Chase Scenarios Heading Into Richmond

All Junior has to do is finish 20th or better at Richmond

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 6, 2011) – With only one race remaining until the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is set, eight drivers have clinched a top-10 spot – Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman. Brad Keselowski, with three victories, has clinched at least a Wild Card berth. He remains eligible to earn a top-10 spot.

Heading into the final race of the regular season, here are the clinch scenarios for the remaining three Chase spots.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt is currently 25 points ahead of 11th place. Regardless of any other driver’s finish, Earnhardt will clinch if he finishes:
· 20th or better
· 21st or better and leads at least one lap
· 22nd or better and leads the most laps

Tony Stewart
Stewart is currently 23 points ahead of 11th place. Regardless of any other driver’s finish, Stewart will clinch if he finishes:
· 18th or better
· 19th or better and leads at least one lap
· 20th or better and leads the most laps


A number of different finishes affect the Wild Card scenario.
- With a victory, Denny Hamlin will earn at least a Wild Card spot.
- With a victory, Paul Menard will earn a Wild Card spot.
- With a victory AND entry into the top 20, Marcos Ambrose or David Ragan will earn a Wild Card spot. Both drivers are currently outside the top 20. Ambrose is seven points outside the top 20; Ragan is 20 points outside the top 20.

All drivers through 23rd place in the series standings remain eligible for a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Aside from the scenarios listed above, those without an already-clinched Chase spot need a win, a top 20 spot and various finishes from other drivers to earn a Chase spot.

Friday's Driver Quotes from Atlanta

DALE EARNHARDT JR.

Earnhardt Jr signed a new 5-year deal with HMS (Getty)

TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS WEEKEND’S EVENT. “Well we’re just going to come in here and try to run as good as we can. We really like racing at Atlanta, it’s a fun race track. We’ll just see how practice goes – see how the car’s driving and see how much work we’re going to have to do to get where we want to be on speed and drivability and go from there. Hopefully it will be a pretty productive weekend for us. It’s not just to help us along in the Chase but we need to improve on performance as a whole. We’re looking to try to do that this weekend.”

CONGRATULATIONS ON SIGNING THE DEAL WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT? “I’m happy that it happened. Me and Rick talked on the phone about probably five months ago. I just told him if we were gonna do another deal that I wanted to start on it now because I didn’t want to talk about it next year and it be any kind of distraction for me, but if he wanted to wait we could wait. He’s the boss and he can do whatever he wants. I just wanted to put that out there and he was ready to go so we just went ahead and shook hands and let Marshal and Kelley handle the heavy lifting. I’m excited about it and happy that I’ve got a place to work. I’m happy to have Rick’s commitment and hopefully me and Steve can continue to grow and start to do what we want to do on the race track. I’m looking forward to it man, it kind of puts it at ease there a little bit.”

WE KNOW YOU ARE FOCUSED ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP; WILL MAKING THE CHASE GIVE YOU A FEELING OF RELIEF? “Yeah, relief is probably the right word. Everyone expects you to make the chase. If you don’t make the chase you get that tag on you. You get labeled when you don’t make the chase and I want to avoid being in that situation. There are only a few drivers that get to make it, it is a pretty competitive sport but if you can be consistent and be smart, I made a few mistakes and a few driver errors that I really wish I could have back now, that I tried to tell myself not to make all year. I did pretty good, then we got along in the middle of the summer there and I started making a couple of mistakes. Blowing the left front tire coming onto pit road in Kentucky, and a couple of other places like that, that took away finishes that we needed. I know that if you can just be smart in the kind of equipment and the kind of team I have I should make the chase. We are plenty good enough to do that, but we put ourselves in a tough position going into these last two races over the summer time with a couple mistakes that I made and I’m sure Steve might stand up here and tell you he made a couple himself too. We just have to learn from those and not do them again. I think I will just be relieved if I make the chase. I want to win this championship and be a champion one day. I think that is what everybody out there drivin strives to do. Making is just something that is expected of everybody.”

SOCIAL MEDIA, SUCH AS FACEBOOK AND TWITTER, HAS REALLY CHANGED THE COMMUNICATION OF LANDSCAPE GLOBALLY. SOME DRIVERS LIKE IT, SOME DON’T WHAT’S YOUR OPINION AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE WILL BE LIKE WITH SOCIAL MEDIA? “Well, it’s a big player I think and the easiest way to get your information. It is awesome that the drivers that are physically on there, like Harvick and those guys, I think it is great that the fans have the opportunity to connect and walk side by side with them through their day, whatever they are doing or whatever they happen to be talking about. I don’t have a personal twitter account, and I don’t have a personal account on any online or any social network, but we use it a lot at JR Motor Sports to keep people updated, give people the opportunity to know what we are doing, and interact with us, get involved with our programs. It has made things a lot easier for the media to get information out, you guys are in here trying to battle to get information out. It has definitely made things a lot better for everyone involved. Like everything, you have to use it in moderation. I think it is a good thing.

TONY STEWART

Stewart still 21 points up on Chase (Getty)

ON THIS WEEKEND’S RACE. “The good thing is we are on the same tire that we won on here last year so as much as I would like to say we can put the same set up on and have the same result unfortunately technology changes between when we won here last year and now so what we had won’t be good enough we’ll have to try to make it better. It’s at least somewhat comforting knowing we have a package that worked last year and we have an idea of what we need to compete with.”

IS THIS KIND OF A LAST DITCH RACE FOR YOU CONSIDERING THE SEASON YOU’VE BEEN HAVING? “I don’t think so. We’re still 21 points to the good of where we need to be so we are in the spot we need to be in we just need to maintain it. So, obviously if we had a win this weekend we wouldn’t have to worry about it next week so it would be a luxury to win the race this week but it’s not a necessity. It could work against us too. It may not work out after Richmond but at least going into this weekend we are where we need to be. Everybody keeps saying last ditch and we have to make something happen, we don’t have to make anything happen we’re in the spot we’re supposed to be in and need to be in to be in the Chase so we just have to not have a disaster happen. We just need two solid weeks.”

YOU SEEM PRETTY CALM, HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THE OVER ALL PROGRAM? “I can’t say that I’m ecstatic where we’re at. I think we have a lot of room to be better than where we are but as a competitor Jimmie Johnson can probably tell you after each of the last five years there was room for improvement too to make their program better so you’re always looking as a competitor to make your program and your system better than what it is. Definitely not happy with where we are at but I don’t think anybody really is, I think everybody feels like there are things they can do better and some of those organizations are questioning what they have to do to get better than what they are. We’re one of those teams right now.”

HOW HARD IS IT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS? “It just shows how sensitive I think these cars are. The window of getting them right is very, very small verses what we’ve had in the past but that’s what makes it also fun. That’s what makes when you have a good day and you do get it in that window that’s what makes it gratifying knowing you were able to accomplish that goal. It’s the hard part of trying to figure out what you’re missing when you’re off. That’s the frustrating part is when you go week in and week out and you can’t figure out what that missing piece of the equation is. You see guys that have not been good in the past but all of the sudden are good, they’ve found something so its proof that it’s there it’s just our job to go out and find it and capitalize on it.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE RECENT RUN THAT YOU’RE TEAM HAS BEEN ON? “It’s been an amazing run and I feel awful privileged to have as fast of race cars that I’ve had over the last few weeks. When you run through a point in time that you don’t have fast race cars, it certainly feels good to get into some good equipment and get going. It’s certainly an honor. I wish I could pinpoint what it is. I have a hard time believing that having a broken foot makes you a better race car driver. I think that it’s the team coming together and clicking as one and I’m proud to be a part of that.”

KURT BUSCH

Why isn't Busch running close to his teammate? (Getty)

WE’VE ALL TAKEN NOTICE OF WHAT YOUR TEAMMATE BRAD KESELOWSKI HAS DONE OVER THE LAST FOUR WEEKS AND ONE THING THAT STANDS OUT IS IN THE LAST FOUR WEEKS HE HAS NOT RUN ANY NATIONWIDE RACES. YOU OCCASIONALLY RUN IN THE NATIONWIDE SERIES. IS THERE A CORRELATION BETWEEN HIS SUCCESS AND THE ABILITY TO FOCUS MORE ON THAT CUP CAR? “That’s where all along I thought he could do better once he focused more on the Cup car. It’s tough as a new driver coming in to gain the experience that you need on track and yes, he needed to do that for the first step. The second step, win that Nationwide championship. He did that. Third step, now we’ve got to get the Cup car as the primary focus and gel with his new crew chief Paul Wolfe. He’s done that now. Is it a coincidence that it happened here in these last few weeks? Personal injury to anybody makes everybody evaluate where they are. They have a lot of time to sit at home for rehab and he’s done that but it’s just clicked. It’s been great to watch and it’s been inspiring for myself and Steve Addington to know hey, the stuff’s right there. We just need to be on the front side of the eight-ball and not on the backside of the eight-ball with some of the things that we’ve positioned ourselves with on the 22 car. But for him not to run Nationwide I think the Cup focus is there and it’s great to see. I guess he’s locked in the Chase. Now he’s got to do that. He’s got to run hard in this Chase to be a championship contender.”

