Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

BRISTOL, Tenn. (September 20, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to the media on Friday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.  

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

How do you think back to the Chance 2 era and your relationship with Dale Earnhardt Jr.?

“Yeah, a lot of special memories, and a lot of fun stuff that we got to do together. He was a veteran around here at that point, so I learned a lot of the ropes on how things go from him and tagged along – doing a lot of the things that he got to do. I got to experience a lot of the things I never would have had at that point in my career. A lot of fun. A lot of memories. We got to go to victory lane a bunch, so that was cool. I told him the other night when I saw him that – ‘can you just do one more year of a few Xfinity races, so we can race together one last time?’ – but definitely a ton of good memories. Definitely an amazing start to my career because of him and the team that he built.”

Are you willing to go out of your comfort zone or your ethical zone to advance out of the round tomorrow night?

“I really don’t know. I think it will just kind of depend on the situation – what we find ourselves in and what is going on, but most likely not. I will most likely I will race the same way I always do and hopefully we are good enough to get the job done in that way.”

Do you feel any responsibility as you leave the garage in a full-time capacity to discuss with others on officiating racing and the contact on track?

“I would say I won’t have anything to do with that going forward. I will enjoy watching. I don’t know. It is interesting – just to see how much things have changed over the years. It just has kind of been a gradual shift of these things. I was frustrated and all of that, but I think it is road courses – mostly – turn one after restarts. At a lot of the places, we’ve moved the restart zone back. If it was off turn six, maybe, at Watkins Glen, that would be a good thing. I think overall the race was great, besides from the inability to pass, which is a problem. That is kind of what spurs on those restarts of, alright, I’ve got to get a spot or two here because it is the only chance that I really have – besides a handful of cars that could pass a few guys. But to answer your question, no, I don’t think I will put my hat in the ring on officiating racing or telling people what they should or shouldn’t do.”

How isolating can it be to be a full-time NASCAR driver?

“It is just a big commitment – a lot of things that you miss out on. We don’t get sick days. We can’t be late for things. It is none of that. We can’t take a weekend off of work or day off work to do friends and family things, you know? There is a lot of things that you miss out on, but that is part of the job. That is what you commit to. If you are going to do this, you have to be all in. If you are going to be good at it, you have to be 100 percent committed to it. You just get comfortable in that situation and what it is, and I think the people around you do as well. I wouldn’t say you feel isolated. I would say you just feel that you miss out on lots of things.”

Is it even too late to change your ethical guidelines on how you do things?
“Probably (laughter). I’ve been racing the same way my whole career. You can’t just wake up one day and say that you are going to drive through everyone. It is just not in your DNA.”

What is the process today with the tires?

“We just have been working on it all week, like we normally do – looking at video, data and simulator time. Trying to kind of understand – or guess somewhat – because the hard part about this track is it changes a lot. You never quite know what you are going to get – are we going to race the bottom or are we going to race the top? Are the tires going to wear out like they did in the spring or is it going to be like last fall? There is always a lot of questions when you come here, but I think we have a game plan that we feel like is the right way to approach it for us, and we will just be able to take it one step at a time.”

Are you nervous about tomorrow night?

“It is our last shot. I don’t know. I wouldn’t say nervous, you just kind of want to get it done with – the next 24 hours there is going to be a lot to talk about, a lot to think about and a lot of guess work on how we approach the race. We will just see, but I wouldn’t say that it is nervous. I’ve been doing this long enough, that I just look forward to the opportunity. You just more want to get it over with and see how it all turns out, so hopefully it is good, but the guys are working hard, and I’m hoping that it races like it did in the spring because that worked out well for us, we will just see. Hopefully it goes well.”

Do you have some sense of just being done with it?

“That just usually lasts a few hours, and you get home and you are like okay, everything is okay in the world and we are going to get to work on Bristol, and hopefully we are going to do what we need to do. It is not easy. We are in quite a hole, but I look forward to the opportunity and just hope nothing bad happens.”

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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Bristol Night Race Media Availability | Bristol Motor Speedway
Friday, September 20, 2024

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse, has already clinched a spot in the Round of 12 after winning the playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Logano answered questions from the media today at Bristol Motor Speedway before qualifying for tomorrow night’s race.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT HAS LOCKING YOURSELF INTO THE ROUND OF 12 ALLOWED THE 22 TEAM TO DO AND PREPARE FOR THE REST OF THE PLAYOFFS? “To answer your question, it’s been nice to be able to think a little bit further forward for the next two races that were ahead of us, not that we discount these races any, but it does give you the advantage to look a little bit ahead – not like it does when you win in the Round of 8 and you have the opportunity to look for just one race. These races still matter. There’s still a long ways to go in the playoffs, but it’s more comfortable, I’ll say that. You sleep a little better at night, which is nice, but next week in Kansas we’re right back to where we were, so we’ve got to go make sure we score points again.”

