Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Chicago Street Race Media Availability
Friday, July 4, 2025

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series, stopped by the media center today at the Chicago Street Race to talk about this weekend and his recent ESPY nomination.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU ARE NOMINATED FOR AN ESPY AND YOU ARE GOING TO THE CEREMONY. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO HAVE A NIGHT WHERE SPORTS IS CELEBRATED TO THE CALIBER THAT IT IS AT THE ESPYS? “For somebody that likes watching sports and enjoys that, going to the ESPYS alone is a really cool opportunity – to see everybody and meet a lot of people. You’ve got to take advantage of that opportunity, but being nominated is really cool. I don’t know how many words you can really say to describe it. You just look at the other drivers that are in the running as well, I mean, they’re world-class drivers, so to have your name even mentioned with them is a pretty special thing, for sure. Hopefully, it goes really well. You never know how it works, but I’ll be there if we do win. I’ll be as surprised as anybody and it’ll be a fun experience either way and worth the trip, for sure.”

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PART OF THIS CIRCUIT? “It’s probably Victory Lane, I just haven’t seen it yet (laughing). Up to this moment, it’s been the ride home. Hopefully, it’s not like that this time. This track is very challenging in its own way. When you look at turns one and six, you have no run off, so there aren’t many street courses that I know of at least, where you have long straightaways with literally no run off, so the risk is huge here. When you go to push it, you send it in there a little bit too far, and we’ve seen that where a car goes straight right into the tire barrier. You don’t have the ability to make mistakes and just turn around and get back going again. It’s a little different than other road courses, where a lot of times you’ll maybe overdrive the car to find the limits in practice and stuff like that. You can’t afford to do that here. You push it a little too hard and you’ll crash. You lock up the tires and wheel hop in there you’re gonna hit the wall. It’s a different approach for sure. That on top of the bumps and the track is just unpredictable for those reasons. You think you’re in a good spot, but if you’re off line a couple feet you hit a new bump you didn’t know was there and the next thing you know, you’re going for a ride so you look at some of these corners. They’re really tricky. They’re tight. Is there one part better than the others? I don’t know. You just have a lot of different variables that you don’t typically have even at other road courses. You think about the way the road crowns. There’s something different. Going over bridges and those bumps and different textures and all the different lines that are painted out there. There are a lot of different things going on than what we typically have. Obviously, we don’t have curbing, so you hit the wall if you get too close. The risk is very, very high when you’re trying to make speed here.”

TURN 10 HAS A NOTORIOUS BUMP BY THE FOUNTAIN. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT BUMP? “It’s sketch. You’re kind of booking around the waterfall there and then you’re switching directions and you’re going down that little chute. It’s two lanes wide and surprisingly when you watch these races back, people make passes through there, which is wild because it’s so tight. You feel like you’re going really fast, but you’re really not. It’s such a tight area that you feel like you’re booking it and the car, again, is bouncing all over the place. That’s another part of the track, too, when it rained and if it does again, that part of the track doesn’t dry very well. Just kind of being at the bottom of the hill there, it seems like the water kind of puddles up there more and takes longer to dry. I don’t know if the sun doesn’t quite get there as good. Either way, that was the part of the track that stayed the most wet throughout the whole race. It’s tricky through there, for sure, especially when it’s raining and you don’t know what your grip level is every lap. You’re like, ‘Is it gonna be slicker or is it going to be more grip?’ If it catches you off guard, you’re wrecked.”

DO YOU GET INVOLVED IN ANY OF THE DISCUSSIONS AROUND WHETHER WE SHOULD KEEP RACING HERE IN CHICAGO OR GO SOMEWHERE ELSE? “No, I do not get in the middle of that. Speaking for myself and maybe some of the driver council and those type of things, we try to help whether it’s a new venue or a venue we’ve gone to and adjustments that we think would be better. A great example of that was Mexico City. When we were there, whether it’s the tire barriers that you’ve seen in a lot of the corners through the esses, that was all through the driver council and Jeff Burton and everybody working together with NASCAR to help make sure that the race is officiated correctly and puts on the best racing possible for the fans. I feel like that’s one of the main roles for the council is, so whether that’s racing here in Chicago, there can be suggestions on what we can do better, and we’ve voiced those and wherever the next one may be, if it’s here again, if it’s somewhere else, whatever happens, we’d like to be in the middle of those discussions of some of the things we’d like to see on track and even off track for the experience, for the drivers, the teams and the fans.”

LAST WEEK WAS THE FIRST LOOK AT THE NEW DVP POLICY AS FAR AS LOTS OF CARS AND WHAT YOU CAN FIX AND WHAT YOU CAN’T. ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT YOU SAW LAST WEEK? “We didn’t fix much. I didn’t get to really experience the full thing as we were just parked on pit road and it was done with the radiator knocked out of it and that’s not on the list. It’s funny watching your videos of the garage. It looked like a parking garage (laughing). It’s kind of wild to see that many cars wiped out there, but it’s part of the game. I guess it went fairly smooth. I watched on TV and from there I watched the lift system work for a couple cars. That was neat to see that actually go into effect and see a car stuck, they plugged it in and drove off. That was cool. That’s a start. I wasn’t in the middle of any DVP nor were any of our cars to speak of to know any little details and things like that, but it seems like the rules are pretty clear.”

