TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
GO BOWLING 235 AT THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA
AUGUST 16, 2020

RACE #23 – DAYTONA BEACH, FL
For the first time in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS), the inaugural Go Bowling 235 at the Daytona Road Course is set to debut on Sunday, August 16th at the famed Daytona International Speedway (DIS). It becomes the 23rd of 36 races on the NCS 2020 circuit.

The event was positioned in lieu of the original road course date at Watkins Glen International in upstate New York, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The historic road racing weekend, Aug. 14-16, begins on Friday, August 14 with the ARCA Menards Series race at 5:00 p.m. ET, followed by the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 15, and is capped with a Sunday doubleheader on August 16, featuring NASCAR’s RV & Outdoors Truck Series at 12:00 p.m. ET and the Go Bowling 235 NASCAR Cup Series feature race at 3:00 p.m. ET.

While the 65-lap Go Bowling 235 will run on the same road course layout as the Rolex 24 At Daytona, North America’s premier race for sports cars, it will feature an added twist. The traditional ribbon of asphalt out of Turn 4 will sport a new chicane that transforms the design into a 14-turn, 3.61-mile, high-banked tri-oval/infield road course, which is unique to all motorsports. With NASCAR having curtailed practice sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the racing promises to be exciting and intense.

BOWTIE BULLETS
Although the Daytona Road Course is uncharted territory for the competitors, and there are no prior statistics, Chevrolet has shown success at other road courses currently on the NCS tour with a total of 31 victories, more than any other manufacturer:
Watkins Glen International – 2.45-mile, 7-turn road course = 19 Wins
Sonoma Raceway – 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course = 11 Wins
Charlotte Roval – 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course = 1 win

Current active Chevy drivers with road course wins include:
Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE = Two wins at Watkins Glen (2018, ’19), and one at the Charlotte Roval (2019)
Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE = One win at Sonoma Raceway (2011)
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE = One win at Sonoma Raceway (2010)

Road Course Records:
Chase Elliott remains the youngest road-course winner (22 years, 8 months, 8 days) of all time in the NCS. If he wins at the Daytona Road Course on Sunday, Elliott will become the most recent driver with three consecutive road-course race wins.

Chevrolet driver, Jeff Gordon, holds the record for most consecutive road-course wins with six (1997-2000).

PLAYOFF PICTURE:
With 22 races in the books and just four left in the regular season, the chase to making the Playoff cutline is on. The top-16 in the standings at the end of the regular season will have a chance to compete for the title of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. As the points stand heading to Daytona weekend, five slots in the top 16 in the standings are occupied by Team Chevy drivers.

5th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE
8th Alex Bowman, No. 88 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE
9th Austin Dillon, No. 3 American Ethanol Camaro ZL1 1LE
13th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
16th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE

Three Team Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE drivers have secured their spots in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with wins captured this season so far: Alex Bowman’s win at Auto Club Speedway, Chase Elliott’s victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Austin Dillon’s recent trip to victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway.

TAKING THE GREEN:
The starting line-up procedure has been adjusted by NASCAR for the remainder of the 2020 season. A combination of finishing position from the previous race (weighted 50%), rank in team owner points standings (35%) and the fastest lap from the previous race (15%) are used to set the lineup at each race.
Here are Team Chevy’s top-20 starters:

7th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE
8th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
10th Austin Dillon, No. 3 American Ethanol Camaro ZL1 1LE
11th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
13th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE
16th Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Clover Camaro ZL1 1LE
18th Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Cat App Camaro ZL1 1LE
19th Bubba Wallace, No. 43 Victory Junction Camaro ZL1 1LE

TUNE-IN:
NBC will telecast the 65-lap, 3.61-mile Go Bowling 235 at Daytona International Speedway live at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 16th. Live coverage can also be found on the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 5th in Standings:
“I am super excited just to go somewhere new. Obviously, I’ve enjoyed Watkins Glen these past couple of years. We have a new challenge ahead with the DAYTONA Road Course. I think the biggest thing is not having any practice. I think it is going to be exciting but it’s also going to be really hard for the guys that have never made a lap there before. I think it’s going to give a pretty big advantage to those who’ve run the 24-hour race and have made any laps on that track. I’ve never made a lap. I don’t even know what turns are where. I’m going to get on iRacing and try and make some laps just to familiarize myself with the track. I’ve watched the 24-hour race, but I’ve never really paid a ton of attention to it. It’s going to be really difficult for people like me who have never seen it.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 10th in Standings:
“With unprecedented times here in 2020, I think the call from NASCAR to make this unprecedented move is brilliant. With Watkins Glen not able to host a race in upstate New York, and to have the road course available for us down in Daytona; with no practice and no qualifying and just jumping straight into the race, why not? We’ve done everything in 2020 so far to overcome all these hurdles. I think the fun-factor this weekend has got everybody’s anxiety-level up; but also the challenge that’s right in front of us because it’s basically a wild card-style race, where you could see a driver and a team that don’t normally make the Playoffs, punch their ticket.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 11th in Standings:
“The good thing about this weekend is that none of the drivers really know what to expect. It is really more of a level playing field. We have been in the simulator this week just trying to learn more about the configuration and speeds in the corners. I think we have some strengths that we can bring from the ‘roval,’ so we just need to capitalize on that on Sunday.”

GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 10th in Standings:
“We are preparing the best way we know how for the DAYTONA road course. It is going to be strange, but we are doing the same thing we did when we were preparing to go to the ‘roval’ for the first time. We went into that race thinking there would be a lot of cautions, especially going into Turn 1 for the first time, but everything was good. Main difference here is at the ‘roval’, we had practice.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 14th in Standings:
Byron on racing at the Daytona road course:
“I am a bit more optimistic on how this race is going to turn out. I was at Daytona for the 24-hour race this past year. I feel like even that time gives me a good idea of what the track looks like and what the car needs to feel like based on the things I heard and saw. I know some guys have made laps on that road course in sports cars, which may give them a bit of an advantage. There are simulation tools though that I can use to prepare and get better for this race. I’m just really excited about this race overall.”

Byron on his style of road course racing:
“When it comes to road course racing, I feel like I try to find a nice balance between aggression and consistency. When I need to make fast laps, I am super aggressive by using the curbs, getting as much as I can out of the apex of the corners and using aggressive braking to pass guys. Once the race kind of goes on and the pace mellows out though, I settle in and work more on consistency lap after lap. If you just constantly push, push, push, it is extremely hard on the tires. You have to push when you’re trying to pass someone and then set your own pace from there.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 16th in Standings:
“I am so excited for this weekend at Daytona. I have a lot of reps (repetitions) and a couple thousand miles on this on this track from competing in the seven Rolex races I’ve been able to compete in, and I also did a July 4th six-hour race there – so bring it on. The challenges of this track – there will be some really high speeds and then the chicane off of four will change that to some degree. It’s going to be a balance of aero efficiency on the straightaways and mechanical grip for the tight little infield section. It’s going to be really interesting for those who have never taken a lap on this track.

“I hope we can make something happen over the next four races and get into the playoffs. I’m very optimistic we can make something happen. I will know if I don’t make the playoffs that I left it all on the track, this team gives 100% and we can all sleep at night knowing that.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th in Standings:
“I’ve been working on the simulator to prepare for the race. We’ve all been putting a lot of hours in leading up to the race. It’s an American Ethanol race and I can’t wait to get out there in that green number three car. I think it will be interesting having NASCAR Cup Series cars out on the track. It will be good to get to see the NASCAR Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series on the track before us so we can see how rubber gets laid down and where speed is made. There’s also a little section on the back that’s not there for the 24 Hours of Daytona race. It’s a chicane that you approach when you come off of Turn 4. You have to get slowed up really quick for it before the start finish line. It all starts in Turn 1. Obviously, blending into the area right past the area where we would normally be leaving pit road if we were competing on the oval configuration that we are all used to. You’ve got a sharp left there, a quick back and forth and then to another hard right-hander. That slow section through the middle of the track is going to be really key, I think. The cars that get through that the best are going to be your best cars of the weekend. Also getting onto the big track in Turns 1 and 2 seems to be where a ton of the speed is carried since that is the longest straightaway.

