Toyota Racing – Iowa Post-Practice Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

NEWTON, Iowa (June 14, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin, along with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, were made available to the media on Friday after practice for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway.

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

How concerned are you about tires this weekend?

“Yeah, even in the test, they had high (tire) wear, but they ran 50-some laps on the tires before they really had high wear. Surprising to see they had as high wear as they did with just 20 laps or so on tires. But I think that’ll get better in the race, but if there’s havoc with tires and wear, I like our chances.”

What are your thoughts on the restart zone with the repave?

“I didn’t do any mock restarts today, so I don’t how the gearing necessarily is. That’s a big factor in whether you’re going to have wheelspin on this type of track. My guess is you probably will. Certainly, there will be a few rows that have an advantage of being on the top.”

What are your thoughts on Martin Truex Jr.’s career?

“When I think of Martin (Truex Jr.), right, we couldn’t be more opposite. But there’s no one probably more than him. He’s just that type of person. I wish I was like that, but I couldn’t be more opposite. But that’s him and how he carries himself, the way he does business. I put the workload on myself that I do, right? Martin really enjoys his downtime. For me, I don’t like downtime, right? I like to stay busy, and I like to keep working, depending on what I’m working on. I hate sitting around and being bored. Some people love that and how they get passionate about going to the race track every weekend. You know, everyone’s different, but certainly, think he’s in a spot where he’s weighed the pros and cons and it just got to the point where the pros of not doing this outweighed the cons.”

What’s your favorite interaction with him?

“It’s hard to believe I’ve been teammates with him as long as I have and I’ve never had a ‘what the heck Martin?!’ moment. Never! I’m sure he’s said that about me in his head because of the things I’ve done as his teammate, but I’ve never had that moment. I don’t think anyone has as a teammate to him or anything. So, not sure how you can’t say he’s the best teammate you can have. He’s so respectful, reminds me of Jimmie Johnson. He’s so underrated as far as the natural ability to drive a car fast. I have to work tremendously hard week-in-and-week-out to run as well as Martin Truex. I have to work really hard to keep up with him. I just think he’s one of the most naturally gifted drivers our series has seen in quite some time. He’s just not that flashy about it and that’s what’s different about him to other drivers in the Cup Series in the past. When I think about Martin, I try to think about a moment when I said ‘man, I can’t believe he did that!’ and the answer is no. He’s always done the right thing.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

What do you expect from the track on Sunday?

“I honestly don’t know. If we were on the old pavement, I feel like it would’ve been a really big advantage to have my Xfinity starts. But with the repave we have, it’s essentially a new race track. It’s basically anyone’s ballgame.”

Did you have any indication that the tire was going down (that caused your incident)?

“My only indication was whenever I saw Ty (Gibbs) have a flat when riffling out of the pits.”

Is there a good Martin Truex story that comes to mind?

“I do. If you would’ve asked me this an hour ago, I would’ve come up with a really good one. I mean Martin (Truex Jr.) is just (pause), he has no ego. He has no ‘I’m better than you’ attitude. He’s just a very normal person who (pause), he does himself and I respect the heck out of him as he’s a superstar in the Cup Series, but he just does himself. He’s not flashy, doesn’t care about what anyone else thinks. He’s Martin Truex Jr., and frankly, that’s who I want to be. Christopher Bell, but the same style.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Do you know if it’s hotter today than at the tire test?

“I think it’s a little warmer today. But at Bristol for example, it was too cool I think. I don’t know, typically, you can kind of see where the track was starting to wear in too from like the start of practice to the end, it was starting to lighten up a little bit. Fresh asphalt, almost pitch black, but was starting to grip where we were running. I don’t know if it’s already kind of, not sure if I walked out there right now, if it’s starting to knock the top off a little bit. Not totally sure, but I think you guys saw it, the grip was getting better and better.”

Do you know how many laps you got in on the tire today?

“I think we ran like 20 laps on the first set. Like 15-16 on set two. Fifteen on the third set, came in, and we were just going to roll back out, get a feel, run two laps on scuff tires. See what they felt like, see if they were going to take 3-4 laps to clean off. I was just wanting to see what type of lap time I was going to run on the second lap. When I went back to the gas in (turns) one and two, it just went down really fast.”

Is there anything teams can do to prolong tire wear?

“It depends. Our issue could be air pressure-related, it come be a number of things. Because we practiced today, and then going through tech tomorrow, there’s a lot of things we can do to the car. Whereas at Bristol, you’re kind of boxed in.”

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

What happened with your tire going down in practice?

“Yeah, just seemed like it went down there. There wasn’t any telling that was going to happen. We made some setup adjustments that will probably help that out, but don’t know anything about it until it went down.”

Is it normal to not feel anything when a tire goes down?

“They all have their different ways of going down. Some bleed, they leak and some just go flat, so (inaudible).”

What are your thoughts on Martin Truex Jr.’s retirement?

“It’s definitely his decision and I’m so happy for what he gets to do. He’s been a really good friend of mine. Somebody I’ve looked up to my whole racing career. I’m very thankful to have been a teammate with him and so I’m happy with him and wish him the best. Will probably go visit him and go see what’s going on with his retirement life. Good for him.”

About Toyota

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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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE REPORT
JUNE 14, 2024

Bowman Leads Team Chevy in NASCAR Cup Series Practice at Iowa Speedway

• The NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural race weekend at Iowa Speedway got underway this afternoon with the series hitting the track for a 50-minute practice session.
• Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, set the pace for the Bowtie brand – clocking-in a best-lap time of 23.105 seconds, at 136.334 mph, to conclude the practice session third-fastest overall on the speed chart.
• Four drivers from three Chevrolet organizations posted top-10 lap times at the close of the practice session, with Bowman leading:

5th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
6th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light For The Farmers Camaro ZL1
9th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1

· The NASCAR Cup Series will return to the track Saturday, June 15, at 12:05 p.m. ET, for qualifying to set the lineup for Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol.

 
Drivers in the top-10 positions of the NASCAR Cup Series points standings met with the media following the series’ 50-minute practice session at Iowa Speedway. Team Chevy Driver Quotes:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light for the Farmers Camaro ZL1 – 6th fastest in practice

Chastain on the issues he had in practice:

“I have no idea.. we’re not sure. It’s so blown apart that we can’t see anything.”

Are you surprised and are you concerned about Sunday?

“Neither.. I mean there’s no telling what happens. We went back out and made more laps on another set. I went out; ran my fastest lap like five laps later.”

Did you put as many laps on that new set that you had one as the one you had the issue?

“I don’t know.. a lot happened quick there.”

The restart zone.. the top of the line goes right up to the start of the restart zone. Is that going to effect things?

“Yeah, it’s going to help the top get launched. I noticed that. But right now, the second lane isn’t very appetizing for me. I wouldn’t want to fire it down in there form the outside. You might be ahead on the straightaway, but if you don’t get down – like for these guys in the ARCA race, they might fight for the bottom, but throughout the weekend, I think we’ll widen it back out. My opinion now is going to change as I watch these races and participate tomorrow (in the Xfinity Series race).”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 – 13th fastest in practice

Did it feel the same as it did before?

“I don’t know.. I felt a lot different than the test a couple of weeks ago. I’m sure the track has probably just changed that much since then. So yeah, I was just very, very loose in, which I wasn’t that loose in at the test. The first-half of practice, I was super loose in. But I felt like we got that a little bit better. We started running some more comfortable laps. It trended towards getting a little more similar to the way the test ended. I think we just have to study and see. I’m sure the track is just changing so much right now.”

Do you think it will be a race like we had at Bristol Motor Speedway?

“I don’t know.. I’m not sure why people are blowing so many tires right now. I haven’t had time to talk to the team. I don’t think they’ve even had time to study tires on our end, as an organization, so yeah I’m not really sure on that yet.”

You didn’t experience that, did you?

“No, none of us, I don’t believe, had any sort of tire issues.”

Does this track, right now as it stands, worry you for Sunday?

“No, I mean it’s a racetrack, so what are they going to do before Sunday (laughs)? So no, I think honestly, the unknown of everything I think makes things exciting, competitive and all that. Yeah, it’s going to be fun. I think teams are probably going to have to study a lot and not sleep a lot the next couple of nights.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 – 5th fastest in practice

Elliott on the teams that had tire issues during the practice session:

“I saw a couple of them, but fortunately, we did not see any of that. I didn’t feel any of that. So I’m not sure if it was pressure related or setup related. Certainly, the Toyota’s had an issue all at once, so that kind of told me that was a collective issue. And then I saw the No. 1 (Ross Chastain) had a problem and maybe the No. 2 (Austin Cindric). So yeah, I’m not sure, but hopefully not on Sunday.”

