Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 19, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series event at Watkins Glen International on Saturday:

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Why do you think you’ve been so strong at qualifying on road courses this year?

“I’m putting a lot of work in for sure to get better at them. I think the first step to getting better is you have to find a way to run fast for a lap and then you’ve got to figure out how to make it repetitive. So, I think this is part of the process that I talked about earlier in the year about getting better. We’re seeing progression on getting faster at road courses which is good. Then, it’s just up to me to do it for multiple laps.”

Is it because of a lot of simulator work?

“It is. It’s sim stuff and it’s really kind of breaking a lot of stuff down and really the teams that I work with, they’re the ones that help me get quite a bit better.”

How well does Watkins Glen suit you?

“It suits me well. I think it’s probably the least technical of all the road courses. Obviously, they call it the superspeedway of road courses. I think, like Tyler Reddick, his skillset on road courses doesn’t really play a huge benefit – the way he attacks them doesn’t really pay a huge dividend at this race track. I think you see more unconventional guys run up front here because it’s not quite as technical as the others. I just think that it’s pretty straight forward. I’ve got so many laps here that I certainly feel comfortable. And obviously my car today has got speed.”

Do you expect drivers to be more cautious in this race with it being so close to setting the Playoff field?

“It really depends on how many cautions we have. I think that if you have a bunch of cautions you typically can see something crazy, but you can’t win from the third row. So, it just kind of depends. I think it’s pretty straight forward. Qualifying was going to be big today. Setting the pace will be big. But, yeah, I think certainly races like last week is what we have when you don’t have stage cautions and understandably, I think that sometimes we get spoiled into thinking that a lot of road courses got so hyped in the day because you had so many green-white checkers and wacky stuff going on because of the late race cautions. When you really look at the race and when it goes green, I mean how wacky can it be from five car lengths back. You really can’t. It’s more of a storyline than it is on the race track. I don’t expect any surprises tomorrow.”

How much lower is your stress level knowing you’re locked into the Playoffs?

“I think really, we have a stress-free couple of weeks. Certainly, we need to watch our position with (William) Byron over the next couple weeks. With us getting the pole now and Martin (Truex Jr.) not making it, can we make that regular season championship a battle? Maybe, if we go out and score a bunch of points early. We’re still racing for something, but the biggest thing is more bonus points and there’s only a couple ways we can do it. And, that’s getting a win, getting stage wins and getting the regular season moving up one spot. That’s our goals. Like last week, it was the happiest 19th place finish ever because we got a stage win. It was like, we left the track with something that would go for the rest of the season. We’re going to try to do that again tomorrow.”

What are the odds of Bubba Wallace making the Playoffs and how important would it be to 23XI for him to make the Playoffs?

“I’m so caught up in the driving stuff today. I didn’t know where people behind him qualified – where they are at versus him. I just think that they just have to execute. They can’t look at whatever someone else is doing, who they’re racing. They just have to do the best that they possibly can and if they do that, I think they’ll have a good shot.”

Do you intend to be back at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2024?

“I intend to for sure. It’s what I want, and I think it’s what Joe (Gibbs) wants. There’s just a lot of factors that are out of both mine and his hands. Again, if I didn’t own a team, I think this would be done by now, but there’s just a lot of different factors that play into it and whether we can get it done or not. All you hope is that this late in the season that everyone is putting their best foot forward to compromise and come up with the right deal that’s good for everyone.”

Is there a possibility something might change with Toyota?

“I’m not trying to insinuate anything for sure, but I think that I’m happy at Joe Gibbs Racing and Joe (Gibbs) is happy with me. I think that certainly with the Kyle (Busch) situation last year, Kyle’s ask was his ask. And Joe Gibbs needed sufficient funding on the car to do it. From the day one, to give you inside baseball, Joe said I could have zero sponsorship on your car. It doesn’t matter. We want you and this is what we’re going to do. It’s different in that sense. It’s easy to draw parallels because you hear I’m saying some things Kyle said and Joe is saying some very similar things, but there’s just more factors in play than just us for sure.”

Do you feel good about 23XI being with Toyota next year?

“We’re working on it. We certainly are very happy with Toyota. They’ve been great to me and helped me get this team off the ground. I’ve won the bulk of my races with their cars. I feel like it’s a partnership that should continue.”

How have you seen Bubba Wallace progress as a driver?

“We have an advantage that I am a driver and so we’re different than other organizations where I don’t want to step on any toes and overload them with hey this is what’s worked for me because they could easily rebut well that’s you and not me. But, if you have a recipe for what is being successful, you’re crazy not to look at it. I think it’s a benefit and really for that team over there they’ve got a third car because I’m very transparent. What I look at and what I feel like I’ve made improvements on. I think with Bubba (Wallace), I’m seeing improvements, but it takes a long time. Like I said, while the results have not shown it, I think I heard someone say we haven’t finished in the top-10 on a road course in the Next Gen and that’s just crazy. I didn’t think anyone was faster than us in the dry at Chicago. You didn’t see us because we were in the teens because I ran so terrible in the wet. We’re making progression and we’re really advancing, but sometimes you don’t see it because of all the other stuff and storylines going on. But internally, we know that we’re getting better, and I know Bubba is getting better because I’m seeing it. He’s putting in the work, he has the drive to be better and I’m happy with the progression that he’s making.”

What are your thoughts on the potential for changes to tires change during the Playoffs?

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea. Yes, it’s tougher on the teams because their notebook is not going to be exactly the same, but it’s going to be close enough. It really will be. It’s who can adapt. The best teams will show up and adapt quicker than others. If they think it’s a better tire, I applaud it. Never wait too long to make the right decision. If it truly is better, I don’t care if we test it or not, just put it on.”

Do you think there will be a new winner tomorrow and what have you advised Bubba to make the Playoffs?

“I certainly think they’re going to try and approach it that way. Daytona is a race where you just kind of budget for someone new winning and if they don’t, then you’re ahead of budget. You have to just plan on someone being there so from Bubba’s (Wallace) standpoint it’s probably not realistic for him to jump up in points to the next guy, so he probably sees that as he needs to win. However, you can’t throw that away making a crazy mistake. No one goes and wins here or Daytona and then you’ve blown the points lead that you’ve had over 17th. I think you still have to race smart and if you get unlucky, then you get unlucky. It’s not just about these two races. We run 26 races in the regular season, and they all are the same. So, race three meant just as much as this one. It just does. We’re talking about five points here, 10 points there. There’s opportunities. That’s why it’s so hard in the Cup Series because you have to be good the entire regular season and if you’re not you’re going to find yourself on the bubble most years.”

