Toyota Racing – Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

AVONDALE, Ariz. (March 10, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. were made available to media after practice at Phoenix Raceway on Friday:

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 SHINGRIX Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

How different did the car feel today than it did in November?
“It was good. I think they did a really good job getting some grip out of the car. I told the crew chief (Chris Gabehart) right away that short track racing fall off is at least back a little bit. Certainly, I don’t know if it is going to be at the levels we’ve had in the far past, but I like where we are at.”

What will be you interested in seeing this weekend as we head into Richmond?

“This is a change. This is a big change. I’m looking forward to it. Certainly, the racing will be better in the sense of being able to pass versus what we had last year for sure. There is no doubt about that. Does it mean that we are going to have a double-wide finish? I would temper expectations. Certainly, from getting us to where we have to have throttle control, brake control, stuff like that – it is definitely a step in the right direction.”

How difficult is it to pass here?

“Typically, the narrower the race tracks, the more difficult the passing, but the more lap time variation you can have from new tires to old tires, you are going to have overtaking, so I think that if you look at the fall off we have had – the variation that we had last year – this is certainly more. That’s a good thing. I don’t want everyone to get excited and if the race is a snoozer – that just happens sometimes – but this is the right direction for sure.”

Is this more for long runs or short runs?

“Well everyone goes for all out speed as much as they can. It just seems like the Toyotas in general – we were faster on the back side. We weren’t blazing fast on the short run, but whenever you have the car sliding around, you wear out the tires more naturally. When you have drag and downforce taken out, it makes the car go down the straightaway faster. You’ve got to brake it more to slow it down, because min speed is slower, so it takes its toll on the car if you don’t’ take care of it.”

Are you an advocate for practice?

“I don’t know. I’m favor of practice simply because of the show portion of it. Do I want the team guys here three-to-four days a week? No. Certainly not. I do think there is something to be said to have practice to build storylines for Sunday.”

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

How much different did the car feel from what you drove last year?

“A little bit slicker, a little bit slower in general. Basically, using a little more brake and a little less throttle – slower mid-corner speeds and a little bit more slipping and sliding. I was in a little bit of traffic there and I felt like it was a little bit better in traffic, but the ultimate test will be what happens on Sunday, of course.”

What do you mean by a little bit better in traffic?

“Just better balance. With the other package, I felt like when you got behind another car and you lose the nose super bad, and you can’t get close to them. Just felt overall like I was more balanced, but I was never really close to a guy that was competitive in speed as the leaders. It was more just passing slower cars.”

Do you feel like that the program for you guys is better than last year?

“It’s too early to tell. I have no idea. We won’t know more till Sunday.”

Did you try the apron?

“I think everyone pretty much waits for the race, because it is so hard on the car.”

Is it really going to be that much harder on it with some of the changes?

“I guess there is less parts to damage, so I guess that is a good thing. All of the teams want you to stay off the apron till the race. We have to qualify tomorrow, so we have to have everything we can get.”

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

How was practice?

“I thought practice was very similar to how the majorly of my races have been recently. I felt pretty strong in the long run and pretty weak on the short run. Hopefully we can get that tilted a little bit to help with our fire off speed.”

Did it feel like it did at the test?

“I thought it felt similar. I don’t know if I’m biased towards it because I really like it, but I made passes in practice that I know that I absolutely wouldn’t have with the old package. I don’t know. I’m happy. I hope the other drivers feel the same way.”

What were you able to do to be able to accomplish that?

“I don’t know. It seemed like the car was less effected in practice. I was able to run the same line as guys and roll momentum on them and get underneath them whenever they started slipping. I’m optimistic about Sunday’s race.”

Was it just slower traffic that you were coming up on?

“That is hard to say because you don’t know what tires other guys are on, so that is very hard to say. Whenever you are on equal tires – it is going to be tougher, than when you have fresher tires. But in general, I felt like the traffic was better than what we had in the past.”

Do you think this will be good for this package going forward?

“I think so. It’s very, very early. We have a 50-minute practice session. I don’t know. I felt like I could pass a little easier and I felt like I could maintain my position easier when I was following guys, but we will know more on Sunday.”

