NASCAR CUP SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY R.C.
VERIZON 200 AT THE BRICKYARD
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 12, 2023

 KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Media Availability Quotes:

THE LAST THREE YEARS, INDYCAR AND NASCAR HAVE BEEN AT THE SAME TRACK RACING AT THE SAME TIME. ARE YOU A FAN OF THAT WEEKEND.. HAVE YOU ENJOYED IT?

“Yeah, I would say so. I think it’s pretty cool – kind of unique. But you know, if I’m being selfish, I think many of us drivers, crews and everything else, we’d rather be coming here and racing around the oval with the prestige and the history of what the oval is. Even though we’re at Indy, it just doesn’t really feel like it’s the same thing going the wrong way.”

LOOKING AT THE SCHEDULE NEXT YEAR, YOU GUYS ARE MORE THAN LIKELY GOING TO BE ON THE OVAL AND THIS WEEKEND IS PROBABLY GOING AWAY, AT LEAST HERE. IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE INCORPORATED ELSEWHERE, WHATEVER TRACK THAT IS? IS IT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE CONTINUED GOING FORWARD, EVEN IF IT CAN’T BE HERE?

“Well that’s for way smarter people in higher powers than me to make that decision. If it works for INDYCAR and it works for NASCAR, then I would say sure.. why not. There’s plenty of places that we can do it – we can do it together, stuff like that. You could even do it at Watkins Glen (International) together if you wanted to – where all you have to do is move some cones and the INDYCAR guys can run the boot and we can run our normal course, but you can be on the same essential track during the weekend. So there’s definitely plenty of opportunities to continue the comradery between the paddocks and garage area to have an INDYCAR / NASCAR double.”

YOU’VE BEEN VERY OUTSPOKEN IN THE PAST ABOUT RESTARTS ON ROAD COURSES, INTO TURN ONE PARTICULARLY, WHETHER IT’S HERE OR COTA. WITH THE RESTART ZONE BEING BACKED UP BETWEEN (TURNS) 13 AND 14 THIS WEEKEND, IS THERE ANY OPTIMISM THAT WILL HELP AT ALL FOR TURN ONE?

“Possibly a little bit. I think the only other way to help it even more would just call it right now and just go single file, and make it single file starts going down the frontstretch into turn one. You have to separate these guys and give them some separation because they have absolutely no respect and they just drive over each other. We see it every week. We see it on ovals. (Ryan) Blaney wanted to be mad last week, and yet he crashed me and he almost crashed the No. 7 (Corey LaJoie) and he’s mad, so it makes no sense. The fact of the matter is – yeah, everybody goes down into turn one, they know you have to be on the inside and you just pile-drive through from the inside and push people off.”

ON THE SINGLE FILE RESTARTS, ELTON SAWYER HAD SAID ON SIRIUSXM RADIO EARLIER THIS WEEK THAT IS SOMETHING THEY WILL KEEP IN THEIR BACK POCKET FOR THIS WEEKEND – NOT JUST FOR WEATHER. SO YOU WOULD LIKE THEM TO CONSIDER THAT MORE, MAYBE ON THESE ROAD COURSES IF IT LOOKS LIKE IT’S GETTING OUT OF CONTROL TO KIND OF SAVE YOU GUYS FROM YOURSELVES?

“1,000 percent, no question. Yep, got to make the call. Don’t be afraid to make the call.”

TO ADD ONTO THAT, IN ADDITION TO THE ROAD COURSES, ESPECIALLY THE ONES WITH A WIDE TURN ONE, ANY LATE-RACE CAUTION CAN OFTEN LEAD TO SOME PRETTY CHAOTIC RESULTS. YOU MENTIONED BEING IN SUPPORT OF SINGLE-FILE RESTARTS. IN THAT CASE, WOULD YOU BE SUPPORTIVE OF SINGLE-FILE RESTARTS REALLY UNDER 10 LAPS TO GO AT ANY RACE?

“No, no I don’t think so. Obviously, yes – it would be easier if you’re the leader, but it would probably diminish the show. We’re in an entertainment business, I’m learning. We want to be able to put on, whether it’s a good show or a bad show, it’s debatable between opinions, right? But we want to be able to put on the best possible show for the fans that we can. I think that would be a deterrent to many of the races that we go to, but like Kelly said, save us from ourselves to just now allow calamity to ensue.”

WHEN SVG WON AT CHICAGO, THERE WAS A LOT OF FOCUS ON HIS RIGHT FOOT, HEEL-TOE BRAKING TECHNIQUE. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO HEEL-TOE?

“No, not successfully. I know how to do it and I can do it, but it’s very clunky. I am not a smooth operator when it comes to having to do the heel-toe. I did it years ago when I first kind of came in – like I was learning from Boris Said, Ron Fellows and a couple of those guys, just talking with them. Wheel-hop issues with the old car, it would really kind of help subside that. But then we just went to work on the car, the braking and everything else. To me, every time I’m able to just maximize my left foot for brake, I’m way better off, so I’ve kind of gotten away from it.”

SO IT WOULDN’T EVEN REALLY BE WORTH THE TRADE OFF OF TRYING TO DO IT OR TRYING TO LEARN IT?

