Landon Cassill Finishes 37th at Daytona
Strong Run by Carnomaly Toyota Driver Thwarted by Late Multicar Accident

Date: Aug. 28, 2021
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway(2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 39th / 37th (Accident, completed 146 of 165 laps)
Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Landon Cassill started 39th and finished 26th.
● The No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry quickly made its way up through the field and gained 10 spots by lap two of the 160-lap race. Cassill ran around that spot until the lap-20 competition caution. He was running 30th when the caution came out.
● After a quick pit stop for fuel only, the No. 96 Carnomaly driver came back out in 20th, his first time in the top-20 this race.
● When green-flag racing resumed on lap 25, Cassill continued his journey through the field, making it as high as 10th while running in the lead pack.
● Ultimately, Cassill lost the lead draft and fell back in the pack in the final 15 laps of the stage. He finished 26th.
● During the stage break, Cassill brought his No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry down pit road for four tires and fuel. He reported the balance was good and he felt secure in the car.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Cassill started 16th and finished 24th.
● When the second stage got underway, the No. 96 Carnomaly driver worked his way up to 11th after just three laps into the run.
● After battling with the draft, Cassill fell back in the pack to 24th in the initial laps of the stage. He worked his way up into the top-20 by lap 70.
● Cassill avoided the lap-78 wreck that brought out the caution and restarted the race on lap 81 in 15th.
● Just two laps into the run, Cassill was sitting ninth, breaking into the top-10 for the second time of the race.
● As the second stage came to an end, Cassill was shuffled back to 24th.
● During the stage break, Cassill reported that his No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry was continuing to be consistent and stable. The team pitted for four tires and fuel.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-165):

● Cassill started 22nd and finished 37th.
● The No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry got shuffled back in the pack on the restart and fell all the way to 36th in the opening laps of the stage.
● As the run continued, Cassill was able to work his way up to 12th with the help of the draft.
● On lap 124, Cassill reported that he needed to bring his No. 96 Carnomaly Camry down pit road soon. The team opted to stay out, which worked in their favor as Cassill worked his way up into the top-five before the caution came out on lap 138.
● During the caution, the No. 96 Carnomaly team pitted for fuel only. Cassill restarted 17th when the race went back green on lap 144.
● Unfortunately, Cassill was caught up in the lap-147 wreck, abruptly ending his strong run at Daytona. The No. 96 Carnomaly Camry could not continue the race due to the damage sustained. Cassill was credited with 37th place.

Notes:

● The Coke Zero Sugar 400 marked Cassill’s milestone 500th career start across NASCAR’s top-three series – Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck.
● Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Daytona. His margin over second-place Chris Buescher was .773 of a second.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 31 laps.
● Only 16 of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship.

Landon Cassill, driver of the No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry:

“We had a pretty decent race going, and it was shaping up at the end. We proved what we had there going into the last stint since the last pit stop. The No. 96 Carnomaly Camry was running in the top-five with the other Toyotas. That was really the first time all day I had gotten my car in the outside lane, and it ran really well up there. I was really proud of that and really proud of the race we ran. It stinks. At Daytona it’s really hard to miss these wrecks, but you can always do something different. I’ll certainly replay that one in my mind many times, but it’s over now.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 5, at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The first race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Kyle Busch, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry
Race Recap for the Coke Zero Sugar 400

Date: Aug. 28, 2021
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway(2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 4th/35th (Accident, completed 156 of 165 laps)
Point Standing: 4th (2,022 points, 30 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)
Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Kyle Busch started fourth and finished third, earning eight bonus points.
● Busch started in the top-five with his Interstate Batteries Toyota and held his spot up toward the front of the field.
● The driver of the No. 18 came for a fuel-only stop on lap 22 during the caution for the competition yellow and then restarted 13th on lap 24.
● The Interstate Batteries Toyota driver worked his way back up through the field and into the top-five. He reached the third spot to end Stage 1.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Busch started 23rd and finished eighth, earning three bonus points.
● The Interstate Batteries Toyota came to pit road following the stage on lap 53 to take on four tires and fuel. The No. 18 over-the-wall team performed an impressive stop, putting him to the lead off pit road.
● With the team hoping to make the next 50-lap stage without having to stop, crew chief Ben Beshore made the decision to come back to pit road with one to go before the field took the green for Stage 2 to top off the fuel tank, helping to ensure they made the entire stage on one tank of fuel.
● The Interstate Batteries driver restarted deep in the field, but he moved up quickly again, reaching the third spot by lap 60.
● Busch got shuffled out of the draft with three laps go in the stage and lost a few spots, but he still earned stage points by finishing eighth in the second stage.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 101-165):

● Busch started 10th and finished 35th.
● The Interstate Batteries driver restarted the final stage within the top-10 and held his spot up front until the caution waved on lap 140.
● Busch came to pit road two laps later to take on fuel only and restarted in the ninth position.
● The Interstate Batteries driver fell to 13th. As the field came out of turn four on lap 156, Busch was caught up in a multicar accident ahead of him and was not able to finish the race after what had looked like a promising night of running up front.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

“There was a bunch of blocking going on, and guys got crossed up. I don’t know if anyone touched me, I just lost it trying to check up and stay out of it. Just frustrating to come to these places and wonder if you are going to walk out of here. Thanks to Interstate Batteries, Toyota and M&M’S. And we’ll see what we can do next week.”

