CREWS, SAWALICH NET TOYOTA TOP-10s AT CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS Crews lead Five Laps; Brings Home Solid Sixth-Place finish in his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut
AUSTIN (February 28, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Brent Crews (sixth) and William Sawalich (seventh) earned top 10 finishes in Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
Crews dazzled in his O’Reilly Series debut, taking the lead on an early race restart with an impressive move in turn one and led five total laps in the 65-lap race on Saturday afternoon. With his time in the lead, Crews became the youngest driver to lead laps in the O’Reilly Series since Casey Atwood did so in 1998 at the Nashville Fairgrounds.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS) Circuit of the Americas Race 3 of 33 – 156 miles, 65 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Shane Van Gisbergen* 2nd, Austin Hill* 3rd, Sammy Smith* 4th, Jesse Lovel* 5th, Corey Day* 6th, BRENT CREWS 7th, WILLIAM SAWALICH 12th, TAYLOR GRAY 15th, BRANDON JONES 26th,, DEAN THOMPSON 29th, HARRISON BURTON 35th, SAGE KARAM *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
BRENT CREWS, No. 19 Young Life GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
How would you rate your overall performance today?
“Felt like today was just a big learning day. My first start obviously. Overall I just wanted to finish and keep the car in one piece and we did that. There are some things I felt like I could have done better. There at the end not thinking about it, I took the outside. I’ve been here so many times where you gain a row or two rows taking the outside and then they all get wiped out. It was a tough day, it was a long hot day and we survived. I just want to thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota, and we were also happy to represent Young Life.”
Tell us about the move you made around SVG (Shane Van Gisbergen) and Connor Zilisch to lead for five laps early in the race?
“It was definitely cool. Today was a great learning day and I just want to thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing and Young Life and Toyota for getting us here, first of all. Today was a blast, it’s a day I dreamed of going on 10 years now. Today was a lot of fun getting to race around my friends and people I’ve thought about racing for a lot of years. We definitely struggled this week in practice and we made adjustments to make the car better and almost came out of there with a top-five, so I’m happy.”
How did the day turn out compared to your expectations?
“They were pretty close. I expected to have a pretty good day being a road course kid. Definitely was a bit eye-opening in practice. We really struggled, but got a lot better. So I was happy to almost have a top-five there. Having green flag pit stops, and coming down pit road hot and all of those things are new to me. So I’m just trying to learn.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 35 million cars and trucks at our 11 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 28: Layne Riggs, driver of the #34 Long John Silver's Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 28, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images).
Layne Riggs erased his difficult start to the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season by winning the inaugural OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 at St. Petersburg on Saturday, February 28.
The 23-year-old Riggs from Bahama, North Carolina, led three times for a race-high 41 of the 80-scheduled laps in an event where he started in 28th place and steadily worked his way up the leaderboard. After outdueling teammate Chandler Smith to lead for the first time on Lap 38, Riggs captured the second stage victory.
Through two cautions and restarts throughout the final stage period, Riggs retained the lead for nearly the entire portion of the period. In the closing laps, Riggs was mired with a trio of challenges: not having enough fuel to finish the event, navigating his way through lapped traffic, and fending off late challenges from Ty Majeski and Ben Rhodes. Amid all challenges, Riggs withstood them all by navigating his way through the 14-turn circuit and even fending off a final-lap dive bomb attempt from Majeski to etch his name as the winner of the Truck Series’ first-ever race at the Streets of St. Petersburg.
The event’s starting lineup was determined using a qualifying metric formula after rain canceled the event’s qualifying and practice sessions that were scheduled to occur on Friday, February 27. As a result, Connor Mosack was awarded the pole position, and he shared the front row with Giovanni Ruggiero.
Prior to the event, rookie Cole Butcher dropped to the rear of the field in a backup truck after he wrecked his primary truck during Friday’s rain-shortened practice session. Rookie Mini Tyrrell also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his entry. During the event’s pace laps, Tyler Reif ended up dropping to the rear of the field due to stalling on the track.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Connor Mosack rocketed ahead of the field entering the first turn, while Ben Rhodes, who started in fourth place, made a bold move beneath Giovanni Ruggiero in an attempt to assume the runner-up spot. Ruggiero managed to fend off Rhodes as Mosack drove away through the first three turns. As the field of 36 competitors smoothly navigated through the 14-turn circuit at the Streets of St. Petersburg for the first time ever, Mosack also retained the top spot for a full lap as he led the first lap.
On the second lap, the event’s first caution flew when Justin Haley, who was racing just outside the top-10 mark, was bumped by Stewart Friesen and sent for a spin as he stalled backwards in the first turn. Haley would drop out of the lead lap category as he was unable to re-fire his entry before the field led by Mosack cycled back through the first turn and lapped Haley.
When the event restarted under green on the sixth lap, Mosack and Rhodes dueled entering the first turn before Rhodes muscled ahead and assumed the lead through the first three turns. As the field jostled for early spots through Turns 3 and 4, Rhodes muscled ahead with the lead while Mosack was fending off Ruggiero and Chandler Smith for the runner-up spot. Amid the battles throughout the 14-turn circuit, Rhodes, who built his gap to more than a second, led the next lap.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Rhodes was leading by a second over Mosack as Ruggiero, Chandler Smith, and Landen Lewis trailed in the top five, with the latter trailing by five seconds. Behind, Dario Franchitti, who made contact with James Hinchcliffe on the seventh lap in the first turn, was racing in sixth place ahead of Tyler Ankrum and Hinchcliffe while Kaden Honeycutt and Andres Perez De Lara occupied the top-10 spots, respectively. Meanwhile, Adam Andretti, Layne Riggs, Ty Majeski, Stewart Friesen, Kris Wright, Christian Eckes, Jake Garcia, Grant Enfinger, Colin Braun and Ben Maier were racing in the top 20, respectively, while Tyler Reif, Daniel Hemric, Daniel Dye, Brenden Queen and Cole Butcher were mired in the top 25, respectively, ahead of Mini Tyrrell, Dawson Sutton, Tanner Gray, Carter Fartuch and Jackson Lee.
Five laps later, Mosack, who had been reeling in on Rhodes over the previous laps, trailed Rhodes by within three- and four-tenths of a second through every turn and straightaway. Despite being pressured by Mosack, Rhodes retained the lead by four-tenths of a second during the next lap. Rhodes then briefly locked up his tires as he entered the first turn, but he managed to keep his entry straight and at the front. As Tanner Gray wrecked on Lap 17, he managed to keep going without drawing a caution.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, Rhodes, who rebuilt his advantage to more than four seconds, cruised to his first Truck stage victory of the 2026 season. Mosack settled in second place while Landen Lewis, Chandler Smith, Ruggiero, Franchitti, Riggs, Ankrum, Honeycutt, and Perez De Lara were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 30 of 36 competitors were scored on the lead lap.
