Home Blog Page 1360

McLaughlin Blitzes Field To Win NTT P1 Award in Nashville

By
Official Release
-

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023) – In a series known for its tight qualifying margins, Scott McLaughlin blew away the field Saturday to win the NTT P1 Award for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville.

McLaughlin, from New Zealand, earned his second consecutive pole for this event with a top lap of 1 minute, 14.6099 seconds in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet. It was his fourth career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole and first this season.

Even more impressive was McLaughlin’s margin of .3296 of a second over No. 2 qualifier Pato O’Ward, whose best lap in the Firestone Fast Six was 1:14.9395. That’s the second-biggest gap between first and second in qualifying so far in 13 races this season, topped only by Romain Grosjean’s edge of .4155 of a second in the season-opening race at St. Petersburg.

“We did a big lap in Q1 that really set us up,” McLaughlin said. “Every time we’re in this printer wagon, this DEX Imaging Chevy, she’s a ripper. Really proud of that one.”

Live coverage of the 80-lap race starts at noon ET Sunday on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. The winners of the first two editions of this race, Marcus Ericsson in 2021 and Scott Dixon in 2022, started 18th and 14th, respectively, so starting up front isn’t essential to contend for victory in an event known for its unpredictability. Still, McLaughlin knows he’s in a good spot to avoid any chaos in the midfield or back at the start or on restarts.

“Who knows at this place?” McLaughlin said. “It’s scary how yellows can happen out of the blue, and strategy can be thrown everywhere. But we start in the No. 1 spot, and that’s the main thing. To put in pole two years in a row is unreal.”

Qualifying took place in dry conditions and under sunny skies and thick humidity after morning and afternoon rain created course conditions that forced a delay of nearly four hours to the start of the session and the cancellation of final practice.

McLaughlin and O’Ward were the only two drivers to break the 1:15 barrier during the last of the three rounds of qualifying on the 11-turn, 2.1-mile temporary circuit that includes two crossings of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge per lap.

Colton Herta qualified third at 1:15.2416 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian, with championship leader Alex Palou fourth at 1:15.2462 in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing.

David Malukas will start fifth after a lap of 1:15.8703 in the No. 18 HMD Trucking Honda of Dale Coyne Racing with HMD, tying his best career qualifying performance on a street circuit set in July 2022 at Toronto. Grosjean rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:15.9921 in the No. 28 DHL Honda, as Andretti Autosport was the only team to put two drivers into the first three rows of the grid.

Three drivers in the top five of the standings – Josef Newgarden, Dixon and Ericsson – didn’t advance into the Firestone Fast Six and will start outside of the first three rows Sunday.

Newgarden will start ninth after his best lap of 1:15.4862 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet during the Fast 12. Six-time series champion Dixon made a rare mistake and clipped the inside wall in Turn 11 with 30 seconds left in the Fast 12, hurtling his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda across the track into the outside retaining wall. Dixon was unhurt, but the front and front right of his car suffered heavy damage. He will start 12th.

Ericsson was quickest in wet conditions during practice Saturday, but his dry-weather pace wasn’t enough to advance from the first round of qualifying. Ericsson will start 20th after his best lap of 1:16.0420 in the No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing.

Rookie Linus Lundqvist continued to enjoy a magic carpet ride during his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race weekend, as he qualified 11th and was the quickest rookie in the field at 1:16.0715 in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda. It was the second-best qualifying performance of the season for Meyer Shank Racing on a temporary street circuit, bettered only by the eighth-place starting spot by Simon Pagenaud in June at Detroit. Lundqvist is substituting this weekend for Pagenaud, still recovering from a violent flip July 1 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Big Machine Music City Grand Prix
Qualifying Results

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Qualifying Saturday for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 2.1-mile Streets of Nashville, with qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed in parentheses:

  1. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:14.6099 (101.327 mph)
  2. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:14.9395 (100.881)
  3. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:15.2416 (100.476)
  4. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:15.2462 (100.470)
  5. (18) David Malukas, Honda, 01:15.8703 (99.644)
  6. (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 01:15.9921 (99.484)
  7. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:15.1384 (100.614)
  8. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 01:15.1641 (100.580)
  9. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:15.4862 (100.151)
  10. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 01:15.5711 (100.038)
  11. (60) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 01:16.0715 (99.380)
  12. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:16.7692 (98.477)
  13. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 01:16.0985 (99.345)
  14. (6) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 01:15.4638 (100.180)
  15. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:16.1825 (99.235)
  16. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Chevrolet, 01:15.5631 (100.049)
  17. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 01:16.2203 (99.186)
  18. (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 01:16.0170 (99.451)
  19. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:16.3356 (99.036)
  20. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:16.0420 (99.419)
  21. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 01:16.6416 (98.641)
  22. (30) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:16.1193 (99.318)
  23. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 01:16.6900 (98.579)
  24. (51) Sting Ray Robb, Honda, 01:16.3907 (98.965)
  25. (55) Benjamin Pedersen, Chevrolet, No Time (No Speed)
  26. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 01:16.4369 (98.905)
  27. (20) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, 01:17.2417 (97.875)

John Hunter Nemechek rallies from early spin to notch milestone Xfinity victory for Joe Gibbs Racing at Michigan

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Stephanie McLaughlin for SpeedwayMedia.com.

From a Lap 10 multi-car wreck that involved himself and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, John Hunter Nemechek rallied in dominant fashion by notching a milestone victory for the JGR organization in the Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, August 5.

