NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
AUGUST 23, 2025

Seven Team Chevy Drivers Set to Compete for 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship

• Team Chevy’s Daniel Suarez and Justin Haley turned in a valiant effort for one last chance at a playoff berth – ultimately taking the checkered flag of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in a four-wide photo finish in the second and third positions, respectively.
• The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series 26-race regular season saw Chevrolet collect a manufacturer-leading 12 wins – recorded by six drivers from three different Chevrolet organizations. With Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman securing the 16th and final position in the series’ playoff field, the Bowtie brigade will pace its manufacturer competitors in both driver and organization representation heading into the championship title hunt.
• Back where the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season began, Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team started their fight for a playoff spot with a front-row starting position for the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway. Playoff pressure produced aggressive racing from the drop of the green flag with the opening stage coming to a close with a multi-car pileup that collected a handful of drivers in a ‘must-win’ position that saw their title hopes come to a close including Team Chevy’s Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Despite being sidelined in the Stage One melee, Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Chevrolet team capitalized on a 60-point cushion heading into the regular season finale to claim the 16th and final spot in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
• Already sealing their title run fate with a win, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain cashed in on stage points – driving their Chevrolet-powered machines to a sweep of the stage wins.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

2nd – Daniel Suarez
3rd – Justin Haley
6th – Kyle Larson
10th – Chase Elliott

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 26 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 12
Poles: 10
Top-Fives: 52
Top 10s: 111
Stage Wins: 22

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 will get underway with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, August 31, at 6 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 15th

“We had a really good No. 1 SafetyCulture Chevrolet tonight. I didn’t ask for an adjustment all night, and I wouldn’t ask for anything different for another 400 miles. That’s really, really cool to do that. The speedway package is a tight box, and we’ve migrated to a really good spot on the No. 1 team. I think from across the board, listening to Shane (van Gisbergen), he had some issues that I’ve had year’s past, so hopefully we’ll get the No. 88 Chevrolet headed in our direction.”

How important is it to have two Trackhouse Racing drivers in the playoffs?

“It’s super important. I want three, though. I’m proud of the effort by Daniel (Suarez) and the No. 99 team. He kept his cool tonight. I tried to push him at times; it didn’t work out and he made it up there on his own there at the end and gave himself a shot. It would be better with three, but we’re definitely proud of the effort tonight. We still have three cars going to compete for wins.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 24th

“It was fun to head into a Daytona race locked into the NASCAR Playoffs and with a little bit less pressure on us. I hate that we couldn’t work with the No. 8 team more and help push Kyle Busch to a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs. We had a chance tonight, but the race didn’t play out to our favor. We had a tough decision when the caution flag came out with 11 laps to go. We could gamble and stay out, or pit and have plenty of fuel and fresh tires on the No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet if there were multiple restarts. We opted for the tires because traditionally there’s a good chance at a big wreck in the closing laps of these races. The wreck never came and we didn’t have enough laps to regain our position. We put ourselves in a bad spot, but we’ll clean that stuff up. We’ve got 10 weeks of NASCAR Playoff racing coming up.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 6th

Describe what unfolded from your perspective. You were in the mix at the end at Daytona International Speedway…

“Yeah, we’ve been in the mix a lot, I just haven’t gotten to finish a lot of them. It was a lot of fun tonight. We got a stage win. I made some mistakes there at the end of the second stage, but we had a shot there at the end. It just gets super intense. I’m glad the No. 48 (Alex Bowman) got locked-into the playoffs.”

We have Darlington coming up. How do you get refocused now and start running for the championship?

“Yeah, it’s good to get a couple good runs in the last couple of weeks and go to one of our better tracks (at Darlington Raceway) next weekend; keep the momentum going and get the playoffs started off right.”

Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 3rd

“When the No. 5 (Kyle Larson) put the No. 60 (Ryan Preece) three-wide, the pack lost momentum, and I got too far out. By the time I realized it, I tried to check up, but then everyone came around me and I was just trying to find a lane. It was pretty tough, and obviously I don’t think the No. 5 wanted to push a new car to the win, so he was doing everything he could to win and that is respectable.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 33rd

“The No. 8 Cheddar’s Chevrolet was fast and we were confident in our Richard Childress Racing Machine. We got wrecked late in the first stage and ended up in the garage. The whole team gave it their all and got us back on track so we were able to finish the race. I’m proud of our team and the work they did to keep us running, and now we’ll focus on Darlington.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 10th

How did tonight go for you, and what are you looking forward to next weekend at Darlington Raceway to kickoff the playoffs?

