NASCAR Cup Series
Chase Media Day
Team Chevy Driver Quotes
September 2, 2026

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase Media Day Quotes

On the extra noise/attention:

“Whether we run good or bad, there always seems to be some sort of talking point. But I enjoy it, I think it’s funny a lot of times. Hopefully it’s entertaining for the fans and TV and everybody. I’d much rather talk about something than nothing.”

On whether he’s changed:

“I haven’t really had to change much. I just always think it’s crazy that anybody would buy any merch. At Daytona, I decided I’d go get a Kona Ice and just take my golf cart, and the guys around me were freaking out that I was going to go by myself without security. It doesn’t click that there would be a crowd. I could probably get away with saying some answers now that I wouldn’t have been able to before, so it’s been fun.”

On the incident in the regular season finale race at Daytona:

“Everybody I talked to said there’s a lot less downforce on the nose and a lot more lift behind people. Preece even went on podcasts saying it almost happened to him. I’d never gotten loose at a superspeedway in this car before, normally you’re always super stuck. My spotter was laughing, saying it looked like I blew a tire. These cars are super aero-sensitive, and once it got loose, it was over. I moved about 30 feet earlier in the corner, but I wasn’t all the way in the banking to put load on the front. I’d do it the same way all over again, knowing what I knew then, but I’d be a little more aware of it now.”

On the No. 77 team’s mentality heading into the Chase:

“Our team moral or motto is we’re playing with house money. Luke (Lambert) and Matt McCall were on that 31 team in 2014, and that’s how they approached it, and they finished second. I’m not going to look at the points until the end. They’ll let me know when I walk up at the banquet where I finished.”

On the tracks in the Chase:

“The faster tracks are better for us. Talladega is exciting. The most difficult one is going to be Martinsville for us, but all the other ones, we’ve run top-five or top-10. I feel good about them excitement-level wise.”

Inaudible…

“I think it’s been healthy for all of them. They’ve been wanting to do that for a long time, and that’s been very good. There’s been a lot of turnaround on the 7 car, so it’s great for the 7 team that they are getting some positive reinforcement.”

On the Days of Thunder 2 Announcement:

“That was actually the first time I met him (Tom Cruise). We were trying to line up with his team on when to meet him, and his security guard came and grabbed me and stood me right in front of him. I was talking to the sailors earlier, and they were fans of me. He was going down the line of sailors and kind of glanced over to see if there was another one. He looked back and realized it was me. They were telling me, “When he sees you, he’s going to recognize you. He loves you.” That’s super cool, that’s fun. It’s been super cool to put my input into the movie; give ideas and video clips from real-life moments from the last 20 years that haven’t known have existed.”

On racing for the fans:

“I’m a fan myself, and we race for the fans. We appreciate them. I’m thankful my owner lets me do the fun things I do. He appreciates them (fans) just as much as I do. We get to race how I want to race, and that seems to be entertaining. I want to make this journey and Cup thing as fun as I want to make it. If I’m having fun, I think a lot of people enjoy watching me have fun.”

On starting the Chase at Darlington, where he’s had good results:

“That helps. I’m excited for that because we started last at that race, too. Darlington has been a good for us. We finished ninth last year and spun out at one point because we were so bad. We made a lot of adjustments that day and I’m looking forward to Darlington because it’s a really fun one to race.”

On balancing the fun and competition:

“The day before we won Talladega, we took three $500 cars and raced the hell out of them a dirt bike track. Mine blew up, so we put it at the top of the hill, put a rock on the gas pedal and sent it off a cliff just to see what happens, and we won the next day. (Sarcastically) I guess I was pretty distracted there too, but it worked out. Not everybody sees that side of things. From a racer’s perspective, there always has to be a reason for anything, whether you’re running good or bad, magically, “if you look at the data five more minutes, you’ll go faster.” I just enjoy it. It’s just common for me to have fun and perform well while doing it.”

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.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

TOYOTA RACING – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (September 2, 2026) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to the media on Wednesday as part of NASCAR Chase Media Day at the Charlotte Convention Center.

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Chumba Casino Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

How easy will it be to put the stretch of bad luck behind you?

“I think we’ve done a good job of putting it behind us each and every week. It is more than bad luck. There are things that have happened that we have learned from, and most importantly how we respond and handle those moments and make the most out of them isn’t something that we need to forget or move on from. Yeah, ideally, it’s good to have good points days, but as much as you want to think that you will have 10 races go exactly as planned, no mistakes, no issues – things are going to happen that you are not ready for and you are going to have to fight through adversity at points. We’ve been through enough of it and ready if we have more of it.”

Is this the best you have felt entering a postseason?

“It just doesn’t even feel the same. We are going after a championship, but the process, the grind, everything, it’s all way different. It’s so different between the two.”

Because of the format change?

“The biggest thing – the Playoffs could be harsh, but they were in some ways forgiving because of the rounds and the resets. We just had the one reset, and you are not going to get another one. It is going to be so important to be consistent, mentally stay in it. You have to balance the aggression, consistency and using your head. Each race will be a little bit different. For those who have done it, they have a little bit of an advantage you could say, just having done it, but it is not exactly the same with the stages and the extra added bonus points that play a big part in the results in the points this year so far. It will just be something new, and we will all experience it together for the first time.”

How would you describe your regular season?

“Yeah, there was two sides of it, really. We would be on or we would be off, and not necessarily from a pace standpoint, but just executing and having clean days versus having catastrophic days. I would say if it was all sunshine and roses all day long, you feel good about what you do, but it is important to have a degree of toughness. A degree of understanding how to deal with losses, how to deal with failures, whatever it is. We’ve been on both sides of it this year.”

So, is this a chance at a reset?

“I don’t think we need to flip a switch or do anything. We are going to be rolling back into tracks where we have won at, where we have led laps at, where we are extremely fast at. Certainly, you could say there is a question mark there at Gateway. There is one at Martinsville, but that doesn’t mean we are going to go there and be bad. We know that we have more room to improve. I’ve looked at the other track types that we visited the first time this year – we made good gains at tracks that we weren’t happy where we were a year ago or a previous year. All things seem to be going the right direction at the right time. It would have been great to hang on to the points lead. It would have been great to not fight the things that we did, but as much as the bad finishes were hard on our standing in the points, we learned a lot from it and with this Chase, the gap is gone and we are seeded and we are going to go now.”

So, it doesn’t feel like it has gotten away from you guys?

“I mean, the regular season did for sure. We have the Chase. We have the championship. Yes, when you look at having the best year possible, you want to check all of the boxes. You want to win a lot of races. You don’t want to throw races away. If it was a season long format, those bad days really, really sting more, but yeah, everything resets where it is now, and I think we understand how important it is to manage our races and we understand how tough it can be to be on the other side of it.”

Does your experience show that no matter how big someone’s lead is you can chase them down in this format?

“Yeah, absolutely. I think whether it was how we were looking at the start of the year, or hearing it from other drivers or other people in the media on their perspective on how our year started out, I mean, it certainly seemed like if someone got ahead, how do you catch them, but we just saw that kind of play out naturally this year. Points can be lost and gained in huge chunks if you perform at a very high level or perform at a very extremely bad level or have really bad days. Again, it will be really interesting to see how it plays out. With the previous format, if you get 70 points up, you are feeling super good and feeling like you are in a great spot, but you can lose 77 of them in a race, so it is all very interesting to keep that in mind.”

