Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250 | Saturday, April 1, 2023
Ford Finishing Results: 4th – Ty Majeski 6th – Hailie Deegan 10th – Ben Rhodes 11th – Mason Massey 13th – Matt Crafton 14th – Zane Smith 21st – Josh Reaume 33rd – Keith McGee
NOTE: Hailie Deegan tied her career-best finish with a 6th-place run today, equaling what she did at Talladega last season.
HAILIE DEEGAN, No. 13 Ford Performance Ford F-150 – TAKE US THROUGH WHAT YOU SAW ON THE FINAL RESTART? “I was pretty pumped up because I thought we finished fifth, but I found out a second ago we finished sixth. So I’m not as excited, but it was still definitely a great day, especially where we started the season. I feel like we’re just getting the ball rolling, getting our confidence and just building off of what we have every single race, not having to rebuild trucks and just making them better. That’s what we were really focusing on this race, getting through all the wrecks. There were so many big ones today and I’m just so glad we were able to make some smart decisions and avoid all of them and come out with a good finish.”
WHAT GOT YOU UP FRONT TODAY? “Honestly, just staying in it all day. I didn’t qualify all that great. I think I tried to get a little too much in one and two in qualifying and got a little free down there, so I didn’t have the best lap. We were able to still stay in it all day, come back through the field and just chip away at it little by little. We made the truck better as the race goes on and as the track is changing, so as you’re moving around more everything was changing so quick, so I think we did a great job of that. My team did such a great job and I’m super thankful for everything that they’ve been able to give me for this race.”
ZANE SMITH, No. 38 SpeedyCash.com Ford F-150 – RESTARTS WERE PRETTY CRAZY. WHAT HAPPENED FROM YOUR VIEW? “Yeah, no doubt. First off, we got our SpeedyCash Ford better all throughout all the race, which is exciting. At the end there, it was overtime, overtime, overtime restarts and I don’t really know what was going on with the 2. He was just so sketchy, especially on the straightaways. He doored me, gets off me, drives it through the grass and then I just get hooked. We were in a great position to get our third win of the year there with the help of the 19 on that restart and, unfortunately, I’m missing the back end of my F-150. We’ll rebound and go to Bristol Dirt and hopefully have a good weekend there.”
YOU TRIED EVERYTHING TO GET BY SANCHEZ. IF THAT HADN’T HAPPENED AT THE END COULD YOU HAVE HELD ON TO WIN? “Yeah, I mean everyone – I was really surprised he wasn’t taking the top there for one because once you catch the right-rear of whoever you’re battling, typically momentum funnels to the top there and we were in just a great position to win. Unfortunately, he was kind of a dart without feathers on the straightaways. There was not much we could do.”
Chandler Smith, driver of the #16 Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway on April 01, 2023 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)
April 1, 2023 By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service
Rookie Chandler Smith earned his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday afternoon at Richmond (Va.) Raceway holding off John Hunter Nemechek on a final race restart with six laps remaining to hoist the ToyotaCare 250 trophy.
Smith’s No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet led a race best 83 of the 250 laps – the bulk of that early in the race. But the 20-year year old Georgia native was able to run among the top five for most of the day and ultimately drive his Chevy around Nemechek’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on that last restart, pulling away to a .298-second victory after some intense side-by-side action for the lead in the closing laps.
Smith has had three top-five finishes, including a gut-wrenching near miss at Las Vegas last month. After leading a dominant 118 laps and being out front with one lap to go at Vegas four races ago, he had to settle for third place. So this victory at Richmond was especially motivating for the young driver.
“Feels great,’’ a smiling Smith said. “This goes to testimony as to Vegas, dominated that race but didn’t win and said, it was all in God’s timing. … here we are in Richmond, my favorite race track and we’re sitting in victory lane.’’
It marks the third-consecutive runner-up finish for Nemechek at the 0.75-mile Richmond track; including a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race and the last two NASCAR Xfinity Series races there.
“We weren’t very good on the short run, we had a long-run speed car,’’ Nemechek said, “But we came from the back up there to battle for the win, put ourselves in position.’’
“Disappointed to run runner-up again, that’s the last three races I’ve run here, finished second. Frustrated but we’ll go back to work. The 16 (Smith) just had the best car on the short run.”
JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry finished third in the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet. He led 63 laps and was out front with 65 laps remaining until a series of caution flags and restarts that characterized the race ending.
Kaz Grala turned in a strong day with a fourth place showing in the No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota -equaling his career best effort in the Xfinity Series. And Cole Custer rallied to a fifth place finish in the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford after a problem on pit road and some tight side-by-side racing late in the day.
Justin Allgaier – who started his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet from pole position after qualifying was rained out Saturday morning – led laps early but had an up-and-down day. Ultimately, he finished 13th and was good enough to take the first $100,000 bonus in the Dash 4 Cash sweepstakes sponsored by Xfinity.
With his work, Allgaier now joins Saturday’s three new qualifiers – Chandler Smith, Berry and Nemechek to contend for the next $100,000 check at the series’ next race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on April 15.
“Weird day today, we didn’t fire off quite as good as we hoped for but they kept working, great pit stops all day.’’ Allgaier said, adding, “It’s weird finishing 13th and still be standing here holding this check but the other guys had a rough day. This puts us in next week for the Dash 4 Cash so huge thanks to Xfinity for all they do for the sport.’’
Seven different drivers led at least 24 laps – and for much of the race there were at least three drivers ranked among the top 10 looking for their first career Xfinity Series win.
Sheldon Creed, Ryan Sieg, Parker Kligerman, the season’s three-race winner Austin Hill and Derek Kraus rounded out the top 10. It was the first series start for Kraus, who raced among the top 10 in his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet for most of the day.
Riley Herbst, who led 27 laps and Brandon Jones, who led 24, were involved in an accident while contending for fourth place late in the race. Herbst finished 23rd while Jones was 21st.