“Yeah, we got Alex (Bowman) in, so that’s good. I think Ryan (Blaney) jumped us in points and so did Kyle (Larson), so unfortunately, we lost a couple of playoff points there. But nonetheless, it was still good to get a handful and some change (of points). We’ll go to Darlington and try to build on the race we had there in the spring.”

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 19th

How was the communication with Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) back at home in Charlotte?

“Thank you to everyone back at the shop. I thought Brandon (McSwain) did a really good job stepping in tonight. We’ve worked together for probably a decade, really, since the JR Motorsports days. He did a good job, and I’m sure all the work that Rudy (Fugle) was doing back at the shop helped Brandon, as well.

Just really proud of the effort by this No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet team. We had some gremlins there at the beginning of the race. We just had some weird stuff going on. Really nothing was wrong with the car, we just got in that early crash and thought we might have had some damage. But overall, our Chevy was good enough to compete for the win. I just wish I could take a couple decisions back in the final stage, and really, that caution hurt us because we were kind of mired in the back and it was hard to pass. I thought our weekend was smooth, all things considered. Just excited to get to Darlington. It’s one of our best racetracks, and I’m sure we’ll be fast there.”

Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 30th

“Bummed out for our United Rentals team. Getting caught up in a wreck that early in the race is very disappointing, but so much is out of your control during superspeedway racing. We were in the outside lane and just had nowhere to go. With qualifying being rained out, we started 36th but made moves as soon as the green flag waved. Driving to 14th in five laps showed the speed our Chevrolet had. Hate that we couldn’t compete because I felt really good about our chances to get a top-10. The No. 33 team kept digging all night, trying to make the most of it. We’ll try again in a few weeks at Bristol.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage One.

Finished: 35th

Stenhouse Jr. on the accident that ended the No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet team’s race in Stage one:

“I couldn’t really see anything. I got hit from about every direction after it happened. The No. 5 (Kyle Larson) got to the outside of the No. 22 (Joey Logano), which then in-turn, I think it put that row four-wide. I’m not sure what happened between the No. 22 and the No. 23 (Bubba Wallace). It was just really aggressive racing there. Our plan was to put our No. 47 Jack Link’s Duos Chevrolet towards the front and be at the front as much as possible. We got there, and I was in the position that I wanted to be in. I felt like we were going to get into turn one in probably fifth or sixth-place there and try to finish the stage out, but it didn’t happen.”

Do you feel like you had a car that could win?

“Our No. 47 Jack Link’s Duos felt really good. I was really stable. I felt like I had a little bit more speed, which was something I was excited about. I felt like I put my Chevy in a lot of good spots, and we went from the back to the front like we normally do.”

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage One.

Finished: 36th

Is there anything you could have done to avoid that wreck?

“Being in front of it is really about all I could do, unfortunately. From where we were, there just really wasn’t any way to get around it. All of the hits just sort of compounded too much to be able to fix it. I hate it for the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team. We’ve done a lot of good things lately. Tonight is going to be stressful to watch, but we’ll see what happens. Hope for no new winners, but if somebody wins, they deserve it. It’s unfortunate that we haven’t won yet this year. We’ve been so strong, especially lately. I would say from Michigan on, it’s been something fun to be a part of.

It was all very out of our control. I hate that we tanked so bad the first run. The bottom lane just fell apart behind us. We had to overcome that, but we had gotten back to the back side of the top-10. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out.”

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 16th

How much were you able to learn being able to complete the whole race tonight?

“It was awesome. We set out and achieved what we wanted to do. I wasn’t quite a good enough pusher to help the No. 99 (Daniel Suarez). I would just get tight and bound up, and I couldn’t stay attached. But when we were out front, it was good. It was good to lead some laps and control some lanes. I learned a lot. We just have to keep building. It’s another solid result for this No. 88 Red Bull Chevrolet team.”

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 2nd

You had a fast Chevrolet here today. What else did you need there at the end?

“We just needed one more spot. The No. 99 Coca-Cola Chevrolet team did a great job. We just probably needed to be in position a little bit earlier, but our Chevy was strong. We just lost a little bit of control in the final stage and that set us behind a little bit. The No. 12 (Ryan Blaney, race winner) was back there with us at one point. Overall, we had a good car all night, but it was just a little bit too late.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

Five Camry Drivers Advance to 10-Race Cup Series Playoffs

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 23, 2025) – Erik Jones led Toyota with a fifth-place result in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night.