Under the event’s first stage break period, the event was paused for three minutes as the entire field, except for Mosack, parked on pit road, with each competitor parked in their respective pit boxes for service. For the competitors who pitted, all retained their respective spots as they entered pit road before the start of the second-stage period.
The second stage period started on Lap 23 as Mosack and Rhodes occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out entering the first turn as both Rhodes and Mosack occupied the front row. Through the first turn, Rhodes, who was racing on fresh tires than Mosack, quickly reassumed the lead. As Rhodes retained the lead from Mosack and Smith through the first three turns, Honeycutt, who was racing in the top 10, overshot Turn 4 and plummeted below the leaderboard as he navigated his truck back on the course. With the rest of the field navigating through the remaining turns smoothly, Rhodes extended his advantage to one-and-a-half seconds as he returned to the start/finish line and led the next lap.
On Lap 25, the caution returned when Adam Andretti, who was racing within the top-20 mark, got bumped by Christian Eckes in Turn 7. The contact sent Andretti spinning and rear-ended the wall, as Eckes also collided with Andretti. As most of the field scattered to avoid the carnage, Daniel Hemric was also involved after he hit Andretti’s damaged entry. At the time of caution, Rhodes was still leading ahead of Smith, Lewis, Riggs, and Ruggiero, while Mosack had dropped to eighth place on his worn tires.
The event’s next restart on Lap 30 featured Rhodes, Smith, and Riggs dueling against one another in a three-wide formation in a battle for the lead. As the trio entered the first turn, Smith, who was pinned in the needle of the three-wide racing, executed a bold crossover move beneath teammate Riggs to overtake him and Rhodes with the lead in the first turn. As the field behind jostled for spots, Smith proceeded to lead the next lap while Riggs, Rhodes, Lewis, and Ruggiero trailed behind.
At the Lap 35 mark, Smith continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over his hard-charging teammate Riggs while Rhodes trailed in third place by one-and-a-half seconds. Meanwhile, Majeski was up into fifth place behind Lewis, and Ruggiero occupied sixth place while Ankrum, Franchitti, Enfinger, and Perez De Lara trailed in the top 10 ahead of Kris Wright, Colin Braun, Ben Maier, Stewart Friesen, and Dawson Sutton.
Two laps later, Riggs, who pressured teammate Smith for the lead, seized an opportunity to get beneath Smith in the first turn. Smith, however, fought off Riggs’ challenge and retained the lead through the first three turns before Riggs tried again to go beneath Smith through a brief straightaway from Turns 3 and 4. Despite racing alongside Smith, Riggs was unable to execute his pass before he then succeeded in overtaking and muscling ahead of Smith from Turns 5 to 8. Riggs proceeded to stretch his advantage to more than a second over the next handful of laps over Smith, while Lewis, Majeski, and Rhodes trailed in the top five, respectively.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 40, Riggs captured his first Truck stage victory of the 2026 season. Teammate Smith settled in second ahead of Lewis, Majeski and Rhodes while Ruggiero, Ankrum, Franchitti, Enfinger and Perez De Lara were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 28 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.
Following the event’s second stage break period and after the field non-competitively pitted for service, the event’s third and final stage period commenced with 37 laps remaining. At the start, Riggs jumped ahead of teammate Smith entering the first turn, while Majeski overtook Smith through the first turn to assume the runner-up spot. As the front-runners fanned out and jostled through Turns 3 and 4, Ankrum collided into the rear of Lewis, which resulted in Ankrum sustaining significant front-end damage as the latter still continued racing straight and without drawing a caution. Amid the scrambles within the field, Riggs led the next lap over a hard-charging Majeski and Smith while Rhodes, Lewis, and Ruggiero occupied the top-six spots. Behind, Franchitti was up into seventh place while Enfinger, Ankrum, and Perez De Lara trailed in the top 10, respectively.
With 35 laps remaining, Riggs stretched his advantage to a second over Majeski while Smith, Rhodes, and Lewis continued to trail in the top five. Riggs proceeded to add another second to his lead over the next five laps while Majeski, Smith, Rhodes, and Lewis retained top-five spots ahead of Ruggiero, Franchitti, Enfinger, Perez De Lara, and Honeycutt. During this stretch, there were two on-track incidents that occurred, both of which occurred in Turn 1. The first was when Cole Butcher wheel-hopped and spun in the first turn while battling for a top-20 spot with 33 laps remaining. Then, with 30 laps remaining, Wright, who was also battling within the top 20, locked up the brakes on his entry and slid sideways while barely dodging Sutton. During both incidents, the event remained under green flag conditions.
Following a caution that flew with 29 laps remaining due to Derek White stalling his entry, the event restarted with 25 laps remaining. At the front, Riggs and Majeski dueled for the lead until Riggs fended off Majeski through the first turn to retain the lead. As Riggs proceeded to lead through the next three turns, Majeski, who was racing with a damaged left-front fender, fended off teammate Rhodes to retain the runner-up spot while Smith, Lewis, Ruggiero, Franchitti, Enfinger, Honeycutt and Perez De Lara trailed in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Nathan Nicholson and Mini Tyrrell, both of whom were racing within the mid-pack region, made hard contact against the right-side wall through the first two turns, but both continued to nurse their damaged entries without drawing a caution.
With 24 laps remaining, a pair of on-track incidents occurred. The first was when Ruggiero, who was having a strong run in the top-10 mark, wrecked against the wall in Turn 4. Shortly after, Hinchcliffe, who was racing within the mid-pack region and overshot Turn 10 during the second stage period, made contact with Wright and spun through Turns 5 and 6. During both incidents, the race remained under green-flag conditions, but the caution returned on the next lap after Derek White stalled on the track for a second time, this latest time in Turn 9.
As the event restarted with 19 laps remaining, Majeski used the outside lane and took advantage of Riggs briefly hopping the curb through the first turn to assume the lead. As Majeski led through the next three turns, Riggs fended off doff Rhodes and Smith to retain the runner-up spot while Honeycutt carved his way into the top five in fifth place. Then, as Majeski led through Turn 13, he briefly got loose and overdrove Turn 14. Despite making slight contact with the tire barriers on the left side, he managed to blend back on the circuit in sixth place without drawing a caution while Riggs reassumed the lead and led the next lap.
Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Riggs was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Rhodes while Smith, Honeycutt, Majeski, Lewis, Enfinger, Perez De Lara, Braun and Hemric were racing in the top 10 ahead of Ben Maier, Haley, Jake Garcia, Mosack, Hinchcliffe, Tyler Reif, Daniel Dye, Butcher, Kris Wright and Brenden Queen, respectively. Meanwhile, Franchitti, who was racing in the top-10 mark, dropped to 28th place and lost a lap to the leaders after he pitted under green due to a steering issue, while Eckes was down in 25th place after he was bumped and sent for a spin by Reif in Turn 4 a few laps earlier.
With 10 laps remaining, Riggs extended his lead to more than two seconds over Rhodes while Chandler Smith and Majeski, both of whom battled for third place, trailed by more than four seconds. Honeycutt continued to occupy fifth place while Lewis, Perez De Lara, Braun, Hemric, and Maier were up in the top 10 ahead of Hinchcliffe, Haley, Mosack, Reif, and Garcia. As the laps dwindled, Riggs had his lead shrink to a full second over Rhodes with five laps remaining, but the former continued to lead through every turn and straightaway of the 14-turn circuit.
When the white flag waved, and the final lap started, Riggs remained in the lead by nearly a second ahead of a side-by-side battle between Rhodes and Majeski. Seconds later, Majeski overtook teammate Rhodes, the latter of whom had been reeling in Riggs for the lead in the late stages, for the runner-up spot through the first turn while Riggs, who began to express concerns about fuel shortage, rebuilt a steady gap. Despite weaving his truck back and forth a handful of times through the turns, Riggs led through Turn 13 as Majeski tried to reel in.
Then, entering Turn 14, Majeski tried to fully reel in his entry to the rear bumper of Riggs’ entry, but he missed his mark and overdrove the turn. With Majeski having to regather his momentum and fend off Rhodes for second place, Riggs was able to cruise through the final turn and final straightaway, and he claimed the checkered flag to win by eight-tenths of a second over Majeski.
With the victory, Riggs collected his sixth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career win in his 57th series start, his first on a road course event and his first since he won at Bristol Motor Speedway in September 2025. Riggs’ St. Petersburg victory was also the second of the 2026 season for the Ford manufacturer and the second for Front Row Motorsports, with the organization having both of its trucks (Nos. 34 and 38) winning at least once this year.
Riggs’ St. Petersburg victory was a huge momentous boost for the driver and team of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford F-150 entry, as they were ranked in 23rd place in the driver’s standings after finishing 31st and 27th through the first two races (Daytona International Speedway & Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway). Currently, the St. Petersburg victory has boosted them to fifth place in the standings as they continue their yearlong pursuit of making the Chase and winning the championship.
Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images
“[The] First thing I’m gonna say [is] thank you to Joey Hand,” Riggs said in Victory Lane on FOX. “I know he’s watching at home. My road course guy. He’s the man. He helped me so much. We’ve been working on this racetrack in the simulator at Ford Racing since December. I really, really wanted to get my first win on a road course. The short track guy from Bahama, North Carolina, won at St. Pete. Can you believe it? I’ve really been trying to perfect my craft. I feel like I’ve been close on the road courses. Just big shoutout to everybody at Front Row Motorsports…It’s just a dream come true. I literally said this year [that] I just want to win a road course just to show I’m not just that short track guy.”
“[The truck] sputtered with about to eight [laps] to go,” Riggs added. “The [fuel] pickup on these trucks are on the left side, so every time that I would turn to the left, the fuel would slosh away. So the whole time, I was just trying to get it to go, not knowing, trying to manage your gap. Thank you to Ben [Rhodes] and Ty [Majeski]. They ran me pretty clean. I know that last corner, Ty probably could have cleaned me out if he wanted to. We were so close there. What an awesome feeling.”
Ty Majeski settled in second place for his second top-four result of the 2026 season, while Ben Rhodes, who was in striking distance of achieving his first victory in two years, settled in third place for his second consecutive top-four result of the year.
Chandler Smith and Kaden Honeycutt finished in the top five. Landen Lewis, Andres Perez De Lara, Daniel Hemric, Colin Braun, and James Hinchcliffe completed the top 10. Notably, Dario Franchitti settled in 27th place, a lap down, following his late green-flag pit stop.
There were nine lead changes for five different leaders. The event featured six cautions for 17 laps. In addition, 24 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the third event of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, Chandler Smith leads the standings by 34 points over Ben Rhodes, 50 over Ty Majeski, 54 over Giovanni Ruggiero, and 56 over Layne Riggs.
Results:
1. Layne Riggs, 41 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Ty Majeski, two laps led 3. Ben Rhodes, 23 laps led, Stage 1 winner 4. Chandler Smith, seven laps led 5. Kaden Honeycutt 6. Landen Lewis 7. Andres Perez De Lara 8. Daniel Hemric 9. Colin Braun 10. James Hinchcliffe 11. Ben Maier 12. Justin Haley 13. Connor Mosack, seven laps led 14. Cole Butcher 15. Christian Eckes 16. Tyler Reif 17. Daniel Dye 18. Jake Garcia 19. Kris Wright 20. Tanner Gray 21. Carter Fartuch 22. Grant Enfinger 23. Adam Andretti 24. Brenden Queen 25. Giovanni Ruggiero, one lap down 26. Stewart Friesen, one lap down 27. Dario Franchitti, one lap down 28. Mini Tyrrell, three laps down 29. Jackson lee, five laps down 30. Frankie Muniz, six laps down 31. Tyler Ankrum, 10 laps down 32. Timmy Hill, 17 laps down 33. Dawson Sutton – OUT, Accident 34. Nathan Nicholson – OUT, Accident 35. Derek White – OUT, Fuel Pump 36. Wesley Slimp – OUT, Power Steering
Next on the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, for the Buckle Up South Carolina 200. The event is scheduled to occur on March 20 and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026) – Max Taylor kept his season-opening weekend in INDY NXT by Firestone perfect by winning the pole Saturday for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Taylor’s first career pole was the exclamation point of an event in which he also has led both practice sessions on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit at the start of his first full season in the INDYCAR development series. He claimed the pole at 1 minute, 4.8887 seconds on his final lap during the second group of qualifying in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen machine that Dennis Hauger drove to the 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone championship last season for Andretti.
Connecticut native Taylor, 18, joined Andretti Global full time this season after making six INDY NXT starts last season amid a full campaign in USF Pro 2000.
“First pole position, so I’m over the moon,” Taylor said. “P1 every session this weekend so far, so I’m just excited to keep attacking. I love this car, love this track, and I love my team.”
Up next is the 45-lap race at 10 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio, powered by OnlyBulls).
