Fourth place for Garcia, Magnussen; No. 4 Corvette suffers early contac

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 22, 2017) – Corvette Racing extended its lead in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) standings Saturday with a fourth-place finish for Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park.

The pairing – in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R – now lead the Driver’s Championship by seven points, and Chevrolet increased its lead in the Manufacturer’s standings to four points after seven of 11 events. Garcia also set the fastest lap of the race to earn one critical bonus point.

The No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner finished eighth after early-race contact on the rough-and-tumble circuit. The No. 4 Corvette was forced to return to the paddock twice for repairs – an example of the never-give-up attitude that defines Corvette Racing.

Magnussen started sixth and drove the first 51 minutes before handing off to Garcia from fourth place. Garcia rejoined in fifth and eventually cycled through to the lead as different pit stop strategies emerged into the final hour. The No. 3 Corvette pitted from first with 47 minutes left and was one of the final GTLM cars to stop for fuel and fresh Michelin tires.

The strategy very nearly paid off with a podium finish, but the tight confines of Lime Rock and traffic stymied Garcia’s changes.

Corvette Racing’s next event is the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race is scheduled for 2:35 p.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 6. Fox Sports 1 will air the race live with audio coverage on IMSA Radio.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FOURTH IN GTLM: “The points situation was in my mind at the end. I fought hard to get by the No. 24 car but I also knew that wasn’t the car we are fighting for in the championship. There were some moments where he cut me off late and almost spun himself out. Luckily nothing happened. I tried everything I could. Their car for sure was out of tires at the end and the car was very wide. The way the strategy worked, we had better tires on lighter fuel. I’m very happy with today. A podium was possible but we did all we could. It is great to get the fastest lap and the bonus point. Having that made me think a little bit how aggressive I needed to be at the end.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FOURTH IN GTLM: “It was a great job by the team on strategy. Antonio gave it everything he had. It was a fantastic race at the end between he and the 24 car. Fourth place is good for the points as the 25 and 66 were behind us. It would have been great to be on the podium but it wasn’t in the cars. Now on to Road America and hopefully a return to the podium.

“My stint was a tough one. I didn’t really have the pace to keep up. I got really held back in traffic with people fighting for every inch out there. That really cost some time so we fell back quite a bit. Other than that it was pretty uneventful!”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – EIGHTH IN GTLM: “After the second time behind the wall, Tommy mentioned the car was pretty good, and when I got in the first number of laps were pretty solid. We had decent balance. I struggled too with tire pickup, then tried to be kind to others and not get too involved with anyone else on the circuit. So I put myself in positions to pick up some junk on the tires. It was so difficult to clean them off afterward. We just want to have a clean weekend. It seems like every weekend we run into some issue or problem… you name it and it’s happened this year.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – EIGHTH IN GTLM: “I’m pretty disappointed to have another race where we don’t finish. It would be nice for us to have a clean race here for once. It’s hard to tell what happened there. It looked like the Ford checked up earlier than I expected; I tried whatever I could to not hit him but that probably caused more problems. I’m sorry for those guys. I never want to be involved in an accident like that and take somebody else out of the race. Looking at the data, I was slower than I had been going in there. But that’s racing. We’re trying to make split-second decisions. Most of the times they are the right ones, but every now and then they’re the wrong ones.” I certainly would like to take back what happened there, and I’m sure he would a little bit as well. But again, that’s racing.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Today was a very atypical Lime Rock race where there were no cautions, but at the same time typical in the amount of close-quarters racing and a premium on strategy and luck. Fourth place today is a solid result for us in the GTLM Championship, where we have grown our lead in the Manufacturer’s, Driver’s and Team standings. It just shows again how anything can happen at Lime Rock! Now we regroup and ready for another great challenge and great track at Road America.”

No. 3 Corvette, Chevrolet maintain GT Le Mans points leads after fourth-place class finish

BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO, Canada (July 9, 2017) – Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen retained their Driver’s Championship lead in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) class Sunday with a fourth-place finish in the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The duo and their No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R improved three spots during the race from their seventh-place starting position thanks to another round of solid strategy and execution by the Corvette Racing crew and engineers. The result also kept Chevrolet in the Manufacturer’s Championship lead and the No. 3 Corvette first in Team points.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner were classified eighth in class after the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R was involved in heavy crash late the event. Milner went hard into the outside tires but walked away uninjured as the safety features in the Corvette did their job. He was evaluated and released from the infield medical center shortly thereafter.

Magnussen drove the opening hour in the No. 3 Corvette with he and Gavin line astern for their first stints. After a fairly uneventful opening hour and 50 minutes, the race’s first full course caution period gave way to a heavy shower on the back part of the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit. Garcia and Milner – by now in for double-stints to the end of the race – stayed out on dry tires, as did the rest of the GTLM field.

The track remained damp on the far side of the track for the better part of 20 minutes before the No. 4 Corvette’s incident with Milner running seventh and Garcia fifth. Another downpour with five minutes left caused another accident for a prototype car and a third full-course caution. The race ended under yellow.