KYLE BUSCH
WILL YOU PLAY DIRTY LATE TO WIN THE BONUS? “I don’t know. Hopefully, if it’s against another guy who’s not eligible, they can put themselves in our shoes for a minute and think about the rewards of a fan and of the charity that certainly are going to be able to achieve that. I think you do what you got to do to win. If it’s a scenario where you come off turn four like Jeff Gordon and (Kevin) Harvick or Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards — certainly we’ve seen those types of races end that way here in Atlanta. I think you do all you can to try to win the race. Maybe look a little bit like Logano and myself last week at Bristol — try to use the guy up a little bit.”

CLINT BOWYER

Clint Bowyer had a great practice Friday (Getty)

WHAT IS YOUR BEST CHANCE TO GET INTO THE CHASE? IS IT TO GET TO 10TH, OR IS IT TO WIN A RACE? “Hail, Mary. You drop back, you go for it. I think we’re just going to have to race hard. We’re going to have to get things turned around. We’re going to have to have another opportunity like we did last week, but this time we’re going to have to capitalize on it. I mean that was the most frustrating thing I’ve ever had in my life is we literally had an opportunity right there in front of us for the taking and couldn’t take advantage of it. We were as bad as he was if not worse. And it’s just so frustrating as a racer and a competitor to have that opportunity right there in front of you and not be able to capitalize. It’s very, very frustrating.”

AS A FOLLOW-UP TO THAT, DOES THE PRESSURE INCREASE AS WE GET CLOSER TO RICHMOND? ALSO, TALK ABOUT THE PINK CAMARO PACE CAR RIDES FOR THE BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS THIS MORNING? “Obviously the pressure cooker is heating up bigtime. There are two races left to get ourselves in. The weird thing is that we ran terrible; one of the worst races we’ve had and we didn’t lose anything. We actually gained a point. But we did, if you look, at it because we’ve lost a race. You know, there’s only two races to go. Richmond is a really good track for us. I’m looking forward to Richmond. I’m looking forward to rolling in there with a chance and a decent chance. If I can narrow the gap and cut it in half, I feel like we can go into Richmond and get the job done.

“As far as the press conference this morning; well it wasn’t really a press conference. It was just a fun, neat deal around the American Cancer Society and breast cancer awareness. We just gave those ladies rides around in the car. What a fun morning to wake up to, those ladies celebrating life. They’ve all survived breast cancer and are all full of energy and full of excitement. They couldn’t wait to get out on the race track. It was just a great morning to wake up to that excitement. So, it’s cool that they’re doing the car for breast cancer awareness in pink; everybody knows what that’s all about. And those ladies were all having a lot of fun out there. I had one of them get pretty scared on me. She said to slow down and I thought she was joking and I looked over and she wasn’t joking (laughs). So we pulled in and took a pit stop.”

MATT KENSETH
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEKEND? YOU DON’T HAVE PRACTICE AFTER QUALIFYING. “First of all, I don’t know who in the world came up with these track schedules this year, but they are just the goofiest thing I’ve ever seen. This place especially it’s gonna make it a little more difficult because today when practice gets over it gonna be as close as you get to race conditions, but that’ll be the fastest the track is and they line up qualifying order by how fast your lap is the first practice, so you’re gonna want to think about qualifying, and it’s a track we haven’t been to in a year or tested at, so it’s really unique. If I had it my way, and I was talking to Jimmy about it, we’d probably just work on race practice the whole time and just forget about qualifying. Get the best lap you can on qualifying day and wherever you start you start. It’s a four-hour race and the track is real wide. There are a lot of passing grooves out there, so qualifying is probably less important here than it is in a lot of places we go to. I think trying to hit that race setup that feels good is gonna be difficult to do, but it’s gonna be really important.”

Driver Notes & Quotes For The Quaker State 400 at Kentucky

MARTIN TRUEX JR. ON KENTUCKY: “Kentucky is a great track and it’s certainly deserving of a Cup race. I’ve raced there in the Nationwide Series and won the pole and had a shot at winning every time I’ve raced there. A lot of the teams used to test there so it’s not totally new to us. I love the place. The fans are really supporting the event. It’s completely sold out so it’s going to be fun. Plus, NAPA is running another special paint scheme to help fans save money throughout the month of July with mail-in rebates on select batteries like the NAPA Legend 75. Fans can get $10 off. Select alternators and starters are also part of the deal. Plus, my boss, Michael is running in front of his hometown crowd and saluting his brother Darrell for making it into the Hall of Fame. It’s really going to be special.”

KEVIN HARVICK ON KENTUCKY: “I’d say every one of us has been there in some way, shape or form. Some of the guys may not have raced there, but I know for me, when I first raced there was in 2001. Through the years, there has been a lot of testing that has taken place at that particular race track. I think it’s a race track everyone is pretty familiar with, but not familiar with this new-style car there, as everything was probably done with the old car. So it’ll still be a challenge for sure. I think just knowing that the tire is good. It’s a very durable tire. You’re not on edge. I think the biggest thing is just putting that to bed and knowing that we’re not going to have any tire issues. For me, I’m a rhythm racer. I’m not going to be one of those guys who’s just going to go out there and shove the thing in the fence by just trying to go fast right off the bat. I’m going to creep up and kind of know the limits of my car and keep pushing them until I feel like that’s the edge.”

HARVICK CHASSIS CHOICE: Kevin Harvick will race chassis No. 288 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. The team utilized this car eight times in 2010, earning one win (Michigan, 8/15), three top-five (Fontana, 2/21; Indianapolis, 7/25) and six top-10 finishes. Harvick also raced this car to a fifth-place finish earlier this year at Pocono (6/12).

Busch is using Kansas car this week

KYLE BUSCH ON WHAT TYPE OF RACING TO EXPECT AT KENTUCKY: “I couldn’t expect anything but some good, hard racing. Kentucky is a fast racetrack. There are a lot of sweeping corners, there, so you’ve really got to keep your momentum going and it’s a big momentum-type racetrack. There’s a lot of throttle-on time there. You carry a lot of good speed but, yet, the place is really wide, so you’ve got room for maneuverability. You can run the bottom. It seems like you can run the middle. I don’t know how great the top will be, but we’ll have to see once we get there and what kind of tire we’re on.”

KYLE BUSCH CHASSIS CHOICE: This chassis will make its second-ever start in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. No. 308 made its debut last month at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, where Busch started third and finished 12th.

JIMMIE JOHNSON ON KENTUCKY: “Been there (Kentucky Speedway) in a Nationwide car and then when I first came on board, we tested there a lot. We didn’t have the testing restrictions that we do today. Turned a lot of laps over there; a lot like pretty much every driver out of my generation. We would be there amongst four or five other teams and guys running like crazy. I’m sure it’s changed a lot since the last time we were there and it looks like we have an open test day on Thursday, July 7 leading into that weekend. That will be good for all the teams. I don’t think we’ll have an advantage by any means. It will be nice to go there, get some data, get used to the track, work on some setup stuff and then kind of get the flow of the race track once again.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR. ON KENTUCKY: “We have all been there testing so there is no real challenge. Everybody has tested there at least a dozen times in their careers, so, it’s not like opening up a new place. We just haven’t had a full-on race there and everybody will be trying. When you test, you don’t get around cars as much. Everybody will be wantin’ to get on the race track and get around people and see how the aero is and see what you need to work on with your car when you are in traffic.”

EARNHARDT JR. CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-657 for this weekend's Cup event at Kentucky. Earnhardt last raced this chassis to a runner-up finish at Kansas Speedway in June. The team will test this chassis during Thursday's open test at Kentucky.

JEFF GORDON ON KENTUCKY: “It has been a while since I’ve tested there so seeing if anything has changed. It’s a new track so we don’t have a lot of data. I mean some of the guys have run there in Nationwide maybe have a little more experience on the track. I think adapting to a track that you are not as familiar with from a driver standpoint as well as the set up, the springs and shocks and combinations, it’s a pretty rough race track, so I think to battle the grip level and getting the car aero-wise to get the most grip out of it but also handling the bumps is probably the biggest challenge from a technical standpoint. We used to test there all the time. It’s the one track that we could test at before it became a Cup track, so I think if we go back to those notes that’s certainly going to give some information but the most valuable would be the tire test that Mark martin did. That’s the most current data that we have with more of the cars and set ups that we are running today. We’ll hopefully get something out of it.”

CLINT BOWYER ON KENTUCKY: “I think it’s great. I’ve raced there a couple times in a NASCAR Nationwide Series car. That’s a huge fan base out there, there’s no question about that. Kentucky Speedway is the only place we can pack the house in a Nationwide Series stand-alone event. I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people at how many fans are attending that race. The track is rough. You’re really going to have your hands full trying to get a good package on your car to get through those bumps. The goal is to bounce through the bumps better than the next guy. No one is going to bounce through them well, but you want to be able to bounce through them better than the next guy. Noone really has an advantage from racing there before; I mean all these guys are professionals. It doesn’t matter where we go, they’re going to adapt and get up to speed. It’s going to come down to who can get their suspension and chassis packages working the best. They are the people that will prevail at a place like Kentucky Speedway.”

BOWYER CHASSIS CHOICE: Will be using his 18th-place Kansas chassis.

