QUOTABLE QUOTES:ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 UNISHIPPERS CAMARO ZL1 Do you like going to Darlington? “I love going to Darlington. For whatever reason, it’s one of the tracks that I’ve always liked. It’s one of our crown jewel racetracks and everyone wants to a get a win there. It’s a challenging track, but man, when you have a car that drives good there, there isn’t anything better.” Going into the first race, first playoff round, how important is Darlington to kind of setting the tone? “It’s important to get the playoffs started on the right foot. Get some points and have a strong car because it can really set the tone for that round. We started working on Darlington stuff a couple of weeks ago already. Working in the simulator, working on the setup and things like that. Obviously, we ran well there in spring so I feel like we have a good understanding of how the car needs to be. Everyone wants to do well at Darlington, no one wants to find themselves in a desperate situation at the end of the first round.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 MORGAN & MORGAN CAMARO ZL1 What are your thoughts on Darlington Raceway? “Darlington Raceway is a fun track. It’s challenging. The track gets slick and wears tires quite a bit. The key to Darlington Raceway is trying to race the track and not the competition. Darlington could set the tone for the rest of this year, but also next season. It would be nice to knock another Crown Jewel off. I’ve got two of them and another one would be pretty special.” Do you like racing at Darlington Raceway? “I just love Darlington Raceway. It’s a racer’s track, and the history there is so special. It’s one of the hardest races to win. It’s a constant battle and anytime you win at a challenging track. It just feels good.” KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 MCLAREN CUSTOM GRILLS CAMARO ZL1 How important is it to start the Playoffs with a solid finish at Darlington? “Darlington is the start of the Playoffs so it’s really important to get a solid run in that first race of the Playoffs. It’d be perfect to win it. We were so close there in the spring I felt like we had a really good, legitimate, shot to win that race. So do a little bit of tweaks on the setup that we had from the spring race and go back there and be better and race for a win.” Why do so many drivers like Darlington and say it’s so special to win there? “I think Darlington is a drivers track so the drivers really like racing there because it brings out the driver. Yeah, you’ve got to have a good car, but it kind of lets you have a little bit more opportunity of saving tires or pushing hard and getting lap time or suffering later in the run. It’s hard to move around there. You don’t really move around a whole lot there, top bottom or whatever, so it’s always kind of up around the wall. I think that’s what makes it fun for the drivers as well too is just that challenge and knowing how many different challenges there are and how hard it is. I think that’s what makes it so special to win there.” The Southern 500 at Darlington is one of NASCAR’s crown jewel races. Growing up in Las Vegas, did you have an appreciation of how special that race is? “The Southern 500 at Darlington is really cool being a crown jewel race. When I was growing up I remember the race vividly of Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton going at it for the finish. It was the Winston Million-dollar date car for Jeff Gordon. He had the right-side flattened on that thing and Jeff Burton was getting a run on him and he blocked him all the way to the bottom. This day and age, you’d be wrecked. Jeff Burton was very, very nice and very kind in that situation and I guess maybe knew what Jeff (Gordon) was racing for, obviously a million bucks. That could have turned out vastly different given it being a different driver in second place.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 Elliott on racing for the owner title: “I’m glad the car got in. That’s a big deal and a testament to Alan (Gustafson) and our team for just continuing to fight while I was gone. There is a lot of opportunity on that side of things, and it is a really big deal. I would like to go and make some noise on that front.” Elliott on learnings from previous playoffs: “The sample sets for the rounds are very short. It can work one of two ways, right? You have a bad race and very little time to make it back up, but also it only being three races, it is not over until the end of that round is over. A lot can change in one race, a lot can change in one half of an event and a lot can change within the opening two stages. Three races is just a compact time period in the grand scheme of the season. I’m always reminded every year that there is something crazy that happens. It comes down to the last race and somebody that you thought would never make it through the round, somehow makes it through the round. Just goes to show you that things can change quickly.” ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 Gustafson on preparing for this weekend’s race at Darlington: “The spring race was good and I thought we had a solid car. Not as good as we wanted to have, but it’s nice going back there. It’s the first non-restrictor plate track we’re going back to with Chase (Elliott), which is good. That’s made this week feel a little different too as far as preparation goes. Because we raced it with him, we have a little bit clearer direction on what we need to improve on. So, that’s really been the difference this week.” AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 ACTION INDUSTRIES CAMARO ZL1 “Darlington is a place that I’ve had success at in the Xfinity car. Our first race there this year in the Cup car was not as good as we hoped, but we’ve improved our race cars since then so I’m looking forward to getting back there and seeing what we have. We’ll use these next 10 races to build momentum and continue to get better as a team.” CARSON HOCEVAR, NO. 42 SUNSEEKER RESORTS CAMARO ZL1 “Darlington is a place that I’ve ran really well in the past, and whether that be in the Xfinity car or the truck, it’s always been a place that I found very familiar right off the bat. It’s a track that I really enjoy racing and running around, so to be able to go there in a Cup car now, a car that I’m hoping to continue to grow on and learn more about, at a place I feel really comfortable at, hopefully brings me up to speed with it. We get to have some fun this week; I’ll definitely be leaning on Erik (Jones). Being from Michigan, we were teammates at one point when we were racing late models, and now to be teammates with him on Sunday will be cool. Obviously, he won this race here last year, so I’ve got a lot of tools and resources to get myself comfortable for Sunday. I’m very thankful of this opportunity from Maury (Gallagher) and Jimmie (Johnson), and look to give the guys on this Sunseeker Resort team a good run and continue to build my notebook with their car.” ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1 “Darlington is always a place I am excited to go to. Darlington for me has always been a good track; I always look forward to getting there and having an opportunity to run well. We were fortunate to win this race last year, so with us going back, hopes are high. I think everyone has gotten better, but I believe we have a good car and a solid opportunity to run really well. So, I always look forward to going to Darlington and having an opportunity to win a third Southern 500; that would be an awesome accomplishment.” DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY.COM CAMARO ZL1 What are your plans for the final 10 races? “You saw last year how the non-playoff drivers won races. That shows you how deep the field is. Martin Truex Jr. missed the playoffs last year and has scored the most points this year. Chase Elliott was in the Final Four last year and missed this year. There isn’t much difference between the playoff and non-playoff teams. We feel like we are a good team and we plan to show it in these final races.” Thoughts on Darlington’s Southern 500? “I love this race. It’s going to be hot, slick and such a challenge. I put a lot of effort into physical conditioning and hope that gives me an advantage on Sunday. It’s so easy to get into trouble at Darlington, but it’s such a rewarding track if you stay patient and run well. We had a really good car here in May so I am optimistic about Sunday night’s race.” | 
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