NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R WINS AT LAGUNA SECA WITH FLAWLESS RACE
No. 4 Compuware Corvette Finishes 10th after Gear Box Issue Early in Race
SALINAS, Calif. – (May 11, 2013) – A well-executed team effort helped Corvette Racing return to victory lane at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Laguna Seca road course for the second consecutive year.   Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia, drivers of the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R, scored their first American Le Mans Series (ALMS) GT Class win of the season and first since 2011.  Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner, drivers of the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R scored Corvette Racing’s first win of 2013 in the season-opening race at Sebring.
Gavin qualified fourth for the ALMS GT Class at Laguna Seca while Garcia posted the sixth-fastest GT time in his No. 3 Corvette.
Right out of the gate, the No. 4 Corvette team faced adversity as they made contact with another car but were able to continue on with no damage.   After both cars stopped for fuel and tires just over an hour into the race, the No. 3 car piloted by Magnussen powered their way to the front of the field while trouble struck the No. 4 Corvette again when Gavin radioed the crew that his car was stuck in sixth gear.  
A full course caution coincided with the gear box problem and the crew brought Gavin down pit road and to their attention under yellow.   The team quickly identified the problem which was a cracked hose in the gear box.   Unfortunately the repairs cost the team five laps and they fell to the rear of the GT ranks, and came home in 10th position.
At the halfway mark of the race, Magnussen had stretched out a two second lead over second place until a full course caution fell for a car stuck in the sand.  That is when the No. 3 team decided to bring Jan in for tires, fuel and a driver change.  It was yet another lightning-fast stop for the Corvette Racing crew which kept the car at the front of the field.
With Garcia behind the wheel, the No. 3 team would not relinquish the lead again.  The margin was tight most of the race and varied from three-tenths to almost two seconds.  The crew and drivers had no room for error in such a close race. The No. 3 Corvette team impressively spent four seconds less on pit road than their competitors in second place.  A number which surely factored into tonight’s victory.
Magnussen was happy with the long awaited win in a tough race.  “I have to say, today was one of the most perfect races we’ve had with Corvette Racing,” he said.  “We were under pressure the whole way. We never had a big lead, we really had to work through traffic and not get stopped by the slower cars and lose too much time. It was a matter of being precise the whole race. The pit crew made perfect stops. We didn’t have any issues in the pits. We did the driver change during only a short fuel, so there wasn’t a lot of time to make it. I am so happy we finally get a win over a year and a half. With this one, if you can’t win driving like this, you can’t win. It is a lot of pressure, but we have a great crew behind us the whole time.
“I knew right away we had a good car, but immediately in my mind I didn’t think we would win it because we have been in that situation many times last year where we had a good car, and a good situation going, but didn’t get the win.   So this race was just a really tough race because we were under pressure the entire time and there was no room for any mistakes in the pits or on track and the whole team just performed fantastic.”
Garcia, who drove the final laps under intense pressure, gave much credit to this team. “It was brilliant,” said Garcia.  “Even the driver change was amazing.  Even if it was 11 or 12 seconds on fuel, we made it out on time and I could hardly even do my belts before taking off.  So basically that is the main thing.  The Corvette crew did a great job out there and all the pit stops were under yellow and even if we were coming in bumper-to-bumper, every time we were going out of the pits, nobody was behind us. They were behind, but they were further back than when we came in.   You need a fast Corvette race car, but just as important is having a crew that performs like these guys did today.  I think last year we did like 5 second places, so we really deserved a win or two. I thought today, with as perfect as we’ve been driving, if we don’t get this win, I don’t know what else to do. Everything worked, right where it needed to be.”
Gavin teamed with Milner to win the GT class in last year’s event at Laguna Seca, finishing 3.45 seconds ahead of the No. 3 Corvette C6.R, driven by Garcia and Magnussen for a 1-2 finish.  Gavin and Milner continued their success that culminated in winning the 2012 ALMS drivers’ championship, and opened the 2013 season with a victory at Sebring last month.
The other top-ten finishers in Saturday’s race in ALMS GT competition were, No. 17 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (2nd), No. 56 BMW Z4 GTE (3rd), No. 91 SRT Viper GTS-R (4th), No. 23 Ferrari F458 Italia (5th), No. 55 BMW Z4 GTE (6th), No. 48 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (7th). No. 06 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (8th), and the No. 62 Ferrari F458 Italia (9th).

JEFF GORDON SPEARHEADS TEAM CHEVY WITH THIRD-PLACE FINISH AT DARLINGTON
JIMMIE JOHNSON MAINTAINS AS POINT LEADER
 
DARLINGTON, S.C. – May 11, 2013 – In his 700th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career start, Jeff Gordon took the lead for Team Chevy by scoring a third-place finish at the Bojangles’ Southern 500 in his No. 24 Cromax Pro Chevrolet SS.  A seven-time winner at Darlington, this marked Gordon’s 300th top-five finish in the sport; which recognizes him as becoming the fourth driver to accomplish this feat (joining David Pearson, Bobby Allison and Richard Petty).
 
“We all wanted this 700th start to be a memorable one and not one like we had last year,” said Gordon following the 367-lap contest. “So, it was a great effort by this Cromax Pro Chevrolet team. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) made great calls and the pit stops were fantastic; especially when it counted the most there at the end. We were just bouncing between tight and loose and right there at the end, it was about the best that it had been all night.”
 
Last year’s Darlington race winner, and five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, brought his No. 48 Lowe’s Emerald Green Chevrolet SS home in fourth.  With his top-five finish, Johnson maintained his position as the current Series point leader.
 
A stout fifth-place finish by Kevin Harvick in his No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet SS, not only boosted him to 10th-place in the standings, but also gave Team Chevy three of the top-five spots in the finishing order.
 
Three other members of the Bowtie Brigade posted strong runs at ‘The Track too Tough to Tame’, giving Team Chevy six of the top-10 finishing spots:  Juan Pablo Montoya, in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS finished eighth, boosting himself three slots in the standings to 22nd overall.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS finished ninth, and is fourth in the rankings.  Ryan Newman, aboard his No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, was 10th in the 500-mile race, and is 17th overall.
 
Matt Kenseth (Toyota) was the race winner and Denny Hamlin (Toyota) finished second to round out the top five.
 
Next stop on the tour will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 18th for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 CROMAX PRO CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED THIRD
POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
 
KERRY THARP:  We’re going to roll into our post‑race press conference.  Our third‑place finisher is Jeff Gordon.  His 700th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 300th career top‑five finish in the Sprint Cup Series.  Only four drivers in total have done that.  Next up for him to join would be David Pearson.
 
Jeff, congratulations.
 
JEFF GORDON:  Is he 100 ahead of me?
 
KERRY THARP:  I think he’s 1 ahead of you.  I think you’ll probably get that. But talk about your run tonight and the race here this evening at Darlington.
 
JEFF GORDON:  It was a great result for us.  Just a great battle by this team.  We had a decent car before the sun really went down, the track cooled down and then we started battles between the balance from one end to the other, which is not uncommon here.  Seems like you don’t fight that as much during the day when the pace drops a lot more.  At night, that’s what you deal with.  Pace picks up, the balance changes.
 
We started freeing the car up, then the track started freeing up and then we tightened up.  We bounced back and forth.  I’m most proud that we kept battling.  We had good pit stops, the last one being a great one.  Great calls by Alan, staying out when we needed to stay out, coming in when we needed to come in.
 
The last run was the best the car had been.  We got a good restart.  Fortunate to come home with a third‑place finish.  Very happy with it.
 
KERRY THARP:  We’ll take questions now for Jeff Gordon.
Q.  Jeff, it seemed as though the low line in three and four tonight really was paying off for some of the cars.  Were you able to get down there at all?  Did it work for you?
JEFF GORDON:  That’s called the apron (laughter).
 
Yeah, I mean, early on in the race, (Kevin) Harvick went by me down there and I tried it and it didn’t work that well for me.  Later in the run it started working for me.  I started using it a lot more throughout the night.
 
