“There were just a lot of ups and downs today. We cycled up to get stage points. The balance was neutral all day, but we got loose when we wanted it to be our last pit stop. We pitted and then we were back there in the very back for the second-to-last restart and got involved with the No. 10 (Aric Almirola) there. We just struggled with the balance the last 80 laps or so, but other than that, it was a good day for our No. 1 Renu Camaro ZL1 team.”
Kyle, Your crew chief apologized for how the pit crew performed tonight and not giving you what you want. As a driver, how do you handle situations like that?
“You just shake it off and go out there the best that you can and put together some good runs. So, we were able to overcome all the spots that we lost on pit road, and I feel like I drove from the back to the top- five or six almost every run.
We had a really good car and I’m proud of the effort there at the shop and the piece that we brought here to Texas. It’s good that we are above the cutline; but if we are plus 16, I feel like we could have been plus 34 or something at least, so bummer there. We could have potentially won the race. We had the best car and the weather delay hurt for sure. We had the best car on the track when it was hot and when it got cooler, I got loose and everybody seemed to get faster. So, it was just harder to pass. Proud of the effort back at the shop.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 LENOVO/THINKEDGE CAMARO ZL3
Finished: 1st
All this group has been through and yet here they are still winning races and still a team. How about the Texas race fans who stayed here through this long night of racing and Tyler Reddick brings it home to Victory Lane. With all the tire issues, how worried were you on the final run because you went so long on this set of Goodyears?
“I was extremely worried; I’m not going to lie. Unfortunately, just about every time we’ve had fast cars, we’ve had some tire problems. That last run, the right sides were vibrating really, really hard there.
I was just trying to maximize and use the gap that I built over Joey (Logano) just in case. I mean, every time we’ve had a strong car, we’ve been bit by something, man.
Just really proud to be able to get this Lenovo Chevy to Victory Lane. They were at Auto Club earlier this year. They deserve to go to get to Victory Lane. We got them there.”
How did this team stay together through all the adversity this year?
“Well, it was tough. I mean, two points. Every spot matters in this deal. We just had two tough races. We brought a really fast car at Darlington. We were leading at Kansas when we broke and fell out early. It’s tough.
This will make that, the pain of not making it through, a little bit easier. Even though, yes, it would have locked us into the Round of 8. We’re winning races. That’s what we’ll keep trying to do.”
How about the Texas race fans?
“It was a hot one. Thank you fans who came out. I really appreciate it. This is a tough race, 500 miles here. Not an easy feat. I know it wasn’t easy on you guys, as well.
So great to be able to win here in a Cup car. Been close a few times. Let’s go!”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 184.
Finished: 32nd
From your perspective, is there a design issue with these tires?
“I’m not sure that Goodyear is at fault. Goodyear always takes the black eye, but they’re put in a really tough position by NASCAR to build a tire that can survive these types of racetracks with this car. I wouldn’t blame Goodyear.”
Was it a tire that went down?
“Yeah, something came apart. I could hear it flapping in the right rear fender well. I don’t know, but if it wasn’t down, it was certainly coming apart. One of the two.”
You guys have relied on points all year long. As it sits now, just plus six-points above the cutline. How do you now view Talladega and the ROVAL?
“It’s not a great position to be in for sure, but it is what it is now. I hate it for our No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet team. We were actually decent here for once, so that was nice while it lasted. We’ll go to Talladega (Superspeedway) try to get a win and go on down the road.”
NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 16 FREEDOM BY ED MORSE CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 21st
“Solid run by our No. 16 Freedom by Ed Morse team. We had a lot of fun out there and ran up in the top 10 for a lot of the race. I’m really thankful and grateful for the opportunity with Kaulig Racing, Freedom by Ed Morse, and the entire Morse family. I had a lot of fun out there. It was a long, long race. We had some strong runs there throughout the race and got sent by the 11 late in the race when we were running like 10th or 11th. That’s part of it. You’ll have that, but we’ll keep working hard and try and be better in future.”
What happened off turn two between you and Denny Hamlin? Is that something you feel like he could have controlled to not have happen?
“Yeah, he ran me out of room and bent the toe link. We are lucky we finished. It was really hard contact.. it wasn’t like a light contact or something like that. I obviously didn’t mean to spin him out over there, but I am obviously mad and just not going to get raced like that. We have always raced so well together and I don’t know what it was all about. The 19 took it their way and he ran out of racetrack, so he chose to run me out of racetrack completely. And again, look, it was not like it was light contact and I thought we were going to be done.”
You ran into him on purpose off turn four?
“I don’t know. I mean obviously yeah; I went to go show my displeasure and I didn’t mean to spin him out. There are a ton of guys that do this and go do something like that…see it all the time. But yeah, I am just not going to get run like that and there is really no reason. I mean we are running second and third I think and had a shot to win, and it killed our car for sure. That was a bummer.”
