NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 10, 2021

CHEVROLET CAPTURES NINTH CONSECUTIVE DAYTONA 500 POLE
Alex Bowman, William Byron on the Front Row

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 10, 2021) – For the ninth consecutive season, a Chevrolet has topped the leaderboard and will lead the field to the green in one of motorsports most prestigious events: the Daytona 500. In his debut in the iconic No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, Alex Bowman claimed the pole position with a lap of 47.056 seconds, at a speed of 191.261 mph. The feat puts Bowman’s name in the NASCAR history books as the first driver to sit on the Daytona 500 front row in four consecutive seasons (2018-2021).

Bowman’s pole win marks his second pole at the 2.5-mile Florida superspeedway and gives Hendrick Motorsports its fourteenth Daytona 500 pole, the most of the series.

“It doesn’t really have a lot to do with me; it’s a testament to these guys and everybody back at the shop at Hendrick Motorsports. They work so hard on these superspeedway cars,” said Bowman. “I’m just really proud of everybody; all our partners at Hendrick Motorsports. Thanks to Team Chevy for giving us great racecars. It feels really good.”

Joining his Hendrick Motorsports teammate on the front row of “The Great American Race” will be William Byron, who was second quick in his No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE with a lap of 47.314 seconds at 190.219 mph. This will be Byron’s fourth top-10 start in seven races at Daytona International Speedway.

Bowman’s pole win gives Chevrolet its 28th pole award in Daytona 500 history and the manufacturer’s 718th pole victory in NASCAR’s premier series. The accomplishment is the Bowtie Brand’s ninth consecutive year to sit on the pole for the event, extending its lead as the longest pole-winning streak of any manufacturer at Daytona International Speedway.

Ricky Stenhouse, No. 47 Kroger/NOS Energy Drink Camaro ZL1 1LE, captured the fifth spot in tonight’s qualifying session, with JTG Daugherty Racing teammate, Ryan Preece, qualifying in the eighth position in his No. 37 Cottonelle Camaro ZL1 1LE.

Richard Childress Racing’s, Austin Dillon, ended the qualifying run in the ninth position in his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1 1LE. In the team’s first appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series, Trackhouse Racing’s, Daniel Suarez, qualified his No. 99 iFly Camaro ZL1 1LE in tenth, giving Team Chevy six of the top-10 spots in qualifying.

With the front row spots locked in, the starting order for the rest of the 2021 Daytona 500 field will be determined by the outcome of the Bluegreen Vacations Duels, which will be held under the lights tomorrow, Thursday, February 11th.

The 63rd Running of the Daytona 500 will take place on Sunday, February 14th, at 2:30pm ET and will be aired live on FOX, MRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by the pole winner for the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, Alex Bowman.

Q. What does it feel like to make history on the front row four consecutive years in the Daytona 500, second time you’re on the pole?
ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, I mean, it’s pretty incredible, right? I’m so appreciative and blessed with this opportunity. I think for me, it’s really hard to sit here and be like, yeah, I did it, and I did this and that, and that’s why we’re on the pole for four consecutive years or on the front row for four consecutive years.
It’s much more about Hendrick Motorsports and the 48 team, Greg Ives, the engine shop, the chassis shop, body shop, Chevrolet, everybody at Ally for all their support. It’s more about the people that make it happen.

I floored it, but I’m pretty sure everybody else did, too. Just appreciative that my race car is really fast.

Q. Obviously there’s so much work that goes into it, there’s so much emphasis from the whole organization. I guess being a superspeedway, why is it so important to Hendrick to have you guys be on the front row every year, to win the pole? Where do you think that comes from?
ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, I mean, that’s really just something that’s important to everybody, and I think it’s really different reasons.

I think it means a lot to Mr. H. He wants to win everything. Like every category, he wants to be top of the list, everything. It means a lot to Greg because he wants to prove that he can build the fastest race car probably.

And it’s a lot of pride for the guys in our body shop, for the guys in our engine shop, to prove that they’re putting the best product on the racetrack that they possibly can.

You know, I think it’s just a real big source of pride for everybody that they feel like there’s — most racetracks we go to you’re trying to dial the race car in to the driver, and there’s a lot of, like, there’s a lot of other things that go into it.

Here it really just comes down to who built the fastest race car. And I think it’s important for Hendrick Motorsports to come up and prove that they’re the ones that did that.

Q. Does your team have certain cars that are specific to you, and if so, was this a car that you had driven before?
ALEX BOWMAN: Yes, so I think for the most part at HMS the cars you have kind of like the 48 fleet, the 24 fleet, the 5 fleet, the 9 fleet.

To be honest with you, I don’t know which car this is. I don’t know the chassis number and I don’t know if we’ve raced it before. I don’t know if it’s a new one. Obviously, it’s a fast one, so that’s good.

But I wish I had a better answer for you. I guess I didn’t do all the homework for you. I don’t know. Greg? He was right behind me. He’s got to be coming in here at some point. I think he’s on the phone with Claire, but after that he’ll probably be able to answer that question.

Q. I know sometimes when big things happen for you, you end up buying new cars, so I’m curious if this is one of those? Have you committed to Rick that you’re buying another car?
ALEX BOWMAN: No, no more cars. I have way too many cars. When he gave me the Chicago car, it 100 percent has like put me out of room in my shop, so I feel like if I buy another car, I’m going to have to build a bigger shop. I’d need to race Cup for a couple more years to be able to do that.

Q. I would feel remiss if no one asked you for an update on your drag racing with Mr. Hendrick.
ALEX BOWMAN: I think we both gave up. I think he broke his car and then I broke my car. I think they’re both running again, but I’m not sure — both cars got so fast, I’m not sure either one of us really have any desire to take a streetcar to a racetrack and go 165 miles an hour in a street car.

I don’t think it’s going to happen, but it’s fun to talk some smack with the boss. Obviously, we’re both big car guys and maybe we’ll race something that’s a little more reasonable and a little bit more in control.

Q. William was on a few minutes ago, saying he has no idea who gets what, that the cars are basically equal, yet you were a mile-an-hour faster than him in the field. What do you think was behind that?
ALEX BOWMAN: I feel like everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has the same tools. What each team chooses to do with those tools is on them. All four teams work extremely close together.
I think Chad this year has done an incredible job of — I just feel like there’s more communication, at least to me. Like, I’ve talked to Chad a bunch this off-season, which is something I really wouldn’t have done in the past.

I think what it really comes down to is Greg Ives and the 48 team being just extremely intent on coming down here and getting the pole and maximizing every little thing. There’s no detail that wasn’t looked over. I think he’s been obsessed with the 500 pole, and it shows in his stats. He’s been on the front row I think the couple years before I was driving for him, as well.
It’s a long streak for him, and it means a lot to him.

Q. Last spring you and Hendrick announced a one-year contract extension. Curious if you guys are having conversations now about your status with the team beyond this season.
ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, you know, just kind of with everything going on in the off-season, we haven’t really talked about it yet. I’m sure it’ll get talked about. I want to be at HMS for a long time, and every time I talk to Mr. H I think that’s a mutual feeling.

I’m not too concerned with it at the moment. I think Ally has been a great partner so far. I think everything has been going extremely well. Yeah, I mean, I’m sure talks will start eventually, but just thankful for the opportunity that I have at the moment and just trying to maximize it.

Q. As you guys pointed out a little bit ago, you guys at Hendrick come down here the last several years with the tools and the speed and the cars to put yourselves in contention to win this race, but it’s been since 2014 that a Hendrick driver has actually ended up in Victory Lane. What’s it going to take for you or one of your teammates to kind of be able to make a return trip this year?
ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, for me it’s been an interesting couple years driving for HMS in the 500 obviously from the front row every year, have had extremely fast race cars. It’s like we make it through every crash until that last one. We go all day, we miss crashes that we probably shouldn’t miss, and then a crash that we probably should miss we get caught up in.

It’s been frustrating to not get a great finish here in the 500. Obviously we’ve had some other superspeedway success, and we want to win this deal. This is the Daytona 500. Everybody wants to win this deal. We’ve just got to get through the whole race. We just haven’t been able to get through the whole race, and it hasn’t ever really been our fault. We’ve always had great driving race cars, fast race cars, led laps, but just got to get to the end.

Q. Since 2000, the driver who’s sat on the pole has not won the race —
ALEX BOWMAN: Aww, why you got to tell me that?

Q. You have to go back to Dale Jarrett with the bad-ass Robert Yates engines. He’s the last guy to pull off that feat. How do you kind of kill that jinx and be the guy that breaks through?
ALEX BOWMAN: Well, I didn’t know that, so that wasn’t even in my head. So now I’m all worried about it.
I don’t know. Kind of like I said before, you’ve just got to make it to the end, and I feel like if we do that we’re going to have a shot at it.

But yeah, it’s a really hard race to win. So many things have to go right. Your day has to go so well, and it’s hard. It’s tough to do.

It’s hard to do no matter where you start. I don’t think any of our previous 500 runs have really even been influenced from where we start, so just got to get to the end, and if we do that, I know we’ll have a chance.

