TEAM CHEVY AT TALLADEGA 2: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWDAY
1000BULBS.COM 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
OCTOBER 14, 2019

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER (* = Playoff Contender)
6th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL/RCR 50TH CAMARO ZL1
8th *CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA NIGHT VISION CAMARO ZL1
10th TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1
18th RYAN PREECE, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1
20th CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 LOUISIANA HOT SAUCE CAMARO ZL1

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER (* = Chevy Playoff Contender)
1st Ryan Blaney (Ford)
2nd Ryan Newman (Ford)
3rd Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
4th Aric Almirola (Ford)
5th Michael McDowell (Ford)

UNOFFICIAL CURRENT PLAYOFF RANK (Following Round 5 of 10)
POS. DRIVER (* = Chevy Contender)
1. * Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
2. Ryan Blaney (Ford)
3. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
4. Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
5. Kyle Busch (Toyota)
6. Kevin Harvick (Ford)
7. Brad Keselowski (Ford)
8. Joey Logano (Ford)_____
9. *Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
10. *Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
11. Clint Bowyer (Ford)
12. *William Byron (Chevrolet)

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Kansas Speedway with the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, October 20 at 2:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, NBC Sports Gold, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL / RCR 50TH CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 6th
“It pushed really well and to get up through there at times, it just didn’t seem to be able to maintain the lead. But I’m glad we were able to get a good finish. Sixth place, we needed that. The No. 17 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.), he had a heck of a run down the backstretch. If he could have picked me up, it would have been nice. We did everything we could for what we had, and the race was very close.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA NIGHT VISION CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 8th
“We had our ups and downs for sure today. Got caught up in that crash but my guys did a nice job of putting it back together as best we could. Just head out West to Kansas now and try to get a win out there. That’s about all we can do now.”

“You have to have the mindset to go out there and control what we can control and do everything we can to get a win. That’s all we can do.”

IT SOUNDED LIKE YOUR CAR WAS PRETTY MUCH JUNK AFTER THAT CRASH. WHAT WAS THE DIAGNOSIS?
“I haven’t looked at the right side. It was OK.”

AFTER THAT FIRST WRECK, DID YOU THINK YOU HAD A TOP-10 CAR TODAY?
“No, I thought it was pretty hurt. It happens, onward”

IS IT A SUCCESS TO FINISH IN THE TOP-10?
“Well, our points position is the big thing, so no not really.”

WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOUR CREW TO GET IT BACK INTO THE TOP-10?
“They did a really nice job to put it back together. I’m proud of the effort, we just came up a little short.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 10th
“Yeah, when there’s so few cars left running at the end of the race, the top just seemed to never really go. On the last restart, there were only eight or nine cars running, so I knew we were in a little bit of trouble. I needed a push in the outside line as far as I could to try to get us in position where we were in second or third and I just couldn’t get any help from behind. We had a nice, big run there at the end, but couldn’t really do a whole lot with it. Another top-10 finish for our team, which is good at the superspeedways. A top-10 finish is always good for us.”

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 8 LIBERTY NATIONAL / RCR 50TH CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 21st
“We had a strong No. 8 Liberty National/RCR 50th Chevrolet here at Talladega Superspeedway, and that showed when we were able to drive to the lead on Sunday before the rain hit. We came back today and remained a contender throughout the day in the pack. We got some damage to the right rear quarter panel early in the race when I was hit from behind coming to pit road under green, but the guys did a good job of fixing that at the stage break. I felt like we were a serious contender for the win, but when that Big One happened into Turn 3, my left front tire hooked on the No. 4 car and we drove right into another car. That damaged the right-side nose, hood and fender, and unfortunately, we lost a lap on pit road making repairs. We should have had a better finish than 21st, but that’s Talladega Superspeedway for you.”

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, NO. 62 BEARD OIL DISTRIBUTING / SOUTH POINT HOTEL & CASINO CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by crash on lap 183; Finished 27th
HOW CLOSE WERE YOU TO MAYBE PICKING UP THE WIN HERE TODAY?
“Listen, I spent three years in off-road racing and we flip flop. The easiest thing you can do is go upside down, because nothing hits hard. So that’s the nicest thing about it. I haven’t even seen it, but Brad (Keselowski) was pushing the crap out of me and I loved it. But man, the Beard Oil Distributing Chevy, we ran a great strategy. Darren Shaw, Ron Lewis our spotter, everybody….it was awesome. The 62 was in front for a split second. I was just so proud and thank you to ECR, Richard Childress, Chevrolet and to Darren and Ron and all the guys on this team. The Beard family, I love them. Mother, it’s okay, it’s just a flip and it didn’t hurt, I promise.”

YOUR BACK IS OKAY FROM COMING DOWN THAT HARD?
“Yeah, no, it’s okay because you are still going 200 mph that way. So, it never just drops out of the sky. It was okay, it was just one easy, quick flip and we put it down. The only thing you worry about then is somebody hitting you. That is what you don’t want and that is where the fear comes in. Other than that, I am fine and like I said, some people would argue that I have anything up there that’s going to hurt. Thank you to Chevrolet and thank you to the Beard family, love you guys, and yes, I will see you at the Daytona 500. Mom, sorry.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 – Sideline by crash on lap 183; Finished 28th
“I was just trying to make the middle lane work and all hell broke loose. I was having a lot of fun out there. Just trying to hold it steady and gain some points. I don’t even know who is left. It was pretty wild. These cars are so unstable in those big packs pushing hard. It just takes the smallest little mistake.

