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NASCAR’s Garage 56 Entry Completes 24 Hours of Le Mans

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Official Release
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NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet, Goodyear partner to make motorsports history

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 11, 2023) – For more than two years, a collection of executives and engineers from NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet, Goodyear and IMSA worked to execute NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France’s vision to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The all-star collaboration – which includes the winningest team, manufacturer and tire in the sport’s 75-year history – met and exceeded expectations, both on and off the track, during the iconic race’s centenary edition. With the help of three world-renowned drivers (seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, 2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button and two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller), the NASCAR Garage 56 program delivered the sights and sounds of NASCAR to race fans from around the world.

The NASCAR Next Gen Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was a hit from day one in Le Mans, among fans, media and even other competitors. And it was fast on track, consistently putting down lap times that bettered cars in the GT class. The car ran near the top of the GT field for more than 20 hours until a drive line issue sidelined the team for more than an hour. Overall, the car was running at the finish, completed 285 laps on the 8.4-mile circuit and finished 39th in the 62-car field.

“That was unbelievable,” said France, whose inspiration for the project came from his father, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. who brought two stock cars to Le Mans for the 1976 edition of the race. “That was thousands of hours of hard work by hundreds of people that went into making this thing happen. And then the way the team and the pit crews and everybody performed all week, it was just fantastic.”

“I hope my dad and my brother are somewhere up there looking down and smiling, but the goal when we set out was to try and finish the race running at the end and not be last. And we accomplished that.”

“It makes me proud for our sport,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR Hall of Famer. “The last thing I’d want to do is for us to come over here and fall on our nose. That’s what I was worried about. From the very beginning with Chad (Knaus) and Greg (Ives), I said we’ve got to do this right. We don’t spare any expense. Our NASCAR teams can do any kind of race they want to do. I mean, they got the talent, they’ve got the engineers, and they got a lot of smart people and they can do whatever.”

“I feel like we had already captured the trophy right when they dropped the green flag,” said Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports Vice President of Competition who oversaw the Garage 56 program for the organization. “The thing I’m most proud of is that this wasn’t really anybody but a few people’s full-time job. Everybody accepted this task as a passion project and something that they wanted to participate in. And when you get people like that put together, you can do anything.”

Johnson, who accomplished his goal of running stints in a variety of conditions – day, night and wet – also finished the race for the Garage 56 team, running the final 90 minutes.

“My heart is full,” Johnson said. “For all the reasons we know – coming here with NASCAR, Hendrick, Chevrolet, Goodyear. Many of the people here working were on different teams that I won races and championships with. There were so many familiar faces, to have this experience was just off the charts. My bucket is full. I’m really happy.

“The fan reception – whether it was at the parade, or on the cool down lap just now. Even the corner marshals were going nuts. Everything was just incredible.”

Rockenfeller, who did a majority of the testing and simulation work for the car, started the race for the team.

“It’s amazing to finish the race, that was priority number one,” Rockenfeller said. “I think it’s something I will look back to later on with my kids and always will be high on my memory in terms of high level races I did. It has been such a great team, not only my teammates, but everybody on the team. The full journey, I mean, what can I say? I made a lot of friends. And I think we did a good job.”

Button, whose participation was perhaps the biggest surprise when announced, ran 97 laps.

“What amazing people,” Button said. “To take their Cup car and turn it into an endurance car for Le Mans, it’s staggering. They’re the best in the business, I’m proud to be working with these guys.

“It’s difficult because there’s so much emotion, we’re all tired. And this is it. You know what I mean? This is it. This is the last time this car is racing. So it’s kind of sad, but then you just got to think about living in the moment.”

About NASCAR

Celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race, NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Pinty’s Series (Canada), NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 12 countries and more than 30 U.S. states. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

About the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)

International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 and owns a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and the IMSA Prototype Challenge, as well as four one-make series: Ferrari Challenge North America, Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and Porsche Carrera Cup North America. IMSA – a company within the NASCAR family – is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. For more information please visit IMSA.com, www.twitter.com/IMSA, www.facebook.com/IMSA or www.instagram.com/imsa_racing.

About Hendrick Motorsports

Founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest team in NASCAR Cup Series history. At the sport’s premier level, the organization holds the all-time records in every major statistical category, including championships (14), points-paying race victories (296) and laps led (more than 78,000). It has earned at least one race win in a record 39 different seasons, including an active streak of 38 in a row (1986-2023). The team fields four full-time Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entries in the NASCAR Cup Series with drivers Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. Headquartered on more than 100 acres in Concord, North Carolina, Hendrick Motorsports employs approximately 600 people. For more information, please visit HendrickMotorsports.com or interact on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 80 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.

About The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs about 72,000 people and manufactures its products in 57 facilities in 23 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.

Cadillac at Le Mans: Podium finish in return

By
Official Release
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No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R shows strong pace to place third; No. 3 Cadillac is fourth

LE MANS, France (June 11, 2023) – In a season of firsts, Cadillac scored its first podium finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, co-driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook, boosted by reliability, the ability to run a relatively clean race and consistent pit stops earned third place in the iconic endurance race.

Briggs Cunningham and S.H. Allard would be among the legions proud of the accomplishment. As a privateer, Cunningham entered two Cadillac 61 Coupes in the 1950 race with much fanfare but not sought-after results. Allard, who owned a low-volume car manufacturing business, finished third in the race with a Cadillac 5.4-liter V8 engine in his Allard J2.

Cadillac returned to Circuit de la Sarthe in 2000-2002 with the Northstar LMP, but again did not secure the results it worked hard to achieve. After a 21-year absence, the Cadillac crest was front and center on the 8.45-mile course for the more than 300,000 race day spectators to see and cheer every time the 5.5-liter DOHC naturally aspirated-powered car roared past.

“Great to be back at Le Mans after 21 years and even more special as it was in the centenary year for Le Mans,” said Rory Harvey, GM North America president. “Fantastic that all three Cadillacs finished, with the pinnacle being the No. 2 Cadillac getting on the podium. Fantastic job by all involved and proud of the team. We will take time to evaluate the race and understand how we can do even better moving forward.”

Cadillac and the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R entry moved to third in the FIA World Endurance Championship Manufacturer and Team/Driver Championship standings heading into Round 5 of the calendar next month in Monza, Italy. The No. 51 Ferrari 499P won the race.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R also led its first laps in WEC competition.

“I couldn’t be more proud of all three Cadillacs crossing the finish line, which I think is a huge feat at this race especially considering everything that happened. This is the busiest Le Mans that I can remember for the past few years and we were able to have such a strong finish,” said GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser, who also celebrated a class victory by the Chevrolet Corvette team. “We can’t wait to be back next year and go for that top step.”

The No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R finished fourth after an adventurous race with Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon switching off in the seat. Before a fireworks and choreographed drone show lit the night sky Saturday, the No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R had to pit once to change the rear-wing assembly after being clipped by another car and once to change the front assembly after spin on a drenched racetrack – plus sitting for an untimely one-minute hold penalty for a technical infraction.

Bourdais and van der Zande, full-season IMSA drivers in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, entered the race with the same chassis following a victory at Laguna Seca.

The No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R sustained damage in a Lap 1 incident at the exit of the Daytona Chicane. The crew quickly and seamlessly worked to return the car to the racetrack, and Alexander Sims, Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken soldiered on to place 10th in class.

Both teams will prepare for the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype race June 25 at Watkins Glen International.

What they’re saying

No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R

Chip Ganassi Racing director of operations Mike O’Gara: “Great effort. We all had our share of issues to overcome, The 3 had some punctures, got run into during a yellow flag and everybody just kept going and going. That’s what we do. You never come into this race feeling like you’re prepared. It proves that we were. We kept recovering and fighting. A couple small tweaks and we’ll be right there next year.”

Earl Bamber: “We showed our strength at Daytona with all the cars finishing and third and fourth place. Coming here, we never really know what to expect. A proud milestone for the whole project and for Cadillac Racing to lead some laps at Le Mans. That’s a cool box to tick. Then we found ourselves in a sort of solid third position. We all learned a lot as a group and the car is very reliable. I think we can take away a couple of good lessons to tune it up and come back and achieve our ultimate goal.”

