NOTES AND QUOTES FROM XFINITY SERIES PRE-RACE AND RACE COVERAGE FROM RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY ON NBCSN

Race winner Chase Elliott to Marty Snider about his pit crew in victory lane: “These guys right here won the race tonight, phenomenal pit stops.”

Runner-up Kyle Busch to Mike Massaro on Elliott’s win: “Congratulations to those guys, they had a really good beast tonight.”

Guest Analyst Carl Edwards on Chase Elliott: “I saw a real fire in Chase Elliott’s eyes in one of his last interviews. He really seems motivated.”

Richmond, Va. — September 11, 2015 — NBCSN present an exhilarating showdown of racing this evening from “America’s Premier Short Track.” In a race where Sprint Cup superstars normally dominate, XFINITY driver Chase Elliott broke his 39-week winless streak to clench his first win of 2015. The 19-year-old and 2014 XFINITY Series champion held off pole winner Kyle Busch in the final laps under the lights. With only eight XFINITY races left, Elliott’s win puts pressure on current points leader Chris Buescher.

Friday evening’s coverage began with the Countdown to Green pre-race show, hosted by Krista Voda alongside analysts Kyle Petty and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion crew chief Ray Evernham. Leigh Diffey announced the XFINITY race action alongside Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett and last Sunday’s Southern 500 winner Carl Edwards. Reporters Nate Ryan, Rutledge Wood, Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Mike Massaro and Dave Burns contributed throughout the broadcast.

The following are highlights from this evening’s XFINITY pre-race and race coverage on NBCSN.

Petty on NASCAR’s next-generation driver Daniel Suarez: “In the ten races since we (NBC Sports) have taken over, he has had two poles, six top ten and five top five finishes. He has been on fire. Through these summer months, he has absolutely taken off.”

Brian Scott before his 200^th career start to Snider: “It would really be special to win here at Richmond, a place that definitely owes me.”

Jarrett on the five-car collision in the opening lap: “There has never been one race won on the first lap, but you can certainly take away any chance you have of doing well if you are not paying attention.”

Edwards on racing strategy: “As you run longer, you watch the weaknesses of the guy in front of you. You hope he runs his tires out or his balance goes away and then you pounce on him when you get to lap traffic.”

Edwards on the pressure on Elliott: “I saw a real fire in Chase Elliott’s eyes in one of his last interviews. He really seems motivated. He seems like he wants to go out there and just win some races, and make this thing happen. One of the toughest things as a driver is to be in a championship battle and to not think about it. To just go out there and race the way you know how to race. The pressure just gets exponential towards the end of the year, when you are thinking about points as well as racing.”

Edwards on the importance of a good pit crew: “I can tell you all about how great a pit crew can be, last week my pit crew got me out front and won the Southern 500 for us. The sport is so competitive. It truly is a team sport, the pit crew makes a huge difference.”

Jarrett on XFINITY points leader Buescher failing to crack the top five: “Every night and every day isn’t going to be your best race. You manage it and get the most out of it. If he can come out of here with a top ten, I think Chris Buescher will be happy.”

Edwards on Elliott’s ability to perform under pressure: “When I watch his interviews and I watch him race he really seems like he is as hard on himself as anyone can be. He is really self-critical, it seems like he really pays attention. He didn’t fold under that pressure from Kyle driving three wide.”

Elliott’s crew chief, Ernie Cope, to Stavast after the race: “It feels good to get one and we just need to keep it rolling.”

Race winner Chase Elliott to Snider about his pit crew in victory lane: “These guys right here won the race tonight, phenomenal pit stops.”

Runner-up Kyle Busch to Massaro on Elliott’s win: “Congratulations to those guys, they had a really good beast tonight.”

Third place Brian Scott to Massaro: “I’m going to win one of these things at Richmond pretty soon. We are just too good not to.”

XFINITY Championship points leader Chris Buescher to Burns: “Honestly our short track program is really good, our Richmond program just is not. Whatever it is about this place we don’t have it figured out.”

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–NBC SPORTS GROUP–