Toyota Racing – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (February 25, 2021) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to media via videoconference prior to the Homestead-Miami event today:

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

What has your week been after the win?

“It’s been a ton of fun, and I’ll tell you what it’s been really fun to be relevant again. I felt like I’ve been falling off the face of the earth the last 12 months or so, but it’s really nice to be able to get back and win and talk to all the media like I remember doing. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Does the win allow you to be more aggressive at Homestead?

“That’s a great point, and Homestead is definitely a place risk/reward is a huge conversation to talk about at Homestead. We know there is a ton of speed if you get up right next to the fence. The Cup cars are very, very sensitive and prone to damage. If you get against the fence, it’s really easy to cut a tire. That’s going to be something that is definitely going to be talked about amongst all of the teams and it’s going to be fun to see who plays with the razor’s edge. I think we are a team that definitely could play with it more than others, since we’ve already won and locked in, but for me it’s going to be about seeing the checkered flag. I want to make sure that I get to the end. If it’s the closing laps, and I’ve got a shot to win and I’m pushing hard, I think I’m going to get up there and try to make it happen, but I definitely want to finish.”

What was last year like for you?

“Last year was very different. Obviously the COVID stuff changed everything. It made it different for everybody. For me, I never got to talk to you guys, really, from maybe I talked to you in preseason, but aside from that. I told Claire (B. Lang) last week that I hadn’t heard her voice in a long time, and same with you Jenna (Fryer). I don’t think I’ve talked to you in a while. It’s nice to be able to talk to the media again and just be relevant. I said I wanted to be factor from the beginning of this year, and it’s nice to be able to click off a win this early in the season.”

When you got back into the Joe Gibbs Racing equipment, what was the biggest difference?

“I don’t know. That’s tough. LFR (Leavine Family Racing), we knew what set-ups they had. Definitely our pit crew is extremely strong, which was a struggle point for us last year. Adam Stevens (crew chief) is doing a great job. My pit crew has been on point this year, so that has been fun to work with such a talented group of people there. Adam Stevens is doing a great job on the pit box and making great calls and bringing great race cars to the track, but Jason Ratcliff was a great crew chief too. It’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly what is the difference maker between LFR and JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). It’s just a little bit everywhere, but I’m just grateful to be here. Hopefully, we can keep the ball rolling.”

When did you think you would win?

“Me and Adam (Stevens, crew chief) talked a lot this offseason about not trying to get too much too early and not trying too hard too early and getting ourselves in trouble with DNFs and things like that. He kept telling me that. I understand that. Last year, I learned that you can’t start out in a giant hole and I think last year after the first three or four races I was in the 30s in the point standings and that wasn’t great, but on the flipside, I would ask Adam, why can’t we win at the second race of the season at the Daytona Road Course. That race was a great race for me last year, why can’t we win that? His reply was, there is no reason that we can’t, we just don’t need to push our issue too hard and make a mistake. I think looking at the schedule, we have opportunities to win littered throughout the course of the season. There’s not really – I don’t think there’s a weak link on the schedule for us at the moment.”

What does it mean to be a team leader?

“That’s really special and I feel like I’ve put in a lot of effort to be around the guys and try to create those relationships between me and my mechanics, my crew chief, Stevie Reeves, my spotter, who I’ve worked with I guess for two years now. It’s so refreshing to hear Stevie talk to me like that. As far as being a team leader, that’s one thing that I feel like Adam (Stevens, crew chief) is really good with me with. There’s no doubt about it – Adam is the team leader. I enjoy that. I enjoy working for someone and driving for someone who knows how to run a team, run an organization. It’s a dream come true to be a part of this Joe Gibbs Racing 20 group with Adam in charge of everybody, and hopefully we can keep it going for a while.”

How do you look at Homestead?

“Homestead was definitely one that we had circled going into the 2021 calendar year, because it was one of my best races last year. I think I finished eighth last year in the LFR (Leavine Family Racing) car. I think we have the opportunity to build on that. If we go out there and have another solid day, that’s going to create really good momentum going forward. I really love Vegas. I haven’t really had a good run there, but I really enjoy the racetrack and I think that Vegas and Homestead could be two really good races for us.”

With your dirt background, have you been able to find your edge in the Cup Series?

“I think so a little bit. I have crossed over the edge a few times as you know, and I’m sure I will sometime in the future again too. Hopefully, it’s not this weekend in Homestead. Homestead is definitely a place where that is apparent. There’s a lot of speed to be right up against the wall but it’s very risky as well. Fortunately, I’m one of the guys who can kind of throw caution to the wind. It’s going to be fun to see how the strategy plays out for us, if we are very aggressive or yeah, we will just have to see. I know that the stage points are important to us and we want to get a good finish, but at the same token, we really want to win too.”

Did you have any doubts last season?

“It was pretty hard to mitigate it. It was a low point in my career for sure. I know I’ve said that time and time again, but you just start doubting yourself and, in this sport, you are kind of labeled as you are only as good as your last race. Fortunately, right now I’m a winner, so I’m on top of the world. Last year, it wasn’t looking good for me and a lot of people had probably written me off. I’m glad to prove those guys wrong and I’m so excited to be where I’m at. I think we have the opportunity to run well at all of these race tracks and I don’t think we are done winning yet.”

Do you remember those times at the beginning of your NASCAR career where there were some struggles?

“Absolutely, I’ve learned from the very beginning that you are only as good as your race car, you are only as good as the guys around you. Looking back at my 2015 Truck races, I was able to win at Eldora. Obviously, I was still young and had some learning curves to go through, but going into the 2016 Truck Series, it was me and William (Bryon) as the two full-time drivers. William was paired up with Rudy Fugle, who was – I’m not going to call them the a-team – but they were very good, kicking on all eight cylinders. I was with Jerry Baxter, and we started off the year strong, well, at Daytona, I flipped, so that wasn’t great. But Atlanta was a great race for us. I think I led the most laps and was in the lead coming down to the end and blew a tire, and that really knocked the wind out of our sails. Rudy and William were able to take off and I think they won the next race, and they were able to win four or five more races that year, and I struggled to get going and only won one. I learned way back then that it’s important to have a great team behind you and make the most out of those opportunities, so I’ve been taught early in my NASCAR career that it’s the people that make or break you and I’m very fortunate to be able to drive for the groups that I have at Kyle Busch Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing.”

Can you describe the impact David Wilson has had in your career?

“This win has been so big, not only for me personally, but it’s been so fun to see how much it meant to so many people. David Wilson obviously being at the very pinnacle of that, David Wilson, Tyler Gibbs, Jack Irving from the Toyota side, all of my dirt teams that have given me opportunities, all of the people that have put their money on the line to risk it in me and believing in me. It’s just been really fun to see how much my win has meant to so many different people.”

From your dirt background, who did you get congratulations from that surprised you?

