Leading Tire Retailer to Continue Sponsorship of 2022 Daytona 500 Winner Austin Cindric, NASCAR’s Ryan Blaney and Team Penske INDYCAR Program

MOORESVILLE, NC (February 19, 2023) – Team Penske and Discount Tire today announced an extension of their winning motorsports partnership as NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) driver Austin Cindric prepares to defend his historic 2022 Daytona 500 victory in the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. Under the new multi-year partnership agreement, Discount Tire – the world’s largest independent retailer of tires and wheels – will build on its tradition of success with Team Penske across both its NASCAR and INDYCAR programs.

Entering its 14th season as a Team Penske partner in 2023, Discount Tire will continue to serve as the primary sponsor for Cindric and the No. 2 Ford Mustang team for multiple NCS races this season – including the Daytona 500. Discount Tire will also sponsor the No. 12 Ford Mustang driven by Ryan Blaney in select NCS races this season and into the future, under the new agreement. The partnership will also continue with Team Penske’s winning NTT INDYCAR SERIES program as Discount Tire and Tire Rack will return as associate sponsors of the No. 2 Chevrolet driven by two-time series champion Josef Newgarden, along with the No. 3 Chevy driven by former series Rookie of the Year Scott McLaughlin and the No. 12 Chevrolet raced by 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner and reigning series champ Will Power.

“We are proud of Team Penske’s partnership with Discount Tire and the success we have had together over the years, including multiple championships and a victory in the Daytona 500,” said Roger Penske. “Our companies share many of the same core values and this is a partnership that continues to deliver, both on and off the race track. We are excited to build on our success together in 2023 and into the future.”

Team Penske welcomed Discount Tire as team partner prior to the 2010 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) season as the No. 22 Discount Tire team won six races, established a new series record with 26 top-five finishes and earned Team Penske’s first-ever NASCAR championship with the NXS title. Following a successful run of four NXS Owner’s Championships from 2013-2015 and again 2017, Discount Tire transitioned to the No. 2 Ford Mustang for the 2018 Cup Series season. Last season, Cindric delivered one of Discount Tire’s biggest victories with a win in the “Great American Race” on his way to claiming NCS Rookie-of-the-Year honors.

“Discount Tire is grateful for our partnership with Roger Penske and Team Penske,” said Michael Zuieback, executive chairman of Discount Tire. “For more than a decade, this partnership has allowed our people, our customers and our race team to dream bigger and we look forward to celebrating more championships together with Team Penske in the future.”

Discount Tire and Team Penske have teamed up to produce 36 race victories across NCS and NXS competition, with 10 combined championships and the historic 2022 Daytona 500 win. The 36 wins represents the second-highest total among all NASCAR primary sponsors in Team Penske history.

About Team Penske
Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced more than 600 major race wins, over 670 pole positions and 43 championships across open-wheel, stock car and sports car racing competition. Over the course of its 57-year history, the team has also earned 18 Indianapolis 500 victories, three Daytona 500 Championships, a Formula 1 win, victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, along with a win in Australia’s legendary Bathurst 1000 race. In 2023, Team Penske will compete in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the NASCAR Cup Series under the “Team Penske” banner. With a new Team Penske global partnership, Porsche Penske Motorsport will also compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the World Endurance Championship this season. For more information about Team Penske, please visit www.teampenske.com.

About Discount Tire

Discount Tire, based in Scottsdale, is a leading independent retailer of tires and wheels. Founded in 1960 by Bruce Halle, the company serves customers at more than 1,100 stores in 38 states. The company does business under the trade name Discount Tire in most of the U.S. and America’s Tire in parts of California. Discount Tire acquired Tire Rack, a direct-to-consumer tire retailer and distributor, in 2021. Treadwell, Discount Tire’s proprietary online tire-buying guide uses decades of data and individual driving habits to recommend the right tires for each driver’s unique needs. Discount Tire is a primary sponsor of the No. 2 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series. For more information, visit www.discounttire.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona 500 Practice | Saturday, February 18, 2023

Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 6 Nexlizet Ford Mustang, posted the fastest single-lap speed in today’s final NASCAR Cup Series practice. Keselowski, who paced the session that featured Ford drivers claiming the top six spots, came in the infield media center to answer questions from reporters.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Nexlizet Ford Mustang – HOW WAS THIS FINAL PRACTICE? “We made some really good improvements. We were super strong here last year for the 500 and when we fired off the Duels we weren’t where we wanted to be, so we made some adjustments and went back to where we were for last year and then got even better from there. I feel really good about it. You come here and there’s no guarantees of any success, but there are things you can do to help your position and, of course, executing the race and having good speed are always good things, so I think we found a little more speed and feel really good about our ability to execute the race. We’ll see if the other pieces come together, but really pleased and looking forward to tomorrow.”

