Hocevar outduels Majeski to win the Truck Series regular-season finale at Richmond

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July 30, 2023

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - JULY 29: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, lifts the Worldwide Express 250 trophy in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway on July 29, 2023 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images).

From starting at the rear of the field to methodically carving his way to the front and executing a late pit strategy to his favor, Carson Hocevar made an emphatic statement about his quest for a NASCAR championship by winning the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, July 29.

The 20-year-old Hocevar from Portage, Michigan, led twice for 64 of 250-scheduled laps in an event where he was set to start in 17th place before a flat tire derailed his event early and he was forced to have the tire changed and start at the rear of the field. Amid a steady gain, while carving his way through the field, Hocevar cracked the top 20 prior to the first stage’s conclusion and would proceed to finish in the top five at the conclusion of the second stage.

Then after dominant pole-sitter Ty Majeski was penalized for speeding on pit road during the second stage’s break period, Hocevar assumed the lead to start the final stage, where he would lead 60 laps. After pitting with select others under green with 40 laps remaining, Hocevar spent the remainder of the event tracking Majeski, who attempted to remain on the track and pilot his way to victory on the exact tires used since the start of the final stage. Hocevar, though, managed to catch and overtake Majeski for the lead with four laps remaining. From there, the Michigan native muscled away with the advantage and cruised to his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of this season and of his career with the regular-season stretch concluding and the 2023 Playoff field set.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, July 28, Ty Majeski claimed his second Truck pole position of the 2023 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 119 mph in 22.689 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Corey Heim, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 118.728 mph in 22.741 seconds.

Prior to the event, Justin Carroll dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his truck. Carson Hocevar would also drop to the rear of the field after he pitted to have a flat tire on his truck changed.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced amid a delay that spanned nearly an hour due to a lightning strike, Majeski rocketed ahead with the lead from the outside lane as the field fanned out through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. With the field continuing to jostle for early spots while fanning out to three lanes entering the frontstretch, Majeski proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of teammate Ben Rhodes, who navigated his No. 99 Campers Inn RV Ford F-150 around Heim for second place.

During the second lap, Majeksi was out in front by three-tenths of a second over teammate Rhodes while Heim, Christian Eckes and Matt Crafton were in the top five. Behind, William Sawalich, who started third, was back in sixth ahead of a side-by-side battle involving rookie Jake Garcia and Matt DiBenedetto, both of whom were vying for spots for the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Majeski was leading by half a second over teammate Rhodes followed by Heim, Eckes and Crafton while Tanner Gray was in sixth ahead of William Sawalich, DiBenedetto, Jake Garcia and Chase Purdy. Behind, Matt Mills, making his first start in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry, was in 11th ahead of Grant Enfinger, rookie Nick Sanchez, Bayley Currey and Zane Smith while Tanner Gray, rookie Rajah Caruth, rookie Daniel Dye, Stewart Friesen and Dean Thompson occupied the top 20.

At the Lap 10 mark, Majeski continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Rhodes while Heim trailed by nearly two seconds. Behind, Eckes and Crafton remained in the top five while Tanner Gray, another competitor vying for a spot for the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs, retained sixth ahead of Sawalich, Garcia, DiBenedetto and Purdy.

Fifteen laps later, Majeski extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over teammate Rhodes while Heim, Eckes and Crafton followed suit in the top five. Meanwhile, Hocevar was in 18th after overtaking rookie Daniel Dye and Friesen on the track.

Another 10 laps later, Majeski continued to extend his advantage to nearly three seconds over teammate Rhodes while third-place Heim trailed by more than five seconds. With Eckes and Crafton retaining fourth and fifth on the track, Jake Garcia was in sixth while Sawalich, DiBenedetto, Purdy and Matt Mills were in the top 10. Behind, Enfinger was in 11th ahead of Tanner Gray, Sanchez, Taylor Gray and Zane Smith while Hocevar was up to 16th on the track.

At the Lap 50 mark, Majeski, who lapped 23rd-place Friesen, a competitor who came into the event nine points below the top-10 cutline to make the Playoffs, a lap earlier, retained the lead by nearly four seconds over teammate Rhodes as third-place Heim trailed by nearly six seconds while Eckes and Crafton occupied the top five ahead of Garcia, Sawalich and DiBenedetto. Despite being marred into more lapped traffic while lapping 19th-place Zane Smith, Majeski continued to lead ahead of teammate Rhodes by Lap 60.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 70, Majeski captured his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season, having led every scheduled lap thus far. Teammate Rhodes followed suit in second while Heim, Eckes, Crafton, Sawalich, Garcia, Purdy, Matt Mills and DiBenedetto were scored in the top 10. By then, 16 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names that included Hailie Deegan, Dean Thompson, Zane Smith, Rajah Caruth, Daniel Dye and Friesen were pinned a lap down. In addition, Corey Heim, who ended up in third place during the first stage’s break period, clinched the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season championship.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Majeski retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Heim, Rhodes, Eckes, Crafton and Sawalich.

The second stage started on Lap 79 as Majeski and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Majeski rocketed ahead with a strong start on the outside lane and entering Turn 1 while Rhodes battled Heim for the runner-up spot through the backstretch. With Rhodes claiming the runner-up spot, teammate Crafton, who came into the event nine points above the Playoff cutline, made it a ThorSport Racing 1-2-3 on the track as he moved his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 to third place over Heim. Heim, however, fought back on Lap 81 as he reclaimed third place before challenging Rhodes for the runner-up spot. Amid the battles, Majeski ran away from the field as he was ahead by eight-tenths of a second.

Soon after, Purdy, who was in sixth and trying to race his way into the Playoff cutline, was assessed a pass-through penalty through pit road for a restart violation as he did not remain in his lane prior to the start/finish line during the second stage’s start. Meanwhile, Majeski extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Heim while Rhodes, Crafton and Eckes followed suit at the Lap 90 mark.

At the Lap 100 mark, Majeski was leading by more than four seconds over Heim followed by Rhodes, Crafton and Eckes while Garcia, Taylor Gray, Hocevar, Sawalich and Enfinger were scored in the top 10. Meanwhile, Tanner Gray was in 11th ahead of Sanchez, DiBenedetto, Ankrum and Matt Mills while Bayley Currey, the final competitor on the lead lap, was in 16th. Meanwhile, Zane Smith, the first competitor a lap down, was mired in 17th ahead of Thompson, Colby Howard and Hailie Deegan while Caruth, Connor Jones, Daniel Dye, Lawless Alan and Friesen were mired in the top 25. In addition, Purdy was in 32nd while two laps behind the leaders.

Ten laps later, the caution flew when Dean Thompson, who was running 18th in front of Deegan, spun in Turn 2 as he would be overtaken by the lead lap field while trying to re-fire his truck.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 116, Heim gained a strong start on the inside lane as he muscled his No. 11 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the lead through Turn 1 and the backstretch. With Heim leading, teammate Rhodes proceeded to challenge Majeski for second while Eckes followed suit in fourth. On Lap 118, however, the caution quickly returned when Justin Carroll spun in Turn 4. At the moment of caution, Deegan had managed to emerge as the first competitor scored a lap down ahead of Friesen and thus, receive the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap.

During the proceeding restart on Lap 124, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Heim fended off a three-wide attempt from Majeski to retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Then during the following lap, which marked the halfway mark of the event, Rhodes muscled his way to the lead through the frontstretch and from the outside lane over Heim. Majeski would follow suit during the next lap as he was locked in a tight side-by-side battle with Heim. As the three-truck battle for the lead involving Rhodes, Majeski and Heim continued to ensue, Majeski reassumed the lead on Lap 129 after overtaking teammate Rhodes through the first two turns. With Majeski out in front over teammate Rhodes and Heim, Eckes settled in fourth followed by Hocevar while Garcia, Crafton, Sawalich, Sanchez and Matt Mills were in the top 10.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 140, Majeski, who extended his advantage to more than four seconds over teammate Rhodes, claimed his second Truck stage victory of the night and fourth of the 2023 season. Teammate Rhodes settled in second while Heim fended off Eckes to claim third. Hocevar, Garcia, Crafton, Sawalich, Sanchez and Matt Mills were scored in the top 10. By then, 18 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while Connor Jones had managed to remain ahead of Friesen to be scored the first competitor a lap down and receive the free pass during the stage’s break period to cycle back on the lead lap.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski returned to pit road for another round of service. Following the pit stops, Majeski initially retained the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of his teammate Rhodes, Hocevar, Heim, Eckes, Crafton and Garcia. Amid the pit stops, however, Majeski was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for speeding while entering pit road.

With 101 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Rhodes and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar gained a strong start from the inside lane as he launched his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead while Eckes and Heim took Rhodes three wide in a battle for the runner-up spot. With Rhodes and Eckes battling dead even for the spot entering Turns 3 and 4, Heim settled in fourth while Garcia, Crafton and Zane Smith followed suit as the event reached its final 100-lap mark.

Five laps later, Hocevar was leading by six-tenths of a second over Rhodes while third-place Eckes trailed by more than a second. With Heim retaining fourth, Zane Smith moved up to fifth after overtaking Crafton and Garcia earlier while Majeski was mired back in 18th.

Another 10 laps later, Hocevar continued to lead by more than a second over Rhodes followed by Eckes, Heim and Zane Smith while Crafton, Garcia, Matt Mills, Tanner Gray and Sawalich were in the top 10. Behind, Enfinger was in 11th ahead of Sanchez, DiBenedetto, Majeski and Tyler Ankrum while Deegan, Currey, Connor Jones, Taylor Gray and Daniel Dye were in the top 20. By then, Friesen was mired in 22nd, the final competitor scored on the lead lap.

