TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA
APRIL 25, 2021

RACE #10 – TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) make a shift from short-track racing as the they head to the second speedway race of the season: Talladega Superspeedway. Alabama’s 2.66-mile oval features 33 degrees of banking in the turns and is never short on excitement.

Chevrolet has won 41 of the 103 NASCAR Cup Series races at the track since it opened in 1969, and Team Chevy drivers will be looking for another victory in the Geico 500 on Sunday, April 25. In NASCAR Cup Series history at the venue, the Bowtie brand also leads the Series in consecutive wins at Talladega with 13, captured by five different drivers from April 1999 to May 2005.

In the spring 2020 race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the runner-up in the JTG-Daugherty Racing Camaro ZL1 1LE. Ty Dillon led three Chevrolet drivers in the top-five in the fall 2020 race with a third-place finish. Chase Elliott won the spring 2019 race.

Chevrolet drivers entered with three or more starts in the 188-lap race hold the top three spots for best average finish: Ryan Preece (11.5; two top-10s in four races); Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (12.7; one win, nine top-10s in 16 races); and Chase Elliott (14.9; one win, five top-10s in 10 races).

Chevrolet has won 18 of the 30 NXS races at Talladega, including the past four. Justin Haley swept the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Talladega in the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro SS. Haley currently sits fourth in the Driver Standings through seven races thus far this season. He will seek to score his first victory of the season driving the Kaulig Racing Camaro SS in the Ag-Pro 300 on Saturday, April 24. Heading into the race weekend, Chevrolet leads in the NXS Manufacturer Standings.

CHEVY LEADING AT THE QUARTER POLE
Chevrolet sits atop the NCS Manufacturer Standings through nine of the scheduled 36 points-races. The Bowtie brand leads all manufacturers with 39 top-10 finishes and has led 568 laps on superspeedways heading to Talladega Superspeedway to top manufacturers.

Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson and Willian Byron have qualified for the Playoffs with victories. Chevrolet also is closing in on 800 NCS victories, entering the race weekend with 798.

BIG NUMBERS ON SHORT TRACKS
Chevrolet drivers recorded impressive results in the NCS short-track races the past three weeks. Alex Bowman won the Series’ most recent event at the .75-mile Richmond Raceway. A week earlier at .526-mile Martinsville Speedway oval, Chase Elliott scored a runner-up finish. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was runner-up on the .533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway dirt oval. Overall, Chevrolet registered six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in the three races.

BYRON MOVES TO FOURTH IN STANDINGS
William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 LE, moved from sixth to fourth in the NCS Driver Standings with his seventh-place finish at Richmond Raceway. Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE, is sixth and reigning NCS champion Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE, remained seventh. Richmond winner Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, is 13th.

ON THE WAY TO THE GREEN
With no practice or qualifying for the race, the starting lineup is determined by NASCAR’s metrics system that was introduced to the series last year and incorporates results from both individual races and season-long results.

Team Chevy’s top-20 starters:
4th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE
8th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE
11th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Camaro ZL1 1LE
12th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE
15th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
17th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Camaro ZL1 1LE
18th Ross Chastain, No. 42 Caregility/Yorktel Camaro ZL1 1LE
19th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 CommScope Camaro ZL1 1LE
20th Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Roland Camaro ZL1 1LE

BOWTIE BULLETS.
· Chevrolet has 798 NASCAR Cup Series wins to lead all manufacturers.

· Victories by active Team Chevy drivers at Talladega Superspeedway include:
Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE, has one win (April 2019)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 NOS Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, has one win (May 2017)

· Chevrolet team, Hendrick Motorsports, leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins by an organization at Talladega with 13.

· In addition to its 41 NCS wins at Talladega Superspeedway, Chevrolet has amassed 195 top-five and 375 top-10 finishes.

· Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, is tied for most starts among active drivers at Talladega with 40 and is the leader with 21 top-10 finishes. He is also the active leader with 7,215 laps at the track.

· Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Camaro ZL1 1LE, earned his first NCS victory at Talladega in May 2017.

· Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Camaro ZL1 1LE, has completed all but two of the 2,594 laps run this season.

· Chase Elliott (Daytona Road Course), William Byron (Homestead-Miami Speedway) and Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway 2) have stage wins.

FOR THE FANS:
· Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Talladega Superspeedway.
· Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Corvette Stingray Convertible 3LT, Silverado 150 Trail Boss, Tahoe Premier, Blazer RS, Camaro 1LZ and Trailblazer LT.
· At the Chevrolet Display, fans can also view Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:
Saturday, April 24th: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 25th: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

TUNE IN
FOX will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, April 25. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. FOX will telecast the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at 4 p.m. ET Saturday, April 24.

QUOTABLE QUOTES
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 4th IN STANDINGS
BYRON ON RACING AT TALLADEGA:
“Talladega is a lot more open of a track than Daytona with a lot more pushing and shoving. It’s a lot easier to get to someone’s bumper because handling isn’t as important there. You have to be able to push well but also receive a push well. It takes a fast car but one that can handle a push from someone else. For me, I don’t approach it much different than I do Daytona. There are times you want to be conservative, so you can make sure you are there in the end, but you also need to know when it’s time to make aggressive moves. We have had some good runs going there but not the results in the end until recently. I know the No. 24 team will prepare a fast Liberty University Chevy, so if we are still in contention in the end this weekend, I think we have a good shot at the win.”

RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FUGLE ON RACING AT TALLADEGA:
“Hendrick Motorsports takes a lot of pride on building fast cars, especially for superspeedway races. I think that shows every time we get to the track. There’s a ton of hard work put in from the guys and gals back at the shop to make these cars as fast as they are. I think we all showed that at Speedweeks in Daytona earlier this year. While Daytona didn’t end how the No. 24 team would have hoped, we know we had a strong car that was capable of winning, and that should be the same in Talladega. The biggest thing in these races is being around in the end, though. On my end, that means calling the right strategy, not only for us, but for working with our teammates. On William’s side, that means judging the situation he’s in and knowing when to push it and when to bide his time to avoid an incident. Racing at Talladega is always unpredictable but we’ll do everything we can to put ourselves in contention and, hopefully, we will have luck on our side to be there at the end.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 6th IN STANDINGS
LARSON ON TALLADEGA STRESS:
“Hendrick Motorsports has really fast superspeedway cars, and that makes your job as a driver a little bit easier and a little less stressful. I say that, but Daytona and Talladega are always stressful. There’s always a big wreck that you hope to be in front of or avoid. Talladega has been hard on me. I’ve been upside down on the backstretch, and I broke a rib there a couple years ago in a crash. Daytona went well earlier this year, so hopefully Talladega will go well, too.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 7th IN STANDINGS
“To me, superspeedway races and Talladega, just as much as Daytona is, are such a coin flip. There’s no way of really knowing the right place to be at the right time all the time. I feel like there are guys that seem to have a better feel for it than others and know when to be in certain positions and know when something doesn’t feel right. I’ve tried to learn that over the years. I haven’t done a great job of it, but it’s just about positioning yourself in the right place at the right time. Also, having patience and taking runs when you have the opportunity. I also think what makes the guys who are really good at those tracks great is that they know when to quit putting up a fight, when to not throw that big block, knowing they might have another opportunity on the back end rather than crashing. Showing patience in big moments at those tracks are really hard to do, but I think that’s a piece that the guys who win there do all the time.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 12th IN STANDINGS
WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY?
“Anything can happen at Talladega Superspeedway. It’s a little bit of a coin flip, but my No. 3 team will be doing everything we can to try and win and earn maximum stage points. In order to succeed at Talladega, you have to have a little bit of luck, and use momentum at the very end to take advantage of positions. Its speedway racing. Its drafting. And its chaos, but we’re up for the challenge.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 13th IN STANDINGS
BOWMAN ON SUNDAY’S WIN AT RICHMOND RACEWAY:
“Getting the win on Sunday was big is so many ways. It was a huge goal for our team to be able to get Ally into victory lane this season, and we are so pumped to get them their first points-paying victory. The 48 team has put together some amazing short-track cars the last two weeks and it has definitely showed. I drive these places so wrong sometimes, so it is truly on this team for bringing such a fast car. Being locked into the playoffs is a good spot to be in, but our approach every week is to win. There isn’t a sit-back-and-relax mode with Hendrick Motorsports or this 48 team. We are focused on winning each and every week for everyone back at the shop, our team and our amazing partners.”

