Toyota GAZOO Racing – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CONCORD, NC (May 24, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to the media on Saturday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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

Can you tell us about the spotter change?

“I was surprised as well. It was all Stevie’s (Reeves) decision. He made the decision on his own to quit, and that is all I’m going to say.”

Can you talk about on how 600 miles effects the drivers and the cars?

“It has definitely changed a lot over the last 10, whatever, years. It seems like the test of the machine has kind of gone away, where the cars are durable enough, they are making it 600 miles pretty easily now. The test on the drivers is going to be something that you talk about. I remember my first Coca-Cola 600 back in 2020 – it has changed a lot since then. That first 600, you take the green flag and everyone is kind of pacing themselves, being really respectful and minding their p’s and q’s, giving a lot of room, and you fast forward to the past couple of years and it has turned into a go right from the get-go. It has become really intense from the drop of the green flag. The evolution of the race ever since I’ve been in it has changed a lot. It is 600 miles, and it is difficult, and now especially since everyone is pushing harder and every position meaning more and the stages paying points – it’s become less riding around. It is just a really long grueling race.”

What do you think the difference will be with the spotter change?

“That is a really good question. I haven’t driven for Matt (Philpott) – I call him Philpott, so that caught me off guard. He doesn’t have a ton of spotting experience, so I’m going to be spending some time on the roof with him today during the Xfinity race, just to see what he’s seeing see how he calls it. We had a really good exercise this week doing an iRace, with him spotting me, and I felt like that was really good to learn his language and what he means when he says certain things. We went through a couple of different items. I wanted something a little bit different. The team wanted something a little bit different, so I thought the iRacing experience was really good, and hopefully, we get a little bit closer during the Xfinity race, but I’m sure it will be a period of time, through many races, before we are fully in sync.”

How challenging is it to be changing spotters in the middle of the season?

“Yeah, I’ve never done it before, so I don’t know how to really answer that, but I’ve been around (Matt) Philpott a lot as a mechanic. He was on the 11 (Denny Hamlin) car full time, and he was on my car a couple of times throughout the course of the years, so I have a relationship with him, I was able to listen to him on the feedback that we have online, but I don’t know how to answer that other than we will play it week-by-week and see how it goes.”

How did you end up choosing the spotter that you chose?

“Clearly, there is not a ton of options out there with everybody having jobs and continuing on through the season, so there weren’t a ton of guys out there. Nothing against (Matt) Philpott, but he wouldn’t have been high on the list with his experience level if we weren’t in this situation, but with that being said, he is trying to get into the spotter scene, and it made sense to go that direction. I think he did the Martin Truex car in the Daytona 500, so he had his foot in the door with our company, and yeah, it just made sense to give him a shot. I think it is important to say – he’s doing us a favor. We are not doing him a favor. He is doing us a favor by filling in.”

Can you say what you mean by trying to do different things?

“Whenever I said different things, I just meant (Matt) Philpott’s spotting style, not by Stevie’s (Reeves) spotting style. So, yeah, whenever we did the iRacing exercise, it was just his language style, his communication style is clearly different than what Stevie was doing, and how he was spotting for me, so there was a couple of things – just in that iRacing exercise to get ironed out before this weekend.”

Are you motivated to come back and get a win with the full 600 miles?

“Certainly, I have gotten annoyed by people calling it an asterisk win, so I would love to win this race as the Coca-Cola 600 and run the full 600 miles. I think we should be really competitive. The last couple of years this has been one of our best intermediate tracks, as far as the 20 group goes, so I really look forward to the challenge. I want to be a 600-mile winner and not get booed going into victory lane (laughter).”

What has been it like to have Denny Hamlin as a resource?

“So, Denny (Hamlin) is just very unique in his driving style, and I’ve been around a lot of race car drivers throughout my career, but whenever you look at the data on how they drive the car, it is hard to pick out who is who, except for Denny. Denny, the way his throttle application, his decels [decelerates] through the corner – it is very unique and very identifiable, so I think, even before me, he has helped out certain guys in the company to become better at race tracks. There is no secret – his strength has been the short tracks – Martinsville, Richmond – those type of places. I think a lot of it is his driving style, and he has helped out a lot of guys, myself included. He has been a huge asset to Joe Gibbs Racing, and he’s a wealth of knowledge and is super smart and entuned to what is going on. Certainly, a guy that we benefit from being on our team.”

Do you have a favorite memory of Denny you can share?

“Well, this is a little bit selfish, but I go back to the 2022 Martinsville test in the middle of summer. Denny (Hamlin) was really fast in that Martinsville test, and I was really slow at that Martinsville test, and the 11 team had a really good package, and the 20 team was struggling and Denny was gracious to step into the 20 car and really turned our whole season around by that August day in Martinsville. From him stepping in the 20 car and giving his feedback to our team, it allowed us to come back to Martinsville in the fall of ’22 and win that race. That is one that I will cherish forever, and thankful that he took the change to get in my car and do that.”

How has Nashville changed over the last few years?

“Well, I think the biggest thing is just the car change. Nashville, with the old car, it really raced more like a short track with the way that you passed guys, and the way that you needed your car to drive. It really reminded me of a short track. Whenver we came back with the Next Gen car, it really started racing more like an intermediate track. I would say that is the biggest change from 2021 to now. I think since the Next Gen car has been around, it has been pretty consistent, the racing style has been similar – but it was a huge change from the Gen 6 to the Gen 7 car.”

