Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Goodyear 400 Post Race| Sunday, May 12, 2024
Darlington Raceway

BRAD KESELOWSKI TAKES FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE TO VICTORY LANE FOR THE FIRST TIME AND CAPTURES FIRST WIN WITH RFK RACING

• Brad Keselowski won the first race for the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse with today’s victory.
• It also marked Keselowski’s first win as owner/driver with RFK Racing and snapped a 110-race winless streak.
• The win is the 36th of Keselowski’s Cup Series career and 27th with Ford.
• This marks the first win for the No. 6 Ford since David Ragan won at Daytona on July 2, 2011.
• Today’s win is Ford’s 729th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
• The win is the 142nd NASCAR Cup Series triumph for car owner Jack Roush and the fifth under the Roush Fenway Keselowski banner.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Castrol Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW: WELCOME BACK TO VICTORY LANE. “It’s just so great to be here in Darlington. I love this track. I love coming here. It’s a special place to me whether you win or not, but to run up front all day and have a great car, qualify up front, it was just an awesome day for Castrol. I’m glad for Ford. Ford has been working really hard to get us up here and here we are. We got them a win, so they don’t have to hear about that anymore. I’m happy for Ford. Hopefully, there are more great things to come. It was a total team effort from the top to the bottom to get us to where we could have a fast car. We executed on pit road, led laps and were there when it counted at the end.”

CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE LAST 30 LAPS OR SO WITH ALL THE RACING THAT HAPPENED? “We were all just racing our guts out. I mean, there was nothing left on the table for any of us. I got underneath Tyler. We were kind of switching back and forth and I felt like he was probably holding me down. He probably felt like he was being pushed up. Chris got by both of us, but Chris’ car was falling off too much. He couldn’t drive away and we were just right there with him and it looked like the 45 tried to do a slide job and it just didn’t quite work and both of them had some kind of an issue. We were able to scoot back by them. A hell of a day. I don’t know if you could have asked for me. We thought Kansas was exciting. I think this was more exciting.”

WHAT ABOUT RFK AND YOUR JOURNEY TO GET HERE. “I thought Chris was gonna win it there when he got by me. I was like, ‘Dog gone it. Here’s another one that Chris got,’ but he did a hell of a job there. It’s good for us as a company, good for us as a team. It locks us into the playoffs. Just and incredible day for us here in Darlington.”

YOU ENDED THE BLUE OVAL DROUGHT. FORD FANS CAN SLEEP EASY TONIGHT. “It hasn’t been the month or two that the Ford guys have wanted, but it’s over now and they can’t hear about it now. Good for Ford. Good for everybody on this race team. We had a pretty fast car today. We just held them honest all day and ran up front and had great pit stops, good strategy and then just a dogfight at the end on the restarts. It had to be thrilling. I feel like I could hear the fans cheering in the car, but what a race. If you missed it, I’m sorry you missed a golden race. It was a hell of a day.”

WHAT ABOUT THAT DOGFIGHT WITH TYLER REDDICK AND WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND WITH BUESCHER PASSED YOU BOTH? “I was thinking that he just won this race. Clean air and he could just set sail and go. It didn’t play out that way for a number of reasons. I think he was getting free, but still a pretty epic day.”

YOU GOT THE LEAD AFTER THE 17 AND 45 GOT INTO EACH OTHER. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING THEN? “I just felt like we finally caught a break. We’ve been catching enough bad breaks that kept us from winning, so it’s nice to catch a good one.”

YOU LED FIVE TIMES FOR 37 LAPS. THIS TEAM IS STARTING TO COME TOGETHER, RIGHT? “Yeah. I feel like all along this has been a good team. We just weren’t getting the results. Some of that was in our control and some of it was not in our control, but this one we took the bull by the horns and made it happen.”

WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THE LEGACY YOU’RE BUILDING? “I’ve got a lot more I want to do. Thirty six wins is great. It’s a nice stat to have, but I want to win a lot more.”

Ford Performance Results:

1st – Brad Keselowski
3rd – Josh Berry
5th – Chase Briscoe
9th – Justin Haley
10th – Michael McDowell
14th – Noah Gragson
15th – Todd Gilliland
17th – Ryan Preece
18th – Kaz Grala
20th – Austin Cindric
21st – Joey Logano
22nd – Harrison Burton
30th – Chris Buescher
36th – Ryan Blaney

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT WAS THE FRUSTRATION WITH REDDICK? “Just getting wiped out. For me, we know it’s gonna be good, hard racing here, but we hit so hard we wheel-hopped into the fence. I don’t get it. We’ve been able to race respectfully for our careers. I try and do that week in and week out and it’s not getting us anywhere right now. To just get wiped out like that with this Fifth Third Bank Mustang, that’s a big shame. On the flip side, I’m stoked for Brad and the 6 bunch and RFK to get a win here. That’s huge, but, right now, selfishly I’m mad for my team and our group. We had a great day there and we didn’t get any finish to show for it.”

WILL YOU CHANGE THE WAY YOU RACE REDDICK? “It’s got to come back around at some point. You try and be decent about it. We had clean racing all day long and to get flat-out fenced like that there’s no excuse. It’s a poor decision and an immature move. I just don’t get it.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 4 Harrison’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was just a really good day. We had a really good car yesterday in practice, but unfortunately didn’t qualify like we should have. There’s a lot to take from that, but, overall, the car was really strong. We feel like we’re capable of days like this. We just have to keep chipping away at it, keep learning, keep getting better week in and week out. I have a great group around me and this is a finish they deserve for sure.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Our car was extremely good on the really, really long run, it was just the short run that we gave up too much time. It would have been interesting to see how the race played out if it went green until the end, but, overall, it’s a really good weekend for the guys. I wish we could have been a few spots better, but after the last few weeks we needed a solid run.”

