Author: Official Release

Toyota Racing – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

LAS VEGAS (October 19, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It is Bell’s third pole of the season, second consecutive at this event and 13th of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

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

What is it going to take to win from the pole for the first time tomorrow?

“A lot of execution. Las Vegas, and all of these Cup races, are just really long races and there is a lot of things that go on between the green flag and the checkered flag that dictates the outcome of the race. I’ve sat in this position many times now, and I’ve yet to win the race on Sunday starting from that first position. We’ve come close several times, and this is a great race track for me. I’m optimistic about it and I felt really good in practice. Sometimes that means more than you see in qualifying. I think we have the car to do it, and hopefully, I’m up for the job, our team executes well, and we are able to put it all together.”

What lessons have you learned racing Kyle Larson over the years?
“Don’t lose the battle off pit road (laughter). In all reality, I think that race came down to that pit stop. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and I actually talked about what we were going to do if we were in this position, and what pit stall we were going to choose. Last year, I had that number one pit stall, and I couldn’t quite accelerate out of it, and I lost a couple positions in the drag race to the camera that last pit stop. I think if a couple things go differently at the end of that race, the outcome might have been different. The 6 (Brad Keselowski) was able to sneak by me, and it took several laps to get by him and I lost precious ground to Kyle (Larson). There is no doubt – he’s the favorite here. Kyle is. I think he’s won about every race and every stage in the history of the Next Gen car here, so he is going to be fast tomorrow, but I promise you will be right there with him.”

Do you intend selecting the number one pit stall this time?

“I’m going to leave that up to Adam (Stevens, crew chief).”

Do you have any memories with Wayne Auton?

“Yeah, I definitely do. Wayne (Auton) is an amazing race director. He’s one of the only ones that have given young drivers, myself at the time, advice. I remember him telling us that you have to practice getting out the right side of the car, and that is stuff is so valuable and stuff that I took with me the rest of my career, when I got to the Cup Series, and then with the car change, figuring out how to get out of the right side of the Next Gen car. He’s an awesome person that really looks after the racers and makes sure that they are doing well.”

What track would you compare Las Vegas to?

“I would say that it really is a cross between Kansas and Charlotte. Kansas, the track is probably a little bit slicker than Vegas, where Charlotte probably matches up a little bit closer on grip level, but the bumps here in (turns) one and two, are unlike Kansas. Kansas doesn’t have any bumps, and Charlotte does have bumps. Kansas, here and Charlotte are all really similar race tracks, and places that we’ve performed really well at. Certainly, excited about this and I’ve been excited about this whole round. Here, Homestead and Martinsville are all tracks we are going to run really well at, and on the flip side, all of the competition is going to run really well at too. It is going to be a really, really tough round, and the guy that wins this race is going to be walking out of here feeling really good.”

Do you wish you had more attention on you or do you like that you quietly perform?

“You know, I’ve been asked this about 18 times today (laughter). I don’t care. I just don’t care. I’m going to do my deal, whether I’m headlines or I’m not headlines. I’m going to be frustrated whenever I lose, and I’m going to be happy whenever I win, no matter what the headlines say. I don’t care if you guys talk about me or not. I’m going to try my hardest to win the race, and that is that.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 29 electrified options.

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

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
South Point 500 Qualifying | Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Saturday, October 19, 2024

Ford Performance Results:

10th – Joey Logano
11th – Austin Cindric
15th – Michael McDowell
17th – Brad Keselowski
21st – Noah Gragson
22nd – Chris Buescher
24th – Chase Briscoe
28th – Josh Berry
30th – Todd Gilliland
31st – Harrison Burton
32nd – Ryan Preece
35th – Corey LaJoie
37th – Ryan Blaney

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I think we’re good on the long run. Our short run speed is not real good, but I think we can make some adjustments to try and equal that out a little bit. For qualifying, we just didn’t have enough grip.”

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Menards/Great Stuff Ford Mustang Dark Horse, had a left-rear tire go down during practice, which resulted in him hitting the wall. He spoke to reporters afterwards and noted he’ll have to go to a backup for tomorrow’s race.

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Great Stuff Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I think it just blew a left-rear tire. I couldn’t really feel anything down the frontstretch and I just went into one and it was about the worst place to blow one. It’s an unfortunate situation for us. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

DO YOU HAVE TO GO TO A BACKUP CAR? “We’ll have to go to a backup car for sure. We’ll go to work today and in the morning to try and get that thing to where it needs to be and try to charge from the back.”

DID YOU FEEL IT BOTTOM OUT OR ANYTHING? “Not really, no. I went through one and two the first lap and it’s rough through there like it normally is, so I didn’t really feel anything odd or out of the ordinary. I figured a couple laps the pressures come up and you’ll be fine, but I didn’t feel anything down the front the lap that it blew into one, so it kind of caught me by surprise. I didn’t feel anything super out of place to make me think it was gonna be flat into one, so it’s just one of those things that stinks and catches you off guard. There was no indication and it was in the worst part of the corner.”

WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE TOMORROW COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE FIELD? “It’ll be a big challenge for multiple reasons, but I feel confident. Hopefully, we can make our way through there. We’ve got all race. We might not be able to get stage points in the first one, but hopefully by the second one maybe we’ll get some stage points and then hopefully the speed is good enough to where we can run up towards the front. Yeah, it sets us back a little bit, but this group is ready to go and they know the new task. It’s gonna be a tall one tomorrow, but I’ve got faith we can make the most of it.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
ROUND OF EIGHT: RACE ONE
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
OCTOBER 19, 2024

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 FICO CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

THIS IS A PLACE THAT MEANS A LOT TO YOU AND THAT YOU’VE HAD SUCCESS AT. IT’S ALWAYS THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION WEEK, BUT DO YOU FEEL MORE OPITIMISTIC COMING INTO THIS WEEKEND TO GET THAT WIN THIS SEASON?