The next event for Corvette Racing is the Northeast Grand Prix from Lime Rock Park on Saturday, July 22. The GT-only race is set for 3:05 p.m. ET with FOX Sports 2 airing the race live at 3 p.m. ET. Live audio coverage will be available from IMSA Radio via IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FOURTH IN GTLM: “There was the potential for third place, but on the other hand I’m glad we made it to the end without damage. It was very tricky and conditions were dreadful in the rain. With all the traffic and people going at it, it was difficult to stay on track. It’s a bit disappointing because we could have both Fords behind us, but that is racing. It’s a shame the No. 4 Corvette wasn’t there at the end. I’m glad Tommy is OK, though. We again proved that even though we had the slowest car we scored good points. We need to keep going, analyze our performance and find ways to improve. Let’s see if we can do that and come up with another win.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FOURTH IN GTLM: “My stint was pretty uneventful apart from trying to navigate through traffic. The car is about what it was in qualifying with the same kind of balance. We may have been a little faster than the Fords but there was no way around them. It’s difficult; any time you get close to anyone here, you start losing performance. Hopefully our guys can come up with some interesting strategy and keep us ahead of the Fords.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – EIGHTH IN GTLM: “It’s disappointing to end like that. It was a nasty accident for Tommy. I’m very glad he is OK. Corvette Racing and Chevrolet focus so much on drive safety. Tommy couldn’t have been in a better and safer car than our Corvette. It’s a testament to the build of the C7.R and the chassis on the production car that Tommy was able to walk away.

Article written by Ryan Smith and Judy Kouba Dominick

Garcia, Magnussen, Taylor climb Le Mans podium in GTE Pro

LE MANS, France (June 18, 2017) – Corvette Racing has experienced highs and lows in its 18 appearances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. America’s premier GT racing team added to that Sunday with a dramatic third-place finish in the GTE Pro category with Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor climbing onto the podium together for the second time in four years.

The No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R came back from an early-race puncture and clawed its way back into contention before barely missing out on its ninth class victory at Le Mans since 2001.

Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler placed eighth in the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C7.R. The trio had a fight-back of their own after Milner lost a wheel in the opening half of the race. It proved to be the only mistake by that trio but the four laps lost proved costly as the GTE Pro race was as much as a seven-car fight into the last six hours.

“The GTE Pro battle was intense and certainly garnered the most attention of any race that I can recall,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “While our goal is always to win, it occurred to me that the Corvette Racing team has a never-give-up attitude. That element has been critical in many of the eight class wins in our Le Mans history. Jan, Antonio, Jordan and the entire 63 crew held together strong as a team and demonstrated incredible heart and determination all race long. I also want to thank the Corvette owners and fans around the world for the support they have been giving Corvette Racing at Le Mans from 2000 until today.”

The early puncture for the No. 63 Corvette set the stage for a phenomenal drive back toward the front by the driving trio, the crew and engineers. The crew performed a perfect brake change near the 10.5 mark – it took approximately 75 seconds to do all four wheels – and the engineering team got the car back on the same pit strategy as the race leaders just after dawn Sunday.

From then on, the Corvette asserted itself and cycled through the lead up until the final hour. Magnussen and Taylor alternated single stints over the last three-and-a-half hours. The Corvette Racing team elected to take fuel only and change to Taylor in order to gain track position over the final 46 minutes. The two cars ran within 1.5 seconds of each other until the final lap.

The next event for Corvette Racing is the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen on Sunday, July 2 from Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – THIRD IN GTE PRO: “That is this race. If you have a small mistake, your plan changes and this turns into a catch-up race. That’s what happened to us. It took us 18 or 19 hours to catch back up to the leaders after the small puncture in my first stint. Another small puncture took out the opportunity for us to win this race. We had two of them at exactly the wrong moments. It’s a shame. After all the good work and strategy calls we made today, it’s disappointing. We were in the right spot to win. It was a fair fight with the Aston Martin. We had a chance but it didn’t happen. We come here to win this race. There is no other place we want to be. It’s a shame for the entire team. We all worked very hard in preparation. Both Jan and Jordan did fantastic jobs driving. There were just a number of things that went against us.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – THIRD IN GTE PRO: “The race was one where everyone was so close and so evenly matched. When Antonio had a cut tire and had to come in early (in his second stint), that put us behind everybody and on a different strategy. That also meant that we would not be catching the slow zones in the same everyone else and that really started to bite us. So we fell further and further back. Until we got back on the same strategy as everyone else, it was an uphill fight. But the car was good and the team worked fantastic the whole time. Antonio and Jordan drove perfect throughout the whole race. When we perform like this as a team, it’s difficult not to be disappointed with the outcome. A podium at Le Mans is pretty decent; it’s just not what we came for.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – THIRD IN GTE PRO: “Obviously it was a disappointing finish. But if you look at the whole 24-hour race, we weren’t always up front. So leaving with a podium finish is something we can be proud of. When you come so close, extremely close, that is the frustrating part. I think we showed a never-give-up attitude. We went two minutes down early in the race and fought back from there. A lot of people doubted that we could bring it back. I think everyone executed well and unfortunately it just wasn’t our day.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – EIGHTH IN GTE PRO: “It was one monumental battle in GTE today, whether we were dealing with the conditions, the competition or the traffic. We were right up there when we had our incident which cost us four-and-a-half laps and basically ended our race. The competition in GTE is so tight it’s impossible to catch up that kind of delay. At Le Mans you can’t but recognize the efforts of everybody involved with Corvette Racing, especially the guys of the 63 car. I feel terribly sorry for them to have lost the race in this way.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – EIGHTH IN GTE PRO: “This was a race all of us at Corvette Racing had high hopes for. But those hopes fell just a bit short. For us, I’m disappointed to have had the problem we did, which put an end to our race. I’m super bummed for the No. 63 guys to have come that close to a win. But they did a great job all race long. Everyone at Corvette Racing can hold their head up high as this has been one of the greatest GT races Le Mans has ever seen. It’s always a pleasure to come to Le Mans with Corvette, and this result makes you want to start to prepare for next year starting tomorrow.”

