NASCAR CUP SERIES
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 19, 2022

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL1, Press Conference Transcript:

YOU DID THE TEST HERE AND YOU WERE JUST ON THE TRACK IN A TRUCK. IS IT WHAT YOU EXPECTED?
“Yeah, there were some differences. They smoothed out a lot of the issues that they had. The truck drives a lot different. I was at the limit of the rear tires the whole practice, so we were pretty loose. I didn’t have any of that with the Cup car. It was a handful in the truck and I think they did a good job smoothing out some of the bumps and dips.”

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHANGE YOU’VE SEEN OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS FROM WHERE YOU’RE AT NOW, JUST WITH THE RACE TEAM AND HOW THINGS ARE CONDUCTED? YOU SEEM A LOT MORE CONFIDENT IN YOUR CRAFT.
“I am, but I don’t get as high as I used to and I don’t get as low as I used to either. Truly, we had two good weeks this year; the last two. But the first two were terrible. We finished last in the Daytona 500. I crashed the car in practice and spun out in the race at California (Auto Club Speedway). These four weeks are a good example – two bad, two good. And I didn’t get too upset whenever we were bad; and I didn’t get too happy when we were good either. I’m an emotional guy, so I had to really control that and be more neutral on all that stuff.”

“As far as Trackhouse though, if that’s part of your question, the breathe of fresh air that is – it’s almost unmeasurable. I don’t know how to put it into words. It’s a lot of the same people. Justin (Marks) being young – the way he’s come in. The way he see stuffs that he does in other aspects of his life, now we’re a part of that at Trackhouse with the Cup team. We’ve seen it, we’ve heard about it. We’ve heard about Pitbull. Now that we’re truly getting to see what it’s like to actually work with Justin, it’s incredible. There are a lot of smiles.”

WHEN YOU COME SO CLOSE TO WINNING, IN THE LONGTERM THINKING, IS IT MORE OF A DISAPPOINTMENT OR ENCOURAGEMENT THAT YOU WERE THAT CLOSE?
“It’s so awesome. People keep asking me if I keep finishing that close and not winning, would I get upset, and I don’t think so. I want to win; we’re preparing to win. We are prepared to win and we have everything we need to win. For me, I couldn’t be in a better spot. The resources that Chevrolet and Trackhouse are giving me – they’re putting us in a position to go win Cup races and that can’t be overstated enough. I’ve been to all of these places for years and was doing my deal; on my plan for that weekend. A big moment of a race weekend at Phoenix was trying to run 15th in Xfinity, which I don’t believe until 2020 I had ever done, and I had raced there for four or five years. I had never finished top-15 in the Xfinity Series. Now, to say in 2022 we are competing for a Cup win at Phoenix, it’s incredible.”

WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM BEING IN THE TRUCK THIS MORNING?
“I’m still getting over it. My heartrate was pegged. The Cup car at the test was easy, flat, three cars; it was cooler. The truck, even by myself, was a handful. It’s a different beast. I guess the biggest difference was in the truck, you hit the ground with like a truck on mounts and side skirts; the rocker box and splitter. You don’t do that with Cup cars… INAUDIBLE.”

“The truck, I picked up on a lot of different bumps that I didn’t feel before. The overall track felt smoother. The Cup cars were held up off the ground on purpose. Yeah, it was a handful. We had to work on the truck for two runs before I really wanted to get in the draft. We were too loose. In the Cup car, I had no feeling of that. I’m watching the Xfinity practice and they are tucked up behind each other. I think they’re slower than what we were in Trucks. They are under the limits of the tire. The trucks – everybody I saw besides (Ryan) Preece, was out of control sliding.”

INAUDIBLE
“It feels like the compression of Daytona, but you are turning around and going the other direction so much quicker. Where at Daytona, you’re like driving down the highway, it’s really like a sweeping turn. And this is like the interstate exit that creeps up – it says 25 mph and then you get there and everything is sliding in the car and you’re like ‘oh, I’m going too fast’. That’s what this feels like. Daytona is like that nice, long exit that you can see for a mile. This is just such a tighter radius. You feel like. The sensation of speed is high. It’s not just going to be single-file along the bottom. You’ll be able to move around and people will be lifting, in trucks anyways. I don’t know about the other stuff.”

I THINK IT’S SAFE TO ASSUME YOU’RE RUNNING THE TRUCKS TO GET MORE LAPS AT ATLANTA THIS WEEKEND?
“Yeah, for sure. I want to race with Niece Motorsports as much as I can. I want to race. I love that. Justin (Marks) and Trackhouse are giving me that opportunity to race. They’re all for it.”
“Yeah, we’ll have more. Not really ready to speak on exactly which ones; still working through all that. We know we can’t run Playoffs, triple truck challenge, or the regular season finale. We learned that the hard way last year the week of the race. We’ve buttoned up all the rules and I think we understand all of that, as far as eligibility. So, it’ll be stacked the first half of the year, but there will be more.”

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.

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang posted the fourth-best time in Saturday’s practice session on the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Drivers, Burton included, used terms like “insane” and “wild” and “crazy” to describe the action on the track that has seen the banking in the turns increased from 24 to 28 degrees while the width of the surface has been reduced from 55 to 40 feet in the turns and 42 feet on the backstretch. The frontstretch has been widened to 61.5 feet.

With the Cup Series cars using a Talladega/Daytona horsepower and aero package, drivers ran in big packs during Saturday’s practice session, which was postponed from Friday to Saturday due to rain. That schedule change also means that the starting line-up was set by metrics based on recent results. Burton will start 31st.

“This new track is wild!” Burton said after Saturday’s practice, which saw him post a speed of 181.121 miles per hour on the 43rd of the 49 laps he ran. “It’s a super crazy racing style that was fun in practice.”

He said he feels good about his prospects for Sunday’s Fold of Honor/QuikTrip 500.

“I’d say our DEX Mustang is pretty good,” he said. “We just need some more stability and we should be good to go.”

Sunday’s 500-miler is set to start just after 3 p.m., with TV coverage on FOX.

About DEX Imaging
DEX Imaging is the digital document imaging division of Staples, the world’s largest business solutions provider. DEX sells and services the broadest selection of copiers, printers and data management solutions, such as HP, Konica Minolta, Canon, Kyocera and numerous others.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES:
Reducing Operating Costs
Reducing Paper Consumption
Increasing Productivity

DEX Imaging has been the recipient of virtually every industry award since the company’s inception, including the JD Power & Associates Award for Best Customer Experience, the prestigious ProTech Service award by Konica Minolta, the Diamond Premier Dealer Award by Kyocera, and the Elite DEALER Award by ‘ENX’ magazine. Other accolades include being named ‘Best Place to Work’ by numerous business journals in the markets DEX serves.

Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glenn’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Harrison Burton in the famous No. 21 racer.