“Yeah, we’ve had some good runs here of late. We’ve had some really good speed here in the spring. Again, we had some good speed in the spring race at Kansas and the fall race at Kansas, so we kind of relate these two places similar to each other. So hopeful, obviously, but we’ve got to go out there and execute and do a good job. Having fast cars cures all, and we’ll find out how fast we are here in a little bit.”

I FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE A GREAT PULSE ON WHO’S REALLY FAST IN THIS ROUND. CAN YOU HANDICAP THIS ROUND OF EIGHT FOR US? WHO SHOULD WE BE WATCHING AS THE BIGGEST THREATS TO MAKE THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR RIGHT NOW?

“Who’s above the cutline?”

LARSON, BELL, BYRON AND REDDICK..

“Umm yeah, I would say – baring craziness, which we all enjoy chaos, I would say that the race for the final spot is between the No. 45 and the No. 11. The other three are set.”

DO YOU ENJOY THE CHAOS?

“Not being a part of it.. absolutely not, no. But I don’t really pay attention to it anyways either, you know. So when stuff does start to go down and happen a little bit – you know, earlier this year in the playoffs, there was a lot that was going on with Watkins Glen, with Atlanta and all that sort of stuff. So I kind of saw that from just doing the TV show. But besides that, I wouldn’t have paid an ounce of attention. I’ve got enough problems (laughs).”

THERE’S BEEN CIRCUMSTANCES THAT HAVE ALLOWED YOU GUYS TO GET TO THE FRONT OF THE FIELD AND YOU GUYS HAVE CAPITALIZED ON THAT, LIKE LEADING LAPS A KANSAS A FEW WEEKS AGO. DOES ANY OF THAT SUCCESS OR WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED FROM THAT RACE TRANSLATE TO LAS VEGAS, OR ARE THE TRACKS TOO DIFFERENT WITH HOW BUMPY THIS PLACE IS AND CAN BE?

“No, I mean that’s kind of what I mentioned in the first question – I do feel like these places are pretty similar. There are differences, of course. There are in any race track. But you know, having speed in the spring at Kansas and backing that up with speed in the fall, was a sense of optimism. And I would like to think the same could happen here. We were good here in the spring. We had some bad pit stops, but we were able to pass our way forward.”

WHEN YOU’RE ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, HOW MUCH ARE YOU INTERESTED IN OR PAY ATTENTION TO HOW THE CHAMPIONSHIP IS PLAYING OUT? IS IT JUST BECAUSE IT DOESN’T EFFECT YOU, SO IT’S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE I DON’T NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHO’S DOING WHAT OR WHAT THE POINTS ARE AND HOW THIS IS PLAYING OUT?

“Yeah, I mean at the end of the day – I guess when you’re done with Phoenix, you’ll probably look up at the pylon and see who was the furthest ahead of the four. You know who the four are, but past that, that’s about it. Just kind of seeing who got it. But yeah, I don’t put much into it.”

FOR YOU, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO BE THE SPOILER AND WIN ONE OF THESE NEXT FOUR RACES BEFORE THE END OF THE SEASON? DO YOU PUT ANY EXTRA PRESSURE ON YOURSELF? WHAT’S YOUR BEST CHANCE?

“You know, no – I don’t put any extra pressure. I feel like when you do do that, you can put yourself in positions to make mistakes, like Kansas. You try to kind of let everything flow together; come to you and happen naturally. But those have been my best races that I’ve had and my two championships that I’ve won, when I’ve been in that mindset. So I’ve learned in those instances on how to excel, and I would love to kind of have it be that way again to win here on Sunday. But yeah, I mean time is running out. We’re getting closer to the end of the year. I feel like this place is probably one of our best chances of being able to go out there and get that win this year. Homestead hasn’t been great to me with this new car. Martinsville, I don’t think has been great to anybody for being able to pass. And the final four at Phoenix, and being in a championship race there – if you win that race and you’re not one of the championship four guys, you’ve got something special that day.”

I IMAGINE WITH THREE OR FOUR RACES TO GO IN THE REGULAR SEASON, IT CAN KIND OF BE A LITTLE BIT OF SINKING FEELING LIKE – I MAY NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. AND HERE’S WITH FOUR RACES LEFT NOW IN THE SEASON AND YOU’RE TRYING TO EXTEND YOUR STREAK OF WINNING EVERY SEASON OVER 20 YEARS. IS IT A SIMILAR FEELING THAT YOU HAVE MAYBE WITH THREE OR FOUR WEEKS LEFT IN THE PLAYOFFS, OR IS IT DIFFERENT?

“Yeah, I mean I would say it’s similar.. sure. You know, you kind of come down towards the closing stages of the regular season, and we had some pretty good runs. We’ve had a couple second-place finishes; some close opportunities and some missed chances there, which really hurt being able to get into the playoffs, for one. But two, to just scratch-off the 20 year question mark. And so here we are again – the last few weeks of the season and trying to get that victory. All you can do is try each week and go through the best you can; execute and put yourself in the right spot to have that shot to win. If it doesn’t happen, then you were beaten by others that were better than you. So it’s just all you can do.”

I RAN INTO RANDALL BURNETT (CREW CHIEF) LAST NIGHT. HE SAID THAT HE FEELS LIKE THE TEAM IS DOING EVERYTHING. HE FEELS LIKE YOU’RE DOING EVERYTHING. CAN YOU PINPOINT THAT LITTLE SOMETHING THAT’S MISSING? CLEARLY RACERS WILL SAY – WELL IF WE DO, WE WOULD CHANGE IT. BUT YOU’VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR SO LONG, DO YOU HAVE A FEEL ON WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE FOR 2025?