WHAT ABOUT BRAD WINNING? “Brad is really the whole reason I’m in NASCAR. He was the guy who gave me a chance in one of the top three series when I was able to drive for Brad Keselowski Racing. It means a lot to me to be able to race against Brad. He was one of my favorites growing up, so I’m happy for everything. He’s been through a lot the last couple of years and to finally get back to the top I know that has to feel good. I’m also happy that a Ford won. I wish it would have been us, but it’s nice to see a Ford finally win. Our day, it was just a solid day. We kind of ran pretty much ninth to twelfth pretty much all day long and then there at the end was able to have a couple good restarts. Our car was extremely good on the long run. We were one of the best cars after 40 laps or so, but the race just didn’t play out to go with our car. Overall, a good day for us and Stewart-Haas Racing and now we’ll go on to the All-Star Race next weekend and try to race our way in.”

JUSTIN HALEY, No. 51 NC Fraternal Order of Police Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We had a really good RIck Ware Racing 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse today. From the moment we unloaded it was just super on the track and fast and kind of followed suit with the 6’s setup and it happened that he won and we had a good race. Overall, it was a good day. We had great execution on pit road. I feel like we cleaned up a lot of stuff and got a top 10 for Rick Ware. It was a good points day.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Freightliner Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was kind of up and down for us. I felt like we made some pretty good gains at the beginning of the race, jumping up quite a few spots on the pit cycle and just under green passing some cars. We kind of got lost in the middle of the race. We really struggled to get through one and two, which was hurting me in traffic, but I felt like we made the car better at the end. We grabbed a couple more spots from where we restarted, so I was back on another upswing, but not quite enough to recover from the way I qualified.”

NOAH GRAGSON, No. 10 Overstock Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We started in the back and got put in bad positions on restarts. It’s good to see the 4 and the 14 run in the top five. I thought we had decent speed, but it was just a tough weekend overall for the Overstock team. We’ll just get ready for next week.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Maytag Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT HAPPENED FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? “Me and the 19 got put three-wide and it’s just a tight corner. The replay I saw, the 24 took up probably more racetrack than he should have after kind of rewatching it back. I thought it was just, kind of got tight, but you can’t run three-wide through there. Nobody wanted to lift and I got tagged and then kind of collected a few guys. The 24 took up more track than I would have liked, honestly. He kind of sandwiched the 19 into me, but it’s a really, really crappy end to our day. I thought we got pretty good. We came from not starting great and drove up there in the top 10 the first stage and finally got good pit stops and restarted sixth. I was ready to look forward to the second half of the race and never got a shot, and then the guy that causes it gets away scot-free. That’s what normally happens. It’s an unfortunate end to our day. I thought we could have learned some stuff today that could have helped us for the future and hopefully we can still take from what we learned today and apply it later on.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BATTLE BACK AND THEN HAVE IT GONE ALL OF A SUDDEN? “A rollercoaster ride. Ups and downs. Ebbs and flows. You’ve just got to roll with it.”

WHY DIDN’T YOU HIT THE 24? “I’m not gonna hit him. I’ll save that for another time. I almost did on accident, actually. I got on the apron and the toe link was busted. I almost actually hit him when I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to show my displeasure, so we’ll see where it goes. I just wanted to show that I wasn’t happy. After watching the replay, I kind of deserve not to be happy. He used up some good track that I thought he didn’t have to use up.”

WHAT MORE DID HE DO THAT HE SHOULDN’T HAVE? “One, don’t shove it three-wide at a place you can’t run three-wide. If he wants to do that, fine, but your responsibility is to leave room. You have to leave room for the top two cars. You shoved the bottom of three (wide), you have to leave space and he was off the dotted line until we were already wrecking. He faded up and sandwiched the 19 into me. We’re as high as we can go, so it’s like, I don’t know if he thought he had enough room or gave us enough room and didn’t or whatever. That’s just what I was like, you’re responsible for those two guys when you shove guys three-wide. You have to act like two cars are to the top of you.”

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

DARLINGTON, S.C. — A combination of stubbornness and patience paid off handsomely for Brad Keselowski on Sunday at Darlington Raceway, where the driver of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford ended a 110-race winless streak with victory in the Goodyear 400.

Keselowski’s triumph, which came at the expense of hard-luck teammate Chris Buescher and pole winner Tyler Reddick, gave the Ford Dark Horse Mustang its first NASCAR Cup Series victory this season in 13 races and led to a heated exchange between Beuscher and Reddick on pit road after the fact.

It was also Keselowski’s first win as a principal in RFK Racing, his second at Darlington and the 36th of his career.

“What a heck of a day,” exulted Keselowski, who finished 1.214 seconds ahead of runner-up Ty Gibbs. “It’s Darlington, so whether it’s your first win, your last win, this is a really special track. The history of NASCAR, it’s as tough as it gets, and that battle at the end with my teammate and Tyler Reddick, we just laid it all out on the line, it was freaking awesome.

“I thought it couldn’t get much better than Kansas. It did today. That was awesome. I’m so glad you guys got to see that (addressed to the fans). That was incredible. Thanks for being here.”

Keselowski was stubborn in the way he raced Reddick after the final restart on Lap 261 of 293, aggressively staying beside the No. 45 Toyota and running him up the track in Turn 3.

For four straight laps, Keselowski and Reddick battled side-by-side, allowing Buescher to slip past into the lead at the start/finish line on Lap 264. Reddick cleared Keselowski shortly thereafter and took off in pursuit of Buescher.

That’s when Keselowski exercised patience as stayed within striking distance, waiting for the drama that unfolded ahead of him.

On Lap 284, Reddick’s ill-timed bid for the lead went awry, and his No. 45 Camry slid up the track into Buescher’s Ford, pinning it against the outside wall in Turn 4. Both cars were damaged and unable to maintain pace, and Keselowski charged into the lead on Lap 285.

Buescher, still smarting from last week’s loss to Kyle Larson at Kansas in the closest finish in Cup Series history (0.001 seconds), confronted Reddick on pit road after the drivers climbed from their cars.

“We got wrecked,” Buescher said later. “That one’s clear as day. Don’t need any cameras to tell us. I don’t know what to say. We’ve raced really clean through the years, tried to be really respectful about it, and we get used up.

