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

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU’RE BACK HERE TRYING TO WIN THE RACE FOR A SECOND TIME. DOES THAT COME WITH ANY LESS PRESSURE KNOWING THAT YOU’VE WON IT BEFORE OR IS IT MORE PRESSURE BECAUSE YOU’RE TRYING TO WIN IT A SECOND TIME? “Compare and contrast the two opportunities, the first time coming here as a rookie to now. I think a win here is a different challenge. There are a lot more knowns and unknowns as far as with the car and where the series is at. I think it’s a different challenge each time you come, but especially now compared to the first NextGen car.”

WITH RYAN’S CHAMPIONSHIP, I MEAN EVEN GOING BACK A LITTLE FURTHER, JOSEPH WINNING THE INDY 500, THE ROLEX IN JANUARY, THIS WHOLE PENSKE ORGANIZATION IS ON A ROLL. DO YOU GUYS FEEL THAT CONFIDENCE GOING INTO 500 WEEK? “Well, as far as comparing confidence bleeding over from some of our other programs, it’s great. But at the same time, I feel like it’s so much of the expectation within the building to be able to do that, it’s kind of a disappointment to not. The Rolex in January was really cool for those guys. I watched pretty much every televised minute of that race. But yeah, certainly the goals are all still the same.”

I SAW THE HELMET, THE GIL DE FERRAN TRIBUTE HELMET, WHAT ARE YOUR EARLIEST MEMORIES OF HIM? AND YOU MENTIONED HOW IMPACTFUL HE HAD BEEN FOR YOU. “As far as Gil goes, my earliest memories in racing, Gil was part of that. So yeah, it’s certainly an opportunity for me to kind of reflect on not just my relationship with him, but kind of who I am as a person and why I love racing. And it’s from being around people like that. I had a special experience as a kid because I got to know that guy inside of the car and outside of the car from a pretty young age. So, yeah, very impactful for me and very proud that I’m able to honor him this weekend with the helmet.”

WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE LESSONS OR QUALITIES OR IF THERE’S ONE THAT YOU HAD TO PICK THAT REALLY STUCK WITH YOU FROM GETTING TO KNOW GIL? “It’s the person he is outside of the car. I mean, he’s accomplished everything you need to accomplish inside of an Indy car, but the person’s outside of the car. And I think, seeing over the last handful of weeks or the last month, how much he’s meant to so many other people just due to the fact that after his racing career, he did a lot to help a lot of other drivers, help a lot of other teams and organizations. On the personal side, you know, it’s not just necessarily my relationship with them, but my family. My dad and Gil were pretty close. It’s not just my relationship with Gil, but it’s also my family’s relationship with Gil’s family.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL SAID HE WAS RELIEVED WHEN HE GOT THAT SECOND WIN BECAUSE HE WAS NO LONGER IN THAT SMALL FRATERNITY OF THREE DRIVERS THAT ARE LIKE ONE HIT WONDERS AT DAYTONA. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO TRY TO GET THAT NEXT WIN SO IT’S NOT JUST DAYTONA? “Ask me after I win. That’s it. That’s why I show up every week. It’s what you want to do. So I’ll let you know how it feels when I do it.”

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: “Yeah, quite a lot. Superspeedway racing is a lot more demanding as far as the decisions you make, not necessarily what you go through inside the car. As far as just from a communication standpoint with me and my team but also doing my part to understand whether if it’s scenarios I could have done differently in past races or recognizing things that I might not have been able to pick up on inside of the car just watching film, looking through data and so on. So those types of things that I would say challenged myself mentally beforehand.”

IS IT JUST LIKE IN THIS SITUATION WE WANT TO START INSIDE OR LIKE WHAT ARE SOME KIND OF SCENARIOS THAT YOU FIND HELPFUL TO THINK THROUGH AHEAD OF TIME? “I think you just look at things as far as things that went well. This guy succeeded in this scenario, why? And this guy failed in this scenario, why? And what are high percentage things that you can do to prevent or encourage some of those situations and where do you find yourself in the moment that you can affect that?”

I GUESS THAT LEVEL OF PREP WORK TAKES SOME OF THE LUCK FACTOR OUT OF THIS RACE, NO? A TINY BIT? “I think the luck factor is based off of the high probability of wrecks, incidents, being at the mercy of other guys mistakes. I don’t believe in luck in this style of racing. Certainly, it’s more based off of the environment around you, but you also have the opportunity to create the environment around you.”

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

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW DO YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, GOING INTO THIS HAVING NOT BEEN ON THE TRACK WITH THIS CAR AND YOU HAVE TO PUSH EACH OTHER AND YOU DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW IT’S GOING TO BE DOING PUSHES? I MEAN, WHAT’S GOING TO BE THE TRIAL ON THERE? HOW DO YOU FIGURE THAT OUT? “I reckon the same as it always is. You just go out there and you start pushing and hope you don’t wreck the guy in front And if you do, it’s kind of like I don’t like it, but it happens, right? There’s not really an exact science. I wish it was. You don’t know when you’re gonna push somebody when they’re gonna wreck more times than not. Sometimes you get a little warning, you know, you see a guy bobble a little bit and you kind of go he’s at the limit and sometimes you just push somebody and everything is going fine and then they gone. Well, what happened to that guy? So that’s about all you got.”

YOU RECENTLY HAD A LOT OF PRESS RELEASES COME OUT ABOUT NEW TECHNICAL PARTNERS. YOU’VE ALWAYS HAD THE TECHNOLOGY THERE AND THE ENGINEERS. HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT NOW AND HOW WILL IT AFFECT YOUR ORGANIZATION? “Yeah, we announced the RFK Tech Alliance, which is really just a super important initiative for me and really for the whole company to just be able to bring in the best technology possible to compete at the highest level and stay ahead of where the world’s going or at least keep up with the world’s going to be able to apply that to our team. We want to win races and winning races is about having great teams. Having great teams is about having great resources and technology is an outstanding resource to help our team, no different than it is in your guys’ life. You’ve seen technology come and go in it serves us all in different ways. But the race team, we want to bring people in and we want to see them be successful. And for that to happen, they’re going to need some great tools. And those tools, more often than not today, are technology-based.”

SO IS THERE ANY CONNECTION THERE BETWEEN THE TEAM AND YOUR OTHER COMPANY IN THAT ALLIANCE? “We have some small connections, mostly just a cohesive understanding of the technologies that matter.”

SO LAST YEAR YOU CAME IN, WE ASKED YOU ABOUT EXPECTATIONS AND GROWTH, AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR WE ASKED YOU IF YOU MET THOSE EXPECTATIONS AND GROWTH. NEW YEAR, NEW RACE, NEW THINGS WITH YOUR TEAM, WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS AND GROWTH FOR THIS YEAR? “I think we had a really good off-season. We finished 2023 with some pretty good confidence, Chris (Buescher) ran really well at Phoenix. I ran pretty good there, but we had strong playoffs. We ended up 7th and 8th in the final standings, which was a pretty significant improvement from where we ended at 2022. From there, I think we’ve made a lot of key investments, key moves to just be even stronger for this year. Some of those more tangible than others with the Ford and the Dark Horse Mustang, which I’m sure is going to get, rightfully so, a lot of love and attention. Some of those less visible with people and experience and training and resources and processes and all those kind of buzzwords that don’t really mean a lot to everybody, but they do mean a lot to the results. My expectations coming into the year are pretty high. I think we’re going to be a team that can win multiple races with the 6 and 17 and hopefully take another step up from where we were last year. If we do everything right, maybe even be a championship threat.”

COMPARTMENTALLY, FOR YOU AS A DRIVER, YOU WEAR ONE HAT. AS AN OWNER, YOU WEAR ANOTHER HAT. YOU HAVE A BUSINESS THAT YOU ALSO OPERATE. HOW DO YOU KEEP IT ALL STRAIGHT OTHER THAN SLEEPLESS NIGHTS? “There are some sleepless nights, but ultimately that beats not having a job, right? If I had to choose. It’s not an easy task, but there are a lot of people that work just as hard or harder than I do. I don’t really take any self-pity out of all that. I just want to win. I want to win in life, win on the race track and you want to make sure that at the end of the day there is no reason for that not to happen. At least not that it’s within my control.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE A SENTIMENTAL FAVORITE GOING INTO SUNDAY BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE LIKE, OH YOU KNOW, BRAD HASN’T WON FOR A WHILE AND YOU KNOW BRAD IS REALLY GOOD AT FORMER RESTRICTED PLATE RACES. ARE YOU KIND OF SENSING THAT AT ALL? “It’s flattering but the results are what the results are. They’re not what people want sometimes but I just feel like I can only answer for myself and I just know that we’ve been in position. We’ve led the most laps, we’ve won the stages. To your point, we’ve won a lot of races on the other plate tracks and the 500 is the only missing thing for me. To win it would check a big bucket off the list. I feel like we are doing all the right things for that to be real. In the end, you get to the last 30 or 40 laps and stuff just happens. All you can do is be in position and hope that the bad stuff doesn’t happen to you and you have a shot.”

DID YOU HAVE ANY ISSUE GETTING PARTS AND PIECES FOR THE NEW PART? “There were some small issues with some bumper foam, but those all corrected themselves over the last month and we’ve been in a good spot.”

HOW DO YOU SEE RICK WARE RACING BENEFITING FROM THE ALLIANCE WITH RFK THIS YEAR? “I felt like it was really good for both of us last year. I think they definitely made some improvements in how they ran and where they ran and had some of their best races, I think, in their team’s history last year. So I’m excited for them to see that come together. And, you know, Justin Haley in the 51 car had a pretty good Clash. I don’t know if anybody really talked about how good he ran at the Clash. I think he legit ran like 10th the entire Clash which for that team is a huge uptick in performance from where they’ve been and I would expect them to be a big beneficiary of our kind of arrangement here in 2024 and put up even better numbers. I’m happy for them. For us it gives us some flexibility with processes and resources and ability to kind of play back and forth with different opportunities that come and go. It’s hard to quantify those, but it’s real.”

