In his first qualifying attempt since taking the wheel of the No. 21 Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Mustang, rookie Harrison Burton advanced to the second round of qualifying for the Daytona 500 and wound up with the 10th best time. He also was the fastest rookie in qualifying.

Burton’s lap at 179.508 miles per hour in the second round means he’ll start fifth in the second of two Duel qualifying races Thursday night. (In Daytona 500 qualifying only the top two drivers secure their starting spots for Sunday’s race.)

In the opening round Burton was one of two Ford drivers to advance to the second round. His lap at 179.501 mph was eighth best on the speed chart in that session.

Eddie Wood said Burton’s strong start to Speedweeks should help the youngster as he heads into the rest of the week.

“I think it will take a load off his mind,” Wood said.

The 60-lap, 150-mile Duel qualifying races, which will set the starting lineup for the 500, kick off with the first race at 7 p.m. Thursday. The second Duel, Burton’s race, is set to start at 8:45 p.m., with TV coverage on FOX Sports 1.

The Daytona 500 is scheduled to start just after 2:30 p.m. on Sunday 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.

About Motorcraft
Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive-parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty* of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

About Omnicraft
Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visit www.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.

About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine maintenance, serving all vehicle makes and models. Quick Lane provides a full menu of automotive services, including tires, oil change & maintenance, brakes, batteries, alternator & electrical system, air conditioning system, cooling system, transmission service, suspension & steering, wheel alignment, belts & hoses, lamps & bulbs, wiper blades plus a thorough vehicle checkup report. Service is performed by expert technicians while you wait at any of nearly 800 locations in the U.S., with evening and weekend hours available and no appointment necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification; mobility solutions, including self-driving services; and connected services. Ford employs approximately 187,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit corporate.ford.com.

*See seller for limited-warranty details.

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.

Jacques Villeneuve, driver of the No. 27 Hezeberg Engineering Systems Ford Mustang, has won the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and 1997 Formula 1 World Championship, and on Sunday he’ll have the opportunity to claim the Daytona 500 after clinching a spot in the field with his qualifying run tonight. He spoke about the opportunity that lies ahead to members of the media.

JACQUES VILLENEUVE, No. 27 Hezeberg Engineering Systems Ford Mustang – WEREN’T YOU WORRIED YOU WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO GET IN? “I was convinced we didn’t have the speed to get in on time, and I thought we would then have to fight it through the Duels. Somehow today the car was a lot easier to drive. It was easy to be smooth because we got in by not a lot. It was very, very close. It was all a matter of getting right up to speed coming out of turn two, going through the gears, getting away from the wall to not block the air, just getting these extra few revs and that made the difference.”

WHERE DOES THIS RANK IN YOUR CAREER? “Super high. Obviously, it’s not a win. It’s not like winning the Indy 500 or the F1 championship, but at this point in my career the last time I tried to qualify here was 14 years ago, just to make the show is incredible because it’s a small team. We didn’t link up with a big team to get the car ready and it’s highly unexpected to be able to make it on time, so it ranks right after these big wins.,”

HOW MUCH IS IT A FEELING OF ‘I’VE STILL GOT THIS?’ – “That’s always amazing. I got this last year because I won the last race in the Euro NASCAR and on the podium there were 20-year-olds and then they look at you and you can see that they’re confused. To be able to make such a big race at such a high level is amazing and when I’m in the race car I don’t realize that I’m 50, which is good. As long as it carries on like this, I can’t imagine myself stopping racing.”

WHAT WAS THE MOOD OF YOUR TEAM AFTER QUALIFYING? “Ecstatic because all of us thought that if we had a good day, we could maybe be P4, so I have a little bit more of a chance during the Duels. This was surprising for everyone, how well the car ran and the fact that it was easy to drive made it good as well because all yesterday it was very notchy. The car was darting left and right and that always kills the speed a little bit and somehow today it was just really smooth to drive.”

DO YOU GET THE SENSE PEOPLE AROUND HERE KNOW WHAT YOU’VE ACCOMPLISHED IN YOUR CAREER? “Yes, I’ve always felt that whenever I’ve come to do races in NASCAR there was a lot of respect for the history and for what I’ve achieved in different categories, which has been nice. The welcoming has been very positive.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO YOU TO SHOW THAT YOU WEREN’T ONLY THE BEST AT YOUR STYLE OF RACING, BUT YOU’RE ALSO ONE OF THE MOST VERSATILE? HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT TO YOU? “It is, but it’s very old-fashioned. When I was in F1 I didn’t think I would be able to drive anything else. I was so focused and groomed for those kind of cars, and it’s not until I jumped into a NASCAR that I realized there was a lot of fun to be had driving something different and I’ve had a blast ever since just jumping in different kind of cars. The most fun I’ve had racing has been in NASCAR, not qualifying because it’s hard to beat the speed that you get in Formula 1, but racing wheel-to-wheel or fender-to-fender, you can’t beat the way it goes in NASCAR.”

CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF HOW THIS SERIES IS CURRENTLY VIEWED INTERNATIONALLY? “It’s not just NASCAR it’s sports in general because you have a lot of American sports that are world championships, but they’re only in America and it’s really cut off from what’s happening in Europe. Europe could learn a lot from the way sport is handled in America. The show, the way it can be battled out. It’s not like that in Europe. You just see it in racing. There are rules for everything and you don’t let the driver’s handling it, so it’s closer to what soccer is, I guess. You hope you don’t get caught and if you don’t get caught, good for you, but there won’t be a payback. I like the way it is here in North America, but what’s difficult for NASCAR in Europe is the ovals. It’s not a European thing. It’s very difficult to understand an oval unless you’ve grown up with it or you’ve driven it and I’ve seen that with F1 drivers. I remember having a discussion with Romain Grossjean, who is in Indy Car now when I did the Indy again in ‘13 or 14, I don’t remember. He looked at me and said, ‘Why would you do that race? It’s so boring. You just go around in circles.’ And I was trying to explain to him how difficult it was to drive and get in the groove, drive with the traffic and finally he got in Indy Car and went to an oval and said, ‘Oops, yeah, you were right. This is quite special.’ It is amazing, but you can’t tell that story on TV. Unless you’ve grown up with it, you just don’t get it.”

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO NAME YOUR FIFTH CHILD AFTER YOUR FATHER? “Maybe by the time I was 50 I was ready. Already my fourth child is called Henri, which is my father’s middle name, so it was a step. It took a while to get to that point because he wasn’t a very present father. It was different days back then, so I guess I had a lot to digest and at this point in my life I was ready to do that and it felt right.”

IS THERE A CONCERN IT’S A LITTLE BIT HEAVY TO PUT ON A CHILD YOUR FATHER’S NAME? “It could be. Whenever you try to give your kids the best package they can and sometimes it can be tough, but then it’s their life to lead. You can’t just do things every time thinking, ‘Oh no, this will be too hard for him. I’ll just make it nice and easy. I’ll just put him on a cushion.’ I didn’t grow up like this and it turned out well. Other kids in my situation would have turned out wrong. You just never know, so you do the best you can. Yes, if he decides to go into racing, it could be a heavy weight to carry, but I don’t have any of my kids that have been interested in racing – maybe the fourth one a little bit – but not that much. They did not grow up seeing me racing, so maybe they didn’t get the bug.”