The next race is the Call811.com Before You Dig. 250 at Martinsville Speedway on April 15 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 9 Mins, 29 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.298 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 43 laps.
Lead Changes: 10 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J. Allgaier 1-2;S. Smith # 3-42;R. Herbst 43-44;C. Smith # 45-79;R. Herbst 80-104;C. Smith # 105-140;J. Berry 141-161;B. Jones 162-185;J. Berry 186-227;J. Nemechek 228-238;C. Smith # 239-250.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Chandler Smith # 3 times for 83 laps; Josh Berry 2 times for 63 laps; Sammy Smith # 1 time for 40 laps; Riley Herbst 2 times for 27 laps; Brandon Jones 1 time for 24 laps; John Hunter Nemechek 1 time for 11 laps; Justin Allgaier 1 time for 2 laps.
Nearly a month after having a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway within his grasp slip out of reach in the final laps, rookie Chandler Smith redeemed himself through a late shootout to claim his first NASCAR Xfinity Series career win in the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, April 1.
The 20-year-old Smith from Talking Rock, Georgia, led three times for a race-high 83 of 250-scheduled laps as he spent a majority of the event running towards the front. After claiming the lead from John Hunter Nemechek during a restart with 12 laps remaining prior to a late caution, Smith then used the outside lane during the final restart with six laps remaining to duel and fend off Nemechek before pulling away and retaining the top spot to claim his first checkered flag in the series.
With on-track qualifying that was scheduled to occur on Saturday canceled due to inclement weather, the starting lineup for the main event was determined through a qualifying metric system from NASCAR’s rulebook qualifying procedure. Based on the metric system, Justin Allgaier was awarded the pole position and was joined on the front row by rookie Sammy Smith.
Prior to the event, Parker Kligerman dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 48 Big Machine Racing entry.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced amid a delay spanning more than half an hour due to inclement weather, Allgaier jumped ahead with the lead on the inside lane as he managed to clear Sammy Smith and proceed to lead the first lap. Behind, teammate Sam Mayer launched an early challenge on Smith for second ahead of Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric and Sheldon Creed while the field behind jostled for positions.
Two laps later, Sammy Smith overtook Allgaier with a strong launch entering Turn 3. A lap later, Mayer would overtake teammate Allgaier on the outside lane through the frontstretch to claim second place as Hemric and Herbst closed in on the battle.
During the fifth lap, early troubles ignited for Joe Graf Jr., who went dead straight into the Turn 2 outside wall due to a left-front tire while running inside the top 20. He was, however, able to make a pit stop without drawing a caution.
With the event surpassing the first 10-scheduled laps, Sammy Smith was leading by a second over Hemric followed by Mayer, John Hunter Nemechek, and Allgaier while rookie Chandler Smith, Herbst, Josh Berry, Sheldon Creed and newcomer Derek Kraus were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Anthony Alfredo was in 11th ahead of Brandon Jones, Cole Custer, Jeremy Clements and Ryan Sieg while Jeb Burton, Austin Hill, Kaz Grala, Josh Williams and Brett Moffitt were running in the top 20.
Through the first 20 laps, Sammy Smith continued to lead by more than a second over Hemric while Chandler Smith moved up to third ahead of Nemechek as Mayer fell back to fifth. Behind, Allgaier was back in sixth ahead of Herbst and Berry while Creed and Kraus occupied the top 10.
When the competition caution flew on Lap 35, Sammy Smith retained the lead over Hemric, Chandler Smith and the rest of the field with 36 of 38 starters scored on the lead lap. During the competition caution, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Hemric pitted while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sammy Smith and John Hunter Nemechek remained on the track. During the pit stops, Hill was penalized for speeding on pit road. Brennan Poole was also penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation after a tire rolled out of his pit box during his pit stop.
Once the event restarted under green on Lap 42, Sammy Smith jumped ahead with a brief advantage while Chandler Smith, Hemric and Herbst took Nemechek through a four-wide battle entering the first turn as Nemechek struggled to launch on old tires. With Nemechek getting swallowed up by the field and competitors running on fresher tires, Sammy Smith was then quickly challenged for the lead through the backstretch as Herbst muscled his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang to the lead on the outside lane. Kaulig Racing’s Hemric and Chandler Smith would quickly follow suit for podium spots against Sammy Smith, who was then overtaken by Brandon Jones, Creed and Custer as he returned to the frontstretch and continued to lose spots. As the field behind continued to scramble for positions during the following lap, Herbst was overtaken by Chandler Smith during the following lap with the latter clearing the field and slowly pulling away.
At the Lap 50 mark, Chandler Smith was leading by six-tenths of a second over Herbst followed by Hemric, Brandon Jones and Creed while Berry and Cole Custer duked for sixth. Allgaier was in eighth ahead of teammate Mayer, Kaz Grala, Kligerman and Ryan Sieg while Sammy Smith and Nemechek plummeted all the way back to 30th and 32nd while running on older tires compared to the field.
Fifteen laps later, Chandler Smith continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Herbst while Jones, Berry and Hemric occupied the top five. By then, teammates Nemechek and Sammy Smith were mired in 32nd and 34th, respectively, towards the rear end of the lead lap field as the leaders started to close in to lap them.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 75, Chandler Smith claimed his first stage victory of the 2023 Xfinity season. Herbst settled in a close second followed by Brandon Jones while Berry, Custer, Hemric, Allgaier, Creed, Ryan Sieg and Mayer were scored in the top 10. By then, Nemechek and Sammy Smith were lapped by the leaders. By being scored the first competitor a lap down, however, Nemechek was the recipient of the free pass while Smith remained pinned a lap down.
Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Chandler Smith returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Herbst exited first followed by Jones, Chandler Smith, Custer and Hemric. During the pit stops, Mayer endured a long pit stop and lost a lap after running in the top 10 while Ryan Sieg was penalized for having too many men over the pit wall.