Richard Westbrook: “I’ve finished third five times now. It’s not a record I’m proud of. But this one honestly I’m proud. We were the best of the rest. In those conditions where it was so bad at certain times of the night, and we saw so many cars go out. On merit I think we deserved third. We were fast in certain conditions but came up a little short. Still, the gap to the leader wasn’t huge. It gives us plenty to work on and come back next year that much stronger.”

Alex Lynn: “We knew coming in that we had to run our race. We had to run clean because we knew Ferrari and Toyota would be super fast and we had to be the car that doesn’t make a mistake and is always there. That is the theme of our season. We always dig in and grind out a result. That’s why I’m so proud of this team and this Cadillac racecar. It never misses a beat, and now we can say on the biggest stage it didn’t even in the first year of the program. It’s only going to get better.”

No. 3 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R

Renger van der Zande: “We’ve come a long way in developing this car with everyone involved. I’m just proud of the third and fourth place and it’s something that is a testament to the reliability of the car. I did my last few laps and I just followed Richard (Westbrook) for a long time and it was awesome. I’m happy with all the effort by everyone.”

Sebastien Bourdais: “Super solid effort by the whole team. Big thanks to GM, Cadillac and everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing. There was a lot of adversity leading up to and throughout the race. I think we can all be proud of the effort we put out on the track, it was very competitive, we just ran out of luck at a couple of points during the race. Ultimately, third and fourth for the team. I’m really happy for everyone involved. I think we would have probably signed up for this result if anybody had told us we’d be fighting for those positions at the end out of 16 cars. We’re going to learn a lot, fix everything that didn’t work, improve everything that did and come back stronger.”

Scott Dixon: “Honestly, it was a lot of fun. Definitely demanding conditions and a tough race as you expect here at Le Mans. Competition was fierce and I’m a little bummed for the 3 car. We had two incidents where we got hit and then we got a penalty. I think without those we would have been fighting for at least a podium spot. Great to see that the 2 car got a podium spot and proud of how hard everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing, Cadillac and GM have worked. It’s pretty special for Cadillac to come back and achieve what they have for being away for so long.”

No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R

Alexander Sims: “It’s been a massive experience for the whole Whelen Engineering Cadillac. Their first time here at Le Mans and it’s a huge learning curve for all of us. Shame that it turned out the way it has. It would have been cool to stay out in the fight and see what we could do. Quite quickly, our focus shifts back to the IMSA championship where we will all join back together at Watkins Glen shortly. We’re right in the championship at IMSA, take the track time we got here, take the learnings from it and get straight back into IMSA.”

Pipo Derani: “It’s been a great experience. Being here with the team for the first time we’ve accomplished so much together. We knew that coming into this race was going to be a massive learning curve for the first time. Le Mans is no easy task. There are so many things to learn, and I think we did learn a lot. Unfortunately, there was an incident in the beginning of the race. But we still used the 23 hours of the race to learn and learn things that perhaps will be beneficial for us whether in IMSA at Watkins Glen in two weeks time or if we come back here next year. Proud of the team, proud of crossing the finish line after such a difficult race. No one gave up and I’m proud of the 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac.”

Jack Aitken: “It was a very traditional Le Mans. We knew that going in. When you throw the weather in as well, it was a pretty classic Le Mans. After that first lap, I think we did a pretty good job. The whole operation has been impressive. It’s fantastic to see a Cadillac on the podium on the first attempt. Thre are manufacturers that have been doing this the last decade and it’s no easy task at such a unique track and event. We can be proud of the achievement. Personally, we’re sad that we couldn’t be in the fight. Hopefully we can come back next year and challenge and be right up there with the other guys.”

C’était un plaisir. Les conditions étaient exigeantes, la course difficile et la compétition féroce. Je suis un peu déçu pour la voiture n°3. Nous avons eu deux incidents où nous avons été touchés, sans que ce soit notre faute, et ensuite nous avons eu une pénalité. Sans cela, je pense que nous aurions pu nous battre pour une place sur le podium. C’était génial de voir la voiture n°2 finir sur le podium. Je sais à quel point tout le monde chez Cadillac, GM et Chip Ganassi Racing a travaillé dur. C’est vraiment spécial pour eux de revenir et de réaliser ce qu’ils ont fait après avoir été absents et avoir affronté les meilleurs constructeurs du monde jamais vraiment à quoi nous attendre. C’est une étape importante pour l’ensemble du projet et pour Cadillac Racing de faire quelques tours en tête au Mans. C’est une bonne chose à faire. Ensuite, nous nous sommes retrouvés dans une sorte de troisième position solide. Nous avons tous beaucoup appris en tant que groupe et la voiture est très fiable. Je pense que nous pouvons en tirer quelques bonnes leçons pour l’améliorer et revenir pour atteindre notre objectif final.”

Alex Lynn: « Nous savions en arrivant que nous devions faire notre course. Nous devions rouler proprement parce que nous savions que Ferrari et Toyota seraient super rapides et que nous devions être la voiture qui ne commet pas d’erreur et qui est toujours là. C’est le thème de notre saison. Nous nous efforçons toujours d’obtenir un résultat. C’est pourquoi je suis si fier de cette équipe et de cette voiture de course Cadillac. Elle ne rate jamais un battement, et maintenant nous pouvons dire sur la plus grande scène qu’elle ne l’a jamais fait au cours de la première année du programme. Elle ne peut que s’améliorer. »

Richard Westbrook: « Cela fait cinq fois que je termine troisième. Ce n’est pas un record dont je suis fier. Mais cette fois-ci, honnêtement, je suis fier. Nous avons été les meilleurs parmi les autres. Dans ces conditions où il faisait si mauvais à certains moments de la nuit, et où nous avons vu tant de voitures sortir. Au mérite, je pense que nous méritions la troisième place. Nous avons été rapides dans certaines conditions, mais il nous a manqué un petit quelque chose. Néanmoins, l’écart avec le leader n’était pas énorme. Cela nous donne beaucoup de travail pour revenir l’année prochaine encore plus forts. »

No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R

Renger van der Zande: « Nous avons parcouru un long chemin dans le développement de cette voiture avec toutes les personnes impliquées. Je suis fier de mes troisième et quatrième places, qui témoignent de la fiabilité de la voiture. J’ai fait mes derniers tours et j’ai suivi Richard (Westbrook) pendant un long moment, c’était génial. Je suis heureux de l’effort fourni par tout le monde. »

Scott Dixon: « C’était un plaisir. Les conditions étaient exigeantes, la course difficile et la compétition féroce. Je suis un peu déçu pour la voiture n°3. Nous avons eu deux incidents où nous avons été touchés, sans que ce soit notre faute, et ensuite nous avons eu une pénalité. Sans cela, je pense que nous aurions pu nous battre pour une place sur le podium. C’était génial de voir la voiture n°2 finir sur le podium. Je sais à quel point tout le monde chez Cadillac, GM et Chip Ganassi Racing a travaillé dur. C’est vraiment spécial pour eux de revenir et de réaliser ce qu’ils ont fait après avoir été absents et avoir affronté les meilleurs constructeurs du monde. »

No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R

Alexander Sims: « Cela a été une expérience énorme pour toute l’équipe Whelen Engineering Cadillac. C’est la première fois qu’ils viennent au Mans et c’est une courbe d’apprentissage énorme pour nous tous. C’est dommage que les choses se soient passées ainsi. Cela aurait été cool de rester dans la bagarre et de voir ce que nous pouvions faire. Très vite, notre attention se porte à nouveau sur le championnat IMSA, où nous nous retrouverons tous à Watkins Glen dans peu de temps. Nous sommes en plein dans le championnat IMSA, nous prenons le temps de piste que nous avons eu ici, nous en tirons les leçons et nous retournons directement dans l’IMSA. »

