DAYTONA 500 – Practice 1
Daytona Beach, Florida – February 16, 2024

DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY – NASCAR 101

Following Thursday night’s action-packed Duels at Daytona, the NASCAR Cup Series was back on-track Friday evening for the first of two 50-minute practices this week as manufacturers worked together in the draft. Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 team were able to get their first laps in the backup car after being collected in a multi-car incident in the second Duel race and posted the best 10 consecutive lap average in the field. Austin Cindric posted the second-fastest 10 consecutive lap average, followed by DAYTONA 500 pole sitter Joey Logano in fifth as the Team Penske Ford Mustangs traded places in the draft throughout the run.

Austin Cindric, driver, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang
10th

Ryan Blaney, driver, No. 12 Menards/Peak Ford Mustang
13th

Joey Logano, driver, No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang
14th

HEAR FROM BLANEY: “The backup car felt just like my car last night [in the Duels] so that’s always great. It’s a huge testament to the prep work these guys do and the effort they put in to make sure, in a worst-case scenario, that you can kind of plug something in and make it very similar. Everything felt very similar to last night so no issues there. We’ll just have to find a way to work our way forward come Sunday.”
SATURDAY SLATE IN DAYTONA: The NASCAR Cup Series returns on-track Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET for the final practice session leading into Sunday’s DAYTONA 500. The 50-minute session will be broadcast live on FS1 on MRN.
TEAM PENSKE AT DAYTONA: Team Penske has started 154 races at Daytona International Speedway, 77 of which were in the league’s marquee event, the DAYTONA 500. Of the organization’s three wins in The Great American Race, the most recent came in 2022 when Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang, etched his name in history as the first rookie to win the crown jewel event. Ryan Newman recorded Team Penske’s first win in the event in 2008, followed by Logano in 2015.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona 500 Practice | Friday, February 16, 2024

Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse, was the fastest Ford in today’s only NASCAR Cup Series practice (9th). He stopped by the infield media center to answer questions from the media about starting on the front row for Sunday’s scheduled Daytona 500.

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse – ARE YOU FEELING SOME GOOD MOMENTUM HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND? “It’s been a great weekend so far. We’ve had a really fast car. Last night, we were fortunate to keep it out of trouble, but able to race really hard and see what we had. We made a few adjustments for today, so smooth. We’re all done now and we’ll get ready to race on Sunday.”

TOYOTA WON BOTH DUEL RACES AND THEY WERE FAST TODAY. DOES THAT MEAN ANYTHING? “They definitely have speed. I think that when it comes to race time they always do, even before their body update, so I feel like it’s no different than any other year down here. I still feel like we’re in a really good spot and the Fords are fast. They did a good job of getting in position and winning both races, but I felt like we were fast enough to win last night and be in position. We just didn’t make the right moves to do it, so I’m not worried about it if that makes sense. I don’t feel like we’re down at all. It’ll be fun on Sunday.”

YOU GOT SHOVED OUT OF LINE AT THE END. WAS THAT A DECISION ON YOU TO JUST BAIL AFTER THAT? “Denny threw a big block and if you guys remember about 10 laps before that 10 cars crashed on the front straightaway. I had the option to do that and decided that was a bad option, so I rolled out of the gas and just the timing of it is when I rolled out of the gas and got to Denny’s bumper the 2 was on mine and so kind of got me out into that third lane and once I was in the third lane I knew our chances of winning the race were over, so I just kind of bailed after that. I had all intentions up until that point to try to race for the win and then once I wasn’t in position to win, then it made no sense to be in any sort of mess.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU LOST SOMETHING IN THE TRANSITION FROM THE GEN 6 TO THE GEN 7 CAR? “Yeah, definitely. I feel like I had work to do as far as what I was doing behind the wheel with the Next Gen car compared to what used to work, and so a lot of that is just situational and muscle memory and kind of just your approach of how you make runs, build runs, keep your energy up, keep your speed up, and I think it’s different now in this Next Gen car. I always love hearing these answers because I watch them and I want to hear what other drivers say, but if I was guessing, much like myself, Denny probably just went and studied the guys that were doing it well and figured out how you need to adjust and now he’ll be back to where he was and I feel like that’s the same for me. I just had to make some adjustments on how I was approaching things and what I was doing to change the style because the car drives differently and the runs come differently and that third lane doesn’t build like it used to and keeping the cars behind you and keeping them attached and having more than one, there’s a lot of things that go into it that didn’t play in as much as it did in the Gen 6 car. I think it’s just becoming a student and trying to figure out what this car needs and things you could have done better in the past.”

