TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400
RICHMOND RACEWAY
RICHMOND, VA
SEPTEMBER 12, 2020

RICHMOND: RACE #28
The road to the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship continues on as the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) will return to “The Action Track” of Richmond Raceway for the ninth annual Federated Auto Parts 400 on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Due to the halt in the season for the COVID-19 pandemic and the revision of the 2020 schedule, this will be the only appearance by NASCAR’s three national series at the .75-mile Virginia track this year. The 400-mile, 300-lap race under the lights will mark the 28th race on the NCS schedule and the second race of the first round of the NCS Playoffs. Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 is the third time that Richmond Raceway has hosted the NCS Playoff’s second race. The 2020 season is the first since 1958 that the NASCAR Cup Series has made just a single appearance during the year.

In addition to the NASCAR Cup Series event, the three-day race weekend also consists of appearances by both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series. The action kicked off with the return of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series for the first time since 2005 with the ToyotaCare 250 on Thursday, September 10, to conclude the series’ regular season. Richmond Raceway will also be the host of a NASCAR Xfinity Series doubleheader, with the Go Bowling 250 on Friday, September 11, at 7:00 p.m. ET, followed by the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 on Saturday, September 12, at 2:00 p.m. ET. In compliance with the pandemic guidelines, all events during the race weekend will be run without spectators.

ROUND OF 16 – RACE #2
The Federated Auto Parts 400 marks the second race of the Round of 16, the first of four rounds that will determine the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. Following the first race of the Playoffs at Darlington Raceway, two Team Chevy Playoff contenders were the biggest movers in point positions. Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, moved up four positions in the standings, while Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Truck Hero Camaro ZL1 1LE, jumped three spots from eighth to fifth.

Heading into the Richmond race weekend, all five Team Chevy Playoff Contenders currently sit above the Round of 16 cutline:

Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Truck Hero Camaro ZL1 1LE – 5th in Standings (2,052 points)
Victories: 1 (Auto Club Speedway)
Top-Fives: 3; Top-10’s: 9; Laps Led: 389; Average Finish: 16.6
Stage Wins: 4; Stage Top-Five’s: 14; Stage Top-10’s: 30; Stage Points: 179
8-career starts at Richmond; Average Finish: 25.6

Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE – 7th in Standings (2,045 points)
Victories: 2 (Charlotte Motor Speedway and Daytona Road Course)
Top-Fives: 10; Top-10’s: 15; Laps Led: 644; Average Finish: 13.1
Stage Wins: 6; Stage Top-Five’s: 19; Stage Top-10’s: 36; Stage Points: 208
9-career starts at Richmond; Average Finish: 12.8

Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW NORKOOL Camaro ZL1 1LE – 8th in Standings (2,043 points)
Victories: 1 (Texas Motor Speedway)
Top-Fives: 3; Top-10’s 8; Laps Led: 80; Average Finish: 16.3
Stage Top-Five’s: 3; Stage Top-10’s: 14; Stage Points: 60
12-career starts at Richmond; Average Finish: 18.7

William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE – 9th in Standings (2,042 points)
Victories: 1 (Daytona International Speedway)
Top-Fives: 3; Top-10’s: 10; Laps Led: 97; Average Finish: 15.7
Stage Wins: 2; Stage Top-Five’s 9; Stage Top-10’s: 24; Stage Points: 117
4-career starts at Richmond; Average Finish: 17.2

Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE – 11th in Standings (2,037 points)
Top-Fives: 4; Top-10’s: 15; Laps Led: 96; Average Finish: 13.2
Stage Wins: 1; Stage Top-Five’s: 6; Stage Top-10’s: 23; Stage Points: 97
38-career starts at Richmond; Average Finish: 15.4

BOWTIE BULLETS
· Current Chevrolet drivers that have recorded wins at Richmond Raceway include:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, with 3 wins (2007 sweep, 2008)
Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDonald’s Camaro ZL1 1LE, with 2 wins (2002, 2015)
Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, with 2 wins (2005, 2015)

· A Chevrolet has sat on the pole position at the .75-mile D-shaped oval 46 times, topping all other manufacturers. Of active drivers, Matt Kenseth ties for the lead in poles at Richmond with three. Career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon holds the track’s qualifying record, which was set in September 2013, clocking in at 130.599 mph.

· Of the 12 different drivers that have scored the victory at the second race of the Playoffs, Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads the way with three wins (2005, 2009 and 2010 – all at Dover International Speedway).

· Team Chevy drivers Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE, and Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, are three of only four drivers to finish in the top-10 in both tracks under 1-mile this year.

LEADING AT THE ACTION TRACK
Richmond Raceway welcomed NASCAR’s premier series to its venue when it hosted its first NASCAR event in 1953. Since the inaugural event, this weekend’s Federated Auto Parts 400 will mark the NCS’s 128th race at the .75-mile Virginia venue. Through NASCAR’s history at Richmond, Chevrolet has made its way to victory lane 38 times with 17 different Team Chevy drivers and teams, more than any other manufacturer. GM brands Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile have accounted for an additional 15 wins at the track. The Bowtie Brand has also recorded 234 top-five finishes, 484 top-10’s and led a total of 15,309 laps.

STARTING LINEUP
For the remainder of the 2020 NCS season, the starting lineups will be determined by a competition-based formula, combining the following metrics from the previous race event: 15% of a fastest lap time position, 25% of the driver’s final race finish position, 25% of the owner’s final race position and 35% of the Owner points position.

Here are Team Chevy’s top-20 starters for Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400:
3rd Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW NORKOOL Camaro ZL1 1LE
4th Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Truck Hero Camaro ZL1 1LE
5th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE
8th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
12th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE
18th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
19th Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDonald’s Camaro ZL1 1LE

TUNE-IN
NBCSN will telecast the 400-lap, 300-mile Federated Auto Parts 400 live at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 12th. Live coverage can also be found on the NBC Sports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/TRUCK HERO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 5th IN STANDINGS
“We have struggled at Richmond in the past. The last three weeks have been pretty good to us and we have some momentum going into this weekend’s race. We had as strong run in Darlington last weekend and are sitting in a good spot in the playoff standings. As a team, we have to go into Richmond and capitalize on stage points and keeping the car clean. This ChevyGoods.com/Truck Hero team have been working hard on our short-track program and I know that we are capable of having a strong race on Saturday night.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 7th IN STANDINGS
“I think the pressure of being in the playoffs is a good thing. You just have to embrace it and recognize that you’d much rather be in the position of having a chance than not. It’s a good opportunity and we can turn that into motivation to try to do better.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW NORKOOL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 8th IN STANDINGS
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON RICHMOND RACEWAY?
“Richmond Raceway is one of the tracks the No. 3 team has circled as a definite place where we can gain maximum points and compete for a win. It will be crucial to our Playoff run. It’s funny because there was a time in my career when I did not run well at Richmond at all. It was a thorn in my side, but over the years that has changed. Richmond has become a much better place than it used to be for me. We have a couple of sixth-place finishes there, and had a fast car last September but ran into issues. I think the low downforce package has really helped our team at that track.