Pipo Derani: « C’est une expérience formidable. En étant ici avec l’équipe pour la première fois, nous avons accompli tant de choses ensemble. Nous savions qu’en arrivant à cette course, nous allions devoir apprendre énormément de choses pour la première fois. Le Mans n’est pas une tâche facile. Il y a tellement de choses à apprendre, et je pense que nous avons beaucoup appris. Malheureusement, il y a eu un incident au début de la course. Mais nous avons quand même mis à profit les 23 heures de course pour apprendre des choses qui nous seront peut-être utiles, que ce soit en IMSA à Watkins Glen dans deux semaines ou si nous revenons ici l’année prochaine. Je suis fier de l’équipe, fier d’avoir franchi la ligne d’arrivée après une course aussi difficile. Personne n’a abandonné et je suis fier de la Cadillac 311 Whelen Engineering”.”S

NHRA AT EPPING: Team Chevy Post Race Recap

By
Official Release
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CHEVROLET IN NHRA
2023 NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS FINALS, 2023 NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS QUALIFYING RECAP
BRISTOL DRAGWAY
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE

TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT
JUNE 10, 2023

JOHN FORCE LEADS TEAM CHEVY IN EPPING FINALS AT BRISTOL WITH 265TH FINAL ROUND APPEARANCE

  • John Force takes BlueDef Camaro SS to Final Round in Epping Finals at Bristol
  • Robert Hight claimed the No. 1 Qualifier for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, his 2nd of the season and 79th of his career
  • Brittany Force posted No. 2 Qualifier in Top Fuel for the Thunder Valley Nationals

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 10, 2023) – In a first-ever combined NHRA race weekend to finish the weather-interrupted New England Nationals from New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire while simultaneously running the qualifying rounds for the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tennessee, John Force led the way for Team Chevy in final eliminations for Epping.

After defeating Tim Wilkerson in Elimination Round One, with a 4.063 seconds , 324.36 mph to Wilkerson’s 4.004, 318.99, Force went on to face Alex Laughlin in Round Two. The 16-time champion downed Laughlin with a 4.090. 318.54 to move to the semi-finals.

JR Todd on deck for the Force, the winningest driver in NHRA history. With a little baby holeshot, Force topped Todd with a 4.105, 319.07 to a 4.098, 319.90 to send Force to his 265th final round appearance and his first of the young 2023 NHRA season.

Lining up alongside Bob Tasca III, Force staged his Blue Def Camaro SS Funny Car deep and posted a .045 reaction time to Tasca’s .065 and the race was on with Tasca pulling ahead to post a 4.032, 322.96 for the win to Force’s 4.085. 320.51.

For making it into the semifinals of the New England Nationals Force automatically competed in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and finished runner-up to earn two championship points to be added at the conclusion of the regular season and $3,000.

“It would have been nice to have won the Epping, N.H. NHRA New England Nationals race and the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, but I didn’t get the job done,” Force said. “We had a good race BlueDEF race car which keeps Chevrolet, PEAK, and all our sponsors happy. Cornwell was out at the track with a lot of their customers this weekend too. We’ll get back in the game tomorrow morning. It’s a new day and a new race tomorrow morning.”

Robert Hight behind the wheel of his AAA of New England Camaro SS scored a Round One win over Alexis DeJoria 3.938, 321.35 to 3.999, 322.88. Round Two provided drama with both cars hazing the tires and then Bob Tasca III ultimately blowing an engine near the top-end of the track. Tasca took the W with a 4.418, 267.69 to Hight’s 4.441, 202.00.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve crossed the finish line like that. It happens, you’re out here racing for a round win and it’s greasy. We put four cylinders out on one side so it turned on me in a hurry. Usually, you can catch it pretty quick but that one got me,” Hight said. “Anyways, sorry to the fans, to AAA and Cornwell and Chevy, we could have gotten another round win there.”

Defending Top Fuel Champions Brittany Force, Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel car bested Josh Hart 3.747, 334.48 to 4.201, 202.85 in Round One of Final Eliminations. Round Two was a pedal-fest between B. Force and Justin Ashley, eventual winner of the New England Nationals, with Brit going down with a 4.322, 274.05 to Ashley’s 4.097, 255.92.

“Epping, the New England Nationals was a little bit of a struggle for this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team,” Force said. “We got beat in the second round, but we still had a couple of good laps under our belt that set us up for qualifying for Bristol and hopefully a long race day.”

In Top Fuel Round One Elimination, Austin Prock piloting the Montana Brand Chevrolet Top Fuel car put down a stellar run of 3.787, 326.08. However, he lined up next to Steve Torrence who laid down a 3.753, 329.10 to end Prock’s Epping make-up early.

“It was a tough first-round loss last night for this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team. There was a lot on the line that round and we came up short,” Prock said. “It’s frustrating but we will bounce back.”

THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS QUALIFYING:

When track conditions were optimal, Robert Hight drove the Cornwall Tools Camaro SS Funny Car to the No. 1 Qualifier for Sunday’s finals with a pass of 3.938, 321.35 on Friday night under the lights. The run held on Saturday with much warmer air and track temperatures.

John Force ended the four qualifying sessions in 10th spot for Sunday’s Finals at the track they call Thunder Valley in his BlueDef Camaro SS Funny Car with a pass of 4.063, 324.36.

Brittany Force piloted the Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel car to the No. 2 qualifier spot, also maximizing the cooler Friday night conditions with a pass of 3.747, 334.48.

Austin Prock will stage in 8th tomorrow in the cockpit of his Montana Brand Chevrolet Top Fuel car after putting down a run of 3.787, 326.08.

Erica Enders broke through to capture her first No. 1 qualifier of the 2023 NHRA Pro Stock Season. Piloting her familiar red Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance Elite Motorsports Camaro SS a run of 6.627, 205.88.

It is the reigning world champion’s 30th No. 1 of her career.

And closing out a very busy day on-track, Aaron Stanfield claimed his first Mission #2Fast2Tasty win piloting his Janac Brothers Chevrolet Camaro, going 6.637, 206.32 to claim the additional prize money and valuable championship points. His win came over fellow Team Chevy driver and three time Pro Stock winner this season, Dallas Glenn.

THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS RACE DAY INFORMATION

Due to the threat of inclement weather late in the day, the NHRA has moved the start time to 10:00 AM ET.

Round 2, Semifinals, and Finals of the New England Nationals makeup event will air Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET on FS1. A recap of Saturday’s Thunder Valley Nationals qualifying airs Sunday, June 11 at 12:30 p.m. ET. The Thunder Valley Nationals Finals will wrap up the stacked weekend, airing on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. Coverage streaming live throughout the weekend can be found through NHRA.tv, available via AppleTV, Android TV and Roku devices.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with 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.

Stewart-Haas Racing: NXS Race Report from Sonoma

By
Official Release
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STEWART-HAAS RACING
NASCAR Xfinity Series: DoorDash 250

Date: June 10, 2023
Event: DoorDash 250 (Round 14 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (1.99-mile, 10-turn road course)
Format: 79 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/25 laps/34 laps)
Race Winner: Aric Almirola of RSS Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

SHR Race Finish:

● Cole Custer (Started 26th / Finished 6th, Running, completed 79 of 79 laps)

● Riley Herbst (Started 23rd / Finished 15th, Running, completed 79 of 79 laps)

SHR Points:

● Cole Custer (4th with 488 points, 59 out of first)

● Riley Herbst (10th with 371 points, 176 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Custer earned his ninth top-10 of the season and his first top-10 in one career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Sonoma

● This was Custer’s eighth straight top-10. He finished fifth April 1 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, third April 15 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, fourth April 22 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, seventh April 29 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, third May 13 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, third May 29 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, and won last Saturday at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway.

● Herbst earned his eighth top-15 of the season and his first top-15 in one career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Sonoma.

● Herbst finished eighth in Stage 2 to earn three bonus points.

Race Notes:

● Aric Almirola won the DoorDash 250 to score his fourth career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Sonoma. His margin over second-place A.J. Allmendinger was 1.868 seconds.

● There were two caution periods for a total of eight laps.

● Thirty-one of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● John Hunter Nemechek remains the championship leader after Sonoma with a four-point advantage over second-place Austin Hill.