IS THIS JUST WHO WE ARE NOW OR IS THERE AN EBB AND FLOW TO WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE TRACK NOW? WHAT HAPPENS NOW THAT EVERYONE AGREES WE MIGHT HAVE A PROBLEM? “I don’t really know. I think we know where the line is. We saw that a few weeks ago in Richmond. We know that’s too far. Outside of that, there’s gonna be bumping and banging and there’s gonna be some door-to-door, bumper-to-bumper, that’s gonna happen in NASCAR racing and the bottom line is our cars are stronger than they’ve ever been, for the most part. Outside of the really fragile parts, most of the parts are really, really tough. Even on superspeedways, the pushes and the bumps are tougher than ever because those type of bumps used to knock the nose in. Now they’re tougher. We used to not be able to even lay a fender on somebody because you’d cut a tire down or you’d knock your fender in and lose a ton of downforce. These cars aren’t like that anymore. Even the Xfinity cars, we’ve kind of seen this coming when they went to the composite body that those cars could hit the wall and keep on going most of the time. When you put that body on Cup car, you’re gonna see the same thing and when you also make all the cars the same, like they’re all close enough to where they run almost the same speed and everyone knows that if you want to move through the field, it’s gonna have to be on restarts and everyone gets more and more aggressive in those moments because they know that’s the opportunity to move through the field if you’re gonna do it. That’s why I think we’re all fighting for tire fall off because it opens up the opportunity for cars to be different speeds, and ultimately be able to race more and be able to pass more than just in the first five laps of a run, so you have a little bit more separation throughout the field. I think some of it is the product of the environment that you’re in sometimes and the race car that we have.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO DUPLICATE WHAT YOU DID IN ROUND ONE, NOT HAVING TO ROLL INTO THOSE RACES IN ROUND TWO WITH ANY PRESSURE TO MAKE SOMETHING BIG HAPPEN? “In each round it’s harder to move onto the next round. They’re taking less cars, so each round a win means more the previous round. The nice part about winning in any round, but in the first round particular, is that you have five playoff points that continue with us into the next round, so those are nice, which you can argue means as much as the win sometimes when you’re going through this next couple rounds. If you could win at Kansas, yeah, you’re gonna feel fantastic. Somebody will and will feel great. Hopefully, it’s us. Outside of that, you’ve got to try to score points because you look at Watkins Glen last weekend and the day a lot of playoff drivers had. It’s pretty wild out there. We talked a minute ago about how close everybody is on speed. The cars that aren’t in the playoffs are still really good and can win as well, so it’s just a different ball game than what we had a couple years ago with the old car.”

DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE IN BETTER PLAYOFF SHAPE THAN YOU’VE BEEN AT TIMES WHEN YOU ACTUALLY COME INTO A PLAYOFF AND WON THE TITLE? “Yeah, I think in both of our titles we haven’t had the most playoff points or really a great regular season leading into it. The playoffs have gone really well for us. There are multiple reasons that go into that, but there have been times that we’ve come into the playoffs with a ton of playoff points and didn’t make it to the Championship 4. I guess it just kind of depends on what the 10 weeks looks like and what each three-week little season looks like. That’s really the most important part is you’ve just got to stay alive and stay in the game three weeks at a time.”

HARRISON BURTON IS GOING TO AM RACING NEXT YEAR. WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN FROM THAT ORGANIZATION AS THEY TRY TO BUILD AND WILL IT BE BENEFICIAL TO HAVE A CUP GUY COMING IN? “I think it will be good for both of them. It’s good for Harrison. It’s good for AM to have each other. There’s so much potential in that race team and they really just need consistency. That was the biggest thing I took out of the whole thing. When you’re switching to a different driver every week, and it’s not their fault, but some drivers have zero experience and some have a lot of experience, but the ones that have none can’t guide the team into the right things. If you haven’t really raced an Xfinity car many times, you don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like, so you can’t tell them what’s wrong. In return, the team can’t get any better because they don’t know what’s wrong because the driver’s not telling them, so they need some consistency. Harrison will definitely be great for that. He definitely has a lot of experience winning Xfinity races and running in the Cup Series for a few years. It’s amazing what just a year or two of Cup racing will do for you. When you go back to Xfinity after running Cup and you see the level of not only the drivers but the people that are in the Cup level, it’s night and day different. And when you’re able to take some of that experience of like, ‘I’ve seen the other side’ and bring that to a team like AM, it’s a huge value for them. I think it’s a great win for the both of them. I wish them the best of luck. Now I’ve got some relationships over there, so you want to see then do good and I think they will. I also think there will be a learning curve and some bugs that have to get worked out first, but there’s a lot of potential there. The car can run in the top 10. Every time I’ve been in it it can do that, but it’s just getting the little stuff worked out.”