Do you think that debunks this theory that you need to be in the top-five or six to have a real shot at the title?

“Anything is possible, but when you look at who has had the speed, a lot of the cars and teams that have had the speed at the tracks that make up the majority of the Chase are kind of in that top six. There are others that you sit there, and wonder are they are going to finally hit it and get it right. I know that Kyle (Larson) has been on that winless streak, but they have had speed. That is one that if things come together and they clean up, they could be in that mix, but it does get harder the further back you are. You are starting in a hole. You need more things to go your way, but whether it’s seeing how many spots Joey (Logano) climbed up late, the swing on the points side from the start of the year for Chase Briscoe, how Christopher (Bell) climbed back in the mix, Denny (Hamlin) going from where he was to where he ended the regular season, you can see a lot of movement in just a short period of time. I think everyone will do their best to not let the bad days happen, but over the course of 10 races, there are so many laps ran, a lot of pit stops, there are a lot of restarts, cautions, things are just not going to go as plan, that is what is racing is.”

Which format has more pressure?

“This one, for sure. You don’t get bailed out at all. We set our points to what they are now, and you won’t get saved by a round. Yes, you won’t get eliminated, either, but you are not going to get saved by a reset. If you have two bad races, and win one, hey we survived and we moved to the next round. It is going to be a totally different mindset, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out.”

What has your previous postseason experience taught you about the mental toughness you need?

“I mean, I think for me, I try not to go in with overdue expectations. Try to take this with a clean sheet of paper. It feels more like points racing than elimination up, down, you’ve got to make it, we made it, deep breath. It is going to feel – I think it is going to be more of a tole because the bad moments just matter so much more. You won’t get eliminated, but in a way, you can eliminate yourself with a couple of bad races. It will just be interesting to see how it all plays out. Is everyone going to have it buttoned up every week or are mistakes going to happen and are they really going to be the deciding factor of who is in the mix coming to Homestead.”

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 over 50 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.

NASCAR Cup Series
Chase Media Day
Team Chevy Driver Quotes
September 2, 2026

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase Media Day Quotes

Inaudible…

“I’m always looking forward to the next one. I think, overall at Spire Motorsports, we have shown a lot of speed in on the high downforce racetracks. We still have a little bit of work to do on the low downforce racetracks. I mean, with that being said, we also race very well in Darlington and that’s a low downforce track. Hopefully we can get our package a little bit better for low downforce tracks.”

How do you feel about the performance of the No. 7 team during the regular season?

“You know, I try not to think about it too much. I’m so focused on the next 10 races that, honestly, I haven’t really sat down and thought about how good of a job we did as a team in the regular season. The only reason why I’m thinking about it right now is because several people have asked me that today. I’m very proud of the effort. With that being said, I still don’t want to think about it too much because, in my mind, the job is not done yet. We still have a quarter of the season left and that’s the most important one. Hopefully we can continue to grow, continue to learn and continue to improve on this No. 7 team.”

On his mindset heading into the postseason:

“I think that the main thing is that you have to control what you can control. Sometimes, as a driver, we want to do too much and there’s only so much that is under our control. You know, the only car I can control out there is the No. 7 car and the No. 7 team. I don’t care about what the other guys are doing or not doing. We have to just control what we can control, and if we can focus on that and maximize that, I feel that we’re going to be in a pretty good spot.”

On being on baby watch to start the Chase:

“That’s an important question, man. Listen, obviously this is the first time that we’re going through this, right? But right now, Julia is extremely normal. It’s extremely normal. Yesterday, we had a meeting with our doula and I asked her — I said, hey, what are the chances that the baby comes this weekend? And she said, obviously you never know, but I think that’s pretty low, just because she’s not having a lot of issues yet. So, yes, we’re on baby watch, but I will be surprised if it happens in the next few days. I think for the next handful of days, I think we’re okay. And then after that, getting into Gateway, I think things are going to start getting a little more serious.”

Inaudible…

“Yeah, obviously every racetrack is quite different, right? Every racetrack is very unique. But like I said earlier, you know, it’s going to be very important just to maximize your potential. If you have an amazing start in Darlington, great, continue that momentum. But if you don’t, you have to flip the page. You know, I always tell people this all the time — regardless of what happens on Sunday in the race, on Monday, you have to start the journey all over again. It’s very important to recognize that because if you win or you lose, you have to start all over again. So it’s going to be very important to recognize that and work towards that for 10 weeks.”

On his first season with Spire Motorsports:

“Yeah, I mean, obviously we work very hard as a team to build fast racecars. We have a lot of men and women that work very, very hard at Spire Motorsports. I feel very privileged to be able to have fast cars. I know how important that is. Last year was difficult. And if you think about it, I’m the same driver, it’s just a different team, different people, different structure, different culture. And now, here we are in the Chase. We almost finished in the top-10 of the regular season, so it’s pretty remarkable. I’m very proud of that. I think I just told you how important it is to be in the right place with the right people around you. That’s with everything in life. Not just in racing, but with everything in life. You have to find the right people around you to be able to be successful. I feel very proud to be an important piece for Spire Motorsports.”

On working with his teammates:

“You know, Carson (Hocevar) is a very talented driver. He can make a lot of speed out of the cars. But he still has to learn that to be able to win races and championships, it’s not just about one lap. It’s not just about one pit stop. It’s not just about going fast. You have to be a good team leader. You have to be able to put the entire team together. That’s something that he’s learning with time. You know, this is only his third season, I think, in the Cup Series. He’s still learning all these things. I believe that he has tremendous potential, but he has to continue to be humble, continue to grow and continue to get better and better. I believe that’s something that — I don’t know if he sees these things this way, but I believe that the No. 7 team has made the No. 77 team way better this year because now he has another strong team that are pushing each other. The No. 77 team has obviously made the No. 71 team better, as well. That healthy competition is something that’s extremely important. Michael (McDowell), I believe that he’s a very, very good driver, and hopefully, we can bring Michael into this group, as well, so we can have three strong teams pushing each other every single week.”

What do you credit towards Spire Motorsports recent success?

“Honestly, I think the Hendrick Motorsports alliance is an important piece of this puzzle for Spire Motorsports to be successful, but that’s not everything. That’s one of the things that I have been the most impressed about Spire, how much speed is actually made in-house. You know, this team does a great job with that. I don’t think Spire actually sometimes gets enough credit with the kind of speed and people that we have in-house.

I’m very proud of Spire Motorsports with the growth and how things are getting better. But we have to stay humble. We have to stay moving forward and stay hungry. You know, that’s very important. My goal is not to just make the Chase. My goal is to be strong in the Chase. I have made the postseason several times. I think that’s very cool, but we want to be real contenders. I would be lying to you if I told you that, right now, we’re the favorites to win the championship. But I think that we have to have that mentality to always continue to get better and better.”

