Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, 2.28 Mile Road Course
Race: 32 of 36
Event: Bank of America ROVAL 400 (252.88 Miles, 109 Laps)

Michael McDowell
No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang

Started: 31st
Finished: 32nd

Stage One: 19th
Stage Two: 9th
Stage Three: 32nd

The No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang started Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 from the 31st position at Charlotte Motor Speedway. On the first lap of the race, McDowell made a strong charge towards the front as he gained many valuable spots and improved his running position to 18th. At the Competition Caution on Lap 10, Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer made the call for McDowell to stay on track to continue advancing his position. Then, with 7 Laps remaining in the first stage, McDowell would pit under green to trade his 4 rain tires for 4 slick tires and fuel and would go on to finish Stage 1 from the 19th position. McDowell would stay out during the Stage Break Caution and restart in 13th to begin Stage 2.

During the second stage, McDowell began to note that his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang was “really tight.” The caution flag would fly on Lap 45 to which McDowell would once again stay on track to gain track position. He would battle hard to secure a Top-10 stage finish and stage points as his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang took the Stage 2 green-and white-checkered flag from the 9th position. Under caution, McDowell told his team that he needed “more turn” and would pit for 4 tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment.

The final stage of Sunday’s 109-lap race would see a total of 3 cautions. The first would occur with less than 50 Laps to go, to which McDowell would stay out. Shortly after green flag racing resumed, McDowell noted that his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang was bottoming out on the right rear and would pit under caution on Lap 88 for 4 tires, fuel and an added spring rubber. The yellow flag would come out on Lap 99 for the 9th and final time of the race as McDowell would once again stay on track. With only a handful of laps remaining, the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang would spin twice as McDowell came over the radio to say, “something is broken” and would take the checkered flag in the 32nd position.

McDowell on the ROVAL:

“Well, not the day that we had hoped for with Love’s Travel Stops and Speedco. We had a decent car at times, but then we had something break towards the end of the race and we tried to fix it, but just couldn’t. It’s unfortunate for us because we had two good races: Talladega and then the ROVAL, where we could have scored a lot of points and didn’t. To Love’s Travel Stops and all of our other partners, I’m sorry that we didn’t get you guys a good finish today; but we’ll try to stay positive, keep plugging away, get it figured out and get ready for Kansas.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2020
BANK OF AMERICA ROVAL 400 – CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES

FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
2nd — Joey Logano
5th — Ryan Blaney
9th — Cole Custer
10th — Clint Bowyer
11th — Kevin Harvick
16th — Aric Almirola
18th — Brad Keselowski
20th — Chris Buescher
22nd — Matt DiBenedetto
26th — Gray Gaulding
27th — Corey LaJoie
31st — Ryan Newman
32nd — Michael McDowell
33rd — Josh Bilicki
36th — John Hunter Nemechek

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang — WITH ALL THAT WAS ON THE LINE TODAY IS THIS A DAY WHERE YOU JUST TAKE SECOND AND MOVE ONTO THE NEXT ROUND? “Yeah, we won our league (laughing) because no one was beating that other car — the Chase Elliott and Alan and that whole 9 team. They’re light years ahead of us when it comes to the road course, I mean everybody even their teammates. I can’t really put my finger on it. I got a good look of what it was and watched him cruise around not even trying and he would keep on driving away from me. Overall, I’m proud of what our Shell/Pennzoil team did today. We had to come in here and execute. Obviously, there were plenty of crazy things that could have happened starting in the rain, going to slicks, stage points, trying to get ourselves in position. Obviously, there were times that the 18 was in the spot and we were racing the 88 with only a couple points between us, so it was close, it was stressful, but I feel a lot better now and will be able to sleep well tonight and then fire away to try and get into that Championship 4.”

