Toyota Racing – Bubba Wallace
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 14, 2024) – 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace was made available to the media on Wednesday prior to the Daytona 500.

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

How will you know how much you can push with the new car?

“Find out. Where is that graph, you mess around and you find out? (laughter) That’s what you have to figure out in the Duels. For me, you push in the areas when necessary, push down the straightaways and see, because our new body – I know Ford has a new body – so you just have to be mindful of what works and what doesn’t just to build your resume for Sunday. That is when the pay window opens. Excited. Excited about the opportunity, and excited for our chances tonight. We are shotgun on the field for qualifying, so hopefully there is a lot of hype and not a lot of letdown. Hopefully, we can get to the second round – I mean congrats to the 48 (Alex Bowman) team. I think they’ve got the pole already.”

What are your thoughts going into this season?

“I’m really good. The best I’ve felt mentally. Physically I feel about the same. I’m lazy. I’m a bum (laughter). I need to go and work out. My wife (Amanda) tells me that, and lose a couple of pounds, but mentally, I have more appreciation. I have the confidence, and the awareness of where I’m at in the sport and having just a new appreciation or a different appreciation, just a different mindset going into this year, racing for something totally different. I feel good about it. Get through these first two weeks – Daytona and Atlanta – they are just about survival, and then showcase that you can run up front and get pushed, and be a pusher and all of that. I think you really start at Vegas. Good mile-and-a-half for us. There is a reason that Jimmie (Johnson) jumped into a Toyota and made all of his schedule mile-and-a-halves. Toyota is really good at mile-and-a-halves.”

You say you’re in a better mental state. Where does that come from?

“You see Bootie’s (Bootie Barker, crew chief) bourbon collection? There you go, it helps out a lot (laughter). No, turning 30, celebrating my one year wedding anniversary, celebrating life, just having fun with life, letting the little stuff go, focus on the big stuff. I find myself watching 2014 Truck Series races back when you couldn’t tell that kid nothing. Just jump in a truck and go rip. Didn’t have any self-doubt in the world. Trying to bring that back, so I feel good.”

Is that easy to do?

“Heck no. You get to a Cup car and are quickly reminded of how hard this is. I remember jumping in the Truck here at Daytona and I remember I was taken back. ‘This place is massive!’ Every place you went to. Now, you get in a Cup car and it’s just another race. The (Daytona) 500 is one of the biggest spectacles in racing, but it’s just another race.”

How often do you watch previous Daytona 500s?

“Not very often. I probably pull it up Saturday night of last year’s or the year before, but we do a lot of debrief stuff, so we cover a lot of footage, a lot of highlight moments that are learnings for me in our weekly meetings before the races. So yeah, every race is totally different. I talked about this a little earlier, but if I finished second in five of my six attempts, then yeah we have something to figure out. I’m second, 40th, second, 30th, second, 50th. A little inconsistent, but we always find our way to the front and showing good pace on speedways. But we’re still a few moves away from getting that first Daytona 500 win, but I feel the most prepared I’ve ever been, but you never know. You could be out leading and get turned, that’s what happened to me last year. You never know what other person in the field is going to make the wrong move, so you have to be aware.”

When you watch film, do you see things you say you wish you did differently?

“Yeah, I don’t know. Last year, I came across the line fifth or sixth taking the white flag. (Kyle) Larson was stuck in the middle and I could’ve went down to him, but the 10 (Aric Almirola) turned the 67 (Travis Pastrana) right into Larson, which turned me. Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve. It’s so hard until it’s too late.”

Going through the field on superspeedways, is that an exhilarating feeling?

“It’s fun. We passed more cars on the restarts than anyone else. Restarts are fun. It’s something when the momentum gets faster, you have to make split-second decisions. And, you don’t know if it’s the right decision until it’s too late, right? ‘I’m going this way. Ah, it worked out!’ Denny (Hamlin) may be the one who knows constantly if something’s going to work out as to where I have a little bit of question about it. ‘Hey, yeah, the media said that was a great move. Totally was! Had that calculated the whole time.’ You just turn left and hope it works.”

Does Denny Hamlin help you with superspeedway racing?

“I mean we look at what he’s (Denny Hamlin) been able to do and the resume he’s built. Him and I actually work really well on speedways together. He’s really good at keeping the lead. I need to be better at keeping the lead with him. But we both make the right decisions to get up to the front, and when we’re there, we work together really well. It’s a product of Denny (Hamlin) having a lot of laps. If you had your top three restrictor plate racers, I’d go with Denny, (Ryan) Blaney, Joey (Logano). I’d put myself top ten. I just need to finish these things and finish more towards the front. Yeah, it’s been fun to build a resume, have great people behind me at 23XI, building great race cars. You have to have that. You have to have the natural instinct to make the right decisions, but also the equipment and people to back you up.”

Are you more of a send it guy than a methodical thinking guy on superspeedway races?

“No, no. That’s Tyler Reddick. He’s a send it guy. I’m more of the methodical. It’s just when the momentum is so big at speedway races, you have no time to be methodical and trust your instincts.”

Were you the send it guy in 2014?

“It was. I was watching Texas and we were running the top, running the middle. Didn’t have any doubt about it. Trusted your instincts. At the same time, you were learning. If you stepped over the line and crashed, you’ve never been there. As to now, I’m going into your seventh year in Cup. Those aren’t the mistakes you’re allowed to make. And I’m setting the tone for myself, but it’s true. There’s guys who have been out there for a long time, winning a lot of races for a reason. They’re not out crashing cars 20 years in. It’s not in the notebook, it’s something you have to learn the hard way.

