Toyota Racing – Ty Gibbs
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

LONG POND, Pa. (July 13, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs was made available to the media on Saturday after earning the pole position for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

What does this pole mean for you?

“Yeah, it’s really good. It’s crazy how fast time goes by, that’s for sure and all that happens in between it. But it’s really cool to get the pole here. Really appreciate it and thanks to everyone that helps out. It was a fun qualifying session. I always have fun coming to Pocono. Hopefully we can go win it tomorrow.”

Is this any more special with how well you’ve run at Pocono in your career?

“Not a whole lot, really. I mean, I feel like I just really like this place and feel like my cars have always been really good here. It’s been fun and hopefully we can capitalize on it tomorrow.”

How would you describe your growth so far in your career?

“Yeah, definitely a lot for sure. Definitely a lot more experience more than anything. It’s been really fun and I really appreciate the whole crew. Really, really thankful. I’ve been blessed my career. It’s been a really fun time and it’s definitely how fast time goes by.”

Can you take us through your pole lap?

“Yeah, it was really good. I felt like I had a clean lap. I was a little nervous as we didn’t have a break between the two rounds, so didn’t feel like we had enough time to pull our stuff off, but it was still really good. I think that shows the speed of my car. But yeah, I feel like we’re really solid and my car handled really well. Three corners you have to put together and it’s tricky place in a way, but it’s a really fun place too. It keeps you on your toes, I guess.”

How much of an advantage is it to start from pole tomorrow?

“It’s a really big advantage, especially for my pit crew having the first pit stall is very important, getting out of it. So, it’s really nice to have that spot to start in. But besides that, we’re really solid. I feel like it is what is. Hammer down and try to go win tomorrow.”

What makes driving Pocono so fun?

“I mean, there’s a lot that plays into it. There’s really long straightaways here, so it’s like going down the highways with trees on your left. It’s a lot going on, but at the same time, you have a lot of time to rest. It’s really fun in how the track is laid out, the characteristics of the track are really great and how it works. I hope they don’t repave it and leave it how it is.”

Did you lean on Martin Truex Jr. or Denny Hamlin going into this weekend?

“Yeah, I don’t really talk to them before the races, really at the track unless I have something to talk about in the meetings. I really, always appreciated the teammates I’ve gotten to be with and there are a lot of great people, luckily. It’s been a lot of fun. Yeah, I talk to my teammates here casually, but not a whole lot as much as I used to do when I was completely young.”

What is your mindset with the remaining regular season races?

“Yeah, a win would definitely get us in the Playoffs. That’s our goal to go win and be smart outside of that. Go get great stage points and go win is the biggest thing. Takes care of about everything.”

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 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th 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 26 electrified options.

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

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

LONG POND, Pa. (July 13, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday prior to this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.

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

Is 23XI Racing going to appeal Bubba Wallace’s fine from Chicago?

“Yeah, I think you can look at them (penalties) similarly if you want to. You can look at them differently if you want to. All in all, it’s a judgment call and that’s the explanation that they gave the team. It’s a judgment call. More than likely, we’ve seen these things happen in other sports where the camera’s on you live, not a cutaway where you’d say ‘oh, by the way, this happened after the checkered,’ I think it being live and everyone seeing it, probably caused a little more of a social media uproar which then they responded to that. I think from the team’s standpoint, I don’t believe there will be any appeals. It’s a learning moment you try not to repeat.”

Are you okay with what Bubba did?

“I didn’t weigh in on it with him. I think those things happen on a regular basis each and every week. Again, it’s based on circumstances of it being on live TV, making it different.”

Do you feel like this will be a weekend to turn things around for your team?

“It’s been some wonky races. I mean there’s been rain, which really changed New Hampshire quite a bit going from what we think is a race-winning car and feeling like we were going to win to not. And obviously Chicago, it turned out the way it did. We were really good in the dry pace. I felt very good with where I was at and then with the rain. And then at Nashville, we all saw what happened there at the end. Yeah, just some different finishes for sure where this race track (Pocono) plays out in a more predictable manner than what others have. Surely, weather can be a factor in things like that, but with this track, you typically have an idea of (pause). The best car usually wins here at a higher percentage than at those others.”

After last year’s finish, how does seeing the large banner of you in the garage feel?

