Toyota GAZOO Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

POCONO, Pa. (June 21, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway. This is Hamlin’s first pole position of the season, his fifth at Pocono in 36 starts and the 44th of his career.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

You are picking up where you left off at Michigan. How do you keep your focus with everything that has gone on within the last couple of weeks?

“Truthfully, I’m on a run. I don’t know how else to say it. Everything is going really well right now. You know inevitably it’s not going to keep going forever, but right now it is.”

Have you found out something about Pocono here recently that you didn’t previously?

“I remember when they repaved I felt like I lost the advantage. When the track was worn out, there were things I could do in turn one and turn three, but I wasn’t able to do it as well. When they repaved, it made grip everywhere and made everyone run the same line. As this track has aged, we’ve started to move around again and there are little nuances and advantages to be had. I do feel like it’s starting to get back to that?”

How did you feel about the car in race trim during practice?

“Not great, truthfully. I was very surprised about the big balance change. I ran as fast as I could in practice and I think we were 26th or something like that. What was encouraging was we ran our fastest lap on Lap 16, so we had some capability to it. We knew we could make it better in the short run, you can’t run your fastest lap on Lap 16. There was improvement to be had and told them what I needed and I obviously I know how to drive around the track and they gave me exactly what I asked for.”

The two fastest cars in practice had issues in qualifying and are both starting in the back. What does it mean to have two of the potentially strongest cars starting at the rear?

“There will be some opportunities to do some strategy stuff to get track position. Nothing is free and usually comes at a cost of where you have to run on older tires at some point so you. It won’t be at an advantage. It makes it hard, this track is similar to Indy to pass. They are going to have to be really patient and it’s going to take awhile. They will likely miss out on some stage points. It’s the way the breaks go sometimes. We feel like we are in a good spot, I feel like I just need to execute restarts and don’t mess up on pit road and do my job and we should be fine.”

With Bubba 13th in points and potentially losing out on stage points, what does this do for them as they think about getting into the playoffs?

“I don’t think you can get to panicked about it, you can’t change it. If you are Bubba Wallace it’s not something you did. I’m confident it’s not something the team did, it’s just one of those mechanical things where the anvil fell on your this time. It happens to others as well. It’s very easy for drivers and teams to get down about their bad luck, but everyone has it and usually washes itself out over time. I think they are running fast enough to be a playoff car and a lot of that is going to depend on who jumps up on the wild card races over the next 10 weeks, but I feel confident the 23 team will be a part of it.”

How is your confidence level heading into the weekend with the pole?

“If you would have asked me an hour ago, I probably wasn’t going to be very confident. I thought with how off the balance was in practice I just wanted to get a top-10 qualifying effort. If I can do that and make some adjustments overnight, then I’m back in the game. If I had a poor qualifying effort, that was just going to make the balance worse and that’s just going to be how it was going to be no matter how good your car is. I thought the task to get another win was going to need to be starting in the top-15. But now that we are first, we need to make sure we execute well and max that balance in race trim and we should be fine.”

All four JGR Toyotas and Tyler Reddick were in the top-10 in qualifying but none of you were in in the top-10 in practice. What was the difference from practice to qualifying?

“Good question, we all missed it with our simulation this week. We all work around the same thing and then when we show up, they were able to work around me when they saw my balance was off. We were able to make some adjustments for that group B practice but it wasn’t quite enough. They needed more time, which was the time between practice and qualifying to get it where they needed it to be. I’m confident it’s going to be better now.”

Even with all the success you’ve had at Pocono, how do you make sure you keep doing all the things to continue to be successful here?

“I study every track like I’ve never won there, that’s just the way I’ve always done things and it’s the way that I feel like has allowed me to adapt to so many different cars and things. When the track changes are the same you got to be able to adapt. I treat Pocono like I’ve never won here. I will go out there and study other drivers who have not even won at this track. If there’s someone that I’ve noticed who is fast, I look at it. For example, with William Byron I looked at his corner entry and how (Kyle) Larson’s corner exit and I try to put all of that together to improve myself.”

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.

Toyota GAZOO Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

POCONO, Pa. (June 21, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

How important is it for NASCAR from a growth standpoint to keep building and fostering relationships with athletes from other professional sports?

“There’s definitely a lot of crossover. There’s been examples of that. Promotion of the sport has always been important. There’s only so many sports fans and so many eyeballs and programs they can watch at one time, so you are fighting for those eyeballs. If you can appeal to another sports audience and show them that this is a sport too. Our drivers are athletes or whatever it might be, then you try to get some new fans in our sport.”