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.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

TOYOTA RACING – Ty Gibbs
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (September 2, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs was made available to the media on Wednesday as part of NASCAR Chase Media Day at the Charlotte Convention Center.

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

How similar or different is the mindset this year to 2022 when you were racing the Xfinity championship?

“It’s not really different. I mean, obviously the end deal is to win the title. But, it’s the Chase too, so it’s completely different. So, we’ll see. Feels pretty solid though.”

Which tracks are you looking forward to, and what tracks are you dreading in the final 10?

“I think I’m looking forward to all of them besides Talladega. Obviously, it’s a roulette race. But I think all of them for the most part, good tracks.”

You’re in a better position this year to compete for the Chase. What are your thoughts between the old format and the new format?

“I think this format is better for the people that are more consistent. You know, you could go out and run the race, but suck at all the other ones and just not make it. So, I think it’s a fair format, and I think obviously it’s like the crossover for what the fans want and the teams want, so I think it’s good.”

How do you look at going into this playoff and the Chase coming up and the confidence you gained so far this year?

“I’m really looking forward to it, and I think we obviously have a great shot of winning it. But my confidence has never wavered. You know, I don’t really live off of confidence, so I just stay after it keep working hard, and I think that we’ve got all the things to win the title, so we’re just going to do what we can.”

Do you think your biggest competitors will be your own team at JGR?

“I mean, obviously they’re all going to be really strong, but we’re racing all of them too, so, I don’t really like to narrow down on who it going be, so hopefully it’s me at the end of the day.”

Do you like to take each race one at a time, or look further ahead?

“Just race the races, one at a time and take it week by week and just try to maximize every weekend as well as I can and win them all.”

With you being a student of the sport and looking at the landscape of the field, what kind of Chase are we in for the next 10 weeks?

“It’s going to be interesting. Obviously, not having the Chase since so long ago so I think that it’s possible it can be won pretty early. But, also, something could happen and you could lose a bunch of points really fast. So, I don’t know. We’ll see.”

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 over 50 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 Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Chase Media Day — Charlotte Convention Center
Wednesday, September 2, 2026

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THE PIT CREW SWAP WITH THE 2 TEAM? “I firstly want to thank the guys who were with me all year. They were with us through thick and thin. We had great times together and was able to win a few races. I appreciate the work they did and to get us where we’re at. And then this decision, Team Penske just looked at it and they figured how can we change things up to where we think it will benefit the whole company and this is what they decided. I’m thankful for what my guys did. I’m looking forward to working with the new team. I feel like they’ve been really solid on pit road all year, and a lot of them are guys I’ve worked with in the past. A couple of them are new guys to me, but I’m looking forward to it. I think it really speaks highly of Team Penske’s depth that they can shift guys around and have them be able to get plugged into other teams pretty seamlessly. I’m looking forward to seeing how that goes.”

WHEN DID YOU LEARN OF THE CHANGE? “I learned on Monday, so only very shortly before you all did.”

DID YOU ASK FOR ANY SORT OF A CHANGE? “I did not ask for a change. That came from above me. I wasn’t in there going into meetings wanting a change. It was just something that Team Penske, higher above me, decided to do.”

HOW VOCAL ARE YOU WHEN THERE ARE ISSUES? “I am not the decision-maker when it comes to pit road, road guys. Really, the only thing I can do is be in those meetings with the people who have those powers – team leaders, crew chiefs, things like that. We all talk. ‘Hey, where can we improve.’ But at the end of the day, it’s not my call to say, ‘Hey, I want a change this guy or these groups of guys out.’ That’s out of my area of expertise. There are pit coaches and everyone who knows those guys better, work with those guys every single day. They are the ones making the calls. All I can do is give my opinions on a couple of things when they are asked of me, so that’s really where it’s at.”

HOW DO YOU WORK ON BRINGING THESE NEW GUYS TOGETHER AND ON THE SAME PAGE? “The last couple of days just spending time with that group. ‘Hey, what do you like? Is there anything specific you like of me?’ Whether it’s a jackman, the gas man on fuel only stops. Tire carriers. Changers. ‘Is there anything specific that you want out of me coming into the stall?’ And a lot of them are the same. ‘Stop on the sign. Make sure the wheel is where it’s supposed to be.’ Stuff like that, but there’s a lot of little things, I feel like. Everyone has their own quirks, so just talking to those guys has been super helpful to me. If there is something that they want differently, then I for sure will adjust to that, but I think that’s the big thing is just communication and what everyone’s likes and dislikes are.”

HOW DOES THIS SET THE 12 TEAM UP FOR THE CHASE WITH HOW HIGHLY YOUR NEW PIT CREW HAS BEEN RANKED THIS YEAR? “I felt very strongly about going into the Chase even before this because I think our team has done a good job of figuring out speed in the race car, figuring out how to get better on pit road, overcoming sometimes where we have adversity. I felt great about it before everything – even Sunday – so I still feel really good about it as well and it’s one of those things that on the personal side you create relationships with a lot of those guys. They go to battle with you every single week, so that side has its own emotions, but, at the end of the day, there’s a business side to it. ‘Hey, this is the best way we have to win Roger Penske a championship,’ so you welcome those guys in with open arms. ‘Hey, welcome to the team. You’re on the 12 group now. How do we all operate as a group?’ I feel great about it. No matter which way it went I felt really good about it.”

DO YOU THINK THIS WILL BE A MOTIVATOR FOR YOU GUYS THAT ARE NOW WITH AUSTIN? “Yeah, for sure and those guys are still racing for a championship. They’re still in it. They’re in the Chase and they have a chance to go win it as well. That 2 team is a great team. Austin has proven himself as a great driver. Brian Wilson is a great crew chief, so I think those guys will plug in very well over there with that group, and, yeah, I think it can be a motivator. When things get moved around, I feel like you can really learn a lot about yourself and just strive to be better in areas that you want to be better. Those guys are gonna do a great job and still really race for a championship.”

IS THIS A RYAN BLANEY VERSUS TOYOTA CHAMPIONSHIP? “I wouldn’t say that. I think there’s a lot of other guys that can go out there and do it. All 16 teams in this thing, I think, are very, very good and can really go on runs, but the Toyotas are incredibly fast. We’ve seen that all year. I think the Fords, for myself and the 22, and the 2, and the 60, and the 17, I feel like we’ve had a really good last two or three months and closed the gap there. I’m curious to see where we’re at on the mile-and-a-halves, where we have those three in a row. That’s gonna be a huge sign of seeing where we’re gonna be and how we stack up with the Toyotas. And then you know the 5 and the 9 are incredibly good, too. So, I don’t think it’s us versus the Toyotas. It’s us versus 15 other people. That’s how I look at it.”

YOU’VE HAD LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH HOMESTEAD. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT BEING THE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE? “Sometimes we’ve had some rough goes of it there. I love it. I love the place. We’ve run really good there. We blew up running really good there a year or two ago, whatever it was. I gave a race away there to Tyler a couple of years ago, but I like that it’s back in Miami. I really enjoyed Phoenix for the handful of years we had it at Phoenix. We brought it to a new area of the country, which is good, but Homestead is championship weekend to me. Growing up, I mean, that was always championship weekend, so pair it with a really unique racetrack, a lot of fun, every driver likes it, a great area of the country as well. I don’t want to call it nostalgia, but for me it kind of is because we went there every year with my dad because it was championship weekend. It’s nice that it’s back there.”