“Right, yeah. For me, no. The Chevy guys – thanks to Chevy for letting us come over here – we ran some street Camaro’s around here and I tried it. Like I tried to do the right foot over, brake, use the clutch, do the downshifts and stuff like that. I was like a half-second slower than just using the brake and matching the RPM’s for the downshifts.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Verizon 200 at The Brickyard Media Availability | Saturday, August 12, 2023

Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 Purdue University Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, spoke with members of the media this morning about becoming a father, having a hometown sponsor and more ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

RYAN PREECE, No. 41 Purdue University Ford Mustang – YOU HAVE A SPECIAL PAINT SCHEME FOR THIS RACE, AND IT’S BEEN A BIG WEEK FOR YOU IN BECOMING A FATHER. TELL US ABOUT YOUR WEEK. “Obviously, becoming a father was awesome. Doing that with my wife, having my first daughter, it’s truly amazing. Going on the Purdue University motorsports program: Growing up a kid that spent a lot of time with race cars, working on race cars and really learning about them, it has created an opportunity for young kids that have always been intrigued by auto racing or motorsports. A fun little fact that I found out: 32 of 33 cars in the Indy 500 this year had Purdue graduates. That was really neat, and it’s a great way to create an opportunity for kids that don’t necessarily have family ties or some avenues to get into motorsports. So, it’s a great way to get started. Obviously, they have a really great program.”

CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH MONDAY MORNING WHEN YOU RECEIVED THE CALL FROM YOUR WIFE? “One thing that I am really lucky for is that my wife is very supportive of my racing. She raced herself. So, going into this journey, we hired a doula in case of the worst case scenario if I wasn’t home. But I got a call Monday morning at 2 a.m. – which I learned about a month ago to have my phone on ring just in case of a moment like that. She called me, and she was scared. Our doula came, brought her to the hospital. Unfortunately, I don’t have a private plane or anything like that. We didn’t anticipate having the baby that week. We actually had a c-section schedule for a week from then, so we really didn’t even think that it was something that could happen – not that it couldn’t happen, that was really planned to happen. But as our daughter kind of proved to us, is that she’s going to run the show. I was able to FaceTime my wife, and be present without actually being there. But definitely… really, really… thankful and happy that we have a healthy daughter. It’s awesome being a father.”

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF QUALIFYING, AND HOW IMPORTANT IS PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING? “Practice for a lot of us: I didn’t necessarily grow up road racing, so it’s really important. I was fortunate enough to have raced here back in 2021, so I have some laps. But, track position is always a topic, right? There were some things that we did with the Ford Performance sim to be able to prepare. But for a driver, it’s getting out there and doing it – the visuals and a lot of the braking marks that you tend to get. I mean when you think about it, how many laps are we really going to do in practice? I think nine, 10 laps maybe? Which kind of reminds me of the SRX race when we got five laps. The only difference was that I’ve raced Stafford all my life. I haven’t raced the Indy road course or anything like this. So, it’s going to be extremely important to get everything we have into this race car and qualify really well.”

HOW DOES THE BIRTH OF YOUR DAUGHTER THIS WEEK PUT RACING INTO PERSPECTIVE? “I need to provide. I need to do a very good job, so I can give my daughter every opportunity that she’s ever wanted. So, it’s driven me even more than ever. I’m a pretty determined person.”

WHEN YOU HAVE BACK-TO-BACK ROAD COURSE WEEKENDS, HOW MUCH INFORMATION DO YOU TAKE FROM ONE TRACK TO THE NEXT? “Indy road course and Watkins Glen… it seems to me like going to a short track versus an intermediate track. Watkins Glen is very high-speed and it kind of flows, whereas here, it reminds me somewhat of COTA where it’s a lot of transitions and making your car change direction really quickly – stop and go. So from the short track style of racing that I’ve done – the heavy braking and a lot of those things – I’m comfortable with. But there are certainly things that I can do better as a race car driver to be a better road racer – when it comes to the downshifting and all those things that really, growing up racing at the short track level, what I did is different. There’s definitely a lot of training that a driver can do to continue to grow from a road racing perspective. We saw it at Chicago with Jenson (Button) in the Cup series – SVG (Shane van Gisbergen) and those guys. They grew up and lived it. There is just a lot of preparation to do for a road race.”

THERE ARE SIX DRIVERS OUTSIDE THE U.S. COMPETING THIS WEEKEND. FROM A DRIVER’S PERSPECTIVE, WHAT’S IT LIKE TO SEE ALL THESE RACERS FROM DIFFERENT DRIVING DISCIPLINES? “Exactly – disciplines. That’s something that I’ve always appreciated. Even from the North America side when I watch dirt racing or asphalt racing, road racing… you see guys from V8 Supercars, Formula 1 and all these different etiquettes and you see the different styles. I’m somebody who appreciates that.”

YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND TIME WITH GRAHAM RAHAL. HOW EXCITED WERE YOU TO SEE HIM WIN POLE FOR THIS WEEKEND’S INDYCAR RACE? “That was awesome. You can see the emotion he had. He said it: The pole was like a win for them, especially for some of the struggles they’ve been going through over the past few years. That’s what defines racers, defines people – hard work and being relentless. I’m pretty much going to say that I’m his lucky charm even though I haven’t been very lucky this year. But, certainly, really excited for Graham Rahal and their team, United Rentals and all our partners. Even going down on pit road and seeing the process – how their practices go and qualifying. It was an awesome opportunity to be able to be down there. Because usually, if I’m here. I’m walking around and I don’t really know anybody. So, I’m just walking down pit road. You don’t really experience it. You kind of see it, but my vantage point as a driver, I really didn’t get to experience it. Whereas yesterday, I did. I got to wear the headset and see how their intercom system works and how they run their practices. It’s just so different. It was really fascinating and a really great experience.”

Jenson Button, driver of the No. 15 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang, spoke with members of the media about his anticipations for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

JENSON BUTTON, No. 15 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang – WHAT HAS THIS WEEK BEEN LIKE FOR YOU IN PREPARATION FOR INDIANAPOLIS? “Great. It’s a privilege to be here at the Indianapolis track. I’ve been here a few times before – in F1 actually, back in 2000. It was my first race when I was racing for Williams as a 20-year-old, and I think I qualified sixth. I had a great race, in these conditions actually – mixed conditions. I’ve really enjoyed coming here. The only problem with that race is the bricks at the start-finish line. They actually turned my car off that year. So, didn’t have a positive impact, but I’m excited to come back and hopefully have a better result than the one I had in F1. Good to be back. This is a great venue, and I love the idea of having so many different categories racing in one weekend. I think other series can really learn from this, having IndyCar racing today and the Cup series on Sunday. I think it works really well as a weekend package for the fans. I think it’s great. I’m looking forward to watching the IndyCar race. Obviously, more importantly, looking forward to getting out on-track with the Cup car.”

WHAT WAS THE CONVERSATION WITH KEELAN HARVICK LIKE? YOU SEEMED TO CALM HIM. “He’s a very grown-up 11-year-old. He obviously loves his racing. It’s funny when you look back, because I think he struggles to maybe listen to his dad. His dad has got so much information to give. He’s raced for years – decades in the sport. But when you’re that close to someone, sometimes it doesn’t work. It’s like you shouldn’t teach your kids how to drive on the road because you’re just going to cause arguments. So I think it’s a little bit close, and that’s why it causes some disruption. I basically just said, ‘Trust me. Your dad is the person that knows best. I remember learning from my dad as a young kid, and you’ll regret it if you don’t take his information on-board. At least listen to his comments.’ It was a really nice time with him. He has a long career ahead of him – lots of ups, lots of downs. It was actually pretty emotional as well, talking about his father being supportive and my father was always very supportive through my career. He’s the reason why I’m sitting here now. He’s got good times in-front of him. I have kids as well, so I think that also made it a little bit emotional for me, talking to him about his career and where he wants to go.”

HOW DO YOU LOOK AT QUALIFYING AND PRACTICE TODAY? “I’m in Group A once again. You guys have a very unusual qualifying system, where the quickest lap-time is where you end up on the grid, and you have two groups. Whereas, it should be A on one side of the grid and B on the other side. I think I said this in Chicago as well. It makes it very difficult when the circuit’s like this, because if the circuit is drying through qualifying, and you’re Group A, and you do a great job when you qualify sixth – you’re basically going to end up 13th on the grid if the circuit’s improving. It just means you need to get it done in qualifying. You have to be top-five, so you go into the shootout. These conditions are tricky because they’re always changing, which makes it fun for me. I like these kinds of conditions. I’m pretty good at adapting in cars that I know. I think I’ve come to grips with the Cup car now, so I have no excuses. I’m really looking forward to this. It’s nice to see that it’s a bit brighter out there, and I just can’t wait to get out on-track. It’s been many years since I’ve driven here. It’s also very different from when I last drove here. So yeah, I need to get some laps in. We only have 20 minutes. It’s not a lot.”

YOU MENTIONED YOU LIKE THESE PACKAGE RACES. WHAT CAN OTHER SERIES ADOPT FROM THIS EVENT FORMAT? “The fans just get more bang for their buck, I guess. Watching two great series, then you also have the feeder series, the junior series, IndyCar Next and obviously the Xfinity series. It’s a lot of racing over the course of a weekend, and it’s good to see. I’d love to see other categories doing the same thing. Seeing a NASCAR race on an F1 weekend for example. I think it brings in a different fanbase, and why not? I think the weekends need to be busier. Race weekends need to be busier for the fans. There is quite a lot of down time – always. It’s really cool. It’s a great idea.”

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES YOU SEE WITH THIS ROAD COURSE, COMPARED TO THE ONE FORMULA 1 COMPETED ON UNTIL 2007? “So after Turn 4, you have that little chicane onto the back straight. We had a sharp right turn and then a sharp left turn, and then a sharp right turn. It’s opened it up a little bit, and it’s a little bit faster there. But then at the end of the lap where we had the banking, and when we had issues with the banking, they added the two corners. I kind of wish they kept that banking in the corner for NASCAR and for IndyCar, because I think it would be more of a spectacle, I guess. It gives us another overtaking opportunity into the third to last corner. They just changed the dynamics and idea around the circuit. But it looks like a good circuit to race on. I watched the Cup race last year, and there was quite a bit of overtaking. Turn 1 is obviously very difficult – heavy braking. There are a couple of places around this track where you can line someone up from three corners back and make the move. So, I think it’s a good racetrack.”