Rookie Nikita Johnson will start on the front row at his hometown race. Johnson, from St. Petersburg, led the first qualifying group at 1:05.2148 in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR entry.
Andretti Global dominated qualifying, taking three of the first four spots on the starting grid. Besides Taylor on pole, Seb Murray qualified third at 1:05.3912 in the team’s No. 27 Prosperity car, while Lochie Hughes qualified fourth at 1:05.3105 in the No. 26 Andretti Global machine.
Polish rookie Tymek Kucharczyk will start fifth after a top lap of 1:05.4028 in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports car, while Josh Pierson put four Andretti cars in the top six with his lap of 1:05.5975 in the No. 29 Starchive Andretti entry.
Accidents ended the sessions of two drivers who hoped to qualify near the front.
Enzo Fittipaldi, the grandson of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, clipped the wall with his No. 67 HMD Motorsports entry. He will start last in the 24-car field.
Toward the end of the second group, INDY NXT race winner Matteo Nannini hit the barrier twice in an accident that inflicted heavy damage to the front of his No. 20 Enve Motorsports car fielded by Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR. He will start 23rd.
HONEYCUTT FINISHES TOP FIVE IN FIRST TRUCK SERIES RACE AT ST. PETE The Toyota Development Driver Scores Fifth-Place Result around the Streets of St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (February 28, 2026) – TRICON GARAGE driver Kaden Honeycutt finished fifth in Saturday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Honeycutt started in the 19th position in the No. 11 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro after qualifying was cancelled on Friday due to inclement weather and worked his way up through the field to earn his first top five result of the 2026 season.
Dario Franchitti ran among the top 10 for most of the race in the TRICON Garage No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, but damage down the stretch forced him to make a late-race pit stop and he went on to finish 27th.
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) Streets of St. Petersburg Race 3 of 23 – 144 Miles, 80 Laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Lane Riggs* 2nd, Ty Majeski* 3rd, Ben Rhodes* 4th, Chandler Smith* 5th, KADEN HONEYCUTT 20th, TANNER GRAY 23rd, ADAM ANDRETTI 25th, GIO RUGGIERO 26th, STEWART FRIESEN 27th, DARIO FRANCHITTI 32nd, TIMMY HILL 36th, WESLEY SLIMP *non-Toyota driver
“Just too many mistakes. We had an awesome Tundra. Thanks to Safelite, Toyota and TRICON Garage — everyone did a great job. I felt like we were okay. I don’t think we were a winning truck. I felt like the front row trucks had a little bit better drive. Just have to come back next year and improve on it. I’m really happy with how the weekend went. Just too many mistakes and had to bounce back from it, but thankfully it was a top five. I want to win. I want to win every week. This group deserves it. I’ve just got to clean it up. We’ve got a couple weeks off and we’ll go to Darlington and hit it hard there.”
DARIO FRANCHITTI, No. 1 Dollar Tree Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
Finishing Position: 27th
What does it mean to you to have the support from Jimmie Johnson to give you this ride and to have Scott Dixon out there cheering you on?
“Jimmie’s (Johnson) — I’ve said this before, Jimmie’s been the architect of this whole thing. I made a suggestion and he called Toyota that night, I think. When we were drinking the wine, it was still daylight in California or Texas — no, it might have been in Charlotte. Anyway, the next morning, he must have sent an email because the next morning he calls me, so he was the architect. He spoke to the folks at Dollar Tree at their Christmas party, and they were like, this is a great idea. Then, Pye-Barker came on with a fireside chat last night, a bunch of people over at Pye-Barker, which was Jimmie’s idea. The support of those guys, Toyota, the TRICON team. The special thing for me is my family are here. My wife, my daughters have never seen me race anything but historic cars and we’ve had a blast doing that. My mom and dad are here, and there’s also my INDYCAR family. Everybody I worked with, everybody I’ve known in the paddock since I was a kid. The fans, all that. That’s what makes this, for me, so, so special. I had a great truck. I really did. I wish I hadn’t done so much damage to it, but that was just my inexperience in the truck, catching me out. I didn’t want to wreck Hinch (James Hinchcliffe), I really didn’t want to wreck Hinch. I didn’t want to wreck anybody, especially the guys going for the championship. When I saw Jimmie he said, ‘was it fun?’ I said it was really fun to start with, then I got probably a little too hot to keep up because the helmet blower stopped working, but I had a blast. It was really good. There were really good points and there were points where it wasn’t. I hate saying good because I made some rookie errors, but, how fortunate am I that, after what I went through in 2013 that I could come back and do this 13 years later. Scott Dixon finished practice, he’s got qualifying, he comes out (to watch me). We did a fireside chat last night, which turned into – it was supposed to be a roast, but the only person that actually roasted me was my wife. So, that was it, really. I think Chip Ganassi will be happy that I’m in one piece. He wasn’t so happy that I did this. He was less happy than my mom. I think because he kind of lived a lot of that situation with me.
Did anything about the experience surprise you?
“One of the odd things for me is you cannot see behind you. You really can’t because of the blade and the mirrors you’re allowed, you can’t see behind you. Or make a clear blade. I didn’t come in here thinking I’m going to smoke these guys. Honestly, kids, but that’s disrespectful. I didn’t think I was going to come in and smoke these drivers. Because I’m aware of the talent level, how hard everybody’s practicing now, and the simulator work they’re doing, and the talent level. And a lot of them have figured it out. You can tell that. I mean, it was a pleasure to share the track with them. That was the biggest — how hard they raced for the first lap was pretty impressive. And then just when it goes wrong, how long it takes to hit something. The Indy car is pretty quick. If you lock a wheel, you’ve got time to recover it, or you hit the wall pretty quick. This thing, when you lock a tire or you get wheel-hop, it takes forever, but you can’t avoid what you’re about to hit.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 35 million cars and trucks at our 11 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Feb. 28, 2026) – On a wet but drying Grand Prix of St. Petersburg street course, Bobby Gossett (No. 44 BSI Racing) displayed a patience beyond his years all the way to the checkered flag on Saturday. Gossett took his first-ever Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin race win ahead of two-time series champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering).
Torrential rain pounded St. Petersburg, Florida Friday night and into early Saturday morning, leaving the 1.8-mile temporary street circuit soaked for the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup race at 7:30am ET. As a result, the race director declared a wet race and all 40 cars started on rain tires.
Gossett started third but was quickly into second and into the lead by Turn Six. Shortly afterward, the first full-course caution came out. The time under yellow was lengthy due to track repairs, so Gossett continued to rack up laps led behind the safety car. He had 10 laps to plan how he would hold off defending champion Jeremy Fletcher (No. 22 McCumbee McAleer Racing) behind him.