What were your first impressions of the Cup car at Iowa Speedway? Kyle Larson tested here, so there was some data for the team to work with, but what was your first impression?

“Honestly, I was thinking that it would be a lot of grip around the bottom. I do think the second lane will be decent at some point, but it will definitely need to be worked in. It kind of has that fresh repaved shine to it that is not very inviting to want to go run on. But in the race, you’ll certainly be forced to run higher and I think that’ll end up working it in. I kind of missed a corner there once. There’s more banking, it seems like at least up off of (turn) two in that next lane up, so that might end up being a better place to run. I wouldn’t be super surprised if that ended up being the preferred lane at some point in the race.”

Is it any warmer today than it was during the tire test? Is there any more stress on the tire, just given that you’re going from the old pavement to the suddenly gripped-up new stuff?

“I’m not sure.. that’s a really good question. I wasn’t here for the test and I’m not familiar with how hot or not it was. I really don’t know, but I don’t think it has anything to do with going across the old asphalt and getting to the new asphalt. It certainly could, but we see that at other places.”

 
 

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Iowa Media Availability | Friday, June 14, 2024

The Roush Fenway Keselowski duo of Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher stopped by the Iowa Speedway infield media center before today’s practice and discussed a variety of issues with reporters.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 King’s Hawaiian/Casey’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT MARTIN TRUEX RETIRING AT THE END OF THE YEAR? “Martin certainly has earned a lot of respect and credibility out of the industry. He’s done that with things he’s done on the track and off the track. I’m sad to see him go and I’m kind of reminded that life is about change. It’s not always fun change, but it’s tough seeing any champion leave this sport, but we wish him the best in his next endeavors. To speak of his career as you were asking, Martin is just kind of a telltale story of this sport of somebody that came in with a really great pedigree, winning two Xfinity championships and got to the Cup side and paid a lot of dues. He was probably hung up in situations that weren’t ideal, but he stuck it out and got himself into a great situation and made the most of it, and deserves a lot of credit for that kind of consistency and patience. He’s a super talented guy. I look at him even last week at Sonoma and he’s a really good race car driver that knows how to put his car in the right positions. He’s a little bit of a throwback in the sense that Martin is one of those guys that I thought was really good at taking care of his equipment and being there when it mattered, so with each one of these drivers that goes away it’s kind of the end of its own little era. Martin was probably one of the last of the drivers that had chill to him. It seems like everybody new that comes in, I mean obviously Chris is probably the closest comp to Martin there is, but most of the drivers don’t have a lot of chill. Martin is a very chill guy, so I’ve got a lot of respect for him and I don’t know what his next chapter is, maybe he doesn’t know either, but that’s OK. He’ll be missed in our sport.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Brad covered it quite well. I know he’s raced with Martin a lot more through the years, but I guess that’s big news that we probably felt was coming at some point within the next year, but good for him. Like Brad said, he’s been a lot of fun to race with, a very respectable racer that I’ve been able to have good, clean battles through the years consistently. It’s always been a lot of fun for me and I still want to be a little upset for being able to run me down last week, but congrats to him. That’s really cool and wish him the best going forward. Like Brad said, you’re losing another veteran that is predictable, that you know you can race on track and have good, hard, clean racing for the vast majority of the time, and know that you can get out and appreciate that from each other. Time will tell what changes from there, but congrats to him.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI CONTINUED – FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A MIDWESTERNER, WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CUP SERIES TO HAVE A PLACE LIKE IOWA TO RACE AT, ESPECIALLY FOR THE FAN BASE? “I think it’s a huge event for our sport. It’s obviously the inaugural Cup race here at a track that has paid a lot of dues. It’s been around now for 17 years, 18 years, so it’s finally having its day here. It’s exciting to see that for me on a number of levels. Geographically, I think it’s an important market for us as we kind of transcend the discourse of political conversations that are going on with coastal cities and everything else that’s going on you start to lose sight of that in NASCAR, that NASCAR is not just a coastal sport or a regional sport. It’s a national sport and it’s important, in my mind, to really live that out and I think we’re doing that by racing here in Iowa. It’s pretty much the exact middle of the country. If I was throwing a dart at a dart board, probably as close as you could get to the center would be Iowa and I think that’s important. There’s a lot of great race fans here that, I think, for a long time have been somewhat under represented with the tracks that they’re around or that they get to go to. We started to work our way out there a little bit with Kansas and some of those tracks, which is great. I think that was a good win for us, and it’s nice to see us continue to do that with a race here in Iowa. I think from everything I understand about the attendance and the support of the community it’s gonna be outstanding for all three nights, which is great, and it shows a pent up demand. I think it’s important to go where you’re wanted and it’s very clear that here in Iowa NASCAR is wanted. Beyond that, I’m glad it’s not another road course. It seems like every time we add a new venue to the sport, ‘Oh, a road course.’ It’s nice to add a new venue to this sport that’s an actual stock car-esque track and that’s clearly what Iowa is, so I’m really pumped for this community. I’ve kind of advocated for it for a while now and I’m pretty sure they didn’t do it because of me, but I’m still glad to see it happen. I’m glad to see a community that pays its dues get a race. Michigan is still a pretty long ways away from Iowa, but there’s still a lot of relatability that I have to this area and to the fan base here.”

CHRIS BUESCHER CONTINUED – YOU’VE RACED HERE A LOT GOING BACK TO THE XFINITY DAYS. WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING WITH THE TRACK CHANGES THIS WEEKEND? “I’ve been coming here for many a years now as well and certainly I’m excited to get to fly to this racetrack this time, instead of the driving we used to do. I do very clearly remember coming out to Iowa, whether that was ARCA racing or Xfinity racing and seeing an amazing amount of support from our fan base from this region. As simple as taking the track walk a few hours ago. We’ve been here three hours at this point and we’ve got fans yelling over the fence at everybody walking by saying, ‘Thanks for coming. We’re glad you’re here. We’ve been waiting for this.’ It’s Friday and very early in the weekend and we’ve already got people yelling out and showing support, so that’s really cool for this entire place. I love this racetrack since the first time I’ve come out here. Yes, the racing is gonna be different than what we’ve had in the past. On that side of it, certainly, I was excited about the old surface. Naturally, I love the old, worn out racetracks and we’ve gone through our fair share of repaves already this season with North Wilkesboro and Sonoma and also understanding that maintenance is necessary. There’s no way around that. Ultimately, we can’t have racetracks falling apart on us during our events, so I’m certainly not about to dig into it, but it is gonna be different than what we’ve seen in the past. We won’t be up against the fence. One, the new asphalt is very smooth and the outside asphalt right up against the fence is not. It reminds me of some of those teeth chattering moments up there wrapping the fence in the past. It is gonna be a very different style of race. We have a lot to learn. I know Brad was here for the test not too long ago and we’ll certainly, as soon as we walk out of here, be glued to the monitors watching Xfinity wrap up their practice as well.”

WHY DO YOU LOVE THE TRACK? “To Brad’s point it’s a short track-ish. It is a very fast place, but it’s put on some great racing. We haven’t had Cup races to watch here with this being the first time we’re coming out, so all the studying leading up to this one has been old Xfinity races, watching these events and just watching them and enjoying them thoroughly as a fan. To watch the racing and what it’s done for the show, of the different lines in the racetrack, the options you had as a driver from inside the car without having to wait until a pit stop to make adjustments, that’s awesome. That’s what we live for. On top of trying to take in everything we can to be ready for this weekend and refresh, it’s just fun to watch those races and realize what a fantastic facility we’ve got here and what kind of potential we have for our race this weekend.”

ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC YOU COULD HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND OR EVEN WIN HERE? “Yeah, on that point I’m optimistic about every week right now. I’m excited every single track we go to I will even stretch it as far to say I’m almost excited to go to Loudon next week. Richmond and Phoenix, through the past years those tracks have been tough. RFK through my years here I’ve been a part of tough times where we’ve circled racetracks and said, ‘These are our chances.’ We’ve got to really focus on these and we’re not doing that. We’re going to the racetrack each and every week feeling like we have chances to win races and that’s this one just the same as every other week. On that side of things, whether it’ got those similarities or differences, I’m excited purely from the fact that RFK has been building fast race cars that we’re showing up to the racetrack with a chance to win, whether that is Sonoma on a new paved road course, whether that’s been Kansas or whether it’s a big unknown at Iowa here this week.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI CONTINUED – YOU AND DENNY WILL BE THE TWO OLDEST DRIVERS NEXT YEAR. HOW DOES THAT SIT WITH YOU? “I don’t know. I just think about Mark Martin driving until he was 50. One, I think that’s really impressive and, two, there’s a part of me that’s like, ‘Well, if he can do it, I can do it.’ And think, ‘Alright, well that’s still like another 10 years from now.’ So, for the record, Logano has been here longer than I have. He was just a little younger. I keep reminding him that. He’s got more consecutive starts than I have too, so it’ll be interesting. I guess when you get behind the wheel and you’re driving the car all of that stuff kind of goes out the window and it’s what you can do on that given day. I don’t think too much about that stuff, but every once in a while you have some of those moments. I had that moment this week when we were filming the last Race Hub show. I was just thinking about, ‘Wow, I remember when I was a rookie in Cup when this show started.’ You hate to see things like that go away, but it’s just different eras. Times change and that’s part of the reason being on the ownership side was so important for me and getting exposure to it at this point in time of my life. Inevitably, everything ends. I feel like I’m a long ways away from that on the driver side, although there are bad days where you do kind of kick yourself and you have those thoughts pushed in your head, but, fortunately as of late there have been enough good days to where you go, ‘Oh, no, no. I’m gonna do this for a long time.’ I left the Coke 600 saying, ‘Oh, I’ve got 10 years left in me.’ And when I left North Wilkesboro I was saying, ‘Oh my God, how am I gonna keep doing this?’ So, you’ve got the ups and the downs and you just try to level them out a little bit in your head. I hope this weekend I’m gonna leave saying, ‘I’ve got 10 years left in me.’ I feel like we’ll have the cars and the team to be able to compete at a high level and maybe even with the race. When you have the competitive element at the really high level, Mark Martin said it on Dale Jr’s. podcast, ‘They don’t make a drug like that. They don’t make a drug that good as being able to win races,’ so I hope we’re running really well and I have another 10 years left in me. That’s what I feel at least.”

WHAT IS AT STAKE FOR THIS RACE? “There’s been a lot made about the repave. Maybe that’s right and maybe that’s not. I’m sure it would be better to answer that Sunday after the race than it is on Friday. There’s a lot to be proven out. I look at the tracks that I think have been successful in their debuts and the ones that haven’t been successful in their debuts and generally I feel like what separates the good tracks and the bad tracks is how well they take care of the fans more so than whether there’s a three-wide finish for the win, and that’s gonna come down to the three t’s – the Humpy Wheeler three t’s of tickets, traffic and toilets. Isn’t that the Humpy Wheeler three t’s? I think they’ve got the ticket part figured out. I don’t know about the traffic and the toilets, but I hope they’ve got that figured out. I’ve read and heard some of the discourse here about the track and I know they’ve put a lot of work into tire dragons and all those other things to try to get two lanes to come in. No, it’s not gonna be three or four lanes maybe some of us hope, but still probably gonna be two good lanes of racing, so I think it’ll be a great race either way.”

YOU HAVE TWO WINS AT NEW HAMPSHIRE BUT THE NEXT GEN CAR HAS CHANGED THINGS. IS THERE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN HOW THE TRACK RACES NOW? “It’s interesting. I don’t know if it was the car that made a big difference, but last year the groove moved all the way up against the wall, I think, at both ends and that was a huge change. I think it’s more of a factor of the PJ1 and the modified races and how the track has aged than it is the Next Gen car. Of course, the shifting there makes a big difference. That kind of changed the dynamics of the track, so it will continue to change. That’s a pretty safe bet, but I don’t think the Next Gen car was a big change for that track.”

HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY WEIGHT OFF THE SHOULDERS OF THE TEAM SINCE YOU HAVE A WIN NOW? “To some degree I feel a little bit of personal weight off my shoulders, but until we get both cars locked in the playoffs we still have a big mountain to climb. Obviously, we’ve been very close to that with Chris and the 17 car with a number of second-place finishes and a really good run last week at Sonoma. I’m eager to punch that through and have both of our cars locked in the playoffs. I think my goal that we set was to have it done by the middle of June to have both cars locked into the playoffs, so there’s still time. It’s the 14th? That’s less time than I thought, but we’re really happy with how competitive the cars are, how well the teams are clicking and there is some happenstance involved in winning races and some performance. I think we have solid cars right now. Were we as fast as the 5 car last week? No, no we weren’t. We weren’t anywhere close to that with either of our two cars, but I expect we’ll be very competitive over the next three weeks and have shots to compete for wins.”

CHRIS BUESCHER CONTINUED – IS IT TENSE AT THE 17 TEAM OR IS THE FRUSTRATION BUILDING WITH HOW WELL YOU’VE RUN, BUT HAVEN’T WON YET? “Certainly there’s a lot of weight and I guess it’s not really unfortunate, it’s just part of our sport. You reset those bags on your shoulders as soon as the year concludes in Phoenix and you start all over again. We’ve been competitive to Brad’s point. That was one of the biggest goals I had going through the offseason was how do we make sure the first eight races are way more competitive than where we were last season. We gave up a lot at that time and we certainly have had big chances and been really close that have ended in some catastrophic ways as well, so maybe from a points side of things we’re probably about the same place as we were last year, but the opportunity is way higher and the ceiling is much higher, so we’ve got to make it happen. We’ve got to capitalize and conclude one of these things at the end of the day and be able to lock ourselves into the playoffs because the bigger goal at the start of the season was how do we make sure that we’re locked in with a chance to win a championship, not just participate. We’re in a good spot, but we’re not in a great spot yet. We’ve got to go through these next handful of races and make all the pieces fit together and click right and certainly there has been some frustration on a lot of parts of it, but doing our best to not let that continuously build up and get worse. You’re gonna have days at the racetrack that aren’t gonna go your way and it’s part of competition, but we’ve got to control what we can to make them go our way. Last week was a good reset for our team on that side of things after some rough goes for us ultimately.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 14, 2024

 William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice session at Iowa Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

What do you think about the repave, and what are your questions or concerns? Also, looking at that section off of turn four, the high groove leads into the restart zone and the bottom lane is old pavement..

“Yeah, I mean I don’t really know what to think yet.. not being out on the track and feeling it. Definitely looks like the bottom is obviously preferred. It looks like the guys are chasing the paint on the bottom there. I walked the track earlier and it was really smooth and everything, so I don’t really know what to expect. It looks like there’s a little transition off of turn four that could be interesting. Just like you said, right where the restart zone starts there and kind of the way the normal groove is there, you kind of end up in the old asphalt. So I don’t really know.. I mean I think just trying to figure out what we’re going to have and just try to work from there. But it looks like it’ll be tough to pass, I think, until it widens out hopefully. Our cars, lap cars and everything like that will hopefully move it up a little bit.”

Looking ahead to Chicago – you said after SVG’s win there last year, that it was amazing what he did with shifting, braking and all that sort of stuff. Coming off of Sonoma Raceway, I know Chicago is the only street course, but have you been working on a lot of those things? Do you feel like he still goes in there having an edge, or do you feel like you and others in this series will maybe close the gap a little bit?

“Yeah, I don’t know if he’s running the race or not, but I do think that he’ll certainly still have an advantage. The street course – I think his awareness and feel for the walls and how close he can be is probably the biggest advantage that I see. He’s very comfortable with that. Even watching him in the Sonoma Xfinity race, in (turn) 11, he was really good there. I just think his awareness and ability to run close to the different apex’s is really critical. I think our setups have evolved and we’ve probably taken some things and learned some things, so I’m sure the competition will be that much better and prepared to race against him. But he’ll still be good if he’s in the race, for sure.”

66-points out of the points lead right now with 10 weeks to go in the regular season.. what do you feel like this No. 24 team needs to do, and can do, over that time to get yourselves back further up in that conversation for the regular season championship?

