NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 28, 2022

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1, met with the media in advance of this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT KIND OF WHAT THAT RACE MEANS AND JUST THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE HOME THAT TROPHY AFTER WHAT IS TRADITIONALLY A VERY LONG NIGHT?

“Yeah, it’s definitely one of the most prestigious races on our calendar, so it’s one that you circle as a driver every year that you want to win. I was fortunate enough to have a great car last year and win all of the stages and the race too. An awesome trophy, an awesome vintage Coke machine that you get, the ring, all of that kind of adds into the prestige of the event and makes you want to win it even more. Hopefully we can do it again this year. Another thing too, visiting the Arlington National Cemetery was a neat honor that I got to do a few weeks ago. They’ve done a really great job with this event and building it over such a long time now into one of the biggest races on the schedule. So, glad to be here and glad to have another opportunity to chase a win.”

AMONG YOUR 10 WINS LAST YEAR, WHERE DID THE 600 RANK WITH IT BREAKING THE ALL TIME WINS RECORD FOR HENDRICK AND IT BEING YOU’RE FIRST CROWN JEWEL?

“It was definitely up there. I think as you mentioned there was a lot of reasons why this event was up there on my list of wins. I think the main reason why I think it was so big was getting win 269 for Rick (Hendrick). I knew it was really special to him and I think all of us drivers were putting pressure on ourselves to win it for him. That made it special. I wouldn’t say it’s my first Crown Jewel, because I’ve won the All-Star Race in 2019 I think here, and I’d say that was probably my first real big win. It was awesome getting to celebrate here with the team and all that. It was definitely one of the probably top three or four wins we had last year.”

FOUR OF THE LAST EIGHT RACES, FOUR OF THE WINNERS HAVE COME FROM THE POLE. WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT HERE TO WIN THE POLE THAT YOU GUYS ARE COMPETING FOR TODAY?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I think just shows you have to have a fast car, I guess. Yeah, the teams at least I guess that sticks out to me would be myself winning last year and then Truex dominated one year in probably even more dominating fashion. I think it’s just your team’s got to be on it all race long. You have to have a fast car to go along with it. That’s kind of unique that you come from the pole because you would think that a super long race like this it wouldn’t matter as much as another. Typically, this place you can kind of pass on, but maybe it’s gotten a little bit harder to pass I feel like the last few years. When they put the PJ1 down and stuff like that it kind of made it really fast paced and hard to pass. This weekend so far it seems like they didn’t put as much resin down, so it seems like the groove is widened out again, which is great. Hopefully that means we will be able to race like the Xfinity cars just did earlier today.”

HOW ARE YOU FEELING AFTER THE FLIP ON WEDNESDAY?

“I’m fine.”

GOOD, GOOD. ON A HAPPIER NOTE, WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOST OUT OF YOUR WIN AT SONOMA AND BEING ABLE TO GET A WIN IN FRONT OF YOUR HOMETOWN CROWD?

“That was great. Always love going out to Sonoma, maybe because it’s home or really close to home. Even if it wasn’t, you know Sonoma’s such a beautiful, Napa Valley is such a beautiful place. We usually go out early and spend it as vacation and do some wine tours. Since I am from out there you get to see some friends and make new friends. Then you get to race in front of all those people. Last year, getting the win was special. Getting to celebrate in victory lane with a lot of our friends, getting to see some old, not old, drivers that I used to race sprint cars with that I don’t get to see often anymore. Our friends camp there, so we’ll go eat food with them before the races and stuff. It’s just a fun kind of relaxing weekend for me. Good to be at home.”

DO YOU THINK THE RACING THERE WILL BE MORE AGGRESSIVE LIKE IT WAS IN COTA WITH THIS NEW CAR?

“I’m not sure. I think it will be a typical kind of Sonoma race. It just lacks a lot of grip, so I feel like it’s hard to be extremely aggressive there. COTA’s got more grip. More grip and higher speeds, so you can be more aggressive with bigger braking zones. I think you could watch any Sonoma race and it would probably be a lot like that one.”

AS THE CHAMPION YOU SORT OF HAVE A BIGGER VOICE IN TERMS OF NASCAR AND THE CARS. WHAT IS YOUR EVALUATION OF THE NEXT GEN CAR AND FOR YOU AS A DRIVER, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU MAY NEED TO GET A LITTLE BETTER WITH? OVERALL, HOW HAS THE CAR PERFORMED IN YOUR OPINION?

“I don’t know. I felt like I really enjoyed the cars early in the year and I think you know the intermediate style tracks stuff was really exciting early on in the year. I don’t know if that’s because people’s set ups were different and stuff like that. Maybe now maybe everybody’s narrowed down what’s good. It seems like the racing’s been really hard to pass lately. Hard to pass, hard to make runs. There’s been exciting finishes and stuff, but I haven’t really been that excited about the racing the last couple of months. I still think every week your teams are trying to develop their stuff and get better and better and maybe the races will get more competitive again. It’s a stock car, so they’re heavy and lazy. The dirty air’s been the biggest issue I feel like to me anyways. I don’t know if the other manufacturers struggle with it but feel like we’ve struggled in dirty air worse than it seems like most have. We’re working hard and we’ll keep fighting to get better.”

WHEN YOU’VE WORKED WITH YOUR SON OWEN ON HIS RACING, IS THERE ANYTHING FROM THAT THAT YOU PULL THAT YOU CAN TAKE AWAY AND SAY THAT CAN ACTUALLY HELP ME?

“I don’t think so. No, we flew with Kyle Busch a couple of weeks ago and we were joking with him, and I guess he tells Brexton (Busch) to do as I say and not as I do. I could do as Kyle Busch says and not as he does(laughing). That could go further for me, I guess.”

I WAS TALKING TO KYLE ABOUT THIS THOUGH AND HE SAID HE WAS TALKING TO BREXTON ABOUT RESTARTS. HE WAS KIND OF EXPLAINING HOW TO DO SOMETHING AND THEN BREXTON LOOKED AT HIM AND SAID YOU DON’T DO THAT ON A RESTART SO WHY SHOULD I. I’M JUST CURIOUS IF THERE’S ANY MOMENTS LIKE THAT EXCHANGE?