Team Interstate Results:

● Denny Hamlin finished 14th.
● Martin Truex Jr. finished 30th.
● Christopher Bell finished 33rd.
● Kyle Busch finished 35th.

Team Interstate Points:

Martin Truex Jr. (3rd with 2,024 points, 28 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)

Kyle Busch (4th with 2,022 points, 30 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)

Denny Hamlin (7th with 2,015 points, 37 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)

Christopher Bell (12th with 2,005 points, 47 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 5, at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The first race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Custer Finishes 25th at Daytona
Late Accident Foils Top-Five Bid for Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford

Date: Aug. 28, 2021
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway(2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 25th / 25th (Running, completed 164 of 165 laps)
Point Standing: 28th (394 points)
Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Cole Custer started 25th and finished 18th.
● The Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford made steady forward progress from the wave of the green flag. Custer cracked the top-10 by lap 15 and was eighth when the competition caution flag flew on lap 20. Custer said his racecar started out “a little free,” but then he began “losing the front end a bit.” He pitted for fuel only and restarted second on lap 25.
● Custer held his position in the top-three, climbing up to second on laps 42 and 43, before pulling out of line and dropping back to 18th by the end of the stage. He said his Mustang now was “just a bit tight, but pretty good there at the end.” He pitted during the break for four tires and fuel, then pitted a second time a lap later to top off the fuel tank.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Custer started 26th and finished 23rd.
● The Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford moved up to 18th during the opening laps of the stage and maintained that relative position. Custer was running 22nd when the first incident-related caution flag appeared on lap 77. Custer cleared the four-car incident in turn four before reporting he liked the balance of his racecar, even though it was “a tick tight.” He pitted for four tires, fuel and a left-rear track-bar adjustment and restarted 19th on lap 81.
● Custer again made forward progress on the restart and reached the top-15 within two laps. He held that relative position before the final laps of the stage, when he again stepped out of line to “keep from getting wrecked.” He asked to have his Mustang “freed up a little bit” before pitting for four tires, fuel and another track-bar adjustment.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-165):

● Custer started 22nd and finished 25th.
● The Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford driver held his position for the first 18 green-flag laps of the stage before hitting pit road on lap 123 with the rest of the Fords for a round of fuel-only stops. Custer said his Mustang was “still too tight here,” but he was able to manage the issue.
● Custer and the lead Ford contingent stayed in a pack over the next 17 laps, but then a three-car accident in turn four brought out the caution flag. Custer and the lead Fords stayed on track and moved to the front while the remainder of the field pitted. Custer restarted eighth on lap 144.
● An eight-car accident on the backstretch behind Custer less than two laps later brought out the caution flag after he had moved up to fifth place. The race was red-flagged for 14 minutes, 51 seconds before resuming under caution on lap 147. Custer restarted fifth on lap 150.
● Custer stayed in the top-five for the next several laps before losing the draft. He was still holding position in the top-10, but he got collected in an 11-car accident in turn four on lap 156. The Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford suffered damage that required multiple trips down pit lane for repairs.
● Custer restarted 26th for the green-white-checkered finish on lap 163. He picked up one position before the checkered flag.

Notes:

● Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Daytona. His margin over second-place Chris Buescher was .773 of a second.

● This was Ford’s 711th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its second straight. Ford driver Blaney also won the series’ prior race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

● This was Ford’s series-leading 39th win at Daytona. Ford scored its first win at the track with Tiny Lund on Feb. 24, 1963.

● There were eight caution periods for a total of 31 laps.

● Only 16 of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 finished on the lead lap.

● Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Bad luck – if we didn’t have that, we wouldn’t have any luck at all after something like that. We had a good Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford and were in a good position at the end, but we just couldn’t take advantage of it. It’s disappointing, but we can only look ahead and see we have 10 more chances to get to victory lane.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 5, at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The first race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
COKE ZERO SUGAR 400
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 29, 2021

KYLE LARSON CROWNED THE NASCAR CUP SERIES REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION
Six Team Chevy Drivers Lock into NCS Playoffs

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 29, 2021) – The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season has been an unprecedented year for Kyle Larson. The battle for the NCS Regular Season Championship all came down to the 400-mile, 160-lap race at the famed Daytona International Speedway, where the 29-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver captured his first-career NCS Regular Season Championship title. In addition to the title, the Chevrolet driver will enter the 10-race playoff run with 15 additional playoff points to kickoff the fight for the coveted title of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion.

“Our team has worked so hard all of the regular season,” said Larson. “I couldn’t do it without Mr. Hendrick and Linda and all of their support. Everybody back at the shop, too. This is a long season and we still have 10 races to go. It’s a long point to get here and it’s just a big hats off to everybody at the shop. HendrickCars.com, Valvoline, Tarlton and Son, everybody who’s been on board to help us out this year.”