What’s it like being a family of five and have you gotten any sleep?

“He’s (Jameson) been great. He’s slept through the night the last three nights in a row. So it’s been really, really great.”

What has made you so good at Pocono over the years?

“Truthfully we’ve been even better than our average finish. We’ve had some tough engine breaks and other things here and there. It’s a track that no matter the car we drive or the tires or the aero package, none of that really matters. You still make speed at this racetrack the same way no matter what car you are driving. I think it’s been one of the few tracks I haven’t had to change my approach to it depending on the car that I’m driving. I think that’s why the success has been sustained.”

Watching last week’s race at home as a fan, what were your impressions of everything?

“From a broadcast standpoint I was entertained. Even when the racing wasn’t super entertaining, what I liked was the broadcast gave you another story they were talking about. Their production was fantastic and their pre and post-race show kept me engaged. There were lulls, but that’s just part of it because sometimes someone wins by 16 seconds and that’s ok. I think they (Amazon Prime) do a good job of telling the stories and getting you excited about strategy and showing how one driver may catch another and be on the lookout for it. They are doing a great job so far.”

Why do you think Amazon Prime’s coverage has resonated with race fans?

“I think they have racers in the booth. If you look at the people that they have, they know the sport inside and out. Dale Jr. hosts a podcast each week that talks about the sport. Steve Letarte is one of the best, if not the best at just keeping you constantly engaged. I just think it’s the rapport they have with each other that’s so good. They are not bound by network and having to hit commercials. I think they talked about it on (Dale) Junior’s podcast this week about being flexible when they take their breaks. I think that’s certainly important because a lot of the gripe you hear is maybe nine laps to go and it’s necessary for network to go to commercial and it’s just not the right time. Unfortunately, that’s just how network TV works.”

What is your overall opinion of the street race in Chicago as it enters the third year?

“I hate that the street race has been mired by rain. I think there was an absolutely amazing feel to the inaugural race and then it downpours and you have to force people to leave. Anytime they have to leave you don’t know if you’ll get them back or not. I think they’ve been up against it as far as conditions are concerned. The track has been good, it’s been racy and has passing zones and the scenery is fantastic as far as the backdrop we are racing in. There’s a lot of positives for the Chicago Street Race. It will probably move around in the future, but it’s in the mold in which I would like to see any street race they continue to implement in the future.”

What are your overall thoughts about the implementation of the in-season tournament?

“I’m a sports guy, so I’m going to be engaged with it. I’ll know who I will have to beat next week. I’ve told the team, we are going to try and do what we can. We are going to be up against it because we are going to tracks that aren’t very favorable to me. But we are going to try to do our best to beat that one car for the next four to five weeks.”

How are you physically feeling after getting the week off last week?

“Really good. I’m older so my body has to go through a reset every seven days. I get to where it’s pretty good by the time we get to Friday and Saturday. But then by Sunday I mess it up again. I go through that cycle all over again. It was good to have a week break. I had the same break everyone else did a month or so ago. I can tell you that the second week off is phenomenal if we can get that back.

You had it before where you’ve had to step out of the car and have time off. What’s the process of getting reacclimated when you come back?

“It wasn’t like I was sitting around hanging by the pool. I did work. When it came to the simulator and meetings, I missed all that stuff. Obviously the focus was on her and being in the hospital longer than normal. I felt like I was a little rusty this week in the sim, it took me an extra 30 minutes to get back in it, but once I did it felt good and feel like I will fire off well today.”

How did the process go as far as the delivery and the decision not to travel to Mexico?

“Truthfully, before Thursday I was going to go to the weekend as scheduled. The labor was tremendous and we knew would have to be there longer than normal and I just said there’s no way I could leave in the next 36 hours, which is what I needed to go there and do the job correctly. If we were racing at Darlington I would have been there on race day. It was just bad timing from a logistical standpoint. You have twelve hours of logistics just to get to Mexico and it didn’t make any sense to me knowing that those few days after can be a fragile time and I can’t just hop back in the plane and easily come home once I’m there.”

What is behind naming your son Jameson?

“I’m James, that’s James’s son, Jameson. And Drew, we wanted to keep J.D. as part of it. J.D. Gibbs was a big part of getting here to the Cup Series. James Dean was the car owner I drove for in late models that got me the equipment to win all of those races to get seen by J.D Gibbs. I’m J.D., so we are just keeping it going.”

