SPIRE MOTORSPORTS PARTNERS WITH GENERAL FORMULATIONS, MUTOH AMERICA AND ROYAL SOVEREIGN
Collective Approach Provides Turnkey Graphic Solutions

CONCORD, N.C. (February 4, 2021) – Spire Motorsports announced today that General Formulations, Mutoh America and Royal Sovereign have combined resources to provide state-of-the-art vinyl wrapping, printing and laminating solutions for the team’s NASCAR Cup Series effort.

General Formulations will expand its NASCAR footprint in 2021 while also incorporating industry partnerships with Mutoh America and Royal Sovereign to provide Spire Motorsports with a comprehensive suite of resources to wrap the team’s Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolet Camaros, transporters and pit equipment.

“General Formulations is extremely excited to expand our NASCAR footprint as a NASCAR Cup Series team sponsor with Spire Motorsports for the 2021 season,” said Matt Edwards, Product Manager, General Formulations. “Our AutoMark™ high-quality vinyl wrap films will be used to wrap all Spire Motorsports cars and race transporters. We’re looking forward to our new partnership and seeing the General Formulations logo displayed on the team’s cars. We wish the entire team the best of luck in 2021.”

The trio of entities will be featured as co-primary sponsors aboard Spire’s No. 77 Chevrolet with Justin Haley at the controls in March at Phoenix Raceway and later in the year at Michigan International Speedway. All three organizations will also maintain an associate sponsorship presence throughout the season.

Founded in 1953, General Formulations is family owned and headquartered in Sparta, Mich., with more than 450,000 square feet of manufacturing and converting space. General Formulations is a worldwide manufacturer of high quality wide and narrow format digital print, cut and craft and screen and offset pressure-sensitive films for the sign and graphic industries.

Meanwhile, Mutoh America and Royal Sovereign will supply the team with welcome efficiencies, providing printers, cutters and laminators to expedite the printing and car wrapping processes. The forward-looking partnership will allow Spire Motorsports to manage its printing, wrapping and laminating needs entirely in-house.

Mutoh America, Phoenix, Ariz., and Mutoh Industries Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1952, is a leading manufacturer of wide- and small-format printers and plotting cutters. Known for their smart printing technologies, Mutoh’s award winning digital equipment is a “go to” brand in the custom vehicle wrap industry.

“We are proud that Spire Motorsports has chosen the Mutoh XpertJet printer and ValueCut cutter as their exclusive solution for wrapping their Nos.7 and 77 cars along with their race transporters for the 2021 NASCAR season,” stated Brian Phipps, President of Mutoh America Inc., “We are excited to have our printers and cutters used in the NASCAR Cup Series by a top-notch team like Spire Motorsports.”

“Royal Sovereign is proud to be part of the Spire Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series Program in 2021 through our joint partnership with Mutoh and General Formulations,” added Carl Hoffman, Royal Sovereign Graphics Director of Sales. “We are honored to be part of a partnership that reflects our dedication to the racing industry. Our Sigmont 65H laminator will be an integral part of this three-way partnership. The Sigmont 65H laminator is designed and engineered to provide everyday convenience to the user specializing in wide format digital print finishing.”

The 2021 season gets underway next weekend with the Great American Race at Daytona International Speedway. The 63rd running of the Daytona 500 will be televised live on FOX, Sunday, February 14, 2021 beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The first of 36 races on the 2021 NCS schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“We’re both proud and grateful that General Formulations, Mutoh America and Royal Sovereign see the value in Spire Motorsports and the NASCAR Cup Series,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner T.J. Puchyr. “From the team’s perspective, it doesn’t take long to realize the benefits of having a turnkey printing and graphics shop in house. We’ve already realized those efficiencies many times over. It’s an exciting time for Spire Motorsports. We can feel the momentum building and the excitement in the shop is palatable.”

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. The team will field the Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolet Camaros in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021. Over the 2019-2020 seasons, Spire Motorsports logged 72 starts on NASCAR’s senior circuit and provided an entry for multiple drivers.

About General Formulations …
Founded in 1953, General Formulations is family owned and headquartered in Sparta, Mich., with more than 450,000 square feet of manufacturing and converting space. General Formulations is a worldwide manufacturer of high-quality wide and narrow format digital print, cut and craft and screen and offset pressure-sensitive films for the sign and graphic industries. For more information about General Formulations, please visit generalformulations.com.

About Mutoh America …
A leader in the industry for almost 70 years, Mutoh America, Inc. is committed to delivering the highest quality products and services to its customers and partners. We accomplish this by constant improvements and meeting the challenges head on. Our contribution to society is to provide creative and cost-effective innovations to the digital printing art form and its industry, and business opportunities for individuals and organizations. For more information about Mutoh America, please visit mutoh.com.

About Royal Sovereign…
Royal Sovereign International, Inc is a leading supplier of graphic finishing solutions, cash management, appliances, and office products. The company supports customers in more than 100 countries around the world from its corporate headquarters in Rockleigh, New Jersey and global sales offices, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities. For more information about Royal Sovereign, please visit royalsovereign.com.

Toyota Racing – Bubba Wallace
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DAYTONA BEACH (February 3, 2021) – 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace was made available to media via videoconference prior to the Daytona 500 this Tuesday:

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry, 23XI Racing

Can you talk about the importance of minority owners getting involved in NASCAR and how your team at 23XI Racing is helping to change the look of the sport?
“I think it’s really cool. I actually texted with Justin Marks the other day about the partners that they were bringing in. It’s really cool to kind of see some fun brands coming in, but really cool for PitBull to also be joining NASCAR and talked to (Daniel) Suarez about that and said, he’s a big fan. He fell in love with the sport after watching Days of Thunder. So thought that was an interesting connection there and crossover, but I think it’s, it’s big. It shows other minorities like, ‘Hey, you know, if these guys are investing, then why can’t we,’ and then continue to grow our sport. And so that’s what we need. It’s all about exposure, reaching out to the right people because they have ideas of how they want to see success and grow their name, grow their brand. And getting to be a part of NASCAR where a lot of minorities, you know, that’s not really what they go to, which is NASCAR, and we’re changing the game and everything that happened last year. I think we put NASCAR on the map in a lot of new areas with a lot of new fans looking to tune in this year, which is great. It’s important. It’s huge for all of us. We just need to keep the ball rolling.”

What has your interaction been like with Michael Jordan so far?
“It’s been just through text messages, really, as our form of communication. He’s going to get down to the track, I believe the week of the 500. That’ll be my first official meeting with MJ. So we’ve been grinding in the background, getting everything together with the team, spending time on the SIM, just the last minute checklist before we all head South. I’m heading South at the end of the week. Just making sure I get everything done and everything that I needed to do because the season’s here. I tweeted out yesterday, I walked into the bus to throw some clothes on, throw some things on, and I stood there with no one in the pitch black and I said, it’s time to go. So, I’m pumped. I’m excited to get down there.”

Do you feel any pressure with Michael Jordan as one of your team owners?
“Yeah, no, for sure. I think there’s a lot of pressure riding on us, but you know, we’ve been able to get to know him better knowing how he dealt with pressure, having Denny (Hamlin) there, looking at the success he’s had through the years, you know, I think we’ll be just fine.”