How special and how tough is this weekend?

“It’s up there. The bucking bronco that you have ride between turns three and four, it gets your attention, and then being 600 miles is – it is just a very long race. I applaud NASCAR for, in general, going shorter for races. Like whenever I started in the series, and back even before that, there were a lot of 500-mile intermediate races, and those have kind of gone away, and most of our intermediate races are 400-mile. I think puts more of an emphasis on making this weekend even more special. With it being certainly the longest race of the year, but really being different than the other races. It is a very physical race track, and it is a very physical race, and normally it is really hot. We don’t have that aspect of it this weekend, it appears, but it is a tough one. This one and Darlington are really the tough races we have during the season.”

How is it only racing on this track once a year?

“I love that. I have been pushing my opinion going to every track once. I think it just helps make it more special. I think if every track had one date, we would see improvement in attendance, and I think it would make every race a little more special.”

How did you experience this race weekend before you were a Cup driver?

“Man, that is going way back. I’ve been racing on Memorial Day for a long time throughout the dirt tracks. Before that, whenever I was a kid, I do remember watching the Indianapolis 500 on TV. I honestly can’t remember outside of motorsports what it was. Memorial Day has just been such a huge motorsports day throughout my life, whether it was dirt track racing, competing in the Coca-Cola 600 or watching the events on TV as a kid.”

About Toyota

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NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
MAY 24, 2025

Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Jockey x Folds of Honor Camaro ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice and qualifying session at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

Historically, or at least the last few years, your competitors have kind of voiced their displeasure about your driving and stuff. But in recent weeks, it feels like you’ve gotten a lot of flowers from them complimenting you for kind of, you know, being able to take a car that maybe doesn’t have a lot of speed and finishing well. What is it like kind of being on the other end of that when you’re getting some praise and everything, or kind of just how you’re working and running well with a car that maybe shouldn’t be finishing where it is?

“Well, I can’t drive a slow car fast, so I’ve got fast cars when you see us go forward. As far as what other people say, no real thoughts there. We get out of these race cars, and you saw it with Joey (Logano) last week — he gets out and he sprays all this stuff, and then he watches it, and he’s like, oh, whoops. Most of the time, we don’t really take accountability for what we say, good or bad. So yeah, I see some of it, I do… but yeah, as far as the car goes, I can only go forward when it’s handling right. You see that in anything. The truck race last night, go backwards when the balance is off, and go forward when the balance is right. You see that same thing in the Cup car. We go forward when we get it right.”

You were teammates with Kurt Busch for a year. He’s now in the Hall of Fame. What did he mean to your career over that year and since then?

“Yeah, he was really motivating for me when I came into the No. 42 car. I had trained with him and been around him for a couple of years, but I wasn’t in competitive or equal cars. I was in different Cup cars, so definitely, when I finally got in it, he’s like – all right, you ready to go?

I just remember a lot of our conversations, and then as we got to racing, you know, that was a year after COVID and still some out-of-office stuff that would happen out of the shop, meetings and stuff. And he was just really busy, so we were definitely in two different places. I see what he was up against now with the workload and just the demands on our schedule. When you start winning races, it all goes up.

And then there was a lot of things I could ask him about and he’s like — well, I made that mistake, you know, 18 years ago or something. He’d had some story from way back in the day. It makes more sense now as I kind of step through my career and all these weekends, and then I see or I experience similar things that I see that happen to him. We had some good conversations that year and the years before that. He was nothing but good to me.”

Ross, you mentioned not being able to drive a slow car fast. Are these cars so heavily engineered now that a lot of what makes them go fast is sort of out of the driver’s hands?

“No, I don’t think it’s changed. I think that when Donnie, Cale, Bobby and Richard and all these — I’m saying their first names like I should say their last names, but those guys 50 years ago were racing and 70 years ago were racing, their cars had to be handling good to go fast.

It’s a physical automobile. It’s built. I mean, it’s no different than a human running a track race or a horse running a horse race. A car running a car race has to be better if it wants to go faster than the next one. It’s happened since the second car was built. The faster car went faster, and it still is the same thing here. So I don’t think it’s changed. I think that the drivers are more honest. The teams are more honest of how the car has to be right now. Back in the day, the driver was, I think, regarded as the hero if he won. I think you see that some these days, but not as much. It’s more people kind of point to the car because that’s where the truth is. I can, with one adjustment or one pound of air or one different right rear spring or something, I can go from a really confident driver on track to a not confident, and then I can go right back to being confident and fast if we make the right change.

I don’t think it’s changed. I think it’s the same. It’s always been since the second car was ever built.”

I saw you Thursday night at the Earnhardt premiere. After the show, what were your thoughts on what you saw in the first episode, and have you seen all four of them now?

“No, that’s the only one. I haven’t watched anything else. So, yeah, that was neat. And hearing some of the Earnhardt family in the room talk — Dale and Kelley were on camera, but some of them were off, and hearing them just standing around and listening to them talk and tell stories was cool. We were talking some old races. We were talking some current races. So that was what was cool for me, was just some of them that I know and that I’ve met over the years. Some are fans of me, some aren’t, so that was funny to watch them kind of banter, give each other a hard time about calling each other out of who wasn’t a fan of mine and who was.