The 26-year-old Nemechek from Mooresville, North Carolina, led twice for a race-high 65 of 125-scheduled laps in an event where he started 10th and quickly raced his way towards the front. Amid a Lap 3 incident for a single car spin and a Lap 9 restart, Nemechek’s event quickly went south when he made contact with teammate Ty Gibbs entering the backstretch that sent Gibbs spinning while his third teammate, Sammy Smith, was also collected after making ensuing contact with Nemechek. Despite falling down the leaderboard, Nemechek, who pitted prior to the first stage’s conclusion, gained an advantage during the stage break when he remained on the track and moved up the leaderboard. From there, Nemechek assumed the lead for the first time on Lap 55 and proceeded to win the second stage. He then gained control of the field throughout the final stage spanning the final 59 laps and held off the field during a seven-lap dash to the finish to notch his fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the 2023 season and record the 200th Xfinity career win for Joe Gibbs Racing.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, August 4, Josh Berry notched his second Xfinity pole position of the 2023 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 189.549 mph in 37.985 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Justin Allgaier, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 188.289 mph in 38.239 seconds.

Prior to the event, the following names that included Connor Mosack, Sage Karam, Kyle Weatherman and Josh Williams dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective entries.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Berry surged ahead with a strong start from the outside lane through the backstretch, but teammate Allgaier gained a strong run from the inside lane through the first two turns as he then assumed the lead entering the backstretch. With Allgaier placing a reasonable gap between himself and Berry exiting the backstretch before entering Turns 3 and 4, Allgaier proceeded to lead the first lap while Austin Hill and Sam Mayer battled for third place behind Berry.

During the second lap, Allgaier stretched his lead to half a second over teammate Berry while teammate Mayer trailed in third place by less than a second. By then, Austin Hill was in fourth ahead of rookie Chandler Smith while Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, John Hunter Nemechek, rookie Sammy Smith and Ross Chastain were in the top 10.

On the third lap, the first caution of the event flew when Kaz Grala, who was battling within the top 20, slipped sideways entering Turn 4 and spun off the front nose of Sheldon Creed as Grala spun his No. 26 Toyota Genuine Parts Supra below the track and backwards on the frontstretch grass.

When the race restarted on the ninth lap, teammates Allgaier and Berry dueled for the top spot until Allgaier muscled ahead in his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro to retain the lead. As the field fanned out and jostled for positions, contact was made between Mayer and Chandler Smith entering Turn 3 as Mayer went up the track and lost a multitude of spots while Allgaier continued to lead.

A lap later, the caution returned when Nemechek, who was battling amid close-quarters racing with Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Ty Gibbs and Sammy Smith, ran into the rear bumper of Gibbs’ No. 19 He Gets Us Toyota Supra entering the backstretch, which got Gibbs loose and spinning sideways as Nemechek also spun after getting hit by Sammy Smith. In the ensuring mayhem, Nemechek spun his No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Supra towards the bottom of the track in the backstretch while Smith collided into the side of Hocevar and nearly sent his No. 77 Premier Security Chevrolet Camaro flipping over before Hocevar’s car quickly came back down on all four wheels and spun through the backstretch. While Nemechek and Gibbs, who was left sour over the incident with Nemechek, continued along with Hocevar, Sammy Smith’s event came to an early end.

During the proceeding restart on Lap 16, Allgaier retained the lead amid another strong restart while teammate Berry, who elected to restart on the second row, gained a strong start to move up to second followed by Chandler Smith while Hill, who moved up to restart on the inside lane on the front row, fell back to fourth.

Approaching Lap 19, the caution flew for a third time when Mason Maggio, who was involved in the previous caution period for a multi-car wreck, went dead straight after blowing a right-front tire and smacked the outside wall towards Turn 2 as his event came to an early end. During the caution period, Nemechek, Karam and Josh Williams pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.

The following restart on Lap 23 featured Allgaier and Custer dueling for the lead on the front row as Allgaier retained the lead while the field fanned out through the first two turns. As Allgaier retained the top spot, Berry moved back into the runner-up spot followed by Custer while Chandler Smith and Herbst followed suit along with Brandon Jones. Amid the continuous on-track battles, Allgaier would retain the lead at the Lap 25 mark.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 30, Allgaier claimed his eighth stage victory of the 2023 Xfinity season. Teammate Berry settled in second while Custer, Chandler Smith, Herbst, Brandon Jones, Austin Hill, Ryan Sieg, Mayer and Anthony Alfredo were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Allgaier pitted for service while the rest led by Ty Gibbs, Nemechek and Grala remained on the track amid mixed strategy ensuing. Amid the pit stops, Jeb Burton spun while trying to entering his pit stall and was penalized for a safety violation.

The second stage started on Lap 36 as Ty Gibbs and Creed, who pitted for two fresh tires, occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs took off with the lead ahead of Creed and the field that proceeded to fan out entering the first two turns. By the following lap, Ty Gibbs stretched his advantage to half a second while teammate Nemechek battled and overtook Creed for the runner-up spot.

On Lap 38, the caution flew when Connor Mosack got turned by Joe Graf Jr. towards the outside wall exiting the frontstretch and approaching Turn 1 as Mosack limped back to pit road with extensive damage on his No. 24 Toyota Racing Development Supra.

When the race restarted on Lap 42, Ty Gibbs pulled ahead from Riley Herbst with a push from teammate Nemechek as Gibbs assumed the lead while Nemechek and Herbst battled for second.