WHAT NEW PIT CREW MEMBERS HAVE YOU WORKED WITH BEFORE? “Andrew Lackey is the gasman. He was with me in Trucks and he was with me all the way up to 2019 when Penske switched all the crews around. Jesse Mills. I was with him on that 12 car the first couple of years for a little bit. Jourdan Osinsie, the jackman, he was my jackman when we won the championship. He got moved to the 2 car this year, so back working with him. And then the final two I haven’t worked with a ton through the years, but you get to know all those guys. You go back and watch pit practice. You get to learn about them and things like that, so the few of them I have a decent amount of experience with throughout my years and a couple of them it’s nice to get to learn new guys, just hear their personalities, where they came from, how they got here, stuff like that, the great job they do. It’s a nice group.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL THESE TRACKS IN THE CHASE LINE UP FOR YOU GUYS? “I think we have the opportunity to go perform well at every track. I said earlier the mile-and-a-halves are a place to where we know we have to continue to improve, and I feel like we’ve made steps from Chicago. Indianapolis isn’t a mile-and-a-half, but it’s a bigger track and the 22 had a heck of a run there, so that really shows me that we’ve made a step in the right direction. I’m just curious to see when we do get those – Charlotte, Vegas and Kansas – but then I think all of the other places we’ve had really good runs, but you can’t rely on that. You have to continue to try to improve, no matter if it’s your best racetracks or forms of tracks or tracks maybe you’ve struggled at. It’s all week to week type stuff, but I think we feel good about it. It’s just a matter of who can put the best 10 together and someone is gonna do that. Hopefully, we’re one of them that can do it.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FIRST THREE RACES IN THE CHASE BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL DIFFERENT TYPE OF TRACKS? “Every race is equally important. They all score the same amount of points and it averages out over 10, so it’s pretty simple at this point. It’s not like there’s a cut off race or a Round of 8 or whatever that may be. Every race means the same.”

HOW IS THIS CHASE DIFFERENT FROM THE ORIGINAL CHASE YEARS AGO? “I don’t know if it really changes a whole bunch. Even though they call it the Chase, it’s still way different than what the Chase was then – the way the seeding is and the separation through the field. It’s pretty different and we have stages now too, so it’s quite a bit different than the old way too. It just has the same name.”

A LOT OF PEOPLE SEE THIS RUN YOU’VE BEEN ON AND ARE LIKE, ‘HERE WE GO AGAIN.’ DO YOU ENJOY THAT TYPE OF FEELING? “Absolutely. Yeah. And that’s a reputation that we’ve earned over the years is that, unfortunately, during the regular season we seem to just be OK, and then it gets to game time and the 22 starts to show up, so I feel confident in our team that we can do it. People think that way because we have done it and we’ve done it multiple times, so I feel like we can show up again when it matters and do it in a different format.”

ON DEALING WITH THE CHASE PRESSURE: “Maybe. At the same time, you’ve just got to focus on you. We are a tough team because we focus on ourselves and we don’t get caught up in a lot of the other garbage that’s around us. A team that just focuses on the job at hand and we don’t let pressure and outside noises get in the way of it, so I say it all the time – the more pressure you put on, the better they’re gonna be. Whether that’s myself as a driver, Paul as the crew chief, the pit crew themselves, they’re the type of team that wants the pressure and this time of year we’ve got it on us and we have it on us to start. Every team does in their own way, but for us to make up where we are in points right now, the pressure is on. We can’t have bad ones.”

AS A THIRD PARTY OBSERVER, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE CREW SWAP BETWEEN THE 2 AND 12? “That’s out of my jurisdiction, if you will. It didn’t involve the 22 car. I think everybody is looking for ways to be better and sometimes you make changes without reason, it just needs to have change to change sometimes and that’s really hard to explain and hard to understand, but sometimes fresh blood, fresh ideas, fresh looks does something mentally to people. I can’t speak directly to exactly why it all happened, but I do think sometimes that stuff happens.”

DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE MADE GAINS ON THE MILE-AND-A-HALF TRACKS? “I think we’ve made some gains, no doubt. Chicago, we ran well. Indy, we had a car that could win. So I look at the mile-and-a-halves and I don’t see that much of a weakness anymore. I think we can actually compete at those now, so I think we just made some good changes to our cars and a multiple of other things that have played into our hands, so I feel just as good at the Vegas, Charlotte, Kansas swing there as I do at any other track at the moment.”

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A CUP DRIVER? “Honestly, I just like competing against the best. That’s why I wanted to race in NASCAR. I wanted to compete against, at the time, my childhood heroes. Now I’ve been here longer than a majority of them, but I’ve just enjoyed the way these cars have raced. I enjoy the culture of what NASCAR is. It’s American. It’s the most American sport in our country, I believe, and you can see that every pre-race when everyone says the prayer and stands for the anthem and there’s a badass flyover. That’s what I’m talking about. Of course I want to be involved in that.”

HOW DO YOU VIEW THESE NEXT 10 RACES? “It’s 10 weeks of hell. I heard Jimmie Johnson say that one time and it’s pretty true. It’s a grueling 10 weeks, but it’s a pretty cool trophy at the end of it. The feeling of winning the whole thing is worth the grind all day long, and so with that in mind, it’s not that hard to do. It’s not hard to motivate yourself when you know the prize and how awesome it is. You keep grinding it. Now, the agony of defeat hurts. I can tell you it hurts more, but it’s worth the price.”

HOW DOES THE PRESSURE OF THE POSTSEASON CHANGE? “It’s the same every year. The playoffs are just as hard. It’s not like they were any easier, in my opinion. Sometimes you would say it was even harder because you had these do-or-die moments, where it wasn’t about average. It was about perform today or you’re out. We don’t have that now. Now the Chase is about consistency, so it’s about how do I score 40-plus points today? It’s not, ‘I have to win or I’m gonna be out of this whole thing.’ That pressure is much different, so, sure, maybe if you won one, you’d get to take a week off. Cool. But then pressure in the weekends when you have to win? That’s a different level.”

EVERY YEAR YOU TALK ABOUT ENJOYING THE PRESSURE OF THE PLAYOFFS. “I just know nothing big happens in your life if you don’t put the pressure on it. If it’s easy to do, you’re probably not accomplishing anything that matters in life – most likely. The hard things are the things that move the needle in your life. It could be something to do with your job. It could be with your family. It could be having kids. It could be whatever. All of those things are hard to do, but they move the needle one way or another. I’ve yet to have pressure sitting on a couch watching at TV show, and I don’t want to do that personally. I don’t want to sit down on a couch and watch a TV show. I hate it. I don’t ever want to do that because then what am I doing with my life? I don’t know if that’s a psychopath or not. It sounds like it a little bit, but I want to do something and I have the platform to make a big move here right now and who knows how many more opportunities I have at it, so, yeah, all of those are real pressure moments because maybe I won’t have another shot at it. I don’t know, so you’ve got to make the most of it when you’ve got it because the biggest thing with pressure is you just don’t want to go to sleep at the end of the day saying you didn’t do the right things or didn’t try hard enough or didn’t see something coming. Those are the things that I don’t want to sleep with those regrets.”