This would be the race to run up front if you had to choose, right?

“Um, I like Kansas. Kansas is pretty cool. But this one pays the best, so you’re right. The most attention, most everything, for sure.”

You alluded to the real racing begins at Las Vegas. What do you like about that track?

“The spring race has always been good to us. I don’t know, I think that’s the first one where you kind of – you go through California, well we’re not going to California anymore. But, you learn a lot that weekend. I don’t know, the mile and halves just work. The performance Toyota brings, the speed Toyota brings is solid. You just happen to be up at the front at the end and have to make it count. We’ll see what happens this go around.”

Where do you stand with moving the Clash?

“I’m good with not going back to California. Love the whole deal, love the state, but I think my Cup career was an average finish of 35th (in California). It could be close to that, like 34.9 or something like that. But it was nothing to brag about, so I’m good with California being off the schedule for a little bit, some time to refresh (laughter). Moving the Clash, I don’t know. I’ve always said wherever it is, and I have a ride, I’m going to show up – whether it’s here in Daytona, or in Mexico. I’m game for whatever. We’ve obviously been able to see we can create anything, like the LA Colosseum, we can do that anywhere else. So, keep it moving.”

Where would you like the Clash to go?

“Well, it’s so hard since you have to chase weather. You can’t go up north this time of the year since everything is frozen. I never got to the do the Clash when it was here in Daytona.”

Seems like you’re in a pretty good space right now. Do you think the results will follow?

“Fingers crossed (laughter)! I think going into last year, I think we finished that playoff run really strong. Thinking, ‘it’s going to happen again,’ and I was forcing it too much. You can’t just sit back and let it come to you, that’s not how the sport works, you need to go out and earn it. I think just having a different mindset – being aggressive, being confident. Self-confidence is what’s going to yield the results for us.”

Tyler Reddick said the team overachieved last year. Do you feel the same?

“That’s the bad thing about overachieving is that you set the new bar, so anything less than that is a failure. So, we know what we have to do. It’ll be fun.”

What’s the new goal for the team this year?

“Fifth and ninth. Simple answer. Can’t be sixth and tenth, then it’s just a lateral move. Lateral may be okay if we finish sixth and tenth again, but Denny (Hamlin) can be a stickler, so he probably wants at least fifth and ninth.”

How have Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin been in those offseason meetings this year?

“MJ (Michael Jordan) has been good, has been very supportive of the whole deal. Denny (Hamlin) has been super hands-on. We have a lot of data to look through, and a lot of smart people, a lot of new people, that are creating spreadsheets and coming up with fun graphs to look at. I didn’t go to school enough years to understand what I’m looking at. But it’s been fun learning all that stuff. It just shows the commitment Denny has that feeds down from MJ in giving us all the tools to go out and be successful. So, at the end of the day, they’re giving you the keys, so if you can’t figure it out, that’s on you.”

How is driving for those two?

“It’s competitive. Pushes you to be the best you can be. Denny (Hamlin) has won a lot of races, MJ (Michael Jordan) has won a lot of basketball games. It’s something that many can’t say they’re a part of, but I can, so it’s really cool.”

Have you noticed anything different about Ryan Blaney since he won the championship?

“We don’t even talk anymore. He’s big time. I have to call his assistant just to get a call with him (laughter). He’s out playing golf right now. But he’s good, he’s solid. He’s enjoying it. Proud of him”

What makes a good superspeedway racer?

“Decision making. Confidence. Awareness. Have to make all the right decisions.”

Is it something that can be learned or do you have to be good at those things naturally?

“Have to finish the races. I’ve given Tyler (Reddick) some grief, whatever you want to say, but he hasn’t really finished a speedway race. We go through all of this data, and you say ‘Hey, when we get to five laps to go, this needs to happen’ with a lot of what-ifs. Then I say, ‘What if you don’t make it to the end? So, let’s focus on finishing.’ Then, all of the data we have, you can learn from it. Before, I had a lot of speed, but I wouldn’t finish these speedway races, so we’d talk about things and I’d be like ‘I’ve never had that happen.’ Now, I’ve been able to experience it enough that I’m able to talk about something. But finishing is the most important thing, whether that’s 20th or that’s winning. Have to finish.”

What makes the Daytona 500 different from other superspeedway races?

“The hype around it. It’s always been the Great American Race. It pays the most. It’s our biggest race of the year and how we start it off. It always will be.”

How excited are you to see the Chicago Street Race again, hopefully unaffected by weather?

“I went over to Ben Kennedy’s the other night – I’ve been down here in Florida for about a month, so had some time to meet with leadership. But I told him, ‘I ain’t going to lie to you, I wanted that thing to fail so bad’ as obviously, I’m not a road course guy. But I got into it and loved every second of it. I was actually bummed it rained on Sunday. I was looking forward to the pre-race concerts, and walking from the hotel, and you’re right at the race track. The fan interaction was very cool. Those people had never seen a NASCAR race, of course you had your people who flew in, but a lot of people were new and were asking the right questions and were genuinely curious. I really enjoyed Chicago and happy to see it back on the schedule. Hopefully it doesn’t rain.”

How much did you learn about the city from that weekend?

“I learned how passionate they are about their culture. The city of Chicago is actually a lot of fun. Amanda (Wallace, wife) and I walked around, found some cool spots to eat at. Just the environment was really cool. I love going to Chicago, so it’s pretty cool.”