About Toyota

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NASCAR CUP SERIES
PHOENIX RACEWAY
UNITED RENTALS WORK UNITED 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-PRACTICE
MARCH 10, 2023

KYLE LARSON TOPS LEADERBOARD IN NASCAR CUP SERIES PRACTICE AT PHOENIX

AVONDALE, Ariz. (March 10, 2023) – The NASCAR Cup Series’ (NCS) western swing concludes this weekend as the series takes on the one-mile tri-oval of Phoenix Raceway. The trip to the Avondale, Arizona, venue marks the first short-track race of 2023, which will also feature the debut of the new aerodynamic package that will be run on the series’ short ovals and road courses this season.

Teams were given increased practice time for this weekend’s event, with NASCAR’s premier series hitting the track for a 50-minute practice session Friday afternoon. Upon completion of practice, teams are allowed to make adjustments before going through technical inspection, which will take place on Saturday prior to the qualifying session that will set the lineup for Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500.

Kyle Larson topped the leaderboard at the conclusion of practice, driving his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 to a fastest lap of 27.427 seconds. Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman (No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1) was third-fastest, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 47 Thomas’ Camaro ZL1) was seventh-fastest overall to round the Team Chevy top-10.

Drivers in the top-10 of the NCS driver points standings were made available to the media following the series’ practice session, including Chevrolet drivers Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman, who sit in the first and second positions, respectively, in the standings heading into the Phoenix race weekend.

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 KUBOTA CAMARO ZL1: Post-Practice Quotes

How different did this feel this year compared to what you had here last November?

“We’re at a large loss of grip, I think even compared to the field. We missed it a bit.”

You were obviously in the simulator; you knew there was going to be less grip. Was it about what you felt in the simulator and others were better, or did you feel a lot worse than what you felt in the simulator?

“I haven’t really had enough time to really dissect what everyone else has. We had less grip than what we were projecting. Our balance is off.. the car is disconnected front to back. I feel like – the grip they have, my grip starts on their lap 10. Like I have 10 lap old tires when I have fresh tires.”

Do you have a tough time getting through all the corners, or was one area worse than another?

“We’re pretty loose on entry, so I can’t charge the corner like I want to. I felt like I was going to crash there a couple of times. Really, just a four-wheel slide, both rear and front. So I’m loose entering the corner and exiting, and it never really grips at the center of the corner.

It’s not like one glaring thing.. it’s just a lack of grip. We’re a couple of tenths off at fire-off, like on a fast lap. And then even once we get into the run, they start to come back to us, but it’s too late and we’re still off at the end of it.”

How did the car feel in traffic and were you able to setup a pass the way your car felt?

“I was the one getting passed (laughs). As they were passing me, it looked easier for them than it would have been last fall, for sure.”

Any idea with this package whether there is the ability to find grip between now and qualifying?

“We’re changing springs, shocks and settings all over the car, so I don’t really have an answer. It’s so new.. I probably won’t have an answer until probably, realistically, Sunday night or in the race to see if it feels different. I just haven’t ran enough to really confidently tell you.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY BEST FRIENDS CAMARO ZL1: Post-Practice Quotes

“I feel like our No. 48 Ally Camaro is pretty decent. Cool to have Best Friends on board this week and overall, it was a solid practice for us.”

Did it feel any different than what you drove here last year, as far as just downforce and handling?

“I think all of the cars are definitely slipping and sliding a little bit more. I don’t think a race car has ever really felt great at this place. I mean even when I’ve been really strong here, the race car never feels great. So yeah, a lot of slipping and sliding around.

I will say, it felt like dirty air was as bad or worse than it’s ever been here, so we’ll have to see how the race goes. That was one car behind another, so maybe it will be different in the race. But yeah, still the same stuff.”

You hear grip a lot.. people are talking about grip.

“Yeah, I mean when you take downforce off the race car, you have less grip. So that’s just how it’s going to be. I think as a whole, like behind other people, you can physically see people slipping and sliding more, so that’s just going to be part of it.”

The aero issue, are you further way in experiencing that or can you get closer to the car before you get that aero issue?

