NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
APRIL 11, 2026

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

Have you given any thought about, realistically, where you and the team would need to be seeded when the Chase starts to have a shot at the championship? There’s some drivers and teams, based off of modeling from NASCAR, who are thinking maybe top-five or top-three to have a realistic shot at the championship. Have you given any thought to where you might have to be at the end of the regular season?

“I have not. I mean, I think it’s pretty simple, really. You need to be able to win on almost a weekly basis. You need to be leading laps, winning races and doing all the things that champions do. That’s pretty simple to me. I don’t know what that gets you from a numbers standpoint, but if you’re not – I mean, let’s be real, if you’re not leading laps, if you’re not winning races and you’re not putting yourself in those positions very often, you’re not going to back into it, right? I don’t know what that gets you, but probably you’re going to be pretty high up in the points if you’re doing those things, but I look at it a little different. I’m not sure what the number is on that, though.”

You said going into Martinsville that the season has just kind of been up and down. You had a pretty strong up to head into the off week. What does that do for the No. 9 team, momentum-wise, to set up now as you prepare for a long stretch into the summer?

“Yeah, I mean, kind of more ups and downs. Fortunately, the last one was an up. But I think it’s also important to recognize that, man, there’s an awful lot of racing left. Yeah, I think for us, it’s not like, okay, we’ve got to win and pressure’s off. Like, that’s not how I’ve looked at it. I’ve looked at it with, honestly, just some excitement from the standpoint of, man, we have a longer runway to build on a win, you know? I think for us, we’ve gotten to the last 10 or 15 weeks of the year before and really had to perform just at an extreme level and kind of catch up, in some regards. Like, even last year, we got ourselves to the playoffs and we didn’t have the wins, the playoff points and all the things banked up… which I know the system’s different and I get all that, but the concept is very much the same. We still need to perform well throughout the first 26 weeks, and I think when you are able to bank a win early, you kind of have a little bit of a longer runway to continue to put good runs together, stack more points and get going on the right foot.

So I hope that’s the case for us. Obviously, I think we still have a lot to learn. I think I still have a lot to learn. I think we have areas that we’re still deficient in. I think that there have been some areas that have been positive for us, as well, and hopefully we can build on those and try to reduce some of the deficient areas that I feel like we’ve had throughout the course of the year to this point. But, yeah, just excited to have a little bit of a longer runway, and hopefully we can do something with it.”

With the increased horsepower tomorrow, plus new tire codes, do you have an idea yet of what will maybe have the biggest impact on the race and how it plays out?

“I don’t yet. We haven’t been on track, and I think that that’s going to probably be the best answer to some of those questions. Justin (Allgaier) did the test for the Chevy camp. I’m sure all three manufacturers had a car at that test. But certainly, listening to Justin; leaning on some of his feedback and some of his opinions to this point because that’s all we have to go off of or all I have to go off of. So I’ve done some of that. I think he does a good job of analyzing some of those details, so hopefully all that stuff tracks and gets us started in a closer spot than it would otherwise. I appreciate him and time and effort he put in to help Team Chevy get started this weekend, and hopefully it gets us in a good spot.”

I spoke to Larry McReynolds this morning and I asked him about what one of the biggest surprises is so far in NASCAR season. He said early in the interview, he said Chevy’s lack of performance. But then he pivoted off that and said that he believes that Chevy is spring boarded with your win. He says, I believe they found it and I think that they’re really going to take off from here. Do you agree with that? Are you guys at where you want to be, or have you guys found it and you guys are going to really be something to be reckoned with over the next few months and the rest of the season?

“I hope so. I mean, I think that for us, as a manufacturer, obviously any change is a big change nowadays with just how tight everything is. I think in a lot of cases, that takes a little bit of time to iron out. I think that for us, we truthfully have just now gotten through all the different track styles that we’re going to see throughout the course of the season. That has just recently been accomplished, right? And I think at that point, and I told you guys before we did all that, that I’d like to get to all the different tracks and just kind of see where we’re at. So now that we have some of those answers, I think we can start to kind of summarize and have a better understanding of the direction we need to go; what areas of those tracks were positives, which ones were negative, how far off we are at the bad ones, and how much more room we have to improve at some of the ones that had high spots.

Phoenix, certainly, was a down for us. I thought that was a step in the wrong direction; an area that we need to be better in, for sure. I thought Darlington was probably much of the same. I thought Las Vegas was very strong. Martinsville was very similar to what it was last fall. So, you know, there’s a lot of data points in all that. But I think that the season is still very young, and I think we have some smart people that are in our corner to help iron it all out.

I don’t think one good run or one win just fixes all your problems. I think it comes from hard work, putting all our resources together and kind of pulling in the same direction. We’re in the process of doing that, but I don’t think the results of Martinsville are just going to magically fix everything that we know we need to be better at.”

Going back to Martinsville for a minute, you mentioned how it was very nice and it was very cool to win so early because you hadn’t done that before. Obviously, winning early in the old format with the playoffs was different, and winning early now is also different because you can change your goals and figure out how you want to go from here. How does winning at this juncture of the season in this format compare to when you won in the regular season before, or do they?

“Yeah, it’s definitely different, I guess, from a points standpoint. But when I say those things, I really don’t even care about all that. It’s very simple for me. I just want to be a driver in a team that is competitive and has opportunities to win every week. There’s a very small group, in my view, of drivers and teams in this garage that have opportunities to win legitimately every single weekend, and it is my goal and our team’s goal as a whole to put ourselves in that group. And to me, that’s all we can ask for. It’s very hard to do, but it’s also very simple at the same time because I think if you’re doing that, you know, are you going to win every week? No. It doesn’t work that way. If you’re doing that, you’re giving yourself opportunities to win. You’re going to get your turn, and you’re going to make your turn more often than others if you’re doing those things. I think that it’s just about putting yourself in a good position and performing at a high level.