It just depended on how my car was balanced out.  If I was tight, I couldn’t get down there.  You know, you try to go wherever the car in front of you isn’t.  At this track, that’s hard to do in one and two.  But in three and four, it’s nice to have that option.
 
Sometimes it worked well for me and we got by some cars.  It’s nice in lap traffic to be able to have that option.
 
I mean, I don’t know if it’s this car or this track or whatever it is, but guys were using the apron off of four, into one, all the way through three and four.  Pretty crazy when you think of what parts of the track we’re starting to utilize.
Q.  How special is it to have your 700th consecutive start here at Darlington and then come off with such a great finish?
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah, no, we’ve known for some time that this should be where it should happen.  I thought that was very cool.  I think, looking back throughout my career, this track has been one of the best for me, a very special place.  Holds so much history for this sport.
 
To have the seven wins here that I have, I couldn’t think of a better place to come to and get the 700th starthere.  Then to go out there and have a strong performance, it felt great.
 
I wanted the 700th to be a memorable one, and I’m glad it wasn’t like last year’s memory where we blew two left rear tires back‑to‑back.  This was much better than that.  Top three, that’s fantastic.  I mean, we needed this kind of performance, a gutsy performance, for the points as well as to make this one memorable.
Q.  Were you surprised to see it go green as long as it did at the start of the race?  Kyle Busch mentioned to Dave Rogers a couple of times he was struggling with lap cars.  Did you find it more difficult than normal trips here to Darlington to battle around lap cars?
JEFF GORDON:  Only thing I’ll add to that, I see every position being challenged, people racing one another far harder than they ever used to.
 
I heard Jeff Burton on the telecast last night during the Nationwide race talking about the give‑and‑take.  There used to be a lot of give‑and‑take here because you could let a guy go, let him wear his tires out, you could run him back down if you conserved.  That’s not the case anymore.
 
Even if you’re a lap car, especially the leader, you’re going to fight that leader as hard as you can to keep those positions.  When you’re the leader, you don’t like coming up on lap cars because you know they’re going to fight you more, then they let the guy behind you go as soon as they get to you, and it’s frustrating.
Q. 301 laps with one caution break.  How mentally taxing is it knowing you’re running that close to the wall, to run that many laps without the three or four caution laps you had in the middle of that?
JEFF GORDON:  Yeah, you know, I like getting into a rhythm.  The only thing that was different is the track conditions were changing each time you came out of the pits on new tires because the sun was going down, the track was cooling down.
 
I think it depends on how the race is going.  If you feel like you need to make up time on guys, you want a caution.  If you’re running up front, you don’t want to see a caution.
 
I don’t know.  I just kind of got into a rhythm.  It felt good to me.  I wa
s enjoying it.  I feel like green‑flag stops kind of separate the good pit crews and teams, and you can get yourself in a position, where as a competitor, you want to race against the least amount of guys as possible.
 
For the fans, you want to see cautions, restarts, sparks flying, things like what happened with Kasey and Kyle.  I hated to see that for Kasey.  I loved seeing him dive up there and take the lead.
 
The first portion of the race, it was surprising.  I didn’t expect us to go that long.  But I was kind of enjoying it actually.
                      

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
BOJANGLES SOUTHERN 500
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 11, 2013
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 CROMAX PRO CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED THIRD
ON YOUR 700TH CAREER NASCAR SPRINT CUP START, YOUR 300TH TOP-FIVE FINISH, JUST HOW MUCH DID THIS TRACK CHANGE FOR YOU GUYS?
“Well we all wanted this 700th start to be a memorable one and not one like we had last year. So, it was a great effort by this Cromax Pro Chevrolet team. Alan (Gustafson) called great calls and the pit stops were fantastic; especially when it counted the most there at the end. We were just bouncing between tight and loose and right there at the end, it was about the best that it had been all night. That’s what you want, you know? To be able to have good track position and have the car pretty well working for you; so, it was a really solid night. I’m very proud of this.”
 
WHAT DID YOU NEED IN YOUR CAR TO GET THE BIGGEST NUMBER TO WIN TONIGHT?
“Well I was excited that Darlington was going to be our 700th start and our team was ready to go out there and do battle and that’s what it takes at this tough race track. I’m really proud of this Cromax Pro Chevrolet team. I thought Alan (Gustafson) called a great race. We made the right adjustments at the right time and got good track position with tires there at the end and had some good re-starts. We needed track position. I thought our car was actually pretty fast there at the end. But, I don’t know, you know. We just couldn’t quite get it. We were always balancing between tight and loose and right there at the end was about the best the car had been. It took off really good, but it started getting tight on me and then Jimmie (Johnson) started catching us. So, I think that’s about the best we could have asked for. You always want to get out there in clean traffic and see what it will do.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S EMERALD GREEN CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FOURTH
HOW WAS THE RACING OUT HERE TONIGHT?
“It was just a great 500 miles here at Darlington. There is nothing easy about this race track. It keeps you on your toes all night long. We had a great car. We lost a little tack position at the end. But we still got back into the Top-5; but I kind of ran second and third all night long; wish I was a little bit better, but this Emerald Green Lowe’s Chevrolet was doing a good job. We had fun (laughs). I love this place. I wish we could race here three or four times a year.”
 
HOW DID THE TRACK CHANGE AS THE RACE WENT ON?
“It changed a lot from yesterday in the first couple of segments. I wasn’t prepared for the track to change as much as it did there; and then it kind of stayed there all night long. But my first run or two was far different than I expected.”
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FIFTH
A NICE FIFTH-PLACE FINISH FOR YOU. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EVENING:
“We had a good Budweiser Chevy all evening long, especially on the long runs, and that really kept us in the game at the beginning of the race when we had so many green-flag runs. So, we got caught with that one caution; luckily we were running fifth at the time and we were able to take a wave-around and restart I think 11th. So, it didn’t bite us too bad and we were able to get back where we were and that’s probably about where our car should have finished.”
 
WHAT WAS THE DEAL WITH THE INSIDE GROOVE? THAT’S SOMETHING WE REALLY HAVEN’T SEEN MUCH OF AT DARLINGTON:
“It worked here last time. Probably not as good as it did here tonight. But, it’s nice when you have some options and my car was just too loose to run really up in the fence. I did at the end, but the low line was fast enough to where you could conserve the car and still make decent lap times.”
 
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED EIGHTH
SOLID TOP-10 RUN FOR YOU TONIGHT TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN:
“Well, we didn’t unload as good as we wanted, but we got into it really good.  We did a really good job.  Everybody on the Target Chevy has been doing a great job.  We have been running like this all year.  We’ve just had all kinds of mistakes and things.  I keep telling the guys we have got to execute.  If every person here does their best we are going to be looking like heroes here.”
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED NINTH
ON HIS RUN:
“We had a real good car all weekend.  Just never really got great track position.  The last half of the race the car was a little bit up out of the race track, but we were still pretty happy.  Traffic was terrible, just real dirty air out there.  We were faster than the No. 42 at the end of the race, just couldn’t pass him.  Probably faster than the No. 99 and No. 29 too, but got to be in front of them.”
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 TIME WARNER CABLE CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 17TH
HOW WAS IT OUT THERE TONIGHT RACING?
“Oh, we were racing hard. I had a great Time Warner Cable Chevrolet and I cleared him, getting into (Turn) 3, so I had the outside and I then I saw he entered so early that I knew he was not going to be able to turn when we got to the corner and I was going along and the next thing I knew, I was spinning. So, I felt really good. The car was getting better and better as the race went, but they had to make a lot of adjustments and things. But, I don’t know. Three times this year me and Kyle (Busch) have had contact. And I’ve had capable of winning cars. It’s disappointing on the point’s side and not winning races. But that was close racing. He entered so early and he was just going straight to the corner. So whether he hit me or just blew the air off, whatever it was, he blew his entry and I’m not real sure what he was thinking on that.”
 
