NASCAR CUP SERIES
DOVER MOTOR SPEEDWAY
WÜRTH 400
TEAM CHEVY POLE WIN NOTES & QUOTES
APRIL 27, 2024

 Busch Claims First Pole Win of the Season at Dover Motor Speedway

• Kyle Busch became Team Chevy’s third NASCAR Cup Series pole winner of the 2024 season at Dover Motor Speedway – posting a best-lap of 22.196 seconds, at 162.191 mph, in his No. 8 FICO Camaro ZL1 qualifying to take the pole position.
• The pole marks Busch’s second career, and second consecutive, NASCAR Cup Series pole at Dover Speedway – both recorded behind the wheel of a Chevrolet.
• The feat is Busch’s 34th career pole in NASCAR’s premier series – a record that ties Fonty Flock for 22nd all-time on the series’ all-time pole win list.
• Busch delivered Chevrolet its fifth pole of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season; the manufacturer’s 27th NASCAR Cup Series pole at Dover Motor Speedway; and its series-leading 748th all-time pole in NASCAR’s premier series.
• Four drivers from three different Chevrolet organizations will lineup in the top-10 for tomorrow’s 400-mile race with Busch leading Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman in the third and ninth positions, respectively, and Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top-10.
• FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series WÜRTH 400 at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 27, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kyle Busch, No. 8 FICO Camaro ZL1
3rd William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
9th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
10th AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1

 Kyle Busch, No. 8 FICO Camaro ZL1 – Pole Win Media Availability Quotes

How big of a momentum boost can this be?

“I mean I would certainly love for it to be a huge one; getting our season rolling and back in the right direction. I feel like the last couple of weeks, the discussions at RCR, me and Randall (Burnett), everybody, has just kind of been like – OK, let’s get some sort of a reset going here. We feel like Dover (Motor Speedway) and Kansas (Speedway) are certainly those weeks for us that we definitely want to work towards and put our focus on to get ourselves righted, and it seems to be going well, so far. Really excited about the car and the speed that it had. Coming off the truck and the way that it felt, there’s definitely some things that we can be better with or improve upon, but I feel like the changes that we made from practice into qualifying were good. Being able to go a tick faster in the second round over the first round was certainly huge for our qualifying effort and being able to sit on the pole today, so all of that worked out really well.”

Regarding Erik Jones’ injury, do you look at that and say ‘racing is dangerous’, or is there still angst about the safety of this car?

“Yeah, I mean to me, I would just definitely look at the impact rates. I mean man, I hit at 90 g’s in the Xfinity car and with all the things that happened in that one.. you know breaking my foot, breaking my leg, but like the rest of my extremities were fine. My core was fine. My neck was fine; my back, shoulders, everything was all good. So, it’s just the nature of that big of an impact and your body withstanding it. Everybody is built differently. I think everybody’s cockpits are built differently. It’s just the nature of racing and the danger that’s out there.

Our insurance is not cheap, in case you were wondering (laughs). So that doesn’t help our rates at all either.”

The last time you won a pole, you went on to win the race at Gateway. Does this just start the tone for the weekend right?

“It certainly can, you know. And like I said, I felt like our car was decent in practice. We had some good adjustments for qualifying. It’s not that we’re on the pole by a fluke.. like I do feel like we have some good speed. But there are others that are right around us that were really fast in practice, as well, too. I looked at the No. 12 (Ryan Blaney). I looked at the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick). I felt like they were really good. The No. 24 (William Byron) was pretty decent, as well, too. So, there are definitely some players that we’re around. It’s never easy but having track position to start here certainly helps. We started on the pole here last year. We led some laps right out of the gate, and unfortunately I sped on pit road on the first stop, so let’s not do that tomorrow.”

You had a victory earlier this week. Is any victory something that just kind of puts a spring in your step?

“Are you talking about the micro?”

Yes..

“(laughs) Yeah, I won beating up on all the kids. I felt really good and gave myself a huge pat on the back for that (laughs). Yeah, it’s a no-win situation. If I win, I beat up on all the kids. If I don’t win, I got beat by all the kids.

