Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying — Coca-Cola 600
Charlotte Motor Speedway | Sunday, May 30, 2021

Ford Qualifying Results:
5th — Kevin Harvick
11th — Ryan Blaney
13th — Brad Keselowski
16th — Joey Logano
21st — Chase Briscoe
22nd — Matt DiBenedetto
23rd — Cole Custer
24th — Michael McDowell
25th — Ryan Newman
27th — Chris Buescher
29th — Anthony Alfredo
31st — Aric Almirola
33rd — B.J. McLeod
37th — Josh Bilicki

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Thousand.com Ford Mustang — “Today was a good day. We qualified well. Our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang had good speed and I think probably should have been wide-open in three and four, but I gave it just a little bit of lift and that’s on me.”

HOW PLEASED ARE YOU WITH THAT? “It’s nice to practice. Our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang got a bunch of laps in yesterday to try and hone in on exactly where we want the balance for the race and what we think we need in our car. To come out and qualify good is a testament to the whole team. Everybody is working hard. I know it’s not exactly where we want to be as far as performance, but I feel like we’re getting better. We did better at Kansas and we’ll just keep plugging away.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang — HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE FANS AND PEOPLE IN THE GARAGE AND QUALIFYING TODAY? “It’s definitely nice and good timing too for Memorial Day Weekend because I feel like our sport does a really nice job of celebrating the ones that we’ve lost and the reason why we’re able to be out here and do this. It’s definitely a nice weekend to start getting more and more back to normal, being able to see fans back in the garage, the stands obviously and even the infield. It’s neat. I’m glad to see it. I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to practice more in the future. I know we don’t have a whole lot planned for this season as we go forward, but as we keep working towards next season and getting back to the point where we can get our practice and qualifying in it will be greatly appreciated.”

YOU HAVE TOP 10 FINISHES IN THE 600 EACH OF THE LAST TWO YEARS. WHAT’S THE SECRET? “I don’t have a good answer for you. I think when we come to the 600 it’s about maintaining throughout 400 laps. It’s about survival. It’s about not using up equipment early on, so try and be smart about it. You’ve got to be aggressive, especially with these restarts and everything as crazy as they are right now, but this race, being as long as it is, you really need to pace it to a certain extent and make sure that you have a clean car to race to the end. I think we’ve done a good job of that. We’ve had good calls from the top of the box to put us in good situations, and been able to start moving around the track and try and plan more for the night than the day. It was nice to have a practice at night yesterday. I feel like we typically don’t get to practice in the conditions we’re going to race. Unfortunately, it’s 20 degrees hotter than it will be for the race, but, still, it was nice to be a lot closer.”

LOOKING BACK TO LAST WEEK. THE GENERAL CONSENSUS WAS IT WAS TOO WET. WHAT DID YOU THINK? “Yeah, that’s accurate. The way I see it, I shouldn’t speak for all the drivers, but in my eyes I didn’t see anybody complaining about racing in wet conditions or a damp racetrack or being slick or undriveable. That’s not really the issue. It really comes down to vision. Once it gets wet enough to where we don’t have vision, that’s where it becomes dangerous and so I think somewhere in the midpoint of that race, I don’t know exactly when it was when it took a second, the rain let up, it was a little bit more of a drizzle, they Air Titaned off the long straightaway that was getting such a bad roost and that made it manageable for a good period of time and then once it started to rain heavy again once you can’t see it’s just flat-out dangerous. I think the call, ultimately, even though I wanted to go longer and we would have been better off if it would have kept going from a finishing position, the call was right. I mean, it was the worst it had been the entire race there right at the end when they brought us down pit road.”

DO YOU FEEL SAFE FOR THE PLAYOFFS EVEN THOUGH GUYS LIKE HARVICK AND HAMLIN HAVEN’T WON YET? “No, I definitely don’t feel safe. It’s too early to feel like you’re locked in on a points situation, for sure. The points are too close. There’s a lot of winners. The guys that haven’t won yet, a lot of the ones you’d expect to get those wins are ahead of us in points still, so I don’t feel like that’s something that’s going to just very quickly knock us out, but it’s more of the surprises that I think will get us. So, we need to get a win and I think that would — even that is not going to completely make me feel warm and fuzzy inside and feel like we’re locked in, but it would be a huge step in the right direction so that we can feel much better about it as we head into the last dozen races getting ready for the cutoff.”

IS THIS SEASON PLAYOFFS OR BUST? “No, not necessarily. The playoffs are such a huge part of what we do and points racing has become way more involved now that there is this playoff format. I personally don’t like points racing and so I don’t really care for — it shouldn’t be like that — but for everything that goes into making the playoffs it shortens your regular season, it makes you make decisions rarely on the side of caution at times, I feel like. I like racing when you go win a race you’re maximizing your points situation so you go give it your all and that’s how you build points up, so with that, yeah, the points are a huge deal, but I think we need to race every race like we’re going to try and win and with that the points will fall as they will. The playoffs are important and we need to work on getting in there and we are right now. We’ve done a good job with that, so we’ll keep doing what we’re doing, but it’s not an all or nothing situation I don’t believe.”

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang — WE HEAR BRAD IS GOING TO THE 6 CAR NEXT YEAR, SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NEXT YEAR? “I don’t know anything. I’ve not been told anything to know, and I’m just doing my thing. My goal is to continue with the 6 car and focus there and try to get our Roush Fenway Ford in victory lane and have a shot and chance to be in the playoffs and then prove we’re capable of more than people think we are.”

DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION WHETHER YOU WANT TO CONTINUE RACING? “I think that’s everybody’s decision routinely and obviously there’s a lot of transition next year, so I don’t think I’m the only person you could ask that question to.”

DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE RACING? “I want to continue racing, yeah. I love what I do. There’s no doubt that I’m very passionate about the sport, the people, the cars in many ways. I’ve got more experience and tenure to have I guess a more sound opinion about it, so I like having that and it’s not because I think people will listen to me just because I think being an engineer and having a background the way I do that it makes sense.”

SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY YOU’VE BEEN AROUND 20 YEARS. IT’S A GREAT CAREER, SO WHY KEEP GOING? “Yeah, and no doubt it is and it has been, but the reality is I still haven’t accomplished what I want to accomplish and I don’t know that I ever will. I could have Mark Martin syndrome, but, in the end, he was around for a long time and he’d be a good person to ask was if he did it right, if he retired right, if he’s happy, if he’s satisfied with his career.”

I DON’T KNOW IF THERE IS A RIGHT WAY OR A WRONG WAY. “There never is. In this case I don’t think there is.”

DOES IT FEEL MORE LIKE IT DID A COUPLE YEARS AGO AT THE TRACK? “It’s just nice to actually qualify the way we used to qualify and have people around in the form of fans. I’m happy that it is more like that in the grand scheme of things for lots of reasons. It’s Charlotte. It’s home. It’s beautiful weather and we’ve got the opportunity to go out and do what we do and have some fun.”

HOW CAN THIS SUMMER STRETCH REALLY TEST A TEAM WITH HOW UNIQUE THE TRACKS WILL BE? “It seems no matter what series or what kind of race car you’re in the summer stretch is always something that’s talked about and it’s important here because of the way our season is structured. It’s a big part of what happens right before the playoffs, so you’ve learned as a team, maybe you’re new, you’re together, you’ve got a new crew chief or whatever, but you’ve got a chance to expand upon what you’ve had and now that’s even more important because we get to a few tracks that we actually get to practice, so just even yesterday in the 50 minutes I felt like I was a race car driver all over again because, to me, a race car driver has input — not to say that I didn’t — but getting a chance to practice and experience and feel and make adjustments that we wouldn’t normally do. All of our development with our cars has been on simulation, simulators, computers, subjective feedback from the drivers on what we need, but when I feel it and it can prove it, then it’s so much nicer.”

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO CHANGE YOUR MINDSET FROM WEEK TO WEEK WHERE SOME WEEKS YOU PRACTICE AND SOME WEEKS YOU JUST GET IN THE CAR AND GO? IT MUST BE WEIRD TO SWITCH THAT ON AND OFF. “It is, but it is what it is. It’s like traffic on the interstate. You can be cruising along and all of a sudden you need to stop and you have to adjust. Sometimes you have to bail out and plan accordingly and that’s just the way it works now. There’s a lot more and different variables than we ever used to have and that’s OK, but sometimes it’s not OK.”

THAT BEING SAID, ABOUT LAST WEEK THE COMMENTS FROM HARVICK. DOES HE SPEAK FOR YOU? “I said after the race, to me, it was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done sitting in the cockpit of a car, going as fast as I was without being able to see. I’ve had cars that are on fire, tires blown, things like that, and felt like I still had some control, but you don’t have control when you lose that sense of vision. That was my biggest problem with everything that happened. NASCAR was boxed in, no doubt. Started off sequence on rain tires versus slicks. We got to a point where they didn’t know how good we couldn’t see and I mean that with every word that I said — how good we couldn’t see — and it was dangerous. It was dangerous in many ways and I feel like we got completely lucky and I’m happy that we got lucky, but we damn sure better make sure we adjust to it and make sure that we don’t put ourselves in that situation again.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang — HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE SOME NORMALCY? “Yeah, it’s nice to be at the racetrack and have some normalcy, but it’s frustrating at the same time to just be off the way we have been. We’re struggling right now to make sense of it all, so just really struggling for grip and can’t figure out what we need in our race cars to go fast and make them drive good.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Menards/Masterforce Tools Ford Mustang — ARE YOU GOING TO BE PART OF TEAM PENSKE OR THE WOOD BROTHERS NEXT YEAR? “I hope so. I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything to be honest with you. I’ve just been pretty much focused on our performance of our 21 and trying to win and keep improving our team, so that’s been the main focus. But to answer everyone’s questions, because I’ve gotten it a lot, there’s been no discussions, no word to me yet, but, obviously, yeah, I would hope so. I love being in the Ford camp. I love driving for the Wood Brothers. It’s a dream come true and we have our alliance with Team Penske, which is awesome and they’re a great group, so I hope the opportunity comes about. Everyone knows me. I’m an open book, so I’ll let everybody know whenever I know something.”

IS THERE A TIME WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE TO START TALKING TO OTHER PEOPLE? “In my contract the date is, I believe it’s September 1 that I would have to have an answer by of ‘hey, we want you or are interest in you or explore other options.’ That would be my best answer of that. Hopefully, I would obviously like to know sooner and hopefully get an opportunity. There are lots of rumors flying around. I really don’t know anything more than any of you guys or anyone on social media. I literally know not a thing more than anyone else, so I’m pretty much just speculating like everybody else and taking my best guess at it.”

IT’S SAFE TO ASSUME THAT WHETHER IT’S THE 2 OR THE 21 TO STAY IN THE PENSKE CAMP WOULD BE PREFERABLE? “Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, definitely. It will be interesting with the new car coming out. I think we still have areas that we need improvement as a team and keep on digging, so, yeah, I love being a part of the Ford Camp. If I can continue on, to answer your question, and continue to be a part of our fold that the Penske — Cindric is driving the 21 car next year is the announced plan and such, so, yeah, if I could stay in that Penske fold and the Ford camp that’s obviously home and that’s my family that I’m lucky to be a part of, so I’d like to extend that relationship and hopefully it works out.”

ARE YOU GLAD TO SEE PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING? “Yeah, it’s great. It’s good to have it back, good to get some time working with the team to work on this. Like I was talking about, we do have some weaknesses and things I haven’t really been satisfied with with our race cars at certain places and the feel that I need, but we haven’t been able to work on them because we’ve never had practice. So, it was nice to be like, ‘Hey, let’s go through a few changes I’ve been wanting to do for only a year-and-a-half.’”

SO IT WOULDN’T BREAK YOUR HEART TO ADD SOME PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING THE REST OF THIS YEAR? “I would be OK with it because, like I said, there’s just a lot of things I’ve been dying to try to get that feel of the car like I need at certain places where we’ve been lacking, but we don’t have the opportunity to work on them without practice, so I definitely feel like we could be much further improved as a program if we did have the opportunity to practice more often, so I’m looking forward to that moving forward and if we do that some at some of these places and then obviously next year getting back to normal I feel that’s a strength of mine is knowing the feel I need in the car.”