Newman has plenty of track time at Kentucky (Getty)

RYAN NEWMAN ON KENTUCKY: “I look forward to going to Kentucky. I was one of the first people to win at Kentucky Speedway back in the ARCA series when they opened the place up in 2000. I think it was actually the track’s third race at that point, or something like that. I started on the pole, led a lot of laps and ended up winning the race, which was a pretty big feather in our cap at that point in time. It was my third start for Penske Racing in the ARCA Series, and I ended up getting my first pole and my second win. So it was a pretty big deal for me and that team and that point in time. So going back to Kentucky is going to be pretty cool for me. Going back to a place that few people in the Sprint Cup Series have won at and a place you have history at where other people don’t, is a good thing.

"I definitely think it’s a great track and a great market and I look forward to it. I don’t think there’s going to be huge challenges at Kentucky. Between our practice sessions – the opening test day and our practices on Friday – on top of the fact that a lot of guys have had experience there in the Nationwide or Truck Series. It’s part of the cookie cutter spectrum of racetracks where it’s a mile-and-a-half, semi-banked. I don’t think there are going to be any big issues. It’s a little bit of a rougher racetrack from what I understand. I haven’t been up there to test for a while. Just getting a good shock package and getting a good feel for what the tire is up there is going to be a big part of it, but we have a lot of practice to do that. If we don’t get it figured out by race time on Saturday night, it’s out own fault.”

NEWMAN CHASSIS CHOICE: In five previous starts, chassis No. 39-609 has two top-five and three top-10 finishes. The car made its debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July 2010 in the Brickyard 400. The car got rave reviews, but Newman’s bad luck kept him from the finish he felt he deserved. Back-to-back flat tires early in the race trapped Newman two laps down and dropped him as low as 39th. But, thanks to the
team’s tenacity, Newman was able to stage an impressive comeback and got back on the lead lap with 15 laps to go to finish a respectable 17th.

The car’s second start came at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., last fall. After racing in the top-10 and even contending for the lead, Newman was forced to restart deep in the field with just a handful of laps remaining due to damage to his left rear bumper. Newman proved how strong his car and determination were in the last 13 laps of the 200-lap contest as he raced from 16th to fifth.

Its final appearance of the 2010 season came at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Newman was in position to score a top-10 finish, however, he was overtaken by several cars with fresher tires on a late restart and finished 20th. During the offseason, the car’s front clip was updated for 2011.

The car’s first appearance this year came in March at Auto Club Speedway. Thanks to key adjustments and pit strategy throughout the 200-lap race, Newman scored his third top-five of the season. Newman followed up that impressive run with a top-10 finish that didn’t come easily for he and his team at Pocono. With 21 laps to go, Newman lost third gear in his transmission. Thankfully, there wasn’t a late-race caution and Newman was able to fight through the adversity and hang onto a ninth place finish. Saturday’s Inaugural Sprint Cup Series Race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta will be the car’s third start this year.

TONY STEWART ON KENTUCKY: “I’m excited about going to Kentucky. I like going to new places that we don’t have history at. Obviously, there’s a lot of drivers that have run the Nationwide Series there and do know the track and what to look for. It’s kind of fun for a lot of us. None of us have raced there that don’t run the Nationwide Series on a regular basis. Even though at some point over the last seven or eight years, we’ve tested there, none of us have raced there. That kind of makes it fun. It’s neat to go in there and not have an idea of what to expect. It always makes it fun the first time. The first thing you do is try to figure the line out around the track and when we’ve tested there in the past, we didn’t have a lot of rubber down because there weren’t a lot of cars running a lot of laps.

"It was a lot harder to really get a gauge on what the line was around there. That’s what you’ll spend the first part of the day on – on Thursday, the practice day. You’ll just work on the line, figuring out your braking points, where you need to be getting back in the gas and at the same time the crew chiefs and the engineers are going to be trying to figure out how to get ride heights where they want it. The standard things that they do every weekend. The drivers are going to have to take a little bit of time in learning the race track. We’ve all had to do it all along the way, but that’s the first thing to do is just literally try to figure out where your reference points are for braking and accelerating for entering the corner.”

Montoya using third-place Las Vegas car this week

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA ON KENTUCKY: “To be honest with you, my first time around Kentucky Speedway didn’t go as well as I had hoped. It was a test session and the first time I ever drove a Cup car for Chip Ganassi. I hit the wall pretty hard. A lot has changed in those five years so hopefully there won’t be anymore contact with the wall this time around. We need a good run in order to have a chance to make the Chase this year. Every weekend counts and we’re starting to run out of time in the points battle. I’d like to get the Target Chevrolet out front early and stay there.”

MONTOYA CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 42 Target team will bring Chassis #1105 to Kentucky Speedway this weekend. This chassis has already run four times in 2011 at Texas Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Kansas Speedway and got its best finish (third) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

MARK MARTIN ON KENTUCKY: “I’ve tested at Kentucky before. This team has tested here before. But testing there and knowing you’re going to race on that specific track is different. It will be a help to us. A good starting point. But, really, when you throw in all of the testing time that all of the teams will get on Thursday, it will even out a little. That’s a lot of time on the track for everyone and I think that will prove to be the most valuable. With the amount of testing time we get on Thursday, we’re all going to be able to figure our own cars out. I don’t think we’re going to be as dependent on past information or knowledge due to that testing period.”

JEFF BURTON ON KENTUCKY: “I’ve always said that the tracks that can bring people in are the ones that deserve races. Kentucky Speedway, from what I’ve heard about their sales, the fans have really supported them. I think that’s a great thing. It’s cool to go somewhere else, to a new circuit. I always think that is neat. The local fans will be excited and energized about it and I’m optimistic. The only concern I have about Kentucky Speedway is how rough the surface is. These cars seem to put on the best races at tracks that are a little bit smoother. That’s my only concern about the race track. I think the race track itself is a good race track. I think it can put on a typical (Sprint) Cup race, which means it could be a great finish or someone could drive away from everyone. The bumps will be a huge factor as to who has success there and who doesn’t. It’s interesting because some people have raced there and some people that have not. A lot of times, when new race tracks are added to the schedule, no one has raced there. New Hampshire is kind of the same way. When it first came on, there was a group of us that had raced at New Hampshire three or four times before the Cup cars were ever there. In some ways, it’s an equalizer, and in other ways, it could separate some things a little bit because people have a lot of experience. There’s a thought that, that could really benefit those people.”

JAMIE MCMURRAY ON KENTUCKY: “I am looking forward to going to Kentucky this week. I have raced there a couple of times and have had good finishes each time. Of course, just because I have some experience at the track doesn’t mean things haven’t changed. We will find out what we have to look forward to for the weekend with the open test day on Thursday. I think it is good for our sport to have the Sprint Cup Series go to new places. It is always cool for new fans to be able to come out and see the sport up close and personal.”

McMURRAY CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis #1004 will be making its 2011 debut this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. The chassis ran at Texas, Michigan and Pocono in 2010 and has served as the backup in eight races this season.

Brad Keselowski rolling with winning Kansas car this week (Getty)

BRAD KESELOWSKI ON GETTING AROUND KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY: “If you can get your car where it’s comfortable over the bumps in Turns 1 and 2, that’s obviously going to be the fast way around Kentucky. Sometimes that is easier said than done so some drivers will choose to enter a bit higher to avoid the bumps. Usually that will establish a second groove around the middle of the race, which can lead to some great side-by-side racing over the final laps. It’s definitely a place with a lot of character, despite the fact that it looks like a lot of the other intermediate tracks that we visit.”

KESELOWSKI CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will race chassis PRS-747 during Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. Keselowski drove this chassis to a victory at Kansas Speedway last month.

REGAN SMITH ON KENTUCKY: “Though I haven’t been to Kentucky Speedway in four years, the venue has crossed my mind a number of times since I last competed there in the 2007 Nationwide race for Ginn Racing. We were the dominant car that evening, but didn’t give ourselves a chance to win due to a fuel miscalculation. I qualified on the pole and led a number of opening laps (45) and felt we were going to win the race. But when I was leading and called into the pits for an early stop, I was already out of fuel and that put us a lap down and out of contention. I guess you can say I have some unsettled business to take care of at Kentucky Speedway this weekend. It’s a great track and the crowd support has always been fantastic. I was happy to hear when Kentucky was awarded a Sprint Cup date. Our Furniture Row Chevrolet likes the mile-and-a-half tracks and we’re aiming to come away with a good result in Saturday night’s race.”

Won three straight Kentucky Nationwide races

JOEY LOGANO ON KENTUCKY: “I don’t think my Nationwide success at Kentucky is an automatic given that it will be easier for me in the Cup car. The Nationwide car is different this year and it’s a lot different than the Cup cars. I think with the open test day there will be guys that figure out the track easier than others. A lot of the guys have competed in the Nationwide races here and before the testing ban the Cup guys used to test a lot here too. The good guys will figure it out on Thursday. I think a lot of teams will be trying other stuff too to help their entire 1.5-mile program. You don’t get opportunities to test like this very often so you have to take advantage of it while you can.

“This track to me is a combination of Chicago and Kansas. The banking is a lot like Kansas and the front straightaway and the way you go into the corner reminds me of Chicago. It’s just a little bumpier in the bottom lane. It will be interesting to see where the Cup cars end up running – if most will run the bottom or if they will move up to the middle and high grooves.”