The second stage started on Lap 84 as Herbst and Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Herbst launched ahead to retain the lead while Chandler Smith battled Jones for second as the field behind jostled for positions. With Herbst keeping his No. 98 entry in front of a side-by-side battle between Chandler Smith’s No. 16 Kaulig Racing entry and Jones’ No. 9 JR Motorsports entry, Custer followed suit in fourth while Berry was up in fifth.
At the Lap 100 mark, Herbst was leading by two-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith followed by Jones, Custer and Berry while Allgaier, Parker Kligerman, Creed, Kraus and Hemric were running in the top 10. Behind, Hill was in 11th ahead of Kaz Grala, Clements, Nemechek and Jeffrey Earnhardt while Ryan Ellis, Brett Moffitt, Alex Labe, Chris Hacker and Jeb Burton occupied the top 20.
Five laps later, Chandler Smith reassumed the lead over Herbst, who had to check up as Joe Graf Jr. endured more on-track issues by slipping sideways on the backstretch. Jones would eventually make his way into second place over Herbst while Custer was locked in a battle with Berry for fourth.
At the halfway mark on Lap 125, Chandler Smith was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Jones followed by Herbst, Berry and Custer while Kligerman, Allgaier, Kraus, Nemechek and Hill were in the top 10. By then, 27 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap, none of which included Sammy Smith and Mayer.
Fifteen laps later, Chandler Smith continued to lead ahead of Berry as Jones and Herbst fell back to third and fourth. Custer occupied fifth while Allgaier was the highest-running Dash 4 Cash competitor in eighth. By then, Hemric was lapped by the field.
Another lap later, Berry navigated his No. 8 Jarrett Companies Chevrolet Camaro into the lead with the leaders lapping the benchmarkers. Teammate Jones followed suit in second as Chandler Smith fell back to third. By then, Anthony Alfredo had scrubbed the Turn 2 outside wall with a flat right-front tire, but the event remained under green flag conditions.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 150, Berry claimed his first stage victory of the 2023 Xfinity season. Teammate Jones settled in second followed by Herbst, Chandler Smith and Custer while Grala, Nemechek, Kligerman, Allgaier and Creed were scored in the top 10. By then, 18 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.
Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Berry pitted and Berry retained the lead after exiting first followed by teammate Jones, Herbst, Chandler Smith, Custer and Nemechek.
With 89 laps remaining, the final stage started as teammates Berry and Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Berry retained the lead in front of Jones and Herbst while Chandler Smith launched his bid for the lead while running in fourth. During the following lap, Jones muscled his No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro into the lead while Chandler Smith battled Berry for second. Behind, Nemechek and Herbst battled for fourth in front of Custer and Allgaier as the field jostled for late positions.
Fourteen laps later and with 75 laps remaining, Jones was leading by two-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith followed by Berry, Nemchek and Allgaier while Custer, Herbst, Grala, Creed and Hill battled within the top 10. By then, 19 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap while names like Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Moffitt, Hemric, Mayer and Connor Mosack were off the lead lap category.
Another nine laps later, Berry battled and overtook teammate Jones to reassume the lead lap. With Berry slowly pulling away, Nemechek, who rallied from losing a lap during the first stage, started to challenge Jones for second while Chandler Smith fell back to fourth in front of Allgaier and Herbst.
With 50 laps remaining, Berry was leading by six-tenths of a second over Nemechek while third-place Jones trailed by more than two seconds. Chandler Smith and Custer remained in the top five while Herbst, Allgaier, Hill, Grala and Creed were back in the top 10.
Nearly 10 laps later, Allgaier, who was running inside the top 10, pitted under green for four fresh tires as Berry maintained his advantage over Nemechek. With 30 laps remaining, however, the caution flew due to Clements coming to a stop on pit road. By then, 13 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap while a multitude of names, among which included all four Dash 4 Cash competitors Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Mayer and Hemric were pinned at least a lap behind. In addition, Berry retained the lead in front of Nemechek, Jones, Chandler Smith and Herbst.
During the caution period, the field led by Berry pitted and Berry retained the lead after exiting with the lead followed by Nemechek, Jones, Chandler Smith and Herbst.
Down to the final 22 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Berry and Nemechek battled for the lead as Nemechek managed to muscle ahead on the outside lane and retain the lead through the frontstretch. With 20 laps remaining, however, the caution returned when Jones made contact with Herbst as Herbst backed his car into the outside wall as Jones slipped sideways and spun backward while getting hit by Custer’s No. 00 Haas Ford Mustang and barely by Connor Mosack’s No. 24 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota Supra. At the moment of caution, Chandler Smith cycled into second over Berry while Mayer was the recipient of the free pass after being scored the first competitor a lap down in front of Hemric and Sammy Smith.
During the following restart with 12 laps remaining, Nemechek retained the lead amid a side-by-side battle with Chandler Smith before the latter managed to move back into the lead. The caution returned shortly after, however, when Moffitt spun in Turn 3 as Leland Honeyman and Graf also spun to avoid hitting Moffitt. At the moment of caution, Sammy Smith received the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap.
With six laps remaining, the event proceeded under green. At the start, Chandler Smith and Nemechek dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch until Smith managed to move into the lead through Turns 3 and 4. During the following lap, Nemechek drew himself back alongside Smith’s No. 16 entry for the lead as both continued to battle through two tight lanes. Smith, however, would pull away through Turns 3 and 4 while Nemechek settled in second in front of Berry. Then with four laps remaining, Nemechek launched a final bid beneath Chandler Smith, but the latter pulled away with a clear racetrack in front of him and behind him. As the laps continued to dwindle, Chandler Smith retained a narrow advantage ahead of Nemechek and Berry.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Chandler Smith remained as the leader ahead of Nemechek and Berry. With Nemechek unable to close the gap despite launching a final overtake bid on the outside lane entering Turn 3, Smith was able to navigate his way around the short track circuit for a final time and claim the checkered flag by more than two-tenths of a second for his first series career victory.