“I love Mavis for it for sure. Certainly, playing to the market is very good. Fortunate for it to be a race track where they know I have a great track record at. I’m glad they and the track were able to work something out to poke at the fans a little bit.”

What are your expectations for next weekend at Indianapolis?

“Yeah, I mean if you’re crazy about side-by-side racing, it probably won’t be for you. But it’s just a big event and you know, it’s still over time, some of the best cars with the best engines, best aerodynamics, best execution on pit road, all of those things equals a win at that track. There’s very many different ways you can win in NASCAR, right? It doesn’t always have to be through the normal competition that always happened. We’ve seen fuel mileage be a part of the last few winners and things like that. Indy will be no different. It’ll be an execution race. You’ll need to qualify well, but you just never know what can happen. Strategy is big there. I do hope that these cars have enough drag down the straightaway to create slingshot-like passes like what we have on the IndyCars at that track. The only thing that’ll limit that is I think our corner speed is just a hair too fast for the second-place guy to stay close enough to make that work. It’ll be tough, but I think on new tires, there’s a shot to see something pretty great. The purist needs to be looking at the strategy part of it.”

Do you feel being strong at Pocono applies to Indianapolis as well?

“I think there will be similarities for sure. A lot of it is just because of the long straightaways, the angles of the corners are not that different when you look at turn 2 here at Pocono. The way you would approach it here would be similar to the way you approach turn 2 at Indy. So I think for many, many years, the cars that have that good mix of horsepower or drag and downforce ratio, you take what you have next week to Indy from here at Pocono and see a lot of similarities. I do think that you can draw some of those conclusions.”

Do records like your career win amount matter to you?

“Yeah, it certainly does. Where I’ve shifted my goals in the final years of my career is to try to get to a big win number, get inside the top-10 of all-time winners. That’s the goal I can achieve week in and week out, right? Certainly, always have goals of winning a championship and that goes over a long period of time. But week-to-week, that’s what fuels me to continue to go to the race track and do this grind every week, is to try to nail down victories. To me, I think when this is all said and done, all these different formats have changed, cars have changed over time, but the wins still stand as equal. I think that’s why I value them so much.”

What would getting 55 career wins mean to you?

“Yeah, I think certainly, four-to-five years ago, I think my number would’ve been 50, somewhere in that range. But as times change, and you start to pick up your performance, you change your goals, and that certainly has changed. You know, I just feel so much more agitated by the ones that we had won. There’s been three this year, leading inside five to go and a late-race caution changed everything. So, I think if you want to get to those goals that you want to win, you have to capitalize on all the moments as you never know when the performance will continue to stay at this race for the years to come. You do know you have it now, so you try to capitalize.”

What about Pocono that suits your driving style?

“Yeah, I think I’m a part of it, for sure. You can’t not draw that conclusion, but just think this track and Indy, for whatever reason, have always been the tell-tale of where your team really stands. Because you have to have such good execution on pit road, your strategy has to be good and you have those three things, low drag, high downforce, high horsepower. Those are the things you have to have to be fast in the Cup Series week in and week out and this track in particular really magnifies it. So I think I’ve just had a really good team that figures this out and over time, I’ve given them information they’ve needed to build me fast cars. I think it’s just my driving style of being easy in the corner, hard off the corner works when you have these long straightaways.”

How do you plan to repeat your success at Richmond?

“Yeah, I mean I’m always trying to get better, it doesn’t matter what the result was. I think back to Richmond, we won, but we weren’t going to win unless a late-race caution came out. So, I think there’s some improvement to be made there and we’ve already gone over what we needed to do to be better there and then once we start preparing here in a few weeks after the break, we’ll treat it like a track we’ve never won at. That’s you know, focusing and bringing the best car we can and me making sure I do what I need to do to keep winning at that track. This is an never-ending cycle. Even though the cars look the same, been here three times with this car, every time, setups have been different. It’s always changing. If you change the weather 10 degrees at this race track, we’ll have to back to the drawing board and come up with something new. We’re never just resting on our laurels and say, ‘we won there last time, we’ll be good.’ We still have to put in the same preparation week in and week out to be good.”

Is there enough time to have a shot at the regular season championship?