Q. Is it going to be fun to hold this over William for the next four days?
ALEX BOWMAN: I don’t know about that. I feel like as a driver, it’s cool, but like it means so much to the team and it’s such a direct representation of their effort. I might not make fun of William too much over the next couple days, but if there’s a good opportunity to, I may have to throw a jab or two.

Q. I asked William this and I’ll ask you. Obviously, a big advantage of having teammates on the front row for the 500 is to potentially be able to control the front of the field for the start. What’s your confidence level in the speed and the race setup, that you and William will be able to do that for as long as possible?
ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, I think you’ve seen much more of that, obviously, over the last couple years. We definitely weren’t the first to do it, but I feel like Chevrolet has done a really good job of it, and Hendrick Motorsports has done a good job of it, as well. Hopefully it works out and we can.

We’ve had plans that worked, we’ve had plans that fell apart, but obviously this is a team sport, and when it comes to superspeedway racing there’s a lot that goes into it. We’re going to do everything we can to keep both those cars up front.

I’ve got Greg Ives walking behind me. He actually is funny when he talks, but then he stops talking and he gets real serious in a meeting and you don’t know if he’s going to hit you or if he’s upset about something.
But no, I’m going to floor it and hopefully stay up front.

Q. These are still unprecedented times in NASCAR where you’re not able to get the usual amount of practice and whatnot, yet you seem to have a terrific rapport with this team. You guys are putting fast cars out there and you can’t stop talking about how great everyone has been over at HMS. What does a night like this say about the camaraderie, the unity and the overall togetherness of Hendrick Motorsports and how well they’ve been able to do in these unprecedented times?
ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, I think I’ve watched some of what Mr. H has said in the last couple weeks and he’s talked about how the atmosphere in the shop is better than he’s ever seen it and how people are more pumped up. I would agree with that.

I would say the communication has been better than ever between the teams. Coming off the championship, the guys are all pumped up. Everybody is extremely proud of that and what the 9 team were able to do last year. My guys I think are pretty proud of our Playoff run last year.
I think there’s just a lot of really positive things going on at HMS right now, and a night like tonight just proves all the hard work is worth it.

Back in the shop, some of these guys come and help me on my sprint car and midgets after hours and none of them have been able to lately because it’s been some long nights in the shop. I know that they’ve all been working hard and working some late nights. Just super appreciative of each and every person’s hard work at HMS because it definitely shows up on the racetrack.

GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by crew chief Greg Ives of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet.
You’re no stranger to qualifying on the pole here and good runs qualifying. Just walk us through your mindset heading into today.

GREG IVES: Well, you know, we definitely focused a lot on qualifying. We felt like that going into tomorrow’s race that the track was going to have a lot of grip so we could trim out the car a little bit more than normal. And securing that front row starting spot is a big deal. You get yourself in a bad position tomorrow night and you’re able to kind of back off a little bit. That’s kind of what our focus was.
Executing is a whole ‘nother thing. So, we were able to do that. And the common denominator is Hendrick Motorsports. I’m just fortunate to be able to get paired up with great guys like Alex and the team that we have and get to talk to you guys about it.

Q. It’s no secret that you guys seem to be fast when it comes to superspeedway qualifying, as the record speaks for itself. But everybody has to wonder, what is the secret that you guys have when it comes to these tracks?
GREG IVES: Well, I think with the impound qualifying, it’s a decision. It’s a decision whether or not to put your car in race trim and have some type of focus more on how the car is going to be balanced and handle in the draft.

For the Daytona 500 for us it’s a marquee race that you want to get the pole. There’s obviously a special reason why first and second are locked into the race and don’t have to — I wouldn’t say necessarily worry about the 150s, but you have your starting spot, you understand where your pit stall is going to be, you can kind of perfect and get a calm and understanding of where you have to get in the box, get out, and maybe that tenth of a mile per hour better down pit road is going to help you come out first.

For us that was a focus, and I’m sure several people are saying, hey, that wasn’t our focus. Our focus was to have a car capable of racing three wide in a situation that your tires are going to fall off.

Like I said, I felt like we’re going to have plenty of grip tomorrow night. That’s going to — time will tell, right? For us, accomplished the goal that we set out to do, and like I said, that was our focus.

Q. We’ve seen you guys in past years play it conservative in the Duels. What’s the strategy going into tomorrow knowing that you guys are locked on the front row with the pole?
GREG IVES: Yeah, last year we were locked in, as well, and I think we led a lot of our Chevy train, or at least on the back bumper of the 9 car. We came off pit road and came up behind them and there was a three-wide situation that Alex felt not comfortable with, especially with the race car we had, and we lifted.
Like I said, we’re going to put ourselves in a situation to lead our Chevy teammates, our Hendrick teammates, whoever is in our Duel, I’m not sure which one, I haven’t seen the results exactly yet, but that’s the goal is to lead that pack. I’m sure we have the speed to do it, we just have to understand the handling.

At some point, your car is not going to drive good, and you’ve got to understand that situation and how you’re going to counter it, whether it’s something that Alex will do in the car or some feedback that I can put in the race car to make him better on Sunday.

Q. Alex was saying that qualifying here means so much to you, you take pride in having these cars in the front row. What’s your motivation?
GREG IVES: Yeah, first off, great seeing you. It’s been a while.

Yeah, our motivation is just we put a lot of time and effort into our speedway program. For us, it’s a showcase of — it’s a show car. It’s the pinnacle of the hotrods that we bring out of our race shop, and I know there’s a lot of pride in every piece, every car, just from the paint job all the way down to the last nut and bolt.

What Alex talked about earlier, it’s that pride that each shop member has. It’s hard to explain. Obviously I’m mumbling up here about it, but there’s something special about Daytona, something special about the 500 and qualifying on the front row.

Q. To be so much faster than the 24 and the rest of the field, is that you? Is that Alex? Is it the engine?
GREG IVES: It’s a combination of everybody. So like I said, our focus was 100 percent on qualifying. That showed. You’re going to have some comments made that, hey, we’re not going to race well, and so be it, but we accomplished the goal we set out to do.

Everybody makes that choice. As a crew chief I made that choice for this team. And there’s a lot of pride in qualifying on the pole for the 500 that I’m definitely feeling right now.

Q. I’ve seen the picture of you putting the decal on the front of the car honoring Rowdy Harrell. I can tell from the social media stuff I’ve seen it’s really had a huge impact on you and the team. How have you guys sort of navigated those emotions coming into the start of the new season? How do you work through it with your guys?
GREG IVES: Yeah, I mean, 100 percent. That’s probably — this off-season is probably one of the toughest ones I’ve been through. Not only with the loss of my buddy Bryce but also Rowdy and Blakely. It’s been a tough deal. I don’t build a team to wrench on cars. I build a team to be a family. I build a team to have heart.

I think a lot of heart goes into what we do every week. Why? Because we do it 39 weeks out of the year, and then we have an off-season that we do it again.

You know, for me I know when the birthdays are of every person on my team. I know their addresses, names, I know who they are personally. You know, and that’s what matters most to me. Like I said, they’re not just a front-end mechanic, they’re not just a tire carrier, they’re people that I want to mentor and grow to be humans that impact life in a greater way than sports and NASCAR.

I think that’s one thing that Rowdy was able to do. Not too many people in the garage he probably hasn’t talked to, hasn’t inspired to maybe laugh that day.

Like I said, it’s been a tough off-season. If it wasn’t for the rest of my teammates around me, Mr. H. He’s incredible, the way he supports the teams, not only in triumph but also in tragedy. He was gracious enough to be there not only by the family’s side but by our side every step of the way and give us meaning to maybe something we wanted to ask questions why.

Rowdy is still a big part of our team, a big inspiration. Yeah, it gets emotional. It definitely does. But in this sport you have to have that emotion to succeed.

Q. Can you tell any changes yet with Chad and the role that he’s in, either off the track or at the track this weekend?
GREG IVES: Oh, yeah. You know, Chad has made me the crew chief I am today, so I owe a lot — I wouldn’t be sitting here without — I don’t know what else to say. I wouldn’t be sitting here without his mentorship.

What Jimmie and Chad have not only meant to my career, wow, like being an engineer for them and winning races and championships, opening doors that I’ve never dreamed of having the opportunity of, sitting here talking to the media about just collecting his second Daytona 500 pole.

I think one thing that Chad always brings to any situation is intensity, and I knew when I came to Hendrick Motorsports as a crew chief I needed to bring the same intensity as him. Occasionally I kind of had to look out of the corner of my eye and see what he’s doing because he’s just as much about beating me as I am him. He brings that intensity to all four teams now.

Not that he didn’t before, but the primary focus was either the 48 or the 24. Now his knowledge, his excitement, his dedication to just racing is second to none, and he’s able to bring that to all of Hendrick Motorsports, not just on an individual team basis.

Man, I mean, you probably can — I can sit here and talk about Chad and his influence on my life and what he does for Hendrick Motorsports all night long. Him and I have such a great relationship. We can go to each other with tough questions and give tough answers when they’re needed, as well.
It’s a great role to be in. I know he’s just as proud as I am of the 500 pole. Yeah, he has a big impact in NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports.