What would it mean to win the Daytona 500 with this new race team?
“I think any race is important, but like you said, with the way things have shaped up this year after the year we’ve had last year — Daytona being on Valentine’s Day, Black History Month, such an important month for all of us, especially in the time that we’re in right now. It’s shaping up to be real fairy tale ending.”

What did Sam Belnavis mean to you throughout your career?
“Sam (Belnavis, Chief Diversity Officer, Roush Fenway Racing) was a vital part. I met Sam when I was 11, 12 years old when he was at Roush and he remained a really good family friend to our family for years, even recently, we’ve still been in contact. I’ve really appreciated Sam’s vision on everything and how he’s gone about things. And he wants to see the word ‘minority’ gone because it’s the majority now. And so he’s always pushed for that. And we’re working to get there, so a lot of work to be done, but just an incredible human being for sure.”

What kind of pressure is on you now to carry on the legacy that you mentioned Sam Belnavis helped usher into the sport?
“I think we just keep doing everything that we know how to do, and that’s in our control. And we look at what Wendell Scott did really to kick off the trail that he had blazed. We’ve been trying to carry that torch ever since I’ve been in the sport. And so while I’m carrying the on-track stuff, there’s a lot of people that are carrying the off track. We’re pushing for more, pushing for great success from a minority standpoint, from a diversity standpoint, inclusion from the whole and the sport’s behind it, the fans are behind it. Some of the fans are behind it. We just have to keep pushing and not let anything steer us off the beaten path.”

Are you doing anything differently in preparation for this season? Is Denny Hamlin giving you certain things to do that you haven’t done before?
“I can’t tell you all my secrets there, Bob (Pockrass, Fox Sports). I know you’d like to share that on Twitter. So good try, but no I think this is big for me, like you said. Being able to have Denny (Hamlin) in your back pocket, you know, looking at the year he just came off of. There’s a lot, a lot of positive momentum for us. We have some really crucial meetings coming up this week before we get down there and we’ll continue to have that dialogue of what we expect, how to execute the right way and go about things the right way to put ourselves in a position to contend and compete for wins. I’m excited about it. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity. I don’t know if I’ve said that enough. This has been what I’ve been wanting for so long, to go out and try to prove a point, that, ‘Hey, I belong and we’re going to go out and compete and contend and become a household name on the race track.”

Have there been things that they’ve asked you to do that you haven’t done before and has it been eye opening at all?
“There’s just more things to look at. I said earlier, we should have a bigger plate in front of me with a lot more to digest on it from data, from time commitments and just being, being more active and proactive to everything and making sure I’m mentally and physically prepared for the season ahead.”

What is a reasonable expectations for you for this season?
“Just continuing to grow from the seasons that I’ve had. And last year I think we kept getting better and better. Do I expect to jump in and win right off the bat? No, not at all. I know the sport, if it was that easy, a lot of people would be doing it, but it’s not that easy. And I know the competition that we go up against it’s tougher than it’s ever been. So I’m excited to get under way and just see where we stack up. We start to build a resume at Daytona and build off that and continue to get better for our team. It’s going to take a couple of races, just like any new team will to get everything underneath us and make sure like, ‘Oh, we missed that last week.’ Let’s make sure we don’t do that and prepare for the next and build on that. Then once we get going and get a couple of races under our belts, then we can really start to pinpoint our weaknesses or our strong points and build off those and grow from those and learn from everything. So there’s a lot riding on us, you know, I’ve had personal goals of two wins. There’s nothing wrong with having personal goals at all. For personal goal for everybody, everybody in the field to win every race, not really doable. (Kevin) Harvick and Denny (Hamlin) tried to do that last year. I think you just have to go out and be competitive and I’ve felt more competitive and more passion, more drive than I ever have with everything that’s right out in front of me with this opportunity. So we’ll go out and get it.”

How much pressure is on you to win this season or next year?
“There’s been pressure ever since I got into the league to win. So just another year, new car, no different.”

I believe you’re still the only black driver to come through the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program, what needs to happen for there to be more diversity going forward in NASCAR?
“We have to show that the program works. I think we have, I mean, look at myself, (Kyle) Larson, (Daniel) Suarez, coming up through the ranks and, you know, all competing against each other on Sunday. It’s been a product of the program. Are there ways that we can get better? Yeah, for sure. You know, those are conversations that we have behind the scenes of what are we doing to help our youth and get them in the right spots where they need to be to showcase what they really have. And so I think going out and being competitive on the race track, showing that, you know, I belong is a big stepping stone for that. We just have to go out and do that.”

What’s the vision that you and Michael Jordan share going forward, and what do you think his presence in this sport will do?
“Well, I think everybody got a chance to watch ‘The Last Dance’ and it was able to show us, who he is and how he is as a person and a competitor. I think that is, you know, what we’re kind of looking at. And at the end of the day he wants winning race cars. He wants a winning race driver and he took an opportunity to invest in me and he has seen something that sparked his interest to make this deal happen and move forward with it along with Denny (Hamlin). And so, you know, I can’t thank them enough for allowing me to pilot their race cars and to utilize everything that I’ve learned in the last three seasons, really at the Cup level, but overall six, seven seasons it’s been since the truck days. So we’re just going to go out and do what I know how to do, not change up anything, not try too hard because of MJ or because of Denny or because of the opportunity, you know, I’ve made that mistake. I’ve made that mistake in the past of trying too hard when the time wasn’t right. And it does more harm than good. So we’ll go out and just give it our all each and every week and continue to get better and better as the weeks go on.”

How different does it feel heading to Daytona this year after all that happened last season?
“I’ve lost seven pounds from everything that happened last year, so much stress and pressure. And now I think everything happens for a reason. I was actually on the phone with Claire (B. Lang, SXM Radio) right before this. And I said, it’d be interesting to see, when it’s your time to go at the end of your lifetime, it’d be interesting to see if you could get a piece of paper handed to you saying that here’s everything that happened and why it happened and what came out of that. We’ll never know, that’s why we just live life. Every day is a new day, a new opportunity to go out and capitalize on. So that’s how I’m looking at it. We look at Daytona and look at the whole perspective of this incredible opportunity, but we can’t let that get too big. We can’t let it supersede our expectations and our mission to go out and compete because once you do that, that’s when the mistakes come, that’s when it’s just like, ‘Oh, I didn’t really expect that,’ we have to be ready. It’s just another season for us. Little things are a little different, different look, different sponsor, different teams. It’s great to have everybody involved from partners, from manufacturers — the partnerships that we have with Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing. So we’ll just go out and execute. That’s the biggest thing.”

How difficult have the last 12 months been for you since you were last at the Daytona 500?
“It’s funny. I have a goal every year, to not be a part of the headlines. Every year I have that goal and I failed every year because there’s something that’s like, ‘Hey, I wanna, you know, not make any controversy.’ So something always happens whether it’s my doing or not, but it seems like it’s always my doing so.”