ANY FAVORITE WAYNE AUTON STORIES? “I’ve got a lot of Wayne Alton stories. You guys got time for this? Wayne Auton, 2006. I was running a truck and I had worked all summer and I built this truck out of a garage in Missouri with, what’s his name? Mittler. Mittler, thank you, yes, thank you. And I got it done to run the race at Bristol. And something happened where it got tore up and I had to put a new nose on it. And I didn’t get to race it again until Homestead, which was at that time the last race of the year 2006. I was having a reasonable race, not great, but a reasonable race, and Jack Sprague caught me off of turn four, and he was clearly way faster. Anyway, he hit me. I can’t remember if it was down the straightaway or actually in the corner, and when he did it turned me right and into the wall and tore the side off this thing. I had worked my ass off on that thing for the last few months and now it was tore up kind of for no reason. So when the race was over, you do cool down lap, I ran up behind Jack Sprague and I just piledrove him. Like if I’m going to work on this thing, I’m going to work on this thing, you know, and he’s going to know I’m going to work on this thing because he’s going to have to work on, or somebody’s going to have to work on his stuff too. And so I piledrove him and we got out of the truck. I’m ready to fight this guy. I was 27 years old. I think Jack Sprague at the time had to be in at least his late 40s and nothing ever happened. But I got called into the hauler. Wayne calls me in the hauler and he says, what happened on the cool down last night? Oh, a little disagreement. I don’t remember his exact words, but I don’t think they were something I’m supposed to say. But he says, I got the tape to prove it was more than that. He put the tape in, this VHS tape, in this TV VHS player. It was like a combined unit, you know, you probably remember what I’m talking about, some people that are younger probably don’t, and he put it in there and it was a recording of me running into the back of Jack and he puts it in there, and it proceeded to eat the tape. And so he’s got the play button running and the tape’s just flying out of this thing, you know how the tape would and it just made him even madder. He was just so mad. Like, smoke coming out of his ears mad. He just told me, get the hell out of here and don’t ever do that. Don’t do that. I remember walking out of there, like, trying not to laugh and snickering, but I will never forget that moment.”

“You know, Wayne’s not the most tech savvy guy. But even in the VHS era, he was probably still not the most tech-savvy guy. So when it started eating that tape, I think he went to stop it and he put like the fast-forward button and it just… I mean, just tape flying everywhere. I’ll never forget that moment.”

WE KNOW WHEN NASCAR DRIVER GET CALLED TO THE HAULER IT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE IN TROUBLE, BUT SOMETIMES DRIVERS FEEL LIKE THEY NEED TO GO TO THE HALL WITH THEMSELVES AND YOU’RE ALL FIRED UP, AND YOU’RE ANGRY YOU’RE WALKING THERE. WHAT IS THAT LIKE? “You know it feels a little bit like being a kid again and going to see mom and dad with a problem and you’re all flipped out and mad and mom and dad are telling you to calm down and vice versa when you’ve done something wrong and mom and dad are yelling at you and they’re like we’re disappointed in you. It certainly harkens to those memories for me.”

DO YOU HAVE A MOMENT WHERE YOU WALKED IN THERE AND YOU KIND OF WERE PUT IN YOUR PLACE? “Oh I have more than one. If that ain’t happen every once in a while you ain’t trying hard enough right?

HOW MANY TRIPS HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE HAULER? “I don’t know, I never counted. You know, I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

AND BEING LIKE YOUR MOM AND DAD, DO THEY CALL YOU BY YOUR FULL NAME? “No, no, that has not happened, but like mom and dad will tell you, you know, we put you on this earth, we can take you out, and I think there’s some similarities there. We allowed you to race and we can take you out.”

WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT YOUR DAD THAT HE WAS WILLING TO PUT A FIRE SUIT ON TO DEFEND YOU? “My dad wasn’t known for his temper, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have one. He certainly could be very quiet and mild mannered until he wasn’t. He was just one of those guys that had kind of like this, you know, long leash and when he broke the leash it was kind of a lookout moment. I know he wasn’t exactly proud of that moment specifically, but it was in the end somewhat flattering for me that he cared that much. I get it.”

YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T GET IT UNTIL YOU HAD DAUGHTERS: “Yeah, to some degree, yeah. In the moment there was some cringe over it, like, oh, Dad, I wish you would just stay out of this. But, you know, as I’ve gotten older, I understand it more.”

WHEN YOU’VE DONE SO MANY THINGS RIGHT AT DAYTONA, EXCEPT THE ONE THING AT THE END, IS IT DIFFICULT TO MAKE DAYTONA BIGGER? IT’S BIG, I GET THAT. BUT IS IT DIFFICULT TO MAKE DAYTONA EVEN BIGGER THAN IT IS? “I don’t know if I have an answer to that, I mean every race is its own race. But Daytona just is another magnitude. You know you come here and you have months of preparation, the biggest purse, biggest rating. It’s a race that people remember in a season of races that inevitably there’s going to be some forgettable ones. You want to make that memory a good one. At the end of the day, Daytona is one of those places where you just don’t have a good points day at Daytona. It just doesn’t happen. You either win it or you don’t. And that’s tough, right? Because there’s only going to be one and there’s going to be 39 that went home unhappy. So it’s just hard to explain the feelings of this place. You know, that feeling of leaving the tunnel when you haven’t won, it’s not a good feeling. But you try to take pride in the things you did right and you move on.

DID YOU HEAR STEVE PHELPS’ COMMENTS THIS MORNING ABOUT THE CHARTERS? “I did not, I’m sorry.”

HE JUST SAID THAT THEY WANTED IT TO BE RIGHT. THEY DIDN’T WANT TO RUSH INTO ANYTHING AND THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU ALL GOT YOUR FAIR SHARE AND THOUGHT THAT THERE WAS A FUTURE FOR EVERYONE. “Well that’s good. I think everybody wants holistically the same thing which is a healthy growing sport that’s around for decades to come or hopefully longer. How we get there is always going to be the challenge. There’s a lot of people working on that. I’m optimistic that’s what will happen.”

ARE YOU AND DENNY HAMLIN MORE SIMILAR THAN PEOPLE WOULD IMAGINE OR ARE YOU VERY DIFFERENT? I ASK THAT BECAUSE YOU GUYS HAVE RACED FOR YEARS TOGETHER AND YOU HAD YOUR ROUGH PATCH EARLY ON. I DON’T KNOW IF MAYBE YOU VIEWED YOURSELF AS BEING AN OWNER AT THAT POINT, BUT YOU GUYS HAVE BOTH KIND OF TAKEN THESE UNIQUE PATHS AND HAVE KIND OF BEEN LEADERS. “I don’t know how to compare us. We’re similar in that, you know, in our personal lives we have children and we’re a similar age group. We’re similar in the sense that we race cars for a living and we have some team ownership and driving responsibilities. So yeah, a 30,000 foot view, that probably looks like one city to another city on the water, right? But I think we probably have some different ethos and values and everybody thinks theirs are better than the others, but who’s to say. I don’t know to say if we’re similar or not. I don’t know if it’s fair for me to answer, but I know it’s not something I focus on. I try to look at our own stuff all the time and just head down. And eventually you have to pop up and take a look around at what’s going on in the rest of the world, just see what the hell you’re doing. But for the most part, I can’t say I pay that much attention.”

“I wish I had more wins like he’s got. I think he’s got like 50-some? I’ve got 35. There was a time about three or four years ago where I was within a couple of him, and then my last few years haven’t been as good as his, but there’s a respect that I have for him and what he’s done and his success and talents. I’m sure he’s got more race wins left as the Clash was an indicator.”

WHAT IS IT LIKE HAVING DAVID RAGAN AS A THIRD CAR HERE? A GUY WHO IS FAMILIAR AT LEAST WITH THE TEAM AND HAS WINS AT DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA? “I mean a third car for us is kind of an acknowledgement of the numbers game that is Daytona. Whether the numbers be running up front enough times and eventually you’ll get the win or those numbers being having more cars running up front and eventually you’ll have more shots at the win. There’s a lot of ways to lose this race and you don’t want it to be numbers at the end of the day. David represents a shot for us to have a quality team and driver representing one of our best partners withBuildSubs to go out and win this race.”

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

 CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1 – 2024 Daytona 500 Media Day Quotes

Last year was tough, physically, and some disappointments along the way. Were you 100% after that?

“Yeah, I was fine. My injuries were not why we struggled, for sure.”

Can you pinpoint some reasons and some things from the offseason you looked into to move past that?

“I just think I have some bad habits that this car doesn’t like, and I have to address it ultimately.”

As in…

“Things we talk about behind closed doors.”

In the Duels tomorrow night, do you expect some to step over the line? If Fords are coming up behind you, are you expecting when pushed by a Ford or Toyota, do you know what the new car is going to do?

“I don’t think so. Both of the noses they have designed are pretty flat. Our back bumpers are pretty flat, so I don’t think it’ll be anything super out of the ordinary, so we’ll see. I don’t think people will push too hard tomorrow night, but we’ll see.”

Is that something where you expect those teams (Ford, Toyota) to practice?

“I don’t know. I’m on Team Chevy. We’ll worry about Team Chevy.”

It’s been 20 years since the inception of the Playoffs. From your point of view, do you think it’s the best way to find out who has been the best driver all year?

“I think 2014 was when we started having the rounds, right? That, to me, is when things really changed because at least with the other way, you had 10 weeks and I feel like it all kind of came out in the wash in those 10 weeks, really. I’m not sure at the end of those 10 weeks if it would have looked a ton different versus a full season. Seemingly, the guys that ran good all year over the course of 10 weeks, that amount of races inside the Playoffs gave it enough time for things to come out in the wash. The people that belonged up front stayed up front. They got there. One bad race didn’t take someone out of ruining a really good year. That’s the only bad thing I see with the way we have it is, you know, whether it’s me or someone else. I’d just hate for somebody to win 10 races and not win the championship. To me, that would be a little bit of a black eye for the integrity of our sport.”

Would you put wins above championships at this point?

“No. I think at this point, when you get a number of championships, it’s going to trump that. Certainly, winning more is going to mean you had probably more fun over the course of the entirety of your career. It means you had some good weeks. More often, having good weeks is a good thing.”

What’s one of your fondest memories here?

“We ran second here one time, so that was kind of cool, I guess. I would have liked to have won, but that was a decent finish. The rest of them we’ve pretty much crashed, so there hasn’t been really a lot of good outside of that day, unfortunately.”

How do you feel about the changes that have been made to your home track of Atlanta?

“Heck, we’ve had two years of what it is now. I don’t think it’s going to change much from what it’s been to what you’ve seen. I do think it’s going to age a bit at some point. It’s hot summers and can be kind of cold in the winter, so that’s typically tough on a track surface. I think the track aging is a good thing, and we’ll just see what happens when it does.”

How have you adapted to changes to the track (Atlanta) over the past few years?

“I’m in the middle of the road. I understand why they did it. The old track had a lot of character, and it was a lot of fun from a drivers’ perspective. I think it was time for a change. We had rode that horse for a long time, and sold the narrative with how hard it was to drive and people weren’t just on board with it anymore. They wanted to try something else and I applaud them for trying it. It’s got a new look. It’s produced some pretty good racing. People that have gone down there that I’ve talked to personally, spectators really enjoy it and they really enjoy the drafting aspect of Atlanta. If they’re having fun with it at the end of the day, that’s kind of all that matters, truthfully. Folks that come and support us and support this sport are what drives it.”

Do you like this style of racing that it is now?

“I don’t love… I think we really had a good speedway package with the old car, kind of worked out towards the end where you could have some big runs. It seemed like there was more energy transfer, and the cars weren’t so draggy as to what the cars are now. I just think we had a pretty good situation going on. It has changed quite a lot, and I think you’ve guy have seen the way races look, it’s changed a lot. They’re always adjusting little things here and there, getting back to what it was. It might take some time. Things certainly don’t happen overnight. Some stuff takes a little effort to get it perfect.”