HOW PERSONALLY SATISFYING IS THIS FOR YOU? “It’s amazing. It’s satisfying and amazing because there’s quite a few times where I’ve been hearing, ‘OK, come on. You’ve passed it. Just give it up,’ and, no, the hunger has never stopped and experience is only a big help until the day where I guess you start getting your foot off the throttle because you get a little bit scared or you don’t get that adrenaline rush anymore as a positive thing, but start getting it as a negative that’s when you should stop, but until that moment experience is only a benefit.”

WHAT WOULD YOUR FATHER THINK OF YOU AS A STOCK CAR DRIVER? “I think he’d be jealous by now. I don’t know. What I know of him a lot of it is probably my imagination because there’s no way you know your dad when you’re 9 or 10, or it’s what I’ve heard from people was also being romanticized, so I really don’t know what he would have thought. I heard that he was wanting us to race together in Le Mans, for example, but then how would he have reacted to being beaten? (laughing) I don’t know. I would like to imagine it would be great, it would be father and son special moment, but we’ve seen it in other areas that sometimes the two things don’t go well together. Jealousy starts building up, so I really don’t know.”

WHAT GOALS DO YOU SET FOR SUNDAY NOW? “Sunday we’re racing (laughing). We didn’t run much in the pack because our focus was trying to get in on time, and it worked out so that was the right decision to make. Now, will anybody want to race with me or to draft with me in the race? That will be a little bit more difficult, but what comes Sunday then there’s nothing to lose anymore. The key is to not destroy the car tomorrow. Tomorrow is a good time to maybe test the drafting, but we don’t have spares and half the teams don’t have spares, so I can’t imagine being as aggressive as it normally is during a Duel.”

HOW DID THIS COMPARE TO YOUR FIRST ATTEMPT ALL THOSE YEARS AGO? “It feel better I made the show (laughing). Fourteen years ago the old track was bumpy, crazily bumping. When you were following cars you could see them get 20 degrees sideways just because of the bumps and the tires bending. You didn’t understand how the cars were staying on the track. It was tough and it was the older car. They were very different. Now we have a lot more downforce. The track is a lot smoother, so it’s moved a little bit towards more what Talladega is, I guess. It’s different to set the car up as well because of the aero platform with the diffuser and the flat bottom, which brings it closer to GT cars or even what I was used to in Formula 1 with the aero platform anyway. I think that’s caught a few guys out.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
FEBRUARY 16, 2022

CHEVROLET CAPTURES TENTH CONSECUTIVE DAYTONA 500 POLE
Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman on the Front Row

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 16, 2022) – Reigning NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Champion Kyle Larson picked up where he left off: at the top of the leaderboard. The Team Chevy driver laid down a lap of 49.68 seconds, at a speed of 181.859 mph, in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 to mark Larson’s first-career Daytona 500 pole. In the Next Gen Camaro ZL1’s points-paying debut in the NCS competition, Chevrolet has topped the qualifying leaderboard for the tenth-consecutive year to secure the pole position and lead the field to the green in the 64th running of the Daytona 500.

“Anytime you are really proud of your team to get a pole here because this is the littlest it has to do with us drivers; qualifying at superspeedways,” said Larson. “Just a huge thank you to the engine shop at Hendrick Motorsports. Everybody who’s had a part in touching these vehicles; whether it be on the computer, engineering, or just hands on. It’s really neat; just awesome the speed in our HendrickCars.com Chevy. Hopefully this is the beginning of a really good weekend.”

Joining his Hendrick Motorsports teammate on the front row of the Daytona 500 will be Alex Bowman, who was second quick in his No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1. The front row feat puts Bowman’s name in the NASCAR history books as the only driver in the series’ history to sit on the Daytona 500 front row for five consecutive seasons (2018-2022). The Bowtie Brand has now swept the Daytona 500 front row 20 times in the event’s history, including 10 of the past 12 years.

“It just says so much about Hendrick Motorsports and all these guys,” said Bowman. “Congrats to the 5 on getting the pole. It’s cool to have the record, but I feel like Greg Ives (Crew Chief) and my race team should be the ones that get the credit for that record. The driver doesn’t really have much to do with it, but glad I didn’t mess it up for them and really happy for Ally and Chevrolet. Cool to be a part of it.”

Larson’s pole win gives Chevrolet its 30th pole award for “The Great American Race”; its 52nd pole win at Daytona International Speedway; and the manufacturer’s 724th pole in NASCAR’s premier series. The ten-year pole-winning streak extends Chevrolet’s record of the most of any manufacturer at Daytona. The 29-year-old California native’s pole win gives Hendrick Motorsports its 15th Daytona 500 pole, the most of all teams in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The top-10 in the first round of qualifying moved onto the second and final round in the race for the front row starting spots, with six of those top-10 being Camaro ZL1’s. William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1, was third fastest; and Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 was fifth, to give Hendrick Motorsports four of the top-five in the qualifying results. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, No. 1 Advent Health Camaro ZL1, was seventh; and Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1 was ninth to round out the Team Chevy top-10 on the qualifying speed chart.

Noah Gragson will make his NASCAR Cup Series points-paying debut after locking his No. 62 Beard Oil/South Point Camaro ZL1 into Sunday’s 40-car field by speed. The 23-year-old Team Chevy driver’s impressive lap gives Beard Motorsports its fifth start in the Daytona 500 and the team’s 18th-career NCS start.

With the front row set, all eyes turn to tomorrow’s two 60-lap, 150-mile Bluegreen Vacation Duels at Daytona to determine the remaining starting lineup of the Daytona 500. FS1 will telecast the Duels on Thursday, February 17, kicking off under the lights at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

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

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

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 16, 2022

TY DILLON, NO. 42 PETTY GMS MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1, Daytona 500 Media Availability Transcript:

TY, ERIK JONES WAS IN HERE THIS MORNING AND SAID THAT THEY QUOTE REALLY NEED TO SAVE THE CAR FOR SUNDAY SO THEY ARE GOING TO TAKE IT EASY DURING THE DUEL. ARE YOU DOING THAT AS WELL AND WHAT HAVE THE LEADERS AT PETTY GMS TOLD YOU?

“I’m not going to take care of it. I am just going to go, I think. Just kidding. It’s a balance right. I think if we make it through the Duels, we are in a good situation car wise for the west coast swing. I think that is where everybody is kind of playing that game. Man, I can’t help it. I’m a racecar driver. I am going to go. Sometimes it turns out and you don’t tear the car up, but I think you are not a racecar driver if you don’t get in a race and try to win it. So, that’s a tough balance. I’ll be maybe a little more cautious, but I would really love to get that 42 into victory lane again. I’ve been given a great opportunity second go around and it’s hard to be conservative. I know we have a lot of great guys back at our shop and I’ll do my best to take care of our equipment. I know what that means going down as far as the amount of work that our team would have to do if we don’t. But also, I am here to win, and I have been given an opportunity to drive racecars and that opportunity entitles me to win.”

AFTER SITTING OUT MOST OF LAST YEAR OUT OF A CUP CAR, YOU LOOKED REALLY STRONG OUT IN LA. IS THIS GOING TO BE THE NEW APPROACH FOR TY THIS YEAR? ARE YOU GOING TO BE REALLY AGGRESSIVE AND HAS THE TEAM ESSENTIALLY GIVEN YOU WHAT YOU THINK IS MAYBE THE BEST CHANCE TO WIN IN THE SERIES?

