Chase Elliott Takes Busch Pole at Talladega

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, was fastest in Foodland/Food Giant Qualifying, grabbing the Busch Pole Award. NASCAR throws Hendrick team a bone with a 1-2-3-4 start. When green drops, they'll fall right back

At wildly unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway, having a fast car is preferred and talent is obviously necessary.

But typically, you also need some luck at Talladega, to earn a trip to Gatorade Victory Lane. It helps to make your own luck, by working your way toward the front of the field and trying to stay there. And if you’re fortunate enough to start a race at or near the front, it sure doesn’t hurt your chances.

Chase Elliott was the fortunate one Saturday during Foodland/Food Giant Qualifying, capturing the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s (1 p.m. CT/local) 1000Bulbs.com 500, the second of three races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 12.

Elliott, winner of Talladega’s spring GEICO 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race this season, posted a fast lap of 192.707 mph in the No. 9 Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsports. Elliott is trying to achieve the eighth season sweep in the track’s history; the last sweep was by Jeff Gordon, in 2007.

Starting alongside Elliott on Sunday will be his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman, who posted a 192.552-mph lap in the No. 88 Chevrolet. Two other Hendrick drivers, William Byron and Jimmie Johnson, will start in the second row. Defending race champion Aric Almirola will start fifth

“Our car has pace, which is a good thing because cars with pace are able to set the standard [at Talladega]," Elliott said. “Hopefully it will drive well tomorrow.

“I’m sure we’ll see some gamesmanship by the different manufacturers … we’ll try to stay with our friends as much as we can and stay out of trouble."

Denny Hamlin, who had the fastest practice speed on Friday in the No. 11 Toyota, failed to complete his qualifying run due to engine problems. He will start from the rear of the field on Sunday due to the resulting engine change.

POST-QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]CHASE ELLIOTT, NO 9 NAPA NIGHT VISION – Pole winner

AT THESE SPEEDWAY QUALIFYING SESSIONS, YOU GUYS ALWAYS SAY IT COMES DOWN TO THE TEAM BECAUSE YOU JUST PUT THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR AND STEER IT AROUND HERE. BUT FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, SPECIFICALLY, YOU GUYS SEEM TO PRIDE YOURSELF AT SPEED AT DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA. HOW MUCH EMPHASIS IN THE SHOP HAS GONE INTO NOT JUST THIS RACE, BUT REALLY ALL FOUR OF THE SPEEDWAY RACES THIS SEASON TO PERFORM LIKE THIS IN ALL FOUR QUALIFYING SESSIONS?

“In general, I feel like as a company, obviously at Hendrick, we’ve done a great job I feel like, in the time I’ve been there and just continue to put emphasis on the speedway and on things that take time that might not be worth a whole lot, but make you go faster on qualifying day. Some of the small stuff may or may not help you when it comes to being in the draft. I like to think it does. I think a lot of the small things tend to add up and hope that if you have just a little bit of an advantage somewhere, that might help you at some point. I’d rather have it than not. And, luckily our team is the type of team that continues to put emphasis on these places and doesn’t overlook them. And I think there’s something to be said for that, especially after last week and coming off a tough day and a failure and to come back here and to still put the effort in the areas that need to be done and didn’t just overlook this week, I think was important. And so, I’m proud of that."

A LOT HAPPENS ON SUNDAYS DURING THE COURSE OF THE RACE AND WHETHER YOU START FIRST OR 40TH, DOESN’T MATTER A LOT, I DON’T THINK. BUT, WHAT DOES IT MEAN, GETTING THE POLE FOR TOMORROW, FOR YOU THINK ABOUT WINNING A DOUBLE BY WINNING IN THE SPRING AND AGAIN TOMORROW?

‘To me, I feel like our car has pace, which is a good thing. Typically in these races, cars that have pace tend to kind of set the standard and are able to do some things that you wouldn’t be able to do if your car didn’t have pace. I would much rather have pace on my side than not. Can you still win without those little extra things here and there? Yes. But I do think it is a good thing to have if you do. And luckily, I feel like our car does. Hopefully it drives well tomorrow. And, I’m sure as we start the race, we’ll see some gamesmanship being played amongst the manufacturers and I’m sure that’ll form-up very quickly."

DID YOU SEE THE END OF THE TRUCK RACE?

“I did. I barely caught it."

THE FACT THAT NASCAR MADE A CALL ON THE YELLOW LINE RULE ON THE LAST LAP, HOW MUCH DOES THAT PLAY INTO YOUR THINKING IN THE FINAL LAPS? OR, IS IT GOING SO FAST THAT YOU’RE JUST REACTING AND WHATEVER THE CALL IS, THE CALL IS?

“In those situations, that’s so hard because you do what you think is right at the time and you kind of have to make some really quick decisions. So, I guess the bottom line is with that situation of the yellow line is the out of bounds, so if a guy is going to run you down there, you just need to crash him and just be done with it because it’s not worth you being penalized for not causing a wreck. So, I guess at the end of the day, you just need to wreck him and go on down the road."

Lineup

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]