“I’m looking forward to the race. Some of the guys are going to have a little bit of an advantage because they’ve raced there before, but a lot of us have not and it will be a fun test. We’re just going to go out there and give it our all and see what we come up with. It seems like a really fun road course compared to what we usually run. It’s kind of spread out. There’s a lot of left-hand turns, which I like because that’s what I’m used to. So, we will get there and take what it gives us.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT APP CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 18th in Standings:
Knowing that NASCAR has not run on Daytona International Speedway’s road course before, how are you preparing for the weekend?
“I’m very excited about the possibility this weekend brings for me and the No. 8 Cat App team. I’ve been taking advantage of Chevrolet’s simulator they have available to us to help get familiar with the course and start learning where passes could potentially be made on Sunday. The Chevy simulator has helped me a lot with road courses in the past. That has always been a style of racing I’ve found challenging, but I think that by using the simulator a lot last year, I was a lot closer to where I wanted to be heading into those weekends. I’m hoping to reach the same level of preparation this year by just making lap after lap on the simulator and practice hitting my marks every time. I’ve also leaned a lot on AJ Allmendinger again. He has worked with my crew chief, Randall Burnett, a lot in the past, and he helped me a lot last year too with the road courses. Randall also has a really good idea on how to set up our Chevrolets for road courses, so I’m confident he has a plan on where he wants the car to be before we even reach the track this weekend. But overall, I’m really looking forward to this weekend. There is just a lot of possibility out there to make up points on the other drivers we’re in the Playoff bubbles with, and we’ll need to capitalize on that.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 20th in Standings:
With road courses, you guys like a lot of creature comforts in there that are different than the ovals. Can you explain how you’re going to get to that without having any laps on track, and really feel like you’re ready to race when the green goes?
“I don’t know if any of us are going to feel like we are ready to race the DAYTONA Road Course. It is going to be an exciting race for sure. I am glad our Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE is not on the front row for this one to drive-off in there and find my marks. And, I don’t want to be like Brad (Keselowski) at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval two years ago and overshoot the corner. We just have to be mindful. This is the most time I have spent preparing for a road course and going to the SIM. I’m actually heading-up to jump on the SIM immediately after this press conference. I am preparing myself for as much as I can to be ready for putting corners together. It’s crazy how, just from watching the 24 Hours of Daytona, you learn which way this track goes. Obviously, turning left immediately after the start/finish line, and going through the infield there. Then you visualize, like man, I used to park here in the road course parking lot. So, it’s going to be cool to racing all around that. It will be exciting for the fans. But again, I have tried to spend so much time prepping for this; so hopefully it works out for Richard Petty Motorsports in the end.”

We were supposed to be at Watkins Glen International this weekend. What’s your take on not going to The Glen this year?
“I’m alright with it. It has not been one of my best race tracks. But I think this, with everything going on with COVID-19, I know NASCAR has been up to their necks in trying to figure-out what the schedule is going to be. I definitely don’t envy them right now. But kudos to them for coming-up with an alternative. And it’s something new. It’s new for NASCAR. I know the road course has been around for years and years. We have been able to watch that on TV right before our season kick-off at Daytona (International Speedway). For us to go in there with no practice, I remember when I was asked ‘we need a solid answer if you’re okay with no practice.’ And I was like, okay, what does everybody else think about this? The final verdict was no practice. Drive-off into Turn 1 and figure-out where you go after that. It will be cool. It’ll be a different alternative to definitely have fans tune-in for that and to be able to watch all the action on NBC. None of us really know what to expect. But, to have a good race and try to continue on momentum from there. Like I said earlier, I have prepped a lot; a lot more than I have in the past to be good here and be successful here. Hopefully it goes hand-in-hand.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO FOR YOUR BOAT CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 27th in Standings:
What is your outlook going into the Daytona Road Course for the first time?
“I’ve always felt really good going to road courses, especially in the Truck and Xfinity Series. Sonoma and Watkins Glen have been tougher to adapt to in the Cup Series, because there is so much experience by teams at those tracks. So anytime we go to a new place or specifically a new road course, I welcome the challenge where we are all in the same unique situation.”

Have you been able to prepare for the chicane at all?
“It will definitely be challenging to adapt to that corner. I’ve spent time on the simulator these past couple of weeks, so while we don’t know what it will feel like in an actual race car, that gets our GEICO team as close as we can. But then again, everything is new, so it’s just a matter of managing your day and not getting yourself in trouble early. You need to be able to attack the corners and go for it at the end of the race. It’s going to be a race full of adapting. Some guys will pick it up quickly based on experience and then some drivers will hopefully learn throughout and be in contention by the end.”

MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 28th in Standings:
“With the Daytona Road Course coming up, there are a lot of unknowns. A lot of people have never raced there before. Some of us have raced there, but it’s been many, many years ago, and a lot of things have changed since then; plus, a different chicane coming off Turn 4. So, we’ve been using the Chevrolet simulator a lot just to go out and get some reference points and try to get somewhat of a feel for it and get some good visuals, and kind of know where the corners are and the braking zones and some of the tough spots and all that. So, I think all the Chevy drivers have been there quite a bit to try and get a feel for it. Hopefully that’ll give us a little head start on getting there and hopefully make us more competitive when they drop the green flag.”

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: 3
Poles: 3
Laps Led: 1,275
Top-five finishes: 24
Top-10 finishes: 71

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 789 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 717
Laps led to date: 235,581
Top-five finishes to date: 4,038
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,350

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

       General Motors: 1,123
       Chevrolet: 789
       Pontiac: 154
       Oldsmobile: 115
       Buick: 65

       Ford: 799                                                         
       Ford: 699
       Mercury: 96
       Lincoln: 4

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

       Toyota: 149

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.