How do you capitalize on starting in front of Martin Truex Jr. to try and win the regular season championship?

“Win the stages and start from there. You just try to do everything you can to dictate the beginning of the race. If you do that then I think, we’ll be okay. I feel confident in the speed of my car so it’s up to me. It doesn’t mean I’m going to be able to do that. I still think in the top-10 there’s maybe seven better road course drivers overall putting all laps together – speed and all of that. But I think track position is the biggest factor over all of that. So, it’s up to me to make sure I execute the beginning of the race and set the tone from there. Have good pit stops, have good strategy and then let’s just see where we’re at. If we can have a shot at Martin (Truex Jr.) at Daytona, get this thing within a reasonable number, then I think the pressure shifts. While we do that, if we can hold serve with the 24 and keep them 40-some back from us then it lets me race freely at Daytona and go after stages and stuff like that and if we crash that doesn’t matter.”

How valuable is it from an owner’s perspective to have Bubba Wallace participate in the owner’s championship last year?

“Well, honestly, it’s not valuable to us because he’s out on the owners. It’s not valuable to us. It’s valuable to him. I think carrying the team last year in that 45 car through those last 10 races gave him some confidence in my mind that he can carry a team and be a leader of a team in a Playoff race. I hope that he makes it, I hope that we make it as well so he’s racing for the both of us. Either way, I’m going to be super happy for him if he gets in the Playoffs because I think he’s a good enough driver and I think he’s motivated enough to make noise.”

About Toyota

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Go Bowling at The Glen Qualifying | Saturday, August 19, 2023

Ford Qualifying Results:

3rd – Michael McDowell

11th – Joey Logano

13th – Chris Buescher

17th – Austin Cindric

23rd – Ryan Blaney

24th – Brad Keselowski

25th – Todd Gilliland

26th – Chase Briscoe

27th – Aric Almirola

29th – Andy Lally

30th – Ryan Preece

32nd – Harrison Burton

33rd – Kevin Harvick

34th – Cole Custer

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang – HOW DID YOU FEEL AFTER REACHING YOUR THE FINAL ROUND TODAY IN QUALIFYING? “I felt good in practice and qualifying. I would say, maybe a little bit less nerves than last week. I think just because, not so much the pressure, but just the anxiety of not making a mistake. When you’re pushing this hard to make it into that next round and to have a shot at the pole, you’re putting everything on the edge all the time. When you know that if you make a little bit of a mistake, it might hurt your starting position – but it’s not going to potentially ruin your season. Last weekend, I felt so much pressure of having a really good car and making the most of that opportunity… and I still feel that this weekend. I think we have a really fast Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang. I want to make the most of the opportunity we have, but that last lap: When I threw it into the bus stop, I wasn’t worried about if I was going to come out or not, because we are in a good position to where if I do make a mistake, it’s not going to end our season. A little less pressure, but you’re still going after it, for sure.”

DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE A CAR THAT CAN COMPETE FOR THE VICTORY THIS WEEKEND? “Yeah, for sure. I think we’re just as good here as we were at Indy. It’s all about making those last few adjustments between now and the start of the race. You don’t know if those are going to be right until you get rolling in the race. But, we’re really close right now. So, I don’t think we have to do anything huge. There are a few areas where we need to get better. But we’ll go back, study data and look at all the stuff we can. Try to make one or two good decisions that hopefully put us in a position like we were in Indy. I don’t feel like we’ve really missed a beat this week. I feel just as good as we did last weekend.”

LAST LAP SCENARIO: WOULD YOU BE LESS PHYSICAL FOR THE LEAD THIS WEEKEND? “It just depends on who it is. I mean, it really does. You don’t know, and I don’t really think about all that stuff. You just kind of let your gut do it. But, if it’s a guy that has to win his way into the playoffs, moving him out of the way on the last lap with a dive-bomb move would be… I would go for it but I don’t think that I’d straight do that to somebody. In the position I’m in currently, right this second. If it was [Kyle] Larson or William Byron – the guys that have four or five wins – I don’t think I’d just move them out of the way, either. But, you’d race them with a little less worry that if you locked up the tires and slid wide and got into them, that you weren’t taking away their season. But, I don’t know. I haven’t been in that spot a lot to think about things like that. So, that was just my gut answer to it. We’ll see tomorrow if we’re in that position of when your natural instinct kicks in and takes over. But, that’s how I think that I’d think about it.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang – “I’d say overall, we brought a stronger car this time. I’m pretty happy with it. It was really close during qualifying – a bunch of us in a really tight window. I felt like just on the money lap, missed Turn 6 a bit. The rest of the track: I think our esses are very strong, and we’ve worked hard to get the bumps there and get the bus stop better… and be clean about it. I think we’ve been able to do that. Like I said, I’m pretty happy with it. Hate that we missed that final round by just a couple hundredths of a second there.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang – “We need to put a whole race together. We don’t have phenomenal speed, so we need to put a whole race together and kind of not beat ourselves. When you come to Watkins Glen, strategy is always going to be important. So, I think we’re looking at this race as one we certainly want to optimize our strategy the best we can. But, you don’t want to dig yourself a hole, either. You want to get the best finish you can, and it’s going to be really difficult to pass.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 19, 2023

 DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Watkins Glen International. Media Availability Quotes:

You’re one spot out of the playoffs, but you’re coming to a track where you know very well and you scored three top-five finishes here in your five career NASCAR Cup Series starts. It bodes well for a good day tomorrow doesn’t it, to move up into the playoff standings..

“Yeah, I feel pretty confident coming here. Watkins Glen (International) has treated me very well in the past, and I think that this weekend, it won’t be an exception. I think it will be even better, especially with the kind of performance that we had last weekend. I’m very happy to be here. I’m glad that after Indianapolis (Motor Speedway Road Course), we have another shot at a road course because if we were racing an oval, I feel like I would have something stuck in my heart a little bit. But I feel like we have an opportunity for redemption a little bit and have some fun.”

What is the feeling like on the team right now? Are you guys kind of at this high, hitting on all the cylinders? Is there just that extra something, maybe because of the situation you’re in and racing into it?

“Well everyone is different, right? Like the way I personally perform, I love being in these kind of scenarios. I feel like as a race car driver and as an athlete, you really live for moments like this. You don’t get to experience moments like this all the time. And when you do experience these moments, I feel like that’s really when you get to show what you’re built of. I feel like as a team, I will say that most of my team is the same way. We had long meetings, long conversations, this week about Indianapolis (Motor Speedway Road Course). I think that even though it’s not great that it happened, I feel like we learned a lot from that mistake because there are a lot of people that could have done something different; something better to avoid that problem, including myself. So I feel like as a team, we grew a lot in the last few days and I’m excited for this weekend’s challenge.”