YOU STARTED A LEGACY AT PENSKE AT DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA WITH THE SUCCESS THAT ORGANIZATION HAS HAD. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU AND HOW HAVE YOU SEEN RYAN TAKE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED AND APPLY TO HAVING SUCCESS? “It was a really good run of nine or 10 years and probably still counting for them. I was glad to be a part of it. I hesitate to say I was the main point. I think all of the drivers came together and really brought something to the table, but I think there was a huge cultural transformation that I was a part of, for sure, that went from, ‘Hey, speedway races are just where we go to wreck four cars a year,’ to ‘Hey, let’s go here and try to win the race.’ That naturally inspired and bred confidence in the drivers and the teams to really focus on it and spend the time, whether it was with the car prep or the studying that went with it to be able to put themselves in a position to where when luck didn’t go against them, you could win the race. That’s really where you want to be at these plate tracks. You want to be where if you don’t have bad luck, you can win the race and I think there’s a lot of philosophies in the teams that are probably the opposite of that where if we get good luck, we can win the race, which is fine and sometimes candidly that works just as well, but more often than not it doesn’t and you can control some of these races. I think they certainly have got them in a really good position to run well for years to come with the drivers and the culture that they have there. I don’t know that anyone could argue against Penske having the best yearly superspeedway program based on the results, but certainly we’re trying to replicate that with things we’re doing at RFK and I think Chris Buescher is doing a really good job as well. He probably doesn’t get enough credit for where he’s at as well. I would look for probably the five of us to all be in position to win the race tomorrow accordingly.”

HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY DIFFERENCE WITH THE NEW NOSES EACH MANUFACTURER HAS THIS YEAR? “No, I don’t think there’s a big difference there. I think maybe the Chevy’s are a little bit better for qualifying and maybe the Ford’s are a little bit better to race, but that comes with intention. I think the OEM’s pick that themselves, not necessarily NASCAR, but it certainly is interesting to watch it all play out, but I don’t feel like it’s a big deal with the way the cars drive or anything like that. I think people like to chase the numbers in the wind tunnels maybe feel a little bit better, but on the track I don’t see it being a big difference.”

WAS THERE ANYTHING THE FORDS WERE TRYING TO FIND OUT TODAY IN PRACTICE AND WHY WASN’T CHRIS OUT THERE? “The best practice is not when you get it right, it’s when you can’t get it wrong. I think we’re practicing to where we can’t get it wrong and looking for any little hole and what we have to be able to remedy it. I think Chris’ car was dialed in really well and they were in a great spot, and they still are in a great spot. I was a little less happy with mine and wanted to try to find something, so I’m happy to put that work in this morning to see if we could find it and I feel like we did.”

HOW SOON DID YOU KNOW YOUR CAR WAS GOOD? “The Daytona 500, once you get in the race, is a different animal. It’ll be a little warmer than it obviously is this morning come race day and you transition from day to night, which is a big deal for the cars and the way they drive. In the daytime it’s more about handling and in the night time it’s probably a little bit more about just the raw speed in the car, so in order to be good here you need to have both – the raw speed and the handling if you’re going to be in position to win this race without catching some extreme luck event like we were talking earlier. You try to work through those things and, like I said, I knew in the Duel we didn’t have what we needed to win the race with both of those, so we put in the effort today and tomorrow to make sure that we could and I feel much better about it.”