Toyota Racing – Christopher Bell & Kyle Busch
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

ATLANTA (March 19, 2022) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch were made available to media prior to the Atlanta Motor Speedway race this Saturday:

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Do you expect to be a little more worn out tomorrow?

“Daytona and Talladega are two of the easiest tracks that we go to physically just because it’s really big, everything happens slow – it’s pretty low key until the end of the race, where that practice session was 40 minutes of pure chaos. Definitely agree with him. I found myself holding my breath several times.”

Were you able to be wide open the whole time?

“Yeah, it’s a full-blown speedway race for sure. The cars that I was around it sure seemed like everybody was the same. Not grip limited for sure.”

Can you handle 200 minutes of pure chaos tomorrow?

“Honestly, I’ll be surprised if we make it that long in the pack. I don’t know. Yes, everyone else is, so I’m going to have to, but it’s going to be unlike anything we have ever seen. I can promise you that.”

Could you give us your background on Buddy Kofoid?

“I’m excited about that. Buddy (Kofoid) is a really deserving driver, so I’m really excited about his opportunity to break into NASCAR. I’m expecting big things from him. Bristol dirt is a unique race and a unique track, and I think he will shine.”

How do you anticipate pit stops will be this weekend?

“That was one thing I was focused on in that practice session was getting a run to pit road and it is going to be insane. I tried to do it pretty much all practice and I never felt comfortable doing it because I was always in the pack with guys around me. One thing that’s different about Daytona and Talladega is your braking on the straightaway, so you can pull off the racetrack and brake, where here you are not going to be able to pull off the racetrack and brake. You are going to have to brake on the racetrack going into a very narrow turn three and four. You are going to be doing good if you go three-wide and the inside lane is going to be braking and the first green flag pit stop is going to be one to watch, that’s for sure.”

In trying to avoid the chaos, do you do the same things you do in Daytona and Talladega?

“Well, my superspeedway record hasn’t been the greatest. I need to start asking other guys that question. I didn’t survive the 500 this year, and I want to survive this one – I need to survive this one. We’ve been off to a rocky start with the DeWalt group. Getting to the end is going to be the most important thing, first and foremost, and I could see it being difficult for sure tomorrow.”

Has it been difficult to stay positive with the start of the season?

“Honestly, it has been easy to stay positive up to this point just because there’s been so many high points. Going from California, I felt like we had a strong showing, or not a strong showing, but we had strong potential and my team agreed with that. Vegas, we had a strong showing, but didn’t get the finish we wanted. There has been a lot of high points, but the points position we are in now and finishing results haven’t shown that. It’s been easy to stay positive, but it’s definitely time to start getting some finishing results out of it.”

What are the runs like in the pack? Is racing in the pack the same or different than Daytona and Talladega?

“One thing that was extremely different from this 40-minute practice session to all of Daytona – and that’s really the only thing we can compare it to with this car. At Daytona, it was very, very easy to lose the draft for some reason. It seemed like the training guy would get left behind, where here – and the runs at Daytona didn’t feel really big – like the draft runs felt like some of the slowest runs I’ve felt from the Trucks, Xfinity to the Cup car. Today they were huge for whatever reason. The suck up was really big. You had tremendous speed difference from getting a draft run to not having a draft run. It was really easy to catch the pack. You didn’t get left behind if you were the last car, so I don’t know why the cars in the drafting reacted so much different here than it did at Daytona, but it was a big difference for sure.”

How many drivers are going to like what they have tomorrow and how many drivers are going to dislike what they have?

“The guys that like speedway racing are going to enjoy what we have and the guys that dislike it are going to really dislike it. It’s intense. That 40-minute practice session was super intense. I don’t think anybody expected the draft runs to be that big, and the pack to be that tight. It was full blown chaos and we’ve got 500 miles of it tomorrow.”

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

Did it feel like superspeedway racing?

“It did feel most similar to that. I feel like the racetrack width is just kind of a hinderance to what you can do getting that top cleaned up and burned in to have a third lane. That would be ideal. Other than that, I would say – its superspeedway type race. Runs happen quicker and bigger. I don’t know if it’s because everything is tighter or what, but it seems like you get runs happening and it’s a big difference from what I remember in Daytona.”

How is racing with Brexton going?

“It’s going really good. He’s in Illinois, yesterday and today, racing his Junior Sprint stuff again. Ran great last night. Watching him – the things he was doing at his first time at that track gave me chills. I was pretty excited about what he was doing and how he was running, so it was really good. He started fifth in his heat and passed everybody and won his heat, which gave him the pole for the main and he just drove away, and lap traffic didn’t faze him. The kid that finished second to him last night ran second at the Tulsa Shootout in Junior Sprints, and he couldn’t even keep up.”

Do you like the racing, and do you think more drivers will like or dislike what Atlanta has become?

“It’s different. Would you have seen something similar to this with the old configuration and a wider racetrack? Probably – if we ran restrictor plate style stuff, we probably would have still had that with lesser banking and a wide racetrack. The narrower racetrack lends itself to some hairy moves and things like that. Turning off into turn three when you are running the bottom and you start to load up into the corner and your front end gets tight and you wash up the track and somebody in the middle is holding you down, holding you tight, you make contact and start a crash – I feel like that’s where we are going to see a wreck and you might also see some going down the frontstretch. It’s kind of rough down there – it’s really bumpy. Cars bounce a little bit – they don’t always go straight, they move, so guys holding guys tight is going to be where we start to see some issues. As far as if everybody is going to like it, I guess we will see how many cars finish.”

How bumpy is the track and how are the transitions?

“The transition off of (turn) two is fine in the bottom lane, but lane two and lane three closest to the wall are horrible, like really bad.”

Why is that?

“Hell, if I know. I didn’t pave the place. Turn four is also super, super rough when you are running high – half a lane off the wall is really rough, really jarring – through the middle of turn four, not off of four. That’s okay. Guys really want to know what the track looks like – look up Tony Stewart’s quotes from when they repaved the track in Las Vegas. I’ll let you go there.”

How do you handle going into this race as a veteran with side drafting and how close other drivers are going to race you?

“It’s going to continue to amp up and get more and more tight. When you come to stages and there are points on the line – especially when you come to the end of the race and there is a win on the line – you need to take care of one another. There is no reason why we should crash, but we are going to. I just hope it’s not too hard.”

Is there any difference here versus the setup from Daytona or Talladega?

“The brakes on these cars are better than the old superspeedway cars. They had lightweight brakes and they would never really stop all that well – some better than others. Everybody has the same brakes. They are well oversized for this type of application, so you use the brakes, and you will slow down. You do have that ability. I think it was (Ricky) Stenhouse that got crashed on the frontstretch in Daytona. I slowed down and was able to miss it, with the old car, I don’t think you would have been able to do that.”

Do you expect tomorrow to be more intense than we are used to?

