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Austin Hill scores dramatic Xfinity Series victory at Las Vegas

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

From trailing rookie Chandler Smith by nearly three seconds with 25 laps remaining to narrowing the deficit and overtaking him prior to the final lap, Austin Hill cashed in with his second NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season in the Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 4.

The 28-year-old Hill from Winston, Georgia, led three times for 19 of 200-scheduled laps, including the final two, as he overtook Smith for the lead prior to the final lap. Smith, who led a race-high 118 laps but had an advantage of nearly three seconds erased in the closing laps, was then overtaken by Justin Allgaier for the runner-up spot as Allgaier, who had been penalized earlier for a restart violation, tried to steal the victory away on the final lap. Time, however, fell in the favor of Hill as he held off a hard-charging Allgaier to steal the spotlight with his second victory through the series’ first three events of the season.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, rookie Chandler Smith notched his first Xfinity career pole after posting a pole-winning lap at 183.119 mph in 29.489 seconds. Joining him on the front row was veteran Justin Allgaier, who clocked in the second-best qualifying lap at 182.778 mph in 29.544 seconds.

Prior to the event, the following names that included Cole Custer, Sheldon Creed, Gray Gaulding, Josh Berry, Brandon Jones and Kyle Busch dropped to the rear of the field in backup cars. Brennan Poole, Ryan Ellis, Alex Labbe and Garrett Smithley also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars along with Patrick Emerling, who replaced CJ McLaughlin in the No. 53 Emerling-Gas Motorsports entry.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Chandler Smith peeked ahead with the lead on the outside lane followed by Brett Moffitt while John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Hill fanned out entering the first turn. With a three-wide action occurring through the first two turns between Nemechek, Hill and Parker Kligerman for spots in the top five, Smith cleared the field to assume the lead followed by a side-by-side battle for the runner-up spot involving Justin Allgaier and Brett Moffitt.

As the field returned to the frontstretch, Chandler Smith led the first lap ahead of Moffitt and Allgaier while the field behind continued to fan out and jostle for positions early. Then during the following lap, the first caution flew when Kligerman, who was locked in a battle with Daniel Hemric for fifth place, got loose and slightly tapped by Nemechek as he spun in Turn 2, though he did not make any contact to his No. 48 Big Machine Racing entry as he pitted for fresh tires.

When the race restarted under green on the sixth lap, Chandler Smith and Allgaier dueled for the lead for nearly a lap until Smith managed to pull ahead on the outside lane to retain the lead. As the field behind fanned out, Austin Hill made his way into third place followed by Nemechek, Brett Moffitt and Daniel Hemric.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Chandler Smith was leading by two-tenths of a second over Allgaier followed by Nemechek, Hill and Hemric while rookie Sammy Smith, Herbst, Sam Mayer, Berry and Moffitt were running in the top 10. Tyler Reddick was in 11th ahead of Rajah Caruth, Anthony Alfredo, Kyle Sieg and Jeb Burton while Kyle Busch methodically worked his way up to 16th from the rear of the field.

Three laps later, Allgaier muscled his No. 7 Brandt Chevrolet Camaro past Chandler Smith for the lead as Nemechek started to gain ground on the two leaders. Another four laps later, Nemechek assumed the runner-up spot over Smith while Hill and Hemric remained in the top five. It would not be until Lap 22, however, when Nemechek cycled his No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Supra into the lead over Allgaier.

Through the first 30 scheduled laps, Nemechek was leading by four-tenths of a second over Allgaier followed by Hill, Hemric and Chandler Smith while Herbst, Sammy Smith, Berry, Mayer and Kyle Busch were battling in the top 10. Behind, Moffitt was in 11th ahead of Creed, Reddick, Jeb Burton and Kligerman while Brandon Jones, Alfredo, Custer, Ryan Sieg and Kyle Sieg occupied the top 20.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Nemechek, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Auto Club Speedway, captured his first stage victory of the 2023 Xfinity season. Allgaier trailed in the runner-up spot by more than a second while Hill, Chandler Smith, Herbst, Hemric, Kyle Busch, Sammy Smith, Creed and Berry were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the field led by Nemechek pitted for service and Hill was the first competitor to exit pit road first followed by Nemechek, Allgaier, Busch, Hemric and Chandler Smith. During the pit stops, Alex Labbe was penalized after a tire rolled out of his pit stall and toward the track. Josh Bilicki was also penalized for speeding on pit road.

The second stage started on Lap 53 as Hill and Nemechek occupied the front row. At the start, Hill and Nemechek dueled for the lead as the field behind fanned and jostled for spots. Entering the backstretch, Nemechek cleared Hill for the lead while Chandler Smith, Kyle Busch and Allgaier engaged in a three-wide battle for third place. A few laps later, Allgaier launched a bid for the lead to the outside of Nemechek, but Nemechek managed to pull ahead on the inside lane as Chandler Smith and Hill joined the battle. The battle for spots towards the top five proceeded as Sammy Smith and Kyle Busch crept into the picture at the front while Allgaier managed to pull ahead in front of Chandler Smith and Hill for the runner-up spot. Amid the battles, Nemechek checked out with a decent advantage while Hill and Kyle Busch duked for fourth place in front of Sammy Smith.

Through the first 60 scheduled laps, Nemechek was leading by two-tenths of a second over Allgaier, who had Chandler Smith closing in for the spot, while Kyle Busch and Sammy Smith were in the top five. Meanwhile, Hill fell back to sixth ahead of Mayer, Herbst, Hemric and Kligerman while Brandon Jones, Creed, Berry, Custer and Moffitt were mired in the top 15.

Ten laps later, Nemechek continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over the new runner-up competitor Chandler Smith, who overtook Allgaier for the spot nearly 10 laps earlier, while Allgaier, Kyle Busch and Mayer were running in the top five. In the midst of the battles, Hill was back in sixth ahead of Sammy Smith, Kligerman, Brandon Jones and Herbst while Hemric was back in 11th.

Then after Chandler Smith reassumed the lead on Lap 72 followed by Allgaier, the caution flew a lap later when Josh Berry, who was battling Herbst for 10th place, got loose entering Turn 4 and spun his No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro across the grass without sustaining any damage. By then, Nemechek had fallen back to third in front of his former boss Kyle Busch. During the caution period, Berry pitted along with Nemechek, who radioed a possible vibration and loose wheel throughout the second stage, while the rest led by Chandler Smith on the track.

When the race proceeded under green on Lap 78, Chandler Smith and Allgaier battled for the lead for nearly a lap until Allgaier managed to pull ahead on the inside lane to take over the lead. In the midst of the battles, Hill was in third place followed by Kyle Busch while Brandon Jones emerged in the top five in fifth over Sammy Smith.

Five laps later, however, Allgaier surrendered the lead and was forced to serve a pass-through penalty down pit road after being assessed a restart violation for diving his car below the inside line prior to the start/finish line. With Allgaier plummeting to 26th place and as the last competitor on the lead lap, Chandler Smith reassumed the lead followed by Hill and Kyle Busch while Brandon Jones and Sammy Smith were in the top five. Then with four laps remaining in the second stage, Hill overtook Chandler Smith for the lead as Kyle Busch and Jones closed in on the two leaders.