IS THE TIRE SITUATION STRESSFUL TO YOU OR JUST ANOTHER VARIABLE BECAUSE NOBODY IS SURE WHAT THEY’RE GOING TO DO TOMORROW NIGHT? “Not as stressful for me as it is for others (laughing). It’s a huge variable. It might be the biggest one. We’re not 100 percent sure and we’re gonna see here in a few minutes when practice starts and we get out there and we start running a few laps and say, ‘OK, what was it? Was it the tires, the track temperature, the resin?’ What is it. Will it repeat? I think it will. My take is I think it will. I don’t know if everyone is voting on what we think. We should all put a vote in to see who’s right, but I think it will fall off hard again, but there’s no way to be 100 percent certain that that’s what it’s gonna be until we get out there. But I think we’ll know in practice what the race will look like this time. Last time in the spring, we saw that in practice and everyone’s like, ‘Yeah, but the track will rubber up and it will get better. Wear will go down and the pace will go down,’ and then it didn’t. It stayed the whole time. Now, the teams will be more aware of it. I’m sure a lot of teams probably made some changes to their cars from last time. That will help that. I thought it was great last time. It’s entertaining to watch, just watching the race back. There was so much going on, almost too much going on to where you can’t actually keep up with it all, but it definitely threw quite the old slider on us that we weren’t ready to see. This time, everyone will be more prepared.”

IS THE EXPECTATION THE SAME FOR THE ROUND OF 12 WITH THE WILD CARD RACES IN THAT ROUND? “I think it’s the most wild cards we’ve ever had in the playoffs – ever as far as racetracks that we’re just not certain of. Kansas, we talk about Kansas and there are a lot of crazy things that happen at Kansas, too. When you look at those restarts when you’re four and five-wide, you’re gonna tell me that’s a calm situation? That’s the most calm race that we have in the next round? Are you kidding me? And then you look at this round. Watkins Glen was really supposed to be the most predictable race of the three. I mean, I don’t think we’ve had a playoff schedule that’s looked like this ever before. I absolutely expect more of the same. Like I said, it’s a lot about survival – survive and move on and get to the Round of 8 and figure it out from there.”

DO YOU HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY TO GAMBLE AND TRY TO DO SOMETHING CRAZY TO WIN THE RACE IF YOU NEED TO? “Yeah. That’s the position we’re in. That’s what we’re going for this weekend. We tried that last weekend in Watkins Glen. It was either stage win, race win – that’s all that mattered. We were in position to do that if that caution didn’t come out coming to the end of the second stage. We were pretty certain that Ross and Shane were gonna pit there and we would have won that stage and we would have been as happy as could be with a playoff point leaving there, and that caution came out maybe six seconds too soon. We lost all our track position for basically nothing at that point and took our chance to win away, but that’s just the cards that were played. Sometimes they just don’t fall in your favor and that’s kind of what happened last week, but this week is the same thing. You’ve got to be able to go out there and if we can win, great. It’s the Bristol Night Race. Everybody wants to win this race. This is a big one, but if we go win a stage and put ourselves off strategy to do that or whatever it may be, we may look at that opportunity maybe a little bit more so than if we were just racing for points.”

WHAT IS IT LIKE BEING UPSIDE-DOWN IN A RACE CAR AND WHAT IS THE FEELING WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE ELSE GOING THROUGH THAT? “What it’s like, it’s honestly the scariest part about being in a car because it’s the time where you literally have zero control of your car. There are other times where you may be wrecking, but you can at least steer it or do something. It’s kind of like if the throttle sticks. There’s only so much you can do. It’s like the scariest thing because you’re along for the ride. Well, once the tires leave the ground, there’s no input that you can make to make a difference. You’re along for the ride and that’s not a comfortable feeling. It’s kind of hard to put into words. Most people will never understand what that feels like or can even imagine what that’s like, and that’s why it’s hard to put into words. You know that this might hurt or maybe worse, but there’s nothing you can do about it so you’re just strapped in and holding on, so when you watch somebody else go through a traumatic experience like that, the human side of you is obviously concerned for them and you just want to know if they’re OK or not as quickly as possible. That’s really what you want to know. You hope that they are and then you move on and you go racing again. It’s just what we have to do. That’s the part that probably makes us a little bit crazy and different than most people is that we watch that and know what it’s like and you say, ‘OK, let’s go. Let’s go again.’ That’s just what racers do.”

WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN FROM AUSTIN THESE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AND MONTHS LEADING UP TO THIS POINT WITH HIM AND THE 2 TEAM? “I wouldn’t say it’s surprising. When you look at especially those first two racetracks, those were right in his wheelhouse. Superspeedways, road courses, that’s Austin’s wheel house. Not that he can’t win anywhere else. We saw him win at Gateway, but I think if you look off of history and whether it’s Xfinity or Cup, wherever it may be, those type of racetracks are what fits him and that team. I’m not surprised to see that many points scored from them. Hopefully, we can keep all the Penske cars in when we leave here tomorrow night and be able to fight again next week and try to keep them all in all the way to the end.”

Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse, is coming off his first win of the season last week at Watkins Glen International. He stopped by the infield media center at Bristol Motor Speedway and talked about his week and expectations for Saturday night’s race.

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse – IS THERE LESS PRESSURE TRYING TO WIN RACES WITHOUT BEING IN THE PLAYOFFS? “To be clear, we’ll take a win at any point in the season and in the moment part of me cared that it was past the playoff cutoff line. But as you sit there and think about it and know that we were able to win that race and know that we’ve got a lot of good ones coming up, obviously I wish things would have played out better earlier in the year and we would have been able to be in the playoffs knowing what that win would have done for a round for us. That being said, we go to the racetrack to win races no matter the situation. I don’t know that it changes the pressure on the weekend, but it does take the mindset of having to chase three or four stage points here or there in a race and ultimately set us up for a strategy that puts us in the best scenario to win a race versus trying to hunt those couple points along the way. I think that’s the bigger difference. It’s not necessarily how we approach the weekend and any of the effort that’s put into it or any of the prep work, that all stays the same. It’s just a little different on how you can play some strategy calls and maybe take a little bit more of a chance throughout a race.”

WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT KANSAS AND THE WAY THAT ENDED, WHAT DO YOU THINK? “I think about 100 different things that could have created a thousandth of a second (laughing). Trust me, that one has been replayed a lot and will continue to be no matter what. You go there and win next week and you’re still gonna say, ‘Man, we lost a chance at another one months back.’ The same way coming to Bristol. Every time I show up at this place I think about leading on a green-white-checker in an Xfinity race and running out of fuel or having a fuel stumble. That was probably 10 years ago, nine or 10 years ago, and it’s still on my mind when we show up and walk down that tunnel. That one is never going away, but, to your point, when we go there it’s exciting to know that it’s another racetrack that we’ve had circled for a long time as a fast racetrack for us, something that we’ve found a lot of speed and been good at and have the opportunity to capitalize on when we get there. There’s always gonna be some amount of looking back, but the good news is when we look back on it the high notes are the fact that we were even in the position to be able to win a race and how do we execute just ever so slightly different.”

ON THAT LAST LAP AT KANSAS, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT AND WISH YOU MIGHT HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY? “It’s line decisions, knowing that if you would have gotten back to the throttle three inches earlier that it probably makes the difference. That’s an incredibly small number as well. I just think about all that. Being ready for the contact down the front straightaway. If I would have been more prepared for that, I wouldn’t have been caught off-guard and been sideways scrubbing speed out of it. A lot of different things in that moment that we’ll be more prepared for that next go-around.”

DO YOU FEEL RFK IS WHERE IS SHOULD BE NOW? “We’re not winning every week, so we’re not where we should be. Granted, that’s not a realistic expectation in our sport, but the chance to win every week or the opportunity, the speed, the ability to say if things would have played out in a little more favorable way. Don’t leave there saying that we didn’t execute to the best of our ability that we didn’t have the speed capable of winning a race. It’s a lot of different things. You’ll never win every one of them, but how do you at least feel like you had a shot given a couple things go your way and you’re able to do everything right from what you can control. We’re not there. It’s been a great year. It’s been a really good turn around for the last three seasons, but it needs a little bit more yet. That’s showcased by the fact that we weren’t able to win a race before the playoffs, that we don’t have more wins on the season. For us, this race will be stressful for the 6 bunch and Brad. It’s been a very good racetrack for RFK – for myself and for Brad – so I don’t think there’s a worry about not having speed when we come to this place, but needing to fully execute on everything that we can knowing how this spring race went, what do we predict this go-around and what does that actually look like. When we get into practice there are a lot of different things on the table that are on our minds because we’re not exactly where we want to be, but massive progress has been made and is continuing to be pushed towards a better standard each and every week still.”