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
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
JUNE 21, 2025

 Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Pocono Raceway.

Media Availability Quotes:

Two years ago, you burst onto the scene with the Chicago win. A few weeks later here at Pocono, I talked to many drivers, and a lot of them have the sentiment of, yeah, it’s cool that you won at a road course, but try the ovals. And now, two years later, you’re fully invested in NASCAR in a full-time capacity. You have another historic win, ironically, on a road course. But now, here we are. Even though your success on ovals has still been limited, and you’re still learning, what do you say to all the drivers that were like, just do it? How do you respond, I guess?

“I don’t know where to start with that one… but yeah, firstly, good morning, everyone.

Yeah, it’s been an amazing two years, that’s for sure. And it’s been great to tick off another win at a historical event for the sport again, Pretty cool to win another race like that. And it’s been an amazing week — amazing for the team and celebrating our achievement. It’s a pretty cool thing to do. But yeah, I feel like we really are getting better every week on the ovals. It was nice to have a break last week and turn right, which is good, but ready to keep trying to progress. This track will be a tough one. I struggled here, actually, last year, but also our cars weren’t that good either. I was racing my teammates near the back, so it was a tough one. But yeah, just looking forward to keep improving every week, keep learning something. And yeah, it’s not long now until we go to tracks for the second time and looking forward to getting better at them.”

With the win, how does the mindset shift for the rest of the regular season?

“Good question. I don’t think it really has. It was always our goal to win. There’s probably less pressure on road courses now. We can play with our strategy if we want to try and get playoff points now and stuff like that.

But yeah, probably less pressure. We can enjoy the road courses a bit more. But yeah, the ovals, we just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing; keep our head down, keep improving every week, and try and keep getting good results. We’ve been frustrated with top-20s the last couple of weeks, which is a huge improvement for us for how we started. Our potential is getting a lot better, and hopefully we keep getting close to that back-end of the top-10. That would be good.”

You got the opportunity last weekend with celebrating your victory with the first loser and second loser, I guess, is what some people would call it. What was it like to share a podium, since that’s not traditionally done here? I know you’ve done it both ways. Would you prefer having the focus more on the winner as opposed to sharing the second and third?

“Yeah, I guess that’s the way that I’ve grown up doing it, and the way the rest of the world does it. But I love the focus on ‘win or nothing’ here, as well. There’s so much spectacle just behind the winner, and you get all that spotlight.

But it’s damn hard to get second and third in these races, too, so I think it’s good to celebrate that, as well. I can see both sides of it, but I do love the way the winner’s circle or victory lane is here. It’s a really cool privilege to be in that, I think. I’m on the fence, really. I don’t know what’s better, but I like both ways. I like champagne, too, that’s always fun (laughs).”

I know that you’ve talked about just the boarding and the progression that you’ve had to make, and I’m sure it’s as much week by week, but to be in the stretch where there are so many road courses and there are so many really, really good opportunities for you, what does it mean to be at the stretch? Is it something that you were looking forward to, or was it something that was hard to look ahead because there was so much work to be done on everything else?

“I knew it was going to be a real grind from April to now. We really struggled at the start. But as I keep saying, I think we’ve gotten a lot better, and we’re really in the mix now. We’re qualifying in the mix. It’s been fun battling with these guys, and it’s been fun seeing the improvements every week. The metric here, once you’re stuck in that tail end, that’s hard to get out. You go out first in qualifying, and you’re stuck at the back. Once you break that routine, you get some momentum going, and it’s cool to see the metric come out every week and know you’re going to be in a good qualifying spot. It’s been a huge uplift, and the meetings have been a lot of fun. You really feel a lot more confidence, which is really cool.”

I want to ask you first about the Chicago Street Race. Obviously, it’s a special place for you. You got your first win there a couple of years ago. I want to go a little bit deeper into that and ask you, what is it like as an event, overall, racing in the middle of a downtown city as a street course? What’s your thoughts on that as a concept as a whole in NASCAR, and what excites you about going back in a couple of weeks?

“I think it’s really good. I think NASCAR people maybe should go to Gold Coast, as wel,l and get some ideas about that event. Gold Coast Street Race in Australia, it’s not as good as it was, but that atmosphere and party style is really, really cool. It’s sort of similar… the track’s by the water. It’s got all the buildings. It could still be better from an atmosphere, race, party kind of view. But I think for their first crack at it, it’s been really good. A little unlucky with the weather both years, but I’ve really enjoyed that race.