It’s fun – I love it, I enjoy it. It’s all for Brexton and what we’re doing with him and his development and how he’s coming along. I just enjoy getting out there, so it was fun to score the victory. I am the points leader, in case anyone was wondering (laughs), so excited about that, too. Bringing home some big trophies and big checks at the end of the year.. let’s go!”

This is only your second pole in the Next Gen car. Given the recent weeks you’ve had, how important is it to get a milestone like that? Also, with the colder temperatures today, how different will the racing be tomorrow compared to what we’ve seen today?

“Yeah, I mean qualifying has never really been my strong suit. I’m definitely one that gets into a rhythm and gets into a set with the racecar throughout the race and is able to make the most of the racecar with laps. So, I feel like I’ve won more than double the amount of races than I do have poles. You know, I wouldn’t say that’s a Next Gen factor, but definitely a little bit of Kyle Busch factor in that, as well.

Today is not at all indicative of what we’re going to see tomorrow. Just the weather being very cool today. The track temperature going up means it’s better for the tire wear for rubber to get down on the track to help the tire wear. We didn’t see any of that today. We actually picked up the Xfinity and ARCA rubber from yesterday. We need some heat in the track, so hopefully we get that hot day like it’s projective.”

Following up to last weekend, you had a frustrated tweet after Talladega Superspeedway. At this point, superspeedway-wise, with this car, is there anything that they could do, package-wise, to make things racier for you guys there, or is this car just what it is at those types of tracks?

“I mean it’s car at all the tracks, really. Where the fastest groove is, everybody migrates to the fastest groove. And how the cars are set up, you’re running in the same car, on the same tire, on the same track. The setups are going to start looking the same. The drivers are going to start driving them the same more and more. That just creates parity and the inability of passing. The biggest struggle with this car is that you can use it more as a defense tool of air blocking and everything else on the guys behind you than being able to go out in front of you and pass the guy in front of you. We’ve seen it at the 1.5-mile tracks even, which we would all probably agree are one of our best racetracks or best shows that we have. But you can literally be catching the guy in front of you, and him just start mirror-driving and putting his car where you are and not even worrying about where he needs to go to go forward and pass the guy in front of him. That’s just one topic. There’s probably a range of 1,000 that we could discuss, but we definitely don’t have enough time in the day.”

Obviously the start of the season isn’t exactly how you probably wanted it to go, but with you being arguably one of the most competitive guys in the garage, how much does this pole fuel to your fire?

“I mean it certainly helps, right? You know, it’s not a fix all. We know that we’ve had some shortcomings and things we’ve messed up on, whether it’s been on pit road, me sliding through the box or cars not being good on a weekend. Last weekend, our car was good and our pit stops were good. We were in position, but we had to literally stay in line. If I wouldn’t have stayed in line, I either would have been crashed on my side upside down across the line, or I might have finished third. So, it’s all dependent on the situation and that’s what’s a little frustrating. I think that’s always kind of been superspeedway racing anyways, but when you have these races that are more in your control like Dover, Kansas, Las Vegas or places like that, then you definitely want to excel at those racetracks.”

Back in 2020, you were very vocal about your win streak every year. If you win this year, this will be your 20th consecutive season with a win. Is that something that’s been weighing on your mind, as well?

“No question.. absolutely. We already passed the Daytona 500 and I didn’t check that box, so the next box to check highest on the list is to get a win this year to just continue that streak. From there, of course you’re never settled or never happy with just one.. you want to have more. You want to be able to get the playoff points that you need. You want to be able to peak at the right time and carry yourself into the postseason with good speed and good momentum; have a great finish to the season and be one of the Championship Four drivers at Phoenix.”

Looking at the lap tracker, it looked like where you beat everybody else was entry into turns one and two, and that allowed you to run a little twitch in turn three. Is that a pretty accurate description of your lap?

