TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
2nd AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 ACTION INDUSTRIES CAMARO ZL1
4th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1
5th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 PRINCESS CRUISES CAMARO ZL1
7th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 KCMG CAMARO ZL1
10th ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
2nd AJ Allmendinger (Chevrolet)
3rd Joey Logano (Ford)
4th Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
5th Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet)
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner
Tell me about the move to pass your teammate, Chase Elliott. We did see the right front locked up going into turn one.
“Yeah, I knew that was kind of my only opportunity. I’m not proud of it. But being in the inside lane or the right lane.. being the leader, choosing the left lane, it definitely wins out. But when it gets too late in the race, it’s definitely risky.
Like I said, I knew that was my only opportunity to get by him. I felt like our cars were pretty equal today. Had a lot of fun after the green flag cycle trying to chase him down. Kind of burnt my stuff up a little bit.
The restarts kept me in it and kept our team in it. Proud of our guys. Good to get another win here at Watkins Glen and get some more bonus points going into the Playoffs, which we haven’t had many of those this year. Hopefully this will build on some momentum and we can keep racking up some more points.”
If the shoe was on the other foot, would you want to have a conversation with your teammate?
“I’m sure, yeah, we would ultimately have a conversation. We have a competition meeting tomorrow.
Yeah, I think if I was in his shoes; I would understand the risk that I’m taking choosing left lane also. Again, like I said, I’m not proud of it, but it’s what I felt like I had to do to get the win.”
Did you learn something on the restart before that you said you’re going to try to take advantage of it on the final one?
“Yeah, all the restarts I was in the right lane yesterday with William (Byron). I always got myself in a bad spot where my angle was pinched off. We’d always make contact and I‘d end up sideways and get passed by people.
I knew everybody’s aggression was going to be higher as each restart went on. I didn’t want to put myself in that position again to get passed by AJ (Allmendinger) or Joey (Logano), who were really aggressive behind me.
Yeah, it’s just part of racing at road courses, especially this year it seems like. Again, not proud of it, but we did what we had to do.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 ACTION INDUSTRIES CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 2nd
You had a chance there on those last couple of restarts. Would you have done anything differently?
“I don’t think so. Obviously, Kyle (Larson) drove it in quite deep to get the lead there on Chase (Elliott) and I was getting shoved in the corner. Maybe if I could have gotten the car squared off a little bit earlier in the corner.. but obviously I was getting run into so hard that I was happy just to keep it on the race track and not have anybody next to me off the corner.
Just proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing. This is absolutely one of the most fun cars I have ever driven in my life. I was hustling it and it was fast. The Action Industries Chevy, can’t thank them enough. To finish second in a Cup race in your first year as a team isn’t bad. But god, when you are that close, it’s disappointing.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 4th
Kyle says he’s not happy about the way the pass happened. He also said if he was in your shoes, he would have understood the risk of restarting on the outside. Did you consider that risk on the final restart?
“Just a huge congratulations to Kyle (Larson) and everybody on the No. 5 team. Congratulations to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for getting another win. Appreciate Kelley Blue Book for being on our car this weekend.”
He says this would be discussed between the two of you. What would you like to say to him?
“Congratulations. He did a great job. Seriously, they deserve it. Looking forward to going to Daytona next week and trying to get one for our team.”
Your first conversation was with Mr. Hendrick; was he able to console you at all on the loss today?
“Just congratulated him. Like I said, always good to see HMS win. The boss deserves all the wins, all the great things that go on with this company. Proud of that. Looking forward to next week.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 PRINCESS CRUISES CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 5th
“Our No. 99 Princess Cruises Chevy was good. It was a little bit tight, a little bit loose. I felt like we had to play with the balance of the car quite a bit. But overall, I felt like our car was good. Probably not a winning car, but a solid top-five car. With the right circumstances, we probably could have won the race, but we just spent too much time trying to gain track position.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 10th
“Best road course car we’ve had all year. Thanks to the 43 guys, the hard work is paying off. We need to qualify a little better, but a good day and finish for our FOCUSfactor Chevy. Honestly, I was kind of hoping for more rain. I was having fun when the track was wet. Watkins Glen is one of my favorite road courses, so I’m glad to leave with a top 10 and head to Daytona next weekend.”
TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 16th
“I’m really proud of our result today with our Allegiant Camaro ZL1. We’re just building momentum, man, and it takes time in this sport to build relationships with a lot of new people, but it feels like Jerame (crew chief) and I are starting to click. The last three weeks, we’ve been running really strong and doing what we want to do. We cashed in a lot of stage points today, but were also able to turn it around and finish 16th. That’s really hard to do on these road courses, and we did it. Really proud of our effort, we’re building momentum at a good time.”
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN, NO. 91 RECOGNI CAMARO ZL1, sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 46; Finished 37th
KIMI, YOU WERE INVOLVED IN THAT INCIDENT OUT OF THE BUS STOP. WAS THERE ANYTHING YOU FELT YOU COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENT THERE TO AVOID IT?
“I wasn’t really involved with it. I had a good line there, but everybody seemed to be coming on the left of me, and unfortunately I had no time to react. The first impact, somebody hit the tires or the wheels directly, the wheels spun and something was wrong with the race car, but that how it goes.”
I KNOW IT WAS SHORTER THAN YOU WANTED, BUT DID YOU ENJOY YOURSELF HERE IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES?
“Yeah, it was good fun. I felt more confidence all of the time. We had some good laps. It’s a shame. The car felt like it had a lot of speed, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
TEAM CHEVY RACE QUICK NOTES
Stage One:
· After waiting out a lengthy rain delay, an all-Chevy front row led the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green in today’s Go Bowling at The Glen with two-time Watkins Glen winner Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1 from the pole position.
· Pit strategy from atop pit boxes all throughout pit road became vital early in the race.. with teams looking to make the race either a two- or three-stop race.
· Five Chevrolet drivers made up the Top-10 of Stage One:
2nd Tyler Reddick, No. 8 KCMG Camaro ZL1
3rd Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Princess Cruises Camaro ZL1
5th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1
7th Ty Dillon, No. 42 Allegiant Camaro ZL1
10th AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1
Stage Two:
· Three Chevrolet drivers placed in the Top-10 of Stage Two:
4th Chase Elliott, No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1
5th Ty Dillon, No. 42 Allegiant Camaro ZL1
8th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
Post-Race Notes:
· Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 team goes back-to-back in wins at Watkins Glen International.
· The win is Larson’s second NCS victory of 2022; his second at Watkins Glen International; and his 18th career victory in 284 NASCAR Cup Series starts.
· Chevrolet has now recorded wins in 15 of the past 16 NASCAR Cup Series road course races, including a streak of the past 11.
· The winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history; Chevrolet now has 828 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.
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