Q. How anxious are you to see how this season kind of plays out, rolls out for this team? It seems to me as I look at it the team that you’ve been building, the continuity, Alex gaining experience, you’re about to hit that intersection, that sweet spot where good equipment, good teammate, experienced driver all meet at the same intersection and big things happen. Do you feel that’s the case, and how anxious are you to see how it kind of plays out this year?
GREG IVES: Yeah, I mean, man, I’m super excited about what we have going on with this team. I know our performance of seventh finish last night probably wasn’t too exciting for y’all, but for us I think we had a really fast race car. He was able to pass cars. We got mixed up on strategies there for a second just with how the cautions fell, and I thought everything was going to work out well.

But we were in a position before we got in that crash, in front of the 18 car, not knowing what the leaders were going to do, to potentially win that race.

That’s a big tell of where Alex has come, that confidence that he brought into that race. How we ended last year, you never know what does the off-season do to you, what does the off-season — do you keep on working to improve, or do you fall back and say, hey, wow, we had a good playoff run, we should be good to go. I think the latter is not where we’re at, it’s the previous. We’ve worked hard. Alex has worked extremely hard to pick up where he left off, and that’s what I’m most excited about. We have consistency in our team.

Yeah, we don’t always hit our stride right all the time. We have bumps in the road. But the nice thing is we’re brothers in arms, and we’re able to work through them and know that improving is the ultimate goal, and to improve sometimes you need that constructive criticism and that honest voice, whether it’s my car chief to myself or myself to the car chief or whoever else on the team.
Really excited. Happy to be with Ally, happy to be on the 48 team. That number is really special to me, and like I said, helped open doors that I never dreamed would ever open.

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: We are joined by William Byron. We will open it up for questions.

Q. William, a big advantage of having teammates on the front row is to potentially control the front of the pack and the race as it gets rolling. How confident are you that you and Alex can do that as the race starts and keep doing that?
WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I mean, I think for us, we’ve started up there together before, so I feel like for us, we can rely on that experience, especially being teammates with Alex for the last three years, I guess. It’s really been comfortable to work with him.

I feel like that’s the goal, is to stay up there and contend and lead a bunch of laps and control the lanes. That’s our goal first and foremost. But you’ve got to get to the end, as well. And if you get yourself in tough positions, you just have to realize that it’s better to try to rally back at the end of the race and not tear something up. That’s kind of what I’ve learned.

And it can kind of go in waves as the race goes on. And sometimes you’re up front and sometimes you’re kind of mired in traffic, so you just have to take it how it comes to you.

Q. I would say Daytona and Talladega are the two late races last year you won, and Talladega where you were in contention were probably your best plate races. You seemed more confident in the moves you were making, a little bit more aggressive. Did something just click or were you more confident? Was it the spotter? Seemed like something was different last year with your superspeedway moves.
WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I think it just takes time. I feel like the first couple years in Cup I was able to lead laps at certain times of the race on speedways but never towards the end and never in the right timing of the race.

I feel like now the moves that I’m making are a little bit more — I know kind of how to make those moves at the right time, and things have just worked out better for us in those last couple races.
Yeah, I think there’s definitely more confidence, and some of it comes with just knowing your car and knowing some of the things that you can and can’t do. And I feel like the last two races, like you said, Talladega was really close to a win, and Daytona, obviously. I feel like we can build on those for sure.

Q. I just wanted to ask you if this was kind of what you expected of your team for you and Alex to be this fast. It wasn’t necessarily like that in practice, but you guys really seem to bring it when you have to. And were you surprised at how fast he was?
WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I feel like it’s always — Hendrick always gives us great cars to come down here and qualify well and also race well, so you never know which guys are going to have the speed out of the four of us.

To see how we approached the weeks leading up to this race and how we were really determined to go out there and start off strong with obviously the Clash last night, finishing fifth was great for us, good solid start, but our goal today was to go out there and try to qualify on the front row.
It’s nice to be able to kind of check that off. And great to see both Alex and I – the 48 team and the 24 team – both up there.

Q. Some guys never know the feeling of starting on the front row for the Daytona 500. You’ve had that experience before. What’s it like? I know with not as many fans in the stands there’s not as much electricity this year as in the past. But what’s it like to be able to lead the field beyond the front row for the Daytona 500, coming to the green flag in NASCAR’s biggest race?
WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, first and foremost this year we’ve got to get to that point first. I think there’s a lot of boxes you still have to check to get to starting there. You’ve got to get through the Duels. You’ve got to get through practice.

That’s TBD, but I think that in the past it’s been great to start up front. It’s been a really cool feeling. I’d say there’s nothing like the experience I had in 2019 when I started on the front row. And having all those fans here was just amazing. I mean, I was pretty speechless and a little bit nervous.

I think this year will be similar. Obviously less fans but still fans, and it’s going to be fun to have them here. It was fun to have them here the last Daytona race, too, so that was definitely noticeable.

Q. Is there a little bit more extra nerves than if you were starting on the front row of another race at another place?
WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I mean, yes and no. I feel like there’s certain tracks that you go in the first corner, you don’t really know what to expect. You go to some of these road course tracks and we’ve seen how hard it is just to make the first corner because you’re leading and you don’t have really a reference.
I mean, it’s probably harder at some of those road courses than here, but I think quickly the pace and the intensity kind of ramps up after the first lap here, so you’ve got to be ready for that.

Q. Do you have any ideas why Alex was a full second faster than you?
WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know if he was a full second, but I think he was like three/tenths, which is a lot. Yeah, it was fast, though. Greg is over here, he’s got all the secrets. I don’t know. I don’t build the car. But they certainly did a heck of a job.

Q. I’m sorry, I meant a mile per hour faster.
WILLIAM BYRON: Oh, okay. Yeah, that’s a lot.

Q. It seems like the last several years you guys have come down here, Hendrick, with the speed in the cars to put yourselves in contention to win in race, but it’s been since 2014 when a Hendrick driver has done it. How badly do you guys want to be able to kind of complete the deal and put one of these cars in victory lane again?
WILLIAM BYRON: It would be huge. I mean, we’ve won other events here, and it would be huge, though, to win the Daytona 500 for any of the four of us.

I feel like even more so this year there’s a concentrated effort on that and making sure we’re helping each other and we’ve just gotten better and better at that over the year.

The dialogue has continued to be open, and I feel like we’re going to continue to try to move that forward and try to get one of us in Victory Lane. It’s definitely our goal this year.

Q. As you just mentioned, the longer that you’ve been at Hendrick and the longer that the four of you get the opportunity to work together, do you think that that’ll translate into better opportunities to work together at plate races like Daytona?
WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, for sure. I mean, it was obvious last time it was that way with the 9 helping us at the end. Obviously you’re going to take the run that you have and it’s your job as leader to block and protect and make guys help you, but I think there’s a concentrated effort for us to make sure we’re pushing each other when we are able to.

You know, that was a big help the last race, and I think it’s going to continue to be that way regardless of who is out front and kind of who’s in control.

Q. Mr. H was in here on Monday and he was talking about getting excited to be back to the track and how fun it was going to be and watching everybody interacting. He talked about how big it would be to win this race. How big would it be, especially after the year we had, to have Mr. H back at the track and to pull a victory in the Daytona 500 with him there?
WILLIAM BYRON: It would be amazing. I think the coolest thing is hearing from him after wins and good results. And I feel like that’ll be the same if one of us are able to win on Sunday. It’s going to be a pretty amazing feeling.

We’re getting closer and closer to that magic number for Hendrick, so I feel like all of our efforts to try to get as close as possible as soon as possible is important, so you want to be that guy that can mark off kind of a marquee race win.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Ford Performance Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series – Daytona 500 Qualifying
Daytona International Speedway | Wednesday, February 10, 2021

FORD QUALIFYING RESULTS:
3rd — Aric Almirola
6th — Kevin Harvick
13th — David Ragan
17th — Matt DiBenedetto
18th — Ryan Blaney
19th — Austin Cindric
21st — Joey Logano
22nd — Chase Briscoe
23rd — Ryan Newman
25th — Cole Custer
26th — Brad Keselowski
27th — Michael McDowell
30th — Chris Buescher
32nd — Anthony Alfredo
37th — Garrett Smithley
38th — B.J. McLeod
39th — Timmy Hill
41st — Joey Gase
42nd — Josh Bilicki

FORD PERFORMANCE QUOTES

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 33 Verizon 5G Ford Mustang — “I’m excited for the opportunity. It’s pretty cool to be out here racing against your heroes and there’s a lot I don’t know right now. I didn’t get a single lap behind traffic in practice today given where we had to roll through tech having no points. It won’t be easy, but should be just as much fun as you can imagine.”

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU? “I have to take a step back because the competitive side of me isn’t overly satisfied with our day, but I feel like personally it means a great deal to be here. It means a great deal to be trying to race to get into the Daytona 500. I think it’s an opportunity that a lot of drivers work very hard to try and achieve, especially this in this side of motorsports, so for me to have a shot to get in is pretty cool. But, like I said, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done and that’s pretty much all I’ve been thinking about. I’ve spent the last three weeks stressing about this day and the next, but it’s good stress. That means you’ve got something to fight for and that’s starting the Daytona 500.”