HOW DO YOU ANSWER THE FOLKS THAT DISMISS YOU AND YOUR TEAM IN THIS YEAR’S NASCAR PLAYOFFS? A LOT OF PEOPLE DO NOT EXPECT YOU TO MAKE IT PAST THE FIRST ROUND..
“I love being dismissed. I think it’s great. I feel like that’s what propels us. We sneak up on people. I was very close to making it to the third round in the NASCAR Playoffs a couple year’s back but missed it by one point to Denny Hamlin. He went on to transfer and we missed it by one point at Talladega. I know from that experience that every point matters, and we just need to go out there and do our job during round one. Each of the three races in Round One – Darlington, Richmond and Bristol – are strong tracks for us. The real key will be Stage points. You have to get points. We’re going to continue to do what we did at Darlington, which is to be very aggressive in getting those points. Hopefully we will mess up a lot of brackets.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 9th IN STANDINGS
“Richmond is a difficult track. It’s pretty slow in the middle of the corner and that’s what makes it interesting and a challenge at the same time. You’re fighting for front grip and also rear grip on the exit of the corners. It’s all about getting the car pointed in the right direction and driving straight off the corner. Richmond has very normal characteristics for a short track but at the same time it’s a lot slicker than a lot of places we go. I think with the race being at night, the biggest thing will be keeping up with the track changes.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 11th IN STANDINGS
“There are three keys to our team being successful this weekend at Richmond Raceway. 1 – gain points in Stage one, 2 – gain stage points in Stage two and 3 – have a chance of winning the race. If we can’t win, we just need to try and have the best finish possible to gain as many points as possible. Richmond is a track that really chews up the tires, really, really bad. As far as the tire strategy goes, we’ve got to find the sequence that we know we want to have as an ideal strategy. We need to make the right calls on what we choose to adjust and when to pit. Richmond is just a couple hours from where my wife Ashley grew up, west of Washington DC. When I come to Richmond Raceway it feels like home. Mainly just because of the cool atmosphere around the race track with the fairgrounds and the way things are set up at the track, it gives you that hometown feel. But when the lights turn on it’s a playoff race.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT RENTAL STORE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 19th IN STANDINGS
WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS HEADING TO RICHMOND RACEWAY WITH THIS CURRENT AERO PACKAGE?
“Richmond Raceway is a place I’ve still been doing a lot of learning at. I’ve ran a decent amount of races there, but I still feel like there is a lot of learning left for me to do. It’s a long race on Saturday night, so there’s a lot of time for me to get settled in and try to figure out what to do to be more consistent at that track. We need to be focused and not make any mistakes there, knowing it’s a track I find more challenging. This weekend is a really good opportunity for both myself and the entire No. 8 Cat Rental Store team to take solid notes and learn all we can to be in a really good spot when we kick off the 2021 season next year. That is really our goal for the reminder of the season, to help set ourselves up to be even better next year.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 DOORDASH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 23rd IN STANDINGS
TALK ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS GOING INTO RICHMOND.
“As a team, we struggle really, really bad during the day but as soon as it turns night our No. 43 DoorDash Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE comes to action. It will be fun. It’s a short track, and I’ve always loved racing at the Richmond Raceway – no matter how good or bad we have been. It is just one of those short-track mentalities; getting in there and using the bumper a little bit to move people out of the way.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 28th IN STANDINGS
“Richmond is a racetrack I have a lot of confidence at. I think we will see a lot of coming and going throughout the race, with some guys taking off well at the start of a run and then others that get better on the long run. For drivers, that is fun. Knowing when to be aggressive, when to take care of your tires until it’s time to make a move, that’s when the driver gets to shine and show their ability more. Our Germain Racing team is committed to finishing out this season strong. We are going to work hard all night and get the best result possible for our GEICO Camaro ZL1 1LE.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

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

Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

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

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

2020 STATISTICS:
Wins: 5
Poles: 3
Laps Led: 1,541
Top-five finishes: 35
Top-10 finishes: 91

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 791 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 717
Laps led to date: 235,847
Top-five finishes to date: 4,049
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,373

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

       General Motors: 1,125
       Chevrolet: 791
       Pontiac: 154
       Oldsmobile: 115
       Buick: 65

       Ford: 801                                                         
       Ford: 701
       Mercury: 96
       Lincoln: 4

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

       Toyota: 150

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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400
RICHMOND RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

MATT MCCALL, CREW CHIEF, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE met with media via teleconference and discussed the upcoming races at Richmond and Bristol, how he and the team have adjusted to the season with COVID-19 challenges, schedule changes, and more. Full Transcript:

GIVE US AN OVERVIEW FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE AS A CREW CHIEF OF WHAT THE SEASON HAS BEEN LIKE NAVIGATING INTO COVID-19 AND NOW, AS WE ENTER THE NASCAR PLAYOFFS AND HOW YOUR TEAM HAS DEALT WITH ALL THE CHANGES AND CHALLENGES.
“Obviously, there are a lot of changes and challenges, for sure. There are a lot of unknowns going to the track and a lot let people. The biggest thing is the scheduling process for us, trying to work at the shop as a road crew and having to work what I consider different hours than normal. I don’t mind working late, but 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning is not really my cup of tea when you have kids. But we do what we do. We try to make all that work. It’s become somewhat normal now. Not that it’s that spectacular. We’re doing whatever it takes to prepare the cars as good as we can. But throughout the season, we started off three Darlington races ago. We started that race pretty good. We had a few decent races and then managed to have some consistency. We never had the overall speed we were looking for to try to put Kurt (Busch) in position. I don’t know that we’ve actually put a race together yet to give him a shot to win a race. We’ve had one or two chances probably, and probably stepped on our hand there with a couple of mistakes here and there, but overall, it’s been okay. We’re still looking for more, obviously. Last week was an okay start for us to see where we stack up in the Playoffs to start and I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot there. All-in-all, I would give us maybe a seven out of 10; and need to be three more.”