“From my dirt background, that’s tough. Obviously, all of my mentors, Rick Ferkel, Pete Willoughby, Keith Kunz texted me which me and Keith obviously have a great business relationship but a crew chief/driver standpoint, but we don’t really have much of a personal relationship, like we don’t really communicate very often, and he texted me, so that was really cool to hear from Keith. I had a bunch of drivers congratulate me – that was really special. I didn’t expect that many drivers to congratulate me. It’s tough. My phone was completely blown up on Sunday evening. I think I had over 300 text messages. It was pretty surreal, and it hit me hard knowing how much it meant to so many people.”

Have you worked with Adam Stevens on what you want out of your Bristol dirt car?

“It’s going to be tough, and I don’t think anyone knows exactly what to do. I would say the biggest source of resources that we have is Kyle Busch Motorsports just from their truck stand point, running their Trucks on the dirt. I think that Adam (Stevens, crew chief) is really going to be leaning on that group to guide us on what we need in our race car. Speaking about Rudy Fugle, he’s obviously over at Hendrick now, so he’s got a pretty good eye of what they need too.”

Any takeaways from the early Bristol test sessions for other teams?

“I actually haven’t got to see video of it. I’ve had several people tell me about it, so maybe as soon as I’m done with this call, I’ll go check it out, but it’s going to be really interesting to see how the Cup cars handle it. Like you mentioned, they are a lot different than modifieds or late models. The racetrack is going to be really the biggest piece of the puzzle, how well it’s going to handle the heavy stock cars on it and how well it’s going to go over the course of the afternoon. I think it’s a 2:30 start time, so the sun is going to be out and it’s going to be a big deciding factor on how the tracks going to shape up.”

How excited are you to see Chris Windom run at Bristol?

“It’s going to be fun to have Big Daddy (Chris Windom) racing with us. I’ve been teammates with him now for a couple races on the midget side, so he’s going to give us a run for our money for sure.”

How long did it take you to get over the hard races, and how long do you allow yourself to relish this win?

“I would say it’s tough and that’s something that I’ve really struggled with throughout my NASCAR career is you only get one race a week. Growing up dirt track racing, I was accustomed to running 80 to 100 races a year, so whenever you have that big of a schedule, if you had a bad night typically you are racing the next night or a couple nights later but on the NASCAR side you get one opportunity and then you have to wait seven days at best, and then if you have an off week, you’ve got to wait even longer than that. That’s been a huge change from dirt racing to NASCAR which makes it amazing when you win because you get more time and you are a winner longer, but on the flip side if you have bad days you just can’t wait for the next opportunity to come and race. As far as learning from the bad days and dropping them behind you, I’m not very good at that but definitely by the time you get into the race car the following week, that has to be behind you, and you have to be moving forward. On the flip side, when you win, hopefully I can carry this momentum for a while and winning always helps your confidence, and confidence makes you a better race car driver. Whenever I strap into the race car on Sunday at Homestead, I’m going to know I was the winner the last time I got in the car.”

Where does this trophy rank as far as your achievements so far?

“It’s got to be right up there at the top. It’s just so crazy how much this win meant to so many different people, and it was a big one for sure. I think that 300 number of text messages that I got was probably bigger than any other win that I’ve had. It’s right up there at the top for sure.”

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About Toyota

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Richard Childress Racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway… Homestead-Miami Speedway is one of the few race tracks where team owner Richard Childress has yet to earn a NASCAR Cup Series victory. Richard Childress Racing entries have finished second on four occasions: 2003 (Kevin Harvick), 2008 (Harvick), 2009 (Jeff Burton) and 2014 (Ryan Newman). In 66 Cup Series starts, RCR has earned nine top-five and 25 top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile, progressively-banked oval. The Welcome, N.C.-based organization has captured three NASCAR Xfinity Series wins, including 2019 when Tyler Reddick was crowned the 2019 Xfinity Series champion.

Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series Xfinity 250 will be televised live Saturday, February 27, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 will be televised live Sunday, February 28, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Homestead-Miami Speedway… Dillon has seven previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, securing his best finish of seventh in June 2020 and a best starting position of 10th in November 2015.

Homestead-Miami Memories… The Welcome, North Carolina driver has plenty of positive memories at the 1.5-mile, intermediate-style track. In 2013, he clinched the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway by finishing 12th in the Series’ season finale. He also clinched the NASCAR Truck Series title at the track in 2011.

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AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
With an earlier start time at Homestead-Miami Speedway than what you are used to having in the past, do you expect any real changes to the way the track drives?
“That’s a good point. It’s something we’ll be thinking about. We’ve been pretty solid in the nighttime the last couple of races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. During the day, the top groove gets pretty dominate so that fence will be important. Some guys can run it up high by the fence consistently. The darker it gets, I seem to move down the track and find more and more speed. I think the rubber, when it gets laid down too, creates a little more parody in the line that you can run. Finishing during the daylight will be different, but it’s also Florida. We might get a little rain and still finish at night with a weather delay.”

What excites you most about Homestead-Miami Speedway?
“First of all, it’s an oval. I’m excited about getting back on an oval that’s not a speedway. Everybody’s excited for the first 1.5-mile of the year because it allows you to see what kind of speed you’re going to have in your program and where you stack up. It can be a long year if you don’t have your stuff together. We ran well at Homestead-Miami Speedway last year. I think I got a tire outside the box penalty and we came from the tail-end of the longest line to the top-10. I think we finished seventh. It was fun; we had a really fast car, so I can’t wait to get there. And obviously Tyler Reddick is solid there and I think that’s pushed our program to another level when it comes to running at Homestead-Miami Speedway. People really put an emphasis on that track for him because they know it’s a place where he can show up and run really well. I feel like we’ve learned off of our cars the last couple of years.”

Talk us through running the highline at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the challenges involved.
“I think as the race starts, the track is pretty green, even though sometimes you have races before it. The higher you get, the cleaner the surface is and it seems to grip the tire better. So, you’re obviously working right there against the fence. And a lot of people believe that air gap between the wall gives you extra side force. I haven’t really done any research in that, as far as aerodynamics go, but I’ve been told to believe it. The grip makes the straightaways longer. The biggest thing you’re trying to accomplish is being in the throttle longer and the guys that are really good at it can carry some speed doing it at the beginning of the run. But when your tires are the freshest is when I feel like the most vulnerable for the people that run the fence because it’s the longest way around the track. That’s why you see guys that will run the whole race up there, lead laps and look like they’re going to be the winner. But if a caution comes out late, they’re in a vulnerable spot because they’ve set their car up to run one line. If somebody has just kind of got their car turning good enough to make a couple laps on the bottom before the tires really start wearing out, that outside line is in a vulnerable spot. The goal is to use it when you need it. For me, I try to use it when the track goes for long runs – I tend to move up there and start using the fence to take care of my tires. I’m also conscious of not driving the right rear off of it so I have something toward the end of the race. It only pays that last lap, obviously, and track position is key. But I think the only way to have a chance is to have the car in one piece and have it be a little more maneuverable. This time around, with it being in the daylight, I do think the top will be the dominate place to run, especially after a couple of laps. You see guys be able to make that ¾ mark work, as well. The seams are as important there as the wall sometimes.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Homestead-Miami Speedway… Reddick has one NASCAR Cup Series start at Homestead-Miami Speedway, finishing fourth at the 1.5-mile track last year. Reddick has two wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Florida speedway, which clinched his back-to-back Xfinity Series championships in 2018 and 2019. He also has a fourth-place finish at the track from his part-time Xfinity Series schedule in 2017, as well as two pole awards (2017 and 2019). In addition, the sophomore driver has three NASCAR Truck Series starts at the track, starting and finishing in the top 10 for all three events.