WHY DO DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA RACE SO DIFFERENTLY? “The Daytona 500, to me over the years, has probably been more focused on the speed of the cars and the willingness of the drivers to make bold moves. I think, accordingly, I haven’t been able to close the 500 out. We’ve had really fast cars and caught some really poor breaks, and then there have been some races where I felt like I didn’t execute at a high enough level. I think there’s probably a little mixture of all those things on why I haven’t been able to win this race, but Talladega there’s probably been some races that candidly I didn’t execute at a high enough level and caught some breaks and I just haven’t caught the break here. There’s the old Indianapolis saying I think that you don’t win the Indy 500, the Indy 500 kind of picks the winner. Sometimes it feels that way here, that the winner of this race – if you go back and watch the last three or four laps, the winner is usually decided, at least for the Daytona 500, by the move that the third and fourth-place car makes – almost every year – and you can’t drive the third and fourth place car and the first place car all at the same time. That said, you’re at the mercy of that car and I feel like to some degree you are at Talladega, but probably to a lesser degree and it’s easier to manipulate the third and fourth place car at Talladega than it is at Daytona, and so when all those pieces come together, I guess my individual breakdown is I haven’t had the right third or fourth place car behind me when I’ve been in a spot to win the race, which is part of the frustration that comes with it. But that will be what to look for on Sunday. If I’m a fan in the stands and I’m watching the field go under the white flag, candidly, I’m not looking at the leader. The guy who is running third or fourth is gonna decide who wins the race – the move he makes, who he goes with, what he does will impact or determine the winner. That’s just not something you can control. You only drive one car at a time, but you hope to be fast enough that that person decides to go with you or that he has his best opportunity with you, or that he just quite frankly has the speed to do it.”

WOULD YOU RATHER BE THE LEAD CAR OR BE THAT THIRD OR FOURTH PLACE CAR? “I mean, there are a million different variables that go into that. Generally speaking, it’s usually the best idea to be the leader on the last lap, but every race is a little different and how it plays out, and how you can control it. Generally, the single-file races you certainly want to be the leader, but the double-file races where you’ve got the field two-by-two-by-two, maybe not. So, I don’t think there’s an answer to that question that’s always gonna be 100 percent right.”

WAS THAT PRACTICE AN EXHIBITION OF ONE FORD? WILL WE SEE IT PLAY OUT LIKE WE HAVE THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS? “Most likely. I think the Ford’s have done an excellent job of bringing a lot of depth to the racetrack. You look at the depth that they have, and I don’t think it’s rivaled by any of the other manufacturers in the quality of cars and drivers that they have, and so when the Ford’s get together, especially at a race like this, we can be pretty much unstoppable. That doesn’t mean you can’t lose the race, like I said, there are a million ways to lose it even with having the fastest cars and the best drivers, but it certainly puts you in a position to control the race.”

IS THIS THE LAST MISSING LINK FOR YOUR CUP CAREER? “It’s the last crown jewel I don’t have. I’ve got the championship and the Brickyards and the Coke 600 and the Southern 500 and the Bristol Night Races and the Talladegas. Those mean the world to me, they really do, but the Daytona 500 is still our biggest race of the year no matter how you look at it and it still stings to not have it. It stings to have been so close in so many different ways. I’m not Dale Earnhardt in 1998 or anything like that, but I feel like we’re due more than probably anyone else to win this race. That means nothing when you get on the racetrack. Nobody cares. The other drivers don’t care. The other teams don’t care. They’re all out there to win it for their own and you’ve got to go earn it, so all I know to do is just to continue to run up front, be in position, not have to count on lucky breaks and hopefully they go our way or at least we don’t get any bad breaks.”

DOES THE PAIN GET WORSE EVERY YEAR THAT YOU DON’T WIN THIS RACE? “It don’t get better. Yeah, again, you just feel like you’re in position and it doesn’t happen. Yeah, it’s super painful. The closer you are to winning the race, the more painful it is. The last three years we’ve been either leading or second place in the last few laps, so you know you’re right there. You know that it’s just barely out of reach and so that certainly builds the frustration. We came down here a couple years where we weren’t even close and you left here going, ‘Well, that sucked,’ and it didn’t hurt as bad. It hurts a lot worse to be close. The Olympic saying is the worst thing you can do is get a silver. Bronze, you’re happy because you get a medal and gold, of course, you’re happy to leave, but silver you’re that close and it just didn’t happen and I feel like I’ve got a lot of Daytona 500 silvers. We’re really hopeful that we can leave with the big trophy this time.”

WHEN IT COMES TO THIS RACE DO YOU REMEMBER THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY EVEN MORE? “Oh, yeah. One hundred percent. I could tick down the last 12 years here of this didn’t go right, there was nothing I could do different. Or, this didn’t go right and I maybe should have made a different move here or there, but that’s how it goes.”