What kind of adjustment will it be for you behind the wheel to run up front with drivers that you perhaps haven’t raced with as much in recent seasons?
“I think I look at the races that we had driving the 43, the races where we were running up front and competing. We were strong. I look at Indy two years ago and even last year, I know how to race against those guys. Do they expect me to be up there? No. And do they race me differently because of it? Yes. And so I think that’s the biggest things that’s going to change for other drivers. It’s going to, hopefully it’s like, ‘Okay, this kid, this guy, whatever, they call me, whatever, knows what he’s doing up here. And so we have to race him a little bit different.’ I’m not expecting it be a cake walk at all. We’re there to race and race hard. And so that’s what I’m looking forward to the most is having more of those runs in the top 10 each and every week, showing that we’re a factor and able to contend for wins and just go out and have fun and do the best that we can.”

In what ways has your relationship with Denny changed from what it was previously? And has he been any sort of influence or helped you in any way?
“We’re having those conversations and now they’re starting to ramp up for sure. Denny’s (Hamlin) been super busy with his own palette of things, driving the 11 and then he has a separate palette for 23XI Racing. So I know he’s been crunching away, but he has been very vocal in our emails and our text chain about getting together and setting expectations and what to expect and how to execute the right way. I’m all ears and got the notebook ready to see what there is to offer. We just have to grow together as drivers and figure out how we can push each other to be better. It’s going to take some time for me to grow with the team and to gel. Denny told me at the beginning of this deal, if there’s something that’s not right, then don’t hesitate to go to them, no matter the circumstances. And I’ll make sure to have that lifeline in my back pocket when things aren’t going necessarily according to plan for whatever reason, but I don’t expect that to happen. I think we have the right people in the right place to make our program successful. From the front office, to our guys in the shop, to our road crew, to our pit crew. Everything’s in front of me right here. It’s just not easy to grab, but it’s doable. So we just have to go out and do it.”

Why do you say that one of your goals each year is to not create any controversy?
“Because it’s tiring. Seems like whatever I do, whenever I rage-quit an iRacing event, I’m the most hated person, so it’s just like, ‘Hey, let’s just stay low key here this year.’ Nope, didn’t happen. The more controversy I cause, the more media calls I have to do.”

How do you handle controversies like last year that weren’t of your own doing?
“Go be a part of something where you’re the minority for 18 years and you learn how to handle it. So it’s just another day in the life of Bubba Wallace here, it’s all right. I’m good with it. It’s as simple as that.”

Is your biggest challenge in 2021 going to be on the race track or off?
“On the race track for sure. It’s just delivering results. This, for me, is the one and potentially last opportunity for me. We have a solid foundation underneath us to make this program better and to grow this team and make this a household name in the sport and make it a pinnacle name of our sport. I think the on track stuff, you just have to go out and execute and not get lazy and not get sidetracked — not get too frustrated and throw away some really good races. And when we do have bad races we try to grow and get better throughout and capitalize and just make every opportunity count, that’s the biggest thing.”

What do you feel are appropriate goals to set for yourself and this race team?
“Like I said, our goals, every driver’s goal is to win every race. So that’s the loftiest of lofty. That’s like a 60 degree right there next to the green, that’s a ton of loft, not doable, but hey, we have those personal goals. For us in our team, we have a lot of pressure already without the wins or without whatever, we’re just going out and making sure we have everything underneath us that we need to compete and perform. As long as we get better each and every week, we’re going to have some races where we have a shot and then it’s going to be like, eh, we fall off, but we have to be able to bounce back from that fall off. And we have to show that, you know, we can face adversity and perseverance and show progress throughout the whole year.”

What was it like being a black driver growing up in the short track, late model system?
“I was just another driver there. You know, everybody was super competitive and I didn’t necessarily feel the race card in those scenarios. And I never really have. Obviously it’s been brought out more and more in the recent months, in the last year, but it wasn’t like Wendell Scott had it back in the day, I’ll say that. I was treated fairly for the most part. When they couldn’t find out why we were so successful, then that’s when they would protest and do everything they could to stop us, but we just show back up the next week and compete and win. That was it.”

With Denny looking at maybe doing some Super Late Model racing this year, is there still an opportunity with 23XI Racing to help diversify and bring awareness to short-track racing because there’s been great progress, but there’s still so much more that needs to be done?
“Yeah, there’s a lot that needs to be done really. And that’s on NASCAR’s hands, that’s on our hands and every team — we can all play a huge part in pushing for diversity and inclusion inside our four walls. Those conversations are going to be had, and we’ll see what the outcome is. But, where is Denny (Hamlin) racing Super Lates at?”

You mention the goal of winning two races, but have you even been able to sit in one of the race cars at the shop yet with things still so new for the team?
“Yeah, I’ve sat in the car. I actually sat in it earlier today just to get last minute things going. I feel like people are writing 23XI Racing, two wins. If we don’t get that, then we need to close up our shop. That’s not the case at all. That’s a personal goal for me. Knowing the success of Toyota, knowing the success with JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), there’s a lot more opportunity than I’ve had in recent years to go out and compete. Knowing our cars, knowing the hours that are going into it, knowing the manufacturing that’s going into it, there’s no reason why we can’t go out and just compete.”

You have continued to be a target of some hateful messages on social media. Has that ramped up with the news of this new race team and are you ever concerned for your safety at the race track?
“I’ll just let you know when it ramps down, it’s going to be there every day. And that’s part of it. It makes me stronger.”

# # #

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
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 3, 2021

RICHARD CHILDRESS, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING (RCR), ANDY PETREE, VICE PRESIDENT OF COMPETITION, TORREY GALIDA, TEAM PRESIDENT OF RCR, and RICHIE GILMORE, PRESIDENT, ECR ENGINES – Daytona Media Availability Highlights:

HIGHLIGHTS OF OPENING COMMENTS:

TORREY GALIDA
“I feel like there’s more anticipation and excitement around this NASCAR season than we’ve seen in several years. I think we took a lot of momentum from 2020 that we’re carrying into 2021. And with all the new tracks that we’re going to this year, the new ownership, the new drivers in the series, it feels like there’s a lot of anticipation out there. I know everybody at RCR and ECR is really excited to go racing. We’ve reached that point in the season where we’re ready to put all the preparations aside and just get to the race track. So, we’re all really anticipating heading to Daytona next week.

“We’ve got the same driver line-up and we’re really excited about that. Austin Dillon and Justin Alexander will be back again. Those two have been really successful together. Tyler Reddick and Randall Burdett are back together again as well. Tyler has been incredibly focused in the off-season. He’s been working on his road racing and spending plenty of time in the simulator. We’re also excited to have two new drivers here on our campus in Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez; so, two additional A-level drivers that are added to the greater RCR orbit. So those guys I know are going to make our team better. We are excited to have them on board. In the Xfinity Series, nobody is happier to be in the same car for the entire season this year than Myatt Snyder and his crew chief Andy Street. Last year we rotated several drivers. This year we’re going to run the No. 2 car full time with Myatt Snyder with TaxSlayer and other partners on board.”

RICHARD CHILDRESS
“We’re really excited about this year. Our drivers, I’ve never seen them work as hard as they’re all working off-season. We’ve got a lot of road courses coming up. Austin ran in the 24 Hour race to give him some more time. Tyler has been working really hard in our simulator and the Chevy simulator. All that is working really well. We’re working really closely. Chevrolet and GM have put together an alliance and Eric Warren is running Team Chevy. All the Chevy teams are working closer together than they ever have right now and I’m really excited about what we have going on with Chevy and with the Hendricks. We just did a HCD, which is Hendrick Childress Development. That’s the engine program we’re all working with. It’s just going to make every Chevrolet a lot stronger coming into the future. I’m excited about that.

