NASCAR CUP SERIES
IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT
JUNE 15, 2024

Larson Powers Chevrolet to Pole Position for Inaugural

NASCAR Cup Series Race at Iowa Speedway

• Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson will lead the field to the green-flag in the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural race at Iowa Speedway – posting a pole-winning lap of 23.084 seconds, at 136.458 mph, in his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1.
• The pole marks Larson’s 20th career NASCAR Cup Series pole – four of which have come in the 2024 season.
• The series’ points leader delivered Chevrolet its sixth pole of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season; and the manufacturer’s series-leading 749th all-time pole in NASCAR’s premier series.
• With precipitation delaying on-track action at the Iowa short-track, the qualifying format for NASCAR’s premier series was altered to one round of qualifying, with the times posted by the top-five qualifiers in each round setting up the lineup for tomorrow’s 350-lap event.
• The USA Network will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, June 15, at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
4th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
7th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Zone Camaro ZL1
9th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 – Pole Win Media Availability Quotes

Larson on his pole-winning lap at Iowa Speedway:

“Obviously happy to get the pole. It helped to go out last, probably. I’m sure the track was continuing to get a little bit better. We got to watch SMT of everybody’s runs, so that helps. But it also makes you a little bit more nervous when you see everybody out there struggling. Thankfully, my lap was mostly comfortable; a little bit loose like everybody was. But we were able to piece together two pretty consistent laps and be fast enough on that second lap to get it done.”

You’ve been able to get laps on this track and this surface, more than most, and you’ve seen a ton of different conditions now. How much more prepared do you feel like your No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 team is compared to the rest of the field?

“Yeah, I just got asked that question out on pit road. I don’t know.. I guess it would be hard to argue that it benefited us because we got the pole, but I don’t think it mattered because the track was so different than when we were here a couple weeks ago. I think we tested for, I don’t know, seven hours or so. The first probably four-and-a-half hours were like not even remotely close to what it is this weekend. And even by the end of it, like it still felt way different than it ever did yesterday. If anything, I think you could get led down the wrong road by testing here a few weeks ago. But our team – we’ve got great teammates to rely on. A couple of them were really fast yesterday, so got to study what they had and talk. I think we’ve made our Chevy better. Obviously I think our performance last week helped for qualifying this week, getting to go out last.”

Some people are having tire issues. We’re hearing some talk that it’s just more grip and you’re going about a second faster than you were in the test..

“We aren’t going any faster..

At the end of the test, yeah – we were going the same, if not a little slower, than what I remember.”

Does the track feel much different than it was at the test?

“So how I felt yesterday in practice, to start practice – it was really slick and I felt very loose, which is kind of how I felt when we started the test. The track was brand new; it hadn’t seen a car go around it yet and it was like oily feeling and slick. So I kind of felt that way when practice started. And then by the very end of practice, I thought it gained some grip and got closer to what the test was – which the test, we didn’t get to do like a 50-lap run yesterday, so I felt like the track was fairly similar by the end of it. But no – as far as lap times, we weren’t going any faster than we were at the last hour of that test.”

You’ve spent a lot of time racing in the Midwest, especially in this state. How does the Midwestern race fan compare to other race fans, and how deserving do you feel like they are for finally having a Cup race here?

“Yeah, I think Midwestern fans – not only from Iowa, but all the other states around this region, are really into racing.. whether it be sprint cars, midgets, dirt late models, stock cars. And I think they’ve been starving for a race, a Cup race especially, here (at Iowa Speedway). Yeah, I think all of us, even drivers included, wanted a race here. I think across the board, we were all really happy to get a Cup race here. We probably all wish it would have come earlier so we could have raced on the older pavement, but regardless, I think it’s great for this fan base. It’s awesome, too, that Knoxville Raceway is racing this weekend. It’s one of the final tune-ups for traveling teams to get ready for the Knoxville Nationals. If you aren’t a sprint car fan, you can go there and catch some awesome racing, and get introduced to that side of motorsports too. It’s a cool weekend for Midwestern race fans.”

Have your thoughts changed on the repave here? Are you still a bit pessimistic about what we might see with the on-track product here on Sunday? What are your thoughts about what we might see now that you’ve been on-track?

