Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on rules package for Darlington: “There’s some notes from last year we’re going to try to pull from, but it’s so different with the aero and horsepower package. All three races last year were the high drag, high downforce and low horsepower package. Coming back this weekend with no practice and the low downforce-high horsepower package is a completely different ballgame. There’s a fine balance between the drivability and turn you look for at Darlington that we’re hoping to achieve. We’ve dug into some historical notes and the trends from 2018, which is the last time we raced there with this aero and power package. It’s such a long race that we’ll just have to tune on the car as we progress through it.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on Darlington: “I enjoy Darlington. I am a performance guy so if it goes well, I probably liked it that trip and if it didn’t, then I probably don’t. Last year, I feel like we had a solid run and had a shot at it there at the end. Martin (Truex Jr.) and I ended up wrecking coming to the closing 10 laps for the lead. I was definitely playing defense, he was on me and was making a good run. So there’s room for improvement, obviously. You want to be fast enough where that guy behind you is nowhere close. That’s where I want to be and that’s how you want to position yourself at the end of those races, if you can. We can definitely be better, but I was pleased with our speed last year. We had some really good runs and were certainly solid, so we have something good to build off of.”
Elliott on coming to Darlington for Throwback weekend: “I think it’s such a great event. I’ve enjoyed the vibe around it and the throwback schemes are all pretty cool. We are looking forward to running the Alan Kulwicki Hooters paint scheme this year. I know Hooters has been excited to do this scheme for a while so it’s great to see it come to life.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the difficulties of racing at Darlington: “Darlington is a track that is known for its old, worn-out surface and how hard it is on tires. You’re always elbows up at that place, but you also have to know when to press forward and when to manage your equipment so you’re not over taxing your tires. I’ve tried to manage that as best as I can, but that’s what makes Darlington such a tough track. It’s not an easy task while, at the same time, it’s easy to lose focus for a moment and that’s all it takes to end your day. Hopefully, this weekend we’ll have the setup we need, and then it’s up to me to get the most I can out of the Valvoline Chevy while making sure we’re around in the end of it.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on what to expect at Darlington: “Darlington is a track that you race the race track more than anything. The track has an older surface, so it changes quite a bit throughout a run. It’s a place that you expect to be making changes to your setup almost constantly. Even if you feel like you have your car handling ideally at the time, you have to think and plan two steps ahead to keep up with the trends of the track and the race. That makes it difficult as a crew chief, though, because you don’t want to over adjust and get yourself behind early on. William has ran well in most of the races he’s been in at Darlington; we just need to work on putting him in position to be there at the end. Sunday is going to be a long race and we need to focus on running our race in the situation we’re in more than anything.”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his throwback scheme at Darlington: “Ally being open to doing whatever throwback I wanted to do this year was really cool. Being able to honor (crew chief) Greg (Ives) this weekend in Darlington is going to be really special. It was really fun being able to surprise him a few weeks ago and to have his family from back home involved was the icing on top. The seafoam Chevrolet will look good on track and even better up front on Sunday.”
Bowman on what makes Darlington a difficult track: “Darlington is one of those tracks where you can’t get caught up in racing the other guys. This is a place where you have to race the track and adjust your car to what you need on track. We ran well there last year and I think we have a good notebook to carry on to this weekend’s race. Tire management is key in Darlington and will be something to look after on Sunday.”
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on racing strategy at Darlington: “Going to 400 miles for this race at Darlington doesn’t really change any strategy. It maybe just changes how many laps are in the stage and how many laps you are going to run on tires. It is definitely grueling on the drivers, as well, with the heat that is expected down there in Darlington. It is definitely a fun racetrack, and I don’t know many drivers who don’t like racing down there. You end up racing the racetrack instead of racing the drivers at that place. Green-flag ;passes are going to be difficult with just how hard the racing is there. We are looking to getting down there with our throwback scheme. I know Alex (Bowman), Ally and everyone on the team is looking forward to Darlington.”
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