HOW HAVE YOU LEANED ON YOUR TEAMMATES? “Yeah, just trying to understand what’s normal. These cars drive a lot differently than the XFINITY cars, whether that’s in the pack which I’ve yet to experience or even by themselves. There are a lot of different procedures and things that go on with it as well and we’ll be extremely unlucky if we don’t get a single Penske-affiliated car in one of our Duels because I think we’ll need some help, but, otherwise, it’s great to have teammates and data and that’s stuff I haven’t had the last couple years. I’ve been getting used to utilizing that at an equal level, not just, ‘Hey, how do you go faster here and help me out here.’ It’s great. I love it.”

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang — DOES IT CHANGE THE DYNAMIC TOMORROW WITH THE CLASH NOT BEING RUN ON THE OVAL? “I think with the amount of practice and qualifying that we’ve had in conjunction with the performances that we’ve had without practice and qualifying going back to last year, I don’t see it as being any kind of issue. Yeah, you’re probably gonna have one or two outliers there, where somebody doesn’t get their heights quite right or wishes they would have obviously had some practice, but, in general, I think it’s gonna be more about knocking some of the rust off pit road and all the things that go into getting that first round of practice as a team together, not just laps on the race car but practice as a team and knocking that rust off before the 500.”

DAVID RAGAN, No. 36 Select Blinds Ford Mustang — “It’s always fun to come to Daytona. For a majority of my career I’ve always been locked in and I have really taken qualifying for granted. I’ve wanted to qualify well and perform well on Thursdays, but I was always thinking about Sunday. For I guess the second time in my career here at Daytona trying to race our way in with some pretty tough competition, I’ve really thought a lot about this qualifying tonight, the Duels on Thursday night, and I’m certainly not taking it for granted to be here in a Cup car at Daytona, the birthplace of NASCAR and something my family has been part of for a long time. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to come here and I hope that we can make it into the Daytona 500. That would be outstanding.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO PRACTICE IN THE DAY AND QUALIFY AT NIGHT? “It was a really fast paced day. Generally, we have a couple sessions of practice. We have ample time to make qualifying runs. The teams can make some small adjustments to find a little bit of speed and today was very fast paced. We only made two runs with our Select Blinds Ford Mustang, so our team did a really good job of hustling throughout practice. We had to make some educated guesses on how to adjust for the car tonight, getting your travels just right, making sure that everything is exactly how the crew chief wants it to be, so it was pretty straightforward to make the lap. It was a little cooler than normal. Usually, it’s pretty hot on Sunday afternoons, but it was cool and a lot of hard work today from all the team members as they got our car prepared to qualify.”

WHAT RACING PLANS DO YOU HAVE AFTER DAYTONA? “The only race I have scheduled at the moment is here at the Daytona 500. I love racing. I’d love to run a few truck races this year if the schedule works out, but my main priority is working with Ford Performance and the development of the NEXT Gen Ford Mustang. I’ve been working with some of the young Ford drivers and getting them up to speed at some of the new racetracks that they’re going to be seeing, letting them know what kind of technology that Ford has that can help them and their teams with the limited practice that all the series have, and still working with Fox Sports and doing some analyst work on the Race Hub show, so between all of that I find myself pretty busy, which is great because I feel like I’ve got the best of both worlds. I can still be involved in the sport that I love, but I can also pick my kids up from school on occasion and be home with them on the weekends and eat dinner with them most every night, so I’m pretty happy with the schedule so far.”

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO KNOCK THE RUST OFF WHEN YOU AREN’T RACING FULL-TIME? “I’m fortunate that my first race is Daytona, so most of the drivers have been out of the seat for a few months. I have the Duels on Thursday night to kind of get a warm-up, generally some additional practice, so I feel like I’m on a pretty even slate. I’ve probably run more laps on the simulator than any of the drivers over the past four or five months, so from that aspect I still feel like I’m pretty engaged with what the cars are doing, the handling. Obviously, there’s no substitute for being at the racetrack and being behind the wheel, but I’m still listening in on race weekends. I read over some of the notes from the Ford teams and on the simulator a lot, so I feel like I’m pretty engaged, but I’m fortunate that the Daytona 500 is a pretty unique schedule, so I can ease into it a little bit more and it would definitley be more of a challenge if I popped in during the regular season with no practice and qualifying, so we’ll see if that’s ever the case, but I’m grateful to have a few laps under my belt this weekend.”

YOU’RE IN THE RACE. HOW BIG OF A RELIEF IS IT? “My crew chief and I joked we were a little nervous because we failed tech a couple of times. We were rolling through tech and he thought qualifying was still starting at 7:00, and I’m like, ‘I just saw on Twitter that it started at 7:30,’ and he was like, ‘Thank God.’ That’s a huge relief. There was some really good teams to come down to Daytona and like I was talking about earlier a lot of times I’ve taken practice, qualifying into the Duels a little bit for granted because my thoughts have always been on Sunday afternoon and what am I gonna do to be in position to try to win the Daytona 500, so it was a different feeling to come to Daytona and not be locked in and knowing that I had a lot of pressure. I mean, I had a sponsor and employees that our car owner Bob Jenkins invests a lot of money and I didn’t want to let those guys down. I really thought it could happen either way. I knew we had a good chance to qualify in and race in. They built this car new over the offseason. Doug Yates has great horsepower, but we’re going against some pretty fast race cars, so I knew that regardless of what happened I was gonna give God the glory and it was gonna be meant to be whatever happened, so I’m grateful that the car ran well, we got through tech and I’m glad to be locked in before Thursday.”

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE TO MISS THE BIG ONE? “I would agree that no spot is ultimately safe, but you want to be up front. If my car is fast enough and it drives decent, I want to be up front. I think if you’re in those first couple of rows you are a lot safer than being 8th to 25th. I think that’s kind of the middle of the hornet’s nest and not only do you have cars in front of you, behind you, besides you, you just have a lot more opportunity for a mistake to be made and damage to have, so there’s really no safe spot that you just know is going to be safe, but if our car is driving well enough and our Mustang is fast I’d like to be in those top couple of rows and hopefully see some daylight in front of me.”

HOW HAVE YOU KNOCKED THE DUST OFF? “I work for Ford Performance and do a lot of simulator work with the current car for some of the current teams that race every weekend, but then do some development for the NEXT Gen car we’ll be testing next month. From a simulator standpoint, I’ve probably made more laps than anybody has over the last six or eight months, but nothing is a substitute for real life experience behind a car, so I still like the Daytona 500. It’s a unique situation to where most of these drivers have been outside of a car for several months. We have a little bit of practice. We have the Duels. We have some extra laps to get ready, so I feel like I’m on a pretty even playing field when it comes to Daytona. Now, if you were to just drop me in a normal race weekend where we had no practice and no qualifying and I had to take the green flag and go, there would be a little bit of an adjustment that I would have to make, but I feel like this is a good set of circumstances here in Daytona, where we’ve had plenty of track time leading up into the Daytona 500. I feel pretty comfortable and pretty good about that.”

B.J. MCLEOD, No. 78 NASCAR Heats Ford Mustang — “It was pretty cool. A lot of work went into the car the last couple months and the team getting stuff rolling and to get here and get some laps under our belt finally was really big, just definitely an accomplishment for us. We’re here and now we can start making improvements. That’s the part I’ve been wanting to do.”

HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING RUN? “We actually want more speed always and never happy. I’m not quite sure where we’re at, but I think we beat a couple of cars. I think today was mainly about getting through the system and passing tech and making a lap, and those were our biggest goals because we definitely have a lot of work to do. We’re gonna be here every week, so we wanted to get through there.”

HOW DID THE DEAL COME TOGETHER WITH MATT? “Matt and I have been friends for a long time. We worked together back all the way to 2011 and we’ve just built that relationship over this decade and always been close even though he was driving for other people the last five or six years. It was something we bounced around and talked about and it became a reality. About a year ago we were really trying to pursue this — maybe a year-and-a-half ago it got a little bit more often in conversation with him and I, and then when the pandemic struck we put a business plan in place to go after this. If it came up, and we didn’t know if it was gonna be two weeks or five years before we got a chance to buy a charter, but we were gonna go for it when it popped up. It was very fortunate for us it happened in less than a month, a month-and-a-half, somewhere in that area we got a chance and capitalized on it and here we are for the Daytona 500.”

ANTHONY ALFREDO, No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford Mustang — “It went really smoothly, honestly. I’ve been building a lot of chemistry with the team back at the shop leading up to this week and got fitted in the car to make sure everything was right before we got down here. All of that felt good and I was comfortable inside the car. The biggest thing was just learning the dash just because I’ve never raced anything with a digital dash, focusing on that. We really just made single-car runs, didn’t get much drafting and we didn’t really work on the car at all for qualifying, mainly just race runs. So we went out there and laid down as good a lap as possible, but tomorrow and Sunday are obviously the most meaningful moments for us.”

WHAT WAS PRACTICE LIKE FOR YOU AND WAS IT WHAT YOU EXPECTED? “Yeah, it wasn’t too eventful, which is a good thing, especially at a superspeedway. We mainly made single-car runs, not much in the draft and we didn’t work on the car as much for qualifying as we did race runs. We laid down as best a lap as we possibly could tonight. It was definitely a blessing to be out there tonight. I’m looking forward to this whole weekend and this entire year honestly. I’m just very fortunate and thankful for the opportunity I have. Thanks to Front Row Motorsports and all our partners with our Speedy Cash No. 38. I hope to make everyone proud. I think the biggest thing I have to learn is pack racing tomorrow night. Hopefully, we can improve our starting spot and then get ready for the big show Sunday.”