Winning the Daytona 500 is a huge accomplishment regardless of the year, but especially this year being Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary. What’s the mindset coming in here?

“Obviously, it’s a big year, a 40th year for HMS is a big deal. I’m super proud to be a very small piece of that puzzle. I think it’s a great honor. Look, (Mr. Hendrick) always wants to win. I don’t think it would matter if it were the second anniversary or whatever. He wants to win, and we do too. I don’t necessarily think just because it’s the 40th year of HMS, that doesn’t make me want to win the race any more. I wanted to win it pretty bad before. I don’t think it changes it from that standpoint.”

Did you and Ryan (Blaney) come up in the garage growing up?

“We did. Ryan’s kind of a few years older than me. I saw him around the garage as a kid. We never really hung out when we were super young, like that age when our dads were racing. We both took a similar path through grass roots short-track racing. So, we started seeing more of each other then. That’s when we became good friends.”

Regarding Ryan (Blaney), winning the championship, it’s an opportunity to have their voice amplified. When you won the championship, what were the opportunities the things you could do or opportunities presented to you?

“I can’t really think off the top of my head. There are certain traditions that come with winning a championship that I think are really cool – the champions’ book, all of those things that last forever. That is what makes it really special, the tradition, and that it lives on forever. I think that it should at least earn you an opportunity to be heard a little more behind closed doors by people who make decisions. I do think that does earn you that right slightly a little more than it would otherwise. There is also guys who haven’t won a championship that I feel have been around long enough and enough success to have that type of voice, too.”

Do you spend more time at the shop in the offseason to try to “rally the troops” before coming down here to Daytona?

“I spent a good bit of time at the shop. Obviously, we had a lot of prep and whatnot before the Clash, too. I feel like our team is in a good place. When you have a year like last year, it is really easy for a team to blow up from the inside. Really easy. You don’t know how easy. When I look at where our team is at mentally, our drive and our will, and our willingness to fight and not quit, I think it’s at an all-time high to be honest with you. My relationship with Alan (Gustafson) is as good as it’s ever been. I’m just super proud of those things regardless of how the season goes, because I work with a group of guys who don’t want to give up on me. I don’t want to give up on them. That, to me, means a lot when you go to war every week that have no desire to quit. It speaks volumes. That, in my opinion, is a huge hurdle in trying to get back to where we think we can be and where I feel where we belong.”

Do you feel you’ve grown more into the role of cheerleader or the quarterback?

“I definitely think as I’ve gotten older, Alan (Gustafson) and I share more of that. I think when I started, he probably had most of that role, because I kind of stepped into his team. I do think as I’ve got older, there is a responsibility there to at least try and make our team better through the experiences that I’ve had.”

When you were going through that, did you truly fear it would blow up?

“No, I truly didn’t. I’ve just watched enough of that happen over the years, and people jump ship on each other, and think the grass is greener elsewhere, I’ve seen enough of that to know how it works. But, no, that was not the case for us and has not been through the winter.”

“We always want to do good. Our fire shouldn’t be in question. We might be frustrated or in a bad mood some days, but it’s because we want to do well, not for another reason.”

What responsibilities did you feel as champion in the 2021 season after winning in 2020?

“Mine had such a different feel because it was COVID year. We didn’t do a banquet and some of those traditional things that the champion would typically do. It just had a little bit different of a vibe. When we fired off in 2021, everybody had kind of regrouped, and all the win stickers were off the car, and they were making a trophy for that year. You’ve just got to reset and get ready to go again, that’s how I looked at it.”

LA was kind of a weather nightmare, and this weekend looks to be a high chance of rain. What does that do to your psyche?

“it doesn’t do anything to my psyche. I don’t know what it does to anybody else’s other than just being here for another day or two. It’s Wednesday, and we’re in Florida. So, I think, the biggest things it changes are the spectators based on who wants to come and whether or not they want to sit in the rain. For me, I don’t think it changes a whole lot, really at all. I’m here until we get this thing done whenever that is.”

All four Hendrick drivers have won the pole at least once for this race. How do you balance, and has that balance changed in the NextGen with the race and how it takes to be successful tonight compared to Sunday?

“I don’t think so. I think that’s a pretty similar approach than with the old car too.”

Do you feel you have to give something up for the race in order to qualify for the pole here in Daytona?

“No, because you have practice after the Duels, so you can adjust after that.”

But how much pride is there in qualifying on the front row for the Daytona 500?

“To me, it’s a testament to the guys at the shop in the engine department, and to all of the staff for the work put in more so than what the drivers are doing. We’re not really doing a whole lot to contribute to that. That, to me, is where the recognition deserves to be, and that’s where I’ve always tried to lead it when it was me that had won a couple of poles. But listen, I want to win the race. Poles are great, but I want to be good on Sunday. I think we can do both.”

Are you surprised it’s been 10 years since a Hendrick car won this race?

“Nope. I’m not surprised by a whole lot. To be candid, that’s just the way it goes sometimes. It’s a hard race to win. You have to quite a few things go your way. Unfortunately for HMS, it’s just been a while, but I think it’ll come back around.”

With Fords and Toyotas having new bodies, do you expect anyone to be any more aggressive to figure out if a move works or how it reacts?

“The races have been so calm the last couple of years, I just don’t see that changing a whole lot. I think everybody wants to race the car that they unload with down here on Sunday. So, no. You might get a little pushing here or there, but it’s not to the level it’ll be on Sunday.”

You’ve got Trey (Poole) coming in now as your spotter, and you race together in Legends cars. When you made the decision to go with him, what was that process and what type of comfort level does it give you?

“I haven’t been missing any comfort, so I don’t want that narrative to get misunderstood. When we were looking at doing something different, Trey has been around our team, and he understands how we operate. He’s spotted at the Cup level for me before. He’s spotted quite a bit of short track racing events for me before, so we felt like it was the right fit. At the end of the day, you just want a team that has performance at the top of mind all the time, and genuinely wants what’s best for us. Trey is that way, just like Eddie (D’Hondt) was. I don’t want that to be misunderstood either. It was just the right fit for our group, and a guy I know very well, and someone I think will contribute at a high level.”

Now that we’re in February, how does it feel that now you’ve been able to reset after last year?

“There is a sense of a new opportunity and I’m appreciative of that. There’s also realistic understanding that your problems don’t disappear because of the calendar change from ’23 to ’24. We know that we need to be better, and I need to be better, and intend on continuing to build on what we were working on at the end of last year, and just keep our heads down and keep pushing.”

Are you a guy who looks through a bunch of analytics and data? What works for you?

“I look at a little bit of everything. It’s probably not as much data for speedways as I would for a downforce track. Certainly, tendencies, watching old races in the past, a little bit of everything.”

When you say tendencies, what do you mean?

“A little bit of (other drivers’ tendencies) or how a late-race restart might unfold, which lane might be the better lane to be in, who gave a good push when. Was there a third lane involved? Why was there a third lane involved? Was it two lanes? Did people who rode around in the back have good finishes? All of the above, we’re thinking of all of it.”

 

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.

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

 ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1 – 2024 Daytona 500 Media Day Quotes

If a Ford or Toyota is behind you in the Duels, are you going to get nervous because they have a new car?

“Yeah, I think those are just situations we have to learn from. Talladega (Superspeedway), for example – I could accept pushes really well from Chevrolet’s, and then when I tried to lead the top lane and accept pushes from the No. 4, I was out of control. So it’s kind of the opposite of what you would think with how flat that nose was versus ours.

I think with new cars from other manufacturers, you just have to get pushed to learn and know how our cars are going to react. So it’s just things we’re going to have to learn through the Duels, through practice and then through the Daytona 500.”

Obviously winning the pole is a big thing here and you have several of them. Do you guys have any internal bets or fun stuff going on that we don’t know about on who gets the next one?

“Obviously it’s really important for Mr. Hendrick and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. It’s bragging rights, right? They can show who built the fastest car coming down here. So yeah, looking forward to hopefully having a shot at it. Obviously have no clue what to expect, but we want the pole for Mr. H and everybody at Chevrolet.”

You talk about how important that is, as far as the process of switching over from the qualifying to the race. With standardized parts with the Next Gen car, do you have to give up something for the race in order to maximize qualifying, or is it case where practice afterwards lends you to make the changes that you need to make?

“Yeah, I don’t think you give up anything for the 500, but you do give up things for the Duel, for sure. I think last year, I thought my car was going to drive OK. I made it to like turn four on the first lap before I realized my car was not going to drive OK. You definitely give things up for the Duel, but you can get that all back out of it for the 500. Hopefully we’re on the front-row tonight, but if not, we’ll go from there.”

It’s been quite a while that a Hendrick Motorsports car has gone to victory lane in the Daytona 500. How much have you heard about that, if at all, within the organization?

“It’s been 10 years, right? So definitely want to change that. I want to be the guy that changes that, but want to put Hendrick Motorsports in the best position with all four of our cars to get there. The Daytona 500 is a huge deal and we want to go get a trophy.”

With this being Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary, obviously every season you want to win and do the best you can, but how especially important would it be to go out and have a great season this year?

“Yeah, I think after last year, I selfishly want to go run well for me. The 40th anniversary season, it’s awesome to be a small part of it and I know it means a lot to Mr. Hendrick, Jeff (Gordon) and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. But for me, I just want to go win races and run well for me and my team.”

Joey Logano just said – what’s good about this sport is that there’s an end point and a start point, so if things didn’t go well, you have to stop and try to regroup and come back. Is that the benefit of being able to sweep away last year and hope improves this year?

“Yeah, for sure. We had a lot go on last year throughout the year, so kind of being able to reset from that I think is good for us. I think our team is in a great spot – a couple of changes and I’m in a really good spot heading into this year. Looking forward to getting to work. These first two races are a bit interesting – a lot can happen that’s outside of your control. But we’re going to go control the things we can and try to make the most of those things and move on.”

Did your accident change your perspective – are we going to see you, at least for a while, be away from racing your dirt cars and focus on being a team owner?

“Yeah, for me, it just came down to – sprint car racing was kind of a hobby for me and something that I really enjoy. I love winged sprint car racing, non-wing sprint car racing, midget racing.. all of it is great and obviously have great support from Ally on that. My hobby started to get in the way of my job, which was not optimal. So for me, I can’t just sprint car race – financially, it doesn’t make any sense to do something that is getting in the way of your job. So just trying to be smart about it. Obviously I want to be a part of sprint car racing for a long time, just not driving them right now.”

Do you physically feel fresher and better than you did, say, at the end of the year last year?

“Yeah, I think so. With how my injury worked, it’s still something I’m going to feel forever. But I think the reset was good. I think being able to kind of catch back up on things was good. Get back into the gym and kind of physically catchup to where I was at pre-injury was super important. I feel really good. I worked super hard this offseason and overcame some things throughout the offseason even and I feel like I’m in a really good spot.”