Sound Bites:

“I’m proud of what the No. 00 Haas Automation team did today. To start that far back in the field is not very good at this track so to get a top-10 and get up near the front was great. We drove our way up there. It’s a testament to this team and our perseverance throughout the day. We just stayed after it. It definitely could’ve gotten bad in a few of those situations, but we all kept our heads on straight and got through it to get us another solid finish.” – Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang

“I was hoping for a better result for the No. 98 Monster Energy team, but we finished the race, which is good after the bad luck we’ve had the past few races. We had a really strong run in the second stage to get stage points, but we just struggled in the final laps. Excited to have this off week to reset before we head to Nashville for a long stretch of summer races.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Tennessee Lottery 250 on Saturday, June 24 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – Almirola Wins Inaugural Xfinity Race at Sonoma

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
DoorDash 250 | Saturday, June 10, 2023

ALMIROLA GIVES FORD SECOND STRAIGHT NXS VICTORY

  • Aric Almirola drove his Ford Mustang to victory today at Sonoma for his fourth career series win.
  • The win is Ford’s second straight in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the first for RSS Racing.

Ford Finishing Results:
1st – Aric Almirola
6th – Cole Custer
12th – Brett Moffitt
15th – Riley Herbst
22nd – Kyle Weatherman
25th – Alex Labbe
28th – Ryan Sieg
31st – Joe Graf Jr.

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 28 Michael Roberts Construction Ford Mustang – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – “This is so special. It’s hard to explain. I know it’s an Xfinity win. It’s not a Cup win, but after COTA I told Davin and Drew, I was like, ‘Man, I really don’t think I should run anymore road course races in the Xfinity car. It makes me look like a wanker and I lose self-confidence going into Sunday.’ But I knew that this racetrack, this is one I can run good at. I’ve run good here my whole career. I don’t know what it is about this place, but I love racing here. I’m just so thankful to everybody on this race team. Everybody at SHR in the Xfinity shop. They take on a lot to not only bring their two cars to the racetrack, but to prepare a third car. I’m so thankful to Mike with Michael Roberts Construction to come on. Without him and Largo Concrete, we don’t get to run this race. I’m thankful to Ford and everybody that makes this deal work. All of our partners, Shady Rays, Pit Boss Grills, Firstform. It’s been a really tough year on the Cup side and to come out here and get a win and get to celebrate. My kids came out. We’re gonna spend the week in California for our off week and they’re gonna get to go to Victory Lane. That is so special. The pictures we have at home with our family in Victory Lane mean the most to me, so I’m so excited to share this Victory Lane here. Also Caymus. We had a great dinner last night and drank a little bit of Caymus win with our team and this is their hometown, so, man, this is awesome. I can’t wait to get to Victory Lane.”

LARSON WAS ON YOUR TAIL. HOW MUCH WERE YOU LOOKING IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR? “I was looking in my rearview mirror a lot, just trying to make sure that I could maintain the gap. Larson was certainly the class of the field, so to have the lead and get some clean air, I knew that if I just put some clean laps together I was gonna make it tough for him to get by me. A great race car. We made a lot of adjustments throughout the race to make it better and better and finally there at the end it was at its best.”

HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DOES THIS GIVE YOU FOR TOMORROW? “A lot. The cars are totally different from the Xfinity Series to the Cup Series, but it’s still a win and it’s still a win at the NASCAR national level. These races are hard to win and you’re going against the best. You’re going against Kyle Larson and Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs. It was a stacked field today for the Xfinity race and I’m just so proud to go to Victory Lane here.”

THIS IS THE FIRST WIN FOR RSS RACING. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU? “It’s awesome. I’m just really thankful that they allowed me to run this car and to come here and run with this team and these guys and I’m just so proud of everybody’s hard work. Everybody at Sieg Racing. Everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for the collaboration and I’m just really thankful.”

Toyota Racing – NXS Sonoma Post-Race Report – 06.10.23

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Official Release
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GIBBS SCORES ANOTHER STRONG RUN IN XFINITY SERIES SONOMA DEBUT
Sammy Smith leads all rookies with a top-10 finish

SONOMA, Calif. (June 10, 2023) – Ty Gibbs (fourth) and Sammy Smith (ninth) led Toyota with top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday evening.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Sonoma Raceway
Race 14 of 33 – 156.95 miles, 79 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Aric Almirola*
2nd, AJ Allmendinger*
3rd, Kyle Larson*
4th, TY GIBBS
5th, Parker Kligerman*
9th, SAMMY SMITH
16th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
20th, KAZ GRALA
29th, BRAD PEREZ
32nd, CONNOR MOSACK
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TY GIBBS, No. 19 He Gets Us Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

Can you talk about your top-five finish here at Sonoma?

“Yeah, I felt like we had a really fast He Gets Us Toyota Supra. Just lost some track position in the end, and we were a little too loose for the most part. We just have to make the right adjustments to keep going. We will keep moving forward.”

SAMMY SMITH, No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

How was your race?

“Yeah, disappointing day for our Pilot Flying J team. I felt like we had a lot of speed in our Supra, just could never get the track position. We kind of fell back on pit stops, so it was kind of frustrating. I feel like we could have run fourth or fifth all day, just never really got up there.”

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 48,000 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 22 electrified options.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Almirola wins inaugural Xfinity Series event at Sonoma

By
Andrew Kim
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SONOMA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 10: Aric Almirola, driver of the #28 Michael Roberts Construction Ford, drinks wine in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway on June 10, 2023 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images).

In a race dominated by Kyle Larson, a late opportunity presented itself for Aric Almirola and it resulted in the Floridian veteran fending off road ringers AJ Allmendinger and Larson to win the inaugural DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday, June 10.

The 39-year-old Almirola from Tampa, Florida, led twice for 17 of 79 scheduled laps in a weekend where he was one of eight competitors pulling double-duty roles between the Xfinity and Cup Series divisions in Wine Country. Initially appearing to settle for a top-five result, a late caution period with 19 laps remaining followed by a restart with 15 laps remaining enabled Almirola to carve his way into the lead amid a scramble between Daniel Suarez and Alex Labbe.

In the proceeding laps, however, Almirola found himself being pressured by hometown hero Kyle Larson through every corner and turn. A mistake, however, by Larson, where he clipped a tire barrel in Turn 11 and briefly lost control of his steering with eight laps remaining, allowed Almirola to place a reasonable gap between himself and Larson as Allmendinger joined the battle. With Allmendinger and Larson battling for second, Almirola was able to drive away and retain the lead through the final seven laps as he claimed his first Xfinity checkered flag in six years.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Kyle Larson notched his sixth career Xfinity Series pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 91.393 mph in 78.387 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Justin Allgaier, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 90.562 mph in 79.106 seconds.

Prior to the event, Anthony Alfredo was the only competitor to drop to the rear of the field in a backup car after wrecking his primary car during Friday’s practice session.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Larson rocketed away with the lead entering the first two turns. Larson would continue to lead through Turns 3 and 4 while Allgaier was trying to fend off Aric Almirola for second. As the field fanned out and jostled early for positions, Larson would cruise to lead the first lap while Almirola was up in second after overtaking Allgaier entering Turn 8.

During the second lap, Larson stabilized his advantage to a second-and-a-half over Almirola followed by Allgaier, Sheldon Creed and AJ Allmendinger while Ty Gibbs was in sixth after nearly turning Sam Mayer in Turn 7, with Mayer settling suit in seventh. Daniel Hemric was in eighth followed by John Hunter Nemechek and rookie Sammy Smith while Parker Kligerman, Alex Labbe, Austin Hill, Ross Chastain and Brett Moffitt were running in the top 15. Behind, rookie Parker Retzlaff, Daniel Suarez, rookie Chandler Smith, Josh Berry and Kyle Weatherman occupied the top 20.