MARCEL FÄSSLER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – EIGHTH IN GTE PRO: “I enjoyed the race and the Corvette really a lot. We had great overall speed, all three of us, and I think we would have had the chance to fight for the win or a podium finish like the sister car had we not had our issue. But Le Mans decides for you and it cost us four laps – the same four laps we were down on the winners at the end. I also feel sad for the sister car which had the puncture on the last lap. Even though it was a tough race, I enjoyed the event and the team enormously.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Just as predicted this may have been one of the most epic GT races in Le Mans history. To have all the manufacturers so closely matched is a testament to all the hard work of the ACO and the FIA. We saw an event over the past 24 hours in which all of the 13 cars entered in GTE Pro were capable of leading and winning. That’s good racing and we couldn’t be more proud to have been part of it.”

GARY PRATT, CORVETTE RACING TEAM PRINCIPAL: “Whenever you have a great race like that… it’s always nice to win, but you can’t feel bad about having a great race like that and it coming down to the last lap of a 24-hour race. It’s just fantastic racing and hats off to those guys. They did a good job and we were one lap shy.”

Article written by: Ryan Smith and Judy Kouba Dominick

Garcia, Magnussen win second race of 2017 in No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R

• Chevrolet assumes GTLM Manufacturer’s Championship lead

• Second win for Corvette Racing at Circuit of The Americas

• Milner, Gavin caught up in opening-lap chaos

AUSTIN, Texas (May 6, 2017) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen won their second race of the season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday with a GT Le Mans (GTLM) victory in the Advance Auto Parts SportsCar Showdown.

The victory at Circuit of The Americas for the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette gave the pairing the lead in the GTLM Driver’s Championship, as well as moved Chevrolet into first place in the class’ Manufacturer’s standings. It was the 105th all-time victory for Corvette Racing.

“This was a great result for Antonio, Jan and the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R team,” said Mark Kent, Chevrolet Director of Motorsports Competition. “Not only has Corvette Racing won three straight races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, we now lead the GTLM Manufacturer’s, Drivers and Team championships. This is a great way to head into our break for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

Garcia and Magnussen won by 2.498 seconds after the No. 3 Corvette had led by upward of a half-minute before a late-race, full-course caution bunched the field back together for the final five minutes. The duo won at COTA for the second time together, the first coming in 2013. Unofficially, they lead the GTLM Driver’s Championship by six points after four of 11 rounds.

Chevrolet and the No. 3 Corvette squad lead the class Manufacturer’s and Team standings by six points, as well.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner, winners last month at Long Beach in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, saw their race Saturday effectively end at the first corner of the opening lap. Milner couldn’t avoid another spinning GTLM car and also was hit from behind after the initial impact.

The No. 4 Corvette Racing crew worked quickly to replace several suspension and brake components at the front and rear. Despite the setback and multiple trips to the garage, the No. 4 Corvette finished seventh in class.

Magnussen avoided the first-turn melee from his sixth-place starting position and settled into fourth for the balance of his stint. The key point in the race came when No. 3 Corvette lead engineer Kyle Millay called in Magnussen to the pits at the 51-minute mark as another car stopped on track. Magnussen reached the pitlane before the caution flag flew and handed off to Garcia, who got a full tank of fuel and fresh Michelin tires.

None of the three leading GTLM cars made the pits before they closed, giving Garcia a huge advantage in track position when the other contenders stopped. Garcia never trailed again.

Corvette Racing’s next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 17-18 from Le Mans, France. It returns to IMSA competition for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on July 2.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “I think it is the perfect way to come back after what happened at Long Beach. We have had four races this year with zero mistakes by Corvette Racing in any of them. That is what it takes to be there if you have the pace to win. If you don’t have the pace, you finish fourth – like what happened at Daytona. Then we took the win at Sebring; that one was a bit unexpected but we really worked for that.

“On pure pace we didn’t have the best car. But it is not the first time we have won here not being the fastest. It was a perfect call to pit just before the second yellow. That gave us track position. It feels like we put a lot of pressure on our competitors and they started to make mistakes. I’m very happy with that if that is what it takes. From then I just tried to maintain the gap to second place. We were all just counting down minutes and laps, and seeing how much slower I could go. I didn’t care so much about the other car catching me because I don’t mind winning by three seconds or 20 seconds. I knew that if there was a late yellow, which we had, I needed to have better tires.

“I don’t know if I saved enough tires to be faster than (Alexander Sims), but in a way that was enough. I am very glad and very happy for Corvette Racing. It is a shame the No. 4 car had that contact at Turn One. That was very unfortunate. But again, it is three wins in a row for Corvette Racing. I think no one expected that, but that is what it takes for those results: Zero mistakes.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “This is a nice way to move on from what happened at Long Beach. But it was a crazy race. So much stuff happened all the way through from Turn One when a few cars got taken out and got in trouble. I got a good start and got clear of all of that. My first stint I was trying to pay good attention to the tires and give good feedback to the team to the changes that needed to be made for Antonio. When he got in, the team made a fantastic call on that pit stop to beat everybody out… again! Then a few cars got in trouble and got some penalties that gave Antonio a massive lead which he was kind of nurturing. I don’t think he was pushing too hard, just making sure not to make any mistakes. It is a fantastic result for the team. This is a really, really nice way to head to Le Mans.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN GTLM: “Our race was ultimately shaped by what happened at Turn One on Lap One. Some over-optimistic driving by some of our competitors resulted in Tommy having nowhere to go at the first corner. We basically spent the rest of the race getting our Corvette right so we could go out and complete the race. That’s the never-give-up attitude within Corvette Racing. The car felt OK at points but we were burning through the tires really quickly. When the car is as damaged as it was at the right-front and left-rear, you have to change out so many parts to get it back out. The crew at Corvette Racing did a great job and worked as fast as they could to get us back out. It was a rough day for us but congratulations to the sister car, Antonio and Jan. They ran a clean, smart race, and that’s what you need to do.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN GTLM: “It looked like one of the Fords and the Ferrari were a little off line at the exit of (Turn) One. There must have been some contact or something like that got the Ferrari coming back across the track. It looked like racing a little bit too hard at the start. We were just unlucky and got the right front into the Ferrari and then we got it from behind from someone unsuspecting as well. It’s not the way we wanted to start our race, but the guys did a great job working to get Oliver and I back out so we could get as many points as possible.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “When you’re good, you’re good. When you’re good and you’re lucky, you can be unbeatable. We had a great Corvette today, a great team effort and good fortune – all that allowed us to bring home a victory in the No. 3 C7.R. I don’t think there were many people on the grid that gave us much of a chance. Inside Corvette Racing, however, everybody believes. And today everybody executed. It’s unfortunate we lost one of the Corvettes on the first lap, we’ve been there before. Our experience came in today. Flawless execution is going to get you to the finish line. Once again Corvette Racing got there first.”