WHEN JUAN PABLO MONTOYA JOINED NASCAR FROM FORMULA 1, HE LIKED THE ASPECT OF GETTING OUT THERE AND JUST RACING. HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED THAT “COOL” ASPECT OF JUST RACING? “I still think there are politics in NASCAR. But, for me, there isn’t. For me, it’s get out there and go racing. I need to send a massive ‘thank you’ to Mobil 1 for giving me this opportunity to do three races in Cup this year. I never expected that. It’s been very enjoyable. I hope this race is better than the last two. Qualifying went well in Chicago, but we had a messy race. But yeah, looking forward to it. Since I left F1, I’ve had loads of fun things. This is definitely up there for the most fun I’ve had in a race car.”

KEVIN HARVICK MENTIONED AT RICHMOND HOW KEELAN HAD TO LEARN HOW TO DO RESTARTS AGAINST EUROPEANS WHO WERE FURTHER AHEAD . DO YOU NOTICE A DIFFERENCE IN LAUNCHING ON RESTARTS BETWEEN RACERS FROM EUROPE TO THOSE IN THE U.S.? “In NASCAR, it’s very different. In NASCAR, I feel that it’s so competitive on restarts. They are way more ‘on it’ than any racing series that I’ve raced in. But in karting, racing in Italy is the best place to race. I know Keelan’s done some racing there. I think it was a bit of a shock initially, but he became very competitive there. It’s the best place to be, and it’s the best place to learn racecraft. You’re also racing against the best guys in the world, because everybody ends up going to Italy to race karts. But when you get higher up in categories, the Cup series for me, from the first lap to the last lap, they are on it – every single lap. There is no rest. You cannot breathe in a race in the Cup series. It’s impressive. It really is. I was shocked when I did my first race in Austin.”

WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOU NEED TO IMPROVE THE MOST HEADING INTO YOUR THIRD NASCAR CUP SERIES START? “I think in terms of one-lap pace, I can pretty much get the best out of the car. I think that’s something I can do. The race is just a different situation, you know? The pit-stops are just very different to what I’m used to. I’ve got better at them, but still. You lose a half of a second in the pits and it’s a couple of places. It’s very, very competitive. These guys do pit-stops every weekend – quite a few times, getting used to not having a speed limiter. So that’s the big thing. Probably the only thing in qualifying that I can improve is one-lap pace. Getting out, and getting the tires working for lap one. I know that Shane, even though he won the race in Chicago, that’s something he found difficult as well. The Cup guys are just so go at getting the tires working immediately and trusting in the car. Whereas, it takes us a little bit longer to trust in what a tire can do. Sometimes, you don’t have that time to wait for a lap to run the tires, because they’ve dropped off already. That’s the only area where I need to improve for this weekend.”

DO YOU HEEL-TOE OR HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT BASED ON SHANE VAN GISBERGEN’S SUCCESS? “I would put his success down to his heel and toeing. I think he’s an immense talent, but also, street circuits are his thing. He races on a street circuit every other week basically. I think that’s just his strength. It was new to everyone, and he’s very quickly learning that type of circuit. So, no. Heel and toeing is an art. When you look at kids growing up now, they’re never going to learn that, because all cars these days normally have a paddle shift on the steering wheel. You use the clutch to maybe pull away, and that’s it. It’s an art that I think everyone should learn. The problem is, for me, is that I haven’t heel-and-toed since 1999. Nothing I race uses heel and toe apart from when I raced Goodwood in the classic cars. So for me to go and jump right to brake, it would feel very strange. I just don’t have the power in that leg to hit the pedal as hard as you need to.”

Toyota Racing – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (August 12, 2023) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday:

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

Can you talk about what it means to win here?

“This is just an incredible venue. It has been around for so long. It has so much history. It is pretty crazy to roll up on this place. My son (Beau) pointed out that I’m on the grandstands over here. It’s pretty surreal. I remember so much of it – those memories will always stay with me.”

Are you sad to see the NASCAR/INDYCAR doubleheader weekend potentially go away?

“I hope if it does go from here, that we do find some other place to do it on the schedule going forward. Both series at the same place is a great opportunity for the drivers, crews and the fans to experience both.”

Does the rain make it more exciting?

“I feel like it’s always really exciting from the driver’s point of view. It feels like we’ve been battling a lot of weather that makes plans uncertain for some, but I think cars are on-track and I think the drivers in all of the series have become more acclimated to running on wet or damp conditions with wet tires. We will see how the track continues to dry, but it will probably be pretty dry, pretty soon, but I always really enjoy it. It works really well.”

What would be your thoughts on going back and forth with the road courses and oval?

“I think it’s just seeing how the test goes. I think a lot of folks in NASCAR, and even me, I enjoy being on the oval, but we need it to be a good race. We need to be able to race each other, and we kind of departed – the style of racing we had in here was really difficult to do anything, right? If we really can’t race each other well and pass, I don’t know if we should really run the oval. We will see shortly. If it works out that we can run both, I think a lot of the diehard NASCAR fans would be excited to see the oval. You will never hear me complain about road course racing.”

Can you talk about the changes to the restart zone?

