Toyota GAZOO Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

INDIANAPOLIS (July 25, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Friday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Is this your contract extension?

“I would say probably, most likely. Who knows, but most likely.”

How have you managed to keep wanting to race year-after-year?

“Kind of a two-fold thing. Some of it is motivating myself. I have goals I want to reach in the Cup Series. I have a really strong relationship with Joe (Gibbs, owner) and his family. An obviously, the ability to win. That’s a high factor to be wanting to do this. I think about that on a weekly basis, would I want to do this if I didn’t have the ability to win as much? Probably not, the motivation wouldn’t be there. Certainly, as competitive as I am, I’m motivated if I’m able to win.”

What does it mean that you’ve spent your entire career at Joe Gibbs Racing?

“A lot. They’re the ones that went out on a limb and hired me when I had nothing. They took a chance on me and JD (Gibbs) obviously believed in me quite a bit. So yeah, you want to pay back that loyalty to the family that gave you that start and you know, it’ll be well over 20 years that I’ll be with them and couldn’t imagine racing for any other organization, much less family.”

How are you able to continue to improve this late in your career?

“I think, also, one of the deciding factors is that I have my body in a good place. My back is not bothering me as much as it was a few years ago. And so, a lot of it is can you physically hold up. So, I’ll treat the next two years just like I’d be treating my rookie season or the year after. I’ve never waned from making sure I’m doing my job to the best of my ability and work ethic will never change.”

Do you think drivers hit their peaks at younger ages in this day and age?

“I would say drivers peak between 25-30 for what I believe is to be true in this day and age. A lot of that has changed because of the technology, because of the information. You see that with young golfers, right? Kids that are 14-years-old are shooting 65. It’s just more information, more training, smarter training. It’s the same in racing and I think that was probably true back then where you know you had to get more seat time and now these drivers have many laps in simulation. Back when I was doing this, you couldn’t get in any kind of actual car until 16. Now it’s like 12 or 13, so everything is moved up and with the new technology of training. Nowadays, I just feel like that number (pause), you should be able to be at your craft (pause). Now, as you continue to get more and more experience, your craft will continue to get better. But then, I think that there is just some sort of switchover point where then your abilities not as good. It’s different for everyone. Certainly, I think that in NASCAR, for what I’ve seen, lately 25-30 it seems like a really good spot.”

Why specifically a two-year extension?

“For for me, it’s all I feel comfortable with. Three years? Who knows what can happen three years from now, so I just want to make sure that I get them (Joe Gibbs Racing) proper time and make sure I commit to them for not one year, multiple years. Let them try to build continue to build the program. No particular reason other than, if I was 26, I would take 10 years, but I just I want to make sure that I’m still at my peak form in my final year. That could be tailing off for three years, so I don’t want that.”

As a team owner, are you guys happy with the where the 2026 schedule is going?

“It’s certainly important from the team-owner side (racing in big U.S. markets). At Chicago, it was a big activation place for 23XI Racing in particular. We had a lot of a lot of our major sponsors that were needed big activation at that track. So certainly, the locations matter when it comes to where we go, but I also understand the challenges of bringing race tracks to those particular cities that you talked about. It’s a tough balance.”

Do you have any ideas for how the In-Season Challenge could evolve?

“Certainly, paying for advancing (in each round), I think you probably get more buy in from drivers if they’re financially motivated to beat this one person. I know a lot of people kind of played it off this year, everyone knew about, everyone did care about it. So yeah, I mean that’s always a factor, but then you have to create a bigger pool of money there. Then, you still need to make it big for the winner but certainly feel like it was all implemented fairly well this year. Just adjust the tracks, maybe adjust the payout like you talked about as you advance you continue to get a higher payout, and then you move from there.”

How special would getting a win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway be for you?

“Yeah, it’s tough to say what it would mean until it actually happens. Adding another Crown Jewel would be big, and then to have had them all swept to where we’ve done it all. I mean certainly the names are very prestigious on that list and so, it would certainly mean a lot to me. It would just be another you know feather in the cap. I don’t know what else it would bring to me other than that just little prestige, but certainly, we’ve come close. I mean we were actually just as close on that road course as we were on the oval, although I don’t know you could argue whether that was an actual Crown Jewel or not. Yeah, highly motivated just need things to go our way once.”

Have you been studying how Kyle Larson was able to win this race last season?