So, yeah, a lot of that footage I hadn’t seen. I’ve looked at a bunch of old tape, but some of that was brand new to me. Yeah, it started the story, so I’m excited for the next three episodes.”

About General Motors

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Coca-Cola 600 Media Availability
Saturday, May 24, 2025

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske, stopped by the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield media center before qualifying to talk about this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU HAD AN EVENT ON TUESDAY WITH JORDAN DAVIS IN CONCERT. HOW DID THAT GO? “It was incredible. It was our third annual concert for charity. We had Jordan Davis down there, who is an incredible artist. An awesome guy, by the way. A very normal person. You meet celebrities sometimes and you wonder what they’re gonna be like and he is really normal. So, it was great to have that. We packed the house down there with close to 2400 people showing up. I’m proud of the effort from the team to be able to put on an event like that. It’s a lot of work to put on that type of stuff, but obviously it’s worth it. We were able to raise a lot of money to help foster care in the North Carolina region and it was good. You have two missions when you go there. One, is to obviously raise money for foster care, but the other is to hopefully inspire people to make that leap of faith. If they’re on the fence thinking about should we become foster parents or not, hopefully you can push them over the edge a little bit to take that next step. Those were the goals and hopefully we achieved two of them. It was great timing. Everyone knows this week is so busy with so many different events. Every night it seems like there’s an event to go to and something to do. Our community does a cool job of making the Charlotte race weeks like Speedweek in a way. There’s always something to do every night and obviously with the Truck race last night and what we see tonight with the Xfinity cars as well.”

HOW DO YOU PROCESS WHAT HAPPENED WITH YOUR INDY CAR TEAMMATES THIS PAST WEEK AND WHAT THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH? IS THERE A CONCERN OF ANY TYPE OF RESIDUAL IMPACT WITH THE CHANGES HAVING AN EFFECT ON THE NASCAR SIDE OF TEAM PENSKE? “We’re all one team. That’s the way I’ve always viewed it. That’s why we love to support what the Indy Car guys are doing every week and vice versa. We’re in the same building, so there are some shared pieces there. When we go to whatever manufacturing, engineering, those type of things, there are some shared people there. When we see something like that, yeah, does it impact us? Obviously, it’s going to. I think Roger’s comments during the sitdown with Jamie (Little) was everything we needed to hear. Roger came down to visit all of us. He visited drivers and crew chiefs, but then visited the whole team in a Roger type was as you would expect. At this point, it’s unfortunate, but we’ve got to move forward. It’s something that happened and we’ve got to stay out the windshield as Roger always says.”

HOW DOES THIS TRACK COMPARE TO OTHERS AND WHAT MAKES IT GREAT FOR DRIVERS? “It’s become a great racetrack again. It was great and there was a moment in time where everyone was kind of ‘eh’ about it, and that’s really why the Roval started. Now, it’s kind of like, ‘I don’t know if we need the Roval.’ The oval is fantastic. The racing that we see on this racetrack has been great. You look at the start of the Truck race last night, I was up in the booth, and it was like, ‘These guys are racing the heck out of each other,’ and it was really fun to watch. They’re not wrecking each other. It’s not like cautions every five laps like some tracks. It was a really fun race to watch. I expect the same here today with the Xfinity cars and the Cup cars have put on a good race here the last few years as well. It’s challenging. You brought up the surface. It’s definitely on a landfill. It’s bumpy out there. Three and four, it’s rough. It shakes the heck out of you and you do that for 600 miles you don’t feel too good afterwards, so it’s definitely a physical racetrack at this point.”

WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT THE ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR A DRIVER WHO WINS THIS RACE? “You want to win every race. All the wins, especially at the Cup level, all of them mean a lot because it’s hard to do. Everyone is so good and our season, if you can have a five-win season, that’s a pretty good season so you lose a lot. You don’t really care where you get your wins. Obviously, when you think of the Coca-Cola 600, maybe there’s a little extra there. It’s kind of like you look at this as one of the top three biggest races of the year that we have, just from a prestige and historic standpoint. This is a really special one to win. I’d like to be that guy. We’ve been close before, but haven’t quite gotten the old Coca-Cola fridge that they hand out to the winners. I get a picture sent to me before every race here because as a Coca-Cola driver they send me a picture of it and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know. I got it. I want to go get it. I understand. Message delivered.’”

IN WHAT WAYS IS THE COCA-COLA 600 STILL A TEST OF MAN AND MACHINE? “A lot of ways. It’s just long, but the track itself has become more challenging, which makes it even more physical for the driver and also the car. Getting shook around things come loose, things happen, things can break. There are a lot of pit stops, lots of them. There are a lot of opportunities for mistakes throughout the event, so it’s just trying to keep your head in the game and keep grinding it out throughout the whole event. You can get knocked down and you have time to get back up and get all the way back through. In today’s day and age, that’s really hard to do at most races because the cars are all so similar and speeds are so similar it’s hard to make your way back through the field, but here there are opportunities to pass, opportunities to recover and when you have a track that is this challenging, where cars are running the very, very top at the wall, the bumps create a lot of opportunities for people to have these big moments and get loose or spin out, wreck. The teams that can just keep going, just keep grinding it out and keep going, you can eventually find yourself back to the front.”

