NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts

Topics:  Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts

Clint Bowyer
Jamie McMurray
June 30, 2013

SPARTA, KENTUCKY

KERRY THARP: Let's roll into our post race for today's third annual Quaker State 400 Presented by Advanced Auto Parts, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event here at Kentucky Speedway.
Our race runner‑up is Jamie McMurray, who drove the No.1 Hellman's Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi.
You had a great run out there today, you were coming strong, making up ground, and maybe just talk about this run now as you build upon this heading to Daytona where you've won several times.
JAMIE McMURRAY: Overall I felt like it was a very good day. I didn't feel like we ran significantly better today than the past ten or 12 weeks. We were able to get the finish out of it. We didn't have any flat tires or radiators break or people's parts fall off the car and go through our radiator.
It was a good day; got a little unlucky on the last restart with the bottom line checking up, and then our car was just about as good as it had been all day on the last run.
KERRY THARP: We welcome our third‑place finisher, Clint Bowyer. Clint drives the No. 15 Camry 30th anniversary Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, solid, solid performance.
CLINT BOWYER: What happened? We run third. I was trying to block Jamie at the end and realized I'd better get the hell out of the way before I get myself wrecked.
So I gladly pulled over and let him go. We didn't need a caution right there‑‑ you probably did. He would've dumped me and I'd have shot to 20.
JAMIE McMURRAY: How do you know I didn't try? (Laughing).

Q. Are you guys surprised that no tires were the call that won the race, or is clean air just mean that much that it's not a surprised?
CLINT BOWYER: I was actually surprised. As aged as this surface is and as rough as it is; two wires‑‑ once two tires prevailed you just new somebody was going to try no tires.
If you could get going on the restarts seems like could you make some hay for maybe six laps and everything would even back out. Somewhat surprised by after what I saw on two tires, maybe not as much.
JAMIE McMURRAY: The truth is the that tires were worth something. The 20 car was probably the second‑best car all day. It was just the right amount of laps left at the end.
But at the end ‑‑ I ran with him for a good part of the day and I felt like there was times I was a little bit better than him and times he was a little bit better than me but with no tires those last ten laps, he was quite a bit slower than what we were. I think tires were important; it was just the right amount of time at the end.

Q. You have not had a finish like this in a long time. You showed some flashes earlier in the year; how do you feel where you guys are right now and what this means?
JAMIE McMURRAY: Our cars I feel like are better than they were in 2010 when we were winning races. The 42 should have won Richmond this year. They have had some extremely quick cars, as well. The 1 team has had a lot of fifth to tenth‑place cars, but since Richmond, I think when I spoke with you, it has been a disaster, and it's not performance‑wise. We've been really quick. Had really good cars.
It's just the last ten percent of the race, something has happened each week. Michigan, blew a tire; Dover, something fell off a car and went through our radiator; Charlotte, the radiator broke; last weekend, had a flat tire with, I don't know, 30 laps to go or whatever.
It's just every week it's been something. So it's nice to have some good luck, yeah, feel good about it.

Q. Jimmie Johnson had an issue on that last restart. He called out Kenseth. Did you guys have any issue with how Kenseth controlled that restart?
CLINT BOWYER: Was his issue when he spun out or was his issue‑‑ what issue are you talking about?

Q. When they were starting the restart, that last restart‑‑
CLINT BOWYER: He spun out?

Q. Yeah.
JAMIE McMURRAY: Honestly I thought the restarts, when you can see where the timing, or the go lines are, I thought they were strange all day long.
I don't know if it's just the waythe track is laid out, but I could see when the leaders would get to the first one, and it seemed like everything would stack up around that area. I don't know if it's because everybody was trying to anticipate it, but I could see when the leaders would get to the first one and it seemed like everything kind of would stack up around that area, but I don't think that one stuck out, though.

Q. Why was Matt Kenseth later in the race giving you a bump on pit road?
CLINT BOWYER: I think I pulled out in front of him, and I was doing my job and he was doing his job. Just one of those deals.
He had a timing line, so he could accelerate a lot faster than I could. I was already at my pit road speed because I didn't qualify good, and he qualified better.
So he had a timing line to where he could speed up through mine and I was already at pit road speed. He could go a little bit quicker; and therefore, when I pulled out in front of him, he was able to still go faster. There was just a vehicle in front of him.
KERRY THARP: Thank you.