IS THIS AN EXERCISE IN PATIENCE DRIVING ON THIS TRACK? “Yeah, it’s easy to say that until Shane is out there a second faster than you and you have to go put yourself in some uncomfortable situations. It’s easy to say that, but you’ve got to figure out how to go fast and last I checked with this car there’s no going fast in your comfort zone. You just have to be pushing outside of where you feel like you’re comfortable and this track is no exception to it. If anything, it’s just a little bit more out of your comfort zone, probably because we haven’t done it much. We’re not road racers to speak of. There’s only one out there that really is and so all of us are, in a way, playing catch-up.”

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE NASCAR BALANCE THE DIFFERENCE OF TAKING THE SPORT INTO NEW VENUES WITH ESTABLISHING A FOOTHOLD IN A MARKET LIKE DOWNTOWN CHICAGO AND BEING ABLE TO KEEP THOSE NEW FANS COMING AFTER THREE YEARS? “I can probably go a couple different directions on that. I’m always a big fan of going to new facilities because it’s worked every single time. I’ve got to go back to just thinking about early in my career when we never did anything like this. It was the same schedule every year for decades. Nothing changed. A big change would be like moving a date a couple weeks from where it was. It wasn’t changing anything. Now we’re going to new venues. You think of Road America, we’re not too far from there, and that was a huge success. The L.A. Coliseum, the first couple of years was a huge success. I think if you do it too long it gets stale. I think there are tracks that are part of our roots that we must go to, but I think there’s a handful of tracks that should be on a three-year term kind of thing that you can just move around and go to new places. Look at what happened at Bowman Gray this year – a huge success, a new track. People love going to see something new. The unknown. The uncertainty of all the teams not knowing what to do. It’s fun to watch. You have an idea now of what Chicago is gonna look like. We know what Richmond looks like. We know what Daytona is gonna look like. When you go to a new facility you don’t know. What was Bowman Gray gonna look like? We don’t really know until we get there, so I think the newness is important to keep something like that going on in our schedule. That’s just my opinion, though.”

THOUGHTS ON HAVING FOUR ROAD COURSES IN NINE RACES? “We’ve got to do them, so I’m kind of good either way. I just think in the playoffs you need to have a good mixture of racetracks throughout the 10 weeks, but the other regular season races, I mean, if we’re gonna do them, then I don’t really care. Whatever works best for the schedule and weather and fans and that type of stuff is fine with me.”

NEXT MONTH IT WILL HAVE BEEN A DECADE SINCE YOU LAST CUP WIN ON A ROAD COURSE. IS THERE ANY ADDITIONAL MOTIVATION WHEN COMING HERE TO PROVE YOU CAN NOT ONLY CONTEND BUT BEAT THESE NEW ROAD RACERS? “You just gave me one, not that I needed it (laughing). I honestly feel like I have to prove myself every day. I always say that what you did yesterday is yesterday. Tell me what you’re gonna do tomorrow. That’s the important stuff. The history books and people’s memories are short. People say, and I say too, you’re only as good as your last race and it really feels that way a lot of times. I’ve had a great career. You’re right, a lot of great accomplishments and really cool moments. Have I hit all the markers that I set out to hit? No, I haven’t, so I’ve still got plenty to go out there and want to achieve, for sure.”

IF WEATHER IS A FACTOR ON SUNDAY, IS IT MORE COMFORTING KNOWING YOU’VE EXPERIENCED THAT HERE IN PREVIOUS YEARS? MORE COMFORTING THAN THE FIRST TIME? “You know at least what you’re getting into. Comfortable? Never. I don’t think so, but since the first time here, I mean, you look at all the rain races that we’ve had and the one that stands out the most to probably everyone is the one at COTA that was like, ‘OK, that’s too far.’ Now we’ve gotten to the point where we can go out there and make laps and race. We know what the right amount of spray is so we can see and feel safe out there, and you can tell the drivers have all gotten much better at it. The first time we were rain racing we were all tip toeing around and everyone was going wicked slow. It was like, ‘What are we doing?’ Now it’s like, instead of survival is what it was to start, like just don’t crash, now they feel better about it. They’re more comfortable. They’re more aggressive. They’re out there racing now all the way through the field. You used to see maybe the top 10 cars really racing each other and feeling comfortable enough to get after it, and everyone else was like, ‘if I just don’t crash here, I’m gonna finish in the top 10.’ Now, that’s not good enough anymore. The level keeps going up, just like everything else. Everyone has just done more rain racing now to know what to expect as far as grip levels and things they cannot pull off. It’s fun to watch, though. I do think the rain racing is interesting, especially when you get to the tire strategy piece. At what point do you put slicks on versus the wet tire. It gets pretty interesting really quick.”

YOU DID A VIDEO RECENTLY ON SOCIAL MEDIA WHERE YOU WENT UNDERCOVER WITH A DISGUISE AND GAVE A FORD DEALERSHIP SALESMAN A RIDE. DO YOU ENJOY DOING STUFF LIKE THAT? “That was a blast. Backstory. This was literally the week after we won the championship at Phoenix. We went to Huntersville Ford in North Carolina. I’m friends with a lot of people there and this is Ford’s idea. They’ve done this a couple other times with other drivers and they brought this up to me and I’m like, ‘Yes. This is what I live for. I want to do that so bad.’ So, I went undercover. I was a chicken farmer from Arkansas, my wife and I. We just moved to North Caroline and we wanted to get a family vehicle. That was the story behind the whole thing and we ended up giving a salesman named Joe, great guy, we scared the hell out of him and made a lot of good jokes. Unfortunately, apparently, a lot of the things we said were not OK, so a lot of it got cut out (laughing). It’s amazing. We’ve got the raw footage, which I’m trying to put it all together so I can post some things I can. There’s more to come, I will say that. The actual video, the real thing turned out great, but we’re gonna try to get all of the outtakes and put them together and do some more cool content behind it. It was definitely a fun experience and we got him. He had no idea, which is crazy. I figured eventually he was gonna figure this out, but it definitely was a wild experience for Joe.”

