Dale Earnhardt Jr. Race Quote

DALE EARNHARDT JR, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS – Retired on lap 257 with engine problems

DID YOU HAVE ANY INDICATIONS THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG?

“Yeah, I smelled something burning. I thought it was rubber build-up on the headers or something. I didn’t start losing power until the last lap before it broke with the water and oil mixing together; and that’s never good. We didn’t have a really good car. We know why. We can go back and feel like we can rebound real quickly from this. I just hope everybody is okay from the accident in the stands and wish everybody a happy Memorial Day weekend. It’s been a lot of fun and I take a lot of pride in representing the National Guard and hope everybody shakes a soldiers’ hand this weekend and thank them for what they do.”

I KNOW YOU SMELLED SOME SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT DID THE ENGINE JUST GET COOKED AFTER THAT?

“Yeah, we had a massive catastrophic failure in the motor.  We never have those problems.  Hendrick guys always build good stuff not worried about this down the road we will be all right.  We didn’t have the greatest race car either.  We know why and we can move forward and feel like we can rebound pretty quick, looking forward to going to Dover.  I want to say that I hope everybody is okay from the accident earlier in the stands and that I wish everybody a good Memorial Day weekend.  If you a soldier shake his hand and tell them thanks for what he does for our country.  We will get them at Dover.”

Keselowski and Almirola Quotes

BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – ARE YOU OK?  “It wasn’t really that hard of a hit.  Thank God they’ve got SAFER barriers.  There have been a lot worse wrecks than that?”  WHAT HAPPENED?  “Yeah, I cut Danica off.  I didn’t know we were still three-wide.”  WHAT HAPPENED?  “I just cut Danica off.  I didn’t know she was still down there and I caused a big wreck.”  CAN YOU SAY WHAT HAPPENED AGAIN?  “I was three-wide with Danica and didn’t know it and I cut her off and wrecked her and myself.  I feel bad for her and I send my apologies to her.  It’s just a long night for the Miller Lite Ford.”  A LONG TWO WEEKS IN CHARLOTTE FOR YOU?  “Yeah.  We’ll move on.  That’s all you can do.”

ARIC ALMIROLA – No. 43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion – “We were racing for the lucky dog spot there.  We had just gotten our U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion a lot better and we were marching up through there and I got under Mark off turn four and Jeff was on his outside, so we were three-wide.  I couldn’t get any closer to the grass and it looked like Mark just clipped me in the right-rear.  I know he didn’t mean to do that.  I’ve raced with Mark a lot and he’s a gentleman racer, but unfortunately it tore up a bunch of race cars there.  It’s disappointing because we had gotten our car a lot better and we were right there in the spot to get the lucky dog and unfortunately it didn’t work out.”   WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THIS TO?  “It’s finally getting down late in the race and everybody is racing hard.  That frontstretch is narrow and you can make it three-wide, but nobody can make a mistake.  When somebody makes a mistake you have what just happened.”

Jeff Gordon Race Quote

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – Sidelined in multi-car crash on lap 326

IT LOOKS LIKE YOU WERE A VICTIM OF THREE-WIDE RACING WITH 74 LAPS TO GO

“We were a victim of the caution coming out when we were on pit road. We shouldn’t have stopped in the box to do that pit stop and we would have still been on the lead lap. Instead, we were racing three-wide. That’s what’s going to happen. I mean we were just going for the Lucky Dog you know, and you’ve got to be real aggressive back there. I got beat on the restart before that with (Marcos) Ambrose and messed that one up; so I just hate we were even back there. We had an awesome Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet. I loved the patriotic colors on our car this weekend and it’s just a shame we were even back there. We couldn’t win. Kasey (Kahne) is unbelievable. But we had a Top 5 car.”

At this time, we do not have a cause for the failure of the camera drive line that interrupted tonight’s Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and our immediate concern is with the injured fans.

The camera system consists of three ropes -- a drive rope which moves the camera back and forth, and two guide ropes on either side. The drive rope failed near the Turn 1 connection and fell to the track. The camera itself did not come down because guide ropes acted as designed. A full investigation is planned, and use of the camera is suspended indefinitely.