So, you know, by me saying, hey, I’m excited that we have a win early, it’s like, man, this is nice. I feel like we just have a nice foundation of a longer runway to build on this and trying to be one of those teams, and that’s really all I’m after because. Like I said earlier, I don’t know what the number is, what the cutoff is to having a shot to win, but I know if we’re doing those things and running like those few drivers and teams do, then we’re going to have a shot with wherever that stacks you in the seed thing. I don’t know, but it’s really that simple for me, and that’s all I want to accomplish.”

We were in here earlier today with Alex Bowman and Jeff Andrews, and it was very, very easy to see how much Andrews believes in Bowman, who has had so many things go on. What does it mean to you to have Alex come back, given all of the things he has gone through to be a racecar driver, but second of all, the support of Hendrick Motorsports that when you’re down, no matter what anyone says, they are right there supporting you.

“First off, super happy to have Alex back. I know that you guys don’t work with him on a weekly basis, but he’s been a great teammate to me. He’s certainly a great competitor and a very talented racecar driver, as well. He’s been a great teammate to have at HMS. Certainly, I hate that the things he’s had to endure throughout the course of his career. A lot of times, it seems unfair, right? But I think that he has handled it with a lot of class. And, man, the work he’s put in to get back and to get back this fast and also be willing to do that, that takes a lot of commitment and a lot of courage, too, from his perspective from what he went through at COTA. So, I’m happy to have him back. I hope they have a great weekend. I want to see him just be healthy and have a good, strong rest of the year, wherever that takes him.

But, yeah, that’s really the biggest thing from my standpoint. I think that, speaking for Jeff Andrews, as you were talking about, we’re very fortunate at HMS to have a lot of just supportive figures and people that do a great job of lifting other teammates up. I would put Andrews at towards the very top of that list of just being a guy that you can always go to and have a conversation with; always feel like your opinion is valued and that he’s hearing you out. You can always count on having support from him in your corner, regardless of what’s going on, and he always makes that very evident. I’ve always had a ton of respect for him for that. Glad to hear he offers that in here, as well, for you guys to see, and also, to kind of help Alex and push him through the process, as well.”

You were talking about the consistency in the organization and to have somebody like Alex that did the wheel force testing and sim testing for Hendrick. How will that help take you guys to the next level, just knowing what his background is from that standpoint?

“Yeah, I mean, I think from Alex’s standpoint, he’s put in a lot of time, whether it be driving the sim or whatever it was. I think the big thing with him is that he’s very in tune with how our process works and also very knowledgeable, as well. He’s been at the forefront of a lot of different development throughout the course of time that I’ve been a part of HMS. Even before he was driving the No. 48, I know he filled in for Dale Jr. a couple times back in the day. Obviously, he did a great job with all that. But he’s been very, very in tune and very involved. He’s been a huge asset for all of us. But aside from all that, like just happy to have him back. I enjoy racing with him. He always races me with a lot of respect. I feel like he’s one of those guys that you can race really hard on track and trust and all those things, which I think makes it a lot of fun from a competitor’s standpoint. You can get out and be able to talk about it and digest the weekend. I appreciate his professionalism throughout this whole process and hope that he can have a healthy rest of the year.”

When Alex had a concussion, he came back for the last race of the year and we were all like, why do you do that? And here we’re like, why are you coming back to this place when you were suffering from vertigo? What is it about him do you think that makes him do some of these things that we would say, well, logically maybe you should wait or hold off?

“I don’t know. I mean, that’s not really for me. I’m not sure. You know, from the outside looking in, I would say because he’s a competitor. He loves to race and that’s probably all he’s done his whole life, much like the rest of us. So I would have to imagine that him getting back to doing something that he loves is important to him. But I’m not him. I don’t know that 100 percent, but that would be my thought.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

TOYOTA RACING – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

BRISTOL, TENN. (April 11, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to the media on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race from Bristol Motor Speedway.

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

What did you do to celebrate your Truck Series win from last night?

“I have some frosted flakes in the motorhome when I got back. That’s what I did to celebrate.”

Does it raise red flags if you are not competitive for the win but in the seventh to 10th place range on Sunday?

“You can’t just blanket statement and say if you finish seventh to 10th that is a red flag. Certainly, this is one we expect to be competing up front. If we have a good solid race and get a top five in stage points and restarts don’t work out or strategy doesn’t work out and we run seventh to 10th it will be an acceptable finish. But if we go out there and just miss the stage points and run in the back half of the top 10, we expect to be better than that, especially here at Bristol. If that happens, I think it will be disappointing. You just never know how these races unfold, it starts today with qualifying, it’s super important to get a good qualifying lap and put yourself in position for that Stage 1 to get some point there. This is one we have circled to go out here and fight for a win at.”

Have you seen any modeling as to where you should expect to be in points as the regular season moves along and where realistically do you think you have to be?