With two laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when Rajah Caruth spun towards the apron in Turn 2. Caruth’s spin was enough for the second stage scheduled on Lap 90 to conclude under caution as Hill captured his second stage victory of the 2023 Xfinity season. Brandon Jones settled in second in front of a hard-charging Kyle Busch while Mayer, Sammy Smith, Chandler Smith, Herbst, Custer, Moffitt and Creed were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders led by Hill returned to pit road for service and Hill retained the lead after exiting pit road first. Kyle Busch exited second followed by Berry, who only opted for fuel for his service, while Herbst, Brandon Jones and Chandler Smith exited in fourth through sixth, respectively. Following the pit stops, Ryan Sieg and Jeremy Clements were penalized for speeding on pit road.

With 103 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Hill and Kyle Busch occupied the front row. At the start, Hill and Busch duked for the lead through the first two turns as the field behind fanned out. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Busch peaked ahead with the lead and started to maintain control of the field in his No. 10 LA Golf Chevrolet Camaro while teammate Chandler Smith battled Hill for second place.

With the event surpassing its halfway mark, Busch maintained a slight advantage over teammate Chandler Smith, with the latter launching his own challenge for the lead before reassuming it on Lap 102. Meanwhile, Hill fell back to third in front of Brandon Jones and Herbst while Berry was back in sixth over teammate Mayer, Sammy Smith, Custer and Hemric. By then, Allgaier was in 12th while Nemechek was in 15th.

Down to the final 90 laps of the event, Chandler Smith was leading by nine-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch and a second-and-a-half over Hill while Bery and Mayer were in the top five. By then, Brandon Jones was in sixth ahead of Herbst and a hard-charging Allgaier while Sammy Smith and Hemric occupied the top 10. By then, Custer was back in 11th over Creed, Nemechek, Kligerman and Tyler Reddick while Moffitt, Kaz Grala, Ryan Sieg, Jeb Burton and Joe Graf Jr. were mired in the top 20.

Fifteen laps later, Chandler Smith continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch, who slowly began to decrease his deficit to his Kaulig Racing teammate, while Hill remained in third place and trailed by more than a second. Meanwhile, Allgaier charged his way back to fifth place following his restart violation penalty in the second stage as he tried to navigate his way around teammate Mayer for fourth place. Then with 69 laps remaining, Hill navigated his way around Busch for the runner-up spot as Allgaier started to close in on Busch for third place.

With nearly 60 laps remaining, Chandler Smith retained the lead by more than a second over the new runner-up competitor Allgaier while Hill, Mayer and Kyle Busch were scored in the top five. By then, Nemechek carved his way back to eighth behind Herbst and Berry while Hemric had fallen to 14th in between Custer and Moffitt.

Not long after, pit stops under green ensued as Kyle Busch pitted. Chandler Smith would pit his No. 16 Quick Tie Chevrolet Camaro a lap later along with Allgaier, Hill, Mayer and others. During the pit stops, Sammy Smith slid his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra sideways below the apron while trying to enter pit road. During his spin, he managed to come to a stop sideways in front of Josh Williams’ pit stall and avoid hitting Mayer, who was completing his service, as the race remained under green flag conditions. Amid his spin, Sammy Smith was penalized for speeding on pit road. Brandon Jones was also assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road, but his situation went from bad to worse when he received another speeding penalty when he sped while serving his first penalty.

With less than 55 laps remaining and with the series of green flag pit stops completed, Chandler Smith, who lost the lead to Hill following his pit stop under green before navigating his way back around Hill, cycled his way back to the lead followed by Hill, Kyle Busch, Allgaier and Mayer.

Under the final 40 laps of the event, Chandler Smith was leading by more than two seconds over Hill followed by Allgaier, who navigated his way around Kyle Busch for third place, while Mayer settled in fifth. By then, Berry occupied sixth in front of Herbst, Nemechek, Creed and Hemric while 13 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap. Following his pair of pit road speeding penalties, Brandon Jones was relegated back to 28th.

With 25 laps remaining, Chandler Smith extended his advantage to nearly three seconds over Hill while Allgaier trailed by nearly four seconds in third place. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was mired in fourth place, trailing by more than six seconds, while Mayer was back in fifth place and trailing by nearly 10 seconds.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Chandler Smith, who was mired behind lapped competitors a few laps earlier and had led by more than two seconds, continued to lead by over a second Hill despite being reported to save fuel. Hill remained in second followed by Allgaier, who closed in on Hill for the runner-up spot.

With five laps remaining, Chandler Smith retained the lead, but only by nearly half a second as Hill continued to cut Smith’s advantage in his final bid for the lead and the win. Then with two laps remaining, Hill, who managed to close the gap and get close to the rear bumper of Smith’s car through the first two turns and through the backstretch, made his move beneath Smith’s No. 16 entry as he assumed the lead entering the frontstretch.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hill was out in front ahead of Smith as Allgaier drew himself alongside Smith for the runner-up spot. Through the backstretch, Allgaier overtook Smith as Hill remained as the leader. As Allgaier tried to close in to Hill’s rear bumper, Hill managed to methodically navigate his No. 21 Global Industrial Chevrolet Camaro through the final two turns out in front and beat Allgaier by two-tenths of a second to steal the show and grab the victory.

With the victory, Hill, who won the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in February, notched his fourth career win in the Xfinity Series, his first in the series at Las Vegas and the 90th Xfinity victory overall for Richard Childress Racing.

“[While I was] Passing one of the lapped cars early in our run, when [Chandler Smith] got by me [after a restart on Lap 98], I got really, really loose on entry to [Turn] 3,” Hill said on FS1. “I thought I was gonna wreck it, saved it. [Smith] got really far out. I just knew I had to not abuse the tires and try to methodically just work my way through traffic. The track was really tough today. Had a really thin line between [Turns] 3 and 4. If you missed it by—it seemed like a half of an inch—you paid for it through the whole lap. That’s just really what I stuck to all race long, was just trying to be disciplined through 3 and 4…I saw [Smith] struggling in traffic and my spotter Derek [Kneeland] was like, ‘Come on, baby. You can get it!’ I saw him get tight off of [Turn] 4 there, and I knew I painted the line perfectly. I knew if I could clear him down the frontstretch, I felt like once we had clean air, we could hold him off. We still got some things to work on, but it feels good to win on a mile and a half, not just these superspeedways.”

As Hill celebrated the victory, Chandler Smith was left disappointed over falling short of his first Xfinity Series victory. The 20-year-old Smith from Talking Rock, Georgia, however, remained optimistic over his third-place finish and a strong run in his third career start with Kaulig Racing.

“Overall, I got a little tight there at the very end,” Smith said. “It is what it is. That’s a tough pill to swallow. There’s some things I could’ve done inside before we started getting tight. All in all, I can’t be too disappointed. It’s my sixth [Xfinity] start, third start with Kaulig Racing. We had a really fast Quick Tie Products Camaro, and I just really appreciate [owner] Matt Kaulig, [team president] Chris Rice, everybody at Kaulig Racing for bringing me on board, believing in me. We’re going to win a few races this year, for sure.”

Allgaier settled in second place while Kyle Busch, who was aiming for a triple weekend sweep at his home track, ended up in fourth place in his first start with Kaulig Racing and in his first of five Xfinity starts of the 2023 season. Berry rallied to finish fifth while Nemechek, Mayer, Herbst, Creed and Hemric completed the top 10.