Rimrock Companies, a commercial real estate development firm operating throughout the continental United States, has partnered with Go Fas Racing to serve as an associate sponsor on the No. 32 this weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Rimrock Companies provides total development solutions from investment management consultation and property acquisition to full project construction and property management. With a focus on specialty development projects, including large-scale retail shopping centers, assisted living communities and multi-family housing, Rimrock is a well-established service provider in Florida and has been growing extensively throughout other regions across the country. Its latest endeavor includes a luxury, all-season, multi-unit community known as The Quarry, located in the resort mountain town of Whitefish, Montana.

As the company’s national presence continues to expand, President and CEO Micah Linton is excited to join GFR as a partner and contribute to the team’s mission of showcasing the importance of voting, alongside the team’s Trump 2020 partnership.

“Team Go Fas Racing has a tremendous platform to reach millions of Americans,” said Linton. “Rimrock saw an opportunity to help spread the message to the NASCAR community and beyond about the importance to register and cast their votes this fall. We are excited to take part in this season and show our support on the No. 32 Ford.”

Rimrock has previous ties to NASCAR as the company most recently sponsored Scott Lagasse’s NASCAR Xfinity Series ride at Daytona in 2019 to support Tom Coughlin’s JAY Fund, helping families tackle childhood cancer.

“NASCAR began right in our backyard and has been a staple pastime for many families,” added Linton. We’ve been fans of NASCAR for some time and many of the causes it supports; we look forward to a continued relationship.”

The Rimrock Companies logo will be placed on Corey LaJoie’s Trump 2020 Ford Mustang as the NASCAR Cup Series takes to the 14-turn road course for the first time on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

For information about Rimrock Companies, visit rimrockcompanies.com.

About Our Team

About Rimrock Companies:
Rimrock Companies is a nationally recognized commercial real estate development services firm, built on the core values of Respect, Accountability, Integrity, Service and Excellence. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, with second offices in Lake City, Florida, Rimrock’s core philosophy of “Total Development Solutions” ensures that our clients’ needs are met without ever compromising quality. From project inception, investment consultation, and planning to construction completion and post-construction property management, Rimrock strives to be a full-service partner throughout the entire project development lifecycle. Our philosophy is, quite simply, to deliver outstanding service and products to our clients and partners. We invest in relationships for the long-term and it is with this mindset we adhere to our core values.

About Go Fas Racing:
Go Fas Racing (GFR) currently fields Ford Mustangs in the NASCAR Cup Series for driver Corey LaJoie. Located in Mooresville, North Carolina, GFR has competed in the NASCAR’s premier series since 2014; fielding cars for some of NASCAR’s top drivers, including past champions. To find out more information about our team please visit www.GoFasRacing.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes

NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS)

Thursday, August 13, 2020

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 98 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, comes into this weekend’s Daytona Road Course race second in the point standings, trailing fellow Ford driver Austin Cindric by 11 points. He spoke about what to expect this weekend with members of the media via Zoom.

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 98 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang – YOU TOOK SOME VIRTUAL LAPS ON iRACING LAST NIGHT. WHAT DID YOU LEARN? “It was super-fun. It’s been really neat for me during this pandemic to see how much iRacing has grown in popularity and how it’s always something we’ve viewed as a teaching tool and now to see really the fans see the behind the scenes of how we get prepared week in and week out. It was super-fun. It was definitely a good learning experience. I felt like I learned a couple things about the racetrack and I’ve ran there in real life in some IMSA stuff, but it’s so opposite of all the stock car stuff, so just getting more laps, whether it’s seat time, on the sim in iRacing or on the sim at Ford Performance, I feel like it’s been a big help and hopefully that will correlate over to real life.”

LAST WEEK YOU POSTED YOU WANTED TO RACE IN A MONSOON. YOU MIGHT GET TO DO THAT THIS WEEKEND. HOW WOULD RAIN CHANGE A RACE ON THAT TRACK? “I would love to run in the rain. I thought the rain was super-fun at Road America. That was the first time I’d ever done it and it reminded me, truthfully, of a lot of the Eldora truck race just how you had to kind of drive it. So I thought it was really fun, first off, and I feel like Daytona would probably be the hardest place to run in the rain just because I don’t really know what the banking would do. A lot of the transitions are from the bank down to the flat, so there will be a ton of puddles there and what-not, so I don’t really know what to expect, but I would love to run the whole race in the rain. I think that would add another whole element to it. I just think it would be fun. I’m looking forward to going to Daytona. Anytime you’re in Daytona for four days there’s a pretty good chance it’s gonna rain, and I know there’s a 20-30 percent chance right now. That can change literally hour by the hour, so I don’t know what to expect down there, whether it’s rain or dry, but we’ll try to make the most of it either way and try to put on a really good show for the fans.”