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When Tyler Wins, You Win Tenders!… Like Reddick, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen is hungry for his first Cup Series win to come in 2021. So all season long, when Reddick takes the checkered flag in the Cup Series, all NASCAR fans will win a FREE No. 8 Special Chicken Tender Platter at Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen the Monday following the race. Offer is valid both dine-in and To Go. See cheddars.com/offer/race-day for full details.

TYLER REDDICK QUOTE:
You’ve had a lot of success in your career at Homestead-Miami Speedway. What is it about this track that works for you?
“I’ve been very fortunate to have some great vehicles at Homestead-Miami Speedway, whether it be in the trucks, Xfinity or Cup cars, so that helps a lot with just overall confidence and feeling comfortable there. Going there with such strong cars really has allowed me to play into my strengths around that track. Homestead-Miami Speedway is a place where you can move around and change up your line almost every lap to find more speed. So, I think just having a feel for that, the tire fall-off there, and how much you can move around suits my driving style. It’s just something that came rather quickly to me from the start. I had a rookie test there in the NASCAR Truck Series, so I’ve had a lot of on-track time there too. We need to go into the race on Sunday with that confidence and just maintain it during the entire day in order to hopefully get our No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet into Victory Lane and win all race fans a free No. 8 Special on Monday.”

Myatt Snider and the No. 2 TaxSlayer Chevrolet Camaro at Homestead-Miami Speedway… Snider has two career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Homestead-Miami Speedway, both of which came in 2020. The 26-year-old earned his best finish of seventh in his second start. Also, Snider has competed in two NASCAR Truck Series races, posting two top-15 efforts.

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MYATT SNIDER QUOTE:
What are your thoughts heading into Homestead-Miami Speedway?
“Last year, I went to Homestead-Miami Speedway with the mentality of just learning and getting better at the track. It had been a place I’ve struggled at historically. Turns out though, all I needed to do was hop into an Xfinity car. I had a pair of my best finishes in the No. 93 last season at Homestead. Going back this year, with the same Richard Childress Racing race team that won the race in 2019, my expectations are high. Andy Street (crew chief) and I have been working hard on ironing out everything in preparation for this race. I think we are going to be in really good shape to slay it this Saturday with our TaxSlayer Chevrolet Camaro.”

Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021
1.5-Mile Oval
3:30 PM EST
Location: Homestead, Florida
TV: Fox logo
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (3 of 36)

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 28 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 12th

No. 5 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

RECENT RECAP: Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, finished 10th in the season-opening DAYTONA 500 on Feb. 14. This past Sunday, he was battling for second on the DAYTONA Road Course with just over seven laps to go when he spun into a tire barrier and finished 30th. Larson is currently 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, 51 markers behind the leader.

LEADER AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: In seven starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Larson has led 325 laps – the fourth-most among Cup Series tracks for the 28-year-old – while accruing three top-five finishes. He has led the most laps there among current Hendrick Motorsports drivers.

SUCCESS ON THE STAGE: Since the introduction of stage racing to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2017, Larson has never finished worse than third at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In his six stages at the track, the driver has recorded three wins, two second-place finishes and one third-place result.

TIRED OF PLAYING SECOND FIDDLE: In 70 career Cup Series starts on 1.5-mile tracks, Larson has nine second-place finishes and 20 top-five results but has yet to visit victory lane. He has recorded six stage wins and has led 794 laps in those races. His nine runner-up finishes on 1.5-milers are the most of all-time without a victory.

GREAT MEMORY … FOR SOME: In the 2016 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, now No. 5 crew chief Cliff Daniels was a race engineer on the No. 48 team with Jimmie Johnson. Johnson took the lead from Larson on a restart with two laps to go and raced his way to the win, earning his record-tying seventh championship.

MORE NATIONS: NationsGuard, a program that gives car dealers control of their F&I products and customer experience, will adorn the No. 5 Chevrolet again this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It also appeared as the primary sponsor on the car in the first two events of the season at Daytona. For more information about NationsGuard, click here.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 5th

No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

LEADING THE FIELD: Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet, has led laps in the last four NASCAR Cup Series events and is tied with Joey Logano for the longest active streak. In the four-race span that dates back to last season, Elliott has led the most total laps (436) out of all Cup Series drivers and has led the most laps in three of the last four events.

TOP-10 TRACK: Homestead-Miami Speedway is one of seven NASCAR Cup Series racetracks where Elliott averages a top-10 finish. In five career starts there, the driver of the No. 9 Camaro has an average result of 8.0, which is second all-time behind Kevin Harvick (7.4). Elliott has never finished worse than 15th at the venue.

ELLIOTT AT HOMESTEAD: On Sunday, Elliott will make his sixth career Homestead-Miami Speedway start in the NASCAR Cup Series. In his previous five races, Elliott garnered two top-five finishes and three top-10s. During last season’s trip to the 1.5-mile track, the 25-year-old driver raced inside the top five all night and led 27 laps before collecting a runner-up finish.

1.5-MILERS: Elliott will make his 57th start on a 1.5-mile track on Sunday at Homestead. In his previous 56 races, he led 738 laps and scored his second career 1.5-mile track win at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28, 2020. Along with the two victories, Elliott has collected 18 top-five finishes – five of which are runner-up results – and 29 top-10s on 1.5-milers.

2020 1.5-MILE STATS: Last season on tracks 1.5 miles in length, Elliott collected one win, three top-three finishes, five top-10s and led the fourth-most laps of all drivers (310). The Dawsonville, Georgia, native also garnered the most stage wins (four) on 1.5-mile tracks in 2020.

NAPA AUTO PARTS: On Sunday at Homestead, the familiar blue, white and yellow NAPA AUTO PARTS paint scheme will be showcased on the No. 9 Chevrolet. The Atlanta-based company is serving as majority sponsor for Elliott and the No. 9 team for 25 NASCAR Cup Series races this season.

GUSTAFSON AT HOMESTEAD: This weekend, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 17th Homestead-Miami Speedway race from atop the pit box. In his previous 16 events at the venue, Gustafson has collected one win (2012 with Jeff Gordon), four top-five finishes, eight top-10s and 247 laps led. The Ormond Beach, Florida, native also started from the pole position in 2014 with Gordon.