With the regular season coming to a close, five Toyota drivers secured their spot in the 10-race NCS Playoffs, which begins next Sunday at Darlington Raceway. Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace all earned Playoff spots with wins during the regular season while Tyler Reddick clinched a Playoff berth on points in Saturday night’s race.

Jones and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB teammate John Hunter Nemechek both led the field during the 400-mile event with Nemechek going on to finish 17th. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs was also in the mix and earned a top 10 finish with an eighth-place result.

Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Daytona International Speedway
Race 26 of 36 – 400 miles, 160 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Ryan Blaney*
2nd, Daniel Suarez*
3rd, Justin Haley*
4th, Cole Custer*
5th, ERIK JONES
8th, TY GIBBS
13th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
17th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
21st, TYLER REDDICK
23rd, CHASE BRISCOE
25th, DENNY HAMLIN
37th, BUBBA WALLACE
40th, RILEY HERBST
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

ERIK JONES, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 5th

What could you have done differently to have a different outcome tonight?

“We were really good with the 7 (Justin Haley) and switched there on the restart and started working with the 5 (Kyle Larson). He was shoving really aggressive, and I got pretty out of shape and that was kind of it. I don’t know. I hate that it ended the way that it did. We put ourselves in a good spot and everything was going right to kind of the plan, and we just got out of shape. Glad it’s in one piece and we finished, but unfortunately fifth tonight doesn’t do much for us.”

Were you happy with your Toyota Camry tonight?

“We were good. I thought we had a lot of speed and drivability, pushed well and be pushed well but everybody gets shoving hard and the 5 (Kyle Larson) was shoving us super hard probably getting shoved from behind and just got me really out of shape. I’m glad we could hang onto it and at least finish, but just disappointed. Put ourselves in a great spot and executed well all day right to our plan and it just didn’t work out.”

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

Finishing Position: 13th

What is your expectation heading into the Playoffs?

“I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been looking forward to the Playoffs for a long time and just ready to put the pressure on and go to the Southern 500. It’s one of my favorite races of the year and I’m excited.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 21st

How much damage did your car have after the early incident?

“It was pretty destroyed. That was all my doing there at the start of the race. They bailed me out of it. It just seems like all year long we’ve been having to bail each other out of mistakes and bad choices.”

How do you feel going forward into the Playoffs and will the team need to reset?

“Yeah, but we have no Playoff points so it’s a negative reset. I don’t know. We’ll certainly need to be on top of it every round. We’re capable of it, we just haven’t done it.”

Which race are you looking most forward to in the Playoffs?

“Darlington has always been a really good race track for us and for myself as a driver. I feel like pretty much every time we’ve been there, we’ve been able to lead laps and contend and in the top-five. I think it will be very important to go in there and perform at the level we’ve been able to in the past.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 23rd

How was your race tonight?

“Obviously, not the finish that we wanted. We were upfront and in the mix at times. Just I feel like I didn’t do a great job of making decisions and got myself hung up a couple times. I need to go back and look at that and try to learn from it. I’m looking forward to going back racing next week at Darlington where you’re slipping and sliding around. Obviously, got to start our Playoffs on the right foot. I’m looking forward to it and see what we can do with this Bass Pro Shops Toyota.”

Are you looking forward to the Playoffs?

“Yeah, for sure. Outside of the last two weeks results, I feel like we’ve been one of the strongest cars week in and week out. Just got to go and execute the Playoffs. I know our speed will be there. It’s just a matter of putting it all together. If we do that, I think we’re as capable as anybody. We’ve got an uphill battle obviously with our points position, but I feel confident.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 King’s Hawaiian Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 25th

How frustrating of a night was it for you?

“Just couldn’t get the car fixed and it seemed like it got worse every time we tried to fix it. Not a good day for our King’s Hawaiian team. Now, we go and we reset and we race hard.”

Are you confident heading into the Playoffs with four wins this season?

“When we don’t crash, we’re up towards the front. Just here at Daytona for whatever reason, just have not seen the checkered in about 10 years – ever since the Next Gen car. Just unfortunate, wrong place wrong time but you’ll have that.”

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 37th

Did you have any indication that you were three-wide there?