This camera system had been used successfully at this year’s Daytona 500, last week’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and other major events around the world. We certainly regret that the system failure affected tonight’s event, we apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged, and our immediate concern is for the race fans. We also offer a sincere ‘thank you’ to the staff at CMS for attending to the injuries and keeping us informed on this developing situation.

When we have more information on the cause of the equipment failure, we will share it with you immediately.

Fox Sports PR

UPDATE: Fox Sports probing NASCAR incident

Everyone at FOX Sports is relieved and thankful to know that the injuries to fans caused when CAMCAT malfunctioned at Charlotte Motor Speedway were minor, and those who received hospital treatment were released last night. As stated previously, we regret that the race was affected, and we apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged, to everyone at CMS, NASCAR, and NASCAR fans, especially those who were hurt. At this time, we still do not have a cause for what happened, but a full investigation is underway, and use of the camera is suspended indefinitely.

The rope is made of Dyneema, an ultra-strong synthetic that has the same approximate strength of a steel wire with the same diameter, and is less than a year old. According to the company, it had been factory-tested by the manufacturer and its breaking strength is certified before shipment. It was also inspected by CAMCAT upon receipt last June. The rope was certified to have a breaking strength of over 9,300 pounds. The force exerted during last night's race was less than 900 pounds.

FOX Sports is reviewing with CAMCAT equipment maintenance records, history and installation information and will share those findings with NASCAR and CMS.

Fox Sports PR

Ten fans were injured when a nylon rope fell over the grandstands in Turn 4 on Lap 121 of tonight's race. Seven fans were treated and released for minor cut and scrapes at on-site care centers and released.

Three people were transported to an area hospital for further evaluation.

The rope was a guide for the Fox Network television CamCat overhead camera system.

CMS PR

Returning to the seat of the No. 29 ToyotaCare Toyota Camry for the first time since Richmond, Kenny Wallace's day was cut short after the engine overheated in the early laps of the History 300.

Early in the event, Wallace radioed to crew chief Robby Benton that the water temperature in his Camry was high. In an effort to preserve the car, they brought it down pit road and to the attention of the crew. The issue was remedied and Wallace returned to the track six laps down. Throughout the remainder of the 200-lap event, Wallace was able to regain six positions and finished the race in 29th.

Wallace paid homage to his mentor Dick Trickle by running his name and nickname, The White Knight, on his nameplate.

"A disappointing day for everyone at RAB Racing and ToyotaCare, we had a really solid car all throughout practice on Wednesday and Thursday, we were 2nd fastest in Final Practice, and we just took a conservative approach to qualifying to make sure we made the field," said Wallace.  "As soon as the green flag dropped we moved from 27th into the top 20 pretty quickly and the car felt great, and then all of a sudden my water temperature gauge was well over where we want it at almost instantly. To save the engine and not blow it up we had to come down pit road and work on the radiator, losing 10 laps. Although its not what we wanted, I have to thank all the guys who worked hard on my car from RAB, Robby Benton for putting me in the car, and ToyotaCare for making it all happen. I'll have another opportunity soon to get back into the #29 RAB Racing Toyota Camry so I'm excited for it and already looking forward to the opportunity."

Wallace will climb behind the wheel of the No. 29 again at Iowa Speedway on June 8th.

RAB Racing PR

On Wednesday, Alex Bowman and RAB Racing announced a new relationship with Windows 8 Surface Tablet that will continue for selected races throughout the 2013 season.  RAB Racing has already been utilizing the Windows 8 Trackside application on their Surface tablets with positive results in team communication and on-track performance.

After running the fastest lap in practice on Thursday and qualifying solidly in the eighth position on Saturday, RAB Racing was ready for the challenge of 300 miles at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Bowman battled a tight car all race long and could never regain the all important track position at the end of the race, finishing in the 20th position.

"We'll that's definitely not the race we wanted to have," said Bowman. "I'm really excited to have Windows Surface Tablets come on board with us, it's a great piece of equipment that my crew chief Chris Rice and I utilize during practice for all our setup notes, live timing and scoring, and all my feedback at certain places on the track are stored from each race we go to, I couldn't imagine going to the track without it."