Larson’s debut season with Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 5 Camaro ZL1 1LE team took the NASCAR Cup Series competition by storm. Through 26 races thus far, Larson leads the series in wins with five, a career-best; top-five finishes (14); top-10’s (18); stage wins (12); 37 playoff points; and a career-best 1,566 laps led. The Hendrick Motorsports driver took over the point lead from Denny Hamlin following his win at Watkins Glen and came into the regular-season finale at the World Center of Racing with a 28-point advantage.

“Congratulations to Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team on clinching the NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship,” said Jim Campbell, GM U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports. “It was quite a battle right to the end, but the combination of the most wins, top-five’s, top-10 finishes, stage wins and laps led made the difference to secure this Regular Season Championship. The team has momentum going into the Playoffs.”

The 16-driver playoff field is set for the NASCAR Cup Series, with six Chevrolet drivers securing their chance to battle for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship: Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Kurt Busch, and Tyler Reddick. Heading into the 10-race stretch, momentum is with the Bowtie Brand after capturing 13 wins in 26 NCS races.

Chevrolet is entering the championship hunt in search of a back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championship after Hendrick Motorsports driver, Chase Elliott, captured his first-career Championship in 2020, giving Chevrolet its 32nd Championship title in NASCAR’s premier series. The Bowtie Brand also sits atop the NCS Manufacturer Standings in pursuit of its 40th title. “It’s great to have six Chevrolet drivers locked into the 2021 Playoffs,” said Campbell.

There are three rounds of Playoffs (3 races per round) in the 2021 format, plus one final championship-crowning season finale. Four drivers will be eliminated following each round of three. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs commences at Darlington Raceway with the annual Cook Out Southern 500 at 6 p.m. ET on September 5. Live coverage of the 367-mile, 501.3-mile race can be found on NBCSN, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 VALVOLINE INSTANT OIL CHANGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Press Conference Transcript:
THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Kyle Larson. Congratulations on winning the NASCAR regular season championship. Give us a quick recap of the race from your vantage point, but also the opportunity to take home that regular season championship trophy.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, the race went well until the last lap. We didn’t get any stage points the first time, first stage, and the 11 did. I felt like after thinking about it a little bit more if I could just kind of follow him and stay close to him in the second stage, he wouldn’t gain much on me.

It actually ended up where I beat him in the second stage. That gave me a little bit more comfort going into the final one. We were able to dodge a couple wrecks. He actually got collected in one of them. Then it was kind of go for the win at that point.

Just things didn’t work out for me in the green-white-checkered. Ended up getting shuffled back, then getting right in the middle of that wreck. Yeah, bummer that we didn’t get to finish well, but we accomplished the goal going into tonight, which was coming away with the regular season title.
Got those 15 bonus points. Now we can look forward to the next 10 weeks and hopefully get some more wins.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions for Kyle.

Q. How special is it to lead the way with an historical team and number?
KYLE LARSON: It’s cool. I think just racing the car in general for Mr. H, what that paint scheme and number means to him, it means a lot to me for him to kind of have that trust in me to carry it on. Had a lot of success with it this year, have ourselves positioned in a good spot to chase the championship.

Would have loved to put that car and that paint scheme with HendrickCars.com on it in Victory Lane more often throughout the rest of the year, especially in Phoenix.

Q. You’ll have a huge points lead going into the round of 16. With that margin, what tracks do you have circled in the Playoffs that you feel more confident about?
KYLE LARSON: I mean, I think there’s a lot of good tracks for us. I don’t know which ones specifically. I feel like we have a shot to win anywhere right now. That’s encouraging.

I really just look forward to getting it started next week, kind of getting into the flow of that, racing in the Playoffs against multiple other drivers chasing points and wins.

Yeah, I feel good about it.

Q. What is the possibility seeing all Hendrick cars make the Final 4?
KYLE LARSON: It would be hard to get all of us in the Final 4 at Phoenix, but it’s not impossible either. We’ve all four been really strong I feel like all season long. It’s been nice to have us all win this year and challenge for many other wins. Yeah, it’s not impossible, but it’s definitely going to be tough. That would be awesome.

Q. You’re a guy that’s used to going out and your philosophy is win, win, win. How are you going to temper that balance to win a championship? You’ve never really been in a position to be the favorite going into the Playoffs, at least at the Cup level?
KYLE LARSON: I don’t know, I feel like we’ve kind of had that mindset the last month or so already. It’s not been all about just winning. Once points kind of came into the picture of us being able to beat the 11, kind of points racing against him. I think getting into that mindset, that kind of style it takes to not be so go for broke, which I feel like is a lot of what you need. You obviously have to have that go for broke somewhere in your arsenal.

Yeah, I think a lot of it, you can’t make any big mistakes and take yourself out of it. That’s what we’ve been doing this last month and a half or so. I feel like that’s been good to prep us leading into the Playoffs.

Q. Is there anything you’re looking at as far as changing what you have been doing? Will you continue to race as much outside of NASCAR?
KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. I mean, I’ve answered that question a lot. Naturally the schedule, there’s not a lot of midweek racing. There’s no speedweeks and stuff this time of year. I can’t go race as much as I have been.

I’m still going to race. I think it’s been a big part of what’s made me, what’s gotten us to this point, this strong on Sundays, is being fresh throughout the week. Competing is a big part of me.
Yeah, I’m going to race when I can. Hopefully we do a good job in the Playoffs.