“For me, which I don’t know I haven’t talked to anybody else yet, so I don’t really know what everybody else felt… but it just felt like I lost even more grip behind another car from a pretty big distance back. We’ll have to wait and see. That was with pretty new tires and not equal tires between the cars, so a little different scenario than the race will actually be.”

Did you try the apron at all, as far as cutting the dog-leg?

“I didn’t. I mean we all did last year in the race and it was fine, so I think we’ll all be down there tomorrow for qualifying.”

Were you excited to get the extra practice at COTA, as well?

“I was excited to run the truck race and everybody else only had 20 minutes of practice. But yeah, I think if we unload and we’re not great, I’m going to be excited to have extra practice. If we unload and our car is amazing and we don’t make it any better, I’m going to be like ‘man, we didn’t need that’. So it’ll be a selfish race car driver thing, one way or another.”

Do you feel like this package will fit your driving style after this practice session?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I mean I feel like this place has been hard for me and I ask for the wrong things out of the race car in certain areas of this racetrack. So just trying to do the right things and Blake (Harris, crew chief) is really good about helping me lap-to-lap to try to do better things at some of these places. But yeah, hopefully it suits me. We’ll see on Sunday.”

JOSH BERRY, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1: Post-Practice Quotes

How excited or nervous are you? Can you take me through Monday and Tuesday until they told you that you were definitely going to do it? What type of emotions or conversations did you have?

“Well, to be fair, really before I got home from Vegas, I had a pretty good idea that I was racing. So that eased my mind a little bit and let us focus on this week. We were able to start preparing really as soon as we got home. Monday afternoon, I was at HMS; and in the afternoon, I was at Chevrolet (Technical Center) running laps (on the simulator). It’s been a busy week.

Really thankful to be doing this. It’s a weird opportunity obviously.. we’re all thinking about Chase (Elliott). We want him to get healthy and get back. But thankful for the meantime, I’ll get to run some races.”

What does it mean to you to know you’ll be able to be in four or five races and maybe not just one race to try and prove yourself?

“Yeah, I think that definitely helps knowing that I at least have a couple of them. We don’t know how many that’s going to be. Like I said before, I’ll be available as long as this group needs me. It’s giving me a great opportunity to learn and grow. I’m just excited to keep going.”

Just having the extra time, last week everything was just kind of thrown together. You’re kind of finding your comfort zone now that you’ve had time to work with these guys.

“Yeah, I mean I think from my side of things, it’s hard to set expectations. We’ve seen this Next Gen car be a challenge for everybody. Everybody in the industry is having to adapt to that. I’m just trying to control two things.. and that’s my attitude and my effort towards this. Staying positive, working hard and working with this group, and doing everything I can to be prepared. Work with these guys, work with Chase (Elliott) and everybody back at the shop to just try to continue to do better. It’s just one lap at a time and I think if we keep doing that, we’ll be able to get some solid finishes.”

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
United Rentals Work United 500 | Friday, March 10, 2023

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang – YOU EARNED YOUR FIRST CAREER CUP VICTORY IN MARCH AND POSTED A TOP-FIVE FINISH IN NOVEMBER LAST YEAR. HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT BEING BACK HERE THIS SEASON? “Yeah, I’m definitely excited to be back here. I feel like anytime you can come back to a place where you’ve won in the past, you’re excited to go there because you’ve had success. So, I’d say this week I’m a little apprehensive with just how much everything has changed… I’d say going into this weekend from a downforce side, just because we were really good here in both races last year. With the amount of change this year, we’re not really sure how that’s going to correlate. For us hopefully, we’re going to show up similar to how we ended last year. I guess we’ll find out here in a little bit if that’s going to work and in the pack how that’s going to translate. I’m excited to just kind of turn our season around here. I feel like this is a great opportunity to do it. That’s what we’ll try to do.”

IT HAS NOT BEEN YOUR IDEAL START TO THE SEASON, BUT DOES COMING BACK TO PHOENIX GIVE YOU SOME GOOD MOJO OR IS EVERY TRACK THE SAME? “I’d say, honestly, it’s pretty similar to how we’ve been everywhere this year. Last year we led 40-something laps in California and in Vegas we led laps. All the races at the beginning of last year, we were battling for wins. Then this year, we’ve been maybe in the top-20 once. I’d say the vibe going into the weekend is the same just because I feel like every weekend, we go to the racetrack thinking we can go there and win. We just really haven’t had the speed this year. I think this weekend is a great opportunity for us to kind of get some momentum and confidence back. But at the same time, like I said earlier, everything is so different. So it’s hard to say if what happened last year will even translate to this year from a setup side. I don’t know. We’ll just go into this weekend and give it our best – see where we are at the end of it all.”