“I think it will be – just the tighter confines, being a mile-and-a-half. 325 laps around here is a lot. I think we run 188 at Talladega and 200 at Daytona, so 125 more laps going through the same thing and being packed up – being in tight conditions, you will be, probably more mentally than physically. You are going to be tired after this one.”

#

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 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 more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSRIPT
MARCH 19, 2022

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

WHAT’S THAT LIKE GOING OVER TO SENOIA, COMPETING AGAINST SOME LOCAL HEROS? ANY EXPECTATIONS COMPETING ON THE (INAUDIBLE) TONIGHT?
“No. Definitely no expectations. Yeah, excited to go there. Bubba called me a couple weeks ago or maybe it was last week and asked me about it. I told him I’d love to. He and his family bought that track probably a couple years ago now and it seems like they’ve been doing a great job with it, getting some big shows in town and I think tonight is more local one of their local events. Excited to go race number one and drive one of his cars and have some fun. Obviously try to support a local short track that we all want them to do well and succeed close to here. So, feel like they will get a good crowd and good car count.”

CHASE YOUR NAME HAS BEEN TOSSED AROUND IN CONNCECTION WITH THE HENDRICK TRIP TO LE MANS NEXT YEAR. DO YOU HAVE INTEREST IN THAT?
“Yeah, you know I’m not super up to speed on it. Boss called me last week and said they were going to do it. I guess we are probably racing on that weekend, but I think it would be a lot of fun to go do that event one day. I’m not sure it’s really possible the way our schedule is. I don’t know 100 percent how that is going to line up, but certainly would have interest in it. I just don’t think logistically that’s going to work for any of us, but we’ll see.”

IF THE OFF WEEK IS THAT WEEK?
“Yeah, potentially. I don’t know. We will just have to wait and see how the schedule falls.”

ASSUME YOU WATCHED SOME OF THAT TRUCK PRACTICE. DID THAT TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT HOW YOUR CARS ARE GOING TO BE ON TRACK?
“Yeah, I actually didn’t. I was working my way down here. I was keeping up with it from afar and it sounded like those guys were wide open and drafting. I would imagine we would be doing the same, which I think is what we all pretty much expected coming into this. You know I think there’s a lot of ways you can look at it. I really, for a repave and the situation for a mile and a half getting repaved and kind of the way these places drive to have the ability to you know move off the bottom and get rubber down in different lanes, I feel like this might be the best way to do that. I think it will be interesting for sure. I don’t exactly know what to expect but hopefully we have two solid lanes, and you can work them both and not think that the cars are probably going to drive good enough where you can do that. So, we’ll see. I don’t know man, I’m as open as anybody about it and I really don’t 100 percent know but I do think it will be kind of speedway-esque and just looking at it reminds me a lot of Turns 3 and 4 at Texas and I think it will be really similar to the All-Star race out there last summer on that end of the racetrack is kind of been my head space and how I would approach the weekend.”

WILL YOU SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME LOOKING FOR ROAD AMERICA KIND OF FOR PREP THIS WEEK OR WHAT WILL YOU TAKE IN TO COTA NEXT WEEK?
“I mean, I think just learning. Obviously our first road course race with this car. I don’t think anybody has really driven it a lot on road courses. You know we had the test at Charlotte there early on, but it seemed like every team was they had a car at the track and they were kind of rotating drivers through. So, I don’t think any of us got a ton of time with it, but you know these cars, really a lot of the design pieces come from road race background some of the things they see and on the IMSA side of things. I really think they’re probably going to suit road racing well. I think they’ll be fine, and I don’t know that the race will look a ton different honestly. I think the cars will drive fine. Certainly, getting use to those small things that are going to be a little bit different and the shifting and the brakes. Just how they act at some of those different style of corners. You know COTA has a lot of different angles and weird off camera situations, so curious to see how it drives. I think it would be fine.”

OVER YOUR LAST SIX YEARS HERE IN THE CUP SERIES, WHEN YOU LOOK BACK TO YOUR FIRST RACE TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR DEVELOPMENT AS A DRIVER COMMUNICATION WISE WITH YOUR TEAM?
“I would like to think it has gotten better. I hope, you know i feel like I’ve learned a lot for sure over the course of my time. I’m always learning, you know I don’t feel like I ever had it perfect. Somebody has it perfect, I’d love to meet them. I think it’s definitely a learning thing and you know the sports just always changing. I mean look at this year. We are coming in with a new car and these things drive different. Coming to a brand new Atlanta Motor Speedway here, things are just always changing. It’s like nothing is ever just going to stay the same always. So, I think just having an open mind and maybe taking some of those past experiences with you as you encounter new things and be willing to maybe break a habit or two to improve. Sometimes those things are hard to do. I feel like a lot of times, as a driver, you always kind of fall back into what is natural to you. But sometimes you have to adjust that, and you know like I said, break a habit which is tough. I think it’s necessary sometimes to be successful, so yeah just trying to take a weekend at a time and make the most of, like I say all the time, a great opportunity. I’ve got that right now, so I’m just trying to have some fun with it too.”

YOU SAID SOMETHING INTERESTING YESTERDAY ON SIRIUS (XM NASCAR RADIO) THAT I HADN’T THOUGHT ABOUT. YOU SAID THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU’VE GONE THROUGH A CAR CHANGE, I GUESS BESIDES OTHER THAN CHEVY WHEN THEY CHANGED THE BODY. SO, WHAT HAS THAT BEEN LIKE, I GUESS MAYBE BREAKING OUT OF ANY COMFORT ZONES OR ANY WAYS THAT YOU’VE HAD TO ADAPT AND JUST TAKE ON A CHALLENGE LIKE THIS WITH A COMPLETELY NEW CAR?
“Yes, first time I have been through it. You know I think some of the, there’s probably a handful of guys in the field that went through the COT change and then as the car transitioned to whatever they called the last one, but for me personally this is the first time I’ve kind of gone through that. I’ve had fun with it really just because it is different. This thing does drive different. I feel like it is a little less forgiving than what we had last year. You’re not really going any faster, but it’s just less forgiving which is interesting. Typically, with a lack of forgiveness comes extra speed, but that’s just not really the case with this car. It’s still very draggy, but there’s just not a lot of cushion to lean on with the right side from an aero standpoint. It’s just a different feel, but I think as you go through some of these changes as I said a second ago, you really have to have an open mind. I mentioned it yesterday, but I felt like California was a pretty natural feel to me and that seemed to work ok. Phoenix was kind of the same way. Vegas was not and I think that’s just something that I have to really think about how I go back and find that sense of comfort and still go fast. You might have to adjust that as you go from these different tracks, so yes that’s been my experience so far, but it has been fine and been fun and it’s been a challenge.”

WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS? WHAT’S POSITIVE WITH THIS TEAM RIGHT NOW SETTING YOU UP FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON?
“I mean like I said, I look at California I thought we were really solid there before I crashed the car the first time. I thought we were really good at Phoenix; you know in contention there for the majority of the day. We’ve had great pit stops for the most part all year. Like I said, the pace has been there when we get the thing driving like I want at some of those tracks too which is good. It’s nice to go to a place, like last week I thought was like a nice weekend builder to say hey we showed up, I was looking for a feel and we were able to achieve that with the car and then when we achieved that we had that pace comparison to the rest of the competitors. When those things happen, it’s a good thing and I feel like all the pieces to the puzzle had been there at different times, just not the end results. Certainly no wins, so we want to be better and try to check those boxes.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO CONTINUE TO RIDE THE MOMENTUM THAT NASCAR HAS RIGHT NOW BY YOU DOING THINGS LIKE THAT? FROM KYLE DOING HIS GRASSROOTS EFFORT, HOW MUCH DOES THAT HELP THE SUNDAY SHOW AND JUST BRINGING EYEBALLS ON IT?
“I hope it helps. I feel like, speaking for myself, I do that type of thing because I enjoy it. You know, I enjoy going and racing and driving a different car and challenging myself in a different way. So it’s very naturally, I don’t do it because I’m trying to pull people from one area to the other. If that comes along with it though, I think that’s a great thing. That should be a natural thing too just like it’s natural for me to want to go do that stuff. You want someone to naturally have interest in watching us on Sunday if they are at the race tonight or vice versa, somebody is going to watch on Sunday maybe cruise over there tonight and check out the dirt track that’s only a half hour away. You want that to be a natural thing and I think that’s really my standpoint is I naturally want to go do it and if you pull some people with you to enjoy that crossover then great. Maybe you’ll make a new fan or two or have somebody take part in an event that they wouldn’t have before which would be positive as well.”

ALAN GUSTFASON WAS ALSO ON THE CHANNEL THIS WEEK AND SAID SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF THIS CAR DOESN’T REALLY SUIT YOUR DRIVING STYLE. DOES THIS CAR REMIND YOU OF ANYTHING PERHAPS THAT YOU’VE DRIVEN BEFORE?
“Not really, no. It’s definitely different for sure and I think most everything I have driven along the NASCAR side of things, look at truck they have the big flat right sides, a lot of forgiveness with the air from that standpoint. The Xfinity cars are really the same way. The Cup cars were that way you know and especially last year with the big spoilers on them. You can take advantage of that. You know guys can take advantage of that comfort on the right side of these things and this thing just does not, there’s not a lot extra there. Once you get past that slip of the tire on whatever is available grip wise in the right rear or the right side it seems like that’s kind of it. There’s nothing beyond that, so you know for me I think going to some of these places like a Las Vegas you know I was really loose and just couldn’t find that comfort. Potentially going to have to break some habits and that’s a part of the deal. I have no problems with that, it’s ok to have to challenge yourself in a different area to get better. I’m all good with it and I think it’ll be interesting. I think a lot is going to change throughout the year and I think right now there’s a lot of teams in a lot of directions right now and in six months I don’t that’s really going to be the case. I’m curious to see how the racing changes from now until mid-late summer.”

THERE’S BEEN SOME TALK THAT DRIVERS WITH A DIRT BACKGROUND OR MAYBE WHO ARE WILLING TO KIND OF HOP INTO DIFFERENT CARS AND EXPERIEMENT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE SUCCESS WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE THAT LATELY IS THAT TRUE? IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE FINDING?
“Yes and no. I mean I think a guy can still be really good if you just race on Sundays and you’ve had success along the way and kind of learn the right tools, I guess, over the years to have this kind of bigger background. So, I don’t know that you really have to do that, but I definitely don’t think it hurts anything to go and run different style cars dirt or asphalt. I will say the one thing that has really stood out to me is anytime I’ve gotten into a car that you may or may not be going faster mile per hour wise, but when you’re in a car that is going fast for a certain style racetrack and it feels fast, things are happening really quick, I think anytime you can jump back into something that your surroundings are slowing down is a big help whether it is on dirt or asphalt. Certainly, searching around and finding the grip and all that’s good and is a helpful thing too, but I think anytime you can jump in something really fast and you can come back and slow your surroundings down, things happen slower for you and I think things get easier too.”

AS THE BIGGEST BRAVES FAN IN THE GARAGE HAVE YOU BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO FREE AGENCY AND WERE YOU CRYING WITH FREEMAN LEAVING (INAUDIBLE)?
“Yeah, no I think it was, look I get both sides of it for sure. I’ve enjoyed keeping up with it. I had a chance to spend some time with Freddy when we were out in L.A. and that was the first time that I had ever really been around him and he was just a super guy, which made me want him to stay even more. Obviously, he’s a great baseball player, but really an even better individual in my opinion. So, I hated to see that, but you know I knew as things were starting to get talked about around the All-Star break and what not it could go either way. I get it, it’s money ball. It’s part of it. The Dodgers certainly got a good one, so I hate to see him go but I’m excited about their team and I think they have been filling all the gaps well and I think they’ll be just fine. I’m excited to watch either way.”

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
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-PRACTICE
MARCH 19, 2022

TEAM CHEVY: TOP-20 IN NASCAR CUP SERIES PRACTICE
1st RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/SWEETLEAF CAMARO ZL1
7th JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1
11th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
12th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1
13th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1
14th ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1
17th TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1
19th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL1

· The NASCAR Cup Series participated in a 50-minute practice session, where Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / SweetLeaf Camaro ZL1, was the fastest overall.

· Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s fastest lap was 29.708 seconds, at a speed of 186.616 mph.

· Due to inclement weather, qualifying is cancelled. The starting lineup for tomorrow’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 is set per the rule book.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-20 UNOFFICIAL LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER
5th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1
6th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
7th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL1
11th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
12th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1
13th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1
17th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1
18th TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER
1st Chase Briscoe (Ford)
2nd Ryan Blaney (Ford)
3rd Joey Logano (Ford)
4th Kyle Busch (Toyota)
5th Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet)

FOX will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway live at 3 p.m. ET tomorrow, Sunday, March 20. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / SWEETLEAF CAMARO ZL1, met with the media after the NASCAR Cup Series practice as the fastest driver in today’s practice session. Press Conference Transcript:

WALK US THROUGH WHAT YOU WERE GOING THROUGH OUT THERE. DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING AND WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FOR TOMORROW?
“I think what you saw in practice is probably what you’re going to expect. For us, we made some laps on the simulator and kind of had an idea of what the car was going to drive like and what the track was like. And then obviously when we got out there, we learned a lot more at a pretty high rate of speed. I think the speeds, for me, I didn’t think they’d be as fast as what we were, as far as the single speed there in the draft.”