“This might be a little long winded but being out of the sport helped me in a sense of going into last year not knowing if I was even going to have the chance to race again. It really put things into perspective for me of what I love about doing this. Why I originally did it when I was 13 years old and why I ran 70 to 100 races a year and was fine with that. It’s literally just the genuine work that I get to put into it, whether it is mentally or physically or working with our guys to just try to get our car a little bit better. It might not always go the best, but you really enjoy that and when it is gone you miss it. It’s really getting me back to my genuine passion for why I race. So, I am very grateful to have this second chance. So, my mindset this year is you don’t get many second chances in life and I don’t want to leave, whether the next race is my last or the next year is my last one or if it is 10 or 15 years, I don’t want to stop and say I wish I would have done more. I guess I kind of set the tone for myself in LA. Yes, I was very aggressive, but I had a car that was probably to the standard of the field one of the best ones I have ever had. If you look back in my career, whether it is ARCA, trucks or Xfinity, when I have had chances to win races I have been on the aggressive side. I’ve been in my share of bumps and dust ups off the track. I think that is a little bit of who I am as a driver. The LA situation is a little bit different. There were no points on the line. It’s a quarter-mile track. I grew up going to Bowman Gray Stadium. I know what it takes to get to the front of one of those races, when you have a good car. You know there is a combination that led to some of that aggressiveness, but a lot of that is who I am and I felt very satisfied even though I didn’t make it into the feature that race about my effort level and so I felt peace about that. So, this is all about the second chance and making the most of it and not feeling like I left anything on the table and enjoy the heck out of it with my family.”

DO YOU FEEL THAT THE CAR THAT YOU ARE IN THIS YEAR, THE TEAM YOU ARE WITH, GIVES YOU THE BEST CHANCE TO GET TO VICTORY LANE THAT YOU HAVE HAD DURING YOUR CAREER?

“Yeah, I don’t want it to seem ill-spoken of my time at Germain Racing. Learned a lot there and had good opportunities, especially at speedways. Even stepping into before we were Petty GMS, but just GMS speaking with Maury Gallagher, his focus towards NASCAR, the sport and racing in general he has a deep passion for that. He is also extremely successful businessman and a good person too. He is easy to talk to as a leader and he’s put great people at his company led by Mike Beam to be the most successful and a winning culture doesn’t go away just because you go from the Truck Series to the Cup Series. They have a very strong winning culture at GMS with the trucks. The championships and the wins that they have there and that is in the building already. And now we’ve brought in the Petty name, the most historic, winning, famous name in the sport. Infusing that in and building that into this Cup team we have all of the ingredients that it takes. So, absolutely I feel like this is my greatest opportunity that I have gotten yet. We’ve shown really good speed, more speed than I have ever been able to show. I’m building a new confidence with this new car that I don’t know if I had it compared to others and I don’t know if it is the situations of just what has transpired in my life and my career over the last couple of years, but I am really excited for this next chapter and I hope everybody gets to see the driver that I have always believed I am and the capability that I have.”

LAST YEAR YOU HAD AN INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE IN THE DUEL, UNFORTUNATELY IT DIDN’T WORK OUT FOR THE 500. WHAT WERE SOME OF THE LESSONS THAT YOU CAN TAKE AWAY FROM THAT RACE AND APPLY IT TO HERE OR IS IT COMPLETLEY OUT THE WINDOW WITH THIS GEN 7 CAR?

“I think just another race around here is definitely helpful, experience wise. (INAUDIBLE) Going into this next chapter, I finished sixth. I think I lapped Cindric, who ended up getting into the race. I was very disappointed, very upset. I had been in the Daytona 500, I had been coming to the Daytona 500 my whole entire life, I ran it for eight years and had been a part of it and this is such a cool event to be a part of and to walk out that night just devastated that I wasn’t going to be a part of it. I cried with my wife til about midnight that night. It was very tough and it just changed me. It set the trajectory of that year, last year. Like I said it was well needed for perspective and gratitude. I feel like even in that race I did really well and I couldn’t have done anything really different coming to the line. I finished sixth. I feel like I should have been in the race, but I was very satisfied with the effort. That led into a year that was very up and down with different opportunities. I don’t know how many different race teams and how many different series. All three series and I learned so much and it’s definitely helped me. So to walk back in this racetrack that you love so much and have so much history with your family here, but to know you are locked in is a pretty good feeling and its led off the gratitude of being here and having this second opportunity is a special thing. You don’t realize it until, whether you are on a team that is not locked in or you don’t have an opportunity. You don’t realize how special it is to have it and I’m extremely grateful and I’m going to make the most of it. I promise you.”

IN ALL THE DRIVERS TALKING ABOUT THE ADAPTATION OF THE NEW CAR AND DRIVING IT DIFFERENTLY FROM LAST YEAR DO YOU FEEL THAT DRIVERS LIKE YOURSELF AND LARSON WHO HAVE HOPPED BACK AND FORTH FROM MODIFIEDS, LATE MODELS, SPRINT CARS AND CUP CARS DURING THE SAME SEASON THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREERS MAYBE HAVE AN EDGE IN ADAPTING TO SOMETHING DIFFERENT COMPARED TO SOMEONE THAT HAS COMPETED IN ONLY CUP?

“Yeah, you know I think so. You know I haven’t done as much dirt racing during my Cup career, but my career was almost set up for this. As I was developing, I ran, like you said, modifieds, super late models, all kinds of different cars in different series and what that taught me the most was to adapt. Always be adaptable, always be thinking what you can do. I’m a very, I wouldn’t say a pre-calculated driver as much as a feel driver in the moment because of that upbringing. When you have something so new and a new car that is changing all of the time, I do think it leads into somebody who is more open minded who doesn’t get hung up on it has to be a certain way and if it is not this certain way I can’t drive this car? The person who can adapt and who can kind of hit that refresh button over and over and over again and not lose it mentally is going to be successful. I think that does fit my style pretty good.”
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.

Richard Childress Racing’s history at Daytona International Speedway … Dating back to 1976, Richard Childress Racing has won 11 poles and collected six points-paying victories at the most-storied racetrack on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. RCR owns three DAYTONA 500 wins (Dale Earnhardt – 1998, Kevin Harvick – 2007, Austin Dillon – 2018), three Coke Zero 400 trophies (Earnhardt – 1990, 1993 and Harvick – 2010) and 15 qualifying races, including Austin Dillon’s victory in 2021 plus a record 10-consecutive victories with Earnhardt (1990 – 1999). In addition to RCR’s NASCAR Cup Series success at Daytona International Speedway, the organization has four NASCAR Xfinity Series victories with NASCAR Hall of Fame members Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2002) and Tony Stewart (2013) plus Kevin Harvick (2007) and Austin Dillon (2015 fall race).

The 2022 Lineup … Both Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick return to RCR’s NASCAR Cup Series lineup in 2022, with Dillon driving the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Reddick driving the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Daytona. RCR has expanded to two full-time entries for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season with drivers Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill, who are both competing for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. Creed will pilot the No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro SS in the season opening race at Daytona, while Hill will be behind the wheel of the No. 21 Bennett/United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Keeping the Streak Alive … RCR has won the pole position in each of the last six consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series February races on the Daytona oval where time trials were held. The impressive streak began with Ty Dillon’s pole-winning run in 2016. Other drivers who have kept the streak alive: Brandon Jones (2017), Daniel Hemric (2018), Tyler Reddick (2019), and Myatt Snider (2020).

