Austin Dillon to Race No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet in Select NASCAR Cup Series Races in 2024, Beginning with Pocono Raceway on July 14th

WELCOME, N.C. (March 22, 2024) – Boot Barn, the largest western and work wear retailer in the nation, is partnering with legendary NASCAR team Richard Childress Racing for a dynamic partnership that includes both primary and associate sponsorship on the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet and unique content creation with driver Austin Dillon.

“Richard Childress, Austin Dillon and the entire Richard Childress Racing team embody the essence of the American cowboy and the pioneering spirit at the core of Boot Barn’s mission,” said Stephen Loscko, sr. director of marketing for Boot Barn. “Their commitment to hard work gives them an edge in their industry. We’re looking forward to working closely with the RCR team to create engaging, strategic content, as well as seeing the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet on the track.”

Dillon, a two-time NASCAR Champion and the 2018 Daytona 500 Champion, supports the Western traditions that resonates with Boot Barn’s core customer base. He is the general manager of the Carolina Cowboys, a professional bull riding team in the PBR Teams Series based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and has been a fan of the Western lifestyle since his youth.

“It’s an honor to be able to represent Boot Barn, both on the track and in my day-to-day life,” said Dillon. “Boot Barn is a staunch supporter of the western lifestyle, and I’m looking forward to expanding our relationship while creating engaging content for fans.”

RCR and Boot Barn will work together to ideate and craft unique content campaigns, including a cross-collaboration between Dillon and PRCA bareback rider and rodeo star Rocker Steiner.

“RCR and Boot Barn share an inspirational vision of supporting their local communities and those who feed America, build America and protect America,” said Torrey Galida, president of RCR. “Our teams are looking forward to working together to highlight our shared values and showcase Boot Barn’s broad selection of cowboy boots and western wear to NASCAR fans.”

Dillon will debut the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, July 14 for the first of Boot Barn’s multi-race primaries with RCR. The race airs live on the USA Network beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

For more information and all that is going on at RCR, visit rcrracing.com.

About Boot Barn: What started out as one store in 1978 has since become the largest western and work wear retailer in the nation. We say that our customers feed America, build America, and protect America. With an uncompromising desire to support the local communities we serve, we proudly offer the broadest selection of cowboy boots, work boots, western wear, workwear, western-inspired fashion, and outdoor gear. It is an honor to support the varying lifestyles of the people who make our country so great.

Richard Childress Racing (www.rcrracing.com) is a renowned, performance-driven racing, marketing and manufacturing organization. Incorporated in 1969, RCR has celebrated over 50 years of racing and earned more than 200 victories and 16 championships, including six in the NASCAR Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series and is a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 (1998, 2007, 2018). Its 2024 NASCAR Cup Series lineup includes two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (No. 8 Chevrolet) and 2017 Coca-Cola 600 winner and 2018 Daytona 500 champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Chevrolet). RCR fields a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series program with Jesse Love (No. 2 Chevrolet) and Austin Hill (No. 21 Chevrolet).

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS
ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE GRAND PRIX
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 22, 2024

 KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of racing double duty in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Race at Circuit of The Americas.

Media Availability Quotes:

How do you expect the car to react at the road courses? Tyler Reddick said you can’t bring what you brought last year and expect it to still do the same thing. Are you anticipating the car handling any differently with the package this year than it did a year ago?

“I have no idea, so yeah I don’t really know how to answer that.. other than I just assume with another year that the team has gotten smarter and better about setups, that our car is going to be driving better. Just like it did from 2022 to 2023, it drove better even though we had less downforce, I guess, last year. Now that we have more downforce, I would hope that the braking zones would be a little bit more comfortable. I remember last year being really uncomfortable in the brake zones.. a lot of us were. But then like through the corners, my car handled better. So now I’m hoping that the brake zones will be a little bit more comfortable, and then our car setup will be good through the corners and stuff, too. Wishful thinking, so we’ll see when we get out on the track tomorrow.”

You’ve got a win under your belt, so your season is obviously going pretty well. What is your forecast for some of the upcoming tracks like Richmond and things. What are focusing on as you get ready for Indy and other stuff you have going on the sidelines?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I never try to look too far out in front. Yeah, I mean I don’t even know what race is after Richmond, honestly. So yeah, I mean these two weeks, I guess, is all I’m really looking at. I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while, just because I want to get better here. And it’s the first road course of the year, so it’s different and it’s fun. Studying all week and stuff like that is enjoyable.

