The legendary brand will sponsor Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in multiple NASCAR Cup Series races during the 2022 season.

Harrisburg, N.C. (March 2, 2022) – – JTG Daugherty Racing revealed SUNNYD® (part of Harvest Hill Beverage Company) has branded Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 47 Camaro ZL1 this weekend for the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Today, the team announced SUNNYD will also be the primary sponsor at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on Sunday, March 27th and Richmond Raceway on Sunday, April 3rd.

“SUNNYD has been a longstanding partner during my racing career, and I’ve developed some great friendships along the way,” said Ricky Stenhouse Jr. “We’re proud to have them back at JTG Daugherty Racing and we’re looking forward to keeping the momentum going with SUNNYD at Las Vegas on Sunday.”

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Ricky and JTG Daugherty Racing,” said Henk Hartong, chairman & CEO of Brynwood Partners. “NASCAR is a cornerstone of our marketing efforts and we’re excited to see our paint scheme back on the track.”

Strong support from brands like SUNNYD will give the team a momentum boost following their 10th-place finish at Auto Club Speedway and a strong showing in the Daytona 500 (16 laps led) at Daytona International Speedway.

“We had a shot at winning at Daytona until we got crashed and at Fontana (Auto Club Speedway) we were solid from the time we unloaded to the time we put the race car back on the hauler,” said crew chief Brian Pattie. “That energizes us for Las Vegas with the SUNNYD Camaro.

“Weather is going to be cool at Vegas,” Pattie continued. “The track should have more grip. You will see cars wrapping the white line, cars against the fence and everybody in between. It’s going to be a good race. So, tune in.”

Live coverage of the Pennzoil 400 (267 Laps / 400 Miles) presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 6th begins at 3:30 PM ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90).

For more information about SUNNYD, visit www.sunnyd.com.

About Harvest Hill Beverage Company:

Harvest Hill Beverage Company, based in Stamford, CT, is owned by private equity firm Brynwood Partners, and acquired the SUNNYD brand from J.W. Childs in February 2016. Harvest Hill markets some of America’s most beloved beverage brands, including SUNNYD, JUICY JUICE, LITTLE HUG, and DAILY’S Cocktails. SUNNYD products are widely distributed through leading retailers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. For complete nutrition facts, recipe and activity ideas, and other helpful information, visit SunnyD.com. For more information on Harvest Hill, please visit HarvestHill.com.

Will Adorn the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the Las Vegas 400

STATESVILLE, North Carolina (March 2, 2022) – Goettl (gEHt-uhl), a leading provider of HVAC and plumbing maintenance, repair and replacement services in the residential market, and Petty GMS today announced a partnership for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Goettl will serve as primary partner of Ty Dillon and the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

“I’m excited to welcome Goettl on board the No. 42 Chevrolet for this weekend in Las Vegas,” said Dillon. “To be partnered with another company from Las Vegas is special not only for myself but for Petty GMS. Goettl is no stranger to our sport, but what I appreciate most about their company is their desire to do things the right way even if it’s not the easy way. In order to sustain success in any business, you must have that outlook. The goal is to have the Goettl colors up front on Sunday.”

Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Goettl brand is one of the original cooling system pioneers in the United States. Goettl, a company doing things the right way not the easy way since 1939, has grown to become one of the premier home services providers in the Southwest, servicing homeowners throughout Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas.

“Team Goettl’s decision to partner with Petty GMS was easy, because just like us, they do things ‘the right way, not the easy way!,” said Goettl CEO Ken Goodrich.

Dillon and the No. 42 Goettl Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will take to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Sunday, March 6 for the Las Vegas 400, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET. FOX will carry live television coverage, while Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the live radio broadcast.

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About Goettl:

Goettl is a leading provider of HVAC and plumbing maintenance, repair and replacement services to the residential market. Founded in 1939, Goettl has established a reputation for customer service, quality and innovation and today services the Southwestern U.S. through nine branches across Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. Additional information about Goettl can be found at www.goettl.com.

