING THE INDIANAPOLIS/POCONO CONNECTION, WHAT EXACTLY TRANSLATES AND IS IT STILL AS TRANSLATABLE WITH THIS CAR?
“It’s more translatable since they’ve paved this track. I never understood how Indy had anything to do with Pocono when this track was a rough as it was and this track had zero grip compared to Indy. Now that this track was paved, there are some similarities in the sense that you have long straightaways. It’s all about aerodynamics, that’s what it boils down to. How you can get your car to sit down the straightaways verses the way it sits in the corners. Because you have long straightaways at both race tracks and both race tracks are smooth, both race tracks have limited banking, that opens the door to similar philosophies from one race track to the next. That’s really what it boils down to, banking, smoothness, grip level; those kinds of things are what make the track. So you can use a basic philosophy from one race track to the next.”
 
SO THE NEW CAR DOESN’T MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
“I don’t think so. That’s my opinion. I don’t really see why this car would make any more difference than the old car. It’s really about the track.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOBOWLING.COM 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 2, 2013
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PLANES CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Pocono Raceway and discussed his workout routine on the weekend, his outlook for this weekend at Pocono and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
TALK ABOUT YOUR PAINT SCHEME THIS WEEKEND AND YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THE WEEKEND:
“Excited for it for sure, the Dover race earlier this year, I can’t remember what we had on.  Was it Madagascar 3?  Yeah, that is right I just didn’t have a wig to wear this time.  No, I won with 3 what was on the car earlier this year?”
 
THAT WAS DOVER LAST YEAR:
“But Dover this year I had something on there too.  You can tell it’s really embedded in my mind.  Anyway I think they are cool.  It’s great to have them on the race car.  It gets my daughter excited.  The way I became a fan was going to the race track as a kid and if we can capture young eyes and have them watch a race for whatever reason, if it’s a cartoon that they enjoy or a movie from Disney that they enjoy it’s helpful.  I think it’s good for all of us.  It’s fun to have the car look different and everything that kind of spins off from it.  We have had very fast race cars when we have had the Disney movies on our race car.  Excited for the opportunity I think Dane Cook is going to be here this weekend which will be fun.  I’m sure he will make some people smile and laugh.  From what I understand the fly over is going to be exciting too with the plane from the movie. All in all, just a fun way to tie it all in.  I think it’s good for the track, good for Lowe’s, good for myself, good for NASCAR and hopefully we get some new young fans out of it.”
 
MONSTER’S UNIVERSITY:
“That’s what it was Monster’s U.”
 
DOES IT MOTIVATE YOU GUYS WHEN YOU LOSE A RACE LIKE THAT TO COME BACK?
“No, I mean there is more frustration in it than anything.  I mean you hate to give away race wins for whatever reason, especially when you have a dominate car.  Whatever the mistake may be and where it comes from driver or team you just hate having that on your shoulders for the week following.  You are just eager to get on the track and get that behind you.  For me it hasn’t brought anymore focus or drive or meaning to the next event.  It’s some ways some relief, it’s something new to talk about, something new to put your mind on and to move forward from there.”
 
YOU HAVE BEEN DOMINATING THIS WHOLE YEAR IN POINTS.  DOES THAT INFLUENCE THE WAY YOU FEEL WHEN YOU ACTUALLY GO INTO THE CHASE? DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE THE ADVANTAGE?  DOES THAT INFLUENCE ANYTHING THAT YOUR TEAM DOES?
“It’s nice to have the point’s lead.  I think it sends a message to the garage area that we are good on all types of tracks, all types of situations.  But through it all even though I have a huge points lead right now I still have my eyes on three or four cars that I think will be the guys to deal with in the Chase.  I watch them and their performance and how they run, especially on Chase tracks that we have a chance to race at in the regular season and form opinions through all of that.  There is nothing negative to come from the point’s lead and having a big one.   I think race wins sends a really strong message too especially late in the regular season.  If we could win some races that would be another very helpful thing for the No. 48 team.  When things change in September and you are seeded based on wins, 75 points we have now, right now we would be tied with Matt (Kenseth).  I don’t know I guess it would be 40 points, no 20 points, to the lowest person.  We are 75 up now.  It just shrinks so quick and getting into the Chase no matter how dominant you are your point’s lead is never going to be a 75 point spread.  I’m enjoying life now, but I know things are going to get really intense here in 6, 8 weeks, whatever it is.”
 
