Driver Notes & Quotes For Charlotte Bank of America 500

DENNY HAMLIN ON BEING COMFORTABLE WHERE HE'S AT IN THE CHASE: “We knew we that we couldn’t beat ourselves through these first races and we haven’t so we feel pretty good. We would have liked better finishes at a couple of tracks and to be in the lead in points but we’re in good shape heading to some tracks where we think we’ll be competitive. We just want to be racing our races and not worrying about anyone else – if we can do that, it gives us our best chance of success.”

HAMLIN ON BEING IMPROVED AT CHARLOTTE THE LAST FEW TIMES OUT: “I would say it is. This is a place I struggled with early on but a place where I have really benefitted from Kyle (Busch). Everyone knows how strong he is on these types of tracks and he’s shared a lot of information with me – I know it’s made me better here and with the improvement in our intermediate program it means we can come to big tracks like this and be right there with any car.”

HAMLIN CHASSIS CHOICE: The team will unload JGR 279 at Charlotte this weekend. This car recorded a ninth-place finish at Dover two weeks ago. Chassis JGR 288 will serve as the backup.

RYAN NEWMAN ON CHARLOTTE APPROACH: “We really don’t have a whole lot to lose, so we can gamble on things. We want to win at our home track. To go there and win would really be something special because it’s in everyone’s backyard and everyone has family and friends there. It would be cool. We’re going to go hard at it and try and win a race here pretty quick. We need to. And we want to for the pride side of it. That’s what we are feeding off of right now – our momentum and our pride. We’re going to win one before it’s over. It’s just a matter of being there at the right time. We’re just going to try and use this momentum to make it happen.”

KASEY KAHNE ON LOOKING FORWARD TO CHARLOTTE: “Yeah, I always like Charlotte, especially the racing because it’s a good track for us. Then just being close to home and being able to do some things whether it’s with the fan club, sponsor stuff or with our foundation like this year with our 5K on Sunday morning, I think all of that stuff is kind of exciting and gives you something to look forward to.”

KAHNE ON LIKING THE 1.5-MILE TRACKS: “They’ve always suited me the most. I was able to kind of figure them out a lot quicker than some of the other tracks.”

CARL EDWARDS ON RACING AT CHARLOTTE: “We went into California thinking that would be the race that could put us near the points lead, but we had trouble with a part in the distributor. Now we’ve got six races left to run the way we know we can run. If we can get a couple wins and a couple solid top fives, and maybe if Jimmie (Johnson) can have a bit of trouble then it can be anybody’s race. We need to rally this weekend at Charlotte.”

EDWARDS CREW CHIEF BOB OSBORNE ON CHARLOTTE AND CHASSIS CHOICE: “We’re taking a new car to Charlotte that should be very competitive. We need a good run to keep our Chase hopes alive. We had a little setback in California last weekend, but this team is strong enough to overcome one bad race. We can’t control what happens to Jimmie Johnson in these final six races, but we can focus on making sure we don’t make mistakes and we give Carl the best cars we can so he has what he needs to run up front.”

MATT KENSETH ON CHARLOTTE: “Track position has been really important at Charlotte since the introduction of this car with the spoiler. The pavement has a lot of grip and even though the track gets pretty wide, it’s a real fast track and kind of hard to pass so track position is really important. You’ve got to be in position the last couple of stops in order to have a successful finish. I really don’t feel like there’s a big difference between the spring race and this race, but our Crown Royal Black team really just needs to have a solid race for all 500 miles Saturday night.”

KENSETH CHASSIS CHOICE: Primary: RK-694 LAST RAN AT ATLANTA AND FINISHED 11TH.

GREG BIFFLE ON CHARLOTTE: “Well, we’re going to just go out and do our best the rest of the season pretty much like we have all year. We will still go out there every week and try to get the No. 16 3M Ford into victory lane and gain as many positions in the points as we can. This is our last night race of the season and it would obviously be awesome to win in Charlotte. We had a good run during the Coke 600 before I got loose and hit the wall. I feel pretty confident that we should have a good run this weekend with the way we’ve been running at the mile-and-a-half tracks.”

BIFFLE CREW CHIEF GREG ERWIN ON CHARLOTTE AND CHASSIS CHOICE: "We’re taking a brand new car to the track this weekend and we feel pretty good about the latest cars we’ve been building here at Roush Fenway. We’ve had some decent runs at Charlotte over the last few years and I know this team is as determined as ever to get to victory lane a few more times before the end of this season. If we can get the car to handle well throughout the race as the track changes, I think we’ve got a good chance of running up front and contending for another win.”

JAMIE McMURRAY CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis #1006. Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion has decided to bring chassis #1006 to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. This chassis has been used four times in 2010 capturing the pole position twice and finishing in the top-five twice at both Chicagoland (fifth) and Darlington (second). This chassis was also used at Kansas and the second Michigan event finishing 11th and 20th. McMurray has led 150 laps with this chassis.

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis #1015. Pattie and the No. 42 Target team are bringing chassis #1015 to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. This chassis has been used at both 2010 Michigan events where Montoya qualified 10th and fifth with finishes of 13th and seventh.

DAVID REUTIMANN ON THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO CHARLOTTE RACES: “Historically just the cooler temperature make the track different. Charlotte is a very difficult track in the sense that it seems to change a lot. Some of the other racetracks that we visit as far as temperature changes and things like that aren’t as temperature sensitive. Charlotte is just a very sensitive racetrack. The cooler temperatures also make it a little more fun to race on. It gives the track just a little more grip and the speeds tend to be higher as well. The other difference is that obviously it’s not 600 miles, so it’s not as big of a grind on the drivers, but it’s still a pretty long race any way you look at it.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI ON RACING AT CHARLOTTE: “Racing in the Southeast, in general, is special because that is where a large crop of our fan base is from. That makes it entertaining in itself. You want to race in markets where people get excited about the sport. Charlotte is the hub of our sport. We all live here. It’s just an enjoyable weekend. Racing at night just enhances that. Charlotte is very fast under the lights. It has a lot of grip and I think we’ll put on a very good show for all of those enthusiastic fans that will show up.”

SAM HORNISH JR. ON WHY HE LIKES RACING AT CHARLOTTE SO MUCH: “Charlotte Motor Speedway has a lot of grip. The track doesn’t change much from day to night; it just gets a little tighter. It’s a place that suited me from the beginning. The first time I went there I didn’t really like it, but now I feel like I know what the car needs and I always look forward to racing there. Charlotte races different than a lot of other places because the track surface is not abrasive and the tires last. The way Charlotte is paved, it handles a lot different than the other 1.5-mile tracks.”