ABOUT PETTY GMS:

Petty GMS competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, operating the No. 42 Chevrolet for Ty Dillon and the No. 43 Chevrolet for Erik Jones. The newly formed team brought together two storied organizations in December 2021. Over the last decade, owner Maury Gallagher built a victorious team, capturing two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships, one ARCA Menards Series title, and two ARCA Menards Series East championships, as well as 65 wins and 235 top-five finishes across six series. Richard Petty, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2010, serves as Chairman of Petty GMS. Petty, known as “The King,” accumulated over 200 wins and was the first of three drivers to win seven championships in the Cup Series. For more information, visit www.pettygms.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

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

LEXINGTON, N.C. (March 2, 2022) – Kaulig Racing and Daniel Hemric will team up with Las Vegas-based South Point Hotel & Casino for both the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.

South Point Hotel & Casino, a longtime partner of Hemric’s, will be the primary partner on his No. 11 Chevrolet this weekend for the Alsco Uniforms 300, as well as the primary partner on his No. 16 Camaro ZL1 the following day for the Pennzoil 400.

Hemric, who has seven starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NXS, has earned three top five-finishes at the track, one of which came with partner, South Point Hotel & Casino in 2020.

“South Point Hotel and Casino, as well as the Gaughan family, have been loyal partners of mine for quite a few years,” said Hemric. “I’m super thankful to them for wanting to continue our friendship and partnership and share with me the vision we have at Kaulig Racing.”

With a rich history spanning over two decades throughout NASCAR, South Point Hotel & Casino is thrilled to team up with Kaulig Racing and the reigning NXS champion, Daniel Hemric.

“We are excited to grow our partnership with Daniel Hemric and Kaulig Racing for both Las Vegas races this 2022 NASCAR season, said Ryan Growney, General Manager of South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa. “The entire South Point family is looking forward to cheering on Hemric and his team.”

In the NXS alone, Kaulig Racing has earned one win, two top five and 11 top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This weekend’s Pennzoil 400 will mark Kaulig Racing’s first start at the track in the NCS.

“We’re thrilled to have South Point Hotel & Casino onboard in Las Vegas this weekend for both races,” said team president, Chris Rice. “We have been loyal customers of theirs for the past few of years, and they have displayed industry-wide hospitality that is unmatched. We are excited to be able to continue our great relationship with South Point this year for our first, full-season in the NASCAR Cup Series.”

The Alsco Uniforms 300 will start at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 5 on FS1, followed by the Pennzoil 400 on Sunday March 6 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

About Kaulig Racing™

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and made the Championship 4 round in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. They will continue fielding three, full-time NXS entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Landon Cassill, the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Daniel Hemric, and the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by AJ Allmendinger. With multiple wins, Kaulig Racing has come to be one of the top competitors on track each weekend. The team made multiple starts in the NCS in 2021 and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The young team has acquired two charters for the 2022 NCS season, with Justin Haley competing as its first, full-time driver in the series. The team’s second entry will be shared by part-time teammates AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

KEVIN HARVICK
Las Vegas Advance
No. 4 Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Las Vegas 400 (Round 3 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 6
● Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 267 laps/400.5 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 80 laps / Final Stage: 107 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● With Kevin Harvick now in his 22nd year of NASCAR Cup Series competition, a familiar name has rejoined the driver of the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). Rheem, America’s No. 1 water heating brand and major air conditioning and heating manufacturer, is commemorating its 15th year in racing, and as a part of the celebration, Rheem has partnered with Harvick and the No. 4 team for three Cup Series races in 2022, beginning with Sunday’s Las Vegas 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The pairing reunites Rheem with Harvick, a relationship that began in 2007 when Harvick won the Daytona 500 in dramatic fashion, beating NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin for the victory by .02 of a second in a frantic, green-white-checkered finish. It led to Rheem serving as a primary partner for Harvick’s NASCAR Xfinity Series team, Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), in 2008. Rheem’s debut with KHI came on May 2, 2008 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway where Harvick finished second in the Lipton Tea 250. Harvick delivered Rheem its first victory as a primary sponsor on Feb. 27, 2010 when he won the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas. Rheem aligned as a primary partner with Harvick in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2011 and stayed with him through the 2013 season before Harvick joined SHR in 2014. Harvick will drive the No. 4 Rheem Ford Mustang again May 8 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and Sept. 11 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.