WHEN THE 18 WAS LEADING WHAT WAS THE PRESSURE LIKE? “It’s life. I learned a long time ago in this sport that pressure is a privilege. That means you’re in the hunt. That means you’ve got something going on. If you have no pressure on you, it means you’re already out or you’re about to be out and you have nothing to lose. I love that pressure. I’ve learned to love it. It’s not comfortable. It’s not supposed to be comfortable, but it’s a good place to be and it’s nice when you’re able to succeed and get through it. It only helps you years and years on as you keep putting yourself in those spots to keep doing that, and not just me, but the whole team. Our pit crew was on it today. Paul had a great strategy to keep us up there and some good restarts as well, so it worked out.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Western Star/Alliance Parts Ford Mustang — HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR DAY? “It started off real strong in the rain and there’s part of me that wishes it would have just stayed raining, believe it or not, but once it got dry I just kept falling off too much on the long run. I’d fire off real good and fall off and couldn’t keep pace, so I’m thankful that’s over. It’s a testament to the four wins we have earlier in the year. It gives us those bonus points and made this a lot easier day than it looked like it was gonna be, and we’ll move on to hopefully four good race weeks for us.”

YOU ASKED A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON THE RADIO TODAY. IS THAT NORMAL OR WERE YOU MORE CONCERNED THAN NORMAL? “You want to know when you control your own destiny and obviously we were able to do that and then it’s just about, ‘Hey, let’s not ruin our own day,’ so that’s what we tried to do.”

CONFIDENCE IN THE ROUND OF 8? “Yeah, Martinsville has been really good to us. Kansas, we ran second in the fall. Texas is probably our weakest, but I think we can win at the other two.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang — HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THE RACE? “It was definitely interesting. Our car was just way off handling-wise. We were just way too tight and had no drive up off the corner, whether it was wet or dry. We struggled with our Mobil 1 Ford and still probably should have finished somewhere seventh or eighth, but didn’t have the car where we needed to and wound up on the wrong side of all the strategies and things, but everybody did a good job and kept battling. It was actually a lot of fun.”

HOW STRONG DO YOU FEEL GOING INTO THE NEXT ROUND? “This wasn’t a great round for us, so we definitely need to do better.”

IT SEEMED YOU COULDN’T GET TRACK POSITION. “Yeah, our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was just off today. It would blister all the rain tires and push really bad in the rain, and then it wasn’t quite as bad on slick tires and then all the strategy and everything with the damage and the caution coming out when we stayed out and had to come in, we just wound up midpack all day and struggled to get the car to handle right.”

THE NEXT ROUND HAS A SET OF TRACKS THAT FALLS IN YOUR WHEELHOUSE. HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU IN YOUR TEAM THE NEXT THREE RACES? “We need to display that our cars are fast and do a good job on pit road and do the things that we did all year. Definitely two good racetracks for us coming up at Kansas and Texas and hopefully we can get a win in one of those two races and go on with it.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang — “It was tough. I struggle here in particular. I’m not the greatest road course racer, but specifically here has always been a challenge for me and I just struggled all day. We really struggled on the rain tires and I spun out over there in that water that was draining across the racetrack in turn four, and then we had an issue with a pit gun or something on pit road and got a lap down. We fought hard. It was definitely a fight, but just not the day we needed for sure to move on, but we still got a few races left to go perform at the highest level we can and try to get the most points we can. I’m still really proud of our season and proud of the effort of this team. We’ve got some racing left to do and hopefully get this Smithfield Ford Mustang in Victory Lane in one of these last few.”

ALMIROLA POST-RACE ZOOM CALL

“We struggled today. It was not the day we were hoping for, for sure. I struggle at this racetrack in particular anyway. It’s not one of my best racetracks, so I knew it was gonna be a challenge. It certainly wasn’t for a lack of effort. I put a tremendous amount of effort in through watching film and studying data and going to the simulator and all the things, but I still can’t put all the pieces of the puzzle together when it comes to making speed here at the Roval. It’s frustrating. I feel really bad for my team. We’ve got a great team and we’ve had a good season. We needed a great run today and a win really, and unfortunately we weren’t able to do that today. I just didn’t do a good job.”