"In the race we got really tight at be end of our tire run at the beginning and ever since that point we just weren't able to get that track position back. I've got to thank my crew chief Chris Rice for chasing down the setup all day long, we got it pretty good right there at the end and he played a little bit of strategy with staying out on old tires to get track position, but we got up into the wall late in the race and had to come back into the pits and repair the damage. Although I'm excited because next week we go to one of my favorite tracks in Dover International Speedway so we will bounce back then. "

The No. 99 of Alex Bowman occupies the 10th place in drivers points standings and Robby Benton is now in 14th place in the owners points standings. Next race is the 5hr Energy 200 at Dover International Speedway on June 1st.

RAB Racing PR

LUNCHEON HONORS MILITARY BEFORE COCA-COLA 600: Papa John’s Pizza partnered with Charlotte Motor Speedway to honor up to 10,000 troops and their family members with special luncheon celebration held Sunday afternoon at zMAX Dragway, prior to the running of the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Troops from several military bases in North and South Carolina, along with other members of the armed forces and their families, were bused in to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the event that featured an all-star lineup of personalities. Among the guests in attendance were Lt. Col. Oliver North (ret.); John Schnatter, founder, chairman and CEO of Papa John’s International; Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway; HLN Morning Express television host and singing personality, Robin Meade; Congressman Robert Pittinger, NASCAR driver and television personality, Michael Waltrip; and John Falkenbury, president of USO of North Carolina.

Troops and their families were given more than 3,000 pizzas and treated to musical entertainment and drag racing match races. Personalities addressed the troops as many were still marching into the dragway.

“We have been involved with the military for many, many years,” said Schnatter. “About three years ago, Marcus and I would race his Mustang against my Camaro, and we didn’t tell anybody. We would just race and everybody would come over when they heard the noise. Then we would go over and feed the troops over at the dirt track. So, this year we decided to kind of change things up a bit and say thank you to the troops.”

In addition to his military career, North is a political commentator, military historian and New York Times best-selling author. “This Memorial Day race that is held here for these American heroes and that’s what they are – heroes,” said North. “Normally people think of heroes as being someone wearing spandex and a cape. My heroes wear flack jackets and helmets and flight suits in difficult and dangerous places.”

The USO of North Carolina, which works behind the scenes to aid the military and their families, helped organize the event. “I’m humbled. I’m honored. I’m a retired soldier. We didn’t do a lot of this when I was in the military,” said Falkenbury. “I think America has got it right and it is just a phenomenal event. We are so appreciative of Papa John’s, Charlotte Motor Speedway who bent over backwards, not just for this event, but for all races.”

Waltrip was also on hand and offered his take on what it means to honor our troops.

“There has been a lot of energy around the track with all the troops that have shown up,” Waltrip said. “And I know the race fans, the fan base of NASCAR is rooted in the military. They are a part of our DNA and who we are. I’m just glad to be here to be able to celebrate with them.”

Meade was solemn as she noted what it would mean to her to see all of the military-themed pageantry during the pre-race festivities. “You know, at rehearsal today I said to the folks with me, ‘It’s so emotional. I hope I don’t cry during the anthem.’” said Meade. “But I’m sure people would understand if that happens; because it is so emotional. You are just looking at thousands of people who are braver than me. They do what I don’t know I would be willing to do.”

CMS PR

LIVING LEGENDS: The three living members of the newest class of NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees visited the Charlotte Motor Speedway media center Sunday, each humbled and surprised by his selection. Dale Jarrett, Jack Ingram and Maurice Petty will be inducted into the Hall of Fame Jan. 29, 2014, along with Fireball Roberts and Tim Flock, who will be inducted posthumously.

“It was a great honor to be part of the list (of nominees),” said Jarrett, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, two-time Brickyard 400 winner and the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. “But as I looked at that list, you could make a case for everyone on there. I couldn’t even imagine going through that process of trying to pick out just five out of those 25. I am very honored, but I was … I think shocked is a good word. Once I knew I was on the list, I knew it would come one day, but was ready to accept that would be down the road.”