“It (Reddick’s move) is just something that you know is not going to work. I’m just really pissed off about it right now. We certainly had a chance to win another one. I’m proud to have that speed. Just huge congratulations to Brad and the 6 bunch on their win. That’s awesome, but I wanted it for our group right here.”

Reddick took responsibility for the incident and punctuated his conversation with Buescher with the words “I know. I (screwed) up—I’m sorry.”

Reddick elaborated after he and Buescher separated.

“I completely understand where he is coming from,” Reddick said. “He was running the top, running his own race, running his own line to keep me at bay. I made a really aggressive move and was hoping I was going to clear him. When I realized I wasn’t going to, I tried to check up to not slide up into him, but, yeah, I wish I wouldn’t have done that.

“I completely understand why he is that mad. He did nothing wrong. Just trying to win the race, and to take myself out—that’s one thing—I can live with that, but just disappointed it played out the way that it did, and I took him out of the race as well.”

All but lost in the late-race drama was Gibbs’ career-best second-place finish. The driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota also finished second in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2 behind respective stage winners Kyle Larson and Reddick.

Josh Berry finished third in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, followed by Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe. William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Justin Haley and Michael McDowell completed the top 10.

Hamlin led one lap during a cycle of green-flag pit stops in the final stage, extending his streak of consecutive races with at least one lap led to 17.

Larson (34th on Sunday after a late-race crash) leads the series standings by 30 points over Martin Truex Jr., who finished 25th after suffering alternator issues.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Goodyear 400
Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina
Sunday, May 12, 2024
(2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 293.
(4) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 293.
(33) Josh Berry #, Ford, 293.
(7) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 293.
(13) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 293.
(5) William Byron, Chevrolet, 293.
(8) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 293.
(18) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 293.
(28) Justin Haley, Ford, 293.
(16) Michael McDowell, Ford, 293.
(9) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 293.
(31) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 293.
(12) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 293.
(36) Noah Gragson, Ford, 293.
(15) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 293.
(24) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 293.
(26) Ryan Preece, Ford, 293.
(34) Kaz Grala #, Ford, 293.
(30) Erik Jones, Toyota, 293.
(25) Austin Cindric, Ford, 293.
(14) Joey Logano, Ford, 293.
(35) Harrison Burton, Ford, 293.
(20) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 293.
(19) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 293.
(10) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 293.
(21) Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 293.
(11) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 293.
(23) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 293.
(32) Derek Kraus, Chevrolet, 292.
(3) Chris Buescher, Ford, 291.
(22) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 291.
(1) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 291.
(29) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 290.
(6) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 252.
(27) Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, Accident, 161.
(17) Ryan Blaney, Ford, DVP, 129.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 124.75 mph.

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 12 Mins, 30 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.214 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 6 for 38 laps.

Lead Changes: 16 among 10 drivers.

Lap Leaders: T. Reddick 1-37;B. Wallace 38-43;R. Blaney 44;T. Gibbs 45-78;K. Larson 79-93;B. Keselowski 94;T. Reddick 95-225;B. Keselowski 226-237;W. Byron 238-239;D. Hamlin 240;C. Hocevar # 241-242;B. Keselowski 243-256;T. Reddick 257-261;B. Keselowski 262;T. Reddick 263;C. Buescher 264-284;B. Keselowski 285-293.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Tyler Reddick 4 times for 174 laps; Brad Keselowski 5 times for 37 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 34 laps; Chris Buescher 1 time for 21 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 15 laps; Bubba Wallace 1 time for 6 laps; William Byron 1 time for 2 laps; Carson Hocevar # 1 time for 2 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 1 lap; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 5,54,6,45,19,38,17,12,24,23

Stage #2 Top Ten: 45,6,54,22,5,24,17,11,23,1

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Team Battle “The Lady in Black”

Finish: 28th
Start: 23rd
Points: 31st

“Long day at Darlington Raceway, but way to fight today for everyone on the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. We were just really tight early in the race and running long during a green flag run in Stage 1 pinned us a lap down early. We were able to fight back from that and things were starting to turn our way, but we couldn’t do much at the end of the race on old tires. The track really surprised us today with how much tighter it made our Chevy as conditions changed towards the end of the race. We’ll head to North Wilkesboro next week for All-Star weekend.” -Austin Dillon

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 zone Chevrolet Team Survive Challenging Race at Darlington Raceway

Finish: 27th
Start: 11th
Points: 13th

“We had a tough day today but my crew chief, Randall Burnett, and all the guys on the zone Chevrolet team never gave up. They made adjustment after adjustment all day long but just weren’t able to hit on a combination that worked. I just didn’t have any grip anywhere for much of the race. In the last stage, Randall made the call to short pit and we gained track position, cycling up to 12th-place. We made our last stop with 40 or so laps to go but got zapped by a caution just a few laps later. We took the wave around and got back on the lead lap but unfortunately, we couldn’t make up that lost track position. It was a learning day but we’re ready to head to North Wilkesboro for All-Star weekend.” -Kyle Busch

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
GOODYEAR 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
MAY 12, 2024

Byron, Bowman Lead Chevrolet with Top-10 Finishes at Darlington Raceway

• Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and Alex Bowman led Chevrolet to the checkered-flag with a pair of top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
• Byron drove his No. 24 Axalta Throwback Camaro ZL1 to top-10 finishes in each stage en route to a sixth-place finish – his series-leading eighth top-10 result of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
• Bowman earned an eighth-place finish in his No. 48 Ally Throwback Camaro ZL1 – extending his top-10 streak to three-straight this season.
• At the conclusion of the tripleheader weekend at Darlington Raceway, Chevrolet sits atop the driver’s points standings in all three NASCAR national series with Kyle Larson maintaining the lead in the NASCAR Cup Series’ standings by 30-points; Austin Hill taking the lead in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ standings by three-points; and Christian Eckes moving to the lead of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ standings with a 14-point advantage over second-place.
• With 33 races complete across NASCAR’s three national series this season, Chevrolet continues to pace its manufacturer competitors with 20 victories and a winning percentage of 60.6%. (NASCAR Cup Series – seven wins; NASCAR Xfinity Series – six wins; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – seven wins).
• The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at North Wilkesboro Speedway with the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, May 19, at 8 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-15:
6th William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Throwback Camaro ZL1
8th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Throwback Camaro ZL1
11th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Throwback Camaro ZL1
12th Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Throwback Camaro ZL1

 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Throwback Camaro ZL1

Finished: 6th

Byron on his sixth-place finish at Darlington Raceway:

“We were OK, just pretty tight. We couldn’t really get it to turn much better than what we did, or we would really sacrifice the rear grip. Just kind of a struggled, balance-wise, for us.”