Then with 78 laps remaining, late troubles occurred for Josh Reaume, who smacked the outside wall in Turns 1 and 2 due to a flat right-front tire. As Reaume attempted to turn his truck left to enter pit road, he was nearly T-boned by an oncoming DiBenedetto, though Reaume managed to steer his damaged truck to his pit stall and the race remained under green flag conditions. By then, Hocevar retained the lead by more than a second over runner-up Rhodes and more than four seconds over third-place Heim.

With less than 60 laps remaining, Hocevar extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Rhodes while Heim retained third place. By then, Zane Smith was in fourth while Majeski, who re-entered the top five three laps earlier after overtaking Eckes, was in fifth.

Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Hocevar continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than four seconds over a hard-charging Majeski, who overtook Heim and Rhodes during the five previous laps. In addition, Jake Garcia and Matt Mills both made a pit stop a few laps earlier under green.

Two laps later, more green flag pit stops ensued as Zane Smith pitted his No. 38 Boot Barn Ford F-150. Then with 40 laps remaining, Hocevar surrendered the lead to pit under green as Majeski cycled his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 back into the lead. Heim would then pit from the runner-up spot along with Crafton and Sanchez with 36 laps remaining while Rhodes would pit during the following lap. Rhodes would eventually be penalized for a commitment line violation as seven of 36 starters led by Majeski were scored on the lead lap. Currey and Dye would also be penalized for a commitment line violation.

With 25 laps remaining, Majeski was leading by more than 16 seconds over Eckes and more than 19 over Sawalich. Zane Smith, the first competitor who pitted, was in fourth followed by Garcia, who is placed in a “must-win” situation to make the Playoffs while Tanner Gray, DiBenedetto, Taylor Gray and Matt Mills were in the top 10. Behind, Heim was mired in 11th, Crafton was in 13th, Sanchez was in 15th behind Enfinger and Rhodes had fallen back to 16th.

Five laps later, Hocevar, who overtook Zane Smith to be the first competitor running on the track on four fresh tires, was up to second place as he trailed race leader Majeski, who has decided to roll the dice and remain on the track while on worn tires, by more than 15 seconds. By then, Garcia was mired in fourth ahead of teammate Eckes and Sawalich.

Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Majeski, who started to lose ground on his advantage over Hocevar amid his worn tires, retained the lead by more than nine seconds over a hard-charging Hocevar. Majeski would continue to lead by more than five seconds over Hocevar with 10 laps remaining while third-place Zane Smith trailed by more than nine seconds as Garcia and Matt Mills followed pursuit in the top five.

With five laps remaining, Majeski, who was trying to navigate his way through lapped traffic and lost more ground on his advantage, retained the lead by a second over Hocevar, who was also navigating through lapped traffic but had Majeski close within his sights.

Then with four laps remaining, Hocevar gained massive ground on Majeski through the backstretch and overtook him through Turns 3 and 4 to reassume the lead through the frontstretch and with just three laps remaining.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hocevar remained as the leader by more than a second over Majeski. Having the four fresh tires to his advantage and with Majeski unable to mount a late rally on his worn tires, Hocevar was able to smoothly navigate his way around the circuit for a final time and streak across the finish line on four fresh tires to claim his third checkered flag of the 2023 season.

With his third career victory in the series and third of the season, Hocevar became the first competitor to achieve three victories in this year’s Truck season as he also recorded the third victory of the season and the seventh overall for Niece Motorsports. The victory was also a monumental moment for Hocevar, who piloted a Worldwide Express-sponsored truck to the victory in a Worldwide Express-sponsored event as he is one of 10 competitors who will contend for the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series title throughout a seven-race Playoff stretch.

“Man, I suck at this place and Niece Motorsports, ourselves, we’ve sucked terrible,” Hocevar said on FS1. “That [truck’s] splitter’s gone because we had a flat tire before we even went. We passed every single truck here. [Majeski] was class of the field, but I thought we were second, and when we won with (the) second best truck because I had the first best pit crew and first best crew chief [Phil Gould] on the [pit] box. I just love it. We’ve won two of our competitors’ title races and it sucks seeing our Worldwide Express trophy get handed to a Toyota [competitor]. We had to take it home and there’s gonna be a lot of happy faces. We’re gonna celebrate.”

While Hocevar was left victorious in Victory Lane, Majeski, who had already secured his spot for the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs prior to tonight’s event at Richmond, was left disappointed on pit road after leading a race-high 168 laps and falling short of notching his first victory of the season.

“[I was] Helpless,” Majeski said. “I just didn’t have enough there. Obviously, [I] made a mistake speeding on pit road. If I don’t speed on pit road, I feel like that strategy still wins. But regardless, we had a chance to win even with the penalty. I don’t know. It’s just disappointing. What an unbelievable race truck. That thing was so fast tonight. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a dominant vehicle that much better than the rest of the field. To not win with it, it is incredibly disappointing. Everyone’s working really hard at ThorSport [Racing] to get these trucks where they need to be for us for these Playoffs. This one’s gonna sting. Man, I’m so disappointed in myself, but we win and lose as a team. We can go make another run at the Playoffs.”

Zane Smith came home in third place while rookie Jake Garcia and Matt Mills earned strong top-five results. Heim, the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season champion, ended up sixth while Crafton, Sanchez, Enfinger and William Sawalich finished in the top 10.

With their respective results of seventh, eighth and 17th, Matt Crafton, Nick Sanchez and Matt DiBenedetto secured the final three vacant spots in the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs, with Crafton claiming the final transfer spot by 39 points over Stewart Friesen, who concluded his long night in 27th place.

“We live to fight another day,” Crafton said. “[We got to] Kick [the competition’s] teeth in.”

“[We] Brought a dull knife to a gunfight tonight,” Friesen said. “It is what it is.”

Corey Heim, Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes, rookie Nick Sanchez, Matt DiBenedetto and Matt Crafton have made the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs and will embark on a seven-race Playoff stretch to contend for this year’s series title. Stewart Friesen, Tanner Gray, Chase Purdy, Tyler Ankrum, Hailie Deegan, Colby Howard, Dean Thompson, Lawless Alan and Spencer Boyd along with a bevy of rookies that included Jake Garcia, Taylor Gray, Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth and Bret Holmes were among the remaining full-time competitors who did not make the Playoffs.

There were nine lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 27 laps. While all 36 starters finished the event, seven finished on the lead lap.

Results.

1. Carson Hocevar, 64 laps led

2. Ty Majeski, 168 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

3. Zane Smith

4. Jake Garcia

5. Matt Mills

6. Corey Heim, nine laps led

7. Matt Crafton

8. Nick Sanchez, one lap down

9. Grant Enfinger, one lap down

10. William Sawalich, one lap down

11. Christian Eckes, one lap down

12. Ben Rhodes, one lap down

13. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

14. Taylor Gray, one lap down

15. Hailie Deegan, one lap down

16. Tanner Gray, one lap down

17. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

18. Bayley Currey, two laps down

19. Rajah Caruth, two laps down

20. Connor Jones, two laps down

21. Daniel Dye, two laps down

22. Chase Purdy, two laps down

23. Timmy Hill, two laps down

24. Colby Howard, three laps down

25. Dean Thompson, three laps down

26. Will Rodgers, three laps down

27. Stewart Friesen, three laps down

28. Lawless Alan, three laps down

29. Bret Holmes, three laps down

30. Ryan Vargas, four laps down

31. Justin Carroll, five laps down

32. Christian Rose, six laps down

33. Derek Lemke, seven laps down

34. Mason Massey, eight laps down

35. Spencer Boyd, 10 laps down

36. Josh Reaume, 11 laps down

The 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs are set to start at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Indiana, on August 11, with the event’s coverage to occur at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

Rear Gear Foils Connor Mosack in Road America 180

By

Official Release

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July 29, 2023

Mechanical Issue Derails Determined Comeback Bid and
Leaves Driver of No. 19 Porter Pipe & Supply Toyota GR Supra 29th

Date: Saturday, July 29

Event: Road America 180

Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series

Location: Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (4.048-mile, 14-turn road course)

Format: 45 laps, broken into three stages (22 laps/12 laps/11 laps)

Start/Finish: 7th / 29th (Rear gear, completed 44 of 49 laps)

Race Winner: Sam Mayerof JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Note: Race extended four laps past its scheduled 45-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Overview:

A determined, late-race rally fell by the wayside for Connor Mosack in Saturday’s Road America 180 NASCAR Xfinity Series race when a rear-gear issue forced the Charlotte, North Carolina, native to park his No. 19 Porter Pipe & Supply Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) during the race’s first of two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish. Mosack qualified seventh and maintained his position in the top-10 for most of the opening stage despite his battles with a loose condition in the high-speed corners of Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit, as well as a braking issue. He finished the stage 12th. After myriad adjustments by the JGR crew, Mosack jumped three positions on the opening lap of the second stage. He made his way up to seventh as the stage was coming to a close before he was spun off track in turn six as a result of contact with Josh Berry, which dropped him back to 30th. Undaunted, Mosack made up 16 positions over the next nine laps and lined up 14th for the fateful lap-44 restart, during which the rear-gear issue ended his bid.

Connor Mosack driver of the No. 19 Porter Pipe & Supply Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing:

“Struggled a little bit at the beginning. I feel like the balance wasn’t bad, we were just a little loose in the high-speed stuff, especially through the Carousel and the Kink. But I thought we could really maintain or be a little bit better everywhere else. The brakes were really good for a few laps in the run and then we started having issues with that. It might’ve been something I was doing, or they just might not have been getting cool enough, but something to look at, for sure. I feel like we were managing that through the whole race and seemed to get them better. We were working our way toward the front until we got turned around by the 8 (Josh Berry) in turn six. That kind of killed our progress, but I thought we still had enough time to come back and get a good finish. But with what happened on our last restart, we didn’t have a chance to race there at the end. I just hate it for our Porter Pipe & Supply guys. It’s two races in a row I feel like we had a good car and didn’t have a good finish to show for it. I think we probably had a top-five car, at least, the cars that ended up finishing in the top-five are the ones we were racing for the majority of the day. Especially with all the chaos there at the end, I think we would’ve at least had a shot at it, but we’ll never know, now.”