But then yeah, I don’t know. We’re tied for the point lead right now, so we’ve been doing something right. But yeah, we’d just like to continue the consistent runs. Continue getting good stage points at every race track, or at least having a good shot at the end of the race too. Yeah, it’s just been a goal of mine, is to try and do a better job throughout the regular season. I know we’re only five races in, but it’s been going well, so far. Just have to keep it up.”

Do you find yourself having a little bit more time to focus on the Indy 500 and things like that, or have you even thought about that yet?

“I get asked that question every week (laughs).. what should I be doing?”

(No mic.)..

“I don’t know either.

I feel like to this point, I’m as prepared as I can be. I’m just to the point now where I need to get on track. We get on track in a few weeks, and then I’ll get to be able to think more about the Indy 500. But also, I can’t take focus off of the Cup Series because it’s not like this stuff comes easy to me. It takes a lot of work, so I also have to dedicate a lot of time to this if I want to be doing my team justice on Sunday’s, as well. I race a lot of stuff and I prepare the same for all of it, so Indy is no different. Like I’m not racing a sprint car for another month, but I’m not worried about right now, either. I’m worried about right now. Maybe that will hurt me when it comes to Indy, but I don’t think it will. I’m not changing my process.”

The Drivers Council have been in effect for a few years. What are your impressions on how its evolved?

“Yeah, that’s a good question. I think it’s evolved, for sure. I think even before the Drivers Council was ever established; I was a part of stuff.. some version of a Drivers Council like probably nine or more years ago. And just to see where it’s kind of come from since then has been promising. I feel like there’s way more open communication, trust amongst everybody.. all of that. I feel like we’re moving forward together a little bit, better than we used to. I mean it’s always been good. Even from its inception, I feel like it’s been decent. But I feel like now, there’s the trust level between everybody, which makes things a little bit nicer.”

Is there one thing you’d change in how this sport operates?

“No.. I mean I’m just a driver.”

How do you expect to tackle the new restart zone here at COTA? Also, your thoughts on going back to stage cautions?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I think we just have to see how the truck race plays out a little bit. But I would imagine the restart zone being to the final corner.. like when the leader takes off, the cars will still be kind of stuck going around that corner. So I believe, there should be less, kind of seven-wide, into turn one.. less divebombs, crashes and just craziness. Which is good, I think, because even fans last year were like, ‘this is kind of dumb’, right? Like we look like amateurs out there. So I think it will look a little bit more professional. I think you’re still going to have divebombs, for sure, but maybe not from four rows back. And then just shoving guys through the two rows in front of you. I think it’s going to be good. I think it’s going to be a nice compliment to what the drivers wanted, plus what everybody kind of needed, as far as just not crashing people.”

You mentioned how you’re tied for the point lead. When do you really begin to start looking at the regular season standings, as the regular season winds down?

“Daytona.. I don’t know if other people are the same way, but I think if you take your eyes off of it too much, then you can get a little careless and then you get further behind. I’ve always paid attention to the points every week, and I would say most people probably do, as well. It’s always on your mind, especially when there’s playoff points being given at the end of the regular season. I think that makes you more aware of where you’re at in the standings, even with the one win that we have and knowing that we’re locked-in or whatever. It’s what, like 15-points I think, to win the regular season, and then it drops by five. I mean that’s like a full race win, so yeah it’s important to have the best regular season that you can to benefit yourself through the playoffs.

In 2022 and 2023, yes we were pretty competitive, but we stumbled a lot in the regular season and didn’t finish very high in the regular season points, and then the playoffs were difficult where we were barely kind of squeaking by through some of the rounds. Ultimately at the (Charlotte) ROVAL in 2022, I missed it by three-points, where if I could have just finished a couple of spots in the regular season points, I would have made it through and racing in the Championship Four. So yeah, points are always on my mind. Maybe not necessarily during the race, but afterwards.”

Did you have a chance to see the onboard camera from Bristol last weekend that was floating around on social media? Did it feel like a real life video game when you were doing it, and would you ever want to participate in a race like that again?