Toyota GAZOO Racing – Erik Jones
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHICAGO (July 4, 2025) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver Erik Jones was made available to the media on Friday prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course.

ERIK JONES, No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Tell us a about the July 4 parade you were a part of today.

“Yeah, we drove up to Hinsdale, (Illinois), (which is) I guess west of here and AdventHealth is our primary and they’re partnered with UChicago Medicine. They did a big parade down there, and yeah it was a huge Fourth of July parade and the whole thing I think took close to a couple hours to do, but that was great. A great turnout, handful and NASCAR fans there, excited to see the car. We were towing it through there, so it was cool to do something Fourth of July-themed and have some fun with it.”

Can you get into how solidifying the competition direction at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has impacted your team’s performance?

“Yeah I mean we hired Jacob Cantor (director of competition, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB) and Brian Campe (technical director, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB) around July of last year and there was kind of a gap of time there where it just wasn’t a lot of leadership in those roles and we didn’t have a good engineering flow from the top, down. So there was some processes that needed to be built out and people understanding what their roles were and what they needed to be doing, what they needed to focus on, what they didn’t need to focus on. It took a solid six-to-eight months probably to break that down and then beyond that, just hiring more people, right? We were pretty short-staffed in our engineering department, even after hiring those guys. It took all that time to really get everybody in their right position and figuring out what they were going to be doing. Now, I feel like everybody’s really in the flow of it and (there’s) a lot more open communication between everybody just knowing what’s going on, who’s working on what, given enough forum for guys to come up with new ideas and figure things out. It just took some organization. There was just a stretch where we didn’t have the leadership in place and now, I feel like our leadership group is really strong.”

How has the crew chief change impacted things for your team?

“We did the last four races in 2024 together, and then obviously, all of this year. Not only was a chief change, we swapped the entire team, so engineers, mechanics, everybody. That’s not easy for a lot of reasons, right? People are used to working with who they’re used to working with, so there’s some apprehension probably just in a team swap and then you get settled in, well you have to get to know everybody and figure out what kind of makes them tick, and what’s good. With the crew chief side of things, just learning the language between us, myself and Ben (Beshore, crew chief) when I’m asking for certain things, what I’m looking for, what he’s asking for, what he kind of wants from me, what he’s most curious about after practice. So, it took up until probably April to feel like Ben and I were really on the same (page) and what was going on, and the engineers as well, just knowing kind of the cadence, not only Saturday and Sunday, but Monday-to-Thursday – what we need from each other. Felt like that’s finally, and has been for the last couple months, been on a good spot.”

Do you feel that LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is as much out on an island as they have been in the past?

“Yeah, there’s no alliance still. I would say the information that we get is (pause), we get a bit more now. There’s been some compromise on some different areas, I don’t want to dive into every bit of piece of it, but yeah, I would say there’s been some compromise on what information we get. I wouldn’t say that’s the reason that we started to run better. I think it’s helped, but to say that’s made the big difference, I wouldn’t say it’s true. Yeah, there’s been a better compromise recently.”

How does the No. 43 team approach the rest of the season with the recent surge in performance?

“Yeah, I mean we’re kind of in a tough spot, right? We’re 39 points out of the Playoffs which is kind of eight really good races. Obviously, a win would be great, but I feel like there’s a couple of tracks we really have to target hard on what places we can win at. For us, I mean, it’s just doing what we’re doing. If we keep running the way we’ve ran since Charlotte, we’ll yeah we’ll probably point our way in barring another kind of obscure winner farther back in points. So, that’s the plan right now is just to keep running well and keep racking these points up. I hope it goes well again this weekend. Kind of three strange weeks: here (Chicago), Sonoma and Dover, so it’s going to kind of make-or-break us. You know, one bad race, (pause) if we have a race where something goes wrong, we don’t score any good points, I mean it’s kind of over unless a lot of other people have bad races too. We’ve been on a great roll, tons of momentum. It’s easy to look at it right now and say it’s going to keep going, but you don’t know how things ebb and flow. Pointing our way in is the number one goal, but we’re banking hard on a couple of races that we can win too.”

What is that last little bit you feel like you guys are missing to kind of take that next big step?

“Yeah, we’re one good (pause), we’re in the magic zone, right? So, in racing, I think if you’re running 30th, like we were last year, it’s not easy to get better to run in the top-15 or top-10, but it’s a lot easier to get to that point than it is to go from top-10 to top-five, to winning. So, this is kind of where that magic starts to happen and it takes some really good people to find some really minute things in race cars, and then it comes down to the drivers as well, right? And execution, making it happen in the seat, so yeah, I wish I could just tell you what that is. I think we’re right there, a step away of being up there with the Penskes (Team Penske), JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) Hendrick (Motorsports). We’re real close to that mark, but it definitely takes some magic. And it’s like that in all levels of racing. It always has been for me at least, you can easily pick up (pause) if you’re a half-second off that first three-and-a-half, four tenths, is easy. That last tenth is pretty hard to find. So that’s kind of where we’re sitting right now, but it’s going to take both sides from the race car and from the garage.”