Article by: Ryan Smith and Judy Kouba Dominick

Photo by: Richard Prince

Sixth victory for team at action-packed street circuit

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 8, 2017) – Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner won the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class at Saturday’s Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix of Long Beach in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. It is the sixth class win for the team and Chevrolet at the historic Long Beach street circuit.

Gavin won for the fourth time at Long Beach, and the victory was Milner’s second at the event. They won together in 2012, and on Saturday came from sixth at the start to record a surprising but rewarding victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

“After a hard-fought battle, it was rewarding to see Tommy Milner roll the No. 4 Corvette C7.R into Victory Lane today at Long Beach,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Tommy and Oliver Gavin overcame adversity early in the race to be there at the end to capture the win.”

Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen, coming off a GTLM victory at Sebring three weeks ago, placed fifth in class Saturday with their No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. Garcia seemed headed for certain victory until a multi-car incident at the final turn blocked the track and brought a handful of cars to a stop – including both Corvettes. Garcia became trapped on the left-hand side of the track while Milner, on the right-hand side, was able to slip through the traffic jam and won by 1.830 seconds.

The two Corvettes found themselves running 1-2 in class with 10 minutes left despite different race strategies. Magnussen was caught up in an opening-lap incident and suffered damage to the front of the No. 3 Corvette C7.R. Garcia drove the final 78 minutes on the same set of Michelin tires and tank of fuel, aided by five full-course caution periods.

Gavin drove the first 42 minutes in the No. 4 Corvette before handing off to Milner. Not long after Milner left the pitlane, an incident – similar to the once that impacted the race’s finish – blocked the final turn with Milner stuck in the outside lane. Nearly an hour later, he found himself approaching the same situation but chose to take the inside line. As it turned out, it again was the lane that was able to clear the pileup.

“While the outcome of the late local caution was frustrating, it is the never-give-up attitude of everyone at Corvette Racing that continues to result in these exciting races and finishes,” Campbell said. “We had two strong race cars today and look forward to the next race at COTA.”

The next race for Corvette Racing is the Advance Auto Parts SportsCar Showdown on May 4-6 from Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. FOX Sports 1 will air the race at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 6. Live coverage will be available on FOX Sports Go with live audio coverage from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “This was a very bizarre day and finish. We will take this victory, and we’re glad that Corvette Racing and Chevrolet have won again at Long Beach. It was just a very unfortunate way that it worked out for Antonio and Jan. We’ve all raced together for so many years now. It’s definitely not the way Tommy and I would have liked to have won. But at the end of the day, a victory is a victory. The good thing for Tommy and I is that it has gotten us back in a good direction heading to COTA for the next round.

“The start was pretty interesting. Coming down into Turn One, it looked like Jan had been jumped by a couple of cars. On first laps here, you’re always looking to see who has their tires up to temperatures, who is using a little bit of extra road and who is taking chances. When I came to Turn Five, the Patron car was already backward going over the apex curb. Knowing that the camber falls away, I knew everyone would be going outside and into the wall. Three of us managed to avoid any contact and got through. From there, it was a lot of insane racing. “Yes it’s a 100-minute race but some people were trying to win it with 75 or 80 minutes left. My goal was to keep the Corvette clean and hand it off to Tommy at the appropriate point whenever the team called us in. We managed to do that and our crew managed to get us out and in front of the cars we felt we were racing. Even past that point, the race kept getting turned on its head. You never knew which way it was going to go.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “It was a weird race today for sure. There was a lot of giving and taking throughout the day. As for the finish, I’ve never seen things work out that way for me or anyone else for that matter. You feel bad for the No. 3 guys, for Antonio and Jan. They had a great race and did everything right. It was just unlucky to lose it that way in a big pack. You need luck in racing sometimes, and today we had that on our side. It feels good for us to get a win and to get points for our No. 4 Corvette and Chevrolet.

“We were a bit behind at one point and it didn’t look like our strategy would play out for us. All those cautions allowed the cars who pitted early could make it on one stop for fuel. Our hope was to get past them if they had to make a late splash for fuel. That didn’t happen. I was hoping for another yellow to get us bunched back up again, which is what happened. I had 13- or 14-lap newer tires and I was able to get around the 24 and I went door-to-door with the 67. That allowed Antonio to get out in the clear, and then so was I. He was quick but then his tires started to go away. In that situation, getting by him was going to be really tough.