“The cars draft pretty good. It does get a little bit tight on entry, especially into turn three. I think you see a lot of people kind of drift up off the bottom until you kind of catch more of the banking, and then you can kind of turn back down and drive off. Two-wide is comfortable. I think center of the corner three-wide isn’t terrible, but the exit of turn two and the entry of turn three gets really narrow on the backstretch. It will be kind of tricky to see how that plays out. Obviously it was practice, so nobody was really trying to shove three-wide or get too aggressive.”

“It’s going to be a battle. I think for us, I felt like our car was really fast and really good. When you get out front, you’re going to be able to control the lanes a little bit easier than a Daytona or a Talladega. Daytona is easier to control a lane than Talladega because it’s so much more narrow. You take it another step further here on how wide the racetrack is compared to Daytona. So, you’ll be to maneuver and block those two lanes I think a little bit better, so I think track position is going to be important. We didn’t see a lot of tire wear, so I think that’s a good thing with how fast we’re going. We weren’t sure about that.”

“All-in-all, it’s going to be about what you saw there.”

THERE’S A BIG DEBATE ON SOCIAL RIGHT NOW; CHOAS OR CALM. WHAT’S YOUR PREDICTION?
“It seemed kind of chaotic for a practice session. Obviously we’re all trying to learn as much as we could. We have 500 miles around here; it’s a long time. I think we ran 44 laps or so in that practice. Some guys ran 60-something laps, which I feel like you never see out of us in practice. So, everybody is just trying to learn.”

“I think that was fairly calm right there, even though it still felt intense. I think some of the drivers are going to be worn out come Sunday with just how intense and on top of the car you have to be. But I think one mistake, you’re going to wipe out the whole field if it’s at the front. It’ll be kind of crazy to watch this.”

YOU MENTIONED BLOCKING AND I’M CURIOUS ABOUT HOW YOU DO THAT WITH THE LINES. WHAT ARE THE RUNS LIKE AND WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES GOING TO BE IN BLOCKING, EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE AS MUCH GROUND TO COVER?
“Yeah, the decision are going to still have to be made fast, for sure. But like I said, the room left to right is a lot smaller. But I do feel like, to your point, the runs can be bigger, depending on what happens. I think obviously we’re going to keep learning as we go through here. I watched the No. 48 (Alex Bowman) jump up in front of the No. 6 (Brad Keselowski) I believe. And then the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) was able to turn and just drive under both of them because it stalled both of them out pretty quick. Pretty much by himself, he cleared both of them. The runs are big, for sure.”

IN REGARDS TO THE END OF A GREEN FLAG RUN, NORMALLY WHEN YOU HAVE GREEN FLAG PIT STOPS AT DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA, THERE’S THAT STRAIGHT SHOT OFF OF TURN FOUR WHERE EVERYONE CAN GET TO PIT ROAD FAIRLY EASILY. HERE, IT’S RIGHT OFF THE CORNER. HOW DO YOU THINK GREEN FLAG STOPS ARE GOING TO WORK?
“I don’t see handling being a terrible issue at the end of the run. Like I said, I think you saw a lot of guys run a lot of laps on tires and still felt like they were pretty competitive and handled really well. You brought up a good point. Coming to pit road is going to be super treacherous. Like you said, you’re braking in the corner and the corner isn’t that wide to begin with, so you can’t get off the racetrack to start your braking like you can at Daytona and Talladega. But I think it’ll break the field up. It’ll be exciting. You’re going to have to nail it right to continue to keep in the lead draft, especially if you’re in the front to retain the lead. It’ll be important to still pit with cars so you can go out and run fast laps. But I think you’ll see cars kind of break up and eventually get back together. Daytona, you kind of stay broken up. Getting to pit road is going to be tough.”

INAUDIBLE
“Yeah, I agree with that. We’re all in the same box though. There are certain racetracks where it’s tough to miss wrecks. Martinsville, Bristol, are some of those. But with this new Next Gen car, we have pretty big brakes. I notice that at Daytona, when there is a crash, you can get slowed down pretty quick. But that’s the tightest I’ve seen all of us together in a small portion of a racetrack in a long time. That will be a factor and you’re going to have to be at the right place and the right time.”

I KEPT HEARING SPOTTERS TALK ABOUT THE BUBBLE. HOW DIFFERENT DOES IT FEEL THAN OTHER PLACES THAT YOU’VE DRAFTED AND CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE SENSATION FROM BEHIND THE WHEEL?
“I felt like for us, our car was really good as far as the bubble goes around being able to get to the car’s bumper in front of us. I felt like we struggled – the Chevy’s in general – a little bit at Daytona with getting to someone’s bumper. But here, I felt like – I think it was Denny (Hamlin), (Daniel) Suarez, and myself – in a three car run. I was able to get to Suarez’s bumper without anyone behind me. So, I felt like I got through that bubble pretty good. But when you do catch up to someone, it really pushes you and that person to the cars in front of them a lot faster than Daytona and Talladega are going to be.”

AT DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA, WE SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MANUFACTURER CARS WORKING TOGETHER. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY HAD MEETINGS ON OR WILL HAVE A MEETING ABOUT LIKE YOU WOULD AT DAYTONA OR TALLADEGA?
“Yeah, I’m not sure exactly on our side what’s kind of going to go down. I think everyone kind of wanted to see how practice shook out first. Definitely when you have teammates or manufacturers with you at the front of the field, you can definitely control those lines a little easier when you have multiple people trying to help you do that. So, I think that’s still going to be a factor when it comes down to it. Everything I think is a little bit more tricky here at Atlanta than at Daytona, as far as Daytona is pretty straight forward with what the manufacturers are going to do to help each other. But here, I feel like there’s still so many unknowns that we’re still not 100 percent sure how that’s going to play out.”

WAS THERE ANY THROTTLE RESPONSE AT ALL TO HELP AVOID A WRECK; OR IS IT JUST KIND OF LIKE DAYTONA OR TALLADEGA?
“I think on one hand, it could be a little calmer because you can lift and not really lose spots and kind of keep your position on track. Daytona, we were all worried about losing the draft and I don’t think we’re going to be worried about losing the draft here. I think that made everybody at Daytona pretty aggressive to make sure they stayed up in the pack. You didn’t want to be the last car. Here, I don’t think you’re going to have those issues. I wasn’t wide open every lap out there. I was playing around with the throttle. The front stretch kind of gets clogged up. I think I saw a few of you talk about that. Just the way the front stretch is and when you come off of turn four, for whatever reason, it seems like that second dogleg, things just kind of almost stack up a little. I was having to use the brake, get off the gas and really work the pedals, as well. I think the biggest asset for us to avoid wrecks are just the bigger brakes.”