“I haven’t been able to see it compared to anyone, so thanks for that.. appreciate it (laughs). How did it feel driving it? I would say I was definitely charging the entries. I felt like there was room for me to do that from the first round. I felt like in the first round, I kind of maybe babied it into the corners a little bit, but it definitely gave me the speed out of the turns. I was like – OK, if I can maximize my entry and still keep the speed out of the turns, then I feel like I’ll net positive on the first round to the second round, which we did, right? I think I ran a 26 or something in the first round and a 19 in the second round. Literally when I came over the radio after our run, I told Randall (Burnett) – man, besides running a .200 of a lap time, like that’s as close as it is to perfect… like we don’t have to change a whole lot.”

The last driver to win from the pole at Dover Motor Speedway was Jimmie Johnson in 2010. Why do you think that is, and do you think you can be the person to beat that streak?

“Man, I wouldn’t have thought it was that long ago..

This place is really different from practice, qualifying and into the race. The race is certainly a whole different game, and like I said, track position plays a big role. Pit stops play a big role. Us having the number one pit selection will hopefully help on that, so we only have to go a little bit to jump across the line. You know, the strategy here is obviously to stay out front. You would think if you start on the pole, you lead every lap and win the race, but that’s not always the case. You just have to play it out. It’s a race.. that’s why we race.”

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 Qualifying
Dover Motor Speedway | Saturday, April 27, 2024

Ford Performance Results:
2nd – Ryan Blaney
5th – Noah Gragson
7th – Chase Briscoe
8th – Michael McDowell
11th – Austin Cindric
12th – Josh Berry
13th – Joey Logano
18th – Chris Buescher
24th – Brad Keselowski
26th – Harrison Burton
28th – Ryan Preece
30th – Todd Gilliland
35th – Kaz Grala
36th – Justin Haley

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 The Pete Store Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I lost a lot of grip that second run, more than I anticipated. I just got into one and when I landed just started to walk up the track a little bit. I was just a little bit too tight that second round. I probably needed to back it up just a little bit and maybe it would have landed better, but it was close. You’re just hoping you get the changes right for that second round not really knowing what it was gonna do, but I feel good about it. I feel good about our speed. Tomorrow is gonna be a hot race and will be a lot different than today, so I’m not reading too much into practice. We had good pace, so that’s what we needed.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Wurth Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We were close. I thought we had enough of a car for the pole and it was hard to tell how much the track was gonna slow down the second run. I made two laps the first round and I think that kind of hurt us. I think most guys in the top handful only made one lap and that helped them out, but I’m proud of the effort. I wish I could do my first lap over again. I think I could have hit it a little better, but we have a good car and we’ll see what we have tomorrow.”

TOMORROW WILL BE MUCH WARMER THAN TODAY, SO HOW WILL THOSE CONDITIONS CHANGE THINGS?. “You’ve got to look at past notes of what the races have done when it’s gotten hotter. This is similar to last year from practice to the race when it was sunny and warm, so I think we’ve got some good notes to focus on when it comes to that and hopefully we hit it right.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – DID YOU HAVE ANY TIRE CORDING IN PRACTICE? “My tires looked really good. I don’t know what it will be for everybody else tomorrow, but we’re looking like we’re in a good spot.”

JONES GETS HURT AND WE’VE SEEN GUYS IN THE TRUCK SERIES WITH THAT TYPE OF INJURY. DO YOU JUST SAY RACING IS DANGEROUS AND YOU’RE OK WITH THE CAR, OR IS THERE STILL SOME ANGST ABOUT IT? “It is a dangerous sport, but you hate to settle for that as the answer. If you settle for that for the answer, the cars would still look like they did in the fifties and sixties, so you want to continue to evolve, but I think you have to have some amount of discipline to respect that the cars are never gonna be perfectly safe.”

Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 18 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RIck Ware Racing, was involved in an accident in practice and will be forced to a backup for tomorrow’s race.

KAZ GRALA, No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “That was so quick. I didn’t even feel like I had time to react to catch it. I’m not really sure because I felt like we had a really good practice. Our car was really close. I thought our race pace was pretty darn good, and I felt like that might have been our best practice session of the year and then it was out from under me before I knew what happened. It’s super unfortunate for everyone at Rick Ware Racing. To go to a backup car is not ideal for us, so I feel bad for everybody having to work overtime here and make the most of tomorrow.”

Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DOVER, Del. (April 27, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway on Saturday.

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

What’s it like coming back to Dover Motor Speedway as the defending winner?

“Yeah, it’s always nice to come back to Dover (Motor Speedway) – a place where I’ve had a lot of success. It’s been a good track for me over the years, so we’re excited about it. We’ve had really fast cars all year long. Not quite been able to get the win yet, but I feel like we’ve been right there and our time is coming, and hopefully this weekend we can do what we did last year.”

How do you and your team break down this track when you look at it? Obviously, you had success here last year, but throughout this week, how did you prepare?

“Yeah, I mean this is our third year here with the Next Gen car, so just trying to go back through all of that and try to figure out how to be even better than last year because everyone’s programs evolve and they learn things. So yeah, they understand what I’m looking for here; what I want to feel. For here, it’s always about – ok, what’s the weather going to be; what are the tires like; how much rubber is going to go down on Sunday. I think today is a warmup and a qualifying session, and tomorrow is going to be a completely different racetrack, so being prepared for that is going to be important. Figuring out how it’s going to change will be a big deal.”

What has the feel been like going from the previous generation car to the Next Gen car?

“You know for here (at Dover Motor Speedway), it’s just kind of been a process of figuring it out. These cars are quite a bit different; the way they feel with the tires and the bigger wheels. They’re so stiff and so rigid. This place gets really rough and really bouncy when it gets rubbered up in the race, and it’s been a challenge to figure out how to get this car to ride nice; not so stiff and have some grip. Yeah, it’s been a challenge and it’s a totally different feel than what we used to get here.”

You talked about the weather. Tomorrow is supposed to be a lot warmer, and the sun is going to be out. What do you take from today’s practice session with what we have out there now that you can apply to tomorrow?

“Yeah, I mean you basically just get a feel for the car; the overall balance and kind of get a baseline, and then, try to figure out which direction to go from there, which is always probably the biggest challenge that we deal with. The crew chiefs and engineers deal with it every weekend it seems like. It’s always the hottest on Sunday. That’s a good thing for the racing, for sure, and I enjoy that, but it’s a big challenge for them to get the car right.”

Looking ahead to Kansas Speedway, last fall didn’t go to great, but you have had success there in the past. Can you talk a little bit about what it takes to have a solid day there?

“Yeah, for sure. I felt really good about our car there last year, but it didn’t last very long with the tire issue. Kansas (Speedway) is a really fun racetrack. It’s a place where you can move around; the tires wear out and it gets slippery. It’s just a fun place to race. At the same time, I think it’s a real measuring stick of your cars and where you’re at. It takes everything to get around there. You have to have horsepower and downforce; a good setup with a lot of tire grip and things like that. It’s a big challenge and usually the guys that have the fastest cars are upfront there, so hopefully we’ll be one of those guys because it seems like our Camry’s have been really strong this year.”

Last year at Dover Motor Speedway, you and Ryan (Truex) obviously swept the weekend. Going into this year with both of you on the entry lists again in your respective series, have you talked with him about last year? Also, what would you be able to do to build off that momentum?

“Yeah, we’ve talked about it some between then and now. It’s a new year; there’s new challenges. Really in this sport, what you did last year doesn’t mean a thing. He (Ryan Truex) felt pretty good about his car yesterday. He didn’t get the lap he wanted in qualifying. And for us, we’ll see how today goes and go from there. Honestly, I feel great with what my team’s been able to do this year. We’ve got some things we need to figure out during the race that we can do better, but our cars have been really fast and the guys have been making great decisions and giving me fast cars to drive, which has been awesome. Hopefully that continues here, and we’ll go out and do what we know how to do.”

About Toyota

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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.

Toyota Racing – Erik Jones and Corey Heim
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DOVER, Del. (April 27, 2024) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB drivers Erik Jones and Corey Heim were made available to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Heim, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s reserve driver, will fill-in for Jones as he recovers from a lower back injury suffered from an on-track incident in last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

ERIK JONES, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

COREY HEIM, reserve driver, No. 43 Dollar Tree/Petty’s 75th Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Can you take us through the process last week?