“I think there’s still so much unknown, so I think that’s exciting for race fans and all that.. even drivers. There’s probably more drivers in the field that feel like they have an opportunity to have a good run because if this place was old, worn out, bumpy – your Hendrick Motorsports teams, your Joe Gibbs Racing teams, they’re going to be the ones dominating. Where now, I feel like – especially with qualifying shaking-up the order and all that, I think the starting lineup is a little bit odd. So yeah, I think more teams probably feel like they have an opportunity. And then there’s pit strategy stuff that goes along with it, so there’s just more opportunity across the board. Obviously I think the drivers would have more fun with the old surface, but what’s the point of worrying about that at this point. You can’t put the old surface back down.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Iowa Corn 350 Qualifying | Saturday, June 15, 2024

Ford Performance Unofficial Results:
2nd – Ryan Blaney
3rd – Josh Berry
5th – Brad Keselowski
6th – Chase Briscoe
11th – Joey Logano
14th – Todd Gilliland
15th – Chris Buescher
19th – Justin Haley
21st – Austin Cindric
22nd – Michael McDowell
23rd – Noah Gragson
25th – Harrison Burton
28th – Kaz Grala
29th – Ryan Preece

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HAS IT BEEN A GOOD WEEK SO FAR IN IOWA? “Yeah, it’s nice to come back. My mom grew up not too far from here, so we’ve got like 80 people coming out this weekend. They’re all camping. We bought a lot of tickets, that’s for sure. It’s nice to have a track to where part of your family is from and they come out and support. They did the same thing 10 years ago when we raced Xfinity here and it’s nice that they all came back out and hanging out all weekend. It’s definitely a very special weekend for me just from that side of it and hopefully we can capitalize. It would be fun to celebrate, I don’t know how we’re gonna get 80 of them across the racetrack if we win the race, but we’ll try to figure it out.”

DO YOU HAVE A SENSE FOR WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A CUP RACE BACK IN THE MIDWEST FOR THIS FAN BASE? “I think it’s great. I’ve been wanting a Cup race here for a long time. I think they do a good job here. The fan base here is very loyal to motorsports. I know they were really upset when Xfinity went away from here and Trucks and we lost them for a couple years and they were upset, so it’s just nice to come back. Like I said, the track does a good job. The track is hopefully just as racy as it was before that. I don’t know if it will be that, but I think it’s important to have these tracks in the midwest. There’s a huge fan base out here. People love NASCAR. People love motorsports out here in this area of the country and they deserve to have a big race come to their area.”

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE MIDWESTERN RACING FAN COMPARED TO OTHERS? “I don’t know. We get to see all types of them throughout the country. They’re all dedicated and passionate, just a little bit different accents. They all love racing and I think when you come to these places where you don’t normally go, it makes for more excitement because these people might not be able to travel to other states to go see a race. If it’s in their home state, they can drive a couple hours down the road and they’re gonna see a big race and a Cup event. It definitely means a ton and it shows through the weekend and talking to people and the hype about the race in the area. It definitely means a lot to them when we can bring it somewhere close to them.”

A GOOD STARTING SPOT FOR TOMORROW, BUT YOU JUST GOT NIPPED BY LARSON AT THE END. “It would have been nice, obviously, but that’s a big improvement from yesterday. We did a lot of work overnight and this morning to figure out how to be better than where we were yesterday at the end of practice. We’re really proud of that effort. Larson does that stuff, but it was a really good run. I wish I would have done one thing a little different my second lap. I got a really good first lap, but the second lap I tried to switch it up to gain time and I kind of missed the three and four mark that I was trying to hit and maybe that was a little bit of it, but, overall, a good day. We have a good starting spot for tomorrow and we’ll see what we can do.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT STARTING UP FRONT? “Just unknowns, so it’s nice to get a good pit stall, qualifying up front and see the lead. It will be interesting to see where the track goes and how it progresses and moves around. I’m sure it will. We’ll just have to be ready for that.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – DID YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE IN THIS POSITION ON THE BUBBLE WITH THE GAINS YOU MADE AT THE END OF LAST YEAR? “No. I mean, we expect to run a lot better than where we’re at, obviously. Some of it is not of our doing and some definitely of our doing. We just have to get faster, but I do think you look at the last few weeks we showed some speed at Gateway. At Sonoma, we were on the pole, leading and got wrecked, so there is light at the end of the tunnel for sure. We’ve been in this position before. We have not the best summer months. My wife reminds me of ‘18 all the time because I was a pretty miserable person to be around. She goes, ‘Remember, you won the championship that year.’ And I go, ‘Alright, you’re right.’ So, I’m still optimistic we’re gonna figure things out.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – ONE AND DONE. WHY? “I thought I hit a really good first lap, but I got pretty free getting into three on the second lap and just had to chase it up the track and abort it. I felt like we hit a really good one on the first one, so we’ll just have to wait this out. There are a lot of good cars left to go, but, overall, these guys have done a really good job. We didn’t have the best practice session yesterday, but I felt like we were OK. Rodney and these guys looked at some of our teammate stuff overnight and put together a really good plan for today, so I just tried not to overthink it and screw it up and, like I said, we’ll see how this shakes out. Overall, we’ll have a good starting spot.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra USA 30 Years Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW GOOD WAS YOUR LAP? “It was terrible. I could not believe that honestly held up to be the quickest in our group. It’s encouraging that our car was that good from a speed standpoint, but I think we’re starting sixth the way I understand it, but the track is gonna keep getting better and better. Our car balance-wise was not very good, so I’m glad it held up for our end. Starting sixth will be good with how hard it’s gonna be to pass tomorrow. So far, so good with our Mahindra Tractors Ford and hopefully we can keep it up there.”