(Ryan) Blaney felt like you kind of pinched Martin (Truex Jr.) and him up too high. What did you see in that situation?

“I don’t know. I felt like I was ahead of them. The exit is really narrow right there. I hate if I did come up a little bit. I was surprised I was even in that spot. I felt like I would never get to the bottom of a three-wide there, but the lane was there into (turn) one and my car turned really good. I got almost clear of Martin (Truex Jr.), and then yeah, I hate that it happened. I don’t want to crash, especially that early in the race, so I didn’t really expect that to happen. I probably could have given a little more room, it just gets really, really tight right there.”

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Throwback Camaro ZL1

Finished: 8th

Bowman on his eighth-place finish at Darlington Raceway:

“We really struggled all day being super tight. Honestly we were freeing it up, and it just kept getting tighter. I don’t know if the track was tightening up or if we had an issue, but we were just really, really tight all day. We just kind of grounded out; didn’t make any big mistakes and had a really good day on pit road. We never got the race car where we wanted it, but we were still able to come out with a top-10 finish. It was really attrition and other peoples’ mistakes. Never give up, but it certainly wasn’t pretty.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Throwback Camaro ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in the final stage.

Finished: 34th

What was the extent of the damage that essentially ended your day?

“I was struggling. I got really loose at the end of that long run, and William (Byron) caught me. I was just letting him by in (turns) one and two, and I just kind of hung out there. I was trying to be really wide away from him and I just stayed wide for too long; got hung in the marbles and hit the wall. We had bent the toe link or something, and then pitted and was struggling pretty bad. I don’t know which tire shredded, if it was left-rear or right-rear, but a tire shredded and I spun into turn three. Hate that my mistake, not even really trying hard at all, cost us a race. Just a little bit frustrated with myself right now.

All-in-all, we had a good No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevy today. I felt like we were running a really good race up to that point, and then just one mistake took us out of it.”

 

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
Goodyear 400 | Sunday, May 12, 2024

BRAD KESELOWSKI TAKES FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE TO VICTORY LANE FOR FIRST TIME

• Brad Keselowski won the first race for the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse with today’s victory.
• It also marked Keselowski’s first win as owner/driver with RFK Racing and snapped a 110-race winless streak.
• The win is the 36th of Keselowski’s Cup Series career and 27th with Ford.
• This marks the first win for the No. 6 Ford since David Ragan won at Daytona on July 2, 2011.
• Today’s win is Ford’s 729th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
• The win is the 142nd NASCAR Cup Series triumph for car owner Jack Roush and the fifth under the Roush Fenway Keselowski banner.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Castrol Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW: WELCOME BACK TO VICTORY LANE. “It’s just so great to be here in Darlington. I love this track. I love coming here. It’s a special place to me whether you win or not, but to run up front all day and have a great car, qualify up front, it was just an awesome day for Castrol. I’m glad for Ford. Ford has been working really hard to get us up here and here we are. We got them a win, so they don’t have to hear about that anymore. I’m happy for Ford. Hopefully, there are more great things to come. It was a total team effort from the top to the bottom to get us to where we could have a fast car. We executed on pit road, led laps and were there when it counted at the end.”

CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE LAST 30 LAPS OR SO WITH ALL THE RACING THAT HAPPENED? “We were all just racing our guts out. I mean, there was nothing left on the table for any of us. I got underneath Tyler. We were kind of switching back and forth and I felt like he was probably holding me down. He probably felt like he was being pushed up. Chris got by both of us, but Chris’ car was falling off too much. He couldn’t drive away and we were just right there with him and it looked like the 45 tried to do a slide job and it just didn’t quite work and both of them had some kind of an issue. We were able to scoot back by them. A hell of a day. I don’t know if you could have asked for me. We thought Kansas was exciting. I think this was more exciting.”

WHAT ABOUT RFK AND YOUR JOURNEY TO GET HERE. “I thought Chris was gonna win it there when he got by me. I was like, ‘Dog gone it. Here’s another one that Chris got,’ but he did a hell of a job there. It’s good for us as a company, good for us as a team. It locks us into the playoffs. Just and incredible day for us here in Darlington.”

YOU ENDED THE BLUE OVAL DROUGHT. FORD FANS CAN SLEEP EASY TONIGHT. “It hasn’t been the month or two that the Ford guys have wanted, but it’s over now and they can’t hear about it now. Good for Ford. Good for everybody on this race team. We had a pretty fast car today. We just held them honest all day and ran up front and had great pit stops, good strategy and then just a dogfight at the end on the restarts. It had to be thrilling. I feel like I could hear the fans cheering in the car, but what a race. If you missed it, I’m sorry you missed a golden race. It was a hell of a day.”

WHAT ABOUT THAT DOGFIGHT WITH TYLER REDDICK AND WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND WITH BUESCHER PASSED YOU BOTH? “I was thinking that he just won this race. Clean air and he could just set sail and go. It didn’t play out that way for a number of reasons. I think he was getting free, but still a pretty epic day.”

YOU GOT THE LEAD AFTER THE 17 AND 45 GOT INTO EACH OTHER. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING THEN? “I just felt like we finally caught a break. We’ve been catching enough bad breaks that kept us from winning, so it’s nice to catch a good one.”

YOU LED FIVE TIMES FOR 37 LAPS. THIS TEAM IS STARTING TO COME TOGETHER, RIGHT? “Yeah. I feel like all along this has been a good team. We just weren’t getting the results. Some of that was in our control and some of it was not in our control, but this one we took the bull by the horns and made it happen.”

WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THE LEGACY YOU’RE BUILDING? “I’ve got a lot more I want to do. Thirty six wins is great. It’s a nice stat to have, but I want to win a lot more.”

GIBBS EARNS CAREER-BEST RUNNER-UP FINISH AT DARLINGTON
Reddick, 23XI Racing set new highs in laps led before a late-race incident

DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 12, 2024) – Ty Gibbs had a strong race as the reigning Rookie of the Year led 34 laps and delivered a career-best runner-up finish at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. Gibbs was one of three Toyota Camry XSE’s inside the top-10 with Denny Hamlin scored in fourth and Bubba Wallace in seventh.

Tyler Reddick had the dominate car from the pole as the California-native won the second stage and led a career-best 174 of 293 laps. He was racing with the leader in the final laps before being involved in an on-track incident, which led to a 32nd-place finish. With Wallace’s additional six laps led, 23XI Racing set a new team-best with 180 laps led in a single race.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Darlington Raceway
Race 13 of 36 – 400.238 miles, 293 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Brad Keselowski*
2nd, TY GIBBS
3rd, Josh Berry*
4th, DENNY HAMLIN
5th, Chase Briscoe*
7th, BUBBA WALLACE
13th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
19th, ERIK JONES
25th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
31st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
32nd, TYLER REDDICK
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TY GIBBS, No. 54 He Gets Us Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

What more did you need in the closing laps?

“I feel like I need to get better at passing and driving in dirty air. That is where I feel like I lacked today. My car was really great. Still kind of fighting some numbers on balance, but I feel like we were really, really good. Thank you to He Get Us. All glory to God. Thanks to Toyota, Monster Energy, Interstate Batteries – and my family and my great mom. Happy Mother’s Day.”

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

Finishing Position: 4th

Denny, it looked like it just lacked a little bit all day. How was it from your perspective?

“I’ve got to look at it. We had a lot of damage from the 12 (Ryan Blaney) incident off of turn two. It knocked the nose in, knocked the splitter up, so that certainly played a factor, but certainly didn’t feel like we were as strong on the long run like we usually are. Below average day for the Yahoo Camry, but to finish fourth on a below average day – that’s alright.”

ERIK JONES, No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 19th

How was your race?

“Just a long day with our AdventHealth Camry. We didn’t have the balance quite were we needed it, and obviously started deep. We made the most of it, and ended up with a top-20, which I think was a win for today. We’ve got to make it better. We will try to make the All-Star next week in North Wilkesboro and will work on our mile-and-a-half program for the next one.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 32nd

Can you talk about what happened at the end of that race and the conversation that followed?

“Honestly, I think it went as probably as good as it could have. Everything he said was accurate to be honest. He raced me respectfully, and I got really aggressive.”

What transpired there at the end of the race and here on pit road?

“I completely understand where he is coming from. He was running the top, running his own race, running his own line to keep me at bay. I made a really aggressive move and was hoping I was going to clear him, when I realized, I wasn’t going to, I tried to check up to not slide up into him, but yeah, I wish I wouldn’t have done that. I completely understand why he is that mad. He did nothing wrong. Just trying to win the race, and to take myself out – that’s one thing – I can live with that, but just disappointed it played out the way that it did, and I took him out of the race as well. That was not the goal there. If I was going to go for it, I was hoping I was going to clear him. If I hit the wall, pop a tire – I take myself out, I can live with that – it’s tough to walk away knowing I used someone up, and took away their chance of winning the race, that has raced me really cleanly since he came in the Cup Series. Just have to work on that and try to make some better decisions going forward.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 49,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 34 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th 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 28 electrified options.

Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved and diverse communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.

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

DEREK KRAUS
No. 16 Project Wyoming Camaro ZL1

• Derek Kraus qualified 32nd for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
• Kraus and the No. 16 Project Wyoming Camaro maintained the 32nd position for the majority of the opening stage, before pitting under green on lap 37 for tires and fuel. Kraus finished stage one 36th and a lap down.
• During the stage break, Crew Chief Travis Mack brought the No. 16 down pit road for an air pressure adjustment, four tires and fuel, as Kraus reported the car was free in turns three and four and tight in dirty air. Restarting 33rd, the first caution of the day came out on lap 122. Kraus took the wave around, putting the No. 16 back on the lead lap and in 29th. As the field went green, the caution came out on lap 130, allowing Kraus to come down pit road for a front-wedge adjustment, tires and fuel, running 25th. On lap 164 and under caution, Kraus reported his car was loose and slowly began to run free, before pitting for tires and fuel. As the green white checkered flew to wrap up stage two, Kraus finished 30th.
• During the second and final stage break, the No. 16 pitted for tires and fuel, coming down a second time for a tire issue. Kraus settled into the stage 33rd, moving as high as 15th under green-flag pit stops. Kraus pitted under green for tires and fuel just before the final caution. Taking the wave around, the No. 16 restarted 32nd and one lap down. Kraus would go on to finish 29th and one lap down.

“Long day today at Darlington. We tried a few different strategies that Travis [Mack] made, but unfortunately we fell a lap down and couldn’t make it back up there at the end. Overall I learned a lot and we will move on to the next one at Gateway.” – Derek Kraus  

DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Black’s Tire Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Hemric qualified 29th for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
• Struggling in traffic firing off, Hemric dropped multiple spots at the start of the Goodyear 400. He radioed that he was free in the rear, before making his first green-flag pit stop on lap 37 for tires, fuel, an air pressure and a wedge adjustment. After the pit stops cycled through, Hemric worked his way back to 29th, passing the second place car on his way to un-lap himself. By lap 63, Hemric radioed he had no power steering and dropped back to 31st. He gained one spot before the stage end to finish 30th and one lap down.
• At the end of the first stage, Hemric brought the No. 31 Black’s Tire Chevy down pit road before it was open to look under the hood to address the power steering issue, but the team was unable to find the cause. Hemric pitted once again when pit road opened for tires and fuel, before restarting the second stage at the tail end. The first caution of the day fell on lap 122. Hemric took the wave around, which paid off, as a caution came out on the following restart. He pitted once again to check the power steering issue, before coming back down pit road for fresh tires. Hemric restarted 27th on lap 134. The next caution came out on lap 163, and Hemric pitted for more tires and fuel before restarting 28th on lap 169. He went on to finish the second stage in 28th on the lead lap.
• During the stage break, Hemric radioed that the previous air pressure adjustment helped, and he needed more of the same, as well as a wedge adjustment. He pitted for tires, fuel and adjustments before starting the final stage in 25th. When the final green-flag pit stops began to cycle, Hemric worked his way into the top 10. By lap 227, Hemric radioed that he needed to be freer, before he made his pit stop on lap 240. The next caution came out with 40 to go, and Hemric missed the free pass spot by one position. He took the wave around to put him back on the lead lap and restarted 27th with 33 laps to go. With three laps remaining, Hemric reported a broken throttle. He was forced to bring the No. 31 down pit road, relegating him to a 33rd-place finish.

“An unfortunate end to a hard-fought day. We struggled in dirty air from the start, and then we battled power steering issues for the majority of the race. Trent [Owens] made some great adjustments, and we were able to show some speed towards the end of the race. Unfortunately, the throttle broke coming to three laps to go. Not how we wanted today to go, I’m super proud of the fight in this No. 31 Black’s Tire team.” – Daniel Hemric  

 
About Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

Toyota Racing – 23XI Press Conference
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 11, 2024) – 23XI Racing driver Corey Heim, 23XI president Steve Lauletta and TRD general manager Tyler Gibbs were made available to the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway on Sunday.

COREY HEIM, No. 50 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

STEVE LAULETTA, president, 23XI Racing

TYLER GIBBS, general manager, TRD, USA

How did that announcement come together?

LAULETTA: “We are lucky enough to have a new relationship with ExxonMobil with Toyota’s help, across the Toyota teams. I tossed out an idea, late last year with them, knowing that they were going to celebrate their 50th anniversary – that we’d run a third car a couple of times last year. I told them that we could run it as the 50 car – I had no idea there was another car running the 50, which was some work for me to do. We agreed that we would do three races with three different types of storytelling opportunities, and the second one – which is Nashville – is with our young friend, Corey (Heim). We are thrilled to put him in one of our cars and have him run as a driver in his own car. It was good for him to get a couple of races with LEGACY, unfortunate for the circumstances, but we’ve been planning this for a while. He’s spent some time with us at our facility and we are thrilled to get him to hop in the 50 car with Mobil 1, and help continue to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

GIBBS: “We’ve had a long relationship with ExxonMobil – both on the technical side, as well as the partnership side. You see them in the GR Cup, and you see them with Jade (Avedisian) in the dirt and you see them with John Hunter (Nemechek) in Xfinity last year and a whole bunch of different places, so when Steve (Lauletta) presented this opportunity to us and to Mobil1 – it was a no brainer for us. Corey (Heim) is clearly ready, and we are really excited to see where this goes.”

What does this opportunity mean to you?

HEIM: “It means the world. It is such an unbelievable opportunity, first of all, with me being in my fifth year of developing with Toyota Racing, and just stepping through the ladder and to come all the way from ARCA to Cup with Toyota Racing and make my first start with my name on it with 23XI Racing. As Steve (Lauletta) mentioned, we’ve been planning this for a while previous to those two Cup races with LMC (LEGACY MOTOR CLUB), so to have my name on it and to celebrate with Mobil 1 and their 50th anniversary, and to have that on board is very special. I can’t wait for that.”

What was it about Corey Heim that said to you that he was ready for this opportunity?
LAULETTA: “What he is doing on the race track, number one. We do have the relationship with LEGACY, ourselves, with Corey (Heim) being our reserve driver for the moments, like what happened. He has spent time with our competition folks. He’s been at Airspeed with us. You’ve seen some of our posts of his history as a fan of Denny’s (Hamlin) – I can tell you Denny is a tremendous fan of his and what he’s doing on the race track. It was time to give him the opportunity to get him with a car like ours, and a team like ours and see what he could do in a race. We did a lot of conversations with him and Toyota to pick the right race and one that we will feel like will be a good one for him Nashville. Having Kamui (Kobayashi) run in COTA and following that with Corey, we feel like that is a nice storytelling opportunity for Mobil 1 and our team.”

When this opportunity came up, what did it mean to you?

HEIM: “Yeah, as you mentioned, I’m a pretty levelheaded person. I’m not overly emotional, but just to think about where I was at three or four years ago to step through this ladder and come to the Cup Series in the way that I have. It definitely got me pretty emotional. I’ve always dreamed of being a Cup driver, but I was never too sure of the opportunities that laid ahead, and to finally know I get my shot, I get my opportunity – of course, this was previous to knowing that I would be running the two Cup races for LMC (LEGACY MOTOR CLUB) – it definitely made me pretty emotional and really excited to say the least. But I’m ready to make the most of it. It is a tremendous opportunity. I have so many great people in my corner, supporting me – 23XI, Toyota Racing and Mobil 1 – to have them all in my corner is tremendous and I can’t wait.”

How do those two starts tie in to helping you prepare for Nashville?

HEIM: “Under harsh circumstances, I made the most of it. I think those two starts were pretty crucial with my experience to prepare Nashville. Of course, you never want to be thrown in at the last minute, but with the harsh circumstances, it is what my job is – to be a reserve driver for LMC (LEGACY MOTOR CLUB) and 23XI Racing. I think being a sim driver for LMC this year has prepared me for this opportunity to an extent, but nothing beats real sim time. Going out there and getting the laps and having a 400-lap race to settle in – figure it out in stage one, settle in, in stage two, and hopefully, close in on stage three, and that is sort of what I did. As you mentioned, concrete race track at Dover will translate to Nashville. All of the drivers in the Cup Series, and me included, have agreed that seat time trumps everything, so to have those two races is crucial for my experience going up to Nashville with 23XI and hopefully it pays off.”