“A little bit.. I mean it’s been talked about. But I’m not really sure if it’s appropriate for this room. You know, we continue to talk all the time. We talk every week. It’s not just me and Randall (Burnett) talking, it’s Richard (Childress) being involved. It’s Keith (Rodden) being involved. You know, Justin Alexander being involved. So there are some new key players that come in here for next season that hopefully will be able to – maybe January 1, I don’t know when they come in – you know, that will hopefully be able to bring us some newer, fresher ideas that will give us some opportunities to have faster race cars in 2025.”

DENNY HAMLIN SAID THAT BECAUSE OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU, HE DIDN’T RACE YOU HARD FOR THAT LAST SPOT. HE SAID THAT THE 100 PERCENT RULE DOESN’T REALLY APPLY ANYMORE. WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THAT?

“I thought he missed a shift, so I just scooched on by. I’m glad I wasn’t close enough to him to hit him.”

I KNOW YOU HAVE SOME FOND MEMORIES OF HOMESTEAD. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT MOVING TO THE SPRING NEXT YEAR? ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HOMESTEAD FOR YOU?

“Didn’t we try the spring, like two or three years ago? The pandemic year?

NO MIC..

“So it was what, March? April? Somewhere in there? It didn’t go well. I don’t see this one going well. I think that place has had a bit of a struggle some time in being able to collect the crowd that it needs, not being the final race of the year. I hope I’m wrong.. prove me wrong.”

I REMEMBER IN 2020, YOU WERE IN A SIMILAR SPOT OF LOOKING FOR THAT WIN ALL YEAR AND YOU FINAL GOT IT AT TEXAS DURING THE FALL. DOES THIS SITUATION KIND OF FEEL SIMILAR TO THAT?

“Yeah, very similar. You know, just through the COVID year, we didn’t have practice. We just lined up and raced, and so it took us awhile through each race to be able to get ourselves the balance that I needed in the race car to be able to go out there and be fast. And it was just too late in the game, where we were just too far behind, and a lot of other guys were a little bit ahead of us. Here, or this year, we’ve kind of felt like we’ve qualified well at some places, but we don’t start the race well. So we’re kind of behind and trying to figure it out; get the balance right for the end of the race. And then by then, it’s a little too late. We’ve kind of run into that same predicament some. But yeah, it’s gotten down closer to the wire, closer to the end, and we don’t have that victory yet. Again, we’ll just keep trying to work on it; execute, do the best we can and make sure we put our best foot forward.”

 

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

LAS VEGAS (October 19, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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

Are you in a good vibe right now?

“I was a little worried going into the Playoffs with as few of Playoff points that we’ve had in quite some time, and certainly, the schedule wasn’t fitting for myself and the team, but we got through it, so now I feel like we have a great opportunity to go and win one of the next three races, and fight for it in Phoenix. Yeah, I really truly believe in odds and big sample sizes, and it was going so bad for so long there in the summer that, you just have to think that eventually this stuff kind of works itself out in the end. Play enough hands of black jack, you are only at a two percent deficit, if you don’t play 20 hands, you could lose all of them. You have to be patient and go through those swings sometimes.”

Have you been told anything about the approval or deadline for the charter you are getting from Stewart Haas Racing?

“No deadlines that I’m aware of, and no, we haven’t spoken to them about it. I think that is kind of more of a conversation that they would have with Stewart-Haas.”

Would you advocate seeing more intermediate tracks in the future on the schedule or are you okay just taking some of your own medicine with the road courses for the rest of your career?

“It is something that we debate with the 11 team – is – to take the next step, how much effort would that take from myself and resources and things like that. There are things you can do, but are you going to get enough return on that? The way the schedule sets up next year is – we are taking out this track, we are going to a couple more ovals in the Playoffs, so I think the schedule fits us a little bit better, so I don’t know if we have decided, but it is a discussion that we have between myself and Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) on what is our next steps on it, because certainly, it could have bitten us pretty good this year with the way the schedule laid out, but yeah, I think that I’m not opposed to how the schedule is, on a sense of how the schedule challenges drivers and challenges them in different types of techniques. You’ve got to be a more well-rounded driver, now-a-days, than you used to have to be because road courses weren’t such a big part of it. Road courses have never been, in NASCAR’s history, part of their DNA, but it has worked into that direction over the last handful of years. If that is a continuation, then I would say, hey, you maybe want to add some more resources to get better, but I just don’t know what the return on that investment is going to be if I had to start over right now.”

Is Homestead a place that you have circled?

“It has been good, but I still think there is one or two drivers that I think are a little better than what I am at that race track and their techniques, but I think, the right situation, I’m going to be right there in the top-five with a great shot to win it, but I am working on, how I can improve at all race tracks, but I just think that, yeah, these three set up nicely for us and there is no reason why we shouldn’t compete at all three of them.”

Have you given any thought to the dynamic of winning a championship while going through a lawsuit with them?

“Yeah, I would like to have that problem, truthfully (laughter). I always say if you have an issue, you cross that bridge when you get there, but it is a problem that I would love to have, but I would understand the responsibilities of a champion and certainly, knowing what I’m representing, I think I would be able to do a good job of separating the two.”

How do you view the strength of these eight teams?