Notes:

● This was Mosack’s 15th career NASCAR Xfinity Series start and his 13th of the season. It was his third start of 2023 with Joe Gibbs Racing.

● Mosack qualified seventh for the Road America 180 with a lap of 132.410 seconds at an average speed of 110.058 mph around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course. It was his second straight top-10 qualifying effort and his third top-10 qualifying performance in his last four Xfinity Series starts.

Next Up:

Mosack heads to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, where he will pull double duty, competing in the ARCA Menards Series race on Friday and the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday. Mosack will drive the No. 18 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Henry Ford Health 200 ARCA race on Aug. 4 and the No. 24 Toyota GR Supra for Sam Hunt Racing in the Cabo Wabo 250 Xfinity Series race on Aug. 5. The Henry Ford Health 200 gets underway at 6 p.m. EDT on Friday with live coverage on FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The Cabo Wabo 250 starts at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday with live coverage on NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Sam Mayer scores first Xfinity career victory at Road America in wild double overtime finish

By

Andrew Kim

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July 29, 2023

ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN - JULY 29: Sam Mayer, driver of the #1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Road America 180 at Road America on July 29, 2023 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images).

On a day where veteran Justin Allgaier dominated, teammate Sam Mayer captured the main spotlight and the delight of his home crowd with his first NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory in the 14th annual running of the Henry 180 at Road America on Saturday, July 29.

The 20-year-old Mayer from Franklin, Wisconsin, led the final two of 49 over-scheduled laps in an event that was dominated by teammate Allgaier, but marred with late caution periods and incidents that sent the event into two overtime attempts. During the second and final overtime attempt, Mayer capitalized in a battle with Allgaier, Sage Karam and Parker Kligerman to move into the lead for the first time prior to the final lap. With the lead in his possession, Mayer smoothly navigated his way around his home track for a final time and fended off Kligerman to triumph for the first time in his 71st career start in the Xfinity Series.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, July 28, AJ Allmendinger notched his second Xfinity pole of the 2023 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 111.606 mph in 130.574 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Cole Custer, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 111.352 mph in 130.872 seconds.

Prior to the event, several names that included Kyle Weatherman, Josh Berry, Joe Graf Jr., Ryan Sieg and Ryan Ellis dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. Daniel Hemric and Alex Labbe also dropped to the rear of the field due to engine change to their respective entries while Brandon Jones, rookie Sammy Smith and Jeremy Clements started at the rear of the field in backup entries.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Allmendinger rocketed ahead with the lead entering the first turn while the field behind jostled for positions amid two stacked lanes. The field continued to jostle for positions through Turns 2 to 4 before entering a long straightaway prior to a braking zone in Turn 5 as Allmendinger maintained the lead. As Custer and Allgaier battled for the runner-up spot through Turns 6 and 7, Allmendinger started to extend his advantage and muscle away from the pack entering Turns 8 to 10. Following another series of turns from the Kink in Turn 11, Canada Corner in Turn 12 and towards Turns 13 and 14 before entering the long uphill climb to the frontstretch, Allmendinger proceeded to lead the first lap.

By the second lap, Allmendinger extended his advantage to nearly three seconds over runner-up Allgaier followed by Custer while Sam Mayer and Riley Herbst battled for fourth.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Allmendinger continued to lead by less than four-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Allgaier while third-place Custer trailed by eight-tenths of a second in his No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang. Behind, Herbst and Mayer were still in the top five while John Hunter Nemechek, Sage Karam, Kaz Grala, Sheldon Creed and Connor Mosack were in the top 10. By then, Austin Hill, coming off his victory at Pocono Raceway, was in 11th ahead of Parker Kligerman, Brett Moffitt, rookie Chandler Smith and rookie Sammy Smith while Josh Bilicki, Daniel Hemric, Josh Williams, Jeb Burton and Josh Berry occupied the top 20.

Not long after and still during the fifth lap, the battle for the lead ignited as Allgaier gained a run and overtook Allmendinger entering the braking zone in Turn 5. Custer followed suit in the runner-up spot while Allmendinger fell back to third. Custer would then settle within close quarters of Allgaier’s rear bumper in his attempt to gain the lead, but the latter did not relent as he proceeded to lead the following lap.

Two laps later, Custer, who continued to stalk Allgaier, attempted to make a move beneath Allgaier entering Turn 6. Allgaier, however, fought back while running the outside lane before gaining the upper lane entering Turn 7. Custer then tried to feign a move on Allgaier for another lead attempt entering Turn 8, but Allgaier kept his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro out in front with the top spot. By then, Allmendinger was trailing the two leaders by more than two seconds while Herbst and Mayer remained in the top five.

Then on the ninth lap, the first caution period of the event flew when Katherine Legge stalled her car in between Turns 5 and 6. The caution period for Legge’s issue served as the competition caution planned for Lap 10 as Allgaier was scored the lead ahead of Custer, Herbst, Mayer and Allmendinger while Nemechek, Karam, Grala, Mosack and Austin Hill were scored in the top 10.

During the competition caution period, the entire lead lap field led by Allgaier pitted for a non-competitive pit service.

When the race proceeded under green on Lap 12, where Allgaier and Allmendinger occupied the front row, Allgaier fended off Allmendinger through the first turn to retain the lead as Custer drew himself into a side-by-side battle with Allmendinger for the runner-up spot. As the field battled through close-quarters racing from Turns 2 to Turn 5, Allmendinger forced his way into the runner-up spot over Custer, who then quickly blocked Mayer to retain third place, while Allgaier retained the lead. With the field then filing in a long single file line through the remaining nine turns, Allgaier, who led the proceeding lap, started to extend his advantage to nearly a second over Allmendinger while Custer trailed by more than a second.

At the Lap 15 mark, Allgaier was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Allmendinger followed by Custer, who trailed by more than a second, while Sage Karam and Mayer battled dead even for fourth place in front of Nemechek and Herbst. Behind, Grala was in eighth followed by Austin Hill and Mosack while Sammy Smith, Kligerman, Creed, Bilicki, Moffitt, Hemric, Jeb Burton, Chandler Smith, Berry and Alex Labbe were in the top 20.

Six turns later, Custer overtook Allmendinger to reclaim the runner-up spot. By then, Karam, who overtook Mayer in Turn 1, retained the spot followed by Mayer, Nemechek, Herbst and Grala, all of whom battled intensely towards the front, as Allgaier retained the lead.

The following lap, Mayer got loose and briefly went off the course entering Turn 6 as Nemechek overtook him for fifth place. By the time Mayer returned to the track, he fell back to seventh as Herbst also overtook him. Meanwhile, Allgaier stretched his advantage to more than a second over Custer while third-place Allmendinger trailed by more than three seconds.

On Lap 17 and amid a series of on-track battles occurring towards the front, Dexter Stacey spun in Turn 1, but the event remained under green flag conditions as Allgaier extended his advantage to more than three seconds over runner-up Custer and more than four seconds over third-place Allmendinger. By then, Nemechek was up in fourth while Karam was in fifth.

Three laps later and at the Lap 20 mark, the caution flew when Chandler Smith, who was battling Berry for 17th, had parts and pieces flying out beneath his No. 16 Quick Tie Chevrolet Camaro due to a brake rotor failure through the frontstretch. With no alternative option to slow his car, he then steered his car left and off the course to try to scrub speed while veering through the grass before slamming into the wall driver’s side at full speed before his car with the entire left side sheet metal from the car shredded off came to a stop near Turn 1. Despite his event coming to an early end, Smith emerged uninjured. The caution for Smith’s incident served as the concluding period of the first stage segment scheduled for Lap 22 as Allgaier, who had extended his advantage to more than three seconds, claimed his sixth stage victory of the 2023 season. Custer settled in second while Allmendinger, John Hunter Nemechek, Karam, Herbst, Kaz Grala, Austin Hill, Mayer and Sammy Smith were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the field, led by Allgaier returned to pit road for non-competitive pit service spanning for three minutes.

The second stage started on Lap 24 as Allgaier and Custer occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier fended off Custer to retain the lead entering Turn 1 before pulling ahead entering Turns 2 and 3. Then through Turn 3, trouble ignited as Herbst got bumped by Nemechek as Herbst spun, which caused the entire field to scatter and Austin Hill to go off the course, while Ryan Ellis also spun and collided with Herbst. With the field then jostling amid two lanes entering the braking zone in Turn 5 before navigating from Turns 6 to 10, the caution returned when Herbst, who came into the event 26 points above the top-12 cutline to make the 2023 Xfinity Series Playoffs, stalled his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang on the course in Turn 3.

During the following restart on Lap 27, Allgaier and Allmendinger dueled for the lead amid a stacked restart before Allmendinger went wide and briefly off the course through Turn 1. This allowed Allgaier to rocket away with the lead followed by Custer and Grala while Allmendinger fell back to fourth in front of Mayer, Karam, Parker Kligerman and Nemechek. As the field fanned out from Turns 3 to 8 with bumping within the field and jostling for positions occurring, Allgaier pulled away from the Custer as Grala, Karam and Allmendinger were in the top five. Then through the Kink corner, Nemechek, who was mired in 10th and was placed in a tight three-wide battle in Turn 5 that involved teammate Connor Mosack, briefly went off the course and dropped to 12th. Nemechek would then go off the course again, this time in the braking zone in Turn 5 during the following lap, as he was strapped in 14th while Allgaier maintained the lead over a hard-charging Custer.

