NASCAR CUP SERIES
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
GOODYEAR 400
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT
MAY 13, 2023

Five Camaro ZL1’s Take Top-10 Starting Spots at Darlington Raceway

· At the conclusion of the NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Darlington Raceway, Chevrolet drivers took the top-three spots on the final speed chart, led by Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Llumar Throwback Camaro ZL1 team, clocking-in a fastest lap of 29.231 second, at 168.232 mph.

· Defending Darlington Raceway NASCAR Cup Series winner, Erik Jones, was second-fastest in his No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1, followed by Elliott’s teammate William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Throwback Camaro ZL1, in the third position.

· Five Chevrolet drivers advanced to the final round of qualifying to take a top-10 starting position in tomorrow’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway led by the 2023 Daytona 500 Champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr., qualifying his No. 47 Kroger / Country Crock Camaro ZL1 in the third position.

· Stenhouse Jr.’s top-three qualifying effort marks his second top-10 start at Darlington Raceway; and his fourth top-10 start this season.

· FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 14, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on the MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER
3rd Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / Country Crock Camaro ZL1
4th William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Throwback Camaro ZL1
5th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express / UPS Camaro ZL1
6th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Quaker State Camaro ZL1
7th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Throwback Camaro ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER

1. Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
2. Bubba Wallace (Toyota)
3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Chevrolet)
4. William Byron (Chevrolet)
5. Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)  
    
   

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 – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 13, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to the media following qualifying on Saturday at Darlington Raceway where he earned the pole position:

TOYOTA QUALIFYING POSITIONS
1st, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
2nd, BUBBA WALLACE
3rd, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.*
4th, William Byron*
5th, Ross Chastain*
8th, DENNY HAMLIN
9th, TYLER REDDICK
13th, TY GIBBS
16th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Starting Position: 1st

Is momentum a real thing in racing?

“It’s so hard to know, but it feels that way. I just think it’s a matter of everything coming together with your team. Our cars are fast, we’re executing and things are coming together lately and it feels like momentum, but it’s just things coming together. It’s a lot, it take a lot to be running good in this series at this level consistently and I think when all those things comes together, it’s momentum. But it’s also a lot coming together behind the scenes. It’s not just some crazy thing that falls out of the sky.”

Do you feel that you are on a good string of race tracks right now?

“I felt good a few weeks ago about that, knowing that we had some good tracks coming up. I think the first six or seven races of the year maybe, things were a little up and down, but we could see that we had speed and see what we were needing to do and what we were capable of. Went to Richmond and felt like we probably should have won there and ran ourselves out of tires. Then it was nice to just get it out of the way and get the win at Dover and then last week at Kansas, felt like we had a shot to win again and had some damage mid-race that hampered that. Overall, just qualifying well and we have speed everywhere we’ve been lately at all different racetracks. The team just across the board is doing a good job and it’s fun to come to the racetrack and be fast.”

How has this new race car changed how you race at Darlington?

“Not really, I think it’s really, really similar to what we’ve done in the past through different cars and throughout the year since basically all the way back to the repave, but similar. Just this car is a bit more difficult. It’s more difficult to run fast behind a car and to run faster than the guy in front of your specifically if they’re running the same line. So it’s very challenging, but it’s really the same thing. You have to be patient and hope they’re running somewhere different than you are which typically isn’t the case. If you’re able to move around a little bit, it’s helpful.”

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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Goodyear 400 Qualifying | Saturday, May 13, 2023

Ford Qualifying Results:
10th – Brad Keselowski
11th – Ryan Blaney
14th – Harrison Burton
15th – Joey Logano
17th – Aric Almirola
19th – Michael McDowell
20th – Kevin Harvick
24th – Todd Gilliland
25th – Austin Cindric
26th – Ryan Newman
27th – Chris Buescher
31st – Chase Briscoe
32nd – Ryan Preece
36th – Brennan Poole

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Castrol GTX Ford Mustang – “We were a little free, but we had a shot at the pole. I swung for the fence and got it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the pole, it was the fence, but, all in all, a top 10 starting spot for tomorrow. We want more than that, but it wasn’t a bad deal. It’s just small, cosmetic stuff to the car and we’ll just patch it up and race Sunday.”