YOUR PRACTICE TIME. DID THAT COME IN THE DRAFT? “Our lap in practice was not.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang — “It was fun to qualify under the lights. I don’t think I’ve done that here at Daytona. The lights started flickering just before we went out, so that was a little bit of excitement, but pretty low-key day. Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is obviously something that’s pretty cool, but today was pretty low-key, just made a handful of laps in practice and the car drove good. I’m pretty happy with where we’re at in our Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang.”

YOU HAVE A NEW SPOTTER. HOW DOES THAT DYNAMIC WORK WHEN PREPARING FOR A RACE LIKE THIS? “Obviously, having Clayton up on top of the roof gives me a lot of confidence. He’s won a lot of races and won a championship and has worked with Martin for a long time and worked with a lot of great drivers, so he’s a huge asset that we’re very fortunate to bring to Front Row. But, like you said, it’s tough to come to Daytona not working with somebody and getting that communication down, so today in practice we jumped right out in the draft and tried to get in the pack just so we could kind of get used to each other a little bit. Everything has gone pretty smooth and then tomorrow with the Duels that will give us an opportunity to race and then debrief afterwards and talk about what I need different, what he can do different, what I can do different. But so far it’s been great. It’s a huge asset for us to bring on somebody of his caliber to our organization and we’re really fortunate to have him and we’re expecting big things.”

YOU WEREN’T IN THE RACE LAST NIGHT, BUT WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE DIRT AND MUD. SHOULD CURBING BE PUT IN THERE? WHAT WOULD BE THE CHALLENGES? “Obviously, I watched the race just like you all did and it was really hard to tell whether it was just a big off that somebody had that drug it onto the racetrack and the bus stop is always very dirty — even in the 24-hour race you go through there and one lap is clear and the next lap it’s full of sand and dirt, so you just never know what you’re gonna get, but it’s typically not like what you saw last night where it’s just caked with mud. So, I think that there’s probably some things that we could do. The back side of the curbs, I don’t think we need to add curbs. There are a lot of racetracks and a lot of technology out there that lets you fill in the back side of that curb, so it doesn’t pull dirt onto the racetrack, so I think it will just take a few people getting creative and figure out what to do.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang — HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR CHANCES MOVING FORWARD? “It’s pretty early to really put much emphasis on what we’ve been doing today especially. The Clash was a good read for us. I think we found some improvements with our Fastenal Mustang. I think we had some things that were really good about it and we still have some things that are kind of coming more to the top of our list that we need to work on, so I think it was very productive to be in the Clash first of all. I think we were gonna have a really good day until we got dumped there at the end. I think it was ultimately a lot of fun to be able to do it and not worry too much about the points and use it to try and learn something. I think that we have a good start. We have more to go yet and I really think we’re gonna have to get through probably the first month here and a couple of these different racetracks to get a true test as to where we feel like we stand.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang — “I think our single car speed is just kind of ok, not tremendous but we’ve always been really fast once we get in the race in the draft. We have great teammates on the Penske side. The Fords run great, so I feel really good about it and having the iconic Motorcraft/Quick Lane 21 in the Daytona 500 is always pretty cool to drive.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang — “I knew my car was fast just looking at the RPMs based on practice I felt like we were going a little bit faster than practice and it seemed like everybody was close to backing up their practice speeds, so I knew if we were a little bit better than practice we were gonna have a shot at it, and my car felt really good and really fast and our guys did a great job with our Smithfield Ford Mustang. Man, we came up so close — one one-hundredth away from being locked in to the front row for the Daytona 500. I’m frustrated to miss it by that close, but happy about how much speed our car has in it and we’ll have a great starting spot for the Duel tomorrow night.”

WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CLASH AND THE DIFFERENT PACKAGE? “I thought it put on a great race. The cars were obviously dancing around a lot more, a little bit more difficult in the braking zones and you saw that with people missing their marks and making mistakes. There were definitely more mistakes made and the track is very slick, so when you take downforce away the cars just don’t have as much braking capability and don’t have as much traction. The cars were more difficult to drive and a lot more of a handful than with the added downforce that we had here last year.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang — WAS YOUR CAR SET UP MORE FOR QUALIFYING OR THE DUELS? “I’d say for us we didn’t put a whole bunch of effort into qualifying trim, but I’m not sure really there was much time to put much into it when you look at how short our practice is. Typically for the Daytona 500 we’d have a lot more Cup practice and single-car runs where the 55-minute practice we had was a track filled with cars, so you can’t really get a good read on changing anything in qualifying trim. I hope we’re ready for race trim. We didn’t go very fast by ourselves, so hopefully it goes a little better in traffic. I’m sure it will handle good and we’ll be able to make some bold moves and be able to do a lot of the same things we’ve done in the past to be successful on these superspeedways. We just didn’t have the by yourself speed at the moment.”

HOW WELL DO YOU WORK WITH YOUR PENSKE TEAMMATES? HAVE YOU TALKED WITH AUSTIN ABOUT TOMORROW IN THE DUEL YET? “You just told me where I line up for the Duel, so I did not know that. That’s good to know and yes I will reach out to him and talk to him probably quite a few times over tonight and tomorrow to try to put together a game plan. Obviously, it’s important for him to make the Daytona 500. We’re gonna do what we can to try to help that. At the same time, we’ve got to realize that these Duels aren’t just qualifying races anymore. They have points attached to them and every point matters in my boat, so you’ve got to have a balance of how that works out. With Austin being a rookie in the Cup Series and this being his first attempt at running the Daytona 500 we’ll do what we can to try to help him along for sure. At the same time, we have to have a solid plan for the 22 to make sure that we capitalize on the points at hand as well.”

ANY ISSUES ADAPTING FROM THE ROAD COURSE TO THE OVAL IN CONSECUTIVE DAYS? “I went from dirt to road course to superspeedway all within three days, so it’s been a lot of fun for me. I’ve really enjoyed the fact we get to race different types of tracks. I think that’s the most attractive piece about NASCAR right now for a driver is that you get road racing, you get superspeedways and everything in-between, and then, oh yeah, a dirt track on top of that. To me, that’s fun and exciting. No one else gets to do that in any other racing series — gets to run that many different types of racetracks, so I like that part and I’m good with it. To be a winner in today’s world and be a champion in this series, you’re gonna have to be pretty versatile as a driver.”

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR AUSTIN TOMORROW? “That’s a tough question. It’s a tough place to be, trying to race your way into the Great American Race. A lot of what-ifs can happen in that draft. It’s gonna come down to the last lap. We’ve seen that happen every time here. Everybody is gonna race hard to try to get into this thing, so you just try to position yourself in a safe place, make sure you survive it, but also try to move yourself forward. You’re gonna have to be toward the front to make this thing. I don’t think you can ride around and 12th-15th place and expect to make it. I think you’re gonna have to get up there. It’s a matter of understanding the draft. My advice, make mistakes early in the race. Go for it. Make a bunch of moves. Screw up a lot. As long as you don’t crash your car you’re gonna learn, and hopefully you can use that later on.”

COLE CUSTER, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang — WAS YOUR CAR SETUP FOR QUALIFYING OR THE RACE? “I would say the same thing (as Logano). We’re kind of in the same boat. We kind of focused more on race trim, making sure it races well just because everybody wants to put that big number up tonight and be on the top of the board, but at the end of the day when you get to the race tomorrow a lot of times it doesn’t matter as long as you’re not on the front rows. We have a good handling car, it’s just a matter of staying out of the mess and making sure we have a clean Duel.”

ANY ISSUES ADAPTING FROM THE ROAD COURSE TO THE OVAL IN CONSECUTIVE DAYS? “I agree with Joey also. I think it makes it fun to kind of have that many different disciplines that we have to figure out and it does it make more interesting just because there’s more to study and more to prepare for before the race, and there’s a lot more adapting also. It makes it fun and more difficult and it’s something that definitely brings some intrigue to the sport.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang — WHAT WAS IT LIKE DRIVING THE CUP CAR FOR THE FIRST TIME AND WAS IT WHAT YOU EXPECTED? “So far it’s been pretty similar at least. I haven’t been in a huge pack. I think tomorrow is gonna be totally different and something totally new, but today being out there with four or five other cars in the pack and then qualifying obviously it was pretty similar. I think tomorrow I’m gonna be in for a rude awakening once I kind of get in a big pack, but so far, so good. It’s not been anything too crazy I don’t feel like yet, but I feel like tomorrow is definitely gonna be the real game-changer in all that, just being out there with that many more cars and just the air and everything else. These cars are so different than what I’ve run in the past. It’s gonna take some time to learn, but obviously I wish we would have qualified on the pole, but if we can’t be on the front row, I did feel like this is probably the best situation for me just kind of starting in the middle of the pack tomorrow and just really trying to learn as much as I can.”

