CHEVY NCS AT HOMESTEAD: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:  WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Winner
FROM 31ST TO FIRST, YOU LED 102 LAPS. WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE OF THIS RACE TEAM AND YOUR CREW CHIEF, RUDY FUGLE, WHO WINS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ONLY THREE RACES? “Yeah, that guy has been huge for my career. He’s the reason I’m here and I’m glad we could get him. He’s just awesome. This whole team did a phenomenal job. Everybody. The pit crew, over the wall, we’re extremely blessed. Thanks, God, for all the things that it takes to get to this level. Great boss in Mr. Hendrick and Jeff Gordon, and Axalta. This car looks really cool. I’m can’t even believe it, honestly. It was just a really smooth day. And we worked hard in the Winter on this track. I can’t believe it.”

YOU SAID THIS RACE WAS GOING TO BE WON UNDER THE LIGHTS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE RACE TRACK. HOW MUCH EMPHASIS DID YOU PUT ON STAYING OFF THE WALL FOR THIS RACE?
“You had to go with the wall at certain times; (Turns) 3 and 4 were really fast up there. I definitely didn’t do it as good as the Xfinity cars do it, but I used it when I had to, and this car was just awesome. It’s really a lot of hard work. I think we went to the simulator four or five times this off-season and it just pays off, man. It’s awesome.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2nd
"Well, finishing second is a good night considering how the first two weekends of the season have gone, but I hate that I didn't get this Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevy into Victory Lane because if I would have then I would have gotten a lot of people in America free chicken tenders on Monday night. Once I really saw how fast we were in clean air at the end of the race, and I saw how fast we were catching everybody it became beyond frustrating because I know just two or three different decisions on a restart would have put me miles ahead. I knew that we were going to have to have a well-executed restart. We didn't do that, and it takes time to get around all of those cars who pass you on a restart because they are all really good drivers. That's the difference. I thought we would be better in the day and everyone would catch up at night, but it was the opposite of that. We tried to work on our Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevy throughout the night. We learned a lot. You have to win these races by being very consistent and making the right calls as a driver and as a team. I'm proud of how fast we were at the end of the race."

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 NATIONSGUARD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 4th
“It got pretty intense there at the end. I was just trying to take care of my tires and was just struggling on the long runs. We were loose for a majority of the race and in that last run, we actually got kind of tight. But I felt like being tight was better for my long runs than loose, just because I could be a little more confident. I would have liked to finish second, but those guys were better than me in the end and I just couldn’t hold them off. I hate that I gave up those spots. But it was a good day for the NationsGuard Chevy team. Congrats to William Byron. It’s really cool for William to get a win this early in the year. Hats off to their team and hopefully we can get it done soon.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th
“I’m not going to second guess having to pit. We had a vibration and a loose wheel and we had to pit. We unlapped ourselves and drove all the way back to eighth. It just took our chance of winning away or being up front for a final restart. But what a really good long-run speed car, the Monster Energy Chevy was really fast with the sun out and on long runs, so that’s the good. We just need to find our short run speed and when the track picks up pace at night.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 9th
“Good, solid top-10 finish for our Ally Camaro. Bummed a little bit; we got some damage that hurt us there at the end. But really solid day, especially from starting in the back. Really proud of everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, especially William Byron for picking up another win. That’s really cool for him. We’ll move onto one of our best race tracks next week. I know we’ll be really good in Vegas.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th
“What a night in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Homestead-Miami Speedway! We knew going into this race it would be a good judge of all of our preparations during the off season and of how our intermediate program stacks up since it’s the first 1.5-mile track of the season. Both Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets were fast all night. We started the race loose, but knew that our handling would be perfect for running the bottom of the track later in the night. Justin Alexander and the No. 3 team made great calls all night, and we were able to earn a Stage Point to conclude Stage 1 and battle in the top-five during Stage 2. We had a good car all day, just missed our final adjustment by a little bit and weren’t as strong at the end. We’ll go take it to them at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/TIDE POWER PODS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th
“It wasn’t pretty, but we were able to get the job done in our No. 47 Kroger/Tide Chevrolet. We started off really good at the beginning of the race and I felt like we definitely had a car that we could run up front with and we were running up front, but on the restart right before the end of Stage 1 we got stuck in the middle lane and shuffled back. From there, we just couldn’t make up the track position as the track changed. We finally made some changes on the long run at the end that played into our advantage and we were able to salvage a decent day out of it. Homestead-Miami Speedway is unlike any intermediate track we go to, but we had a really strong day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last year and I feel confident heading out west next week that we’ll be able to keep our momentum going and get stronger.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 CAMPING WORLD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 15th
“It was good. It was positive. We came through some adversity very early. We had a little damage at the start of the race and all in all, I’m very proud of my team. They did a hell of a job. The pit crew did a very, very good job. They have a lot of potential and I’m very happy to see that. I haven’t had that in probably two years. And just overall, I’m very happy with the product that we are making. We are showing well there. We just have to clean up a few things to get closer to a top-10.”

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 CHEVROLET ACCESSORIES CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 17th
“The first mile-and-half track for me with the No. 42 team, our Chevy Accessories Camaro was good. Starting in the back from last week’s bad finish did not help. We fought a tight handling car most of the night, but made some promising gains. My restarts, I need to get a little better on decisions, but we’ll be okay. A promising night, first down force race for the No. 42 car, man these things are different, but in a good way; fun to drive. Can’t wait for Vegas!”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ARMOR ALL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 27th
“It was a frustrating day overall for our Richard Petty Motorsports. Starting out, the No. 43 Armor All Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was really loose, and we worked most of the day to get it better. We were fighting to stay on the lead lap and be in contention. It got better towards the end as the sun went down and the track cooled down. Our Chevrolet Camaro came to us. Unfortunately, I got in the fence, cut a tire down, lost some positions there and ended up not getting the finish that we really wanted.

“It was a tough day, but we will move on and keep working. It is still early in the season and we are still trying to figure each other out. We’ll continue to make stuff better.”

COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 MARWIN SPORTS APPAREL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 36th
“Today was the first true test of the year for our Spire Motorsports Chevy team, after a tough week of being extremely short-handed due to COVID-19 protocols. I thought we did a good job of getting both cars to the race track with nothing falling off. Steve Letarte was in the process of making the balance of our car better, when we had an unfortunate mechanical failure, shortening our day. I’m excited to get to Vegas next week. We’ll have Crew Chief, Ryan Sparks back & should also have a full crew, so we’ll show up better and stronger! Thanks to Letarte for pinch hitting & Marwin Sports for their partnership this week. Congratulations to fellow Team Chevy driver, William Byron, on the win.”