“I honestly don’t know. I assume my crew chief Adam (Stevens) has a better understanding of it, he’s really analytical and digs into the numbers all the time. I haven’t talked to him about that, but I know our goal for they year has been a constant sliding scale of how to start the season where we said alright, regular season championship and we are coming back after it this year and then we start the year with two DNF’s in a row and it’s like, ok well maybe we are fighting for a top-10. Then we started doing well and now we are fighting for a top five. I think I’ve learned over the last couple of weeks to just kind of don’t pay attention to it. Just go out and fight as much as you can and the regular season standings are going to end up where they are going to end up. One thing that’s been eye-opening is just the amount the point spread the field has gotten, especially with winners like Tyler (Reddick) being able to separate himself from the field. Denny (Hamlin) winning at Las Vegas and having good runs and Ty (Gibbs) is having good run and they have been able to make up positions. If you can get on a roll and win some races, you’re going to climb the standings in a hurry and that’s what we are focused on.”

What have you seen from Ty Gibbs over the course of the first part of this season or anything different about him?

“I have, he’s been in a good mood. He’s happy. Ty is killing it man. It’s fun to see his confidence is literally radiating from him. He’s doing a really good job, he’s really switched on right now. He’s doing a good job driving, but on top of that his input has become so much more valuable through our team debriefs and stuff like that. He’s taken a huge step and he’s a joy to be around right now.”

How much stock do you put into how well your teammates are doing?

“A lot. We work so close together with all of our teammates that we can really use their notes and their information. Whenever you see a guy struggling or performing well you either go down this route or don’t go down this route. Throughout the course of the year this year all of us have been really good at different times, and it’s pretty cool to be able to use that information. You know, they were running this here and running that there, stuff like that. It’s something we put a big focus on, what the teammates are doing and how that are running and how they are performing.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 35 million cars and trucks at our 11 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
APRIL 11, 2026

Daniel Suarez, driver of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

You’ve got a great reason to be in a great mood this week. Big news that you dropped. You can be a father, man. That’s pretty cool…

“Yeah, we’re super excited to start a new chapter in our lives. Super blessed to have Julia. And yeah, we had a good time during the off-weekend, going to Greece and exploring a little bit. We thought it was maybe a good time to share the news with everyone. We have known for a while. She’s already halfway into the process. So yeah, very, very excited.”

It seems like from the outside, at least, you’re running well with the new team. You’re higher up in the point standings now. This news on the personal side. It seems like you have a new renewed spirit personally and professionally. Are you in about as good of a place in your life right now as you’ve been in a while?

“Man, I think so. Obviously, I have had a lot of great times in my career. A lot of tough ones, as well. But I will say that so far this year, it’s been amazing. We definitely worked hard in the off-season to make sure that we hit the ground running this year, and I believe that we have done that. Obviously, we are not winning races yet. We don’t have the speed to win races today. But I believe that we’re in the right track to get there. We have the right people. We have the right sponsors. We have the right structure to be able to get there.

And then, obviously, on the personal side, super happy to get to this point with Julia. I mean, as you guys know, we got married a couple years ago and it’s been an amazing journey. We agreed that we were going to do a couple more trips before we decided to start a family. So we did a couple trips in the last couple years, and now, it’s time to welcome a little one closer towards the end of the year.”

How has your mindset changed as you’re going to be a father, with racing and the danger of it and stuff? Has that shift happened for you mentally? And again, on the Spire Motorsports side, like he said, you guys are so close right now on the points and running so well. Did you expect that going into the season that you guys would be contending for top-10s and top-fives?

“Yeah, answering the first question — you know, a lot of people talk about it, but I don’t think it really changed anything. Actually, if anything, I believe that it moves you to the other side of being more aggressive and delivering more of what you want to do. I feel like everything in life is a balance, right? I believe that you have to have a right balance in life. I believe that right now in this point of my career, it’s going to be a lot of fun to start a family with Julia. I hope that I prove that very soon, but I do believe that this is going to make me faster because it’s going to be more fun outside of the racing stuff. Sometimes when you have a good day or a bad day, you leave the racetrack and then you keep thinking about it, and there is just a few things outside of racing that can get your mind out of it. There is not many of them. And I believe that Julia and the future baby is going to be definitely one of them.

When it comes to Spire Motorsports, honestly, I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy in the off-season because this team was, in a way, struggling a little bit. We were going to have to adapt in a few things and change a few things. But the team has done an amazing job. The main thing for me was to always continue to make progress, and I believe that we have seen that pretty much on a weekly basis. So if we can continue to do that, I believe that we’re going to eventually get to a point where we can fight for wins.”

I know you mentioned that you guys don’t have the race-winning speed just yet, so when you enter a weekend like this, what are the base-level expectations?

“Yeah, I mean, obviously, I’m very honest. I’m very realistic, and that’s just who I am. Do I think that we have had the winning speed this year? Actually, there is a couple races that maybe we could have knocked it out. I mean, Darlington, we were a top-10 car the entire race. There were a couple races that were right there. But here’s the thing, in my opinion, you can be a top-10 car, and you’re going to have a very good day. We have had a few of those. But the next step is to become a top-five car and that’s when you start winning races. Once you’re in the top-five, now you can win because you’re already there in the hunt; strategy, cycles, whatever that may be… adjustments, then you’re right there. So I believe that we’re one step away from when we are in our best.

The mentality just continues to improve. I have mentioned this a couple of times in the last couple of weeks, but it’s us versus us and that’s the focus. Yes, we are racing against everyone else, but we are trying to improve our team. We cannot control everyone else, but we can control our team. So we are trying to improve every single week; every single team at Spire Motorsports, and that’s where the focus and energy is at.”

Looking back at last night real quick, what was it like behind the wheel with just the PJ1?

“I was hoping that nobody was going to ask about last night (laughs).