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 51 Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford Mustang – “It’s fun to be back and at my favorite racetrack. I will say that the practice and qualifying session was less dynamic than I thought it was gonna be. The changes from the old car, the shifting and all that stuff, I felt like I adapted to all that stuff rather quickly, but the track is still my favorite, so that made it a lot easier. It’s easier to dance with a girl that knows how to dance.”

WHAT INTRIGUED YOU ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY? “Just the opportunity, really. Ultimately, I’m a week on, week off with my kids and just the way the schedule worked out my daughter is not racing. Obviously, there was a change in the driver lineup with the 51 car and gave me the opportunity to come and do this. I literally started this conversation prior to Martinsville and it was by accident when I texted Tommy Baldwin asking him about an opportunity to race a modified. He asked me if I wanted to go to Martinsville and I said, ‘In a modified?’ And he goes, ‘No, in a Cup car.’ And it all worked out for us to put all this together and do this, so thanks to Jacob Companies and Biohaven and Rick Ware Racing to give us the opportunity to, I say, play, but ultimately I feel like we’ve got a pretty competitive car that we just have to execute and see if we can move up from where we start.”

HOW MANY RACES WILL YOU BE DOING? “One at a time.”

WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF THIS CAR? “It drives pretty good. I mean, it’s totally different with the steering and transmission, shifting and all that stuff. It’s the first time I’ve ever shifted here at Darlington on a competitive lap, so the steering was probably the biggest change. The second biggest change was the way you drive the car and the fact that you can’t afford to get it sideways. I did a couple times just crossing seams and things like that, but it felt like we had a good practice session. I just wanted to get some laps under my belt, take some time and really kind of impress myself, I would say, in my qualifying lap to pick up a second from where we practiced and know that we’re still not top 10 on the speed charts, but, ultimately, it was a good, competitive lap.”

WHAT DOES A SUCCESSFUL SUNDAY LOOK LIKE? “I’ll let you know on Monday. Realistically, I feel like today has been successful and I feel like if we can just progress from where we are today and our competitive level, then Sunday will hopefully take care of itself. I don’t come here expecting to win or lead the most laps or anything like that. I’m realistic in those thoughts, but, ultimately, if we have the opportunity to just keep moving forward in the field and have good execution.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SAFETY ASPECT OF THIS CAR? “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t feel like I was putting myself at a significant risk. I mean, we’re always at some kind of risk, but based off the last 14-18 months proved myself right with some of the injuries and situations that we’ve had and talked about in the Cup garage. Ultimately, I know NASCAR is doing their job to make the cars better as they always have and this has been an entirely new beast that I think has surprised them in some of the aspects that they thought weren’t going to be an issue. Ultimately, I’m here because I feel comfortable and if we do something else, it’ll be at a comfortable place.”

WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART ABOUT BEING BACK AND RACING AGAIN? “I’ve paid attention to everything in respect to the car’s development, driver’s comments, safety, roll bars and crashes and data and things like that. I’ve been in tune, so it’s not like I’ve just been out on the farm making hay. I feel like it’s fun to be back and it’s fun to have the opportunity and I look forward to tomorrow.”

DOES IT GIVE YOU MORE CONFIDENCE TO BE AT THIS PLACE WHERE THE DRIVER MAKES A DIFFERENCE? “It’s definitely nice to have the driver be more a part of the equation as long as you feel like you’re a good driver. If you feel like you’ve got a good car at Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta, whatever you want to call it, then it’s more about the car. I feel like we have a great combination to work towards progress and that’s where we’re starting here. Today is a starting point. I don’t know where the ending point is, but we’ll take it one step at a time.”

DO YOU WANT TO DO MORE? “I told them when I did it. I said, ‘The only way I’m gonna do this and continue to do this is if it’s fun,’ and today was fun, so we’ll see.”

HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WANTING TO BE A CUP DRIVER AGAIN DURING THIS PERIOD? “I always said if the opportunity came and it was right, then I would do that. Obviously, the Hendrick lineup and the Gibbs lineup and the Penske lineup and what-not are fairly full and intact. I don’t see any changes there. This is an opportunity, especially with this car that’s somewhat equalized the field and the competition. When you tell the guys that they have to put this nut, this washer, this bolt, this whatever and have all these tolerances, then you’re taking a lot of the team characterization out of performance. Obviously, when I left Gibbs was stout. Hendrick was stout and there was obvious advantages per chassis that got grandfathered in. Who had the best nose and things like that, so I think it’s a good opportunity for me to sample where the series is right now.”