BOWMAN ON GOING SUPERSPEEDWAY RACING THIS WEEKEND:
“No one sleeps going to Talladega. Hendrick Motorsports always builds amazing superspeedway Chevrolets and I feel like every time we unload there, we have a chance to win. There are so many unknowns at tracks like this. You can be in contention to win at one moment and loading up a wrecked car the next. Working with our teammates is key, but you have to be able to work with everyone on track. Racing in ‘Dega this weekend is really special because this was Rowdy (Harrell’s) home track. If we could pull off a win this weekend, I know that would mean the world to him.”

GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
IVES ON CLAIMING THE WIN AT RICHMOND:
“I felt like we had a really good long-run car and I think we passed a lot of cars on Sunday. Probably the most quality passes of anyone on the racetrack, honestly. We had great speed and that is credited to everyone here at Hendrick Motorsports, my engineer Tim O’Brien and car chief Austin Konetski. They put in a lot of hours and a lot of pride into their work. That definitely shows each week when we unload. The Ally pit crew does an awesome job. We had a tire get away, but that was on all of us. All in all, adversity was there and we overcame it.”

IVES ON WHAT THE NO. 48 ALLY THROWBACK PAINT SCHEME MEANS TO HIM:
“I enjoyed driving. I enjoyed the aspect of setting up the car, putting it on the track and feeling what it did. This paint scheme kind of chose me. I was so surprised that Alex, Ally and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports pulled this off and wanted to pay tribute to me. To me, I am going to deflect it back to all of those grassroots racers that give all of their time, energy and life to this great sport that we love called racing. Whether it is on the NASCAR level or a local short track. Hopefully, people can get behind the story and understand what it meant to me.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ROLAND CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 22nd IN STANDINGS
“This is a style of racing that I really do enjoy a lot when things go right but can be extremely frustrating when they don’t. It feels like the last two or three plate races we’ve had never even got going before stuff happened and affected our day. But this is a fresh weekend for us. Our No. 8 Roland Chevrolet team just has to be smart on Sunday. Last fall at Talladega, we got damage on the first lap. Luckily, we were able to salvage it and come away with a top-10 finish by avoiding other wrecks, but that still affected our day in a major way. Then at this year’s Daytona 500, where everyone remembers how we had the wreck on Lap 14. It’s frustrating because I know how strong of a superspeedway program we have at RCR, we just need a little luck to go our way and to be smart to maximize our day.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 23rd IN STANDINGS
DID DAYTONA GET YOU EXCITED FOR TALLADEGA?
“Oh yes. At Daytona, we got caught in someone else’s mistake early on, and even though I made it through the wreck, my car got killed on the grass. So frustrating, such a shame. But at the same time, I’m very excited for what is coming this year. If we are as fast this weekend as we were in Daytona then I think we will have good race.”