● Harvick’s red-and-black No. 4 Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Ford Mustang will carry a touch of purple this weekend at Las Vegas. A purple heart embossed with the letters “SK” is featured over the car’s doorsill next to Harvick’s name. The decal is in memory of Sue Karli, a founding member of the Rheem Racing program who first began working with Harvick and his wife, DeLana, in 2001 as a representative of Hershey’s, which sponsored Harvick in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Karli joined Rheem in 2007 and helped launch its hospitality program. She hosted hundreds of Rheem Racing events at NASCAR races before waging a courageous fight with pancreatic cancer. Karli ultimately succumbed to the disease in July 2019. Purple was her favorite color, and it also symbolizes pancreatic cancer awareness. To learn more, please visit the Pancreatic Action Network, or PanCAN at www.pancan.org.

● Since joining SHR in 2014, Harvick has finished among the top-10 in eight of the 12 NASCAR Cup Series races contested at Las Vegas. In that span, Harvick has led 621 laps and won twice – March 2015 and March 2018

● Harvick’s win at Las Vegas in March 2018 was his 100th career victory across NASCAR’s top-three national touring series – Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck. He has since scored 19 more Cup wins to bring his tally to 119 total victories – 58 in Cup, 47 in Xfinity and 14 in Truck. Only three other drivers in NASCAR history have surpassed 100 wins across NASCAR’s top-three series: Kyle Busch (222 wins), Richard Petty (200 wins) and David Pearson (106 wins).

● Harvick has a total of 13 top-10s at Las Vegas, the most of any active NASCAR Cup Series driver. Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski are next best with 12 top-10s apiece.

● Harvick has made 11 starts in the Xfinity Series at Las Vegas. He has two wins, six top-fives and seven top-10s. His first Xfinity Series win came in 2004 when he started 11th and led 14 laps. His second triumph came in 2010 when he started second and led 82 laps.

● Harvick has made three Truck Series starts at Las Vegas, earning two top-10s with a best finish of eighth in 1997.

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Ford Mustang

Las Vegas marks a reunion with Rheem, who you ushered into the sport in spectacular fashion by winning their first race – the 2007 Daytona 500. What’s it like to be back with Rheem 15 years later?

“It’s been 15 years since we first started working with Rheem and it’s great to be back with them. The NASCAR fan is their customer, and we’ve worked really hard to understand that relationship to ensure Rheem gets a good return on its investment. This year kind of throws it back to how it all began with Rheem being a primary sponsor on one of my racecars. I’m proud to carry their colors again in 2022.”

This is your 22nd year in the NASCAR Cup Series. How valuable is that kind of experience in this sport?

“Today’s sport is so engineering-minded that the simple, everyday things sometimes get forgotten. It’s very important to do all the little things right, and you have to execute the simple things right, too. Don’t overcomplicate it, because sometimes overcomplicating results in a worse result than just say, ‘OK, today we finished fifth and next week we’re going to try to do two or three things to finish first, not 20 or 30 things and finish 30th.’ Keeping the simplicity of our process in the middle of our engineering-minded process is very important. It used to be trial and error when you tested. Nowadays, it’s try it and, prove it or debunk it, so that it’s either right or wrong. But there are going to be a lot of decisions that we’re going to have to make this year that are just going to be simple-minded, common-sense decisions in order to just get the best out of what you have.”

How helpful is that experience in adapting and developing this NextGen car?

“I think that simplicity also goes with helping guide us down this path that we’re going down with the NextGen car. You have to say, when you’re two steps into the process, ‘This isn’t right, I made a bad decision and we need to go back two steps,’ before you get 20 steps down the road and have to backtrack so far that it takes you weeks upon weeks to figure out how far back you need to go. So, one step forward is good, two steps forward and taking two steps back is OK, and being able to understand that, admit that, talk with the team like that, and taking two steps back is way better than getting half a season down the road and saying, ‘Man, this just isn’t working because we’ve piled everything into something that doesn’t work.’”

It used to be that the West Coast swing was a good barometer to see where teams stacked up against one another. Is that still the case?

“There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit, and the unique thing about this car is that word travels fast as to what the fast guys are doing. The suspension settings only have so many points that they will go to, so if you’re off and the guy next to you is six feet away, it’s not hard to look over and see where his upper A-arms are bolted in, or his lower A-arm, or whatever the case is. So, those gaps should be filled pretty quickly.”

Will your top-10 performance last Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, give you an indication as to how you’ll run this Sunday at Las Vegas?

“I don’t think so. I think there’s just such a wide range of where it could be that you don’t really know. Is it a team thing? There’s still a very big possibility it could be a manufacturer thing, like we could be the manufacturer that’s head-over-heels better than the other manufacturers. Or it could be the other way around, so there are just so many things that nobody knows about that will unfold because these racetracks are drastically different. You’re going to racetracks that really don’t have a lot in common other than you’re racing the same car.”