JONES: “I think, for me, it is pretty straight forward. It hurt when I crashed. I’ve never broken a bone in my life, so I didn’t even know what that would feel like. I got out of the car on my own, and I was feeling better. Obviously, adrenaline is going, and I’m pumped up still. Got to the care center, told them what was wrong – that my back was hurting – they poked and prodded all over me, like they normally do, and I said everything felt okay and I told them multiple times that it felt like muscle strain to me. From there, I got up and I was getting around. I walked into the care center. I got up to leave, and was feeling good, was getting released. I talked to a couple of nurses on the way out, and they said if anything changes, just come right back because they were under the same impression – lot of adrenaline – and they could tell that I was hurting a little bit. By the time I got back to the motorhome, after the interviews, I was in more and more pain as time was passing. Got changed into my clothes, and knew I was going to have to go back. It really hurt, and I had some trouble getting around, so I went back right away, and said there is probably more wrong than what I was letting onto you guys. It is really starting to cause me some pain, so then we made the decision to transport. We took an x-ray there, saw some possible problems, wasn’t really sure with the equipment, so we went ahead and transferred to UAB after that.”

How much pain are you in right now? What is your approach mentally on coming back?

JONES: “To be honest right now, I’m feeling pretty good. As a driver, probably any driver, they want to just hop back in. I would love to say that I could get back in and do it right now. Is that possible? I don’t know. I don’t know how I would truly feel in the car, especially a place like Dover. I get pretty sore at night, and when I’m not moving around. My range of motion is a bit limited right now, but the soreness has faded away. It was pretty bad earlier in the week, and I was just resting. By yesterday and today, I’m feeling better and better. There are certain motions that cause a lot of pain. The thing that is probably the worst – it is allergy season, and when I have to sneeze, that hurts pretty bad, but other than that – sitting here right now, talking, I feel pretty good. As far as coming back, I think it is week-to-week. My injury is fortunately, on the mild side, so we will just have to see how it is healing up, how I’m feeling – again, I’m feeling better and better every day. I have an appointment next week, and kind of will make a decision from there.”

Do you have any idea of the g-forces are? Are you in a back brace? Do you need a scan to get approval to go?

JONES: “I’m not in any back brace. It is kind of up to see how the x-rays look and how everything is healing – making sure everything is healing good with the neurosurgeon I’m seeing in Charlotte. That is kind of week-to-week and how that is looking, so no brace or anything. On the wreck, I went to NASCAR and looked at the car on Tuesday or Wednesday. The wreck was really similar to Ryan Blaney’s at Daytona last summer. The g’s and the impact were similar to that, and kind of talking it over with NASCAR on what has to get fixed to see an improvement there. Obviously, Ryan was uninjured in his, and I had an injury in mine, so trying to figure out what the difference is there, but it was real similar to his wreck.”

What are you trying to do for your mental health?

JONES: “It is a unique perspective for me. I’ve never missed a Cup race and this is my eighth season. I’ve never had the chance to sit back and watch a Cup race in a long time now, and obviously never seen my team perform without me. You have to look the at the positives and at least I’ll be able to take a view of my team from a side that I’m not involved for a weekend at least and see how things look. It is definitely more challenging I thought, waking up this morning, to be honest and getting ready for today and realizing that you are not getting in the car. You see the suit, it’s hanging up, that’s tough. For me, taking a week off, I had another guy text me about it – kind of exactly what you are saying – take this time to reflect and see where you are in life. Yeah, it’s not where we want to be as far as the season yet, and where our team and our cars have been. It is unfortunate to continue that process to get better. I want to be in that, but right now, I’m just trying to find the positives. We can take at least a week and see what the group looks like from the outside, watching in. You can see that advice from people around you – it is going to be interesting to see for myself this weekend.”