HOW WILL THE CHICANE OFF TURN FOUR CHANGE THINGS? “It’s gonna change it a lot. Truthfully, last night on iRacing it was like 75 percent of laps I ran I would want to continue off turn four and then I would realize almost too late that, ‘Hey, I’ve got a left-hander now here where I didn’t have one before.’ I’m sure in real life it’ll be a little bit different, but if I’m in the lead it will probably catch me off guard, but if I see everybody slowing down in front of me, but you’re so used to whether it’s running the oval or running the road course, I’m just so used to running the bottom all the way through three and four and going on to the frontstretch, where now we’ve got to start on the bottom and kind of swing up and really probably the heaviest braking zone on the entire racetrack, so I don’t know what to expect with the chicane. I know it looks pretty narrow. It feels narrow in iRacing and on the Ford sim, but I think it’s definitely gonna create an element of excitement. Where before if you came off turn six, whichever one leads onto the big track, as long as you didn’t make a mistake in the bus stop, nobody was probably gonna pass you all the way back around to the flag stand. Now, if it’s a late-race situation, there’s gonna be some super-exciting moves made in that final chicane. NASCAR did a really good job with trying to make the most out of what they had as far as space relief in there. It’s really tight there and I think it’s gonna be really exciting to watch that chicane. I don’t think any of us know what to expect, especially that first lap, and a lot of eyes will be on that ARCA race just trying to figure out what to expect as far as how to make passes into there.”

ARE YOU LOOKING AT POINTS BECAUSE OF THE 15 BONUS POINTS AVAILABLE FOR WINNING THE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP? “Yeah, absolutely. That’s been all we’ve been focused on, really, since we won a couple races. We had a 30-something point lead until Kansas and Kansas we had just a terrible race and he swung, I think, 34 points on us and now we’ve been trying to play catch-up. Honestly, I think we all knew Cindric, when he passed us was gonna be hard to get back by just because of all the road racing we were going to do. You go to Richmond, a lot of places he’s really good at, but we’ve got to try to make the most out of it. I feel like at Road America we did a really good job. If he wins a stage, as long as I run second or if he wins the race and I run second, he’s accumulating more playoff points, but, at the same time, in the regular season we’re staying right there with him. I think at Road America we only lost three points to him and we had damage from lap one, so I thought we did a good job of salvaging the best we could. We just have to stay close. I think Dover is a great opportunity for us to try to swing back the other way and then the biggest thing is when we go to Daytona for the oval that can be a 40-point swing right away, so we’re just trying to stay as close as we can because those 15 bonus points are a huge deal. That’s like winning three more races and that can be the difference maker come playoff time.”

HOW DO YOU PREP FOR THE HEAT IN DAYTONA? “Drink a lot of water. I think that’s the best thing you can do. With hot temperatures means slick racetrack and that’s what I love when we go even oval racing or road racing. That’s a good thing to point out is I feel like Daytona road course-wise is probably the slickest racetrack we’ll go to on the road course. I at least have some experience there with the IMSA car, where other guys don’t have any laps around that place and don’t realize how slick it is in the infield and how much tire wear is gonna be an issue. You add 100-degree weather on top of that and it’s just gonna be worse for everybody in terms of trying to manage that grip, slipping and sliding around. It’s definitely gonna be a race where your balance is a big deal, a bigger deal than typically it is, where if you burn your tires off at Daytona on the road course, you’re gonna have a hard time making moves and catching guys. It’s something to keep in mind and the hot weather is certainly gonna be a factor in that, and that’s what’s gonna make it fun. If it rains, you’re gonna have a ton of balance issues and if it’s 100 degrees outside you’re gonna have a ton of balance issues, so I think this is gonna be an awesome race for us as well as all weekend.”

THAT TRACK WILL BE GREEN FOR YOU IN TERMS OF HAVING GOODYEAR TIRES ON THE TRACK. HOW DO YOU VIEW THAT CHALLENGE? “Yeah, for sure it is. That’s another thing to keep in mind. I’m not even sure how many laps that first stage is until the competition cautions, but it’s probably gonna take us really seven, eight, nine, ten laps to get that General rubber off the racetrack. You might think your car is loose or tight one way or the other and then once all that Goodyear rubber finally gets established, your car can do a total 180 and start driving totally different. That’s gonna be, I think, one thing to keep in mind. It’s gonna be hard for all of those drivers to kind of know, ‘Okay, what’s that rubber do for us on this track?’ We had a little bit of experience at Indy with the IndyCar rubber, but that’s totally different than General Tire rubber, so that’s something we’ll have to go back and look at our notes and try to see, ‘Okay, on the ovals is that something that typically happens?’ If we’re looser or tighter and try to keep that in mind for the road course.”