AS FAR AS THIS NEW SHORT TRACK PACKAGE, THE TALK IS THAT THE CARS TEND TO SLIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THE CORNERS. YOU THINK THAT WILL FAVOR DIRT RACERS LIKE YOU? “I don’t know. I feel like at the Cup level, everyone is so good that your background really doesn’t matter. I’d say typically the dirt guys tend to like to slide around a little bit more – the less downforce, typically the better for us. But, it just makes guys that have zero dirt background, like a Martin Truex Jr., really good too. At this level, it really doesn’t matter just because everyone is so good. I know for me, I’d rather slide around for sure and have less downforce. Until we get out there and race it, I don’t know what it’s even going to be like. I know there’s definitely going to be less downforce, but from a lap time standpoint, it wasn’t like a second or so slower than what we ran here before – only a couple tenths. I’ll be curious to see how much different that race is with the hot temperatures. I’m sure it’ll make us slip and slide around a little bit more, too. I don’t know if you’ll really get the full scope of the low downforce package here, just because this place is kind of unique in its own sense, but I think when you go to some other places – like a Richmond or somewhere like that – you’ll definitely notice a difference.”

IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW THE CAR WILL REACT IN A RACING SITUATION BY USING A SIMULATOR? “I wouldn’t say a racing situation, but by ourselves, I was on the simulator Tuesday for four hours. The Wednesday before that, I was probably at Phoenix for two-plus hours on the simulator. I think we’ve definitely been trying to prepare for it, but until we get a true data point of what it’s like on the racetrack, it’s going to be hard to really translate that into simulation. For us, at Stewart-Haas, it’s been a little bit more of a challenge to prepare for it because we were really the only Ford team, out of the big teams, that didn’t get to come to the test. So, we’re a little bit behind from a simulation side – just to know what to even expect. Whereas, RFK and Penske had been here for the test. For us, we’re just unloading exactly how we finished the race last year, so we can get a true data point for what it was last year and what it is this year. That way going forward, we kind of know what that delta is.”

HOW DOES WINNING SO EARLY LAST SEASON CHANGE THE DYNAMICS FOR THE TEAM? “It definitely gets a lot more attention paid to it at the beginning of the year, where if it was in the middle of June or July and a guy went on a three-race streak, it might get mentioned. But, it’s not a talking point week-in and week-out. It’s definitely more challenging at the beginning of the year because obviously you’re amped up and excited to get the season going. You have all these high expectations. It kind of puts you in a more down mood when it’s at the start of the season versus if it was in the middle of the season because you know you have the win to lean back on. You’ve had other good runs throughout the year so you can always kind of get your confidence right back, whereas in the beginning of the year, I definitely think there is a lot more emphasis put on it not only from a team standpoint but also from a self-confidence and media standpoint. It’s unfortunate anytime you have a three-race slump, but it definitely get a lot more attention in the beginning of the year than it would in the middle of June or July.

SO HOW DID THE WIN CHANGE THINGS FOR YOU LAST YEAR, EVEN WITH THE UPS-AND-DOWNS AFTERWARDS? “It’s a lot less stressful when you got the win with how the structure is with everything else – if you have a win, nothing else really matters, right? For us, not having a win: If we go a month from now and we’re still in 25th-30th place in points, well then there’s a lot more to not be happy about if we keep going on a slump. When you have the win in your back pocket, you can kind of ride off a bad week – or even a couple weekends – because you know that you’re still in the playoffs and that whatever happens, you’re still good. When you don’t have that win is when it gets even more pressing, and there are a lot more struggles because you don’t have anything to fall back on or anything to race for but the win. If you’re not in the playoffs, you don’t even think you have a shot unless you go for the win. But when you have that win, it just changes your whole season. Especially, winning as early as we did last year, it not only changed our team’s aspect but even on the racetrack for me going back to Bristol, it would be the perfect example of ‘if I was 10th/12th place in points and know I’ll potentially be on the bubble, I probably don’t try to make that move.’ But having a win in our back pocket – another win is five bonus points – that’s huge for us. It’s kind of a ‘win everywhere’ at that point, and it definitely changes how you race the rest of the season if you have a win early in the year.”