I mean, I don’t know, man. I will be lying to you if I tell you I had a lot of fun because I didn’t. It was tough, man. I mean, I don’t know what changed in the racetrack. I haven’t been in a truck for a very, very long time. But all the races I watched from trucks and stuff, they were able to run the second lane last year, and this time, it was not there at all. I think the PJ1 was a little bit darker than what I remember. I don’t know if the application was different or something, but we couldn’t pass. We had issues in practice, so we couldn’t practice and we couldn’t qualify. So by the time we started in the back with a truck that we didn’t really know exactly what we had, it was impossible to pass. I mean, slowly we inched our way to the top-15, but it was tough. I hope that you guys had more fun than me because I just didn’t enjoy it a lot (laughs).”

How does having a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports kind of help Spire Motorsports get up to where they need to be because Trackhouse Racing was kind of on its own island.

“Yeah, well, Trackhouse Racing was on its own island when it comes to alliances. But Chevrolet has what they call key partners, so really, Trackhouse can see a lot of the information from Hendrick Motorsports and RCR. There is a lot of information there. At Spire Motorsports, there is a different level of partnership with Chevrolet. We actually work very closely with HMS and we have Hendrick engines, as well. So the dynamic is a little bit different, but it’s been very good. It’s been very good already. I believe that right now, HMS cars are probably the lead when it comes to Chevy’s, so we definitely have a few things to learn from those guys, and hopefully we can apply those things to a racetrack pretty soon.”

Jeff Dickerson said he wants to keep the lineup the same for 2027. Is this a place where you can grow your race craft and build a future?

“To be honest, I believe that consistency is extremely important on everything. And today, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. You can tell me anywhere, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else because Spire Motorsports is growing. Spire Motorsports is believing in myself. I’m believing in them. We’re continuing to get better and better. I believe that Spire Motorsports is going to be a powerhouse in the next few years, and I want to be part of that. I saw last year from the outside looking in — I saw I’m a very curious person, so I was always very curious on what Spire Motorsports was doing that they were increasing performance so quickly. And now that I’m inside the building, I can see many of those things. So I really want to continue to be part of this group, hopefully for a long time because I can see the direction where things are heading.”

You had said that Spire Motorsports is going to be a powerhouse. Was what you saw things that they were adding? Was it people related or leadership related?

“Well, as you know, everything about this sport, and really business in general, it’s everything about the people. You can have the best business ever, but if you don’t have the right people, you don’t have anything. It’s also about having the right structure in place, so I believe that Spire Motorsports has a great group of people and they have the right structure to take advantage of those people. Because also, you can have the best people ever, but if you don’t have the right structure and the right system in place, it’s not going to work. You have to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, and I believe that Spire Motorsports has, with the experience that I have had being with several race teams, I believe that Spire Motorsports has the pieces of the puzzle.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Food City 500 Media Availability — Bristol Motor Speedway
Saturday, April 11, 2026

Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 Trimble Ford Mustang Dark Horse, has one career NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway. He stopped by the infield media center before practice and qualifying to talk about his goals for tomorrow’s race.

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Trimble Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE BACK AT BRISTOL? “Well, it’s my favorite racetrack, so I’m always excited to come down the tunnel here and walk into this half-mile. It’s obviously a racetrack that’s had a lot of stories through the years. We’ve gone through a lot of our own from being able to get that Night Race win to run really well here pretty much every time we come, so that’s always optimistic coming into this one. With that, I think we’re ready to get after it. I think the PJ1 is actually the one thing we do know about. We’ve got some questions with the tire and horsepower and what that looks like on the day and we’re getting ready to answer those.”

WHAT DID THAT WIN IN THE NIGHT RACE DO YOU FOR YOU IN YOUR CAREER? “I would say that I hear a lot of drivers talk about bucket list races and ones they want to win more than any other one, and I don’t have many of those. There’s not a whole bunch circled. I just want to go to the racetrack and win every week, but the Bristol Night Race was that one that was special from the time I was a kid, so that was a huge one on a personal level from my side of things. That race was wild. We’d run between us and Brad, we led a ton of laps that day and were able to pull that win off. We hadn’t really gotten our program to where it needed to be yet, and we showed up here and put everything together and made it happen, so it was a huge boost for RFK in general to get that first RFK win with the new group and set us up to kind of go into the next couple of years and string some wins together. It was a really big momentum boost. Obviously, coming off a rather lengthy winless streak from Pocono way back in my rookie season, so it was a big momentum-builder, big for the entire organization and then, like I said, to cross that bucket list race off. Now we just need another one.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAVE THE BIGGER IMPACT TOMORROW? TIRES OR HORSEPOWER? “Practice is always hard here, especially when our groups are split. I was just watching O’Reilly practice and when they get that much time, I think 99 laps was the most seen out of a car. That’s a ton of time, a ton of heat. Without that, I don’t know that we will have all the answers, but I do believe that the tire side of things will be more impactful than the horsepower for here. This racetrack has so much banking and so much speed that I think you just don’t feel that horsepower difference as much as you will at a North Wilkesboro, as much as we did at Martinsville or certainly as we will at Richmond. I’d say my gut tells me that the tire side of things is going to be the bigger unknown, but the horsepower could very well put an exponent on the tire side of things. I don’t know that we’ll have all the answers after practice, but I certainly expect it to be different from what we’ve had.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT BRISTOL THAT SUITS YOUR DRIVING STYLE AND WHAT IS THE BIGGEST KEY FOR YOU HERE? “To me, this is a very similar, in ways, to Salem, Indiana – the Salem Speedway. I ran ARCA there. It was my first ARCA start and it happened there. It’s a high-banked half-mile that just has a lot more character. You come here and this is the polished version of it. It’s the fast high-banked racetrack that gives you different ways to get around it, different ways to attack. You have to be on the entire time here. There’s no rest, and it lets you as a driver make a difference, I feel like. On top of that, I’ve been fortunate enough to be in a lot of good race cars here through the years and that’s helped me have a feel that I know I like, that kind of chase, and that’s put us in the hunt to win a handful of these things through the years going all the way back to the Xfinity side. For me, it’s short track racing. It’s what everybody grew up doing and it’s just on a whole other level here, but it’s just always been my favorite track to watch growing up watching NASCAR to being able to run first laps here, ironically, in a Legends car when we were supposed to be running pit road and we just kind of slammed it up the banking and made that happen. It’s way too fast for Legends car, by the way. That was pretty dumb, but from the get-go I’ve just always loved this place and we’ve been able to put good runs together and we constantly enjoy the challenge that it presents.”