AT WHAT POINT DOES DRAFTING COME INTO PLAY WHERE YOU KNOW YOU CAN RELY ON CERTAIN GUYS? “If you’re looking when drafting matters, it matters the second we run under the green flag, but as far as finding the right partner, that’s super dynamic. You look at scenarios, like we have two cars here with RFK, and certainly I’m gonna do the best I can to work with my teammate, Chris Buescer, but if anything happens to him or me, you’ve got to find a friend quick. That can create some strange bedfellows and always has and probably always will here at these tracks, but it’s a dynamic race. There’s always gonna be a lot of attrition. You start 40 cars and at the end there are probably only 10 to 15 that really have a shot at winning it, and so you want to have a friend in that 10 to 15 that’s left at the end. There’s a good chance it’s not gonna be the guy you had as a friend to start.”

CAN YOU COMPARE AND CONTRAST DAYTONA AND INDIANAPOLIS? “I already have Indy, so once you have something you want something you don’t have, right? Isn’t that life? In the moment I would naturally answer that Daytona would be the one that stands out to me, but hopefully 20-30 years from now when I’m in a rocking chair they’ll probably both hold great value.”

WHICH TRACK IS MORE CHALLENGING? “Well, I think Indy is more challenging as a driver, but Daytona is more challenging overall because you have all these aspects of you’re trying to not just drive your car, but you’re trying to drive the field’s car. Every move you make to run these races it’s not about you. It’s about the person you’re around. Indy is like this really challenging game of solitaire and Daytona is this really challenging game of poker. They’re still two good card games, but you play them completely differently. and one is more about your individual talents and the other is about your ability to manipulate everyone else and Daytona is certainly the poker game.”

DOES ROGER GIVE YOU AN EXTRA PAT ON THE BACK WHEN YOU WIN AT INDY? “I think he gives everybody a pat on the back. Indy is a big track to him and always has been from his days as a child and going there with his dad and he could tell stories that far surpass my storytelling ability about Indianapolis, but they’re two great tracks. We’re so fortunate here in the United States to have two tracks like that. As of late I’ve been meeting a lot of people that are European and they’re just blown away by the motorsports facilities we have here in the United States and not just the quality of Daytona or Indy, but the depth of facilities we have. We’re very fortunate as motorsports fans, enthusiasts, what have you, to have these level of facilities and that’s not lost on me.”

WHAT IS THE ENERGY LIKE FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM GOING INTO THIS YEAR’S 500 COMPARED TO LAST YEAR? “I think, obviously, a lot less of the uncertainties. I feel pretty good about a lot of things we’ve got going on. Our team dynamics are significantly improved. We continue to make changes at RFK to bring out the best talent and best supporting tools to be successful and we’ve got a lot of systems that were clearly deficient last year and were really hard to fix and replace midseason, that we were able to take a good whack at here during the offseason and it’ll be interesting to see them come online. I’ve kind of lived this experience before. In 2010 when I came to Penske was pretty much a nightmare season. I think every headline I read was how big of a mistake it was to leave Hendrick and all that, and then 2011 started and we were able to use that offseason to make significant changes to our cars and to our overall approach and culture, and I feel that same thing here. In 2011 at Penske halfway through the season we started winning races and became the team we wanted to be, and I feel very much on that same path here at RFK. It’s just so hard to get anything done under 18 months, but I feel really similar timeline-wise and culturally what I’m seeing with the company as it continues to grow and evolve. I’m as eager as anyone to get out here and go race because it’s a chance to prove ourselves, prove our own merits and we’ve got a lot to be proud of and a lot I’m sure is going to challenge us along the way, but, overall, exciting to see.”

STATESVILLE, N.C. (February 18, 2023) — LEGACY MOTOR CLUB owners Maury Gallagher and Jimmie Johnson, along with Team Ambassador Richard Petty, today announced U.S. Air Force will return to the NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 43 Chevrolet and driver Erik Jones for the 2023 season.

“It’s been an honor to represent the U.S. Air Force the last few years and I’m excited to continue our partnership to have them on our No. 43 Camaro for this season,” said Jones. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet some pretty remarkable Airman the last few seasons and I look forward to meeting many more this year. Our partnership with the Air Force is such a great program to be a part of and I hope we can give them a little excitement this season and a few trips to victory lane.”