I think for a street race, it’s got a lot of passing zones, which is very rare for a street circuit. The race has provided, the last couple of years, it’s been an exciting race and seems like a race most people look forward to watching.”

Road courses are undoubtedly a driving strength of yours, but Pocono isn’t your typical oval. It’s the Tricky Triangle for a reason. Do you feel your road racing skills can translate here, and what are the biggest challenges for you here?

“It’s just time. I figured this year, all the tracks I’ve done in Xfinity and everything I’ve learned, I’ve had to throw in the bin basically. The cars are so much different and the way you attack the track, so I’m starting from scratch almost at all these new places. This is tough with the gear changing. I’m not really that good yet at changing down gears with my left foot, which I’ll do here today. I need to keep improving with that.

This track is going to be very difficult for me, but hopefully by the time the race starts, we’re progressing forward again.”

Shane, that win obviously last weekend locked you into the postseason. Have you given any thought at all? Have you looked at the first round of the playoffs and looked at that schedule to try to sit down with your team and figure out maybe what’s our game plan for that first round?

“Yeah, I had a look at what tracks it was, and it’s pretty daunting. Bristol’s a tough track. Gateway, I’ve never been there, but there’s two left-handers by the looks. What’s the other track? Darlington, which I’m okay at, but certainly it’s going to be a really, really tough first round. By then, hopefully, we’ve got 10 weeks to keep getting better and building it up. Looking forward to getting there; having a crack and trying to get through it.”

You mentioned 10 weeks left, wo of those races are road courses going to Chicago and then going to Sonoma the very next week. There probably would have been an emphasis on those for you anyway, even in a must-win situation for the playoffs. But now that you’re locked in, those are excellent chances for you to build playoff points. Is that going to be something you’re looking at maybe going for the win as opposed to a stage win, or a stage win as opposed to a 15th-place finish? Does that change your strategy at all, your postseason outlook?

“Yeah, that’s what happened last year in the Xfinity. We started sacrificing a little bit of track position to try and accumulate points because they’re pretty important in that first round. It may change it, but also winning races is pretty cool, too, so we’ll probably just try and keep putting ourselves in the best position to win those ones.”

Cam Waters is going to get another shot in the Truck Series. Have you talked to him since about the opportunity, and how cool is it seeing some more of your fellow Supercars drivers get more shots in NASCAR?

“Yeah, I haven’t spoke to him about the truck race, but he was trying to do Chicago in the Cup Series. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out. He’s probably the favorite to win next week now, so it’ll be really cool to see how he goes and how that race is. I guess it’s a new track. But I wish he was doing the Chicago race, too. It would have been cool to have him in there. I think he’s one of the best talents in V8, so hopefully he can get over here. Let’s go to the left side over here.”

Obviously track position is important, but typically everybody tends to undercut. But now that you guys were able to get that win, do you think that we’re going to start seeing more teams maybe staying out at the end of Stage Two, trying to get to stage points and still being in the track position?

“Yeah, it’s something that we talk about often, as well… that kind of strategy with one less pit stop. But I think at that stage (in Mexico City), the weather was quite threatening, so we were trying to get to the window for that rather than extending the stage. But yeah, it kind of was a surprise on me. I burnt my stuff up trying to get to Ty and get past him. And when I was told we were staying out, I was a bit worried at the time because I didn’t have much tire left, but thankfully, they re-fired okay. It would have been really interesting to see, if that race went green, where Ty would have come out and if he could have caught us. So yeah, it would have been fun to see, but unfortunately we didn’t get to find out.”

Looking at your short time here, at least in the Cup Series, just from the road course perspective, how much has the game changed in terms of maybe strategy or your approach going into each race from when you started at Xfinity to now in the Cup Series?

“I think when I first started, there was no stage breaks, so that’s kind of changed. I think in 2023, there weren’t stages, which was actually better I thought. But yeah, it kind of locks you in on your strategy and everyone kind of just does the same thing now. So yeah, I prefer no stage breaks in the road courses, but it is what it is.

But yeah, the racing is the same. I feel like it’s definitely tougher on the tracks that you go to like Watkins Glen and Sonoma, where everyone’s been going to them for years. I’m a bit of a catch up there, but obviously on the fresh tracks when everyone’s green to it, that’s where I can do a bit better. So yeah, but with more experience, I’m going to get better and better at these road courses.”

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.