“Yeah, I mean I don’t think we’re really looking at that. We’re looking at just trying to run more consistently and better. We’ve had speed the last five, six races, really, at different times of the weekend. I feel like, still, Charlotte (Motor Speedway) was our best race in the last handful of races. We had really good speed there. So I feel like just trying to put together consistent runs and try to put ourselves in position again to build points as we go. I feel like we’re maybe not scoring the stage points that we need to, so that would be the emphasis – just to consistently perform throughout the race and try to score maximum points. Last year, I think we had a lot of 40-50 point days, so just trying to get days like that.”

Back to the repave – you talked a little bit about the transition off of turn four, but typically on the repave, it’s the whole entire track or a certain part around the whole track. Going into one, with how deep the repave starts, and there’s still the characteristics of the old asphalt – how big of a challenge is that going to be when you guys get out there?

“Yeah, I mean your guess is as good as mine. I’ve watched some in-car camera from Kyle’s (Larson) test and have a decent idea of what the pace is going to be like. But they were on a lot of different tire sets there and it was only three cars, so it was really tough to widen the groove out there. But yeah, I know I’m going to be in fourth gear.. that’s about all I know. So I don’t really know where I’m going to lift or what it’s going to feel like. I just have to kind of see and adjust from there.

Yeah, as it is with any new racetrack, you just have to go out there and feel it, and hopefully make the correct adjustments over 50 minutes to get something close.”

You talked about watching Kyle Larson’s in-car camera.. I assume you guys don’t necessarily like all of the exact same things in a car, so how much can you tell or how much does that help if he prefers a different feel?

“Yeah, I mean with this car, the feel is much, much closer between teams. To me, there’s more of an optimal feel with this car, so you’re always kind of chasing that. So I felt like for their test, they were pretty close, especially by the end.. the last three runs, I would say, was pretty close. But the rest of the test was pretty far off. The track was pretty far off. Hard to learn much from their balance up until the end, and then I felt like they were pretty comparable to whoever else was there – I think (Christopher) Bell and (Brad) Keselowski. I’m sure we’d feel better if we were them; we had the test and have a feel for the racetrack. But at the same time, at North Wilkesboro, we had a great feel for that track, and when we showed up, the track was rubbered in and we weren’t as good as we were at the test. Sometimes not knowing is kind of a good thing.”

As solid as you’ve been at Phoenix Raceway, you’ve seemed to have struggled at New Hampshire and you’re still looking for your top-10 there. What has eluded you specifically about that short, one-mile track?

“Yeah, I don’t really know. I think just trying to figure out what the balance is that we need to go fast there. Yeah, you know, I had a lot of success there leading up to the Cup Series. And then even my first two years in the Cup Series, relative to where I was running at other tracks, I thought I ran pretty well there. It just seems like with our current team, we just haven’t really been very good there. We just have to figure out what that is. Hopefully go through a lot of notes this week and kind of have something comparable to go run there. Last year, we had some damage on the car. I believe the right-front splitter was caved in, based on a pit road issue. Up until then, we had led some laps. And then we had an issue in practice – the steering rack was locked-up. Just not a clean weekend last year, so I think that’s a track that, last year, we probably could have run top-seven at. But this year going back, obviously a big focus to try and get better. Based on how Phoenix and Gateway were to start this year, there’s definitely some work to do. I feel like we’re going to learn some things this week and hopefully have something close.”

There are a lot of unknowns right now, but do you feel like as the weekend goes on and the track is rubbered in, that a second lane could develop?

“I really have no idea. I mean I don’t know anything about this racetrack until we get out there, but I do feel like it’s naturally going to have to develop. Somebody is going to have to go somewhere to either catch a car or lappers are going to have to be off the bottom. I feel like the Cup guys will try to move that groove up, and hopefully the feeder races will kind of help us with that, as well. Those guys, they’re typically very dependent on one lane in some of the lower series, but hopefully some guys kind of widen it out naturally.”

There was a stat going on last week that Kyle Larson had passed Chase Elliott for the most wins for Hendrick Motorsports. Is that a stat that you’re paying attention to at all? You’re not that far behind either of those guys..

“Yeah, I mean not really. I did see that stat, but no, not really. We’re all at different experience levels and came into the Cup Series at different times. Just trying to have continued success. I don’t try to compare too much to one person, but just trying to have continued success and keep trying to win races, and hopefully all of those stats will lineup at the end of your career and you can look back on them.”

 

About Chevrolet

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Toyota Racing – Joe Gibbs Racing Press Conference
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

NEWTON, Iowa (June 14, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. and team owner and founder, Joe Gibbs, were made available to the media on Friday prior to this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway.

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Martin, would you like to provide an opening statement?

Martin Truex: Jr.: “This is about the most nervous I’ve ever been coming in here. Obviously, I guess the news has been on the internet all week, so I think you guys already know, so not really sure why I’m here. But yeah, just here to let that I won’t be back full-time next year, but excited about the rest of the year, obviously. It means the world to me to see Johnny Morris (founder and CEO, Bass Pro Shops) here. He’s been a huge supporter of mine and I wouldn’t have been able to do any of the things I’ve been able to without him being behind me for 21 years. It’s been incredible, it’s been a hell of a ride. I’m excited about the future, and not really sure what that looks like yet, but feel good about my decision. I just want to thank Coach (Joe Gibbs), everybody at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), Toyota. They’ve been absolutely amazing to (pause) — to be able to win a championship is something I’ve always dreamed of and to be able to get that done was amazing. Just feel really lucky to be surrounded by so many great people over the years. To all the guys I’ve worked with – crew members, crew chiefs, team owners, you name it across the board, it’s been a true honor. I’ll miss all those people for sure, but I won’t be gone, I’ll be around still. We’re going to do some stuff together, have some fun and enjoy life a little bit and wind down.”

JOE GIBBS, Owner and founder, Joe Gibbs Racing

Coach Gibbs, any opening thoughts for you?

Joe Gibbs: “Obviously, everybody has such respect for Martin and I did everything I could to keep it going! I think we’ve got two 43-year-olds that are at the top of their game right now. But just when you think about this guy (Martin Truex Jr.), he’s won 34 races, 32 of them in a Toyota, which is great. He even won a Truck race in a Toyota, so that was awesome. He’s got the 32 wins and of course, two Xfinity Series championships, won those back-to-back. The 2017 Cup championship. Through all of those, it’s been absolutely great working with him. I think everyone knows Martin has a reputation of a real gentleman, great competitor, and obviously something that’s going to be a big deal for us and a big loss. So, we talked about Johnny (Morris). I can tell you that Johnny cares about a lot of things – family first, but then he cares about America and our country and that’s reflected on our race cars from time to time. You can see that from time-to-time on our race cars. He cares about America. I think the other thing Johnny cares about is veterans and all of those who have sacrificed for our country. And I love the fact that we get to fly those colors at times to honor the veterans so we know that’s a huge deal for him and that’s a huge deal for us, too. And then the outdoors. Normally, when I try to find Martin, he’s someplace with Johnny and so, I’ve kind of gotten used to that. They love the outdoors and that’s a big deal for us. To tell you a little story on that, two years ago, if you remember we’re at Martinsville and the No. 19 car is fighting to get in the Playoffs. And we did it, somehow we did it. So, we’re in the Playoffs, we get there, I get a phone call from Johnny and so, I said ‘Johnny, we made it.’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I know.’ And he’s talking to me, whispering the whole time. So, I went ‘Johnny, why are you whispering?’ He said, ‘I’m at a deer stand.’ And then of course, he tortures me and sends me photos of streams and lakes and everything. I’m working on the weekends and Johnny is someplace outdoors enjoying everything. Just had a great time with Johnny. And obviously, Auto Owners (Insurance) has been a big part. I think he (Martin) was there earlier today, with a lot of their agents across the country. When you see that big A coming at you, you know it’s Auto Owners. And that’s been a big deal, and sponsoring Martin and us and of course, that’s been terrific for us. And of course, we also have Reser’s. Mark is a racer himself. Selling all those products in delis and groceries all across the country. Appreciate them and all they’ve done for our team. We always mention Interstate (Batteries). They’re our founding sponsor and that’s a huge deal for us. And of course, Toyota. I don’t think any of us would be here if it weren’t for Toyota. Now there’s some good news in all of this. The great thing is, Martin is going to continue with us. He’ll be an ambassador for us, work on different projects, and different things. We haven’t talked about all of that yet, but I think it’ll be a lot and if you noticed when he originally tee’d everything up, he said ‘I won’t be racing full-time.’ So, might be able to talk him into a few things there, too. His teammates are all here. The drivers, they’re in the background here. We got Denny (Hamlin), Christopher (Bell) and Ty (Gibbs). So, they’re here to celebrate this time and of course James (Small, crew chief, No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE) and the whole No. 19 team, they’re working hard. They’re probably some place. But, that’s a huge deal for him (Truex Jr.) too. So, for all of us, I think that what we’re really excited about is Martin continuing with us in the future. So, I’m sure I’m probably going to have to find him some place in a boat or with Johnny in a tree blind someplace. But we’re going to run him down. We’re excited about the future. I’ve talked a little too much, but it’s all important to us and all those people that I just mentioned, it’s a big deal for all of us. So, we’re going to continue our relationship going forward and we’re excited about that.”