The U.S. Air Force has a storied history with NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and the famed No. 43. This season will mark the 15th consecutive season of the partnership. The U.S. Air Force will appear on the No. 43 for three primary races: Talladega Superspeedway (April 23), Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend, (May 28) and Bristol Motor Speedway (September 16).

“I’m very proud of the program we have built with the U.S. Air Force for the last 15 seasons on the No. 43,” said Petty. “I’ve had the honor to meet many men and women who are serving over the years and it’s great to see their association with our team be successful both on and off the track.”

Through their partnership with the team, the U.S. Air Force utilizes their recruiting team and at-track activation to recruit the next generation of Airmen and Guardians. Throughout the season, the U.S. Air Force will host a display at various events for fans to learn about the U.S. Air Force and at select tracks, meet Jones before the race.

“I have so much respect for the military as both my grandfathers have served,” said Johnson. “The relationship we have with the U.S. Air Force is something I am very proud of as a new team owner, and Erik and the No. 43 team will be very competitive this season. I’ve had some very close ties with military sponsors and organizations in the past, and we will do everything we can to help the U.S. Air Force meet their goals both on and off the track.”

This season the No. 43 will showcase a unique paint scheme featuring U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. Known as the “Pride in the Sky,” the Thunderbirds perform around the world to display the pride, precision, and professionalism of the U.S. Air Force. The Thunderbirds showcase the elite skills of its pilots and demonstrate the phenomenal capabilities of the Air Force’s legendary multi-role fighter jet, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, through air shows and flyovers.

“The U.S. Air Force is thrilled to announce the renewal of our partnership with Erik Jones and the No. 43 team, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, and the addition of Jimmie Johnson as team owner. A partnership that solidifies our commitment to excellence and success in the 2023 racing season,” said Tech. Sgt. Tyson Wagstaff, Program Manager, U.S. Air Force Recruiting Service. “This partnership also supports our recruiters in finding skilled individuals, who share a passion for competition and teamwork and appreciate science, technology, engineering and math, to serve our country. We look forward to cheering on the No. 43 team as they soar to new heights and inspire the next generation of Airmen and Guardians.”

The next race for the drivers of LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is the 65th running of the DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 19, 2023, at 2:30 p.m. ET live on FOX, the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SIRIUS XM Radio.

ABOUT THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE:

The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly, fight and win – airpower anytime, anywhere. Whether full time, part time, in or out of uniform, everyone who serves plays a critical role in helping us achieve mission success.. For 2023, the Air Force Recruiting Service is hiring over 26,000 new Airmen. An emphasis is on recruiting people with no prior military service into one of over 130 enlisted career opportunities. The Air Force recruits to retain, so we recruit the brightest candidates possible, then provide them with tough, highly technical training that gives them the right skills to sustain the combat capability of America’s Air Force. For more information about Air Force benefits and opportunities, go to www.airforce.com.

ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is a team that competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, owned by Maury Gallagher and Jimmie Johnson. LEGACY M.C. operates two full-time entries, the No. 42 Chevrolet of Noah Gragson and the No. 43 Chevrolet of Erik Jones. The team also fields a third part-time entry, the No. 84 Chevrolet, for Johnson’s limited racing schedule.

For the last 75 years, the iconic Petty family name has been synonymous in NASCAR, spanning four generations. Over the course of his driving career, Team Ambassador Richard Petty forever enshrined himself as “The King”, earning 200 wins and seven NASCAR Cup Series championships alongside NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief Dale Inman. GMS Racing entered the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021, later acquiring Richard Petty Motorsports to form Petty GMS.

The team was rebranded to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB in 2023 with the addition of Johnson, another seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, to the ownership structure. As a nod to car clubs of past eras, LEGACY M.C. is an inclusive club for the automobile racing enthusiast, fostering a team environment that will breed success for years to come. LEGACY M.C.’s vision is to honor the rich history of its past and acknowledge the future of the sport with some of today’s most iconic drivers.