HOW DO YOU APPROACH THE START OF THE DUEL? “It’s tough. I don’t really know what to expect, but for me I just want to try to learn as much as I can and get comfortable is the biggest thing. There are some things that are different in the car. Even the left-side mirror and the rearview mirrors, I’m very limited on visibility compared to what I’m used to, so that and working with a spotter I’ve never worked with on a superspeedway before, so really it’s gonna take probably the first half of the race just to even get to where I’m comfortable. In the past, I feel like on the speedway stuff I’ve always been the best when I can be the aggressor and just try to take every run and do something with it, but I think you have to be smart tomorrow. We don’t want to have to pull a backup out. We need to keep the primary clean, so I think it’s all trying to take risks that are not gonna put you in too bad of a box if something goes wrong, so just that risk vs. reward. I think I need to mix it up tomorrow just so I can learn as much as I can really figure out what this car can do and what it can’t do, and just get myself in those situations that I’m gonna have to be in on Sunday if I want a chance to win the race. It’s gonna be a big learning curve tomorrow, but I’m looking forward to it.”

HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU SPEND WITH YOUR TEAMMATES OR DO YOU JUST FOCUS ON HOW THE CAR WORKS AROUND OTHER MANUFACTURERS? “I think it’s both. I think I just need to learn the Cup car in general, but I’m definitely gonna rely on my teammates as much as I can. I think looking at the qualifying results it looks like Harvick is gonna be in mine, so out of all the guys I feel like that’s certainly the guy I want to learn from, so that will be good just being able to hopefully rely on him. Hopefully I’m around him tomorrow and can help each other out, but Ford always does a really good job of trying to work together with the One Ford mentality, but at the same time I have to figure out how to race around other cars no matter what manufacturer it is and get comfortable, so that will be the primary goal at least for me personally tomorrow.”

WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY GOING INTO THE DUEL? “First and foremost not tearing the car up, I think, is the most important thing. I think outside of that just trying to learn as much as I can and just really trying — I don’t even know how many laps, it’s 60 laps or whatever that is and just really trying to learn as much as I can in that 60 lap period to prepare myself for the 500. It’s a limited practice and not getting around in a pack I feel like it’s gonna be very crucial to learn as much as I can in that short amount of time, so just trying to maximize that and just get comfortable to all those things that are new to me now and just trying to be the best I can be for Sunday.”

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST SURPRISE SO FAR? “Nothing really yet has felt different. The speed is definitely a little bit faster I could tell, but from a driving standpoint the small pack I was in today was maybe four or five cars, so it was pretty standard compared to what I’m used to, but I know talking to other people and just watching tape it’s gonna be a totally different deal when I’m 10th in the pack and there are that many cars in the field, so it’s definitely gonna be a big experience for me tomorrow just to get out there and be around those guys and just try to learn as much as I can. A lot of these guys I’ve never even raced against, so just trying to learn their tendencies and then make them comfortable around me. If they’re gonna help me on Sunday, they need to feel comfortable where they can trust me, so just trying to do all those things.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light #TheCrew Ford Mustang — WHAT IS THE STRATEGY TOMORROW NIGHT? “I think you want to do as well as you can. I think, for us, it’s to try to go out and win the race and I think that’s the best thing you can do to try to put yourself in a good position and get the best quality reps that you can getting on pit road, getting in the pit stall, doing all the things you do in a normal race environment, so it’s basically a race that we need as far as reps and doing the things that you’re gonna do on Sunday. I think it’s worth it to go out and try to win the race.”

WHAT HAS STOOD OUT TO YOU ABOUT CHASE BRISCOE? “I’ve had one conversation with him since he’s been in the garage on the Cup side, but I’ve had a couple years of having a lot of conversation with Chase just about little things here and there, but Chase is a true racer. He’s got the pedigree to go out and do the things that it takes to figure this all out and got here for all the right reasons and that was because he knew how to race well and his racing IQ is very high, and in the end he’s just a great person. You always want to see good people succeed and he’s one of those and I’m sure there will be some bumps in the road, but he’s going to excel at being on the Cup side.”

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN THE BIG ONE HAPPENS? “There’s really no right or wrong answer to that. I’ve been at the very front of the pack and wrecked. I’ve been the next-to-last car in the building and got run into by the last-place car in the field, so you just got to be lucky. That’s really what it boils down to. I think the further you can position yourself towards the front, the better off you’re going to be, but you’ve got to have luck on your side to make it through. I think there will be more than one and you’re going to have to be a little bit lucky.”

YOU HAD A DIFFICULT EVENING IN THE CLASH. WHAT DID YOU LEARN THAT WILL HELP FOR NEXT WEEK? “For us, we were trying to be aggressive on some stuff and about lap three some of those things did not work out for us and the track was a complete disaster in the back with all the dirt all over the racetrack. The car in front of me went through dirt and I spun out and I got spun out again, so a few things went wrong.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON HOW THE CAR FELT WITH THE NEW PACKAGE? “It was hard to tell. You’ve got a completely different rules package and it’s at night. We had so many things going on that it would be hard for me to give you a reference on that.”

NCS Post-Qualifying Report – Daytona International Speedway
Wallace, Bell score top-10 speeds in Daytona 500 qualifying

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 10, 2021) – 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace leads Toyota in Daytona 500 qualifying with a fourth-place effort on Wednesday evening.

Toyota Racing Post-Qualifying Report
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Daytona International Speedway – February 10, 2021

TOYOTA STARTING POSITIONS
1st, Alex Bowman*
2nd, William Bryon*
3rd, Aric Almirola*
4th, BUBBA WALLACE
5th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.*
7th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
11th, DENNY HAMLIN
16th, KYLE BUSCH
28th, MARTIN TRUEX JR
33rd, TY DILLON
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry, 23XI Racing
Qualifying Position: 4th

Did you get everything you could on that lap?

“I felt like I did. My first to second shift mark – I’m still getting used to everything. I think I jumped the gun on it, but all-in-all, solid effort for our DoorDash team. It feels good to be back in the Toyota camp. It’s going to be a really good speedweeks, we just have to be careful, be mindful and do whatever it takes. We laid down a decent lap, and I knew it was going to be tough when I see us coming across the line and only run a .47, I thought, nah, that’s not going to hold, so good job their Willy B (William Bryon).”

What are your feelings after getting off to a good start with your qualifying run?

“Everything is shaping up to be a great ending for us, we just need to get through it. This is the same feeling I had in 2018 for my first 500. The speed was there. We qualified decent and had a really good Duel and then finished second in the 500. I think the way things are going, we just need to keep it going. Keep the positive momentum going. Everything is kind of clicking and I feel really good in the car and confident. Still getting things worked out, but all in all, it comes pretty natural when you have a great team behind you.”

Did Michael Jordan text you encouragement or anything today?

“I got a text from him there after qualifying. It was very positive. We’re all excited. I think he gets into town tomorrow so I’m pumped. Like I said earlier, it’s shaping up to be a good weekend.”

What was it like today to finally get into the car?

“It was good to be back in the Toyota family and working with Wheels (Mike Wheeler, crew chief) and getting the communication down. Working with Freddie (Kraft, spotter) and bringing that back from the off-season. Everything is clicking and just feels good, feels smooth. Smooth transition. At the end of the day, it’s a race car, but the way that we’ve spent time and going through looking at everything. Things are standing out that are a little bit different that I’m feeling inside. It’s good. We’re excited, I’m pumped and I know that all the resources are there. Everything is in place and I keep saying that my motto is, ‘no more excuses,’ and right now I don’t have an excuse so I’m good.”

What is your plan with Michael Jordan this weekend?

“Our schedules are being worked out now. I know we have some interviews together and we’ll figure it out. Maybe try to get a round of golf in.”

Do you feel like this season is different from last year and you can just focus on racing?

“Until I’m asked about it. It’s definitely different for sure. I’ve come out a better person, a more mature person and better racer because of everything. We’ll just have to keep going. Whatever comes our way, we’ll be ready. Sleeves are rolled up, ready to roll.”

Were you nervous when you first got in the No. 23 Camry today for practice?

“I was definitely – I was anxious after the Clash race last night. Sitting there having a debrief with Ty (Dillon) and Denny (Hamlin) and at the end of it Ty was like, ‘Man, I’m so pumped for you, this car was awesome and has a lot of potential.’ I’m like, sweet, I’m ready to go. Going into it, felt good, climbed in and felt good. That’s a start when you get in and you’re comfortable. Then the on-track success that we’ve had so far is just backing everything up. You know me, I’m an even-keel person and nothing really gets too crazy for me. When you have opportunities like this and cars like this and people around you like this. Our partners, so excited for DoorDash to be on and their first Daytona 500 experience and giving them all this exposure. But everybody involved – McDonalds, Toyota, Dr Pepper, Root Insurance – they had a great Clash race the other night with Ty. Just ready to go. Columbia is obviously supporting all of us looking good. We’re just doing big things and it’s already starting the year off right. We’re good.”

How positive are things feeling for you?

“It’s crazy, I think back to maybe five or six years ago, I remember hating this place and couldn’t wait to get out of here. Seemed like there wasn’t anything that could go our way. Now, statistically it’s my best race track. Looking forward to adding some more tracks to that list that are some of our best tracks because of statistics. It’s good to be here at Daytona. Speedweeks is a different atmosphere with everything with COVID. We miss the fans and having that aspect here. All in all, we get to see the action live on FOX and it’s good to get that exposure for all of our partners. Just kind of rolling with the punches. This is my fourth Daytona 500. I know how to manage the emotions and not get too high or too low. We’re fourth and we still have a lot of work to do.”