ANTHONY ALFREDO, No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang — WHAT MAKES THIS RACE SO DIFFERENT FROM 500 MILE RACES? “I think just the expectations and the energy of the fans and the hype around the event, just because it’s so notorious, such a big event. I’ve been coming here as a fan for many years, so it’s pretty surreal and a blessing to be competing in it now, so I’m ready to take on all 600 miles. We focused on our race run speed over our qualifying speed. That’s one lap versus 600 miles tomorrow. It’s not about where you start, it’s about where you finish, so I’m looking forward to it.”

CAN ANYTHING FROM TODD’S EFFORT IN THE TRUCKS TRANSFER TO YOU? “We’ll see. He did well last night and hopefully we can find a little bit of that. I know some of the truck stuff is different with the engine package and some of the aero and all that stuff, so it’s a little bit different, but it’s definitely a lot of positive energy throughout Front Row Motorsports ever since Michael won the 500 and now Todd won a truck race, so hopefully our 38 Cup team can get one or something soon.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS ALL THE TIME? “It’s just so different. For me as a rookie, it’s definitely harder to not have any practice or any qualifying. It just hurts our starting position and our laps. You kind of have to unload with something pretty competitive because you can only make such minor adjustments in the race, so it’s definitely been nice to have it back. I know the fans love. The drivers love it and I don’t think we ever have to go back to as much practice as there used to be, but I think this one one-hour session kind of thing works pretty well. It’s just nice for me to get in a rhythm. This was my first time qualifying a Cup car on an intermediate so far, so that was pretty weird as well considering we’re almost halfway through the season.”

LOTS OF CHAOS LAST WEEK. WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT RACING IN THE RAIN? “It was definitely not possible towards the end of that, but I think it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it and I believe if we come up with some solutions like better wipers, better defrosters, just little things that we could work on we can race in those conditions — maybe not as extreme as when the race actually was red flagged, but I think with the current equipment we have we could definitely race when it was damp and it wasn’t raining like after that red flag in the middle of the race. But I think we could race in actual rain conditions if we just work on a couple things because I certainly enjoyed it.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang — WHAT MAKES THE CUP AND NXS CARS DIFFERENT? “Throttle time for sure. Out there in qualifying it’s pretty easy wide-open the whole time in the Cup car than the XFINITY car. Even in qualifying we’re all the way out of the gas for quite a while and on the brake and everything else. The biggest thing is downforce. They’re definitely slipping and sliding around a lot more than the XFINiTY car, so it’s been hard on the XFINITY side just getting back used to it even only sitting out five or six months, so it’s been a little bit of a challenge on that side to get up to speed where I’d like to be, but we’ve got 300 miles to figure it out, so we’ll see how it goes.”

WILL 300 MILES TODAY BE ANY INDICATOR OF HOW THE CAR WILL HANDLE TOMORROW? “No, I don’t think so. You might be able to maybe see where the PJ1 is going, but it’s 600 miles and you’re gonna figure it out anyway. Maybe you’ll kind of see where the track is changing a little bit and green flag pit stops — everything is so different on the XFINITY side, so it’s hard to really compare and take away anything, but anytime you can have seat time, whether it’s in a truck, XFINITY car or Cup car it’s gonna help.”

HOW DIFFERENT IS IT GETTING ON AND OFF PIT ROAD IN THE TWO SERIES? “It’s definitely the same principal, but it’s just totally different. The XFINITY side a lot of the time there were just 12-15 guys you were pitting with, In our situation last year I always had an opening in or an opening out. Now, you’re pitting with thirty-something guys. You’re coming around somebody or pitting behind somebody. It’s just a lot harder to really capitlize on pit road, and then the green flag pit stops I think last year I maybe only did 12 or 13 of them. This year, we’ve done 12 or 13 in a matter of like three races, so just getting those reps. All those things take time to get used to. It’s like second-nature to these guys who have been in the Cup Series for a while now and for me it’s still fairly new. As I continue to get reps I feel like I’m getting better and better at that.”

CAN YOU WORK ON THAT IN THE SIM? “I think it has to be real life. You can go on the sim and all these things, but you can’t simulate actually on pit road in the sim and then even coming to green. There’s a certain fear factor in real life of if you over cook it or miss it. In the sim, there’s no penalty for missing it or trying to get in way deep, so I think it’s all real life stuff. You only get reps doing it in real life. The sim is great for trying to get experience, but it’s not the same.”

COLE CUSTER, No. 41 Feeding America/Wow Wow Ford Mustang — HOW DOES IT FEEL TO FINALLY GET TO QUALIFY WITH THIS TEAM ON AN INTERMEDIATE TRACK? “It’s nice just to kind of have a baseline for some kind of standpoint. We haven’t really been able to try things how we want to and figure out what our real issues are, so being able to come here and really figure out what makes a difference and what doesn’t when we make changes on the car was huge. We try to make it so we can race better. We didn’t have all the speed. We didn’t plan on having all the speed, but hopefully we can just have a good handling car for the 600. It’s a really long race, so you’ve just got to be there at the end.”

IS THIS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SHR TO TURN THINGS AROUND? “Yeah, I think it’s just something you have to try things in the car to see if they’re better or worse and we haven’t really had the time to do that. It definitely helped getting us steered in a little bit of the right direction. We still want more practice. I’ll say that. It wasn’t enough of what we want, but it was definitely good to have that little bit of time to see what made the difference.”