DID THE PENSKE ALLIANCE PLAY ANY ROLE IN YOUR FREE AGENT STATUS AND COMING BACK? “The timing of it, there were conversations that had started, but they were early on, so I couldn’t honestly tell you that it had an effect on it, and really, ultimately, the decision wasn’t in my hands, it was in Front Row’s hands. Like I told you guys before, this is where I want to be. I want to turn this into a championship-winning team and I want to be the guy that helps steer the ship to do that, and so these things that have come together over these last few months are moving us in that direction to be able to do that and to sustain us for a long time to come. Things are really good right now. I’m happy. I’m happy where I’m at. Obviously, Daytona isn’t an indication of your entire season, but it is a good indication of where we were last year and where we start this year and I think that we’ll be able to put ourselves in position to win multiple races and get into the playoffs. That’s what we want to do. There’s gonna be a little bit of learning and growing process here over the next few weeks, but I think overall once we get into the meat of the season, we’re gonna be in a much better spot than we were last year.”

DOES THE PLAN CHANGE NOW THAT THERE ARE THREE FRONT ROW CARS IN THE RACE? “So, it’s always better to have more and so Kaz making the race is really big for the company and for us. The goal is to have us all together to make that work, but as you guys have seen, it doesn’t always work that way. Obviously, with us starting on the front row, I’m not gonna drop back to pick Kaz up early on, so he’s got his work cut out for him to get up there, but there’s a lot of strategy involved in that and trying to pit together and doing all the things that we’ll try to do to get us hooked up when it counts once you sort of get past that halfway, so it’s great for the organization to have three cars in. Hopefully, if it all plays out, it’ll help us at the end of the race when it counts. The good news is we still have a lot of Ford Mustangs out there, so we should be in a pretty good position if we can keep everybody straight and running all the way to the end.”

DO YOU REGULARLY CHECK YOUR NAME ON THE TROPHY? “No. That’s the first time. I’ve seen it out in the display area and I figure there’s probably only one of these. I hadn’t seen it and just wanted to make sure they hadn’t made a duplicate and I was thinking maybe they’re presenting this to me. Maybe they’re giving us the big one (joking).”

HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SEE THAT? “It’s cool. Obviously, this is what will last forever. This trophy will be here at Daytona International Speedway for a long time. I get a kick out of looking at it because it goes every 10 years and so you’ve got Michael Waltrip, Trevor Bayne and then me all on that same row. Michael Waltrip, obviously, gave me my first shot in the Cup Series and I wouldn’t be here without him. Michael Waltrip also hired me to train Trevor Bayne. Trevor Bayne is my best friend, and so to see our three names lined up there is kind of fun. It’s not that big of a deal, but it’s cool to see.”

WHAT ARE THE DEBRIEFS LIKE NOW WITH PENSKE AND HOW DO THEY DIFFER FROM WHAT YOU’VE DONE IN THE PAST? “We’re learning as we go here of what that will look like. It’s just early stages. It’s early on. I mean, I’ve always had a close working relationship with the other Ford drivers, but in particular with Joey. I’ve had a good relationship with him for a long time, so that part of it is pretty easy. Now I feel less awkward asking him things and talking about all of it because I feel like we’re supposed to be working together a little bit more, but as far as how that will look every week in and week out we’re still sorting through that. I know all the crew chiefs are getting together and talking about it and discussing things and going over that, and so I think we’re all sort of learning what that process will look like. What’s beneficial? What’s not beneficial? What’s too much? What’s not too much? All those things, so it’s early stages for that, so I think that there will be some learning curves and we’ll figure out what works best.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS FUEL SAVING SITUATION AT DAYTONA OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS? “Maybe not after last night. I mean, the guys that saved really well they only went one lap further, which was silly. They could have gone another six or seven and that would have made more sense, so I think you might change it up for Sunday. I think more than anything is you’re getting data while you’re out there to figure out what the options are and to give yourself more options with longer stages and different windows. Some of that is just gaining information and how slow are you when you’re doing it and how to do it efficiently, but after what I saw last night, I feel like there’s a limit of your wasting time and track position and not utilizing what you save, so I think we’re all learning as we go as far as what that looks like.”