About Toyota

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

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

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

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYS
FEBRUARY 14, 2024

 KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CAMARO ZL1 – 2024 Daytona 500 Media Day Quotes

Q. Of everything you haven’t done, is there anything else on the bucket list besides this race?

KYLE BUSCH: Winning a damn Bandolero race down the road, yeah. We finished second three days in a row, man. He led every lap today and finished second again. He’s close.

Anyways, yeah, the Daytona 500. It’s certainly the highest honor out there to be able to win a race in our sport. I have not done that yet, although I won the Daytona 500 last year under the yellow flag, not under the checkered flag.

Those damn technicalities keep coming up and getting me.

Q. Five drivers led the Daytona 500 (indiscernible) have not won it. Where does that rank on the pain scale?

KYLE BUSCH: High. High. I don’t have the trophy or the ring. It just means that I could have, should have, would have if it was prior to 2005, right? That sucks. It is what it is. I guess 2005, I knew the rules coming in anyways. That’s when I first started in the Daytona 500 was 2005, so… It happens.

Q. You talk about the results here at the 500. Have you looked into the results, meaning luck for some miscalculation on your part?

KYLE BUSCH: Not necessarily. I haven’t looked at that. I’ve kind of looked at like, Okay, I finished second, third, fourth, fifth. I think there might be five finishing positions that I haven’t finished in in this race, but I’ve gotten all the rest of them. Weird stat. Maybe somebody will look that up.

All in all, coming out of turn four in 2007, maybe I had a little bit of sentimental feeling for Mark, trying to push Mark to the win. I didn’t pull out on the backstretch to take the lead around the outside, then I spun out of four. That was the melee of Bowyer upside down and on fire in that race.

2016, I should have pulled out of line down the backstretch when Denny got the lead. He won. I finished third on that one.

There’s a lot that have stung that you still think about, Dammit, man, should have, could have, would have.

Q. Do you compartmentalize those instances going through a race? I should do this this year…

KYLE BUSCH: You would think, but I’m not that good of a studier. I procrastinate too much. I watch the races, I just don’t study them.

Q. It seemed like on superspeedways last year, the finishes were a lot better. Something to that?

KYLE BUSCH: I would agree. I don’t know why, no. Speaking of study, I feel like you can study and get all those things in your mind of what to do in certain situations, but damn, man, you’re going to get surprised of a new situation and not be ready for it, then try to run through the categories of, Where does this one fall? What should I do? By the time you think that long, it’s over. You know what I mean?

You need to be a quick thinker on your feet and just go with reaction and what you feel in the moment.

Q. Last year you won early and often. How important is it to get that out of the way early, then concentrate on what’s next?

KYLE BUSCH: Yeah, no, winning early, man, that’s huge for your season. It kind of sets the tone, gives you a chance to know you’re in the Playoffs. You just have to make sure you keep everything else in order.

If you’re getting into the July, August months, and you don’t have a win yet, it gets stressful. That’s not going to be a place where you want to get to.

Q. You had two top 10s at Atlanta last year. You really took to that track quickly, the reconfiguration. Different car. What is it about it or are you just easy acclimation?

KYLE BUSCH: I don’t know. I’m not a fan of it. I don’t really like it, but it is what it is. I don’t know.

We got lucky last year in the fifth-place finish because we stayed out on fuel mileage and then the rain came and gave up that opportunity.

Track position is hard to get there. Hard to pass. Two lanes, two-wide… I felt really good about my car. I felt like I could go to the bottom and rip the bottom better than anybody, but then there was no room to get back in line on the top to get the straightaway speed you need. I kept getting sucked backwards every time I would try to pull out of line and try to make a move.

The confidence I had in my car was net hurting me. Just hard to be patient in those situations and sit and ride.

Q. I noticed the logo on your sleeve. A sports betting logo 10, 15 years ago would be unheard of. What do you see as the role of sports betting in sports?

KYLE BUSCH: It’s huge. I think there’s a huge market for it. I grew up in Vegas obviously. A lot of betting happens there. A lot of gambling happens there. It feels like I’m the natural fit for that. Thanks to Bet MGM for being associated with a Vegas cat.

All in all, again, it’s a huge market. A lot more states are coming up with releasing the regulations and allowing sports betting to happen in their states. I feel like that’s only a good thing for the industry, just having that chance.

Q. What’s your responsibility as an athlete in all that?

KYLE BUSCH: Well, I mean, obviously I feel like for us, keeping the integrity of the sport obviously. You’re not going to do anything that hurts the things that you’re supposed to do behind the wheel. You can’t change the outcome of events, right? That’s a big piece of it. That’s what our part is.

Also just making sure you deliver the message of safe betting as well, too. Not getting somebody too much into it, addicted to it, right?

Q. Should we bet on you to win this week?

KYLE BUSCH: I would. Well, from what I’ve heard of a lot of other people around our industry this past week, there’s a lot of people that have good feelings on us this week. Maybe that’s a good omen.

Q. What do you remember of your first win at Las Vegas? Being in front of the home crowd, what did that mean to you?

KYLE BUSCH: In ’09, the Cup win?

Q. Yes.

KYLE BUSCH: It was huge. It was big. That was a cool deal. That to me felt like my Daytona 500. I’ve had some big wins. I’ve won Indy. I’ve won the Southern 500. I’ve won the Coke 600, All-Star Race, all that stuff. But the Vegas win, it was just like such a relief, such a monumental win for me because I remember I grew up right down the street watching that place be built.

It was pretty cool. I can only imagine what winning here at Daytona on Sunday night will feel like.

Q. Is there less pressure when you go back to Vegas?

KYLE BUSCH: Because I’ve won there, yes, there’s less pressure. But I’ve never backed it up. You still want to win there every time you go, being the hometown. I think I have four or five third-place finishes there in the last six or seven races, whatever the hell it is. We’re right there, we just don’t get it.