LOOKING AHEAD ONE WEEK TO BRISTOL, DO YOU KNOW YET WHERE THE TRACTION COMPOUND IS GOING TO BE AND IF IT’S GOING TO BE ANY DIFFERENT, AND HOW WILL IT BE DIFFERENT WITH A COUPLE OF RACES ON THAT TRACK BEFORE YOU RUN?
“From my understanding and the team’s understanding, it’ll be the same as they’ve put down for the first Bristol and the All-Star. But the biggest part of that is the amount of races before our race. That’ll play a big role in how that is. The first Bristol, we had two competition cautions at 20 and 60; the track never really was somewhat raceable. But yeah, it should be similar from my understanding. A lot of times we don’t get that information sometimes until we’re actually unloading the car. Right now, they’re prediction is the same.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE, NOT HAVING BEEN TO RICHMOND THIS YEAR, AND BRISTOL, HAVING BEEN THERE TWICE BUT PROBABLY UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS OF WHAT THE TRACK IS GOING TO BE LIKE, AND HOW TO SET-UP THE CARS?
“Richmond, with this package, you can revert back to 2018 a little bit. Obviously, we had a different driver then. And so you change a little bit of the information but you’ve still got to find a way to correlate what we had last year and try to work through the different grip levels of the track because obviously there are a lot of races this weekend, hopefully before we race. So, that will dictate a lot of how you try to unload for your balance. And Bristol will be, at least for us, we didn’t make a ton of laps at the first Bristol. We got tore up, probably around lap 200, I think; unfortunately. I don’t know how we salvaged the finish we got. We got an okay finish out of it at the end there. Not a ton of notes to work off this year, but obviously history still comes into play. This weekend, the tire is going to be the biggest. It’s been many, many years since you’ve ran the same tire from Phoenix and Loudon that you would run at Richmond. I think that will come into play, for sure.”

YOU SAW RYAN BLANEY GET DOCKED POINTS FOR HAVING A FIVE POUND BAG OF LEAD IN HIS CAR AND ALSO WHAT HAPPENED WITH KYLE BUSCH AND CLINT BOWYER WITH HAVING THEIR CREW CHIEFS SUSPENDED FOR THIS WEEKEND FOR LUG NUT ISSUES. WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE AND WAKE-UP CALL DOES THIS SEND TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WITH THE NO. 1 CAR IS ON THE UP AND UP SO YOU DON’T END UP HURTING YOURSELVES?
“Yeah, for sure. That type of stuff, if it does happen; I think it’s probably been more frequent this year. You’ve seen lead come out of cars just from not having the same personnel final set the car and stuff like that. From the No. 1 car standpoint, I feel like I’m in a pretty good spot. Hopefully you’re not jinxing us here. I feel good about the guys we have. As far as changing the message, I don’t think there’s much to do there because the amount of effort that’s put in by my team, I feel really good about. Obviously, you pay attention to stuff that goes on around you and want to make sure you’re not put in the same boat to make a mistake like that. But I feel like there’s not a ton of change in the approach because I feel like every week we prepare the same way.”

GOING BACK TO LAST WEEK AT DARLINGTON AND THAT DECISION NOT TO PIT AT THE FIRST STAGE WHICH LED TO GETTING THE STAGE POINTS. HOW MUCH OF A GAMBLE WAS THAT? CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THAT THOUGHT PROCESS?
“Yeah, obviously we had run long there. And you’re not really always banking on a caution. But our falloff had been pretty good to start with. So, I felt like that put us in a spot, you know, if we could run a little bit longer; obviously the race engineer is giving us a lot of information as far as how it would prove out toward the end of the stage there. And when the caution fell, it’s one of those things, it’s like you’re at Darlington, there were four or five green flag laps; yes, that’s getting on the verge of everyone else pitting. And it was one of those things if we thought we could get the lead, not that it was a no-brainer, but it put us in a pretty good spot. Also, I thought there would be more takers. And then when that happens and there’s only one taker, you’re like oh lord, Kurt’s got his work cut out for him. Obviously, he was the one that made it work in the end; choosing the right lane to start with, the No. 19 (Martin Truex, Jr.) got us there to start with, but then it took about, I’ll call it like 20 laps, and then I feel like it honestly leveled out right there. I think some of that was due to our long run speed seemed to be okay. And a lot of that is dictated as to where your track position is as well. It got spread out enough there to know sort of what you thought you had, balance-wise. There’s never a call you make that you always know oh, this is going to work. But it was one of those that I didn’t really feel bad about making. It thought it was going to be to our benefit, for sure.”

YOU ARE ONE OF THE TEAMS THAT HAS AN ENGINEER THAT COMES TO THE TRACK. SOME TEAMS KEEP THE ENGINEERS AT HOME. EVERYBODY HAS COMMUNICATION WITH THE SHOP. BUT HOW MUCH DO YOU FEEL IT HELPED OR DID IT HELP HAVING AN ENGINEER BESIDE YOU AS OPPOSED TO TRADING INSTANT MESSAGING OR DOES IT MATTER AT THAT POINT?
“I guess the biggest thing for me is, I’m probably harping on my team a lot; but I have two engineers that know how to work on my cars. Not to beat engineers up, but I’m in a pretty good spot there that allows our team to sort of mobilize a position that still is not wasted on one end or the other. It’s still getting used on both sides. So, that makes some of it easier. Now once you’re on the box, I don’t know that necessarily that’s an area; you’re talking communicating back to the shop or sitting beside an engineer, I feel like that’s sort of how we started and we weren’t sure how it was going to work and we try to keep our consistency with how our process works and we’ve sort of stuck with it. I don’t know that it’s the end all be all, but it’s just sort of how we rolled out those first eight or so races and it’s like okay, this is pretty okay right now. We’re not making any mistakes that are glaringly obvious. So, we just try to fine-tune on all that.”