Johnny Morris: “Just want to interrupt here and come here to talk to everyone, for our family JP, Kelly and the whole Bass Pro Shops family. Twenty-one years, and I just remember Martin — that’s the first opportunity to really be able to be on the hood of a car, especially for a season and Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. picked Martin. It was Dale and Kelly and they picked this guy, Martin Truex. I met him in a tent at Atlanta. You can have dreams in life, we all have dreams. Sometimes, they come true, a lot of times, they don’t. This is a dream come true for everyone at our company, Martin. Whether you dream about a big fish or be a champion in racing. One thing I’ll tell everyone, when you align with somebody, it was like with our whole family. All these 21 years, there’s not one time that you did something to not make us fully proud of you, buddy. Every way. And with our customers, you love the outdoors, going to conservation events all the time and just the excitement at every race, having a chance to win and be up front. Coach (Joe Gibbs), I know you’ve done everything to keep this guy and Martin, no regrets buddy. Just be happy and know you’ve made all of us so happy and so proud and I wanted to come here, not just for me, but for everybody in the Bass Pro Shops family, our dealers, everybody. Just to say thank you very much and congratulations on a heck of a run.”

Gibbs: “I did have a conversation with Martin and realized that every guy in America at your age wants to do what you’re doing. Racing cars, making a ton of money. I know that for a fact (laughs). And have all the fun.”

Martin, why now?

Martin Truex: “Just felt like the right time for me. Honestly, I’ve thought about it a lot the past few seasons and just waited for that feeling in my mind to be positive, like this is okay, I’m good, I want to do something else. Yeah, something just felt different this year for me. I felt like it was time to slow down and do something else. It’s been a great ride.”

Was this performance-related?

Martin Truex: “Not really, it really doesn’t. We’ve had some disappointments this year, for sure. But it’s not enough to make you stop doing what you want to do. Totally not related to performance in any way, shape or form.”

Do you feel your legacy on the sport will be what you wanted it to?

Martin Truex: “Yeah, 100 percent. I would say, I achieved more than I ever thought I would. That being said, there’s still a lot of heartbreakers, a lot of things you could go back and think about ‘Man, I wish that turned out different.’ You know, a championship, three runners-up in this format. That’s, I feel like, really good. I’m proud of what I’ve done. I feel like I’ve given it everything I’ve had, and I feel like I was really, really good and what I did. Yeah, I’m happy with that. I’m content. I’m good, I’m happy. I feel good about this.”

Did you make this decision recently or have you been sitting on this decision for a while?

Martin Truex: “I’ve known for a few weeks – we’ve known for a few weeks. I was leaning that way most of the season – I was leaning that direction, but I wasn’t totally sure. So, just took a while to think about it all. It’s a big decision. It affects not just me, it affects a lot of people and again that’s the toughest part. You don’t want to let people down. I’ve been – 21 years that I’ve done this I’ve never missed a race, I never missed a practice, I’ve never been late for anything, I’ve never missed an appearance. I mean, you live your life by a schedule that somebody makes for you and it’s just time for me to make my own schedule. It’s really as simple as – that’s really what boils down to me is I want to go and do the things I want to do and I don’t want anyone to tell me when I can and when I can’t do those things. I still love racing. I’m still going to race some. I don’t know what, when, how, why, I don’t know any of that yet. I’m going to figure it out. I feel very fortunate to be in this position to be able to make this decision on my own terms. It’s something that was always something I wanted to be able to do because there was times in my career where I didn’t know if I was going to have a job next year or in six months or whatever. It’s just a good feeling to be able to make your own way, do the things you want to do and that’s kind of what led me to this.”

What was it like to official tell Joe Gibbs and the organization?

Martin Truex: “Yeah, Coach (Gibbs) and I have talked about it a lot recently and so it wasn’t that hard. He’s been amazing through all of this. It’s just being on my side and wanting me to do what I want to do. It is tough. It’s tough to feel like you’re letting people down, but at the same time I feel like I’ve got a great relationship with everyone on our team – all of our guys on the 19 especially. But Coach has been awesome helping me work through it. He would always make me a list of pros and cons and his list of pros was always longer than mine.

Joe Gibbs: “I think the last time I had nine pluses and two minuses.”

Martin Truex: “Yeah, but no, honestly, it wasn’t that hard because I’m very comfortable with him and the guys.”

Are you not having as much fun as you once did?

“Sometimes. Yeah, sometimes. It’s hard to explain. I have my reasons. I have, like I said, I feel really good about this and this is what I want to do.”

Coach, what are you looking for in a driver to replace Martin Truex Jr. next season:

Joe Gibbs: “Yeah, we’re still working on all of that and so we just want to focus right now on Martin (Truex Jr.) and all of that stuff will take place later on. We’re thrilled to be here supporting – all of our guys are here. Martin means a lot to us. He used to sit in those competition meetings and he would sit in there and a couple of our drivers would be – and I’d look over at Martin and he’d go (makes weird face and laughter). Martin didn’t say a lot, but when he said it, it meant a lot to us.”

You grew up as a second-generation racer and when you followed your father’s footsteps could you have thought back then that you would be a Cup champion and have so many accomplishments?

“Yeah, no for sure. I never thought of that. When I was running up in the north series in my dad’s cars I was — honestly moving to North Carolina and racing cars for a living was never on my radar. It just wasn’t. It was on my dad’s radar I guess because he was talking to people and whatnot. I was just working on cars and building race cars and trying to go fast and win races and it all kind of played out. Thinking back to all those memories, it’s amazing to – talking to Johnny (Morris), talking about the memories we’ve shared together and the great wins we’ve had over the years. I never dreamed of any of this. Just very, very lucky.”

Why were you so nervous coming in here today?

“I don’t know. I’m never usually nervous when I come in here and it’s just kind of a big deal so that’s why. I didn’t really know what I was going to say or what I was going to get asked. I’m sure a lot of people are going to have their opinions and that’s part of it. I don’t know. It’s a big deal I guess.”

Do you anticipate feeling any different the second half of the season?

“I mean, I’m not going to approach it any differently. I don’t expect my team to either. I don’t think they will. I think it’s business as usual as far as when we’re at the track. But, I don’t know. I guess it will feel different knowing that I’ll be going to tracks for the last time or whatever in a Cup car now. I’m not sure what it’s going to be like, but I’m going to try to enjoy it.”

What are the other things that you want to do in the future?

Martin Truex: “Yeah, it’s as simple as just not having a crazy schedule where 40 weekends I’m at a race so that’s part of it. I don’t know. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to be doing yet aside from the fun stuff I like to do away from the race track. Hunting, fishing, hanging out with friends. Everyone in my family that’s ever gotten married, I missed their wedding. You know what I mean? You don’t have a life. You’re married to racing. That’s all you do Monday to Sunday. That’s all you do. It’s just going to be interesting to just lead kind of a normal life for while and see what that’s like. It’s been – I’ve never done that.”

Are you worried you will miss the competitive juices?

Martin Truex: “He’s (Joe Gibbs) got Xfinity cars (laughter). Coach, I’m bored I want to race. Let’s go!”

Joe Gibbs: “We’re working on that!”

Joe, did you feel like this was the right year for Martin Truex Jr. to make this decision?

Joe Gibbs: “It was always up to Martin (Truex Jr.). We talked over the years as Martin I think thought about things and I think it was just different this year. I could kind of tell when I called him to get the final result, he was totally relaxed and so I could read that in him. Yeah, we’re excited about going forward. I think now he’s going to have a lot of opportunities and some with us. So, I think, as much as anything he’ll be setting his own schedule and kind of doing whatever he wants to do.”

How do you go forward from here balancing being on top of your game but also cherishing the moments to come?