“In the last corner at the end, my first reaction was that the race was over. Antonio had a gap over me and also over the 67. I figured it would end up like that but I heard on the radio that there was another crash at the hairpin. At first the track was clear and then it wasn’t. I was in that exact situation earlier in the race and went to the outside; it didn’t work and I lost a spot there. I went to the inside this time, and it opened up. When I got out of the hairpin, I saw green but thought the race was over until they told me on the radio that we had won. It was definitely an unusual way to take a victory. Now we have to regroup as a team and get ready for the next race at COTA.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FIFTH IN GTLM: “I’ve never been part of a finish like that. It’s for sure very difficult to go through; I’m very confused with how the officials judged both incidents in the last corner. Our No. 3 Corvette team did everything we needed to do in order to have the best chance at another victory. I don’t understand the ending and unfortunately for us the results are what they are. All we can do is put ourselves in position to go for a win the next race in Austin.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FIFTH IN GTLM: “The start was unfortunate. I didn’t get a good getaway. I kind of got swamped going into Turn One. Then I was just in the wrong place going in to Turn Five when the Ferrari got it wrong with one of the prototype. I got caught in all of that and set put us back. We were on a different strategy from there. Our team did a fantastic job. It just an unsatisfying result.”

Corvette Racing takes third straight and 11th class victory in 12 Hours

•Garcia, Magnussen, Rockenfeller complete stunning turnaround

•25th Sebring class win for Chevrolet-powered entries

•No. 4 Corvette suffers from overheating issue

SEBRING, Fla. (March 18, 2017) – Corvette Racing stormed to a stunning class victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida on Saturday – its third straight in North America’s oldest endurance sports car race. Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller drove the winning No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R to a 4.453-second victory for the team’s 11th Sebring class victory.

It ended an amazing comeback for the No. 3 Corvette, which ran sixth as late as the eight-and-a-half-hour mark of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s second round. After maintaining through difficult conditions and bad luck in the afternoon, a series of strategic calls, strong pit stops and exceptional driving resulted in another Sebring triumph for America’s sports car.

Garcia drove a stunning final two hours and 53 minutes to claim victory. He led the final 35 laps and withstood intense pressure from other contenders in the class. While Sebring’s brutal conditions and bad luck began to claim other entries, the No. 3 Corvette and its team ran a nearly flawless race.

Saturday’s victory was Magnussen’s fifth at Sebring, the third for Garcia and first for Rockenfeller. The trio also won the second of four Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup rounds of the season.

The No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C7.R was forced to retire with water temperature issues that arose in the opening hour. The root cause remained unclear, and it brought an early end to the day for defending class winners Tommy Milner, Oliver Gavin and Marcel Fässler.

Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller each rotated through with two stints each in the first six hours. The No. 3 Corvette C7.R led at the three-hour mark but a combination of greasy track conditions and bad luck with traffic and caution periods hindered its standing at six hours.

An emergency stop for fuel near the halfway point was particularly cruel. Rockenfeller was set to pit for new Michelin tires, fuel and the exchange to Garcia but the yellow flag ruined that plan and strategy. Instead, Rockenfeller had to stop for five seconds of fuel and then again one lap after the GTLM leaders completed their stops.

Fortunes reversed for the No. 3 Corvette with a timely full-course caution with four hours left. A perfect pit stop moved Magnussen from sixth to third on a restart. That the stage for the late-race heroics.

The next event for Corvette Racing is the Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix on Saturday, April 8 from the Long Beach (California) street circuit. The race will air live at 4 p.m. on FOX. Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “I knew it was going to be really, really tough. Since yesterday in qualifying it was super close, the first two hours I managed to make my way up to P2. I did two hours first following the No. 66. Then I did that third hour and I was kind of sick of following Fords. So at some point I just needed to go. We made that really good call to come in with the Ferrari. So the Fords stayed out on a poorer set of tires than us. I knew that had to be my stint. That first stint with two or three stints to go, I needed to make the moves and pass the Ferrari. I passed the No. 68; I passed (Scott) Dixon. I passed everybody because I knew it had to be done then because that was probably the only time they would be a little bit weaker than we were. It worked. At the end the Porsche looked very, very strong. That second-to-the-last time they pitted quite a bit later than us, and they were flying. They passed all the way up to us until that last safety car. Again, there was a magnificent stop by the Corvette Racing crew. I think the Porsche made a mistake there. Without knowing, I thought it was Joey (Hand) behind us, but it was again the Porsche. I knew it was going to be tough. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to hold him , but probably. The car kept going faster and faster. When you lead the way, the aero works pretty decent compared to when you follow someone. At the end things went a little bit in our favor. It was a sprint to the end. I can’t believe what Corvette Racing did today. Just awesome. Amazing.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “I don’t even know where to start. What a fantastic race. It was a tough race… a hard race. I mean I am so happy about this. The boys did a great job with the pit stops. Antonio’s last stint there was just fantastic. What can you say? It is just fantastic. It was all about running our own race and then at the end when we had to do something, to then be able to do it. The crew – those last couple of pit stops – awesome. As I said Antonio’s last stint… just fantastic!”

MIKE ROCKENFELLER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “It is still hard to believe right now because I didn’t expect it. We had a tough race, and Antonio (Garcia) did just a fantastic job – like always. But it is very special what he got out of the car today. That is why I am speechless. I am very happy for the team. Thanks to Corvette Racing and everyone on the teams – all the mechanics and engineers. They always believe. We had a tough start in Daytona and even here. We weren’t the quickest all the time, but at the end when it counted, we were there. This team is just amazing!”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “I think what we saw tonight may have been the most intense mix of tremendous engineering and strategy from our engineering crew and flawless pit stops all day long by our Corvette Racing crew. Then there was the driving exhibition that I’m sure will be a highlight of Antonio’s career – certainly at Corvette Racing. When you put those three elements together, we are hard to beat. It was an amazing demonstration by everyone at Corvette Racing.”