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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Media Availabilities | Saturday, March 19, 2022

DAVID RAGAN, No. 15 Select Blinds Ford Mustang – WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET WHEN YOU ADDRESS A NEW RACETRACK BEFORE YOU EVEN GET IN THE CAR? “I think the biggest thing in preparing for a new racetrack or even a new surface like we have here at Atlanta Motor Speedway is just prepping all you can. I know that sounds funny because how can you prep before a new racetrack, but Circuit of the Americas the technology is out of this world that drivers can go to a simulator that has a track scan and has the current race car they’re racing modeled out and they can make laps, so when they show up to COTA they can be pretty close. I feel like you’ll see that with whoever is quick right out of the gate. Those drivers typically have prepared a little bit more than others, but here like at AMS you just have to think about all the different possibilities and there are some of the same ways that we can prepare. They’ve scanned this racetrack. All the OEMs have simulators that the drivers can run. The engineers can run through different setups and different configurations of what makes their car fast or maybe what makes it drive better in dirty air, so a lot of it is who has the best tools and who has made the best educated guesses going into a day like today.”

WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS RETURNING HERE? “That’s exactly why I decided to come back this weekend and race. My wife and I were on a ski trip just 24 hours ago in Colorado, so I cut that a little bit short. It’s important to be back here and have some fun with my friends and family and have a lot of great memories here at Atlanta Motor Speedway. With the first repave back in 1997 I can remember watching the reconfiguration happen, watching this media center and the garages being built, so I wanted to be back here today and this weekend. I kind of pick and choose a few races that I run throughout the year and I would have definitely had a fear of missing out – fomo as they call it – if I wouldn’t have been here this weekend, so it’s cool to be here at AMS and see the new transition of what the future may look like here.”

YOU TESTED THE WHEELFORCE CAR HERE. IS THERE A BASELINE FOR WHAT COULD BE EXPECTED HERE? “I think that the cars are gonna be wide-open all the way around the racetrack. I think the preferred groove will be the bottom lane, but then once you get multiple cars on the track and you get that draft effect, where the speeds are picked up, I think handling is going to come into play some. I do think you’re gonna be in the throttle a lot and you’re gonna have some pack racing to some extent throughout 500 miles. Obviously, the corners are a little tighter radius. The straightaways aren’t as long, so that’s going to damping some of that drafting effect where you see the two and three-wide racing like we see at some of the superspeedways, but I think it’s gonna be a little bit of a mixture. I think that just pure raw speed is going to be very important in race cars, but I think we’re gonna have some long green flag runs. Five hundred miles here is a long race and whoever’s car handles the best, they don’t have to get out of the throttle, I think we will see that second lane open up some, and so, again, that’s all of our educated guesses and everyone is gonna be watching both races today with a lot of great interest and I know that as I go to sleep tonight I’ll be playing out different scenarios in my mind on what’s gonna happen on green flag pit stops and on old tires and strategy and how that shakes out to hopefully we can make some good educated decisions. Another reason why I wanted to come and run was just because it’s new and different and we’ll have to make a lot of decisions on the fly.”

HOW ARE THE RESTRICTOR PLATES GOING TO WORK OUT ON A TRACK LIKE THIS AND WAS THAT THE RIGHT CALL? “Ask me that question on Monday and I’ll really be able to give you a little bit of a more insightful answer. We do know that these new repaves typically have a lot of grip and they’re really fast. With the other package, we might have been a little faster than what NASCAR was comfortable with. I mean, 20 years ago Geoff Bodine ran 197 miles an hour here in qualifying, so things have evolved a lot and I think that was a good bet that NASCAR and I think Goodyear and Speedway Motorsports all came together and said, ‘Hey, I think this is gonna be the best package to put on the best show and keep the drivers and the fans safe here.’ Who knows how that will evolve over the future, but I know there is so much interest in this race this weekend that they haven’t had in years past from people in the industry and fans, but the biggest thing is just how the strategy is gonna play out. Typically, it’s been four tires every single time you had a caution here. I think you’re gonna see a lot of fuel only, two tires, maybe alternating lefts and rights throughout the race. It’s just a different animal when you have a new asphalt surface, but then the increased banking is gonna change how the cars can pass. Is it the guy running third, fourth or fifth who has that draft effect, is he gonna have the advantage or the guy out front that can dictate the lanes that he’s running? Those are just all things that we’re gonna learn at a very fast pace today, and I think the other series are gonna race a little different, so whatever you see in the Truck race or the Xfinity race I don’t think is gonna mirror exactly what you’re gonna see on Sunday, maybe a combination of that, but I think we’re gonna be learning from when they drop the green flag here in Truck practice in a few minutes.”

WHAT ARE YOU SEEING IN RICK WARE RACING’S PROGRAM TO TRY AND GET BETTER? “We could talk all day about that. Smaller teams in the Cup Series have a really hard road in front of them, just because the sport is dominated by Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske and Stewart-Haas Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing – these teams that are established, they have a foundation, they have manufacturer support, deep pockets financially, they’ve got great employees, so it’s very hard to come in and establish those roots and grow organically. You’ve seen some teams be able to do that, but it just takes a long time, a lot of patience, a lot of hard work. I was a part of that a little bit at Front Row Motorsports and I feel like Rick Ware Racing, just getting to know those guys over the last year, year-and–a-half, they’re kind of on that same path. They’ve made the commitment to have two charters and two full-time cars. That’s real important. They’ve got some really good employees at the race shop, some good employees that travel, starting to build those relationships with the manufacturer, with Ford and with the engine supplier with Roush Yates Engines. For me, what drew me to this program was having a chartered car that did not have a full-time driver, that I could kind of pick-and-choose some races. Joey Hand is gonna drive next week at COTA and he’s gonna bring some really good experience and valuable insight to their road racing program, and the development of the Next Gen car for Ford Motor Company as well. Just a combination of those things that I could pop in and run a few races here and there, and I can help them a little bit, but also have some fun. It’s hard progress, but they see the light at the end of the tunnel. Certainly, they’re nowhere near where they want to be, but as long as they’re making steps in that forward direction, it gives everybody some hope and some confidence that they are making progress.”

HOW VOCAL AND FEEDBACK TO YOU ANTICIPATE PROVIDING THEM WHEN YOU’RE IN THE CAR? “In the car and out of the car. Obviously, here on race weekends I want to help them and help Cody as a young driver with feedback and, ‘hey, here are some things to think about.’ Sometimes we’ll review film and some of the different data post race and help him figure out how to get on and off pit road more efficient, in and out of the pit box, but sometimes just being here and talking to the team members and giving them encouragement and showing them some things like, ‘Hey, this potentially could go wrong or I’ve had this happen to me before. Let’s be on the lookout and let’s be proactive and not let this happen again.’ So, just some of those things when you have some younger employees that they need to have that confidence and then just some credibility in the garage with some of the other team members and employees and people here in the media center – just all those small things that collectively adds up to helping a team like that kind of build what their identity is and to change the culture a little bit. They were just trying to survive five years ago and now they’re trying to build on some top 10s, top 15s, run all the laps, run all the races, so it’s small steps but it’s fun to see these teams have that opportunity in the current landscape in the NASCAR world to build that foundation, to survive and to ultimately be able to be a contender at the top level.”