ARE YOU DONE TALKING WITH KYLE (BUSCH) NOW?
“Well, he needs to quit… I mean he’s got to just race me.  I mean I’ve never touched the guy in my life as far as on the race track.  Three times this year, there have been other times in other years.  I don’t really know what his deal is with me.  He blew that entry into (turn) one.  I got to the outside.  I got by him into (turn) three.  We had a great restart.  We kept getting our car better.  The guys did an awesome job.  Then he just blew his entry into (turn) one.  Whether he touched me… I mean it was very close whatever it was.  The angle he took into the corner, he had no steer and just went straight.  Then I went spinning.  It was definitely a tough way to end our race.  We had just got to the point where I could move off the bottom. I could move up higher because we had been so loose and I felt really good.”
 
WAS THAT A RECKLESS MOVE THEN ON HIS PART?
“I think he just struggles racing me and he just made an error as far as his entry.  Like he entered so early and had no steering.  You figure that out throughout the whole race.  He passed so many lap cars he knew what was going to happen.  He tried to stop but he couldn’t slow down at that point.  I don’t know he just kind of just screwed up again.  This is his third time this year he has screwed up.”
 
WHAT HAPPENED GOING INTO TURN NUMBER ONE?
“It was just close racing really.  He (Kyle Busch) messed his entry up; he entered early and then couldn’t turn once he did that.  So he was just kind of going straight across the track.  I was like ‘figure it out.’ If he would just figure it out we wouldn’t have any issues.  I have never even ran into the guy.  So it’s kind of crazy, but we had a great Time Warner Cable Chevrolet.  The guys did a really nice job throughout the race.  We kept getting better.  At that point in the race was the first time I could actually move to the outside and had some grip.  It was way looser
up high, but there was more momentum or speed up there.  I was just getting up to that area and it felt really solid with our car and where we were at.  Disappointing way to end.”
 
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE MOVE KYLE BUSCH MADE?
“I think he (Kyle Busch) just made another mistake.  That is his third one when he has been around me this year.  I don’t really understand it.  We were battling for the lead or for the top two or three spots each time.  Where he entered and hit his breaks he just crushed the splitter.  We do it all race long and the way he did it he hit the brakes and he has no front-end.  You just slide, he went straight on entry.  His car is going straight it’s not even turning left.  It’s just a mistake on his part.  I imagine he will call me again tomorrow and say he’s sorry.”
 
HOW WILL YOU RACE HIM NOW?
“I will race him the way I’ve always raced him the way I have always raced everybody.  I don’t know you try not to screw up and take people out when you are around them.  That is how I’ve always raced.”
 
DID HE ACTUALLY MAKE CONTACT WITH YOU?
“It was very close.  I could see him and I was like ‘oh shoot, oh shoot’ and then the car moved and just spun out.  I don’t know if he actually touched me or what, but his angle into the corner.  If he would have just entered like normal, the way he has entered the whole race it would have been no issues and I would have been leading off (turn) two and he just didn’t want that to happen so he blew turn one. So whether he hit me or not he still caused that whole deal with screwing up.”
 

All-Mopar Funny Car Final at Atlanta;
Gray Beats No.1 Qualifier Hagan for SouthernNationals Win
 
·         Gray takes Mopar Funny Car to winner’s circle at rescheduled 33rd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta
·         All-Mopar Funny Car final elimination with No.1 qualifier Hagan as runner-up to DSR teammate Gray
·         Top Mopar Pro Stock finish in eliminations by Coughlin with semifinal appearance
·         Mopar is second and third in NHRA points standings in both Pro Stock and Funny Car categories
 

Commerce, Ga. (Saturday, May 11) – Following last weekend’s postponement of 33rd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, Mopar was back on track earning the No.1 qualifier position in Funny Car with Matt Hagan in the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T, and then the title win by his Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Johnny Gray, in an all-Mopar final.

After breaking a long winless streak last month at the Four-wide Nationals in Charlotte, Hagan earned his first no.1 qualifier position since his 2011 NHRA Championship winning season. He did it by setting Atlanta Dragway’s Funny Car elapsed-time record with 4.067-second run (305.29 mph) in the second qualifying session on Friday for his 11th career pole position.  On Saturday, Hagan proceeded to win rounds and reach his third final elimination of the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello series season for a Mopar versus Mopar showdown against his teammate Gray.

While Hagan won the start with a 0.042 to 0.059-sec reaction time, Gray soon gained ground and set the quickest pass of the day with an e.t. of  4.077 seconds (314.17 mph) to his Mopar teammate’s 4.160-second pass (309.49 mph) for the title win. It is Gray’s second victory of the season after earning the GatorNationals title in March, the fifth of his career and his first in Atlanta. The win moves him up from fifth to third in the Funny Car championship battle, putting him just behind Hagan who remains second in the points standings.

“All of us at Mopar would like to offer congratulations to Johnny Gray on his win at the Southern Nationals,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “The Mopar-powered Funny Car package looks strong again this year, and we look forward to Johnny [Gray] and his Don Schumacher Racing teammates contending for more wins in defense of the Championship title throughout what is already an exciting and closely contested season.”

In Pro Stock action, Jeg Coughlin Jr. was the highest finishing Mopar by reaching the semi-finals, losing on a holeshot by Shane Gray who cut a 0.002-sec light to defeat him with an e.t. of 6.62 to 6.60-second run.

2012 NHRA Champ Allen Johnson was upset in first round action, also losing on a holeshot, by Greg Stanfield who reached the finish line with an e.t. of 6.64-seconds (207.37 mph) to Johnson’s 6.63-sec (208.84 mph) in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger.

The SouthernNationals title was won by Mike Edwards who wins his second ‘Wally’ of the year to extend his lead in the championship.

Mopar remains second and third in the Pro Stock points standings but has Coughlin jumping into second spot with 530 points and a no.1 qualifier position, ahead of Johnson’s 501 points with two title wins in 2013.

Next weekend, Mopar looks to defend title wins by both 2012 NHRA Champions Beckman (Funny Car) and Johnson (Pro Stock) at the 25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park in Topeka, the eighth event on the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

Ed Carpenter Puts Chevrolet on Top of Time Sheet as Practice Opens for the 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500
 
INDIANAPOLIS (May 11, 2013) – Ed Carpenter set the pace on the opening day of practice for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  The driver of the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet showed the way with a top speed of 220.970 m.p.h. as teams begin their preparations for the May 26, 2013 race.
 
Two Chevrolet IndyCar V6 powered drivers passed their Rookie Orientation Program (ROP) and are now eligible to practice and qualify for the Indianapolis 500.  A.J. Allmendinger behind the wheel of the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet, and Carlos Muñoz, driving No. 26 Unistraw Andretti Autosport Chevrolet both passed the three phases of the ROP with ease this afternoon clearing the way for the pair to continue preparations for Pole Day on Saturday, May 18, 2013.
 
Practice will continue Sunday, May 12, 2013, from noon to 6:00 p.m. EDT.
 
CHEVROLET DRIVER QUOTES – OPENING DAY OF PRACTICE AND ROOKIE ORIENTATION PROGRAM:
 
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM  VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: IS IT AMAZING TO YOU THAT YOU ARE PREPARING FOR YOUR 10TH INDIANAPOLIS 500?            “My sister reminded me that it’s been a decade since I won the Indy Lights race here, the first Freedom 100. That seems crazy. It seems even crazier that this will be, hopefully, my 10th 500 start. I consider myself pretty lucky to have made so many of these.”
 
ARE YOU READY TO GET BACK AT IT THIS YEAR AFTER WHEN YOU HAD A GOOD CAR IN THE RACE? “To be honest, when I think back to the last month of May, we had a good race, and a good car in the race. But really I have bad memories from last May because we really struggled a lot. We came in unprepared, and we were lucky to get it sorted out by race day and have a chance to have a good finish. But even then, we still didn’t get a good finish. I think we were 17th so it didn’t really matter that we were running up front. The whole team was really determined to come in prepared this year, and they’ve done that. I am really proud of the work they’ve put in this off season.  We ran well in the race, but you have to look at the whole month of May, and we under performed. It wasn’t a month that I was proud of even though we had good moments in the race.”
 