At the Lap 30 mark, Allgaier continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Custer while third-place Karam trailed in third place by more than three seconds. Karam’s teammate Grala was in fourth followed by Allmendinger while Mayer, Kligerman, Berry, Mosack and Hemric were in the top 10.

A lap later, more trouble struck for Nemechek, who went off the course entering Turn 13 and hit the access road as he plowed through the grass and ripped the front splitter of his No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Supra. As Nemechek tried to return to the course, he struggled to steer his car to the right in Turn 14, which caused a hard-charging Austin Hill to go off the course as he was trying to navigate his way around Nemechek, while Herbst spun behind for a second time in Turn 14 as the rest of the field scattered to avoid the carnage. Amid the issues, the caution flag returned as Nemechek’s event came to an end.

With the event restarting for a one-lap shootout to conclude the second stage period, Allgaier retained the lead over Custer as the field fanned out to nearly three lanes entering Turn 1. With Custer following suit in second followed by Karam, Allmendinger, Grala and Kligerman, Allgaier continued to lead through the frontstretch and entering the braking zone in Turn 5. Allgaier remained out in front through Turns 6 to 11 as more battles ensued behind. Despite Custer’s late effort in gaining a run entering Canada Corner in Turn 12, Allgaier did not flinch for the final two turns and proceeded to claim his second Xfinity stage victory of the day and seventh of the year at the second stage’s concluding period on Lap 34. Custer settled in second while Karam, Allmendinger, Mayer, Grala, Berry, Kligerman, Sammy Smith and Josh Bilicki were scored in the top 10.

Following another round of non-competitive pit stops for the entire field that spanned three minutes, the final stage started with nine laps remaining as Allgaier and Custer occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier rocketed ahead with the lead through the frontstretch and entering Turn 1 while Custer briefly went off the course in Turn 1. This allowed Sage Karam to move into the runner-up spot through Turns 2 and 3 followed by Mayer while Custer fell back to fourth alongside Grala. With the field fanning out to two lanes before settling in a single file line approaching the frontstretch, Allgaier stretched his advantage to more than a second over a three-car battle ensuring between Mayer, Custer and Karam as Mayer received a push from Custer through the frontstretch to move into the runner-up spot. Custer then tried to make his move beneath Mayer through Turns 5 and 6 during the following lap, but the latter retained the spot as Allmendinger tried to join the battle. This, however, allowed Allgaier to muscle ahead as he was leading by more than two seconds.

Then with seven laps remaining, the caution returned for a hard single-car accident involving Alex Labbe, who was running 13th, lost his brakes through the frontstretch and collided head-on into the tire barriers in Turn 1 at full speed. Despite climbing out of his demolished No. 08 Compass Team Schuler Ford Mustang before laying down on the ground, Labbe emerged uninjured as he was slowly escorted to the ambulance and to the infield care center. At the exact timing of Labbe’s wreck, Creed, who endured numerous on-track issues throughout the event, was shown to have sustained a flat right-rear tire on his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro.

Down to the final four laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Allgaier and Custer occupied the front row ahead of Mayer and Allmendinger. At the start, Allgaier wasted no time launching away from the field as he rocketed away through the first turn while teammate Mayer followed suit in second as he overtook Custer for the spot. With Custer being challenged by Karam for third through Turn 3, Allgaier continued to lead through a long straightaway before entering the braking zone in Turn 5. The braking zone would serve as the site where the caution returned when Berry got loose and made contact with Sammy Smith which caused Smith to turn sideways and collide into the side of Allmendinger’s No. 10 LeafHome Water Solutions Chevrolet Camaro. With both Smith and Allmendinger spinning entering Turn 5, Custer was collected as Smith collided with him as both, including Allmendinger, veered off the right-hand side of the turn while Karam just avoided the incident. The multi-car incident, which damaged Sammy Smith and Allmendinger’s cars while also breaking the rear axle off of Custer’s Mustang, would send the event into overtime.

At the start of the first overtime attempt, where teammates Allgaier and Karam occupied the front row ahead of Mayer and Berry, Allgaier retained the lead through the frontstretch and entering the first turn while Karam settled in second. As Mayer occupied third, Kligerman made his move up to fourth followed by Grala while Berry fell back to sixth. The field continued to jostle and battle dead even for spots around the circuit as Allgaier maintained the lead entering Turn 8. Shortly after, the caution returned and the event was sent into a second overtime attempt when Connor Mosack, who had smoke billowing out of his No. 19 Porter Pipe and Supply Toyota Supra entry and was leaking fluid, came to a stop just off the course in Turn 6. The event would then be placed in a red flag period due to the extensive fluid that spewed on the track from Mosack’s entry.

Once the red flag period was lifted amid a delay that spanned nearly 10 minutes, the start of the second overtime attempt featured Allgaier and Kligerman lining up dead even on the front row ahead of Karm, Berry, Mayer and Grala. At the start, Allgaier received a strong shove from Karam to rocket ahead of Kligerman with the lead through the frontstretch and entering Turn 1. As Allgaier continued to lead Karam through Turns 2 and 3, the field behind fanned out and jostled for spots as Mayer tried to join the battle between the two leaders. Then exiting Turn 5, Allgaier got loose, which allowed Karam to muscle ahead in his No. 24 Carousel Online Toyota Supra with the lead through Turn 6. Then as Mayer, Karam and Allgaier went three wide for the lead through Turns 7 and 8, Allgaier slipped sideways in Turn 8, went off the course and spun as his hopes of winning the race were evaporating.

Back at the front, Karam, who also went wide with Mayer in Turn 8 but managed to keep his car running straight, retained the lead through Turns 9 and 10 with Mayer closing in. Karam then got loose through the Kink, but he maintained the lead as the field approached Canada Corner. Then through Canada Corner, Mayer tried to make a move to Karam’s outside, but he went wide as Karam retained the lead. Just then, Karam went off the course entering Turn 13, which allowed Kligerman to move his No. 48 Spiked Light Coolers Chevrolet Camaro into the lead. Mayer then made slight contact with Kligerman in Turn 14 as he moved his No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet Camaro into the lead while Karam fell back to fourth.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Mayer, the hometown hero, was leading a four-car breakaway from the field that included Kligerman, Austin Hill and Karam. While leading throughout the 14-turn circuit for a final time, Mayer was able to place a reasonable gap between himself and Kligerman without slipping through the turns and corners. As Kligerman tried to close back towards Mayer’s rear bumper through Turns 13 and 14, the gap was large enough for Kligerman to not draw close to Mayer’s rear bumper as Mayer was able to make the final uphill climb to the finish line and claim his first checkered flag in the Xfinity circuit.

With the victory, Mayer, a two-time ARCA Menards Series East champion in 2019-20, became the fourth first-time winner of the 2023 Xfinity Series season and the 175th competitor overall to win in the Xfinity circuit. He also became the 14th different winner in the series 14-year running at Road America and the sixth to claim a first NASCAR Xfinity triumph at Road America as he recorded the second victory of the season and the 75th overall in the Xfinity circuit for JR Motorsports. The victory was also the first for crew chief Mardy Lindley, a former Craftsman Truck Series crew chief for Kyle Busch Motorsports, in the Xfinity circuit and the first for JRM’s No. 1 entry since teammate Josh Berry won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September 2021.

“Oh my god,” Mayer said on NBC. “It was just about getting track position. We had [the lead] there at the end. I lost it for a second and then, all hell broke loose there at the end. We ended up on top. This team, it’s so special to get that first win and that monkey off your back. It feels so good. I felt it all day, like if I can do this one, I can do anything, and we came here today and did that. All’s well that ends well, I guess.”

Amid the late turn of events, Kligerman settled in a career-best runner-up result while Austin Hill, who emerged as the new leader in the regular-season standings, came home in third place. Sage Karam, who was two laps away from notching his first NASCAR victory, settled in a career-best fourth place while Herbst rallied late to finish fifth.

Berry, Grala, Josh Bilicki, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones finished in the top 10. Notably, Daniel Hemric ended up 11th, Parker Retzlaff ended up as the highest-finishing rookie in 14th and Allgaier fell back to 18th.

There were two lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 15 laps. In addition, 27 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

With six Xfinity regular-season events remaining on the schedule, Austin Hill leads the regular-season standings by 14 points over John Hunter Nemechek, 40 over Justin Allgaier and 84 over Cole Custer.

Results.

1. Sam Mayer, two laps led

2. Parker Kligerman

3. Austin Hill

4. Sage Karam

5. Riley Herbst

6. Josh Berry

7. Kaz Grala

8. Josh Bilicki

9. AJ Allmendinger, five laps led

10. Brandon Jones

11. Daniel Hemric

12. Jeb Burton

13. Ryan Sieg

14. Parker Retzlaff

15. Brennan Poole

16. Anthony Alfredo

17. Blaine Perkins

18. Justin Allgaier, 42 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

19. Brad Perez

20. Kyle Weatherman

21. Josh Williams

22. Patrick Emerling

23. Joe Graf Jr.

24. Stanton Barrett

25. Dexter Stacey

26. Sheldon Creed

27. Jeremy Clements

28. Leland Honeyman – OUT, Transmission

29. Connor Mosack – OUT, Rear gear

30. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

31. Sammy Smith – OUT, Accident

32. Kyle Sieg – OUT, Brakes

33. Alex Labbe – OUT, Accident

34. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident

35. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Accident

36. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Hub

37. Chandler Smith – OUT, Accident

38. Katherine Legge – OUT

Next on the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ lone visit of the season to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, August 5, at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Toyota Racing – NXS Road America Post-Race Report – 07.29.23

By

Official Release

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July 29, 2023

SAM HUNT RACING EARNS BEST DAY IN TEAM HISTORY AT ROAD AMERICA
Sage Karam finishes fourth in Toyota debut, Kaz Grala seventh

RICHMOND, Va. (July 29, 2023) – Sage Karam earned a career-best fourth-place finish in his Toyota and Sam Hunt Racing debut, while his teammate Kaz Grala brought his Toyota GR Supra home in seventh. Those results completed the best weekend in Sam Hunt Racing history as Karam and Grala put the team’s two Supras in the top-10 in qualifying before the duo ran every lap inside the top-10 of the 49-lap event.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Road America
Race 19 of 33 – 182.16 miles, 45 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Sam Mayer*

2nd, Parker Kligerman*

3rd, Austin Hill*

4th, SAGE KARAM

5th, Riley Herbst*

7th, KAZ GRALA

24th, STANTON BARRETT

25th, DEXTER STACEY

29th, CONNOR MOSACK

31st, SAMMY SMITH

34th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

SAGE KARAM, No. 24 Carousel Online Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

Was it the speedy dry that got you there on the final laps?