Your track record here is pretty good. Assuming you don’t win here, you’re going to most likely pick up some points. Going into Daytona (International Speedway) next weekend with whatever points you have to makeup, how will you tackle that race knowing that anything can happen and has in the past?

“In reality, I have to control what I can control. I can only control one race car and that’s the No. 99. And the race of the other guys, I’m not the kind of driver that wishes something bad to happen. So I’m going to control what I can control and do the best I can. This weekend, as you mentioned, the goal is to win the race. I’m with the mentality that I need to win the race. With that being said, I don’t need to. I think if I have a weekend like I had in Indianapolis (Motor Speedway Road Course) and we get a bunch of points like we did at Indy, we can go to Daytona (International Speedway) and we can be fine. But I would love to take care of my destiny – to win and be done with it because I know at Daytona, anything can happen. Somebody else can make a mistake in front of me and that’s it. So those are things that, unfortunately, I cannot control. But there are a lot of things that I can control this weekend and I will try my best to put ourselves in a very good spot.”

Coming into the close of the regular season, how would you grade your performance, your team and how everything is working this year?

“You know, that’s a difficult question because I feel like it’s been a little bit of a rollercoaster for the No. 99 team. In the beginning of the season, we had a lot of speed, but we were not executing right. Either I was making a mistake, or we were having wrong lights on the dash, or you name it.. there were a lot of things happening and we were just not executing right. And then later in the year, the middle part of the year – we started executing better, but then we didn’t have the speed. The speed was just OK.. it wasn’t winning speed anymore like it was at the beginning of the year.

I think there is a lot of room for improvement. I’m very harsh on myself. I’m always trying to find perfection. But I also think in the last few weeks, we’ve been on the right track again. So it’s hard for me to put a number or a rate for this year, but I think it’s been inconsistent. I think we still have some work to do. My plan for this 2023 season was to be able to just be more consistent than what we were and in a stronger fashion. And we’ve been there, but not all of the time. So we have some work to do. I believe that I say this and we can win the next couple of weeks and then we turn the whole thing around. But I feel like we still have to continue to work.. continue to not feel like that we’ve settled and continue to move forward.”

With as well as you guys ran at Indianapolis, what has this last week been like leading into Watkins Glen? Do you feel like that confidence would still be as high heading into this weekend if not for how you guys ran last weekend with just how different the road courses are?

“Yeah, I think so. My confidence going into Indianapolis (Motor Speedway Road Course), we put a lot of work into it and I knew we were going to be strong, and I was hoping that we were going to be that strong for what I thought was a winning car. But yeah, the confidence is just as high. I think that – honestly every time that we go to a road course, I feel like you guys kind of count out the No. 99 team. We’re a strong team in road course racing. And at ovals, as well.. it’s just that we’re a little more hit or miss once in a while. But in road course stuff, for the most part, we’re pretty sporty.

I’m excited to be here at Watkins Glen (International). Like I said, this is a place that’s been good to me. We have good momentum and we’re hungry after what happened last week. We have to make sure that we take that to our advantage because if we’re not smart, that can affect us, too. If we go all or nothing, that can affect us. So we have to be smart about it; go out there and do our thing.”

Obviously you guys scored a ton of points and got a third-place finish last weekend. Was it difficult in any way to try and separate the disappointment of not winning and the excitement of what you guys did end up accomplishing?

“Oh, definitely. It was very difficult to divide the two. In my Cup career, I would say that was the worst third-place I’ve ever had.. by a lot. Like I left the race track disappointed and I left the race track thinking that we didn’t do our job.. we didn’t execute right, in different areas, honestly. You guys only saw the pit road issue, but before that, there were a couple of adjustments that I didn’t like on the car. There were a couple of little things that led us into running third. That car was capable of leading all the laps and we just didn’t execute the way that we should have. There are a few things, like I said, that we learned and we just have to continue to be better.

But yeah, the positive of that weekend is the speed that we had. The car had a lot of potential. We just have to be smarter and execute in a better fashion.”

When a mistake like that happens on pit road, how do you pick up your guys and just move onto the next week?

“Well first of all, there is absolutely nothing anyone can do about the past.. nothing. So what happened on that pit stop, I left pit road – yeah, I was mad, but then what? What am I going to do about it? There’s nothing I can do. The only thing I could have done was drive the crap out of that car, which I did. We cut the deficit of 10.5-seconds to five, and wait for caution, which didn’t happen. It was one of those things that you just have to move on. You have to have the capacity of moving on and knowing that you still have an entire stage to go and anything can happen. In my mind, we can still win the race… 10.5-seconds behind, we can still win the race. A caution comes, anything can happen and we can still win the race. I never give up on the race until the white flag. And after the race, like I said, probably the longest meeting I’ve ever had with a pit crew. We had a lot of conversations, a lot of reviews of film and we worked together for a couple hours, at least. Just watching film – reviewing what I could have done different.. what they could have done different. There were so many different things that could have gone a different way and that 23-second stop was going to be 15, and if it was a 15-second stop, we could have won the race. So you know, we just learned a lot. We failed at Indianapolis (Motor Speedway Road Course), but success comes from failure. We learned a lot and that’s the good part of it. I can tell you that my pit crew, they’re hungry. I’m hungry. My engineers are hungry. So right now, I feel like we’re in a very, very good place to continue to fight.”

What makes Watkins Glen unique compared to the other road courses we visit?

“I think Watkins Glen (International) is a very fast track. The bus stop is very tricky – you can be extremely bad in the bus stop, perfect everywhere else and you won’t be good here. So it’s a very tricky race track, but that’s what makes it so cool – that it’s difficult and it’s tricky. I’m excited to be here. Like I said, I feel like we have a great opportunity ahead of us and I think the No. 99 team is ready for battle.”

You’ve qualified in the top-10 at all of the road courses this year, but I’m curious just the feeling about what it’s been like leaving those road courses? For somebody that talks about ‘lookout for the No. 99 at road courses’, how do you look back at what’s happened and how many points have been left on the table, or do you just put all that stuff away?

“Yeah, you’re right. You almost made me cry (laughs). Yeah, I mean I think that the only road course this year that we haven’t been capable of winning the race – it’s actually funny, but it was Sonoma (Raceway) and we know why. We know what went wrong. There was something significantly wrong, besides the shifting. So yeah, I think part of that is execution. Part of that is just being smarter.. thinking outside the box. I felt like in Chicago (Street Race), we just didn’t evolve good enough. We took for granted how much heat the brakes were going to get and then I ran out of brakes in the rear of my car.