“Yeah, I watched the three-and-a-half minute clip that I saw on Twitter. Honestly, it was crazier from my seat than even like Twitter or the onboard. Like when I watched the onboard, I was like ‘man, this doesn’t look as wild as it was out of my windshield’. It just felt like when I left pit road.. which I thought I was screwed, right? Like I was one of the first people to pit and I thought for sure there would be a caution, and I was like my race is over. So I’m kind of just like, I didn’t even try hard coming to pit road.. didn’t try hard leaving. I went out there and I’m just like driving around people, and I was like ‘man, maybe we’re going to get this whole cycle through’. It was just wild. I felt like I was passing the same guy like very five laps. It was just nuts. I mean I would be like passing somebody on the bottom, and then like turn right mid-corner and drive around that guy before exit. It was just weird.. it was just like those weird dreams that you would have, like it wasn’t real life.

It was fun. And don’t get me wrong, like I think a lot of people got me wrong last weekend and I didn’t probably show how much fun I had. But I was always smiling in all my post-race media stuff.. like I had a blast. I had a great time; it was just maybe I could have taken more time in explaining my comments like ‘I hope I don’t ever had to do this again’.. it was more that like, you couldn’t really manage your stuff. Yes, you could manage it three to seven more laps better, I guess, than some people. But it was just too short.. they were too short of little stints, I guess. If it was a little less extreme, we could kind of manage that throughout a little bit longer run. I would be all for that.

And two, I would have loved for it to like laid a little bit of rubber so you could kind of move around and still push and pay for it if you needed to because how it was then, we were just so stuck to the bottom.. I hate to nitpick it, but it could have been a little bit better. But it was still fun.. I enjoyed it a lot. I’ve never been in a race like that. I’ve been in sprint car races like that, but they are like 25 or 30 lap races. That was 500 laps of like rubber down racing, where you’re just blowing through your tires without even trying. It was crazy.”

 
 
 

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.

Toyota Racing – John Hunter Nemechek
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

AUSTIN, Texas (March 22, 2024) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver John Hunter Nemechek was made available to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 42 Romco Equipment Co. Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

What’s your outlook and your grade so far?

“I think coming into this year we knew that there was going to be some ups and downs. We felt like there was going to be times where we could shine, times where we may struggle, and things where we kind of need to get better overall as a team. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I’m looking forward to this year. We’ve had some decent speed so far this year. We just have to keep it up and see what we can do.”

Do you feel like this is a resurgence for you?

“I definitely think so. I think coming back to the Cup Series was the goal all along so, how to do that – we are back here finally, with the goals that we set to get back in the Cup Series. I feel good about kind of the vision and where we are trying to go with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, and the speed we’ve had at some of the race tracks this year. I feel that as we continue to go through the year, we should be way better the second half of the year, theoretically with more data and info and some different things of that sort. It is going to take time – it’s a process, but we are continuing to push hard and try to learn everything we can every single week. For myself, being in the Next Gen car for the first time – really like racing – as well, and getting Ben (Beshore, crew chief) back in the swing of things as well with the Next Gen car, and getting the two of us up to speed communication with the dialogue with the Next Gen car. It races way different than Trucks or Xfinity, so it requires a lot of adapting.”

What are your thoughts on the new Toyota body?

“The new Toyota Camry is awesome. It looks really good. It drives really good. The body definitely stands out. I like it a lot.”

What are your thoughts on more horsepower?

“I’ll play whatever hand I’m dealt. I know there has been a lot of talks about it. Who knows what is going to happen. I can’t say that I’m necessarily for more horsepower or for less horsepower or whatever it may be. I don’t know what the fix is.”

How are you feeling at this point of the year?

“I feel like we have been able to hit superspeedways, Atlanta – mile-and-a-half superspeedway package, a short track, a mile-and-a-half and now a road course. Kind of hitting everything package wise that we have for this year. We’ve found quite a few areas that we need to work on and I need to work on as a driver so far, but overall, we’ve shown decent speed some weeks, some weeks we haven’t, some weeks we’ve definitely needed to get better, but honestly, it is a progression. Being able to be consistently competitive this year is big. We know it is not going to go smooth every single week. There may be ups, there may be downs, but what do you learn from those situations and how do you make your cars drive better every single week when you come back to the race track.”

What is the biggest thing that you’ve had to learn this year?

