TOYOTA RACING – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DARLINGTON, SC (September 5, 2026) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to the media on Saturday after being awarded the pole by the metric due to inclement weather for the NASCAR Cup Series race from Darlington Raceway.

This is the eighth time Reddick has started first this season – five based on qualifying speed and three on the metric. He has won four of his five races this season from the first starting position.

Since joining 23XI, Reddick has started in the top-10 in every race at Darlington, including starting first on three different occasions (2024 Spring, 2026 Spring and this weekend.)

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Chumba Casino Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
What was your afternoon like?
“So we failed (inspection) the first time through, and since we failed last week at Daytona, first time through as well, we were at the back of the queue for cars going around for the second time. So, when we had the first lightning hold, we had passed, but we were waiting to get shocks on, all that sort of stuff. So we were kind of stuck there a bit, and when it cleared up for a little bit there, we had just got to pit road, got done with the warm-up. We were probably, I don’t even know, 20 seconds away from rolling when they called it. We were just a little bit behind, just having to wait the first lightning hold out. So, I fired it up, but I didn’t even move. That’s okay. I was pretty happy last time I was here.”

How do you feel with no practice and qualifying?
“Even better. Like best case scenario for us. Yeah, it’s pretty sick.”

Is it really all that exciting to start from the pole, knowing you can come through the back after your experience in the Spring?
“It is nice, but after I get through turn two, that first time I’ll feel better about it. Obviously, last year’s race, that is when it decided to fail, that first lap. So, if I get to turn two and my voltage hasn’t dropped out, I’ll be feeling pretty good. But until then, I’m just going to obviously wait and see how things go, but interestingly enough for us, we obviously won the race, but we spent a lot of the time in the race in the pack, trying to get around traffic, and we knew what we had for speed, that obviously helped us get back to the front, but yeah, I only had those first 25, 30 laps or so. I can’t remember how long we ran on that first stage in the spring. That was really the only true gauge of clean air that I had last Spring, so hopefully, we have that longer, and can just stay on top of our adjustments and keep our car really happy.”

Was there any part of you that said I really would have liked to get in a few laps of practice?
“No, it’s literally best case scenario for us. We were so strong here last spring. Ironically enough, as I kind of got going in Cup racing, it was during COVID, and there was no practice at all, and I kind of got very used to just having to figure it out the first corner, and so for me, in general, I feel within a really good spot most weekends when this happens, and we just have to unload and race, but beyond that, with as strong as we were, obviously, I think, you can imagine teams wanting to try things and see if they close the gap, or what that all looks like, right? And no one really, no one had any kind of opportunity at all with that today. So, if anything, it just helps us even more. I could be wrong. We could not be where we want to be at the start of the race, but, I mean, yeah, with how we ran last spring, just, we were rock solid, and I expect more of the same.”

Why do you think you’re so good winning from pole?
“I can’t I can’t handle a bad day, clearly (laughter). We’ve seen our summer stretch (laughter). No. Well, we start from the pole, but like the race at Echo Park was not very normal. It wasn’t like we dominated. COTA was a bit more straightforward. I felt back a bit there, but we still won. Did I do it at Kansas, too? I guess I did there too, so it really makes it look like we started front and stay up front, but a lot of those wins were not that way. Hopefully for us tomorrow night it is. We would be all for fighting our way from the back like we did the last time we were here, but, it would be so nice for this whole team if we just had like a calm, smooth day, if you will. We’re not having to go from the back to the front so we can really – just be super nice to have a calm, normal day. I was feeling good about that anyways, coming into this race, because typically, if we find a way to do that anyways, so I don’t know. It is funny, though. It does on paper look like we start front and finish up front. But a lot of races haven’t been that way.”

About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

NASCAR Cup Series
Darlington Raceway
Team Chevy Driver Quotes
September 5, 2026

Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Darlington Raceway.

Media Availability Quotes:

You raced in Florence last night, as I understand. How did that go?

“It was fun. It was hot. It was a very hot two days, but it was good to get back grassroots racing, racing with everybody at JR Motorsports. I’ve never raced late models for them before, but when Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) texted me and asked me if I wanted to do it, it was a pretty easy answer for me. So yeah, other than the fact that it was miserably hot, it was fun.”

You mentioned the heat. Some guys tolerate the heat, some guys don’t seem to be bothered by it, some guys absolutely hate really hot days. Where do you kind of fall on that list?