There were 14 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 22 laps. Only 12 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the third event of the 2023 Xfinity Series season, Austin Hill leads the regular-season standings by 21 points over Justin Allgaier, 24 over John Hunter Nemechek, 34 over Chandler Smith and 44 over Riley Herbst.

Results.

1. Austin Hill, 19 laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Justin Allgaier, 10 laps led

3. Chandler Smith, 118 laps led

4. Kyle Busch, four laps led

5. Josh Berry, two laps led

6. John Hunter Nemechek, 45 laps led, Stage 1 winner

7. Sam Mayer, one lap led

8. Riley Herbst

9. Sheldon Creed

10. Daniel Hemric

11. Parker Kligerman

12. Cole Custer

13. Tyler Reddick, one lap down

14. Jeb Burton, one lap down

15. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

16. Kyle Weatherman, one lap down

17. Sammy Smith, one lap down

18. Alex Labbe, one lap down

19. Anthony Alfredo, two laps down, one lap led

20. Kyle Sieg, two laps down

21. Brandon Jones, two laps down

22. Brett Moffitt, two laps down

23. Kaz Grala, two laps down

24. Ryan Sieg, three laps down

25. Jeremy Clements, three laps down

26. Rajah Caruth, three laps down

27. Ryan Ellis, three laps down

28. Bayley Currey, three laps down

29. Jeffrey Earnhardt, three laps down

30. Josh Williams, three laps down

31. Josh Bilicki, four laps down

32. Gray Gaulding, four laps down

33. Brennan Poole, four laps down

34. Patrick Emerling, six laps down

35. Blaine Perkins, eight laps down

36. Garrett Smithley, 13 laps down

37. Parker Retzlaff, 14 laps down

38. Joey Gase – OUT, Fuel Pump

Next on the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, for the series’ third and final stretch of a three-week West Coast swing. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, March 11, at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

Dramatic late pass lifts Austin Hill to NASCAR Xfinity win at Las Vegas

By
Official Release
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 04: Austin Hill, driver of the #21 Global Industrial Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 04, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

March 4, 2023
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

LAS VEGAS—Austin Hill ran down rookie pole winner Chandler Smith from three seconds back, passed him as the cars approached the white flag and held on to win Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The victory was the second of the year for Hill, who won the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet won for the first time at Las Vegas and for the fourth time in his career.

Smith’s car tightened up in the closing laps, allowing both Hill and Justin Allgaier to pass him on the final two circuits. Hill finished .268 seconds ahead of Allgaier, who was closing on the final lap but ran out of time.

Kyle Busch ran fourth in his first Xfinity Series start of the season and lost his chance to complete a Las Vegas triple. Busch won Friday night’s CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at LVMS and will compete in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube NASCAR Cup Series event (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“When the 16 (Smith) got by me (after a restart on Lap 98), I got really, really loose off of (Turn) 3,” said Hill, who led 19 laps and won Stage 2. “Almost wrecked it, saved it. The 16 got really far out. I just knew I had to not abuse the tires and try to methodically just work my way through traffic. The track was really tough today. Had a really thin line between (Turns) 3 and 4. If you missed it by—it seemed like a half of an inch—you paid for it through the whole lap.

“That’s just really what I stuck to all race long, was just trying to be disciplined through 3 and 4… I saw the 16 struggling in traffic and my spotter Derek (Kneeland) was like, ‘Come on, baby. You can get it!’ I saw him get tight off of (Turn) 4 there, and I knew I painted the line perfectly. I knew if I could clear him down the frontstretch, I felt like once we had clean air, we could hold him off.”

In a green flag run to the finish that lasted 103 laps, Smith took the lead from Busch on Lap 102 of 200, regained it on Lap 146 after a cycle of pit stops and held it until Hill powered to the front on Lap 199.

“I just got a little tight there at the very end,” said Smith, who led 118 laps. “It is what it is. That’s a tough pill to swallow. There are some things I could have done inside before we started building tight. Getting by (lapped traffic)—we needed to have a bigger bumper.

“All in all, I can’t be too disappointed. It’s my sixth (Xfinity) start, third start with Kaulig Racing. We had a really fast Quick Tie Products Camaro, and I just really appreciate (owner) Matt Kaulig, (team president) Chris Rice, everybody at Kaulig Racing for bringing me on board, believing in me. We’re going to win a few races this year, for sure.”

John Hunter Nemechek won the first stage but lost track position when he had to pit on Lap 74 because of a loose wheel and never got back in contention for the win. Nemechek, who led 45 laps, finished sixth behind Hill, Allgaier, Smith, Busch and Josh Berry.

“Probably one of the fastest cars—just didn’t execute,” Nemechek said. “It’s frustrating, but to come home sixth after a loose wheel, going to the back and driving back up through. Then pitting and going to the back. Just shows the speed, and we’ll have to go to Phoenix (next Saturday) and put it on them.”

Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Sheldon Creed and Daniel Hemric completed the top 10.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Alsco Uniforms 300
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nevada
Saturday, March 4, 2023
(9) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 200.
(2) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
(1) Chandler Smith #, Chevrolet, 200.
(11) Kyle Busch(i), Chevrolet, 200.
(5) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 200.
(7) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 200.
(13) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 200.
(10) Riley Herbst, Ford, 200.
(12) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 200.
(8) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 200.
(6) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 200.
(3) Cole Custer, Ford, 200.
(15) Tyler Reddick(i), Toyota, 199.
(24) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 199.
(17) Joe Graf Jr., Toyota, 199.
(26) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 199.
(14) Sammy Smith #, Toyota, 199.
(32) Alex Labbe, Ford, 199.
(23) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 198.
(22) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 198.
(19) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 198.
(4) Brett Moffitt, Ford, 198.
(21) Kaz Grala, Toyota, 198.
(18) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 197.
(25) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 197.
(16) Rajah Caruth(i), Chevrolet, 197.
(36) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 197.
(29) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 197.
(35) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 197.
(27) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 197.
(31) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 196.
(34) Gray Gaulding, Ford, 196.
(33) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 196.
(38) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 194.
(30) Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, 192.
(28) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 187.
(20) Parker Retzlaff #, Chevrolet, 186.
(37) Joey Gase, Toyota, Fuel Pump, 156.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 136.519 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 11 Mins, 51 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.268 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 4 for 22 laps.

Lead Changes: 14 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders: C. Smith # 1-12;J. Allgaier 13-21;J. Nemechek 22-48;A. Hill 49-53;J. Nemechek 54-71;C. Smith # 72-85;A. Hill 86-97;K. Busch(i) 98-101;C. Smith # 102-140;J. Allgaier 141;S. Mayer 142;J. Berry 143-144;A. Alfredo 145;C. Smith # 146-198;A. Hill 199-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Chandler Smith # 4 times for 118 laps; John Hunter Nemechek 2 times for 45 laps; Austin Hill 3 times for 19 laps; Justin Allgaier 2 times for 10 laps; Kyle Busch(i) 1 time for 4 laps; Josh Berry 1 time for 2 laps; Sam Mayer 1 time for 1 lap; Anthony Alfredo 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 20,7,21,16,98,11,10,18,2,8

Stage #2 Top Ten: 21,9,10,1,18,16,98,00,25,2

Toyota Racing NXS Post-Race Recap — Las Vegas 3.4.23

By
Official Release
-

NEMECHEK SCORES TOP-10 AT LAS VEGAS

John Hunter Nemechek Continues Strong Start to 2023 Xfinity Season

LAS VEGAS (March 4, 2023) – John Hunter Nemechek was the top-finishing Toyota GR Supra in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a sixth-place finish. For Nemechek, it’s the third consecutive top-10 result to kick off the 2023 season with finishes of second at Daytona, a win at Auto Club Speedway and today’s top-10 result.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 3 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Austin Hill*
2nd, Justin Allgaier*
3rd, Chandler Smith*
4th, Kyle Busch*
5th, Josh Berry*
6th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
13th, TYLER REDDICK
15th, JOE GRAF JR.
17th, SAMMY SMITH
23rd, KAZ GRALA
38th, JOEY GASE
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 6th

How was your race overall and what did you struggle with after showing dominance early in the race?