HOW MUCH DOES YOUR TEAM LOOK FORWARD TO HEADING BACK TO THE EAST COAST AND SPENDING TIME DEVELOPING THE CAR? “I don’t know if being back on the east coast really changes anything. I think it’s going to be nice just because we’re not really going to run any mile-and-a-half tracks for a while – I mean you have Atlanta, but that’s kind of its own racetrack. I think we’ll have a better idea where we stack up after this weekend. Last year, I thought the Fords were really strong on short tracks. I think if it’s a struggle for us this season, there’s going to be a lot of questions trying to get answered. But, it’ll be nice to get back into a rhythm of going to racetracks that I feel are a little bit stronger for us. I just got told a little bit ago that we were going to do the Charlotte test, so for us that’s going to be really important just with how ‘off’ we kind of are on the mile-and-a-halfs right now. I think for us, for Stewart-Haas and the No. 14 car, we know that Fords are at a little bit of a disadvantage right now. But the problem is, we need to be one of the top-three Fords on Sunday – we don’t need to be one of the bottom three. That’s what we’re working on first, and once we get to being one of those top-three Fords, then we’ll worry about our deficit to the other manufacturers.”

TO GO TO COTA AND HAVE GUYS LIKE JENSON BUTTON AND KIMI RAIKKONEN IN THE FIELD, WHAT KIND OF ‘WOW’ MOMENT IS THAT FOR YOU? “Growing up in a town of 3,000 people and one stop light, I would have never thought in a million years I’d race against an F1 guy let alone two of them in one race – even be teammates with an F1 World Champion. It’s going to be really cool for me to get to experience that, get to know Jenson, and just see how he prepares. I’ve got to see how these incredible race car drivers prepare whether it’s Kevin [Harvick] or Aric [Almirola], and now a world-class level with Jenson will be a lot of fun. Truthfully, I think on the road course side, he’s going to be able to bring a lot to the table. Last year, I kind of did that in a driver swap with Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen. They only ran like five laps a piece at the [Charlotte] roval. They were within a second of what I was running at pretty much 100 percent. So, those guys are such unbelievably road racers , that Jenson is going to bring a lot to the table just as far as things to look for and maximize. I’m really excited for that side of it and the opportunity, because it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

ONE OF YOUR MAIN SPONSORS IS MAHINDRA. IS THERE A CORRELATION BETWEEN THAT AND THE FORMULA E TEAM? “It’s the same company as the Formula E team. Last year, we were actually close to a thing where I was going to go to Brooklyn and run some laps in the Formula E car. So that’s definitely something going forward that I’d like to try to do – just try anything open-wheel. Obviously, I’ve done sprint cars and midgets, but never anything on a road course with open-wheeled. There’s definitely that connection there to possibly do something someday. I’d love to do it with Team Mahindra, for sure. I don’t know about race, but I’d at least love to run some laps to see what it’s like. I’ve been fortunate to drive the Ford Mach-E 1400, and to feel 1,400 horsepower electric was unbelievable. It’d be cool to do it with the Mahindra Formula E car as well.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 ITsavvy Ford Mustang – HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT PRACTICE SESSION? “Pretty good. Phoenix has probably been one of the tracks where I needed the most work and I have worked pretty hard at it. Brad (Keselowski) was really happy leaving the test here several months back, so I came here with a lot of optimism knowing that the new package would be different for everybody as well. Historically we seem to do a lot better when you take a lot of downforce out of these things. Practice was good. I feel like our fire-off speed was pretty decent there. No real read on it for qualifying runs but the long run speed seemed to hold on pretty good. We are still chasing a few tenths here and there but a pretty good start for us.”