How do you assess where your team is at on the road courses?
“Yeah, I mean (they’re) not our strength from any sense of that, but I think it’s better. Mexico (City) went a lot better for us. It felt like we had a good car, strategy kind of derailed us, but the No. 42 (John Hunter Nemechek) had a great finish. We still earned a bunch of points running up front a lot of the day. But I think we took a big step forward there. COTA (Circuit of the Americas) earlier this year, we were legitimately a last-place car almost, so to take that step forward, I think was impressive. But it’s one sample size. Think we’ll know a lot better after Sunday and Sonoma where we really stand. As far as where I’m at on the road course, I don’t know, I felt pretty good about it in the Gen 6 car. The Next Gen car hasn’t gone great for me (at road courses). (Had) a couple of good days but you know, I feel like we’ve never hit on it with the race cars either until recently, we’ve started to make that climb. So, just keep working on both ends, but yeah, I’m way more confident right now than I was after COTA.”

What are your thoughts advancing to the second round of the In-Season Challenge and your outlook on your matchup this weekend?

“Yeah, making it out of Atlanta was a challenge for anybody. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Just to still be in it, right? I mean, half the guys are knocked out, so feel good about going up against Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.). I feel like that’s a doable one for us this weekend. Next week (is) Sonoma, (and that’ll) either be No. 42 (John Hunter Nemechek) or the No. 9 (Chase Elliott), and if it’s the No. 9, that’ll be a tough one for us. He’s probably going to run really well. So, either way, it’s fun to still be in it, have a shot. We’ll see where it goes. Like I’ve said, we’re in a long stretch of races right now and to have something other than the Playoff line to focus on I think is pretty cool for the sport. Fun to follow along and even when we fall out, if we fall out, it’ll be fun to follow until the end.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.

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

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHICAGO STREET RACE
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
JULY 4, 2025

 Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and and the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, met with the media in advance of running double duty at the Chicago Street Course. The 36-year-old Auckland, New Zealand, native is the only driver to earn victories in both divisions at the “Windy City” circuit – scoring the win in the 2023 Cup Series race and the 2024 Xfinity Series race.

Media Availability Quotes:

You’ve been on other street courses before. How do you compare the build, the layout, the configuration of this one versus what you’ve raced elsewhere?

“It’s a bit like Gold Coast in some ways… like the 90-degree corners and stuff, and Adelaide in some sections. But yeah, it’s different in its own way. The hardest part here is the no runoff… like turn one and turn five, going straight into a wall at the biggest braking zones, is pretty daunting. So yeah, normally you have runoff in the tricky corners, so that’s probably the hardest part about this place.”

Is there anything about the design, other than the braking spots, that jump out to you that you like or don’t like or that kind of thing?

“It’s just a track, yeah. I don’t know, it’s very challenging. It’s difficult, but nothing out of the ordinary, I guess.”

Since you have a win, is there anything you have asked your team to maybe experiment with here just to see if it works on a Cup car and if you like it on a road course?

“We did that at Mexico, and we’ll continue to make it better here. So yeah, it’s been good to try a few things. It’s difficult here because it’s a closed sort of practice…what you turn up with is what you’re stuck with. It wasn’t a risk at Mexico, we could change it if it wasn’t very good. But yeah, we just keep trying to make the car better. There’s some feelings I’ve struggled with in the car the last couple of years and it’s nice to try some things. But yeah, we can obviously — you know, we’re in a nice position now having won a race. And it may change our strategy. If we’re in a position to get a playoff point, we’ll probably try and get that, but that’ll put us deep in the field for the next stage. So yeah, there’s a bit of a toss-up there what we’re going to do, but it’s a nice position to be in. And yeah, you’re right, we can try some stuff now.”

When you come back to Chicago, do you feel any special connection to this city where you got your first win?

“Yeah, I do. This place is pretty cool to me every time I come back. I hate cities, so I don’t really like the place. But when you get here, it’s pretty cool. You know, I have great memories here. This place has changed my life, so I’m going to have special memories of this place forever. But yeah, not enough grass for me (laughs).”

Four playoff spots remain in the final eight races of the regular season. Even though you’re currently locked in, how safe do you feel in the spot you’re in, and is a second win a must?

“I don’t know… someone brought that up the other day, but I try not to think about those things. You know, we’re still — we won a race, which is extremely hard to do here. And yeah, we just got to focus on our own thing and it should work out. We’ll be fine.”

I know the win obviously puts you in a great position for the playoffs, but is there something to be said for building some momentum for you and your team in this stretch here? Obviously Chicago, that you’ve had a lot of success at, and then going to Sonoma, another road course, kind of building toward the playoffs?

“Yeah, and our oval stuff really was getting better and better. We had a bad week at Pocono, but again at Atlanta, I felt like we made a huge step and a huge gain from earlier in the year at Atlanta. We were running up front, even before half the field got taken out. But I was having some great times there and learning. You know, I had learned so much since the start of the year. I felt really comfortable up front, so yeah, I think we’re really still learning, getting better every week. It’s been a really fun road to be a part of this, I’m enjoying it. And then, as I’ve said before, road courses are just a bonus for us. We know we’re going to be good and we can just focus on trying to get results there.”

Joey (Logano) was up here just a minute ago and he was talking about how he still feels like the rest of the field is trying to catch up to someone like you who has so much road and street experience and skill. Do you feel like the rest of the field has made strides in the last couple of years in this race when it comes to this competition?

“Yeah, I can just flip what he says and that’s what I feel on ovals. You know, that’s the reasons why I’m doing Summer Shootout and stuff, just trying to get experience on ovals.