Petty, the chief engine builder at Petty Enterprises and the man who supplied the horsepower for many of Richard Petty’s record 200 NASCAR wins, became the first engine builder inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“My story’s a lot like Dale’s,” Petty said. “I said, ‘There ain’t no way, but I’m gonna go on over there.’ But much to my surprise, both of us got in. I was totally shocked. It was like Christmas, wondering what Santa was gonna bring me. When they called my name, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. As far as I’m concerned, it’s kinda like being on cloud nine, and I ain’t come down yet.

Ingram was a highly successful driver in the NASCAR Nationwide (then called Busch) Series, where he won two championships and 31 wins, and its precursor, the Late Model Sportsman Division, where he won three straight titles. He was well known for his short-track prowess, and Brian France’s introduction of a “short-track ace” helped tip him off about his impending induction.

“(That’s when) I hit the guy on the left of me and said, ‘That’s it, I’m in here,’ because there was no one else sitting around that would fit that bill,” Ingram said. “I called my wife and I had to hang up, I was breaking up so bad. I about lost it.”

X MARKS THE SPEEDWAY: Charlotte Motor Speedway knows how to host first-rate, world-class events like this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600, and speedway officials are hoping that truth is evident to ESPN as the network considers who will host the summer X Games for three years beginning in 2014.

Charlotte is among four finalists – including Austin (Tex.), Chicago, and Detroit – in the running to host the action-sports contests, which range from skateboarding and BMX to Rally Car and Moto X.

CMS officials are making a final, concentrated push for their bid this weekend, sending a crew out to talk to race fans, hand out X Games T-shirts and drum up support. There is also an X Games logo in the infield grass.

“In many respects, Charlotte Motor Speedway was one of the original action sports venues, having hosted world-class NASCAR and NHRA events that have drawn the attention of international audiences for more than 50 years,” said Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway. “These events combine extreme action sports entertainment with the ESPN brand for more than 100,000 fans on site and tens of millions watching worldwide. Like the annual running of our NASCAR races or last year’s Democratic National Convention, the X Games would bring a tremendous spotlight to the greater Charlotte region and on the great state of North Carolina.”

ESPN will visit each of the site finalists in the next few weeks and plan to announce the new host city by Aug. 1.

CMS PR

As they have done for most of the season, Parker Kligerman and his Toyota Racing team maximized their opportunities and put themselves in position for a strong finish when it mattered most. After qualifying fifth and running inside the top 10 in the early stages of the History 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, the team fell outside of the top 15 after the over-the-wall crew left a wheel loose during the first pit stop causing a vibration in the chassis during the subsequent run.

Despite the issue, Kligerman took care of his Camry and crew chief Eric Phillips made a strategy call late in the race that placed his driver near the front of the field in the closing laps. After running inside the top five the majority of the final 30 laps, a late caution bunched the field and allowed teams with fresher tires to work their way past the Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) entry. When it was all said and done, the No. 77 team ended the day with a hard-fought ninth-place finish, allowing their talented young driver to move up to sixth in the driver's point standings.

"We came out here and thought we had a fast Toyota Camry and we had the stars and stripes on it, which is exciting -- Memorial Day and thanks to all our veterans past and present," said Kligerman, who was making his second Nationwide Series start at Charlotte. "We thought we could go get them hopefully a checkered flag to add to the stars and stripes, but it just wasn't our day.  We had numerous problems in the pits.  Fought all the way back to being in third there with 20 (laps) to go and thinking that if we could just go green the whole way then we would be just fine.  We got a series of restarts and were able to hold on pretty well and then the last run we were just so tight that we were a sitting duck to the guys on news tires."

After registering the second fastest lap in the second practice session Thursday afternoon, Phillips elected to skip the final tune up that evening. In Saturday morning's qualifying session, Kligerman proved once again that his No. 77 Camry would be one to contend with in the race, earning the fifth starting position for the 200-lap event.

Shortly after the green flag waved Saturday afternoon, the Connecticut native communicated to Phillips that his Toyota was "a little tight" as he surrendered a few spots in the running order in the early stages of the race. He was running in the ninth position when the first caution of the day occurred for debris on lap 40.