“I think unless they have problems, it’ll be tough. But, everyone is struggling to find consistency, right? We were as consistent as anyone for five weeks and now have had five weeks the exact opposite, so just think you know, we’ll need help for sure and we’ll need to be as good as we were two months ago, right? As far as execution and finishing positions. It’s very, very possible, but you’re going to need a few stubbed toes here and there.”

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 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th 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 26 electrified options.

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

Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

LONG POND, Pa. (July 13, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to the media on Saturday prior to this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Is Pocono a track you’d like to see get a second date?

“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy how much things have changed over the years with the schedule, especially and all of the new tracks we’ve gone to in the past few years. Yeah, this place has been a staple for a long time, I enjoy coming here and been coming up this way for a long time. I don’t know, I feel like the future is one race everywhere and not two anymore. Yeah, it’s great that we still come here. It’s unique track and a lot of fun.”

How much energy does a track like this take out of you?

“I would say this probably one of the easier ones from a standpoint of wear and tear on a driver with the long straightaways, you can kind of relax. It’s kind of laid-back racing, besides on the restarts. They’re more mentally challenging than anything. But the physicality of this place is on the lower side compared to the other tracks we go to.”

What are the emotions coming here potentially for the last time and your thoughts on that first win here?

“Yeah, for sure, all the wins over the years are great wins. That one was definitely big one for our team. That really jumpstarted a good couple of years together. Really good memories of that one and I think in 2018 as well with that same group. Got a lot of great memories here, have a lot of heartbreakers as well, a few that go away over the years. But last year, we were very strong and looking forward to hopefully getting a checkered flag tomorrow. That’s what we’re here for and I feel very good about it. Feel great about our team and what we’ve been doing lately. We’ve had a lot of speed, just got to capitalize on it and hope we can do that tomorrow.”

Did you see your name is printed on the start/finish line?

“Yeah, I saw watching the Trucks race yesterday. It was very cool.”

Have you embraced tributes like these?

“I’d say I’m ready to embrace it. I think I was actually pretty surprised seeing that two days ago. You know, as a driver, you don’t ever feel like you’re really deserving of things like that. For Pocono to do that, it’s really special for me, my family. Definitely cool to see and hope we’re the first to cross it (start/finish line) tomorrow.”

How much confidence do you have coming into the weekend?

“For sure, it’s been a tough month-and-a-half, finish-wise. Speed-wise, aside from maybe last week and Iowa, we’ve been solid. Just need to capitalize on that and execute. It takes a lot of things to win races, lead laps, stay upfront and have fast cars, so hope we can put it all together this weekend. But I feel good about it. Yeah, just kind of been in a slump for a little while now.”

Anything to pinpoint for the slump?

“It’s been multiple things, frustrating for sure. You name it across the board, it’s happened. The last three races, we’ve been crashed at the end by someone, and that’s frustrating. Dealt with a lot of things like rain and crazy things like that. Yeah, hopefully this is a normal, strai ghtforward weekend. Hoping for a good day today and execute tomorrow, be upfront tomorrow and be in good shape.”

How do you view Richmond and your success there?

“Well the wins stick out as usual. Everywhere, the wins are huge. But yeah, that place has been really, really good for us. And also very frustrating with the amount of times when we’ve dominated and came up short, including this season. Yeah, just always look forward to going there. It’s a very unique track, very old school track. Tire wear, you have to manage your stuff and that really plays into my strengths. It’s going to be different this time around. They’re changing the tire combination from what we had in the spring. Going to have to figure out how to recapture it and hopefully come up with something that worked like it has in the past.”

What will the Olympic break be like?

“Yeah, it’s going to be interesting. Not very often, we get two weeks off. It’s definitely great for the crew guys. They work so hard, so many hours, they just don’t stop. So it’s a grind and it’ll be good for them to spend a little time with their families. As a team, you kind of regroup, recharge with the Playoffs coming up, the end of the season and all that goes into that with the pressure. It’ll be nice break for everyone. I’d say I get more of a break than those guys, so it’s nice to see they get it as well. It should be fun.”

What race in your career stands out the most to you?

“That’s a tough question. Probably the Coke 600 when we lead pretty much the whole thing, besides the green flag pit stop laps. That’s something that probably won’t happen again and it’s cool to be on the sheets for something no one else has done.”

Are you able to relax down the long straightaways here at Pocono?