YOU’VE GOT TO BE HAVING FUN AT STEWART-HAAS WITH THE YEAR THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION IS HAVING, RIGHT? “Yeah, absolutely. It’s been a great year for the entire organization. We’ve been really good on the XFINITY side, but even on the Cup side with Harvick winning all the races he’s won. Cole winning his race. Almirola has been really fast all year long and Clint just last weekend was winning stages at Michigan and up front, so all five cars are in contention to win week in and week out and that’s all you can ask for as a driver is to be in the best race cars. I feel like Stewart-Haas gives all five of us the best each and every week.”

HOW MUCH VISIBILITY DO YOU NEED TO RACE IN THE RAIN AND WHEN DOES IT BECOME UNRACEABLE? “That’s one thing that I always wanted to race in the rain and last week I finally got to do that. I was blown away at how little visibility there was. Down the back straightaway there was a car probably three or four car lengths in front of me and I couldn’t even see his brake lights. Visibility is really hard. It kind of took me back to dirt racing days when we would run daytime races and it was so dusty you can’t see anything. One thing I would love to see NASCAR do is put a mud flap type thing on the back of the car for rain conditions just because it would knock more of that water straight down. I feel like us race car drivers could see a lot better because right now it sprays the roose so high up in the air and then it just falls so slow that it’s almost like a fog and you just can’t see anything, where I feel like if we had mud flaps, as weird as that sounds, behind the rear tires I feel like that would change everything. I don’t know if that’s something they’ve looked into before or not, but I feel like that would make it a total game-changer. I think it would make the racing on TV easier to watch. I know watching Road America back it’s hard to even see the cars on TV and from the driver’s seat it’s really hard to see as well. Maybe they’ll find something that we can do down the road, but, truthfully, we don’t have a ton of races in the rain so it’s really not that big of an issue until it is one, so, Daytona, I don’t know. I think the roose is only going to be worse because we’re going so much faster and that just typically makes it worse, so we’ll see but it was definitely hard to see at Road America for sure.”

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE IN DIFFICULTY TO SEE ON A ROAD COURSE VERSUS IF YOU’RE IN TURN THREE OR FOUR OF THE OVAL AT DAYTONA? “It’s different. Without the rain, the sun is really bright in Daytona and you can’t really see anything either, but it’s so blinding that you can still make out the cars that are around you. But when it’s in the rain, you literally can’t see anything. You’re going off, honestly, the green light, at least of me, in a lot of the corners is what I was going off of. Once you got within a car length of a car you could see him, but up until that point you couldn’t see anything. The daytime stuff at Daytona in three and four, you’re in the pack and a lot of the time you can look in your rearview mirror and judge where you’re at on the racetrack relative to other cars, and in the rain you can’t do that because you look in the rearview mirror you can’t see anything either. It makes it really tough. That would be one thing I’d love to see is something we can do to make it a little bit easier to see in the rain, but it’s probably easier said than done. It’s definitely a challenge, but it’s a challenge for each and every one of us. A perfect example is at Road America I told my crew chief that anything he could do to get me in the lead I felt like I would go almost a second or a second-and-a-lap faster just because I could see where I was going. It’s definitely and issue and it will be at Daytona if it rains as well.”

YOUR DAD POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA THIS WEEK THAT HE HAD A MEDICAL ISSUE. HOW IS HE AND HOW HAS IT BEEN NOT HAVING HIM AT THE TRACK THIS YEAR? “He’s doing good. It’s been tough on him not just going to the racetrack. He’s used to going week in and week out, especially with the success that we’ve been having this year. My entire family, Marissa as well, it’s been hard on all of them to not be there for all the wins, but he had been feeling where anytime he really did anything physical he just started getting real short of breath and his arm would start going numb and he would start sweating. So he went to the doctor and just told him what was going on and they decided to do a heart cath on him and they got in there and he had two arteries that, I guess, were like 99 percent blocked and he was just a heart attack waiting to happen. It was a blessing in disguise that he went to the doctor and that they found it before and they gave him two stints. Yesterday was the first day since he had the surgery and he said he felt better already, so it’s only gonna get better and better. Hopefully, this will be something that will let him feel better for a lot longer time and hopefully lose some of his weight that he’s got and get him back to the racetrack.”

