Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Playoff Media Day
Tuesday, September 24, 2024

NASCAR held its Xfinity Series Playoff Media Day on Tuesday, September 24, where Ford drivers Cole Custer and Riley Herbst participated in remote Q&A sessions with the media. Custer is the defending series champion while Herbst is looking for his first title. Here are their respective availability sessions.

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse – A FEW DRIVERS HAVE WON CONSECUTIVE SERIES CHAMPIONSHIPS. WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR YOU TO WIN TWO STRAIGHT? “It would be huge. I think it would mean a ton to everybody at our organization with everything that’s gone on this season. Everybody has worked so hard and has had every excuse to not have a great year, so I feel like everybody has stayed together extremely well. We’ve been able to put really fast cars on the racetrack and, like you said, going back-to-back championships is something that’s a definite statement. It’s something that’s really cool to do and we have such a great opportunity to accomplish that this year, and you just don’t get many once in a lifetime opportunities like that, so we want to put everything that we can into it to try and make it happen.”

IT FEELS LIKE FEAST OR FAMINE FOR THE 00 LATELY. HOW DO YOU BALANCE THAT OUT AND FIND THAT POSITIVE SUCCESS TO KEEP YOU TOWARD THE TOP OF THE STANDINGS? “We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing, I feel like, and at the same time just trying to stay clean. I feel like we’ve had really fast cars that can go run up front every weekend, we’ve just had a lot of stupid stuff happen the last month and a half. Bristol was a race where we turned that all around. We were able to have a really fast car and be able to get a win, so hopefully we can take that into the playoffs and have a good first round.”

IS THERE ANY EXTRA SENTIMENT RIDING ON THESE LAST SEVEN RACES BEFORE YOU HEAD BACK TO CUP? “Yeah, I think so for sure. I’m really excited about the Cup car next year and getting that opportunity again, but these guys that I’ve raced with in the Xfinity Series, this 00 team, has been unbelievable, so to do this with these guys and compete for another championship, just to look back at the things we’ve accomplished really means a ton. I can’t thank them enough and hopefully can put this all together and end it out strong.”

WHEN YOU LOOK BACK ON YOUR FIRST TOUR WITH CUP, IS THERE A PART OF YOU THAT CAN MAKE THE ARGUMENT THAT IT WAS THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU FROM A CONFIDENCE STANDPOINT? “Yeah, I think so, for sure. I think it definitely gives you some confidence that you can go out there and win again and win championships. I think at the same time it gave me an opportunity to truly grow to become more of a leader and be able to work with your team better to try and get the feel of the car that you need every single weekend, so pretty much anybody in the Cup Series can go fast if the car is right, but you have to really work with your team and really have a great group that can get that car consistently fast how you need it and then you can go out there and really compete in the playoffs and hopefully have a deep run. I’ve tried to work on all those things, to try and work with your team better and try and become more of a leader and I think we can definitely put something strong together for next year.”

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF AUSTIN HILL? “Obviously, we got together at Charlotte earlier this year, but at the end of the day I don’t have a problem with Austin. We’ve moved on from that and I feel like we’ve always raced each other really well, for the most part, so I don’t have a problem with Austin. He’s somebody who definitely gets the most out of his cars as the driver and he’s good competition, for sure.”

HOW DOES THAT CHAMPIONSHIP A YEAR AGO HELPED YOU FOR THIS SEASON? “I think it just gives you a lot of confidence that you’ve kind of been there and done that a little bit, so we just know how to attack the rounds and what you’re looking for in these rounds so at the end of the day you just have confidence in your team that you guys can go out there and do it. We just have to go out there and be consistent and we should have a good shot at it.”

WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO WIN THIS CHAMPIONSHIP THIS SEASON? “I think it’s one of those things that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win championships in NASCAR and go out there and try and win back-to-back championships. That’s something that you might not get ever again in your life, so to put everything we can into it right now is what we need to do and that’s what we’re gonna do. I think we have a huge opportunity in front of us and we’re gonna try and get it.”