“The last two weeks have been huge for The Home Depot Team. We are on a little run right now and hopefully we can get a good run in again this weekend. When you get good finishes like we have the last two weeks, everyone’s confidence goes up and you get that all important momentum on your side. We are starting to dig out of the hole we got into at the start of the season and are in the top 20 now.”

LOGANO NATIONWIDE SUCCESS AT KENTUCKY: Joey Logano and The Home Depot Team head to Kentucky Speedway for the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the 1.5-mile track. However, Logano has competed in the last three NASCAR Nationwide Series events at Kentucky and has won from the pole in all three races. The 2008 Nationwide victory at Kentucky Speedway was Logano’s first NASCAR win and it happened in just his third start. In addition to his Nationwide Series experience, Logano and the No. 20 Team participated in the Goodyear Tire test last month at the Sparta track.

LOGANO CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 20 Home Depot Team is taking chassis #309 this weekend to compete in the Quaker State 400. Logano drove this chassis just once this season to an 11th-place finish at Pocono Raceway in June. The back-up chassis is #303 that Logano will use in the test session at Kentucky on Thursday and most recently ran at Michigan International Speedway a few weeks ago.

GREG BIFFLE ON KENTUCKY: “A racetrack has to have character and Kentucky has character. The progressive banking off of Turn 4 makes it a lot of fun to race here. It’s going to be an exciting race, it’s going to be really fun. I’ve had some memorable races at Kentucky starting with the win there in the truck series in 2000. Then I remember in 2002 beating and banging off of Todd Bodine at the end of the Nationwide race. He got me by a fender but we had a lot of fun. It would definitely mean a lot to finish well at Kentucky this weekend in the first Sprint Cup race there and we need a good run.”

BIFFLE'S CREW CHIEF GREG ERWIN ON KENTUCKY: “We were part of the open tire test at Kentucky last month and I think that went pretty well for us. We’ll have the full day of testing on Thursday which should put everyone on even ground going into the weekend. Greg has run well at Kentucky in the truck and Nationwide Series but it’s been a few years since he last raced there and we feel the track has probably changed a bit. It’s one of the rougher track we race on so we’ll have to work on that part of the handling kind of like we do at Vegas.”

KURT BUSCH ON KENTUCKY: “The thing about Kentucky is that negotiating all the bumps is a major factor in getting around that place. What’s so great – and I personally applaud NASCAR for doing it – is that they gave us a ton of track time there on Thursday and that is cool. It definitely won’t offer everything to get us full-time ‘Cuppers’ up to speed with the guys I have mentioned, but it will certainly help out.”

Kenseth bringing a 2011 winning chassis this week

MATT KENSETH ON KENTUCKY: “I really don’t have any experience with the track at Kentucky. We used to test there quite a bit before the testing rules came into place but I’ve probably only been there three or four times in my career. I’ve never raced there and I’ve never been in competition at Kentucky so I don’t know a lot about the track. But I’m looking forward to getting there, getting on the track. It’s always really fun to go to a new racetrack and to run the first Cup race they ever have there because there’s so much excitement from the fans and the people from the surrounding areas and cities and all that, for us to come there and race. It’s always fun to be a part of those first events so I’m looking forward to a great weekend for our Crown Royal team.”

KENSETH CREW CHIEF JIMMY FENNIG ON KENTUCKY CHASSIS CHOICE: “We’re actually taking two cars with us this weekend to Kentucky. Since we have a test day on Thursday, we’re going to test chassis 733, and then on Thursday if we feel like the tires are wearing well and if the car’s handling well on the track, then we’ll most likely use 741 as our primary this weekend. The track surface is really rough at Kentucky so we want to see how the test goes and if we feel the data looks good, we’ll opt to run 741 since that’s been a race-winning car for us. We’re basing a lot of our planning for this weekend off of the No. 16 team’s trip to Kentucky for a tire test earlier this season.”

Driver Notes & Quotes for Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

Harvick has two Daytona wins, including last July (Getty)

KEVIN HARVICK ON DAYTONA: "I think as a team we have a set strategy that we’re going to go into that race (Daytona) and see how it works. Whether that’s right or wrong, I don’t know. We’ve talked about it for a couple weeks now and have a good plan. The racing would be the same way that it is now if the race tracks – the worst thing in the world that happens to this sport is repaving race tracks. That is the absolute worst thing you can do to make the racing bad is to pave a race track. You look at some of the race tracks that have been paved for five or six years now and I don’t know if it’s the type of asphalt or whatever they’re doing, but the racing isn’t the same that it was and the race tracks just don’t get bad. Basically, if Daytona and Talladega would have been paved like they are now, however many years ago and everybody would have figured out how to do – that car would have done what we do now, it’s just that there’s enough grip on the race track with the way that the asphalt is to allow you to do that. There’s really no way to fix it as far as I’m concerned. Unless you just say, go back to the no bump-drafting in the corners. That’s the only way you can really fix it until the grip goes away. Paving the race tracks are a killer for the racing.”

HARVICK CHASSIS CHOICE: Will race chassis No. 343. Harvick has competed in this car twice so far in 2011: he led five laps before finishing 42nd when the car’s engine expired at Daytona in February and scored a fifth-place finish at Talladega in April.

JIMMIE JOHNSON ON DAYTONA: “I think we have more options as competitors (than at the Daytona 500) to make passes for the lead or to work your way through traffic and play some strategy and different things there. I feel as a group we’re all smarter and will be a more competitive race with the push draft, but I don’t see any reason why we’d be in a big pack. Until we have to lift and we can’t run nose to tail, I don’t see us getting away from what we’re doing. Certainly it’s been a year now since it’s been repaved. Maybe there’s a little bit of a loss in grip. If it was a day race, I think you might not be able to push each other around, but the fact that it’s still a night race, I think when the race comes, we’ll be pushing.”

JOHNSON CHASSIS CHOICE: Will be using his winning Talladega chassis from April.

Junior has had some rough times at Daytona

DALE EARNHARDT JR. ON RACING AT DAYTONA: “We’ve got a fast car. We sat on the pole there (Daytona) in February. We rebuilt that car and we’re taking it back. And I’m sure it’ll be great. I’m sure it will race really well. It looks like you’re just going to have to team-up with a guy and work with him all day long and try to stay out of wrecks and push him to the lead or get pushed to the lead you know, I don’t know. It’s all going to come down to circumstances. I don’t enjoy the two-car draft because when I push somebody I can’t see around him. And I would like to be in control of my own destiny all the time; be in control and be able to win the race. I was happy to push Jimmie (Johnson) to the win but in a perfect world, me and him both would rather just be racing our own cars and not have to worry about being obligated to push anyone to the win. You want to drive your own car across the finish line and that’s the way it ought to be. I think I learned more at Talladega. We ran okay at Daytona but it’s just circumstances. I thought it was a lottery five years ago (but) good Lord, it’s ridiculous now.”

JUNIOR AT DAYTONA: In 23 points-paying NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Daytona International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has recorded two wins, one pole position, eight top-five finishes, 13 top-10s and has led 395 laps. In February, Earnhardt earned his first Sprint Cup pole position at Daytona. He has an average starting position of 10.7 at Daytona, which is a personal best for Earnhardt.

EARNHARDT JR CHASSIS SELECTION: Crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-629. Earnhardt last raced this chassis to a fourth-place finish after pushing his teammate Jimmie Johnson to the win at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April.

Brad Keselowski finished 41st in the Daytona 500

BRAD KESELOWSKI ON PENSKE'S RESTRICTOR-PLATE PROGRAM: “Our speedway program is very good, very strong. I’m very happy with where we are with our cars. We led laps with our Miller Lite Dodge in the Daytona 500, and at Talladega, but we don’t have the finishes to show for how well we have run in those races. I just need to continue to make the right moves in the race and catch the right breaks. So far we’ve run up front, but we’ve had terrible luck with the restrictor-plate races. If we can get a little bit of luck on our side, I really think we can be a threat at any of the speedway races.”

KESELOWSKI CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will race chassis PRS-639 during Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. This is a new chassis to the No. 2 fleet.

CLINT BOWYER ON RACING AT DAYTONA: “I think my radio box is a little more advanced (than at the Daytona 500). It’s a little more easier to navigate. I can find my teammates. I think it even has a really cool light on it that lights up whose numbers they are so they’ve worked on it really hard. Other than that, just making sure you bring the fastest bullet to the race track. That’s all you can do. We were good there obviously in the 500, we were good at Talladega, I mean missed it by inches. This is a great opportunity for us to capitalize hopefully and get our first win of the season. It’s time. We need to do that. Obviously for the Chase and everything that happens with these crazy wildcard for the last two I’m telling you there are 15 teams that are plenty capable and have been in the Chase. That’s the thing; if you look at the top-15 teams they’ve all been in there and should be in there. But you’re just going to have to do a better job than the rest and beat them out of it.”

BOWYER CHASSIS CHOICE: Will be using the same car that won at Talladega last season and finished runner-up there this year.

Gordon sat on the front row in this years Daytona 500

JEFF GORDON ON RACING AT DAYTONA: “Just the bump drafting. That you can push all the way around the race track now. I think when we go back to Daytona; it will be about the temperature, the track and whether the grip has gone away at all and whether we can still do that. I’m expecting – right now I’m expecting us to be able to do that so it’s going to be about finding a partner, a drafting partner to work with and me and Mark (Martin) obviously worked well together at Talladega so we’ll have to look at maybe going that same route for Daytona. You know it’s not really about whether you have an opinion or like it, it’s just the way it is. If you want to be good and have a shot at winning, then you have to learn how to do it well. You have to learn how to cool the engine and you’ve got to find somebody that you can stick with and they can stick with you all day to be there at the end to win the race.”