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR THESE LAST FOUR WEEKS BECAUSE YOU’VE BEEN FAIRLY HIGH UP IN THE POINTS ALL YEAR? “Yeah, we have. We’ve been in the top eight or nine in points and I think at one time we were sixth or seventh in points, so we’ve got a few races left and I think our goal should be to go and try and win. I think that’s the one positive is that even though we’re eliminated out of the playoffs we still get to race. We don’t go home and watch on TV. We still get to race and participate, so now we just got to go and make the most of these last four races and we’ve actually got really good tracks coming up for us. I was so hopeful to get through this round of 12. I felt like Talladega was gonna be our best chance and had a good run going there, and an unfortunate end to that. But coming to the Roval I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I was really looking forward to this next round. Kansas, Texas and even Martinsville have been really good racetracks for us, so I’m disappointed to not be in the playoffs still, but they’re still good racetracks for us.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang — “We had them covered in the rain and we were one of the fastest in the dry, but those cautions at the end of both stages came at the wrong time. Then that wreck killed us because we lost power-steering. The guys gave me a great car today.”

COMMENTS ABOUT GOING TO THE CARE CENTER — “I’m good. Was definitely outta gas. Another couple three laps and I’d have been on the ground after the race crappie floppin’. Self inflicted. I shouldn’t have knocked the power steering out.”

JONES DRIVES TO A THIRD-PLACE FINISH AT THE CHARLOTTE ROVAL
Erik Jones finishes third while Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. advance to the Round of 8

CONCORD, North Carolina (October 11, 2020) – Erik Jones earned a third-place finish in Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at The ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jones was followed to the line by teammate Martin Truex Jr. who finished sixth in the race. Both Truex and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin will advance to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Kyle Busch finished 30th after being forced to pit late in the race, Busch will not advance into the next round of The Playoffs.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Race 32 of 36 – 248.5 miles, 109 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chase Elliott*
2nd, Joey Logano*
3rd, ERIK JONES
4th, Kurt Busch*
5th, Ryan Blaney*
7th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
15th, DENNY HAMLIN
24th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
25th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
30th, KYLE BUSCH
38th, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

ERIK JONES, No. 20 Craftsman ACE/CMN Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

How tough was Chase Elliott in today’s race?

“I knew we were there and had tires. We were in a really good spot, but I knew that 9 (Chase Elliott) was really fast and has been pretty tough to beat here the last few years. They’ve got something figured out, they’re really quick here. I was just kind of losing time to him everywhere. He caught me and I couldn’t hold him off more than a couple cars. The Craftsman Camry was good, it was good to get a top-three. Probably a little bit better than what we ran, but we’ll definitely take it.”

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

Finishing Position: 7th

How eventful were the closing laps for you?

“Had a little bit of a run on them coming to one to go and probably stuffed it in there a little too far. Tried to get out from inside of him (Kurt Busch) and hit that water back there and from there it was all over. Little too aggressive there at the end. Overall, just a so-so day for the Bass Pro Toyota. We had decent speed, not winning speed, but had a lot of fun out there, especially in the rain.”

How do you feel heading into the Round of 8?

“For sure. We have some good tracks coming up for us. Looking forward to Kansas next weekend for sure. See if we can’t go get one there, it’s been a while.”

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

Finishing Position: 30th

What was the thought process when you stayed out on old tires?

“I don’t know. Just trying to get everything we could get. You come into a race like this and you throw a couple Hail Mary’s and they rarely work, especially when you don’t have the car. That 9 (Chase Elliott) car is spectacular here and it was superfast. I followed him for a lot of laps trying to figure it out and he just gets smaller and smaller as he’s driving away. I don’t know, it’s not just this race. It’s a whole season and it’s a culmination of things that led to this and led to our elimination. We knew it coming into this round that this was going to be the hardest round for us to get through. Pretty much impossible and it was. We weren’t able to make up enough or get a win. We’ll just have to fight for a win here the rest of the year.”

Can you sum up the way the Playoffs played out for you?