“I mean, I’d much rather it be 70 degrees outside than 100. But as a racecar driver, you’re an athlete and you get used to this. You get used to these circumstances, and you build a tolerance for it. Am I going to sit here and say that I love racing when it’s very, very hot? No, but it’s part of our job, and I don’t mind it.”

I wondered if you could talk a little bit about Trackhouse’s approach for these last 10 races. I know you guys want to win every race, obviously, and for Shane (van Gisbergen), that was heartbreaking last week for him. But you all kind of also have different reasons and different things that maybe you want to accomplish through the end of the season. Could you just kind of talk about the team’s approach to these last 10 races?

“Yeah, I mean, we have nothing to lose at this point. I’ve kind of been in that situation for a few weeks now that I knew I wasn’t going to have a chance to make the Chase, but my mindset’s kind of stayed the same all year, at least in my point of view of just going out every weekend and trying to learn as much as I can. Now with all three cars not being in the Chase, we certainly have a lot of room to explore, try new things and show up to the track differently, and I’m doing that this weekend. We brought a new package, different to anything we’ve ever had with the Next Gen car, so I’m excited to see how it goes.

It’s just kind of trial by error. I mean, you have to try these things to learn and get better. If you keep showing up to the track inside the same box, you’re never going to get better. You’re never going to grow. And as a team, we understand that, so we’re willing to try things and really see what moves the needle for us.”

Going back to yesterday’s race at Florence, is that the first time you’ve ever been to an oval that doesn’t have a wall down the backstretch?

“I’ve raced at Florence a few times before, but it was fun when I did the track walk when we first got there. I walked the track with Shane (van Gisbergen). He was literally laughing from the moment we stepped onto the racetrack, all the way around the racetrack, sending videos to his friends in New Zealand, like, look at this track I’m racing at. He thought it was the craziest thing ever, but I think he enjoyed it.”

Obviously, I know you’re still focused on 2027 after this, but is there maybe like a checklist or whatever that maybe you got from Hendrick after you signed saying, hey, we would like to see you, you know, approach this and so on from a growth standpoint before you get the opportunity to run the car the following year?

“No, they’ve kind of stayed pretty far out of that. You know, I’m sure things will ramp up as we get closer to 2028, but we haven’t gotten into those conversations yet.”

With Hendrick Motorsports lined up now in 2028, have they begun to have any active input in planning things like Truck and O’Reilly starts and other elements of your ongoing driver development?

“No, we haven’t had really any conversations yet about things that they’re going to do to try and help me. You know, I’m sure that’ll come in the next few months and as we get closer to 2028. But right now, I’m pretty focused with what we’re doing at Trackhouse and trying to make our cars better in the present”

It sounds like things went over as well as they could have when you told Justin (Marks) about this decision. You know, we hear all rumors anytime a driver has another situation lined up of like how it changes dynamics of meetings, how it might affect their role and their relationship with their teammates. Does it feel any different walking into the Trackhouse shop, in terms of how you interact with the other people there and how you fit into the team since that came out?

“No, it doesn’t. And that’s kind of the approach I wanted to have going into the situation. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It’s never easy when you leave a relationship that you created over the past few years. It’s not easy, and it wasn’t an easy conversation for me to have with Justin (Marks) either. But I knew that, you know, I had the option to let somebody else tell Justin or for me to go talk to Justin face-to- face and tell him, and I chose the high road, I guess, and went and talked to him myself and was just honest with him. I think he appreciated that and understood where I’m coming from and my point of view, and there’s no resentment from any sides. I’m going to give 110% for the next 16 months, however long I have left, with Trackhouse, and I expect the same back from everybody there in the shop and everybody who works at Trackhouse. You know, we still have a lot of work left to do together, a lot of races to race. And, you know, it wouldn’t help either side to give up on each other.

I appreciate Justin; his understanding, his willingness to continue to work hard for me, and I’m excited to work hard for them for the rest of the time we have left.”

When everybody looks at racing, they look at statistics. But I don’t think a lot of people realize the psychological aspect of the sport. How has going into other series helped you stay up psychologically with this really tough Cup season that you’ve had? I’ve talked to drivers in the past and they start doubting themselves and they get down and all, so how has driving in these other series helped you?

“Yeah, it’s good whenever I go race in a Truck race, an O’Reilly race, whatever it may be. I feel like I’ve run up front in every one of those that I’ve done, and I remember that I still know how to do it, I haven’t changed and I didn’t lose what I had last year. So it’s nice to be able to go and do that.