NOAH WAS THE FASTEST YESTERDAY. HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THE SHR FORDS THIS WEEKEND? “Our cars have been really good from a balance standpoint and even just our driver group I feel like we’ve all always run really well here. Noah has run up front. I’ve won here. Preece has won here. Josh, I think has run here once, so I feel like all of our drivers just get around this place pretty good too, which helps. All of the SHR cars have pretty good speed and hopefully we can all keep them up front.”

TODD GILLILAND, No. 38 Ruedebusch Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I’d say overall it’s definitely a step in the right direction from where we’ve been qualifying, to be honest with you. I just barely touched the wall, but we’ve got something good to race with for tomorrow. It’s been kind of an interesting day as far as qualifying with the rain. It wasn’t looking like we were going to get it in for a little bit, but overall we have some positive for sure.”

JUSTIN HALEY, No. 51 MotoRad Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We brought a good setup. We worked really hard on the Ford simulator this week and obviously it’s paying off a little bit. We were a little free in qualifying. I would like to have been just a tick tighter on the right rear, but, overall, a great day for everyone at Rick Ware Racing. It’s awesome to bring competitive cars that we can come up here and compete with, but it’s a long race tomorrow. We’ll see where it goes.”

HOW MUCH FUN IS IT WITH THIS TEAM AND THE PROGRESS YOU’RE MAKING? “It’s a blast and a complete 360 from where they were, but it’s all the same parts, pieces and people that they’ve always had. We’re just trying to point it in a different direction, bring some more process and meetings in place and go from there.”

Iowa Corn 350 Practice
Newton, Iowa – June 14, 2024
Iowa Corn 300

Primed to etch its name in racing history, Iowa Speedway, the .875-mile short track situated just outside Des Moines, Iowa, in Newton, is set to host the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time on Sunday with the running of the Iowa Corn 350. It will mark the 176th different venue to host the series for a points-paying event. While the track is new to the Cup Series, Iowa Speedway is no stranger to Team Penske. The organization owns 10 victories at the track across the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

On-track activity got underway Friday afternoon with an extended practice session for drivers and teams to get acclimated to the track. Ryan Blaney finished the session 22nd, Joey Logano 23rd and Austin Cindric 34th. Cindric, one of multiple drivers to incur a flat tire in the session, suffered damage to his No. 2 Ford Mustang and will go to a backup car.

Ryan Blaney, driver, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang
22nd

Joey Logano, driver, No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang
23rd

Austin Cindric, driver, No. 2 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang
34th

TEAM PENSKE DRIVERS AT IOWA: While the Newton, Iowa, track is fresh to the Cup Series schedule, all three Team Penske drivers have previously competed at the venue at other levels. Team Penske has three NASCAR Xfinity Series victories at the .875-mile short track, claimed by Brad Keselowski (2013, 2014) and Ryan Blaney (2015). Blaney has also won at Iowa in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (2012), a triumph that marked his first win at the national level. Additionally, Logano emerged victorious at the track early in his career in the ARCA Menards Series in 2007. The driver of the No. 22 Ford Mustang has also had a remarkable share of success when it comes to inaugural races over the last few years. Logano’s streak started when he won the Bristol Dirt Race – the first Cup Series event on dirt in more than 50 years – in 2021, before claiming the inaugural Clash at the Coliseum and the first Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2022.
TUNE IN: Cup Series qualifying kicks off Saturday at 1:05 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. On Sunday evening, over 300 miles of Cup Series action are scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Coverage will be carried on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Toyota Racing – Iowa Post-Practice Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

NEWTON, Iowa (June 14, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin, along with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, were made available to the media on Friday after practice for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

How concerned are you about tires this weekend?

“Yeah, even in the test, they had high (tire) wear, but they ran 50-some laps on the tires before they really had high wear. Surprising to see they had as high wear as they did with just 20 laps or so on tires. But I think that’ll get better in the race, but if there’s havoc with tires and wear, I like our chances.”