I feel like we’re a fast team, but we have to be smarter. We want to win a championship. We want to be upfront on a consistent basis. We have to be smarter. I say ‘we’ because I’m including myself, too. I feel like in Chicago, I was running fifth, fourth or something like that, and I started having issues with the brakes. I kept pushing the same and eventually I had contact, and then another contact. So even with the issues with the brakes, I could have finished top-10. And I kept pushing because I’m a very aggressive driver and I made a mistake, so I ended up finishing 25th or 27th, something like that. So those are the kind of scenarios where we have to be smarter.

Also, we could have done a better job picking and choosing our brake package. Yeah, we’re the best in braking in Sonoma.. that doesn’t mean that the same package is going to work in Chicago. We have to really be smarter on our decisions. So as a group, we just have to continue to evolve and continue to be better to be able to make the No. 99 team go to the next level. In my opinion, the next level is winning several races like the No. 24 team. Right now, the No. 24 team is not thinking about getting to the playoffs. They are thinking about how to win a championship. They have several wins. They’re thinking about playoff points. That’s what I want for the No. 99 team and that’s my target, and we’re working very hard for that.”

In a pit stop, there’s so many elements over the wall and even behind the wall, that are important things. But you talk about even things you could have done differently.. I just don’t understand, what could you have done differently on that Indy stop because once you stop, it’s out of your hands or was there anything differently you could have done in that case?

“So there are so many different things that went wrong. The first one was the throw of the hose was too short. The second one was I was a couple of feet too long, and that made the short hose even shorter. The third one was I knew that he was stuck, so I could have put it in reverse. But then the right-rear, he already took the nut out, so I couldn’t put it in reverse because I didn’t have a wheel on the right-rear. So if he knew the left-front is stuck, why are you going to take the right-rear nut, you know? You don’t have to be that far ahead. The carrier and the changer – they’re seeing the hose underneath with a loop because the hose had like a weird loop.. that never happens, but it had like a loop. They saw it but they didn’t move it. So there are like seven different people on our team, including myself, that could have done something to avoid it. And then on top of this, we were going to wait for fuel. We didn’t need a nine-second stop.. we just needed an OK stop because we were going to wait for fuel. It’s one of those things that we just have to be smarter. We just have to be smarter in the situation. There are a lot of different things that could have been communicated to me, also. On my first stop, I was actually a little bit deep on the box and it was communicated to me to stop a little bit shorter too late when I was already pretty much stopping in my box. So there are so many different people that could have done something different to avoid that and to make the stop better, and we didn’t execute the right way. Like I said, we learned a lot from that and I can guarantee you that it won’t happen again. But maybe something else is going to happen.. everything is about how you react in those situations and unfortunately, in that particular mistake, nobody was able to react properly within the group.”

(No Mic.)

“So the first stop, it was actually just as long as the second one. So at least I was consistent.. like it was exactly the same. But the hose was short. The first stop, we were tracking about probably two feet away from the hose getting stuck in there. So we could have communicated – hey, this is a red flag.. maybe put more hose, or maybe the driver make an adjustment or something.. communicate more about it. But you know, we were in the front, we were in the lead at the time. We were thinking that maybe we were invincible and we’re not. So it’s one of those things that we just have to be smarter.. that’s it. That’s the bottom line – be smarter and communicate better.”

About Chevrolet

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Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

WATKINS GLEN N.Y. (August 19, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series event at the Watkins Glen International on Saturday:

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Siemens Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Did your success this season help you to make the decision to return next year?

“I don’t think it was quite that simple, but that certainly helps. Just honestly like last year just take the time to make sure I was committed to doing all the things it takes to run up front, be competitive and try to win championships. I answered those questions and decided to do it again.”

How do you attack going into Daytona and trying to win there knowing how chaotic that race can be?

“For us, just hoping to come out of here this weekend with a really good position in points. Hopefully, there’s a chance we could clinch the regular season this weekend and that would be great. I think we’re in a pretty good spot, we just need to be smart and need to do just what we know how to do. Daytona is always a crap shoot, so you never know. But hopefully we can have a good weekend here and be pretty low pressure, low key next weekend.”

Do you have a similar feeling this year to your past championship season?

“Yeah, I feel like we’re there. You never know what can happen in the Playoffs. The elimination format, it could be crazy. You never know. I feel like every single weekend we’re right there. We’re in the mix, we have really good speed and a shot to win it seems like on a regular basis. That’s kind of where you want to be. I feel like in our years where we won our championship or finished second and were right there it was kind of the same feeling. Every week was okay, we’re right there and if we do everything right, we’re going to be in the hunt for the win. Yeah, that feels good and hopefully we can keep that up for the next 12 races.”

What does it say about you and your team if you clinch the regular season title a race before the regular season is over?

“I don’t know. We’ve been consistent and we’ve had a good year. I’d like to get it out of the way, but it doesn’t really matter this week or next. Yeah, I guess in 2017 we didn’t clinch it early so maybe we’re in better shape than we were then.”

How high on your priority list is clinching the regular season championship this weekend?

“It’s high. I mean, obviously those 15 points are huge. Playoff time starts and you want to have all of the bonus points that you can. Hopefully we can do that. That’s really the main goal. Obviously, we want to win the race. More points come with that. We’ve just got to do our jobs and be smart about it and I’ve just got to be smart about not taking a lot of big risks or anything like that. Just really do what we’ve done all year. That’s the name of the game right now. Do what we know how to do and don’t screw up.”

How much of a focus is on the owner championship standings?

“I really don’t know. I just look at the Playoff bonus points and all that. That’s the only thing that matters to me right now.”

What’s made you so good at Watkins Glen?

“I don’t know that I’m so good (here). I think there’s been periods of time we had things work for us and I was able to kind of use those and just finetune things. It’s been spotty here and there. I like the track. That’s always a positive when you go somewhere you enjoy racing at. It always seems to come a little bit easier. Last year was a bit of a struggle here so I’m optimistic that today will be better and tomorrow will be better. Just kind of looking forward to getting out there and seeing what we have. This car has been – I feel like it was quite a bit different than what I had done in year’s past with the previous generation car. We’ll see if the things we’ve worked on and all the planning we’ve done will work out in just a little bit.”

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 24 electrified options.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 19, 2023

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Watkins Glen International. Media Availability Quotes:

YOU’VE WON THE LAST TWO RACES HERE. WHAT’S CLICKED HERE FOR YOU?