DOES IT FEEL PARADOXICAL THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO GO FOR THE WIN LAST WEEK WHILE MANY OF THE PLAYOFF DRIVERS HAD TO POINTS RACE? “Yeah, when you put it that way. It’s certainly interesting to think about and I talked a lot probably six weeks ago or eight weeks ago – through that stretch – we’ve been kind of living on a bubble for that playoff spot for a long time, and knowing that we were gonna need a win most likely. We did a good job at putting ourselves in a good spot and recovering from three accidents in the last three weeks and gaining a ton of points on those that we thought we were racing and a couple new winners got us, but that being said, I talked a lot about the fact that I think that points racing does take away your best effort when you go to the racetrack. I did not want to get stuck in that mindset as we got into those last couple of months that we were going to the racetrack just to try to grab stage points and finish decently. I don’t want to do that. The system can lead you down that road if you’re not careful and it can work. Obviously, the most secure way to do it is to win, so, yes, it is weighted toward going out there and just winning a race, but it’s easy as you get down to the wire to know that you are close on the points side of things with half a dozen other drivers that you’ve got to be aware of it. You can’t be out there making insane calls or massive risk taking, but at the same time could that have worked out? Maybe. Really, I think about the last three weeks and we were in an accident every one of those weeks and we were in an accident because we were making strategy calls to try and figure out how to win a race and not to try to capitalize on two or three points here or there.”

Team, Hoosier-State Native to Jump Start 2025 Campaign at Kansas Speedway

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 20, 2024) – Who says you can’t go home again?

Spire Motorsports has agreed to a multi-year contract with Justin Haley to drive the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) beginning with next weekend’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Haley will take over the controls of the No. 7 Chevy Camaro from Corey LaJoie, who will swap rides with him and finish out the 2024 season in Rick Ware Racing’s No. 51 entry.

Haley, a native of Winamac, Ind., made his NCS debut for Spire Motorsports on April 28, 2019 at Talladega Superspeedway and picked up both his and the team’s first win – an upset of practically unprecedented proportions – less than three months later in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 behind the wheel of the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro at Daytona International Speedway.

Haley is a veteran of all three of NASCAR’s National Touring Series and began his career racing at the national level in the ARCA Menards Series when he was just 15-years-old. Since then, he’s gone on to amass 294 total starts across NASCAR’s Cup, Xfinity and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

At 25-years-old, Haley has collected four NASCAR Xfinity Series checkered flags and three NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins, making him one of just 41 drivers in history to have earned wins across all three of NASCAR’s National Touring Series.

“Justin Haley is extraordinarily talented and we’re thrilled to welcome him back home and to have a young driver of his caliber behind the wheel of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet beginning next weekend at Kansas Speedway,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson. “We’re grateful to our friends at Rick Ware Racing for teeing up the the idea of a trade between Justin and Corey as the 2024 season winds down. We think this is a great opportunity to get a head start on 2025 and to get Justin acclimated so we’re ready to put our best foot forward next season.

“This moment doesn’t come without some reflection, and as I’ve said all along, Corey LaJoie is and will always be more than a driver to us. He’s an incredible person, a great father and dependable teammate. He’ll always be family. He deserves this new opportunity with an emerging team and allowing them to take another step forward in their trajectory. Again, just a win-win all around.”

Haley is a veteran of 136 Cup Series starts and has notched one win, five top fives, 15 top 10s and led 98 laps in NASCAR’s premier division.

While many drivers, native to the Hoosier State, pursue careers in the open wheel ranks, Haley was drawn to stock cars and made his mark on the national stage in his early teens.

After making his maiden ARCA Menards Series start in May 2014, he turned heads by recording his first pole position and top-three finish one race later. Haley earned four top 10s that season and would secure his first win two seasons later in just his 13th start on the ARCA national tour.

Haley made six CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts from 2015-2016, before joining the series full-time in 2017, following his 18th birthday. He notched the first of three 2018 wins in June at World Wide Technology Raceway and went on to visit Victory Lane later that season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Texas Motor Speedway prior to finishing the season third in points.

He shifted his full-time focus to the Xfinity Series in 2019, earning four-top five and 20 top-10 finishes enroute to a 12th-place finish in the season-ending points tally. He further cemented his pedigree that same season with the upset NCS win at the “World Center of Racing.”

“Spire Motorsports gave me my first few starts in the Cup Series,” said Haley. “My first was in the No. 77 at Talladega on my 20th birthday. We had a lot of great runs in our first year together in 2019, and there’s still a lot of familiar faces around there who were on the team back then. I’m excited to come home. This is where I got my start in the Cup Series, and I’m excited to go out there and compete with (crew chief) Ryan Sparks and the No. 7 team. The next seven races will give us nice head start and a baseline for next season.”

He continued to prove his mettle the following year when he earned three Xfinity Series wins between Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona before closing out the season with a third-place points’ showing. A year later, he would win again at Daytona to compliment nine top fives and 24 top 10s. He finished 12th, third and sixth, respectively in Xfinity Series points from 2019-2021, amassing four wins, 23 top-five and 65 top-10 finishes.