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN THE NEW DAYS OF THUNDER MOVIE? “I would love to. I mean, it’s a cool movie. Are you kidding me? It would be some wicked cool dad points to be in Days of Thunder, yeah. Hopefully, that happens.”

WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOU GUYS ARE IN COMPARISON TO THE REST OF THE FIELD? “Ninth (laughing). But I do feel like we’re much better than ninth at the moment. We’ve come from a ways back and so now if I look at the last seven, eight races, we’re the best car, so I do feel like we’re in contention to do this. Now, we haven’t completely climbed out of the hole that we’ve dug ourselves, but we’re the team that can do it and we’ve got that momentum on our side, so I feel strong about that.”

ON COMING BACK FROM A HUGE DEFICIT – “It proves to me that you can come back from a long ways in a pretty quick time, and that’s one thing with this points format that we haven’t really explored yet. There’s been two cars that have done that. The 19 has done it and we’ve done it from a pretty long ways back and climbed their way up to where they’re in contention pretty quickly, so with that in mind, I feel optimistic about where we are in points, but there’s no reward until we get to Miami.”

NASCAR Cup Series
Chase Media Day
Team Chevy Driver Quotes
September 2, 2026

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase Media Day Quotes

Inaudible…

“I don’t even know what the third track is, but yeah, I don’t know. It’s just important to get good runs in at every track. Obviously, if you can start the Chase off with some solid results, some solid points, you’ll just give yourself better hope throughout it. I mean, 10 weeks is a long time, but I think you can quickly feel like you’re out of it and you don’t want to do that.”

On how he feels going into the postseason:

“I don’t know, I’m not as confident as I’ve been, for sure, in other years. But I wasn’t, honestly, sitting here that confident last year, and we were able to win the championship. I know there’s a path to do it. We did it last year without winning a race in the final 10 races, and we weren’t even really all that consistent, from what I remember. I think if we can be ultra-consistent in these final 10 races, there’s no doubt that I could see ourselves winning the championship.

I mean, I could also see ourselves winning four or five races in the Chase. You know, things have to go perfect, but we do have a lot of good tracks for us in these final 10. We just need to execute at a high level, and I think our team is definitely capable of that. We’ll try and do our best.”

Inaudible…

“Yeah, I mean, the good thing is we’ve gotten to live through 26 races of it. I know it’s not with the pressure of the final 10, but still, you get to realize how much consistency really matters. You know, there was a point before we started having our 30th-place finishes where it was like, man, we could get to third in points in the regular season. And then, come Daytona, we had an opportunity to finish 12th in the regular season points. So yeah, it can quickly kind of go either direction. We rattled off a good string of races with four top-fives in a row. We scored a lot more points than I think even Denny (Hamlin) had at that point. So yeah, we just have to work hard at it.”

On the different tracks in the Chase:

“Gateway would be a track that doesn’t really tend to suit our style of setup and stuff. But we were really good there last year. I actually thought that we were maybe the best car there last year, just the strategy got away from us.

And then, I don’t know, Talladega could go great or go bad. Phoenix, we suck, so I’m glad that’s not the final race anymore (laughs). We were horrible there, so that’s maybe our worst track on the schedule.”

Inaudible…

“I don’t think it changes the way I think about a race or approach a race. You show up and do the best job you can every week. I mean, there’s no guarantee that I’m going win a dirt race when I show up either. So, it’s the same at a NASCAR race. I feel like I have a better opportunity sometimes, but this series is just really tough and the teams are good. There’s a team or two that are just way faster than everybody right now. So, we as a team, are working really hard to get back to that point to make wins a lot easier, like they once were.

I mean, I think for me, again, you’re just trying to do the best job you can. You realize early on in the race kind of where you’re at for speed and stuff and you adjust your sort of expectations and goals mid-race to that. And then, you try to match it or do better.

On racing at Gateway:

“I mean, Gateway, I don’t look at Richmond as really mattering towards that. It’s a totally different surface, totally different track, everything. There’s nothing like it. I think, last year, we were actually really good at Gateway, so I look more at that. Do I think that we’ll be the best car going again this year? I don’t know…hopefully. We have a good baseline for that track. I think it’s pretty solid.”

Inaudible…

“Well, I mean, the ceiling is a championship. We’ve done it twice. I know it’s a previous format, but we would have done it in this format last year. There’s still a way to do it. So, absolutely, I think we can win the championship. It’s going to be tougher than most years, just with where we are at with the speed and deficit in points. But it’s absolutely doable.”

On the change for the postseason format:

“I think for the sport, I’m happy with the change, for sure. And then, also, I mean, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m going to show up and race whatever format they bring. But I think this format, so far, has proven to be really exciting still.”

Inaudible…

“Well, I mean, you can recognize it your whole career. I feel like, when I was back at Ganassi, there were a lot of weekends where I would go to the racetrack knowing I would have no shot to win. But you have other goals, you know? So, it’s all kind of the same. It’s just, where’s that bar leading into that weekend?

But I think this year, I think it’s fair to lower your expectations a little bit some weekends, just based off where you’re at realistically. And I think that, a lot of times, that can help you execute better days, you know? You’re not reaching for something that’s not reachable. I think we’re in a really, really good spot as a team. We’re continuing to get our cars better. You know, we have gotten our cars better. I feel like from where we were in April, or even early May, we’re way better. I’m proud of our team for that, and we still have 10 weeks to get better. 10 weeks is a long time.”

On the pressure heading into the Chase:

“I don’t know how I feel, either way. You know, I’ve come into playoffs before as the number one seed, and I didn’t feel any more or less pressure then than I do now. It’s just about trying to execute on a high level and try to do a good job. I just enjoy this time of year. It’s fun for all of us to be a part of it. Do I feel like we’re flying under the radar? No. You just kind of go out there and focus on yourself and try to do the best you can.”

On the announcement of Days of Thunder 2:

“Oh, I don’t know. I mean, it’s whatever they want. I think it would be a cool opportunity, for sure, but I’m also not an actor, so I don’t want to make the film worse. It was awesome to get the opportunity to meet him (Tom Cruise). He’s a celebrity like I’ve never met before in my life. You could tell he was different than the rest of us, in a cool way, like really, really cool. We got to meet him in a prior meeting before the driver’s meeting, and it was just cool to hear him talk about us. He kind of already knows a little bit about us, so I thought that was neat. I look forward to kind of seeing the process of them making a movie and having, hopefully, us involved in some form or fashion of helping to build a storyline, be a part of the movie or whatever.

I would love them (Hendrick Motorsports) to be involved, and I don’t think there’s another team in the sport that would do as much or as good of a job of helping build the best film possible than Hendrick Motorsports. They just go above and beyond on everything, and they have the experience of helping out with the last one. I haven’t heard if they’re a part of it or not. I hope they are. I think that’d be just really cool and awesome to see that kind of happening within the walls of Hendrick Motorsports. I hope they can do something to work it out to be a part of it because I think it would make the movie even better.”