“Well, it’s so hard because everyone in front of them (No. 5) had to save fuel, so we were all running half throttle down the straightaway, allowing these big runs to look bigger than they actually were. So, if everyone’s on full throttle there, most of those passes probably don’t happen. I think he’s good enough to where some of them do happen just naturally, but again, everyone was on a fuel save mode, so it’s just it’s so hard to really learn much from it given the circumstances, but certainly (was) very impressive.”

Is there an age where you think you’ll want to retire?

I don’t know, I like to just see kind of where I’m at two years from right now. Just kind of where’s the team at, what’s their Plan B? Where are they at with that? And then just see how competitive I am, how good do I feel, how bad do I want. All those things are just big factors in it, but I just I want the ability to know I can win my last race. That’s going to be the deciding factor. I’m not going to wait until I start to head downward and then retire. I don’t want to go through a whole year. I understand if it just happens naturally in the second half of the final year, then it just happens, but I don’t want to have to go through another season (pause) if I’m starting to tail off the end of next year, I’ll just retire. I could retire whenever I want to retire, so I think that I’m just going to see how things go.”

If you reach 60 wins, is there a goal after that?

“I’d love to get 60 this year. That would put me in a really good spot over the next couple of years and then get into the 60s where I think that could hold up for quite some time until someone young comes in and moves up the list. It’s going to continue to get harder and harder. The field gets closer and closer, and the wins are going to get more spread out. So, we’re not in the era of three competitive cars and four competitive drivers. Wins are always going to get more spread out now than what they were back in the 1960s and 1970s, in those days. I’d like to firmly get in there, and then make people chase it from that from that point on.”

When you do retire, what are some things you’d like to focus on or do in retirement?

“I think I just need to see what retirement is like, whether I’m bored or not. I just don’t see myself as someone that is able to go from this crazy world and life that I live with all these things to then just shutting it down to zero. So, I think I need to just feel those first few months out. Obviously, feel like with 23XI (Racing), there’s an opportunity there to be winners of the sport long after I’m done driving. That will take up more time, I’ll give more time to that. But then beyond that, I don’t know. I’ll figure out how much golf I could play and how many fish I can catch.”

What are you looking forward to in returning to Iowa next weekend?

“That was interesting because that track is like a short track, and we were not good. Now, I had some health issues. I was not feeling well to start that race and we went straight to the back. I think we got lapped. I felt a little better after halfway, and we got back on the lead lap. Actually, got to top five and then crashed. Not really sure about that track. It’s one of the ones that I’m a little uneasy about kind of where we are but I’m sure year-over-year, taking the notes that we learned from last year. I was supposed to do the Iowa test this year, (but) didn’t obviously because of (the birth of son) Jameson, so missed out on all my tests this year. Hope I go there and run well. Should, anyway.”

What other achievements would you like to have before you retire?

“Just more Crown Jewels. I don’t know exactly how many I have now. Seven? So, if I can get (to) eight or nine, I don’t know if that changes much, but it certainly makes me feel a little better. You have to have goals, and those Crown Jewels will be one that you know we go to races like this (Brickyard 400), they’re going to talk about ones that people that have won here at this race track and won Crown Jewel events. I want to be high on the Crown Jewel list of winners. If I can get a couple more of those and again put myself well into the 60s (career wins), if not a bigger number, then (pause). if I get nothing else, truly, I’m going to be happy. I’ll be disappointed because you know, setting my goals now accordingly based off how things are going. But truthfully, I would be happy with just calling it and saying this is how many races I won, this is my winning percentage, this is how many Crown Jewels I have.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.

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

Toyota GAZOO Racing – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

INDIANAPOLIS (July 25, 2025) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to the media on Friday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Xfinity Mobile Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

What’s been the mindset for the Toyota teams coming into this weekend?

“I’d say we’re all kind of curious last year coming here, how we’re going to stack it up and I honestly can’t remember where the others were, but where we were at from the start of practice all the way throughout. In qualifying last year first round, (we) didn’t fully put the whole lap together but round two we did, so yeah, it was really nice to see that kind of speed out of our cars here. Typically, with bigger tracks and intermediates, we’ve been strong at, so we did feel good about it. We raced fairly well. I think getting going in the race last year, being out front, the balance wasn’t quite what I wanted for the lead. We were able to kind of work on that throughout the race and then obviously, you know people short filing for the end I guess, and the fuel strategy just came into play. We never really had clean air to close off the race but were still fairly strong and able to drive up to the front. The pivotal moment in all that was just, I remember passing somebody, we were like 12th or something, got off turn two poorly and here came the No. 5 (Kyle Larson), he went by and got to the front first. Missed opportunity, but speed and handling it seems like, given what we had last year, how close it was, we feel good about this weekend on our end.”