“I need to see a replay. Everything was happening pretty quick there. The hit from the 5 (Kyle Larson) shoved me down there and it was like I got shoved up by the 22 (Joey Logano) and the 12 (Ryan Blaney) moved up. He was trying to just move up and take the lane. But, oh well. I hate it. 20th or 22nd to the lead in a short amount of time. A huge shoutout to my crew on the 23 Columbia Toyota Camry. I hate it for Columbia. They came down here and I couldn’t get them a good result, so I hate that. I’ll take the blame for it, unfortunately. Just a crap deal. Everything was going too good too early to be all true, so something was bound to happen. I hate that for everyone involved in it but hopefully we can get the 45 (Tyler Reddick) in. All in all, we’re locked in, and we’ll get focused for Darlington.”

What did you see after seeing the replay?

“I still need to go back and watch it. Just kind of all came together in a blink of an eye and so I’ll take the blame for it. Unfortunately, a bunch of cars got tore up. I hate that our Toyota Camry got destroyed. The Columbia car looked so good and was fast. Got up to the lead fairly quick so I thought we were playing all of our cards right. But just in the blink of an eye, which is what happens here at Daytona, it can be all taken away from you. It is what it is. We’ll rerack, take Sunday off and go focus on Darlington.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Coke Zero Sugar 400
Saturday, August 23, 2025

BLANEY AND HIS NO. 12 FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE WIN A DAYTONA THRILLER

• Ryan Blaney won his second race of 2025 and the 15th Cup race of his career today.
• This marks Blaney’s second career Cup win at Daytona International Speedway.
• It’s also his fifth career win on superspeedways as he has three victories at Talladega.
• Blaney, along with Joey Logano, Austin Cindric and Josh Berry qualified for the playoffs.
• Today’s win is Ford’s 746th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition
• It also marks Team Penske’s 105th series win with Ford.

Ford Unofficial Finishing Results:

1st – Ryan Blaney
4th – Cole Custer
7th – Chris Buescher
9th – Josh Berry
11th – Todd Gilliland
14th – Ryan Preece
18th – Brad Keselowski
20th – Cody Ware
27th – Joey Logano
29th – Casey Mears
31st – Zane Smith
38th – Noah Gragson
39th – Austin Cindric

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW: WHAT ABOUT THE LAST FEW LAPS OF THAT RACE? “Yeah, we just started rolling. I was with the 41 if he wanted to go three-wide top I wanted to let him know that under caution, and I was kind of waiting for him to go and knew we were probably gonna have people go with us if we went up top, it was just a matter of who would bite first. I figured if two of us went up there, you’d have followers and help. We finally went and it kind of checked on the tri-oval and Cole jumped up and we were able to keep a bunch of momentum going and have good pushes from Suarez, things like that, and then I just kind of kept creeping on the top. When the 7 blocked the 41 and the next thing I know I’m leading the lane and now I’m clear to the middle and I can play two lanes. I didn’t quite know what lane to block, the middle or top at the end. I was like, ‘Just try middle. I think we’ve got enough momentum.’ Enough to hold them off. It was a crazy last few laps, that’s for sure. I’m gonna be excited to go back and watch it on TV.”

HOW SPECIAL IS IT TO WIN AGAIN HERE AT DAYTONA? “It’s nice to be back. This is such a cool Victory Lane, looking up and seeing the World Center of Racing. It’s something I’ll never forget when we won here in ‘21. It’s just a cool place to be, so it’s really special. When you can win at Daytona, Talladega, you never know what’s gonna happen at these places and you just try to do the best job you can and we did that tonight and was in a spot to win and was able to hang on.”