“The car. It is way different than anything I’ve ever been in. It is still a race car, but adjustment wise, how it drives, dirty air – there is a lot of differences there. Just trying to learn every aspect I can of this car and figuring out what I need for practice and qualifying, and the race, and trying to make the best adjustments possible.”

What kind of race do you think we are going to see at Richmond after what we saw in Phoenix?

“I don’t know. At Phoenix, the fastest car won it by running the bottom of the race track. I’m not sure about Richmond. With the simple diffuser, you are able to drive it more sideways. I don’t have experience with the other diffuser on short tracks, so I can’t tell much difference, but just from what I’ve heard, you drive it more sideways, but I feel like the package, I feel like it raced somewhat better – I don’t know – the biggest experience things for me is just not knowing the past and the trends and trying to figure out this new package. With them bringing this new package in, I feel like it puts us all on a little bit of a level playing field with myself not having a bunch of laps with the other package. Hopefully, Richmond will be a really good race. If we have tire fall off like we had at Bristol, it will be really good.”

Did you feel like you could pass when you needed to in Phoenix?

“Yes and no. At times for sure. You could definitely push and try to get by a guy. We were able to run multiple lines at Phoenix – which was nice to be able to move around. I definitely feel like that was big, but I definitely feel like handling played a huge factor in that race as well. We saw a few good cars that were really good on the long run, and we saw some that were good on the short run and some that were good in the middle of a run, but it didn’t seem like it was as bad in dirty air watching previous races. I’m not sure what others think, I can’t really give you my two cents on that.”

Can you describe the challenge of turns 6 through 9?

“Well, if you mess one of them up then you mess all of them up. It is definitely a rhythm section in my opinion. (turn) Six is fun, I would say. Kind of long sweeper carousel, you can run on the paint side, you can run on the asphalt side. (turn) Seven – is definitely tight. (turn) Eight is where the guys are using the runoff for grip. You try to straight line that section, and then (turn) nine is super tight back to the left. It is definitely faster than you think it would be, but it is slower than you think it would be as well from the elevation and what not. It is a fun little section. It’s hard for sure. It’s challenging to hit your marks.”

Do you like how NASCAR’s start of the season schedule has jumped around to so many different track types?

“I like it. I think it gives us a chance if you are off your game a little bit to work on your stuff. It gives you more time between the mile-and-a-half races or the short track races. I kind of like that it is spread out. I also like for myself and having not a lot of experience in the Next Gen car being able to run all of the different packages at five different race tracks to get kind of one race under our belt so you kind of know what to expect when you go back to one of those places. I definitely like it like that. I don’t think we should run all superspeedways and then all short tracks and all road courses together. I think it should definitely be spread out.

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 – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

AUSTIN, Texas (March 22, 2024) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

How do you feel about coming in the defending winner?

“I feel pretty good. I feel good about it. Obviously, there are a couple of changes with the car and the package. It is relatively the same track; some corners have been repaved. I think some of the ways that you make lap time are going to be different, but at the end of the day, the way you run really fast laps here is execute all 20 corners in that lap. Hopefully, we can do more of the same.”

Is there any difference from being under the radar at road courses, to now being the favorite?

“No, but it is kind of cool though. I remember a time not too long ago, when I was hoping just to finish with a clean race car. It has been nice to turn it around and improve like we have. It doesn’t hurt your confidence coming in, when you see that. It validates – but it’s all leading in, we haven’t done anything on the race track yet. Hopefully, by the end of practice and qualifying tomorrow, we are exactly where we need to be. We’ve certainly worked really hard at it. We haven’t gotten comfortable with the speed that we seem to have. We keep the same mindset and keep working really hard at it.”

How many laps do you have on the track in real life versus simulator?

“I’ll talk about real life. I have the opportunity to come race here with a WRL, World Racing League, car – and they have an array of different classes, and the one I competed in was GTO, which is kind of the elite class of that series. It was a lot of fun. The first year I did it, I think there was 89 or 90 cars entered. I think the second year I did it – there were even more cars. It was just a lot of fun – the first year I did it, we learned a lot. We had speed, we just couldn’t put the whole race together, and we came back next year, and we won both days and it was really, really fun. I learned a lot about how to manage your car on a road course race. For us, we had the speed in that race, when we ran here, but we didn’t have the fuel mileage that the other cars did. We had to get creative and save fuel that can really help you when you get in the right circumstances on the Cup side. It was more just fun. I can’t tell you how many laps we did during those eight-hour endurance races, but it was a lot of fun. I love racing in the Cup Series, but there is something about 90 cars on the race track and five or six different classes. I don’t think I had a single clean lap either year I ran that race. Just passing three or four cars at a time – it was absolute chaos. No spotters either.”