As the race proceeded through the third lap, Larson extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Almirola while Allmendinger moved up to third. Allgaier, meanwhile, was being challenged by Creed for fourth while Ty Gibbs retained sixth. Larson would continue to lead by more than two seconds over Almirola as the event reached its Lap 5 mark.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Larson continued to lead by more than two seconds over Allmendinger while third-place Almirola trailed by more than five seconds. Allgaier and Ty Gibbs were in the top five followed by Hemric while Mayer moved up to seventh after overtaking Creed, who locked up his tires in Turn 7. Kligerman and Nemechek filled out the top 10 on the track while Sammy Smith, Austin Hill, Chastain, Brett Moffitt and Retzlaff were mired in the top 15.

Three laps later, on-track troubles occurred for a pair of RSS Racing competitors as Ryan Sieg spun in Turn 7. At the same time, teammate Joe Graf Jr. spun prior to entering the chute corner between Turns 4 and 7. In spite of both incidents, the race remained under green flag conditions as Larson continued to lead by more than two seconds over Allmendinger.

Then on Lap 18, Chastain bumped and sent Nemechek’s No. 20 Yahoo Toyota Supra for a spin in Turn 11 while both were battling with Austin Hill in the top 15. With Nemechek falling back to 18th and the race remaining under green, Larson stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Allmendinger.

At the conclusion of the first stage on Lap 20, Larson captured the stage victory after leading all the laps within the stage. Allmendinger trailed by more than two seconds while Almirola, Allgaier, Ty Gibbs, Hemric, Mayer, Kligerman, Creed and Sammy Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, Riley Herbst and Retzlaff had pitted under green a lap ago.

Not long after, the first caution of the event flew when Josh Berry stalled his No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet Camaro in between Turns 7 and 8. Prior to the caution being displayed for Berry’s issue, Nemechek, Hill and Sage Karam pitted.

During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Larson pitted while the rest that included Hill, Nemechek, Karam and Herbst remained on the track. Following the pit stops and amid the field cycling past Berry’s car that was slowly limping onto pit road, Larson exited first followed by Allmendinger, Allgaier, Ty Gibbs, Mayer and Kligerman. Amid the pit stops, Berry returned to the track in spite of being scored two laps down following early mechanical issues to his car while Retzlaff’s car was being pushed behind the pit wall.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 25, where Hill and Nemechek occupied the front row, Hill and Nemechek dueled for the lead through the first two turns. As the field bumped and jostled for positions through the first two turns before entering Turns 3 and 4, Hill managed to pull ahead with the lead followed by Nemechek and Herbst while Larson carved his way up to fourth in front of Karam and Allmendinger. With the field continuing to fan out and jostle for positions through a series of right- and left-hand turns through Turns 7 to 10 before entering a sharp right-hand turn in Turn 11, Hill retained the lead by four-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Larson while Nemechek, Allmendinger and Herbst were scored in the top five. By then, Ty Gibbs was in sixth while Allgaier, Karam, Kligerman and Creed were scored in the top 10.

A lap later, Larson overtook Hill’s No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro entering Turn 7 to reassume the lead while Allmendinger pressured Nemechek for third. Allmendinger would then succeed and overtake Nemechek entering Turn 11 as Ty Gibbs muscled his way into the top five after overtaking Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang in Turn 11.

By Lap 30, Larson was leading by more than two seconds over Allmendinger while Hill fell back to third, though he trailed by more than two seconds. Ty Gibbs moved his No. 19 He Gets Us Toyota Supra into fourth after bumping and overtaking teammate Nemechek in Turn 11 while Allgaier was in sixth ahead of Herbst, Kligerman, Karam and Almirola.

At the halfway mark between Laps 39 and 40, Larson retained the lead by more than six seconds over Allmendinger and more than seven seconds over third-place Ty Gibbs while Hill and Allgaier were scored in the top five. Almirola, Nemechek, Herbst, Kligerman and Mayer trailed in the top 10 while Sammy Smith, Chandler Smith, Creed, Hemric, Custer, Brett Moffitt, Daniel Suarez, Chastain, Alex Labbe and Josh Bilicki were mired back in the top 20. By then, 35 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.

At the conclusion of the second stage on Lap 45, Larson remained dominant as he claimed his second consecutive stage victory of the day with an advantage of more than nine seconds. Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs followed suit in second and third while Allgaier, Hill, Almirola, Nemechek, Herbst, Kligerman and Mayer were scored in the top 10. By then, Cole Custer pitted his No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang a lap earlier.

With the event proceeding under the final stage with 34 laps remaining, Allmendinger, who was engaged in a tight battle with Gibbs to retain second during the closing laps of the second stage, pitted a lap later followed by Allgaier, Mayer, Hemric and others. Larson then surrendered the lead to pit under green with 33 laps remaining followed by runner-up Gibbs, Hill, Nemechek and more competitors as Almirola cycled into the lead.

With 30 laps remaining, Almirola pitted from the lead along with Sammy Smith as Larson cycled back into the lead. By then, he was more than 10 seconds ahead of Allmendinger, who was strapped in third behind Suarez, who trailed Larson by more than four seconds despite needing a pit stop. Meanwhile, Ty Gibbs was back in fifth as he trailed by more than 14 seconds.

Two laps later, Suarez surrendered second place to pit under green as Allmendinger cycled back into second, though he trailed Larson by more than 10 seconds. In the process, Ty Gibbs moved up to third as he trailed the lead by more than 14 seconds while Allgaier and Hill were running in the top five. Following his pit stop after leading a handful of laps prior to the final 30-lap mark, Almirola was in sixth.

With less than 25 laps remaining, Larson stretched his advantage to more than 11 seconds over Allmendinger and more than 15 seconds over third-place Ty Gibbs while Allgaier and Hill retained their spots in the top five. Almirola also retained sixth while Nemechek, Mayer, Herbst and Kligerman were running in the top 10. Behind, Cole Custer was back in 11th while Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Creed and Brett Moffitt were running in the top 15.

Five laps later, Larson continued to extend his advantage as he now led by more than 13 seconds over Allmendinger while third-place Ty Gibbs trailed by more than 16 seconds. Meanwhile, Almirola carved his way up to fourth followed by Allgaier while Hill was back in sixth ahead of Nemechek, Kligerman, Herbst and Mayer.

A lap later, the caution flew when Jeffrey Earnhardt got loose, spun and wrecked his No. 45 ForeverLawn Chevrolet Camaro against the tire barriers in Turn 10. The incident all but erased Larson’s advantage of more than 13 seconds over Allmendinger. During the caution period, Alex Labbe and Suarez remained on the track while the rest of the lead lap field led by Larson pitted. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategy, Larson, who opted for no fresh tires during his pit stop, exited first followed by Allmendinger, who opted for two fresh tires. Almirola followed suit in third along with Allgaier, Hill and Nemechek while Ty Gibbs exited seventh after losing four spots on pit road.

Down to the final 15 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Labbe and Suarez dueled for the lead entering the first two turns. Suarez then slipped up the track in Turn 2, which allowed Almirola, driving the No. 28 Michael Roberts Construction Ford Mustang, to move into the lead amid the scramble. Through Turns 3 and 4, Suarez got loose again as Allmendinger and Larson quickly moved up to second and third. Behind, a series of bumps and jostles ensued within the middle of the pack from the Chute corner towards the entrances of Turns 7, 8 and 9 while Almirola continued to lead ahead of a fierce battle for second place between Allmendinger and Larson.

A lap later, Larson overtook Allmendinger for second as he began his charge on Almirola for the lead. Amid a series of late jostles and fierce battles around the circuit, trouble struck for Brandon Jones as he spun within the middle of the pack in Turn 8, but the race remained under green flag conditions. In the midst of the battles, Daniel Suarez was black-flagged for a restart violation.

With 10 laps remaining, Almirola continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Larson while third-place Allmendinger trailed by more than a second. Behind, Ty Gibbs cycled his way back into fourth while Allgaier was in fifth ahead of Hill, Kligerman, Custer, Mayer and Sammy Smith.