YOU ARE EXCEPTIONAL ON OVALS, DO YOU FEEL AT ALL LIKE YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN THE 500? “I felt like we were going to be strong coming in just because we’ve learned a lot since we were here last year, and the team’s worked really hard. You always have confidence when you win races. It was good to finish last year with a win; it did a lot for the team. Gave the whole team motivation to keep pushing over the off season. Hopefully we can continue having a good month, and be there when it counts.”
 
A.J. ALLMENDINGER, NO. 2 IZOD TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:  ON HIS FIRST LAPS OF INDIANAPOLIS 500 ROOKIE ORIENTATION PROGRAM: “I went down the back straightaway the first lap thinking to myself this is pretty sweet; I’m driving a Penske car on the backstretch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That was an awesome feeling. From there, it was good. Just getting comfortable. Just trying to drive the race track without being too tense and anything like that. Overall I felt pretty good. The car is really balanced; I felt like I could take out some more downforce out of it and not completely scare myself right away. I have to thank Helio (Castroneves, Team Penske teammate) just a ton because his going out there and shaking the car down and just talking to me just made me a lot more calm than I would have been without him. A guy with his experience, his background, three victories, I trust what he says. It helped me out so much just to start off with. It’s awesome to have such great teammates here between him and Will (Power, Team Penske teammate). Now I can go sleep on that, and take in my first day at Indy, have the car roll back to the pits and be really happy about it.”
 
DID YOUR COMFORT LEVEL GET BETTER AS YOU WENT THROUGH 40, 50, 60 LAPS? “It’s kind of the way this rookie program is. At first I wondered why we started out off so slow. It’s good, because you can kind of get the feel of it. You don’t have to go out and run 216 (mph) the first lap and feel like you are here. You can slowly progress, feel the race track, get the line down. I still have a lot of work to do line wise, but overall,  it felt like I was pretty comfortable and I could go out there and run 218.000 (mph), 218.100 (mph) consistently and feel like I was wide open. I will have to go look at the data. My mind told me I was wide open. I don’t know if my foot completely stayed down, but it was a really good day. I was so nervous. I mean, the last two weeks I have been pacing; I was stress eating before I go in the car so the belts were a little tight. I was nervous, so it went as good as I could have hoped. Actually, it went better.”
 
ROGER (PENSKE) WAS THERE ON PIT LANE WITH YOU; WHAT DID HE SAY TO YOU? “He just told me good job. His opinion means more than anybody’s to me. To have him on the radio telling me good job every lap; keep doing the same things; things like that – like I said that’s more meaningful than anything out there. I’m the reason he took a chance on me, and I feel that is so important to have him see me through it on my first day was important. I told him to go win tonight (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington (SC) Raceway).”
 
EVEN AFTER 60 LAPS, DO YOU STILL HAVE TO TELL YOURSELF TO KEEP IT GOING IN TURN ONE? NOT TO LIFT? “The biggest thing for me and you hear everybody tell you, Helio, all the experienced guys especially – Rick Mears – you can’t let your guard down around here. Just because for four laps in a row you went wide open, you think okay, I’ve got this. You can’t relax. A couple of times down the back straightaway, I kind of caught myself like oh okay. Then all of a sudden that corner comes up quick, and you’re like…  It’s just the way this place is; that’s what makes it so special.  You have got to give it its respect every lap. Not when you show up. Not on qualify. Not on the race. Every lap you have got to show respect.  It was pretty special.”
 
HOW NICE IS IT TO FINALLY BE HERE; FINALLY BE IN THE CAR? “It’s amazing. And, obviously the first couple of races – at Barber and at Long Beach – were leading up to this. Last week I was okay; stressing a little bit, watching video and thinking okay that looks pretty simple, I’ve got that. You get here, and (Tim) Cindric did the worst thing to me, and he knew it. He made me stand right between the wall (and the track) and watch Helio come by the first time. I was like ‘oh man’; my heart was beating fast. I had to go back and start eating again and was like ‘oh man, that’s fast down the straightaway. To finally get that under my belt… There was nothing really to prove today except to myself that I could go out there and at least be comfortable. The big thing is, and I’ve been told this by many people and I have to keep it in mind every day – this is a process. It’s about taking it one day at a time, one step at a time. That’s all I can do.  You have to do that, it is such a long week.”
 
WHAT ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS HELIO HAS BEEN TELLING YOU? “Everything. Helio’s been telling me how to get around this place. What to expect. The line to run. Just to respect the place. Everything about this place. What it means; what he has been through. It’s meant a lot for him to help me. You know, he could have easily just went and drove the car and said it was fine and walked away and focused on his program.  But he’s here, talking to me. When we are back in the pits and he is showing me, tea
ching me and just talking to me. My teammates here, Will and Helio, they’ve been amazing since I showed up, and I feel very fortunate to have them.”
 
YOU MENTIONED THIS EARLIER, BUT HOW MUCH OF A PRIVILEGE IS IT TO BE IN A PENSKE CAR AT INDIANAPOLIS?  “I think more than anything, I think that is what kind of hit me going to the back straight. Yes, I’m in an IndyCar at Indy, but this is Roger Penske’s car. To have IZOD on the side of it; they were on pole last year. There is a lot of history and tradition. That was special, but I know the moment that when we walk out of Gasoline Alley on race day, and they introduce me as part of the field, and especially as a part of Roger Penske’s organization, a Penske driver, that is when it is really going to hit me.”
 
ON CONTINUING TO ADD INDYCAR RACES TO HIS SCHEDULE: “Roger knows my situation. I told him anytime he wants me to drive I’m driving, so he keeps offering me races and I’m not going to turn them down and I’m not going to keep asking me why either. You just don’t do that. I just say, ‘Yes sir, I’ll be at the next race, thank you.’ I’m looking forward to Detroit. I don’t see me doing a lot of the oval races once the ovals take over, you know, obviously I’m not running for points and there’s more risk there than reward at times on an oval. I’ll run whenever he wants me to run.”
 
 ON THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A CUP CAR AND AN INDY CAR: “They told me I wasn’t allowed to hit the brakes at the end of the straightaway. Believe me, first lap at the end of the straightaway my foot went and I thought ‘No no, don’t do that,’ and the line and everything is just so different. There’s little nuances at the track that are the same in a Cup car to an Indy car, just grip level and off each corner the feeling that you have about how the grip level kind of gains and releases, but in general the line of the racetrack is way different. The Cup cars, you turn in early especially into [Turns] 1 and 3, and you really get close to the rumble strips or when you’re on track or even on the rumble strips at times, and in these cars you don’t want to get anywhere close to that. For me that’s the biggest thing, just trying to get the line down. I feel like [Turns] 2 and 4 the lines are more similar in a Cup car than in an Indy car, but 1 and 3 they’re so different, and just trying to work on that. I still probably have a ways to go of being consistent and hitting the same mark every time and knowing what that mark is, but it’s a lot different. It’s like starting over.”
 
CARLOS MUÑOZ, NO. 26 UNISTRAW ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET: ON TODAY’S ROOKIE ORIENTATION PROGRAM: “Today’s rookie orientation went really well, I passed all of three of the phases and got some good laps in. It was not that much different then driving in Firestone Indy Lights, but it just took me a few laps to adapt to the track and new No. 26 Unistraw Chevrolet. I’m very happy with today, my teammates, James (Hinchcliffe) and Marco (Andretti), supported me throughout each of the phases and gave me some good tips. I feel really good going into the rest of this week’s practices, but it’s still a long couple weeks so we just need to take it step-by-step.”
 