HOW CRUCIAL WAS IT TO HAVE BRAD HERE AT THE TEST A COUPLE MONTHS AGO? “Huge. It has been really tough in the industry and a lot of people have commented on the fact that we only have a few cars doing a lot of these tests that are pretty massive changes to what we are running week in and week out. It is a competitive advantage to be able to do that and fortunately we were able to be in on that one. We have been out on a lot of others that we know are going to make it harder on us. That was big for us knowing that this is a place where we needed it as much as anywhere. It is a track Brad has been good at in the past as well. It will give us a lot to lean on for changes today and a ballpark of where to aim firing off.”

DID YOU NOTICE A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TODAY AND THE PACKAGE LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE? “Yeah, there is just way less downforce in the race car. That is good. We will see how it races. I think it has a lot of potential to break the field up and make you have to move around. It is still aero sensitive front to rear and center off, but that seems pretty typical everywhere with this car. I don’t know how to fix that part of it. I think with the lack of downforce total it will make us hunt more.”

“It is a big difference out there and a lot more movement in the car. Corner entry is way less stable. I feel like we are still going to fight some dirty air, center off. You are going to be trying to get a fender out. Front to rear, dirty air, has been pretty prevalent with this car and no matter what spoiler or underbody has been on it. So, we are still fighting some of that but we need to get all the cars on track to really get the best read on it. Nobody is really racing too aggressively in practice. We did try to get around other cars and get a feel for it to know what it would be like in certain situations. Restarts, when we get two, three or four-wide it will change drastically then.”

WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY THERE IS MOVEMENT IN THE CAR AND HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO WHEN YOU WERE HERE IN NOVEMBER? “Just a lot more rear movement on entry. The center of the corner, it is just overall slower. Then the exit: You are going to fight for some forward drive. The blade on the thing is barely enough to wrap your finger tip around pushing it around the garage. It is a pretty drastic change. The mock races from the test were pretty promising in showing that this could be a better racing product and we are optimistic that it will be. Personally I have always liked it when we had less downforce on the race cars and feel like we run better. I am excited to see how it goes during the weekend here once we get all the cars on track and can really get a feel for it.”

IT WAS PRETTY COLD DURING THE TEST HERE, AND IT WAS CLOUDY AS THE SUN WAS SETTING HERE IN PRACTICE. SUNDAY, IF YOU GET THE SUN ON THE TRACK DO YOU THINK IT WILL MAKE A BIGGER DIFFERENCE? “Yeah, that is a good observation. I think it is a lot cloudier this evening than we anticipated and track temps came down pretty drastically which did keep the speeds up more than we anticipated. I will say, I think we had a lot of unknowns but it seems like we were a decent amount faster than I thought we would be. Once it gets sunny out here and get that desert sun on track, we will see it move around even more, get slicker, and start chasing more clean air and more racetrack. We don’t have the PJ1 to save us over here in one and two anymore, so you have to hand on to it if you get up out of the groove. We have to see where the wind is going to go. Last I heard it was going to be pretty windy on race day, but probably not like last week. There will be a lot of weather changes as we go through the weekend.”

WHAT ARE THE UNKNOWNS GOING INTO THE RACE STILL? “Everything. When you think about it, 50 minutes of practice gives you time for a change or maybe two, compared to a typical weekend but this car is still very new to the garage. After a full year of 20-minute practice sessions, we are all happy to have 50 minutes, but it is still substantially less than what we are used to. It is still a thrash and cars take longer to make bigger adjustments on them as well. Even though we are allowed that opportunity here, it does soak up a lot of our time to be able to do that. We will get another run or two in there, maybe get a good long run which is nice and get a read on the package. We will take as many as we can get but would still love another 50-minute package to go with it to be able to make bigger changes, regroup and hit the ground running for the next run.”

THIS TRACK WAS GOOD FOR FORD LAST YEAR. DO YOU GET A SENSE ABOUT HOW YOU GUYS FEEL AS A GROUP WITH WHAT THIS TRACK ALLOWS YOU GUYS TO DO? “Well, it wasn’t a really good track for me last year. I know what you are talking about though so hopefully some of that carries over for us. It just wasn’t really strong for me. Brad did come do the test here and left very happy. We had pretty good speed in practice there, so we are optimistic but we have a lot to figure out when we get into race conditions.”