“Yeah, unfortunately. I was the first one to the speedy dry, and right when I hit it, it was like hitting rain. I couldn’t do anything. But I can’t thank Sam Hunt Racing enough, Toyota. It has been an absolute pleasure to drive this No. 24 Carousel Online Toyota GR Supra. It’s been an absolute blast all weekend. The car has been so fast, as fast as Xfinity 10 G. It’s been an absolute pleasure, and I hope this leads to some more opportunities down the road. It’s really fun when you can battle up front with those guys. Those guys are really good here in the Xfinity Series – they are the best out there – and when you can be doing aggressive restarts like that with Justin (Allgaier) and Sam (Mayer) and have a shot at it is a really good feeling.”

What is the significance of running up front all day like you did today?

“I’ve made the decision that I want to be here full-time. This is what I’ve been trying to do, and I’ve been chasing the stock car dream now. This is my 20th race in Xfinity, getting the experience under my belt. I feel like when things go right, we can have good results – today everything went right, and the team gave me a great car. Our Toyota was great. It makes the driver’s job really easy when that’s all in the cards for us and I can go out there and focus on driving. We didn’t have to worry about pit stop, anything like that. It was all just focus forward and driving. That was pure race. That is what I love to do. Went for it – just speedy dry.”

KAZ GRALA, No. 26 Fire Department Coffee Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

How was your race?

“Really solid day here for Sam Hunt Racing. We brought a couple of really good Supras and had a clean day. That is what we needed to do with the speed that we had. Stage points in every stage, top-10 finish. Really good points day for us compared to who we are racing, so thrilled with the outcome. Cool to send Fire Department Coffee off with a really good run with their last primary race scheduled with us this year. I think we had the speed to contend up front for the win. If we had a couple of restarts go our way, that didn’t go our way, we absolutely would have been in contention for the win there. Definitely proud of everybody. We’ve made some massive gains on our road course stuff here as a company, and excited that we’ve got three more on the schedule that we will be able to race for the win at, like we did today.”

SAM HUNT, team owner, Sam Hunt Racing

Can you talk about the weekend as a whole?

“It was an incredible weekend with one in the top-five and the other in the top-10. Earlier this year, we had our first double top-10, and now we have a top-five, top-10 combo. Really special day for us. I’m just excited to see the progress and the process that everybody is buying into. It is working. Kaz (Grala) and Sage (Karam) did a phenomenal job all weekend. We unloaded with speed, and we ran up front all day. I know the 24 guys have had some misfortune this year and I feel like they’ve done such a great job as a team. I’m just happy to see them get the result that they deserve, and the 26 guys too with a big points day. Just a really special one. We were so close to that first win. We are getting closer and closer. Just can’t thank everybody at Toyota, TRD, Fire Department Coffee, Carosuel Online for making this weekend happen. The future looks really good for us.”

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.

BMW Finds Speed on Final Day of IMSA Open Test at IMS

By

Official Release

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July 29, 2023

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, July 29, 2023) – One day after Porsche led the first two sessions of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Open Test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, it was time for its German rival BMW to show its speed.

Connor De Phillippi led a 1-2 performance by BMW M Team RLL – fielded by NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winners Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – in the last two sessions of the two-day test on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. Former Star Mazda (now USF Pro 2000) driver De Phillippi’s best lap was 1 minute, 14.655 seconds in RLL’s No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 that competes in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

De Phillippi, Jesse Krohn and NTT INDYCAR SERIES star Colton Herta shared the team’s No. 24 and No. 25 cars and found speed in both prototype machines. Krohn turned the second-quickest lap overall Saturday, 1:14.758, in the No. 24 car.

Both those laps were quicker than the top time recorded in two sessions Friday, a 1:15.244 by Tijmen van der Helm in the No. 5 JDC Miller Motorsports Porsche 963. The RLL BMW team made big improvements Saturday, as its quickest time Friday was 1:15.498 by De Phillippi, more than seven-tenths of a second slower than Saturday.

“It was good today,” De Phillippi said. “We worked on a lot of different areas of the car, made some good steps on the systems side, understanding a few of the areas I feel like we’ve been weak on. So, I feel like we have a better understanding of the direction we need to go.

“I don’t think we have it totally figured out, but at least we have a direction. Really proud of the team. It was a productive two days.”

Four-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Sebastien Bourdais was third quickest overall Saturday at 1:14.809 in the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-LMDh fielded by NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship winners Chip Ganassi Racing.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams and drivers tested Friday and Saturday to prepare for the return of the series to IMS for the first time since 2014 at the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on Sept. 15-17.

In the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP3) class, Mikkel Jensen was quickest at 1:16.532 in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA prototype. Matthew Bell led the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class for the second straight day, stopping the clocks at 1:21.209 in the No. 13 AWA machine, an improvement over his best lap of 1:21.401 on Friday.

The sole GT Daytona Pro (GTD Pro) team that tested Friday, Vasser Sullivan Racing, didn’t turn any laps Saturday. Misha Goikhberg led the GT Daytona (GTD) class at 1:24.192 in the No. 78 Forte Racing Powered by USRT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, the quickest lap over both days for the class.

All five classes will compete simultaneously during the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks, with the nearly 10-second gap in lap times between the GTP and GTD cars ensuring plenty of action and drama as quicker prototypes navigate lapped traffic of the production-appearing GTD classes.

In testing for the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, which showcases the latest high-performance production sports cars, coupes, hatchbacks and sedans, Eric Filgueiras was quickest in the Grand Sport (GS) class with a lap of 1:30.680 in the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS. That time, set during the first session Saturday, was considerably quicker than the top GS lap Friday of 1:31.865 by Eric Foss in the No. 56 Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 of Murillo Racing.

The No. 33 Hyundai Elantra N fielded by Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian remained atop the Touring Car Racing (TCR) class, but this time Harry Gottsacker was the quickest driver. Gottsacker’s time of 1:32.388 during the second session topped the best Friday time in the class of 1:33.315 set by his teammate and co-driver, NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indianapolis 500 veteran Robert Wickens.

For more information or to buy tickets for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on Sept. 15-17, visit IMS.com.

IMSA at IMS: Cadillac completes successful test

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Official Release

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July 29, 2023

Cadillac V-Series.Rs lay foundation for the September race on road course

INDIANAPOLIS (July 29, 2023) – A sweltering two-day IMSA-sanctioned test on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course that incorporates sections of the famous oval helped Cadillac Racing lay the foundation for its race return visit in seven weeks.

The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, co-driven by Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, and the Grand Touring Prototype championship-leading No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R with Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims sharing time behind the wheel totaled 453 laps.

The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 14.809 seconds (117.370 mph) – third overall – while the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R posted a best lap of 1:15.039 (117.010 mph) during the four sessions of preparation for the Sept. 17 TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks.

The 2-hour, 40-minute penultimate race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season will mark the return of the top class of sports car racing to the IMS road course since the 2012-14 NASCAR Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series races as part of the NASCAR Brickyard weekend.

Bourdais, who co-drove a Daytona Prototype with Alex Popow to victory in the 2012 race on the 2.534-mile IMS road course, has also made 10 INDYCAR starts since 2014 on the revised layout with a best finish of fourth in 2014, ’15 and 2018.

“It’s a very different era for the cars,” said Bourdais, who has also made nine starts in the Indianapolis 500. “This one is a completely different challenge, but the feel is quite similar. It’s tough to qualify, but it never hurts to have a bit more experience at a place like this. I went in the car (for the opening session), and we were up to speed really quick. Right away, you have some references that come right back to mind and you have to slow it down a bit. But, overall, you can move very natural compared to some other tracks.”

Van der Zande previously competed in two sports car races at IMS, while Derani and Sims will compete for the first time at the facility that opened in 1909.

The four drivers will quickly turn their attention to Road America and the 2-hour, 40-minute race Aug. 6. Cadillac Racing posted eight podium finishes on the 4-mile, 14-turn racecourse in the DPi era, including victory in 2021 (Derani and Felipe Nasr).

In addition to Derani and Sims pacing the Driver/Team Championship points, Cadillac Racing sits atop the GTP Manufacturer Championship standings.

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani: “It’s the first time here in a long time for IMSA and the first time for the GTP cars, so we’re trying to understand what we need. We have a race coming up soon and we’re in the fight for the championship, so you want to take advantage of a couple of days’ testing. The weather is very hot and likely quite different from what it will be in mid-September, but nevertheless a test that is valuable to us for information so that we can get here with a good and strong car straight out of the truck.”