“Not that I can think of yet. That’s a good question, but yeah, I don’t know. I feel like Brexton’s at a different level than my son is right now. I’m sure as Owen gets more experience, yeah I think he could teach me some things. After my races I’ll ask him what should I have done different, even if I’ve won a race or crashed like I did the other night. I just like to hear his opinion. Mainly to see if he’s really paying attention while I’m out there on the track. He does. He offers his opinions and sometimes I agree with him and sometimes I tell him that he’s wrong. It’s fun having you’re kids get older and pay attention to your racing and offer some advice.”

YOURSELF, KYLE BUSCH, HARVICK, BOWYER, THERE’S A GROUP OF YOU GUYS WHO’S SONS ARE NOW IN RACING. IS IT INTERESTING KIND OF WATCHING THIS NEXT GENERATION OF YOUNG KIDS KIND OF WORK TOGETHER AS THEIR DADS COMPETE ON THE RACETRACK?

“Yeah, a little bit. I don’t know, I mean I think it’s definitely cool. It’s a good thing that Millbridge has going. Obviously, it’s in the perfect region for that. There are so many more other people than us, you know Kyle Busch, myself and Clint Bowyer. There’s mechanics, crew chiefs, engineers, all that other drivers or past drivers that have their sons or daughters into racing. It’s a great little thing they have over there and it’s cool to see. For me just makes me kind of reminisce on the memories I had at Cycleland Speedway growing up. Just playing with my buddies, that kind of stuff. Building memories is the cool thing that I take away from us going to Millbridge. Whether they all grow up to be racecar drivers or not, they’re all just making memories right now which is great at their age.”

IN THIS PRACTICE SESSION THAT YOU GUYS ARE ABOUT TO HAVE, ARE YOU GOING TO WASTE ANY TIME TRYING TO SEE WHAT THE BOTTOM LINE IS LIKE? OR ARE YOU JUST GOING TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE TOP SINCE THE TRUCK RACE AND THE XFINITY RACE THAT SEEMS TO BE THAT FASTEST WAY?

“I don’t know. We’ll see. I think typically the first lap you kind of drive under the limit, so naturally that kind of takes you to the bottom of the track. I mean, yeah, I plan on probably running the bottom for you know a lap or two. Really, you can kind of get a sense of how your car is handling right in those first couple of laps and probably chase it up the track. It’s been good to see the other cars up to the wall, because it gives us more racing groove. I’m sure we’ll try to move around a lot.”

YOU CAN WIN A DIRT 30-LAP DIRT RACE AND YOU CAN WIN A 600-MILE STOCK CAR RACE. WE CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCES IN THOSE TWO THINGS. WHAT IS SIMILAR ABOUT THOSE TWO THINGS FOR YOU AS A DRIVER?

“I think it’s all similar to me. I feel like the 600 last year I ran as hard as I could every lap. I felt like even though I won all the stages and won the race, it wasn’t we didn’t cruise for 600-miles and win the race. I was fighting off William (Byron) for a lot of it, fighting off Chase (Elliott) for a lot of it. Lost the lead to them both a couple of different times. We’d get it back through green flag cycles. From what I remember, last year’s race I ran like it was a 30-lap race the whole time. I’m sure all of us in the field are like that. With the stages, I feel like that’s really kind of been the way ever since we’ve had stages. You have a bunch of little races within the race. It’s hard to pass too, so you’re running really hard, trying to either pass the guy in front of you or hold off the guy behind you. I mean there’s moments where you give and take, which there would be also in a 30-lap race. Maybe it’s just a corner, but it all feels the same to me. I feel like I run hard all the time. I feel like everybody in this Cup Series runs really hard all the time.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Coca-Cola 600 Advance | Saturday, May 28, 2022

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, dropped by the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield media center to talk about this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600. Here’s a transcript of his Q&A session.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – WHEN YOU’RE IN THE BOOTH ARE YOU THINKING AHEAD TO THE FUTURE? “Yeah. I mean, I don’t plan on hanging up the helmet anytime soon, and very thankful to Fox to allow us to kind of test the waters on TV and broadcasting and what that’s like – if it’s something any of us really choose to want to do when we do decide to hang up the helmet. I really enjoy it. That’s why I signed up for so many of them. I have a good time up there. I feel like I learn a little bit. I feel like people actually see my real personality and not the one that’s on the racetrack, so I think that’s kind of a fun piece and enable to bring different thoughts and why drivers are doing certain things out there. It’s as fresh of a perspective as you can possibly get, getting drivers that just got off the racetrack and put them in the booth, so I think that part is pretty cool – that Fox does that. They’ve obviously been doing it for quite a few years now and the driver’s only broadcast is kind of the next level of that, and I joke about it because people love to see us screw up on national television. I think that’s why the driver’s only thing is so good, but I think the other piece to it that probably doesn’t get talked about as much is understanding TV’s perspective. We’re all so easy to criticize certain things in our sport, whether it’s media, NASCAR, drivers, teams, whatever it may be – we’re easy to criticize, but we never understand the full story. So, I think understanding how TV works and how big the team is, how many players are in the game in different positions and for it all to work is incredible. It’s a huge challenge, but it’s fun to see it all come together and all we see is the final picture most of the time, so it’s cool to see the insides of it.”

SO WHEN YOU’RE WITH YOUR TEAM, YOU’RE FOCUSED ON THAT. THIS GIVES YOU A BIGGER PICTURE? “Absolutely, yeah. That’s what I was trying to say, but you said it so much clearer than me. That was good. Maybe you should be up there.”