When pit road opened, Kligerman brought his No. 77 to pit road where the over-the-wall crew administered a four-tire and fuel stop with a wedge adjustment. As he exited his pit box, the jack got stuck underneath the car and didn't come out until after the car exited the boundary line. The team was assessed a pit road penalty for removing equipment. After serving a stop-and-go, the young driver returned to the track at the tail end of the field in the 25^th position.

As the race proceeded, the 22-year-old was scored just inside the top 20 and communicated that the chassis adjustment had made his Camry "too loose on throttle." As a long green flag run continued, he radioed to Phillips that he was feeling a vibration inside the cockpit, but could not identify the cause.  Sensing an issue, he just settled into his spot in the running order and each lap cautiously made his way around the 1.5-mile Quad-oval.

Debris in Turn 3 brought out the third caution of the day on lap 87.  Kligerman brought his No. 77 to pit road for service and to evaluate the vibration. Shortly before his car entered the pit stall, Phillips noticed a wobbly left rear tire and alerted his over-the-wall crew. After receiving four fresh tires and a full tank of fuel, the talented youngster returned to the track scored in the 14^th position for the lap-91 restart.

Unable to diagnosis the handling of his Toyota because of the loose wheel, Kligerman alerted that his car was "very tight" over a long green-flag run after the restart. He brought his "Stars and Stripes" Camry down pit road for a green-flag stop on lap 148. The over-the-wall crew put on four fresh tires - with an air pressure adjustment- and returned their driver to the track scored in the 15^th position.

Shortly after returning to the track, another debris caution slowed the field on lap 153. The young driver communicated that his Toyota was "still way too tight." With just one car behind him on the lead lap, Phillips summoned him to pit road despite having just fewer than 10 laps on his tires. After receiving four fresh tires and a wedge adjustment, Kligerman returned to the track scored in the 16^th position for the lap-157 restart.

When a three-car accident slowed the field for the fifth time on lap165, KBM's entry had advanced up to 13^th position. The top three cars elected to stay on the track, while the majority of the other lead-lap cars visited pit road. Having just made a pit stop, Phillips elected to remain on the track, hoping that the best remedy for a tight-handling car would be clean air.

Kligerman took the lap-172 restart from the fourth position. By the time the field came back to the stripe, he had maneuvered his way around Sprint Cup Series regular Joey Logano and captured the third position. Over the next five laps he distanced himself by five car lengths from Logano and Kevin Harvick, who were in a side-by-side battle for fourth. The worst scenario possible happened when a one-car spin brought out the caution on lap 179.

The field was bunched and all the cars with fresh tires, including Harvick, lined up from fifth on back for the ensuing restart on lap 183. Two laps later, another caution occurred with Kligerman scored in the fourth position. The race went back green on lap 185 and remained caution free the final 15 laps. Despite a valiant effort to score a top-five finish, with each passing lap the talented youngster battled drivers with fresher tires. With 10 laps remaining he was scored in the fifth spot, with five laps remaining he had subsided to seventh  and when the field crossed the stripe he was scored in the ninth position, barley beating points leader Regan Smith to the start-finish line.

Kligerman registered his fifth top-10 finish of the season and his 10^th over 28 career starts. It was the 27^th top-10 finish for KBM's Nationwide Series program in its 43^rd start.

KBM owner Kyle Busch drove his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Monster Energy Camry to his 57^th career NASCAR Nationwide Series victory, sixth of 2013 and 114^th career across the three National Series. Kasey Kahne crossed the strip 0.939 seconds behind Busch in the runner-up spot. Joey Logano and Kyle Larson finished third and fourth, respectively, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five finishers.

There were seven caution periods totaling 33 laps. Five drivers led a lap, exchanging the lead nine times. Seven drivers failed to finish the 200-lap event.

Kligerman and his No. 77 Toyota Racing team, who rank ninth in the Nationwide Series owner's point standings, head to Dover (Del.) International Speedway June 1 for the 5-Hour Energy 200. Live television coverage of Saturday's 200-lap event begins with NASCAR Countdown at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN.

KBM PR