With the victory, Chandler Smith became the 173rd different competitor to win in the Xfinity circuit and the fifth overall to win for Kaulig Racing. He also became the second first-time winner of the 2023 Xfinity circuit and the fifth different competitor to win through the first seven events on the 2023 Xfinity schedule.
Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images.
“[The win] Feels great,” Smith said on FS1. “This goes to testimony just to Vegas. Dominated that race, didn’t win. I said it was all in God’s timing. He’s in something creating way bigger better something than I know to do it. Here we are at Richmond, my favorite racetrack and we’re sitting in Victory Lane. All glory goes to God. Thank you, [owner] Chris Rice, [team president] Matt Kaulig, Quick Tie Products, everybody at Kaulig Racing, [crew chief] Bruce [Schlicker]. This is unbelievable.”
Nemechek rallied from nearly losing a lap during the first stage to settle in second place for his third top-five result of the season and at Richmond for a second consecutive season while Berry ended up third after leading 63 laps.
“We weren’t very good on the short run,” Nemechek said. “We had a long-run speed car. [I] Came from the back up there to battle for the win, put ourselves in position. Disappointed to run runner-up again. That’s the last three races here I’ve run second, so frustrating, but we’ll go back to work. We just got to figure out how to execute a little bit better. Just one of those days, but good run.”
Grala and Custer claimed top-five finishes in fourth and fifth while Creed, Ryan Sieg, Kligerman, Hill and newcomer Derek Kraus finished in the top 10.
Meanwhile, Allgaier was the winner of the first Dash 4 Cash initiative despite finishing in 13th place, which was enough for him to claim the bonus ahead of his opponents Mayer, Sammy Smith and Hemric, all of whom finished 17th, 19th and 24th, respectively. The accomplishment marked Allgaier’s first Dash 4 Cash bonus since 2018 and his fourth since 2016. Allgaier along with race winner Chandler Smith, runner-up John Hunter Nemechek and third-place finisher Josh Berry will contend for the second Dash 4 Cash bonus that will occur two weeks from now at Martinsville Speedway.
“Weird day today,” Allgaier said. “We didn’t fire off quite as good as we’d hoped, but [the team] kept working. Great pit stops all day. We pitted under green there to go for the win and ultimately, it bit us. Then it was just hanging on. We weren’t really sure what was gonna happen, but luckily, we were able to hold everybody off. It’s weird finishing 13th and still be standing here holding this [Dash 4 Cash] check.”
There were 10 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 43 laps.
Following the seventh event of the 2023 Xfinity Series season, Austin Hill leads the regular-season standings by 12 points over Riley Herbst, 18 over John Hunter Nemechek, 24 over Chandler Smith, 43 over Josh Berry and 46 over Justin Allgaier.
Results.
1. Chandler Smith, 83 laps led, Stage 1 winner
2. John Hunter Nemechek, 11 laps led
3. Josh Berry, 63 laps led, Stage 2 winner
4. Kaz Grala
5. Cole Custer
6. Sheldon Creed
7. Ryan Sieg
8. Parker Kligerman
9. Austin Hill
10. Derek Kraus
11. Alex Labbe
12. Jeb Burton
13. Justin Allgaier, two laps led
14. Chris Hacker
15. Ryan Ellis
16. Parker Retzlaff
17. Sam Mayer
18. Jeffrey Earnhardt
19. Sammy Smith, 40 laps led
20. Kyle Sieg
21. Brandon Jones, 24 laps led
22. Brett Moffitt
23. Riley Herbst, 27 laps led
24. Daniel Hemric, one lap down
25. Leland Honeyman, one lap down
26. Blaine Perkins, two laps down
27. Joey Gase, two laps down
28. Connor Mosack, two laps down
29. Patrick Emerling, two laps down
30. Garrett Smithley, two laps down
31. Mason Maggio, three laps down
32. Stefan Parsons, three laps down
33. Josh Williams, three laps down
34. Brennan Poole, three laps down
35. Gray Gaulding, five laps down
36. Jeremy Clements, seven laps down
37. Joe Graf Jr., 14 laps down
38. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is another Virginia event as the series travels southwest from Richmond to Martinsville for its first of two visits to Martinsville Speedway, which will also serve as the site of the second Dash 4 Cash event. The event is scheduled to occur on April 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
TWO TOYOTA TOP-FIVES IN TOYOTACARE 250 Kaz Grala ties career-best finish
RICHMOND, Va. (April 1, 2023) – John Hunter Nemechek (second) and Kaz Grala (fourth) earned top-five finishes in Saturday’s ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway. Nemechek will run for $100,000 as part of the Dash 4 Cash program in Martinsville. For Grala, fourth ties his career-best finish (Daytona 2018, Road America 2020). The finish is the second-best in Sam Hunt Racing history and the team’s second top-five at Richmond Raceway.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series Richmond Raceway Race 7 of 33 – 187.5 miles, 250 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS 1st, Chandler Smith* 2nd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK 3rd, Josh Berry* 4th, KAZ GRALA 5th, Cole Custer* 19th, SAMMY SMITH 27th, JOEY GASE 28th, CONNOR MOSACK 31st, MASON MAGGIO 37th, JOE GRAF JR. *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 20 Safeway/ACME Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Can you talk about the finish?
“Yeah, we weren’t very good on the short run. We had a long run speed car. We came from the back to battle up here. I’m just proud of everyone on this No. 20 Toyota GR Supra team for Joe Gibbs Racing. The Safeway colors looked great on our car. We came from the back as fast as Xfinity 10 G internet. Disappointed to run runner-up again. That is the last three races here I’ve ran second or third, frustrating. We will go back to work. We just have to figure out to execute better. The 16 (Chandler Smith) had the best car on the short run – it was going to be hard to hold him off, even early on, he would fire off and then drop back. Just one of those days. It was a good points day for us. I think we moved up a couple spots. Disappointed, but we will take it and move on to the next one.”