Is the pressure different in this format compared to the previous?

“Yeah, it’s probably a different pressure, for sure. I mean, you wanted to be consistent in the previous format so you didn’t want to have to rely on wins. Thankfully, I don’t think I was ever in a must-win situation in my time of being in a competitive car in the playoffs, so I don’t really know what that pressure is like. But for me, I think it’s pretty straightforward. You want to maximize your days in any format, so we’re going to try and do that.”

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.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

TOYOTA RACING – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (September 2, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to the media on Wednesday as part of NASCAR Chase Media Day at the Charlotte Convention Center.

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

Can you win a championship without winning a race?

“Can we do this? Can we win a championship? Yes. Without winning, right? Can we win a championship without winning a race? No. That’s my answer. I don’t believe so. “

Does it feel like a tall task or does it feel like we can win on any given Sunday?

“Yeah, it feels it does not feel like it’s all task at all. I think I think we’re going to win. I think we’re gonna win.”

Do you feel like your strongest competition comes from within Joe Gibbs Racing?

“Yes. I believe that the champion will be a Toyota.”

Do you have the confidence to win a championship?

“I don’t know. I feel really good about where we’re at. I’m not gonna sit here and tell you that we’re gonna be the champion in 10 weeks, but I think that we’re certainly capable of it. I do believe that the champion will be a Toyota. And, I think the champion will come from the top six seeds. I am pretty confident in those statements. So, we’ll see if they turn out right or wrong. I am confident in those statements.”

When you look at the next 10 weeks are you confident in all of the races or are there certain races that you can capitalize on?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I’ve been kind of making a small joke that if I am going to be the champion, then I better have a points gap on the field going into Talladega, the final three. So, yeah, certainly our strength is the beginning of it. The first seven are all really good tracks for me. So, I think my best hope is that I have a points gap going into the final three.”

You’ve had a lot of second place finishes – what’s been your best second place finish and what’s been the worst?

“Worst one was Nashville for sure. That one. Or Charlotte. Nashville or Charlotte, those two definitely hurt the most — or Iowa. I don’t know. The list keeps on going. Best second place finish was probably Indy. Yeah, that was that was a great second place finish. I qualified bad, we ran bad all day. I shouldn’t say we ran bad. We improved all day, but certainly second was the best we were all day, so that was awesome. Indy was by far our best second place finish. And then, I don’t know, man. The worst one is hard. I would say Nashville probably or Phoenix. I completely forgot about Phoenix. Oh, my goodness. We’ve got a lot of bad ones. Phoenix, I had the race in control all the way until the yellow flag. That was too tough to answer.”

Where can you stand on the idea of luck and racing?

“I don’t know. I use the word luck a lot, but I don’t know that I believe in luck a lot. We’ve had a lot of unfortunate races. Looking at Texas, Todd Gilliland spun out and I got clipped whenever I went by. Was it bad luck? I don’t know. I mean, it certainly wasn’t good fortune, but me and Denny (Hamlin) were side by side, and he chose to hit the brakes hard, and he made it through, and I chose to not hit the brakes hard and I got clipped. I say luck a lot, but I don’t know that I truly believe in luck.”

Have you gotten better at letting that stuff kind of slide away as you’ve gotten to be more of a veteran in the sport?

“I think so. I would hope that my crew chief Adam (Stevens) would say the same thing. Adam, he’s been on me hard about that. He thought that was a really big detriment of mine early on in my career. It was just letting the bad days fester and translate into the next week. I feel like now I move on to the races pretty good.”

Have you looked at the old Chase format and how are you planning out these last 10 races?

“I don’t know. I would say that I’m just focused on week to week and ultimately, just gotta have a strong performance at Darlington if I’m going to be the champion. And then after Darlington, got to have a strong performance at Gateway, if I’m going to be the champion. And so, I’m looking at it much more week to week than as a whole of what races are grouped up together or what’s coming. Just taking a week by week.”

Did you look at it differently last year with the different format?

“Last year was a lot different, for sure. Last year, having the cutoff and only being focused, less about the cutoff and more about the reset. The previous format and system, it was just three races at a time. And if you had a bad race, it’s just like survive. Just gotta get above the cut line, Got to get above the cut line. Once you get above the cut line, okay, we’re in great shape now if you have a lot of bonus points or whatever. Where now, there are no freebies. You can’t have a bad race and get a reset in three weeks. So, you’re going to have to perform every week.”

Is there a lot more pressure on you for this type of format?

“100%. Absolutely. Yeah, I think this format is going to be way more pressure.”

How do you handle the pressure?

“I don’t know, I live for it. Like, I love those moments of the pressure being at its most. I’ve always said that or believed and felt that I performed best whenever the pressure is the highest. I’m excited about it. I love it. I eat it up.”

Do you think it helps that Adam Stevens has been through both playoff formats?

“I haven’t really thought about that, but it’s probably good that he has experience with it. But honestly, there’s no there’s no gimmicks. There’s no games, it’s just literally 10 races. Go out there and perform well every single week or perform as good as you can every week. Before there were kind of these – if you have a bad race or a bad track, it’s like, okay, just survive this track and make your points up at this other track, and then we’re gonna get a reset where we don’t have that anymore.”

Are you happy the final race is back at Homestead?

“I am very happy that Homestead is not a winner take all event. Trust me on that, for sure. But I do believe that we can go to Homestead and compete for the win. Obviously, (Kyle) Larson and (Tyler) Reddick are two great drivers at that track, and they’re probably better than me at that track. But I have won there before, and I don’t have to win the race at Homestead to be the champion now. So, going back to my running joke, I better have a points buffer whenever I get there. But you never know. You never know.”

About Toyota

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

TOYOTA RACING – Chase Briscoe
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (September 2, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe was made available to the media on Wednesday as part of NASCAR Chase Media Day at the Charlotte Convention Center.

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

How are you guys feeling about the way you performed throughout the regular season. Is there expectation or pressure on you guys to seal the deal?

“I wouldn’t say there’s like any higher expectation. I think the expectations are already there internally of our stuff is really, really good right now and it’s never guaranteed tomorrow. So even these next 10 weeks, it’s not guaranteed by any means. But a year from now, who knows what it’ll look like. You want to strike while the iron’s hot. And for us, I think we all know that we’re all racing each other kind of for the championship. I mean, there’s five of us right in the top six. I definitely would say that pressure’s there, but I don’t think the expectation’s been put on us. We just all kind of internally know it.”

What about going to Darlington has been so favorable to you?

“I definitely am excited to start with the Southern 500. You know, that’s something that we won’t get to do next year, and that’s for me at least, with just how the tracks line out in this year’s Chase. If you just look statistically this year the tracks are way better for me than what they would be next year. Excited though to start at the Southern 500. I don’t feel like there’s really a weakness out of any of the Chase races for us. To hopefully go to, Darlington, the goal is a 76-point day, win both stages, win the race and have the fastest lap. And we were able to do that last year, so there’s no reason why we can’t do it again. If we do that the 45 points to Denny, even if he runs second in all the stages, it’s cut in half already. That’s the goal and hopefully we can do that.”