THERE’S STILL A FEW RACES LEFT IN THE REGULAR SEASON. DO YOU FEEL THERE’S ENOUGH TIME TO CLIMB AND GET IN THE PLAYOFF HUNT? “With how COTA went it really set us back there, so we’re gonna probably have to try to win a race or have something big happen. There’s a lot of stage points up for grabs here, though. There are four stages, so I think it’s just a matter of we’ve got to work as hard as we can to find the little things that can make us better and then we have to execute how we need to.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE WHEN YOU GOT OUT OF THE CAR AT COTA AND THE SAFETY TRUCK CAME UP TO YOU? “I didn’t talk to them, so I don’t know. They might have just been coming close to the car and everything. They might have saw me, but it’s definitely nerve-racking. Even if we can’t see, the drivers can manage it in some standpoint. Last week was probably too extreme, but, especially when there are safety workers out there and stuff like that. That’s probably the thing we have to look out for the most and drivers getting out of the car. When you can’t see people like that, it can lead to some bad things happening, so that’s probably the thing we have to look at most when we’re racing in that low of a visibility.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE WHEN THE FIRE STARTS? ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT GETTING OUT OF THE CAR AS FAST AS YOU CAN OR ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT OTHER CARS BEHIND YOU? “For me, once I unbuckled by belts I was like, ‘I kind of regret this,’ because you kind of realize people are still driving by you and they might not see you, but at the same time there was a bunch of fire coming through the firewall. It was the most fire I’ve ever seen in a cockpit in my time that I’ve been racing, so the instinct is you’ve got to get out, but if I did it again I probably would have stayed in a little longer, but you’d rather not be put in that situation also. So, it’s just a matter of we just have to balance when we can race in the rain and when we can’t just from a visibility standpoint of you could run safety workers over or bad things can happen.”

IT WAS A HEAVY IMPACT. HOW DID YOU FEEL AFTERWARDS? “I didn’t feel anything. When you see somebody about 50 miles an hour slower in front of you, you’re thinking of the worst and, honestly, it didn’t hurt that much. I was really surprised, so it’s really a testament to everybody at SHR and everybody at NASCAR and, still, it’s cool that they have the in-car cameras for everybody in the Cup Series because you can kind of look at your wreck and see what you can still make better by your safety equipment. I think it’s definitely good and they’re moving in the right direction of that it’s just balancing when we race in the rain and when we don’t.”

ANYTHING YOU CAN CHANGE OR MAKE BETTER AFTER THAT ACCIDENT? “Little things, just with the helmet and the belts and stuff like that, but nothing — all my stuff from Simpson and everything from Hendrick seats and everything from SHR did really great, so it’s just a matter of fine-tuning it.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 29, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 METROTECH CAMARO ZL1 1LE
2nd RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
3rd CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
4th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
6th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE
7th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE
9th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 CAMPING WORLD CAMARO ZL1 1LE
10th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL1 1LE]

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

1. Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Chevrolet)
3. Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
4. William Byron (Chevrolet)
5. Kevin Harvick (Ford)

FOX will telecast the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Moto Speedway live at 6 p.m. ET Sunday, May 30. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 METROTECH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Pole Winner
NINTH-CAREER POLE FOR KYLE LARSON. WELL DONE, YOUNG MAN. DID YOU FEEL LIKE IT WAS A POLE-PRODUCING RUN?
“It felt really balanced. A lot of times if that’s the case, you would think it might be slow. I wasn’t sure. I honestly didn’t even know what the No. 9 (Chase Elliott) ran for a lap. It was cool when they said I was P-1. Awesome to put our No. 5 MetroTech Camaro ZL1 1LE on the front row. Really cool for Chevrolet, too. There’s a lot of Chevy’s towards the front of the field in qualifying, so that’s nice.”

“A long race tomorrow – we’ll see what we can do. I’ve never been that great in the 600, but Hendrick Motorsports has awesome equipment. I’m excited about it. Thank you to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports, the engine shop, Chevrolet, Mr. H (Rick Hendrick). This is pretty cool to get a pole when we don’t get to qualify much this year.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 2nd
IN THAT SMALL OF A MARGIN, CAN YOU FEEL WHERE IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER AT ANY POINT?
“No doubt. The guys gave me a great No. 47 Cottonelle/Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE. I felt like I got to the green really good and through (turns) one and two. I knew down the back straightaway; it was all going to be up to (turns) three and four. I got a little bit tight down in three and four and it just scrubbed a little too much speed.”

“All-in-all, I’m really happy with it. It felt really good in race trim and looking forward to a long race. Starting on the front row with my buddy (Kyle Larson). I wish we could have got it, but really happy with our performance.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 3rd
“Really proud of our No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team for continuing to push forward. We had a nice win last week, which is always good. I feel like we’ve been in a good place really the last two or three weeks before that. I think we’re going to be plenty good enough for 600-miles and a good pit selection, which is important. Looking forward to it.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 4th
YOU ENDED UP FOURTH – GOOD STARTING SPOT. HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE YOUR QUALIFYING RUN?
“Yeah, I thought honestly we did everything we would hope we would do. To start in the top-four is great pit selection. The No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE has been really fast all weekend. It’s nice to have a weekend to practice and qualify. It’s kind of cool – working with my new crew chief, Rudy (Fugle), this is kind of our first true practice session with a normal style of race track, so looking forward to that. I felt like our race car drove really well in race trim by the end of practice. I feel like we’ll have a shot to win.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 6th
ARE YOU GLAD PRACTICE IS BACK?
“I like it sporadic; I don’t want it all the way back. Personally, I just like showing up and racing. It’s fun and the guys do a good job with the balance of the cars. We get a little more time at home. I think the racing has been better since we’ve gotten rid of practice. You don’t see the guys just pulling away and lapping up to the top-10, unless it’s a 750 package at Darlington. I think the racing has been great since taking practice away.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 7th
“Starting top 10 is good for our Ally Chevrolet. This race is one where you have to be able to manage what you have for 600 miles. Our handling still isn’t 100% where we want it to be, but this Ally team will get it dialed in during tomorrow.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 CAMPING WORLD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 9th
YOU SHOWED SOME SPEED YESTERDAY IN PRACTICE. HOW GOOD DO YOU THINK YOUR CAR IS GOING TO BE ON SUNDAY?
“I think our car is pretty good. I’m very happy with the car. We made some adjustments trying to be pro-active for Sunday. All-in-all, our car has speed and I’m very happy for that. We have to keep it up. We’ll see what tomorrow can bring.”

