Official Release

ON THE JULY 4th PRACTICE INCIDENT BETWEEN TEAMMATE WILLIAM BYRON AND BRAD KESELOWSKI: “I felt like yesterday was avoidable and didn’t think that was necessary by any means. It’s a tricky position that Brad has put himself in because plate racing is all about blocking. This new rules package on the 1.5-miles is all about blocking."

TAKE US THROUGH WHAT HAPPENED IN PRACTICE YESTERDAY WITH BRAD KESELOWSKI FROM YOUR POINT OF VIEW “I’ve kind of watched it a couple of times and I just feel like it was unnecessary still. I talked to Brad and got his opinion and I really appreciate him talking to me because that kind of helped just understand where he was coming from. But, I still feel like it was unnecessary for practice.”

The No. 18 M&M’S Toyota with NASCAR’s “Candy Man” Kyle Busch behind the wheel has found their way to Victory Lane four times this season, but this weekend fans will see the iconic No. 18 M&M’S paint scheme in an entirely new setting as an M&M’S NASCAR Euro Series Toyota Camry takes on the iconic hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has returned to Daytona International Speedway, with Saturday night’s 61st annual Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m.; NBC) supplying special motivation for drivers Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin.

The good news is it’s not a race that’s going away from the speedway. This race track is definitely deserving of two dates and will have it for a very long time. As far as moving the schedule around, I don’t mind that at all. I think I’m more motivated to win the second race here. The July race has always been pretty tough on us, finish wise, I think a lot of it is, you are getting to the point of the season that this is going to be some of the last great opportunities for the underfunded teams to go out there and get a win so they are a lot more aggressive. The racing itself seems to be more chaotic. It’s tough to avoid those crashes. Sometimes you’re in it, sometimes you’re not. In the summer, we’re in it, so we’ve got to figure out how to play it, to win it. Because obviously, being a Coke family driver, it’s important for me to win a race that they sponsor.”

“Well, I remember that whole last sequence of restarts. The last one, the green-white-checkered, we were stuck side-by-side with Martin (Truex Jr.) on that first lap. Then coming around to take the white, I could see the top line forming behind me and I was hoping they would stick with me and I would get a big push. Going down the backstretch, Martin was trying to side draft hard and we got a really big push from behind from the 37 (Chris Buescher) and got clean of Martin there, and I knew at that point the only way we were going to lose it was a catastrophic failure so I was defending the last move that Martin could make and getting to the checkered. Coming out of four, I would say I knew it was pretty locked in. I remember everything about those last laps for sure.”

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Jacob Companies Ford Mustang – HOW DO YOU INSPIRED AND KEEP GOING AT THIS TIME OF YEAR WHEN IT REALLY BECOMES A GRIND? “Winning races. I think that’s pretty much the biggest thing. You’ve got to find a way to do your homework every single week and have a good idea of what you need when you show up at the race track and what you need to be doing, and then from there it just kind of takes car of itself. You have to have good people around you to also show up to the track strong, but it’s all about doing your job every week.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 met with media to discuss coming off of his first-career Cup series win, reflecting on the momentum to carry into the Playoffs, what to expect at Daytona this weekend, and more. Full Transcript:

In registering his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in 134 races on June 30 at Chicagoland Speedway, Alex Bowman secured a spot in the playoffs. Bowman, driving the No. 88 Axalta Camaro ZL1, led five Team Chevy drivers finishing in the top 10. Six Chevrolet drivers are in the top 14 in the standings as the series enters Round 18 of 26 in the regular season. Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 1 Global Poker Camaro ZL1, has been the most consistent of the Team Chevy contingent with nine top-10 finishes. He’s eighth in the standings.

A NEW RECORD: Following Alex Bowman's victory last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports tied Wood Brothers Racing for the all-time record for the most drivers to win for a team with 18. Of the 23 drivers that have competed in at least 10 races for Hendrick Motorsports, only five have failed to win. The organization is responsible for each of Chevrolet's last five Cup Series wins.