Q. Of all the various places that you have finished here at Daytona, is it more frustrating to be high and just miss or to be in position and get collected, you’re down the list?

KYLE BUSCH: I think last year probably hurt the worst. We led mile marker 500, then got crashed out and finished 19th. There’s other years I got beat towards the end, finished second or third.

Yeah, you’re pissed, but you also know that’s a good start to the year. Getting out of Daytona with some good points, a good go of it, I guess lends it to be a little easier on the feelings than coming out of here with 19th.

Q. All the championships, the wins, the majors, do you still feel that something would be missing until the Daytona 500 box is checked off?

KYLE BUSCH: Yeah, I mean, it’s missing, right? There’s no checkmark there. Does it do anything to solidify your career, validate the things that you’ve done or accomplished here? I don’t think so.

I mean, I look at Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace and Tony Stewart as some greats that have blue jackets that made it to the Hall of Fame that haven’t won this race.

It would certainly be nice to not have to worry about that going in and have this trophy at home.

Q. You’re about at the point where Earnhardt was when he won his first.

KYLE BUSCH: Trust me, I’m well aware. Thank you very much. I hope we can talk about some of the same storylines on Sunday. That would be nice.

Q. How do you compare the level of parity in this series compared to when you first got up here?

KYLE BUSCH: Way more now than it was. Way more. I mean, back in 2005, early 2000, 2005 when I was here, I mean, you had to be in good stuff. That was one of the most frustrating things that I had, too, was I knew I was in good stuff at Hendrick, and Jeff Gordon is winning around me, Jimmie Johnson is winning around me. They’re raking up championships, top threes in points. I’m spinning out, crashing, winning only one or two races a year. It got frustrating really quick.

Over the years at Gibbs, found my own, found my way. Now again just with the car and everything, it just feels like it’s so tough. Parity is so tight. You can go to races back in the mid 2000s and probably race against five, six, maybe eight guys. Now you go to races and you’re racing against 12 or 15 of team win.

Here at restrictor plate races, I think it’s 30. You can literally look down the list and be, Yeah, there’s no reason why any of these guys wouldn’t win.

Q. Do you think Chevy will have an advantage, considering the new body styles on both the Ford and the Toyota, they’re going to have to work in and get used to it?

KYLE BUSCH: No. I would think anytime you come out with a new body, you fine-tune on it and you make it better than what it was. Ours being the oldest, we haven’t had time or any opportunity to work on it to make it better than what it was.

Those guys I’m sure are going to be fast. With all the testing and the things that NASCAR does in the wind tunnel and whatnot, they say parity is tight, it’s close. Everybody is in the same corner of the box. You don’t know till you see it on the racetrack.

Q. (No microphone.)

KYLE BUSCH: So getting called to the NASCAR hauler is like getting called to the principal’s office. You have your own reasons of why or what. You really want to tell them why or what. You are better off just keeping your mouth shut and taking the beating and walking on and seeing the light come up the next day.

I’ve had some meetings in there where I knew I was in the right, I knew I had a point, and my point was the solid, valid point. Boy, did that bite me in the ass.

Q. It’s less haunting now than it was 15 or 20 years ago, right?

KYLE BUSCH: I don’t know. Maybe a little bit. Trying to think. Who was one of my worst meetings?

Q. Helton.

KYLE BUSCH: I think Helton is still probably going to be in those meetings, yeah. O’Donnell in there. Who was the director years ago, like ’05?

Q. Darby.

KYLE BUSCH: Those three: Darby, Helton and O’Donnell. Those were the three worst.

Now you have Moran that’s going to be in there. Maybe Helton. Fortunately I don’t know because I haven’t been in there in a while.

It’s not a comfortable situation.

Q. There’s been occasions where you take it to them. You’re going to them. What is that situation like?

KYLE BUSCH: Way better. I mean, way easier, yeah.

Q. Other people are saying they walk in and they’re all excited and fired up, walk through the door, it’s a bad idea.

KYLE BUSCH: Yeah, I’ve definitely had other times where I’ve wanted to walk in there and say my piece on other things, too. Me inviting myself, not being invited.

My guys get around me and they’re like, Yeah, I don’t think you should do that. You should let that go and don’t worry about it.

I mean, it just kind of depends on the situation. But I haven’t been in there in a while. I’m going to knock on wood on that.

Q. Jimmie Johnson talked about them making him wait. Him and Tony Stewart. This was in ’04. Did they ever make you wait?

KYLE BUSCH: Oh, yeah. They take their sweet-ass time coming down, yeah. No question. I think the last time I was in there for a big issue was me and Harvick in ’11 at Darlington. I think that was the last time, so… They just take their time. They come down here and you’re all staring at each other. Nobody’s in a good mood.

Q. What is it like sitting across from a guy that you just had an incident with, you’re all fired up, hit each other, you have to sit there and twiddle your thumbs?

KYLE BUSCH: That’s what you do, yeah. You just sit there and don’t say much, yeah.

Q. (No microphone.)

KYLE BUSCH: He doesn’t know anything about that, no. He’s not on YouTube yet.

Q. Kyle Busch back in the day, what words come out of your mouth when Brexton is getting fired upped and hot to go after somebody?

KYLE BUSCH: Just calm down, take a breath, think about it for a second. Trust me, there’s been a couple times. Last year we were at a racetrack, he got wrecked by the same kid three times, three days in a row.