At the Lap 50 mark, Ty Gibbs was leading by a tenth of a second over teammate Nemechek followed by Herbst, Cole Custer and Allgaier while Mayer, Austin Hill, Berry, Brandon Jones and Chandler Smith were in the top 10. Behind, Brett Moffitt was in 11th ahead of Creed, Anthony Alfredo, Parker Kligerman and Ryan Sieg while Daniel Hemric, Ross Chastain, Parker Retzlaff, Jeb Burton and Grala occupied the top 20.

Five laps later, the top-nine competitors were separated by less than two seconds as Nemechek cycled his way around teammate Ty Gibbs to assume the lead. With Nemechek leading by four-tenths of a second and half a second over Herbst, Allgaier and Austin Hill settled in the top five.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 60, Nemechek fended off the field to claim his fifth Xfinity stage victory of the 2023 season. Allgaier, who moved from fourth to second two laps earlier, settled in the runner-up spot while Ty Gibbs, Herbst, Austin Hill, Custer, Berry, Mayer, Brandon Jones and Moffitt were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, trouble struck for Allgaier as he got bumped and turned by Ty Gibbs while approaching his pit stall as the field entered pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Nemechek exited first ahead of Herbst, Hill, Custer, Berry and Ty Gibbs.

With 59 laps remaining, the final stage started as Nemechek and Hill occupied the front row. At the start, Nemechek jumped ahead to retain the lead over the field that fanned out with the competitors jostling for positions.

With 50 laps remaining, Nemechek was leading by three-tenths of a second over Austin Hill followed by Herbst, Berry and Brandon Jones while Ty Gibbs settled in sixth. With Custer and Mayer running in seventh and eighth, Allgaier, following his pit road incident during the stage break, had carved his way back up to ninth after restarting 30th while Chastain was in 10th.

Ten laps later, Nemechek continued to lead by more than a second over Austin Hill while Berry, Herbst and Brandon Jones retained their respective spots in the top five. By then, Ty Gibbs and Custer were running sixth and seventh while Allgaier was in eighth followed by teammate Mayer and Chastain.

Another 10 laps later, Nemechek increased his advantage to nearly two seconds over Berry while Hill, Herbst and Brandon Jones remained in the top five. Not long after, green flag pit stops commenced as Mayer and Chandler Smith pitted. A series of names that included Ty Gibbs, Allgaier and Custer would pit during the ensuing lap before the leader Nemechek pitted with 28 laps remaining along with Brandon Jones, Hill, Chastain, Berry, Creed, Hemric, Jeb Burton and Jeremy Clements. Amid the pit stops, Allgaier was penalized due to a crew member jumping over the pit wall too soon while Moffitt, who has yet to pit, cycled into the lead. In addition, Austin Hill reported a transmission issue to his No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro as he was exiting pit road, which resulted with him losing ground of the leaders.

Then with 22 laps remaining, Nemechek cycled his way back into the lead after Sage Karam, who led a lap for himself, pitted. In the process, Berry moved up to second as he trailed Nemechek by two seconds as Ty Gibbs would follow suit to third place.

With 15 laps remaining, Nemechek was leading by more than a second over Berry while Gibbs, Jones and Custer were in the top five.

Then two laps later, the caution flew when Patrick Emerling blew a left-front tire and went dead straight towards the outside wall in Turn 3. During the caution period, names that included Custer, Allgaier, Ryan Sieg, Karam and Moffitt pitted while the rest led by Nemechek remained on the track.

Down to the final seven laps of the event, the race restarted under green as teammates Nemechek and Ty Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, Nemechek retained the lead over the field as Berry and Ty Gibbs battled for second ahead of Brandon Jones and Mayer. With the field fanning out through the first two turns and the backstretch, Nemechek stabilized his advantage while starting to place a gap from the field.

With five laps remaining, Nemechek was leading by three-tenths of a second over Berry and six-tenths of a second over Brandon Jones while Ty Gibbs and Mayer were in the top five. Behind, Herbst was in sixth followed by Chastain, Kligerman, Retzlaff and Jeb Burton. Nemechek would then stretch his advantage to nearly a second over Berry while Brandon Jones would slowly lose touch of the top-two competitors as the laps dwindled.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Nemechek remained as the leader by more than a second over Berry and Brandon Jones while Ty Gibbs and Mayer trailed by more than two seconds. Having no close competition lurking behind him, Nemechek was able to cycle his way around the circuit for a final time and cruise back to the frontstretch to notch his fifth checkered flag of the 2023 Xfinity season.

With the victory, Nemechek notched his seventh Xfinity Series career victory in his 88th series start and his first at Michigan as he became the first five-time race winner of the 2023 season. In addition to delivering the seventh Xfinity victory of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing, Nemechek bestowed the honors of achieving the 200th career win for the JGR organization, with six of them coming from Nemechek.

“Man, I’m grateful for this whole No. 20 bunch,” Nemechek, who accepted responsibility over the contact and incident with Ty Gibbs, said on NBC. “[I’m] Grateful for Joe Gibbs Racing, this opportunity. All of our great partners that help us get to the racetrack. I have to apologize to Ty [Gibbs]. I’ve been the one that’s been very vocal about teammates recently. I put him in a bad aero spot, got him loose and then, couldn’t check up. It’s my mistake. I hate that we both spun early, but at least, we both rebounded decently. I know he’s not too happy with me. He has every right not to be. I’m thankful for my team, all the guys. Win number five. After the last two weeks, we said that we needed to come out here and answer. We were able to do that today here at Michigan.”

