FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, August 29th, 2015
NOTES AND QUOTES FROM XFINITY SERIES PRE-RACE AND RACE COVERAGE FROM ROAD AMERICA ON NBCSN
Race Winner Paul Menard to Mike Massaro: “I’ve been really fortunate to win at some of the coolest tracks, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Road America is right there.”
Runner-up Ryan Blaney to Dave Burns: “We played the right strategy. They just got lucky with the race staying under caution.”
Third place Brian Scott to Kelli Stavast: “I was pretty frustrated with the officiating at the end of the race, just the inability to get the race back under green.”
NBCSN presented NASCAR XFINITY Series racing from Road America in Plymouth, Wis. this afternoon. The 14-turn, four-mile road course race culminated with a home-state win for Wisconsin native Paul Menard. Drivers spent the majority of the race chasing Chase Elliott, who led 23 laps of the 45-lap race. After Elliott lost the lead on lap No. 28, it was anyone’s race. Menard successfully held off Ryan Blaney’s No. 22 car to win on a course which has seen six different XFINITY drivers take the checkered flag over the last six years.
Saturday afternoon’s festivities began with the Countdown to Green pre-race show, followed by green-flag racing from the “Badger State.” Rick Allen called the action from the booth alongside 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Dale Jarrett and former crew chief Frank Stoddard. Kelli Stavast, Mike Massaro and Dave Burns contributed trackside from “America’s National Park of Speed.”
| Position | Driver | Car # |
| 1 | Paul Menard | 33 |
| 2 | Ryan Blaney | 22 |
| 3 | Brian Scott | 2 |
| 4 | Chase Elliott | 9 |
| 5 | Darrell Wallace Jr. # | 6 |
The following are highlights from this afternoon’s XFINITY pre-race and race coverage on NBCSN.
Chris Buescher before the race to Burns on his success at road courses: “I am an okay road racer. I love doing it and it is enjoyable. I feel like I can learn something new each and every time. The more we can learn, the better we can be in the end.”
Stoddard on XFINITY championship points leader Buescher: “He doesn’t make mistakes. He is continually on the track and hitting his marks all day long. That is very important and very impressive for a 22 year-old driver.”
Jarrett on the popularity of road course racing: “I think (road courses) have become the new short track. We have taken away a lot of the short tracks and that is really what this sport was built on.”
Jarrett on the road race favorite Boris Said: “He is just outstanding. Even though he hasn’t raced at this track in some time, he is going to be the one to watch today. Whatever the weather conditions, he is going to be the favorite in my mind.”
Jarrett on XFINITY Series championship contenders Chris Buescher, Elliott Sadler and Ty Dillon: “No mistakes are going to be the key today. They need to stay on track and make sure they don’t get off in the grass. A mistake may cost drivers a lap and a lot of spots and points. Speeding on pit road or the crew making a mistake is going to put drivers at the tail end of the longest line, or cost you a lap.”
Stoddard on the backward pitting at Road America: “Normally, we always have the wall on the driver’s side, where they can gauge a lot easier. When you have a car that is eight feet wide, and you are sitting on the left hand side it is very difficult for them to gauge where the wall is. You see drivers often have problems on these road courses where you pit backward.”
Jarrett on Chase Elliott’s inherent talent: “He has been so good on all his road courses. Watching him does remind you of his father. He is just as smooth as Bill was on the road courses.”
Jarrett with 6 laps to go: “The start of the race and the restarts have been rather calm. Now it is going to get exciting, when we go to green. These guys understand that there aren’t many laps to go. They have to give everything they can.”
Jarrett on Mendard’s win at Road America: “What a gamble that paid off by (crew chief) Danny Stockman Jr. They are here to win the race. The driving job that Paul Menard did with Bubba Wallace and the young Ryan Blaney on his bumper was just outstanding.”
Paul Mendard’s crew chief Danny Stockman Jr. on his win: “I still don’t think we had the best car today. We were a little off. We had to do something to get ourselves out front and we did it.”
Fourth place finisher Chase Elliott to Stavast: “Absolutely failed today. Way too many mistakes on my part, and I screwed it up for my guys. It is absolutely unacceptable.”
Third place Brian Scott to Stavast: “I was pretty frustrated with the officiating at the end of the race, just the inability to get the race back under green.”
Runner-up Ryan Blaney to Burns: “We played the right strategy. They just got lucky with the race staying under caution.”
Race Winner Menard to Massaro: “I’ve been really fortunate to win at some of the coolest tracks, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Road America is right there. They are all tracks I grew up at.”
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–NBC SPORTS GROUP–