“Yeah, there’s a lot to think about. What you’re doing next week, where you’ll be fishing (laughs). No, honestly, just it gives you time to think about your car, what’s going on in the race. A lot of times, you’re just in such traffic. Concentration, really focused on what you’re doing and a place like this, you have some time to think about things, so it makes it a little easier from a mental standpoint to kind of understand of how things are going on around you, how your car is doing, what you need. Time to talk to your crew. At Bristol, you can barely hear what they’re even saying, barely have time to even hit the button. So, definitely different there.”

What conversations have you had with Ryan before his race today?

“Not a lot, really. He does a lot of stuff with sim work and working with his team. Last time he raced here, I think it was in Trucks and he ran second, so he has some confidence this week on the simulator. Hopefully he has a good day. He’s had a decent year, obviously that win at Dover was huge again for him. So hopefully, we’re trying to put together more races for him next year. He’s done a great job jumping around a few teams at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and preforming well.”

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 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th 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 26 electrified options.

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

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series Media Availability
The Great American Getaway 400 | Pocono Raceway
Saturday, July 13, 2024

Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske, met with the media Saturday afternoon ahead of on-track action in the NASCAR Cup Series. Cindric talked about the last few weeks of the season, his season to date, and preparations for the upcoming NASCAR Playoffs.

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford Mustang Dark Horse

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE LONG-TERM VIABILITY IS OF CHICAGO AND STREET RACING IN GENERAL AND NASCAR?

“I’ve always loved street course racing, but I think as an industry, we definitely proved that it’s something we can do for the future, really. I don’t think there’s a driver in the field that doesn’t enjoy the uniqueness of that event, being in the city, having the city embrace us for the weekend and it kind of being a bit of a different blip in the schedule as far as your normal day-to-day transitions. Even the crew guys, in a lot of ways, get to explore a little bit more than maybe you would on a normal weekend. As far as the racetrack it is big enough for us to go racing each time. So I just hope that we can go there one year and not have the crazy weather and time limitations and all that. I could easily see it being a classic race on the schedule.”

THIS IS YOUR 100TH CUP START HERE THIS WEEKEND. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU GOING INTO THAT?

“It means time flies, I guess. In some ways, I feel like I’m pretty new to all this. It’s crazy to kind of think of 100 starts. But yeah, it’s been fun. Gotta get keep getting better though. The first hundred’s been good, but we need to make the next hundred great.”

WITH THE CUP SERIES SCHEDULE UNIQUENESS, WE HAVE A STREET RACE, POCONO, THE BRICKYARD 400 NEXT WEEK. WHAT IS YOUR MENTALITY, WEEK TO WEEK, ESPECIALLY WITH PLAYOFFS COMING UP, HOW DO YOU ADJUST ON A WEEK TO WEEK BASIS?

“It’s interesting as far as how it relates to the playoffs. There aren’t too many tracks that we’ve been going to that benefit us from preparing for the playoffs. You don’t really have a Pocono or an Indy or a Chicago street course. I mean maybe the Roval is somewhat close to it, but otherwise I wouldn’t say it was an overly productive couple weeks for preparing for the playoffs other than just getting reps as a team. You will get to you know Richmond and Michigan and tracks like that and kind of wind down the regular season at tracks that I feel like all will be very relevant. I think that’s what makes watching this sport fun, is that you have something completely different each Sunday that you’re going to tune into and watch. If we made new fans last week in Chicago by going there, they’re going to tune in this weekend at Pocono and look at the TV and figure out why this looks so different than what they watched last weekend. I feel like you’ll have that week-to-week with what we get to do. I feel like that’s what makes it fun with a race fan with that many races on the schedule.”

YOU’RE THE LAST FORD DRIVER TO MAKE IT TO VICTORY LANE HERE IN XFINITY IN 2021 IN THE CUP SERIES. NO FORD HAS WON SINCE 2020 AND THEN DATING BACK TO 2017 BEFORE THAT. WHAT DOES YOUR TEAM THINK ABOUT GETTING THE BLUE OVALS BACK TO VICTORY LANE HERE?

“Well, it’s our goal every weekend but it’s a place that I’ve always really liked since my first ARCA race here. I see no reason for us not to be in contention this weekend. I feel like there’s a few drivers that really stand out as you go to this track, and I think for me getting a handle on a few specific areas on the racetrack since we’ve gone to the NextGen car have been pretty important and been a lot of our focus for this weekend. I think today will tell the story for tomorrow.”