“I mentioned on the podcast this week that I thought it was the strongest eight that we’ve had. That’s not – I probably kind of misspoke, because it is not, is it based off talent or that stuff? There has arguably been eight hall of famers in the Playoffs, before – and not saying there is not now, I think it is just how equal the field is. Other the 5 (Kyle Larson) team, that I put a little step above the other seven, I think there it is just wide open from that perspective. I think it is the most disparity we’ve had with those eight, so man, it is just who can get off on the right foot, these next weeks.”

Can you have a bad race and still point your way in?

“That part will be difficult. I don’t – if you have a bad finish, at the very end, after you’ve scored 20 stage points, I think you can probably get away with that, but an early exit from the race, and then thinking you are going to get in on points, given the race tracks, probably would be difficult to do, I would plan on that being a part of your point budget.”

Do you thrive with a lot going on?

“I don’t know if I do better, but it is just what I choose, right? I’m a work-acholic in every way, shape and form. It is just what I like to do. I like to set goals and then figure out how the process to achieve those goals, so it is self-inflicted in some instances, but in others, things pile on and you have this going on and that going on, what have you, you just put it in the tackle box, and it is stored away in its own little section, when I have to address it, I go back in there and open up that section of the tackle box and I work on that problem. I’d like to think my tackle box is pretty deep, and certainly, got a lot of storage in there. At my age, it is still something that I love to do, there is not a lot that I would like to eliminate from my daily life. As time goes on there is always going to be things that pop up that you just don’t plan for, but it is how do you react in those situations, and how do you manage them.”

Is being a race car driver at an elite level bad for your health?

“I think for me, it is physical. I know that I go through a cycle every single week, where it is Tuesday, where I can walk straight – but it just chronic back issues that I’ve had over time. I’ve had a lot of things, and cars ride rougher now than they ever have, because it is faster to go that way, so I think it is different for everyone. The young guys, like (Ryan) Blaney – he probably doesn’t feel a thing, go do whatever tomorrow. It is just different for all of us, for me, it is more taxing on the physical side than it is on the mental side, but for others, it probably flip flops. When you consume yourself with it so much, it certainly can take its toll on you, but there is other people that would race seven days a week if they could. It is – just even though we are all human – it is amazing how different how we all are.”

Is Christopher Bell the guy that people are not giving enough attention to?

“Yeah, I think that – they kind of went through a rough patch during the course of the summer, similar to us, where they were getting real bad finishes, crashing early in races – but they’ve always had really good, elite speed. A lot of the metrics that I look at show that he’s one of the fastest, when it comes to setting fast lap times and driver ratings, and things like that – probably laying in the weeds is a good way to summarize that 20 team and Christopher (Bell), but I think some of it is also his personality. He’s not outspoken that much. He’s soft spoken, so typically people like that always fly under the radar. Matt Kenseth – I consider them very, very similar, when I think about who Christopher is, and I got to work with both of them. I feel like there is a lot of Matt Kenseth in Christopher, kind of with their personalities and their talent level.”

How do you think Ty Gibbs will handle the team owner role next season?

“Yeah, I’m not sure what his responsibilities will be. I’m sure I will take to management on Monday and kind of ask some questions about it, but this is always probably always been Joe Gibbs’ plan is to hand this thing to his family to all of the generations, all of the grandkids, and whatnot, so I think this is just starting that process– but certainly, I think that as long as he is driving, he will probably be more hands on, but it will be something that will get Ty immersed in the ownership side early.”

How many pressure would a win this weekend take off your shoulders?

“It would be a big one for sure. You just get a little bit of extra time. You are not working on the next two race tracks; you are working on Phoenix instead. It just really probably would help the teams, more so than the driver, but the first race in the round of 8 is always one of the most important because of the advantage that you can get, but I’m not really sure if stats would back that up that people that have won their way in the round of 4 right away – I couldn’t tell you how the result has impacted the round of 4, because it is one race, but yeah, it would certainly would be awesome, and I would love to have that happen.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 29 electrified options.

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

NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
ROUND OF EIGHT: RACE ONE
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
OCTOBER 19, 2024

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

COMING OFF A WIN LAST WEEKEND, YOU’RE COMING TO A TRACK THAT YOU’VE WON AT THE PAST TWO TIMES. TALK ABOUT THE CONFIDENCE YOU HAVE GOING INTO THIS WEEKEND.

“Yeah, I mean I think winning for sure helps the confidence. But also coming to a track where we do have a lot of success at helps, probably more than anything. So yeah, I’m just looking forward to this weekend. Hopefully, our car has good speed and a good balance, like it has the last couple of times here. It would be nice to get another win, or at least start the round better than we started the other two rounds and gain points.”

DOES YOUR MINDSET AS A RACECAR DRIVER CHANGE AT ALL IN THE PLAYOFFS WITH HOW YOU ATTACK A RACE OR START A RACE, OR IS THERE ANY CHANGE IN YOUR MINDSET FROM A REGULAR SEASON RACE TO A PLAYOFF RACE?

“Not a whole lot.. I don’t think so. I think it probably depends on your points situation and such, but I don’t know.. I feel like whenever the playoffs come around, you’re just a little bit more focused and trying not to be too risky, and in a way, kind of limit the risk.. at least in our points position. So that’s kind of how I feel like I’ve been throughout the playoffs this year. But even a lot of other years, too, and it seems to work out.”

ARE YOU MORE CAREFUL?

“Yeah, I think you’re just a little bit more calculated, probably, in a way. I think that sometimes in the regular season, I think you’re willing to take more risks sometimes, just because you know you’ve got 15 more races or something until the playoffs. So you can take that risk and it doesn’t damage you as much if it doesn’t work out. Where I think in the playoffs, if you’re above the cutline, you’re more kind of cautious and limiting that risk.”