“Probably one of the fastest cars. Just didn’t execute. It’s frustrating, but to come home sixth after a loose wheel, going to the back and driving back up through. Then pitting and going to the back. Just shows the speed and we’ll have to go to Phoenix and put it on them.”

How strong was the car early and did the team make it better for the final green flag run?

“I definitely think we made it even better there at the end. Good notebook race for when we come back here in the fall when it’s a Playoff race so that will be important.”

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

Finishing Position: 17th

How was your race car during the race?

“We got better as we went, but we struggled early and still struggled compared to a lot of cars, but we got better and that’s all that matters. We’ll come back for the Playoff race in the fall. We just have to get better and we’ll go get them in Phoenix.”

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 20 electrified options, with more in showrooms later this year.

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.

Rookie Foster Powers to Pole at St. Petersburg

By
Official Release
-

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Saturday, March 4, 2023) – It might be time for Louis Foster to reset his expectations for his first INDY NXT by Firestone race Sunday on the streets of St. Petersburg.

Foster, from England, will start from the pole for the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg after turning the best lap in qualifying, 1 minute, 5.1103 seconds, on Saturday in the No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car fielded by Andretti Autosport. Foster, 19, climbed to INDYCAR’s developmental series this season after winning the USF Pro 2000 Championship in 2022.

Andretti Autosport earned its third pole in the last four INDY NXT by Firestone races at St. Petersburg.

“This was a great, great qualifying session,” Foster said. “A bit more than we expected. We’re going into this weekend with a bit of uncertainty, first time in the championship. I’m over the moon. The guys at Andretti have done an amazing job.”

Jacob Abel, who led Friday practice, continued his strong weekend and will join Foster on the front row of the grid after qualifying second at 1:05.1763 in the No. 51 Abel Motorsports car.

Christian Rasmussen rebounded from an incident that ended his practice early Friday, qualifying third at 1:05.2204 in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR car. His teammate, Rasmus Lindh, qualified fourth at 1:05.2283 in the No. 10 HMD Motorsports with DCR car.

Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top five at 1:05.2884 in the No. 21 HMD Motorsports with CGR machine. Rookie Nolan Siegel, who led practice Saturday morning, qualified sixth at 1:05.3331 in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports with DCR car.

Just .8673 of a second separated the entire 19-car field in qualifying.

The 45-lap (or 55 minutes maximum) race on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit starts at 9:50 a.m. ET Sunday (Live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network). All drivers are coming to grips with and learning about Firestone tires, the longtime NTT INDYCAR SERIES tire supplier that is new to the developmental series this season.

“The aim will be to win the race from pole,” Foster said. “But it’s going to be the longest race I’ve ever done with 55 minutes, so I’m just going to have to manage the tires, see what they end up like. No one’s done a race on these tires yet, so it’s all going to be brand new to us. We’ll look at some data tonight and see what we can figure out for the morning.”

INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Qualifying Results

  1. (26) Louis Foster, 01:05.1103 (99.523)
  2. (51) Jacob Abel, 01:05.1763 (99.423)
  3. (6) Christian Rasmussen, 01:05.2204 (99.355)
  4. (10) Rasmus Lindh, 01:05.2283 (99.343)
  5. (21) Kyffin Simpson, 01:05.2884 (99.252)
  6. (39) Nolan Siegel, 01:05.3331 (99.184)
  7. (68) Danial Frost, 01:05.3664 (99.133)
  8. (76) Reece Gold, 01:05.4015 (99.080)
  9. (75) Matteo Nannini, 01:05.4109 (99.066)
  10. (3) Josh Green, 01:05.4552 (98.999)
  11. (47) Enaam Ahmed, 01:05.6028 (98.776)
  12. (27) Hunter McElrea, 01:05.6267 (98.740)
  13. (98) Jagger Jones, 01:05.6411 (98.719)
  14. (57) Colin Kaminsky, 01:05.7149 (98.608)
  15. (14) Josh Pierson, 01:05.8256 (98.442)
  16. (29) James Roe, 01:05.8314 (98.433)
  17. (99) Ernie Francis Jr., 01:05.8522 (98.402)
  18. (28) Jamie Chadwick, 01:05.9157 (98.307)
  19. (7) Christian Bogle, 01:05.9776 (98.215)

Flying Lizard Scores Victory at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

By
Official Release
-

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (March 4, 2023) – The 2023 GT America Powered by AWS championship began this weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Flying Lizard Motorsports closed out rounds one and two with driver Jason Bell and his Aston Martin Vantage GT4 earning one win and a second podium finish. Andy Wilzoch made his circuit debut in his No. 460 Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 911.2), earning a hard-fought seventh-place finish.

The weekend hosted two 40-minute sprint races on the temporary street course, racing under perfect spring Florida weather for the two-day event. Running in support of the NTT IndyCar Series, the GT America competitors thrilled the downtown St. Petersburg crowds, putting on a great show for the fans.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2023 season in the GT4 class,” said Program Manager Darren Law. “Jason Bell had a great drive qualifying on the front row for both races, leading both races, and finishing in third and first positions. Andy had a solid run in the first race with a seventh-place finish. Unfortunately, the second race didn’t go as planned but we are looking forward to going to our home event at Sonoma. It was a great start to the season and we collected solid points toward the championship. We are looking forward to rounds three and four in a few weeks.”

GT3 | Andy Wilzoch

Though an accomplished racer, Andy Wilzoch had yet to previously race at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Despite the limited practice time, Wilzoch became well acquainted with the temporary street circuit during the two practice sessions and qualified ninth for the first race in his No. 460 Porsche. Due to track delays, Friday afternoon’s race was pushed into the evening, setting the scene for a beautiful sunset race on Tampa Bay. Just after the green flag, two separate cars crashed in the opening lap, bringing out a full-course caution. Wilzoch had moved up from ninth to seventh, avoiding calamity and the ensuing debris to maintain position and finish his first race on the temporary street course without any damage.

His clean start set him up to start Saturday’s race two from seventh position. An unfortunate incident in the opening lap ended Wilzoch’s race early, due to heavy damage sustained by the Porsche making contact with the concrete wall.

GT4 | Jason Bell

After a strong qualifying race, Jason Bell started the first race of the season in second place, just behind the No. 69 Aston Martin of Todd Coleman. For the majority of the 30-minute race, the two put on a captivating performance, racing nose to tail throughout the 2.9-mile, 14-turn course. With 15 minutes to go, Bell assumed the lead and created a commanding gap over the second-place car, sailing to the checkered flag. Misfortune struck when the front right tire on the Aston Martin received a puncture from track debris with just two laps to go. He expertly nursed the car through the final two laps, still achieving a third-place finish.