Then with eight laps remaining, Larson, who kept putting pressure on Almirola for the lead, made the slightest of contact against a tire barrel in Turn 11, which caused him to slip wide and lose his momentum briefly as he tried to steer his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro straight. This allowed Allmendinger to move his No. 10 Gabriel Glas Chevrolet Camaro into second while Larson fell back to third as Almirola was now leading by more than two seconds.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Almirola continued to lead by more than two seconds over Allmendinger and Larson, with Larson still trying to navigate his way around Allmendinger for second. With Ty Gibbs retaining fourth and trailing by more than five seconds, Allgaier was engaged in a fierce battle with Kligerman for fifth.

A lap later, Larson gained a run on Allmendinger and overtook him for second in Turn 7. Allmendinger, however, was able to execute a crossover move on Larson to reassume the spot while Almirola was still leading by nearly three seconds.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Almirola remained as the leader by less than three seconds over Allmendinger with Larson still stuck in third. With both Allmendinger and Larson unable to close the deficit throughout the 12-turn circuit, Almirola was able to smoothly cycle his way back to the finish line and claim the checkered flag for an upset victory in Northern California.

By becoming the inaugural Xfinity Series winner at Sonoma, Almirola notched his fourth career victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in his 104th series start, his first on a road course venue and his first since winning at Talladega Superspeedway in May 2017. He also recorded the first NASCAR career win for RSS Racing.

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 10: Aric Almirola, driver of the #28 Michael Roberts Construction Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway on June 10, 2023 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images).

“This [win] is so special,” Almirola said on FS1. “It’s hard to explain. I know it’s an Xfinity win. It’s not a Cup win, but after [Circuit of the Americas], I was like, ‘Man, I really don’t think I should run any more road course races in the Xfinity car.’ I lose self-confidence going into Sunday, but I knew that this racetrack; this is one that I can run good at. I’ve run good here my whole career. I don’t know what it is about this place, but I love racing here. Just so thankful to everybody on this race team. It’s been a really tough year on the Cup side and to come out here, get a win and get to celebrate,…[my kids]’re gonna get to go to Victory Lane. That is so special. So excited to share this Victory Lane here. Man, this is awesome. I can’t wait to get to Victory Lane.”

Allmendinger, who led two laps, came home in second place as he trailed Almirola by more than a second followed by Larson, who led a race-high 53 laps compared to Almirola’s 17 but was unable to claim another victory at his home track.

“I just got too greedy,” Larson said. “If you can get your rights [tires] below the rumbles, into the paint, it’s a lot of grip. I got it good a couple of times and then, I was just tucked up behind [Almirola] and clipped the tire [barrel]. It knocked the wheel out of my hand and after that, the toe [link] was off. I was really tight in the lefts and really loose on the rights, so we couldn’t make runs at it. I hate it for [crew chief] Kevin Meendering and everybody. They deserve a win so badly with his No. 17 car. Between all of us [Hendrick Motorsports competitors], we all found a way to lose…Just bummed and mad at myself.”

Ty Gibbs finished in fourth place as the top-four finishing spots were occupied by Cup Series regulars. Parker Kligerman was the highest-finishing Xfinity Series regular in fifth place while Custer, Allgaier, Austin Hill, rookie Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer finished in the top 10.

Notably, John Hunter Nemechek ended up 16th, Ross Chastain finished 18th in his 100th Xfinity career start and Suarez ended up 27th following his late penalty.

There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured two cautions for eight laps. In total, 31 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

With 12 Xfinity regular-season events remaining on the schedule, John Hunter Nemechek leads the regular-season standings by four points over Austin Hill, 25 over Justin Allgaier and 59 over Cole Custer.

Results.

1. Aric Almirola, 17 laps led

2. AJ Allmendinger, two laps led

3. Kyle Larson, 53 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

4. Ty Gibbs

5. Parker Kligerman

6. Cole Custer

7. Justin Allgaier

8. Austin Hill, four laps led

9. Sammy Smith

10. Sam Mayer

11. Sheldon Creed

12. Brett Moffitt

13. Daniel Hemric

14. Chandler Smith

15. Riley Herbst

16. John Hunter Nemechek

17. Jeremy Clements

18. Ross Chastain

19. Josh Bilicki

20. Kaz Grala

21. Brandon Jones

22. Kyle Weatherman

23. Ty Dillon

24. Dylan Lupton

25. Alex Labbe, two laps led

26. Jeb Burton

27. Daniel Suarez

28. Ryan Sieg

29. Brad Perez

30. Blaine Perkins

31. Joe Graf Jr.

32. Connor Mosack, one lap down

33. Josh Berry, three laps down

34. Sage Karam – OUT, Transmission

35. Josh Williams – OUT, Suspension

36. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Accident

37. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Suspension

38. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Transmission

The NASCAR Xfinity Series teams and competitors enter a one-week break period before returning to action at Nashville Superspeedway on June 24. The event’s air coverage is scheduled to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, which will launch USA’s and NBC’s coverage for the remainder of this year’s Xfinity season.

Toyota Racing – NCS Sonoma Quotes – Denny Hamlin – 06.10.23

By
Official Release
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Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

SONOMA, Calif. (June 10, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series event at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday:

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Has Tyler Reddick helped elevated Toyota at the road courses?

“He has. I think he certainly exposed me and my lack of skills (laughter) and knew he would. You always want people that challenge you to be better and when Tyler (Reddick) came over here this year, we knew that he was going to be the bar that we were going to have to set ourselves against. When I go to COTA, and I’m in the simulator and well more than a second slower than he is, I just think about how many road course we have left and how can I cut that down by the time we get to Sonoma? How can I cut it down by the time I get to Chicago? There are different ways, it is a process. You are not just going to wake up overnight and be better. You have to see examples to understand. You have to drive the same car that they are driving. I think, while Tyler helped a lot, I have to give credit to 23XI for really helping me quite a bit this week as well.”

It looked like the third lap was the fastest on tires. Was that surprising to you?

“It was. He would say otherwise, but Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) was trying to get me unbuckled after our last lap in the final round. He was like ‘that’s a good day, that’s a good starting spot.’ I just asked him ‘you don’t want me to try again? Maybe I could do it.’ I’m glad we did try again. The good things that we saw about the tires was they had a big fall off after a certain number of laps. I thought I saw two seconds or more after 10 laps, which is really good because it is going to allow us – tires are going to matter, your pit strategy will matter. All that basically means is we didn’t do a good job on our earlier laps, and none of us really professional road course racers. We don’t do it all of the time. There are certainly those that are better than others, but if you can go right back out and run faster, it just means that you didn’t optimize or do a good enough job your first time out.”

Where do you feel like NASCAR is at when it comes to safety?

“Charlotte was my first true head-on impact. I don’t know that we had those changes in the car for that, but I thought certainly it had some room for improvement. We all knew that it had room for improvement. This is just kind of the evolution process of the Next Gen. It is just going to take time to get it all right from a competition and safety perspective. I don’t think we did enough proper testing with it before we unveiled it, but it is good to see that changes are getting made. I think we are all confident – especially with the transparency that they are showing – with the safety stuff. Here are the videos, here is how it was, here is how it is going to change. The only difference is – what is the cause and the effect. There is always an effect. As the team owners, that just means that we are going to damage more products and it is going to cost us a ton more money, but the safety of the drivers is the first and foremost thing and we will figure out the rest.”

Can you describe the evolution of Toyota in one year on the road courses?

“I think that Tyler (Reddick) is an element of it, but certainly, I think our cars are better. Last year, we were at a pretty big disadvantage at tracks like this, which disadvantage here, gave us an advantage at other tracks. When the cars are so close, when one has an aerodynamic advantage at one spot over another, it is going to be great for one track and bad for another. The way we developed our car was really made to have a big spoiler on it, and when NASCAR and the drivers wanted to reduce the downforce, it made it to where our cars weren’t that good. We got to revamp that this year, and certainly, the whole package it put together more for the Toyotas and that is what you are seeing.”

What is your reaction to the final decision on the Austin Dillon/Austin Cindric incident and what is your thoughts on using SMT data to make decisions on penalties?