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF YOUR TEAM AS YOU MOVE FORWARD? “I think we’re in a pretty good spot right now. I thought at the beginning of the season our speed was pretty good, but our execution wasn’t there. Now I feel like our execution has become better and our speed is still there. The last few weeks it seemed like we were able to put everything together. Since Talladega on, we’ve been top 10, top 5 car and putting ourselves in position to win multiple times, whether that’s obviously Texas, Kansas, we got ourselves to the front. We needed more speed there, but Wilkesboro last week, obviously the car was really fast there, so I feel like we’ve cleaned up a lot of execution issues that we’ve had, and now I feel like we’re back to where we typically see the 22.”

WHEN YOU GO TO MICHIGAN AND WHAT THAT PLACE MEANS FOR YOUR TEAM AND FORD, HOW MUCH OF AN EMPHASIS IS PUT ON THAT RACE? “No more emphasis than any other race. We try to win them all. It’s not like we say, ‘Ah, this one doesn’t matter. We’ll just coast this one through.’ That’s not who we are. We don’t do that because every race matters, especially with the playoff format we have. Every win, every playoff point that you can get can be the difference at the end of the day, so we don’t really put more into any of them. I will say though that the manufacturers take pride in that trophy that they hand out there to the winning manufacturer, so it’s always a topic of discussion. We go up there early more times than not and go visit Ford headquarters and it’s a topic that comes up. They want that trophy in their main lobby, so when people walk in they can walk by it.”

WE HAVE THREE INTERMEDIATE TRACKS IN THE NEXT THREE WEEKS, IS IT AN IMPORTANT STRETCH FOR TEAMS TO HONE IN ON WHAT YOU HAVE FOR THE POSTSEASON, OR DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE AND THERE’S NOTHING LEFT TO LEARN? “There’s always something to learn. You never get it figured out. Everyone over time with this Next Gen car has honed in on specific things that they know are needle movers with their car setup and fine-tuning it, but you can see how the field is getting closer and closer and closer. We’ve had the same rule package for awhile and the teams have had this Next Gen car for awhile and team members have gone from team to team to team bringing their notebooks, so everyone eventually ends up running something fairly similar and I think we’re kind of at that point. With that said, are there still things to learn? Yes. Are we still trying to find the next little bit? We’re always going to be doing that, but we’re definitely on the fine point stuff, the very small little needle that is a little better. You’ve got to stack up 20 of those to really matter at this point, but it’s not like you get to go test much and go learn any other way, so once you get past this stretch of races, the next time you go to a mile-and-a-half you’re gonna be looking back at Kansas, Charlotte, Michigan – Nashville is kind of it’s unique area of what that really falls into – but you’re gonna be looking at those tracks saying, ‘OK, where do we need to build our setup off of?’”

LOOKING TO MEXICO CITY. WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO EXPERIENCE WITH THAT RACE? “I hope the fans enjoy it. I hope it’s a good turnout. I think there’s no doubt that a lot of times when you step outside of your comfort zone it’s uncomfortable. There’s risk involved, but there’s also high reward for our sport by doing this. Stepping out of what we typically do here in America and going international, it’s kind of a scary thing to do. Let’s be honest. I think everyone in here probably has some concerns of how are we gonna get there? Where are we gonna go? What do we do? I don’t know how to speak Spanish. I don’t know about you guys. I’ll only hang out with Suarez as much as I can (laughing). I don’t know where to go, so I think there’s just the unknown factor is at its all-time high when we go there. I hope it’s all worth it because it definitely is a lot of work. I was at the NASCAR building the other day and they had meetings with the truck drivers and going over logistics on how they’re gonna get everything there. They don’t do that for any other race. This is a very specific thing. I think it could be great. I think NASCAR is doing a good job so far from what I can tell and is covering their bases on making sure that there’s no surprises when we get down there. We’ve got to have our faith in them that they’re doing their job and it all ends up going well. I’m sure it will. I think everyone has been down there enough and talked about things enough that it will go well. Hopefully, the fans enjoy NASCAR racing. That’s what I hope.”

HOW HAVE YOU AS A DRIVER ADAPTED TO THE FORMAT OF THIS RACE AS IT HAS CHANGED TO STAGES? IS IT EASIER NOW WITH THOSE BUILT-IN BREAKS? “I still look at this race and I say, ‘Geez, if you can have a fast car in Charlotte for the Coke 600, there are more points available than any other race you go to.’ So, a fast car pays a bigger dividend throughout an event than anywhere else you go, so if you get that special car, that one that is just lights-out, you can really stack them in. If you have a bad day, you double down on that too. You hope that you’ve got a good car from that standpoint. There are obviously added cautions in comparison to what there used to be. That represents an opportunity for strategy when it comes to you, depending on where the caution ends up – if it’s a few laps before the end of a stage, one of those type of things, or just playing the stage cautions however you flip those or whatever you do. It presents an opportunity to stay more on the lead lap because there are more cautions. Typically, a race this long you’d probably have less cars on the lead lap, where the stages present the opportunity to wave are get more lucky dogs, those type of things. The recovery factor is a little bit higher than it used to be.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY TRANSCRIPT
MAY 24, 2025

 Richard Childress, owner of Richard Childress Racing, and Kyle Busch met with the media onsite at Charlotte Motor Speedway to announce that Busch will return to the No. 8 Chevrolet for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Press Conference Quotes:

Richard, have any comments for the group?