“It’s just been the year. Nothing has played out and been on our side. It’s just been unfortunate circumstances, a lot of bad luck. These guys on this M&M’s Camry team never give up and they fight all year long and every race and every lap, every pit stop as we can see. Man, just one of them off years. It’s been a terrible year for me. As other sports greats would say, there’s many other drivers that would love to have a year that we’re having, but it’s just frustrating to know how good we are and what we’re capable of and being champions from last year to not come out here and be able to succeed and be able to win. Fact of the matter, if we could win, we would be a heck of a lot better off. I knew this round was going to be trouble with the year we had. I was right.”

Did you think you had anything to win when you stayed out rather than pit for tires?

“No. We probably would have been third or fourth or somewhere in there. The 9 (Chase Elliott) was stellar. They have the best car here. We got closer this year than we were last year for as fast off as we were last year, I felt like this was at least a decent run or a better run for us. Still have a lot of work to do to try to get better. I’m not sure what it is, but we lack a lot of drive off the corners.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

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

CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 11, 2020) – Ryan Newman finished 31st in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup event at the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Heavy moisture over much of the track created tough conditions for the field, and while Newman was able to finish the first stage in sixth he ultimately found himself on the wrong end of too much misfortune to battle back from for the No. 6 Castrol Team.

In just the third-ever Cup race at the road course, the green flag was dropped on a wet track to begin the 109-lap race with NASCAR requiring teams to begin the race on rain tires. Newman began the afternoon from the 15th spot, reporting early he lacked front turn by the competition caution at lap 10. He would pit in the first opportunity at lap 11 as the team put on slick tires, setting him up 28th for the ensuing restart. He would go for a spin at lap 14, but got his Castrol Ford back rolling.

With a large majority of the field still on rain tires the team would pit around lap 20, giving Newman back track position just prior to the stage break at lap 25. With the yellow being displayed with three to go in the segment, Newman was eighth and ultimately crossed the line sixth for the opening stage.

After staying on track under the break, Newman fired off fourth at lap 28th, but spun a few laps later from inside the top-10. Following another spin at lap 35, Newman ran 36th, but battled back to 27th at the end of stage two.

From there, he battled the handling in the No. 6 machine the remainder of the afternoon before finishing 31st in the Castrol Ford Mustang.

Newman and the No. 6 team return to the track next weekend at Kansas Speedway. Race coverage begins Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.

CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 11, 2020) – Chris Buescher continued his strong run late in the 2020 season as he battled challenging conditions to put himself in position for a top-10 finish at Sunday’s Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course race. An untimely penalty with just ten laps to go sent Buescher’s No. 17 Fastenal Ford to the tail end of the field setting up a late race run that would see the No. 17 Mustang power through the field – picking up 12 positions to finish 20th.

Buescher began the day from the 21st position, with threatening skies forcing NASCAR to begin the race with treaded rain tires on all cars. The weather began to subside, leaving dry spots on the track and challenging driver abilities in the mixed conditions. At the lap 10 competition caution, Buescher found himself in the 25th position before a penalty for crewmembers over the wall too soon forced him to the rear of the field for the first time in the race.

Though some competitors switched to traditional slick racing tires, the Fastenal team elected to stick with the rain treads as much of the track remained wet. The safe strategy helped the team to avoid early troubles, and Buescher finished 25th in the first stage of the event.

The team dialed in the handling of Buescher’s Fastenal Ford in the second stage, as he drove through the field despite minor damage and steadily worked his way to 14th, where he would finish the segment. Continued adjustments gave Buescher an opportunity to challenge the front of the field in the second half of the race, where he drove as high as 7th.

Buescher maintained his strong pace until a late caution fell with just 12 laps to go. Buescher hit pit road with the majority of the field for tires and fuel to set up a final shootout, where he was set to restart 11th. NASCAR then announced that the No. 17 would be penalized for speeding on the entry to pit road, forcing the team to the rear of the field with just 10 laps left in the race. Buescher was aggressive in the closing laps with a strong Fastenal Ford Mustang, passing 12 cars under the green flag to finish 20th.