Berry, who did not lead a lap despite starting on pole position, ended up in the runner-up spot for the second time this season as he continues to pursue his first victory of the season while teammate Brandon Jones claimed his second top-five result of the season by notching a strong third-place result.

“Yeah, we just built really tight that last run,” Berry said. “I thought I was kind of inching in on [Nemechek] for a while and then, we kind of leveled out. It was tough there. I felt like I needed to pick behind [Nemechek] there [on the final restart], but the bottom [lane] just got so slick there at the end. I felt like that was gonna give us our best chance. Overall, we were just a little too tight to make a run at him there. Overall, [I’m] really proud of these guys. Obviously, we’ve had a good couple of weeks, so we just got to keep working, keep getting better. We’re just gonna keep after it. We’re getting better at the right time. Definitely, a good day for JR Motorsports and we’ll be in Victory Lane soon.”

Ty Gibbs, who led 22 laps, rallied from his early incident to finish fourth in his sixth Xfinity start of the season while Mayer, winner of last weekend’s event at Road America, finished fifth.

Herbst, Ross Chastain, Kligerman, rookie Parker Retzlaff and Jeb Burton completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, Austin Hill ended up 11th in front of teammate Sheldon Creed, Allgaier settled in 14th following his late-race pit road penalty, Custer finished 16th behind Daniel Hemric and rookie Chandler Smith, who had a late-race run-in with Hill that led to a post-race discussion with Hill, fell back to 20th.

There were seven lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 31 laps. In addition, 20 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

With five Xfinity regular-season events remaining on the schedule, John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Hill are tied for the lead in the regular-season standings, with Justin Allgaier trailing by 34 points and Cole Custer trailing by 86.

Results.

1. John Hunter Nemechek, 65 laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Josh Berry

3. Brandon Jones

4. Ty Gibbs, 22 laps led

5. Sam Mayer

6. Riley Herbst, one lap led

7. Ross Chastain

8. Parker Kligerman

9. Parker Retzlaff

10. Jeb Burton

11. Austin Hill

12. Sheldon Creed

13. Ryan Sieg

14. Justin Allgaier, 32 laps led, Stage 1 winner

15. Daniel Hemric

16. Cole Custer

17. Bret Moffitt, four laps led

18. Anthony Alfredo

19. Kyle Sieg

20. Chandler Smith

21. Kaz Grala, one lap down

22. Josh Williams, one lap down

23. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

24. Jeffrey Earnhardt, one lap down

25. Sage Karam, one lap down

26. Jeremy Clements, one lap down

27. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

28. Dawson Cram, one lap down

29. Brennan Poole, two laps down

30. Garrett Smithley, two laps down

31. Stefan Parsons, two laps down

32. Carson Hocevar, two laps down

33. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

34. Patrick Emerling, five laps down

35. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Electrical

36. Connor Mosack – OUT, Accident

37. Mason Maggio – OUT, Accident

38. Sammy Smith – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ fourth annual running of the Pennzoil 150 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, August 12, at 5:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Toyota Racing – NXS Michigan Post-Race Report – 08.05.23

By
Official Release
-

NEMECHEK EARNS SERIES-LEADING FIFTH WIN OF THE SEASON
Nemechek’s victory scores Joe Gibbs Racing milestone 200th Xfinity Series win

BROOKLYN, Mich. (August 5, 2023) – John Hunter Nemechek battled back after early contact to win his fifth race of the season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 200th overall Xfinity Series win for Joe Gibbs Racing. Nemechek drove through the field to take the lead on lap 55 and led the majority of the following laps – 65 of the 125 – to earn the win. With the victory, Nemechek moves into a tie on the top of the regular season point standings.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Michigan International Speedway
Race 20 of 33 – 250 miles, 125 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
2nd, Josh Berry*
3rd, Brandon Jones*
4th, TY GIBBS
5th, Sam Mayer*
21st, KAZ GRALA
36th, CONNOR MOSACK
38th, SAMMY SMITH
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

Can you talk about the rebound today?

“Just a never give up attitude. This team is absolutely amazing, and I’m just the lucky one to be able to drive these Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supras each weekend. I have to apologize to Ty (Gibbs) and the 19 team. I didn’t mean to get into him. I’m the one that has been preaching about teammates. It was my fault. I put him in a bad aero spot. It looked like he got loose and then I couldn’t checkup. Just chain reaction type of events – but it is my fault. I take the blame for that. We will move on from it. Him and I will have a discussion about it. I’m thankful for this whole team. I’m thankful for everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, Coach (Joe Gibbs), Toyota, TRD, Mobil 1, Pye Barker, everyone involved. Win number five, let’s keep it going.”

How special is it to win number 200 for Joe Gibbs Racing?
“It’s definitely special. Being able to win so many races for JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) in Xfinity Series – I’m just the lucky guy that gets to hold the wheel of these fast Toyota GR Supras every single weekend. Super thankful, super grateful. All the glory to God. Getting 200 is sweet. We’ve been joking about it for the past few weeks, and after the past couple of weeks that we’ve had, we’ve definitely needed to rebound. This is a great rebound.”

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.

Cadillac Racing claims pole at Road America

By
Official Release
-

Derani eclipses prototype track record by nearly a second; Bourdais qualifies third

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 5, 2023) – The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R was first and a close second to the sister Cadillac in the two practice sessions Friday on the recently resurfaced 4-mile, 14-turn road course.