THIS IS JUST THE THIRD TIME THAT THE PREVIOUS YEAR’S CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR HAVE ALL ADVANCED TO THE ROUND OF EIGHT. WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT SAYS ABOUT THESE FOUR TEAMS AND THE STRENGTH THAT THEY HAVE?

“Yeah, sure.. I think it says that the four teams have a lot of strengths. But I think to me, I feel like in other eras of like the Gen-6 car – it was changing a lot.. like the rules were different kind of each year and there was more development going on throughout the year between teams. Now, I just feel like teams are very similar to how they were last year, just because there’s not really much developing in the cars.. or as much as there was. There’s always development within the teams; setups and what they’re finding here and there, but it’s probably a lot smaller than it used to be. So I think that’s why you see teams being more consistently good year-to-year, probably, right now.”

DO YOU HAVE AN ORDER OF CELEBRATION FOR YOUR KIDS.. DOES OWEN GET THE NEXT ONE, OR ARE THEY FIGHTING OVER IT? HOW DOES THAT WORK?

“(Laughs) No, I don’t know.. it just worked out where – obviously you don’t plan to win when you bring your kids. But at Bristol, I had Owen by myself, and then at the (Charlotte) ROVAL last weekend, Audrey was with me. Thankfully it worked out that way. They’re all here this weekend, so it would be nice to win and have them all there and part of the victory. But no, there’s no order, I guess (laughs).”

DOES KATELYN GIVE YOU ANY ORDERS OF WHAT YOU CAN DO?

“I wear the pants, Bob (laughs). No, I’m just kidding.. we all know that’s not true (laughs).

When she (Katelyn) first watched Bristol, when I had Owen on the door, she thought he was just hanging to like the roof with his fingertips. She didn’t realize I had him in an arm lock inside the car. So yeah, she was more comfortable with it with Audrey. And I’m going super slow, too.”

I KNOW IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE TEAM TO HAVE ALL FOUR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CARS IN THE ROUND OF EIGHT AND GOING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. WITH (ALEX) BOWMAN’S SITUATION LAST WEEKEND, HOW MUCH OF A BUMMER HAS THAT BEEN, AND WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU HEARD THAT NEWS?

“Yeah, I had heard during victory lane what was going on.. when we were doing pictures, interviews and stuff. For me, I’m like – man, I just hope something changes.. like the scales were off or something. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. It was just a huge bummer for everybody that’s a part of Hendrick Motorsports; Rick and Linda (Hendrick). Having four cars in the Round of Eight.. like that’s a huge feat and it’s something that I think everyone was really proud of.

Yeah, just a bummer that it worked out that way. I feel terrible for Alex. It’s really got nothing to do with him. He did everything possible. He’s done a great job throughout the playoffs. Definitely the most improved, I feel like, out of any driver in the playoffs, or any driver in the series, over these first-six races or whatever it’s been. Yeah, just super bummed for him and their whole team. Really just all of Hendrick Motorsports.. it would have been cool to come here to Las Vegas and have a 50 percent shot of getting Rick and Linda a championship.”

BUILDING OFF OF THAT, DOES THAT PUT THINGS BACK INTO PERSPECTIVE.. LIKE ARE YOU THE KIND OF PERSON THAT TYPICALLY WAITS FOR THE OFFICIAL RESULTS AFTER POST-RACE INSPECTION? HOW MUCH DO YOU NOT CONSIDER YOURSELF THE OFFICIAL WINNER UNTIL INSPECTION IS OVER, OR HOW DO YOU VIEW THAT?

“I don’t know.. I mean, I don’t really know. I just know like, whenever we’re doing victory lane and stuff, and then they’re like ‘OK team, you’re clear to take the car to tech’, you’re always like ‘man, I hope it’s good’ (laughs). For me, I have no idea how it’s going. So when I get done in the media center, get done with all the interviews and head back, I’m like ‘how’s it going guys’. Thankfully, it’s always been good. There’s been a couple of times where it’s gotten sketchy a little bit. For like the driver’s side, we don’t have anything to do with building the cars. So we’re kind of just hoping it’s all good.”

SO WITH WHAT HAPPENED LAST SUNDAY, IF YOU WIN THIS SUNDAY, ARE YOU GOING TO BE A LITTLE MORE MINDFUL OF THAT?

“I’m not because I just drive (laughs). No, it wouldn’t be any different than how I’ve felt before. You just hope you pass tech. I’m sure every driver, not just Hendrick Motorsports drivers; I’m sure every driver, anytime you win, it’s like once they take the car, they’re thinking the same thing I’m thinking.. ‘now we just have to get through tech’ (laughs).”

YOU’VE BEEN SO DOMINANT AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY IN PAST YEARS. ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING MORE TRADITIONAL TRACKS IN THIS ROUND?

“Yeah, I look forward to it because, for one, there are tracks that we’re good at. But more than anything, I just really love Homestead. We only get to go there once a year, whereas a lot of intermediates we go to twice a year.. Las Vegas, Kansas. Charlotte, I guess, is once a year. But Homestead, I wish we could go there twice because I just love the track. So yeah, I look forward to going there because – one, I love it, and we’re really, really fast there. And yeah, it’s just a good track for us.”

WHEN YOU GET INTO A GROOVE WHERE YOU LEAD 199 OF 267 LAPS, DOES YOUR CONFIDENCE JUST BUILD THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF A RUN LIKE THAT? CAN YOU GET COMPLACENT BECAUSE YOU JUST KIND OF FEEL LIKE YOU’RE IN A GROOVE? WHAT GOES THROUGH A DRIVER’S MIND WHEN YOU’RE HAVING THAT SOLID OF A RUN?