“I think that is pretty fair honestly. You have to save us from ourselves. These cars are really resilient. The noses and tails are really strong. If we restart or start from where we started in the past, the two times that we have done this, it is just so tempting to try to out-brake the other car and then you are eight-wide and there is no room into turn one. I think it is the right move. I felt like at Chicago, it was damp, and it was single file – if you still had a good enough awareness of your braking zone was, you could still pass going into the corner going single file. You will still see plenty of racing on the restarts – just won’t be as chaotic, I guess. I think that is what we need. You see guys in there that are running top-five all day just getting wiped out because someone from 15th decides to jam it in there.”

Can you talk about the pit crew situation?

“It’s a part of the process. The team is young and building, and doing the things that they need to do. It’s just part of it. It can get frustrating at times for sure, as I’m sure that everyone heard, but we are working through it. We keep doing the difficult parts of it. It’s really difficult to win a race if you don’t bring fast race cars, and we’ve been bringing a lot of fast race cars – we will just keep putting ourselves in those positions and hopefully we will grow on pit road and continue to learn from our mistakes. That’s the biggest thing – learn from our mistakes and move forward, then it is all worth it.”

How chaotic do you expect Daytona to be?

“It will be really crazy for sure. There are a lot of good drivers that aren’t locked in that are capable of winning there. From my side of things, I’m safe for the most part, just trying to win as many stages and races between here and there. From Bubba’s (Wallace) point of view, it’s getting stage points and win a race before he gets there – I know he would love to do that too. They are doing their part. They are getting safer and safer from that danger zone. I’ve been in that position a few years ago, which was one of the most stressful three hours of my life – it’s never going to end, it feels like it could come apart at any moment.”

What does it mean to you to be alongside the incredible winner list here at Indianapolis?

“it’s pretty crazy, honestly. I never got to come experience a lot of racing here when I was younger – but I always watched, always paid attention. That Sunday earlier in the year when Monaco is on, Indy is on and then we go race the 600 is probably one of my favorite days of the year to be able to watch so much motorsports. I hope to be able, one day, to be here for it all on that Sunday in the future. I always enjoyed watching it. It feels like the racer’s holiday, but being on the walls in the museum here is pretty crazy. It didn’t seem real in the moment, when it happened last year, but the trophy is real. I hope to be able to do it again.”

How aggressive do you need to be on road courses?

“It all falls on where the pace of our car is. If it pace of our car is really good, I can kind of do our deal. If we need to find a little bit of speed, I just up the aggression until I find the limit and not step over it. Hopefully, we have really good pace here. At COTA, Sonoma and Chicago, we had plenty of pace – it just came down to execution. I’m excited to see once we get on track in a little bit on what track conditions are. It might take me a little bit longer to figure it out. I always felt like this track is pretty straight forward for me. I’ve always really enjoyed it. We will see where we stack up with the field and if we need to push more we will.”

Can you talk about the learnings you had in your post-race debrief after Michigan?

“That’s one of the difficult things about it. At Nashville a few while back, I felt like we had something similar happen, where we are waiting on fuel there. Obviously at Michigan, we were. It’s just something we’ve got to be better at. We just have to be on top of it. I’m not innocent either. I’ve made plenty of mistakes this year. I feel like I’ve cost our team two chances of winning from driver mistakes at Richmond and at Chicago Street Course. We all make mistakes. It’s part of it. We’ve got to learn from it and move on and we can’t repeat the mistakes.”

Do you look at what Shane van Gisbergen did braking wise in Chicago?

“I think it is definitely I’ll try to play around with but it’s not something that I’m good at by any means. I’ve never heel-to-toe braked in my life. I’m really bad at it, but I think there is always going to be certain conditions that will allow that to be an advantage potentially – having that extra little bit of control. In damp conditions here, it might be useful, but the sun is out. It is drying out. At a place like Chicago, where you don’t have a lot of room for error – it’s an extra way to try control your rear tires when you have something go wrong. Certainly, I feel like I was able to brake the way that he was able to brake, right foot brake the way that he was able to, in Chicago, I probably don’t crash into the tire barrier, but I wasn’t going to pick it up in 12 hours.”

Do you have to have a conversation after things are said on the radio that are pushed out socially?

“I think the best thing you can do is let it go, let it out. Worse thing you can do is sit on it and let it fester, right? If you are frustrated, I think there is a time and place. That situation – it is better just to get it out. Move on, debrief about and get ready for a big week ahead in Indy. Obviously, can’t complain every week like that on the radio, and I try not to. Safe it for when it matters. You never want to lose your cool, but certainly, if you are hot about something, it’s best to let it go and move on. If you sit on it for weeks and weeks and weeks, and don’t let it out, it’s not helping the situation for sure.”

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.

Toyota Racing – Kamui Kobayashi
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (August 12, 2023) – 23XI Racing driver Kamui Kobayashi was made available to media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday:

KAMUI KOBAYASHI, No. 67 Toyota Genuine Parts Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing

How has this weekend played out for you so far?

“It’s been a long preparation for myself. I’ve been traveling from Japan three times from Europe to Charlotte and I was preparing being here at the Indy Road Course. I’m really happy to finally get here. I think the preparation was pretty good. I think 23XI helped me to get here and be pretty confident. Obviously, I think Toyota and TRD, USA have helped me a lot in the simulator sessions to be prepared for this road course. Honestly, I think with my preparation and everything that I’m 100% ready for this weekend.”