How has Denny Hamlin helped you as a driver?

“He (has a) very high racing IQ. I feel like the last couple years, he’s done more sharing of that with everybody, with the platforms that he uses. For me, he’s really helped me understand short track racing. There’s been days, weekends over my career. whether it’s been in a Truck, an Xfinity car or a Cup car – Gen 6 and Next Gen. We show up and are fast, I don’t necessarily know all the ins and outs of it, but I feel like between him (Denny Hamlin) and Bubba Wallace, my teammate as well, they helped me better understand what to look for in my car, how to approach the race, how to manage the tires and just put the race together. I feel like that’s showing up in places like Richmond, Martinsville, it seems like it’s close to not quite there yet sometimes we can run good. But yeah, he’s helped me become a more well-rounded driver and for me, I think back couple years ago when I came over here (23XI Racing), it was fun to work with him and Bubba to get better road courses. We were just in Chicago and Bubba was fastest in practice, and the last couple of years, Denny has been able to get some poles on road course courses too, so it’s been fun to share our strengths and work on the weaknesses together.”

What memories of your 2022 victory on the road course come back when you return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

“It feels like it was 10 years ago, but it was three years ago! Yeah, it was a really fun weekend. That year, we were on the road course, so knew were going to be fast and being able to have the speed that we did all weekend long was a huge asset. Being able to throw all the strategy plays together and everything still hold out to get the win was awesome. For me, this is the track that, you know unfortunately, I’ve never been here to watch the Indy 500 growing up or the Brickyard 400 growing up. When I was younger, we were always racing dirt somewhere else, but (it’s) just really a prestigious place and be able to get the job done, kiss the bricks. Yeah, probably one of my favorite victory lane moments.”

With the points position you’re currently in, how aggressive will you be in going for a win?

“I wish it was that simple, honestly. It feels like everybody out there, if six, seven cars are happy, the other 30 will be mixing it up regardless. So yeah, I feel like to win this race, you kind of have to push the issues with strategy, you have to be aggressive. I feel like that is something that we really haven’t backed down from at all over the course of this year. We saw this play out that way last year. People were being really aggressive on the last stop. I think whether you’re going to score points or run well in win a race-mentality has to be very similar, which is nice for us. If you want to score points, you have to run up front. If you want to win the race, you have to run up front. I don’t feel like it’s that complex on our end. We just focus on being quick in practice, qualifying well. I don’t know if flipping stages is going to be something for Sunday, but from the driver’s seat and the crew chiefs’ standpoint, it’s almost straightforward.”

How does the mindset change returning to Iowa this year?

“When you go back somewhere for a second time, you have notes, you have a lot of information that you’re able to go through, whether it’s your own notes, your teammates notes. We’re able to see, look back on what worked, what didn’t. I think that race in particular, everyone was concerned with the tires, seemingly failing. As we saw in the race though, that was pretty much not an issue. So that’s notes being take taken, right? You know when you go into that for the first time, you have that in practice, you’re going to react to it you’re going to play it a little bit safe for the race and kind of saw it worked out. I feel good about it. Thought we were really strong in practice there last year. The race kind of played out in a way where, if we would’ve stop with what we were doing, I think we would have been up there to the front all night.”

How do you think the Iowa Speedway surface evolved over the course of the race last year?

“It was actually starting to do it in practice little bit. You start at the very bottom of the repaved corners. Drivers were working their way up to the top of repaved corners, so I expect similar things to happen. A lot of moving around on the repaved portions of the corner. There were times and what not where you can kind of actually get up above it and make it work, but very specific scenarios. It’s very tricky now, you’re accelerating and slowing down on the old surface, and it does not have a lot of grip, and you kind of have to riffle it off into the corner and hope you get it to the to the fresh asphalt every time. It’s pretty fun and exhilarating, honestly, if you go there and trying to get the speed, just the control you just feel like, you know, free diving I guess or something like that every time you go into the corner. I enjoyed last year for sure.”

Why do you enjoy racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway so much?

“I loved racing the road course. That was a lot of fun. The oval here, there’s a lot of history tied to it. What makes this place special, Kyle (Larson) even said it before, is just the history of this of this race track. How long it’s long it’s been here, all the big moments that have happened here. Yeah, for me it’s the history.”