I don’t care, you have permission to go kick his ass because if you don’t do it, I’m going to do it. The kid is nine years old. I know I can’t do it.

Q. Did he?

KYLE BUSCH: No, no. We went over there and talked to him. All right, enough is enough. One more time and the gloves are off. Actually the gloves are off now. We’re just forewarning you, if you get close, it’s going to happen.

Q. Do they know him because his last name is Busch?

KYLE BUSCH: Yeah. He already has a little bit of a bullseye. But that happens. It will only make him tougher.

Q. Last year you were on a new team, new manufacturer, Next Gen car. Preparing for this year, has there been more things you’ve been able to do? Do you feel more prepared, more things you’ve been able to work on this off-season?

KYLE BUSCH: Yeah, working with Randall going into year number two with him and all the guys, that’s obviously better. I feel like we’ve had a really good start to the year last year, then we cooled off a lot towards the end, which was not good.

We sat down and we talked about a lot of those things like, Okay, what made us strong, what made us good, what are the setup tendencies that we ran well at each track, what are some of them that we didn’t. We tried to go through all that stuff and pinpoint exactly. That’s always kind of hard to do.

We also relied a lot on the Team Chevy notes we have from the Hendrick bunch and Trackhouse bunch to fine-tune our stuff a little bit more to have a better idea of what direction to go this year.

 

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
Daytona 500 Media Day | Wednesday, February 14, 2024

JUSTIN HALEY, No. 51 Treetop Apple Juice/Jacob Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “This is an awesome opportunity. I feel like this has been a refreshing move to come over here to Rick Ware Racing. Everyone at Ford Performance have been super welcoming to me and we have a lot of manufacturer backing and being on RFK’s campus and around all those great people has been awesome. I feel like we showed at the Clash a small sample size of what we are capable of. I have an awesome crew chief, one that has won a lot of races and championships and we have to just work hard.”

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: “Just everything. I feel like I have been on the Ford simulator more this year than I had previously in the past two years. Ford Performance has been so welcoming and all their people have really put in a lot of effort. On the RWR side of it, Robbie and Tommy and Chris and Rick himself it has been an open door type of situation. You can always go have a conversation and talk with them. I feel like we all have a lot of synergy and are working hard together and can have tough conversations. If I need something I can go to them. That has been refreshing. I feel like it can be a positive change for us.”

YOU MENTIONED LAST YEAR AT POCONO THAT RICK WANTED TO SIGN YOU TO LIKE A LIFETIME DEAL. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU? “It is obviously huge. I feel like Rick has made a lot of strides recently. He has a lot of race teams with a lot of success and we just want to change the narrative. That was something Spire has done for a little bit and I raced for them for a while but I feel like this is just something that I believe in. When we went to LA and qualified 10th against teams that have gift shops bigger than our race shop. Truthfully I feel like that lit a fire underneath all of us that we could go be competitive. There are going to be tough runs and tough conversations and things that we will struggle with but at the end of the day I can go to any of them and have an open conversation and be better. It has just been super refreshing and I feel so welcome and I feel like I am in a good position.”

CAN YOU PUT EXPECTATIONS ON THE YEAR? “No, you can’t. We still only have 20 or 30 people or whatever the number is. We are working hard. I think the expectation is to just show up and be competitive and go from there. I think the Clash is a super small sample size but I think we surprised ourselves. I think as long as we keep surprising ourselves and showing what we can do then we will be ahead.”

IS IT BEING OVERLOOKED WHAT YOU COULD MEAN TO THE RFK GUYS IN TERMS OF AN ALLIANCE AT THIS RACE? “Yeah, I think the thing with RFK is that we want to show RFK that we are an asset too. We just don’t want it to be a one-sided information where we are just taking and not giving anything. I have worked with Brad (Keselowski) a little on the sim and his crew chief and it has been awesome to get behind closed doors and work with those guys and everyone at RFK. We are still kind of off on our own separate island and doing things our own way, but I think when it comes down to it, we want to be looked at as an asset to them.”

NUMBERS MATTER HERE COME SUNDAY RIGHT? “Yeah and that is something I have never had in previous years. I would come to a speedway and it would just be me and my teammate and we weren’t really included in the manufacturer stuff. That couldn’t be more opposite at Ford Performance. They really believe in me and Rick and our team and that has been awesome to be a part of that group.”

WHAT DOES FORD DO DIFFERENTLY THAT YOU WEREN’T ACCUSTOMED TO WITH CHEVROLET? “Just in general everyone at Ford has been super welcoming. I feel like I have been on the Ford simulator more this year than I had been the previous two years, which is big for me. Everyone has just been so nice and that is refreshing to me. I am super excited to work with them and I feel like I have raced against them for so long on the speedways. They have a lot of numbers on the speedways and have always been fast. I honestly can’t say enough. It is a scary transition to go to a different manufacturer and a different team but I don’t know anything differently could have been done to make me feel more welcome.”

RICK WARE RACING IS A BUILDING TEAM, WHAT HAS IMPRESSED YOU MOST IN THE SHORT TIME YOU HAVE BEEN THERE? “It is just super open. You can have a tough conversation with anyone and I feel like we all can kind of go back and forth and have those conversations. I feel like I have a seat at the table and can make large decisions with Rick and I can be a part of making those shop decisions and for the better. I feel like I kind of have a little more of a say here than anywhere previously and it has just been a good fit. I feel like I finally found a good home and this is the best position I have been in during my Cup career.”

WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE TO HAVE ALL THESE FELLOW FORD DRIVERS ON THE TRACK WITH YOU TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH? “It is going to be nice because I haven’t been a part of a group like that or those meetings that take place for quite some time. It has been super awesome that everyone at Ford has been so open and welcoming. Whether it is in the simulator or working with everyone at Ford throughout the process, and Roush Yates Engines, it has all been so cool. I think we were the second-best Clash qualifying car for Ford, so that was pretty cool for such a little team. Hopefully we can do the same here in 500 qualifying.”

WHAT IS THE ENERGY LIKE? “After the Clash, I feel like a lot of guys that have been there for a while saw that we could do this and be competitive and run well. I am super thankful and excited that Rick offered me this and an opportunity to be in a Cup Series car for a little bit longer.”

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RILEY HERBST, No. 15 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW DO YOU FIND OUT WHAT THE NEW CARS WILL DO IN THE DRAFT? “I think there’s a little bit of, at least from my sense of working with the Stewart-Haas guys on practice day to kind of understand how we should line up and push. I feel like it’s gonna be fairly similar for the Fords for sure, and the Toyotas are gonna be different as well, but we don’t really know so the biggest thing is to see how we qualify tonight. It’s kind of gonna play it by ear for us on the 15 team for sure, but we’re gonna work with the Stewart-Haas guys more than anything, just kind of line up our bumpers and kind of see who they want to work with and go from there.”

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THIS RACE HAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SKILL SET? HOW DO YOU APPROACH THAT ASPECT? “I think it’s an interesting topic for sure, but from my standpoint, it’s a little bit different. I know we’ll have a really fast car, but, again, I’m trying to have the same mindset that I had last year on the plate tracks and that’s to learn every lap and hopefully finish the 500 miles on Sunday better than how I started. Try to gain more respect like I did at Talladega and just kind of make my name more comfortable around these Cup guys that I look up to and idolize, and just kind of go from there. Obviously, I’m a race car driver and I enter the race to win the race, but my main objective and my main priority is to hoist the trophy on Saturday night. My Cup starts, this just happened to be the Daytona 500, which is The Great American Race which is a childhood dream, but to keep the perspective and continue to learn and continue to grow as a race car driver.”

DO YOU KNOW WHAT OTHER RACES YOU’LL BE DOING? “It’s three more after this, but I haven’t even really been told yet. They haven’t been finalized. There’s a lot of moving parts between the Rick Ware guys and the Stewart-Haas guys, and see how the schedules line up, so hopefully later on they’ll be sprinkled throughout the year.”

IS IT EASIER RUNNING THE CUP RACE THAN XFINITY BECAUSE OF THE EXPERIENCE FACTOR IN THE 500? “A little bit, but I think that the talent is just so much higher in the Cup Series than the Xfinity Series, so it’s more of me being patient and playing the long game and just trying to learn and understand the field and just trying to be there at the end is the biggest thing I can say.”

THE EXPERIENCE FACTOR IS THE DIFFERENCE. “For sure. The guys on Sunday are racing on Sunday for a reason. They’re the best in the world at driving stock cars, so it’s just cool to lace them up with them and just try to learn from them and race with them.”

WHAT DID THAT DO FOR YOU TO FINISH 10TH IN THE 500 LAST YEAR? “It gave me a lot of confidence and made me understand more about how to plate race and about biding my time and being there at the end. I want to run all the laps and in order to finish well you have to finish the race, so that’s kind of my mindset and we’ll see how this race unfolds starting tonight and see how the week unfolds.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE XFINITY SEASON AND BEING A CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER? “That’s our goal on the 98 team. I’ve never been more excited for a racing season to start. The amount of confidence I have is the highest it’s ever been in my racing career. I’m excited for the Xfinity Series to get here, to hop in my car and to go race. I think we can go be a contender week in and week out and hopefully make it to Phoenix and battle for the big trophy.”

HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT TO FINALLY GET THAT FIRST WIN? “It was everything. That win took so much weight off of my shoulders and being able to say that we did it and now focusing on the future to try to go get more, and, like I said, be a contender, lead more laps, win more races, win more stages and be there at the end.”

HOW DO YOU LOOK BACK ON THAT WIN? “I don’t know. There were a lot of emotions pouring out of me thinking back and looking back on it, but I think most of it was just pent-up frustration from the trying and the failing and then the trying and trying over and over again, so to finally do it and have the opportunity to stand on the competition’s neck and to win the race by that big of a margin, I think, says how hard I’ve been working towards it, how hard Stewart-Haas has stood behind me and continue to help me grow as a race car driver and it’s cool to see. Hopefully, we can go get more this year, whether it be by 15 seconds or a photo finish. We’ll have to see how the future goes, but I’m excited for the future.”

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona 500 Media Day | Wednesday, February 14, 2024

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW HAS THE DYNAMIC CHANGED AT THE SHOP WITH THE NEW GUYS COMING IN? “I definitely would say that there has been way more togetherness, just how the drivers interact together. We all work out, so we see each other almost every single day now where in the past I would see Kevin on Sunday and wouldn’t see him again until Saturday. We definitely from that side of things we see each other a lot more and work around each other a lot more. Our teams, I feel like, have done a better job of working together. In the past, it was kind of four different teams that worked under one roof, where now it’s four teams kind of collectively working towards the same goal for one organization. All of that has been different and a good change, something that we’ve needed to do, especially in the landscape of the Next Gen car. I’m excited to see how it finally goes now that we start racing, but it’s definitely been a totally different dynamic than what I’ve had the last three years for sure.”