WHEN YOU GET A TALENT LIKE KURT BUSCH BEHIND THE WHEEL DOES IT MAGNIFY THE WEAKNESSES OR DOES IT GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE YOU NEED TO WORK ON TO JUST TRY TO MAKE THE TEAM BETTER?
“For sure. I think he brings everyone up to the next level. He holds himself accountable, which I think allows every person, myself included, to be okay to admit when there’s a weakness. His caliber is above and beyond. It’s pretty impressive. I’ll give you an example. Last weekend, and we sort of make fun of at time and I don’t think he takes it the wrong way, but like last week we did a very small air pressure adjustment. And when we ran three laps, he’s like I think the tire is a lot softer. And I’m like man, there’s no way this guy gets it. But it’s about 90 percent of the time, he’s correct. So yes. It’s a great benefit to have a guy like him.”

OVER THE PAST FOUR RACES AT RICHMOND, KURT BUSCH HAS BEEN UNABLE TO FINISH IN THE TOP 10. AS A CREW CHIEF, HOW DO YOU APPROACH THE RACE ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S A PLAYOFF RACE?
“Yeah, I think obviously I can talk more about last year’s races and I know what we did wrong and I know what happened. But I think it’s a mindset that obviously he’s had success at Richmond before in trying to get what he’s looking for. I feel like right now, the communication we’ve been able to have is increased a decent amount the past four or five weeks. And with some stuff not that you push to the side, but obviously trying to get further ahead. Honestly some of the scheduling has allowed us to try to work more tracks further ahead. And I feel like Richmond is one of the ones we’ve been able to do that on. Honestly, we thought we were going to run it earlier in the year. We did a lot of prep work then of stuff we were looking to pinpoint to get Kurt happy and get better results. So, I feel like all that’s been rolling in the right direction. Now, once the race rolls around, we’ll know that for sure.”

ON THE NEWS THAT AUTO CLUB IS BEING RE-CONFIGURED TO A SHORT TRACK FOR 2022, WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON IT?
“I think it takes away a really good race track. It was a good two-mile track. I think we beat-up some of these 1.5-mile races, but I feel like Fontana was a really good track for a two-mile, no matter what the package was, honestly. I feel like you go there and there’s a lot of good racing throughout the field. But, I’m a short track guy. So, I’m not going to complain about more short tracks, for sure. To me, that’s encouraging that maybe that’s the direction that we’ll end-up going as a sport, to more short tracks. So, I’m not going to be upset about that.”
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.

Richard Childress Racing at Richmond Raceway … In 175 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has scored nine wins, 37 top-five, and 71 top-10 finishes. The Welcome N.C. organization has also found success in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Virginia short track, capturing six wins, 10 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes.

NASCAR Playoffs … Austin Dillon is in the midst of his fourth NASCAR Playoffs appearance and currently ranks eighth among the 16 Playoff-eligible drivers following a second-place finish at Darlington Raceway. Dillon is 10 points above the cut line with two races remaining (Richmond & Bristol) in the Round of 16.

Catch the Action …The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway will be televised live Friday, September 11, beginning at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 at Richmond Raceway will be televised live Saturday, September 12, beginning at 2 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway will be televised live Saturday, September 12, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week’s Dow NORKOOL Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Richmond Raceway … Austin Dillon’s best NASCAR Cup Series finishes at Richmond Raceway are a pair of consecutive sixth-place results in April 2019 and September 2018. He has 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Richmond Raceway, acquiring seven top-10 finishes and one pole award.

Dow brings a science and engineering crew who is driven by limitless curiosity to the RCR Team … Austin Dillon and the RCR team are again supported by Dow’s materials science expertise and technologies this season. Backed by the power of data analysis and virtual modeling, Dow develops and manufactures high-performance components and materials custom-made for the No. 3 car. Dow and RCR’s partnership has expedited innovation and shortened testing time in the automotive industry by recreating in the lab one of the most extreme environments – the racetrack. After 7 years of collaboration, Dow scientists and RCR engineers are continuing to work together to make the No. 3 car faster, safer and more precise. Stay up to date with Dow’s exciting developments at www.dow.com/sports and follow us on Twitter @DowSports & @DowNewsroom.

NORKOOL Gas Compression Coolants … Are you an operator or engineer at a gas compression station? Are you struggling with corrosion or frequent coolant changes? This weekend, the No. 3 Dow Chevrolet will feature NORKOOL Gas Compression Coolants. The enhanced corrosion protection and anti-scaling technology of NORKOOL Coolants can keep them running for 25 years with proper care and lower total cost by guarding against repairs, early equipment replacement, and degraded coolant changes. Just like Austin Dillon, you can also count on a pit crew to help with troubleshooting coolant issues at your gas compression station and finding a solution. Go to www.dow.com to learn more.

NASCAR Playoffs … Dillon is in the midst of his fourth NASCAR Playoffs appearance and currently ranks eighth among the 16 Playoff-eligible drivers following a second-place finish at Darlington Raceway.
The four-round postseason consists of eliminations after the Round of 16 (Darlington, Richmond, Bristol), the Round of 12 (Las Vegas, Talladega, Charlotte Roval) and the Round of 8 (Kansas, Texas, Martinsville). The Championship 4 will compete for the title at Phoenix.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
What are your thoughts on Richmond Raceway?
“Richmond Raceway is one of the tracks the No. 3 team has circled as a definite place where we can gain maximum points and compete for a win. It will be crucial to our Playoff run. It’s funny because there was a time in my career when I did not run well at Richmond at all. It was a thorn in my side, but over the years that has changed. Richmond has become a much better place than it used to be for me. We have a couple of sixth-place finishes there, and had a fast car last September but ran into issues. I think the low downforce package has really helped our team at that track.”

How do you answer the folks that dismiss you and your team in this year’s NASCAR Playoffs? A lot of people do not expect you to make it past the first round …
“I love being dismissed. I think it’s great. I feel like that’s what propels us. We sneak up on people. I was very close to making it to the third round in the NASCAR Playoffs a couple year’s back but missed it by one point to Denny Hamlin. He went on to transfer, and we missed it by one point at Talladega. I know from that experience that every point matters, and we just need to go out there and do our job during the first round. Each of the three races in Round One – Darlington, Richmond and Bristol – are strong tracks for us. The real key will be Stage points. You have to get points. We’re going to continue to do what we did at Darlington, which is to be very aggressive in getting those points. Hopefully we will mess up a lot of brackets.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Cat Rental Store Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Richmond Raceway … This weekend will mark Tyler Reddick’s first NASCAR Cup Series start at Richmond Raceway. Reddick does have five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, collecting one top-five and four top-10 finishes there.