You’re entering your second year with Blake Harris (crew chief). What are the things that you feel like you learned from him in year one and what are you looking forward to doing with him in year two?

“Yeah, I think just knowing that we were able to continue to work well together through a lot of adversity and work through all of those things were really important. I’m looking forward to just having a complete, full, clean season with him this year in our second season together.”

Is there any one specific track that kind of stands out to you as a place where you’re looking to make a mark?

“I think going back to Las Vegas is really important for us. It’s been one of my better racetracks throughout the course of the years, and just looking forward to trying to make up for last fall, for sure.”

What do you hope to learn in the Duels tomorrow night?

“Last year, Blake (Harris) said my car would probably drive pretty good in the Duel and I made it to turn four before I realized it was not driving pretty good.. it was driving pretty terrible (laughs). And it is the No. 48 car down here in Daytona on qualifying night, so I kind of have an idea of what tomorrow night could be like if we’re not on the front-row. Hopefully we end up on the front-row and don’t have to worry about it much because I don’t think it’s setup for tomorrow night, but we’ll get it dialed in for Sunday. Honestly, if we’re not on the front-row, we’re going to do all we can throughout the race to start as far up as we possibly can.”

 

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.

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

 KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1 – 2024 Daytona 500 Media Day Quotes

The 40 years of Hendrick Motorsports, this plays a big role in its history. How important is that to you? Done so many great things over the 40 years.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, no, it definitely means a lot to feel like you’ve got a decent spot in the massive history that Hendrick Motorsports has. I think 17 wins, a couple All-Star wins and a championship is pretty good in just a few seasons together.

But yeah, that doesn’t mean a whole lot either because there’s still a lot more that we want to hopefully accomplish down the road.

To this point it’s definitely really cool and great to be part of Hendrick Motorsports in an historic season coming up.

Q. One of the great things that you have done is sweep the front row so often for the Daytona 500. How mind-boggling is that?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it’s pretty crazy for sure. Even through different generations of vehicles and everything, it’s like they have a trick or two figured out to qualify faster.

Yeah, I’m excited about qualifying. I know we’ll have a good shot I think at the pole. Hopefully get to celebrate with the guys.

Q. (Question about not winning the 500.)

KYLE LARSON: I think I feel like we do a good job, for one. I think looking at the results on paper, we suck. Yeah, I really feel like I’m just like a small decision away from making the right move and putting myself in the right spot there at the very end.

I feel like I do a good job of getting us to that point where so many times on the final restart we’re lined up on the first, second row, then I finish 28th. DNF, crashed, end up in the care center.

Every circumstance is different, right? I feel like we’re not far off from being really successful here. Just got to keep getting after it.

Q. Are there 500s in particular that you look at that you can say that one got away or one small decision and…

KYLE LARSON: I think, yeah, I look at last year. I think I had that big run on Ricky. The 20 was pushing behind me. I just felt like that run I had was way too big to, like, stay behind Ricky because I would have just slammed him and probably caused a crash. I thought safe bet was to go to the middle. Nobody was able to go with me. Then I got somebody from outside me that got hooked and I got crashed.

It’s like if I can just – I don’t know – just kind of at times be more patient but at times I think you need to be more aggressive as well. I think there’s times where I’m, like, half a step behind.

Yeah, I think last year maybe it definitely got away from me. At least a better finish. Then 2017 I was leading at the white flag and ran out of fuel. That was a big bummer.

Q. I was reading a headline yesterday, the point they were trying to make is you made 10 starts in this race. We don’t think of you being particularly old or even mid career at all. Is there a part of you that says I got to try to get on this?

KYLE LARSON: No, no. I mean, I try every year, so…

I mean, obviously I want to win this race really bad, just as bad as everybody does here on the property. Yeah, I’ve always accomplished a lot of good things in my career. I’m not anywhere close to being done. Whenever I am done, if I haven’t won this race, I don’t think I’m going to lose sleep at night.

So, yeah, I don’t know. I mean, I love coming here. I love trying to win it. You want to win the big ones. It doesn’t get any bigger than this one for the NASCAR schedule. We’ll keep trying.

Q. To add the Daytona 500, have the Triple Crown, what would that mean for yourself?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, I think for my NASCAR career, I want to win a lot more races. I’ve only won 20-ish races. So yeah, I want to win a lot more of ’em. I want to win the big ones, as well.

I’ve been fortunate to win a lot of big ones. The Daytona 500, now that we’re going back to the Brickyard 400, those are the two that for me are next that I want to win.

Hopefully I feel like this is a great opportunity for us this weekend and would be amazing to win the Daytona 500, get the opportunity again to race at the Brickyard 400 later in year and try to win that one.

The good thing with Hendrick Motorsports is you know you’re going to have a good shot to win every time you show up at the track.

Q. (Question about Hendrick not winning in a while.)

KYLE LARSON: No, at least in the few years I’ve been at Hendrick, Rick has mentioned it every year, that it’s been this many years since we’ve won.

Yeah, I mean, like he’s not there adding any pressure. Yeah, I don’t know, it’s been 10 years, 2014 or something. So, yeah, we all know that. I mean, we want to win.

It doesn’t add any pressure either at the same time.

Q. In the last 10 years since Dale won the 500, all four of you at Hendrick Motorsports currently have won the pole. You’ve done it more than once. Does that focus on qualifying, anything that affects you on race day that may take away from race performance or detract from your shot to win?

KYLE LARSON: I think maybe with the previous generation car, it might have some. I don’t think with the Next Gen car, because you’re not building your bodies, right? You’re just buying parts and pieces and putting them on the car, fluffing a few tricks in it to go fast. That’s all stuff you can get out after the Duels.

I don’t foresee any reason why we can’t qualify on the pole and have the best race car in the field on Sunday. I don’t build the cars, though, so I don’t know either. I’m pretty sure that these days, you can get everything back into that you want for Sunday.

Q. What does winning the Daytona 500 tell you about the driver?

KYLE LARSON: Tell me about the driver? I don’t know. I’m not sure. That it was their day, I guess. I don’t know. I mean, in the past I would say I used to think that this race was more luck than skill. As I’ve gotten older and really studied more, the same guys are always up front. A lot of the same guys win this race. They’re not luckier than anybody. They’re just really talented when it comes to this style. They’ve got a good sense of how things work, where to be at the right time.

For sure it takes some luck, as it does every race. Yeah, no, I don’t know, I don’t really know what it says about anybody.

Q. Denny says he’s going to race more selfishly this year. Is that possible?

KYLE LARSON: Netflix must have been around still…

No, yeah, I don’t know. I mean, we all race selfishly out there. I mean, he’s the only one in his race car. I’m the only one in my race car. We’re all selfish out there.

I don’t know. I don’t mean this negatively. I don’t see how he can change his driving style to be more selfish. We’re all selfish. We all want to win for our teams.

I think Denny is really good at, like, being dramatic and building our sport up well, bringing some drama to it. I think that’s good.

Q. Unselfishly, Ryan Blaney, do you have a relationship with him?

KYLE LARSON: Unselfishly?

Q. Were you happy with his success last year?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, I’m not like close with him. At least when I started racing stockcars, there’s a lot of us in the Cup Series now that raced with each other in 2012 when I came in.

Yeah, I mean, I was not upset to see him win the championship. I wanted to win the championship, but… No, I mean, I’m not close with Ryan. Like, I’m a huge Blaney fan. His dad and uncle I’ve gotten to race with on the sprint car side of things. His grandpa, I never got to see him race or anything, but I’ve heard he’s like an extremely talented driver, very Hall-of-Fame style career.

The Blaney name is probably one of the most successful last names in auto racing, at least in America. I was happy for him to win that championship because it just adds to the Blaney legacy.

Q. Because so much of this race is a chess match, when you’re on the flight home after the Daytona 500, can you help but not replay some of those moves over in your head?

KYLE LARSON: I mean, every race. Every race you run, some sort of a chess game, right? We go to Kansas, which is a cookie cutter mile-and-a-half, it’s not any more or less of a chess match than Daytona, in my opinion.

There’s always moves every week you make that are, Man, I could have did that a little differently. That really helped me win the race, get that extra spot, whatever it may be. Same goes for here.

Yeah, every flight home is spent thinking. It’s typically hard to fall asleep that night that you race just because your mind is still running about things you did good or things you could do better.

Q. Talking to alot of the guys around here, your name came out of nowhere, you’re the best. For you, what does that mean? What do you think you do well that propels you to the top of the sport right now?

KYLE LARSON: I appreciate hearing that, for sure. When your peers are talking highly of you, it definitely means a lot.

I think for me, though, what makes me stand out is I race a lot of other types of cars. I race more than just NASCAR stuff. I think I’m just out there racing a lot and I am fortunate to be racing with great car owners and crew chiefs that I can have success in everything that I run. Yeah, that helps.

No, it’s cool hearing that.

Q. This time last year, you were testing in an INDYCAR as you were approaching the Daytona 500. Where is your mind? Is your mindset any different versus this time last year?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t think so. I think everybody would assume that it should be different and stressful and more unfocused, I guess.

For me, my schedule always stays pretty hectic. I always race about a hundred races a year. It really doesn’t feel much different to me at this point. I don’t think too far ahead either.

I’ve done a shit ton of these media availabilities since last year. I think everybody assumes I should be thinking about the Indy 500 every single waking moment of my life. I’ve got way too much other stuff going on to get too far ahead of myself.

I really just get focused on whatever is the next thing in front of me. Right now it’s the Daytona 500. That’s all I care about right now. Then when I get through this race, I’m racing dirt stuff next week. That’s what I’m going to care about till I get done with that. I’m going to be focused on Atlanta, as well.

My mind, it’s really hard for me to look more than days in front of me.

Q. What is it about this race that makes it so special to you and so many other drivers?

KYLE LARSON: Well, I mean, what they’ve built this event into, they continue to make it bigger and better every year, it’s just a prestigious event. The purse, trophy, the crowd, the atmosphere here is unmatched for our schedule. All of those combined make for an event that you want to win.

There’s been so many Hall of Famers that have won this race or guys who this race made their career as a Hall-of-Fame career. Yeah, I think knowing all that makes you want to win it. Hopefully someday I can add my name to the winners’ list.

Q. First thing on the schedule is getting pole. That’s very important to Mr. Hendrick. Do you have internally a competition going? Or just go out there and focus on it?

KYLE LARSON: I mean, I can’t speak for the teams because I’m just the driver. Like, I’m not in the shop every day. I’m not building the cars or anything.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the mechanics kind of have not even side bets but bragging rights like when you get the pole. I don’t know. I’d have to ask Cliff.

I think all four teams are professional, too. They might not either. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have some little bragging rights, but at the same time I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t.

Q. It’s still nice to rib your friends if you’re the one that continues that legacy.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of the flipside. I know when I got the pole here a couple years ago, Bowman was second, he was like, Ha-ha, you have to do all the media. Last year he got the pole, I got second, and I was laughing at him.