YOU HAVE A NEW LOGO. IT’S LIKE A FRESH START FOR EVERYBODY. “I was telling someone earlier that it’s almost like I moved to a different team, truthfully. I had to throw out all my shirts. We had to get new stuff. My teammates are all new with the exception of only one. The good thing is my team, the 14 team, stayed. Literally, every single person except for the truck driver is the same, so, from that standpoint, everything is the same, but everything else – just the process of how we do things at Stewart-Haas, the logo, the color on the walls at the shop, everything is totally different, so it’s kind of like moving to a new place.”

YOU HAVE MORE TIME AT SHR THAN ANYBODY ELSE FROM A DRIVER’S STANDPOINT, BUT YOU ARE THE SAME AGE AS YOUR TEAMMATES. WHAT’S THAT LIKE? “I think it’s definitely four guys that truthfully are extremely hungry. All four of us only have one Cup win combined, so all the guys have a lot to prove. We all know what we’re capable of. We all kind of have grown up as complete opposites as we can, but we’ve all kind of have grown up the same way for the most part by just grinding throughout our career, so that part of it is exciting. It’s just different now with not having Kevin and Aric there with how much more I’m gonna have to speak up and stand up for things I believe in, so all of that will be interesting and it will be something I learn as I go along, but it’s definitely a different dynamic for sure.”

SO WHAT IS THE FEELING LIKE GOING INTO THIS RACE? “I think there’s a lot that from a momentum standpoint this weekend is extremely important, I think. When you look at everything we went through during the off-season if we can go out there today and sit on the pole for example, that’s a huge shot in the arm for us as an organization and that’s something I think is really possible going into tonight. From that standpoint, I think it’s important to come out of here with a good weekend. Points are gonna be really important all year long, so for us to have four cars come out of here in a good situation would be really good and just be a good kickstart to our year. So it’s a big weekend for us as a company and hopefully we can prove a lot of people wrong.”

HOW DO YOU THINK THE NEW CAR WILL REACT AND PUSH IN THE DRAFT? “I would say that the pushes are gonna be way more timid at the very beginning at least. If we were showing back up in the same car like lap one I think you would see us just blasting each other, trying to get the guy out to the lead or whatever, where I think we’re gonna be a little more timid and just careful about our pushes. I know visually the Ford to me looks way more rounded than anything we’ve had in the past, especially the back bumper, so I’ve been kind of anxious leading up to this week just knowing that, so, yeah, I think the Duels will be a little timid at the beginning, but I do think there’s not near the forgiveness that we’ve had at least on the Ford side in the past, so that will be interesting when we really start pushing each other hard and see what happens. The Toyotas are different. The Chevys are gonna have to push us differently now too, so it’s all gonna change and it’ll just take some time for all of us to learn it.”

IS THERE WORRY OR CONCERN THAT THE ADVANTAGE THE FORDS HAD WITH THE OLD CAR WILL GO AWAY? “I’m definitely anxious to see how this thing pushes and gets pushed. I feel like the last two years we’ve worked extremely hard on just making our car be able to get pushed without it being out of control, and we finally figured that out in the last fall race. Now, the reset button has been pushed, so I don’t know what to expect. From a single-car speed standpoint, we were super fast last year and I think this year we should be faster just by what it says on paper, but the Toyotas are a huge wildcard for us. We don’t know where they’re gonna be at, so there’s definitely some question marks going into this week in general, but one I’m definitely excited to finally get going.”

HOW DO YOU VIEW THE CHANGE THIS CAR WILL HAVE ON SHR? “I think you can say that the Fords were at a little disadvantage last year, but that’s my thing. We need to be the best Ford and we were the worst Ford, so if Penske and Roush could figure it out, then we have the same engine, the same body, the same everything as them, so how they’re putting their pieces together to make that puzzle is different than how we’re doing it. That’s where I think we’ve gotten better over this off-season of just having better clarity of how to put that puzzle together. We still don’t know how to do it, so we’re gonna figure that out as the season goes on, but I definitely think from the standpoint of the new Dark Horse body, relative to the field, we’re gonna be way better.”

DOES THIS FEEL LIKE A NEW START? “Yeah, a little bit. I definitely think the whole organization has hit the reset button. Tony said it in the XM interview the other week. There’s no need to look back. We are at the bottom, so there’s really no need to be worried. I mean, there’s a lot of reasons to be worried, but there’s no point in looking back and doing things like that, so I think, for us, we’re all motivated. I think every guy and girl in the shop knows that if we don’t figure it out your job is on the line. He’s already come out publicly and said he’s willing to make changes, so I think that’s good. I think we kind of need that kick in the butt as an organization to have it publicly said, something that I think we all kind of knew was out there but it’s never been said, so I definitely think this year is a little bit of a clean slate. I will say that just going to the shop there’s a whole different feel. When I went there last year it was doom and gloom every time I would go in there, and now everybody is excited. Everybody has been ready to go and it gives me that same vibe truthfully we had in 2020, where everybody is excited to go to work, which is something we haven’t had in a long time there, so I’m excited to see how the season finally stacks up.”