THIS RACE IS KNOWN FOR FIRST-TIME WINNERS. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN?
“I think we can. The car has it, we just have to make the right tweaks in it. I’m very happy. I think that with a little bit of luck and the right adjustments, I think we can get a trophy tomorrow.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 15th
“That’s not quite the qualifying spot we wanted for our No. 8 Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, but we had good speed yesterday so I know we’ll be in a good spot for the Coca-Cola 600 tomorrow evening. Our long run speed was especially strong, so that should play into our favor over the course of the 600 miles.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 PETTY’S GARAGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Qualified 19th
THOUGHTS ON HOW YOU’VE FELT, SO FAR, THIS WEEKEND?
“I’ve felt good. Obviously, lap times are a little circumstantial here with the draft and everything, but I still felt like our car had good speed and drove good. It’s good stuff for us. Looking back on the year, Las Vegas (Motor Speedway), we ran really well for a 1.5-mile track. Since then, we’ve just kind of struggled here and there. It feels good to have a car that has good tendencies.”

IS IT GOOD TO HAVE PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING BACK?
“Yeah, I’ve missed it. Just getting out there – it’s so nice to be able to go out and make a lap in your car, and come in and adjust on it. You miss that part of it; working with your guys. I don’t know – I miss every part of it. It’s good to be doing it again.”

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.

NCS Post-Qualifying Report – Charlotte Motor Speedway
All Five Toyotas qualify in the top 20 for Coca-Cola 600

CHARLOTTE (May 29, 2021) – Two-time 600 winner Martin Truex Jr. led the Toyota Camrys in qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday morning.

Toyota Racing Post-Qualifying Report
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Charlotte Motor Speedway – May 29, 2021

TOYOTA STARTING POSITIONS
1st, Kyle Larson*
2nd, Ricky Stenhouse*
3rd, Chase Elliott*
4th, William Byron*
5th, Kevin Harvick*
8th, MARTIN TRUEX JR
14th, DENNY HAMLIN
17th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
18th, BUBBA WALLACE
20th, KYLE BUSCH
38th, DAVID STARR
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

JAMES SMALL, crew chief, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Red, White, Blue Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 8th

How did qualifying go for your team today considering you haven’t had the chance to qualify much lately?

“It’s a little bit of an unknown really because we haven’t qualified at a 550 race since this time last year. It’s a good gauge to see where everybody is at with car performance really for a single lap. It honestly went a little bit unexpected. We weren’t perfect and could have done a better job. We should have a reasonable pit stall selection.”

Is it challenging to setup for qualifying when you’ve become accustomed to setting up just to show up and race?

“Definitely. We haven’t done it for so long and things have changed on the car builds and all the little tweaks that you do for qualifying. Everything is so different so there was a lot of educated guessing going on.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 14th

How was your qualifying effort today?

“It was okay, just a little off with speed and handling. You’re wide open so a lot of it has to do in qualifying with car speeds and we’re a little shy on that, but we need to have it driving good for tomorrow night. Hopefully, we’ll get that figured out.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Toyota Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Starting Position: 17th

How was your car in practice last night?

“We were mediocre. We were right outside the top-10 there the majority of the time so didn’t feel perfect with our balance so hopefully we can get the Camry to drive a little bit better and get up there in the hunt tomorrow.”

How was the wet weather test at Richmond earlier this week?

“The tires provided a lot of grip, but they only lasted a little over 20 laps. It didn’t take long for them to get worn out and we were really hanging on. I was surprised at the lap time, the lap time wasn’t much slower at all compared to the dry conditions, which was really good, but tire wear was a big issue and then visibility was obviously undrivable.”

Was there a point after CoTA where you didn’t want to participate in anything involving racing in the rain?

“I love rain racing. I love all the concepts about it, slipping and sliding, I love that aspect. It’s just not fun when you can’t see. Obviously, it bit me at CoTA and bit a lot of other guys too. If we can get the visibility figured out, I’d love to do it.”

Where is your team currently?

“The numbers are definitely bad and I wouldn’t say we’re happy with where we’re at, it’s definitely been up and down. We have moments where we’re competitive and moments where we’re not competitive. Need to get that ironed out to where we can be consistently in the top-10 and be in the hunt a little bit more often. I think after the road course race at the beginning of the year where we were really fast and really competitive and was able to win and then we’ve had a couple other showings where we’ve been really competitive, which gave us a lot of hope. Over the last couple weeks, it’s seems like that’s fallen off a little bit. Just have to get the boat turned around and get some momentum going our way. Don’t have any momentum right now and we have to start building some.”

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry, 23XI Racing
Starting Position: 18th

How did you feel about your qualifying effort?

“I felt good. We had good balance yesterday in our DoorDash Toyota Camry and we were on the loose side of things, but we made it better. Watching Xfinity qualifying and everybody was loose. Obviously, when you come to these mile-and-a-halves, you want to get as much momentum as you can so everybody runs the top through one and two and it’s like, whose going to run it through three and four. None of us did, I didn’t for sure. The PJ1 is super slick. Just trying to be mindful of that so made our lap and one and two was really good, three and four I got 75 percent through the corner and I’m like, oh sweet, balance is pretty good. Then wow, it humbled you really quick and got loose and had to come out of the throttle. All in all, good effort for us. Hopefully, be on the top-half of 18 to 25th area. Long, long race tomorrow – Coke 600, crown jewel and we’ll see what we can do.”

With 23XI Racing still being a new team, how big is it to have a weekend like this with practice and qualifying prior to the race?

“It’s really big. It just further goes the communication element that you have to work on, the vibe with the guys. We had a really good Thursday night outing at the house with everybody from the shop, all the employees were there and we had a good time. Just to be able to cut loose and hang low and just treat each other like family because that’s what this is. You’re with this family more than you are your actual family. Love everybody that’s a part of this team, they do a lot of hard work, especially when I get some damage about every week, trying to fix a right-front fender or something. We’re getting there. We just have to keep going. Got through this weekend and everybody was happy that we all made it off turn four in qualifying and didn’t have to pull out a backup car so we’re good.”

Is the 600 miles a good test of where this team is currently?

“Toyotas have been strong so from an equipment standpoint, I’m not worried about that. For me, it’s physical and mentally staying in it for the whole race. Longest race of the year. I’ve been in the gym so hopefully it pays off because I hate working out, but I’m kind of forced to go. Making the most of it and going to have some fun tomorrow. Just try to keep everything level set.”