These guys have been doing left-handers since they were 10 years old. You know, they’re two completely different sports, and although there has been road racing in NASCAR forever, it’s not that much. So yeah, just the experience levels are different in what we do. And I feel like, yes, they’ve definitely gotten a lot better since the first one on this track, for sure.”

The odds basically have you head-to-head with Connor Zilich for the win on Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. How do you feel that battle will go with him with your fellow Red Bull racer?

“Yeah, I feel like the odds stuff is pretty cool to read… like it means that people think nice things about me. That’s cool. But yeah, Connor (Zilisch) will be very good and very tough to beat here. He’s been amazing in those cars. I haven’t driven a Xfinity car all year and it’ll be the first time in a JRM car. So yeah, I’m looking forward to that. Looking forward to driving it tomorrow and seeing what it’s like. That Xfinity race last year was one of my favorite races. I had a lot of fun in that and those cars race really well. They’re pretty awkward and clumsy, but really fun to race.”

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. Learn more at GM.com.

Collaborative Effort to be Showcased Aboard Michael McDowell’s No. 71 Chevy at Sonoma Raceway

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 4, 2025) – As part of its continuing efforts to support impactful cultural and community initiatives across the nation, Gainbridge will partner with Project Zin to serve as co-primary sponsors aboard Michael McDowell’s No. 71 Chevrolet ZL1 for the NASCAR Cup Series annual visit to Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Project Zin, now in its 15th year, takes place August 15-16 in Sonoma (Calif.) County at Bricoleur Vineyards and offers a series of dining events hosted by Chef Charlie Palmer, Clay Mauritson and some of the industry’s most elite winemakers.

The two-day celebration will feature dishes and wine pairings from some of the most illustrious chefs and eclectic vintners in the Bay Area with all proceeds benefiting the Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area and its mission to empower, inspire, and support individuals and families in the Down Syndrome community.

“When our son Brady was diagnosed with Down Syndrome, our world shifted overnight,” said Clay and Carrie Mauritson. “What felt like one of the hardest moments in our lives became one of the greatest blessings. Project Zin is our way of giving back—creating something joyful, purposeful, and rooted in community. It’s a celebration of inclusion and possibility, and we’re so proud to support the incredible work of the Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area through this event.”

McDowell, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner and 2021 Daytona 500 Champion, is a 17-year veteran with over 500 starts on NASCAR’s senior circuit. In addition to his Daytona 500 accolades, the Glendale, Ariz., native won the 2023 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on the Grand Prix Circuit at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The father-of-five and highly accomplished road racer hasn’t finished outside the top-seven in his last three starts at Sonoma Raceway, including a runner-up finish in last year’s visit to the picturesque 12-turn, 1.99-mile road course.

This season, McDowell has recorded one top-five, two top-10 and seven top-15 finishes, including a fifth-place showing at NASCAR’s most recent road race in the Viva Mexico 250 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. He is currently 22nd in the Cup Series championship point standings, just 28 markers below the playoff cutline with eight races remaining in the regular season.

“This is a great way to represent an important cause,” said McDowell. “Family is such a substantial part of life — mine especially, right? I’ve got five kids. The impact they’ve had on my life is something I’ll never take for granted, and I always want them to strive for success, no matter what that may be. Teaming up with Gainbridge and Project Zin gives the NASCAR community a chance to reinvest in the programs offered by the Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area and make a real difference in the lives of children and families who need support. It’s going to be a special weekend all the way around, and I hope we can put on a good show for them.”

Individual tickets and weekend packages are available by visiting the Project Zin website.

The Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Sonoma Raceway will be televised live on TNT and streamed live on MAX Sunday, July 13 beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 20th of 36 points-paying races on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule will also be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

About Gainbridge…
Founded in 2018, Gainbridge® is an insurtech subsidiary of Group 1001 that empowers consumers to take control of their financial future with solutions that are accessible to everyone, no matter their budget or financial knowledge. Its platform provides access to financial products that are simple, intuitive, and backed by smart technology with no complexity or hidden fees. Gainbridge® is headquartered in Zionsville, Indiana. For more information, visit www.gainbridge.io or follow and connect with us on X and LinkedIn.

About Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area…
DSCBA’s mission is to empower, inspire and support people with Down Syndrome, their families, and the community that serves them while fostering awareness and acceptance in all areas of life.

DSCBA develops services that are in line with members’ needs and strives to continuously break down barriers to success by providing resources, technology, and education through their direct services. Their Down Syndrome Education Alliance, Expression Connection and Communication Readiness Programs, as well as Peer Development Classes, Medical Outreach Alliance, public policy outreach, education advocacy, new parent outreach, support groups, and more, reflect the diverse needs of their members.

Their programs and services include information and programs for new and expecting parents, the THRIVE Program, Connection Groups, Music Therapy, Speech Services as well as Communication Readiness Programs.

About Mauritson Wines…
The Mauritson family has been growing grapes in the Dry Creek Valley since 1868, and their exceptional winemaking tradition is currently led by Clay Mauritson, who founded Mauritson Wines in 1998. By Harnessing the power of six generations of winegrowing wisdom, longstanding grower relationships, and an intimate understanding of the land, Mauritson Wines has established itself as one of Sonoma County’s benchmark producers of small-lot, appellation-specific wines. Learn more at www.mauritsonwines.com

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on May 30, 2025, when Rajah Caruth took the checkered flag in the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.

In 2025, Spire Motorsports campaigns the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team also fields the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the No. 77 Chevrolet in the ARCA Menards Series in select events.

Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Chicago Street Race… NASCAR returns to Chicago for the sport’s only street race, which weaves through Chicago’s Grant Park area, artfully parading the field through a 2.2-mile, 12-turn track configuration that includes stunning views of Lake Michigan. This weekend marks the sport’s third appearance to the streets of Chicago and in five Cup Series starts at the track, Richard Childress Racing earned its best finish of fifth with Kyle Busch in 2023. Additionally, RCR owns two top-10 finishes at the course in Cup Series competition.

Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Chicago Street Race… In four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the Chicago Street Race, RCR has earned two top-fives finishes and three top-10 finishes. Last year, Jesse Love led the RCR contingent with a fifth place finish at the track, and Austin Hill finished seventh.

Deep Roots in Chicago… NASCAR has a rich tradition of racing in Chicago and the surrounding areas dating back to 1954. The Cup Series has competed at five different tracks in the Chicago area, including Santa Fe Speedway (1954), Soldier Field (1956-1957), Chicago Motor Speedway (2000-2001), Chicagoland Speedway (2001-2019) and most recently the Chicago Street Course. RCR has a winning tradition in Chicago, with a total of seven wins across NASCAR’s top-three national series and the ARCA Menards Series at Chicagoland Speedway. Kevin Harvick won the inaugural Cup Series race at the 1.5-mile track in 2001, his second career win, and added another Cup victory in 2002. Harvick also won twice in the Xfinity Series (2005 and 2007) for RCR, while Elliott Sadler added an Xfinity Series win to the organization’s win tally in Chicago in 2012. In 2011, both Austin Dillon (NASCAR Truck Series) and Ty Dillon (ARCA Menards Series) were victorious at Chicagoland Speedway.

Three Times the Fun… RCR will field three Cup Series teams this weekend at the Chicago Street Race. Austin Hill returns to the No. 33 United Rentals Chevrolet, led by crew chief Andy Street. Hill and Street have a winning combination with 10 wins together in the Xfinity Series (2022-2024).

Tickets to the 2025 Carolina Cowboys Home Stand Are Available Now… Driven by the same passion for performance that guides his race team, Richard Childress’ latest endeavor brings Professional Bull Riding to the Carolinas. The Carolina Cowboys represent the Carolinas in the PBR Team Series, an elite league featuring the world’s top bull riders competing in games throughout the country. The team is owned by Richard Childress and Jeff Broin with 2018 Daytona 500 Champion Dillon serving as General Manager. Don’t miss the Carolina Cowboys 2025 “Cowboy Days” Home Stand September 12-14 at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Tickets are on sale at PBR.com and Ticketmaster.

Catch the Action on Saturday… The NASCAR Xfinity Series Loop 110 at the Chicago Street Race will be televised live Saturday, July 5, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET on The CW. The race will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions will be shown for free on The CW App.

Watch Us on TNT Sports… The NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Race will be televised live on Sunday, July 6, beginning at 2 p.m. ET on TNT Sports, the second of five consecutive races this season that will air on TNT. The race will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying will be broadcast on truTV and Max. Ride shotgun all season long with live, in-car camera feeds and scanner audio with a paid subscription to Max as part of their NASCAR driver cam experience during the race.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Race… The NASCAR Cup Series is headed to the streets of Chicago for the city’s third annual street race. Dillon had strong Chevrolets in his two previous Cup Series starts at the course but has been plagued by on-track incidents. At the inaugural event in 2023, Dillon was racing in second and contending for the lead when he made contact with the Turn 12 wall and sustained enough damage to retire him from the race 16 laps shy of the finish. Dillon had a strong top-10 race going in last year’s race before a late-race accident relegated the Welcome, North Carolina driver to a 19th-place finish.

Road Course Experience… Now considered a staple on the Cup Series schedule, Dillon has 41 Cup Series starts on road course/street course tracks and notably earned a pair of top-10 finishes at Circuit of The Americas and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in 2022. He spent additional time in the simulator preparing for this weekend’s race.

BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Teams Up with Dillon… Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team will be supported by BREZTRI AEROSPHERE®, an AstraZeneca product, at the Chicago Street Course. This partnership is about more than just racing. You can learn more about Dillon and his family’s personal connection to the brand at Breztri.com. AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases, and Biopharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.

Influenced… Dillon and his RCR team will be hosting Chicago Bulls basketball star Lonzo Ball on Sunday. Ball, who was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers this week, will celebrate his time in Chicago with a full immersion with the RCR team, including the sitting on the team’s pit box for the race.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:

What are your thoughts on racing on the streets of Chicago?

“The Chicago Street Race is an awesome race to check out. There are tight corners that impact how you enter and exit the corners. You’ve got to be so precise. The walls are very tight, and it’s easy to make a mistake on the course. The past couple of years, we’ve had to deal with the rain. Our Richard Childress Racing team will be ready for whatever comes our way.”

What’s it like driving the Chicago Street Race compared to a regular track—does it feel different behind the wheel?

“The Chicago Street Race is very different from the other courses we race on. We’re racing on the streets of downtown Chicago, and seeing the city skyline and the traffic lights definitely gives the race a different feeling. It’s a pretty cool sight to race around Buckingham Fountain and other historic monuments in the city. It’s going to be a great July Fourth holiday weekend. The fan support is huge, and NASCAR puts on a great race.”