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TYLER REDDICK QUOTE:
What are your expectations heading to Richmond Raceway with this current aero package?
“Richmond Raceway is a place I’ve still been doing a lot of learning at. I’ve ran a decent amount of races there, but I still feel like there is a lot of learning left for me to do. It’s a long race on Saturday night, so there’s a lot of time for me to get settled in and try to figure out what to do to be more consistent at that track. We need to be focused and not make any mistakes there, knowing it’s a track I find more challenging. This weekend is a really good opportunity for both myself and the entire No. 8 Cat Rental Store team to take solid notes and learn all we can to be in a really good spot when we kick off the 2021 season next year. That is really our goal for the reminder of the season, to help set ourselves up to be even better next year.”

Kaz Grala and the No. 21 Ruedebusch.com Chevrolet Camaro at Richmond Raceway … Kaz Grala will return to the seat of the No. 21 ruedebusch.com Chevrolet Camaro for a double-header weekend at Richmond Raceway. This weekend’s double-header will mark the Boston native’s third and fourth starts of the season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Richard Childress Racing. Grala most recently made his Cup Series debut a few weeks ago at the Daytona Road Course, where he finished in the seventh position.

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KAZ GRALA QUOTES:
Talk a little bit about the advantages and disadvantages of a double-header weekend.
“I’m really excited to run two races at the same track in a weekend. I think that will help me get warmed up, especially before the second race on Saturday. I think it will definitely take away some of the disadvantages I usually face while only running part-time. Richmond is a fun place, which I really enjoy racing at. To me, Richmond Raceway is such a rhythm track. I think having the opportunity to run two races and 500 laps total is really going to benefit us. The only unknown or disadvantage I can think of is, I have never raced at Richmond during the day. It will be interesting to see how much the track changes in the heat of the day. I’m really not sure what to expect. I know it will be a lot different, but I’m confident my team will prepare for that and we’ll have a really fast ruedebusch.com Chevrolet for both races.”

You’ve had a strong start to the 2020 season in the races you have competed in. What are the expectations for this weekend at Richmond Raceway?
“The goal is always to contend for the win. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be able to. I have all the confidence in my crew chief, Andy Street, and my entire No. 21 Richard Childress Racing team. I think if we can just go out there and have a solid top-five day in our No. 21 ruedebusch.com Chevrolet, we can put ourselves in position when it matters most. If we can have a strong performance in the first race, I think that will translate to the second race as well.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400
RICHMOND RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss his outlook going into the second race of the Playoffs at Richmond Raceway, how his team is preparing for the NASCAR Cup Series’ first visit to the track this season, the pressure that comes with Playoff racing, and more. Transcript:

I THINK YOU’VE ONLY LED SOMETHING LIKE 34 LAPS AT RICHMOND THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR. WHAT HAS IT BEEN ABOUT THE RACING AT RICHMOND THAT HAS PREMITTED YOU FROM RUNNING OUT FRONT?
“I don’t know, to be honest. I was really optimistic going to Richmond once I got to Cup. We had some really good runs there on the Xfinity side – was solid there for two years. Got over there to the Cup side and it’s just been horrific for whatever reason. But it hasn’t been for the lack of effort. Man, we’ve worked super hard at it to try and get better. We’ve put a lot of effort into it this week already – just trying to make the right decisions, have a good game plan for the event, and setup wise, try to have our car driving as good as we can. I don’t know why it’s stuck out so much for me. The track, in general, I think brings challenges and the fact that it’s boring – not that it’s boring to watch, but from a driver’s standpoint – everyone is doing just the exact same thing. It’s very hard to be different at that track. Everywhere is a game of inches, but that place is like a game of centimeters it seems like. Just tiny little adjustments here and there can make a huge difference. So, for whatever reason, we’ve just struggled with that or I have struggled with that personally – whatever it may be. But man, we’ve put a lot of effort into this week. I hope this is the one that makes us different and can get things back on the right track there – or get on the right track. Not that we were ever there, but get there, for sure.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR. DOESN’T HAVE A REPUTATION, AT LEAST WITH US, OF MAKING WILD OR RISKY MOVES. I’M CURIOUS IF THAT IS ACCURATE AND IF SO, DOES THAT CHANGE ANY WAY ABOUT HOW YOU FELT ABOUT THE WAY THE FINISH ENDED SUNDAY.
“No, I feel like Martin (Truex Jr.) and I both have a lot of respect for each other. I know from my end, I respect him – he’s a champion. I feel like we’ve had some really hard battles together, so I would hope that’s mutual. And if it’s not mutual, I still have respect for him either way. I do think that situation was a racing incident. I think we were both battling really hard for a win. I think any other time in the race, I probably would give him the position. But in that situation, you have to know that nobody is going to let anybody in for a race win with 15-laps left. I hate that it happened – it hurt both of us. So, like I said, I don’t think it was something he did on purpose. I think we were both being aggressive and when you’re coming to a race like that and a potential win of the Southern 500, I mean I think I’d be foolish not to push for every last inch that I would have an opportunity to get. It was just an unfortunate end to a solid comeback for us.”

SO, THAT’S A LOT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT HAPPENED WITH KYLE (BUSCH) IN MAY?
“I do think that was a little different than the May thing. Similar and different, I guess. But definitely the situation was different.”

AT DARLINGTON, IT WAS RATHER CALM – THE DRIVERS WERE RATHER CALM. DO YOU THINK WE’LL SEE THE SAME THING AT RICHMOND OR DO YOU THINK THE AGGRESSION WILL RATCHET UP AS WE GET CLOSER TO BRISTOL?
“I think the aggression is always there, whether you see it on TV, hear it on the radio, or watch it in person. I think it’s always there – we’re always pushing, always trying to get all that we can get. I mean just because we don’t hit each other, move somebody out of the way, crash somebody, or somebody gets wrecked, that doesn’t mean that the aggression level is not there. I think it’s always around and we’re always pushing. Even throughout the regular season, there’s points, wins and things that all mean way too much just to leave aggression in the bank for this time of year. I think it’s there, I think it’s been there and I think it will always be there.”