What are your thoughts on the restart zone with the repave?

“I didn’t do any mock restarts today, so I don’t how the gearing necessarily is. That’s a big factor in whether you’re going to have wheelspin on this type of track. My guess is you probably will. Certainly, there will be a few rows that have an advantage of being on the top.”

What are your thoughts on Martin Truex Jr.’s career?

“When I think of Martin (Truex Jr.), right, we couldn’t be more opposite. But there’s no one probably more than him. He’s just that type of person. I wish I was like that, but I couldn’t be more opposite. But that’s him and how he carries himself, the way he does business. I put the workload on myself that I do, right? Martin really enjoys his downtime. For me, I don’t like downtime, right? I like to stay busy, and I like to keep working, depending on what I’m working on. I hate sitting around and being bored. Some people love that and how they get passionate about going to the race track every weekend. You know, everyone’s different, but certainly, think he’s in a spot where he’s weighed the pros and cons and it just got to the point where the pros of not doing this outweighed the cons.”

What’s your favorite interaction with him?

“It’s hard to believe I’ve been teammates with him as long as I have and I’ve never had a ‘what the heck Martin?!’ moment. Never! I’m sure he’s said that about me in his head because of the things I’ve done as his teammate, but I’ve never had that moment. I don’t think anyone has as a teammate to him or anything. So, not sure how you can’t say he’s the best teammate you can have. He’s so respectful, reminds me of Jimmie Johnson. He’s so underrated as far as the natural ability to drive a car fast. I have to work tremendously hard week-in-and-week-out to run as well as Martin Truex. I have to work really hard to keep up with him. I just think he’s one of the most naturally gifted drivers our series has seen in quite some time. He’s just not that flashy about it and that’s what’s different about him to other drivers in the Cup Series in the past. When I think about Martin, I try to think about a moment when I said ‘man, I can’t believe he did that!’ and the answer is no. He’s always done the right thing.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

What do you expect from the track on Sunday?

“I honestly don’t know. If we were on the old pavement, I feel like it would’ve been a really big advantage to have my Xfinity starts. But with the repave we have, it’s essentially a new race track. It’s basically anyone’s ballgame.”

Did you have any indication that the tire was going down (that caused your incident)?

“My only indication was whenever I saw Ty (Gibbs) have a flat when riffling out of the pits.”

Is there a good Martin Truex story that comes to mind?

“I do. If you would’ve asked me this an hour ago, I would’ve come up with a really good one. I mean Martin (Truex Jr.) is just (pause), he has no ego. He has no ‘I’m better than you’ attitude. He’s just a very normal person who (pause), he does himself and I respect the heck out of him as he’s a superstar in the Cup Series, but he just does himself. He’s not flashy, doesn’t care about what anyone else thinks. He’s Martin Truex Jr., and frankly, that’s who I want to be. Christopher Bell, but the same style.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Do you know if it’s hotter today than at the tire test?

“I think it’s a little warmer today. But at Bristol for example, it was too cool I think. I don’t know, typically, you can kind of see where the track was starting to wear in too from like the start of practice to the end, it was starting to lighten up a little bit. Fresh asphalt, almost pitch black, but was starting to grip where we were running. I don’t know if it’s already kind of, not sure if I walked out there right now, if it’s starting to knock the top off a little bit. Not totally sure, but I think you guys saw it, the grip was getting better and better.”

Do you know how many laps you got in on the tire today?

“I think we ran like 20 laps on the first set. Like 15-16 on set two. Fifteen on the third set, came in, and we were just going to roll back out, get a feel, run two laps on scuff tires. See what they felt like, see if they were going to take 3-4 laps to clean off. I was just wanting to see what type of lap time I was going to run on the second lap. When I went back to the gas in (turns) one and two, it just went down really fast.”

Is there anything teams can do to prolong tire wear?

“It depends. Our issue could be air pressure-related, it come be a number of things. Because we practiced today, and then going through tech tomorrow, there’s a lot of things we can do to the car. Whereas at Bristol, you’re kind of boxed in.”

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

What happened with your tire going down in practice?

“Yeah, just seemed like it went down there. There wasn’t any telling that was going to happen. We made some setup adjustments that will probably help that out, but don’t know anything about it until it went down.”

Is it normal to not feel anything when a tire goes down?

“They all have their different ways of going down. Some bleed, they leak and some just go flat, so (inaudible).”

What are your thoughts on Martin Truex Jr.’s retirement?