WHAT IS THE KEY TO TALLADEGA?
“Stay out of trouble, avoid the wrecks and make it to the end. “

ARE YOU AT A DISADVANTAGE AS A SINGLE CAR TEAM AT TALLADEGA?
“Obviously, teammates are very important to being successful at Talladega. We may be a one-car team with our CommScope Chevrolet, but we are very much a part of the Chevrolet family and we have our strong alliance with the RCR teams. If we are as fast as we were in Daytona, we won’t have any trouble attracting drafting partners”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 TUSKEGEE AIRMEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 26th IN STANDINGS
TALLADEGA IS CONSIDERED A WILD CARD WHEN IT COMES TO FINISHES. WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO BRING HOME A WIN?
“Talladega (Superspeedway) is definitely a wild card, but I enjoy it. As a driver, I have been close to a win a couple of times the last few times that we have been to Talladega. The way I look at superspeedway racing – as long as you are putting yourself in that position time-after-time, eventually one of those races is going to go your way and you are going to win one of them. We have been up front and been in contention. We just need to figure out how to close it out. I feel like every time we are there, the last lap we have a shot to go up and win it, and just haven’t quite done it yet. It is a great opportunity for us to win and that is the way I look at it. Just giving ourselves the opportunity to go out there and hopefully win a race and get Richard Petty Motorsports into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2020): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2020): 32
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)
Most Recent: Chase Elliott (2020)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020

Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2021 STATISTICS:
Wins: 3
Poles: 1
Laps Led: 718
Top-five finishes: 16
Top-10 finishes: 39

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 798 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 718
Laps led to date: 237,423
Top-five finishes to date: 4,081
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,441
Stage wins: 5 Chase Elliott (Daytona RC), William Byron (Homestead), Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway), Kyle Larson (Atlanta x2)

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

       General Motors: 1,132
       Chevrolet: 798
       Pontiac: 154
       Oldsmobile: 115
       Buick: 65

       Ford: 807                                                         
       Ford: 707
       Mercury: 96
       Lincoln: 4

       Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
       Dodge: 217
       Plymouth: 191
       Chrysler: 59

       Toyota: 155

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 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. 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 www.chevrolet.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
NASCAR Zoom Media Availability | Thursday, April 22, 2021

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Sylvania Ford Mustang — WHAT WAS THE CONVERSATION LIKE WITH ROGER PENSKE FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE REGARDING HOW TO RACE EACH OTHER AT DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA? “I wouldn’t say it was awkward. We just had a call with myself, Joey, Brad, Matt DiBenedetto, RP and other Penske members, just trying to figure out what’s the best way to approach these races and how to finish them out. Even though I was on the couch watching the end of that race because we wrecked so early, you’re still a part of it and still hopefully find yourself in a situation at the end of the race to where yourself or your teammate — if we are in a spot where we’re one-two coming to the end of this thing, how do we go about that? How do we go about to make sure and do our best that we finish one-two no matter who wins. So, I feel like we had a really good discussion between all of us and hopefully we have a good plan and hopefully we find ourselves in that spot again to where we have teammates lined up at the end of this thing if we’re leading to try and work together and win the race. That’s the ultimate goal and obviously not the goal is what happened at Daytona and that was just two guys racing hard, but you want to avoid that because it’s not good for the whole team, but it’s hard to put yourself in that mindset when you’re out there competing in the heat of the battle. Everyone wants to win, so those things are tough, but I thought we had a really good discussion and hopefully we can apply the things that we talked about and try to finish 1-2-3-4 or 1-2 or whatever it is, just try to get a Penske car in victory lane.”

WHEN YOU WON AT TALLADEGA IN JUNE YOU MADE CONTACT WITH THE 20 CAR. IF THE 20 IS A TEAMMATE DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN RACE THAT WAY OR NOT? “That’s a good question and I feel like you kind of set me up for something, but it’s hard to predict that stuff. I don’t know. Until you’re in that situation, you don’t really know what you’re gonna do or what the circumstances are, and the deal with me and the 20 last year we made contact coming to the line trying to side draft and making contact and just a wild end to that race, so I don’t know. I don’t know if that is the 2 car, I don’t know what I’d do as far as you’re trying to just block any lane that you can. That’s a tough one, so until we’re in that situation and it happens, I’m not sure how to answer that, but you try to at least hope that one of us win, no matter whether it’s me or the figurative 2 car or 22 or whatever. You try to make sure one of us wins, so you’re gonna race teammates better than you’d race other people, especially coming to the line as far as giving them room and things like that, but that’s a tough one to answer — would I do the same thing, just because that wasn’t the situation.”