Q. From your point of view, what differences did you see with the package compared to Daytona and Talladega earlier this season?
KYLE LARSON: I didn’t really get to race Talladega. Race ended before the race started almost.
The 500, from what I remember of that, I feel like the runs were maybe just a touch smaller. Maybe it was a little easier to block runs and stuff because of that.

But really I didn’t think it was way different. The other drivers who kind of were up front would maybe have a different opinion. From where I was, I didn’t think it was way different.

Q. Looking forward to the Playoffs, are there any tracks in particular that you’re looking forward to the most?
KYLE LARSON: I mean, I think I’m happy to start off at Darlington. It’s a fun racetrack. There’s a lot of good racetracks for us and our race team. I’m really looking forward to Bristol. It’s my favorite race of the year, favorite racetrack. We only get to go there really once this year I feel like. Hopefully take advantage of that and have a good time and get my first win at Bristol.

Yeah, I mean, there’s a lot of good tracks. Really we look forward to all of them.

Q. Talladega is not that far away. Did you learn anything you can take to Talladega from tonight?
KYLE LARSON: I’m not sure. Obviously there’s always something that you take away from each race. I think after going back and looking at some video, really studying this race, I think you’ll be able to learn a little bit more going to Talladega.

Yeah, I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it yet.

Q. Looking ahead to the Playoffs, is there a certain driver or team you feel is your biggest competition?
KYLE LARSON: I mean, I think everybody has had their moments of being really strong this year. I think the three others, my teammates, are going to be really tough. I think I look at obviously Denny, Martin, Kyle Busch as probably being the three others besides our team that stand out.

I feel like there’s always one or two guys that you don’t really notice that much during the regular season, maybe don’t even notice that much in the first round, but really start hitting their stride after that. There’s probably definitely a few wild cards out there. You won’t really know who they are until we get a few races in.

THE MODERATOR: Kyle, thank you for joining us. Congratulations once again. Best of luck in the Playoffs this season.

KYLE LARSON: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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
COKE ZERO SUGAR 400
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
AUGUST 28, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
5th RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 KROGER/COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
6th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE
7th JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 77 FOE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
8th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
9th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Ryan Blaney (Ford)
2nd Chris Buescher (Ford)
3rd Bubba Wallace (Toyota)
4th Ryan Newman (Ford)
5th Ryan Preece (Chevrolet)

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, September 5, at 6 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 6th
WERE YOU NERVOUS AT ANY POINT IN THE RACE GIVEN WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?
“There was definitely so much happening there during the race and I didn’t get nervous till Stage 3 there on a restart that I thought was coming, but he did a really good job of matching the move with Chase Elliott going three-wide on the bottom and we lost all the track position that we gained there in Stage 2. From that point on we had the cycles and the cautions that came when we got collected in that accident with 15 to go. Yeah, that is when the nerves kind of shot up because the car is crashed, we were out of the draft, and not really sure what was going to happen. We caught a caution and fortunately got through that last crash. Even more fortunate than that was that Ryan Blaney was able to win and if you look at the guys from third to myself, if any of those guys win but Blaney, we are having a different conversation.”

WITH THE SMOKE COMING OUT OF YOUR CAR, WAS THERE ANY POINT WHERE YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE DONE?
“Well, once the vitals on the dash showed everything was fine, me personally, I wasn’t worried. It was a matter of getting the oil that was trapped or stuck…..just a matter of time for it to just work its way out of the car and to stop looking like we were having all kinds of leaks. That is when NASCAR thought we still had a leak. Technically our engine was good, and we didn’t have any leaks. We just had some fluid lying around from the accident.”

HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO THE MOST PRESSURED SITUATIONS YOU HAVE BEEN IN BEFORE?
“Almost more than the Xfinity Series Championship honestly because you have so many drivers that were in the top 15 that could win and change everything for our year. So yeah, a lot of nerves running right there and getting through that crash somehow like we did, and getting the finish and crossing the line and whatnot. Still got sixth and we got lucky.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1L1 – Finished 8th
END OF THE REGULAR SEASON AND INTO THE PLAYOFFS. ALEX, AS YOU GET READY TO GO PLAYOFF RACING, WHERE’S YOUR TEAM AT AND HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU STACK UP AS WE GO TO DARLINGTON NEXT WEEK?
“Yeah, we definitely struggled the three weeks after the two off weeks. But solid top-10 here today for the No. 48 Ally Camaro. Last year, we were miserable all summer and then showed up in the Playoffs and were really strong each and every week. I’m not worried about it. I know we’re going to be good every week. Our Ally Camaro is going to be fast. Greg (Ives, crew chief) and the guys have been doing a really good job. Confident going into a lot of good racetracks for us and excited to get going.”

ARE THERE TRACKS THAT YOU’RE SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO AND IS THERE A TRACK OR TWO THAT YOU’RE HOPING TO GET A GOOD RUN AT IN THESE PLAYOFF RACES?
“Yeah, obviously we won Richmond; excited to go there. That was always the one that I circled that I was worried about. Since we’ve gotten a little better there over the last couple of years, it’s cool to have a win there and be excited to go there rather than somewhat dreading it. But then, the typical good racetracks for us – Las Vegas, Darlington, Kansas – a lot of good places for us. Just excited to get going.”