“This year we’ve got Richard Petty Motorsports back; Kaulig Racing, and Trackhouse Racing. We’re really excited. With the drivers they have and being on campus here with them, I’m excited. Kaulig is really putting an effort out. You’re going to see them on more road courses this year. I think A.J. Allmendinger is going to be one of their full-time drivers that will be running a lot of the road courses. I don’t know if they’ve announced it yet or not. I probably just did.

“We’re really excited. We’ve got a lot going on. Everybody around RCR, when I walk around the shops and see the shops, they’re so excited just to be back to racing. And I’m excited. This year they’re even going to let the owners in. I have my mask. I’ll be able to go in and have some fun at the race track.”

ANDY PETREE
“We have a lot to get excited about this year. The sponsor line-ups are for sure exciting this yer. RCR has always done a great job with all the marketing partners that we’ve been able to bring on board. I feel like we give them great value. I think last year it was super challenging with all the COVID things we had to deal with and the way the sport in general had so many challenges; but we were able to at least reach some of our goals. We did win a race with Austin and Tyler was second in that race, but we didn’t get Tyler into the Playoffs. That was one of our goals, but we did get Austin in there. And we were able to make it to the second round with Austin and it felt like we had a good shot of going to the third round. We had an unfortunate failure in Vegas. But building on that success on the Chevy alliance, the biggest thing on that is not only are we all working closer together, we’re tapping into GM and Chevrolet’s engineering group. And that’s what they really kind of restructured this technical group for Chevrolet to do that. Eric Warren is the one that’s heading that up. I’m really excited about that. I’ve worked close with Eric Warren for about three years now and I have a ton of confidence in what he’s got, and I know his vision. And so I think we’re going to be able to do a lot more in 2021 than we have ever been able to do from a technical standpoint. So, I feel really strong about that.

“We were basically the leaders in that command center-type approach, where we’ve got people here and all the information being piped unto a purpose-built facility here at RCR. And we’ve got some super strong software tools, communication tools that we use to communicate real time at the race track. The teams, during the races and the practice sessions, although we haven’t had that many practice sessions, it’s still a big part of what we do, especially in this COVID-restricted roster limit that we have. We can’t take a lot of people to the track. They’ve restricted how many we bring. So, we’re able to utilize that command center to our benefit and we’re going to even strengthen it more in 2021 with the tools that we have and the people that we staff it with. Our goals for 2021 are to get all three cars that we race under this roof, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, and Daniel Suarez, into the Playoffs. We know that’s now going to be easy. It’s challenging to do that. But that’s our goal. We’re pretty optimistic that we’re at least going to have as good or better performance as we had in 2020. I feel like we’ve got a good springboard from last year to launch on. And with all the new things that Chevrolet and our partnerships bring to the table, I do feel like we’re going to put ourselves in a position to succeed.”

RICHIE GILMORE
“I’m very excited about 2021 to building off of the success that we had in 2020. We’ve got some new teams coming on board in Cup and Xfinity like Andy mentioned. We’ve got some new addition onto our Xfinity programs. We have four full-time Cup programs that we’ll build engines for. We have seven full-time Xfinity programs. We have 20 Xfinity programs going to Daytona. We’ve built over 50 engines this year at ECR going to Daytona. We’re very excited about our partnership with Chevrolet and our new partnership with Hendrick Motorsports that started at the end of 2020 with HCD. It was very successful the last seven or eight races we partnered-up and put a hybrid engine together and helped Chase Elliott win the championship in 2020. So, we’ve already seen some success in that partnership. We’re just going to keep building on that. The goal is to get all our cars in the Playoffs and hopefully get one into winning the championship in Cup and Xfinity. We had another strong run this year in the ROLEX 24. Unfortunately, we didn’t finish our streak. We had four years in a row of winning the ROLEX 24 but came-up a little short finishing second. But we’re very excited about this season moving forward; and with all the new teams and growing once again in 2021.”

MEDIA Q&A HIGHLIGHTS

IT’S BEEN 20 YEARS SINCE THE 2001 DAYTONA 500. ONE OF THE BIG THINGS WAS THAT NASCAR WENT TO OUTSIDE SOURCES TO INVESTIGATE AND START GIVING INPUT ON NASCAR’S SAFETY. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?

RICHARD CHILDRESS:
“I think that was the right thing to do to get outside opinions and have other people look at the whole situation. I think as terrible as it was, and we’ll never get over losing Dale Earnhardt, but there’s a lot that came out of it (with) the safety part going forward. There have been some horrendous crashes. Austin Dillon’s and Ryan Newman’s. You can go on down the list of crashes and these drivers have walked away because of safety.”

WHEN KAULIG RACING RUNS CUP RACES THIS YEAR, DOES THAT PUT MORE WORK ON YOU TO BUILD CARS FOR THEM? DO THEY GET OLDER RCR CARS? HOW DOES THAT WORK?

ANDY PETREE
“They get current cars. The answer is yes, it is more work (laughs). But we’re prepared for it. We planned for that. And so we actually staff some of that race team for them as they go to the events with some engineering support and a crew chief from here. Basically, Kaulig still provides quite a bit to it but yes, there’s a fair amount of work but we get something out of that, too. It helps us when we build more cars and have more input and we’ll have another partner on the race track too, when we get to Daytona.”

NASCAR SAID THE TIMELINE FOR THE NEXT GEN IS ABOUT MID-JUNE. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND THE TESTING? WHAT ARE YOUR OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THAT?

ANDY PETREE
“Yeah, I’ve been super impressed with the whole NextGen program. We were fortunate enough to be involved in that from the ground up. I feel like we’ve done our homework with it. NASCAR has done their homework. We’re prepared. All the venders have done a tremendous job of providing the parts and things that we need. And now the structure is in place to start ordering parts. We just started doing that. We won’t take delivery for a little while here, but we were able to initiate some orders for cars and parts to be ready when we do get our first car and do that first test as an organization. Now we have had some experience and time with the car on the track with NASCAR, but now it gets real. Now we’ve got to start outrunning other people, right? So, the pressure is going to be on us when we get our real race car.”

SOME PEOPLE VIEW DALE EARNHARDT AS A SUPERMAN. WHEN YOU LOOK BACK ON HIS CAREER AND YOUR TIME WITH HIM, WHAT IS THE SUPERMAN MOMENT WHEN HE SURPRISED OR SHOCKED YOU OR IMPRESSED YOU?

RICHARD CHILDRESS
“It would be hard for me to pick out one single hero moment. His career was unbelievable. He won, I can’t remember, like 11 of the 125’s when they were 125’s. Winning the Daytona 500 with him was one of the highlights of our career together because I knew what it meant to him and his resume. But not only did he impress me on the race track, he impressed me with so many things that he’d done for people away from the track that people would never ever know about. All of those things. That’s where he had a heart of gold.”