“I don’t know. Even when I was at Ganassi, I would say this was one of our better tracks for racing. Then you come to Hendrick Motorsports, and they have a really good package here and setup. Chase (Elliott) has pretty much dominated and won lots of races here and led lots of laps. Things just kind of worked out the last couple of years to get the win. We’ve been fast, probably not as fast as Chase still, but hopefully today we can be competitive and have another good shot.”

YOU’RE 28 POINTS BACK FROM THIRD? IS THE GOAL THE NEXT TWO WEEKS TO GET UP TO THIRD IN POINTS?

“Definitely I’d say that’s our goal… get to third and get those two extra playoff points if we can do that. It will be tough. William (Byron) is really good at road-course racing and superspeedway racing as well. We’ve been really strong here at Watkins Glen and hopefully things work out well for us at Daytona to get some points.”

HENDRICK HAS WON EACH OF THE LAST FOUR HERE BUT WITH JUST ONE NEXT-GEN RACE HERE. WHAT DID YOU LEARN WITH THIS CAR A YEAR AGO AND CAN THAT STILL APPLY?

“We’ll be here this weekend with less downforce. I would say at most of the tracks that we’ve ran that on, I don’t feel that much difference in it. We’ll see once when we get out there in practice if it feels different. Last year, I thought our cars at Hendrick Motorsports were much better than the field. I hope that’s still the case this year. I’m sure everybody has caught up a little bit. Hopefully we’ve gotten a little better as well. I felt like last year, especially the 9 and the 5 really stood out in the field compared to everyone else. We were able to pass and get to the front… not easily but we didn’t get stuck like typically you do in short-track or road-course stuff with this car. I hope we’re good again and can qualify well here today and have a good race on Sunday.”

THIS SEASON SO FAR HAS BEEN ALL-OR-NOTHING. HOW IMPORTANT WILL CONSISTENCY BE GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS?

“Consistency is the most important thing I think about in the playoffs. Thankfully there is only one superspeedway in the playoffs, and we’ve DNF’d in every superspeedway this year so that’s where a lot of that has come from. I can’t think of the other DNFs. Bristol, I kind of started all that. I can’t remember where the other one was. But I feel like the last half of the regular season, we’ve actually been pretty consistent. Maybe not quite as fast as we were the first half when we were leading lots of laps and contending for wins and then getting caught up in something and not getting a great finish. I feel like we’ve as a team executed pretty well. That’s important when it comes to the playoffs, but you still want to be a little better. You’d love to get some wins and lock yourself into the next rounds.”

DAYTONA IS THE NEXT RACE. CAN YOUR TRACK RECORD THERE CHANGE AND DO YOU GO IN THERE WITH YOUR FINGERS CROSSED AND NOT WRECK OUT THIS TIME?

“That’s the goal for me every time, and that’s just to finish. We’ve not been able to reach that goal yet this year. I’d love to go there and just finish honestly. I’d hate to end this year and have a DNF at all the superspeedways. That would be pretty embarrassing.”

GOODYEAR WILL HAVE A DIFFERENT TIRE AT BRISTOL AND MAYBE AT MARTINSVILLE AND A DIFFERENT TIRE AT PHOENIX COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS. THOSE ARE TWO CUTOFF RACES AND THE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE WITH A DIFFERENT TIRE. HOW DOES THAT CHANGE THINGS?

“I don’t really have an opinion. It doesn’t matter to me at all. I just hope that our team does their homework well and can figure out the engineering behind the tire well enough to implement into our racecars and be good like we always are at Bristol, we won at Martinsville and we’re great at Phoenix, as well. I don’t mind it. I want to see the racing get better, for sure. If the tire helps that, make a change quickly.”

CAN THE TIRE MAKE MUCH OF AN IMPACT AT ANY OF THOSE PLACES?

“I don’t even know what the difference is in the tires. They wouldn’t change it, I guess, if it wouldn’t make it better. I hope it makes it a little easier to pass, but it’s still been tough to pass everywhere… even at New Hampshire, where I guess that tire was ran.”

DO YOU NOTICE AN INTENSITY PICK-UP GOING IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, AND DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE THAT THIS WEEKEND AND NEXT WEEK AT DAYTONA?

“I feel like I haven’t felt that intensity pick up. I don’t know why. I think drivers closer to the cut-off… I think the points were within reach there for a little while for a lot of the teams that were on the cut-off. They weren’t really in their minds in must-win situations. If anything there’s been less aggression just because they were trying to maximize their day as far as gaining points. Maybe you’ll see that change here in the next couple of races. Even Daytona, I’d feel like every year that it’s been the cut-off race before the playoffs, that it would be crazy, it would be intense, all these guys are going to be going for it. Those guys’ only shot of making the playoffs is to win, and you can’t win if you’re crashed. Typically they all just ride around until the end of the race, and then they try and get up there and usually don’t make it happen… or the whole field wipes out and the 3 squeaks by and gets the win. Honestly, I feel like at this point of the year it gets a little less aggressive. Maybe if you see it come down to a late-race restart, that’s when you see the aggression pick up. But from the start to finish of a race, I think it’s less aggressive.”

WITH THE POSITIONS THAT CHASE AND ALEX (BOWMAN) ARE IN, HOW CAN YOU HELP THEM HERE AND NEXT WEEK AT DAYTONA?

“You don’t know how the race is going to play out. But if there is room to help, I’m more than willing to do what I can to benefit their race without doing something egregious. Like at Michigan, I felt like Alex and I worked really well together when we went to the back and I helped him kind of get going forward. He ended up crashing, Chase has been really fast this weekend. I imagine he’s just going to dominate anyway and probably not need anybody’s help. I’d love for each of them to win one of these races coming up and get all four Hendrick cars in the playoffs.”

HOW WOULD YOU FEEL NASCAR HAS HANDLED THE RAIN OVER THE LAST YEAR. IT SEEMS LIKE THEY ARE MORE AGGRESSIVE TO THROW THE YELLOW FOR LESS MOISTURE.

“It seems that way. It’s good. You always want them to err to the cautious side. At Michigan, I was like ‘Don’t throw the yellow! It’s not that bad… I just want to get to halfway so we can leave.’ Or we’d delay restarting and I’d be thinking we could totally go green right now. But I’m sure there are some other drivers that had different opinions, so I’m sure they always err on the safer side of things, which is good.”