“It’s definitely his decision and I’m so happy for what he gets to do. He’s been a really good friend of mine. Somebody I’ve looked up to my whole racing career. I’m very thankful to have been a teammate with him and so I’m happy with him and wish him the best. Will probably go visit him and go see what’s going on with his retirement life. Good for him.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 26 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE REPORT
JUNE 14, 2024

Bowman Leads Team Chevy in NASCAR Cup Series Practice at Iowa Speedway

• The NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural race weekend at Iowa Speedway got underway this afternoon with the series hitting the track for a 50-minute practice session.
• Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, set the pace for the Bowtie brand – clocking-in a best-lap time of 23.105 seconds, at 136.334 mph, to conclude the practice session third-fastest overall on the speed chart.
• Four drivers from three Chevrolet organizations posted top-10 lap times at the close of the practice session, with Bowman leading:

5th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
6th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light For The Farmers Camaro ZL1
9th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1

· The NASCAR Cup Series will return to the track Saturday, June 15, at 12:05 p.m. ET, for qualifying to set the lineup for Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol.

 
Drivers in the top-10 positions of the NASCAR Cup Series points standings met with the media following the series’ 50-minute practice session at Iowa Speedway. Team Chevy Driver Quotes:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light for the Farmers Camaro ZL1 – 6th fastest in practice

Chastain on the issues he had in practice:

“I have no idea.. we’re not sure. It’s so blown apart that we can’t see anything.”

Are you surprised and are you concerned about Sunday?

“Neither.. I mean there’s no telling what happens. We went back out and made more laps on another set. I went out; ran my fastest lap like five laps later.”

Did you put as many laps on that new set that you had one as the one you had the issue?

“I don’t know.. a lot happened quick there.”

The restart zone.. the top of the line goes right up to the start of the restart zone. Is that going to effect things?

“Yeah, it’s going to help the top get launched. I noticed that. But right now, the second lane isn’t very appetizing for me. I wouldn’t want to fire it down in there form the outside. You might be ahead on the straightaway, but if you don’t get down – like for these guys in the ARCA race, they might fight for the bottom, but throughout the weekend, I think we’ll widen it back out. My opinion now is going to change as I watch these races and participate tomorrow (in the Xfinity Series race).”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 – 13th fastest in practice

Did it feel the same as it did before?

“I don’t know.. I felt a lot different than the test a couple of weeks ago. I’m sure the track has probably just changed that much since then. So yeah, I was just very, very loose in, which I wasn’t that loose in at the test. The first-half of practice, I was super loose in. But I felt like we got that a little bit better. We started running some more comfortable laps. It trended towards getting a little more similar to the way the test ended. I think we just have to study and see. I’m sure the track is just changing so much right now.”

Do you think it will be a race like we had at Bristol Motor Speedway?

“I don’t know.. I’m not sure why people are blowing so many tires right now. I haven’t had time to talk to the team. I don’t think they’ve even had time to study tires on our end, as an organization, so yeah I’m not really sure on that yet.”

You didn’t experience that, did you?

“No, none of us, I don’t believe, had any sort of tire issues.”

Does this track, right now as it stands, worry you for Sunday?

“No, I mean it’s a racetrack, so what are they going to do before Sunday (laughs)? So no, I think honestly, the unknown of everything I think makes things exciting, competitive and all that. Yeah, it’s going to be fun. I think teams are probably going to have to study a lot and not sleep a lot the next couple of nights.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 – 5th fastest in practice

Elliott on the teams that had tire issues during the practice session:

“I saw a couple of them, but fortunately, we did not see any of that. I didn’t feel any of that. So I’m not sure if it was pressure related or setup related. Certainly, the Toyota’s had an issue all at once, so that kind of told me that was a collective issue. And then I saw the No. 1 (Ross Chastain) had a problem and maybe the No. 2 (Austin Cindric). So yeah, I’m not sure, but hopefully not on Sunday.”

What were your first impressions of the Cup car at Iowa Speedway? Kyle Larson tested here, so there was some data for the team to work with, but what was your first impression?

“Honestly, I was thinking that it would be a lot of grip around the bottom. I do think the second lane will be decent at some point, but it will definitely need to be worked in. It kind of has that fresh repaved shine to it that is not very inviting to want to go run on. But in the race, you’ll certainly be forced to run higher and I think that’ll end up working it in. I kind of missed a corner there once. There’s more banking, it seems like at least up off of (turn) two in that next lane up, so that might end up being a better place to run. I wouldn’t be super surprised if that ended up being the preferred lane at some point in the race.”

Is it any warmer today than it was during the tire test? Is there any more stress on the tire, just given that you’re going from the old pavement to the suddenly gripped-up new stuff?