Alexander Sims: “It’s been a very constructive test. The car has worked well and we’ve learned a lot by being able to have lots of continuous running and do lots of setup adjustments and things with the systems. This is my first time here and I got dialed into the track quite quickly. It’s not one of the more demanding tracks from a sort of braveness point of view, but nevertheless it’s very technical and you have to find a good rhythm. It’s tough to know what the weather conditions will be in seven weeks when we’re back, but the fundamentals of what the track requires from a setup point of view are there, so it’s helpful to be able to run through those in our Cadillac V-Series.R.”

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Renger van der Zande: “It’s special for us with the Ganassi team and their families living here close to the Speedway. I’m happy that we are testing and trying things on the car that we’ve had on mind but couldn’t try because of limited time on race weekends. From that perspective, it’s already very successful and we seem to have some speed in the car as well. I think in GTP at the moment that it’s clear that the cars are very equal in lap times, so small differences can make for a step forward in qualifying for the race.”

Sebastien Bourdais: “Obviously it’s great to be back here at the Speedway. It’s going to be a great event for IMSA and something that everybody wants to be part of. Indianapolis is a great motor racing town, and it was very much desired by the crowd to put something together here. It’s a different setting as far as the racetrack is concerned compared to most of the other places we go. It’s very heavy braking, a quite long straight line and kind of a lot stop and go areas where the heavier sports cars are put to the test, so it’s good to be able to come and test and try different things and pick options. Because once you come for race weekend, everything happens so fast. You are limited on the number of tires, you are limited on time, you have two drivers going in the car. So testing here is critical for tuning the cars and get ready for the race.”

Toyota Racing – NCS Richmond Quotes – Tyler Reddick – 07.29.23

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Official Release

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July 29, 2023

Toyota Racing – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

RICHMOND, Va. (July 29, 2023) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to media after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series event at the Richmond Raceway on Saturday. It is his first pole for Reddick since joining 23XI and Toyota earlier this year. With Bubba Wallace starting fifth, it is second time in team history that 23XI Racing has put two Toyota Camry TRDs inside the top-five starters (Loudon, 2022).

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Xfinity 10G Network Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing

Can you talk about the lap?

“I think the real turning point for me was on lap one. I forget, I was acting like I only had one lap in that first round, even though I had two. I knew that lap was going to be really close and I kind of got out of shape out of turn four. I pretty much knew I was going to hit the wall, but I knew I wasn’t going to make the second round with that first lap. I stayed in it, hit the wall pretty good but was able to transfer into the second round with that first lap and saved a lap on those tires. We didn’t have the recovery time that group a had to cool the tires off but running that one lap set us up pretty well for round two. I think a lot of drivers and teams were not generally expecting the pace fall off to be that much. We were able to observe that and have an idea that what we would need for a lap time in round two and it just worked out really, really well. I’m really excited to be on the pole for the first time this year with 23XI. We’ve been really strong when we’ve had the opportunities to qualify this year, and it is nice to get that first pole as a team and just to top it off even more than that, the West Coast Customs Toyota Camry is getting build outside the race track and is going to be at the front of the field tomorrow. I get to make some laps in it as well and now our car is going to be up next to it. That’s also really cool.”

Do you know if the damage will have to be fixed?

“We will see. You hope not, right? We will look it over and see if there is anything super concerning, we will have to address that. We will just see how it goes. I will find out more shortly.”

Can you talk about Toyota’s gains?

“I feel like we’ve been really strong since the year started. Martin (Truex) won the Clash to begin the year – I know that’s very different than most races that we do, but in those first five races it was more of a matter, and we talked more about it as a group the Toyota drivers, we had the speed, but we were kind of giving away these races and these opportunities. All of us have done a better job of executing and closing out and getting those wins. I guess, us, specifically, we haven’t since COTA, but we’ve had pretty good speed and have been pretty consistent at that point. We are just finding our way to victory lane more often. That’s definitely really good to see.”

What are your thoughts going to Indianapolis when it could be the last time on the road course?

“Well, I wouldn’t be so certain that it’s the last time we will race there on the road course. This car really does well on multi-groove race tracks, and there is really only one-and-a-half lanes around the Indy oval, and this car really struggles in direct turbulent air, so until that really gets solved, maybe we try it, right? But, certainly, the better racing will remain on the road course till we find a way with these cars to lose a lot of downforce behind each other. We got to Fontana, we go to Charlotte, a lot of these race tracks where you can really spread out and have good racing, but at Indy, it just really isn’t possible with the layout of the oval. We will see what happens.”

What are your thoughts on making changes to turn one?

“I think the things – I don’t know where it is at – but I wouldn’t be surprised if what we did at Chicago, is kind of what we try to do to help Indy. It worked really well in Chicago, but the conditions kind of lended its hand to not being super chaotic, but the single file restarts with the track conditions – it was really hard to gauge how much that moved restart zone really helped the racing. I guess the Xfinity cars – there track was dry for a good bit, but that certainly allowed others to battle for position into turn one, but they weren’t just stacked on top of each other.”

How important is it to start up front at Richmond?

“I think once the run gets going it is going to be more difficult, but certainly at a place like this, where it becomes really frustrating very quick when you have to pass the same couple of cars frequently throughout the race – so having that number one pit stall, so we have that opportunity to have solid pit stops to leapfrog other cars that we will be racing around all day tomorrow is a huge, good opportunity for us. I wouldn’t necessarily say it is hard to pass, but when you pass or have been passed by a car a number of times, you start to show you hand and tendencies. People will figure out what you are doing, but out of the tracks we go to, it is an easier one for sure, just because how the tire fall off is here.”

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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – NCS Richmond 2 Qualifying Quotes (7.29.23)

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Official Release

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July 29, 2023

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Cook Out 400 Qualifying | Saturday, July 29, 2023

Ford Qualifying Results:

8th -_ Kevin Harvick

11th – Ryan Preece

13th – Brad Keselowski

16th – Todd Gilliland

18th – Michael McDowell

20th – Chase Briscoe

22nd – Harrison Burton

23rd – Joey Logano

24th – Aric Almirola

25th – Ryan Blaney

26th – Chris Buescher

30th – Austin Cindric

32nd – Ryan Newman

35th – JJ Yeley

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang – WHAT ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING RUN? “It was OK. I think 13th is where we’re gonna end up. I’d like to be in the top five in our group, but we’re not terribly far off. I don’t know qualifying for this weekend, I don’t think it’s as important as it normally is. The cars with the way they’re running here, short-run speed versus long-run speed, you really need that long-run speed, so we’ll see what shows up in the race.”

IT’S SO HOT OUT THERE. WHAT IS IT DOING TO THE TRACK? “There’s less grip and more emphasis on tire management and all of those things. It will be a different race here than it was in the spring, for sure.”

WHAT HAPPENED ON THURSDAY NIGHT IN THE SRX RACE WITH KYLE BUSCH? “I’m not entirely sure yet. Obviously, we had some kind of contact and spun out. It’s a shame because I was having the best run I’ve had in that series yet. I was able to drive to the lead and pass all those guys and I felt really good and the next thing I know I was spun out. It seems like every time I run those races I keep getting spun out, so it’s frustrating but it was good to be able to run up front and be fast and leading laps.”

YOU HAVEN’T TALKED TO KYLE? “No. I’ve got to run today. I’m worried about this weekend.”

WHAT KIND OF IMPROVEMENTS CAN YOU MAKE FOR TOMORROW? “I felt like we had a top-five, top-10 car for most of the race this spring and we had a shot there at the end and some things didn’t go our way with the pit strategy and so forth, but I feel like we’ll have a similar weekend here. We don’t necessarily have the short-run speed that we’d like to have. We had really strong short-run speed in the spring race, but it appears at the moment we might have the other side of that. There are so many variables that it’s hard to say how the race will play out.”

IS THERE A REASON FOR THAT SHORT-RUN SPEED? “We’re just working on the race car and you find different things here and there and you take what you’re given.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HERE AT RICHMOND? “We always love coming to Richmond. It’s been one of my best track and certainly when you think of NASCAR and you think of tracks that they’re known for this is one that comes to mind. Richmond with a great crowd and big energy and short track racing, but I think this is kind of a quintessential NASCAR track for us.”

CHEVROLET NCS AT RICHMOND 2: Kyle Busch Media Availability Quotes

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Official Release

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July 29, 2023

NASCAR CUP SERIES
RICHMOND RACEWAY
COOK OUT 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JULY 29, 2023

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 X WORLD WALLET CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Richmond Raceway. Press conference transcript:

THE DENNY HAMLIN AND KYLE LARSON INCIDENT AT POCONO RACEWAY – WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON FORCING SOMEONE TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN LIFTING OR POTENTIALLY HITTING THE WALL WHEN YOU GET UNDERNEATH THEM? IS IT A FAIR MOVE? DENNY SAID THAT IT’S BECOME AN ACCEPTED WAY OF DOING BUSINESS THE LAST 10 YEARS.. WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT?

“Yeah – so there’s different ways of characterizing driving styles, right? But also I guess racing styles and how aggressive you are – slide jobs or forcing somebody out of the groove and making them lift or whatever. But the cars being more equal this day in age, yeah – you don’t want to get stuck side-by-side with somebody and allow the third place guy to kind of come into the fray and make it a three-way battle. You want to disperse of that guy as fast as you can, and the easiest way to do that is run them out of the groove. Whether that’s dirty or not, it kind of is what it is. Denny (Hamlin) might be a little remiss and forgotten about him doing that same move to me back in 2010 or ’11 at the All-Star Race and putting me into the fence off of (turn) two. He’s done it for a lot longer than 10 years.”

YOU SAID ‘IS IT DIRTY OR NOT’ – DO YOU THINK IT’S DIRTY AND WOULD YOU DO IT FOR A WIN?