What have you learned so far about what the Next Gen car?

“I think I had a rookie test, so I knew the car and how it is heavier in terms of driving. Honestly, I think just concerns of 20 minutes of practice here and then straight to qualifying. Obviously, we need to prepare as much as we can but 20 minutes it’s not enough time, but this is how it is. I will say the car behavior is challenging for me because I’ve never driven such less downforce with the weight. I think weight transfer in the car is different than what I’m used to driving. When I did rookie test at VIR it was pretty good. Just after a couple laps I feel pretty confident. I think here after rookie test I would say it’s not too bad to be honest and with all the preparation helped my confidence level as well.”

Is there anything about this car that compares to something you have driven?

“No. You’re driving and even you’re fighting on the straight. Be on the straight before braking because that’s quite important. When we’re racing in my race car on the straight it’s just you’re relaxed, but this car you’re still fighting on the straight. Obviously, it’s a new challenge for me but it’s still the racing is good with this kind of car because it’s like the drivers are fighting all the way.”

Are you prepared for how aggressive the racing is in NASCAR?

“I think at the end of the day, yes, you need to fight if you’re racing but I think at the same time we need to manage the car because I think to finish the race here as competitive and be that yes, I think you’re fight all of the way but you need to protect your car to be ready in the last part (of the race). It’s not only to fight is the most important, but you have to manage all of the race. Any race is the same. When you’re doing an endurance race for example, you need to manage the car. It’s not only fighting for 24 hours, it’s just you manage yourself. Once you have a good opportunity, you just maintain the gap. You manage the car, be ready because I think after you get to the caution, because obviously the pack is down again and you have to restart. When you have the best car, you’re at an advantage. I use my previous experience as much as I can and I believe if there’s good speed myself, you need to manage the car. I think that’s how you fight in the racing here.”

Did you go to the truck race last night for fun or do learn about team communication?

“I think when you’re in the United States for example, when I have time I want to watch the racing as much as I can. Stock car race or the oval race, it’s really fun. I knew exactly what they do, but when you go to an oval track it’s something new for me and I really enjoy. I think honestly starting 9 o’clock (p.m.) and finishing at 11 something in my racing career. Green flag normally 9 a.m. and finishing at like 17. That’s the normal hour green flag time in the race track. Here has been different. I definitely enjoy and when I looked around at all the people I was like, ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ When I spoke to Jenson about NASCAR he said these guys are fighting all of the way and you have to be ready because when you do Formula 1 or endurance race. When you are in good position you manage the car, you handle to be when you are ready. You kind of managing the race control but here all the way you need to fight because guys fighting really tough. I think he reminded me that this is difference race but still I’m looking forward to this weekend especially my first race in NASCAR. I’ve been definitely looking forward to it. I will do my best. It’s hard to say what that will be but I think it will definitely be a challenging next two days.”

Did you listen to your spotter at all?

“When you talked to spotter people there’s always an earful. Honestly, I’m used to that when I did 24 hour of Daytona for example. The guys helped me. We’ll see how it goes.”

Is it feasible to take NASCAR over to Japan?

“Honestly, that’s not really the goal but I think there’s potential. The Japanese people are looking forward to more NASCAR because we don’t have any broadcasts for last couple years. Honestly, we have no information, but NASCAR does a really good race show. Why don’t we have this kind of race on the broadcast? The problem is the guys are doing really good job and a lot of good drivers and then if you come into Japan and you say NASCAR they will say “What is NASCAR?” Why? They should be more familiar with how NASCAR works because we have a lot of spectators in Japan when you go to Japanese motorsports – to Formula 1 and the Japanese Grand Prix for example. We’ve got such a lot of people but because there’s no broadcast stuff nobody knows about NASCAR. But, this time Japanese company is broadcasting and it’s quite positive and people are looking forward to watch this race. We’ll see how it goes. I think at least we need to have broadcast to see what NASCAR is and I think that’s going to make it better.”

How do you prepare for qualifying?

“I think the first time here I’ve been to the Indy road course so I think in the practice I need to run as much as I can. However, I think this is our job and we have to deal with any situation and do our best. Honestly, in qualifying, I think we need only one good lap. We have to prepare the tire condition for one good lap. I don’t really care the second lap because we just need one lap. That’s what we are doing when we arrive. Honestly, I think more concerning for me is how I run the track, how I feel the car on this track and then I think as soon as myself quite comfortable I think we’ll be fine. Feeling is the most important.”

How much does practice prepare you for this?

“Sometimes, racing is like this but honestly, I’m pretty confident because in this time we have high technology simulator and the guys helped me with how to drive and taking line. I think you have to run as much as you can and you need to work on it. For sure, it’s not the best way but at the end of this is how you fight as you’re a professional.”

Are you good with heel-toe braking?

“No. When I was 16 years old I had an H-button shift so actually I didn’t at all. But I don’t want to come back to this so I stick with NASCAR guys doing. Just I do left foot brake and right throttle. This shouldn’t be a problem. I think SVJ did a great job in Chicago but also I think road track in mixed conditions and the wet, that’s helped him to winning. Honestly, the way I think that can work but at the same time there’s downside as well so I just use my standard procedure. I use left foot brake usually. I think I’m just going to tell myself and focus more on this because I’m not really familiar this time. I think that can be a benefit but it’s a downside as well. There’s not like you’re going to benefit everything from that.”