WHAT DOES YOUR SUCCESS AT DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA DO FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE COMING INTO THIS RACE? “It definitely gives me a little confidence that if this race does play out to where you’re drafting a little bit, you kind of make those split-second decisions on what lane you’re gonna take on restarts, how aggressive you’re gonna be at the beginning of the race to the end of the race, so there are some stuff like that, and then I think just having the other drivers know that I’m in the race car this weekend, that they can have some confidence that I’m not gonna be crazy. I don’t have anything to prove. I’m not racing for points. I just want to go and have some fun and try to have a shot at the win at the end, so I think a combination of some confidence from my end but also the other guys on the racetrack that they can work with me some and trust racing around me that I’m not gonna get too crazy.”

CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THE IMPACT COVID AND THE SUPPLY CHAIN HAS HAD FOR SMALLER TEAMS TRYING TO BREAK IN? “I think that all of the teams have had similar effects and obviously the team owners and competition directors could probably tough on more specifics, but all the things that I can’t get in our ordinary lives, whether it’s kitchen appliances or new vehicles or used vehicles are expensive and all kinds of simple things that we used to take for granted that we could just go and grab isn’t readily available, and when you’re talking about a complex race car being manufactured that has parts and materials that are supplied from vendors all around the world, not only are some of those raw materials and hardware hard to get, but it’s hard to get in a timely fashion. It’s been a struggle for the large teams, for the small teams. There were some last-minute rule changes in the fall of last year that I think delayed some of the manufacturers and vendors to get some of their parts and pieces ready, but it has all worked out fine. I think one thing that the teams have been used to building a lot of their own stuff and they could control their own parts inventory a little bit better and now you don’t have that comfort of having 15 lower control arms sitting on the parts shelf that is ready for you. You had to depend on some other people, so that probably gave some of the teams a little bit of an uneasy feeling, but every race has started with all the cars. They’ve all showed up on time and they’ll continue to do that. There may be some long hours and a lot of hard work in between races, but they’re all gonna get it worked out, and I think in another four to six weeks they’re gonna be in great shape. I’m already seeing some other inventory showing up to these shops and cars sitting in the shop, so I think this east coast swing after COTA will help out a lot.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang – DO YOU HAVE ANYMORE INSIGHT AS TO WHAT TO EXPECT SINCE THE TEST? “I would say the three of us that ran that test probably have maybe just a little bit more of an idea of what to expect for the first few laps on track, but that will go away really quickly. Ultimately, three cars at what is essentially a speedway drafting type event, three cars isn’t enough to get the true feel of it, so I think we’ll be ready when we roll off the truck, but I think we’re gonna learn very quickly as it keeps going. I know they’ve worked on the track, smoothed it out. We’re gonna be watching every session that’s on track, including the Truck and Xfinity practices and races trying to learn as much as possible, but we have a ton to figure out as we go through our short practice session today. We’ll all be learning together, ultimately. We’ve looked at some of the wheelforce data and talked to some of those drivers since then. I don’t know that it was a whole lot different. It sounds like the turn two bump that was probably the bigger one for us is still there. They worked on it, but it sounds like it’s gonna be pretty pronounced in our cars. Other than that, we’re getting ready to figure out how fast it’s gonna go with a bigger group.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT RACING IN THE RAIN AT COTA LAST YEAR WITH PRETTY MUCH ZERO VISIBILITY? “I hope we never do that again. Racing in the wet is one thing and I think as an industry we pretty much accepted that that was not the correct way to go about it, and I don’t believe we will race in those circumstances ever again and probably should have been taking more notes after the Xfinity race at the Roval and then once we got to COTA it was a rough one. Ultimately, I don’t think anybody was complaining about the track being slick or trying to stay off paint or the pace being slow. Every complaint came down to visibility and when you can’t see it’s just flat-out dangerous. That was a very scary situation, probably something that nobody expected. I mean, we obviously didn’t, but we don’t want to have any sort of repeat there. The track is so large there too that it’s hard to get spotters even close enough, but we talked about the roost from underneath the car and it was like being behind a Top Fuel drag boat. I mean, it was horrible. All you could see was the spray right in front of you. The flashing red lights in the windows didn’t do anything. You couldn’t see them. They’re not brake lights either, so you had no clue where the corner was at. We were guessing the whole time, ultimately, and it’s amazing we didn’t tear up more stuff. I know Kurt brought up the weather for next weekend. I know it’s a long way out, but it looks like sunny and 85, so I don’t think we’re gonna have to worry about it when we come back, but it was definitely not something we would ever want to try and duplicate again.”

WILL THERE BE ANY DIFFICULTY SEEING THE RED AND WHITE LINE WITH HOW LOW YOU SIT IN THE CAR NOW? “I would say no, not for that part of it. Actually, I know David was just here, but he brought up a good point in talking about this a few weeks ago, talking about when we go speedway racing everybody is tucked up, you’re right behind a car and you’re paying attention right out the windshield, but you’re always looking ahead, especially at events like this, where stuff happens in a hurry and one mishap can wipe out a lot of race cars. In other races David was saying at Daytona you can see the leaders, you can always see the leaders out the windshield. Well, the radius being so tight here with so much banking, you’re actually not looking forward you’re looking up is where the corner would be for you. You basically run out of vision. You’re probably not gonna be able to see the leaders, so I think the worry is more from the design of the racetrack and the shape of everything. It’s nobody’s fault, it’s just different for our speedway racing style. We’re gonna be looking and trying to look further ahead to be able to see the front, but you might not necessarily be able to if you are midpack. Now, I’m planning on being up front and not having to worry about that, but as far as the line goes I would say it’s not really gonna be an issue. The transition down the front straightaway is so aggressive that if you do get below it, you’re gonna know it really quickly as well. I don’t think that’s something we’ll be too worried about.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 BodyArmor Ford Mustang – DID YOU WATCH THAT PRACTICE AND WAS THERE ANYTHING YOU COULD LEARN FROM IT? “Yeah, I watched it. It went how I expected it to go, so we’ll see here. It looks like a mile-and-a-half speedway pretty much. You never know how different series react – Trucks, Xfinity, Cup cars kind of race and all that stuff, but it was pretty similar to what I thought it was gonna be, but you never know until you get out there. It was good to see all that stuff, but we’ll find out here in a about an hour.”

HAS IT BEEN A BLUR THESE LAST 10 YEARS? “Yeah, it’s pretty wild to think about it. Mr. Penske and I actually sat down this year and was just talking and I said, ‘Do you know this summer is like 10 years that I’ve been driving with you guys?’ I signed with him the summer of 2012 and it’s pretty hard to believe. It’s gone by really fast. Time flies, that’s for sure, and especially when you’re having a lot of fun with great people. It is very hard to believe. I still remember making my first Nationwide start with Tommy Baldwin at Richmond and it’s been pretty neat to drive for some great teams along the way, work with some great people and meet some great people along the way. It’s gone by very fast. This reminds me that time doesn’t stop, it keeps going, and getting old.”