His fastest lap in race one set him up to start race two from pole position, leading the field to green under sunny skies and warm temperatures. Like the previous day, the race went full course caution in the first lap, and the temporary pause ate up much of the racing time. On the restart, Bell kept the lead, looking to stay up front for the remaining 15 minutes. He finished the race with a five-second lead over the No. 25 car of Gray Newell, defending his race two win from 2022.

Up Next

The GT America series will continue with Rounds Three and Four at Sonoma Raceway, on March 30-April 2. The weekend will also see the start of the Pirelli GT4 America season, where Elias Sabo and Andy Lee will return in the No. 8 Aston Martin Vantage GT4. A home track for Flying Lizard, the team will have many cars in several programs competing, eager to put on a good event for the home crowd. For more information, visit lizardms.com.

About Flying Lizard Motorsports

Based out of Sonoma, California, Flying Lizard Motorsports is one of the most iconic sports car teams in motorsports, having celebrated ten driver and team championships, as well as competed internationally at the 24 Hours of Le Mans eight times.

The Lizards burst on the American Le Mans Series scene in 2004, competing in the GT class until 2012. In 2013, the team moved to the GTC class, still competing in legendary events such as the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona. In 2014, the team expanded its program to include running two Audi R8 LMS in the TUDOR Championship, and in 2015, again expanded the program to include two Porsches in Porsche Club racing. Flying Lizard closed out the season with a dominating win at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill with Toyo Tires, a win they repeated in 2016, 2017, and 2018. The 2020 season proved the team’s most successful to date, earning four titles in the GT4 America championship. Flying Lizard Motorsports has proven to be a championship contender no matter the race series or race car. For more information, visit lizardms.com.

About 5.11
With offices around the globe, 5.11 ABR Corp. and its subsidiaries, including 5.11, Inc., work with end users to create purpose-built apparel, footwear and gear designed specifically to enhance the safety, accuracy, speed, and performance of tactical professionals and technical enthusiasts worldwide. 5.11 products exceed rigorous standards, which have allowed the brand to establish a reputation for innovation and authenticity, and become the premier choice for those who always have to be ready. 5.11 products can be purchased online, through authorized dealers and retailers, as well as at 5.11 company-owned retail stores.

Learn more about 5.11’s best-selling gear and accessories at www.511tactical.com. Find a full list of 5.11 company-owned retail stores at https://www.511tactical.com/locations/. Connect with 5.11 on Facebook, Twitter @511Tactical and on Instagram @511Tactical and #511tactical

5.11 ABR Corp. is a subsidiary of Compass Diversified (NYSE: CODI).

5.11, 5.11 Tactical and Always Be Ready are registered trademarks of 5.11, Inc. All rights reserved.

About Apex Motor Club

Apex Motor Club is Arizona’s premier motorsports club located just 35 miles southwest of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and the only private motorsports club located within a major metropolitan area. APEX is the ultimate country club for automotive enthusiasts where car culture, racing and country club lifestyles converge. Enjoy an hour of track time in your latest acquisition, drive off track, into your privately-owned garage and join like- minded enthusiasts in the clubhouse for food, beverages, and activities.

To learn more about the newest racing circuit in the country, visit https://apexmotorclub.com

Ford Performance Notes – NCS Las Vegas Qualifying Quotes

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Pennzoil 400 | Saturday, March 4, 2023

FORD QUALIFYING RESULTS
1st – Joey Logano
3rd – Ryan Blaney
7th – Brad Keselowski
9th – Austin Cindric
14th – Kevin Harvick
17th – Michael McDowell
18th – Chris Buescher
20th – Chase Briscoe
21st – Aric Almirola
28th – Todd Gilliland
29th – JJ Yeley
30th – Cody Ware
31st – Ryan Preece
35th – Harrison Burton

Joey Logano, No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang (Qualified 1st) – TELL US HOW THAT LAP WAS? “The car was wicked good. It really just handled well and obviously has really good speed which is what you hope for when you get here. You hope you make the right changes and adjustments from the fall when we were here last. Obviously, we were pretty good then but you have to keep evolving and trying things. It gets a little nerve-wracking when you try to make these changes that you are married to for the most part when practice starts. I think Paul (Wolfe) made some great changes there. Some good decisions. Gave me a really fast Pennzoil Mustang today that has good speed in it. Hopefully that transfers to the race tomorrow. I think it will. We have some fine-tuning to do in race trim which we will talk about tonight and try to make some adjustments tomorrow morning.”

AS QUALIFYING WAS PROGRESSING HOW CONFIDENT WERE YOU THAT YOU WOULD SIT ON THE POLE? “Well, we felt like we had a pretty good first round but there are a lot of cars that went quicker in the second round as the track was still cleaning up from practice and the temp actually went down a little bit. I felt like I had a little bit more in me and if we could tune the car a little maybe there is a little more there and maybe a little more with the track temp going down. You add those things up in your mind and you think you will be pretty close. I had my mind made up when I went out there that I was going to keep it pinned and whatever happens, happens. That was the mindset and Paul gave me a car that could do that. It worked out.”

YOU HAD YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE WIND OUT THERE. WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING FOR TOMORROW AND HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THAT? “The wind is always a challenge every time we come here. It is always windy here and Texas seems like it is always windy too for whatever reason. The steady-state wind is tough enough as it is. If you get a 20 mph constant wind, you can kind of at least know what is coming but it does separate end to end quite a bit, one and two to three and four. It is the gusts that get you in trouble. When you get a big gust of wind as you are turning down into the corner, into the center of the corner, it just blows you up the race track. It is like if you get a big gust of wind when you are driving your car down the highway. Your car may move a little bit, but we are going really fast and it moves us a little more and it isn’t real comfortable. It gets sketchy. There is no other way of saying it other than you can’t predict it and don’t know when it is coming. One lap you are good and the next you are blowing up the race track. Where it gets tricky is if you are two-wide with somebody. You can imagine how that can go bad quickly. Usually it is down in the middle of three and four and it is blowing at your left side door. That is not where you want wind. It affects the cars a lot. There is not much we can do about it other than just deal with it and have a good enough handling car that you don’t crash when the wind blows.”

Ford Performance NASCAR: NCS Las Vegas Qualifying Quotes

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Pennzoil 400 | Saturday, March 4, 2023

FORD QUALIFYING RESULTS
1st – Joey Logano
3rd – Ryan Blaney
7th – Brad Keselowski
9th – Austin Cindric
14th – Kevin Harvick
17th – Michael McDowell
18th – Chris Buescher
20th – Chase Briscoe
21st – Aric Almirola
28th – Todd Gilliland
29th – JJ Yeley
30th – Cody Ware
31st – Ryan Preece
35th – Harrison Burton

Joey Logano, No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang (Qualified 1st) – TELL US HOW THAT LAP WAS? “The car was wicked good. It really just handled well and obviously has really good speed which is what you hope for when you get here. You hope you make the right changes and adjustments from the fall when we were here last. Obviously, we were pretty good then but you have to keep evolving and trying things. It gets a little nerve-wracking when you try to make these changes that you are married to for the most part when practice starts. I think Paul (Wolfe) made some great changes there. Some good decisions. Gave me a really fast Pennzoil Mustang today that has good speed in it. Hopefully that transfers to the race tomorrow. I think it will. We have some fine-tuning to do in race trim which we will talk about tonight and try to make some adjustments tomorrow morning.”