I think on that side of things, I’m sure the drivers can poke a little fun.

Q. How would you grade the coming out party of the newly named High Limit? Now it’s a little different ballgame given the expanded schedule and all that. How would you grade the first weekend or week?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, I thought it went really good. I tried to follow along with the broadcast as much as I could throughout the night, watching heat races and stuff, races that I wasn’t in, just so I could listen to how that was all going.

I thought Chase did a really good job. Tony LaPorta did a great job. I loved the DJ playlist that Jacob Allen had. I thought the night ran efficiently. We ran half of Monday’s program, had a quick turnaround on the track, ran a great program the rest of the night with an awesome surface and awesome race.

A good start. But I’m not surprised either that it was a good start. Everybody that we have at High Limit has a ton of experience and are really, really good at what they do. I think it was a great start and great to build on something. We’re just going to continue to make things bigger and better from here on out.

Q. Looking ahead to Atlanta, since they changed the configuration of the track, the new car, it’s been a struggle for you. Why is that?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I don’t know. I feel like Daytona and Talladega we don’t finish well, but we’re up front at the end of the races. Atlanta, I don’t even know if I’ve finished a race there since they reconfigured it. I feel like I typically crash out early in those ones.

I don’t know. I hate to blame other people and other things, but I feel like I get spun off of people’s front bumpers more often than not at that track.

I’m not sure. I’m not sure if it’s something I’m doing behind the wheel either.

Q. Last year and maybe the year before, you mentioned how at these types of tracks, you don’t have the confidence to make a move to the middle. Seems like last year you did. Has that confidence come about?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, I think I have a little bit better understanding. I feel like these Next Gen cars are a little bit more straightforward as far as the way you draft and stuff. That makes things a little simpler.

Yeah, no, I feel like we do a really good job. I feel like I’m just one small decision away from making the right decision. Like last year, going to the middle, that’s confidence, but that was the wrong move. Then I got crashed 500 yards later.

Yeah, just making better decisions. Keep putting ourselves in position, but then making better decisions there the last couple laps.

Q. You talk about racing on different surfaces. How do you think that really helps you hone in on the skill? What is important to all those different types of racing?

KYLE LARSON: I think being in racing situations. Even when you’re not in the same type of vehicle, you’re still putting yourself in racing situations. Your reaction times are staying sharp, all this and that.

Especially like when you can get comfortable in a sprint car, you can get comfortable in most things I feel like. They’re 950 horsepower, 1400 pounds. They blow the rear tires off of them. They want to throw the front end off the ground. They want to hurt you. I think when you can get comfortable in that, it kind of slows things down for the other types of racing that I do, which I good.

Yeah, I really think it’s a great tool for me. I’m glad that Hendrick Motorsports believes that it’s a tool, as well, because I think it definitely makes me who I am and as successful as we can be on Sundays, the most important piece.

Q. On that pure racer concept, is there an extra sense of relaxation when you can come into a 500 week like you have the last couple years off of racing a sprint car and winning?

KYLE LARSON: Sure, it doesn’t hurt to come off a win. At the same point, I don’t know if it matters either. It’s just nice to get racing a little bit before we get our season started. There’s a lot of these guys that maybe only run the Clash. I’ve probably ran 10 races or so this off- season. I don’t think that hurts by any means. That’s why I do it. That’s why I like to stay active.

Q. From a business perspective, what is the process for you as far as building High Limit? Kind of looking at that process it seems like you maybe are trying to pull in some elements from the NASCAR side maybe to help out sprint car racing.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, we’re kind of looking at the way we do things from all directions. I mean, sprint car racing is a great product. World of Outlaws, they’ve done a super good job of building the sport to where it’s at.

It also takes fresh thoughts and ideas to get things to the next level, and that’s what we’re trying to do. That obviously takes a lot of money though, as well. Trying to get all that to come together is difficult at times.

We have big ideas. It’s just going to take time. You can’t do everything, like, overnight like I would like. I think we’re all impatient, especially when you start something new. I think if you can be patient, slowly build into things, you can build something that’s really strong.

Q. There are people that might look at High Limit and say it’s going to be a flash in the pan. I get the sense that you intend for it to be around for the long-term.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t have the thought that we could continue to do this until I’m dead.

Yeah, too, we’re not trying to kill off the Outlaws. I think that’s what fans might think. We’ve proven already there’s room for two national series. Fans thought you were going to take the Outlaw drivers and split them in half. With our business model, we’ve been able to attract a lot of other teams to travel.

We had 58 cars at East Bay, Tampa, Florida, in February. I would have never thought we would have 58 sprint cars or 17 or 18, whatever you have, full-time traveling teams signed up right now. They obviously believe in us.

I think fans have their opinions, as we all do. They’ll see. I think they got to see a lot last night. I think the night went really good. I think the broadcast went great. That’s only been two races.

It’s going to come over time.

Q. How involved will you be able to be in and around everything you have to do on the Cup side? From a business and ops perspective…

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, I feel like a good bit. I’m there during the week. We get on calls and stuff or text chains, all this and that.

I’m not, like, super involved because I’m not there every day living it. I’m not there on the weekends at every High Limit race. I don’t want to be that annoying guy getting too involved either.

Q. You have Hess for that.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, this is his baby in a way. Same with Brad, Kendra, Brian Walker, J.P. I would say those are the core people building it. I’m there, as well.

Yeah, I think everybody understands I’ve got way more going on that I can’t devote as much time as they can do it.

Q. I don’t know if ‘responsibility’ is the right word, but is there a responsibility to help grow the sport, this is what you love to do, this is who you are, but is there another part of you that looks at it from the aspect of being the Pied Piper for motorsports?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, no, I mean, there’s been so many people before me to get to this level. I think, yeah, I definitely look at it at times — not at times, but that for sure is a part of why I feel like I have a responsibility to grow this sport that I’m passionate about.

Tony came and did his time, grew sprint car racing I think, dirt racing a lot. He’s kind of moved on to different ventures over the last handful of years. Now he presented a great opportunity for me to kind of take over the reins a little bit. That’s a huge honor.

I feel like, too, with my youth and where I’m at in my career, really in the prime of my career right now, relationships I built, all that, I think I’m confident that we can grow it. I want to see it grow to the magnitude that I think it can get to someday.

Yeah, I guess I just see the opportunity there, and I as well as the people on our team are ambitious enough to try and get it to that level.

Q. All the things you do, you don’t do it unless you can succeed. When people talk about the double, obviously winning is the challenging. You’re going to go to go win the race. The idea of winning both, is that how you look at it, or…

KYLE LARSON: I mean, I wouldn’t have signed up to do it if I didn’t think that I could. But I’m not also sitting here saying I’m going to win the Indy 500. I could run worse than 20th all race long and not be surprised at all. It would be hard for anybody to just come into a foreign type of race car, foreign race procedures and everything that comes along with it and win.

I guess the thing that I know is I know I’m with a great team. I know I’ve got a couple weeks of practice that will translate some to the race. I’ve got great teammates. I have Kanaan to talk to, a guy who has won the race. I have all these resources that are going to help prepare me.

I definitely think that I would like to think that I could win, but I think there’s a better chance of me not winning I guess, too.

I really just want to finish the laps, enjoy the experience, gain the experience. No matter what the result is, I know I’m going to come out of it a better, more well-rounded driver.

I think just getting to see how a different form motorsport, professional form of motorsport operates, how their prep work is, all that, driving a different car, getting used to pulling the trigger and passing somebody at 220 miles an hour into turn one, there’s the opportunity for me to cross through a different threshold of confidence after that.

Q. You finished first and second at Vegas last year. What is it about that track that you like so well, that makes you so good at it?

KYLE LARSON: It’s a mile-and-a-half, progressive bank, got some bumps, slick, you run the wall, bottom, middle. Kind of all that suits me. Like it’s not a place where you get stuck to one line. If you’re faster than somebody, you can move around, pass them. If you’re struggling, you can move around, find some speed.

Hendrick Motorsports is just really good on mile-and-a-half’s. They have a good package there, gets through the bumps really good. I think that’s especially what makes the car faster.

Q. After you win the championship, the opportunities, like what Ryan Blaney will now get the opportunity to do, what are the opportunities for the champion? What are the responsibilities?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, that’s a good question.

I mean, I don’t know. I feel like Ryan and I are somewhat similar. We’re not that outspoken within the group of drivers. Oh, we need to really push for this within the series, stuff like that.

Even after I won the championship, I’m still just as quiet in those meetings as I used to be. Ryan was always quiet, as well. I guess when we have meetings like that, I’m curious to see if he’s got any more confidence in him. He’s just an easygoing guy, so I don’t see that.

There’s still responsibility, like, as far as conducting yourself probably even to more of a championship level, champion’s level.

As far as, like, opportunities and stuff, I don’t remember having many. It was still kind of coming out of COVID, all that. I think it’s different now. They did their little New York swing, all that. I didn’t do any of that, from what I remember. Again, like I said, I’m not saying that negatively. I think that’s the way the times were in 2020 and ’21.

Q. Is it confidence or…

KYLE LARSON: I’m just an introverted person. I feel like Ryan is, as well. Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, they’re not, they’re more outspoken.

Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know.

Q. Your experiences, your voice…

KYLE LARSON: Michael McDowell at this point hasn’t been close to winning a championship, but in those meetings he’s a guy that you listen to. He’s been around a long time, experienced, he’s a confident person.

To me it doesn’t matter the success you have on the track. It shouldn’t. It shouldn’t matter because you’ve won a championship your voice carries more weight. Maybe that’s what I’m getting at.

Q. As solid as you are in anything that you get to, did you feel a boost of confidence after winning the title?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t remember. It’s been too long. Need to win another one.

Q. What do you do you during rain delays?

KYLE LARSON: Depends how long the rain delay is going to be. Hmmm… I mean, we sit there with a lot of rain delays at Daytona. I’m thinking about what we’ve done in Daytona. I know we’ve gotten Chipotle before. Used to have an XBOX, used to play that some. I mean, I’m pretty sure I’ve watched like Disney movies during rain delay. Just kind of do whatever.

Q. Eat a burrito and have to get back.

KYLE LARSON: I was bummed one time. I don’t even know if it was a rain delay. Like, Katelyn and Laura, they were having a taco night. They were all drinking margaritas and stuff. I wanted one so bad, but I had to go race so I couldn’t do that.

 

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 – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 14, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to the media on Wednesday prior to the Daytona 500.

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

What does this race mean?
“This is the biggest one of the year. It kicks off a new season as well, which is kind of interesting, the excitement of the offseason preparation and then you come down here and see what you have. It’s always important to kick off the season on a high note, and for us, this is our 20th try at the Daytona 500 and hopefully it’s our turn.”

What are some of your best memories of this race?

“I guess finishing second. Not a great memory, but to be part of the closest finish in history here is cool. Just wish we were on the other side of it.”