How does the portions of the repave affect you?

“I think in some of the areas the track has been reworked. I would imagine it would even the field to a degree. Anytime you have more grip, you have less potential of missing a corner. It might bring the field together in a couple of corners. I could be wrong. Maybe turn 11 is still just as spread through the field as it was before, but you certainly will have more grip. Outside of that, I think you have turn 12 and the other areas – it won’t change it a whole lot. It will be pretty close to what it was before. I think lap time might be a little bit faster, but the rest of the race track has continued to wear even more. It isn’t like the track hasn’t aged. I don’t know of any other tracks that get as many laps on it a year as this one does. The track does certainly change quite a bit year to year when you come here.”

Do you follow the betting lines?

“Well, more times than not, it will get posted to social media and you’ll see it somewhere in your feed, but as I was saying earlier – when Jeff (Gluck) mentioned it – it just adds to my confidence going into the weekend. It is always very interesting to see the fans mention it, when you are at the race track. Probably my favorite one is – don’t screw up my day, I’ve got a lot riding on you. That is always interesting to hear. I’ve even heard that you need to go out and wreck so-and-so because I’ve got to beat him head-to-head. Obviously, I don’t take their advice (laughter). It is pretty funny how the fans love to chime in and let you know what they have riding on you.”

Do you think it is a good thing?

“Well, there is a fine line to it. You have to be careful with it. Everyone loves watching March Madness and the number of options you have and the amount of teams you can follow – it’s just one more ways that fans can interact within the race, and have their own race within a race. As a fan, you have a lot on the line when you are cheering for your favorite driver, but once you put your pocketbook on the line, that adds to the excitement for the fans it seems.”

What does Ty Gibbs add to the meetings and what have you seen from his growth this past year?

“He’s been learning a lot, and his speed is there. When you think about his experience level in the Cup Series, and how tough that transition can be. I think he is doing very, very well. He’s hard on himself and wants to win races as any driver that comes to the Cup Series, but he’s right there and it’s just a matter of time. There is no line to it. You see the speed that he brings to the race track. His ability. His race craft improving. It could be any weekend. It could be this weekend. It could be the next. He’s got a lot of speed.”

Is there any pride that you’ve won on a track that Formula 1 has competed on as well?

“I do enjoy thinking about the different series that come and race here. This track has all sorts of stuff that competes at this venue. It is cool to think about. The two races are entirely different – different strategy, the speed of the cars, the spread between the cars on speed. I think about it a little bit, but to some degree it is very cool, but it is not like why I’m so motivated to come here and run well. I think for me naturally over time really came to appreciate the course itself and for me it is just one of the most fun laps – car versus track that we have, just because there is so many corners. It is one of the most frustrating tracks when you miss a corner, because you have two minutes and 10 seconds – somewhere in there – to think about your mistake. It is just very rewarding here to get the most out of your car. It’s a challenging race track.”

What is your understanding of track limits this weekend and the penalties that come from it?

“Basically, what I think they are trying to accomplish is just enforce it. I think what is really important to them is being consistent about it. If it can’t be consistently enforced, throughout the whole field, than there is really no point of having that chance of somebody getting away with something another car couldn’t and getting penalized for it. There is a little bit of back and forth and trying to see where the limit is going to end up being, but at the end of the day – largely – how you approach this race track and how you run isn’t changed to much by it. But certainly, for some, depending on the direction it was going to go, potentially on certain corners, where you wouldn’t even think twice about being extra aggressive and getting all you can through it – depending on the corner. You see through the esses, all of a sudden, you get loose or you get two crossed up – you could be looking at a corner, where if I drive straight through this, I’m going to keep the car in one piece, but I’m going to get a pass through and then potentially if you try to drive through it, you could find yourself in left field. It is an interesting balance, but I think the biggest thing is they want it to be consistent through the field. We will see how it goes. It should be fun. I’ve always liked this track. We have to be really aggressive and push the limits – it’s just the nature of this course with having the curbs, and the paint and the grip that it has. We are all pretty quick to exploit it and maximize it to the rule book.”