“Yeah, I mean I think in certain circumstances – you try to win races as clean as you can, right? I mean that’s always kind of been my way of being brought up. You have to have a race car to go to the next week with, so if you’re crashing your stuff or somebody else’s stuff, they’re going to come back and crash you later. I don’t know – if I was in that same boat, I’m going to try and race it out and do the best I can to figure out how to make a side-draft and make a slide job where I’m clear and I can take that guy’s air, not just force them up the track door-to-door and into the wall.”

FROM A DRIVER’S STANDPOINT, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT WE SAW LAST WEEK VERSUS WHAT YOU WOULD SEE AT A SHORT-TRACK AS FAR AS LIKE A BUMP-AND-RUN FOR THE WIN?

“Well I mean the bump-and-run scenario – that might even be a worse cheap shot, you know? Carl in 2017 here, is that right? Keep bringing them up, I’ll keep telling you that it happened to me (laughs).

Yeah, you flat out run into the corner deeper than you know your car is going to stick and you use the guy in front of you as a brake, and that’s what happens in the bump-in-run sometimes. My issue with (Dale Earnhardt) Jr. here in 2008 was we were racing, battling hard side-by-side – you keep inching into the corner a little bit deeper every single time and there’s going to be a time where you go over that limit and you slip, and that was me and made contact with him. That to me, like we were side-by-side for three laps, and it was kind of building up. It was going to be inevitable. But those are hard racing moments and those are moments in which you’re pushing a little bit more when you get side-by-side with somebody for the first chance and you just whack ‘em out. That’s not racing, that’s whacking.”

IN THE SITUATION THAT YOU SAW LAST WEEKEND, DOES IT MATTER WHO’S ON THE OUTSIDE, AS FAR AS HOW LONG YOU RACE THEM ‘CLEAN’?

“Yeah – yeah, I would say it definitely matters who you’re around and who you’re racing with; what they’re history is and what your history with them is on how they’re going to be raced or how you think you should race them.”

ALONG THOSE LINES, HOW DO YOU DEFEND AGAINST A MOVE LIKE THAT? OUTSIDE OF BEING FASTER THAN SOMEBODY ELSE AND NOT GIVING THEM THE OPPORTUNITY, HOW DO YOU DEFEND AGAINST THAT BECAUSE DRIVING DEFENSIVELY SEEMS TO BE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO WHAT HAS MADE YOU GUYS SUCCESSFUL IN THE FIRST PLACE?

“Yeah, I think that’s the tough part, right? If you’re (Kyle) Larson in that situation, do you just lift out of the gas once Denny (Hamlin) gets alongside of you? No.. like you have to put trust and faith into that guy that he’s going to be able run you as you would expect to be ran and not have to lift. If Larson lifts and brushes the wall, he loses eight spots on that straightaway. So really, you’re in a no win situation when you’re that guy on the outside like that.”

MANY, MANY YEARS AGO, ROBIN PEMBERTON SAID ‘BOYS, HAVE AT IT’. NOW WE ARE TOLD THAT THIS A SELF-POLICING SPORT, BUT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED NOW FOR DOING THINGS THAT ROBIN PEMBERTON TOLD THEM YEARS AGO WAS OK. WHERE DO YOU COME DOWN ON ‘BOYS, HAVE AT IT’, POLICE OURSELVES OR WE’LL SUSPEND YOU IF WE WANT TO?

“Well I think in some of the suspension cases, it was a big egregious.. it was a bit much. I was probably close to that with my incident with (Kevin) Harvick.. man, I’m giving a history listen today boys and girls, in 2010 or ’11 I think at Darlington (Raceway). I hooked Harvick in the right-rear and that, today, would have been grounds for suspension on that one. But we had a history and we had a run-in, and he ran me into the fence and everything else. So I think they kind of waived on that one, just how we’d been racing with each other.

Yeah, there’s a line and they know where it is, and we all try to get to that edge as much as we can when we’re mad at somebody. You’re going to have those repercussions when it comes down to it.”

(NO MIC.)

“There is no definitive line. I don’t know if it’s over there or it’s over there, but it’s somewhere in this room.”

YOU RACE AGAINST A LOT OF KIDS. YOU BRING UP A LOT OF KIDS THROUGH KBM. I WOULD THINK THAT YOU TAKE A LOT MORE SATISFACTION OUT OF GETTING A WIN THE WAY YOU DID AGAINST COREY HEIM IN THE TRUCK RACE, WHERE YOU SET HIM UP AND PASSED HIM TO GET THE WIN. A WIN IS A WIN, BUT I WOULD THINK FROM A MORALE STANDPOINT, IF THERE IS ONE IN RACING, THAT THERE’S GREATER SATISFACTION IN HOW YOU DID IT?

“Yeah, there were definitely some other moments in that race where I was alongside of him – I was loose and I could have just stayed loose, stayed in the gas, ran into him and him washout or whatever. But I try to keep our stuff as clean as we could; race it out and race it hard and clean for the finish. Like I said, there’s certain people that you’re going to do that with, but there’s also how you’re raised and your mentality of what you feel like is right and you live by that moral. I think (Kyle) Larson is down probably four on Denny (Hamlin), at least, right now so he’s got a lot to get even.”

YOU WON AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY IN THE SPRING. WE’RE GOING TO MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY NEXT WEEK, WHICH IS A SIMILAR TRACK. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT GOING BACK TO MICHIGAN AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR CHANCES ARE?

“Yeah, completely different race tracks. Even though they’re two miles, the same distance – man, Fontana (Auto Club Speedway) and Michigan (International Speedway) are so vastly different from each other. But I’m looking forward to it. We’ve had good speed at the fast race tracks this year – the 1.5-mile to 2-mile speedways, even the 2.5-mile tracks. So I would like to think that we’ve got a good shot going to Michigan. I remember, I think, running second and third with the No. 8 car there last year with (Tyler) Reddick – he was fast, we were fast. We both had good cars and unfortunately I got caught up in a wreck early on and didn’t get to finish. But it seems like they’ve got a good baseline package for that place, so I’d like to think we’d be fine.”

YOU HAD A STRONG WIN AT SRX ON THURSDAY. DOES THAT GIVE YOU ANY CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO A SHORT-TRACK HERE AT RICHMOND RACEWAY WITH NASCAR?

“Yeah, I mean it does. It tells you when you get everything right that you can do the job. Those cars are all pretty equal, the same and whatnot. I was really loose in the heat races, but I was able to kind of tune on it a little bit with the adjustments that were allowed and made my stuff a lot better for the features, so that was really cool. It’s fun to race and get there and duke it out with some of those guys. To not have spotters is certainly different. I think you kind of see that and that’s sort of where most of the wrecks come from – it’s about knowing your situation and having situational awareness. That’s the biggest thing that race is all about. When I was running in the back of the second heat, like I was trying to make my way forward. I couldn’t make my way forward, so now I’m like – ‘OK if I’m not going forward, then there’s going to be somebody behind me that’s going to be trying to go forward. I better look in the mirror and just check and see where they’re at’. So you always just have to be on top of it.”

OBVIOUSLY SRX HAS SUSPENDED PAUL TRACY. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THAT KIND OF MODEL APPLIED IN NASCAR FOR THAT KIND OF MOVE?

“I don’t know that he did a move.. I just think that he had absolutely zero situational awareness and thought that he was far enough ahead of the guy on his outside that the guy should lift and get out of the gas. He must have learned from Denny (Hamlin) the week before. I don’t know.. that was completely blatant and uncalled for of just driving up the race track and not having any care for the guy that’s alongside of you. They want to put on a good show. They’ve got a good product. They’ve got nice cars and they just keep getting torn up because of dumb moves.”

YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT YOUR SHORT-TRACK PACKAGE THIS YEAR AND HOW YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE TO GET BETTER THERE. YOUR STATS AT RICHMOND RACEWAY SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. HOW RECEPTIVE HAS RCR BEEN TO YOUR FEEDBACK ON WHAT TO IMPROVE, NOT JUST ON SHORT-TRACKS IN GENERAL, BUT AT THIS RACE TRACK SPECIFICALLY?

“Yeah, I mean we’ve been talking about it nonstop, day in and day out – trying to figure out what it is that we need to do to get better to go faster at the short-tracks. This weekend will be another one of those tests, just being at a short-track here and trying to figure it out. There’s really not a whole lot of short-tracks left for the remainder of the year. You’ve got Martinsville (Speedway) and Phoenix (Raceway) I think, so this is kind of your last test before knowing that you better be ready for the Championship Four and having a good shot for a title run.

Yeah, we’ve completely thrown a whole new idea and concept out there this week, so we’ll see.”

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN IT?

“I should be because it’s a damn copy and paste from somebody else that was really fast here in the spring, so if it doesn’t work, we’ve got bigger issues.”

YOU SPECIFICALLY HAVE BEEN SO GOOD HERE – FINSIHED ALL BUT ONE LAP YOU’VE EVER COMPETED IN ALL OF THESE RACES. HOW MUCH ARE YOU ABLE TO MAKE AN IMPACT TO KIND OF CLOSE THE GAP AND GET IT WHERE YOU NEED TO BE?

“Yeah, that one lap.. that one lap killed me, too. Knocked us out of the playoffs that year.

I’ve enjoyed Richmond (Raceway). When I first came here, it was in the Truck Series on the old asphalt back with the sealer and stuff. I was terrible – I think I hit every wall there was here that night. And then I came back the next time with the Xfinity cars – sat on the pole, won the race for my first win and that was the repave of this track in 2004. I’ve just always enjoyed it, always liked it since then. Always been pretty familiar with how to get around here. It reminds me a lot of some other short-tracks that I’ve raced at, including my home track in Las Vegas, the Bullring, and then some others around the country, too. How it’s aged and wore out reminds you a little bit more of some of those places, as well.