YOU GOT HELP FROM THE 47 AND 13 LATE IN THE RACE. WERE YOU CONCERNED THEY WOULD TRY TO SHUFFLE YOU OUT AND DID THAT LEAD TO YOU TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM THEM AS SOON AS YOU COULD? “Yeah, like you said the way the pit strategies kind of lined up and turned out, the 22 or 2 weren’t around. They were kind of further in the pack and there’s not really a lot of Fords behind me. I don’t know how I’m gonna win this race and, yeah, that thought did go through my head like, ‘They might just shuck me out,’ and sometimes you have no control if they shuck you out or not, but fortunate that it was the end of that race and the 47 was really fast all day and we were already getting a run off two and he was able to shove me to the lead, so at the end it’s tough. It’s kind of go with who you can. In some situations it’s go with who has a run as long as you don’t dump your teammate. If I dump, not dump as in wreck, but leave your teammate for the lane that’s coming, that’s not gonna go over as well, but in that spot coming down to the end of the race you had to take the run that was given to you, but you never know what the person behind you is gonna do — if they’re gonna bail on your or what. You’re putting faith in that person behind you to continue to be on your bumper and push you ahead, but it’s so tough sitting here and trying to predict the end of these races. You kind of try to do the best you can and make decisions in the moment and that decision was made when I felt like they had a run. I’m like, ‘I’ve got to go or else the 47 is gonna leap the train and pass all of us,’ so those decisions you make in the moment and it’s just one that worked out.”

THIS WEEK YOU TWEETED ABOUT JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD. WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO SAY SOMETHING AND VOICE YOUR REACTION PUBLICLY LIKE THAT? “Because I think it was the right thing to do. I’m not a big social media person, but that verdict — what happened last year was wrong. That was wrong what happened to George Floyd and I looked at as he should not have passed away, and the way that was handled was, in my mind, not handled the best way in the situation and I wanted to say something just to show support because I thought it was the right thing to do was the verdict that came out and just the situation that happened. So, I felt it was the right thing to do because it was my personal stance. You’re never gonna be able to repay a life to the Floyd family, but the best thing you can do is have someone who is held accountable for his actions like that officer was and that was just what I wanted to say.”

DO YOU LIKE THE CHESS MATCH THAT IS TALLADEGA? “I’ve always enjoyed speedway racing. You go into those races, any speedway race at Talladega and Daytona, understanding what can happen — kind of the unpredictability of those places on, ‘Hey, I could get tore up lap two’ and just kind of get caught up in someone else’s mess, but I like the racing. It’s just a different kind of racing. It’s kind of a chess match, sort of what lane you think is coming at the right time and you jumping in it and trying to work lanes and things like that. It’s a neat style of racing, so you love it when you win there and run good and survive it, and you hate the place when you get wrecked. You kind of get mixed feelings everytime you go back, but I enjoy it and it’s been good to us a couple years, being able to squeak a couple out up there, but it’s a lot of teamwork between your spotter and the driver and your teammates and Ford. It’s a lot of teamwork, so I like that side of it — the communication really has to be the best that it can be and working with Josh Williams, my spotter, he’s done a great job and we’ve done a good job of getting better every year of him watching the race and kind of telling me a lot of information on what to do. I usually don’t like a lot of talking on the radio or information besides the speedways because you just need that constant info, so I like that side — that everyone is really involved and takes a lot of teamwork and communication to run well there, but sometimes it all gets thrown out the window by getting wrecked, but you just understand that when you go there.”

WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM IS AT RIGHT NOW AND PENSKE AS A WHOLE? “I think it’s been a pretty good start to our year, kind of take away the first three races. They were kind of unfortunate for us, but, other than that, I feel like we’ve made a really strong showing and getting a win early in the year is obviously nice, so I think the 12 group is in a really good spot right now. I know there are some things we’ve got to clean up at some places, like the Martinsville deal. It’s nice having a good run there and winning a couple of stages, but the deal that happened at the end of the race, the final pit stop you’re like, ‘My gosh.’ It’s just things we’ve got to clean up and that comes with time. As we get going you figure out the places you can improve at and you just sit down and figure that out, so I think the 12 group is doing real good right now. I think Penske as a whole is running strong. We’re fifth in the standings. I think Joey is second or third, so I think we’re strong and the 2 car has been running good too, and they’ll get a win here soon. And the 21 has been starting to click off good finishes. They’ve kind of had back luck, so I think as a group we’re getting close to where we need to be. There are a couple teams that are really fast — Hendrick and Gibbs are really fast right now — so we have to keep working hard to stay with those guys and Stewart-Haas will get it figured out here and they’ll be strong once again, so you’ve always got to stay on top of your game. You can never really be satisfied of where you’re at because no other team is satisfied where they’re at, they’re always working, so you have to be in that same mindset, but, right now, I think it’s going really well. We just have to keep it up and keep finding ways to improve.”

DOES IT FEEL THERE’S ONE TEAM OR ORGANIZATION THAT’S EMERGED AS THE FAVORITE? “I think Hendrick has been really good this year and they’ve shown that with three of their cars getting a win. The 5 car has been fast The 48 car winning last weekend at Richmond. They’ve been super strong out of the box and you know the 9 car is gonna be good here very shortly, so, to me, they’ve been really strong and Gibbs. It’s hard to say, but I think those two teams have been really strong and I think we’ve been right there with them, but I don’t think you could have a top dog team right now. I think it’s between the three of us and it’s just a matter of who hits it right on any given weekend.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT TALLADEGA AND SPEEDWAYS THAT FITS YOUR SKILL SET. IS IT THAT CONSTANT STREAM OF COMMUNICATION YOU MENTIONED OR IS THERE A DIFFERENT FACTOR IN PLAY? “That’s part of it. Communication between spotter and driver is really good. Bringing fast cars is obviously a huge help and some of it, I mean you’ve got to pepper in a little bit of luck too. I talked about it earlier, you can get tore up and it’s none of your doing. You’re just riding around there and someone slips up a little bit and you’re in a 15-car pileup. All of those things mixed together as far as being successful at Talladega and trying to find yourself in the right spot at the right time and if you do find yourself at the end of these races of capitalizing on it, and that goes back to the driver/spotter combination, so I think it’s different skills at different points of the races — kind of different situations, but it’s just trying to find yourself at the end of these things and trying to make the most of the situation.”

HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY CHANGE IN THE KANSAS TRACK SINCE IT WAS REPAVED 10 YEARS AGO? “I never got to race on it before it got repaved, but I feel like it’s aged pretty good. We were able to run all over that racetrack. The only thing that I would probably say is I wish it was a little bit rougher as far as bumps and things like that, but you can’t complain about it too much. It’s probably aged the best out of any track that has been paved in the last 10 years. I’d say that because you look at like a Michigan, like a Phoenix, things like that, before they added the VHT there it was hard to move around, so to be able to have a track like that run all the way at the wall, on the bottom, in the middle, that’s pretty good, so I think it’s aged very nicely. I don’t know what’s different with the pavement that they use there compared to other repaves that has made it like that, but it’s been doing pretty well, so it’s been a good track for us. It would be nice to finish one up there, but I can give it a thumbs-up on the aging process and that will just get better with time.”