LEGACY M.C. operates alongside GMS Racing, which fields three full-time entries in the NASCAR Truck Series. Since the formation of GMS Racing in 2012, Gallagher, along with one of the NASCAR garage’s most accomplished figures, Team President, Mike Beam, built a victorious organization, capturing the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championships, the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA East championships, accumulating over 65 wins across six national racing circuits.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 18, 2023

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 NUTRIEN AG SOLUTIONS CAMARO ZL1, was the fastest Chevrolet driver in the NASCAR Cup Series final practice. Press Conference Transcript:

AJ Allmendinger was the fastest Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series final practice before the Daytona 500. AJ, tell us a little bit about your car and what you’re looking forward to tomorrow.

“It was pretty easy to be the quickest Chevy… I think there was only three of us that went out there. It’s been good. We decided yesterday not to practice just to kind of fine tune everything. There were only a few things that we wanted to try. I felt like in the Duels, we never got the track position, but the car had pretty good speed in it. So, more than anything, it’s me just trying to learn the techniques of this car on the superspeedway because I didn’t run any of the (Cup) races on superspeedways last year.

Overall, I feel like it’s pretty good. It’s going to just be more about learning during the race tomorrow with 40 cars out there; how the car is reacting. It will be a little bit warmer than today. How the tires start to slide around and stuff with that many cars around you.

I’m pretty happy with everything. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow. It’s really cool to have Nutrien Ag Solutions on the car; moving up to Cup with me. It’s been a great partnership with our race team for the past several years now, so for them to come to the Cup side with me means a lot. It’s really cool to have them here.”

Based on what you’ve learned about the car so far, have you developed a strategy for tomorrow?

“I think as we’ve all seen, it’s hard to get a third line working around here. In the past, I was always one of those guys that would kind of just sit back early on in the race and just let it develop. Some of it, at those times, maybe I didn’t quite have the speed to consistently run up front. So it was more about trying to time when to get up front and stay there at the end of the race.

With this car, I feel like you have to have more track position early on. So with 100 laps to go – I think 60 to 70 to go – you need your track position. It’s hard to try to get back up there. What I fought in the Duel was I felt like we were pretty decent, but it’s just hard to make moves. So I think trying to get up front however we do that and obviously trying to stay there, especially after halfway, is going to be really critical. The cars in traffic get aero-tight. Obviously we see when you’re pushing, if you push the wrong way, it’s tough. So it’s going to be a challenge tomorrow, but I think just trying to get up front early and hopefully stay there is probably the best thing.”

You’ve done this before. You’re no stranger to this week, but it’s been five years. Is the emotion different coming back to the Daytona 500 now compared to where you were in 2018.

“No, I mean I’m always nervous. As soon as I get here, I feel the nerves right when I drive into the tunnel. It’s like as you land and drive into the tunnel, the nerves and anxiety builds up a little bit, which is a great thing because it should be like that. This is a special race to be a part of. I don’t take it for granted. I hate superspeedway racing; but with that said, when they would drop the green every year over the last five years, there was a piece of me just missing it. I feel very fortunate and lucky to be in this position and have this opportunity again. The nerves have built up over the week. I’m sure I’ll struggle to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow and basically hurry up to get to (driver) intros. There’s a lot that goes on in the morning for all the drivers, but hurry up and get to intros and get inside the car because the nerves will definitely be there. Once you start the engine, it’s go-time.”

Both times you’ve ran third here, you started deep. You start deep again tomorrow.. is that a good omen?

“The race is long enough; it doesn’t matter where you start. As I said, the track position is more critical, but if you have a fast car, you can still work your way up there. I think it’s more that you have to pick and choose when you do it because if you kind of go for it and you get kind of tossed to the back, it’s a lot harder to get back up there now. But yeah, if it’s meant to be and we make the right moves – there’s so much luck that goes into this too. You just try to make the right moves and if a wreck happens and you’re part of it, that is what it is. You just don’t want to be the cause of the wreck. That was always my mindset.

We’ll be ready to go. I’m so pumped to be back here. This is a great race for all of us to be a part. We should all feel lucky enough that we get to do this.”

When you approach three-wide situations, how do you really react to that knowing there’s not a lot of room for error?

“Yeah, I mean these cars stall out really easy. So I think if you’re trying to start the third lane, you have to have a massive run. You can’t just pop out and hope a couple of guys go with you and make it work like the old car. This car, you have to make a run; have a big head of stem and generally know that guys will go with you. If you get stuck in the middle three-wide, you have to be careful, especially later in the tire run. But it’s all part of it.”