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THE TIRE TEST HERE AS FAR AS WHAT PROBABLY WOULD WORK THE BEST WITH THE HORSEPOWER PACKAGE? “I think that coming out of it that was where I didn’t see where the horsepower made the biggest change, but certainly seeing where we know we’ve had very different races here over the past two years now. We’ve had 25-lap runs that tires are worn out and you can’t make a difference from behind the wheel and it just is what it is. We’ve had races where we feel like you can go 45 laps and abuse it and pay that penalty, and if you save it, you can run 60-80 laps. We’ve gone through wild temperature swings. We’ve been all over the map on what this racetrack looks like and what the flow of the race looks like, so with this one it seems like the prediction or the hope is that with the added power to try and offset to where the tire is not to the point where it comes apart or wears out in 30 laps again, but still wears out and still lets you from behind the wheel and from back at the shop making those setup decisions make a difference in whether or not you’re going to have a great short run car or a decent short run car and a really great long run car. There are opportunities to adjust to that. I don’t have many answers beyond that. It’s just kind of the guess work of what we’re feeling like. There’s probably going to be some different strategies on that side and it could make for some really good, exciting racing and some good opportunities for us.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL THINKS THE TIRES DEGRADING COULD PUT ON A BETTER SHOW. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT? “To an extent. I think that the most extreme example is when we had tires that wore out in 25 or 30 laps, it was very minimal laps, that was too much in my opinion, to the point where you couldn’t make a difference. You had to get in line and ride and try to save everything you could and then we were still shredding tires. It looked like it was snowing in here from all the Kevlar flying in the air, so there’s a balance. I hope that we don’t go to that extreme. I don’t think so. I think that with it allegedly holding up a little bit better, but then putting the horsepower back to it that I hope it gets us similar to what we had the last race, where I feel like you had the ability to make a difference throughout runs.”

WHAT MEMORIES DOES KANSAS BRING BACK FOR YOU? “Well, it’s not bad. You’re referencing the closest loser ever. I love Kansas. I really like that racetrack. Our mile-and-a-half program has been super strong the last couple of years. I think that last season at RFK and the 17 group, Vegas was probably our weaker mile-and-a-half out of all the ones we went to, and we ran really well at Vegas this year, which gives me really high hopes as we head to the next handful of them. I’m not not looking forward to going back because of a near miss. It’s been a really good racetrack. I love the fact that we have different lines. It moves around. Most of our mile-and-a-halves at this point have gotten to the point where we can run bottom, middle, top and have different lines and different opportunities to make speed. With that, I think that it’s gonna be a really good measure for us. We’re really optimistic about that one, just knowing how well Vegas went for us and knowing what our program looked like at those style of racetracks last season.”

DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT KANSAS RACE? DO YOU GO BACK AND WATCH IT? “Not until you ask (laughing). No. It’s not living in my head, but obviously we’re gonna get close and the replays will start coming up and you’ll start thinking about, ‘OK, I know what I want to do differently if it unfolds the same way again.’”

IS IT AS IMPORTANT TO BE OUT IN CLEAN AIR ON A TRACK LIKE THIS WITH AS MUCH SPEED AS YOU RUN COMPARED TO A MILE-AND-A-HALF TRACK? “The answer no one wants to hear is, yeah, it always matters. I tell people all the time, people that are familiar with racing that maybe aren’t, you roll down a back road at 45 miles an hour and I promise you nobody wants to stick a license plate out the window and try to hold onto it. That’s 45 miles an hour. Aero matters at any speed, where you’re all chasing everything we can and clean air makes a difference ultimately. Is it negated by horsepower and less dependence on the aero package and the simpler diffuser? We certainly hope so and believe that it should help, but it’s always there. Ultimately, it’s always going to be there, so you’re always gonna try and be up front. You can help control your pace. You can help save tire there from the same standpoint, so you’re always gonna take all you can get.”

ALL THREE RFK TEAMS ARE IN THE CHASE NOW AND NO OTHER TEAM CAN SAY THAT RIGHT NOW. DO YOU THINK THAT SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT YOU GUYS AS A TEAM? “I think when we talked about the Chase coming back and with the variances, we were stoked about that because, honestly, that is easy from our side of things to go to the racetrack and be consistently in the hunt. We need to be better. What that shows is we are competitive. We are good at being consistent about it. We are good at maximizing whatever we may be bringing to the racetrack. We are good at making smart decisions and we haven’t had bad luck too much. Martinsville sure felt like bad luck, but we haven’t had too much really throat punch us, so we’re able to bounce back and just be strong in even the days that are tougher. Yeah, it certainly shows that we have a resilient organization from the days that aren’t where we need them to be, and it shows that when we have good days, we are having good days and we are putting points up on the board. Ultimately, we need to be putting trophies up on the shelf and that helps take care of the rest of it. When we went into this season with the Chase format back, in our minds there’s no doubt that we’re gonna be able to make ourselves a Chase contender. It’s how do we make ourselves a championship contender?”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
APRIL 11, 2026

Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet and No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

How excited are you to leave the golf course to come here to the Last Great Colosseum? “Yeah, it’s two different places, that’s for sure. I’m excited for Bristol this weekend. This place is always special to race at. So, yeah, looking forward to running double duty and making my first Cup start here.”