Do you feel like you’re safe to make the Playoffs?

“Honestly for us, making the playoffs is the minimum requirement. This team, the performance we bring to the race track, whether it’s our pit crew, our cars or how we strategize the race. For us, yeah, it’s crazy to even think we’re worried about just making the Playoffs. To be in the Playoffs, you have to make it. But for us it’s more so about ‘okay, we’re in it, great, but we need Playoff points, all these things just doesn’t necessarily work out, so ultimately, that means that when it does get started, we’re just going to have to run you know 20 or 30 spots better than some of the guys that were around each round. We’re kind of asking for some help along the way too, and some strong teams making mistakes. So don’t love the spot we’re in for that reason. Feel good about making the playoffs, but for me and this team, it’s not about just making the Playoffs, it’s about going far in the playoffs. It’s about making it to the Championship 4 and competing for championships. That’s what it’s about.”

How important is it for NASCAR to have a race at San Diego and Southern California?

“For me, I think it’s extremely important for us to be in Southern California. I was obviously very partial and very much a huge fan of Fontana. From the first time I ever went there, to the first time I ever got to race there, and love that race track. The fans that are in Southern California, the car culture in Southern California I feel like it’s just it’s an easy layout for us to be in that area and have fans come to the race. So, I’m glad we’re doing what we’re doing, going to San Diego. I was one of those that grew up in California and my parents didn’t like going to L.A. (Los Angeles) and they didn’t like going to San Francisco, so I couldn’t see a lot of these great cities that the California has. The last few years traveling and seeing places recently, I’m so excited to go to San Diego for the first time. Excited to explore the city and see what it’s going to be about.”

What do you think the difference is in being aggressive on strategy in races like this?

“I mean it’s hard to figure out where that line is every week. But when it’s all said and done, you’re able to see where that line lays. It seems like, at Pocono, in the end, it worked out for the teams that tried it. But a lot of these race tracks, more and more often it seems like, teams that push the issue on fuel or different strategies, end up finding their way to the front. It’s a difficult line to balance. I feel like when you’re a 15th-place bar or a 10th-place car at best, you have less to lose for sure. So that’s something we tried to manage. From when we’re making our decisions around the race, it’s a difficult thing, right? When you have a car that’s capable of winning to take huge risk on strategy that has a small chance of working. But for us at Homestead, we’re you know running fourth and we needed to win. ‘Okay, we’ll run long and hope for a caution.’ When you’re left with not much to lose, that’s when you’re able to throw that out. It seemed like more and more often, the cars that are in that six to 12 conversation are going for it more than they probably have in the past and it’s continuing to work out.”

What about Denny Hamlin continues to amaze you at where he’s at in his career?

“Yeah, there’s a number of things. His preparation is up there for sure. Again, his racing awareness. I also feel like when it comes to understanding what qualities you want your car to have, to be able to identify those. Whether that’s in the sim or in practice. Some of these mile-and-a-halfs that we go to, whether it’s like (Las) Vegas or is another, you’ll be in practice and feel like ‘Oh, what’s going on?’ If you go talk to him, he’s like ‘I think it’s this and here’s what you need for the race.’ He’s just a very smart racer, he takes great notes. He uses his resources to his advantage. He just knows what he wants with the experience that he has in a race car, communicating that to his team and finding that.”

How would you describe the season so far with the expectations 23XI Racing has?

“Unfortunately, when those opportunities have been there (to win), we haven’t executed. We’ve made a mistake, we’ve done something along the way that either makes that much more difficult to win or takes out of it. So that’s just kind of the name of the game. These races and teams that don’t make the mistakes. Even this past weekend in Dover, I was extremely strong and made a couple mistakes along the way. That’s just that’s just kind of how it goes. With how close the cars are and how good the competition is. With how close everything is, those mistakes hurt you so much more. It’s just extremely important to go out there do your job and execute.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.

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

NASCAR CUP SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
JULY 25, 2025

 Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 and the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro SS for Hendrick Motorsports, met with the media in advance of running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 32-year-old Elk Grove, California, returns to the 2.5-mile Indiana oval as the defending winner of the Brickyard 400.

Media Availability Quotes:

How will your approach change this weekend, knowing that you’re the reigning champion of the Brickyard 400 – you’ve done this before, you’ve won here. Does that change how you approach this weekend?