How do you think the new restart zone will affect racing this weekend?

“I think cars mid pack or out back won’t be able to – I guess – to be as aggressive or have the opportunity to be just as relentless as they were last year. I could kind of see it happening behind me. When you have a clean track, you could kind of see the chaos happening behind you. Just with the makeup with this car and how tough the front and rear bumpers are – you can really knock someone out of the way and keep digging. You don’t destroy your radiator or damage your car to the extent of losing performance. They needed to do something to spread us out a little more and make it a little more fair and how a race should be versus us running into the back of each other. It was a good move. I think the first five or six cars that get through there will still be really, really close, but it should spread the field out enough where instead of trying to make a bold move that most likely won’t work out and dive bombing six cars, you only will be able to dive bomb one or two. You still might get to turn one and you still might wreck, but we will at least be spread out a little bit more and it won’t be as easy for someone to just ship it in there and say the heck with everybody else to the outside.”

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.

CHASE BRISCOE
COTA Advance
No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (Round 6 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 24
● Location: Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas
● Layout: 3.426-mile, 20-turn road course
● Laps/Miles: 68 laps/231.88 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 15 laps / Stage 2: 15 laps / Final Stage: 38 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Sunday at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, is the first of five road-course races on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. After COTA, the series’ next road-course race is June 9 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The three remaining road-course races after Sonoma are July 7 on the streets of downtown Chicago, Sept. 15 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, and Oct. 12 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval.

● Contrast best describes a lap around COTA. High speed and rapid changes of direction comprise the layout between turns two and 10, with this first sector akin to the Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel complex at the famed Silverstone Circuit in England. The end of the lap from turn 12 through turn 20 before hitting the frontstretch features low-speed combinations. The long backstraight, however, is where drivers want to retain as much speed as possible to either attack or defend through the tight turn 12. This corner, along with the uphill run to turn one and the hairpin in turn 11, provide good passing opportunities.

● Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix will mark Briscoe’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series start at COTA. In his maiden Cup race at the 3.426-mile, 20-turn road course in 2021, Briscoe qualified 27th and rallied to finish sixth. It remains his best result at the track, with his two other finishes being 30th (2022) and 15th (2023).

● Briscoe has 19 career road-course starts in the NASCAR Cup Series with five top-10 finishes spread across COTA (sixth in 2021), Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (sixth in 2021), Watkins Glen (ninth in 2021), the Charlotte Roval (ninth in 20222) and the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (sixth in 2023).

● Briscoe has made 11 career road-course starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – the stepping-stone division to the elite NASCAR Cup Series. In fact, it was road-course racing in the Xfinity Series that helped put Briscoe on the map when it came to his burgeoning NASCAR career, as he scored two road-course wins among eight top-10 finishes. At the inaugural race on the Charlotte Roval on Sept. 29, 2018 in what was Briscoe’s 14th career Xfinity Series start, the Mitchell, Indiana-native scored his first Xfinity Series win. Briscoe said afterward that he tapped into his dirt-track experience in wheeling his Ford Mustang to a strong 1.478-second margin of victory over runner-up Justin Marks. “It drove like a dirt track instead of a road course, and it felt like I was in a sprint car. I just tried to make sure the rear tires never spun. I had to give up a little time coming off the corner, but I’d make it back up on the straightaway, and that’s why I was always better at the end of the run.”

● Briscoe’s second Xfinity Series win on a road course came in another inaugural race – the 2020 Brickyard 150 on the road course at Indianapolis. On July 4, 2020, Briscoe started 12th and methodically worked his way to the front, taking the lead on lap 24. He wound up leading five times for a race-high 30 laps to take the victory by 1.717 seconds ahead of second-place Justin Haley. Despite the win happening during COVID restrictions, Briscoe was elated to win at his home track in a car owned by Indiana icon Tony Stewart. “Everybody knows that my hero in racing was Tony Stewart. To get to drive for him and watch him win at the Brickyard, climbing the fence was always his signature thing and I just wanted to do it. Obviously, it’s not the same prestige as winning on the oval, but we still won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It doesn’t matter if you’re racing on the oval, the road course, the dirt track or even the parking lot, it’s special when you win here. Growing up, coming here all the time, it’s unbelievable to think that I just won here.”