What do you think suits your driving style better, 10 straight races like this for the title championship, or a bunch of three races bunched together with elimination and restarts?

“I think for us, the 10-race thing. Just our consistency as a manufacturer for one, like we have all really good racetracks for us. I like the 10-race thing. You still have to be really, really good over the course of 10 weeks, but I do like the 10-week thing a little bit more. You could be the best points guy and you have one bad race in that three race deal and you could be in really bad, bad territory really, really quickly, where a 10 race you can make up for it a little bit better, I feel like. So yeah, I definitely am a fan of the 10-race thing.”

Have you looked back at how the Chase worked or how it kind of unfolded in 2004 to 2013 to see if there’s anything at all to learn from that going around?

“Not really. Because back then, I don’t think it awarded more points to win either. So it’s just so different now. I mean, you think about Tony, right? Like in 2011, if you could win five out of the 10 races this year, I mean, you’re going to clinch before Homestead. You’re going to clinch at four Homestead as long as you don’t DNF the other four races up till Homestead. So yeah, it’s different now with the added points for winning. And even the stages, it just changes a lot, I feel like from what it used to be. Maybe there’s something to learn from the consistency standpoint, but it’s so different I feel like now with the winning bonus and in the stages.”

How about the mentality where you don’t have kind of like the pressure relief of if you win a race in a round, you advance automatically?

“It definitely changes I think because I was a perfect example of that last year where twice really you win, you win Darlington and now the next two weeks really didn’t mean anything. If you could win, great, you would just add more points for the next couple rounds. But if you didn’t win, there was just no pressure. If you were running 15th that day, it’s like you’re just kind of out there cruising. And then same with when you won Talladega, the next week you didn’t care about Martinsville. You were just all in on Phoenix. Now it makes it every single race matters. Every single day matters from your prep work. I think that’s way better. I’m looking forward to that part of it and definitely you’re not going to have a single weekend off. It’s going to be absolutely cutthroat every stage. Where in the past, if you won a race, even stages truthfully didn’t really matter. So, it’ll be way different now.

So how do you mentally prepare yourself?

“I think it’s definitely going to be different. I think we’re in a good spot on our team at least just because we’ve really been treating these last five to six weeks as the Chase because we were trying to get to that fifth place in points. That was everything for us. We are kind of in that Chase mindset a little bit already of, we’ve been points racing super, super heavily where, the guy like Denny for example, he’s not really been point racing at all. I feel good about where we’re at, but it is going to be extremely pressure packed every single weekend, but even every weekend you’re still trying to win. So the pressure’s still there, it’s just the consistency piece has to be way higher now.”

In the original Chase you had Chicagoland lead off at a time, then half the Chase was mile and a halve tracks, was that a good predictor of how guys will do? Is Darlington a outlier to that?

“I don’t think you can take a whole lot from Darlington. I mean, the points are obviously going to carry over, but if somebody has a bad run at Darlington, obviously it sets them back points wise, but I don’t think that’s going to dictate how they run the rest of the Chase because it is such a unique racetrack and really Gateway is kind of that same way. There’s nothing else like Gateway. I mean, Phoenix a little bit, but there’s nothing like Gateway or nothing like Darlington that would relate to any of the mile and a halves that we go to. I don’t think there’s a whole lot you can take away from really the first two weeks. After that I think you’re going to really have an idea of who’s going to be there and picking up the pace.”

What does Talladega mean being so late in the Chase with three races to go in the season, as opposed to where it was in the past?

“Talladega is going to be that one where that’s where everything’s going to change. There’s just so many points that can be lost there. You know, you really don’t have a mulligan in the Chase, but if you’re going to use one, it’s going to have to be at Talladega, and that’s just where it makes it the other nine weeks so hard because if you have a bad race at one of those other nine, you have to go to Talladega and have a good solid day, and that’s where the points are really going to get flipped upside down. It will be really interesting just to kind of see how Talladega plays out because that’s going to be where the biggest swings happen in the points. The other races are going to be pretty traditional, I feel like.”

How much does this year feel like copy and paste from last year? Your stats wise pretty similar and the last 10 laps year were so great for you and your team.

“I feel like they feel completely opposite truthfully. The stats at the end of the day look very, very similar, but I feel like the two years could not feel any more different. Just from a standpoint of where we’re at as a team and this year our results look the same but we’ve been way faster this year every single weekend, where last year was a little more sporadic I felt like. So yeah, it definitely feels way different this year than what it did last year.”

Does your opportunity to win the championship feel better than this year than maybe last year?

“Yeah, I think so. Last year up until the Chase we weren’t really that strong dominant team. Once the playoff started, we were arguably the one of the best teams. So yeah, last year, you know, when we started when we did this last year, I felt good about it, but I didn’t really know what our true potential was. Where now I feel like we are more than capable of going and winning the championship. It definitely feels different from that standpoint. Like just internally, I would say myself, James (Small, crew chief), the entire team, we feel way better about this year than we did last year just because we kind of know what to expect and we also know what the expectation is now for ourselves just because we kind of do it week in, week out.”

The expectation of like knowing what to expect, even though the format is different, was that a big takeaway from last year of getting that under your belt of having gone all the way?

“I think so. I think especially if you get down to Homestead very much could be a who finishes better in the race. Like it could come down to that between two or three or even four guys. So I think just experiencing the highest pressure that you’re ever going to get to experience in the sport, you could have that game seven moment but you got it every single year with the playoffs, where just getting to experience that one time, I think will hopefully pay dividends in this format.”

What was it like to have Tom Cruise come out and talk to you guys and hang out and be cultural for a little bit at Daytona?

“It was really neat. It actually started earlier in that day. We were doing our driver council meeting and that kind of door opened off to the side and there was like two Suburbans there. All of a sudden, Tom Cruise walked in and none of us knew that was happening, and he’s just sitting there and talked with us for like 20, 25 minutes about his goal of what to do with the movie and how he wants to paint us out to be. And it was really interesting just hearing the parallels between Top Gun and how he feels like Days of Thunder could be. So yeah, it was cool. He was super nice. I thought it was really cool how he went to every single owner basically in the garage and spent time with them and he just felt like one of the guys truthfully. You never know how those, you know, I guess superstars are going to be, and Tom, he could be hanging out in here and just be chilling with us. He was super nice.

Where do you stand on the idea of luck in racing, good or bad?

“I definitely think there’s a level of luck or just circumstance, right? Richmond’s a great example. If you pit and you know you do what’s naturally right from a strategy standpoint, and then somebody spins out and the caution comes out and you’re trapped two or three laps down, like that’s just unlucky or the circumstance or whatever it may be. And, there is a level of things have to go your way in these races. I mean, Darlington this weekend will be the same thing. When you start pitting under green, one thing can happen and you can be the dominant car and you can pit and an unfortunate caution comes out and now your whole day is completely changed. So there is a level of luck for sure. If you want to call it luck or just circumstance or whatever, but there is definitely a level of that.”

Is there an example of something that comes to mind, either good or bad, that you caught something and was like, “That was luck”?