Did you watch the Truck race last night because there was lots of conversations from like Ross (Chastain) and other people saying that tire wear didn’t matter at all. There was kind of uncertainty what’s going to happen tonight, as well as tomorrow…

“Yeah, I did watch it. It was very bottom dominant. You know, I’m not sure. I saw Corey (Heim) saying some stuff about excessive spray or whatever it may be, but they sprayed again this morning. So, yeah, I’m curious to see how it kind of trends and where it goes. But, yeah, certainly it was very bottom dominant; not a lot of tire wear and just kind of follow the leader. Hopefully we can get it widened out. The O’Reilly cars usually tend to do a better job of getting it wider. So, yeah, we’ll see what happens tonight.”

We’re coming toward a part of the schedule where you had a lot of success last year in the O’Reilly Auto Parts series. Does that give you more confidence as we go into the summer and we start moving toward tracks where you may have more good vibes?

“Yeah, I mean, I think I knew that it was going to be tough to start. So, yeah, it was kind of the same deal last year where it started slow, and as the year went on and I got more and more comfortable, things started to get better and better. So, yeah, I’m excited to see what this next stretch of the season holds; how it treats me, how we can improve and grow as a team and hopefully start getting some better finishes.”

Through this first quarter of the year, have you gotten a good grip on your positives and negatives behind the wheel, what you have to improve on and where short tracks fall in that? From the outside, we didn’t see a lot of negatives from last year, so how has that been so far throughout this year?

“Yeah, I mean, I think I’ve got room to improve everywhere, to be honest. I wouldn’t pinpoint one or the other, but honestly, one of the toughest parts about it is just the fight that you have every single week when you get stuck down deep in the qualifying order. And then, you’re going out early to qualify, you don’t qualify great and you start at the back. It makes it really, really tough on race day to not go a lap down in Stage One, and you kind of just get stuck in this cycle and it’s really, really tough to break out of it. I’ve always heard people talk about how the qualifying order makes things tough, but it really does. I mean, it’s really hard when you qualify 28th, 30th, 25th to not go a lap down in Stage One, man. The leaders catch you so fast. That’s probably the toughest part of it is trying to get a later qualifying spot so you can have a decent track to lay a good lap down. I think today is a better example. Bristol isn’t quite as dependent on where you go out to qualify. Actually, some of the guys who’ve qualified in the pole here have went out relatively early, so hopefully we can have a good day in qualifying. Just staying on the lead lap in Stage One is everything in these Cup races. They’re so long, and you go a lap down and without some luck with cautions, it’s a really long day.

So yeah, I wouldn’t pinpoint one track type or the other. I would say I’ve got room to improve everywhere, but it’s just going to take time and I knew that coming in.”

On a lighter note, Noah Gragson and Zane Smith were questioning your surfer prowess, and I’m wondering how does a Carolina kid learn how to surf?

“I haven’t ocean surfed much. I’ve done a lot of wake surfing in my time of just surfing behind a boat. When you go out to the ocean and you’re chasing waves and having to swim for waves, it certainly makes you work a lot harder. When you’re behind a boat, you just hold onto the rope and it drags you along. But yeah, it was cool getting to go surfing out west for the off week a little bit with Noah (Gragson). I always have a good time just getting away from this stuff for a weekend, and then you get past the weekend and you’re ready to get back going to it. So yeah, it was good to get a weekend off and have some time to focus on myself and just trying to not think about this stuff too much.”

When a driver is making the move into the Cup Series, one of the things they’re usually told, and you said this was told to you, is that you’re going to be racing your guts out and think you’re making progress, and then you’re 25th on the leaderboard, right? I’m curious if you have found that? Have you found yourself working so hard, and then you’re told where you’re running in the pack, and it’s like how can that be?

“Yeah, I mean I certainly, last year I found myself feeling like it was pretty easy to run inside the top-five. There’d be days where I led the race and I didn’t feel like I was having to work that hard to do it Now, I feel like it’s 500 laps every week of just racing as hard as I possibly can for 22nd. It’s like, man, I feel like I should be running better than this. But, yeah, it’s just the competition level is so much higher on Sunday’s. Every time you see somebody go down and run a Truck or an O’Reilly race, you see the skill difference, and it’s a true thing. I don’t think people on the outside quite realize that. But, yeah, everybody on Sunday’s is really, really good. It makes it very challenging, but it’s very rewarding, as well.”

Do you feel like you’ve put in enough laps in time that you’re starting to figure out what your strengths and weaknesses behind the wheel are, or maybe like what the team’s strengths and weaknesses are, or is it still too early to tell?

“Yeah, I think one thing I could say I can do better at is restarts, for sure, just positioning. You know, this car is a lot different. The fact that you have to find yourself in different spots on restarts to move forward and you always got to be battling for clean air when there’s a lot of cars in front of you, it’s hard to do, but the guys that are really good are able to do it really well. That’s where they definitely excel, on restarts. It’s a lot easier to make up two spots on a restart than it is to make up two spots under green. So, yeah, the restarts are very crucial, and it’s definitely something I can do better. But, you know, I haven’t quite found too many things that I’ve excelled at very well, so far. I’ve definitely had weekends where I’m like, man, I’m not that far off. If I could find myself in fifth just one of these days, I feel like I could run there. It’s just getting there is the tough part.