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 16, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media after leading Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice session in preparation for the Daytona 500.

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

Does Toyota have a big advantage this weekend?

“It’s more the way it worked out for sure. We had a big tow from another manufacturer pack of cars and that really plays a big factor into what kind of lap times you run and whatnot. When there weren’t as many cars out there, we ran about the same speeds as everyone else.”

Have you identified a favorite in this race?

“There are none in this race. There is no favorite in this race.”

Have you noticed any differences with the new Toyota Camry body in the draft?

“Yes and no. It’s very similar to what we had in the past. I think how you connect to cars and how long you can stay attached is really circumstantial to what kind of technique you use to get there and then do you have enough push to come from behind. Maybe I noticed that I can get pushed a little bit straighter than what it was in the past but it’s tough for me to say. It’s still not enough time and data points to really pinpoint what exactly is different.”

Was there ever any internal concern after qualifying results on Wednesday?

“Yeah, we kind of knew we were not going to be very good in the single car qualifying. I don’t think anyone thought it was going to be that bad for sure. But obviously it put our concerns to rest when it obviously raced well, right? I think there’s just a balance sometimes you have to strike there.”

What has changed from Gen 6 to the Next Gen car when it comes to drafting and do you feel like you have gained back what you lost, knowledge wise, with the Gen 6 car?

“Yeah, for sure. I think certainly it’s an evolution you’ve got to continue to change because the Next Gen cars do draft so much differently than what we saw for the Gen 6 cars. Obviously, you saw two-by-two racing. You’re going to see that for the bulk of Sunday as well. It’s just these Next Gen cars have a lot of drag in them which is why we qualify 20 miles an hour slower than we used to. So, with that, you’ve really got to stay in line for the bulk of the race. Once you establish whether you’re on the inside or the outside, there’s no real opportunities to make moves like you used to. So, you’ve got to just be patient and try to cycle up to the front through strategy or pick the right lane when a lane starts to bobble, right? It’s just different in that aspect, so it takes a little more patience for the Next Gen.”

Do you have a good sense of what you can and can’t do with this new body?

“I do. I feel like I started to continue pushing the limits of pushing throughout the on-track time. Certainly, yesterday I really didn’t really lock on to with anyone or push anyone for most of the race – there were a few instances. But then, now it’s Friday and getting closer to Sunday and I’m starting to push the limits of how far can I go, how hard can I push and how long can I push. I feel pretty good about my understanding of that now.”

How do you judge something that may work in the Duel versus what will work in the race like the block you had on Michael McDowell?

“Yeah, 100 percent. I think it’s a little different situation because I know (Michael) McDowell had to protect his car so you can kind of put those guys in a little different spot because they are in protection mode. But certainly, going back and watching it I didn’t realize the run was as big as it was and it was certainly a very, very late block from my end. You watch it, you learn, and you try to figure out how you can do it better.”

Is it frustrating that superspeedway racing has become so strategy focused?

“You have to embrace it for sure. I think that strategy has become such a big deal at superspeedways because we are running so much slower than we were before. Although the speeds may show fast today in practice, a lot of that is because how tight we are able to be with each other. If the cars had less drag, they would run faster by themselves, and arguably not run as fast in a pack. You do have to suck it up and embrace it that it’s more strategy racing and it is craft racing. Now its craft racing now towards the end. When the pack starts going crazy, and the air starts getting disturbed, you have to figure out the right lane to be in, but for 95 percent of the race – it is all strategy and people are trying to spend the least amount of time on pit road as they can, save fuel and not get out of line, because the determinate and the drag of the car will take you to last.”

What is the balance of saving fuel or being in the front in the mix of things, but burning more fuel?