The quickness carried over Saturday in the 20-minute qualifying session for the IMSA Sports Car Weekend at Road America.

Pipo Derani’s lap of 1 minute, 47.730 seconds (135.271 mph) eclipsed the 2019 DPi track record by nearly a full second and the 2021 DPi champion secured his ninth career IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole and second for Cadillac Racing in the inaugural season of the Grand Touring Prototype class.

“The 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R was perfect today and all week and I’m happy to put the lap together that earned the pole for the 2-hour, 40-minute race. Everyone involved has done a fantastic job this year and I have to thank all my guys,” said Derani, who earned the pole at Sebring International Raceway and teamed with Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken to win the race.

Sebastien Bourdais drove the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R to third on the grid with a lap of 1:48.036 – its sixth top-four start in seven races – and will share the seat with Renger van der Zande. Bourdais was .306 of a second short from earning second front-row start of the season.

A day earlier, the Cadillac Racing hybrid racecars swapped the top of the time chart in the two free practice sessions.

Derani and Sims, who enter the race as the GTP championship leaders, picked up 35 qualifying points for the pole for a 19-point advantage. Cadillac leads the GTP Manufacturer Championship standings.

Cadillac Racing posted eight podium finishes at Road America in the DPi era, including victory in 2021 (Derani, Felipe Nasr).

Bourdais and van der Zande earned a podium result at Road America in 2022 – one place behind the runner-up finish of the sister Cadillac DPi-V.R driven by Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn. Van der Zande has also driven to third place in 2021 and second in 2020 in the Cadillac DPi-V.R at Road America.

The live USA Network telecast and Peacock streaming of the race starts at 11 a.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 6. Outside the U.S., streaming will be available at IMSA.com/TVLive. IMSA Radio at IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com plus SiriusXM live (XM 207, Web/App 992) broadcast of the race also starts at 11 a.m.

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais drove in the 20-minute qualifying session with best lap of 1:48.036 for third on grid: “Hats off to Pipo (Derani); he did it again. I didn’t put together the lap I wanted. We tried to optimize everything and it should have been quite a bit faster but it couldn’t carry the speed. The guys did a better job than that, but good day overall for Cadillac and we’ll go racing from there.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani drove in the 20-minute qualifying session with best lap of 1:47.730 for pole: “The 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R was perfect today and all week and I’m happy to put the lap together that earned the pole for the 2-hour, 40-minute race. Everyone involved has done a fantastic job this year and I have to thank all my guys. It’s not done yet. Qualifying doesn’t mean much except for a few qualifying points that could count in the end. Anything you can do to try to extend a championship points lead is good for us. Coming into this race with a new tarmac you want to be ahead because it’s hard to overtake the GTs, so you can perhaps control the race a bit better. A lot can happen in the race; we know that in IMSA with the yellows and everything. We try to go session by session and I think we’ve been doing that quite well. The competition is very close, including the sister Cadillac V-Series.R, so there’s a lot we have to do to bring home a win tomorrow. I knew everything had to be nailed for qualifying to be able to start out front. We still have to execute perfectly despite starting out front.”

Christopher Bell claims Busch Light Pole at Michigan

By
Angie Campbell
-
Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Christopher Bell captured the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Pole Award at Michigan International Speedway during the final round of qualifying Saturday afternoon, earning the top spot for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400.

His lap time of 37.232 seconds at 193.382 mph in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota earned Bell his second pole of the season and his sixth career pole. Bell is looking forward to the upcoming race and is hoping to capitalize on his front-row start.

“I feel excellent about what I have for sure,” he said after qualifying. “It has been a pretty smooth Saturday. In practice, it was very good off the truck and fast and balanced. That is what it is all about at Michigan – having the car comfortable and balanced so you can drive as hard as you need to; to create speed as you need to here in Michigan.”

Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain will join Bell on the front row after a qualifying lap of 193.242 mph in his No. 1 Chevrolet. Ty Gibbs (193.024 mph) will start third followed by Chris Buescher (192.921 mph) in fourth.

Martin Truex Jr., who recently announced a one-year extension through 2024 with Joe Gibbs Racing, qualified with a 192.658 mph lap to round out the top five.    

Joey Logano, William Byron, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott completed the top 10 fastest drivers in qualifying.

Josh Berry, filling in for the suspended Noah Gragson, qualified 35th in the Legacy Motor Club No. 42 Chevrolet entry.

The NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 is set for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Starting Lineup:

Michigan-Cup-Series-starting-lineup12323_STARTROW

Rasmussen To Start from Pole after Nashville Qualifying Rained Out

By
Official Release
-

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023) – Series leader Christian Rasmussen will start from the pole for the INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix after qualifying was canceled Saturday due to poor course conditions from steady rain in the Nashville area, with the starting grid set by entrant points.

It’s the second consecutive year rain has prevented drivers in the INDYCAR development series from qualifying on the 11-turn, 2.1-mile temporary circuit that includes two crossings of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge per lap.

“Obviously, not the way you want to get pole, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to take what you can get,” Rasmussen said. “It just comes down to our performance all year that has put us in this position. My HMD crew has been amazing all year, and that’s really what we benefit from now.”