WE’VE RUN FOUR ROAD-COURSE RACES WITHOUT STAGE BREAKS, WHICH WAS A BIG DEAL COMING INTO THE YEAR. HAS THAT BEEN NOTICEABLE TO YOU AND HAS IT CHANGED THINGS FOR YOU BEHIND THE WHEEL?

“It’s just more physically demanding, for sure. Wrapping your head around it mentally took an adjustment. I remember at COTA, I kind of forgot that we don’t have a caution and I’m racing really hard and you’re getting your heart rate up and pushing to the end of that stage where typically you can relax. As soon as I crossed the start-finish line, I was like, ‘Oh… we still have to keep going?’ That was mentally tough trying to manage your race and your body. Indy was the same thing, but I was more ready to keep going. It was hot, but I enjoyed it. It’s more of a pure race. I know it’s probably super-boring on TV with no cautions, but I think the strategy and the race playing out how it should is what racing is all about, especially road-course racing. With the old way of how it was, it wasn’t ever fair, I felt like, that teams that ran around 20th or 30th could stay out and get stage points and take them from teams who were really fast. Now if your car is fast, you stay up front, you get the points you deserve and get a good finish.”

WITH WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR AND YOU SPOKE ABOUT HOW YOU AND CHASE TALKED SHORTLY AFTERWARD, AND YOU SAID IT WAS A POSITIVE TALK AND YOU DID MORE OF THE LISTENING, WHEN YOU HAVE A SITUATION LIKE THAT WITH A TEAMMATE, WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THAT EXPERIENCE AND HOW DID IT CHANGE THINGS SO YOU COULD COMPETE HEAD-TO-HEAD INTO THE FUTURE?

“I’m sure I answered all those questions last year. If I was in the same exact position as I was last year, I think I would be a little less aggressive into Turn One and probably would have had a different result. But I also think that Chase would probably choose a different lane than he did last year knowing that you can control your own destiny being from the right lane.”

FOR A LONG TIME IT WAS ALWAYS JUST WATKINS GLEN AND SONOMA AS ROAD COURSES ON THE SCHEDULE. THE LAST FEW YEARS YOU’VE HAD MORE ROAD-COURSE OPPORTUNITIES. HOW HAS THAT IMPACTED THE LEVEL OF COMPETITIVENESS IN RACING AT TRACKS LIKE WATKINS GLEN?

“I don’t know if it’s raised the level of competitiveness or anything like that. I feel like I would like for there to be a couple less on our schedule, but I also think it’s been good for our sport to have as many as we do because it’s allowed that crossover with international drivers and drivers of different backgrounds to come and run our races. If you had three or four Cup races on a road course, I don’t think you’d see guys like Jenson Button or even maybe SVG (Shane Van Gisbergen) coming to race as willingly as they are now. It’s good for our sport that we have as many as we do. I’d love to have one or two less, but I don’t know how that affects things with the international competitors. I do think it’s really awesome to be able to share a racetrack with everybody that we did last week. I think that’s awesome, but NASCAR is an oval sport in my opinion, so I would love to see us a little bit more ovals.”

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 – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

WATKINS GLEN N.Y. (August 19, 2023) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series event at the Watkins Glen International on Saturday:

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Toyota SmartPath Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing

Can the success you and Toyota have had on road courses this year translate this weekend at Watkins Glen?

“We definitely had good speed in Indy. We just were a little off at the beginning of the race, but really the final half of the race we were solid. I gave Daniel (Suarez) everything I had, and I just couldn’t get around him. We were just stuck behind him getting held up quite a bit. That was frustrating for sure. Certainly, I didn’t think we were at our best in Indy and hopefully the lessons learned from there can help us maybe be a little bit more on top of whatever it was that we were lacking. I know Indy to Watkins Glen is quite a bit different, but hopefully the speed is there. We’re going to find out pretty quick. Typically, we’re pretty solid right, but we aren’t really happy unless we’re as strong as we are at places like COTA. That’s what we’ll be searching for.”

What is your mindset going to Daytona next week? Is it a relief having clinched a spot in the Playoffs?

“We don’t go into that weekend thinking ‘Oh man, it is a relief.’ But certainly, it definitely is. I’ve been in a different situation in the past a few times where that race, everything is on the line, and we get there and it’s very stressful for sure. Yeah, hopefully everything pans out in a good place to where we’re able to go into that race without a lot to worry about other than trying to win stages and win the race. Because, for a lot of teams it gets really crazy and with that normally a lot of carnage happens as well.”

How do you think your season has gone so far?

“A lot of potential. A lot of potential there. We just have not quite capitalized on it every single moment unfortunately. Like I said, a lot of speed, we just unfortunately have not taken advantage of that every weekend that we’ve had it. So, hopefully between this weekend and next we can do more of that and go into the Playoffs in a good place.”

How have you improved your road course driving and where do you think you are now?

“I enjoy them a lot now. I never would’ve thought that. Six, seven years ago trying to make my way in NASCAR I never thought it would be something I like, but I’ve really grown to like it quite a lot. There’s just a lot that the driver can do right or wrong. Setup still matters a lot, and there’s a lot of time and effort that goes into that like every other weekend. Just the amount of corners you have to nail in a lap and all the things that kind of go into it – the braking, the shifting, the tools that you have in the car, the things you can do with the car. I really enjoy it, a lot more than I ever thought. I grew up racing on dirt and racing ovals so road course racing on asphalt was just something I didn’t know about really until I got into NASCAR.”

What did you learn from the experience of being on the bubble for the Playoffs in 2021?

“Our year was on the line really and we almost didn’t make it through. I got caught up in a wreck and I remember the team having to do some ridiculous work to the car just to make laps and we barely squeaked in. Unfortunately, a few weeks later we managed to not make it through the round of 16 but still making the Playoffs is huge for a team. That whole hype physically takes years off your life. It’s just so stressful. There’s so much happening out of your control, and it just seems like if things happen the penalty is just so massive whether getting caught up in an accident or making a mistake on pit road or whatever it is. That final race there’s a lot on the line whether you’re on the bubble or a driver that has to win to get into the Playoffs.”

What was the week like leading into the final race before the Playoffs when you’re in a bubble situation?

“With stage breaks you treated the race totally differently. You pretty much forgo the chance to try and win the race on your own. Just go for stage points. 2021 was frustrating for me because obviously I hadn’t won on a road course yet, but we got the pole at COTA earlier in the year and we had good speed at road courses that year. We were kind of having to throw our race away just to get stage points. I think for a lot of teams now it’s a little bit more difficult. You have to get creative with your strategy and staying out and running to try and get those points. It’s nice not having to worry about that. I think the speed is definitely good enough for us to be in that mix but like I said we really haven’t executed a lot. Over the course of the summer, we let a lot of wins get away so it’s a good thing we won earlier in the year.”