“If you save fuel, you are not going to go backwards, because no one is able to pull out and pass. If you try to pull out and try to start a third line, it’s going to be really impossible. What it allows you to do, is just run 10th and just sit there and run half throttle and save fuel, because you have no ambitions of going forward because you are not going to go forward unless you are pushing your line to try to get your whole line free – which that doesn’t happen. It’s a yo-yo affect. You see it constantly – it’s the inside line, and then it’s the outside line – they just do that back and forth till someone pulls down or pulls up. You know you’re not going anywhere so you just slow down by running half throttle, where in the old car if you did that, whoever is behind you is just going to pull out, pass you, and get back in line because the cars had less drag. The whole new ballgame of fuel strategy, and all of that, that is a Next Gen thing. It is not the teams just getting smarter over time – we are racing what we’ve got.”

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 AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 16, 2024

 AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 RICHARD CHILDRES RACING CAMARO ZL1, was the fastest Chevrolet driver in the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice session at Daytona International Speedway. Media Availability Quotes –

Is there any concern that Chevrolet is not up to speed with the Fords and Toyotas?

“I don’t know. I mean we looked pretty good in qualifying and it’s hard to tell when you have small packs out there. The RCR cars and the HMS cars made a run together, but you throw in the Trackhouse guys then maybe we start running the same lap times that the other manufacturers are running. They were just in bigger groups, so I think more is better. At least it was right there it seemed like. We were kind of working on our car because we had quite a bit of damage from the other night, but it seemed to turn a pretty decent lap, wasn’t very good getting pushed, so we made an adjustment, and it seemed like that was a positive there at the end. Kyle (Busch) was able to push me there at the end and I could feel better because that was kind of our Achillies heel, because we couldn’t be pushed. But that was better right there. Pretty happy with it and if we can make that a little better then we can go into Sunday and have a little fun.”

I noticed a backup car on a flatbed. Were you guys ready to go to a backup if your car couldn’t be repaired?

“I am assuming that was because the No. 8 went to a backup, and we probably carry one backup car in the two haulers. So, they probably brought one down last night. That’s probably what that was, in case something happened in practice.”

Do you and Kyle (Busch) feel good about going into this race as well as you ran last year?

“I felt really good about it last night when we took off there in the front. It’s so hard with the Duels and the way it works out right now with the speedway racing we have right now where you are racing to a fuel window. You saw Denny gained 15 spots by saving fuel and that was kind of what we were trying to do. And when someone in front of you makes a mistake getting to pit road like the 45 and the 19 and then we got sideswiped, it just kills your day, and you are trying to fight back. It’s not like a couple of years ago when you could just drive back to the front if you had a good car, and you made some good moves. Now, you just start side drafting each other and you just don’t have that third lane. My hope now is now with more race cars that we get a third lane formed. It usually changes a lot from the Duels to the race, so I want to see better racing. I don’t know about the current package, and I don’t know how great it is, I don’t know how good it is with the ones we have had in the past. I say that, but you can always make it worse.”

With the fuel mileage, is there a disadvantage to leading?

“I mean look at the 47 last night. He carried everybody and looked like a hero, but then has to come to pit road laps early and he is pretty much stuck in the back and gets caught up in a wreck. So, you can get some TV time for your partners by going up there and staying 100% throttle, knowing that you are going to rotate to the back for the next run and hope that you can get back up through there by just being patient, making some good moves and trying to take advantage of people who are lifting. It’s just kind of an accordion to who is running wide open and who is not. It’s different because you always wanted to be the guy that was 100% running in the throttle all the time. And now its become a fuel saving game to flip pit strategy. It’s just different.”

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 AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 16, 2024

 KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 ZONE CAMARO ZL1, met with the media ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice session at Daytona International Speedway. Media Availability Quotes –

“Happy to have Zone as a new partner at RCR and we are excited to carry their colors. Was hoping for a better night last night, definitely got them some TV time, but not quite the glamorous way to victory lane, but hopefully on Sunday.”

What are you gaining skill-wise in running all these micro dirt races? Are you able to take some of those learnings to Cup, or how does that work?

“No, its just practice. Just staying in the car, staying sharp and doing all those things. I used to do that with all the unlimited Truck starts, unlimited Xfinity starts. Did that for a long time, but then got limited on that. Then I started doing some Super Late Model stuff, and started doing that a little bit more and more, but years went on and that stuff is just crazy, crazy expensive. The Micro thing, with Brexton going to the races he is going to, I can run on the same track as he can, and I can just get out there and run around and just get laps and do it for fun mostly. I have won a few shows. I won I think two winged shows at just different tracks across the country, not the big ones, I am not that good. The wrong Kyle. The point is to just go out there and get some track time and I can help with Brexton’s stuff when I can feel and see what the track is doing than just being a spectator or crew chief on his car.”