KAZ GRALA, No. 26 Toyota Racing Development Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
Can you talk about your race?
“It was our best race of the year – but not for a lack of effort. We’ve been bringing really, really fast Toyota GR Supras. Today was no exception. Everything fell our way – we had a solid day, through and through. We were a top-10 car easily on the short run, but we might have just been the best car out here in the long run. When the caution came out late, I was almost disappointed – but it turned out okay. We will take a fourth-place. I’m really, really proud of everyone at Sam Hunt Racing, Toyota, our partners, Reudebusch, Island Coastal Lager, Fire Department Coffee. We can’t do it without those guys.”
Does it feel extra special to get a top-five here with Sam Hunt Racing – their home track?
“Absolutely. Sam (Hunt, team owner) has a lot of friends, family and guests here this weekend, so this being his home race – this was a huge one. It is always a little bit sweeter to run well in your home race. We did just that. I liked today, because there was no crazy pit strategy, no cycling, no attrition – we were just straight up pretty good today. We were good on the short run, and really, really good on the long run. Very proud of everyone at Sam Hunt Racing, Toyota, our partners, Reudebusch, Island Coastal Lager, Fire Department Coffee. We can’t do it without those guys. This was a fun Saturday. We’ve got more of these.”
SAM HUNT, team owner, Sam Hunt Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
What does this mean?
“It means a lot. Especially, because it has been a tough year so far, we’ve had fast cars and things just haven’t fallen our way. We were good all day long. We were really hoping it went green, because I think we had a car to beat in the long run, but for this team, this group, to run with these guys and beat the cars we beat, it is special. It is really cool. I’m just grateful for all of the people that have believed in us, believed in me. I feel like I really don’t deserve this stage, this situation, this finish. I have just been so lucky to have great people help me and help this program.”
About Toyota
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Fort Worth, TX (1 April 2023) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) drivers Helio Castroneves (No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) and Simon Pagenaud (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) will start 21st and 22nd respectively on Sunday after qualifying for the PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway (12:15pm ET, NBC, SiriusXM Ch. 160).
A busy first day on track featured just one practice session before qualifying midday. Teams had a short 30-minute turn around following qualifying to prep the cars for final practice to close out the day.
The team felt good after Saturday’s opening hour of practice, putting both cars in the top 17, but the Ohio-based squad was unable repeat the result over two qualifying laps around the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway oval.
Pagenaud was first of the MSR drivers to qualify – third in the order – and was hoping that an earlier run and cooler temperatures would pose an advantage. Simon’s run yielded an average speed of 218.103 mph which puts him 22nd for tomorrow race.
Castroneves went out sixth in the qualifying order and posted a 218.196 mph lap which puts him 21st for tomorrow’s 250 lap race.
Sunday’s PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway will air on NBC on Sunday starting at Noon ET. SiriusXM will also host live IndyCar Radio coverage of both sessions on XM Ch. 160.
Driver Quotes:
Helio Castroneves (No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) – Starting 21st, Two-Lap Avg. Speed 218.196mph: “The car felt pretty much the same as it did this morning, obviously the lap time is a little different because we had drafting during practice. Balance-wise, the cars felt good, but we just weren’t fast enough. We’ll get ready for tomorrow and see how it goes in the race.”
Simon Pagenaud (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) – Starting 22nd, Two-Lap Avg. Speed 218.103mph: “The car felt good and the team did a great job making it handle really good in the corners. But we don’t know why just yet we didn’t pick up the speed in the car, but we will look into it and to understand what was going on. It’s a shame because the team did a great job preparing the car, but we’ll work hard and be ready for tomorrow.”
CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES PPG 375 TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FT. WORTH, TEXAS TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING REPORT APRIL 1, 2023
FELIX ROSENQVIST PUTS CHEVROLET ON POLE AT TEXAS SECOND CONSECUTIVE NTT P1 AWARD AT 1.5-MILE TRACK
Four Team Chevy Drivers in Top-Five Qualifiers for PPG 375
Fourth Career NTT P1 for No, 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet Driver
FT. WORTH – (APRIL 1, 2023) – For the second consecutive year, Felix Rosenqvist put his No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet on the pole at Texas Motor Speedway. It is the fourth NTT P1 Award of his INDYCAR Series career. This is the seventh pole for Chevrolet since 2012 when the Bowtie Brand returned with the 2.2 liter Twin Turbocharged Direct Injected V6.
With a two-lap average speed of 220.264, Rosenqvist leads four Team Chevy drivers starting in the top-five for the 250-lap on Sunday.
Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet starts third; Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, rolls off fourth and Pato O’Ward, No, 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet will start fifth
The PPG 375 will take the green flag Sunday, April 2 at 12:00 p.m. ET live on NBC, Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 160.
FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 6 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET:
“Waiting for most of the field to run is kind of what we went through last year. It was funny how similar that was to 2022. We have a great, great car! Thanks to McLaren, NTT DATA, Chevrolet and all our partners for just doing a phenomenal job to put us in this position. All three of us are quick and it’s always in the details by the team you know. It’s flat out just trying to shorten that track distance. And it worked out.
“It’s nice. I don’t know if you will really want to lead this race because of fuel. So maybe I’ll drop back a couple of sessions. We will kind of have to figure that out tomorrow, depending on how the car feels and race trim we have. It’s nice man. It’s nice to be in the beehive. Big field nowadays and fun.
“Great car. Arrow McLaren just gave us a weapon today again. I think we kind of just built on last year. Maybe it’s a good thing to start out early, I don’t know. The track kind of warmed up, so we’ll take it. Big thanks to all of our partners. Velo, NTT, Arrow, they’ve done just a phenomenal job. I think we’ve always been good here, but this is a whole different confidence level compared to last year. Let’s try to wrap it up tomorrow.”