We’ll keep working. Just as a team, we’ve got to be a little bit better. Trackhouse as a whole, we’re working really hard to try and get some speed in the cars. But, you know, even my teammates have had some better runs than I have, so I can’t quite say too much about the cars because I know that I can be doing better myself.”

Do you think the true test will come when you get to tracks for a second time and, you know, what your improvement level is on each of those venues?

“Yeah, I definitely think that as the year goes, I should continue to get better, grow and start having better finishes, going back to places for the second time. It’s very tough when you go out to qualify at a track for the first time in this car. I feel like it was a lot easier to find the limit of the racecar in the O’Reilly car last year. You felt the yaw angle, and you’re like, alright, this is it, and you kind of just put it there and go. Whereas this car is a little bit tougher. It’s a lot more knife’s edge and it’s a lot scarier to put it on the limit in qualifying. You’re going a little bit quicker, but it’s just a lot more of a razor edge in the Cup car. So, yeah, it’s definitely going to take some time to figure out these tracks, coming in here for the first time. But yeah, the biggest thing is I just need to qualify better. I haven’t had one qualifying lap this year where I’ve been like, man, I feel like I nailed that and that was all it had. I always feel like I leave some to be desired in qualifying. At the end of the day, your weekend on Sunday’s starts with how you qualify on Saturday, and it’s a lot more crucial than I realized it was going to be.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
APRIl 11, 2026

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and Jeff Andrews, President and General Manager of Hendrick Motorsports, met with the media onsite at Bristol Motor Speedway in advance of Bowman’s return to NASCAR Cup Series competition.

Media Availability Quotes:

Alex, just kind of walk us through what these past few weeks have been like, starting with the COTA race?

Alex Bowman: “Yeah, obviously COTA wasn’t a lot of fun for me. Everything was fine until it wasn’t, obviously, in the car; dizziness, throwing up on myself, spinning, kind of all of the things. It wasn’t fun, and I was not pumped that I had to get out. Obviously, I’ve raced through a lot of injuries, but was one where I was going to end up running into something or somebody, and the smart thing to do in that case was to get out.

So, yeah, just spent a lot of time with a lot of different doctors and had a lot of different help to go about the best rehab process possible and kind of best practices going forward and everything to get back to where I needed to be to get back in the car.”

Was there doubt or concern that, this is vertigo so you don’t know, like what your career was going to be like and when you could come back?

Alex Bowman: “Yeah, I mean I think the biggest thing is with vertigo, just trying to find what was causing everything, why it happened and what the right path going forward was. So there was definitely, for me, concern there. But at the same time, just trying to get back feeling well enough to do life. Fortunately, I had a lot of really great people around me that helped me a ton. The boss flew me around to different places that I needed to be and kind of all the things that we needed to do to give me the best help that we could get, and now, I’m feeling really good. I’m thankful to be back feeling well.”

Can you say what the cause was?

Alex Bowman: “I think it’s like anything, there’s more than one probably, just a multitude of different things that we kind of had to work through to get me back feeling well. So, honestly, we worked through so many different things it’s hard to pinpoint one exact thing. But, you know, the good news is now I’m feeling really well and ready to go.”

Did you ever feel like you were close to not racing again this year or ever?

Alex Bowman: “I mean, honestly, yeah — when I got out at COTA, I was like, this is probably it. That was what was going through my head. So, yeah, that sucked, and I’m thankful that I got another shot at it.”

When you went through those couple different tests at Ten-Tenths, what exactly are you looking for in the car as far as the sensation goes, what you need to feel, what you don’t want to feel, all those different things?

Alex Bowman: “The biggest thing was not getting dizzy. I mean, that was the main thing, right? So, yeah, we had gone to Ten-Tenths there that first week. I could run a couple laps, but then I was ready to throw up and dizzy and not feeling well. Just being able to drive, put myself through those G-Forces and to feel well through it. You know, obviously did karting, pit practice, a ton of different workouts, interval stuff and different stuff with different doctors. So, yeah, feeling really good.”

Why come back this week? Obviously, this is a really physical track, steep banks, short laps.. why get back this week?

Alex Bowman: “Because they said I could (laughs). I mean, yeah, I’m a racecar driver, so you tell me I’m clear and I’m going to go do it. Yeah, it’s probably the worst place possible to come back to. You know, I think not just from it’s physical, but it’s a track that is extremely difficult. The margins from the front to the back of the field are tiny. You look at qualifying here, and every hundredth is multiple spots, for the most part. I haven’t qualified a car in a month. I’m trying to get back up to speed. My expectations coming here, it’s one of my best tracks; two of the last three poles here, expect to contend for wins. I think expectations probably change a little bit this week. You know, if we could get out of here with a top-10, top-15, I think, on my side of things, I’d be happy. But I think today will be the hardest part, just getting back up to speed and trying to qualify after sitting on the couch.”

You touched on it there, but what are your goals or expectations just for these next few weeks to get back into the rhythm of competing?

Alex Bowman: “Yeah, I mean, just to keep myself feeling how I need to feel. Obviously getting back up to speed is the biggest part. Cup racing is really, really hard. Every little bit matters so much that you can’t be lacking anything. So, four or five weeks out, whatever it was, not being in a car, that’s never good. Everybody else is always getting better and always leveling up, and you kind of miss out on that. So, just trying to catch back up.

Obviously, it’s been a rough year on the 48 side of things, so trying to get back rolling in the right direction for those guys. We’re all working really hard to try to get things pointed in the right direction.”