“Yeah, we’re really excited. You know, this is extending our contract for another year, and we’re really excited. Kyle has been great to work with. Everybody had questions going in. I love a driver that doesn’t like to lose. We’ve worked hard. We’ve got some exciting things coming up. He and I are both alike in one area – that we don’t like to lose. We want to win races. I still think Kyle will win him a championship, and we’re going to have it at RCR. That’s our plans. We’ve got a lot of new things coming. This car is a lot different. It’s so engineer-driven that we’re stepping our engineering up more. And I’m excited about the future of where we can go. Watching Kyle race and working with him, it’s been a great pleasure. You know, he’s a champion. Here’s the guy that’s won over 200 NASCAR races. His career is not even close to being over.”

Kyle, do you have any comments?

“Yeah, certainly. I really want to give thanks to Richard and Judy (Childress) and everyone at RCR for another opportunity to be able to go back and drive the 8 car for next season. Certainly echo Richard’s statements that there’s a lot of things happening behind the scenes. It’s a great place to be, a great place to work, a great atmosphere, and a lot of grit and determination with a lot of people up there in Welcome, North Carolina. We have certainly had our battles. It’s been fun, but yet challenging. It definitely isn’t easy. This sport is very, very tough, very, very close and challenging. Being able to score those wins and compete for those each and every week… we know those areas in which we can improve both behind the wheel, on pit road, in engineering, all of the above. This is just the pinnacle of that, and I hope to continue to build on our successes that we’ve been working towards for the last two years.”

How hard have you been working specifically at RCR, whether it be at the shop, behind the wheel simulator, things like that? What’s some of the stuff that you’ve been doing as a driver last season to try to find a little bit of extra speed to try to find that missing piece to finally get back in Victory Lane?

“Yeah, I think the speed has been there. More and more we continue to work on that and get that closer to where it’s consistent speed. I feel like there’s times in the race where we do have top speed, but it’s not the whole race. So we’ve got to work on beginning to end and being able to put everything together. So that’s a big part of what you see. A lot of these guys that are winning right now … they’re just good from start to finish. So that’s a big piece of what we’re doing.

As far as the workload, the workload has never been higher. That’s for sure. There’s a lot going on, whether it’s team meetings or meetings with upper management, things like that. Obviously, each week we do our driver debriefs. Each week we’re in the simulator, whether it’s for GM or whether it’s for ourselves and our own race team and trying to factor in much of the simulation and making that better. I would love to be up at the shop a little bit more, I will say, and to be honest that I’m not there as much as I’d like to be. Maybe there’s a step in that time frame that I can work that into my calendar.”

And also to Richard, what’s some of the stuff that you’ve been overseeing that you’ve seen improvements in to get more speed week in, week out with Kyle and Austin (Dillon)?

“I’ll just echo everything he said. We’ve got a lot going on. The small details on these cars mean so much. That’s where we’ve got to work more and more and concentrate on those small details. Everything’s so close that the small details make the difference. That’s one of the areas we’re working on.”

Is this just picking up the option or is this an extension?

“It’s picking up the option for 2026.”

Richard, you talk about bringing in engineering and doing certain things. And when we talk to Kyle week in and week out, it just sounds from his perspective that the car is not doing what he’s used to having cars do. He needs the car to perform at a higher level for him to get what he needs out of the car. And I’m just wondering, how do you do that from behind the scenes?

“Well, it all boils down to the drivers having their own feel. And we’re working hard to get that feel. The first year, we won three races right out of the bat. We’ve changed a little in our engineering and I think that bit us just a little. But he’s right. We’ve got to get the car the feel that he wants. These cars are different. And once we get that feel he wants, it’s going to be Katie Bar the Door.”

You mentioned the option. Has there been conversation about maybe something that’s passed in 2026, and where do those things stand?

Richard Childress: “We always wait until we get started the following year, or maybe later this year we’ll be discussing the future. There’s a big future there for Kyle.”

Kyle, you get asked this a lot, but is retirement or when that retirement date has started creeping at all about setting in?

“No, no, not at all. There’s kind of the vision or the plan, if you will, on being able to race in some Truck races with Brexton alongside him. So obviously, that’s six years from now before he can make that start. That would sort of be an idea of when I would look at stepping aside from Cup Series racing. But, you know, it’s a long ways out.”

Kyle, for you, why does this make sense now from your perspective? You’ve mentioned the work going on behind the scenes. What have you seen over the last few years here, and particularly over the offseason and all the changes that have been made behind the scenes that tells you this is all worth it and this is the right place to be for you through 2026?

“Well, I think I give a lot of credit to Richard and him believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be able to come over here and have a chance to drive his car. So, for me, rewarding him with that and having the success on the racetrack is paramount. When I first joined, I feel like there were some things that we were doing within the rules at that time that got us some extra speed, and then there was definitely some things that kind of came down that they didn’t like us doing, and so that’s sort of where we’ve lost a little bit, if people are wondering why have we not been able to win like we did in the first 16 races. It’s just a matter of being able to continue to work with the people that are there. It’s a great culture. I enjoy working there, I fit in well there, they enjoy having me there. I will say Austin’s been a fantastic teammate. His demeanor and the way that we’re able to work together, we talk a lot about the same things and describe it in much of the same fashions. But he’s been a really good resource to rely on as well too, so it’s good to have a teammate factor that helps keep you there.”