● Briscoe also has a road-course win in the ARCA Menards Series. On June 5, 2021 in the ARCA Menards Series West race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, Briscoe dominated. Despite starting third, Briscoe took the lead on the opening lap and never relinquished the point, leading all 51 laps to take the victory by a whopping 3.110 seconds over his nearest pursuer, Dylan Lupton.

● In three road-course starts in ARCA, Briscoe has two top-fives, with his first coming in 2016 when he finished fourth at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville after starting the 67-lap race in 10th.

● In Briscoe’s lone road-course start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he started 18th and finished seventh in the 2017 race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario.

● Mahindra Ag North America is in its third year as the anchor sponsor for Briscoe and the No. 14 team after extending its partnership with Stewart-Haas during the offseason. The multiyear agreement with the NASCAR team co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart and industrialist Gene Haas continues to feature Mahindra Tractors, a brand of Mahindra Ag North America, on Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Mustang for the majority of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Houston-based Mahindra Ag North America is part of Mahindra Group’s Automotive and Farm Sector, the No. 1 selling farm tractor company in the world, based on volumes across all company brands. Mahindra offers a range of tractor models from 20-75 horsepower, implements, and the ROXOR heavy-duty UTV. Mahindra farm equipment is engineered to be easy to operate by first-time tractor or side-by-side owners and heavy duty to tackle the tough jobs of rural living, farming and ranching. Steel-framed Mahindra Tractors and side-by-sides are ideal for customers who demand performance, reliability and comfort. Mahindra dealers are independent, family-owned businesses located throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

How would you rate yourself as a road-course driver?

“I feel like I’m above average. I’ve definitely had way more success in the lower series compared to Cup, where I’ve been kind of hit-or-miss. We’d run really, really good, or we were just off. Truthfully, I feel like the NextGen car has definitely hurt me quite a bit on the road-course side. I feel like the old car with just how badly it drove, you were always slipping and sliding around, it didn’t want to stop. I feel like this NextGen car certainly has closed up the gap. The guys who were typically off on road courses are definitely closer because the NextGen car is just easier to drive on the road courses – it stops better, it turns better, it just does everything better. I feel like I’ve been good on road courses from a speed standpoint, just need to find that little bit more to finally seal the deal on a road course.”

Some guys like road courses, others don’t. Where do you stand when it comes to competing on road courses?

“Having a positive attitude at any racetrack is important. For me, I enjoy road-course race but, truthfully, I used to be terrible at it. So, it kind of got frustrating at times. Then finally something just clicked with me and I was able to win a couple of road-course races and, now, every time we go to a road course, I’m super excited. I look forward to it from the driver’s side of things. Not that you don’t make a difference at the ovals, but I feel like at the road courses, as a driver, you make a little bit more of a difference, so I enjoy that part of it. Just driving a car on a road course is a lot of fun. You’re manhandling it and trying to run as hard as you can and it’s just a lot of fun to do it, so I always enjoy going there.”

You’ve mentioned how your dirt-racing experience makes you a better road-course racer. How so?

“I think there are just a lot of things that carry over. The NextGen car takes some of that out of the equation, but you still have more power a lot of the time on exit than you really need, so you’re spinning the tires and you’ve got to really finesse the throttle, which is a lot like dirt racing. Just how you have to really slide the car around and hustle the car is very similar to dirt racing. I just feel like you drive more on the edge on a road course than you do on an oval. And then just the constant switching directions and the counter-steering, there’s a lot that reminds me of dirt racing. When you look at road racing in the past, a lot of dirt guys were really good in NASCAR. Obviously Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson now, even Christopher Bell, there are a lot of guys who grew up dirt racing who have a lot of success on the road courses in NASCAR, and I feel that’s because there’s a lot of correlation, as crazy as it seems.”

What do you work on to become a better road-course racer? Obviously, there’s sim, but does your relationship with Ford Performance Racing School also allow you to hone your road-racing techniques?

“There’s a lot that goes into road-course racing, and laps and repetition are probably the biggest keys to that. No matter what road course you’re getting on or what car you’re driving, the techniques and the styles that you run on road courses are super important. It’s been great to have that relationship with Ford Performance Racing School, to get over there and be able to run laps. Almost every single road course we go to, I’ll go to the racing school that week and just do a little bit of a warmup over there, trying to get into the mindset of road-course racing. There’s a lot that goes into road-course racing, especially to be really good at it. Braking is probably the most important thing, trying to be as efficient as you can under braking, and being able to go over to the racing school and just playing around with different types of braking, and being able to be aggressive and trying different things that at the racetrack we don’t get the opportunity to do because we don’t want to mess anything up. Plus, we don’t get a lot of time to practice, so it’s nice to be able to go over there and spend the day and really just try different things.”