SOME OF TOMORROW IS ABOUT SAVING THE CAR. DO YOU FIND YOURSELF ALSO TRYING TO SAVE YOURSELF FOR LATER IN THE RACE PHYSICALLY OR IS THAT NOT AN ISSUE? “I don’t. You manage the race knowing that it’s 100 miles longer than normal. I think it has the possibility of being maybe the longest Coke 600 we’ve ever had, just considering how many more cautions we’ve had recently compared to the last few years, so I could see that changing some and being longer than normal, but, to me, you’ve got to prep for 700 miles and that way you’re still fresh at 600. You’ve got to think through that and, at this point, I’ve run quite a few of these Coke 600s, so you kind of know what’s coming. You know it’s long. You know it is, but it’s also what makes this race so special. It makes it a crown jewel event because it’s 600 miles. It’s different. It stands out. Everybody wants to say they’ve won it before and hopefully this is the year for us.”

ROGER SAID YOUR ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD BE COMING ALONG SHORTLY. IS THERE ANY TREPIDATION AS FAR AS JUST GETTING IT DONE SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT? “Yeah, I think it’s something I’d like to get done. The facts are that this is a very complex deal from the Team Penske side and all the things Penske that go along with it. Indy car as well now. The racetrack. All of those are kind of new pieces that weren’t in the last Shell agreement, so as you can imagine it’s very complex and a lot of different moving pieces, so Roger just told me, ‘Hey, I want to get this piece done first and then we’ll come to you.’ So, I’m assuming here sometime shortly that will probably happen. I mean, there’s a lot of great things along with this deal and a lot of it around the sustainability piece is really cool. On the back of our rear bumper it says Racing for the Future Now and that kind of touches on three or four different ways, but you think about the renewable fuels they’re gonna be using over at Indy car. It’s kind of really moving things forward pretty far, especially in the motorsports world, and I’m sure that will probably be moved onto different forms of racing once they see it work. If something works, usually the other companies will copy along, so we’ll have to wait and see, but I think there’s a lot of great things that Shell is doing, Team Penske is doing, and I hope to be involved.”

YOU WON THE FIRST RACE ON DIRT. YOU WON AT THE COLISEUM. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS AT GATEWAY? “I think Gateway is gonna be a great race. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there, but I’ve been watching the truck races there and it seems like a track where you’ve got turns one and two that are high-banked, really sharp. If they’re shifting in a truck, they’re definitely going to be shifting in a Cup car now with the five speeds, and then you’ve got the sweeping, long three and four – flat, but I think you’ve got some tire wear there. You’ve got an older surface. You’ve got some bumps. You’ve got some character in it, so I think it’s gonna be a great race. You look at Nashville last year, it ran nothing like we thought it would. We thought it was gonna be everybody stuck on the bottom and the race won’t be that good and then we get there and everyone is running way high on the racetrack, so I don’t think it’s easy to predict how the race is gonna be, but, at the same time, I think it’s gonna be good and what we’ve seen in our sport here recently is when we go back to a racetrack or to a new racetrack at any point, it brings so many new fans to them. Not everyone can travel three hours, six hours, 10 hours to a race. That’s a big commitment if you think about it, so bringing races to new markets, to fans that don’t typically get to go, ‘Hey, it’s Sunday afternoon, let’s go to watch a race.’ That’s cool, especially for a first-time fan that maybe isn’t as passionate about it quite yet because they haven’t been to one. It’s huge to grow our sport and so I think NASCAR has recognized that over the last couple of years. We’ve all seen the success of Road America and Nashville last year and what can be with obviously going to Gateway.”

DO YOU FEEL THE RESIN WILL STILL BE THERE BY TOMORROW NIGHT AND WILL IT LAST 600 MILES? “I don’t know because I haven’t been out there yet, but I will say – I said it up in the booth and I’ll say it here again – that is the best race we’ve seen at Charlotte in years when it comes to just good racing. Cars can move around the racetrack. Cars up against the wall, down on the bottom on the paint. I don’t think we’ve seen that in a long time and I know he won by 17 seconds, but the racing before that with a green flag cycle mixed into that and with Allgaier and Berry, it was just a fantastic race and it was a long green flag run and they were moving and tires were wearing out. Whatever they’ve got going on there just don’t change it. I said that on TV. Don’t change what we’ve got. The tire is working. The car is working. That was a good race. I hope it’s like that for us, too.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT ISSUES LIKE LOST TIRES THAT WE’VE SEEN THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR? AND HAVE YOU BEEN IN CONTACT WITH YOUR PENSKE INDY CAR TEAMMATES TO OFFER THEM ENCOURAGEMENT? “Obviously, to answer the first part of your question with the tire and what we’ve been experiencing this year with the new car and all of us not understanding where the limits are quite yet. Yes, it’s a concern. You’ve got to run 400 laps and anything can happen in that amount of time, so, yeah, we’ll see here in practice will probably be a little bit of a clue on how things are gonna be. I assume things will be fine. I hope they are, but we just don’t know yet. It’s our first time around to all of these racetracks, so hopefully that doesn’t become a story point of this race and, if it does, we’ll have to figure out how to handle it. As far as the Indy car guys, I have not yet. We usually will send some notes to each other the day of the race and things like that as good luck. Obviously, it’s a huge race for both of us this weekend with the Coke 600 and also the Indy 500. Those are two crown jewel events – as big as it gets – so hopefully we can have a whole Team Penske Sunday Memorial Day.”

BLANEY THINKS THERE WILL BE 16 DIFFERENT WINNERS BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS. DO YOU AGREE? “I don’t think so. I don’t know, but I don’t think so. We’ve had this conversation for years at this point in the season. There are a lot of different winners and, ‘Oh, there are gonna be more than 16 this year. Watch this,’ and there never is. I guess we have reason this year to think that it may happen because of the Next Gen car and that piece is quite a bit different, but I don’t think so. I might be wrong. You might be replaying this some day and say, ‘He’s wrong,’ but I don’t think so.”

WILL THE NEW CAR MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN ANY PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION YOU MIGHT EXPERIENCE? “I think mentally maybe more. This car doesn’t accept mistakes very well, where the old car you can overcook the entry a little bit, you slide up and it’s all right. This thing, you get in there a little too hot and you swap ends pretty quick. You spin out, so I think you’ve got to keep that in mind. Physically, probably no more than last year, but mentally I think it could be more challenging.”