Introducing the Next Gen … NASCAR’s Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which officially debuts in 2022, is a collaboration of the brightest engineering minds in racing. With technology at the forefront, Richard Childress Racing has played a unique and critical role in helping to bring this new on-track identity to life, working closely with OEMs, other teams and NASCAR to build and test the initial prototype.

Time to Duel … The Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona feature two 150-mile races under the lights and will help decide the majority of the final starting grid for Sunday’s DAYTONA 500. Dillon and Reddick will find out which Duel their Camaros will compete in after Wednesday night’s single-car time trials. The qualifying session begins at 8:05 p.m. ET on FS1.

Catch the Action … The Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona, two 60-lap qualifying races, will be televised live Thursday, Feb. 17 beginning at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Beef. It’s What for Dinner. 300 at Daytona will be televised live Saturday, Feb. 19 beginning at 5 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The 64th running of the DAY 500 will be televised live Sunday, Feb. 20 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week’s Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Daytona International Speedway … Dillon, the 2018 DAYTONA 500 Champion, has 15 previous starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway, acquiring one pole award, two top-five and seven top-10 finishes. The Welcome, North Carolina, driver, who grew up attending races at Daytona International Speedway with his family, has 10 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with one win, seven top-five and seven top-10 finishes plus two starts in the NASCAR Truck Series.

Former Pole Winner … Dillon earned his first-career NASCAR Cup Series pole award with a lap of 196.019 mph (45.914 seconds) in the 2014 edition of the DAYTONA 500. It marked the fourth time the No. 3 has won the pole for the Daytona 500, and its 67th Cup Series pole. He also started on the front row for the Coke Zero 400 in July 2015 at Daytona. His starting position for this year’s DAYTONA 500 will be determined by his finishing position in the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday (live on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 7 p.m. ET).

TRACKER Off Road … Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology.

Bass Pro Shops … Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri. Today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com/.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
Looking back now, what stands out to you about your DAYTONA 500 win?
“A lot stands out about my DAYTONA 500 win. Mostly, how special it was to our entire organization. All of the people at RCR that have put so much into my career. Going to Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway is an epic feeling. It’s a dream come true. Nothing compares to that feeling of racing to the start-finish line when no one is in front of you nd everyone is behind you.”

You’ve had success at Daytona International Speedway. How do you negotiate staying out of the wrecks throughout the race so that you can be in contention at the end?
“It’s tough. It’s a game of putting yourself in position. I call it high-speed chess because you know at some point in time you’re going to be vulnerable. You hope that someone doesn’t take advantage of that too much and cause a big wreck. It’s one of those things where you are constantly moving and trying to guess the flow of the pack. I think the best place to be is in the front most of the time, but it’s impossible now with the way we race to keep yourself up there for the entire race. You see guys do it for long periods of time. Denny Hamlin has been pretty amazing at putting himself in the right position as of late. I’m going to do my best this time around to put ourselves in position for another shot at the DAYTONA 500.”

Do you feel the “Big One” coming, or does it happen so fast that you’re just in it?
“Sometimes you’re in it, and there is nothing you can do about it because you know time is running out and you’re in it either way. It’s an odd feeling knowing your putting yourself out there and something is about to happen. It’s an issue of timing. You’re hoping you just get through it. I’ve been fortunate to sneak through some of them, or be in front of some of them. You usually know when the intensity is rising and the pack is starting to get a little bit out of control. You try to do your best to give yourself an out or be in front of it.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Daytona International Speedway … Sunday’s sold-out DAYTONA 500 will be Tyler Reddick’s fourth attempt at a win in the season-opener and sixth NASCAR Cup Series start at the superspeedway. Last season, Reddick started 29th and finished 27th in The Great American Race and is looking to improve that number in the Next Gen Chevrolet. In the August race last season at Daytona International Speedway, Reddick started 17th and finished fifth, ultimately punching his ticket to the NASCAR Playoffs for the first time in his career.

3CHI Blazes the Trail for Another Industry First … 3CHI and Richard Childress Racing created another first with their partnership for the 2022 NASCAR season. 3CHI began with roots as a CBD producer and quickly became a pioneer in science-based hemp and cannabis innovation. The company was the first to commercially develop and market Delta 8 THC, and today, 3CHI is an industry leader with unsurpassed product quality and purity as verified by top independent labs and benchmark organizations. 3CHI products are sold in a majority of the United States, and the company produces and markets a variety of gummies, tinctures, lotions, edibles and vape products. All 3CHI products meet federal requirements for full legal compliance, with a commitment to promoting responsible adult use. See 3CHI.com for more information.

TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:
When you think of the DAYTONA 500 and all of the unknowns, like “The Big One,” how do you approach such a long race with many challenges?
“When it comes to running the DAYTONA 500, it’s always a very interesting challenge. Every single lap of the entire race, you have to wager risk versus reward. Any moment on the racetrack, your race can end. You can make a decision that takes you from the lead to last. You can make a decision that wrecks your racecar. You can make a decision that leads to you being in a wreck. When it comes to this race, there are so many decisions you have to make from Lap 1 to Lap 200 that have to be absolutely perfect. One decision throughout that entire race, a race filled with thousands of decisions that are made in split-second moments, can dictate whether you win, lose or crash. Because of that, it makes it one of the most challenging races of the year. And it makes it one of the most exciting, too.”

The DAYTONA 500 always produces exciting racing but with the new Next Gen car, what are you anticipating heading into the Great American Race?
“Kicking off the season with the DAYTONA 500 is something special every single year. As a racecar driver, this race is one of the biggest, exciting, and highly anticipated races. With the new car, all of the teams are on a level playing field. We all had the same opportunities to test the car and work with our teams and manufacturers to prepare for the season. I’m excited to see all the hard work that RCR and Chevrolet have put into this car be on display on the track.”

You’ve talked about never really slowing down during the offseason or stopping to take a break. What does that do for you and your preparation heading into a new season?
“I’ve never really been one to slow down during the offseason because I want to keep improving and working during that time to get better for the next season. I spent a lot of my time working out and getting stronger all while learning more about the Next Gen car, participating in the tests and preparing for 2022. The goals are the same for me week in and week out, and that is to go out on the track, contend for wins, be up front and in the mix and leave with positive results. I feel like this is our year and couldn’t be more excited to get to Daytona for the 500.”

The partnership with RCR and 3CHI is one that is very new and very different in the NASCAR industry. How excited are you to represent them in the No. 8 Chevrolet?
“The partnership with 3CHI is one that RCR is very proud of. A lot of hard work went into making it happen and I can’t thank NASCAR, 3CHI and my colleagues at RCR enough for all the time and effort they put into making this partnership come to life. 3CHI wanted to be a part of NASCAR throughout all of last year and we made it our goal to make it happen in 2022. I can’t wait to get that awesome paint scheme on track in a few days.”

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett / United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro SS at Daytona International Speedway … Hill will be making his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Daytona on Saturday. Hill competed in the Xfinity Series season-opener at Daytona in 2020. He scored his first Truck Series victory at Daytona in 2019, winning the race in NASCAR Overtime and going on to compete in the NASCAR Playoffs.