ARE YOU SAYING THE RAIN IS LIKE A SAFETY ISSUE OR THAT IT’S JUST UNCOMFORTABLE AND A CHALLENGE? “I don’t think it’s dangerous. I mean, we’re going slower in the rain than we are anywhere else, so I don’t think danger is really an issue. It makes you on your toes, but it’s no different to me if we’re in the pack at Daytona or Talladega To me, that’s way scarier than running in the rain with limited visibility, and, like I said, dirt racing we would have a couple later daytime races and it would be so dusty you couldn’t even see past your hood. So, it takes me back a lot to those times. I think it’s harder for some of the pavement guys maybe that never ran dirt because visibility has never really been an issue for them, but it’s definitely something that can get looked at, but it’s only gonna make it easier and I don’t know if that’s necessarily better. I think that’s one of the things with rain racing is visibility is an issue. I think it would be different if we were in an open-wheel car, where it’s easier to just drive in the back of somebody and take off flipping or something like that, but with the speeds we’re going in the rain if you misjudge something and get into somebody, it’s not like it’s gonna really honestly even ruin your day just because of how slow we’re going into some of those corners in the rain. So, yeah, I think it would be nice from my end at least to be able to see a little bit better, but it’s not like we have zero visibility whatsoever. You can see a little bit and that makes it fun and exciting.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
GO BOWLING 235 AT THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
August 13, 2020

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference and discussed the challenges of the 2020 season in general, the focus of the team, how no practice has been an added factor, his thoughts on the upcoming Daytona Road Course race, and more. Full Transcript:

WE ARE COMING INTO THIS WEEKEND AT THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE, MAKING HISTORY. HOW EXCITED ARE YOU TO BREAK IN THIS ROAD COURSE IN A NASCAR CUP SERIES CAR?
“With unprecedented times here in 2020, I think the call from NASCAR to make this unprecedented move is brilliant. With Watkins Glen not able to host a race in upstate New York, and to have the road course available for us down in Daytona; with no practice and no qualifying and just jumping straight into the race, why not? We’ve done everything in 2020 so far to overcome all these hurdles. I think the fun-factor this weekend has got everybody’s anxiety-level up; but also the challenge that’s right in front of us because it’s basically a wild card-style race, where you could see a driver and a team that don’t normally make the Playoffs, punch their ticket.”

HOW DO YOU LOOK AT YOUR CHANCES THERE? YOU ARE A SEASONED VETERAN. A WHEEL MAN. YOU HAVE SIX TOP-10 FINISHES IN THE LAST EIGHT ROAD COURSE RACES.
“I look at this the same way as all through this year. The challenges are so different and the factors of all of these things that we’re looking at for the first time, reminds me of when I was making my first start at Sonoma in a Southwest Tour car, part of NASCAR’s ladder system back in the day. And I was so intimidated by it. I didn’t know what to expect. And my team owner said hey, just try to stay on the asphalt and you’ll be okay. You know, that’s a lot of what we’ve been trying to juggle in 2020. Just keep it simple and you’ll be in position for better things to happen. So, it’s going to be a good challenge. There are probably only going to be two pit stops. And there’s not going to be much that you’re going to change on the car. So, you’ve just got to keep all four tires on the asphalt. Don’t flat-spot them. And don’t wear out the rear tires too quickly with all the horsepower.”

EVERYBODY KNOWS HOW MUCH YOU LOVE TO RACE AND HOW MUCH YOU ARE FOCUSED ON WINNING, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THIS YEAR YOU’VE GOTTEN SOME PATIENCE. YOU SEEM SO UPBEAT EVEN IF YOU HAVEN’T HAD A RECENT WIN. WHERE DOES ALL THAT COME FROM? IT CERTAINLY PLAYS OUT WELL FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON TO HAVE THAT KIND OF ATTITUDE.
“There are quite a few factors. Most importantly, my wife Ashley. She’s a very patient person and somebody that has a nice sense of calm around her. And when the season started off and then we had this delay, we’ve really had to hunker down and protect ourselves and be in this bubble together. And that’s the challenge that 2020 has brought us. And then once racing resumed, with all the craziness and not know what to expect, no practice. We need to build up our points base. If we can build up our points base and get some solid top 10’s under our belt, that’s going to give us a cushion when we get in these summer months, when and if we are back to practice or qualifying or crazier things can even pop up. So it’s just been about consistency this year. Even just being that leader at Ganassi right now with Kyle Larson’s incident earlier this year and trying to get Matt Kenseth up to speed, and just trying to be that stable ground. And it’s been a challenge for me to do that; I enjoy it.”