It’s fun, I enjoy it. I’ve done well here, which makes it a lot easier to talk about. I would love to go out here and get another win or two so I can get myself closer to Richard’s (Petty) mark of the most wins here.”

PUTTING ON YOUR TEAM OWNER HAT IN THE TRUCK SERIES, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT NASCAR OR THE SERIES COULD DO AS A WHOLE TO KIND OF CURB COSTS MORE THAN THEY ALREADY ARE?

“Find more money for us to race for. That’s where it comes from. The world of motorsports is not getting cheaper, that’s for sure. People costs, tire costs, inflation.. everything has really gone up. The engine program with Ilmor was a great start of that, but those costs have now I think gone up 26 percent or something in the last two or three years, so even that’s taken a hurting. Our teams are flying less – we’re driving more, they drove here to Richmond (Raceway) because you just can’t pay for that stuff. The flight costs have gone up $250 a ticket, per person, or something like that to go to these races. You have to race for more money. If it costs more money to go racing, you need more money. And if there’s no sponsors, you have to be able to race for more.”

AS COSTS HAVE GONE UP, IS THERE MORE THAT NASCAR CAN DO IN TERMS OF JUICING THE PURSE MONEY TO COINCIDE WITH OTHER COSTS THAT GO ALONG WITH FIELDING A TEAM?

“It’s no different than running a business, right? A race team is a business. When your top line and your bottom line – like if you don’t have enough top line, your bottom line is going to be black or red. So whatever it is in that space you have to work with, you know what you have to work with. Most business operate on 10 to 35 percent profit range and I would say race teams probably operate within a negative 30 percent profit range. We’re always spending more than what we’re bringing in, and that’s why it takes rich people to do it.”

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.

Toyota Racing – NCS Richmond Quotes – Denny Hamlin – 07.29.23

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Official Release

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July 29, 2023

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

RICHMOND, Va. (July 29, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series event at the Richmond Raceway on Saturday:

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

When did the rules of going for the win change?

“I think it has become accepted, certainly. It has been more lenient from a media standpoint and from a fan standpoint, within reason, as long as it’s not something crazy. It changes depending on how severe – if you look at the Ty Gibbs, Brandon Jones thing – that is certainly way over the top, things like that. I think normal racing, hard racing, at the end of races for wins, that’s kind of been the mantra that has come about the last 10 years or so. It’s definitely different, over the last 30 years, it hasn’t happened, but win at all costs type of mantra for sure.”

When NASCAR gave Playoff points for wins, did that affect how people race for victories?

“Certainly, I think when they started giving Playoff points and stage points – that is what it was geared to do – give us the sense of urgency to ramp up and that regular season performance matters to get to the final four with a shot. The system is doing what it was designed to do.”

Is it easier to do the move that you made in the Next Gen car?

“It is so different with the Next Gen because with the other car, the guy on the outside would use the air to make the guy on the inside loose. You’ll see in the Xfinity Series or the Truck Series, the guys on the outside want to get closer to the inside guy and get him loose, and sometimes they spin, sometimes they don’t, but that is them manipulating the air to make it tough on that guy. In the Cup car, it’s the other way around. The power for the position is actually on the bottom, not the top. It certainly is a lot different than the other one.”

Have you and Kyle Larson talked?

“We have communicated.”

How did that go?

“I thought it went good.”

Would you do anything different if you had to do it all over again?

“I mean, it’s really hard to say that you would do anything different. It is so split second. The win meant so much to me at that time. So many different records that we could accomplish with that one win – with the track, with Toyota, with myself personally – it’s hard to say in that moment that I would do anything different for sure. Certainly, I didn’t like the outcome for him. I wish he could have finished second, but it was just one of those things where we flat ran out of room and I made a split-second decision to try to clear him instantly, and you can see from my on-board that I don’t see him. I see him go up the track, and I don’t know where he’s at when I start to throttle up and I’m saying ‘alright, I’m going to clear him.’ But when I didn’t, I knew we were going to be in a bad spot.”

Did you and Kyle Larson come to the race together?

“No, not this time.”

Can you tell us more about what you discussed?

“Not really. Similarly, to the Chase Elliott incident, he reached out to me, I just prefer to keep it private and between us. If they care to elaborate on it, that’s totally fine, but I’ll leave it up to them.”

Did you have to change how you drive and be more selfish with this system and car?

“I think it’s just different now. The cars are closer together. Passing is more difficult than it’s ever been. Even Mark Martin would have to adjust his style in this type of car, because the days of the gentleman letting the guys go and you will just go and get them later – it’s just a different game these days. I wish we could go back to those days, but that is not where we are at. You have to adapt to where you are at. You adapt or you die. Certainly, I feel like over the last few years, I’ve decided to be more aggressive because I’ve got used up by aggressive and it is hard to blame them at the time – especially in a race winning situation. Certainly, you are upset when someone right rear hooks you or runs right in the back of you in stage one and spins you out and puts you in the wall. That’s one thing, racing for the win is certainly a lot different than it has been in the past. If you have one person willing to be aggressive and one person not, aggressive will win every time. It’s just the facts of it. Usually, you are not going to find two guys that are the nice guy at the end of these races anymore. Someone has to take it the next level to want it, and then if you have two guys that really want it, you have what you had at Darlington where this person is squeezed, well next restart, now that person is squeezed. That is just what happens. I’m adamant that is when the race fans win. That is when they get to see the action and the passion they want to see.”

When did you decide that you needed to be more aggressive?

“Honestly, I think it was after the (Ross) Chastain thing for sure. Certainly, I was very vocal that I need to do something, I need to do something. At the time, the scales were like three to nothing. I was very frustrated. My team was very frustrated at me for not doing anything. The mindset has just changed. You have to put it out there that you are going to be aggressive. I think if a guy is going to run into you, you are going to run right back into him. That’s the way I’ve got to change things from this point forward because for the most part it has been tough results for us at the end of races, especially the last three years. I’ve been spun out of the lead three times. That’s really, really tough, so I just said it’s time to be more aggressive. Certainly, hate that it came at Kyle’s (Larson) expense, for sure. If there is anyone that I should protect, it’s those guys and my teammates. The win just met a lot to me at the time. I made an attempt to pass him, and it didn’t happen the way I intended for sure.”

Did you have a goal when you had the conversation with Kyle Larson, and did you accomplish that goal?

“There is always going to be a difference of opinion and sometimes you have to agree to disagree. That’s okay, but the biggest thing is I think hearing the other person out and understanding why they are frustrated. Sometimes you get caught up in your own world, thinking about your own team and how important it is to them, and you have an incident like that, you need to sit down and take a second to hear the other side. I totally understand that for sure. On why I wanted to have it in person, I did because I thought that we should have that type of relationship, but the details of it won’t come from my end.”

How do you walk the fine line on aggression as you head towards the Playoffs?

“I think you are typically going to have these incidents with guys that are up front, that’s because you are racing next to each other all of the time. They are going to be competitive every week; we are going to be competitive every week. That is just part of it. I think both sides understand there is a bigger prize. Certainly, it probably meant as much to him at the time because he knows he’s just trying to get to Phoenix with a shot. Same as we are. It just is so different, and it’s a dog-eat-dog mentality. It seems like it has grown on some of the older guys. It really is, short of maybe Martin (Truex Jr.) – he is probably the cleanest guy in the garage. He wins them, but he usually doesn’t have anyone close to him when he wins. It is a little different for sure.”

Are you able to enjoy the milestones in the moment or do you have to wait till the end of the season when there is a break?

“I don’t know. It is very tough. When you lose, you have another chance to win in seven days, but when you win, the team is ready to turn the corner and focus on the next track and you don’t get a lot of time to enjoy it. Like I mentioned in last weeks after the race, the conversation with Matt Kenseth was like, you don’t understand what you’ve accomplished. We will look back on it one day, but the job at hand is to keep putting stats in the stat column to try to have a conversation at the end of the career about. I’m very happy even if I didn’t have another top-five, top-10 or another win, I’m very happy with my career.”

Do you expect to be raced differently in the upcoming races because of the Pocono incident or is this how people race now?

“I think the field is like this. You will see it in turn one on a restart – no one really cares about what others have done for you or what you’ve done to others. They are just trying to get it all for themselves. It’s the nature of racing in the Cup Series now. I don’t expect any different because stuff like that happens many times during the race that we don’t even see.”

Do you remember when the ‘Boys Have It’ mantra kind of went away?

“I think that was during the (Matt) Kenseth incident, honestly. With him and (Joey) Logano. That was the point that they stepped in and for the first time in a long time, someone got suspended for something on-track. From that point, they deemed it as anything super egregious that puts someone in danger – they are going to do something about it. The two suspensions we have seen have been egregious and have put people in danger.”

Are you referencing the Martinsville incident?

“That was the point that I think they said unless you are racing for position, they are not going to tolerate someone slowing down – the (Clint) Bowyer, Jeff Gordon incident where Jeff slowed down and waited for him and then took out Bowyer and (Joey) Logano at the time. Those were just really over the top stuff that they thought that was essentially not racing.”

Do you think that because you are willing to race a good friend like that establish how people race you going forward?

“It is how I’m going to be. That’s for sure. I’m not going to backdown. I’m having to adapt my style to this. It is not the same as it was 10 years ago. Certainly, the game has changed for sure. I think the fan should like that two people were willing to put any personal friendship aside when they go and compete on the race track on Sunday. That is when they win. They don’t want to see someone go. That is less entertaining, and we are in an entertainment business. I think the fans win in that instance, but it is just certainly – in me and Kyle’s (Larson) instance – he’s gotten the worst end of it a few times and so I probably need to be more aware and be more cautious around him, simply because the scales are in my favor in that instance.”

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.

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