Can you at least take what you learned at Fontana and apply it to Las Vegas and even the races thereafter?

“Of course, and we’re learning how to work on the car efficiently, at the track and at the shop, and that’s what I like about where we are as a group. Our group is filled with hardcore racers, and this first six weeks of racing is going to be really hardcore.”

Practice and qualifying are back, albeit in a different form from what we knew two years ago. How valuable is that track time as you figure out the NextGen car?

“Fontana was our second race of the year, and that’s a very unique racetrack – from a surface and tire wear standpoint and bumps down the back straightaway. It’s not a racetrack that’s common with anywhere that we’ve tested. And for us, our only track time came in real time during the race. So, that warmup – I don’t even know that you can call it practice – before qualifying is going to be very interesting because, if you’re not close right out of the box, there’s only so much that you can do in order to get it close to being competitive. It’s going to be more important to make laps and know the tire wear and know the cambers and be in a good rhythm with your car from a driving standpoint. You want to maximize the session and say, ‘OK, we need to go a long way on this change, or we need to go just a little bit on this change, based on how our speed is relative to the fastest cars.’ If you’re the fastest car, the slowest car, whatever it is, there’s just a lot that you have to unbox there in a pretty short amount of time. So, I think the important part of the process is going to be when you go from qualifying to the race and the changes that we make to our Rheem Ford Mustang in order to be where we want to be to start the race.”

How important is that time between qualifying and the race to understand what you’ll have for 400 miles?

“I’ve always felt like being able to manage the car and adjust your driving style to whatever the situation is, is as effective as almost anything that they can change with the car. If you can figure out what you need to do from a driving standpoint and be comfortable in getting that last tenth-and-a-half out of the racecar, I think that’s as important as anything they can do to the car in a short amount of time on Saturday.”

You’ve won at Las Vegas twice and have finished among the top-10 five times in your last six races at the track. What do you need to be quick there?

“Las Vegas has a lot of tire fall off, so it’s important to have a good-handling racecar. It’s also a track where you’re constantly moving around trying to find the right grip.”

No. 4 Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Kevin Harvick
Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Car Chief: Robert “Cheddar” Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin

Engineer: Dax Gerringer
Hometown: Gibsonville, North Carolina

Engineer: Stephen Doran
Hometown: Butler, Pennsylvania

Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala
Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith
Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Jeremy Howard
Hometown: Delhart, Texas

Jack Man: Stan Doolittle
Hometown: Ninety Six, South Carolina

Fuel Man: Evan Marchal
Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Richie Bean
Hometown: Bradford, Vermont

Mechanic: Nick DeFazio
Hometown: Orange, California

Tire Specialist: Jamie Turski
Hometown: Trumbull, Connecticut

Engine Tuner: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Transporter Co-Driver: Rick Hodges
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Stephen Mitchell
Hometown: Woodville, Ohio

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Pennzoil 400 Advance | Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang, is coming off a victory in last Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Speedway and an 11th-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series event the following day. Custer was part of a Ford Performance media conference call earlier today and talked about how his season has started.

COLE CUSTER, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang – HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT TO GET THAT XFINITY WIN LAST WEEK IN CALIFORNIA? “It’s just huge to go back to the Xfinity Series and get a win. All of those guys, Bobby Dotter, I mean, to be in victory lane. I know Bobby has been doing it for a really long time, so it was cool to see him back in victory lane, but also for our sponsor, Production Alliance Group. It was their race, the Production Alliance Group 300, and I think he’s been talking for about six months about winning his own race, so it was really cool to make that happen. And that being a home race race, I mean it was as good as you can get.”

HOW ARE YOU FEELING? WHAT DOES A WIN DO TO BOOST YOUR ENERGY? “Obviously, it adds a little bit of confidence. You still know what you’re doing in some aspect, but at the same time you’ve just got to keep focusing on what’s coming next. Obviously, with this Next Gen car it’s pretty much a new experience every single weekend. We don’t know exactly what to expect, so you’ve kind of got to stay on your game and make sure you’re not getting too cocky, I guess you would say. I think it’s definitely every single type of racetrack you have to make sure you’re on your game and adapting as fast as you can.”