WHAT’S YOUR TAKEAWAY FOR YOUR RUN AT DAYTONA?
“We crashed three times and ran eighth; pretty typical superspeedway race. At least we made it to the end there. We had a pretty solid car until we got that left-front damage. It was just kind of slow after that, but the guys did a good job trying to fix it up on pit road. We had a good Ally Camaro. Wish we would have been a couple spots better, but just ready to go Playoff racing and have this one done and over with.”

WHAT IS YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL GOING INTO THE FIRST RACE OF THE PLAYOFFS?
“It’s been a rough stretch since the two off weeks, but I feel like we were really successful last year in the Playoffs and we have the ability to repeat that and go further. I’m excited; a lot of great racetracks for us.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 9th
CHASE, NINTH-PLACE FINISH TONIGHT. INITIAL TAKEWAYS FROM YOUR RUN.
“We had a really, really fast UniFirst Chevrolet. I thought we were probably better than we’ve ever been down here. Just a lot of ability in our car to do the things that we’ve been asking of it for a few years. So, we’re really excited about that. I hate to crash there. It’s so tough when you get in those situations where you have the lead and trying to hold it. You have big runs coming and it’s just like, where do you draw the line.”
“I feel like you’ve got to be pretty aggressive or you’re going to get taken advantage of. That’s just the style of racing.”

YOU KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP. WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE TO GO BACK-TO-BACK?
“I feel like the same thing that it was last year. Just execute a really solid 10 weeks and try to be at our very best during the most important part of the year. We’ll see how it stacks up. It’s hard to time those things up, but we’ll try our best to do that.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 COLUMBIA PFG CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th
“Thought we had a good Columbia Chevy, we rode for most of the race and went hard towards the end. Got towards the front and were in position just didn’t get through the last wreck at the end. Proud that we brought a good car, and hope that we get to have Columbia back on the car.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th
“For us, we wanted to protect the car and get it to the end and have a shot to win. Five points in the Playoffs is what we were after. Secondary was to push the 42 of Chastain, but in the end, the lineup……they couldn’t seem to find out which lane all of us were supposed to restart in. Really doesn’t matter for the lineup if they just let us choose which lane. Some weeks we get to choose, some weeks we don’t. There are too many different inconsistencies and then all hell breaks loose at the end of plate racing and everybody is ripping and gouging for themselves. The Monster Energy Chevrolet is all beat up, and I got it close, but I don’t even know if we got a top 10 out of it. We will see where things shake out. It’s what it is and now we are in Playoff mode. I can feel it and we have a good 10 weeks ahead of us.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th
“It was a little bit of a roller coaster ride. We fought our butts off in the stages. We made some good moves to get points and found ourselves in fourth-place for a green-white-checkered here at Daytona. That’s where we were when we won the Daytona 500, so I was feeling pretty good about it. I don’t know – looking back, I wish I would have been a little more patient and probably stay in the top line. But I had a run and they all kind of boggled getting into (turn) three, so I went with the 17 (Chris Buescher) just to see if we could get all the way to the front. The 42 (Ross Chastain) kind of left us at the line and our night was over there. We were kind of in the middle, had a big run and then the crash happened.”

“We fought hard. The Bass Pro Shop Chevy was very fast. Two weeks in a row we’ve had great cars out of the 3 Team. Just haven’t gotten the finishes we’d like to have, but very thankful that the good Lord took care of us tonight and we get to race at Darlington next week. Unfortunate that we’re not in the Playoffs, but we gave it all we could and fought until the very end.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 VALVOLINE INSTANT OIL CHANGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 21st; Clinched Regular Season Championship.
“We had a stretch there where we won like every Stage and every race for a few weeks in a row. I think we took huge chunks out then. I think I read somewhere where we overcame I think a 166-point gap to Denny (Hamlin). I didn’t think it was possible, but our team has worked so hard all of the regular season. I couldn’t do it without Mr. Hendrick and Linda and all of their support. Everybody back at the shop, too. This is a long season and we still have 10 races to go. It’s a long point to get here and it’s just a big hats off to everybody at the shop. HendrickCars.com, Valvoline, Tarlton and Son, everybody who’s been on board to help us out this year.”

WHEN YOU FIRST SIGNED ON AND MR. HENDRICK CALLED YOU AND SAID, ‘HEY WE’RE GOING TO MAKE THIS A-GO’, DID YOU HONESTLY THINK THIS WAS POSSIBLE WITH THE NO. 5 TEAM?
“Yeah, I did for sure. I honestly thought we’d get off to a slower start than we did. But I felt like we could string together some good runs. We’ve had speed all season, so we actually started off the year better than I thought. I didn’t expect to go through that stretch where we were winning every week. But with all of the success that they had last year for Chase (Elliott) and the other three drivers, I knew that it was possible. We just have great people that work so hard and I’m just the lucky guy that gets to drive it. It’s really credit to everybody back at the shop.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 145; Finished 38th
TOUGH NIGHT TONIGHT. TOUGH END TO THE REGULAR SEASON, BUT STILL IN THE PLAYOFFS. WHAT’S THE OUTLOOK GOING INTO DARLINGTON?
“Just reset. Tonight was going OK. I thought we were kind of biding our time to the end and tried to put ourselves in a good position. We had pretty good momentum on the top to make something happen and just got cleaned out. That’s part of it; part of racing. We’ll go onto Darlington and reset for the Playoffs.”