YOU WERE OLD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND SANDY HOOK. THINKING BACK TO THAT DAY, WHAT DID YOU FEEL THE OTHER DAY WHEN YOU HEARD ABOUT TEXAS? “I guess my perspective has changed over the years because now I have kids. When the Sandy Hook shooting happened, I think I might have been married, but we definitely didn’t have kids yet. That was obviously very close to home for me, so we definitely took that to heart, but I think now being a parent and thinking about your child in that position in a school knowing that that’s going on, and then those poor families that happened to and thinking about how do you even live after that? I have no idea. I don’t know how you can possibly do it. I feel so bad for everyone involved in that. I feel sad and I feel furious at the same time. I’m so mad that that even happens in our country. It shouldn’t. We have to do something about it. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t know what goes through someone’s mind to even think about doing something like that, but also how can we let that happen? We’ve got to do something. There’s a lot of young minds. That’s our future in those schools. I don’t have the words to explain it any differently.”

HAVE YOU HAD THAT MOMENT IN A TEAM MEETING WHERE YOU’VE SAID SOMETHING THAT MAYBE YOU WOULDN’T HAVE PREVIOUSLY – SORT OF A LEADERSHIP MOMENT? “I’m usually pretty vocal about what’s on my mind typically. Usually, the one that may over communicate because I’m a believer in that because I know I can’t read anyone’s mind and I assume no one can read my mind, so I think the best thing we can do is talk about it, but I don’t know if there’s a moment where it’s like, ‘Hey, I’m the lead guy here and listen to me.’ I think everyone has to work together and I think from what I can tell Blaney has done a great job at kind of helping me fill in that role after Brad’s departure, and I feel like already Austin has really been able to bring something to the table, too – and we all have to work together at this point. We have limited practice, limited testing and we all have to be very open with each other to move our team forward at this point because there’s just limited data coming in and if you’re not communicating about what you’re feeling and the changes that we can make and are making before the race or after the race or before we get to the race, if we’re not communicating clearly about that stuff, we’re holding all of us back. We’re all just being held up.”

Toyota Racing – Kyle Busch
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE (May 28, 2022) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch was made available to media prior to the Charlotte Motor Speedway race this Saturday:

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Red, White and Blue Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Do you know what you will need at Gateway with your prior experience there?

“I would say that just being able to run there before and knowing the racetrack itself would give you a little more than somebody who has never been there before, but honestly, having a normal practice weekend everything will kind of shake out pretty evenly at the end of the day. I’m looking forward getting back there. It has been a long time.”

Does being a father again affect you as a driver?

“It’s been great. It’s been really exciting and having a chance to welcome a newborn into the world, so it’s been fun. Obviously, she’s a baby, so certain things are expected – crying, getting up in the middle of the night for some feedings, nothing different than what I recall from the time that Brexton was that small. Just taking care of her – thankfully, mom is helping out a lot, especially on race nights, taking care of the duties. I get to help during the week and help with that. So, it’s all good. Brexton is being an awesome big brother. He’s been a part of this journey since the very beginning – wanting a baby sister, praying for a baby sister. Now that she’s here, that seems to be complete and all is healthy, so all is good.”

Do you feel like an All-Star race is necessary or could the Busch Clash suffice for this instead?

“I’m not certain. We do have a long schedule – 38 races, 36 points races. We run a lot. I think the All-Star race, years past, was always an opportunity to try things. If I recall correctly, the double-file restart started in the All-Star race and now we have that. The choose rule, I think started in the All-Star race, now we have that. Stages, obviously – stages of the All-Star race were always there. Now we have stage racing. With everything that we’ve done, the continuation of changes in the All-Star race, I don’t think it is as much as a spectacle as it once was. Yeah, racing for a million bucks is cool, but I think when it became racing for a million dollars, a million dollars was a big deal. It still is to the younger guys – the William Bryons, Ross Chastains, and those guys of the series. I don’t know that it still has its luster, but it’s my opinion, but I agree with the on-track action was a bit difficult.”

Do you expect the aggressive road course racing that we saw at COTA be similar to what we see in Sonoma?

“I would expect it to be just as aggressive. These cars allow us to do that. Everybody knows that all of these cars are the same – they all come from the same place. It’s up to you to make it go, and so you are going to push the cars limits.”

How have you seen growth in racing at Millbridge since Brexton has been involved in the series?

“I don’t know exactly the growth pattern of it. I don’t know what their car counts were before we got out there, but since we’ve gotten out there, it seems like car counts have definitely grown. Cadets, they have 28-30 something cadets on a nightly basis. 30 or something beginners, and 30 box stocks. Right there, that is 90 cars in just those classes and the next night, we don’t have anything to do with, is micros, which is certainly growing, two, three, four-fold here in the East Coast. It seems like almost every NASCAR driver is out there running right now with the micro stuff. They are doing a really good job out there. They do a quick show, which is nice. We’ve been to some of these other places where they draw it out for six, seven, eight hours and there is no need for that. We can get in and out of there in three-and-a-half hours probably. They do a good job. Really critique and police the rules, really well, which I think the competitors really like as well. They feel that competition is fair. Again, versus other places that we’ve been, where it is basically nothing. You just roll across the scales, and you go home. All-in-al, I feel like Millbridge does a good job.”

With this being a 600-mile race, how much of a balancing act is managing the tires?

“Obviously, trying to figure that out a little bit today. You are not going to see anybody run that long on tires, I don’t presume with the short practice. These stages are 100 laps long, so realistically, you would like to split that in half if it goes green so that is 50 laps you would go. Fuel can go 50, so you can go 50, but some guys may double stint it, depending on what falloff is like, so that would be pit at 30, pit at 60 and go to the end. Pit at 35, 70, whatever. It just kind of depends on what all of that looks like lap time wise and fall off wise, but overall, it’s kind of an unknown to me right now.”

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Toyota Racing – Kurt Busch
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE (May 28, 2022) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch was made available to media prior to the Charlotte Motor Speedway race this Saturday:

KURT BUSCH, No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing

Has the difficulty of the 600-mile race changed over the years that you’ve been competing?