How do you feel about the addition of extra Camrys this year?
“Yeah, I think it is a big deal for us to have extra cars. Superspeedway racing has been a challenge with Toyotas having the least amount of guys out there, so it has been hard to find people in the past. Hopefully, a few extra cars will help our strategy. It is always tricky when you do green flag stops and come out and get with your group right away, I think that’s the biggest challenge – having more cars should help us.”

How do you plan to watch your brother’s race on Saturday?

“The usual. Go out to pit road before and see him and wish him well and then watch it on tv.”

How has the dynamic of racing at Atlanta changed?

“Atlanta was always one of my favorite tracks. Old Atlanta was worn out and just a really, really tough place to get around and I really enjoyed that style of racing with the tire wear and all of the challenges that brought. Now it is completely different. It’s a mini-Daytona, so it is a lot different than it used to be. I still enjoy it. As far as superspeedway style of racing goes, that’s the closest to the mile-and-a-half racing that we have, it’s just a lot tighter pack than we have at mile-and-a-halves. It’s a little different than here and Talladega, but kind of the same approach. I liked it before, but it’s still alright.”

Does Sin City still live up to its name when you race out there?

“Not really. Honestly, for us on a two-day weekend, it’s all business. I don’t even leave the track when we go there. It’s not like the banquet – that was fun. When we go to race tracks it’s all business for everyone. It’s just too serious. There is too much on the line and the commitment level and the focus it takes is higher than it has ever been.”

How has the level of parity changed?

“I think it has changed a lot since I’ve been here. I think the last few years with the Next Gen car has been the biggest change I would say. It has constantly evolved since I’ve came in the sport as far as trying to tighten things up, but the Next Gen car just has taken it to a new level. You are talking about everybody having the same parts and pieces, that’s never been a part of this sport. That’s definitely been the game changer.”

How has your preparation changed for this race through the years?

“It used to be we were on track a lot, practicing, and trying things with our car and changing parts and pieces and now you go out there and kind of have what you have without a lot of practice. So, you look at a lot of analytics and studies of things that have been done and aerodynamics and video, but it’s all kinds of hands off as far as driving the car and figuring things out that way. It’s changed a lot for sure.”

Who do you think is the best superspeedway driver these days?

“I think there are a lot of guys that are really, really good at it. Denny (Hamlin) is certainly near the top. It is nice to have him in our camp to have with our deal. He’s very helpful. He’s very knowledgeable to help our guys with our gameplan and things, so I would say he’s probably right there at the top.”

What’s going to happen with the Toyota’s this year?

“I don’t know. I think based on what I know, we’ll probably not qualify great, which is kind of status quo for us with this car, but we should race well, and we have more Toyotas this year, which should be helpful. We’ve been in a deficit car number-wise at these speedways these last handful of years, so the more cars on the Toyota side will help and hopefully that is to our advantage.”

Is this another year where you are going to drag out the retirement decision?

“Yeah, probably. (laughter) I have no idea what I’m doing next year.”

How are you feeling now?
“I feel good. Ready to roll.”

Has Coach asked if you are going to be back next year?

“No. Not yet.”

What do you think about the next generation of drivers?

“I think there is a lot of talent, a lot of young talent around which is great. I think the sport is in a great place, and there is going to be a lot of competitive drivers for a long time to come. They are good for the sport – hard-nosed racers that get it. The family names are still going for a lot of them, it’s been fun to see the change over the years with the older drivers going out and the younger drivers coming in. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was one of the young guys. Time flies – but the sport is in good hands.”

Are the generations part of this sport?

“I think in general, it always has been a part of this sport. You watch your dad race, you want to race. I feel like that’s how everybody gets into this. It’s not like you go to school and learn how to race. You have to go to the track and you go with your family, so definitely a different way of getting into this sport versus others.

Do any of the younger guys lean on you?

“I’ve certainly talked to my share of the younger drivers, I would say that I’m not one of the first ones that gets seek out. I don’t hang out with a lot of drivers away from the track, but teammates throughout the years – it has been fun to help them as well. Ty (Gibbs) has been somebody that has been full of questions, so it has been fun to work with him and see his progress.”

How long did it take you to appreciate the closest finish in NASCAR history?

“I still don’t appreciate it to be honest. (laughter) Every time we drive into the tunnel here the picture is on the wall. Every time we come to Daytona it is something that gets talked about, so it is unfortunate to be on the wrong side of it, but cool moment to be a part of.”

Being the oldest driver in the Cup Series, does that push the urgency of anything you want to accomplish?

“No, I don’t think so. I’m still enjoying myself, and I’m still competitive. Just want to win more races, that is what it boils down to. Last year we were able to do that, and that was great. Just want to stay competitive and want to stay on top.”

What was your mindset last year coming off a winless season in 2022?

“I think for us – we kind of came in with a chip on our shoulders. It just made us look at everything as a team, and that is what we did last year. We started strong in ’23. It’s just self-reflection, team-reflection – everybody looks at everything you did good and everything you did bad – what are the humps that you need to get over? Just makes you work a little bit harder, makes you think about how bad you want it.”

Is it easier to look at when it doesn’t happen all the time?

“I guess so. For me, I had other winless years. It wasn’t something new for me. I have had a lot of tough years. This is a humbling sport, and it just reminds you how hard it is and how lucky you are when you are in a situation when you are winning a lot.”

How important were those last couple of races last season?

“I don’t know if it was a huge deal. Just for us – just finishing the year on a high note and realizing that, we didn’t lose it. We just didn’t completely disappear. Things didn’t go the way we needed it to. We made some mistakes here and there. I know we still have what it takes to do what we did in the regular season. Our goal is to start this year that way and make the Playoffs again, and do what we can, do what we know how to do and go further than we did last year.”

Would you be at peace if you don’t win the Daytona 500 in your career?

“I really haven’t thought much about it. There has been a lot of great drivers that haven’t won it. As we sit here, I can’t really imagine not getting it done. I appreciate the opportunity.”

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

 ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 TRACKHOUSE RACING CAMARO ZL1 – 2024 Daytona 500 Media Day Quotes

I don’t know if you’ve seen it yet, but as someone who has been coming here since a kid, what’s it’s like to have a giant picture of yourself in the Fanzone?

“I’ve looked up at that banner for so long. We would get the Fanzone access pass added on to our ticket. We did it a couple of times when we were kids. My parents would take us down in there and I remember ordering a Shirley Temple or something at the bistro there. I’ve never looked at it other than just as a place where you walk by. Now today I walk by and I see it… it’s stuff I’ve seen for so long but now it has more meaning. That big ol’ banner with my face on it is wild.”

You’re up to four Cup victories now and have contended for a championship. Is the next step this year to add one of the big races to get you into that next phase?

“I don’t know what the next step is. Competing is top of mind for me. It’s really all I focus on. I focus just as much for the Daytona 500 as I do any track in Cup. They are all so important and so pivotal. I never know when the last one is going to be. That’s just the way the world works. One of these will be my last win. I’m fortunate to have a couple now but we’ll see. Obviously the World 600, Southern 500, Daytona 500… those are big ones but I can’t prepare any more than I do for them because I’m preparing as much as I can, or as much as I know how. There’s probably always more I can do but it’s as much as I know how to do.”

What’s your reaction to your role in the Netflix series?

“It’s cool to show me, and that’s what I told Justin (Marks) and that’s what I told Trackhouse when we were negotiating my contract… and the Netflix group. I told them ‘Hey, I’m not going to give you the soundbites that you’re looking for.’ There were times when we would be talking with the producers and the cameras would be rolling and they’re asking me questions and they’d say ‘Is that all you want to say?’ and I’m like ‘Yes that’s my honest answer. I’m me.’ So when we were planning out stuff for them to capture, I told them I’d be out at the farm if they wanted to come see it, and they did. I’m glad they showed that because it’s really me.”

How would you look at the racing at Atlanta since the reconfiguration?

“I think the track knows what it wants to be, and it wants to be different. Because it is. As the pavement wears out, it’s getting wild. The first race we went to with the Gen Seven car and the repave, it all lined up together. I couldn’t even make laps in practice by myself. They were out there drafting and pushing each other. We were so loose and out of control that we had to make a ton of adjustments and ended up second in that race. Then as it’s evolved, we’ve gotten our car better but the track is losing grip. So last year in the second race, I couldn’t be aggressive. I was just trying not to crash by myself. We’ve had to put some work into it, so we’ll see. And that was only two years’ worth of racing. If in five years or 10 years.. we’d never think about repaving a track in 10 years if everything is ok with it. If they want superspeedway racing in 10 years, they’ll have to repave it again. With the current horsepower and aero package, we’re going too fast and sliding. At least I am. We gotta get some more grip built in the 1 car.”

When we were here last year, the talk at Trackhouse was managing expectations with how you finished the 2022 season. What is the expectation level now?

“Keep working. We definitely took some time and took some days, weeks and better part of a month to unplug, then we came back in January and it’s full speed ahead working as hard as ever and doing everything we know to do. We’re not going the same prep that we did for ’23 or ’22 and definitely not for ’21. As we’ve evolved and learned, we keep growing. What are the expectations? I don’t have any number-based ones or anything. Just go compete. Whatever we learn after the first two and the superspeedway stuff here and in Atlanta and then go out west and we evolve our packages for springs and shocks, that’s what gets me excited.”

As a kid from Florida, what does the Daytona 500 mean to you and what would it mean to win it?

“Why not us? I have to think that. Why can’t we win? There are no reasons why we can’t. From there, indescribable… I don’t know what it would mean. If it happens, you’ll get to watch us experience it for the first time together.”

Not to suggest anything, but how do you normally spend a rain delay?

“Trying not to eat. Even if I’ve eaten and prepared, and we go out and run 10 laps in the race and we get out, I’m looking for food. It’s just my natural nervous instinct. So I’ll eat more. Even though we aren’t racing, we’re still burning calories. The nerves and the adrenaline and the heart rate is up. It’s impossible not to need to take in more calories during these events.”

When the forecast looks bad, do you dwell on that or do you plan that everything is going to run according to schedule?

“We plan accordingly. We have rooms booked in case we need them. That’s a necessary insurance plan. I don’t dwell. I’d rather the rain be here than at the farm. We don’t need any more rain. A little bit is OK but not the two days of steady rain like they’re talking here. Farmer at heart here has been looking at different weather apps my entire life and listening to forecasts and meteorologists. We’ll see.”

 

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.

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

 WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1 – 2024 Daytona 500 Media Day Quotes

Regarding the Daytona 500 pole – Is there an internal battle to try and get this next one?

“It’s one of those poles that you would like to have. I would say the Phoenix (Raceway) pole is really important as well, but this one is up there. So, it would be nice to get this one tonight to start the season off on a good foot and to just give you some momentum, really.”

Do you have inside bets with Larson or Bowman or anybody?

“No, I don’t, and honestly don’t know what their mindset is. We will just try to go out there and do the best we can to see who has the fastest car, basically. As long as I do my job and get through the gears and everything, then its just up to that.”