I take a lot of pride in running well on Friday’s and Saturday’s, but at the end of the day, my job is to finish well on Sunday. I know that, and I know that I have a job to do on Sunday and I’ve got to get better. That’s something that I know, and I’m prepared to do that, continue to learn, grow and become a better racecar driver.”

Are you planning on running the Rolex in 2027? And secondly, when you spoke with Rick (Hendrick), I know people have asked you about running the Indianapolis 500, but is doing the Rolex and some of those sportscar races, did that come up with Rick going forward?

“Yeah, it did. The Rolex is something that I really like doing every year. It’s before our season. It’s kind of out of the way, and it’s honestly one of my favorite races that I get to do out here. I see Bozi looking at me funny… he looks like he wants me to race too (laughs).

So, yeah, I definitely think that’s something that I personally have a lot of interest in and a race that I love doing every year, so hopefully we can make that happen. I loved doing it with Cadillac last year. That was really cool. We’d love to do that again, but I’m not sure how the cards will all align this year.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

TOYOTA RACING – Chase Briscoe
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DARLINGTON, SC (September 5, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe was made available to the media on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race from Darlington Raceway.

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Is winning your third straight Southern 500 on your radar?
“No, it’s definitely on the radar. To do that three times in a row would be something really, really special, and I think Jeff Gordon’s the only person that’s ever been able to do that. So definitely it’s on the radar. One of my favorite races of the year, but certainly, also still aware, just the situation. You can’t wreck trying to win this deal, just with the points and the Chase and everything else, but the goal is definitely to try to go score 75, 76 points tomorrow night, and we were able to do that last year and see if we can do it again.”

What is your mindset going in with stage points?
“From a stage point standpoint, I don’t think it changes, just try to go score as many points as possible, but yeah, you just have to be conscious, I think, at the end of the race more than anything. Say you have a fourth-place car tomorrow night, and you can potentially push to get to third, but there’s also a chance you plug it in the fence doing it. That’s where you have to, I think, the be smart and conscious about it. I mean, from a strategy standpoint here, the stages I feel like are pretty straightforward, especially now with the new rule. Like if a caution comes out with, say, seven to go, it just ends the stage. So, there’s not really going to be any strategy from that standpoint. So, I think this is probably the easiest track to not have to worry about a strategy call to try to get points because it’s pretty straightforward with the tires.”

Throughout the Chase, do you have to remind yourself at times to, you know, hey, we need to be smart here. We can’t be aggressive, or what are you doing inside the car to kind of take a step back and look at the bigger picture?
“I feel like this year’s been a little bit easier for transition, just because we’re kind of chasing points all season long. You’ve understood that, just that’s the new mentality that you race with in a sense of – more so that that thing I was talking about earlier – where if you’re running fourth or whatever and trying to push for third, it’s way better just to finish fourth than it is to wreck and run the 20s or 30s. So, I don’t know, the mindset has definitely changed this year, just naturally. But still, I mean, if a win is right there in front of you, it’s going to be, I think, hard for any of us to realize the big picture of what there is there at stake, just because we’re all stupid when we get in that situation. We just, we look at the short-term goal of winning and you don’t think the big, big term picture championship. So yeah, I think if it comes down to it, you’re side by side for the win into (turn) three, like that is the championship is the last thing on your mind in that moment. At least I feel like it’s that way. Maybe it’s not for the rest of the field, but I feel that way for sure.”

Why are you so good here?
“Yeah, I don’t know. Yeah, just something about this place has always just kind of fit my driving style, I guess. I think the first time I ran here was like 2018 or ‘19 in the Xfinity car, and I just remember coming here in my first five laps on the racetrack, thinking man, this place is awesome. Like it just fit how I drive for whatever reason. So, I’ve always just loved this place and yeah, it’s been probably the best track for me statistically in my career, I would say, definitely across the Cup Series. I don’t know, something about it. I think a lot of it is, is I don’t use markers like on the racetrack to, okay, I’m going to lift here. I don’t use them, like even on road courses, and this track, more than anywhere, you change what you do every single lap based on just the tire falling off, and so maybe that’s some of it is just, I don’t, I don’t use markers, so I’m not at a disadvantage, maybe, of the consistency piece of it at some other tracks. So, yeah, I don’t know. That’s the only thing I can figure out that maybe that’s some of it, because everywhere else you go, you do pretty much lift the same spot, every single lap, or if it changes throughout the course of 10 laps, it’s very minimal where here it’s pretty big, every single lap. So, you’re just driving to the edge and, yeah, maybe that’s some of it. I have no idea.”