About Bennett Family of Companies … McDonough-Ga. based Bennett Family of Companies is a woman-owned, Women’s Enterprise Business Council (WBENC) certified, diversified transportation and logistics company. Through its nine affiliated operating companies, the Bennett Family of Companies delivers integrated transportation and supply chain management solutions worldwide. The company will use race experiences to recruit and retain hundreds of truck drivers for their organization in 2022. For more information, visit www.Drive4Bennett.com.com.

About United Rentals … United Rentals, Inc. is the largest equipment rental company in the world. The company has an integrated network of 1,278 rental locations in North America, 11 in Europe, 28 in Australia and 18 in New Zealand. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s approximately 20,100 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and others. The company offers approximately 4,300 classes of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $15.72 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Barron’s 400 Index and the Russell 3000 Index® and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Additional information about United Rentals is available at unitedrentals.com.

AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:
What are your thoughts on racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Richard Childress Racing at Daytona International Speedway?
“Richard Childress Racing has felt like family from the get-go and these last few months have been great, just getting to know my crew chief Andy Street and all the guys in the shop. It feels very family-based which is what I like. I think the chemistry is there and we haven’t even been to the racetrack yet. RCR has some really fast Chevrolet Camaros on the superspeedways. They have an impressive streak of sitting on the pole at Daytona so I’ve got to go out there and put a good lap down when we qualify.”

Sheldon Creed and The No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro SS at Daytona International Speedway … Creed has one previous NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Daytona International Speedway that came in 2019. He has three starts on the 2.5-oval in the Truck Series where he led a lap in all three events and scored two top-10 finishes. Creed won the race in 2020 and finished second last season in two Truck Series races on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

About Whelen … Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce.

SHELDON CREED QUOTE:
What are your thoughts on racing at Daytona International Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with RCR?
“I’m super-excited about this new opportunity with Richard Childress Racing and Whelen. It’s awesome join RCR and I can’t wait to work with everyone at Whelen this season. I’m really looking forward to hitting the track this week in Daytona. I know things are going to be a lot different with the Xfinity car than what I experienced in the Truck Series, but I have a great team behind me and that will definitely shorten up the learning curve. There’s a lot to learn early on but I’m eager to get to this week at Daytona.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 16, 2022

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 TRACKHOUSE RACING CAMARO ZL1; AND DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TRACKHOUSE RACING CAMARO ZL1 – Daytona 500 Media Availability Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Joining us next is Daniel Suárez and Ross Chastain from Trackhouse Racing.

Q. Ross, you had a chance to test at Atlanta. Chris Buescher was in here a while ago, thought we might see a hybrid kind of speedway/handling race. Do you think it’s going to be a hybrid, or is it going to lend itself to this type of speedway racing that we’ve heard about?
ROSS CHASTAIN: Yeah, it definitely is going to be a new Atlanta. It’s not going to be like anything we’ve ever seen before there.

I think this Next‑Gen car after practice last night, it’s going to be a different mentality for the 500 here even, because I can speak from our car, we are here to qualify tonight, and it’s not going to drive good in the Duel because it’s an impound race for that and then we have time to work on it Friday and Saturday ahead of the 500.

I think we’re going to have to dial some handling in on our No. 1 Advent Health Chevrolet for the 500 this weekend, and it’ll be the same way for Atlanta. You can make them drive pretty bad if you want them to go really fast.

Yeah, Atlanta just with the three cars in the draft was pretty challenging, so we’re going to be lifting some, but you’ll still have ‑‑ the leader will probably be wide open and you’ll be lifting farther back in the pack trying to keep up.

Q. Just your reaction and what it felt like racing at COTA last year with that amount of moisture, that amount of rain.
DANIEL SUÁREZ: I thought it was great. Nobody could see anything.
You know, there is a few things that we can’t control, and one of them is obviously Mother Nature. I think that things were a little bit probably too crazy at one point. I love racing in the rain. I raced a lot in the rain growing up, and I love it. I think it’s a lot of fun.

But there is a point where it’s not fun anymore, and then it’s a little bit too crazy, like okay, what are we doing here, we can’t even see. Probably we got to that point at one point.

But overall, I think the event itself, it was huge, and I’m looking forward to coming back, and I’m sure a lot of people are, as well.

ROSS CHASTAIN: I just want to say, I agree. We got to a point in that race where it was too ‑‑ we just couldn’t see anything, and I’ve raced Xfinity races where ‑‑ same thing, but we kept racing. Then looking back on it, if we really want to make a better judgment call next time, like the time of us probably stopping the race was like 10 laps before we did, but by the time they stopped the race everything was okay in my opinion. Like we got through the worst part of that storm and the heavy rain band that came through, and we should have ran it out at that point. It just seemed odd that we waited that long. But that’s Monday morning quarterbacking, and selfishly we would have been better off if we’d have ran the race out. But it was 10 laps before they called the race, like I was going down the backstretch, and even Xfinity qualifying, I jumped in Bobby Dotter’s car when Joe hurt his knee, and I went down the backstretch completely blind just following the tracks in front of me and we were okay to do that, but then we called the Cup race early.

I hope looking forward to the future, we make a better call.

Q. If that race had not ended early, do you think you had a chance to win? It seemed like you guys had put yourself in a spot ‑‑
ROSS CHASTAIN: Oh, yeah. I didn’t execute good on the pit stop. I didn’t get on and off pit road very good, but yeah, we were competitive, so I just wanted to run the race out, one, just for the cool factor of racing at COTA. Making laps there is really awesome.

Q. Ross, being a native Floridian, what does this place mean to you, and if you would kind of speak on your upbringing and the Florida racing culture, as well.
ROSS CHASTAIN: Well, look no further than that wall in the back. Looking at that is what it looks like at driver intros walking out on the stage; the smoke comes out, you walk down that long platform. You have to walk by the trophy, and that’s what we see, we see Daytona Rising, we see the grandstands.

I grew up watching the July races. This was our family vacation in the summer, and we would camp off Turn 1 before the camping out there was nice. It was like a mud pit out there, and the motor homes would be stuck. I remember that, those summer races were tough because it rained every day and the races were always delayed.

But that’s what we loved. Like we rode our bikes around and I got in trouble for ‑‑ I can say this now. I think my Statute of Limitations has ran out. I got in trouble for riding my bike on the track. That security guard was not happy with me.

Those memories, man, just my friends and family and other motor homes, that’s what I remember, and then the cool factor of now racing in the Daytona 500. I remember every part of my first 500, every moment and how nervous I was, and we finished ninth because we stayed out of trouble.

Q. For Ross, your 2020 Daytona 500, you were in position late there to have a chance to win that race before getting caught up in a crash there. I’m curious what that race has done for you for last year’s Daytona 500 as well as entering this year’s race, being as close as you were and at least being able to sniff it and coming up short that time around.
ROSS CHASTAIN: Yeah, well, it comes full circle to right now. Advent Health is on my suit. They just announced entitlement at Kansas Speedway coming up later in the year on top of what all they do here at Daytona, with those being their two big areas of their hospitals and their healthcare workers where they’re on the front lines right through the whole pandemic. But they’ve been saving lives for a lot longer than the pandemic, and now they’re taking care of us as humans throughout a worldwide pandemic in those two especially geographic areas.

Back to 2020, though, that was my first time driving with Advent Health on my car, and let’s be honest, I’ll tell the story, they wanted Kyle Larson in the 42. They wanted to be on the 42, and just the business side didn’t work out, so we did a third car with the 77 and Spire Motorsports through Chip Ganassi racing to do me, and they had to ‑‑ Doug Duchardt, CGR and the sales team had to sell Advent Health on Ross Chastain, like who was Ross.