Fletcher was on the attack when the green came back out, but his attempts to get around Gossett only gave Thomas a chance to take over second. A lap later, Fletcher was able to re-take the spot before a full-course caution returned for a stranded car on track.
There were only four minutes left on the clock when green racing resumed, and Thomas knew he had to make his move. He was around Fletcher and into second by Turn 3. Thomas chased down Gossett and when the white flag came out, he was filling Gossett’s mirrors and forcing him into defensive positions.
Thomas ran out of time though, because a full-course caution came out before he could make a pass happen and Gossett got his first race win after 16 Mazda MX-5 Cup starts.
“The conditions were a lot better than I thought they were going to be when we were on the pace lap,” Gossett said. “There was actually a lot more grip than I thought. Going into turn three on the first lap, I even sent it in on Justin [Adakonis] because where he was braking, I thought ‘wow, I’ve got way more than that.’
“I was very nervous for this [race]. To be honest, I wanted to go home, but I didn’t, so that was good! I was getting a little nervous again toward the end, when the track started drying up, because I think my advantage was lessening. I think Jared [Thomas] was definitely better in the dry, or dry-ish conditions, you could say. But overall, it was very fun.”
Thomas was pretty sure if they had another lap, he could have gotten around Gossett.
“Racing in the rain is always tough because you are always trying to find the limit, but if you go over the limit, it can be really detrimental,” Thomas said. “I just tried to ease into it and picked up some spots. I knew I had a good car underneath me from all the guys at JTR Engineering and I just got into a good groove for the last run. I fired off well but just came up a little bit short (for a win).
“It was definitely the right call to start on the rain tires. The Michelin tire will hold up even on a dry race track for a reasonable amount of time. And this track was slick, especially where there was paint, that is something you don’t have as much in other places so the extra soft, grippy Michelin tire in the rain helps a lot with that.”
The Motul Pole Award winner, rookie Matt Novak (No. 11 Advanced Autosports), finished third. He was far from disappointed about a third-place result, his first MX-5 Cup podium.
“I wanted to have an open and conservative mindset, but then obviously people are going to be making passes on you,” Novak said. “Obviously there’s going to be risky moments. I just wanted to run the best race that I can. I mean, I’m completely okay with how it ultimately turned out. It was a good way for me to improve. I’m happy for the risks that I did take, and ultimately being able to pass the cars where it was necessary. I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow, especially when it’s going to be dried out.”
Fletcher ended up fourth at the checkered flag, followed by Frankie Barroso (No. 48 Spark Performance) in fifth.
Out of the two guest drivers participating in the event, Earl Bamber (No. 21 Hendricks Motorsports) finished eighth and Sebastien Bourdais (No. 38 McCumbee McAleer Racing) finished 11th, on his birthday.
Charlotte Traynor (No. 43 Parker DeLong Racing) took home the Highest Place Female Driver award and the Penske Shocking Performance Award was given to Will Robinson (No. 51 McCumbee McAleer Racing) who went from 37th on the grid to 13th at the finish.
Race Two on the streets of St. Petersburg goes green at 4:00pm ET on Sunday, March 1.
About: The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. The series has been operated by Andersen Promotions since 2017 and is currently sanctioned by IMSA. Mazda-powered grassroots champions can earn Mazda scholarships for this pro-level series. The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup awards more than $1 million in prizes and scholarships.
Tyler Reddick scored the Busch Light Pole Award for the DuraMax Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, February 28.
The event’s qualifying format at COTA consisted of the field of 37 being divided into two qualifying groups (Group 1 & 2). During each group’s session, each competitor was given 20 minutes to post the fastest qualifying lap amongst one another. At the conclusion of both group sessions, the fastest competitor among the two groups was awarded the pole position.
Reddick was the 19th-fastest competitor during Saturday’s practice session at COTA after competing in the second qualifying group. He posted his fastest qualifying lap at 88.380 mph in 97.760. The result was enough for Reddick and his No. 45 Chumba Casino/23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE entry team to secure the top-starting spot for Sunday’s main event.
With the pole, Reddick, who won at COTA in 2023, notched his 12th NASCAR Cup Series career pole position, his first of the 2026 season and his third at COTA. This weekend will mark the second consecutive time that Reddick will lead the field to the start of an event from pole position. He was also awarded the pole last weekend at Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway based on NASCAR’s qualifying metric formula.
Reddick is coming off two consecutive victories (Daytona 500 & Atlanta) to commence the 2026 Cup Series season. This Sunday at COTA, the Corning, California, native will strive to become the first competitor ever to win three-scheduled events in a row to commence a NASCAR season.
AUSTIN, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 28: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Chumba Casino Toyota, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Circuit of The Americas on February 28, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images).
“I, maybe, should have called my shot earlier, but some pressure comes with that,” Reddick said. “I love going fast and road courses are a lot of fun in qualifying. Just proud of everyone’s effort here at 23XI [Racing]. Our Chumba Casino Toyota Camry was fast at Daytona and it seems fast here to start this one off. I don’t know where Shane [van Gisbergen] is starting,” he continued, “but just got to try and get as much of a head start on him as I can and try to stay ahead of him all day.”
Reddick will share the front row at COTA with Ross Chastain, the latter of whom scored his first Cup career victory at COTA in 2022. Chastain posted his fastest qualifying lap at 88.256 mph in 97.897 seconds. Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott will start in the fop five, respectively.
Michael McDowell was the fastest competitor during Saturday’s practice session and in the first qualifying group. He will line up in sixth place. AJ Allmendinger, Christopher Bell (reigning COTA winner), Ty Gibbs and William Byron completed the top-10 starting grid, respectively.
With 37 competitors vying for 37 starting spots, all made the main event.