How do you think fans will react when they’re allowed back in the stands after your advocacy for social justice?

“Everything is going fine. Not particularly worried about my safety when fans come back. I know there’s going to be the ones that will voice their opinions and they have the right to do so, that’s okay. I think through everything last year, I’ve been able to grow a little tougher and a little stronger in every aspect, mentally and physically. Just hopefully people can agree to disagree on things and move on.”

Can you talk about working with Mike Wheeler?

“I’ve known Wheels (Mike Wheeler, crew chief) indirectly from being at the race track and being around the garage a little bit. Moving forward with him and having him call the shots for our team, I was excited about. When you have a familiar friend with him and Freddie Kraft (spotter) also from the Long Island area, it’s nice to have that. Wheels has been a lot of fun to work witih. We kind of vibed from day one since we walked in. He’s been super helpful with getting me to understand the cars better and walking me through everything over and over, making sure I get that support system. I think what we have going right now is good, we just have to keep massaging it and working it out.”

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

Qualifying Position: 7th

Top-10 speed this evening, Christopher. How was your lap?
“I was really happy with the DEWALT Camry today. I knew after practice that we had some good speed in it, but I didn’t know it was going to be quite that good. Nonetheless, a great start to our Speedweeks. It was a great qualifying effort. It puts us in a good spot for the Duels. The Duels are a short race, so a good starting spot is important. Hopefully, we can capitalize on that, pick up some points and get a great starting spot fore the 500.”

How did you feel in the draft?

“I felt actually pretty good. I was really happy with my Camry in the draft. I felt like it sucked up really well. We only had five cars out there, so it’s hard to get a true feel of what it’s going to do in a pack, but it showed great speed. We were at the top of the sped charts so that was a plus. I feel like the Toyotas all run really well together, and hopefully we can keep it up and work as a team.”

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

Qualifying Position: 11th

How great of a start is this for the new race team?

“It is, it’s actually a pretty solid qualifying effort for our FedEx team. Just barely outside the top-10 there so that’s a good starting spot for us. We’re excited about it. That was a great run by the 23XI team. Just barely missed it by a tenth or so from getting a locked in spot, but now they get to go out there and race and get the experience they need to try to get a great finish on Sunday. I’ve only been part of the front row once. I think it was by accident or must have got a huge tornado tailwind. In the Duel race, you’re thinking, don’t mess it up, don’t mess the car up. Now you get to take this opportunity to really learn. I’m excited to see the start that the team has had. They’ve done a great job and it’s a reality now.”

How did you feel about seeing the No. 23 Camry on the race track today?

“At times, emotional. You understand the hard work that’s been put into it. It’s been a lot of days and hours there during the off-season just kind of checking on things and helping them any way that I can. It’s everything comes together. I’ve said for the last couple months, when I see the car on the track, that’s when it will be real for me and it definitely was.”

How do you feel about your chances for a third-straight Daytona 500?

“It took about two laps of practice before I was like, wow, this car is doing a lot of really good things. Even though you’re running there in a straight line with your teammates, still, there have been times where I can’t get to the person in front of me or I can’t get the person behind me close. It seemed like my car today was able to do that right away. I’m very excited about it and the possibilities. I said during media this week that superspeedway racing is a skill game, but sometimes you get unlucky. We just hope to not get unlucky and at least give ourselves a shot at the end. Hopefully you make the right decisions. Sometimes your fate is out of your hands and you get unlucky, but I feel we’re in a really good place and I like where my car is at right now.”

Will the No. 23 Camry be a distraction to you in the race?

“No, I always have to maintain a level of professionalism to the team that I drive for. That comes with making sure I’m prepared to do my job when I get in my car and I’m giving those guys 110% or more. The start of the race last night, I have a job to do and I’m going to go out there and show that I’m ready. I certainly think, this is the point in the season that things will start to get easier from my standpoint because I can now focus most of my time towards my driving and how can I get better, how can I help my 11 team get better. And designate maybe a day or a day-and-a-half to the 23 car in the middle of the week. That’s what my goal is to do and really, the conversation was had, racing each other for the win and everyone will have those quesitons. I say nothing is given. I hope you guys finish second every week and we win every week. That would be the perfect scenario for me. Certainly, I’m going to treat them just as I would Martin (Truex Jr.) when he was alliance teammates or the 95 with Christopher (Bell) the last few years. You’re treating it the same way as that.”

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

Qualifying Position: 16th

Can you talk about your relationship with Martin Truex Jr. and thoughts on his extension with Joe Gibbs Racing that was annouced today?

“Martin’s (Truex Jr.) been a part of the Toyota family for a long time, back in his days at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) and then after a year or two when he was at Furniture Row and then they became a Toyota team. We’ve known each other for a long time and we raced against each other as competitors as well too for Xfinity and back then Busch Series championships back in 2004. Him and I have always had a great relationship so it’s fun to see his opportunity continue in the Cup Series with the 19 car and Bass Pro and everybody that’s over there on that deal. Him to be a part of Joe Gibbs Racing still is going to be good for us. He’s obviously one of the best guys out there and won a championship a few years ago. Hopefully, we can all get back to those championship winning ways at Joe Gibbs Racing.”

What does a win in the Clash do for your confidence the rest of the week?

“Yes and no, obviously it’s nice anytime you’re able to win a race. It just kind of sets the tone, feels good, it’s a road course, not the oval. We qualified about where we expected to here today. It’s a completely different everything once you get into the oval stuff. We’ll see what happens for the rest of the week, but anytime you’re winning, it’s certainly not hurting.”

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

Qualifying Position: 28th

Can you talk about your new contract with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR)?

“It was a good day for us to put that all together this offseason to be able to announce it. I love racing at JGR, and what we’ve been able to do there and I look forward to building upon that. It’s always nice to have a contract out of the way and being able to focus 100 percent on this season and not have to worry about this year.”

Did you ever consider making this year the last year?

“No, not really. Never really considered that.”

Do you feel like you are winding down your career or do you feel as good as you felt five or 10 years ago?
“I feel as good as I ever have. Nobody would do this and keep doing this if they didn’t think that way. I’m as good as I’ve ever been, and I’ve got a lot more races to win.”

What are the things you are trying to learn with your new spotter, Drew Herring?

“Really, the biggest challenge is just the lack of practice time. The good news is we’ve got the Duels tomorrow tonight to try to figure out – learn that communication and see how it goes. Drew’s been working really hard in the offseason to prepare for this and as a driver himself he knows the things that I need to hear and want to hear. It will be a work in progress for sure. It will take a little time to get on the same page, and just to be able to understand exactly what he means when he says something. I look forward to it. I think he’s going to do a great job. He’s really committed to doing it and being good at it. That’s really what it’s going to take.”

What was the problem with the dirt and mud at last night’s race? What needs to be done before next weekend’s race?

“I definitely think we can improve it. The biggest thing is that was the first time we’ve raced here at night. It was a lot darker. It was really hard to see. It was really hard to distinguish where the grass was, where the curb started. Then when guys started going through the mud, track conditions changed lap to lap. I think we need some kind of visual that is not just flat. The rumble strips in the bus stop are even with the grass and the pavement. With it being that dark, you can’t distinguish it. I think what really hurt us last night was that it was muddy. When we were here in August, you could see the sand and the dust pick up and be on the racetrack, but it wasn’t mud, so I definitely think we could do something better.”

TY DILLON, No. 96 Bass Pro Shops/Black Rifle Coffee Toyota Camry, Gaunt Brothers Racing

Qualifying Position: 33rd

How do you feel going into tomorrow?

“We felt good after practice. We knew we needed some speed here in qualifying to try to get locked in, but we kind of went the other way a little bit. I feel confident being able to race my way in, and I know what it takes to get the job done. We would have liked to get this Bass Pro, Black Rifle Coffee Toyota locked in tonight, but the cards didn’t work out that way and so we will race our way in tomorrow night.”

How do you take care of the car tomorrow?

“You’ve got to get the car into the race, but to get it in you’ve got to finish the race. It’s just that. It’s a balance. Put yourself in the right situation. These races are wild. I remember my first duel. It’s way more aggressive than you think it’s going to be as far as a qualifying race. I think having some experience definitely helps, but we are going to do whatever it takes. We want to get this car in, so hopefully, we are in a good duel with some Toyota partners and have some people to work with to get us into a good spot.”

How stacked is the open field this season?

“My first year ever coming here, I had to race my way in, but the field wasn’t as packed as this one is. There’s a lot of talent, along with a lot of fast racecars. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a good show. Unfortunately, there’s going to be a really good driver and a really good team that has to go home tomorrow. That’s the tough part about it, but it is racing. It’s competition. There’s going to be hurt feelings, and there’s going to be celebrations too, so hopefully we are on the happy side of that one.”

Who do you want to work with in the Duels?