Have you shared any advice with Bubba Wallace on how to handle the next couple weeks?

“It’s definitely stressful. It’s just I always try to do everything I can to have our car as good as it can be for road courses. That doesn’t just apply to me. That applies to where they start and what they bring to the race track too. We prepare, especially at Indy and here — I’m not just preparing my car and trying to get it right, I’m trying to get it as close as I can for Bubba (Wallace) too. The pressure is certainly on as we prepare for these weekends trying to make sure we’re getting the most out of the setup and the car is as close as it can be. It’s definitely a difficult thing but if it comes down to it, I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again to help my teammate if it comes down to it.”

How much are you looking at how tight the current points situation is? How important are those five points?

“It’d be huge, honestly. Earlier in the year, before things really went off the rails for us, we were right around fifth, sixth and had a shot on closing on the lead and things kind of just blew apart. Obviously, watching a points battle I guess a lot of that but certainly understanding if we go out and have a good solid week here and avoid having a catastrophic day at Daytona hopefully, we’re in reach of getting those points right now. I think we’re strong enough at the road courses to get that and when we go to Daytona we need to survive and try to win the race anyways. It would definitely be nice to get back kind of in that points standing order we probably should’ve been in anyway. Hopefully, in this race and the next we can take a big chunk of that out. Ideally, it would be awesome to jump from where we’re at to sixth, but even just getting a couple would be great.”

What have you learned about your 45 team that can be applied during the Playoffs?

“For sure. The one thing that’s probably the most difficult part of it is showing up to the race track every weekend with a shot to win and we’ve been doing that for the majority of the year. We’ve got a lot of speed. That is the difficult part, but where it gets frustrating is when we don’t capitalize on it and get the finishes that we probably should be getting. The speed is there, right? And, how we’re getting it has been consistent so we’re just going to keep pushing on that front and hopefully the things that have been mistakes, the lessons along the way stick and we can just execute when it matters.”

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 24 electrified options.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 19, 2023

 KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 MARK III CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Watkins Glen International. Media Availability Quotes:

What exactly were you guys battling last weekend at Indianapolis (Motor Speedway Road Course), and were you guys able to diagnose it this week?

“Yeah, unfortunately just broke a valve spring. Not sure what or why or anything like that. There was never a mis-shift – there was a couple high-revs, but nothing higher than any of the other guys. We had a whole data set from all the rest of the ECR engines, so unfortunately I just drew the unlucky straw.”

These last five races, really since Loudon (New Hampshire Motor Speedway), obviously haven’t been a good stretch for you. What’s the mindset been this last month and how do you wipe that going into the playoffs?

“Yeah, I mean the mindset is to stop the bleeding. You know we have to figure out a way of being able to bounce back in races, which we were. We had some good luck on our side, some good fortune. Maybe we used it all up, but the fact of the matter is when things kind of go awry, it just seems to snowball from there and we’re not able to stop the bleeding. That’s kind of been our way. We were third in points – 30 (points) from the lead and looking for the regular season championship seven weeks ago, and now I don’t even know where we are. I stopped paying attention because I know it’s not good.

But I just know that we need to have a good race – a good, solid race. And we were looking for that last week and I thought we had that. We got, I think, fifth or sixth in each stage. We were running fourth in the running order and I felt like our lap times were comparable to the leaders – probably better than third place. I’m not sure about being able to catch the No. 34 (Michael McDowell), but that would have been a solid day.. one that we needed and just didn’t get it.”

As a parent, you have to teach children the responsibility on social media. How do you deal with this with Brexton and eventually with your daughter, and do you go back and show them anything you’ve done earlier in your career that is still out there, to show them how everything stays on the internet?

“Well I mean there’s two sides to that and probably more. Yeah, I mean the social media piece, that’s tough. Honestly I hate social media. I wouldn’t be on it if I didn’t have to be on it. That’s just the nature of our business and what we do right now with sponsors and everything else.

As far as teaching our young ones, Brexton is only eight. He doesn’t really know what it all is or see it. He does ask how many followers he has, but obviously his account his ran by his mom. When that rein gets turned over, it’ll probably be a long, long time from now. We’re still trying to decide on when he’s old enough to get a cellphone.. I say 16 (years old). I see a lot of kids much younger than that getting them and I don’t see why.

But anyways.. going back and seeing stupid things that I’ve done – YouTube is a dangerous place, man. There is way too much evidence on that site that I’m not going to be able to control, so he’ll see a lot I’m sure at one day in age. It would be funny if he’s pulling up videos, seeing videos or whatever and then he like sends me the link and says – ‘dad, what the hell were you thinking’ or ‘what was this all about’. And I can be like – ‘alright, so here’s how the whole story goes.. let me tell you’. That would be pretty good.”

Goodyear is going to have a new tire at Bristol (Motor Speedway), Phoenix (Raceway) and Martinsville (Speedway), so that’s potentially two cutoff races and the championship race. What does that mean for you and the thought that there would be a new tire for Phoenix for championship weekend?

“Yeah, I mean I guess it just lends itself to those that did the test, right? Having a little bit of a leg up.. so whoever was at Bristol (Motor Speedway) and did the Bristol test, has a leg up on what that tire is going to look like or be like. Same with Martinsville (Speedway), same with Phoenix (Raceway).

(No Mic.)

“Got it.. so they’re just going to take the Loudon (New Hampshire Motor Speedway) tire that they came up with there and then they confirmed at Richmond (Raceway). But yeah, again, RCR wasn’t there for any of those tests, so we’re going to have to rely on our Hendrick Motorsports partners on figuring out that.

Variables is what our sport is all about, right? So just trying to find some consistency in that, but yeah, we’ll take it for what it’s worth and do what we’ve got to do with it. Nothing we can do to change it.”

Do you like the idea of a potential change for Phoenix (Raceway)?

“Yeah, honestly the racing at Phoenix (Raceway) is a struggle already. So if it’s an opportunity to make the racing better there, great. I don’t know that the tire was really a magic ticket for Loudon (New Hampshire Motor Speedway). It seemed like Loudon was a dominating race by the No. 19 (Martin Truex Jr.), so it all just depends on who hits it anyway.”

Obviously you’ve raced with Hendrick Motorsports and you’ve won championships with Joe Gibbs Racing. How do you see your team going down the stretch, head-to-head with them, and racing with Richard Childress Racing and being able to do that. Is there something you look at and say, ‘we need to do this still’? What’s your confidence level?