RYAN NEWMAN ON DAYTONA: “I look forward to coming back there; and getting a little more experience from Daytona and Talladega, I’m sure our teams are going to be more competitive than they ever have been at that type of racing. It’s going to be hot. It will be interesting to see how much grip there is in the race car after this spring and if we still have to run wide open or if we have to lift at all. The racing itself, I wouldn’t say is my favorite kind of racing, but I do prefer it more over the old style of drafting, I guess you could say, that we have always done there. It’s nice to have an impact as a driver on the abilities of tandem racing, but I would rather be racing side-by-side, three-wide or four-wide or running wide open and having my car do the work than something else pushing me.”

NEWMAN CHASSIS CHOICE: This will be the first start for Chassis No. 39-664. The new chassis for the No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) team was wind-tunnel tested just a
couple of weeks ago in preparation for the Coke Zero 400.

TONY STEWART ON DAYTONA: “Well, you just know you’re going to be partnered-up all day. I think it’s a bigger challenge for the crew chiefs going into Daytona next week, trying to figure out how to keep the cars cool and try to keep from the swapping down to a minimum and try to figure out how you can stay in line longer without having to do that exchange.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR. ON DRAFTING PARTNERS AT DAYTONA: “I think everyone has a handful of drivers that they like to work with. I know there are guys out there that when I get to them or they get behind me, I can trust them. I think what we saw at Talladega is what we will see on Saturday and that is teams dictating their drivers to draft and stick together all day long. There’s a need to keep it all in the family. We’re formulating our team strategy right now.”

MARK MARTIN ON DAYTONA: “I can honestly say that I like this style of racing way better than those big 35-car packs that we used to race in. There is just so much more that goes into this. It’s finding the right partner; finding which is better pushing. There’s got to be so much trust there. And then your spotters have to be working together and, most likely, one of them will do all the work for both teams. It’s tough. It’s mentally tough. That’s one of the reasons I like it so much. There is a huge challenge that goes into this style of racing that we don’t typically see every weekend. I know it’s a lot to get used to, but I love it. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and working with Jeff (Gordon) again.”

Montoya has fared very well at Daytona

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA ON RACING AT DAYTONA: “I think the easiest thing with the hotter conditions and the bump drafting there (at Daytona); if people were spinning around when we had 60 or 70 degrees track temperature, it’s going to be quite a challenge with the hotter conditions. It’s going to be interesting how people will approach the race. Because at the end of the race it’s going to be two-by-two-by-two with everybody pushing. The question is if you’re going to do it all night. Yeah, I think it’s better (two-car drafting) because you can make something happen. You know when you are three-wide before at Daytona and you were fourth row you were stuck. Now with it this way you can pass people, you can make something happen. I think that is great for the sport. When we were running in the second group going into the last lap and we left the door open for Carl (Edwards) on the bottom and I think we should have closed that door a little bit earlier. A lot of it goes on the lead guy. When you are pushing you go where the guy goes. So I think that was the harder thing.”

MONTOYA LIKES DAYTONA: Montoya has nine NSCS starts at Daytona International Speedway. He has picked up three top-10 finishes at DIS, all of them coming within the last four races. His best finish at the “World Center of Racing” came earlier this season in the Daytona 500, when he started in the 13th position and took the checkered flag in sixth.

MONTOYA CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis #902 was run three times during the 2010 season, finishing 10th at the Daytona 500 and third in both Talladega races. The Target team also used this chassis in all four restrictor plate events in 2009 with a best finish of ninth in the July race at Daytona.

McMurray has two Daytona wins (Getty)

JAMIE MCMURRAY ON DAYTONA: “Daytona is always a fun place for me and of course after 2010, it is really special. I am looking forward to another restrictor plate race from the standpoint that we had a good car in both Daytona and Talladega, but came up short in the end. We were down a cylinder with only a handful of laps to go at Daytona in February and couldn’t work together with our teammate and drafting partner Juan Pablo Montoya, to help push for a solid finish. Of course we are going to see more of the same two-car draft tandems. That makes for a interesting race, because the car in the back of the tandem really has to trust the spotter and anticipate the moves from the front car in order to get around. We will plan to pair up with our teammate (Juan Pablo Montoya) and stick together and hopefully have some luck go our way to be a factor at the end of the race.”

McMURRAY CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis #1009. This chassis was last raced earlier this year to a 21st–place finish at Talladega Superspeedway. It was also used in this season’s Daytona 500, finishing 18th, and both Talladega races last season, where it came home second and 36th.

JOEY LOGANO ON DAYTONA: “Daytona is just one of those unpredictable tracks. When you unload you pretty much have what you have. There’s not much you can do at that point to improve your race car. These two-car drafts and new style of racing make it so important to take of your equipment and make sure you are there at the end with a drafting partner. But everyone knows and everyone has seen that pretty much anything can happen.”

LOGANO CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 20 Home Depot Team is taking chassis #298 this weekend to compete in the Coke Zero 400. This chassis served as the back-up chassis at Daytona earlier this season but has never been raced. The back-up chassis is #293 that Logano drove in the Daytona 500 and to a top-10 finish at Talladega in April.

REGAN SMITH ON DAYTONA: “I enjoy the road courses, but the comfort zone for our Furniture Row Racing team is superspeedway racing and that’s why we’re anxious to get to Daytona for this weekend’s race. We’ve had some success this season and it was all triggered by our strong Daytona Speedweeks performance back in February. We started the season with a second-place finish in the twin qualifying races followed by a seventh-place finish in the Daytona 500. With the ECR (Earnhardt Childress Racing) engines under the hood of our Furniture Row Chevrolet plus our background in superspeedway racing I feel really upbeat about this weekend. We have what it takes to win this race. We came close in the 500, and I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be contending for the win on Saturday night.”

CARL EDWARDS ON DAYTONA: “Daytona is such a different race now with the new surface. It is all about pure speed and partnering up with someone. I know this weekend I don’t want to finish second like I did in the 500. I will be doing everything I can to win this race. The 500 in February was the closest I have been to winning at Daytona in a Cup car and I really, really want to win there. That would be cool.”

EDWARDS AT DAYTONA: In 13 NSCS starts at DIS, Edwards has achieved four top-five and six top-10 finishes. Edwards’ best finish at Daytona is second place, captured in this year’s Daytona 500 and in July of 2008.

EDWARDS CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 99 will have Subway as the primary sponsor for the second of three races this season. The team will be bringing RK-677 this weekend to Daytona. It is the same car Edwards drove at Talladega in April when he finished sixth.

GREG BIFFLE ON DAYTONA: “I’ve always liked the night race at Daytona. My first ever Sprint Cup win was this race in 2003 so it’s definitely a race on the schedule that means something to me and that I look forward to. Racing at Daytona under the lights adds a little extra excitement I think for both the drivers and the fans. We could definitely use a good finish and we need to avoid a bad finish at all costs. We’re getting a little too close to the Chase to have many more bad races. We had a decent run with this car earlier this year at Talladega because we were able to work well with Carl. If we can pair up with Carl or another good drafting partner this weekend, we should do well.”

BIFFLE'S CREW CHIEF GREG ERWIN ON DAYTONA AND THE CAR THEY'RE BRINGING: “We’re taking the car that we finished seventh with at Talladega earlier this year. Greg and Carl worked really well together to stay out of trouble and finish up front in that race and we hope to be able to do the same thing this weekend. We’re taking these weeks one race at a time and just focusing on running well and being in contention for a win at the finish. That’s what we’ll do this weekend and hopefully it will work out the way we hope.”

DAVID RAGAN ON RACING AT DAYTONA: “I can’t wait to get back to Daytona. Daytona is a track we’ve always run well at and we even had a chance to win the 500 earlier this year. We need to get a good run to get our season back in gear. We’ve struggled some the last few weeks, but I’m excited to race Saturday night in the Coke Zero 400. We’ve got a fast UPS Ford and we’ve got good teammates to work with.”

RAGAN CHASSIS CHOICE: Primary: RK-691 Last ran the Duel at Daytona – finished 20th; Backup: RK-717 Brand new chassis.

Busch won everything but the 500 last time in Daytona

KURT BUSCH ON TWO CAR DRAFTING AT DAYTONA AND GETTING HIS FIRST PLATE WIN: “We’ll see how the track has matured since the repave and what the grip level will be like. It’s going to be hot and slick because it’s July in Florida. We’ll see if we can still hook up in that two-car draft. The grip level was extremely high in February. I anticipate the grip to be good this time around. If so, you’ll see two-car drafting just like we had in February.”

“We certainly want to finally win us one of these things (restrictor-plate race), that’s for sure. But, we still have to keep focus on this season and what it’s going to take to move forward in the effort to make the Chase this year. We need to win races because that will be so important come September. At the same time, we have to stay consistent in posting the top-five finishes and top-10s. The bottom line is that we have to go after those race wins as hard as we can, but still exercise conservatism, if you want to call it that. Unlike the guys back there in 15th to 20th in the points who can gamble on fuel mileage and roll the dice out there in every race, we have to look at it as the big goal of completing all the laps and getting the best possible finish we can in every race.”