“I’m hopeful I get into a duel with some Toyota partners, but just having some years under my belt and being able to work with some of these drivers in the race – I have a somewhat of an advantage as far as just having people that know me. You gravitate towards some familiar people in each race, whether it’s a manufacturer thing or not. I plan on working with some Toyota partners and doing whatever it takes to get up front.”

# # #

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NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING NOTES & QUOTES
FEBRUARY 10, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

1. ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
2. WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
3. RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE
4. RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
5. AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

1. Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
2. William Byron (Chevrolet)
3. Aric Almirola (Ford)
4. Bubba Wallace (Toyota)
5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Chevrolet)

FOX will telecast the 63rd Running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway live at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, February 14. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Pole Winner
ALEX, FOURTH-STRAIGHT YEAR YOU’VE BEEN ON THE FRONT ROW. THIS IS YOUR SECOND DAYTONA 500 POLE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TOT YOU? GREG IVES JUST TALKS ABOUT FOCUSING ON THIS NIGHT IN PARTICULAR.
“It doesn’t really have a lot to do with me; it’s a testament to these guys and everybody back at the shop at Hendrick Motorsports. They work so hard on these superspeedway cars. They’re beautiful when they get to the race track. Our Ally Camaro has been really fast since we unloaded and they focused a lot on trying to get the pole for the Daytona 500. It means a lot to us and we were able to achieve that.”
“I’m just really proud of everybody; all our partners at Hendrick Motorsports. Thanks to Team Chevy for giving us great racecars. It feels really good. It’s awesome for Ally. I don’t know if they’ve gotten a pole yet. I figured they probably had a pole with Jimmie (Johnson) somewhere, but I don’t know. Man, it’s just awesome to be driving this No. 48 car.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 2nd
WAS IT KIND OF WHAT YOU EXPECTED OF YOUR TEAM FOR YOU AND ALEX (BOWMAN) TO BE THIS FAST? IT WASN’T NECESSARILY LIKE THAT IN PRACTICE, BUT YOU GUYS SEEM TO BRING IT WHEN YOU HAVE IT.
“Yeah, I feel like it’s always — Hendrick always gives us great cars to come down here and qualify well and also race well, so you never know which guys are going to have the speed out of the four of us.To see how we approached the weeks leading up to this race and how we were really determined to go out there and start off strong with obviously the Clash last night, finishing fifth was great for us, good solid start, but our goal today was to go out there and try to qualify on the front row.

It’s nice to be able to kind of check that off. And great to see both Alex and I – the 48 team and the 24 team – both up there.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 5th
“It was a really strong night for our whole JTG Daugherty Racing organization as a whole, but I’m really happy with my Kroger/NOS Energy Drink Chevrolet. We didn’t have quite the speed for the top spot, but we are fast and the car was handling really well in the single car runs in practice today. I’m excited to get in the draft and race tomorrow night. We have a really good starting spot and definitely have a car that I think we can be aggressive with and learn some things for Sunday.”

RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 8th
“I knew we would have speed in our No. 37 Cottonelle Chevrolet, but I am really proud of the effort that everyone at JTG Daugherty Racing organization put in to get our car as fast as it is and qualify on speed into the DAYTONA 500. We ran some solid laps in practice today and I think that prepared me for tonight and to put down one solid lap to qualify us in to the race on Sunday. We’re also racing in the same duel as our teammate, and it’ll be good to practice drafting with them tomorrow night. This is the best start to Speedweeks and the 2021 season that we could think of and I’m looking forward to a strong night tomorrow and a stronger race on Sunday.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 9th
“Our team did a good job bringing a car that’s got some speed. It’s always a good thing to come here and qualify toward the front because people want to work with you more if you’ve got some speed. I’m happy with it; we ran some good lap times. We qualified ninth, so anytime you’re in the top-10, you feel good about the speed of the car. The next thing is to work on is the drivability and have a good starting position come Sunday.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 IFLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 10th
HOW MUCH OF A RELIEF WOULD IT BE IF YOU MADE IT IN ON SPEED?
“Well, I don’t have to make anything. We’re going to be in the show anyway. I know the car is going to be somewhere in the top 12 or 15, I think. The car drove extremely well. Overall, I’m very proud of my team. They’ve been working very hard on this car and it shows.

COMPARED TO YOUR NERVES LAST YEAR, HOW ARE THEY THIS YEAR?
“It’s pretty different; not just today but the last three months. It’s way different when you actually use the pre-season to work with your team and try to be better and to find speed instead of working to show up at the race track. So, it’s way different. I’m just very glad to be in this position with Trackhouse Racing and Chevrolet. We have great teammates at RCR. We have the same goal and the same vision.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 12th
ARE YOU SURPRISED YOUR TIME WASN’T BETTER?
“No, I think for us, we realized what’s really important and that’s obviously Sunday and having our car driving well for the event. That’s where our head is, and it would be nice to grab a pole; but at the end of the day, what does it really get you? At the end of the day, we try to be good on Sunday.”

ARE YOU FOCUSING A LITTLE BIT MORE ON RACE TRIM AND DOES THAT MAKE IT EASIER?
“I don’t necessarily think it makes it any easier or harder. Everybody has what you have when you get here. You can’t rebuild your car once you get here. You are kind of set with what you put your effort in before you showed up.”

WAS THE PLAN TO FOCUS MORE ON THE DAYTONA 500 AND NOT QUALIFYING, OR IS THAT JUST HOW IT WORKED OUT?
“We try to put all our effort into the race for sure, but that’s just kind of how it worked out. Like I said, it’s nice to qualify good but at the same time we’d much rather have our car driving well and just put a lot of effort into that.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 14th
“Qualifying for the Daytona 500 – it’s always special to have a car with a top-notch team to race. I’m just really proud of the guys and the effort from all the way back to the beginning when this car was built. We just cranked off our lap. We might end up top-15; if not, we know we’ve got a car that can do a lot of things. That’s to race hard in the draft, two-tires, fuel only; you have to adapt to a lot of things at Daytona. It’s not all about just raw speed. This is a good start and that was fun. It was the first time ever qualifying at night.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 NATIONS GUARD CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 15th
HOW WAS YOUR FIRST DAY OF REAL RACING ACTION WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS?
“It was good to get out on track and kind of go through the motions of practice and buckling-up into a stock car. So, thankfully it’s Daytona and a little easier to just go out there and do single car stuff and not get too stressed out. It’s good to get back out there and I’m looking forward to the rest of the week.”

THERE WERE A LOT OF SPARKS COMING OUT OF YOUR CAR ON YOUR QUALIFYING RUN. WAS THAT EXPECTED AT NIGHT HERE?
“I don’t know. I guess I really don’t get too much into the set-up stuff. I haven’t seen my laps, so I don’t know if I sparked more than other people. We were a little bit off of our couple of teammates up there; so, I’m not too worried about it. I’m excited to get into the Duels tomorrow and go racing.”

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 24th
YOU’VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE IN THIS RACE BEFORE AND YOU’VE FINISHED WELL IN THIS RACE BEFORE. HOW IS IT DIFFERENT THIS WEEK COMING IN WITH A PREMIER TEAM AND KNOWING YOU HAVE A SHOT TO POTENTIALLY WIN THIS THING SUNDAY?
“The good part, for me, that I have done it. So, that experience, and even more, was magnified with the amount of fans that were always at Daytona the last few years. I’ve had those kinds of nerves, but now it’s a totally different competition side and I got a really good taste of it last year with the No. 77 car, Spire Motorsports and everybody at CGR. Now, we’re setting off on a season-long goal. It’s a little different mentality on my side, where mistakes cost points and points are what make or break your season. I’m glad I had the experience that we’ve already been here and went through all this at least once or twice.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ARMOR ALL CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 29th
LAST NIGHT IN THE CLASH, YOU LOOKED PRETTY SPORTY IN THAT NO. 43. WHAT DID THAT TO FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE FOR YOUR FIRST LAPS IN THAT CAR?
“It was good for me. It’s kind of more nerve-racking than normal. When you switch to a different car, you don’t really know how everything is going to feel. You’re kind of going over your stuff making sure you have everything right in your mind of what you need, as far as switches and stuff in the car. So, it’s kind of a big adjustment. But as far as confidence goes, I think it helped a lot. It was pretty encouraging for me, just to get a feel and see where everything’s at. I’ve never drove a different in my Cup career, so it was good to just get something new and, like I said, encouraging to see how we ran and some of the stuff the car was doing. I feel like we can improve on it even when we come back, so I feel really confident to come back and definitely run towards the top-10 and, if not, better than that. It was a good way to get our feet wet, for sure.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 LENOVO CAMARO ZL1 1LE: Qualified 31st
HOW BIG IS THE MANUFACTURER GAME GOING TO BE ON SUNDAY AND HOW SELFISH WILL YOU BE WHEN IT GETS DOWN TO CRUNCH TIME?
“If I talk about it too much it isn’t much of a game, right? We all know the manufacturers and the shared interest, whether it’s Chevrolet or Ford of Toyota to get to Victory Lane. Obviously, there’s going to be some teamwork there as there is in other aspects of racing in NASCAR. So, it will come into play. It’s no secret. But it’s all about yourself getting to Victory Lane and you’re going to do whatever is going to help get you there. And if that’s working with Chevrolets then yeah, obviously I want to work with them.”
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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.