HOW ARE YOU LIKING OR NOT LIKING THE NEW CAR, AND IT LOOKED LIKE A LOT OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO RUN IN THE TOP 10 THAT DON’T NORMALLY RUN THERE. IS THE CAR DOING THAT? “I think from my experience with the car they’ve done a solid job. Obviously, the bigger mile-and-a-half tracks where a lot of aerodynamics come into play it’s gonna be very interesting. You probably don’t have the side force that you want in the car to really have the confidence that you want, but it makes it very interesting as the driver to kind of find that limit and try not to go over because I think we saw a lot of guys do that last weekend. And then I think when you see a lot of people that aren’t usually in the top 10 from in the past, it’s gonna be a crazy year. A lot of teams, there’s the stakes, whether it’s on pit road or mechanical failures or what happens there are things going on, and then also I think it is a little bit more of an even playing field just because nobody has figured out this car completely yet. It’s anybody’s game right now.”

WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST A PLAN COULD BE FOR GETTING CARS BACK TO PIT ROAD IF YOU HAVE A FLAT? “Honestly, I don’t know exactly. Obviously, they have tow trucks and stuff right now, but I’m kind of trusting NASCAR on that one. There have been rumors about a rule change, but I haven’t heard anything for sure. We’ll see. I think obviously we’d like to drive the car back if we have a flat, so we’ll see what happens.”

HAVE YOU NOTICED ANYTHING IN THE LAST YEAR WITH GAMBLING OPENING UP AND LAS VEGAS THIS WEEKEND? DO YOU NOTICE IF THERE’S MORE INTEREST IN THE SPORT AS FAR AS MORE PEOPLE GAMBLING ON IT? “I wouldn’t say I call myself a huge gambler. I’ll go to Vegas and play a little bit of Blackjack, but that’s about it. I think you do hear from time to time that it’s definitely been good for the sport on having more interest. I think having people having that driver that they’re pulling for and that they put a little bit of money on at times, I do think it helps things. It’s been interesting, but I wouldn’t say I’m a big gambler, so I can’t tell you for sure.”

CAN YOU GAUGE WHERE SHR IS NOW COMPARED TO A YEAR AGO? “I think right now we’ve done a really solid job. We’ve been competitive at every single race so far. Are we where we want to be? Are we leading a bunch of laps and up front? I think we still have a little bit of room to grow, but the guys have done a great job over the offseason working hard on this car and this is our year to rebound. We’re working as hard as we can to try and get our cars back up front, but it’s been solid so far. I think we have cars that are driving well and we have stuff that we can build on for the rest of the year.”

ANY IDEA ON HOW THE CAR IS GOING TO REACT ON THE SURFACES OF VEGAS AND ATLANTA THE NEXT TWO WEEKS BECAUSE THEY’RE TOTALLY DIFFERENT? “You look at Vegas this weekend and it’s gonna be very interesting with the bumps in one and two. At Fontana, people struggled a lot with that bump in three and four and it’s gonna be interesting to see what teams push it more than others on aggressive setups and stuff like that and what drivers push it more because it’s gonna be edgy through those bumps. I think that’s no doubt and then you look at Phoenix, I think this car is a really good short track car. I think it’ll put on a really good race. I think we’ve got some really interesting tracks coming up for sure.”

THERE SEEMED TO BE A LOT OF DRIVER ENTHUSIASM LAST WEEK AT FONTANA. DO YOU THINK THAT WILL CARRYOVER TO VEGAS? “I think so, for sure. The cars are just on edge. It’s something that I think we haven’t seen in a few years where guys are spinning out in practice and qualifying. It’s really interesting to see what guys are pushing it to the max. In the Cup Series you’ve got to live on that edge. If you holding anything back, you’re not gonna run good, so it’s definitely interesting to see which guys are pushing it more than others.”

ATLANTA IS COMING UP – A SUPER HIGH-BANK 1.5-MILE. WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? “It’s gonna be interesting. Like I said, these cars are on edge so going to those high speed mile-and-a-halves it’s gonna be interesting to see which guys are pushing it more than others and which crew chiefs and teams are pushing it more than others in the setup. It’s definitely gonna be interesting because it’s a new week. Every single week you don’t know what to expect, so it’s gonna be a very interesting few weeks to see how these cars handle on these mile-and-a-halves.”