Kyle, you just sort of touched on it. It feels from the outside looking in that this is a really good match where if you get in a tough spot, this is a team that your owner will take off his watch to back you up. Have you had that kind of comfort that this team is truly behind you?

“Absolutely. It is a place where I enjoy working with those that are there that I get to work around each and every week, the race team guys and stuff like that. It’s definitely not due to lack of effort, I will say that. There may be some things where we can be a little bit better on here or there, a little bit smarter on here or there. Sometimes it’s not work harder but work smarter, and so we’re definitely finding some of those key points.

We had some turning points last season. At Nashville, I remember being a distinct turning point, and then after the summer break being another one that we’ve been able to come out of those a bit stronger, and so we’re continuing to build on those.”

There’s a great chance that a number of drivers may be able to make the playoff on points, given how many winners we have at this point, looking at the history of this. How do you feel about being able to break into the top 16 in points? Is that a focus as well as trying to win?

“Yeah. We have to be better at stage racing, stage points, gathering stage points. Stage one, stage two, we have to be able to. That’s our weak spot, if there is one that we can certainly pinpoint. You look at the top guys that are at the top of the standings, they’ve got 160 to 180 points, I think, for stage points. I think we’re in the 20s or 30s. Those are 100-point swings plus. If we had 100 points from being able to score points in stages,

we’d be eighth in points right now, I think, somewhere in there. So we wouldn’t even be talking about the bubble. So we definitely got to focus more on that, be able to hit on that.”

There was a time when I would have thought you didn’t have the patience to help build a team because you wanted to win right away. And yet, you’re the guy people would want there to help build a team. Does Brexton (Busch) figure into any of this looking at staying at Richard Childress Racing? And have you gained now the patience, I guess, to help build this team?

“No, I haven’t been Brexton’s agent on negotiating terms for him quite yet. He’s 10 years old. But I will say, and I’m grateful to the fact of Richard and all of our partners that we do have at RCR, that many of them do take an interest in him and see an interest in him. Most notably, Lucas Oil is a part of his racing and stuff. And Morgan & Morgan has picked up on that and put him in a commercial. So, those are really unique situations. Cheddar’s as well, too, helps out on his racing. So, those are really unique situations where those partners are really happy and pleased with him and what he’s doing off the racetrack, so it helps our budget a little bit with his racing, so I’m grateful to that fact.”

And Richard, do you see Brexton as someone, ‘I keep Kyle, Kyle helps build the team, Brexton comes along,’… he certainly is doing well.

“Yeah, he is, and I did sign him to a contract, a $100 bill when we signed up with Kyle. So I’ve watched him race some and watched him on some of the YouTube stuff or different things that somebody had sent me. I congratulated him when he won the championship in Florida. I texted him and congratulated him on that, and watched him run over at Mill Bridge, he’s a real deal, like this one (his dad).”

For Richard, with Amazon Prime releasing the Earnhardt docu-series, what’s it been like for you to see it come to life?

“I haven’t seen it yet. I did about a five-hour deal with them. Everyone that I’ve spoken to thinks it’s great.

I haven’t seen it. I’ll be watching it. But it’s great to keep his image alive, letting people know the history, going back in time. I think it’s great to have them put out this documentary. I think this is the third one.”

For Kyle. Just looking forward to Nashville next week, how do you think the racing has evolved there since we started going in 2021?

“I think the racing in Nashville has been really good. I remember years ago, a long time back in the Xfinity days, it was a one-groove racetrack around the bottom of the racetrack. It wasn’t really conducive to a whole lot of side-by-side racing and whatnot. But the last few years it’s really been good there. The track really widens out. There’s guys that are running all the way up at the top groove. So it’s been a good show. So hopefully the fans enjoy it. I hope it’s not too hot next week. Perfect weather here this weekend in Charlotte. So I look forward to Nashville.”

Kyle, obviously you’ve won a lot in your career, and this is probably the only wall you’ve had. Has this been humbling at all? And when you do win again, I imagine that Richard Childress Racing is going to have one heck of a party.

“Yeah, absolutely. We certainly have a winery and a champagne bistro there that we can get plenty of booze to have a good time. I’m excited for the next win when it is. We want to get back to that as soon as possible. It has been a little bit humbling, I would say. I feel like there’s added times where it’s motivation, and it gets you to have that itch of being able to want to get back to Victory Lane and to work as hard as it possibly needs to be. Trust me, my wife, she sees that as well, too, where I’m gone a little bit more than what I was, and so she’s on the fact of this better be worth it!”

Richard, with everything that you’ve done throughout your career, you’ve earned every right to take a vacation for a very long time and not be at the track. Why are you still here? Why are you, why does this matter? You talk about hope to be here in 10 years, but why is this still so important?

“Good question, but I think the thing that drives me the hardest is wanting to win that next championship, wanting to win races, and that’s what I’ve always done. I love the race fans. I love what we do. I even love the media believe it or not. No, it’s just me. I wouldn’t know what to do. You can’t hunt for so much. You can’t fish for so much. So I enjoy this. I enjoy every bit of it.”