AS QUALIFYING WAS PROGRESSING HOW CONFIDENT WERE YOU THAT YOU WOULD SIT ON THE POLE? “Well, we felt like we had a pretty good first round but there are a lot of cars that went quicker in the second round as the track was still cleaning up from practice and the temp actually went down a little bit. I felt like I had a little bit more in me and if we could tune the car a little maybe there is a little more there and maybe a little more with the track temp going down. You add those things up in your mind and you think you will be pretty close. I had my mind made up when I went out there that I was going to keep it pinned and whatever happens, happens. That was the mindset and Paul gave me a car that could do that. It worked out.”

YOU HAD YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE WIND OUT THERE. WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING FOR TOMORROW AND HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THAT? “The wind is always a challenge every time we come here. It is always windy here and Texas seems like it is always windy too for whatever reason. The steady-state wind is tough enough as it is. If you get a 20 mph constant wind, you can kind of at least know what is coming but it does separate end to end quite a bit, one and two to three and four. It is the gusts that get you in trouble. When you get a big gust of wind as you are turning down into the corner, into the center of the corner, it just blows you up the race track. It is like if you get a big gust of wind when you are driving your car down the highway. Your car may move a little bit, but we are going really fast and it moves us a little more and it isn’t real comfortable. It gets sketchy. There is no other way of saying it other than you can’t predict it and don’t know when it is coming. One lap you are good and the next you are blowing up the race track. Where it gets tricky is if you are two-wide with somebody. You can imagine how that can go bad quickly. Usually it is down in the middle of three and four and it is blowing at your left side door. That is not where you want wind. It affects the cars a lot. There is not much we can do about it other than just deal with it and have a good enough handling car that you don’t crash when the wind blows.”

Joey Logano claims NASCAR Cup Series Pole at Las Vegas

By
Angie Campbell
-
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Joey Logano earned the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Pole Award Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a lap time of 29.024 seconds at 186.053 mph in his Team Penske Ford. It was his first pole this season and the 27th of his career.

“The car was wicked good,” Logano said. “It really just handled well and obviously has really good speed which is what you hope for when you get here. You hope you make the right changes and adjustments from the fall when we were here last.

“Obviously, we were pretty good then but you have to keep evolving and trying things. It gets a little nerve-wracking when you try to make these changes that you are married to for the most part when practice starts.

“I think Paul (Wolfe) made some great changes there, some good decisions, gave me a really fast Pennzoil Mustang today that has good speed in it. Hopefully that transfers to the race tomorrow. I think it will. We have some fine-tuning to do in race trim which we will talk about tonight and try to make some adjustments tomorrow morning.”

William Byron qualified second in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

I felt good (during qualifying). That was a wide open lap there, so I’m not sure what I could have done different. Maybe cut a little bit of the track off (turn) four and I could have just let the car kind of wind out. I’m happy with the lap though. Being second is good. Not pumped to be second for the fact of not getting the pole, but at least it’s a good starting spot. I’m excited for that.

“We just need a good, solid day tomorrow with the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevy. Hopefully we can get ourselves a win and move up the points standings.”

Logano’s teammate, Ryan Blaney, was third fastest in his No. 12 Ford. Ty Gibbs was the fastest qualifying rookie and will start fourth in the No. 54 Toyota with Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch rounding out the top five.

Harrison Burton hit the wall during practice in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford and was unable to qualify. He will go to a backup car and will start at the rear of the field for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube.

Tyler Reddick will start at the back of the field due to an engine change in his No. 45 12XI Racing Toyota.  

Live Fast Motorsports driver, BJ McLeod, who did not practice or qualify due to a transaxle issue, will also start at the rear of the field in his No. 78 Chevrolet.

The Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube will air live on FOX Sunday at 3:30 p.m. with radio coverage by PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NCS AT LAS VEGAS: William Byron Powers Chevrolet to Front Row Starting Spot

By
Official Release
-

NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
PENNZOIL 400
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT
MARCH 4, 2023

WILLIAM BYRON POWERS CHEVROLET TO FRONT ROW STARTING SPOT AT LAS VEGAS
Four Camaro ZL1’s to Start in Top-10

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER
2nd William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1
5th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Alsco Uniforms Camaro ZL1
6th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
8th Ross Chastain, No. 1 GlobalTranz Camaro ZL1
11th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
16th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Smith’s / Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Camaro ZL1
19th Corey LaJoie, No. 7 EnviroXstream Camaro ZL1
22nd Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1
23rd AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1
24th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1
25th Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Camaro ZL1
26th Austin Dillon, No. 3 BREZTRI Camaro ZL1
27th Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1
32nd Josh Berry, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
33rd Ty Dillon, No. 77 NationsGuard Camaro ZL1
36th BJ McLeod, No. 78 Circle B Diecast Camaro ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER
1st Joey Logano (Ford)
2nd William Byron (Chevrolet)
3rd Ryan Blaney (Ford)
4th Ty Gibbs (Toyota)
5th Kyle Busch (Chevrolet)

William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1

Qualified: 2nd

Byron on his qualifying lap:

“I felt good. That was a wide open lap there, so I’m not sure what I could have done different. Maybe cut a little bit of the track off (turn) four and I could have just let the car kind of wind out. I’m happy with the lap though. Being second is good. Not pumped to be second for the fact of not getting the pole, but at least it’s a good starting spot. I’m excited for that.

We just need a good, solid day tomorrow with the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevy. Hopefully we can get ourselves a win and move up the points standings.”

· Kyle Larson was the fastest overall in the NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, clocking-in a lap of 29.282 seconds, at 184.407 mph, in his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1.

· Of the 10 drivers that contested for the pole position in the final round of qualifying, four came from the Bowtie brigade: Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and Kyle Larson; Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain.

· In the final round of qualifying, Bryon drove his No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1 to a front row starting spot for tomorrow’s race, laying down a lap of 29.165 seconds at 185.153 mph.

· FOX will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker Pala Casino 400 on Sunday, March 5, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on the PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

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.

NCS AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: Kyle Busch Press Conference Transcript

By
Official Release
-

NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
PENNZOIL 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 4, 2023

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1 met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE CHALLENGES ARE FOR CHASE (ELLIOTT) TO COME BACK FROM HIS INJURY?

“It depends on what and where the break was, obviously. If it’s a mid-leg break and you get a rod and screws, it’s not too terrible and not that bad. If it’s something more like knee- or ankle-located, that’s going to be a bigger issue of a joint that needs to move and bend. That’s the big piece of what’s unknown at this time, from my knowledge anyway. If it’s just a regular leg break like I had, it’s going to be at least four weeks, I would think, based off getting a rod and screws, then your bones starting to fuse and getting a little bit of fusion going. That’s about the length it takes to get something going. I’m sure he’s in good hands. I reached out to him last night and this morning to talk to him a little bit about my experience in it and (that I’d) be happy to help and talk to him and help him through all the things that I did that helped my recovery be speedy.”

INAUDIBLE.

“I just told him when he gets all settled to give me a call. It’s a memoir. I’m not going to type it.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO WORK ON YOURSELF AND REHAB WHILE EVERYONE IS OUT THERE RACING? HOW HARD IS THAT ON A DRIVER?