TALK AB0UT YOUR EXPERIENCE ON YOUR FIRST DAY IN THE IZOD INDYCAR SERIES HERE AT INDIANAPOLIS: “It was awesome! I tested at the beginning of the month in Indy Lights. My first lap was really special. I remember when I was in Colombia when (Juan Pablo) Montoya this race was really special for me. Right now I am in the same spot as him at the 500 in an IndyCar with a really good team. It is really special, but totally different from the Indy Lights. The speed just goes more fast. The car reacts different. Each time I was on the track, I was feeling stronger and stronger and getting more comfortable with the car, I knew what to do.  I had a little bit of tow in that time, but apart from that, I’m really happy. There is still a long, long, long way to go. This is just the beginning.”
 
IS THERE ANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN INDYCAR AND INDY LIGHTS CAR? “No, for sure, totally different set-up wise. This car reacts more. The steering wheel way is totally different. It is more or less the same line out there as Indy Lights, just faster.”
 
WHAT IS YOUR PLAN AS THE WEEK GOES ON? “I think what I have to work on the most is with a lot of guys on the track. That is the most difficult part. I have teammates to work with. I have four teammates I can trust. Our plan for the week is for sure to be running all together to see how comfortable I am and prove the car. It is a long week. We will do some qualifying for sure. Some qualifying simulation. But the thing we will have to focus on the most will be the race.”
 
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO 3 SHELL V-POWER PENNZOIL ULTRA TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: ON OPENING DAY OF PRACTICE: “It felt really good to be back in the Shell Pennzoil Chevrolet here at Indy, always a special feeling when you take the track for the first time. We were able to shakedown the No. 2 IZOD car for AJ and do the same for our car which is what we wanted to accomplish. AJ did a great job today, it was really fun being a part of the Rookie Orientation process with him, and I look forward to having him as a teammate here.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: ON OPENING DAY OF PRACTICE: “It was a good opening day for the Verizon team, we were able to shakedown the car and everything feels good. It’s obviously a long couple weeks and we are taking this step by step to be where we need to be for the race.”
 
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, NO. 78 NUCLEAR ENTERGY AREVA  KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET: ON OPENING DAY PRACTICE: “Well you know, it’s pretty exciting to get back on track here at Indy. We always look forward to coming here, for us as a team and especially for me personally. Last year was a very long year and a really long month of May. Now to go out there and to feel the speed, it’s much more fun. The team has been working really hard on our Nuclear Clean Air Energy Indy car and I think it should be good. We still have a lot of things to go through, but it was nice to get back in the saddle. We’ll keep working hard from today on and hopefully have a really good month.”

CORVETTE RACING QUALIFIES 4TH AND 6TH AT LAGUNA SECA
(SALINAS, Calif., May 10, 2013) – Oliver Gavin, driver of the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R, qualified fourth (1:22.924 secs.) in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) GT Class at Laguna Seca.  Antonio Garcia, qualified sixth (1:23.042) in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course.
“The car was pretty decent and it took a while for the tires to come in,” Gavin said about his qualifying lap at Laguna Seca today. “I thought we found a pretty good spot on the track but the Viper was a little bit in the way on the front.  Unfortunately on the lap when it all started to come together, the Viper was right there when I came into the corkscrew which is a shame because I lost some time but I got by him and then the next lap I wasn’t so good getting into one and then into two and I never quite seemed to be able to string it together again.  I don’t think we had enough to get on pole, but I think we had enough to get third.”
Gavin teamed with Milner to win the GT class in last year’s event at Laguna Seca, finishing 3.45 seconds ahead of the No. 3 Corvette C6.R, driven by Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen for a 1-2 finish.  Gavin will again team with Tommy Milner this year. The two won the 2012 ALMS drivers’ championship, and opened the 2013 season with a victory at Sebring last month.
“Where we are right now with the car with the weight we have got on and everything else, I think we are pretty much maxed-out,” Gavin continued.  “So I am relatively happy with the start position because it’s a four hour race and plenty can happen.  Last year we proved that we could win races from third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and we didn’t have to be on pole.  Very rarely does the pole sitter win anyway.  So we just have to hit it right tomorrow and tires are going to be important and getting your pressures right with the track temperatures is going to be vitally important.  It’s going to be important because it’s an hour and fifteen minutes longer than the standard race.  Strategy is going to play a big part tomorrow.”
Garcia, who qualified the No. Corvette C6.R in sixth position also was not concerned with his starting position for tomorrow’s race.
“I could say that traffic was an issue, but it’s just three tenths and that was the difference in being on the pole or not,” Garcia said. “I am happy with how the car is behaving and if we had a cleaner run and more open track, then we could have been faster for sure.  But I am not too concerned, especially in this race because it’s completely opposite to Long Beach where it was a complete sprint race.  At Long Beach we had only one stop, and with a four-hour race here its going to be a minimum of three stops.  Starting position is important, but I think the best thing is to have a really good car that can fight through the race and that is what I am happy with.”
Garcia will team with Jan Magnussen for tomorrow’s race.
The other top-ten qualifiers for Saturday’s race in ALMS GT competition were, No. 62 Ferrari F458 Italia (1st), No. 05 Porche 911 GT3 RSR (2nd), No. 17 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (3rd), No. 55 BMW Z4 GTE (5th), No. 23 Ferrari F458 Italia (7th), No. 56 BMW Z4 GTE (8th), No. 91 SRT Viper GTS-R (9th) and the No. 48 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (10th).

ALL-CHEVY FRONT ROW SET FOR BOJANGLES’ SOUTHERN 500
KURT BUSCH CAPTURES POLE; JIMMIE JOHNSON IS SECOND QUICK
 
DARLINGTON, S.C. – May 10, 2013 – Kurt Busch set a new track record at Darlington Raceway during today’s qualifying session for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race with a blistering speed of 181.918 m.p.h. in 27.03 seconds in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Serta Chevrolet SS. This marked his second pole at Darlington, and credited him as the 26th driver to score multiple poles on the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval.  He also won the top starting spot in 2001.
 
“This Furniture Row car and these guys just have this confidence this weekend,” said Busch after his pole winning run.  “These guys, added-in with some of my stupidity of holding it wide-open through (Turn) 2, and gave us a pole and a track record. When you set a track record at a track, it’s something that you carry for a little while. So, it’s neat to dance with the Lady in Black today.”
 
Last year’s Darlington winner, five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, followed close behind Busch with a quick time of 27.173 seconds at a speed of 180.974 m.p.h. in his No. 48 Lowe’s Emerald Green Chevrolet SS.  He will start on the outside front row next to Busch in tomorrow night’s 500-mile race at Darlington, the historic facility that’s also known as the track “Too Tough to Tame”.
 
With Busch and Johnson on the front row, they will lead the 43-car field to the green with three additional Team Chevy drivers in the Top-10 starting order.
 
Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne qualified his No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet SS in the fourth-place starting spot.  Jeff Gordon, making his 700th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career start, qualified his No. 24 Cromax Pro Chevy SS in eighth; and Kevin Harvick in his No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet will roll-off 10th.
 
Kyle Busch (Toyota) qualified third, and Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota) qualified fifth to round out the top-five starting positions.
 
The Bojangles’ Southern is set to start under the lights on Saturday, May 11th at 7:00 p.m. ET, and will be aired live on FOX.
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING/SERTA CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER
POST-QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
 
TALK ABOUT THE LAP YOU LAID DOWN AND YOUR OUTLOOK FOR TOMORROW NIGHT:
“Wow, what an incredible lap.  Just the way the team gave me the confidence right when we first unloaded, they deserve all the credit.  This group, the Furniture Row team they won here a couple of years ago and just the lineup of items that we had to go through today and the confidence they had in each of the changes they made.  We gained speed and it was a very definitive answer and it just gave me the confidence to go ‘you know what I’m going to go out there we have a great draw going in the 30’s, let’s just go out there and lay down a lap and see if it sticks’.  Just to have that confidence and then now with going through some of the races this year to sit outside pole at Texas and then to lead some laps at Richmond we have been just steadily working our way up.  It feels good to deliver for the Furniture Row guys.  Last week we ended on our lid, this week we are here with a track record.  It’s that whole cliché, you can be a hero one week, a zero the next.  It’s good to be on top and thanks to the guys.  This Generation-6 car, I forecasted it about a month ago. I said ‘when we got to Darlington the speed increase is going to be incredible.  We have to be prepared for it.  We have to make sure we have the right ingredients bolted on the car to make it go fast’ and I’m glad I could predict that the right way.”
 