NEW PARTNER, NEW SCHEME: On Tuesday afternoon, Hendrick Motorsports revealed Elliott’s 2021 No. 9 Adrenaline Shoc (A_SHOC) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE that will appear at his hometown track of Atlanta Motor Speedway in July and Talladega Superspeedway in October. In January, Hendrick Motorsports announced that A_SHOC would become a primary sponsor of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion. Click here to see the scheme.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 23 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 29th

No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

HEADING TO HOMESTEAD: With three previous NASCAR Cup Series starts under his belt at Homestead-Miami Speedway, William Byron’s results at the 1.5-mile track are a bit misleading. In his first two races, Byron ran solidly within the top 10 but a flat tire in 2018 and a mechanical issue late in the 2019 event left him with a track-best finish of 24th (2018). However, Byron’s luck changed in 2020 when he scored a ninth-place finish after running inside the top 10 for the majority of the race. In fact, last year’s event was the fifth-best overall race for Byron based on average running position (9.66). He will try to keep that momentum going Sunday when the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE hits the track.

RUDY RUNS MIAMI: While this Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be crew chief Rudy Fugle’s first in the NASCAR Cup Series, his previous stats show he has what it takes to tackle the 1.5-mile track. In seven NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at the south Florida track, Fugle has visited victory lane two times – first with Kyle Busch in 2013 and again with Byron in 2016. In fact, Fugle’s drivers have never finished outside the top eight there. Along with his two wins, Fugle has collected five top-five finishes and seven top-10s at the truck level. He has an average starting position of 5.7 and average finish of 3.4 with 180 laps led.

SOUTH FLORIDA SUCCESS: In addition to his Cup Series starts, Byron has two races on his Homestead-Miami Speedway résumé – one in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and one in the Camping World Truck Series. In 2017, Byron started sixth and went on to finish third, locking up the Xfinity Series championship in the process. In 2016, Byron started on the pole for the truck race and led 31 laps en route to the win at the 1.5-mile speedway with Fugle on the pit box.

ALL ABOUT AXALTA: With one more race in the state of Florida before the NASCAR Cup Series heads out west, Byron will pilot the newly redesigned No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Sunday’s race at Homestead. Now in its 29th year of partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta will return as primary partner on Byron’s No. 24 for 14 races in 2021. For a better look at Byron’s new No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, click here.

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 27 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 23rd

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

1.5-MILE STATS: In 60 starts on 1.5-mile tracks, Alex Bowman has six top-five finishes, 15 top-10s and one win. The Ally-sponsored driver is tied with Martin Truex Jr. for the most top-10 finishes (four) in the last four events on 1.5-mile tracks, which is the longest active streak. Bowman also has finished inside the top five in the last three races on 1.5-milers, which is also the longest current streak. The 27-year-old driver’s first NASCAR Cup Series win came in 2019 at the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway after leading 88 laps. Bowman led 269 laps on intermediate tracks last season, which is the sixth most among active drivers. He captured three stage wins at these venues in 2020, the third-most behind Denny Hamlin and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott.

TOP-10 FINISH: On Sunday, Bowman and the No. 48 Ally team captured their first top-10 finish of the 2021 season after crossing the line 10th at the DAYTONA Road Course. After rolling off 36th, Bowman reported that his Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was tight in the bus stop on Lap 11. Through a series of cautions and pit stops, the Ally team made improvements to the car and Bowman was running 17th with 10 laps to go in the event. With his eyes focused out front, the Ally driver advanced seven positions by the end of the 70-lap event. This is Bowman’s first top-10 finish on the DAYTONA Road Course in a points-paying event.

WELCOME TO MIAMI: Bowman will make his seventh Homestead-Miami Speedway start in the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday. The Tucson, Arizona, native’s best finish of ninth came in the November 2019 event after starting 12th. Bowman has one start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the 1.5-mile Florida track. In 2016, he drove the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports and brought home a 14th-place finish after qualifying eighth.

IVES AT HOMESTEAD: Greg Ives will call the shots from the pit box at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend for the seventh time in his NASCAR Cup Series career. The Bark River, Michigan, native’s best finish at the track came in 2019 when the team crossed the line in ninth after qualifying 12th. Ives’ résumé includes two starts in the Xfinity Series at the 1.5-mile track, where his best finish of 17th came in 2014 with Elliott. From 2006-2012, Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 Chevrolet driven by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. He was part of two pole awards, two top-five results and four top-10s at Homestead with the seven-time champion. Ives was on hand for five NASCAR Cup Series championship title wins at the Florida venue with Johnson during that span.

HELLO, WORLD: On Monday, No. 48 fueler Jacob Conley and wife Claire welcomed twin boys into the world. At 11:40 p.m. and 11:43 p.m. ET, Lucas and Bennett Conley were born and joined their 22-month-old sister Nora. The new family of five is doing well, and Jacob will compete with the No. 48 team this weekend at Homestead.

CLOSE TO HOME: No. 48 Ally team tire specialist Carl Haag grew up not too far from Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 34-year-old grew up in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and attended Treasure Coast High School. Haag has been in the motor sports industry for six years and has worked with Daytona prototype international cars, in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and with Ives and Bowman for the past two seasons.

FAST FIVE: When NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1994, he didn’t waste any time – winning at North Wilkesboro Speedway in just his seventh start for the team. Since the organization’s inception in 1984, no driver has recorded a Cup Series victory in fewer races for car owner Rick Hendrick. Geoff Bodine and Mark Martin came close, with each posting a win in their eighth race. In fact, the five quickest Hendrick Motorsports winners all piloted the No. 5 Chevrolet: Labonte, Bodine, Martin, Casey Mears (12 races) and Kasey Kahne (12). Newcomer Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, will make his third start for the team Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

HOME(STEAD) TEAM: The Chevrolet fleet of Hendrick Motorsports has rattled off 19 consecutive Homestead-Miami Speedway races with at least one top-10 finish. Since the NASCAR Cup Series began competing at Homestead in 1999, the team has notched at least one top-10 there in every season with the exception of 2001 when Labonte led the stable with an 11th-place result.

SIXTY AND COUNTING: Going into Sunday’s race at Homestead, Hendrick Motorsports has scored 60 combined points-paying wins at 1.5-mile tracks, making it the all-time NASCAR Cup Series leader. The team has seven more 1.5-mile victories than second-place Joe Gibbs Racing and 19 more than third-place Roush Fenway Racing.

WINNER, WINNER: Hendrick Motorsports has sent 11 different drivers to victory lane at 1.5-mile Cup Series tracks. Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson was dominant on 1.5-milers, winning 28 points races, followed by four-time champ Jeff Gordon with an impressive 17 victories. The team’s list includes Darrell Waltrip (three wins), Chase Elliott (two), Ken Schrader (two), Kahne (two), Labonte (two), Alex Bowman, Jerry Nadeau, Martin and Mears.

QUOTABLE /

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the high line at Homestead-Miami Speedway: “One of the fastest ways around there, definitely one of the fastest at the end of a run, is getting right up next to the wall and running inches off of it. I’ve had a lot of success there running that line. I don’t have a win but have led a lot of laps there.”

Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the car setup with Larson running low versus high: “That’s been a hot topic for us this week. There are a few characteristics of the car that Kyle has identified to us that he really wants to give him the capability to run the high line well. Allowing him to run the high line on the long run, we have known adjustments for the short run to allow him to run the low line if needed. You want to have the best trade off of both you possibly can have, but we know giving him the ability to run up high next to the wall is going to be good for us.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on racing at Homestead: “I think the biggest thing that everybody likes is running up by the wall. That’s the thing that’s kind of cool and not a lot of tracks let you do that. A lot of times, the track isn’t symmetrical enough to run that close to it for that period of time. It might have little sections of the wall that dip in or out, and when that happens it makes it really hard to run right by it because it’s hard to follow a curve in the wall. But Homestead is a place where the wall is super symmetrical and the track is symmetrical. And progressive banking, too, which I think all those things kind of give you options on lanes to run and something a little different from the normal.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on racing at Homestead: “Last year, we got our first taste of running Homestead in the summer versus the season finale like it used to be. The heat was more extreme, but you could still run right against the wall like before. Last year’s race was definitely one of our most consistent races of the year as a team. It was a good feeling to be able to run well there and have the finish to show for it. Hopefully we can do that again this weekend and get momentum building on our side for the start of the season.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his success at Homestead: “Homestead is a track I always like going to. It used to signal the end of the season and you wanted to go there in contention for a championship. Last year was the first time that it was moved from the fall to the summer, and now it’s even earlier in the schedule. I feel like it changes the dynamic of the race some, but you still go there and give 100%. The first two races of this season haven’t ended with the results we have wanted as a team, but with Homestead being the next race, I’m optimistic. I think with my knowledge of that track and the knowledge William has gained, we will have the tools we need to leave there with a good result.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the team’s 1.5-mile program: “Getting a top-10 finish last week on the DAYTONA Road Course was good redemption from the week prior. Greg (Ives) and the No. 48 Ally team made great adjustments on pit road and put us in a good position at the end for a solid finish. Going to Homestead this weekend gives us a good opportunity to show what our 1.5-mile program looks like this season. We had a really solid end to the 2020 season, and I know that we will have a fast Ally Camaro this weekend.”

Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to Homestead: “We are really looking forward to getting back to Homestead. We have a strong 550 (horsepower) program at Hendrick Motorsports and that showed at the end of last year. We’re looking forward to getting to the track and having another solid race. Knowing that the start of the season didn’t go our way in the DAYTONA 500, we just need to crawl back to where we need to be.”

Ives on working the high line at Homestead: “I expect the high line to be very inviting at Homestead, especially as the run goes on. The car gets a little snug and you can get the air cushion on the wall. The later start is going to potentially have the sun going down and the grip going up. You are going to have to be able to rip the bottom to slingshot. It has the tendency to widen out the groove a lot once grip comes into the track. It’s going to be a fun race, and tire strategy is definitely going to come into play.”

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (February 24, 2021) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media via videoconference prior to the Homestead-Miami event today: 

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Small Business Grant Contest Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Can you tell us a little bit about your paint scheme for this weekend?

“This is great, a great promotion that FedEx is doing for small businesses. They actually 12 grants for $50,000 each that you register for up until March 9th at fedex.com/grantcontest. You see Access Trax right there on the left rear. This is really cool. Kelly Twichel, who is the owner of Access Trax, was one of our winners last year. It’s great to have her on the car and it’s great that FedEx is giving back to small business.”

Can you talk a little bit about your opinion on young drivers?

“I can understand that coming from fans, because they are not prefaced to information that analysts or media are. My thing was have you not seen one article, or have you not watched one race in the last two years or seen any articles about re-signing? I don’t know. It just dumbfounds me, but it’s also not surprising.”

So, it was more about you being listed?

“Certainly. I’m not sure who I can equate it to in another sports world, but essentially someone else at the top of their game and they are like, well this guy scored 30 off of the bench, he’s coming for your starting position.”

Have you gotten more comfortable with your Twitter posts?

“Obviously, since I’m at the end of my career, why care at this point? (laughter) I’m joking by the way.”

This is the first race at Homestead with the choose rule. Is it going to make that much of a difference since there is multiple lanes?

“It will mean a little less at Homestead, but that being said, it will still be significant. Honestly, I had forgotten that we had it up until talking about the racetrack this week. I think that certainly it’s a great addition to the strategic part of making decisions on what you are going to do in these races. I like that element. It’s fun, but it will be important on the last restart if we have a green-white-checkered, but outside of five laps to go it won’t be too much of a detriment either way.”

Has the 23XI Racing team joined the Race Team Alliance?

“Yes, we are, for very simple reasons.”

Why did you tweet to Chip Ganassi that he was a legend?

“This is inside baseball. I’m sorry. I cannot go further than that.”

Do you compete better when you can show the fun side of your personality?

“I think that generally NASCAR drivers get lolled into that everyone is vanilla, everyone is boring, everything else, but you have to realize there are big companies like FedEx that you have to represent, and you have to do it in professional way. Certainly, I try my best to do that, but also, you can be yourself as well. I think that NASCAR has been less strict on censoring. I think that has helped a little bit. I think it just kind of depends. In your personal life, you can show whatever personality you want to. I just think I haven’t changed or anything like that. I always said you will get the good stuff after my career is over, but I’m going to start now.”

Do you think this race weekend will have the major teams lead the pack or can the mid-pack teams compete this weekend?

“I think it will be more status quo on where we were last year. That doesn’t mean me and Kevin (Harvick), since it’s a mile-and-a-half, that we are going to dominate. With the mid-tier teams this is where the resources that they don’t have will come into factor a little bit more. I don’t think I would call the 20 (Christopher Bell) car mid-tier, and I don’t think I would call the 34 (Michael McDowell) a shock because we are at a superspeedway. I think the winners list is like, oh wow, where is our superstars, but we are about to get into a chunk of the season where you are going to start to see some of your normal winners in the bracket.”

When you look at driver data, what are you getting out of it?

“I don’t think my data can be replicated. I think that you can try, but you are probably going to be wasting your time. It’s just something that I’ve always done. It’s probably more of a habit than it is a conscious decision to drive that way. What I get out of it is I recognize what I can analyze from other drivers, even though I’m not driving the same way there is certain things that I can identify that does help me and I apply it to my style. There are things. I don’t really want to give that stuff away information wise, but I can use the data. I think it’s harder for people to read my data.”

Can you give me a sense of what you do so different than everyone else?

“It’s just my throttle application is dramatically different than everyone else.”

How do evaluate your performance and the No. 23 team? Have you provided advice to them?