Is there more pressure to get things done? I know in the sport it’s always you can’t get done fast enough. Is there more internal pressure when you get it done?

“I wouldn’t call it pressure, but I call it a drive to win. I felt like we let (Kyle) down some last year by not winning a race. There’s things that we’ve changed a lot to try to win. We will win a race this year with him and hopefully Austin as well. We’re working really hard. Like he said, he hit the key point. You’ve got to work smarter, and that’s what we’re trying to do. And I think we’ve got a lot of good things going.”

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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
MAY 24, 2025

 William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 and the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro SS for Hendrick Motorsports, met with the media in advance of running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

These contract negotiations can either go one of two ways, it seems like. Was it pretty straightforward and almost, I don’t want to say a foregone conclusion, but it seems like from the outside, that this would have been a pretty straightforward like ‘we’re just going to get this done, you’re happy, they’re happy, let’s just put a pen to paper’…

“Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely like amicable, I feel like, the whole time, and just kind of working through it.

But, you know, I definitely wanted to be here, and really for me, just want to focus on winning races. That’s what it’s all about at Hendrick Motorsports, and that’s what I personally enjoy and want to be here to do. So, for me personally, I try to just kind of keep my head down this year and focus. I’m just really happy that it’s done… it’s a bit of a relief, I guess you could say, just to be able to focus on what we’re doing here. We have a lot of goals to accomplish.

So, yeah, we’ve had a couple really good years, but at the same time, I think that we all expect to continue to progress as a team and just kind of keep it going. So, yeah, I definitely felt like I was always going to be here. This is my home at Hendrick Motorsports, so it makes the most sense, for sure.”

William, how have you seen yourself grown over the period of time that you’ve been at Hendrick Motorsports? Even though you had a really good foundation in Trucks and Xfinity, how have you seen yourself grow on the Cup side?

“Yeah, I think I’ve really grown up a lot. I was 20 years old when I got into the Cup Series, and I did not realize how many different facets of the series there are off the track and on the track; performing with your team and the meetings throughout the week to kind of move the ball forward as a group to build faster cars. And yeah, I think that I was really young and raw when I got into the Cup Series. I had the talent, obviously, to do it, but had to have all the right pieces and really learn the cadence of everything.

I would say when Chad (Knaus) took over the team, there was a lot of progression with the personnel that we had on the team. That’s really kind of that foundation that stayed there with a lot of the road crew. And then when Rudy (Fugle) came on board, the engineering side of things and the sort of the finishing touches of really putting this team together to be a consistent race-winning team.

I think, honestly, when we got rolling in 2023, it just felt different. It felt like we had more speed. It felt like our cars were a lot closer. And then it just, I think, has continued these last couple of years. So, yeah, I think there’s still a lot of room to grow. There’s still room for me to improve my process and just continue to kind of get that system of how I want to do things on the weekend and during the week just to make sure that I’m as fresh as I can be and as prepared as I can be.

So, yeah, in the past, we’ve had some periods of time throughout the season where we’ve struggled. I’d like for this year to not have that period at all and just continue to progress forward, and I think that’s what I’ve noticed this year. We’ve had a couple bad finishes or something like that, but I feel like we tend to show up the next week and have really fast cars and have speed. We just have to continue doing that and try to be kind of the standard of the series.”

When you stepped into the No. 24 for the first time, obviously there’s big shoes to fill. With this extension through 2029, the expectation is to win races, a championship, maybe more. At what point does the No. 24 become your legacy and you can kind of step away from filling those shoes?

“Well, I don’t think it ever changes in that sense because if you look at other sports like the Yankees, the Patriots or whoever, they’re always going to be known for their history, and that’s what you want. You just want to continue to add to that. So, for me, all I can do is try to continue to add to that and bring some new, I guess, flavor and excitement to the No. 24. We have a lot of the same sponsors, you know, like Axalta. The cars look new and different but similar and kind of carry that history, which I love. So, I love being part of a historic car number and being able to, you know, check my new kind of boxes off the list, like hopefully winning the Coca-Cola 600 would be awesome. I think somebody was saying that Jeff (Gordon) was the last one to win the DAYTONA 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same year. So, that would be awesome to kind of add to that legacy, for sure.”

How is this contract negotiation different from, say, the first? Because obviously now you’re an unknown quantity then and now you’re an established star in the sport. Was the contract negotiations any different, or how would you describe them from the first contract to this one?

“Yeah. So, I guess this is my third because I had sort of my rookie deal that was included in Xfinity, and then my second one was back in 2022. So, I think this one, we’ve definitely won a lot more races since then and sort of become a consistent threat at the front of the field. So, I think just kind of working through that, and all the conversations I think this time around were really positive.

The last time around, I was just starting to kind of find my footing in the Cup Series. We had won a couple races that year to start. So, yeah, it’s just — I love being at Hendrick Motorsports. We have all the resources and with that comes a bit of pressure to perform. But I welcome that because I just feel like it’s a home and it’s a place that is just, you know, spotless and has a lot of great people. And so, for me, it’s just kind of business as usual and try to go into the shop, you know, every day that I’m there and continue to kind of move the ball forward as a team.”