WHAT DID YOU SEE IN ALL THAT?
“It looks like I was just one row short of getting through it. I was basically with the No. 9 (Chase Elliott) and the No. 19 (Martin Truex) came up the track all of a sudden…yeah, just got off-center and got loose; the No. 19 did. We were the meat in the sandwich there. That’s just how it goes sometimes.”

“I thought we were having an OK night. We were third in Stage 2 and got some Stage points. And then, just trying to get back to the front and just nowhere to go. We’ll go onto Darlington and get ready for the Playoffs.”

THE RACING WAS DIFFERENT TONIGHT. WHAT WAS THE FEELING BEHIND THE WHEEL AND IN THE PACK?
“The lanes were really tight so there wasn’t a lot of room to make a gap. You just kind of basically got pushed into the next guy in front of you. So, it was kind of like bumper cars out there. And just bumper car your way to the front and hope you can kind of control the lane. We were able to control the lane early, and then we never really got the right position to do so again. So, it was just kind of like bumper cars out there.”

MORE SO THAN USUAL?
“Yeah, I think so. More so than usual just because, I don’t know exactly why. I don’t know if it was the less horsepower or the wicker off the back. But it seemed like you could never kind of get separation and get pushed out, so you were just kind of always being pushed back to the guy behind you. I think there was a half a lap I pushed the No. 3 car (Austin Dillon) and so, it was just all strategy to try to put yourself in the right spot.”

WITH THIS IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR, ARE YOU READY FOR THE PLAYOFFS?
“Absolutely. We’re excited. We finished fourth at Darlington in the Spring, and I feel like we’ll have a good car there. So, I’m excited for the first round.”

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.

Erik Jones and the No. 43 Columbia PFG Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team finished in the 12th-place in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Saturday, August 28.

The lineup for the 160-lap event was determined by using NASCAR’s competition-based formula, which takes into account finishing positions from the previous race (weighted 25% owner and 25% driver, 18th-place Michigan International Speedway), the ranking in team owner points (35%, 24th-place) and the fastest lap from the previous race (15%). Jones started the event at the 2.5-mile track in Daytona Beach, Fla., from the 21st-place on Row 11.

“I thought we had a good No. 43 Columbia PFG Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. We rode for most of the race and went hard towards the end. We got towards the front and were in position for a strong finish – just did not get through the last wreck at the end. Proud that our Richard Petty Motorsport team brought a fast Chevrolet.

“I hope that we get to have Columbia back on the car this season.”

-Erik Jones

BUBBA WALLACE FINISHES SEASON-BEST THIRD AT DAYTONA
All four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers head to the Playoffs

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 28, 2021) – Bubba Wallace (third) finished in the top-five to lead Toyota in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday evening. Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. will officially be a part of the 16-driver Playoff field that was set at the conclusion of this race.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Daytona International Speedway
Race 26 of 36 – 160 laps, 400 miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Ryan Blaney *
2nd, Chris Buescher*
3rd, BUBBA WALLACE
4th, Ryan Newman*
5th, Ryan Preece*
14th, DENNY HAMLIN
30th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
33rd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
35th, KYLE BUSCH
37th, LANDON CASSILL

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Columbia PPG Toyota Camry, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Can you take us through that last lap?

“Stay in it, that’s all you can do. I needed to win. I was comfortable taking a hit if we were caught up in it. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do and I came out third. I was happy with that, but we needed to win to get in. Up and down regular season for us. Thankful for opportunity. It’s a brand new team. Everybody is still figuring each other out. I’ve always said our superspeedway stuff is good. It’s good to give us a finish we deserved. I don’t think we were a winning car, so I can’t hang my head too much, but knowing that we needed a win and we came up just short stings a little bit. Thanks to Columbia for coming aboard our Toyota Camry this weekend. It looked awesome. It looked great. It’s the cleanest I’ve ever kept a superspeedway car, so maybe I will get to take this one home. Long night with a lot of perseverance.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Shaping Black Futures Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 14th

How was your race car during tonight’s race?

“I pushed whoever was in front of me to the lead every time and I couldn’t quite clear with them and then we were running third and the leaders crashed. Man, that sucks. We definitely gave ourselves a shot which was good and just got killed there at the end so there was nothing left.”

What happened during the accident?

“I’m not sure. I think the 21 (Matt DiBenedetto) and the 9 (Chase Elliott) ran each other into the fence and then they came back down the track and hit me and then somebody from the bottom came and hit me and squashed me in the middle.”

Can you describe what the racing was like tonight?

“It was kind of a mix from the old package with tandem to kind of the package we’ve had over the last two years. It was big runs, but you could stay connected. The speeds being slower you could just hammer the person in front of you really, really hard and the tires did not lose grip because you were under the tire with the speeds we were running. Very intense as far as I am concerned. Just kind of a log jam there at the end. We gave ourselves a chance. We were running third when the two leaders wrecked and got collected in it. Just some bad luck.”