“I think you can’t ignore evidence – that is just crazy. If someone is going to have a race suspension, you have look at all of the evidence. I think they have looked at SMT in the past, it was just not as public as it is now. I agree – it was a very 50/50 thing, and did it warrant a suspension? Probably not, even though it looked a little iffy to me, because, in my opinion, I looked at the whole scenario. Let’s go back three laps and see if he was mad or not. He was definitely mad. Well then you have to look at intent. Is it pre-meditated or not?

But you can’t really know intent, right? NASCAR doesn’t like to get into intent.

“Trust me, they like to get into intent, for sure (laughter). That all matters. In the end, I think they made the right call in the end. I hadn’t looked at it until I was right there on the microphone and looking at it – and I was like, what is he doing turning left there, but if you look, it was so 50/50. It really was and Austin (Dillon) came up a little bit, so you could go either way with it, and I’m glad that they hedged on the side of not making a call when it’s that close. When it’s a different situation and it’s more egregious and obvious, absolutely, keep doing what they are doing.”

Does qualifying on the pole change your pit strategy?

“It’s going to be a factor for sure. It’s up to me to execute good laps and stay up front. That is going to be the biggest thing – is making sure that I can keep it on track and keep executing laps like I know how to do. With no stage breaks, it allows us to determine our own pit strategy. We are not chasing someone, hopefully. Now if we are, if we get passed by a few cars early, it’s up to us to do a strategy that keeps us in the race, but now you are not having to give up stage points to flip stages which is good. I think it is an opportunity for us to come out of here with a pretty good points day, if the driver doesn’t make mistakes.”

Do you think by NASCAR showing off the illegal parts will affect how teams move forward on finding speed?

“I mean, you listen, I think this is a good thing. Exposing, and kind of the public shaming, should be a deterrent. From what I saw, you almost have to think that was a mistake or just lack of judgement, for sure. But either way, it is not right. He shows you that it doesn’t fit the template, so it just doesn’t fly with us. I think it is good to be transparent. The things that NASCAR is doing to be more transparent on the safety stuff and the technical stuff I think is all good. It is storylines, right? We are all talking about – hey, did you see that or not? It’s good for our sport and educates our fans, so I think it is a good thing.”

Have you been working with Bubba Wallace on positivity and moving forward?

“I think a lot of that comes from results as well. I think he is a result person and that he is capable of winning, and he’s got the confidence now that he is capable of being a successful driver in this series. So even when you have bad weeks like you did last week, you have a failure at the end, he was still competitive enough, and in the top-10 to understand that, I’m with a really good team, and that team is general is really working well at improving. I think that is what we are seeing. Certainly, they helped me this week. I’m just really happy of where he is at, and the progression he’s made.”

Does having speed today give you optimism for the Chicago Street Course or Indianapolis?

“More so for Indy than the Chicago Street Course. I think that will be a challenge for me personally, but it is just going to come down to reps. How many reps can I get before I get there? That will kind of dictate, I think, how successful I am at that track, but I think generally speaking, this is a track where I felt like the bulk of my time, I thought I’ve been missing has been in three corners. I just worked on those and got better. When we go to Chicago, I’m learning a whole new racetrack. I’m probably going to be a little bit off everywhere. I think it is just going to take more work to learn it and figure out how I can be better.”

Have you done sim or iRacing for the Chicago Street Course?

“iRacing, but not sim yet.”

What three corners did you work on?

“I can’t say that. That’s propriety information.”

Do you feel like Bubba Wallace has arrived as a weekly contender?

“He doesn’t need to win. He just needs to keep doing what he’s done the last month and a half. If you could have listened to what we were talking about on our ownership calls, on what is the strategy to get the 23 in the playoffs, it was just kind of, let’s everyone take a breath here and let’s see how this goes for the next month and a half before we start changing our strategy, and then he goes on a run of top-fives and top-10s. I think consistency still pays, not only to get in the playoffs, but once you are in it. I think contender is probably the right and correct word for him. I think he was a participant for a while, and now he is a contender, week-in and week-out. That’s what we wanted and what we expected, and that is what he is delivering.”

Is he driving differently or are there other changes?

“It’s a lot. There is a lot of different aspects to being successful, and it is not all about driver skill. It’s managing races, it’s being a leader with your team. There is just so much that goes into it – to being successful for sure. I’m not here to spill all of the secret sauce, because it is so hard to be competitive in this league, you want to keep those things to yourself.”

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 48,000 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 22 electrified options.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Hamlin edges Reddick for first Cup pole award at Sonoma

By
Andrew Kim
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SONOMA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 10: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 10, 2023 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images).

Denny Hamlin saved his best lap for the last as he claimed the Busch pole position for the 2023 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday, June 10.

The three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, posted a pole-winning lap at 92.178 mph in 77.719 seconds, which was enough to claim the top starting spot over his 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick, who ended up posting the second-best qualifying lap at 92.068 mph in 77.812 seconds.

With his accomplishment, Hamlin notched his 38th NASCAR Cup Series career pole, his first at Sonoma and second of the 2023 season. He also recorded the 138th Cup career pole overall for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Through 629 previous starts and 49 victories in NASCAR’s premier series, Hamlin’s lone victory on a Cup road course venue occurred at Watkins Glen International in August 2016. Two months earlier, he was in position to win at Sonoma until he got bumped and overtook by former teammate and three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart on the final lap and final corner, which relegated him back to second place in the final running order. With a total of seven top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 17.9 through 16 previous starts at Sonoma, Hamlin will aim to achieve his first victory at Sonoma on Sunday, June 11.

Reddick, who won at Circuit of the Americas in March and at Road America in July 2022, will start alongside his owner Hamlin on the front row.

Michael McDowell, who finished third at Sonoma a year ago, posted the third-fastest qualifying lap at 92.060 mph in 77.819 seconds. Christopher Bell will line up in fourth place while AJ Allmendinger, who is pulling double-duty roles between the Xfinity Series and Cup Series doubleheader features this weekend, will start fifth.

Following suit on the starting grid is rookie Ty Gibbs along with Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr., thus placing five Toyota competitors in the top eight starting spots. Daniel Suarez, who notched his first Cup career victory at Sonoma a year ago, will line up in ninth place while Chase Elliott, who returns from a one-race suspension, will complete the top-10 starting lineup in 10th.

Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch, teammates of Richard Childress Racing, will start 11th and 12th, respectively, after both were the first two competitors to miss the final round cutoff to contend for pole position.

Notably, Kyle Larson, who started on pole in the last five Cup events at Sonoma, will line up in 16th. In addition, teammate Alex Bowman will start 14th in front of Ross Chastain, Joey Logano will start 17th in front of Bubba Wallace, Kevin Harvick will line up 21st in his 23rd and final start at Sonoma, William Byron will start in 26th behind Brad Keselowski and regular-season points leader Ryan Blaney will start Sunday’s event in 31st.

In addition, road-ringer Andy Lally will line up 33rd while Grant Enfinger, who is filling in for rookie Noah Gragson as Gragson continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms, will start 35th.

Qualifying position, speed, time

1. Denny Hamlin, 92.178 mph, 77.719 seconds

2. Tyler Reddick, 92.068 mph, 77.812 seconds

3. Michael McDowell, 92.060 mph, 77.819 seconds

4. Christopher Bell, 91.877 mph, 77.974 seconds

5. AJ Allmendinger, 91.873 mph, 77.977 seconds

6. Ty Gibbs, 91.819 mph, 78.023 seconds

7. Chris Buescher, 91.811 mph, 78.030 seconds

8. Martin Truex Jr., 91.736 mph, 78.094 seconds

9. Daniel Suarez, 91.449 mph, 78.339 seconds

10. Chase Elliott, 91.308 mph, 78.460 seconds

11. Austin Dillon, 91.780 mph, 78.056 seconds

12. Kyle Busch, 91.703 mph, 78.122 seconds

13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 91.425 mph, 78.359 seconds