HOW DO DRIVERS RACE IN THE PLAYOFFS COMPARED TO THE REGULAR SEASON? “Your focus level, I think, is definitely maybe a little bit up. I don’t think you’re trying harder. At the end of the day, if you tried harder during the regular season, you’d probably wreck. For the most part, you’re just trying to focus more and be more in-tune with everything as much as you can, not that we don’t do that every single weekend, but you’re just trying to have that little bit extra push. At the end of the day, how aggressive some guys are really changes week to week and round to round, just depending on what your point situation is. If you have a good cushion, you’re probably gonna go out there just trying not to wreck and probably just try and get some good points, and if you’re somebody who is below the cut line or in a must-win, you’re gonna be out there really aggressive, being really hard on people with trying to get every single point that you can get, so it just really depends on what your situation is.”

DO YOU KIND OF KNOW HOW THEY’LL RACE IF YOU’RE AWARE OF THAT, OR ARE YOU STILL SURPRISED BY IT AT TIMES? “I would say, yeah, you learn that you really can’t ever expect what you expect. You can try and think about how guys are gonna race, but at the end of the day some guys are just aggressive no matter what and some guys are a little more conservative, but it can change so you just have to kind of stay on top of your toes and focus on yourself.”

ARE YOU PRETTY CONSISTENT WITH HOW YOU RACE? “I would say I’m a little bit more consistent, I guess I would say. When you get in those must-win situations, that’s where you have to really try and make something happen, but, for the most part, you just take one step at a time and put in some good work, you’re gonna find yourself in a good spot.”

WHAT IS THE PERSPECTIVE A YEAR AFTER WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “I think the biggest thing is having the story now of going back to the Cup Series and now it’s almost looking back at what we’ve done and what we’ve built with this 00 team and everybody that’s been on it. I think that’s definitely really cool to have that stat as a champion and we really want to be back-to-back champions, but it’s something really cool to look back on of what we’ve done in the last year and a half, two years, and I think it’s definitely something you’ll remember the rest of your life.”

ANYTHING FROM THAT DAY IN PHOENIX THAT STILL STANDS OUT? “Definitely that final restart. That’s one of those deals where you really don’t know how it’s all gonna work out. Late race restarts, it can go your way or it won’t, but to have it all work out the way it did and finally get that championship means a lot. There’s just so many things that had to go right to win that championship. It’s pretty amazing to look back at that.”

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO GUYS WHO MIGHT BE IN A SIMILAR BOAT AS YOU, WHO HAVE TO GO FROM CUP BACK TO XFINITY TO REINVENT THEMSELVES? “I think at the end of the day you still have to find ways to make yourself better. I think my first time in Cup there were things I did good, I felt like, but at the end of the day there were definitely things I felt I could have done better like working with my team and being more of a leader, so I think going back to the Xfinity Series was great for me to try and work on those things. Winning a championship after that was huge, so I think it’s just one of those things that you just don’t go out there and do Xfinity, try to work on it, try to make yourself better doing Xfinity. I think that’s probably the biggest thing.”

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW HAS THE SHR DECISION AFFECTED YOU GUYS ON THE XFINITY SIDE VERSUS THE CUP SIDE? “Yeah, for a few reasons. I feel like one of them is because more than likely the Xfinity program, as you guys know it over at Stewart-Haas Racing, is kind of staying together. It’s still two teams next year, but they also kind of wanted to send me and Cole out on good terms and we had a set of goals and expectations and standards, which we started the year with in January, and then once the rumbling came about through March and early May we had to kind of batten down the hatches and had to get the whole shop together and focus on what our goals were for the two of us – me and Cole speaking – and obviously there were gonna be people leaving just because they were very uncertain about their futures, so it was a little tough there through the summer months, but we got people to rally behind me and Cole and they continued to work really hard. I think that speed is showing up now more than ever it has before, so that’s good and hopefully we can build some momentum for us on the 98 team this weekend at Kansas and start getting this thing back in the right direction and make a deep run.”

HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT DOES IT MAKE WHEN EVERYBODY BUYS INTO WHAT YOU’RE DOING? “It’s huge. Obviously, there was never really concern with the head of the leadership of the 98 team with Davin. I knew me and him were in unison on every step of the way, but it was more of the people in the shop – the mechanics – if they had offers from other teams and trying to have them stay and be a part of this 98 team and we were building something special and I still think we are, so I’m glad that a lot of them stuck around and most of them stuck around to help us fight for this championship and help us fight in these playoffs and see where it takes us.”