Article by Judy Kouba Dominick and Ryan Smith

Photo credit: Richard Prince

 http://www.monch.com/mpg/news/14-land/724-orbital-atk-progress-through-partnerships.html

Mönch’s US correspondent Marty Kauchak, on-site at an Orbital ATK-hosted BUSHMASTER Users Conference outside Kingman, Arizona, USA, provides highlights of Day 2 (31 January 2017) of the event.

Industry representatives were finalising their preparations for live fire demonstrations scheduled for tomorrow (Day 3). While some industry teams remain focused on innovation and expanding technology baselines, others are seeking incremental efficiencies through reusability and similar strategies. At the end of the day, collaboration and partnership are vital to allowing industry teams achieve their milestones.

For its part Oshkosh has two Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV) at the conference to internally compete a M230 Link Fed Chain Gun integrated with Kongsberg PROTECTOR Remote Weapon Station (RWS) and EOS R400 RWS. The RWS will be put through its paces in static and on-the-move firings tomorrow (Day 3). Dave Diersen, the Director of Defense Programs, JLTV Program, at Oshkosh, spoke with Mönch about his company’s presence at the users conference, but first took the opportunity to update Mönch on this major Pentagon programme. JLTV is in low rate initial production, with Oshkosh having started delivering the vehicles to the US DoD in 2016. “We’re continuing to deliver vehicles for test. They are just getting into their test programme. They will have tests that will be ongoing for a little over a year,” Diersen added.

This testing regimen will culminate in a full rate production decision in about December 2018. Oshkosh is on contract to deliver 1,398 JLTVs among its US Army and Marine Corps (USMC) customers during the LRIP period. Part of the JLTV contract directs Oshkosh to fully integrate the vehicle. With respect to weapons systems, “What we’re trying to demonstrate is versatility and flexibility of our vehicles. We don’t make guns and we don’t make radios. We integrate them into the vehicles. What we’re showing is that flexibility to integrate different types of weapon systems and capabilities on our vehicles, so should our customer tell us what they want, we can quickly and rapidly integrate those systems on our vehicles. Let’s be clear, this is not a government event,” the industry executive concluded.

Scott Burk, the Washington, DC-based Business Development and Government Relations at Kongsberg, built the business case for embracing his company’s PROTECTOR M230LF CROWS (Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station), noting in one instance, many of the components used in this system have been reused from existing CROWS systems currently in the field. “This significantly reduces cost, but more significant, reduces cost to the taxpayer and the federal government. In many instances the system has previously been qualified and in some cases these are also owned by the federal government with the license agreement we have on the CROWS programme. So it made a lot of sense from an investment perspective to use this as much as possible.”

As noted earlier, the RWS solution for JLTV has not been definitised by the US Army customer. Discussions have included a co-axial capability of a smaller machine gun, anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) integration and even the long-range sensor system Long-Range Advance Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3) (Raytheon). “In all those cases, JAVELIN for ATGM, co-ax and LRAS integration – we’ve already done it. There’s already qualified software, qualified hardware in the Army system. We would be lifting capabilities from other systems that have already been qualified. It makes it very simple.”

Citing specific instances of reusability, the sight servo assemblies on the PROTECTOR system are both from the US Army M153 low profile CROWS from the M1A2 ABRAMS Main Battle Tank. “We lifted both of those components off there. So you have reuse of the sensors, reuse of the sight servo assembly and reuse of the controlling software,” the industry subject matter expert observed.

A number of military and security forces around the globe are using manned guns without optics, thermal imaging devices and other enablers, mounted in the rear of commercial vehicles. These weapons platforms offer their operators limited lethality and accuracy during operation. In another effort to examine and expand the art of the possible in weapons platforms, Orbital ATK selected Pratt Miller, to determine how to safely and robustly place an unmanned weapon system in the rear of a small truck and operate it.

New Hudson, Michigan-based Pratt Miller specialises in advanced research and development, advanced engineering and developing advanced suspension systems for the defence sector and also has an extensive motor sports portfolio. Ray Errer, a Program and Engineering Manager at Pratt Miller, recalled that about seven months ago his company started work on the project using a Toyota LC (Land Cruiser) 79 as the weapons platform because, “it’s a platform you see all over the world. It is very robust and they have been making them for 30 years – not much has changed in 30 years.”

Pratt Miller’s envisioned outcomes efforts go beyond the LC 79, and are designed to make the weapons integration process universal in any small type vehicle – a Chevrolet pick-up truck, a robotic system or other. Pratt Miller’s industry partners to develop a weapons integration kit have included Rod Hall Products (Reno, Nevada) and Fox Defense (El Cajon, California) for the suspension system. “We totally redid the suspension system, working with them to come up with a complete kit that includes everything from leaf springs to shocks to stay bars, all brand new, to optimize speed on terrain, new center of gravity with the gun and accuracy of the weapon system,” Errer added.

Additional enhancements to permit emplacement of a weapon in the rear of a common, small commercial truck include addition of an independent, 24-volt alternator system, a remote weapon control system command station inside the cab, a weapon mounting station that bolts to the frame of the truck (rear bed), and others. EOS has a heritage of providing RWS on vehicles in many nations, and is supplying its remote weapon station solution in this Orbital ATK project – but with a major difference. “When you are talking about the M230LF and the recoil off of it and adding it on to a platform of this size, this is the first time we’ve provided this much fire power on this type of platform,” Craig Burman, the Chief Technology Officer at EOS, pointed out.