“I think that our 11 FedEx team has been very, very good the first couple of races. I think that even though my finish was a little worse than the Daytona Road Course last year, I think we second to third this time, I felt overall our performance was closer to the front. I’m pretty happy with that. Speedweeks, we obviously led the most laps, won both stages. We’ve won three of four stages so far this year, so I’m pretty happy with where we are. I’m on the pole this weekend because of our performance last weekend. All is good there. I’m happy with that. The 23 team is still just a learning in progress. I had the most painful day yesterday. I’m listening to the 23 team’s debrief in my ears while I’m at the dentist getting my teeth cleaned. It might have been the most painful hour possibly in my life. It was a learning process. I think they know what their weaknesses are. They’ve got to go work on it, but they are going to get better. I will chip in wherever I can. I try to be the best I can to be a great teammate to them, just like the other teammates at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). I dedicate a certain amount of time per week to helping out that race team and helping them get better.”

Painful because of the challenges discussed or because of the teeth cleaning?

“Both, but I think that Bubba (Wallace) recognizes he’s got a very fast car. All of the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) cars were up front this past weekend. He knows he’s got a lot of work to do on himself on the road courses. I think that he’s very much looking forward to going to Homestead this weekend to see how he stacks up on the mile-and-a-halves.”

Toyota has such strong pipeline of drivers and you have said in the past that you want to expand. Do you have a timeline of that?

“I would like to expand as quick as possible. I think that quicker that we expand, the more resources we will have as a race team to get better, the better people we can hire. Everything gets better the more information that you can throw into the pot. When it makes sense for us is when it makes financial sense for us. It’s about getting a sponsor, a driver and a crew chief first. Those three things all have to line-up, and then you have to try to find a charter. There’s a lot of obstacles that are in the way of it happening, but certainly, we feel like we are active in the space. We are trying to be the team that Toyota feels like they have a place for their young guys to go or maybe we go after an established veteran who’s got a great resume.”

Is Xfinity ultimately going to be a part of that plan as well?

“Ultimately, this is all around sponsorship. It costs a tremendous amount of money to put these cars on the racetrack. I wish the model was the teams could hire whomever they wanted, and they didn’t have to worry about getting a big sponsor to just breakeven or finding a driver that brought money, but that’s the climate that we live in. Unfortunately, for us, you have to make sure you have the check writer first, and then you go out and get your talent. It’s just a weird process in how it all works, but certainly, we are trying to do it as quick as we can.”

Did you learn anything from the No. 95 and No. 78 teams?

“I think those two were very different situations. The 78 had sponsorship. They were able to take what JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) had and apply more resources to it because they had money to do it through sponsorship, and they made it better. They took that product and they made it better. The 95 really COVID put a damper on their sponsorship efforts, so I think they were strapped for money at times, so they couldn’t go out and hire more people to make those cars even better and faster. I think that really shows in performance. I don’t think it was from a lack of effort by any means. There was a lot of unfortunate circumstances that hit them at the 95 that didn’t hit at the 78 until a certain time. When Barney (Visser) was done, I think that his son looked at the business files and was like I’m not taking this debt on, you can go have it and the team shut down.”

# # #

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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
DIXIE VODKA 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 24, 2021

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1, 1LE Media Teleconference Transcript:

WHAT IS YOUR FEELING ON THE DEBATE BETWEEN DENNY HAMLIN AND BRAD KESELOWSKI ON TWITTER? REGARDING SPONSORS, WHERE DO YOU LAND ON THE YOUNG KIDS COMING UP AND BRINGING BIG CHECKS AND TAKING PEOPLE’S SPOTS? HOW DO YOU SECURE YOUR OWN FUTURE?
“I’m not quite familiar with that debate. Is it the fact of how young guys are coming into the sport without the credentials from the driving side, but they have the sponsorship opportunities?”

ALONG THOSE LINES TO SOME DEGREE
“I think, like anything in life, there is the evolution and there’s change. And I want to say that I am the beneficiary of the boom of NASCAR in the late ‘90’s. And when I came in as a rookie in 2001 with a brand new TV package, the sport was in a completely different space because of the amount of money and attention that the sport had invested into itself and how much it had positioned itself for what we all benefitted over the last decade and a half. And so, things change. Things evolve. Jeff Gordon came in and had all this talent. We had Tony Stewart coming in with all his talent from the INDYCAR side. And these were owners, Rick Hendrick and Coach Gibbs. Richard Childress found a guy named Kevin Harvick. Roush Racing found guys named Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch. We can go on and on about how the owners were hiring drivers and it felt more of like an arms race. And something changed right in the beginning of my career where John Deere was a sponsor at Roush Racing and they wanted a young driver to come in and better the results, was the answer that I was given or the opportunity that I received. And within seven months, the CEO changed, and John Deere is not in NASCAR anymore. Well, was it because of me? No. The CEO liked golf. And that’s where the John Deere Classic was born.

“So, I might have gone off on a tangent there on what it means to be a driver with talent or what it means to be a driver with sponsorship, and you have to do it all. You have to do it all in this day and age. You have to have the on-track results. And even if you don’t, you have to have the off-track results and your influence through social media and the power of your name and your credibility to be able to move the needle and to give these sponsors and these partners the proper appreciation for why they’re investing with you or the team. And it takes a lot. It takes a lot from all these different categories. So, there’s no right or wrong answer on is Denny saying one thing and Keselowski saying it another way; and there’s different upbringings for many different people on how they’ve even arrived at this point. It’s endless with the amount of discussion we can have on this.”

YOU WERE RELENTLESS THIS PAST WEEKEND AT THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE RACE AND WE SAW PEOPLE COMING UP TO THE FRONT; WE DIDN’T SEE THEM FOR A WHILE, AND THERE THEY COME AGAIN. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? YOU JUST DID NOT GIVE UP.
“Yeah, we had to bounce back from the Daytona oval race; the 500 did not go very well for us. And our road course program at Ganassi, we’ve been chipping away at it since I got there. For us, we got fifth at last year’s ROVAL. And that was in the Playoffs. We needed that solid finish. And we needed that again to start our season here in 2021. So, I drove elbows out. It was definitely a feeling of overdriving and getting back to this letting all the rough edges drag. And I did that to set a tone. I did it to help confirm our road course changes because we’re going to see a lot of road courses on the schedule this year in NASCAR. And so, we had to come out of the gate strong. I’m really proud of everybody at Ganassi for switching some things around and investing more into our road racing program. And then the fine line of stepping over the line right now on the road courses, the cars aren’t forgiving. And you can find trouble pretty quick. So, I’m just really happy that the day turned out as well as it did even after my mistake while I was leading.”

YOU TWEETED, ‘WOW, TY GIBBS JUST PUT ON A CLINIC’. WHAT DID YOU SEE IN HIM IN THE NASCAR XFINITY RACE FOR A RACER AS YOUNG AS HE IS?
“I saw something special. And to jump into the Xfinity Series and never have run a race there with those guys; these cars and the tire and the track, they put him in there to go get road course experience, expecting him to just run around there and gain laps, right? He had never done a live pit stop is what I heard on the broadcast as well. I mean, that was something special. I stopped Coach Gibbs on pit road the next day and said congratulations. We’ve been in this sport a long time. Coach has seen a lot of different moments in sports. I said Coach, I saw something special. I haven’t seen something special in a long time and I just wanted to say congrats. He’s got it. And you guys know exactly what to do with him to make him a star. But I just wanted to say that on social and I wanted to stop Coach Gibbs and say wow. That kid drove like a veteran. He didn’t put a wheel out of place and brought home the win. Man, it’s like boom. You’re first start. Way to go, kid.”