Martin Truex: “Yeah, I’m just going to do my job and do what I’ve always done. Again, I don’t think anything changes here. I’m here to win this weekend and I’m going to do the best job I can do. Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t really overthink all of these things. I just make a decision, do my thing, go out and race and try to enjoy it and do a good job for the team. We’ve got a great team, great cars and we can win some races and that’s the goal.”

What will you miss most after the checkered flag waves at Phoenix in November?

Martin Truex: “Probably just the people. Just hanging out with the guys and going to dinner and talking about the race on the way home in the plane is always fun.”

Martin, is this an emotional day for you?

Martin Truex: “I’m not really that emotional, but I’m not sure. It hasn’t really sunk in yet, honestly. I’m just – I don’t really know. I’m looking forward to getting in the car.”

Do you envision yourself making an attempt at winning the Daytona 500?

“Maybe. I don’t know. I’d be open to it, yeah.”

Can you talk about how hard it is to maintain focus 40 weeks a year and if that wears on you?

Martin Truex: “It can. I think it just depends on who you are, your personality, your team and whatever – how things are going. Certainly, years where you have a good team, fast race cars, are always easier to navigate than a tough season. You’re in a place where your team is not where it needs to be or your cars aren’t where they need to be. You’re in this sport long enough, we all get in those situations. Those are really, really difficult. Trying to keep pushing forward and where’s that light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve certainly had my share of those seasons. But, yeah, it’s a tough sport. It’s a long season, it’s a grind and you’ve got to be fully committed. I think everybody here knows that. I’ve put more than half of my life into this and I’ve gotten a lot out of it so I’m proud of that.”

Did how well your team is performing make this decision any tougher for you?

Martin Truex: “No, I think it would be great to go out on top.”

What was so strong that kept you back from making this decision in previous seasons that changed this year?

Martin Truex: “I don’t know. I didn’t feel the same. I felt like I had more to accomplish and I would accomplish more. I really haven’t overthought it honestly. This just felt like the right thing to do for now. We’ll see.”

Did you consult any other drivers?

Martin Truex: “I mean, I have over the past couple years. Just getting people’s opinions or really their mindset of what did it for them which way. What steered them in each direction and I took all of that into account when I thought about it. But, yeah, just thought about it a lot and too much probably. Finally, it just feels right, right now. It just feels like I’m doing what I feel like is the right thing for me. Simple as that.”

About Toyota

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

NASCAR CUP SERIES
IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 14, 2024

 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the No. 47 Kroger / NOS Energy Drink Camaro ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice session at Iowa Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

Can the experience you had here, 12 or so years ago, still translate, especially given that the cars are different and the repave? Are the lessons you learned here a decade ago still relevant?

“Probably not (laughs), unfortunately. But any time you come to a place that you have good memories, I feel like it’s always beneficial. Luckily, I’ve got some good memories because I’ve got some really bad memories from here too, as well, from early on in my career.

I got to do a simulator session this week. A lot of the characteristics, at least on the scan that we ran – there were a few things that were similar. But yeah, the repave is definitely going to be tricky and different. I’m looking forward to getting on track.

I walked out here and I felt like it was a lot bigger than I remember. I felt like it was a pretty small short-track (laughs), but obviously you get going pretty quick here. Excited to get on track.”

The restart zone, coming right after the outside lane, how is that going to impact restarts? You’ve been in your share of stack ups and things getting bunched up there in the middle of the pack on a restart..

“Yeah, it’s tough. It’s odd that as easy as these cars are to shift, that we have so many stack ups now, it seems like. Everybody is just trying to time it perfectly. It’s not people missing shifts; it’s whether you get like a good launch or not and the people in front of you getting launches. Yeah, it seems like one lane might be a little bit better at times. We’ll have to see how that goes throughout the night and see if that changes where you end up restarting. But definitely interesting to kind of watch these races before us. We’ll have a pretty good idea before we race on Sunday.”

Based on the track walk, the way that one lane kind of ends and the other one continues – would people dive down and move up, just to try and get that extra little bit? How will you guys handle that?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I didn’t do the test here, and I really haven’t seen much video from it either. And like I said, the track scan that we ran in sim is not identical to the actual lanes being repaved. I can only go back to maybe like a Pocono (Raceway), when they had that strip there – we searched for it really quick, right? So that will be interesting to kind of see. I feel like once you’re committed to the bottom lane here, I don’t see you really kind of switching lanes. You might come across on exit a little bit, but hopefully it gets wide. All of us were hoping that they wouldn’t have to do any paving because the races I remember here, after I was done racing here – man, they looked really, really fun. So hopefully it gets back to that sooner rather than later. But I think we’re all kind of anxious to get out there and see how it is. I think there were three or four cars that tested here, so they got some laps. I think it picked up a lot of speed, really fast, during that test – I think over like two seconds, from the time they started to the time they ended. Obviously the track changed a lot and it’ll be interesting to kind of see if it changes throughout this weekend, as well.”

On the repave, obviously you guys probably don’t want that to happen. Have you done any investigating.. like did they tell you that it had to be done? Did you guys just find out it was being done, or did they consult with you beforehand?

“I mean they told us. I didn’t ask why.. I just take their answers and just roll with it (laughs).

No, I mean obviously, they barely got it done in time I think for the test. I mean it was pretty quick. I know the winters are harsh up here, and obviously other racetracks that we have up in the north are kind of the same way. I don’t know the for sure reasons why they had to do it, but hopefully it races good. I mean I think it will.. it always has in the past, whether it was a new racetrack or an old, worn out one. Hopefully that all comes back together.”

With this race being this weekend and the World of Outlaws being at Knoxville Raceway – are you going to head down there the next two nights? Can you talk about how good of a start to the season Sheldon has had?

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. I’m taking the whole team down tomorrow. We have NOS Energy Drink on the car this weekend, and then we have our World of Outlaw car running with Sheldon tonight and tomorrow. I’m going to go down both nights, but looking forward to taking the whole team to Knoxville (Raceway) tomorrow. None of them have been there before, expect Mike (Kelley) went down with me. I think in 2012, I ran down there and raced here that weekend. So looking forward to going down there and hanging out with them. And then they’re all going to come to the race on Sunday. We’ve had a really good start to the season, as far as speed and wins go. We’ve had some engine issues and a couple crashes that has kind of taken us out of the points standings, but yeah we have seven wins. I feel like we have a chance every night that we unload the car.”

You had a solid finish the first time we went to Nashville Superspeedway. What are your expectations for that race in a couple weeks?

“Yeah, Nashville (Superspeedway) is a fun racetrack. It’s concrete. It never really feels that good to you. It’s kind of like trying to get your car to just feel the least bad that you can. There’s never a time where I feel like I go through a corner there, when we ran well, and felt like – man, that was a really good corner, or my car felt really good. I’m looking forward to getting back there. It’s a wide racetrack. I feel like there’s a lot of good racing to be had there, so definitely looking forward to getting there.”

 

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Iowa Speedway
Sunday, June 16, 2024
0.875-Mile Oval
7:00 PM ET
Location: Newton, Iowa
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (17 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM, PRN

5 KYLE LARSON

Age: 31 (July 31, 1992)

Hometown: Elk Grove, California

Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels

Standings: 1st

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

WIN COUNTRY: On Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, Kyle Larson made the winning pass with eight laps to go to capture his third victory of the NASCAR Cup Series season. The Elk Grove, California, native also won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and Kansas Speedway in May. Following his triumph in northern California wine country, Larson reclaimed the top spot in the Cup standings and is now 14 points ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who ranks second.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY: Larson has won the two most recent Cup races held on Father’s Day. He went to victory lane at Michigan International Speedway on June 18, 2017, in the first Father’s Day event following the birth of his son, Owen. He won at Nashville Superspeedway on June 20, 2021, after the arrival of daughter Audrey. Sunday will be the first Father’s Day race since Larson and wife Katelyn welcomed son Cooper to the family.

SHORT TRACK SUCCESS: Sunday will mark the first Cup Series visit to the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway. Larson, driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, has competed at the Midwest short track twice in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, posting a pair of fifth-place finishes in 2013. At the Cup level, the 31-year-old driver has finished sixth or better in nine of the last 10 short track events. This year, Larson is the only driver in the series to finish in the top five in all three short track races.

IN GOOD COMPANY: In just his fourth year driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has already accumulated 20 points-paying wins, which rank him third in team history. He trails only NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (93) and Jimmie Johnson (83) in victories for the organization, which has won Cup races with a record 20 different drivers.