“I mean, yeah, there was those years where I felt intimidated by it and then found comfort with basically, I break it up into two sectors, there’s a daytime portion and a nighttime portion. And to me, that’s just the mental approach of not adding the extra 100 miles and just going after a normal type of race. But the handling conditions, this Next Gen car and the temperatures this year will be difficult — more difficult than most years. Just because of all the newness with the car. We only get 20 minutes of practice. At least the practice is during the race window. A lot of times we’d practice and it would be two in the afternoon or it’d be nine o’clock at night. And so glad the practice is closer to race conditions. And it’s just the Next Gen car has its challenges. And we don’t know what to expect with the traction spray and the way that it’s been racing. Looks like it just keeps getting higher and higher and higher. So we got to go to that outside groove right away in practice.”

Have you ever competed in a race with a car on seven cylinders and finished the race?

“I had two that I can recall pretty quick. One was here at the 600 and I was running up front with the boys, it was early in the race though, 150 miles in and a green flag pit sequence was happening and I radio Dennis I think we dropped cylinder and the lap times were dropping off big time. And Jimmy Fennig (crew chief) was like, might as well just stay out until she blows. Literally led the 600-mile race for a little bit on seven cylinders and then finally she let go. So we didn’t end up with a good finish. I guess the comparable story was at Bristol years ago. 2005 spring race. Doug Yates was the engine builder I was at Roush and at towards the end of the race, I just didn’t have like the full like launch off the corner but we were really good on a long run. And there was a yellow with maybe 30 to go. And Jimmy Fennig’s like, we’ve got to pit and I said no sir, we’re staying out and I overrode him and there’s something wrong with the engine, but if we pit I don’t have track position anymore. And so we stayed out and I tried to jump the restart the best I could legally and not get black flagged it all worked out. And then now I have this guy Rusty Wallace rearranging my rear bumper for the next 15 laps. And if I if I can survive this little bit of his fresh tires, I’ll be able to hold him off. And sure enough we’re able to stretch it out. And Doug Yates afterwards says, you’re a magician, I don’t know how you did that. The timing distributor started to tweak because the bracket broke. And we were basically on seven cylinders. But at a short track, you can kind of pull that off. At a big track, that’s impressive, for Noah (Gragson) to be able to run that speed and get a top five.”

Do you feel the new car will impact the race more physically than the old car?

“Yes, absolutely. And Denny (Hamlin) was talking about it early in the season on some of the good races he was having on how you drive it extra hard and it sticks better, because it forces the tires into the track and your diffuser is lower. And me and Bubba (Wallace) were like, I don’t think we’re at that sequence of handling yet. We’ve improved our car in the last month and I felt that it Darlington literally was driving into turn three way deeper than I ever have and it was sticking. And now you’re trying to learn the feel of a tire drop off and overdriving and still having good lap times. And so that’s going to happen as well as the left rear tire has been fragile on this car. A lot of guys have had trouble and so will it go 50 laps that we have stages of 100, but if you do the calculations 50 laps is the way you break it up for speed and not being on pit road too often. And so will the tires go 50 laps while you’re pushing hard in a new sequence with the car.”

Will you be keeping up with the Indy 500 tomorrow and how Jimmie Johnson does in the race?

“Yeah, I’ve been rooting him on with some texts and some driver advice and trying to drag Tony Stewart’s experience as well into it with the double and just trying to fuel Jimmie (Johnson) the best way we can. And of course we’re rooting him on and I’ll be watching — I usually can watch until about halfway. And then my duties start for race day with fan events and meetings with our team. But it’s on the DVR and can’t wait to watch and I can’t wait to hear the results for Jimmie.”

What did you learn at CoTA that you think can transfer to Sonoma with the Next Gen car?

“We didn’t have the best of day and we missed a chance on our pit strategy sequence to finish up front and then we got caught in a wreck late in the race. The cars at COTA really chewed up the tires and I expect the same at Sonoma. Sonoma is more of a rhythm track and doesn’t have a lot of speed. And so you have to find that rhythm with this car. And the gearing, the gearing is going to be different. We used to always set the Sonoma track up with second gear as the primary gear for most of the corners. And with this car, the gears are somewhat set and basically can’t change it. And I hope that the gearing is happy in most of the corners, but I’m afraid we’re going to be double shifting more than we’re supposed to be just because the gears have been so random this year. So tire wear and gearing are going be the big things at Sonoma.”

Are there bragging rights going into Gateway with it being the first time racing there for the Cup Series?

“Yeah, anytime it’s an inaugural event, a new market, you feel that energy around the race. Last year with Road America. It was off the charts Nashville was off the charts — might be missing one. You have that feel this year going into it. There’s three days of track activity. I’ll be on the sim Wednesday. And it’ll bring me back to when I raced there in the trucks. I was there in the year 2000 running trucks and shifting down the back straightaway at Gateway so I’m looking forward to it. It’s a big Phoenix and it’s not quite Darlington and so it has its own character already before we get there.”

When you look back on your career, what will you be most proud of in your career?

“That’s a hard question. It’s a heavy one, a detailed one. And I guess just being lucky to have made it and to have been here. Just a blue-collar kid out of Vegas and never was expecting to win and I guess my work ethic and being somebody that the fans could count on, no matter if I was in New Hampshire in the Northeast, racing in Texas or in the southeast racing in Georgia or Florida, as being a driver that fans could always count on and that my story is similar to a lot of people where I’m just very lucky that I had this chance.”

What are additional things you would like to accomplish with 23XI Racing?

“Yeah, it was it was an incredible win and it checked off so many boxes of winning with 23X1, winning with Toyota winning a race to get this team in the playoffs. I never won at Kansas so it was cool to check that one off the list. Darlington has been on my list. I missed that chance this spring. Maybe when we go there in the Playoffs. That’s a key track in the Playoffs as well. You know Watkins Glen has snuck by me over the years. I finished second years ago to Juan Pablo Montoya. You know, the crown jewels that are still left this year, the Indy road course. You know, there’s still goals and you have to continue to make those and achieve those with the team. And now I’ve told this team another goal of ours is we have a good team or a winning team. Let’s all make it a great team together. And so those are our short-term goals by the end of the year.”