COTA – Qualifying position, Best speed, Best time:
1. Tyler Reddick, 88.380 mph, 97.760 seconds
2. Ross Chastain, 88.256 mph, 97.897 seconds
3. Chase Briscoe, 88.242 mph, 97.913 seconds
4. Ryan Blaney, 88.179 mph, 97.982 seconds
5. Chase Elliott, 88.161 mph, 98.002 seconds
6. Michael McDowell, 88.031 mph, 98.147 seconds
7. AJ Allmendinger, 88.027 mph, 98.152 seconds
8. Christopher Bell, 87.980 mph, 98.204 seconds
9. Ty Gibbs, 87.931 mph, 98.259 seconds
10. William Byron, 87.822 mph, 98.381 seconds
11. Zane Smith, 87.798 mph, 98.408 seconds
12. Carson Hocevar, 87.749 mph, 98.463 seconds
13. Shane van Gisbergen, 87.748 mph, 98.464 seconds
14. Chris Buescher, 87.719 mph, 98.497 seconds
15. Kyle Larson, 87.703 mph, 98.514 seconds
16. Alex Bowman, 87.678 mph, 98.542 seconds
17. Todd Gilliland, 87.661 mph, 98.562 seconds
18. Cole Custer, 87.661 mph, 98.562 seconds
19. Denny Hamlin, 87.612 mph, 98.617 seconds
20. Joey Logano, 87.560 mph, 98.675 seconds
21. Ty Dillon, 87.474 mph, 98.772 seconds
22. Josh Berry, 87.443 mph, 98.807 seconds
23. Daniel Suarez, 87.418 mph, 98.836 seconds
24. Bubba Wallace, 87.416 mph, 98.838 seconds
25. Connor Zilisch, 87.365 mph, 98.895 seconds
26. Brad Keselowski, 87.346 mph, 98.917 seconds
27. Jesse Loe, 87.276 mph, 98.996 seconds
28. Austin Cindric, 87.265 mph, 99.009 seconds
29. Ryan Preece, 87.201 mph, 99.082 seconds
30. Kyle Busch, 87.132 mph, 99.160 seconds
31. John Hunter Nemechek, 87.032 mph, 99.274 seconds
TOYOTA RACING – Tyler Reddick NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
Austin (February 28, 2026) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to the media on Saturday following his pole winning run for tomorrow’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of Americas in Austin, Texas.
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Chumba Casino Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
What was the difference with what you saw in practice and what you were able to do in qualifying?
“I was more so just trying to understand what the car would be like over the course of the run. I would have liked to have fired on a fast lap, but it wasn’t super high priority in practice for us. Funny enough, I realized that was kind of our approach to practice and we said, we’re sitting there getting ready to go qualify and I was like, man, we haven’t pushed this thing once that hard on fresh tires. I just kind of had to find my marks and somehow I did it without doing a practice run.”
Does this qualifying run help your prospects of winning three straight races to start the season?
“It helps the chances certainly, starting up front is huge. We did the same thing last year. We need to maintain that and hang onto it this time around. It certainly helps, you know? Obviously, I think the run under green and everything is pretty even, but certainly if things kind of get off sequence and pit road gets busy I’m going to have first choice and it’s nice to have in the race. We’ll see how it gets going. Ross (Chastain), Shane (Van Gisbergen), Ryan Blaney, there’s a number of drivers that were really strong in practice today. We’ll just try to understand what all that looks like and make our best decisions on the car overnight going into tomorrow’s race.”
Does winning the pole and starting up front change any strategy for tomorrow?
“It will be something that will be talked about and considered. I think our team does a great job on the preparation side for these races and where we start plays into that. So there will be discussions, I’m sure, that will continue to happen here in a little bit and even into tomorrow morning. I don’t know which way we will go at this moment, but certainly we kind of give ourselves more options starting towards the front, especially if we get off to a good start and as the field spreads out and if we’re leading, it gives us choices.”
How do you manage the tire wear and heat in the tires when you are running up on the curbs all race with a new tire at this track for the first time?
“Honestly, it’s something we do every week. Most of the time we are doing it on ovals, but a lot of these things you have to deal with week in and week out. Yeah, we’re coming here to COTA and it’s a real road course and we ran through those things over the years and expanded on that. For me, tomorrow it’s another race we’ve got to execute and certainly the changes their there, but we’ve had some time in practice and qualifying to kind of understand that. I kind of understand that. This is the first time we ran this tire here. We have all those things to consider as we approach the day tomorrow. We’ll see how that works and see if we have the right approach and if I make it back here at the end of the day.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 35 million cars and trucks at our 11 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
NASCAR CUP SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 28, 2026
AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, met with the media onsite at Circuit of The Americas in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ third points-paying race of the 2026 season.
Media Availability Quotes:
There’s a lot of tire packs out there. What do you think about how that affects how you guys manage this course and what kind of damage could it do?
“A lot… especially through the esses, it’s going to be a lot of damage. I mean, I don’t mind them. It’s nice to have kind of the limitation. When you’re out there, I wouldn’t say you’re guessing, but you’re always on the edge of track limits. Especially in the race when you’re behind somebody, you can’t see in front of you. You just see the car. But yeah, in qualifying especially, it’s going to be, how close do you want to cut it? I think you saw Connor (Zilisch) yesterday, his lap, he about skimmed it through turn four. He made up time doing it, so it’s risk versus reward.
But you know, to me, it’s nice to at least have something there to show what the track limit is and not always kind of be — like last year, through turn six, you’re guessing whether it’s track limits or not. So yeah, I’m sure I’ll hate it if I hit it, but you know, I think that goes without saying.”
(No Mic…)
“I don’t know… that’s a good question. I don’t know what the best way to do it. You know, I didn’t mind the first year we came here and we had that yellow curbing there, and that was kind of the judge of it, of going inside that curb. But with anything, if you run it over or if you hit it, it’s going to do damage to the car. I guess, in a way, that’s our own fault. We’re the ones inside controlling it. So, I don’t know if it’s the best way. I didn’t mind that curb, but you know, at least there’s something.”
Is the narrative frustrating or more motivating when we come to road courses now and it’s — alright, well it’s SVG and Connor Zilisch, and everyone else is kind of just showing up to run behind them?
“I mean, the way we change that narrative is you go beat them, right? But for the most part, we didn’t do that at most of the road courses last year. It’s not frustrating to me. I think, for me, the most frustrating thing was just, in general, we didn’t run great at the road courses last year. You know, I put a lot of that on my shoulders. I think as Goodyear softens the tire, it gives the advantage to a guy like SVG that really knows how to save the tires. It’s something that, whether it was setup-based or my own doing, I struggled with it last year of trying to be good on long runs.
I don’t really put stock in how good SVG is, in that sense. Like for me, it would be different if I ran second every weekend to him on the road courses and you can’t beat him, then that kind of gets frustrating. But we weren’t even in that ballpark, so I think it’s more focusing on myself. You try to learn from them; study it, try to figure out what makes them so good and try to go out there and be better. That’s kind of what I focus on. The only thing I get frustrated with is myself.”
With the reduced help this year, how does that affect you at road courses?
“Well, I mean, I think over these next five, six or seven weeks, we’ll kind of really see where we are. Of course, it’s a limitation and it’s a different challenge for us. I think there’s benefits inside the shop of the people that we’ve added and some of the stuff that we’re doing. But there’s also a negative to it, especially if we show up on a weekend and we’re off and you have nothing to kind of fall back on. That’s part of it. That’s part of where we’re at on the Cup side of it with our organization.