DO YOU EXPECT THE RACING TO BE ANY DIFFERENT AT PHOENIX NEXT WEEK THAN WE SAW WITH THE GEN 6 CAR IN NOVEMBER? “Honestly, I think it will be similar. I think it’s a car that should perform pretty well on the short tracks. Phoenix, obviously you have a little bit of aero effects going there, so it’ll be a little more interesting to see how the dirty air works and stuff like that, but, overall, I think it’ll be pretty similar to what it has been in the past. I think one thing that people are a little bit questionable about is the dogleg, how the car is gonna handle through there and if you’re going to be using the apron at all. As we’ve seen at these other tracks they don’t like going over bumps that well.”

HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK YOU’LL BE ABLE TO TAKE NEXT WEEKEND WHEN YOU GO BACK THERE IN THE FALL? “You’ll definitely be able to take some things. Obviously, we’ve had a test there already, so we have an idea of what we’re looking for. Like you said, this car and what we’re thinking about will change a lot by the time November comes around, but you’ll still have that baseline of the first Phoenix race and that’s where the championship happens, so there will still be a lot of emphasis on it.”

COMING OFF A SOLID CUP RUN AT FONTANA, HOW DO YOU AND YOUR TEAM BALANCED THE GOOD FEELING OF THAT WITH ALL YOU STILL HAVE TO LEARN WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR? “You’ve just got to take it one week at a time. You kind of have to live in the moment, I guess. Our team did a great job in Fontana. Our pit crew was awesome and you just have to keep building on that. Obviously, things are gonna change week to week and you have to use your resources and teammates and everything around you to try and understand this car better, but I think we’re off to a good start and we’ve got to just keep building on it.”

HOW MUCH DIFFERENTLY DO YOU EXPECT TO DRIVE VEGAS FROM YEARS PAST AND IS THE EXTRA BANKING CRITICAL FOR SETUP THIS WEEKEND? “You’re gonna change your setup around a little bit, but I think the biggest thing, at least of us, is how you’re going to navigate the bumps in one and two. They’re some of the biggest bumps that we have on the schedule. At Fontana, we saw the problems people had over the bumps in three and four, so it’s gonna be a matter of how far you can push it through those bumps and how your car is handling through that.”

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW BOBBY DOTTER AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO SEE HIM IN VICTORY LANE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS CAREER AS AN OWNER? “I’ve seen Bobby around the garage since I was running Xfinity and kind of got to know him a little bit last year. It’s definitely really cool. You won’t see anyone more hard-working and has been around this sport for a long time, so it was really awesome to get those guys in victory lane and seeing all of their faces lit up. They were living it up and are really deserving because they work as hard as anybody.”

CAN YOU GIVE A SENSE OF HOW SIMILAR THE BUMPS ARE FROM FONTANA TO VEGAS? IS A BUMP A BUMP? “It’s definitely a question mark. I think there’s a chance people will be spinning out and really struggling over those bumps. They’re really big. Obviously, we saw a bump at Fontana kind of mess a lot of guys up last weekend, so it’s all about you’re sitting on these shocks and it’s a very harsh ride. Some guys are gonna push it more than others is the biggest thing, so it’s gonna be interesting. I don’t think anybody really knows what to expect, so it’s gonna be a new experience every single weekend.”

HOW IS PIT ROAD DIFFERENT WITH THESE CARS? YOU HAVE BIGGER BRAKING SO CAN YOU DRIVE IN DEEPER AND TO THE CONE? “Like you said, you can definitely get into your pit box harder and get on pit road harder with the bigger brakes on the car, but also the biggest thing is getting used to how fast the guys are. I think they’re a couple seconds faster than they used to be, so it’s definitely impressive. You just have to get used to that and also leaving the pit stall, how much you can push it, how you want to rev the engine up, so just little things here and there.”

WHAT MAKES LAS VEGAS SO DIFFICULT FOR YOU AND DOES THE NEW CAR CHANGE ANYTHING? “It’s one of those places that’s really in the middle. It’s starting to get the pavement wore out, but it’s still really high speed and you’ve also got those big bumps in one and two. It’s a place that is really hard to get a hold of, so it’s gonna be an interesting race like I’ve said before. It’s gonna be a lot of seeing how far guys want to push it. I think you’re going to see similar to Fontana, where everybody is on the edge and I think you’re gonna see that same thing this weekend.”