HAVE YOU FELT ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SUPPORT YOU’VE GOTTEN VERSUS THE SUPPORT COLE’S GOTTEN SINCE COLE IS STAYING IN THE HAAS FAMILY AND NOTHING HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED FOR YOU YET? “I don’t think there was any question or thought process through my head about the equipment or the support I was getting from Stewart-Haas Racing. I have all the confidence in the world in Davin, my crew chief. I think that we have extremely equal race cars when we show up at the racetrack each week. I think that even some weeks, I think that the 98 just unloads better and has more speed than the 00, but I don’t think the 00 would be where they are without the 98, and I don’t think the 98 would be where they are without the 00. So, I think the equipment, they’re built right next to each other. They use the same cars, same parts, same pieces, so that was never a question in my head. We have the same stuff and we both have fast race cars.”

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN WHAT YOU’RE DOING NEXT YEAR OR ARE THERE STILL QUESTIONS? IS IT A DISTRACTION AT ALL? “Not confident by any means. Distraction-wise, I think it weighs on all of us a little bit. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. Hopefully, things kind of sort themselves out here in the meantime future, but I can’t worry about that now. I have to worry about the 98 team and try to get the best results we can this weekend at Kansas to put ourselves even higher about the cut line. It’s been a little bit of a distraction, but I’m not too confident in what’s gonna happen next year.”

WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS 98 TEAM IN THE PLAYOFFS? “Last year, it was frustrating but my goal in January last year was not to make the playoffs. I’ve done that before twice and had no success and got bounced in the first round. My goal in January of last year was to win a race, and so as disappointed as it looked from the outside to not make the playoffs, it was obviously a little bit frustrating, but once I got that win at Vegas, that was my goal. Obviously, I wish it would have came sooner so that we would have made the playoffs, but it wasn’t a lack of sleep because I didn’t make the playoffs last year. It was gonna be a lack of sleep if I didn’t win because I knew time was running out. My sand dial was definitely running out, but luckily we got the win and that was very, very big. As far as this year, we definitely have expectations and goals that we set in January and a lot of those are kept in Davin’s room and that’s kind of between us, but I will say that it’s to go further in the playoffs than I have before. That’s all I’m really gonna get into about that, but I feel like we can achieve those goals and we should be just fine if we execute to a high level, which I know we can.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL YOU’VE PROGRESSED SINCE YOU CAME INTO THE XFINITY SERIES TO THIS POINT? “I feel like I’ve progressed leaps and bounds. I don’t think that there’s a driver in the top three national series that has made more gains or progressed faster than I have. Actually, I take that back. I don’t think that they have progressed as much as I have just looking back and watching races from 2020, even 2019 when I made limited starts. I’ve definitely become a different race car driver and a different person, so I’m proud of that aspect of no matter what happens I’m proud of the fact that I’ve grown and become a better race car driver. I obviously think that there’s a long way to go from where I want to be, but I’ve grown a lot and hopefully I can take that growth into the playoffs and use it to my advantage.”

DO YOU FEEL EVERYTHING MOVED TOO QUICKLY AS FAR AS MOVING UP? WHAT LED TO THIS GROWTH AND WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO DO TO SUCCEED WHILE OTHERS HAVE FALTERED? “I think there’s a lot to that question. The first is, which a lot of people on the outside don’t understand yet and I don’t expect them to understand, but it’s not just the driver’s choice on what they do and where they go racing in this series. There’s a lot of outside indications and sponsors and obligations and things and timelines, so to go to the Xfinity Series in 2020, I felt like that was one thing, but then the world got affected by COVID, so to lose all of the rookie test sessions, to lose all the practices, that was a double-fist blow right there to a young driver like myself. I also think that when you hop in that 18 car, obviously, there are expectations to win. I mean, that’s the same thing that they expect the 18 car to do now is go win, so I didn’t shy away from that, but I also wanted everybody to understand that I was extremely, extremely knew and it was gonna take time, but time was of the essence and we didn’t really have that over there. So, my home at Stewart-Haas Racing, they allowed me to grow. They knew that I was extremely inexperienced and extremely green and they were willing to grow with me and to see what I’ve become today is something I’m proud of and I’m proud of Stewart-Haas Racing for standing behind me when they could have stepped aside for sure.”

HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THIS SEASON ON THE WHOLE? “Me and Davin were actually talking last week, the final five races of last year we were the highest point scorer out of everybody in the field. If we were in the playoffs, that would have put us into Phoenix in the final four, so we know we can do it when we execute. We know we have fast enough cars to go do it. We have the speed, so our expectations were high starting in January and I felt like we were matching some of it. Obviously, the win total wasn’t where we want it to be right now, and obviously there was a letdown these last four weeks or so through the late part of summer. We just weren’t executing. We weren’t on our game, albeit myself, the car, wrecks. It doesn’t matter, but we just weren’t finishing where we were supposed to be. We were knocking on the door. I think we were fourth in the points going into the summer break and now we’re coming into the playoffs eighth, so that was kind of frustrating for all of us to wrap our heads around, but I kind of took it as a good thing, as kind of a wake-up call. We kind of took some things for granted and now we know the work we have to do to get back to where we were supposed to be and it starts this week at Kansas.”

WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE TO GROW AS A DRIVER WITH DAVIN AS YOUR CREW CHIEF AND MANAGING THE UPS AND DOWN OF THIS SERIES? “I think that’s a good question. There’s always gonna be ups and downs in life and especially in racing. Davin has done a good job with me at managing my emotions and trying to keep me even keel, not get too high, not get too low, especially after the weekend we just had at Bristol, where it was pretty dismal. He did a good job of keeping me level headed in the race car and after the race of keeping me level-headed and focused on Kansas, so he’s done a really good job with myself and keeping me in the right place mentally. I’m excited for the next seven races and I think if we execute to our ability, we’ll have a real shot at this thing, so I’m eager to get to Kansas and start racing.”

Toyota Racing – Sheldon Creed
NASCAR Xfinity Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE (September 24, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Sheldon Creed was made available to the media today as part of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Media Day.

SHELDON CREED, No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Toyota has won nine of the last 12 Xfinity Series races at Kansas. How does that bode for your team this weekend?

“It is, yeah. I didn’t know it was that many. Nine out of 12? That’s a really good rate there. I don’t what we are in the points, minus three right now? Yeah, I mean, obviously our guys are confident. We have a really good notebook, obviously with John Hunter (Nemechek) winning there last year. We honestly based our sim session off the No. 20 from last year and worked around it from there. Yeah, I feel good about the notebook that we have. Obviously, we’ve been pretty consistent lately and unloading pretty good. So, I think all of that is going to be really important this weekend. Having a good practice session. Qualifying is going to be very important as stage points are going to be even more important now as we get into these first couple of rounds. Obviously, if we can’t win the race, we want to point our way in (to the next round). Yeah, I mean for me, I’m going to keep doing what we’ve been doing the last few weeks. Just trying to be consistent and be towards the front and obviously, you want to want to win the stages and win the race, so going to be going for that.”

What are the emotions still looking for your first career win as the Playoffs start?

“Yeah, obviously Daniel (Hemric) and others have proved you can point your way in there (Championship 4) and win the championship. I think Matt Crafton did it in 2019. So, it is possible. You have to be really consistent, really good to do that, which I think we do have the consistency and speed which we’ve shown in the last two-to-three months. I don’t want to back on that, I guess? I want to be consistent the next seven races, but I would really love to win in this first round, win stages so our points are up and would love to go win (Las) Vegas or Homestead and have an ‘off weekend’ in Martinsville.”

How will the lack of Playoff points impact your approach to the Playoffs?

“Yeah, we’ve won like one stage and the 7 car (Justin Allgaier) has won 14? So that’s 14 more points that he’s starting with. Stages pay a lot. I think I finished fifth in the regular season points and some of the cars in front of us just scored way more stage points than we did, and we probably had higher finishes than them. They just pay a lot, maybe too much in some scenarios. Yeah, that’s definitely a main focus – stage wins and top-five stage points to continue to the next round. Like you said, we’re negative three which is three spots in a stage. It’s definitely doable. Everyone’s going to be good. What do we start with, 12? So, two guys won’t be getting points in the stages, so it’s going to be really important in this first round to capitalize on that.”