“No, not at all. I’m just happy to be back (at Indianapolis Motor Speedway). Hopefully our car is good again. I believe it should be as fast, if not better, than it was last year. Hopefully we’ll have a good practice session today, a good qualifying run tomorrow and be able to execute a good race on Sunday.”

How does it feel to have a race like Dover, where you guys had speed, it seemed like. You had a relatively uneventful, clean race after kind of that little stretch there, where it just kind of felt like things just kept happening?

“Yeah, it was good. And I knew that Dover would be a great opportunity for us to have a day like that, where we could just be clean all race long; have speed and have things work out. But yeah, I mean, it got a little sketchy there when (Christopher) Bell spun. I thought I was going to get collected in that and be like — oh, well, just continuing on our bad finishes here.

But no, it was good. So yeah, hopefully that’s the beginning of it kind of turning around for us. But we’ll see.”

How would you describe Cliff Daniels on the radio, in terms of communication style?

“Well, I don’t know. I mean, maybe, I don’t know if he would be for everybody, but I really like it. I think he does a great job of keeping me focused and focused on the next task. When I sound mopey on the radio, he can kind of pick me up, too. He can also challenge me and pick out things that I’m not doing right, which I like. So having that relationship with your crew chief is important. Having trust between the two of you is important. And yeah, he’s a great leader. He works really hard at it. He’s really evolved his leadership, I think. He’s always been a great leader. But his leadership has evolved, even since 2021. He studies it. He works hard at it, and you can see it.”

He is a little bit different than other crew chiefs. It seems like he can be a taskmaster, right? But he’s also, on the radio, very encouraging and motivational. How does that work for you?

“Yeah, like I said, I like that. I feel like he always knows when to say something, and it’s usually the right thing or what I need in that moment. So I think, yeah, we just have a great relationship when it comes to that.

He has a great sense of what I need from him, as far as just words. And yeah, so we’ve just worked really well together. I’ve have never had a crew chief like that in any of my racing before, and I didn’t know how I would like it when I first came to Hendrick Motorsports. But I could tell very quickly that I was going to get along really well with him and we would gel well in competition.”

For most of us looking at these corners, they look similar or even the same. But the more I talk to drivers, it sounds like they’re different. Can you explain that, or how different all four corners really are?

“Yeah, they are different. Overhead, they look similar. But I just think with kind of how the sun hits each corner and the wind direction and stuff, it can get different. Turn one, I feel like is a pretty, for your balance anyways, a tight corner. It gets really kind of slick feeling off of turn one. Turn two can be similar. Turn two is easy to get kind of lost on your entry because it’s a much wider visual corner with less grass and stuff over there, so it’s easy to kind of get lost and miss your turn-ins and stuff over there. Turn three and four have more grip than this end of the track. Turn three has got some bumps and it just feels like a faster corner. And then turn four is probably the easiest corner just because I feel like it gets the most shade and stuff and has the most grip. But yeah, each corner is definitely a lot different.”

I know you were asked about your approach to this weekend being any different having won last year. But what was just driving into the track this morning, returning as the defending Brickyard 400 winner, does it feel any different coming in here, just kind of knowing what you experienced? Did it kind of bring you back to any of those moments celebrating last year?

“Well, I got here at about 2:45 a.m., so I was just like — I didn’t care, I just wanted to get in my bed (laughs). But always, I feel like when I drive in here at night and looking at the top of the Pagoda and seeing the flags all lit up is really cool.

But yeah, I don’t know. I mean, it’s great to be back here in Indy and back in a stock car. Hopefully, I’ll do a much better job than I did in May. But yeah, it’s a privilege to get to run here and race this facility. I would love nothing more than to have a good run and hopefully kind of put the bow on the double stuff with another Brickyard 400 win.”

Just looking forward to Iowa, what did you learn last year and what do you expect?

“Yeah, I think our car was extremely good last year. I was having a bit too much fun and put myself in a bad spot and got crashed. I would imagine that it’s going to be quite a bit different, though. I mean, just watching the INDYCAR race, the color of the pavement, the new pavement, has changed quite a bit. So I’d imagine the grip level has changed. Whether it be more or less, I don’t really know yet. But it’s going to be different. So we’ll see, though. Like I said, we were good last year, so hopefully we can be good again.”

What’s your thoughts on the San Diego announcement… hearing that we’re going to be at a new street course and the innovations and everything that goes into that?