“I had a great Monster Energy Chevrolet. Thanks to Ganassi and all my guys for preparing a great race car. We just didn’t get the finish we wanted today.”

IT WAS GETTING CRAZY THERE AT THE END. WAS THIS SORT OF INEVITABLE AND WHAT DID YOU SEE?
“I was just trying to make the middle lane work with my little brother and all hell broke loose. Everybody was pushing hard, trying to draft and getting themselves in position. Man, there are wrecked cars everywhere. We were having fun with our Monster Energy Chevy and we were trying to bring it home.”

WHEN YOU WERE TRYING TO MOVE TO THIS LINE AND THAT LINE, HOW CRAZY WAS IT FEELING OUT THERE FOR YOU?
“I was just trying to hold the pretty wheel, keep it smooth and give the guarantee from behind. The guys were pushing good. It just shows that our No. 1 was stable and we could lead.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by crash on lap 164; Finished 33rd
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT PUSH FROM KURT BUSCH DIDN’T WORK?
“I don’t really know. Obviously, our noses are pointed and it just jacked me right up and turned me around. I have to look at it. Yeah, it just turned me to the inside first. I don’t know what to do different there to get the push better. Just unfortunate for us. We had a really good run going. I felt like we were going to at least finish pretty solid. Our car was good, just trying to bide our time. Just unfortunate, for sure.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE / AMAZON ECHO AUTO CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by crash on lap 108; Finished 37th
“I haven’t completely seen the replay. But my guess is that I threw a block I shouldn’t have thrown a block. I got shoved way out there. I knew the No. 22 (Joey Logano) was coming and I just tried to move down just a little bit. As soon as he touched me, it just turned it sideways. They just had a bigger run than I realized. I should have let them go and shouldn’t have thrown a block. I apologize to all the cars that got torn up, that’s on me. Talladega happens. I hate it for all of our sponsors.”

GIVE US A SENSE OF HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO JUDGE THE SPEED AS A LINE GETS MOVING.
“The spoilers are so big now, that even though they are clear, the cars shake so much you really can’t see. At least I couldn’t. My mirrors are super shaky and trying to look through a thing of lexan is tough. Just didn’t do a very good job of judging it and that’s on me.”

WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE?
“After watching it, I just didn’t realize how fast the 22 (Joey Logano) was coming there. I probably shouldn’t have even attempted to block that. He was a solid chunk faster than us, so that’s on me. It’s part of Talladega and superspeedway racing. It’s really unfortunate for our team. I apologize to the other guys that got taken out in that.”

UP UNTIL THAT POINT, WAS IT AS NERVE-RACKING FOR YOU AS IT WAS FOR US WATCHING?
“Not really. It was pretty calm. The car was driving really good. Everything was going as it needed to go for us, I just misjudged that one.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by crash on lap 108; Finished 38th
“That’s just plate racing. It is what it is. I saw the No. 88 (Alex Bowman) really far down on the apron coming into turn three, and knew there was going to be a problem when he merged up back in front of us. It is just plate racing. Really proud of my guys. I had a very fast Ally Chevrolet today. I was doing my best to help my teammates there and had a good time. Unfortunately, a short day for us.”

“I was just drafting and looking through the window like we do on the back straightaway and I noticed out of the left side of the windshield that the 88 was down there sideways by himself. So, something happened up there that got him pitched out of the line and unfortunately just slid right back up in front of myself and Chase (Elliott). I hope I did not knock Chase into the 88, and I feel like fortunately I may have turned him away from it and down the track. Hopefully he can still get some points here. It’s just one of those plate racing incidents and I hate it for Alex but a few people made it through from the Hendrick side of things in having a couple cars still in the race. But my Ally Chevrolet was great and I was just being a great ally to my friends out there and we had a really fast race car.”

REGARDING WHAT IT WAS LIKE WORKING TOGETHER AS A MANUFACTURER AND WHERE WAS THE BEST ENERGY.
“We have worked together well over the years, and I think we are just getting better at it is all what it’s about. For myself, in not having the Playoff pressure, it was nice to have a purpose and it was nice to be out there helping my teammates try and collect points and do what they could. So, all in all a good day, just a short one.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by crash on lap 108; Finished 39th
“I just saw a little bit of smoke. I was in the top lane just hoping to get through it and it all happened quick. I saw the No. 88 (Alex Bowman)’s door numbers and I got into it. Yeah, that was a huge hit on my part. Thankfully, I’m OK and we’ll move onto next week and try to get a run at Kansas.”

TALK ABOUT THE RACING OUT THERE AFTER WE STARTED TODAY.
“It didn’t seem any different than yesterday. You could feel the intensity building before the end of that stage and it led into a wreck. No different really than the other plate races this year.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE CHEVROLET’S WORKED TOGETHER TODAY?
“I feel like we have worked really well together for the last couple of speedway races. I felt like we were doing a good job today. You had a long line of us and at the front of that line, they were battling for the lead. I felt like our Chevy’s have been doing a really good job.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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