Buescher and the No. 17 team return to the track next weekend at Kansas Speedway. Race coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE
BANK OF AMERICA ROVAL 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 11, 2020

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference and discussed the weather and challenges of today’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL, upcoming races at Kansas, Texas, and Martinsville, mentoring his future teammate, Ross Chastain, and more. Full Transcript:

IF YOU’RE GOING TO WIN THIS CHAMPIONSHIP, IT WILL BE YOUR SECOND TITLE, 16 YEARS APART. IF YOU EMERGE WITH THIS, IS IT YOUR BEST CASE FOR THE HALL OF FAME?
“I feel like you’re going to have to win out in this Round of 8 and the championship race in Phoenix. This group, the elite eight, that will make it, are the best of the best; and can win each and every week. And so, with Kansas not being one of my best tracks, but it is a 1.5-mile, where we have won twice at Chip Ganassi Racing. Texas is a 1.5-mile that we’ve been very good at. And Martinsville has been a nice surprise since I switched to Ganassi. I’ve been running much better with the balance of the car that they have there. And then with Phoenix, if we can get there, that would be huge. It would give me an opportunity to win the championship for Chip Ganassi Racing, my second title. Those things and Hall of Fame talk will all handle itself after my racing career is done. I just keep plugging away and adapting. I’ve got a great sponsor with Monster Energy to help.

YOU HAVE NOT WON AT KANSAS. HOW CAN YOU PULL THIS OFF?
“It’s been a tough track for me. I’ve got a couple of second place finishes, I believe. And one of them was a set-up that (Kevin) Harvick happily agreed (laughs) to run when we were running with Furniture Row. We were at RCR together. And, that’s what it takes. It takes that comradery and balance of teamwork and also pushing the envelope. Kansas is one of those very aero-dependent tracks. And so, you’ve got to be on top of your game with the aero side of it to win there.”

LOOKING AT THE CONDITIONS TODAY, THERE’S GOING TO BE A LOT OF RAIN. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND AT WHAT POINT DO YOU SAY WE CAN’T KEEP DOING THIS AND WE NEED TO STOP?
“We had the Daytona Road Course a month or so ago and I didn’t even send my motor home down there as far as pre-race or normal sequence, because I’m like, we have rain tires. We’re going to race. And so today, yeah, this is a little bit different with battling remnants of a hurricane. And if it’s consistent light rain, we’re good to go. If we have our downpours, we’re going to have to red flag the race. I think NASCAR learned a lot watching the Xfinity guys and calling that race. It’s still, again, whatever it takes to adapt and to be there to win. That’s what I’m doing today. I’m ready to race no matter if we’re hydroplaning or if the sun comes out and we’ve got to switch to the dry (tires). You’ve got to be ready for any condition change.”

HOW MUCH IS YOUR MINDSET IMPACTED BY THE FACT THAT YOU KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO BE IN THE ROUND OF 8 REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS TODAY?
“Yeah, I’m on easy street. Me and Denny (Hamlin) might be the happiest guys to talk to. Harvick is probably pretty good in points. This race was positioned on the calendar for this reason; to be a cutoff and to create all the anxiety and all of this stress. And so that’s what that win at Vegas did for us at Chip Ganassi Racing is that it gave us an ease of operation today; and hopefully that loose, fluid feel will stay with us and we’ll make the right calls to win this.”

YOU SEEM TO BE A PRETTY HAPPY GUY RIGHT NOW. WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE KURT BUSCH AT THIS STAGE IN YOUR LIFE?
“Just racing with Chip Ganassi Racing and a great sponsor with Monster Energy and a manufacturer with Chevrolet, and the teamwork. The team comradery is a different element for me now. I love to teach young engineers and young crew members how to evolve in this sport and to do it at a championship level. And so just being older and wiser, and still having that passion and that drive to adapt to the new technology and the new ways of winning, that’s something that my father instilled in me, that work ethic, from a young age. And with my wife, Ashley, she loves sport. She’s an athlete herself. And her support and her love has been a new direction for me these last five years.”