Can you take us through your last week?
HEIM: “Yeah, it certainly has been a busy week for me. I’ve never sat in one of these things – till about an hour from now. For sure, just trying to do the best I can for this group. They’ve consistently been getting better throughout the year, and super grateful for everyone at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, and the people there for doing everything they possibly can to get me ready, including Erik (Jones). He’s sat in all of our meetings. Huge props to him for that, and Jimmie (Johnson) as well. There is just a long list of men and women at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB that have helped me get prepared for this race. I would be lying to you if I wasn’t a little nervous about it, because I’ve never sat in one of these cars before, but my job is to do the best I can for this 43 group until Erik comes back.”

How frustrating is it to not be in the car, but healthy enough to be here?

JONES: “It’s two-fold like you said. I’m not in the car, but the wreck and the injury I had – it could have been a lot worse in a lot of ways. I think that is a testament to the safety. I think NASCAR has gotten some of a bad rap this week, the Next Gen car gets a bad rap. I think the car did its job. Unfortunately, this is an injury that we’ve seen in the Truck Series, and obviously, that is the old-style car and this is the first time we’ve seen this injury in this car, but it is an impact that has caused that injury before. Fortunately, as you said, it’s not worse.”

What are your emotions like being at the track, not being able to race tomorrow?

JONES: “It’s definitely depressing in a way. I never – especially when I was younger, starting my career – never thought I would miss a race for anything. You see guys along the way racing through injuries and sickness, and I was like I will never be one of those guys, I will make every race. As long as I race, there is nothing that can keep me out. I think we all think that as drivers, no matter what age or how old or how long you’ve been doing it. So when you get faced with that reality, it’s definitely a changing perspective for you for sure, but the only thing that went my mind through it – I found out on Tuesday that I wasn’t going to be able to race this weekend, was going and helping these guys get ready. Talking to Corey (Heim) helping him. Talking with Dave (Elenz, crew chief) – obviously he hasn’t worked with anyone else in a minute, and I don’t think anyone ever making their Cup debut, that is a bit of a different weekend for him as well. Just trying to get these guys ready to go is the biggest thing from me.”

What has it been like working with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB on the simulator before this week and during this week?

HEIM: “Working with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB since the start of the year has given me a little bit of a head start, I guess, for this week. You never expect something like this to happen, but at least being able to talk to Dave (Elenz, crew chief) and the other two teams at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB and being able to start those relationships at the beginning of the year and kick start this week a little bit better for me. It’s been a pleasure for sure, just getting the virtual seat time in a Cup car has helped me for sure and being able to tune on the simulator side of things this year. I didn’t really get to dive too deep into things this week, but I think the three or four days that I got in preparation and leaning on all of the drivers at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB to be as ready as I can is the biggest thing for me. I will definitely learn a lot in the next couple of hours, but I think the last three or four days have been really beneficial for me versus over not getting a heads up, that would a lot tougher for sure.”

Can you talk a little bit about the conversations you’ve had with Corey Heim?

JONES: “A lot of it has been the differences in the car. I think I would say making your Cup debut now is somewhat more challenging than when I did it, less practice, completely different car – there is a lot of things that I would say is tougher. When I was getting to make my first Cup start, we will take out when I jumped in Bristol for Denny (Hamlin) – that was kind of last minute – but when I got in for Kyle (Busch) in Kansas – I had a lot of time to prepare and get ready, and then two or three practice throughout the weekend. It is challenging now. I think the biggest thing is setting expectations. I think for me, in my first Cup start, my mind was to win the race. That was probably the wrong plan, and I ended up wrecking myself towards the end of the day, so I think getting expectations set – running all the laps and not crashing – is a great debut for most. I talked to him a little bit about that, and the rest has been just about the car and what the differences are there and trying to prepare going from Trucks and Xfinity to this car and what it is going to be like.”

How important is the advice that Erik Jones has given you?
HEIM: “It’s huge for sure. I think any good advice that I’ve gotten has been real crucial for me throughout the weekend. I think for us, we are just going to try to take it one step at a time. We’ve got the 20-minute practice and then qualifying. We are going to take it stage by stage there. It is certainly not going to be easy, but it is a longer race than I’ve been accustomed to with the Trucks and the Xfinity stuff, and I also have the Xfinity race as well to kind of lean on as well. I’ve got the time this weekend to sort of figure it out. I don’t know if I will feel that I’ve got it figured out by the end of the weekend, but any advice is super important. I’ve been reaching out to as many people as I possibly can to try to gather all of the information and try to have a decent idea. With these 20-minute practices, it is pretty brutal to wrap your head around a completely different kind of race car within that time frame, but my job is just to do the best I can for this 43 group and move forward from there.”