WHEN AUSTIN AND TY WERE DOING LATE MODELS AND GETTING READY FOR NASCAR, YOU SENT THEM TO MAX PAPIS. WHAT WAS THAT CONNECTION?

RICHARD CHILDRESS
“Max, at that time, had basically stopped racing. And he had so much experience. And he was a great tutor for both of those guys; not so much at the track but the things that he would have conversations with them was one of the things that Max really brought to the table. Both of them had so much respect for him, that’s the reason I wanted to hook them with Max.”

WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE FOR YOU HAVING LOST DALE EARNHARDT 20 YEARS AGO?

RICHARD CHILDRESS
“It’s tough. We were good friends. We hunted and fished and did a little bit of everything away from the track. He would call me at night at home, even when he was building his race teams and say I know you’re having that glass of wine. Let’s talk a while. And I miss those moments and so many things. But it’s been tough and not only tough on me and the family and I think on the race fans. I think a lot of them haven’t gotten over it yet. And I haven’t gotten over the loss. I think about. There aren’t many days that go buy when I don’t remember something about Dale. You walk in our museum and you look around and it just brings back so many great moments that we had together. It doesn’t seem like it’s been 20 years when we all lost Dale and wow, what do you say? We all just miss him.”

WITH ALL THAT’S GOING ON, HOW DOES THE NEXT GEN CAR FINANCIALLY AFFECT THE TEAMS?

RICHARD CHILDRESS:
“Every year we start working in October, even earlier sometimes, going into the following year we start building cars. This is going to be a little different. I think some of the components on this car, once we get it up and going, it’ll be a savings in the long run. We’ll be able to run them more and be able to run less cars. I’m excited about if you take the original cost and amortize it over next year or two years or three years, it’ll be a financial help to all the teams.”

ANDY PETREE:
“We’ve done this before and it is going to be a distraction from the 2021 season and it’s going to be a challenge for me and us, from a competition point of view to still try to limit that and get as much out of the Next Gen testing while really keeping our heads down and focused. Hopefully by the time we start testing it, we’re deep in the Playoffs and have our focus on that, too. It’s going to be a balancing act, but we’ve been prepared for it now for two years.”

TORREY GALIDA:
“I do feel like the fact that we built the original first couple of cars and it was our team that led the testing efforts will give us a leg up and we probably have a little bit better understanding of what to expect. I was really disappointed that we weren’t able to launch the car in 2021. It was probably a blessing in disguise for all of us because I think that extra year has helped the entire supply base and NASCAR and the teams, as well. I feel like we’re on track. We’ve got it in our budget and hope we’ve forecasted the right numbers in terms of what we’re going to need to build those initial cars and go to those first three team-wide tests. And, we had our manufacturer’s meeting with Chevy yesterday and I got to see multiple pictures of the new car for the first time with the approved body and I was really excited because I think it really looks like a Camaro. And I think the fans are really going to like the fact that it is a really good-looking race car.”

ON HOW VIBRANT IT WAS AT DEI, HOW EVERYONE ENJOYED WORKING THERE, AND THEN HOW THE REALIZATION CAME TO FINALLY TURN OUT THE LIGHTS

RICHIE GILMORE:
“It was a great environment and a great place to work. Dale was there, there were two different characters that we joked about a lot. There was this guy that came in Monday through Thursday that was an incredible boss and had such a big heart. And then on Thursday there was this guy that walked through with cowboy boots on and a black hat and Wrangler jeans. When he put that costume on, he meant business. He wasn’t our boss. He was the driver of that No. 3 car. And he was going to go whip our butt. And he was the driver of the No. 3 car and worked for RCR. All he wanted to do was beat us. He wasn’t our boss then. That was what was amazing about him. I listen to Richard’s stories and Andy’s, and he made us all what we are. He was the ultimate competitor.

“And the end was very tough. Being there from the beginning to the end was a tough deal to see the lights to go off there, and see the people walk out of there. I think one of the greatest things, the luckiest things that happened to me was to come here; because I think the closest thing to Dale was I think Richard and him are twin brothers. They’ve got a lot of the same personalities, they care about people, they’re great leaders. And Richard welcomed us up here and we’re carrying on a lot of traditions that are a lot of what Dale carried on every day. They want to beat everybody. They don’t care. Winning is everything. We’re very fortunate for our guys to come up from DEI to be a part of what Richard has built here and we’re just carrying on a lot of the legacy and the same attitude. And I very much appreciate that.”

IN YOUR BUSINESS, TO THIS DAY, DO YOU STILL ASK YOURSELF WHAT WOULD DALE DO?

RICHARD CHILDRESS
“Oh yes. I think our whole sport of Dale Earnhardt would still be around today. Our sport would have a different face on it. There would be a different look on NASCAR, I think, because he was very influential with the Frances and with racing. And yeah, he a really good mind when it would come to business. And we just had a great relationship. I could count any disagreement we had on one hand. It was just one of those relationships. They said it wouldn’t work when we got together, but we proved everybody wrong. We went out and did our thing.”

BEN KENNEDY DROVE FOR YOU FIVE YEARS AGO IN THE XFINITY SERIES. DURING YOUR TIME WITH HIM, DID YOU SEE SOMEBODY THAT WOULD TAKE A TRANSFORMING LEADERSHIP ROLE? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HIS CURRENT ROLE AND WHAT HE’S DONE?

RICHARD CHILDRESS
“Going back to when I looked at Ben Kennedy today, I see big Bill France Jr. I see a man that has a mission, a goal; and I don’t think anyone would have ever expected what Ben Kennedy is doing today would be the success that he is. But as a driver he was good. He was real good. But I think he just kind of reminds me a whole lot of Bill Sr. when he was around. He just has that character about him that reminded me of that. I think he will help carry NASCAR for many years down the road.”
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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 3, 2020

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Availability Transcript:

THE NEXT WEEK IS MEANINGFUL IN A LOT OF WAYS; EMOTIONAL IN A LOT OF WAYS FOR THE COMPANY. YOU WERE PROBABLY TOO YOUNG, BACK IN 2001, TO REALLY HAVE ANY MEMORY OF WHAT HAPPENED, BUT WHAT HAS THIS BEEN LIKE IN THE LEAD UP TO THE DAYTONA 500 FOR YOU. WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT DALE EARNHARDT’S IMPACT ON THE SPORT, WHAT MEMORIES OR THOUGHTS DO YOU HAVE?
“Dale (Earnhardt) left a void in the sport that hasn’t been replaced. He was one of a kind. I, personally, never got the chance to know him in-person, but through my time at RCR and through my time in the sport of racing and NASCAR, I’ve gotten to know a lot of people that worked with him, knew him, called him a father or a friend. To hear the different stories about Dale from these different people is really eye-opening. It will be 20 years and it was a huge loss for our entire sport. One of my earliest memories of NASCAR racing was, unfortunately, watching this race on TV at home when I was very, very young. It was an awful first memory to have. But, in honor of his passing, we’re going to do everything we can as an organization to get the No. 8 or No. 3 back in victory lane.”