LOOKING BACK AT THE ROAD COURSE RACE LAST WEEK, THERE WAS A CAUTION FOR THE RAIN. NASCAR FOLLOWED THE RULE BOOK IN THAT SITUATION TO ALLOW TEAMS TO PUT ON RAIN TIRES IF THEY WANTED. NOBODY DID IN THAT CASE. IS THIS A SITUATION WHERE THIS IS STILL A GOOD RULE IN PROVIDING A WARNING IN A PARTICULAR AREA ON A BIG COURSE OR IS IT BETTER FOR THE DRAMA OF THE SPORT TO LET THIS BE UP TO THE TEAMS TO DECIDE? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL SEE AT SOME OF THE OTHER ROAD COURSE TRACKS THIS YEAR?
“I saw the problem developing. The radar was clear. My team didn’t even mention rain. And I radioed to them and said hey, it’s raining in the Turn 2 oval, but it’s not anywhere else. Then the spotter chimed-in and said it was raining on the front straightaway but it’s really light. And then the engineer said there’s nothing on the radar. And then the yellow comes out. So, what we have here are rules in place to create the safety aspect of it, but also to create a controlled environment of when we’re going to switch to rain tires. But it’s the weather. It’s Mother Nature. If I had children and I was helping them in life and giving them advice on where they could go and who they could be and what they want to do in life, I’d just say hey be a meteorologist. You can get paid and be wrong on the same day. And I’m joking because you just don’t know what the weather is going to do. And so, they way to get away from this gray area of a call on whether to switch to rain tires or not, is to allow the teams to do it. But here we are at Daytona, doing 180 mph on the back straightaway or in the banking on the oval and if we’re on slicks and a rain shower hits that section of the track and cars are spinning out wrecking, then the teams are going to be like, where was the yellow? So, it’s a catch-22.

“And yes, we’re going to Road America, a four-mile road course. Daytona is 3.6. COTA, I don’t know the distance, but it’s huge. Turn 11 is probably a mile and a half away, as the crow flies, from the front straightaway. So, we’ve got to look at local cautions. Those have gone away over the years. It’s now just one major caution it seems like. And it was a tough call for NASCAR to have to make but it was on the side of safety. It’s similar to when I lost a race at Daytona two summers ago when there was a lightning strike in the area but then the next one was further away, and they called the race.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL GOT THE WIN LAST WEEKEND. WHAT IS IT LIKE FOR A YOUNG DRIVER TO GRADUATE TO THAT TOP TIER?
“I think he’s ready for it. The kid has proven himself as a great talent. And it’s his stage to stand on now. He’s now been in the Cup series a couple of years and he’s with a top tier team and he’s a winner. If I can revert back to my situation around this point in his career, it would have been like after I won Bristol in 2002, my second year; and you’re like around all these guys now. There’s a different feel of racing up front. And so, he’ll blend in just fine. He did a great job to win that road course race last weekend. Now he gets to show his talent on an oval with a top tier team that’s been very good at Homestead. And now you just start rolling with it. He’ll have those emotions. But as a good racing that we all know he is, he can block that out and focus on the job at hand.”

DO YOU REMEMBER THAT CHALLENGE OR LEARNING CURVE ONCE YOU GOT UP THERE?
“It was pretty wild; you know? You’re like man, Jeff Gordon is behind me right now. Or Dale Jarrett is up ahead. Do I pass him now? Do I wait? What do I do? And so, you have those moments where you can’t get too wrapped up in it, which happens with a young guy. And he’s just going through these new experiences and he has to learn on his own.”

HEADING INTO HOMESTEAD THIS WEEKEND, WITH THE TIME OF YEAR AND THE NEW CHOOSE RULE IN EFFECT, WHAT KIND OF ADJUSTMENTS DO YOU MAKE WITH WEATHER AND NEW RULES?
“Yeah, this weekend, for the Miami race and looking at the weather, it’s going to be the hottest race we’ve ever had down there. It’s going to be during the hottest portion of the day. And so, the track is going to seem extremely slow, lack of grip; and we’re already making set-up changes to adjust for that. It’ll be a refreshing change to go back to the choose rule. We’ haven’t had that in a while, and here we are back at a 1.5-mile. We’ve haven’t been at one of those since Texas last November. Like everything right now with new protocols, the new schedule, lack of practice, there is a lot of shooting from the hip and reacting in the moment. And that’s where you can’t over-think it and you just have to do it.”

LOOKING AT THE BRISTOL DIRT RACE, SOME VIDEO CAME OUT LAST NIGHT OF SOME TESTS OF DRIVERS RUNNING ON THE BRISTOL DIRT TRACK, DRIVERS THAT WERE TAKING MODIFIED AND STOCK CARS WERE SAYING THEY COULD HOLD IT WIDE-OPEN AND THAT IT WAS THE FASTEST THEY’VE EVER BEEN ON DIRT. THE CUP CARS ARE HEAVIER, BUT DID YOU WATCH OR HEAR ABOUT THAT SESSION AND DO YOU HAVE ANY TAKEAWAYS?
“I wasn’t even aware of the test session. I was told that we’re not supposed to be at the tracks that we race, testing and all that. So, I’ve got to look into that. And yes, Bristol is a very wide, heavily banked half-mile race track. You put dirt on there and it’s the fastest, biggest dirt track that any of these guys are ever going to see. The thing that a lot of people are really focusing on is the Sunday race in our Cup cars will be after a long week of the track being used. The Trucks, the Xfinity, and the Cup cars are all big and heavy cars. And with the quantity of forty NASCAR Cup Series cars on that track, it’s going to get pounded down and glazed over and it’s going to be super slick and super slow. And there’s no way to get the mud in that racing condition. And so, you could go there and practice and test and do all these things, it’s just not going to be the conditions on what it’s going to take to win. And so, guys like Kyle Larson are probably the most valuable people to talk to right now. Clint Bowyer. Anybody. Christopher Bell. Anybody with a dirt background will tell you more about how the dirt’s changing conditions will go versus what I can. It’s just going to be that experience level and that knowledge of what to do when. But it’s Bristol. It’s a lot of big hype. They’ve been pouring mud on that thing since January 1. I heard it’s sold out. And that’s the job we’re all supposed to do is hype it up.”