What are you looking for out of the next two rounds of practice in your backup car?

“Yeah, I thought media day was Groundhog’s Day. Then I had yesterday running the Duels Groundhog Day from last year getting torn up and crashed, having to go to a backup car, and starting all over again. I don’t know if we saw our shadow today or not, but we will get out there and work on the things that we know we need in our car which is the drivability of it. I will probably get out there and make a single car lap or two just to make sure the heights are all right and make sure everything is good, nothing is bottoming out and nothing is not how we expect it to be. Then we will get in a pack draft with our Chevy key partner teams, go out there and make some laps, and trade some positions. See what it’s like out front, see what its like in the back, and that is kind of all you can really learn.”

What is it like seeing your old team KBM having success and in a way keep what you started going?

“Yeah, I told them, don’t screw it up. I left it in a pretty good spot. I am excited about the opportunity to get some races over there, but we haven’t finalized all that yet. They have got a great organization, a lot of really good people. A lot of them stayed, some left, so it does look a lot different. That shop is entirely different than what it was the last 12-13 years or however many I was in it. They are doing a good job with what they got, and I am supposed to go over there….I am a consultant. I am supposed to go over there next week and do some consulting and talk to them about some of their race stuff and what they go through tonight. Excited to see the progress, sit down with the guys, the drivers, stuff like that, and to continue that leadership role.”

Regarding being an athlete and there is one thing you are striving for, how you approach the disappointment of the Daytona 500 and not have won it but have come close?

“I would say the biggest thing that helped me through that is being in the Championship Race at Homestead and letting that race play out and letting everything kind of happen because we went into that race playing with house money. Nobody thought we should be there, all the stuff, whatever. And then we were like, ‘oh well, we are not going to be expected to win the championship, so let’s just go see what we can do’. And low and behold we win the race, and we win the championship and so that kind of taught me right there that you can’t force things always. Even last year I tried to force situations and I ended up spun out and backed into the fence. I had to go backwards down the track to get to my pit box. You know, it’s stuff like that where a lot of people try to force a lot of things in this race, and they get themselves in trouble. Some moment it pays off for them. There’s guys that have made good moves, aggressive moves, that have won this race too. You just have to play it out as it comes to you and be ready for the unexpected.”

Does this race become more like your job, or are there still butterflies, but now that you have done it six thousand times, is it any different?

“Its six hundred and eight-something. God, six thousand, that would be a lot. No, coming here for the first two or three…..so I was here three years with Hendrick (Motorsports) then two with Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing), the second year with Gibbs, probably five years in, it was kind of like – it’s a big deal, this is a big race, this is a big moment. It was butterflies, it was all that sort of stuff, especially when you get down toward the end. Since I got comfortable at JGR, it was like ‘man, its just another race’, don’t let it get to you and don’t let the meaning of this race counteract the events of you trying to win. Vegas for instance. I went to Las Vegas, my home track, and I watched that place be built and all that. I put so much pressure on myself in winning an Xfinity race there that I crashed every year, did stupid stuff, spinning out at the checkered flag, and whatever, you know? Finally, we won that thing and it was like a relief and it was like, ‘wow, you really didn’t have to do as much’. You know? You do have to put all the right pieces in the right places. You have to have the right car, you have to have good pit stops, you have to do your job, and if we can all execute and do our job as our team, with this No. 8 Zone Camaro ZL1 on Sunday, then its meant to be and its our day, then by all means we are going to celebrate like crazy.”

In 2015, did you gain perspective in having to watch that race from wherever you were and missing that race?

“I was watching it in Halifax Hospital, don’t remember what room I was in, or floor number, but I was laying in a hospital bed and wondering if I was ever going to walk again. Just being a little dramatic after the day’s prior event, but yeah, watched the start. Remember seeing it. Shed a few tears, crying to just if I was going to get back, or if I was going to get back. I had the determination to get back. You just don’t know at that point. Then I passed out for a good while. Drugs were good. I don’t remember a whole lot of the race, but then somehow, I think I did wake up somewhere near the end and I think Logano won that year. So, I did see that and that didn’t make me feel any better.”

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.