The current Cup cars seem exceptionally suited to road-course racing where the cars are forgiving and drivers aren’t penalized for mistakes. Because of that, it seems like there’s more rooting and gouging out on the racetrack than ever before. What’s your take?

“I don’t if there’s more rooting and gouging, but I feel like it’s just way harder to pass now. Track position is more important than ever. In the past on road courses, even if I had to do a pit stop or whatever and I had to do a restart from midpack, I felt confident that if I’d been up front, I could get back up there. Now, it seems that’s not the case. You could be leading the race and then have to restart 20th and you’re kind of just stuck back there because everybody’s almost the same speed. In the past, we’d go to a road course and you’d see five-, six-second spreads throughout the field, where now it’s almost like all of us are within a second and a half. It just makes it harder to get to each other to root and gouge just because the brake zones are so short, everybody’s so efficient now. It’s definitely changed the game going to road-course races with this NextGen car.”

With track position at such a premium on road courses, can you afford to be nice, or do you need to have a selfish and unforgiving attitude?

“I think you have to be extremely selfish now and just aggressive from lap number one, not only at road courses but, truthfully, everywhere. That’s kind of one of the biggest things I focused on during the offseason, just not giving anybody anything this year. That’s why I think I’ve probably been more aggressive on the racetrack this year as far as throwing blocks and different things just because you have to now. It’s so hard to get that position back, and if you give one away, it can take you 30 laps just to get that one position back, so you have to be extremely aggressive. I think when you look at the guys who win these races now, they’re all the same way. The aggressive guys are the ones running up front and winning races. So it’s the same on the road courses, but it’s the same on the ovals, now.”

Take me for a lap at COTA. What parts do you like and what parts are a challenge, and what does it take to make a quick lap?

“COTA is an extremely long lap. There are a lot of opportunities to make mistakes there, there’s a lot of elevation. You go up into turn one and there’s this massive hill. I don’t know how many feet of elevation it is, but it’s a lot, more than anywhere else on the schedule. Then you go around a super-tight 180, and then you go back down the hill to probably the fastest-feeling part of the track – the esses where you’re just back and forth. You’re constantly on edge and you’re sliding the car around a lot. There’s a lot of time to be made up there. Then you kind of go through a slower section, I want to say it’s turn nine, it’s extremely rough. It’s one of the harder parts in our racecar because of how rough it is, which leads you down into, I believe it’s (turn) 11, which is probably one of the more crucial corners on the racetrack in terms of speed. It leads you onto the longest straightaway, so you’ve got to be really hard on the brakes, but then try to get your car pointed and straight as quick as possible and put the power down. That leads onto a really, really long straightway into a huge braking zone for what they call the stadium section, which is a really fun part of the racetrack. It’s really flat and there are a lot of different lines you can run. I don’t think anybody really runs that area the same. When you look at the fast guys, everybody’s got their own, unique line through there. And then you come to a super-long righthander, which for me is the hardest part of the racetrack, I’ve always kind of just struggled to find what works there. Out of that corner, it’s kind of off-cambered and rough, which leads you into (turn) 19, which is a lefthander. Really for me, from that long righthander, I think it’s turn 18, all the way to turn 20, that’s been the biggest struggle spot for me. It’s really rough back there and your car never really wants to react to what you want it to, so I’ve always kind of struggled through that area. And that’s a lap – it’s a really long lap, for sure.”

No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe

Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: Richard Boswell

Hometown: Friendship, Maryland

Car Chief: J.D. Frey

Hometown: Ferndale, California

Engineer: Mike Cook

Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Spotter: Joey Campbell

Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala

Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff

Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal

Hometown: Holland, Michigan

Jack Man: Dylan Moser

Hometown: Monroe, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Corey Coppola

Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams

Hometown: Plymouth, Wisconsin

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads

Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Shock Specialist: Brian Holshouser

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips

Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

Transporter Co-Driver: Todd Cable

Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Dale Lackey

Hometown: Taylorsville, North Carolina