YOU’VE GOT FIVE STRAIGHT TOP 10 FINISHES. TALK ABOUT YOUR MOMENTUM GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS? “I think this team is really doing a good job of hitting our stride when we need to. I’ve been proud of our efforts all year, it’s just been can we smooth some things out and have some stuff go our way. It seems to be smoothing out and this team is just performing and finishing where we should. That’s what I’ve been happy with, so it’s great to win this one and good momentum for next week.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT HAPPENED DOWN THE STRETCH? “I don’t know. This race car was really good. The team did a fantastic job. The FIfth Third Bank Ford Mustang was fast and handled fantastic. We got up there and was side-by-side there with the 22. We only got there for about two laps and I thought that was gonna be a really good spot and let us be able to duke it out. I think he got hit a little bit there, so we lost our track position on that caution and got behind some cars and got a little bit boxed in. That’s a shame because we just want more and our car was so good. We had a shot to win that thing and it’s great to be there, but we just want to win.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU WERE IN POSITION AND THEN SOMETHING WENT WRONG WITH THE 43 BEHIND YOU. “Yeah, we were in the right place. It’s happened many, many times where we’ve been in the right place here at Daytona and we don’t have anything to show for it. Our team is so good at it. Our cars are fast. Our execution was really good today. Coleman (Pressley, spotter) did great. It’s just our car was a little free and then where the push came as the track flattens out there it spins the leader right out. It is what it is.” DESPITE THAT DO YOU FEEL GOOD GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS? “There are good tracks lined up. There’s good momentum. Obviously, Ryan getting a win, that’s good momentum as well for the team. This team has done a good job the last seven or eight weeks. A lot of weird things have happened, but we’ve done a good job controlling what we can, so that’s what you’ve got to do in the playoffs.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 60 Kroger/Little Bites/Capri Sun Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU WERE RIGHT THERE. “Man, I felt like we were gonna win that race. You want to talk about having the best scenario play out for how we wanted it to, I was just leaving the 7 there. The 17 was doing a great job just letting him stay there and there’s nothing you can do. The problem is you know the 9 and the 5 were worried about their teammate that would have been bumped out, so it was a tough situation. I thought we were gonna win that one because we did everything right today and it just didn’t work out.”

CODY WARE, No. 51 Arby’s Jamocha Shake Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was definitely not the result we wanted, but I think we showed the guys today that we’re gonna keep showing up at these races and keep trying to do our best to win. We’re gonna get one some day soon here. It’s gonna come sooner rather than later, so just super glad to get the Arby’s 51 Jamocha Shake up front. Ford Performance and our Roush Yates Engines was fast all day. I learned a lot running up front and I think we’re gonna get one here once we can dial it in and get some track position and just happy with the speed we had all day.” WHAT ABOUT THE FINAL STAGE TRYING TO SAVE AND THEN GO. “Track position was just too important. Even at these races now you’ve got to be up front to stay up front. I tried to maneuver around a little bit, but unfortunately on that final restart that third line formed while we were already kind of married to the bottom, so we couldn’t get our way up there. Still, I think we had our best race of the year and our result doesn’t show that.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Maytag Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I saw a lot of cars wrecking and I hit one of them after I thought we got through the wreck. It’s just a shame for our Maytag/Menards Ford Mustang. I tried to make the third lane work, maybe a little too early, I lost some track position and felt like the intensity was picking up super early in the race there and I got collected and now I’m talking to you.” WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS GOING INTO DARLINGTON? “I think it should be a really interesting playoffs. I don’t feel like there’s a single team or driver that necessarily comes in with a standout advantage, so I look at that as a great opportunity. I’m excited for what we have in store for the playoffs.”

NOAH GRAGSON, No. 4 Zep Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We’re only on lap 27, 28 and there are guys trying to make it four-wide at the front of the pack. I was just collateral damage at that point. It’s definitely a bummer, but I’m still super proud of our team. We started almost towards the back, 32nd I think, and we were up in the top 10 20 laps in, so it’s not from a lack of effort. I just really appreciate everybody at Front Row Motorsports. We’re looking on to Darlington. It’s more in our control and look to have a strong run there.” WHAT DID YOU SEE? “I saw them wrecking towards the bottom and they shot up the racetrack into us. I mean, it’s every race this year it seems like, or most of them. We’ll go on to Darlington and try again. We’ve just been collateral damage all year long and just the wrong place at the right time pretty much every race. If I ride around in last, I mean we started 32nd and drove up into the top 10 20 laps in, so I don’t know. You just hang out and Monday morning quarterback it and hang out in the back and save fuel, but as a race car driver and for our team, I want to try and lead every lap and get up there and be smart while I do it and I felt like I was doing a decent job at that, but just getting caught up in the wrecks. They’re always right where we are this year.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 23, 2025

 Justin Marks, Founder and Owner of Trackhouse Racing; Connor Zilisch, driver for Trackhouse Racing; and Dr. Eric Warren, Vice President, Global Motorsports Competition for GM Motorsports; met with the media onsite at Daytona International Speedway to announce that Zilisch has signed a multiyear agreement to drive for Trackhouse Racing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026.