“I’m not sure.. that’s a really good question. I wasn’t here for the test and I’m not familiar with how hot or not it was. I really don’t know, but I don’t think it has anything to do with going across the old asphalt and getting to the new asphalt. It certainly could, but we see that at other places.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Iowa Media Availability | Friday, June 14, 2024

The Roush Fenway Keselowski duo of Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher stopped by the Iowa Speedway infield media center before today’s practice and discussed a variety of issues with reporters.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 King’s Hawaiian/Casey’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT MARTIN TRUEX RETIRING AT THE END OF THE YEAR? “Martin certainly has earned a lot of respect and credibility out of the industry. He’s done that with things he’s done on the track and off the track. I’m sad to see him go and I’m kind of reminded that life is about change. It’s not always fun change, but it’s tough seeing any champion leave this sport, but we wish him the best in his next endeavors. To speak of his career as you were asking, Martin is just kind of a telltale story of this sport of somebody that came in with a really great pedigree, winning two Xfinity championships and got to the Cup side and paid a lot of dues. He was probably hung up in situations that weren’t ideal, but he stuck it out and got himself into a great situation and made the most of it, and deserves a lot of credit for that kind of consistency and patience. He’s a super talented guy. I look at him even last week at Sonoma and he’s a really good race car driver that knows how to put his car in the right positions. He’s a little bit of a throwback in the sense that Martin is one of those guys that I thought was really good at taking care of his equipment and being there when it mattered, so with each one of these drivers that goes away it’s kind of the end of its own little era. Martin was probably one of the last of the drivers that had chill to him. It seems like everybody new that comes in, I mean obviously Chris is probably the closest comp to Martin there is, but most of the drivers don’t have a lot of chill. Martin is a very chill guy, so I’ve got a lot of respect for him and I don’t know what his next chapter is, maybe he doesn’t know either, but that’s OK. He’ll be missed in our sport.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Brad covered it quite well. I know he’s raced with Martin a lot more through the years, but I guess that’s big news that we probably felt was coming at some point within the next year, but good for him. Like Brad said, he’s been a lot of fun to race with, a very respectable racer that I’ve been able to have good, clean battles through the years consistently. It’s always been a lot of fun for me and I still want to be a little upset for being able to run me down last week, but congrats to him. That’s really cool and wish him the best going forward. Like Brad said, you’re losing another veteran that is predictable, that you know you can race on track and have good, hard, clean racing for the vast majority of the time, and know that you can get out and appreciate that from each other. Time will tell what changes from there, but congrats to him.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI CONTINUED – FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A MIDWESTERNER, WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CUP SERIES TO HAVE A PLACE LIKE IOWA TO RACE AT, ESPECIALLY FOR THE FAN BASE? “I think it’s a huge event for our sport. It’s obviously the inaugural Cup race here at a track that has paid a lot of dues. It’s been around now for 17 years, 18 years, so it’s finally having its day here. It’s exciting to see that for me on a number of levels. Geographically, I think it’s an important market for us as we kind of transcend the discourse of political conversations that are going on with coastal cities and everything else that’s going on you start to lose sight of that in NASCAR, that NASCAR is not just a coastal sport or a regional sport. It’s a national sport and it’s important, in my mind, to really live that out and I think we’re doing that by racing here in Iowa. It’s pretty much the exact middle of the country. If I was throwing a dart at a dart board, probably as close as you could get to the center would be Iowa and I think that’s important. There’s a lot of great race fans here that, I think, for a long time have been somewhat under represented with the tracks that they’re around or that they get to go to. We started to work our way out there a little bit with Kansas and some of those tracks, which is great. I think that was a good win for us, and it’s nice to see us continue to do that with a race here in Iowa. I think from everything I understand about the attendance and the support of the community it’s gonna be outstanding for all three nights, which is great, and it shows a pent up demand. I think it’s important to go where you’re wanted and it’s very clear that here in Iowa NASCAR is wanted. Beyond that, I’m glad it’s not another road course. It seems like every time we add a new venue to the sport, ‘Oh, a road course.’ It’s nice to add a new venue to this sport that’s an actual stock car-esque track and that’s clearly what Iowa is, so I’m really pumped for this community. I’ve kind of advocated for it for a while now and I’m pretty sure they didn’t do it because of me, but I’m still glad to see it happen. I’m glad to see a community that pays its dues get a race. Michigan is still a pretty long ways away from Iowa, but there’s still a lot of relatability that I have to this area and to the fan base here.”