WHAT WOULD A DAYTONA 500 WIN, GIVEN THE ANNIVERSARY AND JUST TRYING TO SOOTHE SOME OF THOSE MEMORIES OR REPLACE THEM WITH BETTER MEMORIES NEXT WEEK, MEAN TO YOU GUYS?
“It would mean everything. Obviously, like you just said, in the sport of NASCAR and RCR, you can’t replace a guy like that. Obviously, the team’s moved on. It’s tough to move past, but the things that have happened since that horrible loss that we had, our sport had, that everybody had that knew him and looked up to him – the safety innovations that have come along the way since that awful and unfortunate event has been very, I would say, monumental. The sport has changed so much. Even since the time I’ve been here, that drive to continue to improve safety has never stopped and to just see how much ground has been made and progress has been made since I stepped in to the Truck Series quite a few years ago now – that innovation and drive to continue to make this sport safer has not lost its edge. They continue to sharpen every little tool that they have to make these cars safer so guys like myself and my teammates can go out there and put on the best show possible for the fans.”

NOT ONLY WILL YOU BE RUNNING THE DAYTONA 500, BUT YOU’LL BE DOING THE XFINITY RACE NEXT WEEK. OBVIOUSLY, YOU’RE A TWO-TIME CHAMPION, SO I’M CURIOUS WHAT PEAKED YOUR INTEREST TO RETURN?
“When the offer got passed along my way about running a Xfinity car, it meant a lot. Obviously, knowing it was going to have an ECR engine under the hood made it that much sweeter, too. All the folks down there at ECR I’ve gotten to know the last couple of years from running the Xfinity car and the Cup stuff. They put out the best engines in the garage. So, to have the opportunity come along and be able to get back into the Xfinity Series – I really wanted to run some races last year, but with the Pandemic happening and everything kind of changing in the time that came after that, it was just a big adjustment period. And, now that we’re kind of more comfortable with it and understand what we can and can’t do with the opportunity that arose, I was very excited to have it. It’s nice to get back into the Xfinity Series and race with guys like Noah Gragson again. My teammate, Brett Moffitt – we raced together a lot in Trucks and other things along the way, so it’ll be nice to be teamed up with him. It’ll be nice to get back into those cars, get some practice and go back out there and get that feel that I really enjoyed in the Xfinity Series. The superspeedway cars are a little bit different than what we race in Cup now. I just felt really comfortable in those cars. I’m starting to get really comfortable in the Cup cars, too.”

IS IT A ONE-OFF OR DO YOU EXPECT THERE TO BE OTHER RACES, AS WELL?
“As of right now, it’s one race, but we’ll see. As things continue to change, who knows. But, for right now, it’s just Daytona.”

IF YOU WERE TO GIVE CHASE BRISCOE ADVICE, AS FAR AS MAKING A SPLASH IN HIS FIRST YEAR OF CUP, WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE TO HIM?
“Well, your strengths are really important as a driver. When you’re going to a place that you have a good feel for – for me, like at Homestead, you try to circle a race like that or tracks similar to that. For him, he’s good at tracks with tire fall-off; he’s good at the road courses. You want to circle those events, but you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. You can do everything right, but something can take place that takes you out of the race or doesn’t exactly give you the shining opportunity that you were hoping to go out there and get that win that you really want to get. Keep your head in the game is a good way to put it. There’s a lot of challenges and a lot of different things that I had to learn as a driver in my rookie year and I’m continuing to learn. Just in areas that I wasn’t the best at – whether it was pit road, road courses, techniques on some of these different short tracks. It can be easy to get down on yourself. When you go from having a bad day and running 7th or 8th in the Xfinity Series, a bad day in the Cup Series is outside the top-20, and that can be difficult to get used to. But he’s going to have good people around him. I had good support from Austin (Dillon), Bubba (Wallace) and Ty (Dillon) last year. He’s going to have good people around him. Cole Custer, who he was teammates with on the Xfinity side and will still continue to be teammates with at Stewart-Haas – Cole just went through that and they’ll be able to share with each other and that will be helpful for him, too. It’s definitely tough; there’s nothing like it. You know that going into it, but when you get there, it can be very overwhelming and you just don’t want to get down on yourself.”

IS DABBLING IN A DIRT LATE MODEL IN YOUR FUTURE?
“Getting back in one?”

GETTING BACK IN ONE, TEAM OWNERSHIP, ANYTHING ALONG THOSE LINES?
“As of right now, probably team ownership. If I ever owned one, I’d be selfish and want to drive it. I’ve always kind of joked about that. I’d like to get back into some dirt racing when there’s time. I’ve tried to put a lot of effort, especially this off season, just thinking about 2021 in the Cup car. Obviously, I say that and there’s a race coming up here in the No. 03 for Our Motorsports, but again, it’s all around the idea of getting more seat time and being more prepared for the 2021 season.”

“I’d like to – I’m a year into being a dad and getting a better understanding of what that’s like; getting a better understanding of what I need to do to be better on the Cup side. When some of these things kind of fall into place, I can hopefully put some more time aside to do some of that other stuff. But, as much as it would be for fun, it’s in the interest of becoming a better driver. So, if I went back into dirt racing, it would be to try and help me become a more well-rounded driver in the Cup Series.”

THE LACK OF PRACTICE LAST YEAR – HOW MUCH DID THAT EFFECT A ROOKIE TEAM, IN THE SENSE OF SLOWING DOWN YOUR PROGRESSION? MAYBE MAKING IT A LITTLE LONGER FOR YOU GUYS TO GET GOING, LEARN WHAT YOU NEED AND JUST GET YOUR FEET UNDERNEATH YOU.
“It was good and bad. I don’t know that I’d necessarily call it a wash across the board throughout the entire year. We definitely have some highlights where we were really good and maybe some of the other competitors missed the mark a little bit that allowed us to get good top-fives out of it. But there’s definitely situations where we really wish we could have adjusted after one lap on the race track – we wish we could have adjusted something. Everyone was faced with that. For me and Randall (Burnett, crew chief), going to a lot of tracks with a new car for the first time was a challenge. Yes, there was some sort of a notebook from last year. (INAUDIBLE)”

I HEARD THAT YOUR WORKOUT PROGRAMS HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. DISCUSS YOUR REASONING BEHIND THAT AND HOW’S IT GOING.
“INAUDIBLE… With things shifting and changing and only really being at the track maybe a day. This week coming up will be different than a lot of the weekends that we have throughout the year. So, with everything that’s happened, you’re spending less time in the car and you’re home more. Just been trying to maximize the time I have out of the car so I’m more prepared in the car. It’s been a good process. I feel like I’m in better shape than I’ve been in ever in a car, but I haven’t been able to go practice or really do anything in a car. So, we’ll just have to wait and see until we get there.”

“It was a good off season. Normally, I get a little bit chunky and gain a couple pounds so I’m nice and fat for the weigh in and then I try to lose it. But this time around, I tried to not really take any time off. 2021 started the day after Phoenix and I think some of that comes from, like I said earlier, wanting to do better in 2021. Obviously, it’s the Cup Series – it’s the hardest series to win in. But, nevertheless, it’s been a long time since I haven’t won in a year of racing, so I was motivated to get better and I’ve just been able to pick up the slack on some of those other things and just be in better shape for my team.”