AS YOUR CUP CAREER HAS PROGRESSED HOW HAS YOUR MENTAL APPROACH CHANGED AS FAR AS BALANCING EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO DO AT TALLADEGA AND DAYTONA? “I don’t really get stressed when you go there. You go into that race knowing what it is, knowing that there’s a lot of things that are out of your control that can happen to you, and you just learn to deal with it and you make the best of the situation. I don’t think about an accident that could happen at any moment throughout the race. If you’re thinking about that, then your mind is somewhere else. You understand what it can be, but when you’re out there running you’re not like, ‘Oh, we might wreck. We might wreck. We might wreck. I’m afraid to get in a wreck.’ You never think about that, at least I don’t. If it happens, it happens and until it does happen, you’re not conscious of that at all. You’re trying to figure out ways to get to the front, stay there and lead laps and win stages, win the race, so I feel like as you get older and you run more speedway races, get more experience on them, you understand more what they are and what they’re all about and approach them a little bit differently. I feel like when you’re young and it’s your first little bit of Cup speedway racing you’re really aggressive. I feel like you can be really aggressive. I know that I was, for sure, but in a different way I’m aggressive nowadays too, but you go about it in a different way. It’s kind of hard to explain, but maybe not do dumb moves like a young person would do, but as you gain experience you gain knowledge of how these races play out and you try to use that to your advantage.”

AT ONE POINT IN THOSE FIRST FEW YEARS DID YOU HAVE AN AHA MOMENT OF WHAT IT TOOK TO GET AROUND TALLADEGA? “I don’t know if there was a certain moment, but you just kind of gain information as you run there more and figure out how to work air better. I think that’s something people who have a lot of experience at those places they can work the air really efficiently as far as like side drafting, getting in front of runs, taking the right run at the right time — that stuff gets better and that just comes with experience. Before, let’s say you would take any kind of mediocre run and be like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to take it,’ and you’d fall back. So, now you’re a little bit more conscious of, ‘That’s not a really good run. I’m not gonna take that. Let’s just stay in line and see if a better one builds up.’ That’s something you kind of learn as you get running more and you gain experience. Another one is when we were in fourth in like 2016 or 2015 and I didn’t take a run when I probably should have taken a run and I look back on that race and I’m like, ‘Well, dummy. You should have taken that run,’ but back then you don’t know any better, so those things you kind of just learn throughout the years.”

HARRISON BURTON IS MAKING HIS CUP DEBUT ON SUNDAY. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR FIRST CUP START AT TALLADEGA OR DAYTONA AND HOW WAS IT DIFFERENT THAN YOUR XFINITY AND TRUCK DEBUT? “I made my first Talladega Cup start in 2014. It was actually the 12 car. We ran two races that year and I remember it happens really fast, a lot faster than, yeah, I ran Trucks and XFINITY at Talladega before that, but it happens so much faster in the Cup stuff, especially the package now. The package now things happen really fast. The runs are huge. You can’t block some of these runs that come. You kind of just have to deal with it and try to rebuild some momentum. Harrison getting his first start at Talladega with no practice, you don’t feel how these things draft until we’re racing. He’ll get a good feel for it. He’s a really good race car driver. I’m sure he’ll do great, but I remember it just happens quick and you and your spotter have to be in sync with your movements and kind of how you’re going about the race and things like that, and your lanes. That’s something that he’ll learn very quickly and I’m sure he’ll pick it up right away, but that’s something I really remember is things happen really quickly and you can’t really prepare for that, you just have to experience it.”

FRM Feels Right at Home in Alabama

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is very at home in Talladega, Alabama. It’s the track where the organization has had most of it’s success. A record of one win, four top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, it’s statistically the best track for the team. It’s also the site for this Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

Michael McDowell returns to the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang on Sunday.

Anthony Alfredo will pilot the No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford Mustang.

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race begins at 2:00 p.m. ET on FOX.

McDowell and Alfredo talk about the upcoming race and their expectations.