We come here and we’d met obviously before we got here to the track, and then we go and compete and we have a chance to win, and we fell in love with each other. We realized like we’re two Florida‑based ‑‑ based out of Florida and where they started, and I am, too, right, I grew up four hours from here, and just that commonality of the love of the sport grew and we realized how aligned we were on a lot of things, both on and off the track with our beliefs and with how they just want people to feel wheel and really take care of themselves before they ever get to the hospital before they ever have to see a doctor, how much stuff we can do as people to just take care of ourselves aligns with me and Daniel, as well. Take care of our bodies and put the right stuff in, you’re going to get the results you want. You’re going to get the right stuff out.

It’s just something that really lines up with me like agriculture does where I can just talk about it and I don’t have to think about it, I don’t have to look at key messaging points before I come up on stage. Like I can just talk about my friends at Advent Health and our values and our mission for them to save lives and make the world a better place. Then you transfer that over now to Trackhouse, we want to be the culture, we want to be the team that industry people want to come work for, but we also want to broaden ourselves beyond NASCAR.

I know this is the NASCAR media center, but we had the opportunity with the Clash a few weeks ago and now the 500 to really amplify this sport, and Trackhouse wants to be on the leading edge of that and make a difference, and it all comes back to Advent Health supporting me, supporting me in the 42 and then moving with me to Trackhouse.

They didn’t have to. They were a CGR partner. They could have went anywhere, and when we talked, whenever the sale happened and the merger was going to happen from CGR to Trackhouse, I said, Guys, I want to stay at Trackhouse, I want you to stay with me and they were all in and they never batted an eye. They’re our primary partner, and going to see a lot of them at the track this year.

Q. Ross, what have you seen of this organization as you’ve come in and they’re expanding, and Daniel, you’ve been there for a year now, what have you seen as they’ve prepared to go to two full‑time cars?
ROSS CHASTAIN: Well, all the driver handbook stuff was in Spanish to start. No, I kid.

Yeah, so Trackhouse in 2021 to Trackhouse in 2022 is totally different. Watching them last year, they were up at RCR, their first year in the sport, learning a lot of things, and they really relied on the RCR campus. Now we are totally self reliant in Concord, 8500 Westmoreland Drive.

The foundation that was built by CGR, there’s a lot of familiar boys and girls there, men and women older than me and smarter than me building these cars, and that is what Trackhouse is now. It’s its own identity. It’s a key partner with Chevrolet.

We have the building blocks of 20 years of CGR and Chevrolet supporting us now to do what we want to do.

You bring in Daniel, Ty, Justin, Armando, Pitbull ‑‑ am I supposed to call him Armando or Pitbull ‑‑ are you asleep?

DANIEL SUÁREZ: I was about to ask her to repeat the question.

ROSS CHASTAIN: Yeah, so the upper management is different but a lot of the on‑the‑floor people are the same, so a lot of familiar faces for me.

DANIEL SUÁREZ: What was the question again?

Q. What have you seen from the company as it’s expanded from just focusing on you to now going to two full‑time cars?
DANIEL SUÁREZ: Well, the change was much bigger than that. I still remember a year and a half ago sitting with Ty and then sitting with Justin and Ty and talking about this project called Trackhouse and taking a leap of faith on this, and Justin telling me to trust him on this, that he had big plans for this.

I knew we were going to grow and what we were going good, we were going to be strong. He had that vision. But I didn’t know how fast it was going to happen, and it definitely happened fast, quite fast.

It’s been quite a big change, not just going from one car to two cars, but going to the change of our organization, just like Ross mentioned, from being pretty much ‑‑ getting a lot of help and support from RCR, which we are going to be forever thankful because without them probably we wouldn’t be here today, and then being able to have the transition to everything that is Trackhouse today. We have over 100 people working in Trackhouse Racing right now, and we have two full‑time operations there for two cars. It’s just so ‑‑ it’s such a big change, so much bigger than just adding one more car because there are so many things that changed in the process.

There’s only a few people that actually lived that process. One of them has been myself, Ty Norris, Justin, Drew has been with us in the very beginning, but it’s been quite a process going from a handful of people to over 100.

It’s a process, and overall just very excited to be here. It’s always exciting to be here in February because there is a lot of energy, there is a lot of new things, but this year is extra exciting with the unknowns about how the new car is going to play out, how aggressive can you be and things like that.

Yeah, looking forward to getting rolling tonight and tomorrow night.

Q. Is it realistic to expect the two of you to contend for the playoffs?
DANIEL SUÁREZ: Yes.

ROSS CHASTAIN: Yes.

Q. Daniel, how is Ross different from other teammates that you have had, and Ross, how is Daniel different from others you’ve had?
DANIEL SUÁREZ: Well, I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been part of some teams that have a lot of teammates and some of them with a lot of experience, some of them with not so much experience, and everyone is different. Every team is different. Something that I mentioned to Justin and to Ty since the very beginning about Ross is that I like ‑‑ at the time I just didn’t know Ross to the point where I know him today, but I knew that he was hungry, and for me and for our team, I think that’s extremely important, having somebody that wants to do something, somebody that is hungry.

There is a lot of drivers that are talented out there, and not all of them put actually the work to be better. I feel that it’s always good to have a good teammate because you start pushing each other. You start trying to find out what he’s doing better than me and what am I doing better than him and then trying to push each other and in that way be able to bring Trackhouse to the next level.

Right now we have a lot of good things coming our way in Trackhouse Racing, but the reality is that the plan is to do all our talking on the track, and that is going to be with trophies.

The better the work together, the better that journey is going to be.

ROSS CHASTAIN: No, Daniel came into the sport after I was already here and I was in the Xfinity Series and 10th place was a good day and he came in and was instantly successful at winning races, a championship, and I was jealous. I was like, man, if I had that opportunity, I’d be good.

When I got that opportunity, I realized how hard it must have been for him to come into the sport and just be expected to be the great race car driver that his teammates were that had all the years of racing in America and racing these type of stock cars.

Getting to know him now and talking about both of us kind of like our paths through the sport, we’ve been humbled a few times, and so I make the joke about being Spanish, but we speak the same language in a lot of ways because we’ve been humbled by some failed adventures with race teams, and it didn’t work.

I know for me, really six or seven years out of my 11 I would say were failures, and I’m okay with that. I don’t want to speak for Daniel, but I think we understand the opportunity we have in front of us and the work we’re putting in is to make sure that this effort with Trackhouse is not a failure.

Q. Daniel, unfortunately the 500 has not been your race. 32.9 average finish, a bunch of DNFs. What’s it going to take this year to finally get over the hump and get this car at least to the checkered flag in one piece?
DANIEL SUÁREZ: That’s a good question. I don’t know. Definitely have to do something different than what I’ve been doing the last five years.

You know, this race is very unpredictable. I have learned that you have to ‑‑ sometimes if you just try to cruise and ride in the back, that’s not fun for anyone. I don’t enjoy that. Sometimes you can get a good finish out of it, but probably a lot of people can’t do that.

Sometimes when you race, you can get in trouble, but you can also have a shot to win. I feel like one of the keys is to actually learn to read the race, learn to know when trouble is coming, and when things are about to happen and things like that. It’s impossible to predict it 100 percent, but that’s what we do as a race car driver, trying to see what is about to happen.