The 35-lap race is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. ET Sunday, with live coverage on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Danish driver Rasmussen benefited from the rainout, as he was sixth quickest in practice Friday and seventh during Saturday morning’s session in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR car, both taking place in mixed conditions. He will start from the top spot for the third time this season, as he won the pole at Barber Motorsports Park and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Rookie Nolan Siegel will join teammate Rasmussen in the front row in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports with DCR car. Siegel, who trails Rasmussen by 22 points, was fifth quickest this morning and eighth Friday.

Jacob Abel will start third in the No. 51 Abel Motorsports machine after leading both practices at this event.

“A little bit unfortunate to not qualify here in Nashville,” Abel said. “It’s pretty fun to put a lap together on this track. We’ve been really, really strong in practice, so starting third based on championship points, hopefully we can get around a couple of cars in front of us. We’ve been quicker than them most of the weekend, so full focus forward to the race in the morning.”

Hunter McElrea will join Abel in the second row, starting fourth in the No. 27 Smart Motors car fielded by Andretti Autosport.

CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: Taylor Third in Qualifying

By
Official Release
-

Inside second-row starting position could prove beneficial in push for season’s second win

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. (Aug. 5, 2023) – Jordan Taylor put Corvette Racing on the inside of the second row in class Saturday for qualifying ahead of Sunday’s feature event for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America.

Taylor set a best lap of 2:03.143 (118.340 mph) in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R that he shares with Antonio Garcia in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class. Critically, the result put Taylor and the No. 3 C8.R on the inside of the second row of the GTD field on a track that is much more of a one-lane surface following a track repave late last year.

Just as key is that the Corvette gained critical class points as it qualified ahead of the GTD PRO championship-leading Lexus. The Taylor/Garcia duo, Corvette Racing and Chevrolet entered Road America second in the Drivers, Manufacturers and Teams championship standings with four races left in the season.

A victory Sunday would be the ninth class at the circuit for Corvette Racing.

This is the first time for the Corvette program on the recently repaved Road America track. Gone is the cheese-grater of a surface that promoted high levels of tire wear and degradation with high levels of grip available around the circuit… provided cars stay on the racing line. As a result, track position – and qualifying toward the front, as a result – has a higher level of importance this year compared to past Road America races.

Key was cross-program tire analysis from Chevrolet’s IndyCar teams, which provided valuable input from their race in June at the circuit. That, combined with pre-event work at GM’s Driver in the Loop simulator, played a prominent role in the results so far this weekend.

Road America and the Corvette brand have a lengthy history dating back nearly 60 years. Chevrolet routinely used the track to test and validate the performance of early-generation Corvettes with that tradition continuing into the present day. Road America was the site of the first on-track running of the Corvette C8.R in 2018.

The IMSA SportsCar Weekend race at Road America is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. ET on Sunday, August 6. The race will air live on USA beginning at 11 a.m. ET and stream live on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions beginning with Friday morning’s practice at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED THIRD IN GTD PRO: “We were quickest yesterday and made some gains in laptime from then, but everyone else made humongous jumps. We are where we thought we would be laptime-wise. It just wasn’t enough for pole. It’s kind of been the trend of the year where qualifying is a bit of struggle for us but we race better. Hopefully that plays out tomorrow. We’re closer in qualifying now than we have been the past few rounds, so hopefully that’s another good sign.

“It’ll be tricky to race. Off-line around here is very slippery. Track position is very important and being somewhat defensive when guys are making moves not to be put in a precarious position is going to be tricky. There will be a lot of mistakes tomorrow because of that.”

2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO (After seven of 11 events)

Driver Standings

  1. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 2,462
  2. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2,311
  3. Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon – 2,302
  4. Klaus Bachler/Patrick Pilet – 2,281
  5. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 2,083

Team Standings

  1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 2,462
  2. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 2,311
  3. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 2,302
  4. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 2,281
  5. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 2,083

Manufacturer Standings

  1. Lexus – 2,462
  2. Chevrolet – 2,311
  3. Mercedes-AMG – 2,302
  4. Porsche – 2,281
  5. Aston Martin – 2,094

CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: By the Numbers

  • 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years of racing: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette
  • 4: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at Road America since 2002 – Corvette C5-R (2002-2004), Corvette C6.R (2005-13), Corvette C7.R (2016-19) and Corvette C8.R (2020-current). This year’s race is the second at the track for the GTD-spec, mid-engine racing Corvette
  • 4: Number of cars Tommy Milner passed in the final 15 minutes of the 2016 Road America race. He and Oliver Gavin went on to win in class and capture the GTLM Drivers Championship
  • 8: Number of victories at Road America for Corvette Racing, the most of any entrant in IMSA
  • 8: Pole positions at Road America for Corvette Racing by four different drivers
  • 10: Number of drivers who have won races at Road America for Corvette Racing – Gavin (four); Olivier Beretta (three); Johnny O’Connell (two); and Kelly Collins, Ron Fellows, Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen, Milner, Andy Pilgrim and Jordan Taylor (one each)
  • 12: Fastest race laps for Corvette Racing drivers at Road America. That includes the last three of the last four seasons: Tommy Milner (2019 and 2021) and Antonio Garcia (2020)
  • 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
  • 14: Number of IMSA victories at Road America for Chevrolet, the second-most of any manufacturer in IMSA
  • 22: Number of Road America events for Corvette Racing counting this year’s IMSA race
  • 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
  • 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship
  • 126: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 113 in North America, eight at Le Mans and one in the FIA WEC
  • 278: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999
  • 12,395.03: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 20 previous trips to Road America. That represents 3,054 laps or 105 trips across Lake Michigan.
  • 359,327.91: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back!