Orbital ATK’s Small Caliber Systems Defense Systems Group will be supplying ammunition at the Wednesday event to support US Ordnance’s firing of its crew served weapons, medium machine guns and light machine guns. Dan Fassler, the senior vice president of the McCarran (Reno), Nevada-based company emphasised that all weapons are assembled from start to finish at his facility. He continued “We have our machining capabilities, our own chrome line to line our own barrels in the MK19 receiver, stress relief ovens and other capabilities. Our customers like to visit us because they know they are actually getting something from us because they can see it being made there.”

Article by Monch Publishing Group

Excellent pit work, never-give-up spirit highlights 2017 opener

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 29, 2017) –Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller led Corvette Racing’s effort in the GT Le Mans class of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Sunday. The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R placed fourth in a battle that saw the top seven entries separated by 7.5 seconds after a grueling opening race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The No. 3 Corvette ran a nearly perfect race with no mistakes and incredible performances in pitlane. With a majority of the race run in cold, damp conditions, the Corvette Racing team found itself in position to challenge for a third straight Rolex 24 class victory heading into the final three hours.

Twice in the final two hours, the No. 3 Corvette crew sent Garcia out in the lead – making up four spots on the penultimate stop and three on the final stop. Over the last three stops of the race, the No. 3 Corvette gained nine positions. Garcia eventually finished 4.593 behind the class winner after coming back from a lap down in the early morning hours that saw rain soak Daytona International Speedway for more than 12 hours.

“It was a very good race today,” said Mark Reuss, Executive Vice President, Global Product Development, General Motors. “Everybody was on the same lap there in the end. All the manufacturers placed there one through four, so it was really a good race.

“They (Corvette Racing) never give up. They never lose hope. I think we won in the pits. I watched them beat all the other teams many times. This is a tough race to win. They did a great job, and I am very proud of the Corvette team.”

The No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C7.R, the class-winner in 2016, placed ninth in GTLM after suffering a loss of power and a broken right-rear lower control arm following contact with another GTLM competitor near the six-hour mark. Gavin, Milner and Fässler all cycled through in the cold and wet conditions to help support the team’s strategy for the No. 3 Corvette.

The next event for Corvette Racing is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida on March 15-18 from Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida. The race will air from 12:30-11 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Corvette Racing has won at Sebring 10 times since 2001.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM: “I think we need to be happy with the race we had. In any race, you have to do your best and take it to 100 percent and more. Corvette Racing did that today – optimizing everything we had to have a perfect race and a perfect Corvette to the end. What else can you say about the pit stops? We made up so many positions and came out first so many times. When you have all that and don’t have the pace to keep it, it’s a shame. We gave everything we had. We congratulate the winners.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM: “It wasn’t what we wanted. We were just lacking a little bit of the speed that we needed to be able to fight at the end there. The team did a fantastic job there throughout the event. The pit work today was absolutely fantastic. We came out in front almost every time. Unfortunately we didn’t quite have the speed to stay there. Antonio did a fantastic job at the end, and Rocky drove really well too. This is a great group of drivers with a great crew, a great team and a great car in the Corvette. It just wasn’t quite enough this time.”

MIKE ROCKENFELLER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM: “We did all we could to try and win the race. The result is pretty much what we kind of expected after practice sessions if you look at the pure speed we had. Even though we had a good chance at the end, we knew it likely wouldn’t be for long because you need to have speed on the straights. We just didn’t have enough to stay ahead of the others but I have to say thanks to my teammates and my team. It was good fun in these difficult conditions. We kept fighting till the end. It was nice to be there at the end to feel the emotion of maybe winning the race. We were there again although not as close as last year. Everyone tried hard, and that’s racing. Congratulations to the 66 car. I think they deserved it. Today just wasn’t for us.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “The first lap, as it always is here, was difficult to weigh the risks of looking to pass someone, shooting a gap with so many cars. You try to weigh the risks. It was a good first couple of laps. I was able to pass a couple of cars and it seemed to go backward and forward. Overall it was a good first stint. I was pleased to get it done and out of the way.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “I was having fun which is a positive thing. We were so far behind that we were just trying to get laps back and doing everything we were supposed to. We were competitive aside from the incidents, which also makes it more fun. So some you win, some you don’t. With the contact early on and then the electrical problem we had, that is racing. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t.”

MARCEL FÄSSLER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “In those difficult conditions the only thing you can do is stay patient and stay on the track. It is really very easy to make big mistakes. It was very tough. Behind the spray on restarts you couldn’t see. We had to survive these showers before we could push again.”

Article by: Ryan Smith and Judy Kouba Dominick

Will Power puts Chevrolet on Podium with Runner-up Finish in Long Beach Grand Prix

Will Power capitalized on his front row starting position and scored a strong runner-up finish in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series (VICS) champion was credited with leading once for six laps in his No.12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

Defending VICS champ Josef Newgarden was seventh at the finish behind the wheel of the No, 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden led three of 85 laps in today’s race, contested on the 1.968-mile, 11 turn temporary street circuit. He currently sits second in the standings with three of the 17-race schedule in the record books.

Tony Kanaan, No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, finished 8th. It is the second strong top-10 finish for the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner in his inaugural season driving for Foyt.

Charlie Kimball brought home the first top-10 finish for Carlin in its first full-time season in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Driving the No. 23 Tresiba Chevrolet for Carlin, Kimball started 23 and finished 10th, his best finish at Long Beach in eight starts.

2016 Series’ champion Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 DXC Technologies Team Penske Chevrolet started third, but his race ended halfway through Turn 1 of Lap 1 when he was hit from behind, and unable to continue. He was scored in the 24th finishing position.