I think things are going to happen quite different with this new car. In my opinion, the racing is going to be so much better because the runs we get are so much bigger, but we’re going to find out tomorrow night. I’m excited for the challenge. I know that I don’t have a great stat, great stats when it comes to the Daytona 500, but I’m ready to change that.

ROSS CHASTAIN: I think he said you stink here.

DANIEL SUÁREZ: I do, yeah. He’s right.

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

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

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 16, 2022

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1, Daytona 500 Media Availability Transcript:

KYLE, NOW HAVING THE ENTIRE OFF SEASON TO PROCESS BEING THE CHAMPION, HEADING INTO THIS SEASON NOW WHAT ARE THE EMOTIONS? DOES IT FEEL ANY DIFFERENT HEADING INTO THIS SEASON BASED ON WHAT YOU WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH A YEAR AGO?

“No. I think it’s really easy for us to kind of move on and forget about the success that you had only a couple months ago. So, I think it is because, for me, I think you know I race so often just trying to get focused on winning the next race or winning again the next season. So, you kind of have to, you can’t really soak up what you did last year I feel like until you are done with your career someday. Just focused on this year and trying to have another solid season all around and hopefully win another championship.”

KYLE, DOING A STORY ON LAST YEAR’S ATLANTA RACE. WAS THAT AN OCCASION WHERE YOU LOSE A RACE TO WIN SOMETHING ELSE DOWN THE ROAD? A LESSON LEARNED YOU KNOW YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PROCESS AND USE TO GO TO VICTORY LANE?

“Not really. No, I mean I think you know that race in particular you know we had dominated all race long. Like dominated, dominated all race long. I think when you do that you don’t want to mess anything up. I think we probably yes, we didn’t work on our car enough throughout the race and then when I finally did have somebody in my mirror, well I wasn’t used to that. So, I’m trying to drive harder and get away from (Ryan) Blaney and just abused my tires too much. Then yeah, the flip side of things, his team was watching somebody else dominate all race long and probably continued to work on their car and got it better. Then he could probably tell he was better than me and managed better than I did, so yeah, I mean I definitely think we learned from that moving forward. I don’t know if we ever utilized that later on down the road, but that’s definitely something I think that we learned or noticed.”

YOU BEING FROM CALIFORNIA, DO YOU THINK THE LA CLASH IS GOING TO CREATE SOME MOMENTUM FOR FONTANA OR EVEN FOR THAT MATTER SONOMA? DO YOU THINK IT WILL CREATE SOME ENERGY IN THAT STATE THAT WILL PROVE BENEFICIAL FOR OTHER RACETRACKS?

“I don’t know. I hope so. I thought it was a great event and I thought there were a lot of fans there. There was, from what I heard, a lot of new fans. Well, new people going to their first ever race. Hopefully now they are fans and will go to Fontana or whatever it may be. Go to Sonoma later on in the year. I feel like the west coast races already have a lot of fans. Whenever we have ran Fontana in the past, I feel like the infield is slammed packed. It’s the best infield in my opinion that we have in our sport. The grandstands on Sunday always have a lot of people. Even Sonoma I feel like it may not look like it because it is so spread out for the road course but there’s always a lot of fans there and merchandise sales are always really good there. I don’t think the west coast needs a whole lot of help, but obviously you want it to get even bigger than it already is. Yeah, the CLASH was good. I thought it went well and hopefully there’s a lot of momentum from it now.”

I AM CURIOUS WHAT YOUR RELATIONSHIP IS WITH THE DAYTONA 500. WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU GET HERE AND YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT?

“Well, I mean it’s the biggest race in our sport. So, I want to win it and I get excited to come down here. Spend the week, get to go to Disney, get to run sprint cars and run a lot of dirt stuff nearby. Then yeah, compete in the biggest race of our year. I haven’t had much success here, so that part of it doesn’t get me too excited to show up. I was close to winning in 2017. I crossed the line coming to the white as the leader and then ran out of fuel so, that was really cool. I remember the emotions of that while I was running, like wow I could really win the 500 and then not winning it fuels me to want to win it in my future because before that race and every race since then I have been not even close. I would love to do it and hopefully I can continue to learn more about this race. I mean you could luck into winning here for sure, but I feel like I have a lot more to learn, to gain experience, to compete at the front all race long and really have a true shot of winning.”

(INAUDIBLE)

“No, I don’t think so. For me I have chased races more than championships, so to me the priority of winning big races hasn’t changed at all. It’s more in front of you than the championship is, so yeah it doesn’t change where it ranks on my list. I still want to win this. I want to win the Southern 500 really bad. I want to win Indy. I have won the Bristol Night Race which was cool. I won the Coke 600 last year, which was cool. There’s definitely a few that I still want to win really bad.”

GOING OFF OF HOLLY’S QUESTION, EVEN IN THE LAST YEAR YOU HAVE WON (INAUDIBLE), KNOXVILLE NATIONALS, KINGS ROYAL, CHILI BOWL A HANDFUL OF TIMES AS WELL, IF YOU WERE TO ADD DAYTONA 500 TO YOUR RESUME WHERE DO YOU THINK THIS WIN WOULD RANK AMONGST THE OTHERS?

“I don’t know. I hate trying to rank races because I feel like I will always get picked apart, so I’m not going to rank it right now. Ask me where it ranks after I win it someday.”

JUST KIND OF CURIOUS YOU WERE IN A POSTIION AT GANASSI WHERE YOU RAN OK, BUT CERTAINLY DIDN’T HAVE A YEAR LIKE LAST YEAR. IS THERE A DRIVER OUT THERE WHO MAY NOT BE AT YOUR TALENT LEVEL BUT HAS POTENTIAL THAT MIGHT STAND OUT TO YOU THAT THNK IF THEY GOT IN THE RIGHT POSITION COULD ENJOY THE KIND OF SUCCESS THAT YOU’RE HAVING NOW?

“I don’t know. I think Tyler Reddick is going to have an amazing season. I think he’s been the best car at all the tests. I think he showed last week at the CLASH that he is really good. I feel when I watch him, I am watching myself just because we are both really aggressive and he seems to be even a little more aggressive and kind of keep things in control better than I could back when I was running really hard in Ganassi equipment trying to run up front. He’s the guy that I look at this year that I feel like is going to have the breakout season and win a lot of races.”

AND BOWMAN GOING AND RUNNING A 410 SPRINT CAR, JUST THE FACT THAT HE WAS ABLE TO GO TO THE WORLD OF OUTLAWS FIRST WEEKEND OUT AND QUALIFY FOR ALL THREE FEATURES PRETTY IMPRESSIVE ON HIS PART. I KNOW HE LEANED ON YOU A LITTLE BIT, BUT CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT?

“I mean I have told him a lot of times that I thought he did an amazing job. He did better than I think any of us thought he was going to do, so that was really awesome to see. He outqualified me at Volusia on the first night. Yeah, he did a good job. Quick time in the all-star race at East Bay, so with under 10 starts in a sprint car and really doesn’t have hardly any dirt racing experience in his career, he was mainly a pavement racer before he got to ARCA, he did an awesome job. You know he’s got Joe Gaerte as his crew chief, so I am familiar with Joe and his time at KLR. It was neat to see them run really good, and I am glad that he did because now he is going to be fired up to race even more and gaining experience in that.”