Did you have a good offseason and are you ready for this one?

“I feel like this offseason, I took more time just away from racing and I feel like I came back more energized, and I feel like I am more excited for what is ahead now.”

You had a great season last year and made it to the Final Four, but are there some areas you would like to see the team improve in or are there certain types of tracks that you would like to feel a little more comfortable with?

“I don’t know – just try to get a little better at short tracks. That has been the goal for us for about a year. We started to struggle at the shorter tracks in 2022, and I feel like going into this year, that has been the big emphasis – to try and get better at Martinsville in particular, but a lot of those places.”

Were you surprised last year, especially what happened in the fall race, when you went there thinking you were ready for Martinsville and it just didn’t happen?

“Yeah, I mean I was surprised. I thought we could easily run top-five or top-seven. I was anxious, though, because of our past performance, but I thought we would improve. But yeah – definitely surprised, but hopefully its different this year.”

Did NASCAR go in the right direction with some of the changes that came out of Phoenix?

“Yeah, I think so. We will see. I don’t really know because I didn’t do any of the testing, but hopefully so, yeah.”

Daniel Suarez was talking earlier today about your six wins, and he said that he brought three cars to the track that were capable of winning and you brought 20. As far as preparation, how does that translate from the race shop to get those cars to the track to get you those numbers?

“I mean, I really don’t look at it that way. I look at it that every time the guys bring a car to the track, it has a chance to win. That is the confidence I have in my team, and I never look at weekends and say – ‘man, this car sucks’, or ‘this car doesn’t have a chance to win’. It’s just fine-tuning and sometimes you win races with a third-place car and sometimes you win by being the best car all weekend. I think we had maybe two races last year where we had the best car all weekend and that was Vegas and Watkins Glen. So, yeah, it just depends, and they all come in differently.”

Did you have a lot of fun in doing the documentary on Netflix and the behind-the-scenes stuff?

“It was really cool, and I liked it a lot. I thought they did a good job editing it and really making everyone look good. It was good. I was skeptical going in of what it was going to look like, but it turned out better than I thought.”

What about Iowa Speedway? Do you like having a new track every season, like Chicago last year?

“Yeah, I do. We continue to spice it up and do new and interesting things that I think is good. Iowa is a known commodity for us; we have been there. It hasn’t been in the Cup Series, so I am excited to see how it goes.”

Ford and Toyota have new noses this year. Do you feel like you are a little bit on your back foot at an aero track like this?

“Yeah, I mean our car was good last year, so sometimes you don’t want to mess with something that is already proven and competitive. So, hopefully our car is really good 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.

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 14, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Wednesday prior to the Daytona 500.

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

What would it mean to win your fourth Daytona 500 this year?

“I think with each win, it puts you in a different category, right? And certainly, with some of the numbers that Richard (Petty) put up, or Cale (Yarborough), it’s hard to duplicate even in today’s type racing where there’s more cars on the lead lap and more cars in the front pack. I think accomplishments like that certainly puts you in an upper echelon of drivers that were legends in this sport, so it would certainly mean a lot.”

Does it take pressure off you coming to Daytona after previously winning a Daytona 500 or does it add more pressure on you?

“Me personally, I’d say it takes it off. There are many great drivers, certainly better than I am, that have never won this race and they deem it as a hole in their career. I think it’s a different type of racing now than what it used to be. It was a little more predictable back then because the cars were on edge and the great drafters found their way and position. It’s just a little different with the Next Gen era for sure. But yeah, having multiple wins in this certainly takes the pressure off. There’s just more to gain, not much to lose if you don’t accomplish it this year.”

Does winning multiple Daytona 500’s take a backseat to winning a championship?

“I’m not sure. By the outside views, this is the pinnacle of our sport. The championship is decided in one race just like this is decided in one race. I’m not really sure, it just depends on whose perspective it might be. But certainly, with the championship getting a smaller and smaller sample size, I view them very similarly.”

Has the role of a spotter changed over the years?

“I think that with everything being more common and similar with the equipment you run and technology you share, really the only differentiator you have is your people – your drivers, the crew chiefs and spotters. They’re the ones on the radio on race day, so any time you can find an advantage in one of those positions, certainly you’re going to be in a much better spot. Those guys are probably getting to a level where it’s more fairly priced for the good ones.”

How much of a difference does it make to have nine Toyotas in the draft instead of six?

“I mean it’s yet to be seen. I touched on it a little bit this week, but really to have our own strategy, pitting strategy, is beneficial. I was just kind of torn on what exactly working together is beneficial, and this, that and another. I think it’s in my best interest in getting back to basics, and that’s doing what I feel is best to win the race for myself. While having teammates is great and are certainly assets to use in certain situations to win races, I think sometimes it’s those who are the most selfish, that make moves for themselves, are those who win the race. Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) had no teammates last year. He won the race. We’ve certainly had our fair share of moments when we’ve had to pick between a move a teammate made versus a move someone else made, and I deemed the other person made the right move. Those lead to what I argue a more successful result for the 11 car. Still, you want to help your teammates as much as you can as you’ll need those allies throughout the race and certainly during it. But I feel, I need to personally go back to the style I had a few years ago and we’ll see what the results say.”

What has changed behind the scenes at Toyota and TRD with the addition of LEGACY MOTOR CLUB?

“Yeah, I mean all the teams are intertwined in different areas, for sure. We (23XI Racing) have an alliance with JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) in some technical stuff, some IP stuff. 23XI Racing has an alliance with LEGACY (MOTOR CLUB) with some pit crew stuff and some other efficiencies. I think they’re all kind of intertwined and certainly you would argue the Toyota teams intertwine with each other more so than teams with other manufacturers intertwine with each other. So, it certainly allows Toyota to zoom in, laser focus on the teams they have, and I think that’s resulted in some good benefits.”

Where do you currently feel the drivers stand with NASCAR and what progress has been made?

“I think I overestimated how much the RTA (Race Team Alliance) has a seat at the table now that I’m a part of it. I think that this whole thing is such a monopoly that you kind of get shut down in different areas – you’re allowed in some places, but not in others, that it’s very different. I do think the drivers are in a better place now in the sense that they have an unofficial association. Again, it’s only a seat at the table if you’re allowed to be. It’s not an official seat at the table. Saying that the race teams and their agreement with NASCAR is why there’s butting heads there. So, there’s only a seat if you’re allowed a seat and they’re only going to allow a seat in a few certain situations, but I do think there’s avenues to the divers being more equitable in the sport in the future.”

Are drivers in a better place than four years ago or a different place?

“A different place. I mean, it’s very different because I’ve been blessed with a very good situation my whole career. I didn’t have to go through the ranks like others had to go through. Nor big salary crunches over the course of my career like others have had to go through. But it’s just a different place. Not sure if it’s better or worse, it’s just a different place than it was, and I believe it still could be a lot better for sure.”

What do you hope to see out of Ryan Blaney now that he’s a champion and has an opportunity to have his voice amplified?

“Just hope that he (Ryan Blaney) embraces it, right? He certainly has the opportunity to be the next big star if he so chooses. You have to want to choose that life and there’s a lot of responsibility that comes along with it. I think he’s certainly enough of a veteran and enough of a young guy that’s got a runway ahead of him that he has that voice and can be very powerful within our sport if he chooses to do that. I hope he does. I think he’s going to be a huge asset to this sport. Kevin’s (Harvick) gone, I’ll be gone in a few years and Martin (Truex Jr.) will be gone in a few years. You’ve got to have that next group be willing to step up. I think Ryan definitely could be that guy if he so chooses, but if not, there’s others that maybe don’t have the stature of accomplishments that could potentially do it as well.”

Do you ever feel like it would be better for the championship to be chosen from a driver’s success throughout the entire year instead of just one race?

“It would be hard to argue the latter is correct. I would say that I do like the Playoffs. I really thought when they first implemented it you had 10 drivers over 10 weeks. Like it was the 10 best and in order to be the 10 best it was a really super elite group. Then, you’d let those guys figure it out for the next 10 weeks. Every race had such big importance. Now, there’s a win and you’re in. You can win and just go to the next round. It doesn’t matter about the performances in the Playoffs. It’s just different now. I do like the Playoffs, I just wish, if I had to change it, I think there should be a championship round. Not tie it down to one race where it could fit a potential manufacturer, driver or team. Make them work at some different types of race tracks to crown a championship. And, in my opinion, I think it could be a bump in the rating as well because you have three championship races, and they all mean the same amount. No one is going to run off and win the championship between three guys after two races. You’re still going to have that element, but it’s probably a little bit more of a fair way to do it.”

How important is the NASCAR Netflix series for new fans to learn about the personalities of the sport?

“I felt that they did a really good job of kind of encapsulating who I am as a person. I thought it was very fair to me. Personally, I thought that how the other drivers were portrayed was fair, because it’s how I see them as well and I probably know them a little bit more than the casual race fan. I thought it was all very fair and you always worry about that stuff when you don’t have any editing rights, or you don’t know how it’s going to get produced or anything like that. I thought it was a very good introduction for new fans because they also were kind of teaching you some stuff on here’s how it works, right? I think that’s the toughest part for our casual fan to latch on is that they see the cars going around in circles, they just have no idea what gets them to that point. So, there’s an even bigger element that can be told about what makes this car maybe a little bit faster than the next or this driver a little bit more talented than the other or whatever it might be. There’s still lots of stories to be told amongst a bunch of drivers that hopefully you’ll get to see in the future.”

What are your thoughts on having two speedway races to start the season this year?

“I think, to me, the points counting, stages and all of that stuff start to matter for me next week. You’re willing to lay out on the line a little bit more at Daytona because of the stakes of the Daytona 500. I won’t pay attention to any kind of stage points. I won’t be going for any of that stuff. It’s just about how can I get to the 500 mile mark first and what strategy I choose to take to get there. Sure, this race pays the same amount of points as Atlanta next week, but just from a mentality standpoint for me I will treat it differently. In how I choose to be aggressive in this race is different than what I will do at Atlanta. Because while these two races won’t give you any indication of who’s going to be good at Vegas or Martinsville or Richmond – the tracks that really are the bread and butter of the regular season championship. You certainly don’t want to get yourself in a hole over these next two races where you start to kind of panic and so you start chasing stage points and you start chasing things because you think you’re behind. There’s many more innings of this thing to be played.”

Are you worried about having two races in a row where you could potentially crash out?

“Yeah, that’s always a concern. I know that I could get unlucky. I could end up causing a wreck that I get in. It’s just part of the racing that we know. I know that we’re going to be good when we go to all those other tracks. I know what our result is going to be if we just do what we’ve always done. Yeah, there’s an element of chance in these first two that you just hope that you’re on the good end of.”

Will your take on the strategy for the 500 conflict with what you expect to hear from Toyota?