I WAS INTERESTED TO HEAR YOU SAY TWO PIT STOPS. DO YOU FEEL LIKE PEOPLE WILL RACE THIS ON FUEL MILEAGE? OTHERS SEEM TO THINK TIRES ARE GOING TO BE SO IMPORTANT. YOU’D HAVE TO PIT AT THOSE STAGE BREAKS AND THEN POTENTIALLY ONCE DURING THE FINAL STAGE.
“Yeah, that’s our first instinct; in talking with (crew chief) Matt Mccall, is to spend the least amount of time on pit road. That’s how road course races are won. But, with stage points being available and possibly a stage win, we’ll see how that plays out. I’m on a conference call later this afternoon to really go through what we’ve learned on the simulator and what they’ve learned from their modeling on lap time drop-off and then that leads to fuel mileage. So, we don’t quite have all the answers just yet, but again you’ve just got to be ready for anything. Who knows?”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR SEASON AS A WHOLE? YOU ARE KIND OF SOLID, POINTS-WISE, IN THE PLAYOFFS, BUT HAVEN’T NECESSARILY BEEN CHALLENGING UP-FRONT. ARE YOU PLEASED? WHERE DO YOU THINK THE TEAM NEEDS TO MAKE CHANGE TO CHALLENGE FOR MORE TOP 5’S?
“I feel like we’ve had a season that I never would have expected, of course with the situation we’re all in. But with the top 10’s that we’ve accumulated with the No. 1 car, I think we’re tied for third most. But we’re missing those top 5’s, and missing those laps led. It’s so hard to break through right now against (Kevin) Harvick, (Denny) Hamlin, (Brad) Keselowski; (Ryan) Blaney should have more wins right now.

“And we had a good opportunity at Texas. We came down pit road. We knew we needed two tires or fuel only and we got beat off pit road by RCR. Both the No. 3 (Austin Dillon) and the No. 8 (Tyler Reddick) behind us and they came out ahead of us. And that put us in that sucker hole of position three on those restarts towards the end and we just didn’t quite have the muscle to get by those guys. So, we were close. We’ve been in position a couple of times, but we haven’t been in position enough. So, we’ve just got to keep chipping away at what we believe is our weak areas. Some of that’s pit road and some of that’s the short run speed.”

CONSISTENTLY, YOU CAN TAKE A 15TH PLACE CAR AND GET A TOP 10 FINISH OUT OF IT. WE’VE SEEN THAT THIS YEAR. YOU’RE ALSO OLD-SCHOOL ENOUGH TO HAVE WORKED ON CARS AND UNDERSTAND CARS. DOES THAT ABILITY THAT YOU HAVE, AND YOUR BROTHER HAS, HELPED YOU AT TIMES WHEN THERE IS NO PRACTICE. KYLE (BUSCH) HAS REALLY RELIED ON PRACTICE IN THE PAST. HAS YOUR SKILL LEVEL HELPED YOU EXECUTE TO A HIGHER LEVEL THIS YEAR?
“Well, it’s actually something that Kyle, my little brother, and I are confused about. We’ve been flying together a lot and talking together a lot because we are in our own bubble as a family, and we’re still very puzzled. I mean Kyle Busch is the defending champion of NASCAR and doesn’t have a win yet. I don’t have a win yet. And the only thing that we’ve been able to look at each other and just stare right into each other’s eyes and go, you know what? We miss practice. We miss that feel in the car to know that this is not the right way to go; this is the right way to go. And we haven’t been able to capitalize on that with no practice. So, it’s been tough. It’s a challenge. But yeah, I know what it takes to set the pre-load and the sway bar and as far as different movement in the rear end with yaw, it’s again, just got to find the right combination while the race track is rubbering in. Some of these race tracks, we’re the first series to hit the track, and then sometimes we’re the last group to hit the race track and it’s all rubbered in and different. So, lots of variables and that’s where you’ve got to find that perfect combination.”

TRADITIONALLY, YOU’VE BEEN SIGNING ONE-YEAR DEALS WITH GANASSI. AS CRAZY AS THE PANDEMIC HAS MADE LIFE IN GENERAL, HAVE YOU HAD ANY DISCUSSIONS YET WITH CHIP AS TO WHAT YOUR FUTURE MIGHT LOOK LIKE?
“No, no discussions at all. I’m very happy with where things sit and the trajectory of where things will be in 2021, and we’ll go from there.”

EVEN WITH THE PANDEMIC IN MIND, WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE TO RUN DAYTONA WITH NO PRACTICE OR QUALIFYING WHEN DRIVERS HAVE NOT RUN THIS COURSE?
“Yeah, it’s going to be pretty wild. Just driving a little bit on iRacing and the simulator with Chevrolet, having a mindset of driving the car at 80 percent pace has seemed to have provided the most stability in laps times and in as far as tire wear and just finding a rhythm. That’s the key thing. You have to find a rhythm and we’re all going to be doing it as they drop the green flag and as there are 39 other cars around us and who knows? Thunderstorms are in the forecast and we may as well throw rain tires on our cars in 2020 just to say we checked that off the box.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

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