How has your confidence at Darlington increased the last couple of years with the wins you’ve had here?
“I think there’s any time you can win somewhere, your confidence goes up, even before I had even won a Cup race, right? This is one of the tracks I just look forward to coming to because it was one of my favorites. I felt like I understood what I needed out of my car, where other tracks, I don’t feel as confident, I guess, in that. Like even today, if practice doesn’t go as well, like I just know that in the race tomorrow, there’s going to be things that I can do to make my car better. Where other tracks, you just can’t do that as well, I guess. So yeah, I don’t know. I think I’ve always had confidence here just from the very beginning, but certainly when you start winning and then being able to win two years in a row, like that confidence just builds more and more every single time. This is always one that I’ve got circled on the calendar and definitely just continues to get circled bigger and bigger as you have results.”

How much have you and your teammates talked about the Chase battle?
“Yeah, truthfully, we have not talked about it at all. Coach (Joe Gibbs) texted earlier saying that we were all going to talk later today just about kind of the approach going into that. I’m sure that it’s going to be race each other extremely hard, but just realize that we need to still win the race or at least win the championship. Really all four of us have amazing chances to do that. We’re kind of all our own worst enemy, I would say, in a sense. We know that we’re competing against each other, so we just can’t we can’t do something to hinder the company’s opportunity to win a championship So, yeah, that’ll be something that we will navigate, I guess, over the course of the next 10 weeks, but we do get a lot of practice. Like we race each other almost weekly for the wins, so it doesn’t change a whole lot. But certainly, I think there’s just more, I guess, that goes into it because there’s way more consequences if you don’t end up winning the championship, but at least amongst the four of us.”

Have you looked back at the 2020 win here and the battle with Kyle Busch and has it become more special to you?
“Yeah, what made those two, I mean, really that race in 2020, but also the 2024 Southern 500 was just, the reason they were so special to me was because I beat Kyle (Busch). I mean, no offense, but it would have been somebody else in the field. It wouldn’t have been as significant, at least in my mind. When I laid my head down at night in 2020 and in 2024, I knew that I went up against the best in that environment and was able to beat him, and that was something that a lot of people couldn’t say, because in that environment, when it came down to it, he was just unbelievable. He was the best. For me as a fan, like, before I ever even started racing NASCAR, Kyle Busch was the guy. Like, if you wanted to win NASCAR races, you had to beat Kyle Busch, and for me to be able to go up against him in 2020 and win that race in the Xfinity series, I mean, that was really the race that leapfrogged me to the Cup Series. I wasn’t on anybody’s radar, but when you could beat Kyle Busch at Darlington, like your stock instantly went up, and that’s when people started, I think, taking me more serious. So, yeah, that race was always significant in my mind, but now I would say because of Kyle being gone, those two races just mean that much more, and just when I look back on them, I just cherish it way more. I already cherished it before, but now certainly way more than in the past.”

What is your approach with your team as you look into the Chase? Is it just the text like you did last year?
“I did text them again this past week.”

What did you say?
“I’ll read it to you guys. Let me pull it up here. Yeah, I’m not a very, like, exciting person, I feel like. So, a motivational text is about as good as it’s going to get. I said, great job, everyone, all summer long to get back to fifth in points from where we started, 10 of our best weeks and there’s no doubt that we can all be hoisting the championship trophy in Miami. Can’t wait for these next 10 weeks with you boys. That was my motivational text. Got a lot of hearts and thumbs up, so I felt good about it (laughter).”

How fun was sharing Media Day with your son, Brooks?
“Yeah, it was fun. I didn’t really get to do a whole lot with him. Brooks (Briscoe, Chase’s son). NASCAR YouTube had him come out, do like a kid’s segment with Molly Hamlin to interview some drivers. I didn’t even get to do the interview with Brooks, but I did sneak in there on my lunch break and watch him. So, it was fun, just getting to see him. He gets to come with me to work here, but he doesn’t really ever get to see me at work outside of that. So, it was definitely fun, I guess, just to be in that environment. I guess he drilled some of the drivers. Marissa (Briscoe, Chase’s wife) told me that he has Kyle Larson why doesn’t win anymore (laughter). So, yeah, that was that was rough. So yeah, it was interesting. I’m excited to see the video. I don’t know, I don’t know what Kyle said to him. I guess Brooks like mumbled under his breath, he’s like, the 5 car doesn’t win anymore (laughter). So yeah, I guess Kyle went up to Marissa after and was like, I thought Brooks liked me because he always he watches Kyle dominate Sprint Cars all the time. So he’s a big Kyle Larson fan, so I don’t know where that came from.”