Since 2019, he’s logged 136 starts in NASCAR’s premier division, recording five top fives and 15 top 10s. He has driven Rick Ware Racing’s No. 51 entry to a pair of top 10s this season. Haley has paced the field for 25 laps and completed 99.2 percent of the laps contested in 2024.

In July, Spire Motorsports announced Rodney Childers, a 40-time NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) race winning crew chief and one of the sport’s most respected tacticians, will lead Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 team beginning in 2025.

Childers, 48, led Kevin Harvick to the 2014 NCS championship and is the winningest active crew chief in NASCAR’s premier division. The Mooresville native called 37 wins from 2014 – 2023. Prior to the over three dozen victories with Harvick, Childers is credited with leading drivers David Reutimann and Brian Vickers to Victory Lane.

“Having someone like Rodney behind you and supporting you on the pit box is one of the biggest motivations you can have as a driver and a team,” said Haley. “I’m really looking forward to working with Rodney. He brings a lot to the table, especially for a younger driver like me. He had lots of success with Kevin (Harvick) for several years, and I feel like we have similar aspects to each other. I’m looking forward to seeing what he has to say and how he approaches a race weekend. Obviously, every crew chief prepares and executes the weekend differently, so I’m ready to absorb all I can from him.”

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports is a NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race team co-owned by long-time NASCAR industry executives Jeff Dickerson and Thaddeus “T.J.” Puchyr. In 2024, Spire Motorsports campaigns the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series with drivers Corey LaJoie, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, respectively. The team also fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados full time in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. An all-star driver lineup will rotate throughout the 2024 season in the No. 7 Chevy. Rajah Caruth drives the No. 71 entry and Chase Purdy rounds out the team’s fleet of Silverados in the No. 77.

Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on April 12, 2024, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway.

STATESVILLE, N.C. / WESTLAKE, Ohio (Sept. 20, 2024) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB today announced a partnership with DriveValue.com, powered by the Exit Planning Institute (EPI), to serve as the primary partner on the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota Camry XSE beginning in 2025. DriveValue.com is a platform that equips business owners and leaders with the education, insights, resources, and experts needed to maximize profits, attract exceptional talent, build impactful cultures, and drive unprecedented value—while gaining the freedom they desire.

“I’ve had the pleasure to get to know the great individuals with DriveValue.com — you will not meet a more passionate group of people,” said John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota Camry XSE. “I look forward to representing the DriveValue.com brand on track at Nashville next season. I was fortunate enough to secure the Gibson guitar trophy earlier this year with a NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Nashville, nothing sounds better than to get DriveValue.com a guitar in their debut in the NASCAR Cup Series.”

The partnership with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB will prominently feature the DriveValue.com brand/marks on the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek at Nashville Superspeedway on June 1, 2025.

DriveValue.com is powered by the Exit Planning Institute (EPI), which is recognized globally as a leader and innovator in exit planning. Since 2005, EPI has educated business advisors on the importance of exit planning and its implementation. EPI has since standardized this expertise through the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) credentialing program, certifying over 5,000 active advisors. EPI Academy further supports advisors and business owners by offering self-paced courses designed to build, refine, and master essential exit planning skills.

“The future of business ownership and leadership is about more than just success it’s about creating significance that lasts,” said Scott Snider, President of EPI. “The Drive Value platform, in collaboration with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, is designed to help business owners, their leadership teams and the next generation unlock their company’s full potential, build stronger cultures, and create enduring legacies that go well beyond more annual profits and make a lasting impact to the owner, their families, teams, and communities.”

To learn more about Drive Value, visit drivevalue.com.

ABOUT

ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ is a professional auto racing club owned by businessman and entrepreneur Maurice “Maury” J. Gallagher and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. The CLUB competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series fielding the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE of John Hunter Nemechek, the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE of Erik Jones, and the No. 84 limited schedule entry for Johnson. LEGACY M.C. also competes in the Extreme E Series. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty “The King” serves as CLUB Ambassador. With a unique title signifying a nod to car clubs of past eras, LEGACY M.C. is an inclusive club for all motorsport enthusiasts to celebrate the past and future legacies of its members, while competing for wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level. To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ on Facebook, X, Instagram and at LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com

ABOUT Drive Value: As the landscape of business ownership evolves, shifting from success to significance is essential for building lasting value. Drive Value empowers business owners, their leadership teams, and the next generation to unlock their company’s full potential by providing the tools, insights, and experts needed to grow profits, build strong cultures, and create lasting impact. The platform equips business owners and their leadership teams with valuable resources and expert guidance to help them create value and align business, personal, and financial goals. By emphasizing a mindset shift toward long-term significance, Drive Value helps owners achieve greater freedom, attract top talent, and build legacies for both their companies and communities.

Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway… In 187 NASCAR Cup Series starts on the pavement configuration at Bristol Motor Speedway, RCR has scored nine wins, seven by Dale Earnhardt: both races in 1985 and 1987, plus victories in 1988 (fall), 1994 (spring), and 1999 (spring). Kevin Harvick won the 2005 spring event while Jeff Burton won the spring race in 2008. The Welcome, North Carolina based organization has racked up 35 top-five and 71 top-10 finishes.

25th Anniversary of “Rattle His Cage”… Saturday night’s Cup Series race at the World’s Fastest Half Mile marks the 25th anniversary of one of the most memorable finishes in Bristol Motor Speedway history featuring legendary RCR driver Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt, who started 26th, won the 1999 night race following a last-lap bump to Terry Labonte. Earnhardt said in Victory Lane that he didn’t mean to spin out Labonte – just to “rattle his cage.” Earnhardt and Labonte swapped the lead seven times over the last 200 laps in one NASCAR’s classic races.

RCR in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Bristol… Richard Childress Racing has nine NASCAR Xfinity Series victories at Bristol Motor Speedway led by Kevin Harvick’s four wins (2000, 2001, 2003, and 2005). Other drivers who have posted wins at the Tennessee short track include Jeff Green (2002), Clint Bowyer (2008), Elliott Sadler (2012), Austin Dillon (2016) and Tyler Reddick (2019). The storied organization has racked up 38 top-five and 64 top-10 finishes at the high banked oval. Austin Hill is the most recent RCR driver to score a top-five result at Bristol Motor Speedway (third in 2022).

Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway will be televised live Friday, September 20, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW. The live radio broadcast can be heard on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway will be televised live on Saturday, September 21 beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. The radio broadcast will be live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway… Austin Dillon has made a total of 21 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, 18 of which have been on the track’s paved configuration. Dillon has three top-10 results at the track in the paved format, including a fourth place finish in the fall of 2016. The 2013 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion has nine NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the half-mile track with a win in 2016. Dillon has also made three NASCAR Truck Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Winner, Winner… Dillon has won at Bristol Motor Speedway on both the paved and dirt configurations. In addition to winning a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Tennessee track in August 2016 (paved), Dillon was among the first drivers to compete on the track’s dirt surface in 2021. The veteran racer won two features and a heat race in dominating fashion in a 604 Crate Late Model for Corey Hedgecock Racing.

About Bass Pro Shops… Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations, and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops united with Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations, and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com/.

The Cowboy Way… Dillon is wearing two proverbial hats this weekend – his racing helmet and his cowboy hat. As the General Manager of the Carolina Cowboys, a professional bull riding team in the PBR Team Series, Dillon has spent much of this week managing his roster of cowboys and promoting the team’s homestand, which takes place at the Greensboro Coliseum this weekend. The Cowboys head into Greensboro on top of the PBR Team Series Standings with 15 wins, four losses, and one tie.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:

What are your thoughts on Bristol Motor Speedway?

“Anything can happen at Bristol Motor Speedway. It’s a high-banked short track and you can get caught up in things fast. The Bass Pro Shops Bristol Night Race is a grind for 500 laps and that’s what fans love to see. You are battling it out all race long and it helps to get your car handling better if you can move around and try different lanes on the Bristol concrete. That has helped drivers make long green flag runs. There’s action all over the track and I’m looking forward to the race..”

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway… Kyle Busch will make his 36th NASCAR Cup Series start on the pavement at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. Busch leads all active drivers in multiple categories: most victories (eight) – 2007 (spring), 2009 (both races), 2010 (fall), 2011 (spring), 2017 (fall), 2018 (spring) and 2019 (spring), most top-five finishes (14) and most laps led (2,598). The driver of the Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet has earned two Cup Series pole positions at the Tennessee short track – 2013 (spring) and 2018 (spring). Busch also claimed a premier series victory on the dirt surface in 2022. The Las Vegas, Nevada native has nine NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and five NASCAR Truck Series victories, marking 23 checkered flags at Bristol Motor Speedway across all three NASCAR national series and surface configurations.

The NASCAR Hat Trick, Twice… Busch made history at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2010, becoming the first driver to win all three NASCAR national series races in the same weekend. Seven years later in 2017, Busch repeated the accomplishment – again at the Last Great Colosseum – when he secured victories in the Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and Cup Series events.

Youngest Bristol Winner… Busch also holds the record for youngest Cup Series winner at Bristol Motor Speedway. He was 21 years, 10 months, and 23 days when he won the 2007 Food City 500, his first victory at the .533-mile oval.

Points Check… Busch currently holds the 20th position in the Cup Series driver championship point standings.

About Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen… Cheddar’s serves American classics and homestyle comfort food in a feel-at-home atmosphere. Guests get a lot, for not a lot with homemade entrees like hand-breaded Chicken Tenders, homemade Chicken Pot Pie and slow-smoked Baby Back Ribs so big, they almost fall off the plate. To kick off a memorable meal, every Guest is welcomed with a warm Honey Butter Croissant on the house. Cheddar’s operates more than 180 restaurants in 27 states and employs more than 15,000 friendly and passionate team members. Cheddar’s is open for lunch and dinner, now featuring new weekday lunch specials, starting at just $8.59. For more information or to locate the nearest restaurant, visit Cheddars.com. Fans can like or follow Cheddar’s on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:

The tire at Bristol Motor Speedway will be the same compound used in the spring race. What did you learn from that race that will help you this weekend?

“Tire management. Tire management will be the biggest key to the race this weekend. How much you can preserve the life of your tire with your driving style and the things that you do to not punish the tire will be critical.”

The Cup Series will have one 45-minute practice session at Bristol Motor Speedway. Is that something that you would like to see at more tracks in the future?

“Yes. I do think that having one 45-minute or even a 60-minute session would be great for our series and drivers that need more track time going forward.”

You have said that Bristol Motor Speedway is one of your favorite tracks. What makes that track so challenging?

“I love Bristol Motor Speedway. Bristol is always fun though it’s gotten a little more challenging over the years with the Next Gen car because it’s more difficult to pass. I think the tough part of racing at Bristol is the amount of banking and load that you see throughout the entire race. There’s no time to relax. You’re really on top of it for the entire time. That’s kind of what wears on you the most with the repetitious nature of driving down the straightway into the corner. It never seems to stop. It makes it fun for a lot of guys and challenging for others.”

Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway… Jesse Love has made three career starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, driving in ARCA Menards Series events from 2021-2023. The Menlo Park, California native started inside the top-five for all three races and recorded a best finish of second-place last season.

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

Meet Love… On Friday, September 20 at 4:45 p.m. ET, Love is scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR Merchandise Hauler in the Fan Zone at Bristol Motor Speedway. Immediately following at 5:15 p.m. ET, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points leader will head to the Chevrolet Display in the Fan Zone to answer fan questions. Stop by to meet Love before the regular season finale event begins.

JESSE LOVE QUOTE:

With Bristol Motor Speedway being the final race of the regular season, what is the focus for the No. 2 team?

“Our focus remains the same honestly. We want to go win the race and accumulate as many playoff points as possible. Danny Stockman and everyone on the No. 2 team has been working extremely hard all season, but especially these last few weeks to get us in the best spot entering the Playoffs. We started the season with a ton of speed, hit a lull in the middle, and have started to put together solid races again in the last month. I feel confident in our program and expect us to have a good run on Friday night. I have raced at Bristol a few times already and probably had the best car last season in the ARCA race. We will have to be smart from start to finish, but our Whelen Chevrolet should contend for the win.”

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway… Austin Hill has made two career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, earning a best finish of third in 2022 while piloting the No. 21 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet. The Winston, Georgia native has also competed in six NASCAR Truck Series events (best finish of 10th) and three ARCA Menards Series East races (best finish of fifth) at the World’s Fastest Half Mile.

About Bennett Family of Companies… McDonough-Ga. based Bennett Family of Companies is a woman-owned, Women’s Enterprise Business Council (WBENC) certified, diversified transportation and logistics company. Through its 14 affiliated operating companies, the Bennett Family of Companies delivers integrated transportation and supply chain management solutions worldwide. Bennett has 4,625 drivers/owner-operators, over 1,000 employees and 600 agents located across the United States. For more information, visit www.bennettig.com.

Meet Hill… On Friday, September 20 at 4:15 p.m. ET, Hill is scheduled to answer fan questions at the Chevrolet Display in the Fan Zone at Bristol Motor Speedway. Immediately following at 4:45 p.m., Hill will head to the RCR Merchandise Hauler to sign autographs in the Fan Zone. Stop by to meet the 30-year-old driver before the green flag waves on the regular season finale.

AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:

What does it take to win at Bristol Motor Speedway?

“I guess I really don’t know that yet, because I haven’t won at Bristol Motor Speedway throughout my career. During my rookie season, our No. 21 team had a really good Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet, finished third, and had a shot at winning. Even though I haven’t won there, I know a lot of the things that you’re looking for. You need a very versatile car. You need to be able to run the bottom when the resin is laid down, and as that starts wearing away, you need to be able to move up the racetrack and eventually get up against the fence. That is what I was able to do last year and was really good right up against the wall. There are a lot of wrecks and melee that happens at Bristol, so you have to be patiently aggressive, stay up front all race, keep your track position, and minimize your mistakes.”