TALK ABOUT THIS WIN AND THAT LAST PIT STOP, WHO MADE THAT CALL?
“Darian (Grubb, crew chief) made it. We got two tires earlier in the day and were able to go really quick on them so it was pretty much in our opinion a no-brainer of what to do. The guys that took four could just never gain the track position back. We had a really good car on two tires. Darian and these guys on the pit crew, they are the ones that got us the win. They got us track position and I was able to pick which line I wanted on the restart and that won us the race.”
WHEN YOU LOOKED UP AND THE NO. 24 CAR WAS GETTING AWFULLY BIG IN YOUR REAR VIEW MIRROR WAS THERE ANY CONCERN THERE?
“Obviously. Jeff is an awesome competitor. We come from the same camp here so I know what he’s got. We had a good enough lead there we could afford to loose a little bit of time. We didn’t want to burn tires off in case we had a green-white-checker but he kept us honest for sure. We couldn’t leave too much out there.”
YOU GAINED 39 POINTS ONLY 67 DOWN TO MARK MARTIN.
“Yeah I’m excited about that one. It’s the perfect scenario for us right now on the stand in points. This team is going to have some momentum going in to California next week. These guys on the Office Depot/Old Spice team are doing a great job so we’ve got some momentum on our side now.”
THIS WIN GIVES YOU 37 AND TIES YOU FOR 18TH ALL TIME, THAT’S GOT TO BE PRETTY COOL TOO.
“Yeah, that’s a stat that’s really cool. I’ve been fortunate with Joe Gibbs Racing and now Stewart-Haas Racing to drive some really good race cars over the last 11 years. With two good crew chiefs and a bunch of good crew members, it helps make those numbers what they are. Just proud I could do it with this group of guys.”
CONGRATULATIONS. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU GUYS? “The first thing it means is that I’m going to be late for Knoxville, Iowa tonight to run a dirt Late Model. But I’ve gotta thank the fans. That’s the best feeling in the world when you win a race and you go back there and can see them like that and see how supportive they are, and especially in this sport in general. I’m so proud of these guys at SHR and Office Depot and Old Spice and U.S. Army, Burger King, Coca-Cola, and Chevrolet. To win the Manufacturers’ title for Chevy in this race is awesome, too. It’s just an awesome day.”
ON THE TWO-TIRE CALL AT THE END?
“He’s like that (crew chief, Darian Grubb). He’s a little gutsy. That’s a good thing. Darian, you don’t question him. When he makes a call you know it’s the right thing to do and you go from there.”
HOW MUCH DID YOU SEE JEFF GORDON IN THE MIRROR THERE AT THE END?
“He was getting bigger (laughs). But the big thing was just not driving the tires off the thing. You had to keep the tires underneath you in case you got a caution and a green-white-checkered. So we had a little bit left, but we didn’t leave too much out there.”
ON HIS CREW JOKING AROUND THIS WEEKEND IN THE GARAGE, HOW DO THEY DO THAT AND STILL STAY FOCUSED?
“They’re just an awesome group of guys. I’ve been fortunate my whole career to be surrounded by good people, but this is a group who came from a bunch of different directions and we’re all here in one place in victory lane, so I’m proud of him.”
YOU PICKED UP A LOT OF POINTS. TALK ABOUT YOUR CHASE CHANCES NOW
“That’s about half of where we were, so we’ve still got a shot. We’ve got a great shot at this still.”
DARIAN GRUBB, CREW CHIEF, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/OLD SPICE IMPALA SS – Winner
ON THE LAST MINUTE PIT STOP AND CALL TO TAKE TWO TIRES, WHEN DID YOU MAKE UP YOUR MIND THAT WAS THE CALL?
“We started looking at it when we did two (tires) earlier in the race. Tony was able to get out there in clean air and was able to take off. The other guys who took two ended up 7th and 9th. So Tony was able to get that clean air and just take off. He did an awesome job today; the entire pit crew and everybody did an awesome job all day long.”
WHAT DOES THIS DO FOR THE TEAM MOVING FORWARD?
“It helps to pick up back up. We’ve had a few bad weeks. We haven’t had the performance we wanted and the finishes we wanted in these first two (Chase) races. And then we come out here and have a good solid day all the way around and made some good ground on points.”
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