The remaining drivers of the Chevrolet 2.2 liter V6 twin turbo direct injected powered cars finished as follows:

Matheus Leist, No, 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet – 14th

Spencer Pigot, No. 21 Preferred Freezer Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet – 15th

Kyle Kaiser, No. 32 Juncos Racing Chevrolet – 16th

Max Chilton, No, 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet – 17th

Jordan King, No, 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet – 18th

Gabby Chaves, No. 88 Harding Group Harding Racing Chevrolet – 19th

Alexander Rossi (Honda) was the race winner, and Ed Jones (Honda) completed the podium.

Next on the schedule is the Honda Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama on April 22, 2018.

Article by Trackside Racing News

Three Team Chevy Drivers in Top 10

It was a solid day with a second place finish for Kyle Larson and his No. 42 DC Solar Camaro ZL1 in the Auto Club 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Auto Club Speedway. The defending event winner posted his third top-10 finish in five races at the challenging 2-mile California track. The result also marked Larson’s third top-10 finish thus far in the 2018 season. He was able to rally from contact with Kevin Harvick on Lap 37 of the 200-lap race, and then from a brake issue later in the event.

Jimmie Johnson, who has won at Auto Club Speedway six times, finished 9th in his No. 48 Lowe’s For Pros Camaro ZL1; and Austin Dillon, behind the wheel of his No. 3 Dow Coatings Camaro ZL1 was 10th in the final order.

Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota) was the race winner, Kyle Busch (Toyota) was third, Brad Keselowski (Ford) was fourth, and Joey Logano (Ford) finished fifth to round out the top 5.

The next race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) will be at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia for the STP 500 on Sunday, March 25 at 2:00 pm ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX1, PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 DC SOLAR CAMARO ZL1 POST RACE PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT:

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by our second place finisher in the 22nd Annual Auto Club 400, Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing.

A tough, grueling race out there today, a lot of tire falloff. Talk about the race today.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it was a pretty tough race from the start. Fell back a little bit, was able to get past a few cars. Obviously Kevin and I had our issue there down the backstretch, just racing hard, side drafting each other for a few laps. I think he came down to maybe side draft down me, got in my right rear, it spun him pretty quick.

From then on we had to repair a little damage, come from the back. Was able to get to sixth or so into the first stage in a short amount of time, which was good.

Then there late, we had an issue with the left front on one of our pit stops, then had to come from the back again maybe that whole last run there.

It was good to get all the way to second. Would have liked to be one spot better, but we couldn’t even see Martin. Got to be a little bit better.

All in all, a good day. We fought hard. That’s all you can ask for.

THE MODERATOR:

THE MODERATOR: We’ll start with questions.

Q. Kyle, you were around Kevin (Harvick) obviously quite a bit there in the early going. Do you think he would have had anything for Truex at the end?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it’s so hard to tell early in the race, but just the little bit I was around Kevin, I felt like he still had the best car. Who’s to say, though? Didn’t get to really race a whole lot. The little bit I was around him, his car seemed to get through one and two really good. I could be fairly even with him in three and four. One and two, he was really fast. I’m sure he would have made it better throughout the race.

But, yeah, I don’t know. He’ll be good every weekend.

Q. Kyle, what do you think it is that you’ve been able to find driving the new Chevy that the other teams can’t figure out yet?

KYLE LARSON: It’s nothing I’ve found. I don’t know, our race team has a lot of smart people within our organization. Any time we had a rules change over the last three or four years, the one off weekends like Darlington or Michigan, our team would do a good job, we’d be fast those weekends.

I think they just did a lot of homework on this new car. For whatever reason, we seem to be a little bit better than the other Chevy teams, which we were kind of last year, too.

But, yeah, I’ve been happy to see how we’ve started so far. But we still have a little ways to go to win.

Q. Kyle, when you were racing with Harvick, were you surprised you were racing as hard as you were? Did you think one of you was going to let the other person go?

KYLE LARSON: No, I wasn’t surprised that we were racing that hard, or he was racing me as hard as he was to try to hold me off. He had pitted a lap before me, so I had a lap fresher tires than him, was better than him at that point, in that little run we got in.

I think he knew he was better than I was overall, so he was just trying to hold me off, race me hard to maybe burn my stuff up, then he could stay in front of me, not have to worry about me 10, 15 laps later when he would be better than me.

I was actually having a lot of fun racing like that because this place is really cool, you can just kind of go wherever. I was a lot better than him in three and four. One and two, he was a little bit better than me in those few laps. Yeah, just got to battling really, really hard.

Q. Kyle, the radio chatter was fairly animated after that accident. Were you upset at all? Was there any damage that you felt impacted the ability of your car the rest of the race?

KYLE LARSON: No, I don’t really feel like any damage impacted us because we were able to drive to the front right after that.

Yeah, I mean, I was pretty amped up on the radio there right after just because I felt like at the time maybe he let his frustration build and kind of just ran into me down the backstretch, wrecked himself. I thought he would be mad at me or something like that, which I knew I didn’t do anything wrong at the time.

A couple minutes later, they let me know he was taking the blame for it on the radio, which was nice. I was able to chill out some.

Yeah, I mean, I respect Kevin a lot. I think he respects me a lot, too. You never want to see anything like that happen.

Q. The issue they had to fix, was that something that broke or a mistake?

KYLE LARSON: I haven’t exactly seen what broke. Sounded like brake duct or something fell in between the wheel. Yeah, I don’t know if that was something the pit crew guys hit and broke or whatever. I’m just glad I could feel it under that caution and was able to pit. That would have ruined our day, had I not.

Article by Nancy Wager