KURT BUSCH'S CREW CHIEF STEVE ADDINGTON ON DAYTONA: “With the Speedweeks that we had in February, we’re excited to head back to Daytona because Kurt is such a great plate racer. We won the (Gatorade) 125. We won the (Budweiser) Shootout. We want to get Kurt a restrictor-plate point’s win. The restrictor-plate engines at Penske are awesome. The guys are working really hard on the cars. I feel good about it. I feel like we can go win. Our testing is paying dividends and everyone on this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge team is working their butt off. We just need to keep the momentum going and go get us a win at Daytona.”

- From several team press releases

Earnhardt Jr. Bringing New Car to Michigan With Hopes of Recreating Old Magic

Junior has gone 107 races without a win

NSCS Michigan Preview: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Michigan International Speedway (2-mile oval)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (Race 15 of 36)

News & Notes

POINTS AFTER POCONO: After finishing sixth last week at Pocono Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ranks third in the championship standings. He trails leader Carl Edwards by just 10 points. After 14 races this season, Earnhardt has scored three top-five finishes, eight top-10s, earned one pole award and led 42 laps.

MICHIGAN WIN: Earnhardt's June 15, 2008 victory at Michigan International Speedway was his first win in a points-paying event for Hendrick Motorsports and his most recent win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Earnhardt started the race third and led 14 laps on his way to the checkered flag.

AT MICHIGAN: In 23 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Michigan, Earnhardt has recorded one win, two pole positions, four top-five finishes and eight top-10s. He has completed 99 percent of all laps he's attempted (4,448 laps of 4,491 total).

LEADING LAPS: Earnhardt has led at least one lap during eight of his last 11 starts at Michigan for a total of 109 laps. Overall, he's led the field in 13 of his 23 starts at the two-mile oval for 173 total laps.

MICHIGAN POLES: Earnhardt's two career pole positions at Michigan are tied for first as career-bests for the 36-year-old driver. He also has captured two career poles at Texas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.

AVERAGE FINISH: Over the last 12 Cup Series races at Michigan, Earnhardt has a 10.7 average finish, tying him for third overall among active drivers.

DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Earnhardt ranks eighth in the driver rating category at Michigan with a score of 95.9. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.

CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 crew will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-668. This is a brand new chassis that has not been raced.

HENDRICK AT MICHIGAN: In 170 Cup starts (55 events) at Michigan, Hendrick Motorsports has scored five wins, 38 top-five finishes, 71 top-10s, nine poles and has led 1,890 laps. Hendrick Motorsports' most recent win at Michigan came in June 2009, when Mark Martin overcame a 32nd-place starting position, took the lead on the last lap and held on for his third win of the 2009 Sprint Cup season.

APPROACHING 200: With Jeff Gordon's win at Pocono Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 197 Cup victories. The organization ranks first in NASCAR's modern era for wins and second all-time behind Petty Enterprises, which has 268 victories.

Quotes

DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON MICHIGAN.): "I really like Michigan. It's a real fun place to race. It is a wide racetrack and has a lot of different grooves. We can move around and find places to run on the track which makes it pretty enjoyable. A lot of times that is a fuel-mileage race. You do need a lot of motor too, and we're pretty good in that department."

STEVE LETARTE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON WHY MICHIGAN IS A FUEL-MILEAGE TRACK.): "It's just the fact that we don't have a lot of cautions there. A fuel run at Bristol is so long that a chance of having a caution within a fuel run is pretty high and Michigan you don't. You do a lot of green-flag stops at Michigan, and sometimes at the end, that's how it comes down."

LETARTE (ON WHAT IT TAKES TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT MICHIGAN.): "Michigan tends to get really slick on race day so you need a car that is still able to carry entry speed when the pace slows down and the cars want to come up out of the racetrack. It's also important to have a car that can move from the top to the bottom so when you catch traffic, you can take a lane that they aren't in. It's a multi-groove track, and it's very, very wide. If you have a car that's good enough to change grooves to pass somebody, then you'll have good day."

TEAM BUILDING: Before heading to Michigan, Earnhardt, Letarte and the No. 88 team will stop in Tullahoma, Tenn., on Thursday to attend a team building event with the Tennessee National Guard. The team will participate in several training exercises and unveil the No. 88 National Guard Heritage/AMP Energy Chevrolet that Earnhardt will drive at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in July.

Las Vegas Hilton Super Book Odds to Win Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan

Junior is 10/1 to win Sunday

HELUVA GOOD! SOUR CREAM DIPS 400
MICHIGAN INT'L SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 2011

CARL EDWARDS 4
JIMMIE JOHNSON 7
KYLE BUSCH 12
JEFF GORDON 10
MATT KENSETH 10
KEVIN HARVICK 10
DENNY HAMLIN 10
DALE EARNHARDT JR 10
GREG BIFFLE 12
TONY STEWART 12
KURT BUSCH 15
KASEY KAHNE 25
CLINT BOWYER 25
RYAN NEWMAN 35
DAVID RAGAN 35
MARTIN TRUEX JR 50
JUAN MONTOYA 50
MARK MARTIN 40
JOEY LOGANO 40
JEFF BURTON 50
JAMIE McMURRAY 60
BRIAN VICKERS 30
DAVID REUTIMANN 75
AJ ALLMENDINGER 75
PAUL MENARD 75
BRAD KESELOWSKI 60
MARCOS AMBROSE 75
REGAN SMITH 100
TREVOR BAYNE 200
FIELD 300

HELUVA GOOD! SOUR CREAM DIPS 400 MATCHUPS
MICHIGAN INT'L SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 2011

CARL EDWARDS -145
MATT KENSETH +125

MATT KENSETH -120
JIMMIE JOHNSON EVEN

JIMMIE JOHNSON -130
JEFF GORDON +110

JEFF GORDON +105
DENNY HAMLIN -125

DENNY HAMLIN -120
KEVIN HARVICK EVEN

KEVIN HARVICK -120
KYLE BUSCH EVEN

KYLE BUSCH -130
KURT BUSCH +110

KURT BUSCH EVEN
DALE EARNHARDT JR -120

DALE EARNHARDT JR -120
TONY STEWART EVEN

TONY STEWART -110
GREG BIFFLE -110

GREG BIFFLE -140
KASEY KAHNE +120

KASEY KAHNE -120
CLINT BOWYER EVEN

CLINT BOWYER -130
DAVID RAGAN +110

DAVID RAGAN -115
JUAN MONTOYA -105

JUAN MONTOYA -110
RYAN NEWMAN -110

MARK MARTIN EVEN
JOEY LOGANO -120

BRIAN VICKERS -125
BRAD KESELOWSKI +105

JEFF BURTON -125
BRAD KESELOWSKI +105

JEFF BURTON +115
MARK MARTIN -135

JEFF BURTON +125
JOEY LOGANO -145

Hamlin Fastest During Pocono Happy Hour; Junior With Best Average Speeds

Denny Hamlin fastest during Happy Hour at Pocono

Denny Hamlin found himself in a familiar role at the top of the speed charts during Pocono's final practice session with a lap speed of 166.125 mph. The four-time Pocono winner should be coming into this race with a lot more confidence than we have seen all season as he still covets that elusive first win of 2011.

Brian Vickers had the second fastest lap with a speed of 166.067 mph, and was followed by Carl Edwards (166.030), Brad Keselowski (165.926) and Jimmie Johnson (165.700) was fifth fastest.

Rounding out the top-ten fastest in “Happy Hour” were Mark Martin (165.615), David Reutimann (165.554), Ryan Newman (165.529), Kurt Busch (165.456) and Jeff Burton (165.399). Kurt Busch spun out early in the first session and tore up his right rear and had to go to a backup which he only got 12 laps in with it.

Two drivers who really stood out were Dale Earnhardt Jr and Mark Martin who were both raving about theirs cars on radio while driving. Junior couldn't believe how he could keep catching Denny Hamlin throughout their runs while only being slower in and out of one turn. His comments were right on the money because he had the fastest average times of the day among drivers who ran at least 10 laps.

Mark Martin isn't one to boast about having a good car if it isn't and he told the crew that they have a really fast car, and his fifth best overall lap reflects those thoughts.

Top-5 Happy Hour Speeds:
#11-Hamlin 166.125
#83-Vickers 166.067
#99-Edwards 166.030
#2-Keselowski 165.926
#48-Johnson 165.700
slowest: #7-Wimmer 159.815 & #50-Bell 161.195
notes: #22-Busch spun in turn 2 and wacked the wall with the rear of the car early in practice, the team brought out the backup car. Busch was able to get a few laps in the backup.

Pocono Practice Speeds


Driver Quotes Following Friday's First Practice at Pocono

TONY STEWART ON HOW HIS FIRST PRACTICE WENT: “I think we’re okay. Not 100 percent sure but I think according to the times we’re okay so far. I’m not sure we can say we’re spectacular but we’re above average I think.”

TONY STEWART SHIFTING: “I don’t understand why anybody should have to shift on an oval in a stock car but here we are and here we are doing it again. It is what it is.”