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MENTORSHIP YOU’LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE TO ROSS CHASTAIN, YOUR NEW TEAMMATE NEXT SEASON?
“Yeah, that will be a big part of how this season concludes and how the off-season progresses, and preparations for next year. Ross Chastain is a good kid. He’s worked hard. And he’s gone through some setbacks and he continues to persevere. And he’s put himself in position for a top tier ride at the NASCAR level. So, I feel like it’s a perfect fit to help mentor him, and to coach him, and to give to a driver that I think will have a long career in this sport.”

YOU MENTIONED WHAT NASCAR LEARNED FROM THE XFINITY RACE LAST NIGHT. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THAT AND WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?
“This track, even when it’s dry, is like a bull in a china shop. It’s a big heavy stock car with all this horsepower and there are tons of braking zones and tons of turning in and trying to accelerate. And the tires will only handle so much. Sprinkle in the rain, with the rain tires with having hardly any data at all; and then watching the race, you know how there were these slick areas of the track. There was water standing in certain spots that you have to avoid; the treachery of the oval section, it looked like. And our cars have way more horsepower than the Xfinity cars. We have the possibility of looping it on the oval if we’re not careful. Today will be one of the most historic days of NASCAR, with racing these big, heavy cars on a road course; and this isn’t just a normal road course. This is a ROVAL. So, there are lots of things to watch out for and hopefully we protect our car to put it in position to win it.”

WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE HARDEST PART ABOUT TODAY’S RACE?
“I think the toughest part will be visibility. Our cars generate a lot of heat. And the windshields are prepped as best as they can be, but this is our first time. And throughout Chip Ganassi Racing, we’ve relied heavily on the IndyCar guys to help us. Common sense is the key, as well. But then there are so many areas that these cars aren’t sealed off and I think visibility will be tough with the windshield wiper and the mist and the rooster tail from the other cars; and just how the water gathers in certain spots at this track. And also, the radar. The radar looks relentless right now. It’s not giving up. And so, we’ll see how that plays out.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CONCORD, North Carolina (October 11, 2020) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media via videoconference in advance of the race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course:

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

Are you are prepared to run in the same conditions that the Xfinity Series ran in?

“I think that they will monitor track conditions. We got a long message from them last night after the Xfinity Series race about some things they would change or do different. No one’s prepared to run in puddles on the race track, so I think they will monitor that and make sure it’s legit driving conditions.”

How much do you think you will need a win in the next round?

“I don’t know. I don’t know if we will need too, but we will certainly need to run really well. I don’t know. I think we will just have to play it by ear. I think after the first race, we will have a better idea of – it’s a little easier to predict the guys that will be winners or points guys after that.”

What at Kansas works so well for you?

“Well, I have a good setup. That’s all that I can equate it to. In years past, Kansas has not always been a strong suit. Mile-and-a-halves in general haven’t been a super strong suit for most of career. I don’t know. You could argue the statistics and wins would say otherwise, but it seems like on the mile-and-a-halves we’ve got a really good package or setup going that seems to be working. We nearly won Vegas, and that was the track that – if we could finish in the top-15, I was going to be happy. I adjust my expectations based on how I feel after the first 10 laps of the race. I’m confident. I feel like we’ve got a good grasp on Kansas. Nothing really much has changed other than the tire, which that tire was run at Vegas, so it looks like we’ve accounted for it pretty good in our setup. I’m as optimistic as anyone going into that race track.”

What is the point for you where you would like to see NASCAR jump in on weather conditions today?

“They did once yesterday. The issues were once the caution falls and the cars would stop going around the race track and the rain would pick up, the track would form puddles in certain spots. Big, big puddles. I mentioned on social media last night. This is not a purpose-built road course. The drainage is not made for it. We tried to spice up the Charlotte oval by making us go through the infield and through parking lots. This is just a tough place given the conditions. You’re going to need very light rain for us to be able to run without it being a complete shit show.”