“Yeah, I mean definitely, at least for myself, not getting complacent because when you’re car is that good – I feel like throughout my career, I’ve dominated a lot of races and I’ve lost more than I’ve won, you know, in those dominating runs. And then I feel like a lot of times, it’s because you do get complacent, and you’re like – oh, my car is perfect.. I don’t need to work on it or whatever during a pit stop. And then those other teams are chasing you throughout the race. They’re already trying to tune their setups; giving feedback and whatnot. And then it comes down to a 20-lap run; you’ll be on a restart and (inaudible). So I think losing a lot of races where I dominated, I’ve become still more focused on – alright, this is what I’m feeling. And yeah, I think we’ve done a better job of keeping up with the racetrack; keeping up with the pace and all that sort of stuff.”

WHEN YOU THINK OF LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, JOEY LOGANO GOT THAT EIGHTH SPOT. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT, GIVEN HIS SUCCESSFUL TRACK RECORD HERE?

“Yeah, I mean obviously, I would have loved to have had Alex (Bowman) in the Round of Eight. But yeah, Joey (Logano) is dangerously good.. like you can never count him out anywhere. So yeah, he’s the guy that gets the benefit of it, and it’s like – dang man, he’s a tough competitor… he’s one you have to keep your eye on. Yeah, I mean everybody in the playoffs is really good. Even the four or eight guys that have missed making it this far, they’re all great teams and drivers.”

TO THAT POINT, THIS ROUND OF EIGHT REALLY FEELS LIKE A STACKED FIELD. HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THE EIGHT DRIVERS THAT HAVE ADVANCED TO THIS POINT?

“Yeah, I mean there are a lot of wins, championships and all that, currently in the Round of Eight. So yeah, it’s a tough, tough group of teams and drivers. So yeah, I mean I think it’s good. You want it to be that way. I don’t know if we all expected it to be that way, with how the tracks lined up on the schedule. But the cream has risen, and yeah, I think it’s going to be an ultra-competitive round, just like every time the Round of Eight comes around. It’s always competitive. It comes down to the final few laps at Martinsville, and this year will probably be no different.”

YOU TALKED ABOUT THE MINDSET IN RACES THAT YOU DOMINATED. I’M CURIOUS, AFTER THE DEFEATS IN PREVIOUS CASES, WHAT’S THE PROCESS OF GETTING BETTER?

“I don’t know.. I mean just going through the experience of losing. You learn from all of those. And then in the times of winning, you learn from that, too. And it’s not just all myself.. it’s the whole team that gains that experience, whether it be the pit crew, the guys on the box, the engineers back at the shop. Like we’re all learning each week, no matter how it goes. So yeah, I think there’s a number of reasons why I’ve lost races that I’ve dominated before. It hasn’t always been on my end, but there’s also been a lot of races where the team has helped me win. It’s a team sport, and there’s not one single individual that is more important than anybody else.”

IS THERE A DIFFERENT FEELING, PRESSURE.. I DON’T’ KNOW WHAT THE WORD MIGHT BE, BUT WHEN YOU GET TO THIS ROUND, KNOWING WE’RE ONE ROUND AWAY FROM PHOENIX, DOES THIS ROUND FEEL ANY DIFFERENTLY?

“I think in the first couple years that I ever made the Round of Eight.. yeah. You know, like you feel the pressure of it a little bit, or you put more pressure on yourself, or whatever the case may be. Where I think after you make it to the Championship Four, the final round, a few different times, it kind of calms your nerves a little bit.. at least for me. And I think a lot of that comes with just confidence you have in the group of people around you. So no, I feel the same I did the other rounds leading into it. Just excited to go racing. Excited for the opportunity. It’s a privilege to be this far into the playoffs; seeing all of the hard work of the regular season and the playoff races to this point and getting yourself to where you’re at in the points. So yeah, I’m just ready to go; ready to have a good time. Hopefully we can execute at a high level and find ourselves with an opportunity to race for a championship in Phoenix.”

YOU’VE BEEN ASKED ABOUT THE EIGHT DRIVERS THAT ARE IN THIS ROUND. THERE’S THREE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CARS.. TYLER REDDICK, THE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION. AND THEN YOU HAVE CHRISTOPHER BELL, WHO’S GOT THE BEST AVERAGE FINISH. TO ME, IT SEEMS LIKE HE’S KIND OF FLYING UNDER THE RADAR..

“Always (laughs).. I mean, always. Like I got asked the question last week, like who’s the guy, and I mentioned four or five people without mentioning Christopher (Bell). And like, he’s so good; sneaky.. like very sneaky, quiet, good. I mean that’s his personality, too. Just quiet. He’s not out talking about how good he’s doing, he’s just doing it. Him and his team are super strong. Yeah, I think they’ve been doing a great job over the last three years, or whatever it’s been.

And two, I’ve raced with Christopher for so long, so I know how good he is. He is just a quiet, just a smooth, person.. smooth racer. Yeah, for whatever reason, he’s flown under the radar his whole NASCAR career, I feel like.”

 
 

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RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT ARE THE EMOTIONS COMING BACK HERE THIS WEEKEND AFTER WINNING A YEAR AGO? “It’s always special to come back home, but I would say this weekend is obviously a little bit bittersweet for sure. As you mentioned, I feel like we’ll have really good pace this weekend and I would be surprised if we’re not in the top three coming to the checkered flag tomorrow. With us not being in this Round of 8 it’s kind of bittersweet with that being said, but it’s always exciting to get back here to Las Vegas. I love this racetrack and we’ve had pretty good pace here the last two years, so hopefully it continues and I think it will.”