YOU HAD SOME REALLY GOOD RUNS AND YOU FINISHED IN THE TOP-HALF OF THE FIELD MORE OFTEN THAN NOT. WITH THAT IN MIND, WHICH AREAS HAVE YOU AND YOUR TEAM PIN POINTED FOR 2021 TO CONVERT THOSE TOP-20’S INTO TOP-10’S AND 15’S MORE OFTEN AND GET BETTER CONSISTENCY TO CONTEND FOR A PLAYOFF BERTH?
“There’s a few things, but I’d say the biggest one that was a takeaway for us was managing the worst part of our race better. Normally that kind of occurred about mid-way through the race. Sometimes we could recover from it and get back into running for a top-10, but a lot of times when we were in pretty good shape and on pace to run somewhere right outside the top-10 or top-15, that bad run takes us so far back that it’s really hard to recover from it and get a good finish out of it. So, just trying to manage that area of the race better. Along with that, when something like that goes wrong, just minimizing the mistakes going forward and just trying to make the most out of those struggles or that big struggle you may face. Each race, you’re going to have something that’s your biggest struggle and just trying to get across that better and with a better head or maybe with a better strategy – whatever it might be, we’ve been looking at it and just try to be more aware of that as an issue. And look at how we can prepare better for it; how we can handle it better. Just kind of self-reflecting like that.”

“At the end of the day, on average, (INAUDIBLE)… it’s a silly number because one situation and one race changes all of it. We had I think maybe five races of just finishing outside the top-30. Especially on days where I feel like it wouldn’t have been too challenging to get into the top-15, so we just have to be smarter with those.”

YOU HAD SOME REALLY STRONG RUNS LAST YEAR AND YOU WERE REALLY CLOSE AT TEXAS TO WINNING – YOU AND AUSTIN (DILLON) HAD A GREAT AFTERNOON THERE. HOW DISAPPOINTED WOULD YOU BE NOT TO WIN THIS YEAR, GIVEN SOME OF THOSE PERFORMANCES A YEAR AGO, AND NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?
“I’m honestly really not wanting to think about that. That would not be good for my future if I can’t get into victory lane and miss the Playoffs again. I’m trying to think positively and think about what I could do to be better and become better; how can I capitalize on a situation, like you mentioned. Texas, how can I do it again and win, instead of coming in second.”

“Being at that place at the end of 2021, that’s kind of a direction I don’t want to put myself in – I don’t want to give that anymore fuel than it already has at this moment. I’m trying to just focus on things I can do to be better. There’s plenty of opportunities to win, it’s just about making the right decisions at the right time. Obviously, we’ve all seen that you can have the fastest car and still not win. It’s about running a good race and being smart.”

THERE’S A LOT OF NEW ON THE HORIZON THIS YEAR. IT KIND OF FEELS LIKE A NEW ERA, SPECIFICALLY WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON’S RETIREMENT. WHAT KIND OF GAP DO YOU FEEL LIKE HE LEAVES BEHIND? WHAT KIND OF EFFECT DO YOU THINK THAT WILL HAVE ON 2021?
“Jimmie (Johnson) is an outstanding individual. He was good to his competitors, good to the fans and good to the people that worked with him. He’s just an all-around great guy. With everything that we went through last year, especially the social injustice issues, he really took the lead in putting a video together that was put out. He was just a natural leader, if you will; it seemed that way. I only really got to know him a little bit just off and on through certain situations when I needed some help with a road course or a track or two. But the way that 2021 went with COVID, there wasn’t a lot of opportunities really to be around Jimmie. But I texted him quite a bit about the IndyCar endeavors; how that is, how much he likes it. I like to ask him about what he thinks about it compared to what he made a career of doing.”

“Definitely, a guy like that – when you’re a part-time Xfinity driver, you can text a seven-time champion and he’ll text back right away. Or if your bike rusts up on the way down because of an unexpected rainstorm and say ‘hey man, I need to get my bike fixed, what should I do’ and he’ll send you a name and a number and say go see him and the guy fixes your bike within a day. That’s just the type of guy he is.”

“He’s just an all-around good guy and that’s what made him a seven-time champion; being true to himself. I don’t know that we necessarily need someone to step in and be a Jimmie Johnson. We just need the drivers, including myself, to just be true to who we are – let our personalities shine in those moments. However we feel like we need to feel in those moments, we don’t need to hold back – we just need to show it. And for Jimmie, that was just being very cool-headed and handling it all very professionally. He will be missed, for sure. It was really cool to have him in the garage. It was hard to see him go, but it’s really exciting when somebody like him can do what he’s done in NASCAR and he’s got opportunities lined up to run in IndyCar. I’m really excited for him. I know he’s having a blast right now. He’s having fun learning how to drive something all over again. It’s tough to see him go, but I’m happy for him.”

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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 3, 2020

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Availability Transcript:

YOU’VE HAD SUCCESS AT DAYTONA. HOW DO YOU NEGOTIATE STAYING OUT THE WRECKS TO BE THERE AT THE END?
“It’s tough. It’s a game of putting yourself in a really position. I call it high-speed chess because you know at some point in time you’re going to be vulnerable. You hope that someone doesn’t take advantage of that too much and cause a big wreck. It’s one of those things where you are constantly moving and trying to guess the flow of the pack. I think the best place to be is in the front most of the time, but it’s impossible now with the way we race to keep yourself up there for the entire race. You see guys do it for long periods of time. Denny Hamlin has been pretty amazing at putting himself in the right position as of late. I’m going to do my best this time around to put ourselves in position for another shot at the Daytona 500.”

DO YOU FEEL IT COMING OR DOES IT HAPPEN TO FAST THAT YOU’RE JUST IN IT?
“Sometimes you’re in it, and there is nothing you can do about it because you know time is running out and you’re in it either way. It’s an odd feeling knowing your putting yourself out there and something is about to happen. That timing issue… you’re hoping you just get through it. I’ve been fortunate to sneak through some of them or be in front of some of them. You usually know when the intensity is rising and the pack is starting to get a little bit out of control. You try to do your best to give yourself an out or be in front of it.”

YOU WON THE DAYTONA 500 20 YEARS AFTER DALE EARNHARDT, WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO TAKE THE STING OF 20 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH TO WIN THE RACE AGAIN?
“It would be amazing and huge for the company, RCR and all the ‘3’ fans out there. Numbers have a lot to do with history at Daytona and the prestige of this place. If there is anything that goes along with that, I would love to go back to Victory Lane at Daytona and do that again.”

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR EMOTIONS LEADING UP TO THE ANNIVERSARY?
“You definitely know of the anniversary. People bring it up often in interviews. I remember that time and being a kid, seeing some of the people that I looked up to as being vulnerable at that time. My grandfather, seeing tears in his eyes and my mother, and not really knowing what was going on other than we lost a hero of our sport. So many people have been affected by that. Going to the museum as a kid and seeing the flowers lined up and all the different homages to Dale over the years… it’s one of those things that you’ll never forget because a hero of sport passed away. Hopefully we have done a good job as a sport and as a whole of carrying on his legacy. Fans today are always still wearing his gear and rockin’ it for Dale.”