CHRIS BUESCHER CONTINUED – YOU’VE RACED HERE A LOT GOING BACK TO THE XFINITY DAYS. WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING WITH THE TRACK CHANGES THIS WEEKEND? “I’ve been coming here for many a years now as well and certainly I’m excited to get to fly to this racetrack this time, instead of the driving we used to do. I do very clearly remember coming out to Iowa, whether that was ARCA racing or Xfinity racing and seeing an amazing amount of support from our fan base from this region. As simple as taking the track walk a few hours ago. We’ve been here three hours at this point and we’ve got fans yelling over the fence at everybody walking by saying, ‘Thanks for coming. We’re glad you’re here. We’ve been waiting for this.’ It’s Friday and very early in the weekend and we’ve already got people yelling out and showing support, so that’s really cool for this entire place. I love this racetrack since the first time I’ve come out here. Yes, the racing is gonna be different than what we’ve had in the past. On that side of it, certainly, I was excited about the old surface. Naturally, I love the old, worn out racetracks and we’ve gone through our fair share of repaves already this season with North Wilkesboro and Sonoma and also understanding that maintenance is necessary. There’s no way around that. Ultimately, we can’t have racetracks falling apart on us during our events, so I’m certainly not about to dig into it, but it is gonna be different than what we’ve seen in the past. We won’t be up against the fence. One, the new asphalt is very smooth and the outside asphalt right up against the fence is not. It reminds me of some of those teeth chattering moments up there wrapping the fence in the past. It is gonna be a very different style of race. We have a lot to learn. I know Brad was here for the test not too long ago and we’ll certainly, as soon as we walk out of here, be glued to the monitors watching Xfinity wrap up their practice as well.”

WHY DO YOU LOVE THE TRACK? “To Brad’s point it’s a short track-ish. It is a very fast place, but it’s put on some great racing. We haven’t had Cup races to watch here with this being the first time we’re coming out, so all the studying leading up to this one has been old Xfinity races, watching these events and just watching them and enjoying them thoroughly as a fan. To watch the racing and what it’s done for the show, of the different lines in the racetrack, the options you had as a driver from inside the car without having to wait until a pit stop to make adjustments, that’s awesome. That’s what we live for. On top of trying to take in everything we can to be ready for this weekend and refresh, it’s just fun to watch those races and realize what a fantastic facility we’ve got here and what kind of potential we have for our race this weekend.”

ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC YOU COULD HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND OR EVEN WIN HERE? “Yeah, on that point I’m optimistic about every week right now. I’m excited every single track we go to I will even stretch it as far to say I’m almost excited to go to Loudon next week. Richmond and Phoenix, through the past years those tracks have been tough. RFK through my years here I’ve been a part of tough times where we’ve circled racetracks and said, ‘These are our chances.’ We’ve got to really focus on these and we’re not doing that. We’re going to the racetrack each and every week feeling like we have chances to win races and that’s this one just the same as every other week. On that side of things, whether it’ got those similarities or differences, I’m excited purely from the fact that RFK has been building fast race cars that we’re showing up to the racetrack with a chance to win, whether that is Sonoma on a new paved road course, whether that’s been Kansas or whether it’s a big unknown at Iowa here this week.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI CONTINUED – YOU AND DENNY WILL BE THE TWO OLDEST DRIVERS NEXT YEAR. HOW DOES THAT SIT WITH YOU? “I don’t know. I just think about Mark Martin driving until he was 50. One, I think that’s really impressive and, two, there’s a part of me that’s like, ‘Well, if he can do it, I can do it.’ And think, ‘Alright, well that’s still like another 10 years from now.’ So, for the record, Logano has been here longer than I have. He was just a little younger. I keep reminding him that. He’s got more consecutive starts than I have too, so it’ll be interesting. I guess when you get behind the wheel and you’re driving the car all of that stuff kind of goes out the window and it’s what you can do on that given day. I don’t think too much about that stuff, but every once in a while you have some of those moments. I had that moment this week when we were filming the last Race Hub show. I was just thinking about, ‘Wow, I remember when I was a rookie in Cup when this show started.’ You hate to see things like that go away, but it’s just different eras. Times change and that’s part of the reason being on the ownership side was so important for me and getting exposure to it at this point in time of my life. Inevitably, everything ends. I feel like I’m a long ways away from that on the driver side, although there are bad days where you do kind of kick yourself and you have those thoughts pushed in your head, but, fortunately as of late there have been enough good days to where you go, ‘Oh, no, no. I’m gonna do this for a long time.’ I left the Coke 600 saying, ‘Oh, I’ve got 10 years left in me.’ And when I left North Wilkesboro I was saying, ‘Oh my God, how am I gonna keep doing this?’ So, you’ve got the ups and the downs and you just try to level them out a little bit in your head. I hope this weekend I’m gonna leave saying, ‘I’ve got 10 years left in me.’ I feel like we’ll have the cars and the team to be able to compete at a high level and maybe even with the race. When you have the competitive element at the really high level, Mark Martin said it on Dale Jr’s. podcast, ‘They don’t make a drug like that. They don’t make a drug that good as being able to win races,’ so I hope we’re running really well and I have another 10 years left in me. That’s what I feel at least.”