How will you adjust this race car to be good at night and not too good during the day?

“That’s another you know, tough aspect of the 600 and the Next Gen car is the adjustments are limited on cross-weight and air pressure. There isn’t much you can change aero wise. There are some things that you can do with the fuel load, but we’re going to be running a long run each time with all of our sets of tires. So again, that just makes it to where you have to understand how loose it can start and not be too tight towards the end of the run. And can I change the air pressure build by changing my line and running different lines or keeping the car in clean air and not trying to hustle for that one position for a long time because that just cooks the tires up a little extra. So I’m hopeful there’s some old school trends that will pop up and be surprises to some unexpected to others.”

Is there ever anything you can take away from Brexton’s races that you somehow apply?

“Brexton’s (Busch) great. I showed him a restart where he got passed and he wasn’t blocking the outside lane. And he looks at me looks at the video and goes, ‘I got that okay,’ but like it was he was angry that I was giving him the advice. And then he goes on applies it and then he wins the race. And I’m like, See, I tell you and he goes, ‘Well, I did this over here in this corner, did you see that?’ No, I didn’t, you’re right. I mean, how do you tell a seven-year-old what to do and how to race? I’d say Millbridge is a proving ground right now for talent and for people to work on different skills. Me and my little brother Kyle, we’re standing there watching one of the high horsepower open wheel cars there and the kids were sliding the car into corner entry and using the right rear putting the right rear into the wall and sling-shotting it forward like a rubber band. And Kyle and I are looking at each other like, we weren’t doing that at 12 years old. We weren’t doing that at 14. There’s so much to learn it at every race track every day and Grandpa Tom is still involved. I mean with Brexton he’s just he’s there having fun with his friends and being a kid and then he has Busch family lineage because he puts his helmet on and he’s a different kid. So I’m just I’m proud of him that he’s able to still be a kid at that age because I wasn’t racing when I was that young. But then we put the helmet on. He knows what job has to be done.”

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NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 28, 2022

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAYS HAS NORMALLY BEEN REALLY GOOD FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS PLACE AND THIS RACE THAT SETS YOUR TEAM APART? HOW ARE YOU PREPARING FOR THIS RACE?

“Obviously, we’re in a bit of a new era now with this car. They had a pretty solid grasp on this event for many years. I watched Jimmie (Johnson) win a lot of these races. Kasey Kahne was really good here at Charlotte (Motor Speedway) throughout his time at Hendrick Motorsports. And even prior to and on down the list.

I think now, things are different. But it’s a new opportunity to try and still be good here and get some good results. We were really fast here last year. That doesn’t really mean anything now. It’s kind of a fresh start. So, looking forward to that. We tested a lot here through the winter, which everyone did. We kind of used this place as our testing grounds, I guess so to speak, throughout the winter and the development of this car. I think a lot has changed since we did that testing and hopefully our cars drive better than it did here in December. But we’ll see.”

IN THE XFINITY RACE, NOAH GRAGSON FINISHED FOURTH AFTER FALLING TWO LAPS DOWN AND ON SEVEN CYLINDERS. HAVE YOU EVER HAD THAT HAPPEN TO YOU AND STILL HAVE A STRONG CAR?

“No, I don’t think so. That’s a super unique circumstance. Typically, when you break one, they all break eventually; or at least that’s been my experience with engine issues.

I’m not super surprised by that. I think this place gets hot and slick. It’s not like you’re just holding it wide open the whole lap, so you have some ability to potentially carry more throttle than the next guy. So if you are down on power, you could potentially make up some time in the corner that would typically hurt you down the straightaway. If you have a really good driving car, I can totally see that being feasible and obviously he did, so that’s really cool.”

YOU’VE ADMITTED THAT YOU’VE KIND OF STRUGGLED WITH THE NEW CAR. WE’RE HALFWAY THROUGH THE REGULAR SEASON, SO I’M GUESSING YOU’RE GETTING A LITTLE MORE ACCUSTOMED TO IT. AS GOOD AS YOU ARE ON ROAD COURSES, WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE WITH THIS CAR WHEN WE GO TO SONOMA (RACEWAY)?

“Yeah, that’s a great question. I’m still learning. There’s just a lot of little details that I’m still trying to become accustomed to, feel good about and have enough experience to know what I want in the car. I think that was something where we got to a point with the old car where I could almost identify what part of the car I needed to work better, and I haven’t really gotten there with this car yet. Hopefully I will, at some point, be able to help my guys and be able to steer us in a better direction as time goes.

As far as the road course thing goes, I thought COTA was very similar to what we’ve had. The shifting is a little different. The car does drive a little different here and there, but it’s still road racing and I thought that it showed that throughout the event. I think it will be much like Sonoma (Raceway) of the past; a heavy stock car on four tires turning right and left. I don’t know, we’ll see. But I don’t think it will be much different.”

HOW TUNED IN AND INTERESTED WILL YOU BE KEEPING TRACK OF HOW JIMMIE (JOHNSON) DOES TOMORROW IN THE INDIANAPOLIS 500?

“I’m super intrigued and I’m excited for him. I think he has a legitimate shot at it, from what I’ve kind of kept up with. His performance at Texas (Motor Speedway) I think impressed a lot of people. I wasn’t super surprised by that, just with as good as he is on ovals and how much oval experience that he has. So, I think that’s really cool.

Like I said, I feel like he’s got a shot at the win tomorrow. I’m going to try and keep up the best I can. I feel like our day is always getting kind of busy when that race is going on, or at least when it starts to wind down. It starts to get really good when we’re starting to do sponsor stuff. I’ll try to keep up with it. Hopefully he’s in the running and if so, I might be late to one or two obligations if Jimmie is leading that thing coming down to the end.”

LEADING THE POINTS AS WE START TO GET THROUGH THE REGULAR SEASON AND GETTING CLOSER TO PLAYOFF TIME, DO YOU START PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE WITH THE ADDED BONUS POINTS?