HOW MUCH DID THE RESULTS AT THE END OF LAST YEAR HELP AS FAR AS THE ENERGY FOR THIS YEAR? “I would say the short track stuff, we were really good everywhere last year like at Martinsville and the flat tracks. Bristol, not so much, but I would say that the Clash especially, for us, I can’t speak for the other guys, but the 14 car we started literally dead last and was able to drive up there and pass Hendrick cars and Gibbs cars and finish seventh, which was really good for us. So I think from that standpoint some of the things we did in the off-season, you can say the Clash is a total throwaway, but at the same time it was still important for us just because we wanted to go there and see where we stacked up. It’s still a race where everyone is taking their best effort, so I would say we took a little bit out of there and I would say what we’ve done in the off-season that the Clash is kind of just the start of seeing the rewards of that.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET OFF TO A GOOD START? “It’s super important, truthfully, to have two good races to start the year off. I feel like if you look back in the past, where you ended at the end of the West Coast swing is pretty much where you stayed within three or four spots in points. It’s just so hard to dig out of that hole and every year I feel like you have to expect to have three or four bad finishes – like 30th-plus, and those are kind of your mulligans for the year, and you don’t want to use those up at Daytona or Talladega or Atlanta, so, for us, points are extremely important. I feel like there’s gonna be more than 16 winners, so points are gonna be at an all-time high, but even if there’s not 16 winners, points determine your playoff berth. For us, I think we realize how important points are and we talked about it, even if we do sit on the pole tonight, the Duels still pay points and we need to try and go get them, so I think that tells you how important points are and especially getting out of here with a good points day is important.”

SO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE MORE THAN 16 WINNERS? “I think there will be more. I think you could see 17 or 18 pretty easily. I just think you look at the guys that didn’t win last year. I know you had a couple of guys that you probably didn’t expect to win, but I think you could have that same thing happen again. Where it really happens, I think if you get to more than 16 is all about Daytona, Atlanta and Talladega. Those are your wild cards, If a William Byron or somebody that’s winning all the other races wins those races, then I don’t think you get to 16. But if you come out of there with a Corey LaJoie or somebody like that, then I think you’re definitely over 16 winners just because that takes one of those spots away that somebody else is probably gonna win. You look and Bowman didn’t win a race last year. Chase didn’t win a race. I feel like we’re capable of winning a race. There are a lot of good cars that didn’t win a race last year, so I definitely think you could see more than 16.”

THERE’S ONLY ONE ATLANTA RACE IN THE REGULAR SEASON. “Yeah, it’s one less, but I just feel like there’s so much of the wild card races early now that I think it’s gonna change the strategy in that middle part of the season. Guys are gonna have to be way more aggressive on strategy calls and things like that, and when you have that, sometimes it’s a 50-50 call and it goes your way and you can luck into winning one of the races. I don’t know. I just have a gut feeling it’s gonna be over 16. We could have nine winners this year, who knows, but I feel like there’s gonna be more than 16.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE RACING AT ATLANTA? “I think it is the most mentally draining racetrack we have on the schedule. Daytona and Talladega have always been mentally draining at the end of the day, but you go to Atlanta and things happen four times the speed because you lose a mile with that racetrack. It’s an interesting track because it races like a superspeedway, but it’s still an intermediate. The corners didn’t change. The radius of the corners, all of that is still the same that we’ve always had, so it’s not like a Daytona or a Talladega where your car goes around there wide-open super easy. You’re manhandling the car at all times, so Atlanta is a very challenging racetrack and by far the most mentally draining with just how much your brain is trying to process and listen to your spotter, but then actually apply what your spotter is saying is hard because things happen so far there. It’s a tough one for sure.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYS
FEBRUARY 14, 2024

 ZANE SMITH, NO. 71 SPIRE MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1 – 2024 Daytona 500 Media Day Quotes

Would this step have been possible without all the work Justin Marks has put in?

“It’s been very busy since Bristol and our announcement. What’s been awesome is Trackhouse is doing so much in this sport and so is Spire. For me, landing at Spire for this year and getting this Cup experience I think will go a very long way. I just have a great group of people around me and the people that Spire is acquiring from their management side and the people who put in the work behind the scenes is very high. I’m excited to see what we can do.”

When did conversations start on this deal?

“It definitely came out of nowhere. Justin and I have stayed in touch from when I was possibly going to end up at Ganassi and he had taken that over. He has always been so down to earth and so cool to talk to. My racecar is not out of that building but I do have meetings and it’s great to be back. It’s cool to see all the Trackhouse touches on that building.”

Has this hit the timeline you expected, or has it been a bit of a whirlwind?

“It has hit the timeline, but it’s definitely been a crazy path to get here. There have been so many times where I didn’t think I would see a racetrack again, and to make it to Sunday is what every racer dreams of and is so special. I want to make the most of this opportunity and be here for a while.”

What are the expectations given the gains that Spire has made?

“They’ve accomplished a lot in just this offseason. Their goals are to perform and nothing short of that. For Carson (Hocevar) and I, this is our rookie season, and we hope to learn and progress throughout the year. We know how crazy rookie seasons can be, but that’s where we’re at. On Corey (Lajoie) side, I know he’s looking for his first win as Carson and I are, but he’s had a lot more experience and have seen the old Spire days so it’s cool to hear him and Ryan Sparks’ stories of where it once was and to see it now. I’ve just experienced all the stuff that they’ve gotten through this offseason, and it’s been a lot. It’s cool to be a part of.”

What does it mean to you to know this is the start of a 36-race process?

“That’s the most exciting part. Last year I got to race in the Daytona 500 and didn’t get to sit in it for a few weeks and then would race and would wait a couple months and back in one, so to be able to race week in and week out is awesome. I feel as if I’m going to learn so much. I learned so much in just one Cup race last year. It’s been crazy the path to this point but excited for this year.”

What’s it been like this offseason working with both teams?

“It’s been a lot throughout this offseason just with me doing double everything. Double competition meetings, double pre-race meetings not only the Trackhouse side but the Spire side. My racecar is out of Spire, so I’d say I’m there a little bit more, but it’s just been a lot of trying to soak it all in learning every bit I can. It’s been great so far but ready to get this year going.”

 

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