Has this season provided more confidence for you and your career?

“Yeah, I think it certainly has. I think I came to JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) pretty low on confidence and yeah, I’m not sure I was having fun with it anymore. And yeah, I think that’s all turned around. I think my confidence grows every week. We’ve been leading laps more recently. Don’t want to say we should’ve won Darlington but were in position to win Darlington. So yeah, confidence has been up, and our team has a lot of fun. Running top-five every week is fun, right? It’s better than running sixth, seventh or eighth, or 12th-15th. Yeah, I think everyone’s in a good mood right now and working really hard at it. I’d say the No. 18 team is in a good place.”

How do you view the narrative about your second-place finishes and coming so close to your first win?

“Yeah, I think each situation has been unique. This weekend (at Bristol), we straight up ran second. I slid, same thing that the No. 00 (Cole Custer) did the restart before and then he just out-ran me that whole last run. But I’ll pull up New Hampshire for instance. I got in position to get the lead into (turn) one, and I thought I did a good job in (turn) one and (turn) two, but looking back, watching the replays and race back, there’s just things you can do differently in every situation. So, I try to learn from all of them. In that instance, I thought I diamonded the corner too much and I fed the No. 00 air and I didn’t hold the No. 20 (Christopher Bell) tight enough and the No. 00 was able to get back to me. Yeah, each situation has been different. I don’t think I’ve done the same mistake twice, right? I just try to learn and be better every single week. I mean, for a second there, it was getting annoying. I got annoyed with myself and why do I keep running second, right? But lately, I’ve just haven’t cared and have been having a lot of fun being fast and consistent and in the picture of winning.”

This was around the time last year of your ending with Richard Childress Racing. Have you closed the door fully on that chapter?

“I mean, it was rough there after Martinsville, obviously. I don’t know, Austin (Hill) and I didn’t talk for about four-to-five months. And then, yeah, we’ve hung out a couple times away from the track and we’ve not talked about it at all. Yeah, I think that’s in a much better place now. I was good friends with a lot of people who are at RCR (Richard Childress Racing). All the engine guys and guys in the shop, the guys on the road. All of those relationships stayed the same. I don’t think the No. 21 group was really a huge fan of me for a while. Yeah, it’s been all good all year for what it’s seemed like.”

What do you think the feeling will be when you get your first win? And where do you see your career going after that?

“Yeah, I feel like it’ll be a huge weight off my shoulders. Obviously, this has been riding on me for three years now. Yeah, I don’t know, I’ll for sure be relieved. And it’s going to happen, one of these days. I thought it was going to happen just a couple weeks ago at Darlington. Yeah, once we win, I have a feeling they’ll come a little easier and hopefully more often. Yeah, I think at this point, where everything is at, you have to win races if you want to go to Cup (Series) and have a paid-for ride and not have to bring money to a Cup team. That’s the goal. Obviously, I think I’m consistent enough to maybe have Cup teams interested, but they want to see winners and I have to do that more often.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 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 more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th 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 29 electrified options.

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

Toyota Racing – Chandler Smith
NASCAR Xfinity Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE (September 24, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chandler Smith was made available to the media on today as part of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Media Day.

CHANDLER SMITH, No. 81 QuickTie Products Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

What are the ultimate expectations for your Playoffs?

“I feel like the sky is the limit for our 81 group. As you said, we’ve showed up with speed – week-in and week-out. Some weekends, we miss it, and still have speed – just the balance isn’t quite right, but we still have speed, which is good. It is just how do we fine tune the balance – some weekends, we haven’t been able to hit on the balance right, but some weekends we do, like we did this past weekend at Bristol. We got the pole, still was able to lead a good bit of laps, finished third. Those are all really good positives. We’ve been on a good streak these last few weeks, leading into the Playoffs. Every team goes through somewhat of a drought in their season – it doesn’t matter if it is Kyle Larson, Chandler Smith – everyone goes through somewhat of a drought, and we were going through ours about midway through the summer and it was just, when was it going to stop. It is one of those things that – what is it? What is causing it? Nobody can ever pinpoint, well that is what it is, business as usual, shit just happens. Luckily, slowly ours started turning around, we started picking up good finishes and started bringing better race cars, and what not. I feel like we are in a pretty solid spot heading into the Playoffs.”

