Driver Notes & Quotes for 2012 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

Harvick doesn't like Charlotte, but results show it likes him (Getty)

KEVIN HARVICK ON CHARLOTTE: “Charlotte (Motor Speedway) is a track where we haven’t excelled performance-wise in the past. We won the May race there last season, but overall I just never had a great feel for that track. There is nothing wrong with the surface or the shape of the track; we just haven’t gotten the consistent results we would have liked there.”

HARVICK ON DIFFERENCES AT CHARLOTTE FROM SPRING TO FALL: “The main difference is the temperature change. Once night falls during the October race, Charlotte (Motor Speedway) becomes completely different than what we practice on during the day. You can bet on the fact that the track will be really fast as the temperature drops and we’ll gain a lot of grip.”

HARVICK ON PREVIOUSLY STATING CHARLOTTE IS NOT ONE HIS FAVORITE TRACKS: “It has nothing to do with the facility or the people or anything like that. Charlotte (Motor Speedway) is just a place that’s been tough for me to totally understand the feel that I need in the car to make it go fast and be competitive. We’ve continued to make improvements in our performance each time we go back and have collected some decent finishes, including our 2011 Coca-Cola 600 win.” (Note: Harvick has finished eighth or better in his past four Charlotte starts)

HARVICK CHASSIS CHOICE: Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No.404 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Charlotte 500. Built new for competition in 2012, this Chevrolet will make its first competitive laps this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

JEFF BURTON CHASSIS CHOICE: Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 359 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This No. 31 Chevrolet has been utilized twice during the 2012 NSCS season at Bristol Motor Speedway in March where Burton piloted the RCR machine to a top-10 finish (sixth-place) and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where a broken brake rotor late in the race relegating the team to a 32nd-place finish.

CLINT BOWYER ON CHARLOTTE: “This race at Charlotte is huge – for everybody. Not just for the drivers, but for the team owner, the crew – this is home for all of them. A win here right in your own back yard – it doesn’t get a whole lot bigger than that.”

BOWYER CHASSIS CHOICE: Primary chassis No. 740 finished 10th at Chicago in its only race of the year. Backup chassis No. 716 raced earlier this season in Las Vegas, Kansas, Charlotte, Kentucky and Indianapolis. Chassis No. 716’s best finish was sixth at Las Vegas.

MARTIN TRUEX JR ON CHARLOTTE: “I always look forward to this race. I especially like racing this close to our home and the race shop. This is another race where I have a lot of friends and family that come in for the weekend. It’s kind of a home game for all of us. I really like the track schedule and enjoy qualifying on Thursday night. It’s always a neat qualifying session. With the weather we have been having, the track is going to be lightning fast. Charlotte has been a challenge for this NAPA team so we have a little work to do. I think we are still very capable of going into it this weekend with a chance to contend for the race win and have the NAPA Toyota up front.”

GREG BIFFLE ON CHARLOTTE: “I’m excited to be at home this week and racing at Charlotte. We ran well there in the spring and led a lot of laps. We also ran well there in the fall last year, so maybe this weekend will be our first Chase win. Charlotte changes the most out of any track we race at from evening to night. We’ve been fast, but as the rubber gets down the handling changes. We’ve got to stay up with the track to win there Saturday night.”

BIFFLE CHASSIS CHOICE: Primary: RK-817 Last ran Chicago – finished 13th; Backup: RK-803 Last ran Pocono – finished 15th

CARL EDWARDS ON CHARLOTTE: “We just couldn’t catch a break in Talladega, but we head to Charlotte Motor Speedway this week where we have had success. The strategy is the same. We will just go for it and do everything we can to put our Kellogg’s Ford in to victory lane. It’s a fast mile and a half and the track is very challenging. It’s an important race for the team. It will be exciting and the atmosphere is always intense under the lights in front of family, friends and the home crowd. We just need to go in there and win.”

EDWARDS CHASSIS CHOICE: The 99 team will be bringing chassis RK-782 to CMS. This car was last raced at Atlanta where Edwards was running in the top 10 when he had engine issues.

MATT KENSETH ON CHARLOTTE: “Charlotte this weekend is really about car set-up and being able to get your car through the corner along with great race strategy. We’re taking this Chase one race at a time right now, and we’re going to go out and win some races to hopefully start climbing our way up in the points. Charlotte has been a pretty good track for us lately. I’m looking forward to getting in there this weekend and seeing how our stuff performs compared to the competition. I’m really curious to get there and look at how we’ll be competitive because typically it’s been a great track for us in the past.”

KENSETH CHASSIS CHOICE: Primary: RK-821 (Last run at Chicago)

ARIC ALMIROLA CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 43 team has prepared chassis No. 742 for Charlotte. This chassis has run previously this year at Dover, Chicago, Pocono and Darlington.

- From Team Press Releases