On team confidence with him and the team…
“I think it is. It’s definitely a calm, and we’re all pretty nice and calm. Everyone at the No. 6 car, especially, I think we’re just kind of doing our thing. Not looking much at the others, and we were chatting there ‘Let’s not celebrate too early here.’ You never know if there’s a magic wind putting Marcus (Ericsson) into P1, but it was an amazing qualifying. I don’t think we could have done much better with what we had. Big thanks to everyone.”
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.
FORT WORTH, Texas (Saturday, April 1, 2023) – Felix Rosenqvist once again is the master of pure speed at Texas Motor Speedway, winning his second consecutive NTT P1 Award for the PPG 375 on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.
Rosenqvist, from Sweden, turned a two-lap average speed of 220.264 mph on the 1.5-mile oval to earn his fourth career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole and first top spot this season in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. His pole speed last year was 221.110.
With air and track temperatures climbing as the session progressed, Rosenqvist admitted that being the 10th of 28 drivers on track in the qualifying order helped him find more speed.
“I think we just built on last year,” Rosenqvist said. “Maybe it was a good thing to start early. The track kind of warmed up. We’ll take it. We’ve always been good here, but this is a whole different confidence level compared to last year. Let’s try to wrap it up tomorrow.”
The 250-lap race – the first oval event of the season – starts at noon (ET) Sunday. NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network will provide live coverage.
Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon will join Rosenqvist on the front row after a run of 219.972 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon has five career victories at Texas, including winning four of the last nine races on the high-banked, high-speed oval. He also earned his 10th career front-row start at Texas.
Alexander Rossi continued his strong start to the season with his new team, Arrow McLaren, by qualifying third at 219.960 in the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet. Reigning PPG 375 winner Josef Newgarden qualified fourth at 219.801 in the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet.
Pato O’Ward qualified fifth at 219.619 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to complete a power play for Arrow McLaren, which put all three of its cars in the first three rows of the starting grid. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato qualified sixth at 219.508 in his first start of the season in the No. 11 Niterra Honda.
Benjamin Pedersen was the fastest rookie in qualifying, earning the 13th spot at 219.100 in the No. 55 AJ Foyt Racing/Sexton Properties Chevrolet owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and Lone Star legend A.J. Foyt.
Scott McLaughlin led practice this morning at 223.747 mph but dropped to 15th in qualifying at 218.765 in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet. Series points leader Marcus Ericsson qualified 16th at 218.698 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
AVONDALE, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 04: Jake Drew, driver of the #6 Sunrise Racing-Molecule-Group A Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the 2022 ARCA Menards Series West championship after the ARCA Menards Series West Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 at Phoenix Raceway on November 04, 2022 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
The 2022 General Tire Spirit Award will be presented to long-time ARCA Menards Series West team owner and West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame member Bob Bruncati during the series’ first of two scheduled visits to Irwindale Speedway on April 1. Bruncati will receive a unique commemorative General Tire helmet, a check for $2,500, and a second check for $2,500 will be given to The City of Hope Medical Center, a charity chosen by the Bruncati family.
“At General Tire, we’ve been fortunate enough to play a small role in two of the four of Sunrise Ford Racing’s ARCA Menards Series West championships,” said Adam Keiser, content specialist for General Tire. “Bob Bruncati’s dedication to the series, and his knack for finding and supporting young drivers are just a few of the reasons we crowned him this year’s General Tire Spirit Award winner. Bob truly exemplifies why we created this award, and we wish him all the best in retirement.”
Bruncati started his career in motorsports owning a super late model which competed regularly at Irwindale. From there, the team expanded into the West Series in 2006, accumulating 346 starts and 40 wins among 12 different drivers.
Bruncati’s Sunrise Ford Racing team – named for the automotive dealerships he and his wife Maureen owned – earned four West championships, the first with Jason Bowles in 2009, then two with Derek Thorn in 2013 and 2018, and the final title in his final season as a West owner in 2022 with Jake Drew at the wheel.
Bowles led the way for Bruncati with nine wins, followed by Thorn with seven, Ryan Partridge with five, Drew with four, Blaine Perkins with three, James Bickford, Dylan Lupton, Michael Self, Trevor Huddleston, and Tanner Reif with two each, and Luis Martinez and Jagger Jones both with a single victory apiece.
Bruncati will continue in the sport with his Junior Late Model initiative, advancing opportunities for youth racers throughout southern California.
The General Tire Spirit Award is presented annually to a recipient who displays dedication to and support of ARCA, is uplifting by example, and by such actions earns the respect of the community, displays perseverance in the face of adversity, and maintains a supportive, helpful, and positive attitude even under duress.
Previous winners of the General Tire Spirit Award include Darrell Basham, Jack Bowsher, Andy Hillenburg, Kerry Scherer, Bill Kimmel, Brad Smith, and in 2021, Sarah Burgess. Burgess, along with her husband Adam and their family, relocated from Brisbane, Australia, to compete in a variety of motorsports in the United States, including the ARCA Menards
NASCAR CUP SERIES RICHMOND RACEWAY TOYOTA OWNERS 400 TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT APRIL 1, 2023
CHEVROLET FILLS FRONT TWO ROWS AT RICHMOND Past Richmond winners Bowman, Busch to start first, second in Camaro ZL1s
Due to morning rain and storms Saturday, race officials cancelled NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying sessions. The starting lineup for the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway has been determined by the NASCAR rule book.