“It can be tough. Even as good of a support system as I had around me during my injury, there was a time when we were watching the races on Sunday and you kind of break down and miss that fact of being out there and being in your car and having a chance of going out there to compete. That’s what we live for and build on our whole lives to have success. Chase is plenty young and I’m sure plenty healthy enough that it’s not going to be anything too crazy to go through, but it’s just a situation that he’s in at this time. Anything I can do to kind of help that, I’m more than willing to give him a bit of advice.”

YOU GOT A BIG OVATION WHEN YOU WON AT CALIFORNIA. HOW WAS THAT, AND DO YOU SENSE THE REACTION FROM THE FANS ARE CHANGING FOR YOU?

“It’s awesome to hear everything. The way it’s kind of gone on this year with going to the Clash and running well out there, then getting spun but coming back through to have a good finish… all the finishes we’ve had and all the races that we’ve run, we’ve been right up front and we’ve been fast. It gives my legion, Rowdy Nation, a sense of pride to be cheering us on and having an interest in watching again and not dreading watching again. That’s what makes it fun for me, foremost. Then of course too to see adding to that legion of fans and having an opportunity to win here in my hometown, to win last week at California… I’ve raced a lot in Nevada, California, Arizona and Utah when I was a kid growing up, so it’s nice to come around these parts and still score victories. No matter where on the Cup series, you want to win. To do that last week at California and to hear the afterwards was really cool. It’s awesome to me to hear a little bit of a changing of the guard, which is fun. Hopefully it keeps going.”

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GET OUT OF THE TEST NEXT WEEK WITH THE NEW SHORT-TRACK PACKAGE?

“I don’t know if you’re really going to get out there in a group and set up a simulated race or anything like that. We’re all just going to do our normal practice where we roll out together, we spread out a little bit and we go. I don’t think we’ll really get a chance to foresee what our cars will be like in traffic until we line up for the race and go. As far as practice goes, just trying to get a feel for what the pace is going to be, what the feel is, is it going to be way slower or is the car going to have a lot less grip, all that sort. That’s kind of the biggest thing you’ll set up for.”

ARE YOU ENCOURAGED BY THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE TO THE CAR?

“Yeah, I would say so. I think there’s a couple of different things that I would have done. But I like direction and the things they did do, talking about diffuser strakes, reducing the underbody effects and things like that. I think we tried so hard on that with this car to design that into it, and I think we kind of created another two-headed monster, if you will, with the back of these cars needing to be down as low as they need to be. Last year we had tire issues for awhile, and it seemed like the teams got that squared away a little bit. We’re all still battling the same things of trying to get that car as low as you can because the underbody effects are just so huge?”

CAN YOU PREPARE FOR BRISTOL ON DIRT SINCE IT’S SUCH AN ANOMALY?

“No. Matter of fact, we have way too much practice when we go there. Two hours of practice on a dirt track that deteriorates is genius. If I could fix that, we would literally have a five-lap hot-lap in groups and then go right into heat races. That’s it.”

COULD YOU FEEL THE ENERGY FROM THE CROWD WHEN YOU WON LAST WEEK, AND ARE YOU AS COMFORTABLE WEARING A WHITE HAT AS A BLACK HAT?

“No. All my stuff is black for a reason. It’s fun to always kind of play up with the fans and stuff like that. My fans especially are awesome. I’ve got a lot that I wouldn’t say that I know personally, but whenever you see them at venues or at autograph sessions or KBM when we do Fan Day, you recognize these folks and you’ve seen them for 10 or 15 years. It’s interesting just to continue to build off of that with new fans. It’s a lot of fun. People get a different read on me as I’m getting older and getting wiser and all those great things. Hopefully that doesn’t mean I’m slowing down though.”

YOU SOUNDED FRUSTRATED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE RACING IN THE FIELD LAST NIGHT. COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS WHEN YOU WOULD RACE IN TRUCKS IF THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT?

“I don’t know if it’s just inexperience or what. Obviously it’s a learning series. But if you’re not learning coming out of ARCA how to not crash, then you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing well enough. Just a lot of crashes last night. I haven’t gone back and rewatched it to see some of the circumstances of some of those, but I’d imagine a few of those are probably avoidable. The other thing that’s frustrating too is with the Truck Series with as short as the stages are, why are we destroying our stuff in a 30-lap run when we can come back to the pits, recycle with pit stops and things like that, and shake and bake a little bit with how you get on and off pit road. The only thought I had to fix that… we had a caution four laps before a stage break was coming. Then we went green and then we had a caution for a stage break. If we want to go 30, 35, 40 laps or whatever it might be, let’s race 40 laps green and if we go 40 laps green and throw a yellow instead of throwing a yellow, four more laps and then another yellow because of a stage break. Just change it up. I don’t think anything is going to happen to that but that’s just been my thought.”

NOW THAT YOU AND YOUR BROTHER ARE THE WINNING BROTHER TANDEM AFTER AUTO CLUB AND NOW THAT YOU’RE BACK HOME, HAS THERE BEEN ANY TIME TO CELEBRATE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY?

“We have a small family. It’s just Kurt, my mom and dad. My grandmother moved from Vegas back east with us, but she’s since passed. My mom is out here and she has some friends she hangs out with. So she does the friends tour, if you will, when she gets back to Vegas. For myself, one of my buddies that I used to race RC cars with got on a road trip last week and went down to Florida for Bike Week this week. It’s a small-knit group that we have here in Vegas. It’ll be fun to focus on the racing here at the big track and also Brexton tonight at the Bullring. I’m excited to get him over there and see what he’s got tonight.”

WHAT’S YOUR EXPECTATIONS IN YOUR KAULIG RACING DEBUT?

“For what I felt yesterday, I’m hoping for a top-10. But if the adjustments that we did overnight go the way we hope they will, I feel like we have a shot to race in the top-five. That, I feel like, is doable. Last week, Austin had a great run in the car. He was really fast. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to run that car. It’s sort of the backup car. But I still feel like with RCR chassis and bodies and everything that it’s all really close. That’s not going to be the problem. It’s just going to be the main setup of the car is way different than I’m accustomed to feeling in Xfinity. I haven’t done it for awhile too, but that’s no excuse. We’ll give it everything we’ve got.”

AS A TEAM OWNER, DO YOU PUT ANY RESTRICTIONS ON YOUR TRUCK SERIES DRIVERS AS FAR AS WHAT THEY CAN DO OUTSIDE THE TRACK?

“No. As drivers and humans, we have to go live life. We can’t just be locked up in a room at home and wrapped in bubblewrap. Years ago when I was racing late models and a little bit of dirt cars, Joe (Gibbs) would always kind of warn me not to get hurt or whatever. Then I got hurt in his car doing something for him, so it was like ‘Any stipulations you ever had were out the window!’ I had free reign. It’s a part of it. You never know what’s going to happen. You just deal with it when it comes.”

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1 met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE CHALLENGES ARE FOR CHASE (ELLIOTT) TO COME BACK FROM HIS INJURY?

“It depends on what and where the break was, obviously. If it’s a mid-leg break and you get a rod and screws, it’s not too terrible and not that bad. If it’s something more like knee- or ankle-located, that’s going to be a bigger issue of a joint that needs to move and bend. That’s the big piece of what’s unknown at this time, from my knowledge anyway. If it’s just a regular leg break like I had, it’s going to be at least four weeks, I would think, based off getting a rod and screws, then your bones starting to fuse and getting a little bit of fusion going. That’s about the length it takes to get something going. I’m sure he’s in good hands. I reached out to him last night and this morning to talk to him a little bit about my experience in it and (that I’d) be happy to help and talk to him and help him through all the things that I did that helped my recovery be speedy.”