Press Conference Quotes:

Justin Marks: “We’re here to shock the world with an announcement that nobody saw coming. It’s a thrilling moment, humbling, an exciting moment for Trackhouse Entertainment Group to officially announce and welcome Connor Zilisch, who’ll be our third driver next year in a multi-year deal in the NASCAR Cup Series. He’ll join Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen as his teammates. I don’t have to say how special he is and how humbled and excited that we are to have Connor join us at the Cup Series level. A number of years ago, when we started kind of thinking about the three-year, five-year and the long-term vision of this company, it became apparent as we got established in this series that we needed to start making investments in our future and start cultivating our future. And Connor really stood out. I watched him raise the Trackhouse Motorplex, watched him as he went to Late Models and then Trans Am, and then got an opportunity to be his teammate in the Trans Am race at VIR just to sort of see how he operates, and he won that race by about 45 seconds over the field. It was really kind of that moment that we felt like making an investment in Connor, giving him the tools and the opportunity to develop, was something that we really needed to do at Trackhouse. So, we’re really excited that Red Bull and WeatherTech are both going to anchor the program on his car next year, and we’re working very, very hard to give all three of our guys an opportunity to win, make our race cars fast, make our company competitive and a leader in the garage. I think if we do that, we’ve got a bunch of guys that that can win a lot of races, including Connor in his rookie year. So, Connor Zilisch, welcome, my friend.”

Connor Zilisch: “Thank you. I’m honored to be joined by you two on the stage. You two believed in me before a lot of people did and gave me this opportunity to be sitting here today and have the opportunity to make that jump to the Cup Series. So, first of all, thank you to Eric and Justin. I was sitting in the Dick’s parking lot across the street earlier today and just kind of reflecting on the last 15 years of my life and what’s led to this moment and got me to this point. I never thought I would make it anywhere in racing. My parents have been behind me since day one, through every moment, the good, the bad. There were many times I questioned why I left school, left my friends, to make this commitment to go to the Cup Series and try and chase a dream of racing in motorsports. I never knew what was ahead of me. There were times, five years ago, where I thought I was just going to go to college and live the life of a normal kid and Kevin Harvick asked my dad, what’s your plan with this kid? And my dad was like, ‘Well, he’s going to race for another year two and then he’s going to go to college.’ And Kevin told my dad, ‘You can’t do that.’ So, thank you to Kevin. There are a lot of people that have been a part of this journey with me. I have way too many people to thank. Junior Motorsports, first of all, for giving me this opportunity this year to race with them. Dale, Kelley, you guys have given me a great home for the last six to 12 months and I’m very grateful for that. Pinnacle Racing Group, my ARCA team, they took a chance on me to put me into the national series in NASCAR and let me race in the ARCA Series with them. Silver Hare Racing before that in Trans Am gave me my first ride in a stock car. Back to even my karting days when I was with Gary Willis. We spent months in Europe together. He was basically my father for a good portion of my life. So, today is a really, really special day for me. I never thought this day would come, and that it certainly feels good.”

Eric Warren: “I look at Connor now, he’s 19, I look at him like he was 14, the first day we talked to him. I specifically remember his father, Jim, and him sitting in with us, and it was just really inspiring to see his commitment, even at that point. And Josh Wise, I give him a ton of credit, Josh and his group with us have developed a lot of great young people and Connor from the very beginning, Josh was like, ‘This kid’s going to do something nobody else has ever done.’ And, so far, that’s been true. There’s been a lot of things that really inspired, not just us, but Connor is the one that’s done the work. If you look at what he’s done and everything he puts it. I see him every day at our Technic Center working out and couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it, honestly. He’s got a great head on his shoulders, but it’s honestly the work and the things that people don’t see. It’s not just a talent. He puts in the effort and really, really works at it. That’s really where his success comes from. So super happy for this day and look forward to what we’ll see in the future.”

Connor Zilisch: “I do have to give a big shout out to Josh Wise. I joined the Chevy program in 2021 or 2022. And in the last three years, I’ve completely changed as a human in life, on the racetrack and off the racetrack. Josh has taught me so much, and I definitely owe a lot to him. So, yeah, very grateful that that. He took the chance to start that that program with Chevrolet and bring in those five young drivers and very fortunate that I was one of those five. That kind of kick-started and led to where I am today.”

It’s rare for someone to start their full-time Cup career as young as 19 years old. What is it that sets Connor apart from other big racing prospects?