You know, at the end of the day, it’s still figuring out where your weaknesses are and trying to strengthen them. I think I’ll probably have a better answer for you on that in the next five, six or seven weeks. These first two weeks, we kind of know that it doesn’t really show anything of what you are or aren’t as a race team. But yeah, it’s a new challenge and we just try to make the best of it.”
With you guys having a familiar tire this year but increased horsepower, how does that I affect the balance of the tire saving as the run goes on?
“It probably gives SVG more of an advantage, honestly (laughs). I mean, it’s a decent size gap of horsepower from then to what we have now, but it’s not massive. I definitely think if you’re burning the rear tires off, it’s going to make it worse or you’re just going to have to really be gentle with the throttle. I don’t think it changes it a big difference, but it definitely is going to be more keen on trying to save tires, and if you abuse them, it’s going to be more extreme.”
Take me through that last lap the 2022… what do you remember from that battle with Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman.
“I don’t have any recollection of it. It’s out of my memory.”
You’ve seen a lot of kids come and go. What can you say about Connor Zilisch? Have you been just aware of what he’s achieving under the Red Bull banner?
“I mean, I think it’s very rare. There’s a lot of great race car drivers. I think word ‘phenom’ kind of gets used too much sometimes,. but it definitely should be used on him. You know, what his career goes to, we’ll all see in live time and if he completely lives up to the hype. But to start with, he is and probably exceeding it.
You saw even yesterday, I mean he’s super quick. I think there’ll be mistakes made. Even like last year, you watch the Xfinity race – I think he made mistakes, but was still fast enough to make up for it.
The biggest thing is that he gets in everything and he’s fast. It’d be different if he got just in a Cup car and he was fast, but he gets in an IMSA car, he got in that GTP, and he was fast. When he was karting, to do it on the world stage and go beat some of the best, that’s hard to do. Karting in Europe, for people that don’t know what it is, it’s a different level than what karting in North America is. It is a completely different level. It’s a profession over there. He was able to go over there and compete, win and do things that a lot of Americans couldn’t. So yeah, I mean we’re going to see what he lives up to. But from what he’s shown so far, it’s going to be pretty special.”
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.
GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.
NASCAR CUP SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 28, 2026
Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media onsite at Circuit of The Americas in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ third points-paying race of the 2026 season.
Media Availability Quotes:
Can you talk about the new challenge with the track limits being maybe slightly differently enforced with those new barriers there? Also, what speed and gear will you be pulling through that section?
“Yeah, I think it helps a little bit for the driver’s standpoint… now you have something to obviously hit, which is more risky. But the biggest thing is sometimes it’s hard to really 100% gauge because you want to be on the limit of the track limit, so it’s really difficult to judge at times. So as long as we’re not hitting a tire barrier, you know you’re pretty safe. And you know you’re probably not losing time to others that are really, really good at maximizing it all, whereas if you’re trying to be a little bit more conservative with it.
Yeah, I think it helps a lot of us just kind of know exactly how far we’re on the limit. You can kind of tell how close you are to that barrier, versus it’s such a different perspective when you’re looking up and you’re giving up two feet. Yeah, it’s hard to judge 100% when you know the penalty is pretty steep that you’ve got to do a stop and go.”
What’s your mindset coming into these road course races?
“I would like to stay on the tarmac… that’s a big one. You know, just not make any mistakes; know the track limits, don’t hit the tire barrier and hurt my toe, right? Just start with there and race the racetrack. Really, just not trying to get too much. I know this isn’t a place for us to go out and stack a huge points day. But, you know, just maximize whatever it is… whether it’s single digits, whether it’s teens. Just get as many points as possible for us to help us towards next week for the metric. That’s the biggest thing. If I can break even on points, I think that’s a win. If I gain points, that’s really, really above expectations. But the goal is just not to lose any points on the gap to the cut.”
I was curious with the speed that you guys had at COTA last year. Will that be a matter of trying to just build that cushion so you guys are fourth in points, as opposed to, hey, maybe we can try to hang around late and try to fight for a win?
“Yeah, I mean, for me, if there’s stage points available, I’d love to get it. Even if it’s like just two points, I just think it’s super important. And, you know, knowing how chaotic turn one restarts can get, it seems like you can always kind of get track position late. Yeah, obviously not to win the race or be super far from it, but I feel like you can kind of get back to where you were in stage three more likely to have even more restarts.
So, yeah, for us, I just think just continuing to build our points is just the biggest thing. If I could leave plus-29 points heading into Phoenix — whether I’m still fourth or seventh or whatever, if I’m still plus-29 points, I’d be really happy.
On the network this week, there were comparisons made to you and Dale Earnhardt. Have you watched videos of Earnhardt? I mean, because clearly you weren’t old enough to kind of live out those glory days of Dale, but what do you think about the comparisons that fans are making to you at this juncture in your career?
“Yeah, I’ve watched every documentary of every driver. I’ve watched the Dale documentaries, the Tim Richmond specials, Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki. You know, I’ve watched it all, even as a kid.
Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, everybody’s open to their own interpretation. I feel like you’re always just going to be compared to somebody, whether they’re good or bad. You know, if I was really, really slow, there’s probably comparisons of guys that were really, really slow back in the day, too.
I just go out and race and I enjoy it. I take it as a massive compliment, you know, from Richard Petty, Kyle Petty, Dale Jr., all of them making comparisons. I’m appreciative of that. I would like to just have half the success any of those guys did. But I think we’re getting ready to get our cars in a really good spot to be able to be in position. I think we’ve been in position to win three of these races. I don’t know if this week we’ll show that, but I think we have really good tracks coming up that we can do that. But for me, I’m just going in the merch hauler and signing 77 diecasts. You know, that’s me. Maybe in 20-30 years, somebody’s hopefully making comparisons of myself to the next kid that was doing it and running good.
So, yeah, I just think it was a compliment, but you know, I’m not hanging up No. 3 posters on my wall and trying to pretend to be anything I’m not.”
Is there any one style, though, from doing the research and watching the videos or just watching over the last two decades that you’ve been alive that you’ve emulated their styles?
“Well, no, not really. I think if you’re building a perfect race car driver, I think you want to be able to emulate a bit of this guy, a bit of this guy, a bit of this guy. You know, you don’t want to just emulate one whole driver. I think you just want to be successful or be versatile in all areas.
So, yeah, there’s not like a direct style. I just want the style of whatever it takes to succeed, whether it’s being aggressive in this spot or letting somebody else be aggressive for me and taking that spot. It’s just all circumstantial. You’re racing at different corners at different times. You’re playing different people, right? You know, it’s not like any other sport where you’re just playing the same guy over and over and over. You have one restart and you have totally different guys than you’ve been racing around all day. You’re going to have to be able to change with them.”