INAUDIBLE.

“I just told him when he gets all settled to give me a call. It’s a memoir. I’m not going to type it.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO WORK ON YOURSELF AND REHAB WHILE EVERYONE IS OUT THERE RACING? HOW HARD IS THAT ON A DRIVER?

“It can be tough. Even as good of a support system as I had around me during my injury, there was a time when we were watching the races on Sunday and you kind of break down and miss that fact of being out there and being in your car and having a chance of going out there to compete. That’s what we live for and build on our whole lives to have success. Chase is plenty young and I’m sure plenty healthy enough that it’s not going to be anything too crazy to go through, but it’s just a situation that he’s in at this time. Anything I can do to kind of help that, I’m more than willing to give him a bit of advice.”

YOU GOT A BIG OVATION WHEN YOU WON AT CALIFORNIA. HOW WAS THAT, AND DO YOU SENSE THE REACTION FROM THE FANS ARE CHANGING FOR YOU?

“It’s awesome to hear everything. The way it’s kind of gone on this year with going to the Clash and running well out there, then getting spun but coming back through to have a good finish… all the finishes we’ve had and all the races that we’ve run, we’ve been right up front and we’ve been fast. It gives my legion, Rowdy Nation, a sense of pride to be cheering us on and having an interest in watching again and not dreading watching again. That’s what makes it fun for me, foremost. Then of course too to see adding to that legion of fans and having an opportunity to win here in my hometown, to win last week at California… I’ve raced a lot in Nevada, California, Arizona and Utah when I was a kid growing up, so it’s nice to come around these parts and still score victories. No matter where on the Cup series, you want to win. To do that last week at California and to hear the afterwards was really cool. It’s awesome to me to hear a little bit of a changing of the guard, which is fun. Hopefully it keeps going.”

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GET OUT OF THE TEST NEXT WEEK WITH THE NEW SHORT-TRACK PACKAGE?

“I don’t know if you’re really going to get out there in a group and set up a simulated race or anything like that. We’re all just going to do our normal practice where we roll out together, we spread out a little bit and we go. I don’t think we’ll really get a chance to foresee what our cars will be like in traffic until we line up for the race and go. As far as practice goes, just trying to get a feel for what the pace is going to be, what the feel is, is it going to be way slower or is the car going to have a lot less grip, all that sort. That’s kind of the biggest thing you’ll set up for.”

ARE YOU ENCOURAGED BY THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE TO THE CAR?

“Yeah, I would say so. I think there’s a couple of different things that I would have done. But I like direction and the things they did do, talking about diffuser strakes, reducing the underbody effects and things like that. I think we tried so hard on that with this car to design that into it, and I think we kind of created another two-headed monster, if you will, with the back of these cars needing to be down as low as they need to be. Last year we had tire issues for awhile, and it seemed like the teams got that squared away a little bit. We’re all still battling the same things of trying to get that car as low as you can because the underbody effects are just so huge?”

CAN YOU PREPARE FOR BRISTOL ON DIRT SINCE IT’S SUCH AN ANALOMY?

“No. Matter of fact, we have way too much practice when we go there. Two hours of practice on a dirt track that deteriorates is genius. If I could fix that, we would literally have a five-lap hot-lap in groups and then go right into heat races. That’s it.”

COULD YOU FEEL THE ENERGY FROM THE CROWD WHEN YOU WON LAST WEEK, AND ARE YOU AS COMFORTABLE WEARING A WHITE HAT AS A BLACK HAT?

“No. All my stuff is black for a reason. It’s fun to always kind of play up with the fans and stuff like that. My fans especially are awesome. I’ve got a lot that I wouldn’t say that I know personally, but whenever you see them at venues or at autograph sessions or KBM when we do Fan Day, you recognize these folks and you’ve seen them for 10 or 15 years. It’s interesting just to continue to build off of that with new fans. It’s a lot of fun. People get a different read on me as I’m getting older and getting wiser and all those great things. Hopefully that doesn’t mean I’m slowing down though.”

YOU SOUNDED FRUSTRATED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE RACING IN THE FIELD LAST NIGHT. COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS WHEN YOU WOULD RACE IN TRUCKS IF THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT?

“I don’t know if it’s just inexperience or what. Obviously it’s a learning series. But if you’re not learning coming out of ARCA how to not crash, then you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing well enough. Just a lot of crashes last night. I haven’t gone back and rewatched it to see some of the circumstances of some of those, but I’d imagine a few of those are probably avoidable. The other thing that’s frustrating too is with the Truck Series with as short as the stages are, why are we destroying our stuff in a 30-lap run when we can come back to the pits, recycle with pit stops and things like that, and shake and bake a little bit with how you get on and off pit road. The only thought I had to fix that… we had a caution four laps before a stage break was coming. Then we went green and then we had a caution for a stage break. If we want to go 30, 35, 40 laps or whatever it might be, let’s race 40 laps green and if we go 40 laps green and throw a yellow instead of throwing a yellow, four more laps and then another yellow because of a stage break. Just change it up. I don’t think anything is going to happen to that but that’s just been my thought.”

NOW THAT YOU AND YOUR BROTHER ARE THE WINNING BROTHER TANDEM AFTER AUTO CLUB AND NOW THAT YOU’RE BACK HOME, HAS THERE BEEN ANY TIME TO CELEBRATE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY?

“We have a small family. It’s just Kurt, my mom and dad. My grandmother moved from Vegas back east with us, but she’s since passed. My mom is out here and she has some friends she hangs out with. So she does the friends tour, if you will, when she gets back to Vegas. For myself, one of my buddies that I used to race RC cars with got on a road trip last week and went down to Florida for Bike Week this week. It’s a small-knit group that we have here in Vegas. It’ll be fun to focus on the racing here at the big track and also Brexton tonight at the Bullring. I’m excited to get him over there and see what he’s got tonight.”

WHAT’S YOUR EXPECTATIONS IN YOUR KAULIG RACING DEBUT?

“For what I felt yesterday, I’m hoping for a top-10. But if the adjustments that we did overnight go the way we hope they will, I feel like we have a shot to race in the top-five. That, I feel like, is doable. Last week, Austin had a great run in the car. He was really fast. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to run that car. It’s sort of the backup car. But I still feel like with RCR chassis and bodies and everything that it’s all really close. That’s not going to be the problem. It’s just going to be the main setup of the car is way different than I’m accustomed to feeling in Xfinity. I haven’t done it for awhile too, but that’s no excuse. We’ll give it everything we’ve got.”

AS A TEAM OWNER, DO YOU PUT ANY RESTRICTIONS ON YOUR TRUCK SERIES DRIVERS AS FAR AS WHAT THEY CAN DO OUTSIDE THE TRACK?

“No. As drivers and humans, we have to go live life. We can’t just be locked up in a room at home and wrapped in bubblewrap. Years ago when I was racing late models and a little bit of dirt cars, Joe (Gibbs) would always kind of warn me not to get hurt or whatever. Then I got hurt in his car doing something for him, so it was like ‘Any stipulations you ever had were out the window!’ I had free reign. It’s a part of it. You never know what’s going to happen. You just deal with it when it comes.”

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