All four Hendrick Motorsports teams are now in the top-eight points, and it looks like you talk about the ups and falls of the season, but I imagine that you and the team must feel really good about where they’re at right now going into the playoffs and into the future…

“Yeah, like Chad (Knaus) sent us some stats this week just of how well we’ve been running as a group. I think that’s true, but at the same time, I think there’s a couple cars out there that are still the fastest every week. Usually one of us is in that mix… a lot of times it’s been Kyle (Larson), sometimes it’s been me, sometimes it’s been Chase (Elliott) or Alex (Bowman).

So, yeah, I think for me personally, I still want to chase those couple cars that are, I would say, the standard at some of the different tracks. Like when we go to short tracks, it seems like the No. 20 car and the No. 22, the No. 12 or the No. 11 are really strong. So when we come to the bottom-half, I think Kyle’s been the standard and we’ve been kind of just a notch close to that.

So, yeah, I think it’s good. We’re all running really consistent, which is great. That’s very difficult to do. We share notes really well, so I feel like all of our setups are probably really, really close. And in some ways, our driving styles are pretty close, too.

This Next Gen era is just becoming all about execution. So, you know, pit road is becoming critical strategy. The difference in first and 10th is really small right now, so trying to figure out that next little notch to be a top-three car, which I feel like we’ve been on the No. 24. But we just got to keep pushing forward.”

You opened up on the docuseries about going to the sports psychologist. I’m just curious in the sense of a long race like this, the tools that you’ve learned, does that help inside the car? Or is that more for outside the car and all the other things? And if it’s helped, how do you feel like it has helped you in particular with this race or other races?

“Yeah, I think that my process within the car has stayed really similar the last two and a half years. There’s little tidbits, obviously, that I’ve learned about myself or how to communicate with my team or whatever it is. But I would say, yeah, it’s more probably off the track or out of the car, just sort of the preparation and the process there. So I feel like that’s been really good this week. It’s been a great week, really, just pretty calm and just been able to kind of make sure that I’m prepared for this weekend. There’s still going to be more prep that I have to do once I get in the Xfinity car here in a few minutes, and then run those laps and figure out the difference in the Cup car. There will be some studying overnight, as well.

It’s a long weekend for sure, but I feel well prepared for it. I feel like it’s been pretty calm.”

Looking forward to Nashville next week, how do you think the has evolved there since we started going to Nashville in 2021?

“Well, the resin that they put down seems to really widen the groove. It’s not a super grippy resin when we start out on track, so it takes a little bit of time to kind of get worked in. And the track seems to be really, I would say just slick and greasy to start. And then it seems to kind of grip up a little bit as the rubber goes down. It’s kind of the opposite of Dover with the resin. I feel like Dover, being a concrete track, has a lot of grip to start and then slicks off. And then Nashville seems to kind of continue to move around and maybe gain some grip as you go, or stay the same, but just have more lane options.

So, yeah, Nashville has been kind of OK for us. I feel like the first year, first couple of years we went there, we were super-fast. But then last year we weren’t so good, so just got to keep working on that. It seems like it has some mile-and-a-half characteristics, like the guys who are fast at mile-and-a-halves seem to be pretty strong at Nashville, even though it’s a shorter track. So we’ll see. I think we could run well there. Definitely, the expectation is obviously to go there and try to run top-five and try to compete for a win. So, yeah, I think it’s just a matter of looking at what we did last year and kind of where we need to be better.”

I remember when you first started your Cup ride and I think the thing that stands out most is that I saw you walk up to the team and introduce yourself or hang out with the team the first time. I remember thinking — man, he’s really good at this, like he feels so comfortable and it’s so natural, and he’s a young guy going to lead the team. Now you sign this deal, right, several contracts later. But you have a strong crew chief and a strong leadership group. Are you more of a team leader now than you were then, and if you feel now after this contract that you can speak out more, that people would want to hear what you have to say?

“Yeah, I was going to say I feel like I always had the sort of positive energy and a feeling around the team that was good and helped everyone stay motivated. But I feel like what I do better now is speaking my mind about the things that we can do as a team to be better and like not sugarcoating. And so just kind of being with the team and just being honest about where we can improve, I think that’s where I try to be better now and that’s what just feels natural. Like I want to, as much as I hold myself accountable for the things I need to do, I just want to be vocal about the things I feel like we could be better. That just goes throughout our whole team. So that’s what it takes to be good at this level, is kind of continue to work on the details and not let those things kind of go by the wayside.”

Do you feel like you’re at the level now where you can speak up on things related to NASCAR? You’re becoming one of the drivers who’s been around a long time…

“Yeah, I’m in the Drivers Council with Joey (Logano), Christopher (Bell) and Michael McDowell. So, yeah, I enjoy being on that board and kind of talking about some of the things. But when I get to the racetrack, I’m really focused on what I’m doing with my team. That’s kind of what occupies my brain space, is just kind of thinking about what can the No. 24 car do better. So when I get in between these, in between the garage, like I don’t think about that stuff too much, so you’re probably not going to hear me probably talk about issues, you know, when I’m here in the media center and things like that because it’s just not where my head is. But if I feel led to do that, I will. But most of the time, it’s just about how can the car go faster and how can I do better.”

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.