“I don’t think so. I think we’re all on the same page if I had to guess. I think that when you look at kind of history of superspeedway results, I think that Bubba Wallace has always been one that’s been contending and I have as well on these types of tracks. If we happen to be behind someone that doesn’t have the history or that kind of success, yet my result is dictated by the person that I have to push, I don’t necessarily think that’s a great strategy. So, I think that while there’s going to be plenty of opportunities for us to all work together – pitting, pushing each other by a competitor manufacturer or team – in the end you have to be selfish to win these races and certainly we realize that through results more than anything else. I think all of us will probably be on the same page as far as that’s concerned to do what we have to do to get a win. And, if we win, then Toyota wins and Joe Gibbs Racing wins.”

About Toyota

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

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DO YOU EXPECT WITH THE NEW CAR IN THE DUEL RACES? “It will definitely be a learning experience for us. Probably the biggest thing would be just making sure the bumpers line up good and how we push each other as far as the new body stuff. Obviously, it’s a learning experience no matter what, even if it was the old we’d have a learning experience on what your car has got for the 500 and what we want to work on for practice the next day. There will be a lot to learn, lots of things, but it’ll be good. It should be fine. We’ll figure it out.”

IS THE PRESSURE OFF HERE SINCE YOU’VE WON THE 500 ONCE OR IS THERE MORE BECAUSE YOU WANT TO WIN IT AGAIN? “I don’t know if it changes it because the goal is the same no matter what. Your goal is to win it, whether you’ve won it five times or no times. It seems similar. We’ve been so close so many times since then that we’ve been leading on the last lap at some point. Last year, the caution just fell at the wrong time. If they hit that stinking button a little sooner last year, we would have won but it is what it is.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT ATLANTA AND THE RACING WE HAVE THERE? “I call it kind of a confused racetrack. It doesn’t know if it wants to be a superspeedway or a mile-and-a-half. It seems like you’re wide-open all the way around it most of the time. If you’re leading, for sure, but there are other times where you’re hanging on and you’re in the back and you’re lifting and all that stuff. Honestly, it’s similar to what this place here in Daytona was like before they repaved it years and years and years ago, where it had some bumps and some character and the tires would fall off to where you had to kind of hang on and handling came into play. The same thing can happen there.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE COMING THROUGH THE OLD TURN FOUR TUNNEL? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU? “I still get excited about it, which is good. When I did that last night I said, ‘OK, I’m still excited to go racing.’ That means I’m not ready to hang it up, so that part is good. My kids, I didn’t think about this, but my kids love that tunnel so you know because you can jump out of it pretty good. You can definitely catch air, so if you were wondering if a Ford Expedition can catch air, yes it can out of the tunnel and they love it. It’s full commit, though. You’ve got to really want it (laughing).”

DOES IT MEAN A REBIRTH LIKE STARTING A NEW SEASON? “Absolutely. I don’t know if I get more excited about just the opportunity to win the 500 or just a new season. It’s probably more the new season than anything, but it’s The Great American Race. You get to line up in the biggest race that we have. To me, that’s pretty special still – 16 years into it. It’s pretty special to do it.”

YOU’VE WON EARLY IN THE SEASON. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET THAT FIRST WIN WITH THE FORMAT? “It’s important any time you can win these days because those playoff points mean everything. We didn’t have enough playoff points last year. That’s not the only reason why we got knocked out, but some playoff points would have kept us alive. We need to win more often and it’s nice to get one early just because it’s like, ‘OK, we’re in the playoffs.’ That’s good. That’s one box checked, but it’s nowhere near enough to really make a solid championship run.”

IS THERE ANY DANGER TO IT? CAN COMPLACENCY SET IN? “It can happen. I don’t see that happening, but it can happen. It probably depends on the team.”

WHY DON’T YOU THINK THAT COULD HAPPEN TO YOUR TEAM? “I feel like it’s important for us as members of a team to remain hungry and knowing that it’s just one race. If your goal is to win more than one race, you’re probably not happy yet and I think this is a big point of our sport is that you have to set goals that are very hard to achieve and that keep you hungry. You have to say, ‘Yep, that’s just one stepping stone to the road of what we’re trying to achieve,’ so I think that’s how you stay out of that.”

HOW LONG DOES THE STING OF LAST SEASON LAST? DO YOU FEED OFF THAT DURING THE OFF-SEASON? “You can use it a fair amount. You can find motivation everywhere. You can watch the Netflix doc and find a lot of motivation. I did that. Check. All of them. They all hurt. Every one of them hurts. It’s a great thing for our sport, but they all hurt when you’re a competitor and you watch that happen again. You’re like, ‘God, I wanted to forget that day for the rest of my life.’ You can find motivation in anything you do every day. You don’t have to look too hard most of the time.”

BLANEY SAID YOU SHARE A BOND NOW THAT YOU BOTH HAVE CHAMPIONSHIPS. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? “I think the one thing that’s kind of nice that has happened over the last two years, but more so now probably, is that we can lead as peers together. There’s not one above the other. It seems like we’re pretty comparable drivers and strong in different areas, which is good, and I think leading Penske together we can do that. That part is good. I think that helps. I’m sure from his perspective it is probably a little different. For me, I always have kind of seen him as a really, really good race car driver, so it doesn’t change much that he won one to me, but I could see in his mind it could be different. I get that.”

HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE UNTIL YOU GET A FEEL FOR THE MUSTANG DARK HORSE? “You’re gonna get glimpses, like a little touch on it here and there just depending on the track. Like the Clash, it’s too slow to understand the aero advantages or changes that we’ve made. Daytona, Atlanta somewhat, but it’s still speedway racing, and then you get to Phoenix and Vegas and you start doing those and you’ll have a better idea of where we’re at. I’m sure there is going to be some learning curve there too as well, so it might prolong that a little bit more as we try to maximize the potential out of the car and we understand the aero balance and what heights the car really wants to be at and how we can maximize all those things.”

IS VEGAS WHERE YOU WILL GET A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT YOU’VE GOT? “Vegas will probably get a piece of it. Listen, everything looks good. I’m always a cautiously optimistic person, where things may look good, but show me reality first. I kind of have to see it to believe it, so we’ll see. Like I said, there are gonna be some little nuances of the body in the car that we’re gonna have to figure out as we go along, so there will be a little bit of a learning curve even after Vegas of things like, ‘Oh, maybe it needs to be more like this.’ We’ll figure it out a little at a time. It’s harder to figure it out these days because there is no practice, so you kind of just have to race and then try something else and then race again and try something else and see if you went the right way.”

HAS RACING CHANGES A LOT AT VEGAS WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR? “Oh, yeah. The racing has changed everywhere. The way you race, the restarts, everything is different with the Next Gen car. Honestly, I think that’s why the young guys have really excelled more quickly than you would expect with the old car because all of the little nuances of the other car that we really all had figured out – that the experienced guys had figured out – got washed away, so we had to all restart together, which made it definitely a lot more challenging for us, but probably easier for them. It’s a different world. We also figured out that the cream still rises to the top at the end of the day, but it definitely washed away any advantage you earned by being here longer.”

HOW HAVE YOU HAD TO ADAPT AT VEGAS? “Some of the big things are just understanding the bumps down in one and two. What’s OK and what’s too much. Even three and four a little bit there. Restarts have changed drastically than how we used to restart there to what it is now as a driver, and really just the balance of where the car goes on the long run compared to what it used to be is different too. The details of where the car goes on the long run and all those things is quite a bit different.”

WHY ARE THE RESTARTS SO DIFFERENT? “Mainly because the body doesn’t have skew in it anymore. The skew changed a lot of things.”

WHO DECIDES HOW TO SETUP THE CAR IF YOU FEEL SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE ENGINEER DATA SAYS? “I do to answer the question because I’m in the car. Data can show us certain things, but it can’t show everything, so it’s probably different for every team, but, for us, I’m very involved with the engineers and the decisions that we’re making and why we’re in a certain place. A lot of times the data can be misinterpreted because you’re driving a car a certain way because your car can’t do a certain thing or vice versa – because your car is really good at something else and that’s why you’re driving your car that way and that’s why it looks a certain way. So there are a lot of times that the driver has to be involved in dissecting the data to have a clear read on that, so it’s pretty complicated. A lot of times you need an engineer, but you also need kind of a race savvy person too to go through it all together, and I feel like we have a great team with all of that for sure.”

WHAT KIND OF THINGS DID YOU SAY TO BLANEY LAST YEAR DURING HIS CHAMPIONSHIP RUN? “We talked a few times a little bit and we helped as a team a lot, just helping them with their setups and things like that. Once we were knocked out it was, ‘OK, what do we do to help the 12 win?’ That was where we were at. They did the same for us the year before and it’s the least we can do. You’ve got to do what you can to return the favor, so that’s how it works.”

WAS IT HARD TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING TO WRITE FOR THE JOURNAL? “No, it wasn’t. It was actually really easy because I know him so well. I went up to the second page. I had a lot to say. Sometimes I wrote in the thing and didn’t have much to say, but this time I did.”

HOW AMAZING IS IT THAT WHAT’S ON THE PAGES OF THAT JOURNAL HAS NOT GOTTEN OUT? “I love that part. Honestly, I was talking to Jimmie about it at the Fox shoot the other day and it’s so cool that he started that and it’s the best-kept secret in our sport. There are no secrets in our sport, like none. You figure them all out. We have one on you guys and you know it’s there and that’s the best part about it is you guys know it’s there but you can’t see it. Is it real or not? Maybe we’re screwing with you the whole time and it’s not even a thing (laughing)? It’s just cool. It’s really special for the champion to receive that book, but to have the privilege to read back years and years. Imagine how cool it’s gonna be 20 years from now or 30 years from now. It’s just badass. It’s a little nerve racking when you have it because you don’t want to be the guy that something happens to it, you lose it. I was thinking when I was writing in it and I put everything away because the last thing you want is to ruin it. It’s a special thing. We should have it documented somewhere or backed up somewhere just in case. That’s what we should do. It’s probably a good idea, but it’s cool. It’s really neat.”

WHAT IF THIS HAD STARTED WHEN RICHARD PETTY WON YEARS AGO? “I wish it was. It would be the neatest thing in the world and maybe some day it gets published. It will be a huge deal. I don’t think it’s big enough right now to do that, but it is really cool to see the personal letters to the next champion. That’s all it is and some of them are short. Some of them are really short and some of them are really long. It’s cool. It’s kind of neat.”

ARE YOU OVER LAST YEAR. IT SEEMED LIKE HAD NO FUN AT ALL? “I did not. You’re right. No fun. I’m over it. I was over it in Phoenix, but it is what it is. Sometimes you have an off year and unfortunately we had that. Not everything was bad. We still did a lot of things really, really well. Our team still executes races as good or better than anybody. We can make our car finish a lot better than where it runs more times than not, so that says a lot about our team, so if you pair that with speed, that’s where we become dangerous again. Hopefully, we can find a little speed here, which I think we will. I feel pretty confident that we will. More times than not after a really bad year we’ve come back pretty hard, so I’m hoping that happens again.”