How do you balance the excitement and nerves with knowing you need to go out and execute?

HEIM: “Mentally, I’ve not been able to digest this quite yet. It is definitely kind of a last second and big opportunity for me under unfortunate circumstances. It is definitely cool for me to be able to make my debut with the 43 group. I think they’ve been going the right direction and got a cool paint scheme on the car. I get to be teammates with Jimmie (Johnson) and John Hunter (Nemechek) – to do that is super cool, but in the moment, I’m so focused on practice and qualifying right now, I’ve not really been able to focus on that. I think when I reflect on it – it will be a really cool moment for me, but right now, I’m just focused on the present.”

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.

Toyota Racing – Jimmie Johnson
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DOVER, Del. (April 27, 2024) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver Jimmie Johnson was made available to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway on Saturday.

JIMMIE JOHNSON, No. 84 Dollar Tree/Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Have you gotten a chance to look at Erik Jones’ car or do you have any concerns on how his care center trip was handled?

“No, I have not seen the car, and certainly not concerned with Erik’s (Jones) trip back to the care center. In my experience with crashes and injuries, it takes a little bit of time for stuff to sink in. I think Erik did the right thing going back to the infield care center. Once he got to his bus, his environment changed a little bit, and he handled that very well. I think the care center reacted perfectly. It was not much he could have done differently in that moment. I think everybody did a great job.”

What have you told Erik Jones about when he should return?

“It’s really a week-by-week basis, and there is a process that takes places with physicians and NASCAR to be reinstated, so being a driver and a competitor and having injuries. I know where my head would be trying to get in the car as soon as possible. I would assume it is certainly a priority for Erik (Jones), and we want him back as quickly as he can, but as safely as we can. As we run through the process each week, I would anticipate that Erik is going to be eager. We are going to physicians and try to get approval from NASCAR – we are trying to make sure that timing is right. It is really tough to tell with injuries. I’m sure you can tell from your experience in sports, we all wish we had the crystal ball and know when someone could come back but it really is a dynamic environment. We will go through the right steps and make sure that Erik is truly ready when he gets back in the car. I think driving is one aspect of it but going through another significant impact and crash. That is something that we have to be mindful of.”

How does Dover feel to you?

“No, I’m expecting it to be a much different environment than I had so much success with. You really have to drive this car with a lot of steering wheel input, ride height attitude, charging the diffuser – there is just a whole different – it is just a different mousetrap. It is really a different environment, a different feeling. I spun out at the Coke 600. I had some issues at Texas. Those are truly my only two proper oval experiences, and just the way the car responds and loses traction, turns around is just very, very different. I can now remember why watching the first half of the season when the Next Gen car came out. I would see these spins and people turning around and everybody’s confusion then is what I’m going through. I just feel like it is my turn to go through this adaptation period of the car and try to understand it. I think I’m making progress. I think running all of the laps at Texas, really taught me a lot. Not only from driving the car, to also improvements we need to make and where we sit as a company right now. I have to learn how to drive it off of the right front – there is no doubt about it. That is what this car wants. I was always a right rear guy.”

How important is to have this stretch of races for you?

“Super helpful. Glad that our partners stacked up this way. I’m glad there was some flexibility. I was able to pick this race. It fits in perfectly. It is part of the plan to make sure I can get reps on similar tracks. I know Dover is an outlier, but again it falls in a great rhythm. I think Dover, in the past for me, surprisingly car setup wise applied to Charlotte – and I’m running the 600 later this year, running both Kansas events was intentional, so that I can continue to build reps and help my own advancement, along helping with the technology for the race team as well. I think we have a good plan for this year. Last year, our plan was to focus on road course racing – we thought that was something we needed help with, but as the year went on and the tragedy that my family went through, everything was off the table at that point. In the offseason, we focused hard on mile-and-a-halves and the performance gains that we hoped to improve and thought that running a third car at least nine events at basically all mile-and-a-half tracks would help us develop as an organization.”