How disappointing is it to not win the regular season title?

“It makes it five points harder. Realistically, it’s five points in any stage and any end of the race. We’ve got to just keep performing like we’ve doing, keep running up front and then we’ll win and keep moving on.”

What is your outlook for the Playoffs?

“Every week we give ourselves a chance so I’m excited for the Playoffs to start especially these first rounds of tracks. We definitely want to just keep getting some momentum, keep performing well and things will fall our way.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 30th

Can you explain what happened in the accident you were involved in?

“Just got a run up the middle coming in through (turns) one and two. I got to the 18 (Kyle Busch) and was pushing him and it all checked up. Just an accordion. I got hit and spun. One of those superspeedway deals. You’re trying to push the guy in front of me and when they check up you’ve got to slow down a little bit and sometimes you get hit. In that case, I got squeezed out of the middle and was sandwiched. It’s Daytona. We had a great Bass Pro Camry. It was good. We got shuffled a bunch of times, but we kept getting back to the front so I was happy and we were in good shape until the pit strategy kind of went south on us and we lost track position. The wreck was just an accordion deal and I got the bad end of it.”

How is your confidence as we approach the first round of the Playoffs?

“It’s pretty high. We just need to get away from all of this bad luck we’ve been having. I feel like every week we’ve been getting run into and crashed and our car was tore up. We’ve had to battle back from a lot, but the guys on the Bass Pro Shops Toyota tonight did a great job. The car was really fast, just wrong place at the wrong time. Feeling good about the Playoffs. A lot of good tracks coming up and back to some normal tracks where we can race hard. Darlington was an awesome race for us this year so I look forward to kicking it off there and see what we can do.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 33rd

What was the pack racing like tonight?

“You could tell that everyone was feeling out the new package early on in the race. It was pretty stable. I didn’t really have any balance complaints all race long. Our Rheem Camry was plenty capable of racing for the lead and unfortunately we got caught up.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 35th

What happened to take you out of the race?

“Just a bunch of blocking going on and guys got crossed up. I don’t know if anybody even touched me. I just lost it. It’s a disappointing effort on my part I guess. I got a little help there from the 47 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.). I thought I had it straight and then I didn’t. And I don’t know who came out of nowhere but they T-boned me so that was fun. Just frustrating to come to these places and always wonder if you’re going to walk out of here. Thanks to Interstate Batteries, Toyota, M&M’s. We’ll see what we can do next week.”

LANDON CASSILL, No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry, Gaunt Brothers Racing

Finishing Position: 37th

How was your race?

“We had a pretty decent race going and it was kind of shaping up at the end. I think we proved what we had there that last stint going into that last pit stop running in the top five with the other Toyotas. That was really the first time all day that I got the car in the outside lane and it ran really well up there. I was really proud of that and really proud of the race that we ran. It’s Daytona and it’s really hard to miss these wrecks. You can always do something different. I’ll certainly replay that one in my mind many times, but it’s over now.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018.

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

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series — Coke Zero Sugar 400
Daytona International Speedway | Saturday, August 28, 2021

FORD FINISHING RESULTS
1st — Ryan Blaney
2nd — Chris Buescher
10th — B.J. McLeod
11th — Josh Bilicki
15th — Aric Almirola
16th — Kevin Harvick
22nd — Chase Briscoe
24th — Joey Logano
25th — Cole Custer
26th — Matt DiBenedetto
27th — Anthony Alfredo
28th — David Starr
32nd — Joey Gase
34th — Brad Keselowski
40th — Michael McDowell

BLANEY MAKES IT TWO STRAIGHT WITH DRAMATIC OVERTIME VICTORY

• Ryan Blaney won his third race of 2021 with tonight’s victory.
• The victory marks his seventh career NCS win.
• Today’s win is Ford’s 711th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
• Of Team Penske’s 84 NCS wins with Ford, 57 have come since rejoining Ford in 2013.

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 BodyArmor Ford Mustang — VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW:

DESCRIBE THE LAST FEW LAPS? “it was wild. We missed that big one barely. I don’t know how we missed it and then we got a restart on the front row and it was kind of a drag race. I’m really thankful to LaJoie, who gave me a really good push and we were able to get clear on the restart, so I appreciate the push from him. I was having to hold off the 4 and the 17 and the 7 and I didn’t really know which lane to go with down the back, so I kind of picked the middle and I kind of committed to the bottom and I guess some people got turned, but what a couple of cool weeks that’s for sure. It was a very eventful race. It’s so cool to be here in victory lane in Daytona. Maybe we’re on a roll right now and we’ve got everything going our way. Hopefully, we keep it up.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS MOMENTUM WITH TWO STRAIGHT GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS? “It’s huge. Momentum is what everything is all about. Confidence is key and we came into this weekend very confident after last week with our heads held high. They’ll be a little bit higher this week, so I look forward to getting to Darlington. It’s a great way to end the regular season, but we’ve still got work to do. We’ve got 10 weeks of work to do and I’ll look forward to them.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang — “It hurts, honestly. I guess at the end of the day on one side I’m glad to see another Ford in victory lane, but it hurts that it wasn’t us. It hurts to get this close and not quite make it and to be sitting here right at the moment. We got a good fire on the restart, but our lane didn’t materialize near as well.”