Corvette Racing at Road America (wins in bold)

2002

No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GTS (Fellows pole; Gavin fastest race lap)

No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 1st in GTS

2003

No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GTS

No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 5th in GTS (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)

2004

No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GTS

No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTS (Beretta pole, fastest race lap)

2005

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 (Gavin pole, Beretta fastest race lap)

2006

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap)

2007

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1 (Magnussen pole, fastest race lap)

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1

2008

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 3rd in GT1 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)

2009

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 3rd in GT2

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 6th in GT2

2010

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Johnny O’Connell – 4th in GT2

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT2 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)

2011

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner – 14th in GT

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 5th in GT

2012

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GT

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GT

2013

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GT

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 3rd in GT

2014

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM

2015

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM

2016

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GTLM (5th to 1st in final 15 minutes)

2017

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM

2018

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM (Garcia fastest race lap)

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2nd in GTLM

2019

No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTLM (Gavin pole, Milner fastest race lap)

2020

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM (Garcia fastest race lap)

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2nd in GTLM

2021

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLM (Taylor pole)

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 3rd in GTLM (Milner fastest race lap)

2022

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 3rd in GTD PRO

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. 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.

Gresham Wagner Wins Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Race One at Road America

By
Official Release
-

Rookie leaders yield to experienced runners on new pavement

Elkhart Lake, Wisc. (5 August, 2023) – Two young rookies-Jonathan Neudorf (No. 55 Hixon Motor Sports) and Nate Cicero(No. 83 McCumbee McAleer Racing) led the large field of Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich® Tires runners to the green flag at Road America, but when the dust settled and the checkered flag flew, it was a trio of experienced runners who scored the podium bounty in Saturday’s Race One.

Using a recipe that included speed, some patience, wily drafting, doses of aggression, and a timely final caution, 2021 Mazda MX-5 Cup Champion Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) converted third on the grid into a race victory as he was followed across the line by 2022 Mazda MX-5 Cup Champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering). Robert Noaker (No. 13 Robert Noaker Racing) continued to make progress in his series return, moving from fifth at the start to take third.

Neudorf led the field to the green flag, but was quickly overtaken for the lead as Cicero took the point after the first tour of the recently-repaved 4-mile circuit set in rural Wisconsin. Neudorf’s day turned for the worse though after side by side contact with Jeremy Fletcher (No. 22 Copeland Motorsports) saw him head to the pits after losing pressure in one of his BFGoodrich tires.

A full-course caution on lap four to recover Thomas Annunziata (No. 10 Hixon Motor Sports) from the Turn One gravel slowed the field behind Gresham, with Cicero giving chase on the lap six restart.

But two laps later, an incident for Andrew Wilson (No. 49 McCumbee McAleer Racing) saw the field return to single file ahead of a lap 12 restart. Several drafting trains traded positions from corner to corner, with Maximilian Opalski (No. 2 Copeland Motorsports) setting the fastest lap of the race as he dueled with a pack that included Cicero, championship leader Aaron Jeansonne (No. 24 JTR Motorsports Engineering), and John Jodoin (No. 39 McCumbee McAleer Racing).

The yellow flew one final time after Hanna Zellers (No. 74 Hixon Motor Sports) and Joey Rainey (No. 30 Robert Noaker Racing) tangled, giving Wagner the rare chance to breathe easy on the final lap of a Mazda MX-5 Cup race.

“Experience I think plays a role and knowing how these races usually pan out,” said the former series champion. “I mean, this place is unique, there’s kind of a rhythm to how the races go. I also think Nate [Cicero] was right there, he didn’t fall off. He just made one mistake, and that’s all it could take at a place like this, where the draft can eat you up. Jared [Thomas] was really quick too, he was willing to work with me for a large part of that race. Fortunately for me, the yellow came out, because I think it would have gotten a bit dicey there at the end, but I’m sure we’ll have a tougher race this afternoon- everyone learns something so they’ll come back stronger.”

Thomas, who utilized his significant prize package from Mazda for his 2022 championship to grow the JTR Motorsports program, was happy to put his experience to use on the way to second.

“We had so many cautions today and that didn’t really let the race play out,” said Thomas. “But Nate [Cicero] was fast definitely and could have been on the podium if that last caution didn’t come out. But this is one of those places where thinking pretty far ahead can get you some positions. So, I’d say the experience definitely helps— but we had a good good car today and I’m looking forward to the second race later. I think it was a different race than we are used to at Road America, but it was definitely exciting.”

Noaker, who landed himself in the Guinness Book of World Records with his MX-5 Cup race victory at all of 14 years old in 2018, has seen his fortunes continue to improve in his 2023 return to the series.

“This track is definitely one you have to have the knowledge of how the draft works, and who you’re around that’ll help you—and who won’t,” said Noaker. “But with the repave here you kind of have one real good groove around the track, and then everywhere off of that groove is not very good right now. In years past, you could go two wide through basically any turn you want, but now you can’t really do that. Right now, everyone’s huddled up on the inside of the track because you can’t do anything otherwise. I was hoping it would work out, but it just didn’t. It was fun out there though. I just want to thank Velocity Mazda, Slipstream Performance, and Noaker Racing. We’ve been getting better and better throughout the year and it feels like we are getting closer to a win again”

The rookie runners—there are 13 of them in the Road America field—will look to turn the tide on the veterans when the series stages Race Two later on Saturday. The race will be streamed live on RACER.com at 3:45pm ET.