WHAT IS AT STAKE FOR THIS RACE? “There’s been a lot made about the repave. Maybe that’s right and maybe that’s not. I’m sure it would be better to answer that Sunday after the race than it is on Friday. There’s a lot to be proven out. I look at the tracks that I think have been successful in their debuts and the ones that haven’t been successful in their debuts and generally I feel like what separates the good tracks and the bad tracks is how well they take care of the fans more so than whether there’s a three-wide finish for the win, and that’s gonna come down to the three t’s – the Humpy Wheeler three t’s of tickets, traffic and toilets. Isn’t that the Humpy Wheeler three t’s? I think they’ve got the ticket part figured out. I don’t know about the traffic and the toilets, but I hope they’ve got that figured out. I’ve read and heard some of the discourse here about the track and I know they’ve put a lot of work into tire dragons and all those other things to try to get two lanes to come in. No, it’s not gonna be three or four lanes maybe some of us hope, but still probably gonna be two good lanes of racing, so I think it’ll be a great race either way.”

YOU HAVE TWO WINS AT NEW HAMPSHIRE BUT THE NEXT GEN CAR HAS CHANGED THINGS. IS THERE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN HOW THE TRACK RACES NOW? “It’s interesting. I don’t know if it was the car that made a big difference, but last year the groove moved all the way up against the wall, I think, at both ends and that was a huge change. I think it’s more of a factor of the PJ1 and the modified races and how the track has aged than it is the Next Gen car. Of course, the shifting there makes a big difference. That kind of changed the dynamics of the track, so it will continue to change. That’s a pretty safe bet, but I don’t think the Next Gen car was a big change for that track.”

HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY WEIGHT OFF THE SHOULDERS OF THE TEAM SINCE YOU HAVE A WIN NOW? “To some degree I feel a little bit of personal weight off my shoulders, but until we get both cars locked in the playoffs we still have a big mountain to climb. Obviously, we’ve been very close to that with Chris and the 17 car with a number of second-place finishes and a really good run last week at Sonoma. I’m eager to punch that through and have both of our cars locked in the playoffs. I think my goal that we set was to have it done by the middle of June to have both cars locked into the playoffs, so there’s still time. It’s the 14th? That’s less time than I thought, but we’re really happy with how competitive the cars are, how well the teams are clicking and there is some happenstance involved in winning races and some performance. I think we have solid cars right now. Were we as fast as the 5 car last week? No, no we weren’t. We weren’t anywhere close to that with either of our two cars, but I expect we’ll be very competitive over the next three weeks and have shots to compete for wins.”

CHRIS BUESCHER CONTINUED – IS IT TENSE AT THE 17 TEAM OR IS THE FRUSTRATION BUILDING WITH HOW WELL YOU’VE RUN, BUT HAVEN’T WON YET? “Certainly there’s a lot of weight and I guess it’s not really unfortunate, it’s just part of our sport. You reset those bags on your shoulders as soon as the year concludes in Phoenix and you start all over again. We’ve been competitive to Brad’s point. That was one of the biggest goals I had going through the offseason was how do we make sure the first eight races are way more competitive than where we were last season. We gave up a lot at that time and we certainly have had big chances and been really close that have ended in some catastrophic ways as well, so maybe from a points side of things we’re probably about the same place as we were last year, but the opportunity is way higher and the ceiling is much higher, so we’ve got to make it happen. We’ve got to capitalize and conclude one of these things at the end of the day and be able to lock ourselves into the playoffs because the bigger goal at the start of the season was how do we make sure that we’re locked in with a chance to win a championship, not just participate. We’re in a good spot, but we’re not in a great spot yet. We’ve got to go through these next handful of races and make all the pieces fit together and click right and certainly there has been some frustration on a lot of parts of it, but doing our best to not let that continuously build up and get worse. You’re gonna have days at the racetrack that aren’t gonna go your way and it’s part of competition, but we’ve got to control what we can to make them go our way. Last week was a good reset for our team on that side of things after some rough goes for us ultimately.”