I know wins and losses are in a driver’s stack column, but considering how much you won on the local scene as a kid, is it something that you think about now at the national level, like, oh, I’m 0 for such and such, and that kind of plays a role in your mentality on the track every Sunday?
“You know, I feel like going into my rookie year, that was 33rd in owners points when I got into it, right? So, I think from Spires Motorsports’ steps, I think every team that’s not the big three teams that are basically dominating, they’re all trying to emulate Spires’ progression. You saw 23XI, they’re super successful. Trackhouse Racing is super successful. But now, we’re on that. It’s a lot easier to say it and say you have a five-year plan, but it’s really hard to actually pull it off because when we get faster, the big teams see it and they want to get faster. So it’s like, did you actually get faster or did everybody else just get faster with you? So if everybody else got faster, did you actually get faster? The field just keeps getting tighter. The floors are raising higher than the ceiling right now. We continue to keep adding people, parts and pieces and processes that — I think it was known to all of us after the second year that it was expected to have won already, just because I think if we weren’t so fast, people would still think Spire is this little team. But there’s been a lot of times we’ve been in contention and we’ve changed that narrative ourselves.
So, yeah, I’m excited about it. I think we’re still really early here a little bit. I think we can do it. There were times where I felt like we were in impossible positions and there were things I couldn’t do from behind the seat that took us out of contention.
I think the track record so far this year of being up front in every race is holding a lot of weight for us and our confidence.”
The debut of 750 horsepower with this car on road courses this year, what changes do you foresee in handling and passing ability this weekend compared to the last?
“I feel like tire wear is probably going to be a little bit more of an issue, or at least higher heat, which could have more comers and goers and probably reward the guys that can create speed without upsetting the tires. Just being able to make speed while keeping it under control and being on the limit there. So, yeah, I think there could be opportunities for more passing if guys really burn up their stuff early.”
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.
GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.
Track: Circuit of the Americas Race: Focused Health 250 Date/Broadcast: Saturday; February 28, 2026 3:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. CT) TV: CW Network Radio: PRN Radio – Check Local Listings for affiliate, and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90 Social Media: Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito AutoSport; Facebook, Instagram, and X
Lone Star Lefts and Rights: Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport Takes on COTA”S Texas-Sized Road Course Challenge
Austin, Texas (February 27, 2026) – The sweeping elevation changes and technical corners of Circuit of the Americas (COTA) set the stage for one of the most demanding weekends on the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series calendar as Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport heads to the Lone Star State for Saturday’s Focused Health 250.
The 2.4-mile, 17-turn NASCAR Course layout challenges drivers with everything from the steep climb into Turn 1 to the flowing Esses and tight stadium section, placing a premium on braking discipline, forward drive, and strategic execution. With Jeb Burton in the BG Products No. 27 Chevrolet, Blaine Perkins in the Werner No. 31 Chevrolet, and Ross Chastain in the GFL No. 32 Chevrolet, Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport arrives prepared to take on one of the sport’s most technical circuits.
Since joining the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule in 2021, COTA has delivered dramatic finishes and unpredictable strategy plays. The Focused Health 250 will span a total of 65 laps and feature two stage breaks on lap’s 20 & 40. With the possibility of tire and fuel strategy in play throughout the race as teams jockey for track position, the circuit’s heavy braking zones and elevation shifts routinely create passing opportunities and late-race restarts that keep contenders within striking distance.
Jeb Burton returns to COTA looking to capitalize on momentum and experience gained over previous road course outings. Burton has steadily improved his performances on technical circuits in recent seasons and understands the importance of rhythm at a place like COTA.
“This track demands patience,” Burton said. “You can’t over-drive it, especially early in a run. Our BG Products Chevy has shown speed, and if we stay disciplined and execute in the braking zones, we’ll give ourselves a shot to be there at the end.”
Burton’s focus this weekend centers on qualifying up front to secure track position and maintaining consistent lap times across long green-flag runs.
Blaine Perkins enters the weekend embracing the challenge of one of NASCAR’s most diverse layouts. Perkins has demonstrated growth on road courses and continues building confidence in heavy braking situations and technical transitions.
“COTA is all about hitting your marks,” Perkins explained. “There are so many different types of corners that you have to be versatile every lap. The Werner team has put in a lot of simulator work leading into this race, and we’re aiming to unload with balance and build from there.”
Perkins’ outlook for the weekend hinges on maximizing practice time Friday to fine-tune braking stability and rear grip for corner exit speed.
Ross Chastain brings valuable experience to the No. 32 GFL Chevrolet, having competed at COTA multiple times across NASCAR’s national series including grabbing his first NASCAR Cup Series win in 2021. His familiarity with the circuit’s rhythm and passing zones provides a strong foundation for the team’s setup direction.
“Every lap at COTA teaches you something,” Chastain said. “You’re always adjusting lines, especially through the Esses and the stadium section. The key is protecting the tires and keeping the brakes underneath you late in a run. If we execute on pit road and keep ourselves in position, we’ll be in the mix.”
Chastain’s aggressive yet calculated approach could prove pivotal in late-race restarts where track position often shifts quickly.
On-track activity would begin Friday afternoon with practice and qualifying, giving teams critical time to dial in braking packages and balance for the demanding layout. With stage strategy and fuel windows playing a decisive role in previous editions of the event, crew chiefs across the garage will be preparing for multiple scenarios as the race unfolds.
For Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport, the trip to Austin represents another opportunity to showcase the growth of a team built from the ground up. From a single-truck operation to a multi-car NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series contender, the organization continues pushing forward with determination and belief in its people and partners. As the green flag waves in Texas, three Chevrolets carrying the Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport banner will attack the uphill charge into Turn 1 with confidence.
The Focused Health 250 from Circuit of the Americas will be broadcast live on The CW beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. CT) on Saturday. Radio coverage will be provided by the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90, offering flag-to-flag coverage from Austin, Texas
Fans are urged to stay updated thru the weekend via Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport Social platforms; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
About Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport
Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito AutoSport is a NASCAR team, owned by owner/driver Jordan Anderson and Bommarito Automotive Group President, John Bommarito. Established in 2017 the organization is fueled by an incredible, close-knit team of employees, fans, and sponsors with a focus on integrity in the pursuit of excellence. Our goal is to embrace the journey we’re on and to never give up – whether on the track, in the pits, or in life. Every single team partner, and fan of ours, is what keeps our race cars running strong and our team performing at the highest level.