Do you have any added confidence because this race is on the same tire as your win in Chicago?
“I didn’t even know it was the same tire. I don’t know. I mean, I feel like the Darlington, at least like the Southern 500, it’s very different than the last two, just because the aero package is so different that really how I drove in the past doesn’t really even work anymore. Like in the Spring, it was a big difference. So, I don’t know, it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out tomorrow night. Hopefully it’ll go good, but yeah, I wouldn’t say there’s more confidence because of the tire. I didn’t even know the tire we were on.”

About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

TOYOTA RACING – Riley Herbst
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DARLINGTON, SC (September 5, 2026) – 23XI Racing driver Riley Herbst was made available to the media on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race from Darlington Raceway.

RILEY HERBST, No. 35 GoGo SqueeZ Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Can you talk about how big this past week has been for you?
“Yeah, it’s been a great, great experience. Obviously, excited to stay in the Toyota camp. Just really looking forward to hitting the ground running next year. Just super grateful to Denny (Hamlin, 23XI Racing ownership), Curtis (Polk, 23XI Racing ownership), to Michael (Jordan, 23XI Racing ownership), for allowing me to live out my dream and getting my first Cup contract and wish them nothing but the best moving forward. It’s been an hour of a lifetime to drive for all three of those guys. But looking forward to next year. LEGACY is growing in a huge way, has a lot of support from the manufacturer and is getting a new compound, a new shop. So, looking forward to all those fun things and hopefully we can have some good success.”

Were there any tires left on the Supra when you were done?
“No the Supra tires are gone (laughter), so, yeah, that was fun though.”

What do you want to accomplish this season before you move to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB?
“That’s a great question. Being out last week was tough. So, we got 10 races left to, hopefully, run back where we were in late Spring, early Summer, with a few top 10s, leading laps, being more competitive. That’s kind of where I want to bring this 35 car back. I know we had the speed to do that, but realistically, it’s just really good people around me. I think the huge jumps I made from last year to this year is having two really good teammates in Bubba (Wallace) and Tyler (Reddick). I’m going to miss those guys tremendously, but I know we’ll be friends for life. I have had teammates to bounce ideas off of and have really good people. So looking forward to starting that cultivating process of bringing good people to LEGACY, and making this transition pretty seamless.”

What steps does LEGACY MOTOR CLUB need to make to continue to grow?
“I think it’s difficult to race in the NASCAR Cup Series, as I experienced that last year, and this year as well, and I think they’ve made huge improvements throughout the year. I think the high speed, high down force racetracks are pretty fast. Michigan, I think Erik (Jones) had a real shot to win that race, and a lot of weekends, they’ve been a lot faster than they have in the past, and that’s just to do with hard work, and I think that they’re getting their race cars in a really good position, and I’m excited to jump into this race team at this time, when I think that they’re taking a huge step in the right direction, obviously looking forward to work with Erik (Jones). He’s had the experience of driving fast race cars at (Joe) Gibbs (Racing), and then whoever’s going to be in the 42 car. So, I think the 3 of us will work well together and continue to grow LEGACY and hopefully take it to that next step.”

Who will be in the number 42?
“(laughter) Not me. (laughter)”

How is your health?
“Thank you. It’s good. No symptoms this week, back to 100%. So, yeah, concussion free.”

What was it? Was it a concussion?
“I got diagnosed with a concussion after the wreck in Loudon, and I thought that I was cleared to, to pass. I passed all my tests the week leading up to Daytona. Obviously, I qualified in the race car, and had really fast speed, and then I woke up Saturday morning, feeling really, really rough with trouble with all the symptoms, the worst I’ve had since the wreck. So, I thought it was the best idea for me to step out and let Harrison (Burton) drive the race car, but back to being 100%.”

You did some track time on Thursday with some ride alongs. Was everything okay?
“We were at the sim, so I’ve been into sim every single day this week. No symptoms, I’ve worked out every single day this week, no symptoms, and yeah, I did those little ride alongs on Thursday with no symptoms, so obviously nobody knows until you hop in the race car, but I’ve been cleared of all activities and looking forward to completing another Southern 500.”