KYLE, WHAT IS YOUR CEILING AS A DRIVER AND HOW DO YOU THINK YOU CAN GET BETTER TO REACH THAT CEILING?

“I don’t know. I’m not sure, just I don’t want to know what my ceiling is. I don’t think any of us do. You just always continue to try, even when you get to your celling, you try to work hard to surpass it. So, I don’t know just keep trying to evolve as a racecar driver, keep racing a lot and trying to win races and just fine tuning different areas of your craft.”

KYLE, THERE HAS BEEN MORE DISCUSSION THIS WEEK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF YOU RUNNING THE INDY 500. I REALIZE THERE ARE A LOT OF BRIDGES THAT HAVE TO BE CROSSED FOR THAT TO EVENTUALLY HAPPEN. JUST LOOKING AT THAT POSSIBILITY, WOULD YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE SORT OF PARACHUTING IN AND RUNNING THAT RACE AS YOUR FIRST INDYCAR EXPERIENCE OR WOULD YOU WANT TO PLAY AROUND IN THE CARS ELSEWHERE?

“Yeah, no I mean I think it’s too late in the game for this year. If I ever run the Indy 500, I want to be prepared. I want to show up with the feeling that I have a shot to win. I don’t want to just show up and be like oh I get to compete in the Indy 500, that is really cool. Like I want to go there and be confident and know that I have a shot to run up front. With that takes a lot of preparation, a lot of work and I don’t think that’s something you can fully get done in a few months. I mean down the road, I’d like to do it, but I want to do it when the time is right and right now in February 2022 is not the right time. I think it is something more so down the road, but I definitely want to do it someday. It was cool to read Jeff’s (Gordon) article or whatever that said they were open to it and yeah we will see.”

IN THE THREE MONTHS SINCE YOU HAVE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP, WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU HAVE GOTTEN TO EXPERIENCE THAT MAYBE YOU WOULDN’T HAVE GOTTEN TO EXPERIENCE IF YOU HADN’T WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND SPECIFIALLY LIKE ON THE MARKETING SIDE? WHAT KIND OF MARKETING STUFF HAVE YOU MAYBE BEEN PART OF THAT YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN PART OF BEFORE?

“I didn’t really do a whole lot. We had the media day a couple of days after the championship, did a lot of interviews and stuff. Those are all so quick that you don’t really like fully pay attention to who you are doing them with. I don’t know. Honestly probably the coolest thing that I wouldn’t have ever gotten done without winning the championship was just the thing that Elk Grove did for me, my hometown, and the parade the did for me. Other than that it hasn’t been too wild. I feel like I have talked to a lot of the same people before the championship and after. Nothing was like wow that was neat.”

CAN YOU EXPLAIN, GOING BACK TO THE CLASH, THE INCIDENT WITH THE 31 BECAUSE I THINK THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THAT WAS MORE OF AN INTENTIONAL MOVE OR SOMETHING TO PUT THE 31 IN THE WALL? JUST KIND OF HOW THAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND AND HOW THAT PLYAED OUT AND IF THERE WAS ANYTHING THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE AFTERWARDS AFTER REVIEWING TAPE OR ANYTHING?

“Yeah so, I will start off by saying I overreacted. So, I will play it out in my mind. I went down the backstretch and I knew he was on my outside. I got clear like late in the straightaway and the next thing I know he was running the left side of me, so you just see red really quick. Like dangit. So yeah, I was like well now I am stuck on the outside and I am about to get shuffled really far back and I am mad at you so yes, I hung a left on him. I did not want to crash him, but I wanted that inside lane for the next corner. So, I felt really bad. Instantly I felt bad that I crashed him, and he came over and talked to me after the race and I told him that I was sorry that I wrecked you. But yes, I wish I would have you know understood the racetrack that we were at and that somebody probably else shoved him into me and you know maybe I wouldn’t have overreacted as bad as I did. Yeah, definitely felt bad about that but you know it is what it is at this point, and I just have to learn from those moments. I feel like I do a really good job normally staying calm, but I think you know in that instance I didn’t, and I think probably with no points on the line probably played factor in my overreaction but yeah, I just hate that I tore up their car because of the lack of equipment that teams have right now. Nobody can really afford to be tearing stuff up at this point.

I BELIEVE IT WAS DENNY HAMLIN WHEN I ASKED EARLIER TODAY IF THE NEW CAR MIGHT SHOW US SOME SURPRISE WINNERS IN THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON AND HE SAYS GOOD TEAMS WILL ALWAYS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE. DO YOU FEEL THAT WAY AND IF SO, WHY?

“Yeah, (INAUDIBLE), I thought that yes, maybe a Spire Motorsports could go win a race early in the year because you know we all read what the media writes, and everyone seems to say it is equal but it’s not. Your best teams are still going to be, they just have more people and smarter people with more resources to figure out quicker so yeah, being a part of that Phoenix test on the speed charts it was all the same teams up front to back like it would have been before. I think there’s teams that are a little better than they were, I think there’s teams that are a little worse than they were but for the most part it’s so far doesn’t seem too different.”

INAUDIBLE

“I don’t get too involved in like, I don’t even know what they can do as far as engineering and simulation but yeah I just know that we have got hundreds of people where a lot of these race teams don’t and you know we will be able to figure out things quicker than they will.”

THIS YEAR YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING PRETTY FAST IN THE INDIVIDUAL QUALIFYING TIMES, HOW SIGNIFICANT WOULD IT BE FOR YOU TO GET YOURSELF LOCKED ON THE FRONT ROW TOINGHT AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A CAR READY TO GO FOR SUNDAY IF YOU DO SO?

“Yeah, I think that would be huge. I don’t think that I will be the team to compete for the front row. It sounds like our team’s more focused on getting a good handle for the race and stuff like that. Who knows? We could get a wind gust or something and get the pole and go wow, but it sounds like we are not putting all of our eggs in that basket to try to go get on the front row. I think our focus is on the race and with that I don’t think we will have the speed, single-car wise, to be on the front row.”

IN REFERENCE TO YOUR WORDS ABOUT INDY, HAVE YOU TALKED TO SAY KURT BUSCH OR TONY STEWART ABOUT WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR THEM TO DO THE DOUBLE AND HAVE THEIR INFORMATION AFFECTED YOUR DECISION AT ALL?

“No, I have never talked to Tony about it and I don’t, honestly, remember if I have talked to Kurt about it. I am sure I have at some point while he was my teammate at Ganassi, but no I haven’t talked to anybody really about it. I’m sure once it becomes more of a reality that I could do it, I will probably talk to as many people as I can. For right now, I haven’t done my due diligence I guess and talked to other drivers who have done it.”

YOU WENT OVER TO WATCH SOME FORMULA 1. GENERAL MOTORS IS NOW ADDING FORMULA 1, THEY RUN ALL YEAR NOW. WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR YOU TO GET A TEST IN F1?

“I don’t know. I am guessing millions of dollars and a lot of luck. It was a big realization when I went there that I feel like the rest of the world doesn’t care a whole lot about American auto racing. That was pretty eye opening. I would love the opportunity for sure. I think those are amazing racecars and the lifestyle they get to live is really cool, so yeah I would love to do it. I would love to have a test someday. It’s just not viewed, what we do is not viewed as big as the rest of the world what I think is cool.”

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.