WHAT HAS MADE THIS TRACK SUCH A CHALLENGE FOR FORD AND SPECIFICALLY TEAM PENSKE?

“I can’t speak for any year before 2022 but for us with the NextGen car, the bumps are a pretty big challenge. You have a lot less tools in the toolbox as far as how to make a race car compliant because you have linear springs on all four corners, and you have height limitations. So these cars are also very sensitive to not being sealed off to the ground with the diffuser and how sensitive the aero is. Those are all things that bumps are not very good for. I’d say for us that’s been one of the biggest challenges, the tunnel turn and connecting your run from turn one to turn three and that’s where I’m hoping to see us make some progress today from a motor side. I’m not sure how some of that connects, and from an aero side, not sure how some of that all connects, but from a race team side, I see that’s where we can make progress this weekend.”

BETWEEN USING THE RAIN TIRES AT RICHMOND, NEW HAMPSHIRE AND CHICAGO, DO YOU FORESEE THAT BECOMING AN EVEN BIGGER PART OF THE TRAINING REGIMEN IF IT ISN’T ALREADY?

“As far as simulating rain conditions, it’s very hard to do. I mean, it’s the same reason why iRacing has probably just recently come out with something like that. The challenge of racing in the rain isn’t necessarily like the loss of surface grip, it’s all the variables. It’s the drying conditions, it’s how wet is the racetrack. What are you going to do when the track dries out? What are you going to do when the track gets wetter? How those lines change around, standing water on a track like Chicago where there’s a lot of bumps and you can collect water. All those things have to be modeled correctly for them to be really relevant to the driver, let alone even in a controlled environment with a dry racetrack. Sometimes it’s hard to get the simulator tools exactly how it would need to feel in the car. So maybe from a driver training perspective, perhaps, but I feel like I’d be able to learn just as much going to the go-kart track and running on a rainy day. So and I don’t mean that to devalue go-kart racing, but it’s probably just as much a valuable tool as far as from a real-world experience just dealing with those challenges.”

WHEN YOU SEE THE RACES ENDING WITH A TIME, A SPECIFIC TIME FOR IT TO END. WHAT’S THAT LIKE FOR THE DRIVER IN THE COCKPIT AND HOW DO YOU CHANGE YOUR MENTALITY? DO YOU LIKE IT? IT’S EXCITING TO WATCH, BUT WHAT’S IT LIKE TO NAVIGATE?

“It’s interesting that it came up in the Truck Series race last night as well. It hasn’t really come up too many times before last weekend. I think NASCAR’s ability to kind of adjust from what happened last year with the end of the race. There were teams, including myself, in the 2023 Chicago race that kind of took a gamble knowing that sunlight was going to be an issue, and we benefited from it. Other teams were upset because it wasn’t clear. I think NASCAR made it very, very clear what the guidelines were for the end of the race. Everyone was able to really understand what the strategy would look like. So from there, it was much more about just planning on what tires you’re gonna have on for the end of the race because I think some guys kept rain’s on had an advantage and some guys that put dry’s on there or the back of the field like myself had an advantage. So I think NASCAR couldn’t be any more clear about how they did that. I would think that’s probably gonna the guidelines moving forward. As soon as they know I think they’ll make it pretty clear to the race teams.

DO YOU LIKE IT?

“It doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t really get to have an opinion, but your restrictions are your restrictions as far as from light and any other factors. It doesn’t really change my day at all. I know times versus laps, it’s all kind of one and the same, depending on how you do the math. Caution flags, I feel like put the biggest variable on a timed race because if that race wouldn’t have had all those cautions at the end, there would have been a lot more green flag laps and dry tires probably would have had more of an advantage at the end of the race. That’s just how it goes.”

WITH ALL THREE OF YOU SEALING YOUR PLAYOFF SPOT, HOW CONFIDENT DO YOU FEEL ABOUT TEAM PENSKE DEFENDING THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND DO YOU FEEL THIS IS YOUR TIME TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?