AFTER GOING 210 MPH YESTERDAY DID IT FEEL SLOW OUT THERE TODAY?
“When I first went out onto the track the car moved all around and had so much suspension movement. Yes, it was different, but I had to just zone right back into what I have done my whole career and that is driving stock cars. Secondly, you have to show respect to this track because it will jump up and bite you.  I mean running around at 218 (mph) is definitely faster than running around at 181 (mph) average.  But when you do it with a stock car with no downforce and all the weight that it carries it’s pretty tough.  It’s all to the guys. They came with a load of confidence.  Every change they made on the car today gained speed and what they did here a couple of years ago to go to Victory Lane it’s like the speed is just built in the No. 78 car right now.”
 
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE POLE FROM 2001?  IS THIS AS SPECIAL AS THIS ONE WAS? OR WAS THAT ONE MORE SPECIAL BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST?
“I was hoping I would get the chance to talk about that.  When I first came here as a rookie and you hear all the Darlington urban legends on how tough this place is and how it’s just going to chew you up and spit you out.  You have to respect it, I was like ‘yeah, whatever, I got this.’ There were even jokes about how you were supposed to hold it wide open off turn two.  That is like a rookie hazing.  If you try that you are supposed to wreck.  I accidently held it wide open off of (turn) two and got the pole. I got lucky that day.  I beat Jeff Gordon for the pole.  Honestly, I never thought that it was a pole sitting lap.   It’s just because of my stupidity I got it (laughs).  It was very sweet to get that first pole.  Back in the day there was that Union 76 club where you get a nice blazer jacket.  It gives you that tradition to be part of.  It was very special then.  Today was great, the Furniture Row team to be on the pole, the 10 year anniversary with Ricky Craven and the epic battle that we had.  This gives me a great shot to stay ahead of the field and win by two thousandths of a second this time.”
 
WITH EVERYTHING THAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN THE LAST WEEK AND THEN THE ANNIVERSARY OF 2003 AND TESTING THE INDYCAR DOES IT JUST SEEM LIKE THINGS ARE FALLING INTO PLACE FOR YOU THIS WEEK?
“Yeah, it’s been surreal.  It’s been an amazing ride.  To have Andretti lineup a deal to where you can go and drive his Indy car in the month of May and post some speeds that are worthy of making the show.  I had to pinch myself.  That was a kid in the candy store feel.  Then showing up today it’s full on race mode.  I knew I had three hours to get this No. 78 Furniture Row car dialed into Darlington and to put it on the pole that is a great surprise, but it’s also showing the strength of the team.  We have had a nice linear progression this year with qualifying results as well as race results.  Even though they have been all over the map, we have been running stronger as of late.  It is pretty sweet to get the pole and to lay down a track record at the same time.”
 
I SAW YOU RAISING YOUR HAND AT THE CROWD AND THEY WERE CHEERING BACK AT YOU AND YOU WERE PUMPING YOUR FIST.  IT KIND OF SEEMED LIKE YOU WERE TAKING EXTRA SPECIAL GRATIFICATION IN THIS ONE.  IS THAT THE CASE?  IF SO WHY DOES THIS MEAN A LOT TO YOU?
“When I unbelted and slid upon to the door of my car and I’m facing the crowd there was a cheer.  But at the same time Jeff Gordon was pulling in.  He qualified second at the time.  I was like ‘oh well they are just cheering Gordon for a good lap.’ A couple of other cars went by and then I turned around and when my face was to the crowd they cheered again.  It wasn’t, yeah, okay it was for me, it was more for the track record.  I honestly think.  It was a moment where they are seeing something special happen. A track record got laid down at Darlington in 2013 with the Generation-6 car and they were part of something special.  They saw a car almo
st run in the 26 seconds here.  It was a congratulations to me, but I want to give credit to the team and I think that the track record is special.  It will hold up for 364 more days, if it gets beat, well we had it for at least 364 days.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S EMERALD GREEN CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED SECOND
POST-QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
 
“It was obviously a great lap for our Emerald Green Lowe’s Chevrolet. We had some issues in qualifying practice, or in practice with our qualifying run and we got those under control and had a really nice lap. So I’m thankful for that. It was a little bit frustrating as the second practice session wound down, but we got the car underneath me and got a great lap. So, we’re excited. The car drove good. I felt like there were some guys faster than us. We’re kind of in that second group. But I think the No. 56 and the No. 20 looked real good. Oh, maybe I have bad information. Maybe not the No. 20. I know the No. 56 was good; I saw it with my own eyes. The No. 15 is good. So, I’m just babbling, but looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”
 
ARE YOU A LITTLE JEALOUS OF KURT BUSCH RUNNING THE INDYCAR YESTERDAY? HE DID SO WELL, ALMOST 220 MPH?
“I am. That’s amazing. An amazing experience. I’m proud of him. I’m really happy that a NASCAR driver has had a chance to go get in good equipment over there and go to a track and show what we can do. We’ve seen open-wheel guys come this direction and I’m happy to see a closed-body driver go that way. Not that it’s easy, in any of the vehicles, but I feel like it’s harder for an open-wheel guy to leave all of the downforce in the light vehicle that they have and come to a NASCAR vehicle.  I think the transition might be a little easier; time will tell if Kurt pursues this further we’ll be able to see it, but I think he’ll impress early going that direction and getting out ahead of the heavy car into a lighter car with more downforce.”

JFR ALL IN AFTER FINAL QUAL AT SOUTHERN NATIONALS

COMMERCE, GA (May 10, 2013) – With only one day to get down the track and get qualified for the rescheduled 33rd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals John Force Racing met their first goal. Led by Courtney Force, the No. 6 qualifier in Funny Car, John Force Racing is set up to possibly advance three Funny Cars to the semi-finals.

Courtney’s Traxxas Ford Mustang set the pace in the first session making the quickest run of the Funny Car category. For the second year driver it was a welcome feeling to be at the top of the field even if it was just for one session. She was followed by her brother-in-law Robert Hight and father John Force.

“It is tough when you come out knowing you are only going to get two chances to get qualified. It really puts a lot of pressure on the driver and the crew. Our Traxxas Ford Mustang team went out strong and ran a 4.10 and put us in the No. 1 spot,” said Force, the No. 1 qualifier for the season opening NHRA Winternationals. “It was great to see Robert Hight and my dad, John Force, in the standings two and three after the first session. To have all the JFR Fords 1-2-3 and then Wilkerson at No. 4 was pretty cool for Ford Racing. We picked up some points for those runs.”

In the last session of the day Force was running beside Hight and her Traxxas Mustang stayed hooked up posting a solid 4.118 second run giving her one of the most consistent ET averages of the class, 4.100 and 4.118.

“The second pass was pretty good. We didn’t improve but it was a solid run. That is great for us going into tomorrow. We have some confidence and we will be ready for Del Worsham in the first round. We’ll have lane choice and hopefully that will give us a little bit of an advantage,” said Force.

John Force will race his 135th different opponent when he squares off against one of his former crewman Chad Head in the first round. Force, No. 9 qualifier, will give up lane choice to the rookie.

“It will be exciting. His dad (former driver and current crew-chief Jim Head) is a veteran and he knows these tracks when they are loose. They can put up big numbers. They ran that 4.01 in Charlotte so we will give them a race and they are a great family,” said Force.

In the first session Force had the third quickest ET and in the second and final session today crew chief Mike Neff was looking for an aggressive race day tune-up. The Castrol GTX Ford Mustang will try and find the winner’s circle 8th time tomorrow. His last win at Atlanta Dragway was 2005 when he beat teammate Robert Hight then a rookie himself by .002 seconds.