WHAT DO YOU AND YOUR FELLOW COMPETITORS DO TO STAY IN SHAPE ON THE LONG WEEKEND OTHER THAN GET BEHIND THE WHEEL OF THE RACE CAR?
“I think a lot of us focus during the week in Monday to Thursday, our travel day is when a more structured workout routine and most of us have a trainer that we work with or nutritionist.  If it’s your own individual group of people you work with or someone that the team uses for the pit crew guys.  For myself when I get to the track on the weekends I still stay active.  I got up this morning and ran 6 (miles).  Tomorrow I’m going to ride, it’s just for fun just to stay active and tomorrow’s ride is a lot of fun.  There is a group of probably; it depends, but 8-15 guys that ride and the majority of them are all crew members.  We have our bikes here and we will load up and ride.  This is pretty hilly terrain around here so we will ride; I think this ride is about 50 miles and 5,000 feet of climbing.  We will ride on a Saturday.  That again it’s not a killer pace, we are not trying to race we are just riding along.  If we see a little country store we will stop and grab a Gatorade and a snack, talk a little bit and head off to the next spot.  It’s really a fun way to burn some calories, stay fit and get through the afternoon and not sit in the motorhome on a weekend and eat way too many calories watching television.”
 
HOW DO YOU USE THE NEXT SIX WEEKS?  DO YOU GO AFTER WINS AND THOSE POINTS OR CAN YOU GUYS USE THOSE SIX RACES TO PLAY AROUND WITH THE CAR AND EXPERIMENT?
“Honestly, we need to do both.  We have great speed now, but in two months’ time a lot can change.  If the Chase started now we would probably be more conservative and just refine the package that we have now.  You can’t give the garage two months things are going to change too much.  We will try to manage both.  I think the closer we get to the Chase the importance definitely is on winning, but top three’s, top five’s is really the motivation there and to get into that rhythm. To feel the pressure from a driver’s stand point to perform each week and also for the pit crew on pit road there is just a mental advantage, I believe, if you are able to live in that top three world week in and week out.  That is the world you have to be in to win the championship.  If you are running, 15th, 18th and then expect to handle all forms of pressure when the Chase starts, I just don’t think that is all that possible.”
 
WITH WATKINS GLEN COMING UP I JUST WANT TO TAKE YOU BACK TO LAST YEAR.  YOU FINISHED THIRD THERE, BUT THE END OF THE RACE WAS SO CRAZY.  WHAT ARE YOUR MEMORIES OF THE END OF THAT RACE?  JUST GENERALLY SPEAKING WHY HAVE ROAD COURSES GOTTEN SO CRAZY?
“They were too far ahead for me to really see.  My spotters around the race track kept encouraging me to stay on the road and hurry up because the leaders were going to crash and wreck.  When I saw the video now I understand why.  It was a really exciting final lap or so.  I think that we have all become very comfortable behind the wheels of these cars on the road courses.  When a so called ringer comes in I’m not sure if they really run in the top-10 any longer.  All the oval specialists have worked very hard to understand road course racing and the teams have as well.  It’s a chance for a win and I think guys are very hunger to win on road courses because there are only two a year and we all want to be well balanced racers.  We all want that nod of the hat, that ‘W’ in the win column that you have won on a road course.  I know that I did and I still want more.  I would love to have more than just one and hopefully we can get one at ‘the Gle
n’.”
 
YOU ARE ONE OF SIX GUYS THAT HAVE SWEPT THE SEASON RACES HERE AT POCONO.  YOU HAD A SWEEP AT DAYTONA THIS YEAR.  WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO SWEEP RACES?  WHAT IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS RACE AS OPPOSED TO EIGHT WEEKS AGO HERE?
“Pocono to me has always been a track that I felt a sweep is possible and easier to have a sweep here than other tracks just due to the calendar.  There is not a lot of time between the first race and the second race.  Things don’t change a ton.  The track doesn’t change a ton although it does lose some grip later in the season.  With the cool temperatures this weekend I’m not sure it’s going to be much different than what we had in the spring.  The Daytona sweep I would say is probably the hardest one to get.  When you look at restrictor plate racing and the draft and how many cars really have a shot to win, I think the odds shift the other way pretty far.  For a while there I think the first handful of years of my career we were able to sweep each year.  We had a nice consecutive streak going then that came to an end.  I’ve personally enjoyed sweeps. They have meant a lot to me and happy that I have one this year.  It would be awesome to have two sweeps in a year if that is possible this weekend.”
 
YOU ARE NOT USING THE SAME CHASSIS THIS WEEKEND AT POCONO THAT YOU USED LAST WEEKEND AT INDY.  HOW MUCH DO YOU LEAN ON ONE FOR THE OTHER GIVEN THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE TWO RACE TRACKS?
“We took the race winning car from here to Indy and finishing where we did we just didn’t get the car back in time to turn around and bring it here.  We would have loved to have brought that race car here.  We feel like in today’s world in the rules and the templates and everything it takes to bring a race car to the track today it’s much easier to repeat and bring a car as good if not better than five, six years ago especially the gen-4 race car.  It was very tough to repeat with those cars.  We definitely did have a favorite there.  Anymore I can’t tell the difference.  I know that we have our latest package on this car and it shouldn’t be a lot different than what we had before.”
 