It seems so unfair, Alex, that things have happened to you, and it’s just hard to believe how you can handle it time after time. One of the reasons is Hendrick Motorsports really seems to stand behind you to go through things like this. Jeff, can you talk about that? And then, Alex, what Hendrick meant for you to be able to come back with another issue and have them ride it out with you?

Jeff Andrews: “Certainly, Alex Bowman has always been the driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, and we never had questions about whose seat that was. I think we said that early on, that we would follow 100% of the medical guidelines that we were given, and then plan Alex’s return when it was medically cleared, and then as well when Alex said he was ready. For us, Alex is part of our team. He’s a key teammate for us and has been an integral part of our company for quite some time, so we were willing to do what we needed to do to wait for him and get him back, and at the right time. I think it’s a testament to Alex with how hard he worked to be back a week early. I mean, these guys are athletes and there’s a lot of stories out there about athletes working hard and overcoming adversity and getting back in racecars sooner than expected.

We’re happy to have him back; proud of the work he put in, ready to go racing here these next 19 weeks and we’ll see where the points fall.”

Alex Bowman: “Yeah, for me, to answer the second part of your question; it just meant a lot to have everybody at HMS’s support and also everybody at Ally, Chevy and everybody that makes this deal possible, right? I’ve put HMS in a tough spot multiple times now in the last, you know, five years or whatever it’s been. So, yeah, they’ve probably given me more grace at times than I deserve, so super thankful for that just ready to get back rolling.”

What assurances do you have that a reoccurrence won’t happen?

Alex Bowman: “Yeah, I think just being able to do everything I did this week in the car. We’re able to kind of do things that recreated it pretty much every week for the last month or whatever it’s been. And this week, all those things, I was able to go through without recreating it. So, yeah, I think just narrowing down what caused it or what we think caused it and doing all the preventative measures that we can. I feel super confident that I’ll be good to go.”

The simulator sometimes gets the strongest racers who are tip-top shape sideways, you know, physically. What was it like for you getting back into the simulator?

Alex Bowman: “Yeah, I wish the sim was harder than it is for me. I feel like I’ve spent so much time in there over the last 10 years that I was totally fine in the sim. I was right up to speed; honestly, faster than the rest of the guys in the sim, which drives me crazy because then they’d kick my butt on Sunday’s (laughs). But, yeah, I felt fine in the sim. Should be good.”

It’s never easy to see someone else in your car. What were your thoughts on how Justin Allgaier and Anthony Alfredo performed and what was your conversation with them on keeping up to date on how the No. 48’s performing this year?

Alex Bowman: “Yeah, I tried to be in the team operations center when I could or I had my little home base set up at home at other times too. Just tried to stay plugged into the race team. Both of them worked super hard and did a great job. So, you know, I think it’s no secret that it’s been a rough year on the No. 48 team, and the two of them worked super hard to give it all they had. I’m appreciative of all their help. I spent a lot of time talking to Justin (Allgaier) today before I came in here, too. So, yeah, those guys were super helpful and really appreciate it.”

A lot of people were really interested in Anthony Alfredo getting to drive the No. 48 at Phoenix, and then once the longer absence was announced, the pivot was to Justin Allgaier. What went into deciding which driver ran which race? I know there was some talk about Alfredo having a lot of sim experience at Phoenix, specifically… was that it or just kind of what went into it?

Jeff Andrws: “Yeah, I think it was a culmination of things. I mean, obviously timing — I would say the seat that’s in the car because, you know, that’s not as easy of a job as it used to be in these cars to get guys comfortable and fit into the car. Obviously, Anthony (Alfredo) fit in Alex’s seat and it was a little bit easier to adapt there, especially with Phoenix being a short week and trailers having to leave early part of that week. But, yeah, like you mentioned there, Anthony did a tremendous amount of work for us during the championship weekend at Phoenix; a lot of laps around that track on the simulator. So, we felt that, short term, that was our guy to go get and then, you know, at that point in time, we didn’t obviously know how long this was going to last with Alex and when we’d have him back in that car.

So, you know, the next step there was Justin (Allgaier), who’s obviously kind of been our guy when it comes to standing in and filling in for us. There were some good tracks that were in line for Justin, as well. So, really, just can’t thank the both of them enough. They did a great job and were great teammates. Like Alex said, he was certainly involved with both of them, talking with them and back in our shop on Monday morning meeting with them during a debrief. Proud of the job they both did for us in those circumstances.”

I know this is a difficult time for you being out. How did you stay mentally strong there? Was it the reassurance, like Jeff talked about, from Hendrick Motorsports and knowing that you are the driver of the No. 48?

Alex Bowman: “Yeah, I mean, I think making sure I didn’t get bored was the biggest thing. Just trying to stay busy, whether it was little projects here and there. I was in the gym doing rehab stuff so much that I was pretty occupied with that. You know, honestly, just occupying myself and trying to feel better. The weekends sucked, but I just being able to try to help the team when I could and staying plugged in. I think just keeping myself busy was the biggest thing that I did.”

Will you continue to have Justin, Anthony, or anyone on standby, the reserve driver, if conditions call for it?

Alex Bowman: “That’s probably a better question for Jeff. But, yeah, I feel really good and honestly just focused on approaching the weekend the best I can. I don’t have any plans to get out of the car anytime soon.”

Jeff Andrews: “Yeah, I would say from our perspective, Alex has been cleared without any restrictions, so we do not have a backup driver on call this weekend. We’re approaching it as a normal weekend and looking forward to 500 laps on Sunday.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.