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP: POS. DRIVER 1st Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 2nd Kyle Busch, No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL1 3rd William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1 4th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey Camaro ZL1 8th Ricky Stenhouse, No. 47 Kroger/Kraft Mac & Cheese Camaro ZL1 9th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 16th Corey LaJoie, No. 7 BlueGreen Vacations Camaro ZL1 20th Daniel Suárez, No. 99 Quaker State Camaro ZL1 22nd Erik Jones, No. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE Camaro ZL1 23rd Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Camaro ZL1 25th AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1 27th Austin Dillon, No. 3 BREZTRI Aerosphere Camaro ZL1 29th Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 30th Josh Berry, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 35th Anthony Alfredo, No. 78 DUDE WIPES Camaro ZL1 36th Ty Dillon, No. 77 NationsGuard Camaro ZL1 37th Chandler Smith, No. 13 Quick Tie Products, Inc. Camaro ZL1
TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP: POS. DRIVER 1st Alex Bowman (Chevrolet) 2nd Kyle Busch (Chevrolet) 3rd William Byron (Chevrolet) 4th Ross Chastain (Chevrolet) 5th Tyler Reddick (Toyota)
· FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 on Sunday, April 2, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 – POLE WINNER
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE IN STARTING FIRST VERSUS STARTING FIFTH?
“Pit stall selection, I think, is probably the biggest thing. You’d probably still have a pretty good pit stall at fifth, though. So not a huge difference. Having clean air and all that at the start is important. Hopefully we’ll take advantage of a good pit pick and have a good, solid day. This has been a hard place for me to get a hold of in the past, even with a win here. So just trying to maximize the day and keep chipping away at it.”
IS IT ANY DIFFERENT WALKING INTO THE GARAGE TO THE FIRST PIT STALL RATHER THAN THE 16TH?
“It’s definitely nice. It’s something I haven’t done in my career. So it’s cool to lead the points with this crew. Obviously we’re a handful of races in, so it’s a small sample size. But we have had a good start to the season, which feels really good. It’s my job to keep that going.”
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER FROM YOUR WIN HERE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO THAT YOU CAN APPLY TOMORROW?
“We’ve had some strong runs here. Honestly last year in the spring, we had a really strong run. We had a tire issue on one run that probably made our day look worse than it was. Really the day we won, we were really good on long runs. We struggled a little bit on the short run and had an uncontrolled tire to start Stage Three, so I had to start at the back and still drove to third before we got that late caution. We’ve kind of been hit and miss here a bit, but hopefully I can apply some of that long-run knowledge that I have or what I’m looking for in the racecar to help us tomorrow. I feel like you’re going to see a lot of long runs for the most part. With no downforce on the thing, it’s going to be a lot about taking care of your tires.”
WE’VE SEEN THIS BE A STRATEGY RACE IN THE PAST WITH THE WORN-OUT SURFACE. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR TOMORROW?
“Long runs and a ton of tire fall-off… kind of the same Richmond we’ve always seen. This is the one place that I don’t think that the downforce package is going to really change much. The tire fall-off always has been so high since this place has gotten worn out; it’s always been kind of what it is. I don’t even really feel like the race changed much when we went from the previous gen car to this car, so it’ll be interesting to see. I could be totally wrong but I think we’ll hopefully have a good day tomorrow.”
ON BEING BACK WITH GREG IVES.
“It’s been cool. He had a short retirement, right? I’m glad to have Greg back and glad to have that depth at Hendrick Motorsports to have a guy like that to fill in when needed. I enjoy working with Greg, and it’s been good to have him back.”
LEADING THE POINTS, BEST AVERAGE FINISH AND SO ON… WHAT’S BEEN GOING RIGHT FOR THIS TEAM?
“Execution. We’ve maximized our bad days. We struggled a little bit at Phoenix but still ended up in the top-10. At Atlanta, if the last lap goes a little different then we finish in the top-10 there, too. I feel like just maximizing our bad days and maximizing each little part and piece of everything throughout the races. This is a small sample size. It feels good to be leading points and to have this season that we’re having so far. We’re six races in and so much can change. We’re trying to continue that each and every week to keep that going.”
WHAT HAS IT BEEN AT RICHMOND THAT HAS BEEN A STRUGGLE?
“It’s been tough. We’ve had good days here and then we’ve had really bad days. You have a good day here and I’ve kind of left… Like last spring or even the race we won, I’m like ‘Man, I know exactly what we need and I know the feel that I want to have.’ Then we come back for the fall and be confused and can’t find that or can’t get the racecar to do the same things or feel the same way. So we’ve been a little more hit-and-miss than we want to be. We didn’t practice so it’s hard to say, but I think we identified some things that can help me. Hopefully with the right direction in the racecar we’ll be strong tomorrow.”
ON THE RESPECT BETWEEN DRIVERS ON-TRACK.
“They’re completely right. There’s no way around it. That second-to-last restart at COTA was a good example of that. I did not want to go down there and run into the 99 and the 19. The problem is that if I follow the 99 into the corner, then I get absolutely run over by everybody. So I get left just to try and defend that, but I still get runover by everybody and shoved into the corner. Fortunately it worked out for us but didn’t for those guys. If you are the super-clean guy and you’re not aggressive or anything, you’re typically going to be the guy getting used up. The cars are about indestructible at this point. The old car, you’d have tire rubs or knock the radiator out of it. We hit each other so hard all the time. At the Coliseum, it felt like you were crashing on every restart. It’s kind of crazy how hard we run into each other. I don’t like it. I’ve always tried to race super clean and I feel like I’ve been one of the cleaner, more fair guys at times – almost to a detriment. I don’t love racing like that but at some point if you’re not aggressive, you’re going to just finish bad every week. It’s also my job to maximize my finishing position for my race team and doing the best I can to achieve that and not be in the drama; we were in the drama a little bit last week but it’s a pain in the butt.”
WHAT’S THE FIX FOR THAT?