With your success at the track here in Dover, is there any extra motivation or expectation this weekend in Dover?

“It is just so different. I realized that quickly at Texas. I have a few wins at Texas, and that didn’t carry in. It is really on me. It is such a different environment as a driver and to spot these drivers in the garage a two-year head start on the little nuances that you need from the prep side on a Tuesday, all of the way to the completion on a Monday, when you debrief and work through it all. There is just a lot of distance to make up, and first and foremost, I need to do my part and get in tune with this car. Through this stretch, I will be able to do so.”

Can you talk about mentoring the drivers at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB compared to your time at Hendrick Motorsports?

“Not being in the car as often, and having so little Next Gen experience, I can’t be as detailed and as nuanced as I was in my Hendrick days. Big picture, more from a 30-thousand-foot view, more from an organizational point of view, partner point of view – life experience, there is things that I’m always here for and happy to help these guys with, and been very engaged with them both. Personally, I hold them both in high regard, professionally – same thing, so I’m really enjoying my time with both of them and hope to be more of a help as I get more reps and specifically talk about the Next Gen car.”

Is there a give and take with your team and drivers tomorrow?

“No, the reason we run the third car – the reason that I’m out here – is to help our two primary cars. It is not to help me. It is upon me to study, learn, ask the right questions, listen in. I don’t want to take anything away from the 42 or 43 programs. I’m really here to help. I will be doing plenty of listening. Just studying for this event with SMT and also driving the sim, it drives so much different than my last time here.”

What was your mindset coming into Dover knowing your success here?

“I try not to carry too much confidence into any event. It was just hard to hide my excitement to come here and drive. I first ran here in ASA, in the late 90s and fell in love with the track. I hadn’t been on an oval that scared me like being here. It is kind of a mixed back of emotions. The exhilaration of running a lap here, combined with confidence and the success that I’ve always enjoyed – thankfully in a Cup car with Hendrick Motorsports, and the relationship I had with Chad (Knaus) – we were able to truly dial in and build a car that always showed up and performed here. I try to not be over confident because this garage area is so intelligent, so smart. They studied us. They studied our approach here, and towards the end of my career – we didn’t have the guaranteed win success, but we always ran really well, so that was nice to see that carry on. I wish that guaranteed me a good result this weekend, but it is just a new environment and I’ll know a lot more with the 10 or 15 laps I will get in practice, and two more in qualifying. I wish practice was a lot longer. At least 45 minutes – and yes, I’m lobbying for more practice. I know that has been a conversation. I think it would be beneficial for all.”

Was there a difference from your first lap at Texas to what you ran by the end of the race?

“Yeah, from what I experienced in the vehicle – great reps – I came a long way of understanding the car. Unfortunately, the way the rules work, you make decisions a week in advance. The car, the shocks, the nose weight – all of the major pieces of the puzzle are in place. It goes into the transporter and it’s off. We made a few small changes with air pressure, and such, during Saturday and Sunday at Texas, but that is all you can do. It just puts so much pressure on unloading correct, and if we had a chance to change some springs in practice, had a longer session and it was allowed for us to make some more conceptional changes to the car, I think it would take the pressure off and the expense off, of all of the other tools that we need to create and work with to unload so spot on. I think that is the process that we are missing. I would like to see one shot to change a spring, especially from the era of racing that I ran in. We’d tear the car completely apart overnight – suspension off, a-frame changes, geometry changes, nose weight – you name it, wholesale changes. Now it is just tire pressure and wedge.”

As long as Erik Jones is out, would Corey Heim continue to drive the no. 43 car or would you consider getting in the car?

“Next weekend, I’m in the car in Kansas. We really haven’t looked really far down the road. We are taking it week-by-week, but Kansas for sure – it would be Corey (Heim) and not me.”

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.