“We have one expectation for this weekend,” said McDowell. “It’s to put our Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang in position to win the race. FRM has always been strong at the superspeedway races and, obviously, we had a great start to our speedway program at the Daytona 500.

“Talladega gives us another chance to win with Love’s Travel Stops and the rest of our partners. I don’t know if FRM has any better trick than anyone else at these races, but we have found something that gets us in the right position at the end. We work on Daytona and Talladega, knowing that we’re on equal footing with the other teams. We’re disappointed when we don’t leave with a top-five or top-10 from Talladega.

“We know the calendar. We know when Talladega is coming up. We just make sure that we do everything we can at the shop. Then, it’s about being smart during the race and taking the risks when you need to. We’re all looking forward to Sunday’s race.”

“Anything can happen at Talladega,” says Alfredo. “We’ve seen it time and time again. You just never know how things are going to turn out. That makes me excited to get to Talladega in my Speedy Cash Ford Mustang. I know that we can have a great race and have a great finish.

“I’ve felt like I’ve run well at the track in the Xfinity and Truck Series, so I’m hopeful in our Cup car, too. I do look at the record that FRM has at Talladega, that gives me confidence that we have a fast car and are capable of a great finish.

“We’ll just be smart on Sunday. You can’t win the race early, but you can get wrecked out early. That happened to a lot of us in the Daytona 500. I just want to there at the end and have a chance.”
ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team– from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

Denny Hamlin
11 FedEx Ground Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Geico 500
Date/Time: Sunday, April 25/2 p.m. ET
Distance: 188 laps/500 miles
Track Shape: Tri-Oval
Track Length: 2.66 Miles
Banking: 33 degrees

2020 Winner: Ryan Blaney

Express Notes:

Press Kit: Download the 2021 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.

Richmond Recap: A solid-handling car and fast pit stops kept Hamlin up front for most of the 300-mile event. An 11.6-second pit stop even put the #11 in the lead for the final restart with 12 laps to go. But the FedEx Toyota did not take off well when the green flag waved, and Alex Bowman made the pass around Hamlin for the eventual win. The second-place finish for Hamlin was his eighth top-five in the season’s nine races and sixth straight. The result increased Hamlin’s championship lead to 81 points, and the stage wins earned him two playoff points. The FedEx Racing team raced with heavy hearts at Richmond, with the #11 Toyota paying tribute to the FedEx team members killed last Thursday in a mass shooting at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis. The car featured a black ribbon “Indy” decal and the hashtag #fedexstrong on the TV panel.

Talladega Preview: The NASCAR Cup Series makes its way to Talladega, the biggest and fastest track on the circuit. Coming off a strong performance in Richmond, Hamlin and the FedEx #11 team look to carry that momentum with them as they bring their FedEx Ground Toyota Camry to Talladega. Hamlin has two wins at the superspeedway but is focused on changing it to three come this weekend. The #11 Toyota will again honor the memories of the FedEx Ground Indianapolis shooting victims with black-ribbon and #fedexstrong decals and will promote a fundraising site for those affected by this tragedy: gofundme.com/FedExSurvivors.

Hamlin Statistics:

Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Races: 30
Wins: 2
Poles: 0
Top-5: 9
Top-10: 13
Laps Led: 346
Avg. Start: 16.9
Avg. Finish: 16.7

Hamlin Conversation – Talladega:

What is your FedEx Racing team’s focus as you get ready for Talladega?

“First and foremost, we want to continue to think of the families and team members in Indianapolis affected by last week’s tragedy. Our FedEx Camry will continue to reflect that with a black-ribbon decal and also information about the support fund for those affected. We’ll bring our A game to the track as we always do and see if we can get a win for our FedEx family.”

Are you frustrated that the first win hasn’t come yet?

“Yeah, there’s frustration, for sure. But it doesn’t change my attitude or work ethic. I’m going to work just as hard to win next week and the week after that. You’re a competitor, you want to win. Especially when you have a great opportunity to win.”