“One that stands out was 2020, I guess it was my rookie year at the Indy Road Course race. I’d ran up front a lot of the day. I’d had a ton of brake issues. We were running 34th and just kind of over it and we pitted, put tires on, and then the caution came out and the whole field had to pit, and now I’m on the front row for the restart. So yeah, that’s one that comes to mind. Even last week at Daytona, I’m running 36th with five to go and was not going to finish fifth in points. Caution comes out and I’m able to start up there and get Christopher (Bell) for fifth. So yeah, there’s a lot of things that happen that end up working out for you and on the other end don’t work out for you. But I would say every driver in the field has had some sort of circumstance like that.”

I know athletes in some stick and ball sports kind of talk about how they can separate the regular season from the postseason. Feels like a new season. There’s a reset. Does it feel that way at all in NASCAR, especially with the new format where there is a points reset?

“I think so. Maybe not for other guys, but for our team just how we started the season, the hole that we dug ourselves in, there was no chance I could ever have gotten to the lead in the regular season points unless I won 10 races. It just wasn’t going to happen. And Denny’s been 200 points ahead of me from week four, just from how our season started. To now only be 45 points behind him, like it’s a huge reset and I’m excited to start on an even playing field.”

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 over 50 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.

TOYOTA RACING – Bubba Wallace
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (September 2, 2026) – 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace was made available to the media on Wednesday as part of NASCAR Chase Media Day at the Charlotte Convention Center.

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Xfinity Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

What did the peptalk mean to you and the team?

“It was just nice to hear the feedback from a guy who has been through the Chase. He’s been doing it for a long time, and he’s giving his expertise and guidance on that, so it helps us shape up the next 10 weeks.”

Where do you think 23XI is right now?

“I think we are in a pretty good spot. Our 23 group is hungry for more, none of us are satisfied with being the 14th seed going into the Chase. We have a lot of work to do, but with that means a lot of excitement.”

What is like going into the first race of the Postseason as a driver?

“When you are in the Chase, it is like alright, that flow of nerves kind of settles in, whether it is a lot or a little, it settles in. You can’t ignore the fact that the nerves are there. Then yeah, it is time to go. You’ve worked hard all season long to put yourself in this position. Some are in better positions than others. For me, it is exciting for us on the 23 team. Really looking forward to Darlington and the next 10 weeks, but really trying to not get too far out ahead of ourselves. One step at a time. Base hits. Our Toyotas are stupid fast. We’ve recognized that many months ago, and so to just continue to build on that and just have fun and enjoy the moment. I think that is another aspect that we often forget is to enjoy the moment. It is always business as usual and super intense, but you have to have that pressure release valve kind of right there in your hip pocket to keep the emotions in check.”

What do you think of the Chase format with no resets or no win and you advance?

“I think for us, we looked at, Darlington is good for us. We looked at that is a good opportunity to win and get ourselves locked into the next round, and when you didn’t win that was a little bit of a frustration, because you are like okay, we still have to dig ourselves out of a hole. Gateway is a decent track for us, and Bristol is kind of hit or miss. As for now, it’s just go execute. Have a good, clean race at Darlington. Re-rack them, and go do the same thing for nine weeks after that. You never know where you could set yourself up to be at.”

With no win and you advance mulligan, do you feel like its 10 straight weeks of pressure?

“I say no. Just 10 weeks of great opportunity. Only track that I have circled is Martinsville. We weren’t that good in the Spring. We’ve felt like we’ve made some holistic changes to our set-up format for short tracks. Yeah, I just look at it as exciting.”

How easy or difficult will it be to return to your early season form?

“Get back on the horse and continue to ride, really. Our cars have only gotten faster since the beginning of the season. We just haven’t done a good job on capitalizing on that. I think for us, it is get to Darlington, a track we have all grown to love and be super successful at, and appreciate that aspect.”

With the way Toyotas are performing throughout the regular season, are there expectations that come with that?

“I think it is expectations on both parties. On the drivers and the manufacturers. We do our best to give the best feedback to Toyota to build a race car that is the way that it is on track, and then the pressure of delivering in the race car that we want falls back on the drivers. Toyota has done so much for the sport, and so much for our teams in the Cup Series to give us absolute bullets to go out and drive each and every week, so it has been a lot of fun to be the manufacturer to chase and having that brand on your chest each and every weekend and driving that car. It goes hand in hand with each other.”

The narrative has been that you need to be in the top-six to have a shot at this. Do you believe that?

“The same people that say that say you can’t really chase numbers because you get lost in translation. If you put together the best 10 weeks for us and you do that better than the rest – who knows if that propels us to a championship, because we are 90 points behind, but if you outperform the rest of the group, then who knows. I think anybody has a shot. Now if the points didn’t reset, I think we were 300 or so points out from Denny (Hamlin), we had no shot. But we are 90 out, and if you win a race, it’s up to 75 points. Especially if he gets one point off of that, so we will see how it goes.”

Have you looked how the Chase unfolded when it was in this type of format?

“No, just because it’s so different. The cars are different; the driver pool is different.”

How will Talladega impact things?

“I don’t know. I think that could be a momentum ender, because it is later, if things don’t go your way. Look at the Spring – we were leading and got crashed. I look at Talladega as one as a momentum ender, but also as a great opportunity to capitalize on other’s mistakes and pitfalls.”

Where do you feel like the team’s strength is right now?

“I would say mile-and-a-halves are probably our bread and butter right now, but who knows, what amount of work the other manufacturers have put in to catch up. With all of that being said, we can’t get complacent. It may seem like a shoo-in for Toyota to win the mile-and-a-halves, but this is the Cup Series. It is freaking hard. All of these guys are good. We are in the Chase for a reason.”

How will your ability to earn stage points help you during the Chase?

“It is just clean, green races. That is it. Just capitalizing on the opportunities in front of you, not try to get too much when you are running sixth or seventh – take that, it is a good day. You can’t get caught up in what everybody else is doing. I find myself doing that a lot – where are we points wise – just run your race, and everything will work out how it is supposed to work out. You can’t make up the hundreds of points that we’ve given up at the beginning of the season. That is done, that is over with. All you can do is focus on what it ahead of you and what you can do in the moment.”

How long does it take to reach that mental standpoint?

“I think you realize your potential, for me, early on in a race, but it doesn’t mean you settle for sixth in stage one. It’s like okay; we are only good enough for sixth right now, let’s see how stage two goes. If you are still sixth, maybe it is a sixth-place day, instead of trying to turn a sixth-place day into a first-place day and hitting the wall or running in the back of somebody and making it a 12th-place day. I think just understanding that and not being okay with being a winning car.”

What has this year been like for you?

“For me, part of it has been the same old shit, different day kind of mentality, but being able to manage it a little bit better has made it less of a roller-coaster ride as you mention. Still the frustrations of having fast cars with crap results – that is still there. Falling tremendously in the points, getting back on the cut line. All of that stuff kind of hit the replay button, but kind of how you went through it has changed. I think this year, where we are at – 14th seed – it was like we are good enough to be top-seven, so the stress of, am I going to be in or am I not, no we are good enough. If we go out and execute, and finish second like we did in Loudon, all of that stuff – if we do our things right, it should happen.”

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 over 50 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.