YOU WERE AGGRESSIVE AND BLOCKED ALL NIGHT. WERE YOU HAPPY WITH HOW YOU DID? “Yeah, we absolutely had to throw big blocks — more than I’ve ever done in my career and it worked out. The shame of it is you have to do it at these kinds of races now.”

ANY SECOND THOUGHTS? “I’m sure there will be some regrets along the way, but it was an awesome race. It was a pretty awesome day. Fifth Third Bank announced they’re coming back for the next five years at Roush Fenway Racing, so we’re proud to get them a solid finish here. We were in a must-win and we knew it. We got so close and it stinks.”

DID YOU THINK YOU COULD HAVE MADE THE MOVE AROUND THE 12 IF THE CAUTION HADN’T COME OUT AT THE END? “It’s hard to say. I mean, he was out by himself and we had a little momentum. I don’t know if we had any help behind us, though. I don’t think we did. Maybe there’s some kind of attack there at the end, but it’s not even worth speculating because ultimately that’s a safety thing. We had a big crash and the caution had to come out, so I won’t even think about that one.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Pirtek Ford Mustang — WHAT HAPPENED FROM YOUR SEAT? “I checked up a little bit. The 37 was flying in front of me and I had to check up for that and got hit from behind. It’s unfortunate. Another foot and we’d have been in a great position here to have a run to win the race. Instead, we got caught up here. I was doing great all the way until the 37 starts spinning. I checked up and just barely got the quarter panel, so it’s a bummer. We’d been putting ourselves in position and trying to be smart and just missed it by a little bit.”

PLAYOFFS START NEXT WEEK. HOW STRONG CAN THE 2 BE? “I don’t like our starting spot for next week, I can tell you that, but Darlington is a super long race so we’ll see.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang — WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS NEXT WEEK? “I’m just really happy to be going to the playoffs. It’s been a tough season for us, so to get that win at New Hampshire was huge and we’ll go these next 10 weeks and maximize our days and execute with perfection and just do everything we can to score all the points we can and try and win a race here or there. We’ll see.”

THIS RACE TONIGHT WAS SIMILAR TO YOUR SEASON WITH SOME ADVERSITY AND THEN COMING BACK. “Yeah, it was just one of those days. It was an up-and-down day. We definitely fought really really hard to get track position and I finally got it there at the end. I made a move to pull out on the restart. I thought the 41 might go with me and I misjudged and kind of got hung out there on the bottom.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang — YOU GOT TURNED AT THE END. DESCRIBE WHAT YOU SAW? “I didn’t see anything. I got hit in the left rear quarter panel and then we wrecked a lot, but everybody on our Unibet Ford Mustang did a good job. We had a shot there at the end and that’s all you can ask and just wound up in a wreck.”

RODNEY SAID EARLIER THAT HE THOUGHT TRACKS LIKE DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA WERE IN YOUR WHEELHOUSE THIS YEAR AND THOSE WERE YOUR BEST SHOT. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE PLAYOFFS WITH TRACKS LIKE DARLINGTON AND TALLADEGA COMING UP? “I don’t think I’d agree with that. We’ve run well at the superspeedways, but I don’t think that’s our only shot.”

HOW DO YOU VIEW DARLINGTON NEXT WEEK? “That’s really as far ahead as I look is one week at a time. We go to Darlington. The track is a little bit different off of turn two and just go race.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang — “We had a fast car. Our Mustang was fast and won a stage, which was great. We got a playoff point. We had a shot to win there and the 11 just threw a late block and fenced me and then I had a right rear down. Luckily, I didn’t take out the whole field that time, but that got taken care of the next lap, so it probably wouldn’t have mattered.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE PLAYOFFS? “I feel good about our speed and confident with what we have. It’s just that something has been happening every week. Like I said, we scored that stage point which is always valuable. That goes along with you, which is a little better than where we finished, but it is what it is.”

YOU SAID YOU GOT FENCED BY THE 11. DO THOSE THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS CARRY OVER TO THE PLAYOFFS FIGHTING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP? “Absolutely.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE PACKAGE? “The same. It was no better. We all crashed on the last lap anyway. It doesn’t make a difference.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang — “It’s so unfortunate. It’s heartbreaking. Our car was really good. We had to go to the tail and we were able to drive back in the top 20. I felt like it was really racy. I was being pretty conservative and then under the caution I just lost oil pressure. It’s really unfortunate.”

NEXT WEEK IS A NEW SEASON, THOUGH, SO BETTER TO GET IT OUT OF THE WAY TONIGHT? “Yeah, that’s right. It’s a brand new season for us next week kicking off the playoffs. I’m glad we’re locked in and didn’t have to do it tonight, but it’s heartbreaking. We put so much emphasis on these races knowing that they’re our opportunity. We had a really fast CarParts.com Ford again, so disappointing, but glad we got the win here in February. We’re excited to go into the playoffs. Our car is in one piece, so I guess that’s tonight’s highlight.”