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Slurpee Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Race… Sunday’s third-annual Grant Park 165 will mark Busch’s third career NASCAR Cup Series start at the Chicago Street Race. Busch has one top-five and two top-10 finishes in his previous starts at the track. Additionally, he has an average starting position of 18.5, an average finish of seventh, and has completed 100 percent (136 of 136) of the laps he’s contested there.

Best Average Finish… Busch’s average finish of 7.0 on the streets of Chicago is his best among all active tracks. It also ranks third-best among all drivers that have competed in both races at the Chicago Street Race, behind only Ty Gibbs and Michael McDowell, who are tied at 6.0.

Road Course Prowess… In addition to his street course successes, Busch has 58 career road course starts at NASCAR’s highest level, racking up four wins (two at Sonoma Raceway and two at Watkins Glen International), 20 top-five finishes and 30 top-10 finishes. He has earned two poles in road course competition (Watkins Glen International in 2011 and 2017), and has led 472 laps in road course competition in the Cup Series.

About 7-Eleven, Inc… 7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name in the U.S. convenience-retailing industry. Based in Irving, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to 7-Eleven® stores, 7-Eleven, Inc. operates and franchises Speedway®,  Stripes®,  Laredo Taco Company® and Raise the Roost® Chicken and Biscuits locations. Known for its iconic brands such as Slurpee®, Big Bite® and Big Gulp®, 7-Eleven offers customers fresh, high-quality and convenient food options like sandwiches, salads, side dishes, cut fruit and protein boxes, as well as pizza, chicken wings and mini beef tacos. 7-Eleven also offers customers industry-leading packaged products at an outstanding value with its 7-Select™ private brand. Customers can earn and redeem points on various items in stores nationwide through its 7Rewards® and Speedy Rewards® loyalty programs with more than 100 million members, place an order in the 7NOW® delivery app with real-time tracking and delivery typically in about 30 minutes, or rely on 7-Eleven for other convenient services. Find out more online at www.7-eleven.com.

KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:

There’s a whole lot of unique tracks coming up on the schedule. Is there anything you can take from that?

“Each week we try to continue to focus on that week’s race and making sure that we know what to do to have good results. There’s a few road courses coming up, so honestly, some might say ‘hey, we screwed up road course points at Mexico, so now we’re not going to be very good on all the rest of the road courses.’ I wouldn’t say that’s true. You can either do really well and earn a lot of points at those races by staying out at the end of the stages and playing the strategy game, or you can have what happened to us in Mexico and have an incident where you get zero points. It’s up to our team to do everything we can to maximize the opportunities to earn points.”

Anytime you get to any of the road courses, you don’t want to have to deal with those road course ringers, right?

“The A.J. Allmendingers or the Shane van Gisbergens, those guys are really good, and recognized for their road course experience, although, last year Alex Bowman won the race and he does not come from a road course racing background. So, it’s anyone and everyone in the field that can go out there and get it done on at the road course races.”

Would you be okay with adding another street race to the schedule? If so, what would be a good location?

“Another street circuit would be a pretty good idea. If we’re going to do it, we should go to an area that we’re not currently racing in. I wouldn’t change racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to run on the streets of Las Vegas. Let’s go somewhere different.”

Austin Hill and the No. 33 United Rentals Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Race… Austin Hill has made one career NASCAR Cup Series start at the Chicago Street Race, coming last season behind the wheel of the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. The Winston, Georgia native completed every lap in that event and was in position to earn a top-10 result before receiving contact in the closing laps. Hill has also competed in two NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the 12-turn, 2.2-mile course, earning two top-10 finishes and a best result of fifth in 2023.

Second of Five in 2025… This weekend will mark Hill’s second of five starts aboard the No. 33 United Rentals Chevrolet during the 2025 Cup Series season. The remaining race lineup includes Daytona International Speedway on August 23, Bristol Motor Speedway on September 13, and Talladega Superspeedway on October 19.

Career Cup Series Stats… Hill has taken part in a total of 11 Cup Series races, making at least one start in each of the last three seasons. The Xfinity Series championship contender posted a career-best finish of 14th at Daytona International Speedway in the 2023 premier series event.

About United Rentals… United Rentals, Inc. is the largest equipment rental company in the world. The company has an integrated network of 1,591 rental locations in North America, 39 in Europe, 37 in Australia and 19 in New Zealand. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s approximately 27,900 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and others. The company offers a fleet of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $21.43 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Barron’s 400 Index and the Russell 3000 Index® and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Additional information about United Rentals is available at unitedrentals.com.

Worksite Performance Solutions… United Rentals boasts the industry’s largest and most versatile fleet. In today’s digital age, we go beyond equipment, integrating people, equipment, and data to foster innovation and create connected worksites. United Rentals’ Worksite Performance Solutions enable unprecedented control, strategic decision-making, and unlock new opportunities. From the perimeter gate to the back office, United Rentals connects worksites to drive safety, productivity, and sustainability.

AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:

The Chicago Street Race is unlike any other road course on the schedule. What are your thoughts returning to a track that you competed at last season in the Cup Series?

“It’s a unique track. There is not a lot of grip, because we are racing in the streets. The surface is rough with a lot of bumps and hard transitions. You have to hit your marks corner after corner, each and every lap. There is very little room for error. If you overdrive the entry, you are probably going to put it into the barrels. All of those things make it a really tough place to race at. I’m looking forward to being back in the Cup Series car though. It’s been a few months since our first start of the season at Darlington, and we are going back to a track where we ran last season. Our United Rentals Chevrolet was fast then, and we had ourselves in position to finish inside the top-10 before getting contact with a couple laps to go. The forecast looks like rain could come into play once again, so we will see how that changes the race and strategy.”

Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Aerospace Technologies (WAT) Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Race… Jesse Love has made one career NASCAR Xfinity Series start on the Chicago Street Course, driving the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet last season at the 12-turn, 2.2-mile circuit. The Menlo Park, California native started from the eighth position, led a total of 14 laps, and earned a fifth-place result.

Left and Right Success… With two road course races complete in the 2025 Xfinity Series campaign, Love has shown speed when turning left and right. At Circuit of The Americas in March, the 20-year-old led six laps and earned a sixth-place finish. In Love’s inaugural start in Mexico City in June, the No. 2 Chevrolet was in contention for the victory before a pit road penalty halted momentum.

Holding Steady… Through 17 races, Love currently sits in the fourth position in the Xfinity Series driver championship point standings – seven points behind third-place Austin Hill.

WAT Flying High… For this weekend’s event at the Chicago Street Race, Love will trade in his standard red-and-white Whelen colors for the black-and-yellow Whelen Aerospace Technologies (WAT) brand. Whelen Aerospace Technologies is the global leader in high-end lighting products for the aerospace industry. Their experienced staff designs, engineers, and manufacture high-quality products that provide safety, visibility, and recognition for aircraft across all platforms. The design engineers work closely with OEM and service provider networks to design high-performance products that enhance the pilot’s experience, as well as provide safety of flight. As a FAA-approved production holder, WAT owns hundreds of STCs for aircraft landing, taxi, anti-collision and position lights. The in-house composite shop produces a wide variety of STC and PMA approved speed modifications for a number of general aviation aircraft. The expansive product line is sure to provide a solution for pilots and owners alike, based on their individual needs.

About Whelen Engineering… Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce.

JESSE LOVE QUOTE:

What makes racing at the Chicago Street Race challenging?

“Chicago is a special and cool place. A lot of our tools, such as SMT, don’t work well there, and there isn’t a lot of history to go back on and study. Because of that, as a driver, there is a challenging element to the weekend. It’s the same boat for everyone though, so you have to do your best to find an advantage. Overall, it’s a weird course. There are super tight corners that you cannot pass in, and then there are great passing opportunities as well. It’s sort of high grip for it not being an actual track surface, but then you’ll get to other parts of the track with zero grip as you’re running over manhole covers. It’s the only road course we go to that there aren’t curbs to climb. The aura around the event is cool, but it’s one of the most challenging road courses we go to because it’s so different than our normal.”

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Race… As the NASCAR industry returns to the streets of Chicago for the third consecutive year, Austin Hill will make his third start at the 12-turn, 2.2-mile circuit. In the two previous races, the Winston, Georgia native has claimed two top-10 results and never finished worse than seventh-place. Hill’s average starting position is 9.0 and average finishing position is 6.0. The 31-year-old has also competed in one NASCAR Cup Series event on the course, coming in 2024.

Chasing a Road Course W… Hill has once again come close to securing his first Xfinity Series road course victory – the only style of track that the veteran racer has not won at thus far into his series career – in the two previous road course events contested so far in 2025. At Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, Hill earned a fourth-place result, and at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, the No. 21 team finished third.

Points Check… With 17 races complete, Hill currently holds the third position in the Xfinity Series driver championship point standings – 13 points behind second-place Sam Mayer.

Double Duty… This weekend at the Chicago Street Course, Hill will climb aboard the No. 33 United Rentals Chevrolet to make the second of five NASCAR Cup Series starts in the 2025 season.

About Bennett Family of Companies… McDonough-Ga. based Bennett Family of Companies provides industry-leading logistics solutions that help businesses thrive. Whether you need specialized trucking, warehousing, 3PL, exporting, importing, or crane services, Bennett has the expertise to handle your most complex and time-sensitive freight. From LTL to over-dimensional truckloads, Bennett ensures safe, reliable, and on-time deliveries around the world. With a legacy of excellence since 1974, their family and woman-owned company is dedicated to providing personalized, flexible solutions that meet your unique business needs. Trust Bennett to deliver when it matters most – discover how we can help your business grow at www.bennettig.com. Together we can move anything.

Open Deck and Dry Van Freight… Get cargo where it needs to go, safely and on time, with Bennett Family of Companies’ flexible and customized general freight shipping solutions. Bennett’s diverse and specialized equipment guarantees that they can handle any haul or fragile cargo with ease, and their experienced team of expert shipping consultants go above and beyond to provide tailor-made solutions to streamline any shipment. Bennett’s flatbed hauling and step deck trucking services offer reliable, safe, and customizable transportation for any open deck freight, including specialized equipment and nuclear power plants. Bennett’s dry van trucking services safeguard goods, ensuring the product arrives at the destination in pristine condition. With secure, climate-controlled transport, Bennett can ship sensitive electronics, perishable goods, or any valuable cargo.

AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:

What makes racing at the Chicago Street Race challenging?

“It’s completely different than any other racetrack that we go to. When you go down into a corner, there is a wall right in front of you. You have to be as close to the inside wall as you can, but that wall also is a good height that prevents eyesight. I’m the type of driver that traditionally looks really far ahead, especially on a road course. Normally on a road course, I’m looking two or three corners ahead to see what is coming next and how I need to set myself up for that particular part of the track. At Chicago, you simply cannot do that because you can’t see around the corner. All you see is what is right in front of you. That’s a challenge and makes spotters at a premium. If anything happens in front of you, you are relying on your spotters to tell you.”