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT AT RICHMOND?
“I never know what to expect, as you can see by my results at Richmond. But I think for us, we just want to be solid. I’m not so much worried about everybody else – just trying to be solid, try to get the areas of the track that I think we really struggle in to be better. And hopefully if we can improve those areas, we can improve our finish and running position throughout the event.”

SINCE YOU DIDN’T RUN HERE IN THE SPRING WITH THE DOWNFORCE PACKAGE, WHAT HAVE YOU ALL LOOKED AT AND HOW MUCH GUESS WORK IS IT GOING TO BE?
“Yeah, we’ve just looked back at races past, the event last year and just trying to find any type of trend that maybe we’ve done good with or trends that have led to poor finishes or poor runs. So, we’ve looked at a lot of data and just trying to understand that. But there are certainly things I complain about with the car that have always been there, so we’re just trying to nail down those things and trying to make them better. It’s been a struggle, as I’m sure you all know, and we know, for sure. But we’re working hard and I hope this is the week where we can get on track there.”

CALLING IT JUST A RACING INCIDENT WITH WHAT HAPPENED TO MARTIN TRUEX JR., DOES THAT MEAN THAT ANY ON-TRACK PAYBACK IS OFF THE TABLE? YOU CONSIDER THE TIME OF YEAR AND IT BEING THE PLAYOFFS, DOES THE IDEA OF ANY TYPE OF PAYBACK EVEN CROSS YOUR MIND WHEN YOU’RE SO FOCUSED ON ADVANCING?
“I’m going to race people how they race me. I think that’s fair in all respects and the same in the other direction, for sure. But the way I look at those situations is this: I think the people that win in this series and win a lot don’t find themselves in the type of position that we were in on Sunday night because they don’t let the guy in second ever get to that point to have a chance. So, the way I view it is I can’t control what a guy does when he’s up next to me and he can’t control what I’m going to do. But I can certainly control my decision-making prior to something like that happening to do a better job in extending the gap to that person behind you to where they don’t have the opportunity to be up there by you to make a mistake, to run you over or whatever the situation may be. So, I’m a believer in that and I certainly think I can do a better job in extending a lead in that situation to not allow an opportunity to present itself and that is the focus I have moving forward – just trying to be better, be faster and get far enough away from the people behind you where they can’t get to you.”

GIVEN THAT THE TIRE SETUP IS SIMILAR TO WHAT HAS BEEN RAN AT NEW HAMPSHIRE AND PHOENIX, HOW MUCH CAN YOU USE THAT DATA FOR SATURDAY? WHAT DIFFERENCES ARE EXPECTED, GIVEN THAT IT’S GOING TO BE AT NIGHT AND IT’S GOING TO BE A DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE?
“Man, I’ll be honest with you, I gave up on the tire thing a long time ago, as far as what tire was run where. I felt like it confused me more than it helped. It’s rubber, it’s on asphalt and that’s really all I care about that. We’ll focus on getting our car driving good. The temperature – it seems like things are cooling off a little bit right now, which is great. The fall, a beautiful time of year. All kinds of sports on TV, so a good time to be Playoff racing.”

I’M CURIOUS ABOUT THE NEWS THAT BROKE OUT EARLIER THIS WEEK – WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY BEING RE-CONFIGURED TO A SHORT TRACK?
“Yeah, it’s super interesting, for sure. I think, much like everybody, I enjoy short track racing. I think it’s a good thing – I don’t see any negatives to it. Certainly that race track was old and abrasive. I think it might have been the oldest asphalt surface on the tour, or one of, for sure. But nonetheless, I don’t see any negatives to it. I think short track racing is a plus. I think we need more of it. I thought Fontana was a good track – one of the better bigger, 1.5 or 2-mile tracks that we go to, so you can kind of look at that and find a thing to complain about. But I feel like we all do enough complaining as is, so yeah I think it’s great.”

“Ultimately, I think the bigger picture that we should all be really excited about is the leadership at NASCAR is doing something different nowadays and it’s becoming a trend. It’s really been a trend all year. I think instead of finding the negatives in some of the things that they’re doing, I think we should all be super excited that they’re actually changing and doing some things different – have some different ideas and they’re putting them to work. That’s something that I don’t think has happened probably ever until right now. So, just excited to see them trying different things. If something works out or it doesn’t, I think we should be excited that they’re trying them and I think that will be a great addition to our schedule.”

HAVING PRESUMABLY USED YOUR MULLIGAN OF THE ROUND WITH THE INCIDENT AT DARLINGTON, HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL PRESSURE DOES THAT PUT ON YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU PERFORM THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS TO ADVANCE?
“I don’t know that you can ever be comfortable in this Playoff format, really. I honestly think that the more that you keep that mindset, the better off you’re going to be. We see it – if a guy has a bad round and get’s in positions to have to win, we’ve seen people get in that position and win. And if you ever make it to the last race, that’s a must-win anyway. So, I think the more you enjoy that position in having to perform and not ever feeling comfortable, I think the better off you will be and the better you’ll be prepared if you ever get to that last race.”

SPEAKING OF ADDING SHORT TRACKS TO THE SCHEDULE, YOU’VE RAN A BUNCH OF THEM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WHAT TRACK DO YOU FEEL WOULD BE A PERFECT ADDITION TO THE NASCAR SCHEDULE?
“There’s a lot of really great short tracks, I feel like. My favorite one over the years was the All American 400. I thought that was such a cool event, cool city. That was a great race track I enjoyed going to in Nashville and I think it would be a great place. Not just the track itself, but there’s just not a lot of locations like that left in the United States. There’s not a lot of tracks, in general, that we go to that are close to a city like that. I think the fact that there’s still a working short track that’s asphalt, that’s in town, we definitely need to not let it go away as an industry, for sure, to whatever level that may be. But that would be a great venue and hopefully one day we can find ourselves there.”

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 – Martin Truex Jr.

NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

RICHMOND, Virginia (September 10, 2020) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media via videoconference in advance of the race at the Richmond Raceway:

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

Earlier, Chase Elliott was on the call and he said that you two were okay, and there is a mutual respect there. What is your take on that?