PEOPLE ARE USING THE WORLD DOMINATE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE YOUR SEASON.  HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE YOUR COMPETITIVENESS AND SPEED EVERY WEEKEND TO THE BEST SEASONS YOU HAVE HAD TO DATE?
“I feel like the team, the cars, our racing ability and the things needed to be dominate it’s right there if not a touch ahead of my best year where I think I won 10 races.  The difference is execution.  We have left races sitting on the table.  We have the foundation of our most dominate year, but finishing it off and executing we have given up some races this year.  That would be the only difference in it, the only thing that would kind of pull it back down.”
 
SOME TALK LAST WEEK ABOUT PASSING VERSUS RACING AND WHAT MAKES A GOOD RACE.  FROM A DRIVER’S STAND POINT HOW MUCH MORE FRANTIC IF IT IS MORE FRANTIC FOR A DRIVER ONCE YOU LOSE ALL THE TRACK POSITION YOU HAVE HAD ALL DAY?
“It gets really frantic to be honest with you.  Especially if you haven’t been in traffic throughout the day and you have set your car up to run in clean air typically you can have the car a lot freer when you have the whole race track to yourself and solid clean consistent air on the car.  For me when I got in traffic last week my car would get a lot looser.  I was already on the free side and was already struggling up off the corner, but having the lead like we did, clean air, stable air, I could really use that to my advantage.  Lap traffic was a struggle then trying to run Ryan (Newman) down at the end was tough.  Obviously, didn’t get there and I only feel to second and I’m not saying that is why I didn’t catch Ryan. If you go from first to 15th it’s a game changer.  Your car drives so different.  Especially if you have run up front for an adjustment or two and you fall back it is a totally different world deep in traffic.”
 
YOU HAVE SAVED YOUR NASCAR TESTS TO THE LATTER PART OF THE SEASON WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE OR IS THERE A FEAR OF TOO MUCH WORK FOR THESE GUYS AT THE LATTER PART OF THE SEASON AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT IS GOING TO HELP YOU THE MOST AS YOU GUYS DO THESE TESTS UPCOMING?
“That is a great point we are definitely going to work our guys hard.  You have to build great depth in your team so that you can let your road crew guys sit home while the team goes and tests.  That is one thing we have been working hard on to make sure that we don’t have our race day road crew guys just getting worked to the bone. Although some cross over and go regardless we can’t get around that, but what really changes it this year and makes it less specific per team is the rules. You have to test as an organization.  So to get all four drivers and crew chiefs to agree on what are the most important tracks we all have to compromise a little bit.  Strategically we wanted to save some tests around the end of the regular season in case we had someone on the fence there and needed to get them into the Chase.  We have been preserving our tests waiting for the right strategy and trying to think what is best for the company, what gives the company the best opportunity to win a championship. Clearly testing at Chase tracks is the best thing for that.  It will put a strain on our crew and we have been trying to build depth.  Especially Chad’s (Knaus) side of things he has believed in depth for a long time and we can go look at our over-the-wall crew and see what he has done there.  We have the same thing going on in the shop.  I feel as far as the No. 48 team goes it’s going to be tough, but the guys are excited for it.  We do have some depth to get some rest.”
 
WAS THERE ANY EXTRA WORK DONE ON PIT STOPS THIS WEEK OR ANYTHING AFTER THE LAST ONE DIDN’T GO SO WELL ON SUNDAY?
“Not that I’m aware of.  I talked to the guys Sunday night and just asked them to enjoy the pain, let it sit there, let it hurt, let it bother you, but Monday morning when they started hitting lugnuts and jacking the car and going through their routine that it was out of their mind.  I asked them also to be fearless when they hopped off the wall this weekend and just do their jobs.  The worst thing any of us can do that have to go out and perform is to carry something in the back of your mind mentally.  That will do more damage than you can ever imagine.  We had some great conversations Sunday evening.  The guys had solid stops all week and I didn’t hear of anything additional.  Just kind of a normal week for the guys.”
 
WHEN YOU WIN SO MUCH AND WHEN YOU RUN UP FRONT SO MUCH DOES IT MAKE THE TOUGH LOSSES EASIER TO FORGET ABOUT THAN MOVE ON FROM THAN SAY A BACK OF THE PACK DRIVER WHO THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN HIS ONLY CHANCE TO WIN?
“It’s hard to say.  I mean Indy means so much to everybody.  I think that one stings universally it doesn’t matter if you are a regular up front or wherever you run.  For me my eye has always been on the big prize and that is the championship.  The comments I made following the race were sincere in how I felt because of where my viewpoint is.  I’m not going to make a comment that is going to tear down my race team and prevent us from winning the big prize, winning the championship.  That is the way we all think on the No. 48.  Eye on the big prize, it absolutely stung.  It wasn’t fun for any of us, but the best thing we could do is get back to our jobs and fortunately or unfortunately forget about Indy and move on. The faster we move on from that the better we are going to do here.”