“I don’t think you can blame a racecar when we have three pedals, a steering wheel and a shifter. Everybody has the same thing and can avoid that. We don’t do it on the initial start of the races. We just do it at the end. So at that point, I don’t think you can just blame the car. I think the problem is that that gets rewarded. That style of driving absolutely gets rewarded where we are right now. I don’t know what the fix is. I think it’s a tough spot. I personally would love to see us do restarts in a different manner at road courses, whether that’s how F1 does it or just something different. The Turn One stuff at COTA and at Indy and possibly at Chicago is a bit much, but I think it’s a shared blame between the drivers and cars. It’s the situation we’re in. Every driver here is paid to maximize their finish and everybody sees that being aggressive and doing that stuff is going to help you. At some point, you’re just stuck in a corner where you have to or you’re just giving up positions, which if you give up positions, your team isn’t going to be happy with you. It’s an awkward box that we’re all in. Trying to tiptoe around that and be on the right side of things is tough sometimes.”
THIS THREE-RACE, SHORT-TRACK SWING COMING UP… YOUR THOUGHTS ON GOING INTO THOSE RACES AND IS THERE A STRATEGY FOR NEXT WEEK?
“For next week, I don’t know. It’s obviously an interesting race. I’m interested to see how it plays out. I unfortunately looked at the weather (for Bristol) today, and I’m a little nervous. Hopefully that changes. I think it’s a bit different. It’s somewhat fun depending on how the racetrack is and how the race goes for you. I love short-track racing. This place and Martinsville are super-technical. This place, especially, in trying to keep the rear tires on it and trying to find little bits of grip and trying to be smart when you’re racing guys is difficult at times but technical and fun. I like this stretch. It’s some good tracks for us. Hopefully racing the sprint car a little more helps me at Bristol even though they couldn’t be more different. At least I’ll have some dirt laps. I don’t know… we’ll see how it goes.”
THOUGHTS ON THIS PACKAGE AND HOW IT WILL PRODUCE AT MARTINSVILLE.
“I don’t think it’ll change much here. Hopefully it changes Martinsville because last year was not what we all wanted for Martinsville. It wasn’t what we all came to love about that place. Hopefully it improves the racing there… getting the tire to fall off, getting the rear tires to wear out, creating forward drive issues to where you can’t just downshift and accelerate off the corner and stop in the center of the corner and beat the guy behind you. We’ll see. I’m hopeful. It’s a step in the right direction. I think it’s really going to be about the weather, how the rubber lays down and how the tire falls off more than anything.”
About Chevrolet Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Richmond 1 Qualifying | Saturday, April 1, 2023
Practice and qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series was canceled today at Richmond Raceway due to rain. Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, stopped by the media center and talked about how the rain will impact the weekend and also about the improvement RFK has made this year.
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang – HOW DOES THIS RAINOUT CHANGE THINGS? “It’s not too bad. I guess we’ll start really well out of it. We were really good here last year and I guess that gives me a lot of confidence that we’re gonna be just fine. If last year didn’t go as well as it did, I would be a lot more nervous right now.”
WHAT’S THE MOOD LIKE AROUND THE SHOP WITH HOW IMPROVED YOU GUYS ARE THIS YEAR? “There was a lot of optimism at this time last year, but not a lot of results to go with that. It was just a tough time. There was a lot of development and a lot of stuff going on and we’re just in a way better place this year. We’re making some awesome progress. We’re not starting from scratch with so much new. We’ve definitely had a lot of speed. We’ve had some bad luck along the way too and some good luck as well, but a lot of hard work and good, fast race cars will fix a lot of things.”
WE HAVE BEEN TO SO MANY DIFFERENT KIND OF TRACKS, SO DO YOU HAVE A FEEL FOR WHAT YOUR TEAM’S STRENGTH IS RIGHT NOW? “The speed has been there at all of these different style of tracks so far, COTA maybe not as strong as we wanted, but we’ve had speed at a lot of different styles, so it’s not that any one is standing out to us right now. I think we have a lot of potential anywhere we go, which gives you confidence you’re not having to circle one race and put all your eggs in one basket.”
HOW HAVE THINGS EVOLVED WITH BRAD NOW THAT YOU GUYS KNOW EACH OTHER BETTER THAN A YEAR AGO? “It’s just getting closer and building up that friendship and that relationship within the shop, and getting to know how we’re gonna operate and how we’re gonna find speed together, what our driving styles are like. There are a lot of things that have definitely started to mesh a lot better as we’ve gotten through the offseason and into the beginning of this year. It’ll continue to get better, but it’s definitely way more comfortable now with where we’re at and knowing what we can say and what we’re focusing on and what we need to work on.”
YOU DID THE TIRE TEST AT NORTH WILKESBORO. WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE SURFACE AND DID IT COMPARE TO ANY OTHER TRACK? “I wasn’t surprised by it because I had heard a lot of stories, but the best I can compare it to is Berlin, Michigan when we were ARCA racing. That’s a track where you got wide-open maybe twice during an entire race. I felt like at Wilkesboro we were able to do a little better than that, but it definitely wears on tires hard, so that’s gonna be a really fun race. It was a good time going out there and I think it’s gonna be really neat when we get all cars on track for the All-Star Race.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO GO BACK TO A PLACE LIKE THAT WITH SO MUCH HISTORY? “It’s really neat. That was a little bit before my time, so it’s not something that I have a real personal connection to like a Darlington. I love going to Darlington because of the history and because I watched growing up and was able to go there early in my career in Xfinity, so we don’t have that at Wilkesboro. At the same time, you know the history behind it and you love that we’re going back short track racing. It’s also really just cool to see it evolve from that abandoned racetrack that you drove by on the way to Bristol twice a year and watch the trees grow up higher and higher and just watched it go away to watch it making that recovery and coming back. That’s the cool part, to see how much progress has been made and that we were actually on track. I went up there when (Earnhardt) Junior got that group together to go help clean up and get it scanned for iRacing, which we assumed was the last saving grace for it was to get it digitally cataloged so that when it did disappear there was still some evidence, but it’s become a whole lot more than that. It’s just really neat to see it evolve here rather rapidly to get to the point where we can get back on track and I’m looking forward to the race. It’s gonna be really cool.”
