FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 6th, 2015
NOTES & QUOTES FROM NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES COKE ZERO 400 POWERED BY COCA-COLA RACE COVERAGE ON NBC
Race Winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacting to last-lap crash that hurled Austin Dillon’s car into the front stretch catch fence: “I’m more thankful that everyone’s okay than I am to be here in Victory Lane.”
Burton on the risks at Daytona “You look at the odds— there’s a good chance that you’re going to be in a wreck, so you have to know that when you put your helmet on.”
Jeff Gordon on his final race at Daytona: “I love Daytona, this place has been amazing for me. I can’t believe that this is my final race here, but after going through that [last lap crash], I’m glad I only have one more restrictor plate race left.”
Coke Zero 400 to Replay Monday at 2:30 P.M. ET on NBCSN
DAYTONA, Fla. – July 6, 2015 – NBC Sports Group continued its opening weekend of NASCAR with live coverage of the Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola on NBC. The start of the race was delayed for more than three hours due to rain.
Race announcer Rick Allen, 21-time NASCAR Sprint Cup winning driver Jeff Burton and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte called the race. Krista Voda worked alongside Kyle Petty and Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett for pre-race coverage during the rain delay, which featured 23 driver interviews.
Following are notes and quotes from tonight’s race coverage:
RAIN DELAY PRE-RACE
Kurt Busch on relationship with his brother Kyle: “I don’t know what it’s like to be out of the car for an injury, but then to go through rehab and have that mental approach to work your way through all that, and to get back in the car as soon as he did, and to be competitive at a hard breaking track with his left foot, it meant so much to me to watch him win that race.”
Q: Marty Snider to Jimmie Johnson: “You’re at 74 wins, the next win is 75, one away from Dale Earnhardt. Have you allowed yourself to process that, that you could tie Dale Earnhardt for wins?”
A: Jimmie Johnson: “The thing I’ve tried to convey is that I have a great deal of respect for Dale and what he’s done for our sport. And if I’m able to get to that point, it would be a massive moment in my career – a huge milestone. I hope that I can do that. You never know how things can play out, but it would be a big day if it happens.”
Austin Dillon, on his celebration slide through the grass after winning Saturday’s Subway Firecracker 250: “Last night we had some water on the grass, so it had a pretty good slide. I was a yard dart the first time I did it when I slid into the paint. I learned not to slide on the paint. Slide on the regular grass, and you’ll be alright.”
Burton on pre-race nerves at Daytona: “I’m not afraid to say it, I was more nervous at Daytona and Talladega than anywhere else that I went. I wasn’t that nervous when I went to other racetracks, but I was when I got strapped in here. You look at the odds— there’s a good chance that you’re going to be in a wreck, so you have to know that when you put your helmet on.”
RACE COVERAGE
Burton on Austin Dillon’s blocking tactic early in the race: “That’s what you have to do in plate racing. If you’re not willing to block, you’re not going to keep this lead and you will not win this race tonight.”
Letarte remarks on the new bumper camera view after Kyle Larson’s move past Edwards: “That perspective got me. I might have closed my eyes. I knew it was coming and it still scared me as close as he got to that car in front of him.”
Letarte on Kyle Busch’s damaged car after a hard brush against the wall: “Listen, it takes a lot of time to build these race cars. They are built in very fine-tuned areas, they are built on fixtures and measured to a thousandth of an inch. When you bounce one off the wall, things bend… and in a three-minute caution lap, you can only repair so much.”
Letarte on the importance of track position at Daytona: “Those guys up front are not only continually battling for track position, but also learning. Every block they throw, every time something doesn’t work, every time they get passed, that’s one more chip for the memory bank. At the end of this race, all of those lessons could add up to being in the right place at the right time.”
Burton on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s frequent use of his rearview mirror: “The willingness and the ability to assess what is going on all around you is what makes a good race car driver and a good restrictor plate driver. It’s not what’s outside the front windshield, that’s just a portion of it. It’s what’s going on behind you and beside you. Am I three-wide? Am I two-wide? All of those things go into the decisions that dictate the moves that you make.”
Letarte on the even playing field at restrictor plate tracks: “You know what I love about Daytona, you look up here and you have Hendrick cars, you have Stewart Haas cars and Landon Cassill, 6th.. It’s what we have been talking about all night. A smaller team competing with all the big heavily funded teams in the restricted plate tracks.”
With 30 laps to go, Letarte on the importance of saving fuel: “You see Earnhardt Jr. working his switches really hard in order to save gas. The best time to save gas is under yellow. You see his left hand is on the ignition switch. You hear the engine fire up. He has got to get it to run a little bit, then he’ll shut it off. The car is silent, burning no fuel.”
Letarte on Earnhardt Jr.’s win strategy: “They can’t allow Earnhardt Jr. to command the top of the race track and get this group single file. He did it in Talladega. They have seen this play before. They have to continue to force the second line or the laps are going to be gone. If you are from 5th on back you won’t have a chance.”
Jeff Burton describing Austin Dillon’s last-lap crash that hurled his car into the front stretch catch fence after Dale Earnhardt Jr. crossed the finish line: “An unbelievable impact for Austin Dillon. When he gets into that catch fence, the car comes to a complete stop. I’ve never seen a car stop that quickly.”
Q: In Victory Lane, Marty Snider interviews the race winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr.: I know your fist reaction wasn’t ‘Hey, we won.’ You were worried about Austin Dillon and everyone else.”
A: Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “Yeah, that scared the hell out of me, I’ll be honest with you. I saw the whole thing happen, looking in the mirror… that was terrifying to watch. You know that a wreck like that has got such a high potential for someone to get injured. You saw the car get high and get into the fence, and you’re just worried about everyone else in the grandstands… it was touch and go there for several moments. I’m more thankful that everyone’s okay than I am to be here in Victory Lane.”
Jeff Gordon on his final race at Daytona: “I love Daytona, this place has been amazing for me. I can’t believe that this is my final race here, but after going through that [last lap crash], I’m glad I only have one more restrictor plate race left.”
–NBC SPORTS GROUP–