Is it weird to practice and qualify after being used to just showing up to race?

“Sure. We all can’t wait to get back to normal, but hell normal now is just show up and race. No people around and now we have people around. You’re like, oh, keep distance and then, nevermind, we’re good, we’re vaccinated so we’re all good. Getting used to it.”

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

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY POST-PRACTICE NOTES & QUOTES
MAY 28, 2021

NASCAR CUP SERIES PRACTICE AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY: TEAM CHEVY TOP-10
1st AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE
2nd ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE
3rd KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 METROTECH CAMARO ZL1 1LE
4th ERIK JONES, NO. 43 PETTY’S GARAGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
6th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 CAMPING WORLD CAMARO ZL1 1LE
7th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
8th RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
9th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE

NCS TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 IN DRIVER STANDINGS: POST-PRACTICE MEDIA AVAILABILITY HIGHLIGHTS:
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
THE WHOLE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS STABLE IS FAST ONCE AGAIN. DO YOU GUYS FEEL COMFORTABLE AS AN ORGANIZATION FOR SUNDAY?
“Yeah, our first run there was really loose. It was kind of normal Charlotte where you unload too free, but we got it really good by the end and we were able to kind of run the same lap times for a long time that last run. I feel like we do a good job adjusting. It’s kind of our first chance to work on the car, Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) and I together, so it’s awesome to have some time to do some things and actually influence the car. I thought by the end there, we were really, really good. I need to see what the lap times were like, but the car was good. I think we’ll be in good shape; we just have to execute. It’s such a long race and the track and the car changes so much.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE TIMING OF THIS PRACTICE WITH THE TRANSITION FROM DAYLIGHT TO NIGHTTIME BEING SO IMPORTANT?
“Yeah, it’s critical. I feel like everyone talks about the daytime. The daytime is usually tighter and then it frees up as the night goes on. I feel like it’s honestly just a guessing game of trying to just be decent at the beginning to have something to work with in the later part of the runs and the later part of the race. It’s really where you need to be good. You can kind of give up a little bit at the start, just to stay in the top-five or 10, and be able to have something at the end.”

YOU’RE THE CHARLOTTE KID RACING THIS WEEKEND. WHAT DOES THIS RACE WEEKEND MEAN TO YOU SPECIFICALLY?
“Yeah, it’s awesome. I love being here. I feel like every time I run this race track, it feels like déjà vu. I kind of come out there and just feel like I’ve pictured this track so much with memories and watching cars go around here, so it’s very easy for me to understand it. That’s what I love about it. I love coming here every year. I love the fact that all the crew guys are at home. Everyone is a little bit more upbeat. It’s exciting and it’s cool where we are in points to have a really good garage stall and reward the guys for all their hard work.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 METROTECH CAMARO ZL1 1LE
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS LOOKS GOOD AS A WHOLE. WHERE DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WHERE YOU’RE AT GOING INTO THE WEEKEND?
“I feel good. We just kind of stuck to our game plan; not make too many ins and outs and confuse ourselves on cycled tires and balance. So, we just did one 20-lap run and then did a mock-qualifying run. I think we have to work on our car a little bit in race trim, but I think we’re in the ballpark.”

IT’S A LONG RACE. DO YOU THINK ABOUT ANYTHING? DO YOU RELAX A LITTLE BIT? HOW DOES THAT CHANGE?
“I don’t know. It’s only an extra 100 miles. I didn’t get to run it last year, so I don’t really remember what my mind is like during the race. For me, I’ve struggled in this race. So, if anything, I feel like I focus even more during this race to try and figure out what I need when it does go from daytime to night. I’ve always been really good here in the sun and then when it goes to nighttime, this place for some reason, I don’t have a good feel for it. If anything, I feel like I focus and try harder here than I do other places. Hendrick Motorsports has a really good package for this place and they’ve had a lot of success, so I think it will be different this year.”

HOW BENEFICIAL IS IT FOR YOU GUYS TO HAVE PRACTICE?
“I don’t know. Honestly, with how good we are, I would rather not have practice. I feel like with where we’re at in the No. 5 car, we’ve probably got more to lose with a practice session in just getting confused, Going out there and making a run; coming in and making a change; going out there and being on cycled tires and it doesn’t drive like you’d like. And then you freak out and throw big adjustments at it. We stuck to our game plan today and just did one 20-lap run. We’ll look at our notes and see what little adjustments to make. There’s room to be gained, but more often than not, I feel like if anything with my history, we dial ourselves out in practice.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE AROUND THE OFFICE THIS WEEK WITH THE RECORD SORT OF HANGING RIGHT THERE?
“Yeah, it’s an important thing to Mr. Hendrick and he’s made that very apparent over the last couple of years. I think when your leader cares about something that much, we all care about it equally as much and we want to achieve that for him. I’m glad last week went the way it did. Anytime you can put a company in the same sentence as Richard Petty Motorsports is a special thing and he should be very proud of that. There’s been a lot of people over the years that have had a lot larger contributions to the number than myself, but I look forward to what’s down the road. I hope we can knock the record down for him and hopefully keep it for a long time.”

INAUDIBLE
“Yeah, I think it’d be great. It’s everyone’s back yard here for almost all the teams. But, for sure. I think it’s kind of the same as any race win. They’re all too hard to get to pick and choose when and where and I think the boss knows that as well as anybody. If we can knock down that barrier as a company, I think we’d be happy to do it wherever.”

WITH YOUR HISTORY WITH TREY (POOLE, SPOTTER) RACING LEGEND CARS, DOES THAT MAKE IT FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH HIM COMING IN AS YOUR SPOTTER?
“Yeah, he’s been around our team for a long time. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) likes how he goes about spotting in the road course races that he’s done. Having some history racing I think is a good thing in a spotter to have. It’s just different being in the car versus just watching, so he has some experience. He’s been watching this stuff forever, so he knows how it works. Like I said before, he knows what’s important and what’s not. Obviously, he knows me very well. He just fits into our group and he knows everybody. That goes a long way when you’re trying to fill a role quickly like that.”

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.

Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE (May 28, 2021) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media prior to the Charlotte race weekend earlier today:

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

What has it been like having new tracks on the schedule and how focused are you on success at those tracks?

“If you look at it, none of these tracks are in the Playoffs so I’m not sure that it really matters a whole lot. I think it’s going to be all about trying to gain bonus points and get wins. It’s certainly going to be a new challenge any time you go to a new race track, limited practice, you name it the way we’ve been doing things and it’s a big challenge. Then throwing new road courses into the mix that the field has never been to and it’s a big learning curve. It’s always a challenge through the summer when things heat up and the tracks are slick and we typically do well that time of the year so I’m looking forward to it, but we’ll see, should be fun.”

What makes you so good at Charlotte?

“This place here, we’ve found some things that work for us and we’ve been able to ride that horse for five, six years now. It’s getting more challenging, the track is getting rougher and the teams are all getting closer together setup-wise and what everybody knows about these cars these days. Things have really come together in a smaller box. It’s going to be tough. Had a strong run here last year and hopefully we can improve on that. The car was pretty decent in practice. I feel like we can make it better and if we can make it better, I think we’ll be really good. Just a matter of making the right adjustments from here.”

How nice was it to have a practice session?

“Yes and no. It was nice, but we’re not going to do a whole lot different. I’d say we didn’t really come here with an experiment in the car. I think the guys that really needed to find something are probably happier that we did have practice because maybe they tried some things they really wanted to. We really didn’t go down that path. We weren’t too far out on a limb. From that standpoint, I would have been fine without practice.”

What did you think of Kevin Harvick’s comments after CoTA?

“I would say that I totally agree with his statement when he said that was the most unsafe he’s ever felt. Right decision, wrong decision, I don’t know. I don’t make those. I think at some point it was too hard, the rain was too much. Visibility was too low. When we crashed, I couldn’t see the side of the race track. I couldn’t see the curbs on the edges of the race track to even know if I was on the track. I could have been in the grass for all I knew. It was pretty extreme and definitely, obviously something we need to look at.”

What needs to change if we get rain at another road course?

“I think if you look at it, they’re called wet weather tires, they’re not called racing in a torrential downpour tires. If there’s standing water on the track, that’s a problem. I will say that we had restarts, we had a lot more cars on the race track than other series that run in the rain. I’m sure everybody knows what I’m talking about here. More cars, more cautions, more restarts, more side-by-side, stage breaks, we’re always just in a clump. We never get spread out unless 10 laps into the run or 15 laps into the run. We can’t race in standing water because we cannot see. It’s a different circumstance for us. You have to look at the drainage of the race track, that’s going to play a big role. I think everybody thought that CoTA, with it being a F1 track before that it was going to have some great drainage, well that turned out to be wrong. There were puddles everywhere. It’s going to depend on the race track and how much water is on it. And just how much room there is for us to get out of line so we can see where we’re at.”

What is the most challenging aspect of this 600-mile race?

“Definitely used to be that it changed so much with the old cars and old setups. These days, these cars are so scienced out with what you have, it doesn’t change as much as it used to. I think the hardest part now is that you’re literally running 100 percent every single lap, 400 laps, 600 miles. That’s the hardest part. There is no, let’s get through the first half of the race and see where we’re at. Take it easy, stay on the lead lap. You talk to guys that raced here 15 years ago and they were like, ‘we stay on the lead lap for the first 300 laps, we’re happy and we have a chance.’ Now, you don’t. You have to stay up front, you have to keep your track position. You have to have that thing on 100 percent all day long and it’s tough.”

How hard is it now to lead and win this race like you did when you led all but eight laps?

“It’s very difficult. I would say it’s harder now than it was then. With those cars with low downforce, there was more opportunity to really nail the setup and hit it right. Now, with this 550 package, everybody is so limited on horsepower and lap times are so close together throughout the field, there’s less opportunity to really get your car dialed in and drive away from the field. Big difference today from that aspect of it.”

#

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands plus our 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota has created a tremendous value chain and directly employs more than 47,000 in North America. The company has contributed world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama that begins production in 2021.

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

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE (May 28, 2021) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media prior to the Charlotte race weekend earlier today:

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

In terms of races you haven’t won, where does the 600 rank for you?

“It’s the highest one left on the list – the Brickyard is no longer the Brickyard so that one got marked off the list for us so just this one left.”

Where is 23XI Racing in terms of a second car for 2022?

“Still working on some things. Obviously, there’s a lot of moving pieces that has to go into it. I think we’re still progressing. Just don’t have a timetable for it.”

If you have a second car next year, is there a certain type of driver you’re targeting?

“A good one.”

Do you feel you need a second driver with more experience?

“I don’t know. I think that I’m teammates with Bubba (Wallace) so he’s already got that. I don’t think that we necessarily have to have that because he’s got me, Martin (Truex Jr.) and Kyle (Busch) that work very, very close with him. We’re in the same meetings. I don’t know if there’s a benefit or detriment either way, but certainly I look at a lot of different things when it comes to who a prospective person could be.”

As a driver, do you think about the addition of having fans back in the grandstands?

“Yeah, its exciting just seeing them here on practice day to have a few hundred fans out here. I know they’re coming for the Truck race, but it’s great to be back and have somewhat of a normal weekend. It’s good. I like the process. I don’t know if it suits us or not to have practice. It seemed like we were doing really well without it, but I think I’m the type of driver that learns really good overnight. Hopefully, we can take advantage of it.”

Do you feel good about where you were as a team in practice today?

“There’s more I want out of my car personally, but I haven’t dived into the organizations to see whose fast or not. That’s something ultimately that I can’t control. All I can do is try to get my car to handle as fast as it can around the corners and if we have enough speed, we’ll be good and if not then we won’t.”

Did you feel a need to speak to NASCAR about last week or are you all letting Kevin Harvick speak for the group with his comments?

“It sums things up in a nutshell I think. I think everyone had a lot to learn from last week. NASCAR especially about making the decision and putting safety first beyond any kind of show that you want to put on. Those discussions were good and I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

Will there be something done that can reduce the spray?