RCR HAS HAD A LOT OF ALLIANCES IN THE PAST BUT KNOW YOU HAVE TRACKHOUSE. HOW WILL THAT ELEVATE RCR?
“Any time you can get more people and more smart minds in the shop is good. Daniel’s experience from other teams like Stewart-Haas and Gibbs, and Erik right up the street at Petty, hearing how things work where they have been is going to be big for us. I’ve only raced at RCR, so I haven’t had many people come in from outside and give us the insight they can give us. It’s going to be fun to listen to them on how they’ve done things in the past, how we do things, how they mesh and how we can take some of the things that they’ve done in the past that worked and gain on them to make them better. It’s going to be awesome having Team Trackhouse in the shop. Justin Marks is a breath of fresh air. He’s been in the shop a lot, and they’re really excited. It’s cool for our sport to have Pitbull. The Pitbull-MJ battle is going to be awesome this year. Obviously, I’ll be pulling for Pitbull because he’s in our shop.”

YOU’VE GOTTEN LAPS IN THE CAMARO AT COTA AND YOU’VE DONE THE ROLEX 24. HOW HAVE THOSE HELPED BOOST YOUR ROAD-RACING SKILLS?
“From the short time I’ve jumped in the simulator and gotten in and out of other cars, I’ve been able to pick up speed a bit quicker. I want to do more and more road racing. I’ve got millions of laps in a dirt car and millions of laps in an oval car, but not in road-course races. That comfort of being around other cars is being better. My confidence is higher. I can’t wait to race Tuesday night in the Clash. That’ll be a fun one and a kind of test session to get us ready for the first race outside the 500. We’re taking it as a test session and are really focused on being aggressive with the adjustments on the car and how I drive in that race.”

WHAT JUMPED OUT AT YOU ABOUT THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE FROM THE ROLEX 24?
“It’s not so much of a technical track like some of the tracks that we go to that are road courses. It’s pretty self-explanatory. I like the fact that the tires seem to wear quite a bit at the track. I haven’t gotten to run the new chicane coming off Turn Four, so I need to make sure I try to stop when I get over there this time around from the Rolex to this race. I enjoyed it and I think the experience I got in the 24 was great and we’ll see how it all plays out in the end after we get done racing in the 500.”

WHAT, IF ANYTHING, CHANGES THIS YEAR WITHOUT JIMMIE JOHNSON IN THE SPORT?
“Jimmie is a seven-time champion, and anytime you lose a seven-time championship it’s a different era. There are a lot of shoes to fill in NASCAR. A lot of young drivers are coming in and guys that fans can attach to. It’s a good time to be in our sport. MJ and Pitbull coming in is another part of it that adds to the mix. I think the biggest part of what’s going on in our sport is the change and showing people how awesome our family-friendly sport is and that it’s a good time to pick out a driver, support them and become a fan of NASCAR.”

WHAT WILL BE THE MOST DIFFICULT NEW TRACK, AND HOW IMPORTANT IS TO CHANGE UP THE SCHEDULE?
“It’s always good for our sport to change races, change venues and try new things. It’s great to have a fresh schedule. The most challenging track… probably for the teams I’d guess COTA. There is so much that it has to offer. I feel like it has multiple road courses in one, and it’s one of the biggest tracks we’ve ever gone to. Teams have some experience at Road America from the Xfinity Series, so probably not that one as much. There are different challenges that all these new tracks provide, but I’d say COTA will be the most challenging for teams and anyone that doesn’t have experience there.”

HOW DO YOU THINK THE BRISTOL DIRT RACE WILL PAN OUT?
“I didn’t say Bristol because I’m looking forward to that and being in a dirt race. I think it will be challenging for the teams and a bunch of the drivers. It’ll be different for sure in trying to keep your cars together on the dirt. Some people that are very comfortable at other tracks are not going to be as comfortable at Bristol.”

HOW MUCH MOMENTUM FROM 2020 TRANSITIONS TO THIS YEAR?
“We have a good amount. We kept most of our team together on the 3 car. I think that’s big. Over the last couple of years, we’ve had people swapping around and changing. It’s good to have continuity in the team and have my crew chief, spotter and everyone ready to go. Chevrolet has done a good job in the offseason of really pushing the togetherness and working hard together. That’s the biggest thing… giving us more opportunities to win that we’ve had in the past. The momentum from last year was huge, and I want to carry that over.”

DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE A GOOD CHANCE TO GET BACK TO THE PLAYOFFS AND BETTER THAT RESULT?
“That’s what we’ve worked for in this offseason – to go farther than we did last year. Other than the one hiccup we had at Vegas with the belt, I thought we would have gone to the next round. We had a pretty solid round other than breaking there. We’ll be pushing hard. Multiple wins this year is key to that success to go farther than we did this year. One win is nice. But if you see the guys who are in the final four and they have multiple wins. So, I think that is our first goal: to get multiple wins and see what happens from there. That’s a successful season in my book, when you can get multiple wins in the NASCAR Cup Series.”

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.

WELCOME, NC (February 3, 2021) – Richard Childress Racing announced today that Workrise (formerly RigUp) will continue its support of the No. 3 program and driver Austin Dillon for a second season, as a primary partner for select NASCAR Cup Series races in 2021.

“Workrise is purpose-built for the people who get hard work done.” said Xuan Yong, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Workrise. “Just like our workers and partners in the skilled trades, Austin Dillon and the Richard Childress Racing team are no strangers to hard work. We’re thrilled to partner with Austin Dillon and team in 2021.”

Workrise is the leading workforce management solution for the skilled trades. The company operates across the solar, wind, construction, defense and oil & gas industries, providing staffing, training, and professional services through people and technology.

“Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing, and the NASCAR brand are a perfect fit for the Workrise brand and our business goals,” said Mike Witte, Chief Operating Office and Co-Founder of Workrise. “We’re looking forward to inviting clients to a few of the races this year.”

Workrise will serve as a primary partner on the No. 3 Chevrolet for select races in 2021, beginning with the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas in May.

“We’re looking forward to working closely with Workrise to help create best-in-class engagements for their customers, contractors and employees,” said Torrey Galida, president of RCR. “We can certainly appreciate and relate to the Workrise mission of empowering the people who get hard work done.”

For more information on RCR, visit rcrracing.com.

For more information on Workrise, visit workrise.com or contact press@workrise.com

About Workrise
Workrise is the leading workforce management solution for the skilled trades. We make it easier for skilled laborers to find work and for companies to find in-demand, trained workers. Workrise operates across the solar, wind, construction, defense and oil & gas industries. Through people and technology, we provide the staffing, training, and professional services to empower the people who get hard work done. For more information visit workrise.com.

About Richard Childress Racing:
Richard Childress Racing (rcrracing.com) is a renowned, performance-driven racing, marketing and manufacturing organization. Incorporated in 1969, RCR has celebrated over 50 years of racing and earned more than 200 victories and 16 championships, including six in the NASCAR Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series and is a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 (1998, 2007, 2018). Its 2020 NASCAR Cup Series lineup includes two-time NASCAR champion, 2017 Coca-Cola 600 winner and 2018 Daytona 500 champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Chevrolet), along with two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick (No. 8 Chevrolet). RCR fields a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series program with Myatt Snider (No. 2 Chevrolet).