14. Alex Bowman, 91.380 mph, 78.398 seconds

15. Ross Chastain, 91.347 mph, 78.426 seconds

16. Kyle Larson, 91.341 mph, 78.431 seconds

17. Joey Logano, 91.289 mph, 78.476 seconds

18. Bubba Wallace, 91.254 mph, 78.506 seconds

19. Corey LaJoie, 91.126 mph, 78.616 seconds

20. Aric Almirola, 91.087 mph, 78.650 seconds

21. Kevin Harvick, 91.052 mph, 78.680 seconds

22. Ryan Preece, 91.052 mph, 78.680 seconds

23. Justin Haley, 90.995 mph, 78.730 seconds

24. Chase Briscoe, 90.958 mph, 78.762 seconds

25. Brad Keselowski, 90.707 mph, 78.980 seconds

26. William Byron, 90.569 mph, 79.100 seconds

27. Ty Dillon, 90.525 mph, 79.138 seconds

28. Erik Jones, 90.311 mph, 79.326 seconds

29. Josh Bilicki, 90.261 mph, 79.370 seconds

30. Zane Smith, 790.115 mph, 79.498 seconds

31. Ryan Blaney, 90.001 mph, 79.599 seconds

32. Todd Gilliland, 89.862 mph, 79.722 seconds

33. Andy Lally, 89.789 mph, 79.787 seconds

34. Austin Cindric, 89.718 mph, 79.850 seconds

35. Grant Enfinger, 89.301 mph, 80.223 seconds

36. Harrison Burton, 89.148 mph, 80.361 seconds

With the starting lineup set, the 2023 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway is set to occur on Sunday, June 11, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

Toyota Racing – NCS Sonoma Quotes – Martin Truex Jr. – 06.10.23

By
Official Release
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Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

SONOMA, Calif. (June 10, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series event at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday:

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

What is about Sonoma that drivers appreciate over other road courses?

“The old asphalt here and the soft tire that Goodyear brings is a good combination, good speed taking off, you can really hustle the car and then five laps in you are starting to wear tires out and safe them. It is a lot different than any other road course that we go – and add in elevation changes, and things like that. It is a fun track. It is different than a lot of the newer tracks we go to.”

Do you have a layout that you prefer?

“I thought that they were both fun in their own respect. The carousel was a fun challenge, but I don’t think it caused enough drama. Turn seven is pretty crazy with the dive bombs and things on restarts, especially, so the excitement level with the drama – they wanted to get that back. Both courses are fun, challenging and tough to win at. “

What is your take on the lack of stage cautions here at Sonoma?

“I’m not sure. I think strategy comes in more when the cautions fall – it can certainly be a big factor in what happens during the race. In the past with stage racing, with the breaks, you kind of knew what you were going to do. If you wanted to try to win, except for one year, you had to pit before the cautions, before the stages, and give up stage points to have a chance at winning. Only one time it was done, where someone won stages, and won the race. I think now it’s just more straight forward, the guys that start up front will have a big advantage, qualifying will be more important than the past few years.”

Is there a reason that your road course finishes have been not as good with the Next Gen car compared to previous generations?

“No, it certainly is. Last year, I think as a group in general, we struggled on road courses and really never hit on anything much last year that worked very well, and now this year, I think we are lot closer. We ran pretty decent at COTA. I wouldn’t say COTA is a great measuring stick for us – at least for me – I don’t really feel like I have that place figured out. Tyler (Reddick) in the 45 car was dominate. We know that the opportunity is there with our cars this year, where we didn’t feel like it was last year, so hopefully we can be a lot better here than we were last year. It was a really big struggle for us, compared to years past, so we have a lot of new ideas and a lot of new things in our car this year from last year. I’m excited to get out there and see what it’s got.”

Is there a driver adjustment on a road course with the Next Gen?

“Honestly, not really. You drive the car as hard as you can. It’s still about the same things. It’s about getting in the corner as deep as you can and trying to out-brake people. Hitting your marks, hitting your shifts, all of the things it takes to get around a road course are still the same, it’s just a different car. We really haven’t honed in on how to make it fast yet.”

What are your expectations for the Chicago Street Course?

“I really don’t know. It’s going to be so dictated on how rough the streets are, how rough the track is. These cars don’t have a lot of suspension travel, they are really stiff, they bounce a lot. If it’s as bouncy as I think it’s going to be, it could be a handful, so I really don’t know. The only experience I have is iRacing, a couple of years ago, on it. I haven’t even been in the simulator yet, so that will be the first thing to tackle, and we will see where we go from there. It should be fun. It will be different than anything we’ve ever done, and I look forward to that. It is always fun to do new things.”

Are you excited for the off week, or do you wish you could keep going with the momentum that you have?

“I don’t know that it really matters. We’ve got a great team. We know what we are capable of now. We have a lot of confidence back that we lacked last year in our decision making and doing things throughout practice, whether it was strategy or whatever, it seems like things are clicking right now. I don’t know that an off week will change anything. We could probably use a few more off weeks before the playoffs if I’m being honest with you, but we don’t get those so I’m ready whenever.”

Is there one thing you can point to on why you are more successful this season?

“I think just better cars in general. Better cars, better understanding on what we need on the race tracks. Last year was a big learning curve. We were trying to figure out what direct we needed to go at races with this car and having 15-minute practices where you opt in on what you show up with, there is no real time to recover if you show up with some bad ideas, or things that didn’t work. You have to wait till you go back till that track again. Just all of that learning process and figuring things out has been a big factor for us. I think our cars are better this year as well. Toyota did some work in the off season and everybody at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) worked hard to try to put the pieces together, so I think overall, we just have a better platform to work with and a better understanding of what we need.”

Have the differences with Next Gen car changed the passing zones?

“I think the passing zones are still the same places that they’ve always been here. Turn 12 is the biggest one, but getting in that corner, getting off that corner, there is probably the best passing zone. Turn seven is another good one. When the tires wear out here, there is a lot of places you can pass. That is where guys really start to struggle. If you can take care of your stuff, you can pass them in different areas. It just changes the speed of the car in different places around here, different corners, a little more grip, and then the shifting is a little bit easier as well. No real worries about missing shifts these days – they took that out of the equation. No worry about hurting brakes, just for here, managing tires is going to be a big deal.”

How important is the off weekend?

“I’ll be away doing stuff. I’ll probably be fishing or hanging out. It’s kind of is easy for me. I try to get away from racing a couple of days a week no matter what just to keep my sanity. I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ll talk to (crew chief) James (Small) on Monday. I’ll talk to James, usually on Wednesday or Thursday again, so I’ll have a few days in between there to kind of regroup and keep my sanity.”

Do you think the win helped get the pressure off your back?

“It is definitely easier when you’ve won a race, especially in today’s format, with getting locked into the playoffs, you don’t have to worry about that. You can kind of relax, go race and do your thing. I wouldn’t say it hurt anything, by any means, but at the same time, having better race cars and showing up ready to go on these weekends without a lot of guessing is a big deal. Pit crew has been coming around here lately. We have still had a few hiccups here and there. It’s so important to execute in the race these days with how close the field is and how hard it is to pass at certain tracks. You have to do everything right. You have to all of the little things right. We’ve been able to do that pretty well the last month or so, but really feel good about what we’ve done all year as far as the speed of our cars, and how we’ve able to race. I feel like we’ve had winning cars three or four races this year already. It was nice to get one of them, but we would like to have more, so we will keep working on it.”

What are you doing to try to earn your fourth win at Sonoma?

“As much as we struggled here last year, I’m really anxious to get out there and see what we have. I’ve been thinking about it all week. We have a lot of different things in our car this year, a lot of parts and pieces, but a whole different set-up, a whole different mindset, more geared to what we used to try to come here and do. I’m excited to get out there and see what we can do with it. Hopefully, we will find some of that old magic.”

Is Tyler Reddick’s knowledge on road courses with the Next Gen car, does that also help you at Joe Gibbs Racing?

“Yeah, for sure it is. Especially, the simulator stuff and then looking at his data. Everybody was looking at his data at COTA. I guess the benefit for us is that we get to ask him questions and hear about it – why did you do this and why did you do that. I think there is a lot of benefit to that these days. Definitely, the simulator time as well. We’ve only raced the one road course this year, so we still have a lot to go and a lot to do here, but for sure it was crazy impressive what he did at COTA.”

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 48,000 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 22 electrified options.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

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