“Well, it’s worth three wins, right? So, it’s a very big deal. Anything you can do to hedge your bet and having bonus points is just bettering your odds to making it to Phoenix (Raceway). Those points are on the table for everybody at the beginning of the season. We’ve wanted them every year. It’s not just because you’re leading the points that you want them more. We want them all the time. My want for those 15 points is unchanged today versus years past or any other circumstance. We’d love to have them. I think that does nothing but help you, and we’d love to win more races in the process of trying to get there.”

DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT MORE AS THE REGULAR SEASON WINDS DOWN?

“I don’t know that it does you much good. They offer stage points at the end of stages and if you get them, you did good. If you don’t, then you’re probably losing ground. And if you don’t finish good, you’re probably losing ground there too.

I want to do good all the time. Not to be obvious and boring, but I want to do well all the time. If you’re doing good, you’re going to get rewarded for it, and that comes through stages. This race gives out a lot of stage points with having an additional stage in it too. It’s a big weekend for that.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 28, 2022

TY DILLON, NO. 42 BLACK RIFLE COFFEE COMPANY Camaro ZL1, met with the media in advance of this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

BEING A BORN AND BRED HERE IN KIND OF THE CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA AREA, TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT JUST, I KNOW SOMETIMES WE REFLECT ON YOUR MEMORIES ON COMING TO THIS RACE, WHAT DOES THIS COCA-COLA 600 MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND MEAN TO YOU?

“It means a lot. First of all being able to be home, racing in our backyard it’s a 40-minute drive from the house over here, which is always great. Then you have so many friends and family that get to come see what you do and be a part of the weekend is always special. Charlotte Motor Speedway to me is so much of my life was started and created here. So many special things that mean so much. I mean first time ever making a lap in a racecar was on the track right outside the jumbotron back there on the backstretch, the little quarter mile in a bandolero. From that moment whatever is in the blood, it lit up and knew I was in love with racing cars. A few years later I was here for the Summer Shootout, and we parked beside a family called the Cary family that had driven down from Washington state. I think I was 13 or 14 and they had a daughter that was 13 or 14 who is now my wife. Met my wife here at this track when we were little and have got to bring my kids now. So, this is a very special place. The only thing is I haven’t got to victory lane in the big cars. I’ve won everything. I’ve won at the dirt track. I’ve won at the little track. I’m ready for my shot here in the big victory lane.”

JUST TALK TO US ABOUT THE NEW TEAM. DO YOU FEEL YOU’VE GOTTEN A CHANCE TO GET ACCLIMATED, GET A GOOD RAPOR WITH YOUR CREW CHIEF? JUST TALK ABOUT HOW COMFORTABLE YOU’VE GOTTEN A CHANCE TO GET WITH YOUR NEW TEAM.

“Yeah, we’re certainly growing. I think I underestimated a little bit of how much not having practice with the new team was going to be harder than I expected. My first four years with Germain, we were able to grow a lot. Those practice sessions and time at tests you’re able to grow so much with your communication. Getting things going this year and just kind of getting that marriage between Jerame (Donley) and I and our engineers and our specific 42 team, has taken a little bit longer. We’ve been able to capitalize on a lot of the help from GM and Chevrolet being in the simulator together. Those moments that we’ve had to, even though it’s a computer simulation, we’re able to work on our dialogue. I’m able to take time and have a little bit longer discussion about what I’m looking for, why I want that and why I say certain things and what that might mean compared to what he hears. Those things have been taking leaps and bounds, and our consistency and our speed has been growing with that. So, it’s been very exciting and we’re putting in four to eight hours a week together on simulators after racing. We all want it on our 42 team. We’ve got a lot of young, hungry guys. It’s part of maturing together that we are growing in and it’s coming together nicely and we’re working on getting to the speed of our teammate. Erik (Jones) has had a good start to the year, and we want to get to where they are and hopefully push them a little bit further too. I think we are getting really close. Even though we didn’t have the result last week at the Open, we were right there on those guys racing with them and the 3 and the 8 kind of our technical alliance cars. That’s where we want to be is around those guys and pushing them forward too. We’re moving the right direction. Our team is really, really grinding hard and getting everything, we can. These qualifying practice days are it is a mad house for us. You know you get 15 minutes on track. You’ve got about five minutes to debrief and make changes and then you go run one lap that’s your fastest lap all weekend and it’s just super quick. A lot of things happen, so we’re learning how to make it through today on these Saturdays and have a good debrief to lead into a good Sunday. Those things just take time and we’re working hard. We’re not satisfied until we’re winning races.”

WHAT’S LIFE LIKE AT GMS RACING COMPARED TO WHAT YOU THOUGHT MAYBE GOING IN TO WHAT YOU’VE ACTUALLY ENCOUNTERED?

“At Petty GMS so much has changed, because it was GMS and it was just three or four of us when we came here for the initial ROVAL test. Those guys put in so many hours just to get that one car to the track. Then a couple of weeks later we’re Petty GMS, two car team. Then, trying to get those two cars and two teams to the track and everybody is new and hiring people. We’re so fresh, especially my team. My lead engineer is in a new role for the first time. My crew chief is a first time crew chief. I’m probably myself and the car chief have the most experience doing the job that we’re doing at where we’re at. The good thing is with our team is we’re all young and hungry and motivated. We won’t take where we are at now and not progress. It’s been fun, it’s been fun being a part of the energy in this team. Maury Gallagher gives us everything we need to go out and race. Mike Beam is a great leader between the teams to make sure that we’re focused on the thing that matters and that’s gaining speed and what do we need to do to get faster each week.”

WE’RE AT TIME OF YEAR WHERE EVERYBODY’S KIND OF LOOKING AHEAD INTO NEXT YEAR A LITTLE BIT, YOU’RE DEAL WITH GMS, ARE YOU GOING TO BE BACK THERE NEXT YEAR?