When you compare the energy of the crowd here at Daytona versus other tracks, what do you find to be a lot more stimulating knowing the history of this track?

“It’s one of the biggest races we have in the world.. the Daytona 500. I feel like if you’re not a motorsports fan, you can still say certain races and they get what it is. You say the Indianapolis 500, they know what that is. You say the Daytona 500, they know what it is. You know if you win the race that you become a part of a legendary group that has won the Daytona 500. You feel that in the crowd, too. The people here – even the people that are first timers that have never been here and are just learning what racing is – they know what the Daytona 500 is. You feel that energy as soon as you wake up tomorrow morning. This place is packed. It’s sold out – infield, grandstands. Not that drivers need any more reason to be pumped up to race the Daytona 500, but you feel the energy in the crowd and that just gives it a little bit more.”

Simulations are great, but can you learn anything from watching previous finishes here?

“Yeah, I’ve watched a lot of in-car and race footage from last year. Just trying to get an understanding of how the runs formulate and what you have to do to put yourself in the right position. But in the end of the day, it’s great to watch all of that and put that in the notebook and the mind, but you have to feel it. You have to be in that position. As we’ve seen many of times with this race, there’s no one way or another to win it. It’s great to be the first car leading off of turn four and we’ve seen people lose it that way. I felt like Austin (Dillon) did a great job last year because they had a big run on him and he did what he had to do to win the race. But yeah, you put all of those notes in your head; but at the end of the day, it’s different every time you’re a part of it. I’ve always said – you make what you think is the best decision in the moment and after, you can always nit-pick on whether it was the right decision. But you give yourself the best opportunity to make that decision. If it works out, it works out.”

The past few days, several of us have had the opportunity to make single-car runs in the Racing Experience cars and figured out what you guys do behind the wheel is probably a little more difficult than what we give you credit for in the past. But how do you guys keep the cars settled without basically bouncing all over each other?

“Well we’re paid not to wreck, so that’s the ultimate goal to try not to wreck (laughs) and it hurts if you do. It’s a challenge. You make a single-car run, a lot of people can do that wide open. It’s not hard to do.

I will say in this car, it was a little more difficult. They bounce around a lot more in qualifying. But yeah, you get three- or four-wide, that’s why we’re supposed to be the best of the best.”

Going back to the trust factor that we hear you guys talk about, with who you’re racing around..

“We don’t trust any of each other.. let’s be honest (laughs). We know who is maybe a little safer and who’s a little more aggressive. But let’s not lie to each other, we don’t trust anyone out there.”

It’s no secret with Kaulig Racing’s Xfinity program, the team’s been dominate at Daytona and Talladega in recent years. How much have you been able to carryover from the Kaulig Xfinity results to prepare for the first multi-car Cup Series run in the Daytona 500?

“The Cup Series is such a challenge; it’s difficult. That’s the point of it. There are 40 of us out there and we’re the best of the best, and that’s why we’re in those seats. It’s a lot more challenging.

A lot of it also goes with ECR, Chevrolet and all of our partners that help us get to that point of why our stuff is so fast on the Xfinity and the Cup side of it. But yeah, it’s a lot more difficult.

I think in the Xfinity Series, part of it is – in complete honesty – there’s not as many good cars in the race, and because of that, you’re able to get a lot of cars that want to hookup with you because they know your car is fast and they just want to go with you. So sometimes it’s even easier to make moves. Although, by the end of my Xfinity side of it, the field figured out they didn’t want the Kaulig Chevy’s linked up together because – whether it was Justin (Haley), myself, and Ross (Chastain); or Ross and Justin; or Jeb (Burton), Daniel (Hemric) and Landon (Cassill) – part of the culture is that we’re all in it together to try and win the race. In the end of the day, sure, you want to be the guy that wins the race. But it sets the tone with Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice and on down the line, that we’re helping each other. I think we showed that constantly in the Xfinity Series. It’s a lot more difficult in the Cup Series. There are a lot of four-car teams that are all really good, so it’ll be a lot more challenging. But myself and Justin (Haley) work so well together, so if we’re upfront, we know we’re going to help each other. Of course we want to be the one that wins the Daytona 500, but if Justin wins and I follow him across the line, I’m taking just as much pride in that as if I’m winning. That’s still the culture and that’s what we’re going to try and do.”

About Chevrolet
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