“Yeah, I mean my confidence is high. I like the group and the stuff that we do – the philosophies, ideas, what we learn and all that stuff. Like it’s all really good, it’s just a matter of putting it all together and having it just run smooth. And that’s not due to anybody’s fault.. it’s all a lot of circumstances. Loudon (New Hampshire Motor Speedway), we struggled.. we missed on that one. We completely missed the boat on that one. But then we had a full-fledged effort, work in the simulator and everywhere else on what we can do to figure out Richmond (Raceway) – to not have that same thing happen again and we had a solid race at Richmond and we ran third. So there was a playbook there that we were able to get a fix, and that is, to me, encouraging.

To me, the struggles have just kind of been the ‘stop the bleeding’ pieces. Just stuff out of our control that kind of keeps happening, which I guess some of it was in our control. Pocono (Raceway), for instance, we just had really bad pit stops all day. Every time we thought we had an opportunity to jump some guys and get forward a little bit, we had a 15-second pit stop. So just stuff like that.. we can’t keep beating ourselves.”

You had tweeted after Indianapolis (Motor Speedway Road Course) – ‘I just don’t know anymore’. I was curious, is it things where you guys know you need to be doing better and you’re just not executing, or are there things that you’re genuinely not sure that you’re doing right anymore? But it sounds like, as you said, it’s a little bit of both.

“I think that more so came from the frustration of just life in general – luck, karma and whatever all the rest of that stuff is. Like I just don’t know anymore.. I don’t know what to do to change it. There’s all the rabbits’ feet in the world, all the four leaf clovers and everything else – a lot of people say that they don’t believe in luck.. there is luck, trust me. I know.. I’ve been in this a long time. We had four or five weeks where we had really good luck. Like we stuffed it into the tire barriers and we didn’t break a radiator or anything like that at the Chicago Street Race – we came back and we finished fifth. Like that was a lucky day.. we stole one on that one.

It’s just stuff that we kind of burned all of that up there and now we’re paying the price for it over here. So it’s like how do you turn it around and get it headed back in the right direction? I’ve had talks like this with (Matt) Kenseth before and Carl (Edwards) before – where you go winless seasons and you just wonder what’s not working and there’s nothing that you can pinpoint yourself to. Martin Truex Jr., him and I talked about it before, where it’s like – man, you just have to wait.. you just have to wait until it turns around and eventually it’ll turn around and it’ll be fine. I guess look at Truex and the struggles of last year and then his turnaround for this season – like they’re not wrong, but I’m a very impatient person and I’m ready for the results to be indicative to how I know they should be.”

We’ve now gone through a bunch of road course races this season without the stage breaks. Physically behind the wheel, has that felt any different? You look at last weekend and we only had the one caution, so I’m just curious from a driver’s perspective, not having those expected breaks this year and now a couple road courses in, has it felt any different for you?

“Sonoma (Raceway) was a little long feeling, but not too terrible. Last weekend, I only really ran half the race (laughs).. my second-half of the race was way off pace, so throw me out on that one. I heard Austin (Dillon) got a little smoked last weekend though, so not sure if his shirt didn’t work or what. But I think it’s fine.. I think it’s OK. You know, it lends itself to the strategy game. It lends itself to not being so hooky on restarts with guys running over each other. I feel like there’s going to be pluses and minuses to it, but that’s the same to be said for oval racing, as well. So I’m OK with it.”

So you feel like you have the ingredients at RCR – with you being at Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing – of you know what it takes to run upfront and contend for a championship? Do you feel like you have all those ingredients at RCR, you just need to execute on all that stuff moving forward over the next 12 weeks or so?

“Yeah, exactly. That’s the way. Coming here to Watkins Glen (International), they had a good race here last year. I think they finished third – the Hendrick Motorsports cars were really good, but if we can piggy-back on that. Last year, they won at Indianapolis (Motor Speedway Road Course). I felt like we were going to be a third or fourth place car there, so we were going to be close.. fine, good, it’s what we need. When you can run top-four, top-three each week, the wins will come. It just seems to be a lot harder to do that in this day in age with this car, the competition and everything else week-to-week-to-week. It’s a little bit more randomized than maybe what it used to be. But when you’re a really good team and you’re hitting on it all like William (Byron) was for 20 weeks, right? They were super strong. The No. 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) was super strong. So it can be done, it’s just a matter of doing it.”

You’re back in a Kaulig Racing car this weekend. What’s it been like driving for Matt Kaulig and being paired with Chris Rice? Do you feel like you’ve contributed to the organization this year?

“Yeah, I’m excited about getting back behind the wheel of the Xfinity car. It’s been a long time. I always enjoy coming to Watkins Glen (International). It’s always been a cool place. Still to today, I still wish I would have won here in Eddie D’Hondt’s car, that No. 92 car. That was a really fun race, just as a one-off, non-fulltime team. We were trying to pass for the win and spun out, but anyways.. probably would have won that if I was older and more experienced (laughs).

But yeah, just having the chance to work with Alex Yontz and the guys on the No. 10 Chevy. They’ve seemed to have done a really good job this year. They’ve won with all of their guys, expect me, so that’s kind of weird.. the winningest driver can’t win. But no, that’s not any fault of theirs. We’ve just been working on some different packages – some different ideas, philosophies and stuff. So I’d like to think that I’ve given them a little bit more to think about and a little bit better ways of going about things. They’ve been successful week-to-week, so that’s been pretty cool to see.”

Obviously there’s never a good time to have a stretch that you guys are having right now. But being that it’s not in the playoffs and you’re leading into it, what have you learned about yourself or as a team, what have you guys learned together as you just try to work through all this adversity?

“Yeah, I mean just the opportunity of being able to sit down and talk through it. There’s really, like I said, there’s not a whole lot we can do to change some of this stuff, you know? Breaking a valve spring.. about the only thing you can do is just move your shift markers down a little bit and we did that for this weekend just to make sure. So other than that, some of the other extenuating circumstances – we missed at Loudon (New Hampshire Motor Speedway).. some other stuff, right?

Just a good group of guys that we’re all fighting hard. We’re all pulling the rope in the same direction. We’re all trying to continue to make sure we evolve forward and get ourselves where we want to be. Seven weeks ago, when we were third in points – if we could have taken third-place points into the playoffs.. those playoff points that you get with that, that would have been phenomenal. I don’t think that’s achievable today with where we’re at, but we’re going to go give it everything we’ve got to try and get back up the ladder a few in order to get some of those points because we know how important all that is when it comes to playoff time and each round gets reset. We’ll push hard and try to get back on track.”

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