DENNY HAMLIN ON THIS BEING A GREAT TIME TO RACE AT POCONO FOR HIM: “It certainly is — we feel like we’ve been in contention for a couple wins here these last three or four weeks. It comes at a good time. This is a new car and it seems to have some pretty good speed in it. It’s a good part of it. We’re racing here in the middle of the day — conditions are going to be hot and slick on Sunday. All those things factor into what usually caters to us. I think this is a good time and hopefully it’s a chance for us to get in victory lane for the first time this year.”

DENNY HAMLIN ON SHIFTING CHANGING HIS STRATEGY: “It does — it takes a little bit and it’s another element that gets changed. It will. I think that we’re really only shifting in one corner — it turn one. It’s tough for me to say. You’re still going to have the guys that typically run good here — looking at the practice speeds, it looked like the typical guys were pretty good. I don’t think it will change a whole lot, but I do think it’s going to be tough on the reliability of these race cars for 500 miles. Shifting takes its toll on engines for sure. Somebody will break one.”

CARL EDWARDS ON WHAT HE'S LEARNED FROM SHIFTING AT POCONO:“We have some different ratios for third gear. I tried shifting there in practice and I went the same speed shifting and not shifting. I think that will be something you can use maybe on restarts when the cars are bunched up. Right now with my limited race trim practice I don’t see myself shifting very much. There are a lot of cycles on the engines here and a lot of up and down on the RPM. Three times per lap and then if you add another shift in there it makes a lot of opportunity for mistakes. To me, I am going to do the best I can to not shift and have the car set up for that.”

CARL EDWARDS ON SHIFTING CHANGING FUEL MILEAGE FOR THE WORSE: “Yeah, I think you use more fuel shifting and getting into third gear and then lifting and standing on it again going into fourth you burn more fuel shifting. If it becomes a fuel mileage race there won’t be guys shifting that last run. You just never know. There have been a couple of fuel mileage races here that I have been a part of and it is a tough place to save fuel at. There are a lot of bumps and the car moves around a lot. It is really hard to run really smooth laps.”

Gordon has three Pocono wins shifting

JEFF GORDON ON SHIFTING AGAIN AT POCONO: “I’m glad it’s back. To me, I wasn’t a fan of when they (NASCAR) took it away. I feel like I have an opportunity to grab that third gear to get a little bit better launch up off the corner. I think it challenges you in a way as a driver and the team, to work on the car to be able to do that. And so I think that just kind of adds another set of skills in there that I think are important, especially here at Pocono, as well as more opportunity to pass. I think it gives you more opportunity there. And I think that’s important because we’ve seen how track position is so important and getting your car to be able to turn down underneath somebody and then grab that gear to be able to try to make a pass I think is important.

“Some guys were shifting the last couple of time we were here with the old transmission. I don’t know how they were doing it. I wasn’t one of them and we were still fast. But to me, it makes sense to have the right third gear in there to be able to shift with that really works for you all the way around this place.”

JEFF GORDON ON HIS POSSIBLE ADVANTAGE OVER OTHERS WHO HAVEN'T SHIFTED: “It’s not difficult. No, what they were doing the last time we were here was difficult. And the guys that were doing it, I still shake my head at it because it was a huge jump from fourth to third and it got your attention. I tried it and I said no thank you. There is no way I’m doing this for 500 miles. But some guys did. And I think that now that we have the proper gearing it should be fairly straight-forward and simple. So I don’t think there is any advantage.”

Driver Notes & Quotes for 2011 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

Harvick rolls out a brand new chassis this week (Getty)

KEVIN HARVICK ON THE ADJUSTMENTS MADE THROUGHOUT THE DIFFERING CLIMATES: “You can definitely do it either way. You can make it better or you can dial yourself way out. I’ve been a part of that race several times where you start the race really good and by the time its dark you are in big trouble. So, you definitely have to have some past history as far as what the race track does and that’s one reason why the All-Star Race was so important. Just for the fact that everything you do in that race is at night and the (Coca-Cola) 600 is going to end at night; you have to take what happens in the All-Star Race and then what you do in the day time practices and mix those two together. You also have to rely on a lot of past notes and things to try to have a setup that’s adjustable. A lot of adjustments made during the race are out of past theories and past experiences. If your car is not doing something and it’s getting dark rapidly, you are going to have to make a change on the fly without your car doing something. You are just going to have to trust it’s the right change and just make it if the time is right as far as the sun going down and when the darkness is coming.”

HARVICK ON THE DIFFERENCE 66 LAPS MAKES IN THE IS RACE: “I think, as a driver, you are mentally prepared and kind of just know how long a 500-mile or 400-mile race is, but I think the people who worry about it the most are the engine guys just because everything they do is set off of 500 miles, so they probably worry about it a lot more than we do.”

HARVICK CHASSIS SELECTION: He'll race chassis No. 353 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This is a brand new No. 29 chassis that will make its on-track debut this weekend.

Bowyer is using runner-up Texas car this week (Getty)

CLINT BOWYER ON THE COCA-COLA BEING A BRAGGING RIGHTS TRACK: “It is, but it’s always been a tough difficult track for me to get a good finish at. I’ve had some hard hits there along with some bad runs and bad luck. Things always seem to happen to us at Charlotte. It’s just not one of my good tracks. However, our cars are running well right now. Everything changes when your stuff is running well and you’re going down a path where everyone’s on board and comfortable. It doesn’t matter what your history is at that track, if your cars are running well and you’re on a roll, you can keep it going, no matter where you’re at.”

BOWYER ON THE HARDEST PART ABOUT 600 MILES AT CHARLOTTE: “Oh man, you just need to keep getting track position and keep everything in good shape. Everything has to be good the entire night. Everyone has to hit their marks. Pit stops have to go well. Transitioning the setup into the night has to be smooth. Everything has to be good for such a long period of time.”

BOWYER CHASSIS SELECTION: Clint Bowyer will pilot chassis No. 350 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Chevrolet Impala, built new for the 2011 season, last saw action in April at Texas Motor Speedway when Bowyer led 44 laps en route to a runner-up finish.

JEFF BURTON ON THE HARDEST PART OF THE COCA-COLA 600: “A lot is talked about going from day to night, but I, personally, think that’s overblown. I’ve won that race. Never before have I run horrible during the day and, all of a sudden, taken off and run well at night. I think you have to run well both during the day and at night. Most of the drivers who win run well during the day and the night. It’s hard comparing day practices to a night race – there’s no question about that. But, that’s the same for everyone.”

BURTON CHASSIS CHOICE: Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 359 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. This Caterpillar Impala will be put through its first paces of competition this weekend.

REGAN SMITH ON THE COCA-COLA 600: “We’ve seen the highs and the lows in the past three weeks, and the highs are what we need to get back to. After the big win in Darlington (May 7), we had a mechanical issue in Dover and last week at the Sprint All-Star Race a fuel problem kept us from making a charge at the end. The good news is that our Furniture Row Chevrolets the past two races have been solid and that’s what I am looking for again for the Coca-Cola 600 — a strong race car, capable of running up front. I love this track, and deep down, I know we can do well here. We just need to avoid the gremlins and not make mistakes.”

GREG BIFFLE ON THE COKE 600: “It takes a lot of patience. It’s such a long race and it requires a totally different mind set. It’s kind of like two races. The first half is survival and the second half is making sure the car will handle well into the night and then making you’re way to the front if you’re not already there. We learned a lot in the All-Star race last weekend and I think we found a few things that will help us out a lot this weekend. I’m pretty excited about it. We should have a good run in the 600 and I think this team will continue to progress more and more over the next few weeks.”

DAVID REUTIMANN ON TAKING THE ALL-STAR CAR BACK FOR THE 600: “Normally there is a time period between races where we take the Aaron’s Dream Machine back to the shop, take it apart, go over it and send it back out for a race maybe a couple weeks later – which is how we normally do it. We felt this Aaron’s Dream Machine was so good – we feel like all our cars are very good, but we felt a good connection and something going good with this car and we didn’t want to take a chance at jeopardizing that so we went ahead and decided to use the same car. That just means that the guys here in the shop are going to have to hustle. We have a great group of guys, whether it be down in the fab shop or out on the shop floor that will be able to get it turned around. I appreciate the opportunity and the effort to do that because certainly that wasn’t something that we had in the plans. Any time you change plans it means a lot more work for a lot of people, so those guys are down there busting their tails getting it turned back around. I really appreciate the work that they’re doing.”

Ragan hopes to recapture magic from Showdown (Getty)

DAVID RAGAN ON THE COCA-COLA 600: “All-Star weekend was a good outing for us and hopefully we can build on that. The Coca-Cola 600 is a totally different mindset, but Drew and I have a good plan for the race. I’m pretty excited about qualifying Thursday evening after last week; it’s all about track position so it’s important to start up front. We are taking the same car that sat on the pole in Texas and finished in the top 10. Texas is a similar race in that we started in the day and ended at night, so we should have some good notes to go off of.”

RAGAN CHASSIS SELECTION: Ragan will be driving the same car that sat on the pole in Texas and finished seventh.