Would you like to NASCAR postpone the race tomorrow?

“It’s not up to me, but I mentioned to them that people’s seasons are on the line. Good and bad. Ours isn’t, but I could not imagine having to either protect points or gain points in crazy conditions, such as what we had. You could argue it is the same for everyone, but how are we supposed to predict a puddle or a stream running across the race track. Add a jump to the backstretch and it would be complete.”

How happy are you that you don’t have to worry about points today?

“I certainly have the tone to be able to send the first three rows into Heartburn Turn right off the bat by starting on pole (laughter). I don’t know. It’s going to be the blind leading the blind. I’m sure there is going to be some guys that are going to be pretty aggressive early on, but I don’t know that I will particularly be one of them but I’m very, very happy and blessed that I don’t have to worry about finishing first or last today.”

Can you talk about your relationship with David Wilson (President, TRD U.S.A.) has changed over the years?

“Toyota and TRD is a very hands on manufacturer. As they like to say, they are not check writers, they like to be integrated in teams. They like to be partners with their race teams, and I kind of knew Dave simply through the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) relationship on the competition side, so I really didn’t have a strong – I knew David, I talked to David quite a bit, but never really grew that partnership until we started talking about this race team, and from that point on, I guess he’s probably one of my favorites in my phone at this point. We’ve grown that. We understand each other’s vision and I think that certainly it’s been a partnership that has grown very quickly in a very short amount of time. So, I’m very happy to form that relationship with him and hopefully expand upon their future in NASCAR.”

Next weekend, you are returning to a 550-track. Can you compare the difference in passing with this package compared to the previous package?

“It’s easier and it’s harder. It just depends. I think that it allows you to protect more as the leader, however the runs come. Even if the car behind you is slower with the draft – especially on restarts – it’s easier to pass. I think the net gain or loss is about the same through high downforce or low downforce. At some of these race tracks, if you slowed us up just five MPHs more you would have even more drafting, even more slingshot passes. Things like that. The package is just perfect at some places. It needs tweaking at others, but I think these teams and manufacturers want to keep things a little bit simpler when it comes to rule packages. I know Goodyear is trying to keep things a little simpler on the tires side, reducing d codes and what not. It’s really helping with costs, but I don’t know that going back to a low downforce package on the 550’s is necessarily the right thing. I think that we have all adapted. Passing, while difficult, it was difficult before, so we have all adapted.”

Do you think hydroplaning is going to be an issue today? Have you ever had that issue in the race car?

“Not that I know of. The only time that I remember ever hydroplaning in a race car would be at my local short track when they don’t have jet dryers and they would drag tires around the race track to get it hot and get it dried up, and we would go out there in our race cars to help dry the race track and streams of water would be running across the track and you would hit them and everything just takes off, but it’s a much smaller stream than what we were seeing yesterday. That was more of a weather issue yesterday that I saw. A lot of the runoffs were running from a much higher point, but it was running across the Roval in different spots. Very, very difficult. I can’t imagine, but I will here in just aa few hours.”

As a new team owner, do you think you would like to see the driver’s council return? How is communication with NASCAR?

“I could see it both ways. It used to be those meetings were held annually, then semi-annually, then it was quarterly, and now they have more of a direct contact with us through GroupMe. The dialogue is open each and every day, where the drivers give input, NASCAR gives input and changes as well. So, it’s actually quicker now than ever. I know for instance the tire. The big change for the Kansas, Texas, and Las Vegas tire. All of the drivers hated it. It was an awful tire. The side wall was way too stiff. It was not good. That feedback was given to them right away, and they made that change. That would have been something that would have happened in the next quarter meeting. They got that feedback instantly. They were able to go to Goodyear, get another tire made and implement before the season was over. Normally, that tire wouldn’t have been able to move till next year, so if anything, it’s not totally necessary. I think they are doing a good job of it. The big major hitters, the marketing side of things, the social side of things, they will still have those meetings, I’m sure next year, once the COVID stuff settles down, but as far as the competition side, I think they have a good grasp on it now.”

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