“I hope so. We’re still talking and there’s a lot of things that we have to kind of go through behind the scenes as far as conversations, but I think everybody is fairly happy with the progress of what’s going on. My focus is on me and doing my job and leaving no excuse to be back. Hopefully it all shakes out. I really love the people that I am working with and the opportunity that I’m getting. Results always help that too.”

I KNOW IN THE PAST YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT HOW THE STRUGGLES YOU’VE HAD AND TRYING TO KEEP YOURSELF GOING. WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW? WE’RE HALFWAY THROUGH THE SEASON, YOU’RE KIND OF GETTING ACCLIMATED AS A FULL-TIME DRIVER AGAIN.

“First of all, I like that question. I appreciate asking deep, deep questions. Me personally, I think I’ve kind of gone up and down a little bit throughout this year. I think at the beginning of the year, I kind of lost a little bit of focus of just handling things I can control, not worrying about results and just focusing and resetting every week on the things that I need to work on. I have a real close friend who’s pretty much my personal trainer and driver coach and therapist each week. I think it’s a good idea for everyone to have one of those. It’s Blake Koch. Him and I work every week, whether he’s putting things in perspective or being honest with me about what we need to work on. We spend a lot of time together focusing on me being the best driver that I can. I have fallen in love with the work of what I do and that’s become really fun for me and making it joyful to show up to the racetrack every week focused on things that I can improve on, and not so worried about the results of what the board says. I know as long as I put in the hard work and I’m enjoying what I’m doing the results will come. It’s starting to show and we’re getting faster and faster each week. For me, I am in a good place and I’m excited to be doing what I’m doing.”

WE ARE HALFWAY THROUGH THE REGULAR SEASON NOW, YOU’VE ALREADY MENTIONED THAT YOUR RESULTS DON’T MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU AT ALL, BUT WHERE I THINK YOU’RE 26TH IN POINTS RIGHT NOW AND WE HAVE THE 13 RACES LEFT. WHERE DO YOU WANT TO BE COME PLAYOFF TIME IF YOU CAN’T WIN? WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR YOU TO FEEL LIKE YOU’VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL THE SECOND HALF OF THE REGULAR SEASON?

“I wouldn’t say the results don’t matter anything to me, but I try not to make them the main focus of my week or weekend. This sport can be very depressing because all we really want to do is win each week. You’ve got to focus on the things that you can improve on. One of the things I do is I don’t look at points, so you’re the one kind of informing me on that. I just want to see where we want to improve. We’ve got to show obvious improvement. If we’re running on track 20th to 24th right now, I hope by the second half of the season we’re running 18th to 14th, somewhere in that range. You want to see improvement. I want to continue to get better as a team and make sure our communication, my crew chief and I we feel better about how we communicate the second part of the year than we are right now. I think we’ve just got to focus on growth. We are a very new team. There’s obviously high expectations from what Erik’s (Jones) done. He’s done such a good job, him and Dave (Elenz). Those guys have a lot of experience, Dave from the Xfinity side winning championships and his whole team has been together, so we’re trying to manage that with building a new core of guys with the 42 team and just focus on growth. I know that’s what our owner and Mike Beam want to see out of us. We’re getting there and we’re progressing. We have had some really high moments at Bristol and some of these short tracks. Our obvious place needs to be the mile and a half’s where we just need to gain speed. I really feel like our communication is getting to a point where I’m starting to get the things I need to feel inside the car. I’m a driver who is aggressive my nature when given a car that I feel like I can drive to the level of aggressiveness I want to. If not, I’m going to make sure I bring the car home and get us a good finish. Sometimes that doesn’t always equate to the high highs all the time, but I know when we get to where I’m hitting the car where I feel what I want to feel, we’re going to be very aggressive and go to the front. I’m looking forward to those moments.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

CONCORD, N.C. (May 27, 2022) – The world’s most patriotic racing event will feature a star-studded list of dignitaries, as the 63rd running of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway is just four days from thrilling race fans from across the globe. No stranger to delivering in the ring, WWE Superstar Lacey Evans has been named Grand Marshal, and will deliver the most famous words in motorsports when she gives the command to fire engines before the start of Sunday’s 600-mile showdown.

The weekend fun kicks off Friday with the ARCA Menards Series’ General Tire 150 and the Camping World Truck Series N.C. Education Lottery 200 as well as an energetic performance at Circle K Speed Street by Grammy-nominated rapper Flo Rida. On Saturday, Xfinity Series drivers will battle for supremacy in the Alsco Uniforms 300 and the NASCAR Cup Series will take the track for the first time to set the field for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Steve Miller Band will rock the Circle K Speed Street stage. The party moves to the infield on Sunday as the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd is scheduled to perform a 60-minute pre-race concert before the patriotic salute to the U.S. Armed Services and the green flag for the Coca-Cola 600.

Dignitaries for Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300:

• Honorary Starter: Chris Strickland, General Manager, Alsco Uniforms Durham
• Grand Marshal: Mike Johnson, Sales Consultant, Alsco
• Presentation of Colors: Charlotte Fire Department Honor Guard
• Invocation: Will Strong, chaplain
• National Anthem: Damien Fraser

Dignitaries for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 include:

• Honorary Race Director: Eric Tarr , West Virginia Finance Chair
• Honorary Pace Car Driver: DJ Moore, Carolina Panthers
• Honorary Starter: Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears
• Grand Marshal: Lacey Evans, WWE Superstar
• God Bless The USA: Lee Greenwood
• Presentation of Colors: Joint Color Guard
• Invocation: Capt. Melvin Underwood, United States Navy
• Amazing Grace: Charlotte Fire Department Pipe Band
• Taps: Benjamin Aird, “The Commandant’s Own” U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps
• 21 Gun Salute: U.S. Navy
• National Anthem: SPC Will McCarthy

TICKETS:
Tickets to the Coca-Cola 600 start at just $49 for adults. Kids 12 and under get in for just $10 with a paying adult. For tickets to all of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s events, including the 63rd running of the Coca-Cola 600, visit www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/tickets.

KEEP TRACK:

Fans can connect with Charlotte Motor Speedway by following on Twitter and Instagram or becoming a Facebook fan. Keep up with all the latest news and information with the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.