Justin Marks: “I think it’s what everybody sees. It’s the level of maturity, the approach, the ability to deliver in big moments. When I get asked, which is sort of weird, but I get asked sometimes by young people, ‘What can I do to get noticed or to get an opportunity in racing?’ And I tell them it’s just you have to just win. You have to just have the ability to get it done when you got a fast racecar and when you have a winning opportunity you got to be able to close the deal. Connor’s done it. Just every car, he’s gotten in, he’s figured out a way to win. I think another one is the rate of adaptability. This sport won’t wait on somebody to figure things out. It’s such a fast-paced sport. You have to be able to get in a car, understand it right away, find its limits right away, and go deliver right away. And I think you saw that at Watkins Glen last year, first time in an Xfinity car and won the race. Earlier that year in the truck at COTA, first time in the truck, and put the thing on pole by a lot. Just to be able to get in and figure it out quickly. That’s really what it’s all about, because the Cup Series is a different sport than the Xfinity Series. Every week is such a challenge, and he’s going to be going to a lot of racetracks that he’s never seen in a Cup car before and with such a limited practice. He’s going to have to be able to figure out how to go fast really quickly. And he’s demonstrated the ability to do that so much in his career. And I think the other part of it, like I said, when I touched on is just maturity. Emotional maturity, approach, organization, and paying attention to the things that are important to success in his career. All of those things together, he’s demonstrated in a way that I’ve never seen a teenager be able to do it before. So, when you recognize that you’ve got that in a package, you know you have to run with it. And we’ve seen it. You know, Max Verstappen, and there’s been other drivers that that have gotten sort of thrown into the top level at a young age, and all those guys kind of demonstrate the same thing. So, we wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t think that he was successful, if we didn’t think that he’d be able to win as a rookie. So, we’re thrilled to be able to have him.”

You’ve known this day was coming for a while, so I’m curious did you come in here trying not to cry or did this all of a sudden come up on you?

Connor Zilisch “It’s cool. I knew the whole world knew already, but still to be able to say it and have my name next to the word Cup Series is really cool. So, I wasn’t going to try and hide from it, but it’s just a day that I’ve been dreaming of for a long time and I’m not going to let that kind of the idea that everybody already knows take away from the moment.”

Are you lobbying for a number? Is there a number that you want?

Justin Marks: “We’ve got some announcements that we’re going to make over the next couple of weeks. Obviously, there are questions around the program people, numbers, kind of all of that, and we’re going to have those moments when we can really celebrate them. But, right now, it’s about Red Bull, WeatherTech and Connor.”

Connor Zilisch: “To add to that, Red Bull and WeatherTech this year has been a staple on my car and been such a big part of getting me to this point and making Justin signing me and putting me in the best equipment possible. So, yeah, to the entire WeatherTech family, it certainly means a lot to have their support. And I’ve been a Red Bull athlete for almost a year now, and probably the coolest sponsor. You watch videos of guys jumping from stratosphere and, you watch those YouTube videos as kids and you one day dream of being as cool as them and being a part of that legendary club, of being a Red Bull athlete. I’m really excited to have two of probably some of the coolest sponsors in our sport on my car next year.”

Is there a point in your career when you realized you had made it or maybe to this moment come just right now sitting on this stage?

Connor Zilisch: “I still haven’t made it to where I want to be, right? This is the start. I wanted to get to this point and give myself the opportunity to win championships at the highest level, but I wouldn’t say I’ve made it. But I’ve made it farther than a lot. So, that’s something to be proud of. And, yeah, it’s going to be grueling. The Cup Series is no joke, and that jump from Saturday to Sunday is bigger than probably any other sport in our country. So, yeah, I’m excited for the challenge and looking forward to just going out and learning and every Sunday giving my best effort and seeing where I stack up. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I’m just excited to be a part of the Cup Series. Have I made it? No, but I made it way farther than I thought I would.”

The Cup Series, all the pressure, and all the commitments and all that stuff. How important is it to you to try to keep the person you are now?

Connor Zilisch: “You get to Sunday and all of a sudden this becomes a job and you’re finishing position determines if you’re going to stay in the sport or not. And obviously that adds pressure and makes things more difficult, and it certainly adds to the fact that this is no longer all about having fun, but that’s what I’m going to try and do my best to keep every Sunday is to make sure that I’m enjoying it and enjoying the ride. This stuff, you can’t travel 38 weeks a year around the country and be miserable and expect to do well. So, yeah, you have to enjoy it. The good days are going to be special, and the bad days are you being a part of it. And that’s kind of just what you got to understand from the get-go. And, yeah, I’ll do my best. But there’s nothing that can really prepare you for this jump and only time will tell how it affects me. But I’m going to do my best to stand on my ground and stay true to who I am.”

With Connor now and then SVG. Do you expect to win every road course race next year?