“I mean, we’ve all heard the rumors for quite a while, and I was just hopeful that they were going to close the deal out and be able to bring us there. I got to go a couple of days ago and it’s awesome. I didn’t get to see the track, but being on the Navy Base was really neat and much more different than I was expecting it all to look. It’s going to be an awesome atmosphere. The Southern California fans are amazing and been starving for some NASCAR racing, so hopefully they all show up and it can be a massive event.”

Can you give us a sense of what these restarts are like and how maybe different they are? I’m assuming it’s different because it’s a more narrow track in a lot of ways. But obviously, you had to go through it last year with going through the back and avoid some stuff. But there were a lot of things on restarts here last year…

“I would say restarts, when you’re mid-pack to the back or so, maybe not even mid-pack, towards the front — like, yeah, the straightaways are so long, so there’s drafting that happens. There’s a lot of time spent side-drafting, which just slows you both down, so then there’s always big runs coming behind you. And then late moves, you know, into (turn) one or into three. Especially into three on that first lap, I feel like it gets kind of thinned out by the time you get to four. But yeah, I mean, restarts are pretty hectic. It’s the best opportunity to make up track position, so guys are always ultra-aggressive.

But yeah, it’s fun. It’s fun to try and position your car in the right spot and make the best decisions.”

I know last year’s race, you benefited because of the pit strategy. You had more fuel, so you weren’t having to save as much. Obviously, able to pass while others were saving. Still, how challenging was that? And what is it like to have that advantage, or when you’re having that disadvantage and having to save and somebody else isn’t?

“It was nice being able to be on offense throughout that run last year. It was still difficult to pass. I had to make a lot of super late moves to get those passes done. But yeah, thankfully, the pace was just slow enough.

It kind of kept the accordion on entry a little bit there. We were able to be really aggressive and make some of those moves. But I had gotten stuck once I got to third or fourth… I wasn’t going to be able to pass my way to the lead. Tires had kind of equaled out at that point and whatnot. And then, yeah, I just got some good fortunes, so it worked out.”

(No Mic.)

“Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, yeah, sure, it can be sketchy because it’s really late. The guy in front of you is turning in the corner and you’re kind of popping out, and I’m sure their spotters are screaming ‘inside, inside’ or they’re looking in their mirrors and whatnot. But I don’t know. Once you do it, it becomes less sketchy because you’ve gotten a rep at it. But no, it’s just — yeah, I mean, you’re trying to catch people off guard, really. I don’t really know how to describe it that much.”

For many Cup drivers, they can just race on Sunday. They’re satisfied. Obviously, you have a heavy schedule during the week. How do you feel like that contributes to you being extra sharp on the weekend? Do you describe that for yourself?

“Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t be doing it as often as I do if I didn’t believe that it helped me. So yeah, I don’t know. I just feel like the more racing situations you can keep yourself in, the sharper you hopefully are. There’s a balance, though. I mean, it can get, schedule-wise, kind of grueling at times when you’re gone a lot, which my schedule’s been wild this year. So just a few more weeks of dirt racing for me, and then I can just be a Cup guy again. But yeah, I don’t know. It works for me. I don’t know if it’ll work for everybody, but I think staying busy and active and racing definitely works for me.

High Limit was coincided to be at both Las Vegas and Texas. Is that something that you could possibly see here on this Brickyard weekend, or is that something you’re keeping under wraps?

“No, I mean, there hasn’t really been any talks of that or anything. I would love it. I mean, I watched the final restart last night of the sprint week stuff. It would be great. I mean, I don’t know. It’d be a tiny track for winged sprint cars, but I feel like a lot of times when you get on a small track like that, it just creates chaos; fun, different winners and stuff like that. I for sure would be open for it. I’m sure there’s a lot that goes on to make it happen.”

What do you think about IMS expanding its dirt footprint here at the track and just kind of having that symbiotic relationship between grassroots, where it kind of all begins for a lot of people and then people who become superstars like you, Justin Allgaier, move up in the ranks?

“Well, I think it’s awesome. This is the most prestigious racetrack in the world, so when you can add a form of racing into the walls of this place, like dirt racing, is pretty cool. I saw a picture of Roger there last night, so I hope he enjoyed it. I don’t think he loves dirt racing, but I hope he had a good time with it and can see the impact that it has on grassroots racing because it is important to be a part of a place like this.

But yeah, it’s been awesome to see kind of the BC39 grow to what it is. I think it’s got the potential to grow into the biggest midget race of the year, so that’s exciting. I just hope they can stick with it; keep investing in the race and maybe some other races and keep trying to grow grassroots racing.”

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