“Yeah, I would definitely agree with that. It was just kind of one of those racing deals, where it was obviously really close. It was pretty much going to be the pass for the win in my eyes. I feel like in that moment, we both made a split-second decision and tried to anticipate or think about what the other one would do, and I think we both guessed wrong, to be honest with you. Just really close, obviously, nobody’s fault. I don’t think you can really put blame on one guy. Just kind of a racing deal that was unfortunate for both of our teams.”

Are you thinking he’s going to lift in that situation? When you saw the replay, did it look worse than you thought it was?
“Honestly, in the moment, I had enough momentum, and I said in my interview after the race was I thought I had the momentum, I thought I was going to be able to get him cleared. At the very last second, when I saw that he was right there on the corner, there was no way for me to keep from sliding up the hill. I mean it’s Darlington. Once you commit to the turn, especially with a bad angle, you are going to use up all of the race track. I honestly thought – I knew it was close, but at that exact moment, I couldn’t do anything. I was committed. Yeah, it’s just the way it worked out.”

When you think about Richmond and the Playoffs, what are your thoughts?

“I look forward to it. It is a great race track. I love going there, and it puts on a great show. Obviously, last year, we had a lot of success there. Really, the past handful of seasons it has been a really good track for our team. I think anytime you go to a place that you have had recent success, especially in the Playoffs, it’s a bonus. I’m excited to go there. Hopefully, it would be nice to get a win. It’s been a while.”

What is your philosophy in racing short tracks?

“I think it’s a little bit different for each one. I think at Richmond I just focus on the things that we’ve been able to work on to be better there. Just try to remember the things we have been working on, how to approach the driving part of it, as far as tire saving, how hard to push and what kind of balance you need throughout the race to be good at the end.”

You have been undefeated in Virginia the last four races, and all four have come with JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). What have you found with JGR?

“I think it’s kind of a deal where we got to working on certain things, trying to get the car to do certain things that I like it to do and working with the same group of guys for several years there. Obviously at Furniture Row, it kind of began. Being able to go to JGR with basically the same race cars, and a lot of the same people, we just really continued to work in those same directions and areas. I think that short tracks are places where they are very unique. The things that have worked in the past typically you can carry through and use them for seasons. Just the things we have been working on for me particularly. Not only the way I drive, my style, but make the car compliment that. Obviously, we have a great team, and a great race car. It’s just a matter of putting all of the pieces together and continuing to refine on them over the years.”

What are your thoughts on Auto Club Raceway being converted into a short track?

“I actually just heard it yesterday. My crew chief (James Small) let me know. I hadn’t seen anything about it. I don’t know. I’m kind of a little bit sad. I really enjoyed California Speedway. Great race track. I feel like the older it has gotten, the more fun it was to drive in a race on, so I’m a little bit disappointed from that stand point, but anytime there’s a new track, there is excitement. It will be cool to see what they come up with. I don’t know any of the details at all. It will be interesting to see what they build there.”

Since this is the first season for your crew chief James Small, has there been an acclimation period for him on the top of the pit box?

“Yeah, I think it’s a little different, but I wouldn’t put that all on James (Small). I think if you look at what we have done the last few months, specifically. I wouldn’t put that all on James. It’s just been one of those seasons. We went through some struggles, here and there, early on. When we came back from COVID, the break there, things were so different, it took a little bit of getting used to. We were doing a little bit of experimenting, and it wasn’t going very well for us. We were inconsistent, but we kind of got back to our normal stuff. The last 11 races have been – I feel like we’ve been a top-two or three car every week, and had a shot at winning a few, just like last week. They just haven’t worked at. We’ve had a little bit of bad luck this season for sure, but I feel like James has done a great job. He’s done everything I could ever ask him for, and I feel like he’s done a great job and I don’t feel like there’s anything that he’s really missed. From that standpoint, I feel like it’s been good. I feel like we’re still getting stronger, and have yet to show our full potential, so I’m excited about that.”

This is the first time for this package at Richmond. What is in your notes that makes you think you can unload fast here?

“Well, if you go back to 2017, 2018, 2016, it was all low downforce then. It’s basically back to what it was then. So, I have a lot of confidence. We led a bunch of laps in those races with that package. We definitely felt like we had the car to beat a handful of times, and it didn’t work out, but we’ve been strong there, I feel like no matter what package. I feel like we’ve been able to similar things with our car and our setup that I feel like have worked with both packages. That gives me confidence to go back and do what we did last season.”

Going to Richmond this weekend, when did the light switch flip on for you and short tracks?

“I know it looks like that because obviously so many races without winning, but I just don’t feel like it was ever really a light switch. I feel like it was a work in progress. Sometimes, it is hard to see how close somebody really is. All of those Richmond races, for three or four seasons. Even back to my days at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing), we ran really well at Richmond, being in position to win there and have some things happen. It’s just a culmination of things like I talked about earlier with the team and the cars and the driving style and just continuing to refine all of those little things. There wasn’t really ever a magic wand or anything special that we did; it was just a culmination of things.”

How important is it for Toyota to add another team?

“Well, I can’t really speak for them on what their plans are or what they would like to see in a perfect world. I know from being partners with them for so long – I know they want to expand. I know they want to add more cars. I think it would make us stronger for sure. Especially, when we go to superspeedways, but I think they are always look at all their avenues to get some more teams together, and we will see what the future holds.”

About Toyota

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NASCAR CUP SERIES

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

BRAD KESELOWSKI MEDIA TELECONFERENCE

Ford Performance NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski met with members of the media today via Zoom to discuss the upcoming race weekend at Richmond and the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Ford Mustang — WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY ANNOUNCEMENT TO RECONFIGURE TO A SHORT TRACK FOR 2022? “It is crazy. I didn’t even think it was real at first. I thought it was one of those satire sites. But it wasn’t. It is interesting. There is always a nostalgia effect, especially since I won at California Speedway, so you have that feeling that you don’t get to run a track you won at. You remember the moments, victory lane, all that kind of good stuff. Then there is part of me that thought having another short track could be really, really cool. So I don’t want to say I am indifferent because I am not indifferent about it, I just want to see how it plays out. It is like I am watching a soap opera and I want to see what the next part of the plot is as it develops. But it definitely got my attention.”