YOU WILL RUN THE SRX FINALE WITH YOUR DAD AT SHARON SPEEDWAY LATER THIS YEAR. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT? “It’s gonna be really special. I was excited when SRX came to me and dad about wanting to have their season finale at Sharon. Sharon has been a huge part of our family for a long time. Dad is part owner. He grew up five miles down the road from there, so that’s a very special track for him and my grandfather raced there a lot, so it’s gonna be very very neat. I hope there are no weather implications to where it works out good to where I can get there and we can race and there are no issues on that, but I’ve never really raced against dad. There are maybe less than a handful of times that just kind of some one-off dirt track events back years ago, so it’ll be a lot of fun. Hopefully, he doesn’t whip me too bad. I have a feeling that he’s going to, but it’ll be a lot of fun and that’s a good series. I think they do a good job and I think it’ll raise a lot of money for that speedway too. The ticket sales already since we announced that have been through the roof, so it’s gonna be good all around and I’m looking forward to it.”

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU RACED AT SHARON? “The last time, I only raced there one time. I raced a limited sprint car there, but that was probably 2012. I mean, it’s been nine, 10 years, so it’s been a long time. I go up there as much as I can to watch, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been on the actual surface at that place, so dad’s got a little bit of a leg up on me in experience. It’s been a long time, but I’m looking forward to going back up there and racing.”

HOW DID THE CONVERSATION GO WITH ROGER ABOUT RACING THE SRX EVENT? “You talk to everybody. I talked to Tim, to Roger, Travis Geisler, Mike Nelson, kind of getting their feel for it early on when it was initially brought up and dad was talking to me about it when SRX came to him because he wasn’t gonna do it if I couldn’t do it. Dad didn’t want to do it if I couldn’t be there and race there, so I’m happy it worked out, but I feel like they were really really nice, Roger and Tim, from the standpoint of understanding it’s gonna help my dad’s track out a lot. A lot of eyes are gonna be watching it and it will hopefully make the track some money and help them out. I don’t know if it would have been possible if it was any other track, but I think just the family ties, they understood that and they understood how much it meant to me to want to do it and race against dad because I don’t know if I’ll ever get that chance to do that, so they were really really great from that aspect of understanding where I was coming from and wanting to do it, and it’s gonna be done right. I mean, those cars are safe. We’re gonna make sure they’re safe and Sharon we’re gonna be running 70 miles an hour around there. It’s gonna be slick and slow, but it was really great how understanding they were of how bad I wanted to do it.”

ANY CHANCE UNCLE DALE WILL BE RACING TOO? “I don’t know if he could fit in one of those things. He’s a little bit too big. I think that was a conversation, like a couple people talked about that like, ‘We just need Dale now to run.’ I don’t know if we’ll make that happen, but you never know. He could make a guest appearance. That would be really fun if we could race because I have never raced against Dale before, but it would be great to have my dad, Dale and myself race. That would be really cool to have three Blaney’s in that race, but I don’t know if that will happen. Maybe. We’ll see.”

WHAT’S YOUR COMFORT LEVEL WITH THIS CAR NOW? “I still feel like everyone is still getting comfortable. There are always things you can learn no matter what car it is for how long you’ve driven a certain race car, but I feel like my comfort level is pretty decent now. You’re still learning things every single week, but going to three very different tracks on the west coast you kind of understood what the cars liked, what they wanted, what they didn’t want, what you could or couldn’t do in them, so that was a big help having those three races out there at different tracks, and you’re still learning on what changes do what and how much to change, and raceability of those things. What can you do behind a car or in traffic that you couldn’t do or could do in the other car that maybe you can or can’t do in this car, so everyone is getting pretty comfortable, but I feel like I’ve taken a pretty good liking to it. They drive and they race really well, so that’s been nice. You’re never gonna be fully comfortable, but you’re just trying to get a little more comfortable than everybody else quicker.”

WITH YOUR STRENGTH ON SUPERSPEEDWAYS DOES THAT GIVE YOU MORE CONFIDENCE COMING TO THIS TRACK UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES? “It’s kind of hard to tell. Yeah, we’ve run really well at speedways. Our Daytona car was really fast, so you’re not really sure how it’s gonna carry over to here, so you just kind of have to figure it out and see where you stack up when you get on the track. You can expect all these things and try to plan all kinds of stuff but until you’re actually out there running and see what the track gives you and what your car gives you, you don’t know. But I have confidence every single week in our race cars no matter what kind of track it is because I know Penske builds great race cars and we’ve been doing that this year. I have no doubt in my mind that we’ve brought the best that we can bring this weekend too. It is more like a speedway race than we’ve ever seen here. It’ll be like the first mile-and-a-half superspeedway race, so you hope those things carry over from what you do well at Daytona and Talladega, but I think at the same time it’ll be a little bit different than those tracks, but it’s just kind of hard to tell. The confidence level is there just because you believe in your team and believe you bring something good.”

DO YOU TALK TO YOUR PIT CREW AFTER A WEEKEND LIKE LAST WEEK? “Yeah, we talked through all that stuff. We have meetings every single week about everything from the car side to pit road to everything, and you just go over all the things you want to get better at. It’s the same with the driver. I go over things I want to get better at and need to work on, and it’s the same with the pit crew, so they’re doing their best. They’ve had a little bit of a rough patch, but I believe 100 percent in those guys and they’re gonna figure it out. We had some really good stops at Phoenix and then we had some that we struggled with, so it’s a matter of smoothing that side of it over. Those guys are gonna be fine. I’ve got all the confidence in the world in those guys and they’ll figure it out and clean it up. That’s all you can do. You’ve just got to believe in everybody and they’re continuing to work. They’re not moping around that they’ve made some mistakes. They’re motivated to try and get better and better and that’s what a team is about. Everyone wants to get better at the things you maybe didn’t do something great the week before. You want to try and get better and they’re doing just that. They’re gonna be fine. They maybe haven’t started off the best, but those guys are awesome at what they do and I fully believe they’ll be fine.”

HOW MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE WILL IT BE RUNNING THE BRISTOL DIRT RACE AT NIGHT? “I think it’ll make a pretty big difference, just the sun not sucking all the moisture out of the track. It’s a fine line of how much moisture you can put it in from what our cars can take as far as clogging up grilles and windshields, but you still need to water it to make sure it’s not a dust bowl like it was last year. I think the night race will help that. Larson or Reddick or Bell, they could tell you something a little bit more scientifically about it, but I think it’s definitely not gonna hurt having it at night. The progressive banking, I think, will be pretty decent, maybe try to get us to move around off the bottom, but I think the night race is something all the drivers initially said right away is what we needed to change to make the track and racing better, and I think that’s definitely gonna help.”