What have you learned as you have gone through many Playoffs?

“It is all about understanding your situation. If you are in a situation where you are, when the Playoffs start, and you had a good regular season and had good bonus points – it is what it is – as much as I would like to say that we are going to go out every week and try to win, we say that on Monday, all the way to Friday and then we get in a situation that we might not be good enough to win, and the situation changes and it’s like, well, we have a good buffer, let’s try to maximize our day and get a good finish and get points and stay around till the end, and I feel like – for the most part – this year is very similar to two years ago when I got to the Championship 4 in the Trucks. Came out of the regular season with a bunch of points – we were really good through the Playoffs, don’t get me wrong, we just weren’t as aggressive as we could have been for sure, and it was because of the situation at hand. We knew what the task was at hand, and that was to get to Phoenix. Last year, for instance, with Kaulig Racing was able to make the Playoffs with them in our rookie season – was a little different. Didn’t come out with as many Playoff points as I did this year, but still had a good bit – just had problems in the first race at Kansas and that kind of put us on offense going into Talladega and we had a really good points day where we could go to the ROVAL and just have a solid day and advance to the second round. It is all about understanding your situation, where you exited the regular season, how many points you have from the get-go and where that reset puts you on points, and understanding where you are at.”

What have you learned about Austin Hill as you have spent many years racing him?

“Austin (Hill) will race you with respect, if you have respect for him, and I feel like we have a lot of respect for each other just with the process and the way we grew up racing, and last year, being with Kaulig Racing and being on the RCR (Richard Childress Racing) campus, we were essentially teammates, and grew a tighter knit relationship then, then we did in Trucks and we had a good relationship in Trucks as well. That plays into how we race each other compared to a person I may not have as much respect for just because we’ve raced the crap out of each other every time we race. Austin is one that I feel like – if we go to a Talladega, he is going to push me for a while, but I know that he’s not going to be the guy that will leave me out to dry and he’s not going to be the guy that will try to wreck me halfway through stage two at Kansas. That’s just not him.”

Have you started having talks with Joe Gibbs Racing for next year?

“Honestly, right now, we are just making sure that we show up week-in and week-out with fast Toyota Supras and doing everything we can do to make it to Phoenix, and we will sort the rest out later.”

What has it been like working with your teammates?

“It’s just like any other organization – you are going to have run-ins. We have good race cars, and we are all pretty much running the same speed. Good race car drivers are going to have run-ins, unfortunately, it’s just a matter of how it all gets handled.”

How have you felt about your gains with Joe Gibbs Racing this season?

“It has been great being with Joe Gibbs Racing and all of the personnel. I’m back with Toyota as well. People forget that last year when I went to Kaulig Racing, I jumped ship from Toyota to go to Kaulig Racing, which is a Chevy team. When I was with Toyota for seven plus years, whatever it was, before then. Being back home in the Toyota camp with all of my Toyota family and being in depth at Joe Gibbs Racing and all of the personnel has been great.”

Can you compare your run last year and this year?

“Joe Gibbs Racing, from where I was last year, is night and day different in its own different ways and aspects. It is hard to compare the two, because Joe Gibbs Racing has been around before the 2000’s, and Kaulig Racing has been around, I don’t know, since 2018 – whenever it has been, so obviously the notebook and depth is night and day difference. The experience at the shop is night and day difference. The wins – night and day difference. Everything is different – you can’t compare the two. I think I’m more at home at Joe Gibbs Racing, than I was at Kaulig – just because being with Toyota and how many years I was with them and how tight knit Joe Gibbs Racing is with Toyota – it obviously is a really big deal to me and that is pretty much the reason I came to Joe Gibbs Racing was because of the Toyota tie. I think that is the biggest thing – being back with a manufacturer that I’m familiar with, the one that has been behind me for seven plus years and put me in situations where I can go out and win. That’s what they did this year.”

Do you think you will make the Championship 4?

“I think if it is meant to be it will happen. Regardless of, if we are performing well. I think if we are meant to make it to Phoenix, we will find a way to Phoenix, if we are not, we will find a way not to make it to Phoenix.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 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 more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th 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 29 electrified options.

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