“We ran good out of the box and it helped with the Funny Cars because we knew we would be in. We are still in the learning process with the Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster. It is a new team with a rookie driver but in that second session they got it in there. She recovered and came back and got into the show in No. 9 and she’ll race Clay Millican, a good racer,” said Force when he was asked to evaluate the team’s performance today.

Robert Hight and the Auto Club Mustang continue to look for the consistency that will continue to move them up the Mello Yello point standings. They produced on the first run and then in the final session they took a shot at a race day set-up.

“The number one goal today was to get into the show for tomorrow. You never know on these rescheduled races what can happen so we came out in the first session and (crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) put up a good number. That got us in and then in the second session you start thinking about race day. We knew we were going to be in the top half so we would have lane choice. It looks like we have Johnny Gray again in the first round. We lost to him in Houston so we’ll try and get after him tomorrow with this Auto Club Ford Mustang,” said Hight , a finalist at last year’s Southern Nationals.

Coming off a weekend of disappointment in Houston Brittany Force and the Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster team were behind the eight ball with only two shots at getting in the show. The team has qualified for five of the previous six races but as a new team in a new category qualifying runs are just as valuable as elimination rounds sometimes. Losing sessions robs the team of experience and data.

“It does get stressful especially with my dad and he is right there every second giving me tips and advice. Right before my last run he had his head in my cockpit telling me a hundred things at once but I know he is only trying to be helpful. These short days are difficult for our teams and for me as a driver,” said Force. “When you lose those other two runs, that is experience and data that we don’t get. We would have liked to have had those two runs for down the road. That is the way the game works out some time. Everybody out here only got two runs.”

Today in the final session the Castol EDGE Top Fueler slipped out of the field for a few minutes as Bob Vandergriff Jr improved on his first session time and went around the rookie driver from Yorba Linda, California. The Force kept her composure and drove her dragster right down the track and into the top half of the field eventually winding up 9th in the field.

“I was right behind Bob Vandergriff Jr so I knew depending on his run whether I would be in the show or not. I tried not to let it get to me or bother me. I was focusing on whatever happened still doing my same routine. He got in and bumped us out for a few minutes but then when we ran we jumped in at the No. 8 spot. I was really happy about that and this Castrol EDGE team is great. I am looking forward to running Clay Millican tomorrow,” concluded Force.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
BOJANGLES SOUTHERN 500
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 10, 2013
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING/SERTA CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER
YOU JUST CUT A NEW TRACK RECORD. DID IT FEEL LIKE IT?
“It did and it didn’t. There is still maybe a little bit more time out there. I might have to hold my breath for 27 more seconds for a couple more other guys. I was real fast in (Turns) 1 and 2. Maybe I left a little bit on the table getting into (Turn) 3, but it didn’t feel that fast. And when it doesn’t, that means the car was stuck really well. So that’s just a tribute to these Furniture Row guys. The confidence they had coming here this weekend stems from the years ago when they won here with Regan Smith. All the changes we made in practice, all of them made sense. Sometimes we took a step back; sometimes we took a step forward. But we had a distinct definition on each of the changes. So the car has been feeling pretty good.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S EMERALD GREEN CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED SECOND
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THAT LAP?
“Yeah, I am.  White shoes, white car, Emerald Green paint stripes on it – the car looks good.  I’m very proud of Lowe’s and all the cool things they are doing to raise awareness with what is going on with their stores.  Great lap, we had some frustration in qualifying trim in practice.  Luckily we got that corrected and the car ran a really nice lap.  We will see if it holds up.  I have a feeling it will probably be top four, top five with the sun setting quickly.  Very happy with that lap, I can’t complain a bit.”
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 TIME WARNER CABLE CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED FOURTH
WAS THAT ALL YOU HAD OR DID YOU LEAVE ANYTHING?
“For the conditions that were there, we could probably go a little faster if we went right now with this cloud, probably go two tenths faster.  I felt really good, my car was really positive.  It went wherever I wanted it to.  Just wish I could have pushed a little harder.  I enjoy qualifying here.  This place is tough and you can really push as hard as possible, just try not to go over that line.  I did once in qualifying; it wasn’t pretty off turn two.”
 
WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN PRACTICE TODAY THAT IS GOING TO HELP YOU TOMORROW NIGHT?
“I think we learned some things in practice.  When we started the balance wasn’t quite where we wanted it.  The car moved around a little bit left and right.  We got a lot of that out by the second practice and then for qualifying as well.  I really look forward to tomorrow night.  This is always a great race to be part of.  We have a fast Time Warner Cable Chevrolet.”
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 10TH
YOU IMPROVED UPON YOUR TIME FROM PRACTICE.  TALK ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING LAP:
“Yeah, I think everybody is definitely picking up for sure.  Our car has been driving good.  Just had to commit to it now that it’s time and make sure that you keep your car rolling in practice.  That is a big key here at Darlington, just keeping all the wheels going in a straight line with the right side still on it.”
 
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 12TH
ON HIS QUALIFYING LAP:
“It was good.  Our Target Chevy has been really good.  We didn’t unload as good as we wanted.  Overall I think it’s a good day.  I thought we executed we did everything we needed to do.  Overall to be honest with you the biggest thing is just we bottomed out coming down the hill in (turn) two and pushed the nose when we hit that.  The car has been great.”
 
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS/PITTSBURGH PAINTS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 15TH
TALK ABOUT YOUR WEEKEND THUS FAR IN DARLINGTON AND YOUR QUALIFYING LAP:
“We picked up a lot from practice, but everybody has. The track is a lot gripper.  Probably went just a little bit better than I thought.  I was hoping for more, but realistically I didn’t think we would run quite that fast.  We will take that.  We have a good race car.”
 
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 16TH
TALK ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING LAP:
“I was hoping we would run a little bit better than that.  I thought the car had real good balance and we just got into the splitter really hard around turn two.  It cost us quite a bit.”
 
HOW HAS YOUR CAR BEEN ALL DAY?
“The speed has been great.  The car has been comfortable.  The car was really comfortable there, we just got into the splitter really hard trying to come down off of the top of (turns) one and two to get off of turn two.  We had to lift a little bit there and you’ve got to be in the gas there.  It costs us a lot of time.  It costs us what I thought could have been a really good lap.  Every time we have hit the track on stickers we have been really happy, good speed, comfortable.  We will just try to take care of it in the race.  I think we have a car, if we can get up there and have good track position we will be real competitive.”
 
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 21ST
ON HIS LAP:
“We’ve just been lacking a little bit of speed. I under drove the car a little bit in turn three and four there. Our Quicken Loans Chevrolet was better than that, but it seemed to be lacking just a little bit of speed. We’ll work on that for tomorrow. We’ve still got one night to think about it.”
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 40TH
ON HER QUALIFYING LAP:
“Probably biggest thing was just not doing any qualifying runs at all.  These cars are quite different when they go into qualifying.  As a driver you drive as hard as you can with what you’ve got.  Qualifying requires you to commit to something before you can feel it based on the fact that you are coming to the green the first time by the start/finish line. I’m not happy with that, but it’s been a long day.  Everyone worked really hard to put the qualifying, put the engine back in the back-up car.  It’s going to make a lot of work for tomorrow night and the GoDaddy car.  That is the bed that I made for myself.”
 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
BOJANGLES SOUTHERN 500
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 10, 2013
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Darlington Raceway and discussed going to a back-up car following a practice accident, her confidence going into this race after last years’ experience at this track and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
THAT WAS QUITE THE DARLINGTON STRIPE YOU GOT EARLIER WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED?
“We just went out on our second set of tires in the first practice.  Kind of rebaselining the car, they were stickers.  It wasn’t a qualifying run we were just trying to see what the balance was.  I was just trying to get what I could from the tires.  I think that for me that is something I have to continue to work on. Just got loose into (turn) two.  In the second practice when we got back out there we made a change at the end that tightened up the whole track, but made me feel comfortable in (turn) two.  That is telling me that the car is a little bit freer than I thought it was.  You know what it’s just a learning process, it’s good to know and it reminds me that if I’m trying to achieve the balance out there on the track that I just have to discipline myself to take care of turn two.  It’s so important to get through (turns) three and four and rotate.  It’s a good reminder to be real careful through (turn) two.”
 