What was about Corey that you knew he was ready for this opportunity?

GIBBS: “I think the first thing for the driver is that they need to be fast, but growing up in culture, he learned those things, but some of it is just Corey (Heim) and the person that he is, so from that perspective, the moment isn’t too big for him. We know that he has the talent – that is pretty clear. When you watch the way he races, even before he was racing with LEGACY. From that perspective, he was one of two or three choices that were pretty clear for us, and when you look at his relationship with Mobil 1, us, the 50th anniversary, the story of bringing him in the series this year – it was a clear choice.”

How close do you think you are to a third charter for 23XI?

LAULETTA: “We are not close because everything right now is what ifs and maybes and who knows until there is a charter agreement. That is the key. That is what needs to happen. That is what, I know, everyone is working hard and focused on doing, so at the end of this year, there are charters so that there is something we can then talk about and see what the future plays out to be.”

Does 23XI have the infrastructure to run a third car?

LAULETTA: “Look, when we moved to Airspeed – we are going to open that to the public at the end of the year – we didn’t build it to only run two cars. We are proving that. I’ve said that all along – we ran a third car twice last year, and we wanted to do it at least that many, and we are going to do it three times this year. We are building towards that. Whether or not that is in the immediate future of next year or beyond, that is something that we will have our eyes on.”

Can you add another car from the Toyota side?

GIBBS: “From our side, the key thing is going to be the timing. If decisions are made in October or November, that is a whole lot more difficult if they are made sooner. So from our perspective, we are working towards being ready to do that, if the opportunity arises.”

What stands out about Corey to you?

LAULETTA: “He does it with a great attitude and he fits right in. Personality wise, you guys have been around him, you can see what a genuine person he is – which is important – that is the kind of people and culture that we want to have at 23XI. He’s a sponge in terms of what he is learning. I get that from our competition guys. He’s asked to sit in some of our meetings already, and I think what he gets from that is really important as he builds his knowledge, and as I’ve said, Denny (Hamlin) is super impressed with him, and has been for a long time. It was not a big leap for us to say – we did the 67 in Daytona with Travis (Pastrana), but it was time to get on an oval – a mile-and-a-half – and see what we could do, and there was only one name that we talked about and he is sitting right here.”

You have a lot of a young talent with the team. Is that how you are trying to build 23XI?

LAULETTA: “Everything is opportunistic, and the pieces have to fit together at the right time, which did quickly with Bubba (Wallace) and we a little more time with Tyler (Reddick) and now we are going to take our time to see what the next move is. When those pieces fit together, I’m sure we are not going to do it unless it is the perfect fit because we don’t want to take any steps backwards from where we are today, so it is definitely with a super diligent mindset that we are going to do anything moving forward.”

How do you evaluate who gets these opportunities?

LAULETTA: “From as far as setting it up, there is a lot of conversations with a lot of partners involved. We talk to Toyota all of the time, obviously Mobil 1 in this instance, our internal competition staff and staff on how we want to position ourselves as a race team, so there are a million things that go into every decision that we make, this one was really important. There was a lot of things that really needed to line up to make it happen. There is a lot of parts and pieces – I mean, if I had to show you the spreadsheet on how we decided on Nashville, it is a lot of work to make sure we put our best foot forward as a team all the time, and that is what led us to Corey (Heim) and that is what led us to Nashville.”

What are you doing behind the scenes to prepare for this?

HEIM: “From my standpoint, this year, I’m really focused on trying to win a truck championship first of all. I’ve always been a person to take it a week-by-week basis. I’ve never really projected ahead into the year. I’ve never been a person to focus on a year, because for me it is just a week-by-week basis. This is an incredible opportunity with 23XI when the time comes and the moment is there, but I’m focused on winning the truck championship and being ready for that.”

How do you stay ready in a reserve driver role?

HEIM: “Luckily with the Truck Series, we follow the schedule for the most part, so I will have a general idea of what to look for on certain racetracks. Now when a week comes up, such as a Sonoma, that’s a couple of weeks ago – that is definitely tougher to be prepared, when you don’t have a lot of laps at a certain race track, but as I touched on earlier, I do all of the simulation and reserve driver kind of things for LMC (LEGACY MOTOR CLUB) and 23XI, so I do get laps during the week to get experience from a virtual side of things, which helps, but it is tougher when you don’t have that real life experience, but it is part of the learning process on my part.”

What is it like receiving praise from your Toyota teammates?

HEIM: “Over the years, I’ve gotten along great with my Toyota teammates. We all work out of the same buildings during the week, between the Toyota Performance Center in Mooresville, and TRD in Salisbury, North Carolina. We see each other in passing a lot between all of the Toyota teams, from late models all the way to Cup. I’ve gotten along great with all of my Toyota teammates, and John Hunter (Nemechek) is a guy that I’ve been fortunate enough to be teammates with all of the way back at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) and now, somewhat, at LMC (LEGACY MOTOR CLUB). It has been great. He has been a great teammate; a great supporter and I love reaching out and picking his brain out about certain things. It definitely helps with those two Cup starts as well. Him as well as all of our other Toyota teammates that I’ve been fortunate enough to pick their brain throughout the years, has definitely been really good for me in my development.”

Does hearing from other Toyota drivers that they agree with decision make you feel even better about it?

LAULETTA: “For sure. Again, I don’t think anyone should have been surprised that we tapped him on the shoulder to give him his chance to run a Cup race. He’s earned it, and I think he proved with the two races with LMC (LEGACY MOTOR CLUB) that we made the right decision for sure.”

GIBBS: “I just think the work that Corey (Heim) has done as the reserve driver, in terms of some of the meetings he sat in, some of the work that he does during the week, just reinforces that. It is certainly nice to hear the other drivers say that, but to Steve’s (Lauletta) point, I don’t think anyone is really surprised just knowing the contribution that Corey puts in behind the scenes.”

About Toyota

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

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 26 electrified options.

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

Toyota Racing – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 11, 2024) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to the media after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway on Saturday.