HOW ARE YOU LOOKING AT RICHMOND THIS WEEKEND AND WHAT DOES THAT TRACK MEAN TO YOU IN GENERAL? “I am super pumped about it. We have ran a handful of short track races this year. I don’t know if we count the 1-mile tracks as short tracks or not. It seems like one year we might and the next year we don’t But we have really kicked some butt at those tracks. Our expectations going into Richmond are really high. We expect to lead a lot of laps, be up front and potentially bring home our fourth win of the year. I am very, very pumped and optimistic about it. I think the team told me we are bringing my Loudon car. Same paint scheme and everything and that car was just flying at New Hampshire. So we are very hopeful for a big strong showing at Richmond.”

COMING INTO THE YEAR, DID YOU HAVE EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT THIS TEAM COULD DO SEEING WHAT THEY HAD DONE WITH RYAN (BLANEY)? “It has been a good year. I don’t want to say we are right where we want to be. Where we want to be is where Harvick and Hamlin and those guys are. I want to have seven or eight wins. That is where I want to be. But we are in good shape. We have three wins, we have a lot of bonus points. We have a lot to be proud of. I don’t know if I really came in with any expectations. In fact, probably the opposite. I didn’t want to have expectations. I just wanted to do the best we can and see how it plays out.”

CHASE ELLIOTT NOTED EARLIER TODAY ABOUT THE DIFFERENT APPROACH OF THE NASCAR LEADERSHIP WITH A LOT OF CHANGES THAT HAVE HAPPENED THIS YEAR AND COMING IN THE FUTURE. HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEY APPROACHING THINGS AND IS THERE SUCH A THING AS TOO MUCH OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT? “It is very provocative and I mean that in a good way. I think we are really starting to see Jim France and his leadership style, I don’t want to say get comfortable, but kind of find their path and direction. It has been a little bit of a breath of fresh air in some ways. I would say that the move at Auto Club Speedway has a good feel to it in the sense that it feels like this is something coming right from the top. It feels like there has been a fair amount of thought put into it, at least from my perspective. I think we have seen a couple different examples of that with things that just kind of feel like they are Jim. He has got his own style and I don’t think it is bad and I am not sure I would say that where we were before was bad. I thought there was room for improvement but I feel like I am in the middle of a book and I am just reading chapters and it is almost like there is a different writer now with these chapters and Jim is writing them and they are pretty interesting and compelling. It is hard to view them as a whole because naturally none of know everything that is going on behind the scenes but in the moment there is more that I agree with than I disagree with and that is probably a good thing.”

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE IN PARTICULAR OTHER THAN AUTO CLUB HAS JIM’S FINGERPRINT ON IT? “Just the fact that we were able to get to the track and race over these last few months when not every sport but most other sports were kind of dancing. I think that has the feel of him with a down to earth, figure it out and make things happen. When I think of Jim France I think of someone that leads in that way of, ‘Hey, we are going to get to the race track and not throw in the towel.’ There were plenty of instances where that could have happened throughout the pandemic and then the thing that happened at Talladega. He has a real good pace, persistence that in some ways almost turns into a healthy tenacity that I appreciate about him. You are alluding to something Chase said and I don’t know his whole quotes or want to take it out of context but I can definitely feel Jim’s leadership.”

HOW DO YOU DEFINE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH RICHMOND FROM WHEN YOU STARTED TO WHERE YOU THINK YOU ARE NOW IN THIS PLAYOFF RACE? “I definitely have a better feel for the track than I did my first year and a better feel for what I need out of the car. I made significant changes to my driving style. Martinsville and Richmond are very much about reps.”

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IN THE RACE? DARLINGTON WAS AGGRESSIVE BUT NOT CRAZY LIKE WE THOUGHT. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IN GENERAL AT RICHMOND? “I think I am looking at the end of that race and curious if it will have the long green or a short run. I am anticipating it will have some long green runs but I am not sure. I am looking to Bristol to be more chaotic just because of the placement in the playoffs more than anything else.”

SO RICHMOND WILL BE RICHMOND AS WE NORMALLY SEE IT? “Yeah, I think it is more about where the race falls than the actual race track and how that elevates the risks and chances that people are willing to take.”

WHEN YOU LOOK AT AN IDEAL CUP SERIES SCHEDULE, IS THERE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SHORT TRACKS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE, NUMBER OF INTERMEDIATE AND ROAD COURSES? WHAT IS THAT BALANCE IN YOUR MIND THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE? “There are four distinct genres of tracks. The short track genre, the superspeedway genre, road courses, and traditional 1.5 to 2-mile track. I think I would like to see short tracks represent at least 30-40% of the schedule. 1.5 mile has to have their place somewhere around that 25% mark. Road courses, maybe a little less, 10-15%, and then your superspeedways to finish out the percentage pie. Short tracks to me should be about 40% of the schedule of NASCAR.”

TRAVIS GEISLER SAID THE OTHER DAY THAT TEAM PENSKE IS JUST MISSING A LITTLE ON SOME TRACKS. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT OR DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN CONTEND WHEREVER YOU GO? “I think the strengths of Team Penske right now are the restrictor plate tracks and the short tracks. Road courses are pretty weak right now. I think we are 10th-15th as a company with what we have. I think the 1.5-mile tracks we are 5th-10th but we are in the top-five for the others. It is really hard, as much as Harvick has made it look so easy, it is really hard to have great cars on all the tracks. I don’t know if there is a team out there that has great cars on all the tracks. We would like to be good at three out of the four instead of two out of the four. The 1.5-mile tracks are probably the most important for us to improve on for the intermediate type tracks. I would agree that Travis is being realistic with what he said.”

THAT BEING SAID, HOW WILL LOUDON AND RICHMOND TRANSLATE TO PHOENIX? “I feel really good about Phoenix. We ran so great there in the spring. We got wrecked and rebounded to win a stage and lead a lot of laps and kind of got shuffled with the way the yellows fell at the end to what was going to be a win into like an 11th which was a real bummer. I feel pretty good about going back to Phoenix in the fall. We just have to get there. We have to get through the rounds and get through these 1.5-mile tracks and the Roval and all that kind of stuff. That is not going to be easy.”