MARK MARTIN ON THE COCA-COLA 600: “I’ve said many times, in my opinion; this is the coolest venue in the world. I’ve always loved this race track. I think it’s a great facility. The track is great to race on. It represents our sport well. And I love the fans here and their enthusiasm. So it’s great that we race here. It would be harder for me to hit a golf ball than it would be to drive a race car. There’s a physical aspect to what we do that is not really common knowledge, just like the aspect to golf or drag racing or anything else that I don’t necessarily acknowledge because I have no great interest in that so I don’t look at it and analyze it that close. But I think that anything you do on a professional level that the Indy 500 is or the Coca-Cola 600, anything you do on a level like that is extremely intense, physically and mentally, in different ways.”

PAUL MENARD CHASSIS CHOICE: Paul Menard will pilot Chassis No. 356 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 27 Chevrolet Impala is a brand new addition to the RCR fleet, and will see its first laps on the track at CMS.

BOBBY LABONTE ON THE COCA-COLA 600: “The Coca-Cola 600 was my very first win and my brother (Terry) finished second – - it was a great time for both of us. I had been second a few times before and we had won some poles and came close to winning. A first win is something you cannot go back and repeat. You’ll never forget that. It was a very special time in my life.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR ON THE COCA-COLA 600: “I like running here and I’m glad the track is fun, it is a fun race track. The two corners couldn’t be any more different from each other. (Turns) one and two seems like it’s a half mile longer than (turns) three and four. Three and four is real tight and tough to get through, the suns sort of bakes on that corner real bad. One and two is kind of long and fun and pretty drawn out for you. And there’s great racing here and the walls are yellow oddly enough. There are just all kinds of cool things about this place and neat things about it.”

New chassis this week for the 99

CARL EDWARDS ON RACING AT CHARLOTTE: “I’m coming off the best and biggest race and win of the year. Winning the Sprint All-Star race ranks right up there with winning the Daytona 500. I’ve been testing at Road Atlanta with my team and they are still pumped about the win too. We are all excited to go back to Charlotte this weekend and run a much longer race. This is the race that I train and work out for all year. This race is made for me; it’s a long, grueling marathon of a race.”

EDWARDS CHASSIS CHOICE: The Aflac team will be bringing chassis RK-765 to CMS. This is a brand new chassis with the final Scotts EZ Seed paint scheme of the season.

MARTIN TRUEX JR ON RACING AT CHARLOTTE: “I’m glad we got to run the Sprint Showdown because the 40 laps we raced, it told us a few things about our NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota. We’re keeping with our original game plan and bringing a brand new NAPA Toyota. I’m looking forward to keeping our momentum going. I think and I hope the tide has turned on our season. We have the potential to turn a good season into a great one.”

JAMIE McMURRAY ON CHARLOTTE: “I am looking forward to Charlotte this weekend. Our team had a lot of success at this track last year and this is one of my favorite places to race. However after last weekend in the Sprint All Star race we learned that we have some work to do if we are going to repeat that 2010 success. We will be working on some changes to our cars for this weekend and as always our guys are giving it 100% commitment to make us more competitive. One of my favorite things about this race weekend at Charlotte is that we get to watch our teammates from the IndyCar side race at Indianapolis early in the day on Sunday and then the track always has some cool pageantry with all the military that gets you pumped up and ready to go! Racing on Memorial Day weekend is a reminder to give thanks to all the men and women that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, which allows us the opportunity to do the things that we love.

McMURRAY CHASSIS CHOICE: No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #1104. Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion has decided to bring Chassis #1104 to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. This chassis was raced last weekend in the Sprint All-Star race where McMurray started ninth and finished 17th.

New car for Montoya this week (Getty)

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA ON THE COCA-COLA 600: “It’s the longest race of the season so there’s always a chance for things to go wrong. It’s a race where we start out with daylight and then end at night. That means you’re constantly making adjustments to get the handling right under different track conditions. We’ve learned a lot over the course of the last few weeks and the guys have been making a lot of changes to our Target Chevrolet’s so I’m feeling pretty good about the direction we’re heading in. The focus is to get us back up in the point standings and start competing for wins again.”

MONTOYA CHASSIS CHOICE: No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #1108. Crew Chief Brian Pattie elected to bring a brand new chassis #1108 to Charlotte Motor Speedway.

JEFF GORDON ON THE COCA-COLA 600: “I think the strategy (for the 600) is to get to halfway and be on the lead lap. I think that is the key. When you are on the lead lap at the halfway point, then that is when the race begins. You know 300 miles is a long way, and as long as you are on the lead lap I feel that you have a real shot at winning the race and tuning on the car and getting it where you need to be and be fast at the end. To me what is so difficult about the 600 is you are pretty much are practicing during the day to try and get ready for a night race. You start the race in the late afternoon, early evening. The track temperature is still pretty warm and it cools down quite a bit as you go into the night so the track conditions change dramatically. Your setup has got to be flexible and then it is a very, very long race so hydration and just trying to stay up with the changing conditions of the track to me are the most challenging part of the race. In order to be good at the end, we’ve struggled at the beginning at times and that just makes that first 100 miles go by so slow. It seems to me when the sun goes down the track conditions get better it seems like the laps start clicking off and then the whole race goes better.”

TONY STEWART ON THE COCA-COLA 600: “What you learn during the All-Star will help to get ready for the 600. The entire field is going to do that so it gives everybody the same opportunity. I don’t know that there is anything difficult about the 600. You still approach it the same as you do a 500-mile race. You just have to get your car balanced. The hard part is you start with it hot in late afternoon and then you are going to have quite a bit of time for the track to change a bunch from the beginning of the race to the end of the race. That is probably the biggest challenge but it is always a challenge when you run night races when you are going to start late afternoon.”

RYAN NEWMAN ON RACING AT CHARLOTTE THIS WEEK: “We’ve got top-five finishes and have been knocking on the door at each one but this is a big weekend and the Coke 600, being a Coke driver now adds a little extra to it, but Memorial Day weekend is really special for us with the Army and the all the great festivities and functions the track puts on for Memorial Day. That to me is as much special as the Coke 600. It all depends on how the car is handling and how hot it is outside. That additional 100 miles when you’re leading the race and the car is pretty good it probably lasts forever but it’s just another 100 miles, it’s just logging some time. If the car is really misbalanced and you’re fighting loose entry and struggling and up by the fence it can be miserable because there’s times when you’re a 15th-place car and you’re running 15th and you know you are at the best of what you can get 500 miles in and you’ve still got 100 miles to go and your shoulders are tired, your elbows are wore out and you’re looking out the right side of the car, so it all depends on how your car is handling really.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON ON THE COCA-COLA 600: “Regardless of surface, that track (Charlotte Motor Speedway) is still challenging. It shows up in different ways. The temperature of the track and the rubber going down changes so much from the start to the finish; and really, from when we make decisions based on our set-ups in Happy Hour. That track goes through a bunch of changes. You have a Nationwide race and then all of our stuff day to night. So it is a handful. And you find that the winning car is usually un-drivable at the start of the race and you just have to nurse it along and not make mistakes. And I’ve made a few mistakes here of late. I’ve spun out a lot off of Turn 2 and I really hope to not do that again (laughs). But it’s a challenging track and a challenging event when you have such a fickle surface to race on. It really is. When they put that new surface down we lost the advantage we had. We still seem to run well there. We’ve been in contention and have been in the top five and been running well. So, we’re there. I enjoy that track. The old track, and how rough it was and abrasive it was, really fit my style. We had a great set-up for it and I knew how to drive the track. The rougher the track, the better in my opinion; I seem to do better at those tracks. So, in time, the track will get there.”

Busch brothers fare well at Charlotte (Getty)

KURT BUSCH ON THE COCA-COLA 600: “Dominant wins like we had in the 600 last year are pretty few and far between. The cars are so equal these days that strategy has pegged the meter in importance. Just look at the last few races and how Regan Smith won at Darlington and Matt (Kenseth) won at Dover. A win is a win and we need one no matter how it comes. The biggest and most important thing is leading the final lap – the checkered flag lap – and winning the race.”

KYLE BUSCH ON GETTING A TRAFFIC TICKET GOING 128 MPH IN A 45 MPH ZONE: “Today I received a traffic citation in Iredell County. I was test driving a new sports car and I got carried away. I went beyond the speed I should have been going on a public road. I apologize to the public, my fans, sponsors, and race teams for my lack of judgment. I take responsibility for my actions and I can assure you that something like this will never happen again. I thank the Iredell County Sheriff’s Department and all law enforcement for the hard work they do every day to protect the public and to enforce the laws in a fair and equitable manner.”

KYLE BUSCH CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis No. 283 - This chassis will make it fifth-ever start in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. In its first start last September at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, Busch started ninth and finished ninth. The No. 18 team brought No. 283 back for the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth last November, where Busch started 29th and finished a disappointing 32nd. Busch competed with this chassis in the Ford 400 Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he started 33rd but finished 32nd after being spun and making hard contact with the frontstretch inside retaining wall while running in the top-five late in the race.

In its most recent start at Texas in April, Busch started 11th and ran within the top-five before a loose wheel caused an unscheduled green-flag pit stop and relegated him to a 16th-place finish.

JOEY LOGANO CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 20 Home Depot Team is taking chassis #287 for Logano this weekend. The team raced this chassis at Auto Club Speedway earlier this year to a 25th-place finish after an engine change and a pass through penalty. Logano also drove this chassis to a seventh-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October and to a fourth-place finish at Texas in November.