Your first start at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB will be Jimmie Johnson’s last. What does that mean to you?
“I think it’s going to be pretty similar for everybody in the field for what Jimmie’s given this sport, seven-time champion, 84,85 wins. It’s pretty remarkable. I was kind of looking back on it with my parents last night. I’ve been pretty fortunate to drive for some pretty cool people, whether that be Coach (Joe) Gibbs, Tony Stewart, Gene Haas, Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin, and now my childhood hero, Jimmie Johnson. Extremely fortunate and blessed just to be in this opportunity to continue to chase my dream of winning a NASCAR Cup Series race.”

Can you share when concussion like symptoms started to appear and when the diagnosis was, just the timeline of that after the wreck?
“I don’t really know. They come and go. Concussions are a super weird health issue, health problem that honestly, it’s an evolving matter. It’s not like you can x-ray your arm and see a broken bone or see it not broken. It’s all about how you feel in one day, you can feel 100%, and then I can wake up Saturday morning, like I did last week, and struggle to get out of bed. So, yeah, it was a rough process, but obviously I think myself, NASCAR, Atrium Health, we all did the right thing last week and taken me out of the race car for the betterment of myself and obviously the field of race car drivers, but you just kind of have to rest, rest, rest, and hopefully you can beat the symptoms sooner than you want.”

How do you feel about the package here in Darlington?
“Yeah, it was fun. We had it here in the Spring. I thought we had really good pace. We ran ninth to 14th all day in the 400 and until we got caught up in a wreck there in the third stage. So, hopefully we can do the same or even if a little bit better, and I think all of us at Toyota have made big steps since the springtime race here. So, I’m looking forward to see the pace out of all of us this weekend. I mean, the shorter spoiler and the high horsepower and the softer tire is kind of what us race car drivers want. Hopefully the fans want that as well, and hopefully we can put on a good show, so NASCAR likes it as well because that’s the most important part.”

How do you feel when your teammates win? Are you on a different journey?
“I feel I’m extremely happy for Tyler (Reddick). I thought I worked hard leaving the O’Reilly Series and I walk into Airspeed and, Tyler showed me how I have to work, how I need to work to, if you want to win like that. I feel like all of us, me, Bubba (Wallace), Tyler, we work together, and, um, I know myself and Bubba take credit in those wins that Tyler had earlier in the year, and, I’m rooting extremely hard for the 45 (Tyler Reddick) and the 23 (Bubba Wallace) to win this championship for Airspeed, because we are kind of one cohesive group, and so, yeah to the second part of your question, I am on a different journey. This is my – what year and a half into the Cup Series and they’ve been doing this for quite some time and they’re really, really good at it.”

What can you carry from 23XI that can possibility make LEGACY MOTOR CLUB better?
“I think it’s just going to be everybody working in the same direction, and I think 23XI has a great culture, and they do that extremely well. But there’s just invaluable knowledge that I’ve learned from Tyler (Reddick) on how to prepare in the sim, how to prepare for notes. I’ve learned invaluable lessons from Bubba (Wallace) as well, and obviously when you have a team owner like Denny Hamlin (23XI ownership), you can go to with questions and he’s still in the car. He’s feeling the same thing as you. So, there’s things that you literally just don’t know because you don’t know, and so once you start asking questions and you start to get answers, you can start to put things together. It’s kind of like a, a pop quiz, but you have all the answers if you ask. So, I kind of approached my whole year this year that way. I’d rather look stupid asking a question than look stupid doing something stupid on the racetrack because I didn’t ask that question that makes sense a little bit so. I’ve been a sponge with Bubba and Tyler and Denny and just asking as much as I can.”

Initially after the wreck, did you feel any symptoms at that point or did it just appear on Saturday?
“Leaving the Infield Care Center, and then the following Monday and Tuesday was rough and I thought I was over it by Wednesday night, Thursday morning, but ultimately I wasn’t.”

Are you going to try to lean on him because Jimmie Johnson was, like, the consummate work hard, play hard kind of driver?
“I mean, Jimmie Johnson can give you any advice, you should probably listen. He’s won seven championships. I’m absolutely going lean on Jimmie. I going to lean on Erik (Jones). There’s a lot of great people at LEGACY, and that’s when I’m excited to go over there with, and I can’t say it enough. I really hope that the three racecar drivers, whoever the third one is, we can work together as cohesive as the places I have been, and continue to climb LEGACY up the ladder and bring trophies to LEGACY.”

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