WITH THE NEWS ON RICK WARE RACING ANNOUNCING CHRIS WINDOM FOR THE BRISTOL DIRT RACE, ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF HAVING DRIVERS RACING CUP IN ONE-OFF ON DIRT RACES KIND OF LIKE ROAD COURSE RINGERS? OR NOT REALLY, CONSIDERING THE CHARTER SYSTEM IN PLACE?
“I’m a racer. I’m game for anybody that wants to show up and race. You always want the best competition out there. You always want to beat the best. Did (Scott) Bloomquist get the ride? I want to see him out there. Is Steve Kinser going to come out of retirement and come out and race with us? That’s what this dirt race is all about. It’s just the newness and then the creativity. How to get a ride and get out there. It’s just like Ron Fellows back in the day. Or Boris Said showing up at a road course. That’s what you want to see. You want to see everybody out there.”

NASCAR HAS TV SHOWS NOW AND YOU’RE ON SOME DIFFERENT PROGRAMS LATELY. WE SAW THE MONSTER ENERGY VIDEO. WHAT IS YOUR CELEBRITY STATUS LIKE RIGHT NOW? WHAT PLANS DO YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE WITH APPEARANCES ON SHOWS OR MORE VIDEOS?
“It’s when the phone rings or when there’s an email or whatever opportunity leads to the next one. My chance to film the cinematography cool picturesque scenes down in the (Florida) Keys with Monster was something important to me because I wanted to get a NASCAR car out on the open road. When you do that, now you’ve got people talking. Production crews, the state of Florida was helping us shut down the bridges. Their tourism bureau was excited to help promote the video. And it just snowballs. The next thing you know you get this phone call over here. Or that person goes and talks over there. It’s the duty and the job of teams and drivers and sponsors. What I mean by that is we have to still have the activation outside of our races. There still needs to be the activation where our fans come back to the Midway areas to create that excitement; and have the commercials and the advertising space that you see out in the general public. When I was putting on my driver’s suit down in Key West and going to do that last scene where we did a burnout on Duval Street, one of the photographers, who doesn’t know anything about NASCAR goes, oh look, he’s got his PJs on. And that’s probably from Denny Hamlin’s Dominos commercial where he’s got his PJs. That’s where we have to connect again to mainstream and to people who don’t necessarily watch NASCAR. We have to be out there pushing. Days of Thunder did huge things for us in the 90’s; Talladega Nights in the mid-2000’s, we’ve just got to keep going. And that’s part of where you basketweave and create a bigger spiderweb that gets more eyeballs to our sport.”

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.

Interoperable Solution Company Assists FRM with Communications Software

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (February 24, 2021) – Front Row Motorsports announces today its 2021 partnership with best-in-class interoperable solutions company, AGILE, to provide real-time communication software for use at both the racetrack and the race shop.

AGILE provides interoperable communications solutions that enable public and private organizations to achieve seamless connectivity, even in the most challenging environments. In 2020, the AGILE team had the opportunity to observe and evaluate the communications needs of Front Row Motorsports and worked diligently over the offseason to create a unique communication software that met all of the team’s requirements.

“The multi-element communications solution provided for Front Row Motorsports will provide higher bandwidth data and more flexible voice communications,” said Sheryar Wahid, co-CEO/Chief Technical Officer for AGILE.

In 2020, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, NASCAR instituted safety protocols and procedures to help stop the coronavirus’ spread and allow the sport to continue its season. One of those mandates, which is still in effect today, is a roster limit, which reduces the number of personnel that a team is allowed to bring to the racetrack each weekend.

“When NASCAR implemented the roster limit rule last season, it was challenging for us to decide who we would continue to bring to the racetrack and who would have to stay home,” said Front Row Motorsports General Manager, Jerry Freeze. “We learned of the folks at AGILE and some of the software that they were working on to provide a two-way radio transmission over the internet and decided to explore that avenue over the offseason.”

Freeze continued by saying, “AGILE’s software was a very effective tool for us recently at Daytona [International Speedway], because it allowed us to keep our engineers back at the shop during the race weekend to work the Daytona 500 from there, which in return allowed us the ability to pretty much make use of our full roster again on race day by taking our full allotment of mechanics back to the racetrack to work on the cars, while still abiding by all safety protocols that have been put in place.”

To learn more about AGILE, please visit www.aisinterop.com. You can also follow AGILE on social media: Facebook at Agile Interop, Twitter at @AgileInterop and LinkedIn at Agile.

About AGILE

When wireless, interoperable, mission critical communications are an absolute requirement, business, government, law enforcement, first responders, emergency managers and others turn to Agile, www.aisinterop.com for their solutions.

Agile is the global innovator and leading provider of communications technologies that deliver powerful, solid-state, ruggedized, seamless, lightning-fast speed and the most system flexibility available while offering the broadest range of 4G, 5G and LTE coverage in the industry. Agile’s full line of products support both land and marine applications that work today and will tomorrow because they don’t require hardware changes or full replacement with each new generation like the competition, helping customers meet most budgets for the foreseeable future.

All Agile technologies are built to be mobile and tough, not static like what’s traditionally been offered. Each is an extension of its flagship product, CORE (Common Operating Radio Engine). CORE integrates Landline, Cellular, Radio, Wi-Fi and Satellite communications in a portable, rugged enclosure supporting incident response and command and control functions. CORE represents the state-of-the-art in interoperability and unified incident command systems providing secure communications between multiple parties, agencies, vehicles and IoT enabled devices under the harshest of circumstances.

Agile CORE technologies are now available for operation in all settings. The Mobile CORE communications hub can be located in an office, vehicle, watercraft (Agile Marine), contained in a backpack (CORE Patrol), or ready to go in a portable case (CORE CommsKit). Mobile CORE is a small, ruggedized and durable device that integrates bonded multi-channel cellular LTE, WI-FI, GPS, and Land Mobile Radio extension capabilities. Combined with the industry’s only centralized SIM library (CORE Center Point), secures valuable SIM cards and distributes them to remote devices as required (in use), saving costs and allowing maximum management of SIM’s.

Agile’s mission is to be transformative by taking its customers from the dark ages to the leading edge of communications technology. Agile’s custom tailored solutions help resolve communications challenges while saving time and money. Designing complete communications ecosystems that meet specialized needs, Agile independent products deliver consistent innovation and efficiency.

Being smart is good…Being Agile is mission critical!

About Front Row Motorsports

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series. 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.

CONCORD, N.C. (February 24, 2021) – Due to COVID-19 protocols, Ryan Sparks, Crew Chief for Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, will be unavailable to participate in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 and will not travel to Homestead-Miami Speedway. Additionally, two other members of the No. 7 team will be inactive this weekend in adherence with the same directives.

Veteran NASCAR Cup Series crew chief, NBC Sports analyst and Spire Motorsports consultant Steve Letarte will call the race in Sparks’ absence for the team and driver Corey LaJoie.

The Dixie Vodka 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway will be televised live on FOX Sunday, February 28 beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The third of 36 races on the 2021 NCS schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports was established in 2018 and is co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executives Jeff Dickerson and Thaddeus “T.J.” Puchyr. Spire Motorsports earned an upset victory for the ages in its first full season when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2019.