Will you talk to him about it?
“Yeah, I guess so. We will probably talk. We have never had issues so I didn’t really get it, but I am also not going to be like ‘oh I don’t normally have issues with this guy and I am not going to be mad about it’. So it was uncalled for and I feel like we handled it.”
“This was a long, challenging race. we finished third at Darlington earlier in the season and started pretty much last there as well, so it’s pretty cool to have another really great run for this Kaulig Racing team. Our No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 definitely wasn’t what I liked, but we kept working on it and actually when it turned dark, we got some good track position and made a heck of a run out of it. I’m really proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing. At the end, I was just worried that the right rear is going to go down, so I was just trying to make it to the end. P3 is everything we could want right now.”
TY DILLON, NO. 42 BLACK RIFLE COFFE CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 16th
“Today was a back-and-forth day with strategy. Our Black Rifle Camaro had good speed. We brought a good piece, and I thought it raced well, just the strategy was kind of back and forth. I think we made the perfect call there at the end of when to pit and it was looking like we were going to get a top 10. I just caught a little bit of the slime in turn one and had a big moment and lost spots unfortunately. I’m proud of our effort, proud of the speed in our Camaro. It’s been a lot of fun to drive these fast cars the last couple of weeks.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 6th
“It ended up being a solid day for our FOCUSfactor Chevy team. The day started out a little rough, we were just struggling with the balance and got it better late in the race. We ended up taking tires with about 30 laps to go and were able to come back through the field for a sixth-place finish. I’m proud of that. We struggled at Texas in the All-Star race and we got a lot better from then to today. It’s good to have a good week. We needed one after the last few weeks. Hopefully we can carry so momentum to Talladega next weekend and try to close one out there.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 AGUAS FRESCAS CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 12th
“It was a tough day. We got decent points, but the car wasn’t what we were hoping for. The entire weekend, we were kind of off. The car had good speed, but the balance of the car wasn’t good. We just have to continue to work. I think we had a decent points day. We just have to continue to work and get better.”
TEAM CHEVY RACE QUICK NOTES
Stage One:
· Six Camaro ZL1’s took the green flag in the top-10 of the starting lineup in race two of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 at Texas Motor Speedway.
· With a caution flying on lap 39, William Byron led the bowtie brigade down pit road for a round of pit stops, with crew chief Rudy Fugle calling for four tires and fuel. The No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1 team got Byron off pit road first for a front row restart position.
· Taking the lead on lap 89, Kyle Larson went on to take the Stage One win; his fourth stage win of 2022. Larson led five Chevrolet to five top-10 finishes in the stage.
4th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Aguas Frescas Camaro ZL1
5th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Renu Camaro ZL1
6th William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1
Stage Two:
· No. 47 Kroger/NOS Camaro ZL1 Crew Chief Brian Pattie chose pit strategy during the stage break, keeping Ricky Stenhouse Jr. out for a front row starting spot for the beginning of Stage Two.
· NCS point leader Chase Elliott was at the top of the leaderboard when a tire issue and contact with the wall brought out the caution on lap 184. The damage sustained forced the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 to retire early from the race.
· The 105-lap Stage Two saw four Chevrolet drivers in the top-10, led by Ross Chastain and the No. 1 Renu Camaro ZL1 team .
· Stage Two Team Chevy Top-10:
2nd Ross Chastain, No. 1 Renu Camaro ZL1
3rd William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1
5th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Aguas Frescas Camaro ZL1
6th Austin Dillon, No. 3 True Velocity Camaro ZL1
Final Stage / Post-Race Notes:
· Light precipitation moved into the area, with the threat of lightning putting the race under red flag conditions at lap 220.
· After a 56-minute red flag, Erik Jones and the No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1 team led the field to the green flag from the front row.
· Under caution with 63 laps to go, a majority of the field came down pit road, with No. 1 Renu Camaro ZL1 Crew Chief Phil Surgen electing to bring Chastain down for a fuel only pit stop, gaining 10 positions in the race off pit road.
· Tyler Reddick recorded his third NASCAR Cup Series win of 2022, taking the checkered flag in the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
· The win is Reddick’s third career victory in 104 NASCAR Cup Series starts; and his first on an oval track in NASCAR’s premier series.
· Reddick’s victory marks Chevrolet’s 16th all-time NASCAR Cup Series win at Texas Motor Speedway, with Chevrolet now leading all manufacturers in wins at the 1.5-mile Texas venue.
· With 30 NASCAR Cup Series races complete, the Camaro ZL1 now sits at a manufacturer-leading 17 wins this season.
· The winningest brand in NASCAR, Chevrolet now has 831 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.