“Spray comes from the tires and we needed the grip of those treaded tires, that’s what it’s supposed to do is disperse all that water so we have rubber contacting the roads. If you put on slicks, there will be no spray and there will be no grip. It’s just a fine balance of where they want to be.”

How did the meeting with NASCAR go?

“It was good. A lot of questions got answered and I feel like certainly more informed leaving there than we were going in.”

Was the meeting primarily about Next Gen?

“We just really, normal safety update meeting that we have, especially with a new car coming in. There’s a lot of questions that drivers have about the safety components and things that are different from the old car to the new car coming in that we want answers to and I think we got those.”

What does it mean to honor a fallen service member on your race car this weekend?

“It’s important and NASCAR does such a great job honoring the military anyway, but to have these names on here for people who have made the ultimate sacrifice is very important. To get to understand the story a little bit more through the weekend with the family is really special from our standpoint. Really great with everything NASCAR Salutes has done to pay tribute on the windshields and hopefully we can take ours to victory lane.”

What is a piece of advice you would give another driver looking to become a team owner?

“It’s tough to say. I think everyone is different, everyone has different agendas, different amount of time that they have to spend on it. There’s just a lot of working elements to a race team and way more than just finding a sponsor, getting a driver and putting a car on track. There’s so many different things, myself as an owner is getting educated day in and day out of the business and how it works.”

What is the best prank you’ve ever pulled or had pulled on you?

“I don’t know. Tony (Stewart) was kind of that guy back in the day when we were first teammates. A lot of things, I don’t know if they were pranks or just harsh and cruel. Little brake cleaner in the driver’s seat to set your ass on fire. He was not afraid to go all out when it came to roasting you.”

Do pranks still happen now?

“It’s different now. It’s just different, everyone is so serious now and it’s just different. Everyone is so focused and we have more information now than we’ve ever had. Normally, maybe between runs we’d be out of the car and tell the team what’s going on and we’ve got nothing to do until they fix the car so we’ll be standing next to each other in the pit box and talking to each other. Now, it’s just so much information that you have to dive into that everyone is so hyper-focused on that information that no one ever wants to give any secrets away. No one is really asking questions like the young guys used to do to the veterans, they just look it up in data now.”

What modifications would you like implemented at Charlotte Motor Speedway?

“You can go back years and years, I’ve always said these tracks are the ones that need to step up and invest the money in their facilities. People just want different things nowadays. They’re not okay sitting in old, aluminum bleachers and having terrible food. People want a nicer thing. While that’s great the state is pitching in, it’s still, when you look at the bottom line of the tracks and some of the profit had been gotten by the tracks, I wish they would spend more money upgrading their facilities.”

What specifically would you change?

“Everything from hospitality, the suites. I remember driving in here thinking, in my rookie season I remember Bruton (Smith) threatening to leave this race track if he didn’t get money from the state or something like that to upgrade it and it’s the same. They put some money in, they put the Roval in and a few million bucks here and there. Some of these tracks really need a face lift and we’ve seen ISC really spend a lot of money at Richmond, Phoenix, Daytona, Talladega. I just wish everyone was held to that super high standard.”

For 23XI Racing, do you need to have a charter to start a second team?

“I think we have to weigh our risk in that. I think people have charters that can’t even afford to race the charters they have and they really require a safety net from people leasing them and things like that. I think charters can be held hostage if they wanted to and people trying to drive the prices up on them and what not. My philosophy is, okay, go fill the car and have fun. You get a guaranteed amount of money, but the charter agreement is up at the end of 2024 and there could be so many changes that changes the business model after 2024 that I don’t know how much I want to invest in a charter right now. It would take me years to get that money back and then once I maybe get it back, the whole agreement could be different. I’m okay being patient with that. I think the short answer is no, I don’t have to have a charter.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands plus our 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota has created a tremendous value chain and directly employs more than 47,000 in North America. The company has contributed world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama that begins production in 2021.

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

Toyota Racing – Kyle Busch
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE (May 28, 2021) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch was made available to media prior to the Charlotte race weekend earlier today:

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Red, White & Blue Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How did you feel about today and getting some practice?

“Yeah, I mean it was good, we felt like we had a pretty good practice overall, just tried a couple different adjustments and changes in order to work on our balance and just trying to get right for tomorrow. Kind of a typical practice I guess you know, back to having one at least. So, you know, good to see what we could learn and pick up on and work on.”

What’s the best prank somebody pulled on you and what’s the best one that you got on somebody?

“I don’t know I wish a few of the scenarios that went down over time, were pranks, but they weren’t. I can’t really recall. I don’t know that there’s really been a very good one.”

How important though was the timing of this practice knowing that every year in the 600 the transition from day to night is so critical?

“This practice was perfect. You couldn’t have picked a better time to do it. We’re always used to coming in on Friday and practicing at 12 to two o’clock exactly when you don’t want to be on the race track and then we qualify at night. This was perfect for us anyways and you know we unloaded, we were close but, we definitely made some adjustments on it just to kind of pick at the car a little bit and try to work on it. We’ve got a few more things that we need to be able to do to the car in order to get a race ready for 400 laps.”

Do you have a different strategy for this race compared to shorter races?

“This race is very cut and dry on pit strategy and that sort of thing, with just your pit halfway between each stage and you pit at the stage. It’s pretty simple besides cautions flying and other things kind of happening that might disrupt that but, over the past few years, that’s kind of how it’s looked.”

How do you feel about practice being back from an owner’s perspective on the truck side?

“It was expensive today, that sucked today. I wish that the track knew how to put PJ1 down the same every single time, but they don’t and cost us a little bit there early on and hopefully it’s good for the start of the race. We didn’t really get in it much because we were kind of tiptoeing through what we saw earlier today and not trying to mess with it too much, waiting on those guys to groom it in.”

How do you feel about fans being back in the stands and does that matter to the drivers?

“Yeah, absolutely, it’s definitely good to have fans back in the stands. When we first got back to some of these races that fans were at and we had driver intros, the boos were back and everything felt like it was getting back to normal, you know. So that’s certainly just a part of it and part of our sport and nice having them and they enjoy coming out, and being on the big screen and waving and supporting their favorite driver.”

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