“The first step to winning a championship is making the playoffs, and all three of us are in the playoffs. It’s not that I’m not a goal setter, but I don’t like setting a result-based goal. for me, the only goal for the season was to make the playoffs because it is your only avenue, your only way to win a championship. As a team, we’ve won the championship with Joey and Ryan the last two years, and it’s all about using that system to be able to get to the next round each time. Whether if that’s winning races late in the playoffs or having enough points, our guys have been able to really execute in that round of eight and propel themselves into a position to be in the championship four. That’s all just about having your best day. I think for us, it’s about maximizing each opportunity with each playoff track and being able to understand where our strengths and weaknesses are. Apart from that, the biggest way to win the championship is to be in it.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
POCONO RACEWAY
JULY 13, 2024

 WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTOR HIGH HEAT CAMARO ZL1 AND THE NO. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO SS, met with the media in advance of racing double duty in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series at Pocono Raceway.

Media Availability Quotes:

When you race in the Xfinity Series nowadays, what is the mindset for you? Is it really just go there and win, and anything else is not acceptable? How do you approach today, specifically?

“I mean, it’s hard not to have that mindset, for sure. You want to go win, but you have to take the steps before that to get there. So just trying to remember all the little details about the car; shift points, braking markers, all those things that will be different. There’s not a lot that applies, I don’t think, to the Cup car. But just getting a general feel for the track; getting comfort with the rhythm of the racetrack are all good things and then some of the restart things give you reps to anticipate. Yeah, I think it’s all those things. And yeah, the goal is to win, for sure. But we have to see what we have and kind of where we are when we get out there.”

You’ve done double duty before, so this is nothing new for you, and you’ve done it with the Gen-7 car. Is it tougher now with this platform, going from Xfinity to Cup and Cup to Xfinity, or do you think it’s kind of second nature at this point?

“Yeah, I mean it’s tougher, but you know, we’re adaptable as drivers. At least for me, when I get back into a Xfinity car, I remember some of the things and nuances. So yeah, it may take me a few more laps than what it would have in the past with the Gen-6 car. But going to run late model races and things, it still takes a similar amount of time.. just maybe, like I said, some of the nuances with the car like you would have back in the day. You just have to learn those nuances as you go. Yeah, maybe a little bit more time.”

What do you feel like the No. 24 team needs to do to find more consistency at this point? It seems like you guys still have plenty of speed, but what do you feel like this team is missing, in terms of consistency?

“I mean, I thought last week was good with starting from the back, so I was really happy with that and our result there. Yeah, I mean I think you just have to see what the weekend brings here. I think we’ve always been pretty fast here and hopefully that translates to Indy, as well, if we’re fast here this weekend. Yeah, I think just try to approach each weekend with a clean slate and manage the weekend. We’ve done all the preparation that we can do coming into this weekend with sim, conversations and just trying to be as prepared as we can be. Just really have to see what you fight when you get here to the track. That’s one part of it. And then, executing the race, strategy, restarts and just general execution items will take over on Sunday. So yeah, if we can do all those things on Sunday, I think we can have a positive result, for sure, and maybe string together three good results in a row going into the break would be nice.”

You mentioned the break, William. Do you have plans? What is your mindset going into the break? What does it mean to have two solid weeks off before we get back into the grind of it as an athlete, as a driver?

“Yeah, it’s really nice. I was thinking about it though this week.. I feel like we’re in a really good rhythm with the season this year, so I kind of don’t want it to stop. I kind of feel like I have my routine. I feel like I’m in good shape. I feel like I’m not tired after the races. So I, selfishly, kind of want it to keep going. But I think once I get to the break, I will kind of turn it off and be able to think about some other things. I’m going on a trip with my family, so that will be fun. Just try to experience everything and enjoy the time off because we don’t get that every year, where you get a chance to get two-and-a-half, three weeks off. So it will be really nice.”

We’re finally back on the oval next weekend in Indianapolis. What are you most looking forward to for that race, in general, just being back on the oval? It’s going to be the 30th anniversary of the Brickyard, so it seems kind of fitting that we’re going back to driving down the right way on the front straightaway, as drivers like to say?

“Yeah, I mean I’m super excited. I think this was a decision that a lot of drivers wanted. I think it will be difficult to pass, which isn’t abnormal with this car. But I think it will come down to strategy and execution; your qualifying and everything.

I’m excited for it. I think the track is fun to make laps on. I’m sure it will be tricky with the Next Gen car.. probably a little bit edgy. But I think it will be everything we want as drivers, to be back on the oval with the history that it has.”

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