HOW DOES LAST YEAR’S EXPERIENCE HELP YOU THIS YEAR?
“I mean we are far better off unloading and hitting the track for the first time now versus last year.  Last year we were last and really felt very uncomfortable out there.  This time I felt much more comfortable. To the point that I was hanging it out a little bit more.  Exploring the limits of the car and I explored too far.”
 
SO MANY DRIVERS GET THAT DARLINGTON STRIPE.  IS IT JUST THE NATURE OF THE BEAST HERE OR ARE YOU GUYS JUST DRIVING THAT LITTLE BIT OVER THE EDGE?
“The reason for so many stripes, Darlington stripes, on cars here is you are really just driving against the wall.  You are carrying a lot of speed through (turn) one and you use the wall all the way out.  You are riding it while you’re in and out of throttle up there.  It’s not like it’s a straightaway it’s a corner so you are still turning.  The same thing goes through (turns) three and four.  You are also searching for grip so sometimes that line is a little bit higher getting in.  Sometimes it’s a little bit lower.  You are using the grip all the way up to the wall which means you are flirting with that wall.”
 
THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE FROM LAST YEAR DOES THAT ALLOW YOU TO SHAKE OFF WHAT HAPPENED EARLIER TODAY?
“For me I think the biggest thing about experience is definitely just something that is good and makes you more comfortable.  It’s not really very common for me to crash cars in practice on my own or crash cars on my own.  Shoot, I remember back to my IndyCar days I used to be told to go crash it.  Like ‘take it to the limit, I don’t care if you crash it, do it’.  For me sometimes, right now I think it’s never good to go to a back-up car and I don’t like to put that work on the team.  They work so hard anyway.  They work hard all week then they come to the track and do the same thing.  Then to stack work on top of that, but the only way to find the limit is to sometimes get over it. I wish it would have been a Darlington stripe, instead of going to a back-up, but lesson learned for tomorrow night.  I will be better for it.”
 
HOW MUCH DOES THE MISSED PRACTICE TIME SET YOU BACK?
“I definitely lost half an hour in the first practice and some of the second.  You know what it did do, it put us into race trim in the second practice for 25 minutes or so.  We would have done all qualifying runs in the second practice.  I think it might pay off to have done those practice runs instead of qualifying runs in the second session.  I don’t think it’s going to be a huge loss, but hopefully it doesn’t make for too big of a disaster in qualifying.  I think that the guys, Tony Gibson (crew chief) has been doing a better job at getting the balance closer in qualifying the last few weeks.  I feel comfortable that I will have something I can drive aggressively out there and we will just see where it puts us.  We’ve got 500 miles to improve on it.”
 
HOW EAGER ARE YOU THIS WEEK TO GET BACK OUT THERE AFTER WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEKEND IN TALLADEGA?
“There are a lot of frustrated people after Talladega or Daytona, any of the speedway races that we do because there are so many ‘coulda, shoulda, woulda’s’.  You are like just so close to the front of the pack, but yet so far away and there are accidents that you just can’t do anything about and sometimes you become a part of them. It’s a frustrating challenge.  I wasn’t the only one I’m sure.  This is obviously a little bit more traditional we are racing like normal, but I don’t look forward to getting away from those tracks.  I like the speedways I think they are fun and they are interesting.  For me they are some of my better chances to do well.” 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
BOJANGLES SOUTHERN 500
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 10, 2013
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S EMERALD GREEN CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Darlington Raceway and discussed the rich history of the track, his successful start to the 2013 season, his thoughts on Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon making his 700th start and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
TALK ABOUT RACING AT DARLINGTON AND YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT LAST YEAR’S WIN AND WHAT IT IS GOING TO TAKE TO GET THE VICTORY THIS WEEKEND:
“I think it goes without saying that every team and driver is excited to be in Darlington.  We know and understand the impact and the meaning of this race track and what it has done for our sport, the early years and everything in between. I’m very happy to be here.  I love driving this race track.  After winning last year’s race and winning our 200th for Hendrick Motorsports it took it to a whole new level.  Happy to be back and not sure what to expect with the grip level on the track.  It’s aging and hopefully we get back to that real porous race track that wears out tires and puts on a great show.  The track is so narrow it’s tough for us to race at times. Especially on new tires, you can’t run side-by-side around here, but once we get some laps in and get the tire wear going there is some good passing that takes place.  I would assume that strategy is going to be a big part of why the winner ends up in Victory Lane.  It’s tough to pass and I think we will get a good idea of tire wear, but strategy in two or four (tires) and really probably having enough fuel, the first one to have enough fuel to go the distance will be a key point in the race too. All that said it’s a track that has in my opinion, the highest sensation of speed out of anywhere we go.  This track is narrower than any track and we are at 200 and something miles an hour down the back stretch going into (turn) three.  It gets your attention.”
 
TALK ABOUT YOUR DOMINANT START TO THE SEASON AND BEING THE SOUTHERN 500 CHAMPION FROM LAST YEAR AND YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS WEEKEND:
“It really has been a good start for the team.  Clearly the point’s show that, but I look through it two wins, how prepared out team was for all types of racing.  I would say our worst race was, based on performance, was in Fontana.  We still managed to get a 12th due to a lot of cautions at the end.  We kept pitting and putting tires on and was able to move our way back up through the field.  Only one major issue at Bristol, when I blew the right-front (tire) and had a poor finish there, a great start.  I think the great start reflects the hard work that was done during the off season by everybody at Hendrick Motorsports.  Right not it’s a moving target.  To stay on top of the point’s lead is going to be tough.  We are still learning the Gen-6 car and each week there is something new that we discover about the car and try to use to make our vehicles faster.  We are chasing a moving target right now, but off to a great start and happy about that.  Happy to come back to a track that we have won at, that always helps the team walk in the gates and start that first practice session with a lot of confidence.”
 
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHERE YOU SEE JEFF GORDON’S LEGACY RIGHT NOW AS HE HITS A MILESTONE OF 700 STARTS?
“It’s amazing that the number is that big.  He got such an early start.  He is not all that much older than I am, but clearly a lot more starts.  I remember watching him all the way back to the Thursday night thunder days when he was running a midget and being a fan.  Buying his diecast car from Toys ‘R’ Us because I was a Gordon fan, it went on my dresser at home.  When I got the call to drive for him, it was a very surreal moment. To have the friendship and the years go by and working together, being a teammate, I’m happy for him.  I am very thankful for the opportunity for starters, but very happy that he has had such an amazing career.  It was tough to be a Gordon fan for a period of time there.  People were all against him.  I was proudly cheering him on and still today.  Very happy for him and his 700th start.”
 
I UNDERSTAND YOU WILL BE COMPETING IN A TRIATHLON IN KING’S MOUNTAIN THE MORNING OF THE ALL-STAR RACE. WHAT IS IT THAT ATTRACTS YOU LATELY TO RUNNING TRIATHLON’S AND DOES IT GIVE YOU ANY PAUSE DOING ALL THAT IN ONE DAY RACING THE ALL-STAR RACE AND THE TRIATHLON?
“Well, things just changed.  I will not be competing in that event.  Unfortunately, Evie (daughter) has a dance recital on Saturday. It’s a 9 o’clock and the triathlon starts at 8 o’clock.  That is going to be a little tough to pull off.  I even tried to see if we could move the show to later in the day and it’s not going to work.  I have four months of training invested, but it’s all good.  I really do enjoy pushing myself from a fitness stand point.  It’s something that I’ve had my eye on for years.  I look ba