HOW DO YOU LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK AND HOW TO YOU RESET? “I don’t know. It boils down to that we weren’t fast enough. There’s no reason why we should have been racing in 15th and racing who we were racing, but at the end of the day, even if we didn’t get in that wreck I’ve said publicly now that it was gonna be tough for us to transfer just with the bottom four running one, two, three and four at one point during the race. I thought plus-20 was enough going into the Roval, but ultimately it wasn’t so it’s frustrating. Last year, we won here and finished second at Homestead and fourth at Martinsville and fourth at Phoenix, so we’ll try to do that again this year and just win some trophies, I guess.”

HOW MUCH OF A CHALLENGE IS THAT FOR YOU WITH WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK? “I think last week the mindset was just a lot of anger, just like that gimmick of a racetrack at the Roval and then focusing on this round, which is so much better of a round for us with two mile-and-a-halves and a short track. Now the outlook is more positive and just looking to win back-to-back in my hometown and have another solid finish at Miami and another solid finish at Martinsville and kind of end this chapter of my life with Stewart-Haas Racing on a high note and try to go out with some wins.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL YOU’VE GROWN AT HANDLING ADVERSITY LIKE LAST WEEK? “I would say it’s evolved greatly over the last few years and, honestly, just over the past year. I think it’s OK for everybody to go through different types of emotions and last Saturday I was definitely, like I said, filled with anger and disappointment for not making this Round of 8, where I have so much confidence coming into these next three racetracks, but at the end of the day I woke up on Monday and I just continued to move forward. It’s not really the end of the world. Missing the Round of 8 is not gonna damper what’s gonna happen to me next year, so I kind of had to shift my mindset to that and just go out and try to do the best I can this weekend at home and the next three races after that.”

WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU NEXT YEAR? HAVE YOU BEEN HELD UP WITH THE CHARTER SITUATION? “I think there’s a lot of things holding back the dominoes to fall and I’m not the first one to initiate the fall of the dominoes, so I’ll leave it at that. Hopefully, everything will sort itself out here shortly, but I don’t see anything happening in the meantime.”

SO IF YOU ARE GOING INTO A CUP RIDE, WHICH WE’RE EXPECTING TO HEAR SOMETHING AT SOME POINT, HOW HAVE YOU PREPARED TO GET TO THAT POINT IN YOUR CAREER? “I think that’s a lot of speculation.”

IF SO, THOUGH, WHAT STEPS HAVE YOU TAKEN FROM A PROFESSIONAL STANDPOINT TO PREPARE YOURSELF IF THAT’S THE NEXT STEP IN YOUR CAREER? “Like I said, if it comes to that, we’ll think of the steps we’ve taken at that announcement at a later date. Right now, there’s a lot of moving pieces. Nothing is by any means set, so I don’t know what steps I’ve taken or what steps I’ve not taken. We’re just kind of focusing on these next four races and trying to go out on top to end Stewart-Haas Racing and that chapter where I’m at now. I feel like I’ve grown a bunch over the last four years, I would say at the end of five years now, so we’ll see what happens, but nothing in the short time, for sure.”

WHO HAVE YOU LEANED ON FOR A MENTOR THE LAST COUPLE OF SEASONS? “I think I’ve mentioned it a lot, but the biggest person would probably be Kevin Harvick. He’s helped me tremendously. I’ve obviously leaned on my past crew chief, Richard Boswell, and my current crew chief, Davin Restivo, quite a bit and I think they’ve all helped me take gigantic steps personally and professionally in my racing career, so I’m very thankful to them.”

TAKE ME THROUGH THE WIN AT INDY AND HOW PIVOTAL WAS THAT AS FAR AS A TURNING POINT IN YOUR CAREER? “I think just the weight of Indy is bigger than anything. Indianapolis is such a historic racetrack and everybody’s love for motorsports takes them to Indianapolis and it’s just a special feeling when you walk in that place. On a personal level, it was just cool to get my second win. Everybody wanted to know when I was gonna win the first race, and then I won the first race here last year, and then that question was, ‘When are you gonna win the second one?’ So, I finally got that done and now I want to win a few more before my time with Stewart-Haas Racing is over and I think that’s achievable. It’s helped me tremendously going from one win to two wins and that’s just a lot of confidence for myself.”

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Ambetter Health 302 Advance | Friday, October 18, 2024

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse – DO YOU FEEL SHR STILL HAS THE KIND OF POWER RILEY HAD LAST YEAR? “I think so, for sure. I mean, Riley had speed here in the spring and we finished second here in the spring. To win by I think 14 seconds or whatever he won by, that’ll be tough, but I feel like this should be a really solid track for us. We have a great notebook here and I think we should be able to hopefully have a good points day.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL THIS ROUND SETS UP FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM? “I think great. I think the mile-and-a-halves have been really solid for us this year, so we’re looking forward to it. I think Vegas and Homestead are really good tracks for us. Martinsville has been at times a good track for us, and you never know at that place with how it gets at the end of that race. At the end of the day, we just need to go out here and have some solid days and I think we’ll be where we need to be.”

HOW EXCITED ARE YOU ABOUT GOING TO NXT ON TUESDAY? “That’ll be pretty cool. I’m not positive what the plan is yet, so we’ll see if I’m gonna have to learn some wrestling moves or what I’m gonna have to do, but it’s been really cool working with CW and NXT, and having the wrestlers at the racetrack at Kansas, so it’s been cool working with them.”

IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE FOR YOU ON WHO THE OTHER DRIVERS IN THE ROUND OF 8 ARE? SOME MADE IT THAT WEREN’T EXPECTED TO AND VICE VERSA. “It doesn’t change things too much, really. You just go about your business and maximize your day as much as you can, so I wouldn’t say it really changes us very much, but at the end of the day there are really eight competitive teams that are going for four spots. It’s gonna be tough no matter what. This round is always tough with how competitive the teams are in it, so it’s very easy to get too much this round and make a mistake, and you just have to make sure you maximize your day and don’t put yourself in that situation where you’re in a must-win.”

WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU ABOUT FATHERHOOD? “I don’t know. I mean I feel like obviously the sleep is tough, so you have to figure all that out. It’s just non-stop. I mean, you always have something to do it seems like, and I think you just get more and more of a rhythm with it. My wife, Kari, has done a great job adapting to it. Unfortunately, she’s not here this weekend because it’s hard to travel this far, but it’s hard because you’re not there with them all the time. I think just really shows how great of a job my wife does taking care of him. It’s been really great so far.”

WHAT’S THE LATEST BABY STORY YOU’RE TELLING EVERYBODY? “Taking him to Charlotte was really cool. We got to go to the Roval. One thing that’s been tough is our dog ate a part of his baby bottle, so she had to have surgery to get that taken out, so that was interesting. It’s been great so far.”

WHAT DID WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP LAST YEAR MEAN FOR YOU? “It was huge. I think just having that on your resume can quiet a lot of people about what you can do behind the wheel. A lot of people can’t say that they’re a NASCAR champion, so it’s a huge deal for me and I think there’s no reason why we can’t go back-to-back here and have a shot at it.”

WHAT WOULD A SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP MEAN? “I think it would just be another statement, but I think at the end of the day you just don’t get many chances to win championships, so to have two years where you can go win championships and hopefully go back-to-back, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing so you have to give it everything you’ve got. I think all of our guys have earned it. I think everybody at SHR who has been a part of this deal, I mean everybody in that shop on the Cup side and the Xfinity side has touched this thing, so to win would mean a ton this year with everything that’s going on.”

HAS THE MUSTACHE BEEN GOOD LUCK SO FAR IN THE PLAYOFFS AND HOW LONG WILL YOU KEEP IT? “It hasn’t been bad. We went to Bristol and we won, so then I had to keep it from there so Bristol was good and it was solid through the first round, so hopefully we can just keep riding it out.”

DOES YOUR WIFE LIKE IT? “Yeah, she wanted me to do it surprisingly, so it’s been good.”

HAVE YOU TAKEN ANY STEPS LIKE GOING IN THE SIM TO GET READY FOR CUP NEXT YEAR OR IS IT ALL EYES ON THE XFINITY CHAMPIONSHIP? “There’s definitely been little things to try and get ahead on, talking with my crew chief for next year, Aaron, on how to go about things and how our processes are gonna be and different things that I like in the car and don’t. I think that’s been a little bit, but at the end of the day we are just super focused on this year and trying to finish it out strong. That will come in the offseason. It will be a really busy offseason to put all that together how we need to, but I think right now we’re just focused on this championship.”

DO YOU HAVE A POINTS NUMBER IN MIND THAT YOU’LL AIM FOR EACH WEEKEND IF YOU DON’T WIN? Not really. I mean, I think you maybe start overthinking it a little bit too much at that point, just because you’re gonna go out there and maximize whatever you’re gonna maximize, so having a point number that you’re trying to hit, that’s a little bit tough. You just try and maximize what you can and don’t put yourself in any really bad spots and your speed is gonna end up wherever it is and you’re gonna end up where you end up. You don’t get desperate until you get to Martinsville and kind of sort it out from there.”

WHAT IS THE FEELING LIKE KNOWING THAT YOU HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO BEING IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4 AGAIN? “It feels like it’s almost tougher because everybody expects us to be the champions and expects us to be there, but at the end of the day I feel like there are eight really solid teams out here. It’s gonna be a tough round and we just have to maximize our days and take them one step at a time and see where that gets us, but it’s not gonna be easy. I don’t think it was easy last year for us, so it’s kind of similar in both years.”

YOU ARE THE ONLY SHR CAR STILL IN CONTENTION FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. HOW MUCH HELP ARE YOU GETTING FROM THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION NOW WITH ONLY FOUR RACES LEFT? “I think it’s all similar. I think everybody has put a lot into our program, so I think going for this championship and being SHR’s last year it means a ton for us to have a shot at this thing. I think everybody is gonna give it everything we’ve got and there’s no reason why we can’t go out there and compete for it. It would definitely mean a lot for this whole building.”

HOW MUCH OF A JERK DO YOU HAVE TO BE IN THIS ROUND ON THE TRACK? “That’s the thing, I think some people think about it that way in that you have to be more aggressive and more of a jerk, but I think at the end of the day you just have to go out there and maximize what you’ve got. I think you put yourself in those situations where you try and be aggressive you’re giving yourself a 25 percent chance of wrecking probably, so at the end of the day you just try and go out there and maximize your day – cross the t’s and dot the i’s and from there your speed is gonna end up wherever it ends up. If you don’t have what you need, it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be and hopefully it’s better the next week, but you digging yourself a hole trying to be aggressive and then wrecking for one spot, that’s how you put yourself in a must-win situation, in my opinion.”

WHAT KIND OF DOG IS HONEY? “She’s a Portuguese Water Dog, kind of like part of the Doodle family a little bit. She’s all good. She’s recovering, but we had a little bit of a scare there.”

WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN? “A week and a half ago, right before Charlotte.”

IT WAS PART OF THE BABY BOTTLE? “Yeah, it was like this part of the bottle that goes into the center of the bottle. It’s hard to explain, but it’s this piece of rubber and it was too big for it to be in there, so we had to get it taken out.”