It is Reddick’s seventh career pole, and third pole with Toyota. It is his first pole of the season and first pole at Darlington Raceway.

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

What is it about Tim Richmond’s career that you chose to honor him on NASCAR Throwback weekend?

“It was actually an Old Milwaukee scheme, but yeah. I think for me – he is a driver, in my opinion, whether he was at the track or away from the track, he was always living life to the fullest and was happy living the life he was. There is a lot of truth to that. If you are, throughout your week, just dreading whatever it is – it bleeds in what happens and what you take to the race track. I think in my opinion, Tim (Richmond) was always happy doing whatever he was doing. How he lived his life during the week, what he would do – he was having fun, enjoying himself and that crept over into the race weekend and allowed him to get in the car with a great mindset and allowed him to drive the daylights out of it, so for me I think that’s a big part of it, and then what he could do inside of a racecar is also something I always extremely appreciated about him.”

Is this a statement after last week?

“Yeah, we did for sure. We never really gave ourselves a chance. I made some pretty big mistakes early in the race and tore the car up pretty bad. We were still able to get back up to fifth with a pretty damaged race car, but yeah, finishing 20th and running where we did in stage three was not what we wanted. It is okay – it happens, so we just were extra motivated back at the shop this week, and it got us motivated and got our mindset right. We brought a really fast Toyota Camry. We did a good job in practice understanding what our car needed for qualifying and we just maximized qualifying well.”

What do you think you were missing last week?

“It seemed like – to some extend – the speed was there. We were missing some other things but knowing the speed that the 11 (Denny Hamlin) had and the other Toyotas had. It hurt, but these things happen in racing. We certainly learned a lot, and we definitely had a lot of takeaways from it. You never want to go to a track that you have a good track record at, and run that bad, but we learned a lot and when we go back, when it matters a lot in the Playoffs, we will have a lot to go off of.”

What is it about Darlington that suits you?

“I think I have a lot of fun racing here. I have a lot of fun racing other competitors, but I also have a lot of fun racing the track as well. My first ever laps in the Next Gen – the NASCAR Next Gen version three car was here – we had a test, and it was a handful to drive. We had a lot of fun in it. We had other rookie tests here as well. I learned a lot about a Xfinity car and the new Cup car at a place like this and that is challenging to do. I’ve had some unique experiences that have probably helped me get better here, but I think the biggest thing is just how the tires wear and the amount you have to move around. The amount of risk that you have to take every single lap and manage that for a whole race is kind of benefitted me and how I drive a race car.”

What do you think about the option tire for the North Wilkesboro race next weekend?

“To be honest, I haven’t given it a whole lot of thought yet. Seeing how those tires perform up to the standard benchmark tire that we are going to run as well – that will really open up the options depending on the differences between the two, but I think with the place being repaved – a new surface – it is just going to be a lot different than what we saw last year, and so you just have to go in there with a new mindset, but I’m excited for it. I’m hoping that the option tires gives fans, drivers and teams what they are looking for.”

Can you talk about the experience from last year?

“Last year was a lot of fun. It was unfortunate that we had to patch and seam as much as we did, and then Kyle (Larson) figured out the concrete on the bottom of (turns) three and four too. It was a very interesting experience. I certainly had a lot of fun, last year. It was so cool to see that place brought back to life. I’m excited to get back there again and experience it one more time.”

Is your biggest concern that the option tire will fall off so much that everyone goes back to the traditional tire?

“I guess in some ways – yes. If the option tire isn’t substantially faster on the front end, I think, yes that would be a concern. We will just see what it is like. If it is considerably faster for seven, eight laps at the beginning of a run, and falls off, a little bit more, 20 plus in – then I think that is what you are looking for. What you don’t want to see, what it will make it more difficult to use is if the tire is faster taking off, but after 10 it really starts going the wrong way, but we will just see when we get there.”

Could you tell any difference about the tire this weekend?

“It’s hard to really say at a place like this. It seemed like the rubber going down made it a little more slick than it normally has been, but that was the first practice on the day. The track could set all night – it is sometimes hard to get a good read on that. It really starts to show itself, more so, during the race. We will go back and look at everything – between all of the other Toyotas – but it definitely seemed a little bit different with how the tire wears – lap 15 and on – or how the car changes – lap 15 and on.”

How long is Alexa (DeLeon, Tyler Reddick’s fiancé) going to let you keep that mustache?

“We will see. I don’t think it will be long, but if I win tomorrow, I’m just going to have to keep it around. Hopefully we win, and we will cross that bridge when we get there.”

About Toyota

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

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 26 electrified options.

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

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Goodyear 400 Qualifying | Saturday, May 11, 2024

Ford Performance Results:
2nd – Brad Keselowski
3rd – Chris Buescher
13th – Chase Briscoe
14th – Joey Logano
15th – Todd Gilliland
16th – Michael McDowell
17th – Ryan Blaney
25th – Austin Cindric
26th – Ryan Preece
28th – Justin Haley
33rd – Josh Berry
34th – Kaz Grala
35th – Harrison Burton
36th – Noah Gragson

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Castrol Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Qualifying has been a really weak spot for us this year and we knocked on the door right there of being able to have the pole. I wish we would have gotten it, but it was super close. It’s still really good to see and it bodes well for us tomorrow with pit stall selection and so forth, but ultimately tomorrow is a really long race. Whether you’re starting in the front or starting in the back you’ve got a lot of work to do. Darlington is a tough track. I’m excited with how we finished last week with a lot of speed and the car driving really well. We didn’t get the finish we wanted, but we’re carrying some of that momentum to this week and I’m very optimistic.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “That’s a strong start to the weekend for us. I’m really proud of that because everybody works hard. We’ve obviously had a crazy week with plenty to talk about and what we took out of that was, ‘Let’s bring speed to Darlington and go win it there and put that one behind us.’ It’s really close. I’m really proud of that for both of our RFK Fords.”

WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ROUND ONE AND TWO? “I just lost a little bit of grip out here and I missed three and four a touch. We were really good down in one and two, but just missed three and four a little bit.”