QUICK WORK: Larson’s Sonoma win came in his 123rd Hendrick Motorsports start, making him the fastest driver to reach 20 Cup Series victories for the team. Gordon delivered his 20th win in his 125th start, and Johnson’s came in his 150th.

OUT FRONT: With 10 races to go in the regular season, Larson again sits atop the Cup Series standings. The 2021 champion also has accrued the most playoff points (22), stage wins (seven) and laps led (675) while being tied for most victories (three), top-five finishes (seven) and pole positions (three).

FOUR TIRES FAST: The No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM pit crew holds the seventh-fastest average four-tire pit stop time in 2024 at 10.937 seconds. Larson’s pit crew consists of Blaine Anderson (front-tire changer), R.J. Barnette (tire carrier), Brandon Harder (fueler), Brandon Johnson (jackman) and Calvin Teague (rear-tire changer).

AWAY BUT ALWAYS AVAILABLE: In 2024, the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team recognizes “home” events by wearing white firesuits and “away” with blue. Its home races come at tracks with nearby Hendrick Automotive Group car dealerships. This weekend, the team races away just outside of Des Moines, Iowa. However, you can pick up a new set of keys from any one of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 93 dealerships nationwide. Customers can also shop from the convenience of their home selecting the category, make, model and vehicle packages that are important to them from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs available at HENDRICKCARS.COM.

HENDRICK AUTOMOTIVE GROUP IS HIRING: Join the more than 10,000 people across the United States who work for Hendrick Automotive Group. The company is hiring technicians and other positions at its dealerships throughout the country. Positions are open for all skill levels and offer tuition and training reimbursement. Individuals who are interested can apply at HENDRICKCARS.COM.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT

Age: 28 (Nov. 28, 1995)

Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia

Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia

Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson

Standings: 2nd

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

SUMMING UP SONOMA: In Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Sonoma Raceway, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 team started fourth after leading the Hendrick Motorsports four-car contingent in qualifying. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native finished fourth in stage one and followed it up with a 31st-place result in stage two after short pitting as part of the team’s strategy. In the final stage, Elliott took over the lead on lap 81 during the pit cycle prior to visiting pit road on lap 84 for four tires and fuel. Rejoining the race in the 12th position, he advanced to fourth before the checkered flag waved. The finish marked his fourth consecutive top-eight effort at the Napa Valley, California, road course.

GOING STRONG: Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, is having one of the best seasons of his young Cup career. Following his fourth-place Sonoma finish, he jumped to second in the standings and is now just 14 points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson. His average result of 9.5 leads the series in 2024 and is the best of his career through 16 races. Elliott, who has completed more laps than any other competitor (4,452 of 4,453), is the only driver to finish every event inside the top 20 with one win (Texas Motor Speedway), six top-five finishes and eight top-10s on the year. A result of fifth or better Sunday would make him the fifth-youngest driver to reach 100 Cup Series top-fives at the age of 28 years, 6 months and 19 days.

IOWA EXPERIENCE: Elliott will be one of the drivers in the field with previous experience at Iowa Speedway, which will host its inaugural Cup Series race Sunday night. The 2020 Cup Series champion has made four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 0.875-mile oval, finishing all of them inside the top 10. His best effort was a runner-up finish in the spring of 2015 when he led 114 of 259 laps. At Iowa, he has also made two NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts with a best finish of fifth in 2013 and earned an ARCA Series East/West win in 2012.

SHORT TRACK PERFORMANCE: Sunday’s race in the Hawkeye State will mark Elliott’s 49th short track start in the Cup Series. In his previous 48 races, he garnered one win (Martinsville Speedway in November 2020), two pole awards, 16 top-five finishes, 26 top-10s and 1,648 laps led. The 28-year-old driver finished inside the top 10 in five of his last seven short track appearances. In three points-paying starts this season on tracks measuring less than 1 mile in length, he placed eighth at Bristol Motor Speedway, fifth at Richmond Raceway and third at Martinsville. On short tracks in 2024, Elliott is one of only two drivers to finish inside the top 10 in all three short track races and is tied for the fourth-most points scored (114).

TALKIN’ NEXT GEN: Since the introduction of the Next Gen car in 2022, Elliott has earned six victories, which is tied for fifth on the Cup Series wins list. In that span, he holds the best average finish (12.1). On short tracks in the Next Gen era, Elliott has the third-best average finish (8.67).

GREAT GUSTAFSON: Now in his 20th season as a Cup Series crew chief, Alan Gustafson will call his 111th short track race on Sunday. In his previous starts on tracks measuring less than 1 mile in length, Gustafson has four victories. The veteran shot caller won at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2007 with Kyle Busch and three times at Martinsville: twice with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon (2013 and 2015) and once with Elliott (2020). Last weekend at Sonoma, Gustafson earned his 200th top-five finish in the Cup Series after Elliott took the checkered flag in the fourth position.

FOUR TIRES FAST: Through 16 Cup Series races in 2024, the No. 9 pit crew ranks first in average four-tire pit stop time (10.618 seconds). In April at Texas, the five-person team knocked out the fastest four-tire stop of the season with a time of 9.076 seconds. The 2021 Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew award-winning group is comprised of Chad Avrit (rear-tire changer), Jared Erspamer (tire carrier), John Gianninoto (fueler), Nick O’Dell (front-tire changer) and T.J. Semke (jackman).

BACK IN BLUE: This weekend marks the return of NAPA Auto Parts’ blue-based livery, which was last on the track for the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May when Elliott earned an eighth-place result. While this weekend marks the Cup Series’ first visit to Iowa Speedway, NAPA was Elliott’s primary sponsor for all four of his Xfinity Series starts at the track. Get a look at all the angles of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 here.

24 WILLIAM BYRON

Age: 26 (Nov. 29, 1997)

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle

Standings: 6th

No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

IOWA ELITE: While Sunday will be the first time the NASCAR Cup Series will race at Iowa Speedway, William Byron has had prior success at the short track. His first start at the Newton, Iowa, facility came in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series in 2016 when Byron qualified fifth, led 107 laps and captured the checkered flag. After moving up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2017, he picked up where he left off at Iowa, qualifying sixth, leading 78 laps and once again taking home the win. He followed it up with a ninth-place finish in the fall Xfinity race.

FUGLE FILES: While some will visit Iowa Speedway for the first time this weekend, Rudy Fugle has an extensive history at the 0.875-mile track. The No. 24 team crew chief has eight total NASCAR national series starts with eight top-10 finishes (one in the Xfinity Series and seven in the Truck Series). In fact, in his seven Truck Series appearances, Fugle’s drivers have collected two pole awards, two wins, five top-five finishes and seven top-10s while leading 380 laps and completing 100% of laps attempted (1,412).

24 IN ‘24: Byron’s 2024 Cup Series campaign started off hot with three wins (currently tied for the most), including the season-opening DAYTONA 500. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has five top-five finishes (sixth in the series) and is tied for the second-most top-10s (nine). After 16 races, he sits sixth in the 2024 standings and holds 16 playoff points.

NEXT GEN DUO: Since the Next Gen Cup Series car was introduced in 2022, Byron and Fugle have a series-leading 11 wins. The duo is ahead of teammates Larson (10 wins) and crew chief Cliff Daniels (nine wins). Byron also has the second-best average finish (13.24) in the Next Gen car behind teammate Chase Elliott as well as two wins on short tracks in this car style (tied for the second).

PIT ROAD PROWESS: After 16 races in 2024, the No. 24 pit crew continues its success from last year, ranking third in fastest average four-tire pit stop (10.799 seconds). The No. 24 pit crew consists of Spencer Bishop (jackman), Jeff Cordero (front-tire changer), Orane Ossowski (rear-tire changer), Ryan Patton (tire carrier) and Landon Walker (fueler).

LIBERTY U IS BACK: Byron will feature Liberty University on his No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for this weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway. Featuring a white base with navy flames and red accents, the Liberty University No. 24 will surely stand out on track. Liberty University has a long history with Byron, starting in 2014 in the late model ranks. It has been Training Champions for Christ since its founding in 1971. Located in the mountains of Central Virginia, Liberty is a liberal arts institution with 17 colleges and schools that offer more than 600 degree programs, from the certificate to the doctoral level, on campus and online. Working on an undergraduate degree in strategic communication, Byron is in his junior year at Liberty University through its online program. For a better look at Byron’s Liberty University paint scheme, click here.