Is that something that sports-car racing people do?

“No. I don’t think so. This time you have everything automatic so you don’t need it.”

Have you heard from Jimmie Johnson?

“He sent me a message two days ago. Are you coming? He said no. Okay, I don’t know why, but yeah.”

Who have you leaned on the most?

“Honestly, I think my teammates. Tyler (Reddick), I think he helped me to how you drive the NASCAR Cup car. Honestly, I think he is a good driver here especially he been winning last year and he won this year in Austin. I think he definitely will be the biggest help to me because he’s my teammate. He’s doing a lot of hard work behind the company. I have big respect for him. He helped me become teammates but how he helped me to get here and the guy is really nice. I have a big respect. Once you’re on track you’re fighting. It’s not only fighting, you have to respect each other when you’re driving the car. You fight in the speed. This is how we are as a driver. We always had a talk about how we take a line, how we driving the car. It’s not a lot of bullshit, it’s more the focus about the race car, how it drives fast. I think we had a good work to be honest.”

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
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY R.C.
VERIZON 200 AT THE BRICKYARD
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 11, 2023

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Media Availability Quotes:

I’m told you just finished up doing something pretty cool. Can you tell us about that?

“Yeah, as some of you guys know, my fiancé Julia (Piquet), her father raced here at Indianapolis (Motor Speedway) back in 1992. He had a big accident and he destroyed his legs pretty much. Julia and I just met with Terry, who was the doctor that actually saved his legs. And not just his legs, but many other drivers that year and some more over the years, as well. It was very special, especially for Julia, to get to meet him because she has had a lot of conversations with her dad about that day because actually she was born the same day. She was born the day that her father had the accident, 12 hours later. So yeah, it’s very crazy. Drew was the one that put all of this together, my PR, so it was pretty cool. Actually he was here, as well. You can tell how old he is (laughs). But yeah, it was definitely a great moment. For me, I always love meeting new people, but it was a very special moment for Julia and I was able to enjoy her excitement.”

You have a couple of races left of the regular season. You’re getting close to pointing your way in, but obviously getting a victory is going to take the pressure off. You’re a good road course driver, so what do you think your prospects are of winning here?

“Honestly, I think our chances are as good as anyone’s out there. I feel very good about it. Last year, we were running up front in this race – in the top five for most of the race. So I have good expectations for this race. Personally, I’m not really paying much attention to the points right now. I’m just trying to focus on one race at a time. Obviously once in a while, it’s impossible not to look at the points because everyone is talking about it.. everyone is posting about it. But no, I feel pretty good about it and I believe that we’re going to be very strong the next couple of weeks, especially here at the Indianapolis (Motor Speedway Road Course) and at Watkins Glen (International). Obviously Daytona (International Speedway) is a free card for everyone.

I feel good about it. I think a win here in Indianapolis, it would be like a dream. This place is like none other. Every time you go through the tunnel and you see what’s in front of you, it’s quite special. I remember it like it was yesterday, the very first time that I drove through the tunnel. I still get goosebumps like the very first time, so it would be very, very special to get a win here and I think we’re fully capable of doing it. Like I said, I think our chances for this weekend are as good as anyone’s and I can’t wait to start the weekend tomorrow.”

Inaudible… How do you expect your performance to be at Watkins Glen (International)?

“Yeah, I mean you’re right – honestly I’m not even thinking about Watkins Glen (International) at this point, but if we win both, that would be pretty amazing. Honestly I think that we can do it. I think that it would change our year around in a heartbeat, and I don’t see that being impossible at all. We just have to stay present – do our thing, have fun and I believe that we’re going to be in contention. I think we’re going to have a good time and hopefully we can be kissing some bricks on Sunday afternoon.”

Inaudible…

“Maybe a little bit, but I don’t think it’s going to take long for the racetrack to make those transitions. I think that tomorrow is going be the same because we only have 20 minutes of practice and qualifying. But for Sunday, maybe the first 10 minutes is going to be different, but then we’re going to start applying the rubber off our tires. The way I see those things is that it’s going to be the same for everyone. I think it’s one of those things that you know about it, that it’s going to change, and you try not to focus too much about it because you know that it’s going to be very temporary.. the transition of it. But the good thing is that the race track is going to be clean and most likely very racy.”

Turn One here has obviously been ‘calamity corner’ the last couple of years. NASCAR has backed the restart zone up between turns 13 and 14 before you get to the frontstretch. Do you think that will change anything trying to spread you guys up a little bit more down the frontstretch before you get to Turn One?

“Yeah, definitely.. definitely. I think that, in my opinion, that’s going to fix 70 to 80 percent of the problem. We can thank the drive council for that one (laughs). We pushed very hard for that – to do it here and hopefully in the future at Circuit of The Americas, as well.