Justin Marks: “Well, you can never expect to win. I mean, this series is very, very difficult. I would say that when we pull into the racetrack, everybody unloads feeling like they need to beat Trackhouse. I think the goal for us is to continue to invest in this sort of transition I’ve been talking about as a company. So that’s the case, all 38 weeks of the year. I mean, the goal for this business is to be a championship-winning organization, and we’re making a lot of moves internally right now to get ourselves there, because we’re competitors, we’re racers and we want to win every single week. I will say that the road courses are near and dear to my heart because it’s what I came out of, racing a bunch of years in IMSA and road racing. We’ve obviously got somebody that has demonstrated an incredible amount of skill at the road courses in SVG, but now we got two bullets in that gun, so I think it bodes well for us on the road courses. But we want to be able to do it every single week.”

You’ve waited on this announcement. Were there any loose ends, or was it this just seemed like the right time for you to make this announcement?

Justin Marks: “Well, obviously it takes time to get to get a deal done, right? So, we spent time in kind of getting to a place that we were both happy with. And as far as now, I don’t know if there was any real kind of rhyme or reason to it. It makes sense to do it at Daytona, just because it’s such an important part of the sport. Last year we sat right here in this room on this day and announced that Shane van Gisbergen was going to be joining the team. So, I came through the tunnel here when I was 19 years old for the 24 Hours of Daytona and Daytona’s been a huge part of my life ever since then. It’s been a huge part of, I think, everybody’s life that’s sitting in this room right now. So, it’s great to do it at the World Center of Racing and great to do it right in NASCAR’s backyard.”

Do you view Connor as basically being a cornerstone of this team going forward?

Justin Marks: “Yeah, I hope so. I think he represents a huge opportunity because of his maturity, because of his talent, and because of the fact that he’s got potential to be a champion in this sport, a multi-time champion in this sport. We have to do our job as a company. I mean, we have to put fast cars on the racetrack, we have to give him and his teammates an opportunity to go fast in the sport. So, I think as long as he stays focused and brings it every single week and we do our job building fast racecars and putting the right people around him, I think we’ll experience success together. I think we both would like for that to last a really, really long time. But it’s a very, very difficult sport. And, right now, Trackhouse is going through, like I said, this sort of transitional period where we’re looking at the company and envisioning kind of what the future looks like because it’s hard to beat Penske and Gibbs and Hendrick. But we want to be the team to do it. So, if we do our job and he does his job, I don’t see why we can’t have a lot of success together for a long time.”

For somebody who’s still super young and still has such an early career, what’s some of the hardships and challenges that you’ve faced and overcome?

Connor Zilisch: “It started probably 2020, 2021, when I was getting out of go karts and trying to make the jump into racing, full size cars, and my dad basically told me, ‘Look, I can get you to this point, but from here, you’re on your own.’ And it was tough to accept that. There were kids that I watched around me that had parents that could get them to the next level and I kind of had to go out and win races and find my way on my own. I always had their guidance and help, but at some point, you got to pay for this stuff somehow. I’m just very glad and fortunate that I had people around me who helped me. That’s why I say yes to every opportunity I get almost from the time I was 15 to 17. I never turned down an opportunity to get behind the wheel, whether it was racing on dirt, racing a Miata, racing Trans Am, Late Models. I always wanted to just be behind the wheel and get myself in front of more people because you never know who you’re going to meet, and that’s exactly how kind of things went with Justin and I. Someone came to me and asked me if I wanted to race a Trans Am car at VIR, and I said, yes, and you know, next thing I know I was teammates with Justin. That’s where things kind of started for us. So, it’s kind of been just who I am since I got out of a go kart, and I’m very glad that I had to work for it and I had to win races to get to the next level, because it makes sitting here today that much sweeter.”

Justin Marks: “I think there’s a good lesson in that because one of the things that we talk about is taking advantage of the opportunity, delivering in the big moments. And when you’re in a position where you just you have to just let your talent speak for it, he delivered in that, and we looked at it and said, ‘You know, we’re going to make a commitment here, we’re going to make a financial commitment, we’re going to make an asset commitment.’ Eric Warren and Chevrolet did the same thing. They made a commitment because they just saw that there was something special here, because he just delivered so much. So, it’s great to be in this moment because the investment that we made, the investment that Chevrolet has made, we’ve seen that paid dividends with all the wins this year in Xfinity and we see the opportunity to do the same thing on Sundays.”

About General Motors

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