48 ALEX BOWMAN

Age: 31 (April 25, 1993)

Hometown: Tucson, Arizona

Resides: Concord, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Blake Harris

Standings: 11th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

I-O-WIN: Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, goes into Sunday’s inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway with winning experience. In 2012, he dominated the ARCA Series field at the short track, leading 93 of 202 laps en route to victory. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Bowman has posted top-10 finishes in two of his three starts in the Hawkeye State.

SHORT-TRACK SUCCESS: Bowman has enjoyed success on Cup Series short tracks with wins at Richmond Raceway in April 2021 and Martinsville Speedway in October 2021. The two victories place him in a three-way tie for the seventh-most amongst active drivers, alongside teammate William Byron. In 2024, Bowman has earned the seventh-most points on short tracks (95) in the Cup Series.

FAST IN 2024: Going into the season’s 17th race, Bowman ranks 11th in the standings, 116 points behind the leader. So far in 2024, he has secured four top-five finishes, tied with 2021 for his most through 16 starts. The Tucson, Arizona, native has also earned an impressive nine top-10 finishes, placing him a three-way tie for second-most. The Ally Racing team has finished in the top 10 in eight of the last 12 Cup Series events.

SONOMA SUMMARY: On Sunday, the Cup Series competed at Sonoma Raceway where Bowman drove a Pride-themed No. 48 Ally Chevrolet for a fourth consecutive year. The team was fourth in practice and qualified eighth overall. In the first stage, Bowman withstood three cautions and gained three positions on his starting spot, earning valuable stage points in the process. During stage two, he raced in the top 10 until he pitted for four tires and fuel with three laps to go in the second segment, dropping to 33rd. In the final stage, Bowman raced forward in the field and finished 15th at the checkered flag.

REVVED UP ON RACE DAY: On Sunday, fans can #Rally48 with Bowman in person at Iowa Speedway. The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will make an appearance at 3:05 p.m. local time at the track’s Chevrolet Stage located in the fan zone.

PAWS-N-CLAWS IOWA: 2024 marks the fourth consecutive year Bowman and Ally are supporting Best Friends Animal Society and its vast network of partners. Every race weekend, the pair donates a total of $4,800 to help homeless pets. This weekend, the charitable donation will go to Paws-N-Claws Iowa. If you’re in the Newton, Iowa, area for the race, stop by and check out the shelter, which is located less than a 10-minute drive from the track.

CONLEY’S HOME TRACK: The Ally Racing pit crew ranks 10th on pit road for the best average four-tire stop in 2024 (11.050 seconds). The five-man unit is composed of jackman Allen Holman, tire carrier Brandon Grier, front-tire changer Donnie Tasser, rear-tire changer Andrew Bridgeforth and gasman Jacob Conley. Conley is from Omaha, Neb., and considers Kansas Speedway and Iowa Speedway his home tracks. The 34-year-old played football at Doane College in Nebraska before joining the No. 48 team. He has worked at Hendrick Motorsports for 12 years and been a member of the No. 48 team for eight seasons. Outside of racing, Conley enjoys golfing, cooking and spending time with his wife, Claire, and their three children and two rescue dogs.

HENDRICK
MOTORSPORTS /

2024	All-Time	Iowa
Races	16	1,361	–
Wins	7*	308*	–
Poles	4*	250*	–
Top 5	22*	1,254*	–
Top 10	34*	2,146*	–
Laps Led	1,053	80,810*	–
Stage Wins	9	107	–

BIG DADDY: Sunday’s inaugural race at Iowa Speedway falls on Father’s Day, which has traditionally been a good omen for Hendrick Motorsports. The team has won five of the last nine NASCAR Cup Series events that fell on the holiday: Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2008 and 2012; Jimmie Johnson in 2010 and 2014; and most recently Kyle Larson in 2021.

KNACK FOR NEW TRACKS: Hendrick Motorsports has won four of the last 10 points-paying races held at new tracks on the Cup Series schedule. Chase Elliott went to victory lane in 2020 at the Daytona Road Course and in 2021 at Circuit of The Americas and Road America (which previously held its most recent Cup race in 1956). Also in 2021, Larson posted a win at the inaugural Cup event at Nashville Superspeedway.

THE LONG AND SHORT: Hendrick Motorsports’ record on short tracks dates back to its first win at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway in 1984. Today, the organization has 58 Cup Series victories on short tracks, which is the most of any active team.

CELEBRATING 40: In 2024, Hendrick Motorsports is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The team holds the all-time NASCAR Cup Series records in every major statistical category, including championships (14), wins (308), pole positions (250) and laps led (80,810). This season, it leads all Cup organizations with seven points-paying victories through 16 races.

QUOTABLE /

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing on the partially repaved surface at Iowa: “We got to test there a few weeks ago, and I think the track will change a ton because it was very slick. The entry zone into turn one is real bumpy because that is the old pavement. The groove in the corner (on the new pavement) wasn’t that wide because we only had three cars running during the test. With the practice day and all the cars on the track plus the other series racing, hopefully it will widen out significantly prior to our race on Sunday.”

Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the recent test and partial repave at Iowa Speedway: “I have raced at Iowa (Speedway) previously and we did the test there a few weeks ago. The track had just been repaved in patches – or in sections. The test taught us a few things, but the track was dirty and the new pavement hadn’t really come in yet, even by the end of the test. We’re still going to have a bit of the unknown when we hit the track on Friday.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on returning to Iowa after racing there in the NASCAR Xfinity Series: “It’s been a while, but I look forward to going back. I do think it is a good track and at least when I was running there, it was very wide. You had a lot of options. The track had a lot of character with a lot of big bumps and different things. It’s a good facility. It’s weird, they kind of tried to replicate Richmond (Raceway) and it’s nothing like Richmond. So I find that kind of interesting about Iowa (Speedway). I look forward to going back and I know the fans up there were always super enthusiastic about NASCAR being there, even in the truck and Xfinity events. I’d have to imagine that a Cup race will be accepted well.”

Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on heading to Iowa Speedway for the first time: “This weekend will be interesting for sure. I can’t remember the last time I’ve gone to a track to race for the first time without having been there for a test or anything beforehand. So it’ll be cool to sort of experience driving into the infield and actually seeing the garage and pit road for the first time. And I’m looking forward to the race. Chase has some experience at this track, so I think that will be good as we get on track for practice on Friday. I’m just looking forward to getting there and seeing where we stack up.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how he thinks the track will race with the repave: “Iowa (Speedway) is going to be a challenge. It’s a partial repave in the corners. Turn one may be the trickiest as you will enter on old pavement and then you will run into the new pavement through the corner. Turns three and four are repaved a little bit more all the way through. The times I ran (previously) at Iowa, the groove eventually moved up towards the top, but that lane wasn’t touched in the repave. That probably won’t be the preferred lane now. You’ll be able to run high but only high enough in the new pavement.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the challenges of racing at Iowa Speedway: “Racing from trucks to Cup cars at a track is a difference for sure, especially with the aero package and the soft tire. You want to have so much rear grip and security that you end up making the car tight in the center. It’s just a weird balance to find in the Cup cars. I think Iowa (Speedway) will be a lot like Gateway (WWT Raceway) and a lot like Richmond (Raceway). Starting up front will be key because it will be hard to pass a ton of cars in one run. There’s going to be some surprises, too. The straightaways are really rough with a lot of bumps since only the corners were touched on the repave. The track has a lot of character and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve had a decent amount of success there and so has William (Byron). We’re looking forward to that challenge.”
​

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his goals while racing at Iowa Speedway: “I’m excited about the Cup Series making its debut this weekend at Iowa (Speedway). I’ve had the opportunity to compete in ARCA and the Xfinity Series there and performed pretty well. This Sunday will be a new experience, though, in the Cup Series and with the Next Gen car. It’s a sold-out race so hopefully we can put on a good show and find our way to victory lane, or at least secure our team’s 10th top-10 (finish) this season.”

Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on competing at Iowa Speedway for the first time Sunday: “I’ve actually never been to Iowa (Speedway). I know Alex (Bowman) has been there a few times with the (NASCAR) Xfinity Series and has an ARCA win there, too. I look forward to making the trip and tackling it with Alex and our team. I think it should be interesting with the partial repave and short amount of practice time. It should be a good challenge, though, and I look forward to figuring it out.”