I think it’s very important. You guys want to watch a race.. you guys want to watch a real race. Nobody wants to watch a crapshoot in corner one. That’s not real racing. I was re-watching the race from last year and at one point, we were like six wide in corner one.. that’s impossible. I don’t think you can go six wide on a bicycle race in there without contact, so it’s not real. It was about time to get rid of that because it was starting to become a little bit of a joke, in my opinion. So I’m happy that NASCAR was open to listen to this option and they were open to a change. Sometimes you’re always concerned about – OK, does NASCAR really want to change these, or do they care about the show only? But NASCAR was very good about it. Yeah, it’s entertaining, but we don’t want to look bad either. So I thought it was a great decision and really looking forward to seeing how it works.

I do believe that you’re still going to have a couple of guys, maybe, that still try to do some crazy things. But there’s more racing, more normal. I think if we restart back there, I think the field is going to be more spread out.”

You said it fixes 70 to 80 percent.. what are the other issues and how do you fix what’s left to completely avoid the carnage that we’ve seen down there?

“Yeah, I say 70 to 80 percent just because we haven’t seen it yet and that’s just my guess. And also, if you have a couple of guys that have a good run, you can still be three or four wide over there and it can lead into a wreck. But what we have seen in the past of cars pushing each other five wide or six wide, like what I call embarrassing racing or like bumper cars, I don’t think we’re going to see that again. I think that’s pretty much 98.7 percent of the equation. But still, I think there’s going to be good racing. I think there’s going to be a little bit of contact.. it’s going to be a little physical. But I don’t think we’re going to see the crazy bumper cars that we’ve seen in the past here, at COTA and some of these places.”

For this track, what section do you find technically the hardest to navigate, and what is the best passing zone?

“So the most difficult part of the track.. that’s a very good question. I think that the more technical part is between corner, I would say from seven all the way to 12. I would say those are the most technical.. the more technical part. When it comes to passing zones, obviously corner one and corner seven. I think those are the best passing zones. I think actually corner 12 can be a passing zone, but it’s a little more tricky.. along with corner 13, as well. But they are a little more risky. I would say that corner one and seven are the more straightforward, just because you have a longer straightaway so you can do different things with brakes and things like that.

But overall, here at Indianapolis (Motor Speedway Road Course), it’s an amazing racetrack. I personally love it. I love coming here and it would be very special to have a good run here and getting a win on Sunday. Hopefully we can do it.”

I know it’s a very busy weekend schedule for both series, but have you had a chance to spend some quality time with Pato O’Ward?

“No, I haven’t even talked to him. We messaged a couple of weeks ago, but no I haven’t even talked to him. I arrived yesterday afternoon and I already had dinner plans. This morning, I was very busy the entire morning. And then I’ve been doing appearances and media stuff for a sponsor, so I haven’t even had the opportunity to talk to him. I don’t even know where he qualified.. I think he qualified in the top-five, right? Top-Six? I think he qualified well. I’m going to catchup with him for sure tomorrow. This is the crazy thing.. we’re so close and too far, as well. We’re in the same place, but also he’s very busy with his schedule and I’m very busy with my schedule. But I’m very sure we’re going to catchup tomorrow before his race. That’s going to be fun. I’m pretty sure he’s going to be strong here. Last year, I remember talking to him – he was very strong on the short runs, but he was struggling a little bit on the long runs. Hopefully they’ve got that one figured out.”

If you go back to Daytona (International Speedway) in 2021, Trackhouse Racing was a one car team. They’ve got a team owner that’s very ambitious, and now here we are in 2023, Trackhouse Racing is big-time and may be getting even bigger. What’s it like to see how far this team has come in such a short period of time?

“I hope it continues that way. Justin Marks is an amazing racecar driver and an amazing team owner. He’s very, like you mentioned, he’s very ambitious. There’s no limits and I really like that. He loves to think outside the box and I think that’s what’s gotten Trackhouse Racing to this point, and I don’t think we’re at the limit. I think the future of Trackhouse is still very, very bright and there’s a lot more things that are going to continue to happen. Right now, we have two cars full-time, but Shane (van Gisbergen) is kind of that guy that’s going in and out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if more things happened with Shane or with someone else. I think Justin – his gears are always clicking and he’s always thinking ahead, and I like that about him. I think we have an amazing race team – great people, great sponsors, great drivers, great overall. We have something good going on, we just have to continue to build and continue to get better because I feel like this year has been good, but not great. So we still have some work to do and we know what we have to do.”

You were talking about Indianapolis being a very special place. Would you want to see it go back to the oval or stay on the road course?

“You know, I have mixed feelings with that. I love road course racing. I love Indianapolis. But I love the oval, as well. The oval – that’s Indianapolis. That’s the history of this place. I think winning on Sunday, it would be unbelievable. But I think winning on Sunday on the oval – I don’t know why, but I feel like it would have a little bit of a different feel. I could be wrong. I hope I get to experience both. But whatever happens in the future, if we go back to the oval or not, I know I’m going to enjoy it so much because I love both so much. I’m looking forward to those opportunities. Honestly, selfishly talking, I hope we can do two races or one and one – one next year on the oval and the following year road course, and then oval again. I think that would be amazing just because I love both so much. When we changed from the oval to the road course, I was super excited. And right now, if we get to change again, I would be excited, as well. I just like the change and I don’t think that you can go wrong with either. I think the race track is just unbelievable and it has so much opportunity and it’s just so special to be here. I just wish we were coming more often. This is an amazing place.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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.