About: The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. The series has been operated by Andersen Promotions since 2017 and is currently sanctioned by IMSA. Mazda-powered grassroots champions can earn Mazda scholarships for this pro-level series. The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup awards more than $1 million in prizes and scholarships.

Find out more at http://www.mx-5cup.com.

Toyota Racing – NCS Michigan Quotes – Christopher Bell – 08.05.23

By
Official Release
-

Toyota Racing – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

BROOKLYN, Mich. (August 5, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to media after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series event at the Michigan International Speedway on Saturday:

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

How does your car feel after qualifying?

“I feel excellent about what I have for sure. It has been a pretty smooth Saturday. In practice, it was very good off the truck and fast and balanced. That is what it is all about at Michigan – having the car comfortable and balanced so you can drive as hard as you need to, to create speed as you need to here in Michigan.”

Can you talk about your turns three and four?

“Round one, I felt really good in (turns) one and two, and I got pretty tight in (turns) three and four. Last year, I almost won the pole, but I felt like I overdrove three and four trying to carry too much throttle. Round one was very similar, where I got tight down there. Round two, I told myself I’m going to try to back up the corner a little bit, and it did. I was able to have a much cleaner corner and didn’t have to use all of the race track out of four. I was glad to finally hit a corner out of my four opportunities here in qualifying.”

Can you talk about what Martin Truex Jr. means to Joe Gibbs Racing?

“Just having Denny (Hamlin) and Martin (Truex Jr.) there adds so much. They’ve been around the sport for so long, that their feedback is invaluable. Myself, I’m still young in this sport, and Ty Gibbs is in his rookie year, so having veteran leadership that kind of steers the ship and says that we need to go down this path is very important. I’m grateful to have him around for a little bit longer.”

What is it about qualifying at Michigan that you’ve been successful with?

“Honestly, I live for those moments in qualifying, where it is right on the edge, full of commitment. Maximum, just right on the edge of being able to hold it wide open. It’s awesome. It’s an adrenaline rush that I love. All of the intermediates with this car have been that way. It seems like we’ve excelled with the 20 car, but qualifying has a slight bearing on the race. There is so many strategy options, and restarts, and pit stops – you are not just going to be able to go out there and lead 200 laps tomorrow. Last year, I thought my car was certainly capable of winning the race and we put ourselves in position and then I wrecked out. This year is more of the same. We’ve got the pieces to do it – we just have to execute tomorrow and see where we stack up.”

When did you find out about Martin?

“I heard earlier this morning from my PR rep (Nancy Padula). Today is when I found out as well.”

Did you have an idea if he was going to return or not?

“So, after he came back last year, I felt like this year was going to not be his farewell tour, as good as he is running. He’s got a couple more wins in him. I guess I was not expecting him to retire this year.”

Do you have the same car from last year?

“Honestly, I have no idea. I would be surprised if it was the same one, but I honestly have no idea.”

What do you think about the restart zone moving at Indianapolis?

“I think it will be better. I still wish we would go single file, but I don’t think that is on the horizon. I think it is going to be less chaotic for sure, but I think the opportunity is still going to be there. We will just have to pay a lot of attention to the Xfinity Series race goes, and the Cup guys will figure out a way.”

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

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – NCS Michigan Qualifying Quotes (8.5.23)

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Firekeepers Casino 400 Qualifying | Saturday, August 5, 2023

Ford Qualifying Results:
4th – Chris Buescher
6th – Joey Logano
9th – Ryan Blaney
12th – Brad Keselowski
18th – Aric Almirola
19th – Chase Briscoe
21st – Austin Cindric
22nd – Kevin Harvick
23rd – Michael McDowell
28th – Ryan Preece
29th – Harrison Burton
32nd – Todd Gilliland
33rd – Cole Custer
36th – JJ Yeley

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang – “That was solid for qualifying here. I was really happy with that and our Castrol Edge Ford Mustang. I felt like after practice: It wasn’t the fastest on the charge, but I felt like we were really close to maximizing potential. I think we were able to do that there. I want a redo in [turns] three and four – see if we can get a little better. But, our one and two were wide-open. So, I’m really happy with that. That’s where we’re going to need to be, and we got that. Just a little down in three and four speed.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang – “I don’t know yet. I got a lot to look at. I don’t know if we’re good or not. The car doesn’t feel awful. It’s just the other cars going faster. So, we have to go back and look at it. Our car is a little on the tight side, and that usually robs a little bit of speed. So, we’ll have to look into that.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang – “I thought we were pretty good in race trim. I feel like our cars have some decent speed on them. But, for qualifying, I don’t know where the speed was. I thought we were plenty good enough to run faster… we just didn’t. Disappointed in that. But, I thought our race car was fairly decent.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – “Yeah, I had it wide-open through [turns] one and two, which was kind of to my surprise. So, I went into three and four – wham. Tried to do the same thing, and I just got a little too greedy – chattered, really tight and lost a lot of time. I left at least a tenth on the table. As close as the field is, I’m a little annoyed at myself. But yeah, definitely a bit more of an eventful day for our Discount Tire Ford Mustang where we would have wanted to. Got about five minutes of practice… just had electrical issues. It seems like probably the E.C.U. We went to bump the starter to start the thing before practice, and it all shut off. A bit annoyed by that, but can’t let that get in the way of a productive day. Honestly, more pissed at myself over that three and four. I just tried to bite off more than I could chew.”

1...1,3591,3601,361...6,658Page 1,360 of 6,658