Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway
Autotrader EchoPark 400 | Sunday, April 14, 2024

UNOFFICIAL FORD FINISHING RESULTS
2nd – Brad Keselowski
6th – Chase Briscoe
11th – Joey Logano
12th – Ryan Preece
15th – Chris Buescher
18th – Noah Gragson
24th – Justin Haley
25th – Austin Cindric
27th – Kaz Grala
28th – Harrison Burton
31st – Todd Gilliland
33rd – Ryan Blaney
35th – Michael McDowell
36th – Josh Berry

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 2nd)

“I am not sure we finished third. I gotta see the replay from NASCAR on that first before I am going to concede that. We didn’t have a ton of speed. Honestly, I am more frustrated than anything because I feel like we have a great team and we don’t have the speed to go with it. We are doing all we can do to overcome that. The driver in me is frustrated because I feel like these are races I am good enough to win but don’t have the speed enough to do it. The owner in me is mad as hell because it is my fault for not making the cars faster. I am still proud of the team that we have with the pit stops and strategy and execution to put ourselves in position to get a finish we probably didn’t deserve but earned with some never-give-up spirit. It was a good job of executing with what we had. It is frustrating. You can still get good finishes by running good smart days, executing on pit road, and having great strategy and I am proud of our team for doing that today.”

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CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 6th)

“That was frustrating. Our Mustang was really good. Obviously, we were able to finish fifth in both stages, and we had done everything perfectly up until the point of the wreck. We were going to be the leader. The 23 was on way older tires, and I knew if I was beside him going into three, I was going to come out the leader. We both ran into one so hard and let the 21 put us three wide. He was probably more worried about me, and honestly, it screwed both of us because we both wrecked. We kind of got lucky at the end when we went back to the back and caught a really lucky caution. Our Rush Truck Centers Ford was really good today. Way better than sixth place. I feel like I keep saying it is frustrating because we are way better than that speed wise but overall it was a really solid day and really solid points day. I feel like our win is right around the corner. We just have to clean up a little bit of stuff.”

IF THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN, DO YOU THINK YOU HAD A RACE-WINNING CAR? “It is hard to say because of that caution in the middle of that green flag cycle that changed a lot. We could have pitted earlier. Certainly, we would have been the leader there for a while up until the green flag pit stops, and then who knows what you do then. There are just so many variables with these races. We passed a lot of cars. I feel like we passed more than anybody else, so that is a good thing.”

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RYAN PREECE, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 12th)

“I wish the cautions had worked out differently. Once we had the 8 and 22 behind us, it was a struggle not to keep getting put three-wide. Having as old tires as we did, it was trying to protect all you can. When I restarted on the outside that time, it was too much. We just needed a little bit more grip, and track position would have helped.”

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JOSH BERRY, No. 4 Miner Docks Doors And Moore Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Accident on Lap 136)

“The first time I felt like we got stacked on the bottom a little bit and when the 47 moved down, either he barely clipped me or just the air off his car. It was super close. Honestly I think we made a little bit of contact and it just got me loose and out of control. The second time I was just out there riding around and I was just out there loose and trying to hang on to it and wrecked again.”

ANYTHING YOU WERE ABLE TO TAKE FROM THE FIRST 100 LAPS? “We were going to run fine. We were almost in the top 10. I felt like the car was pretty good. Rodney made good calls there on the strategy to keep tires on it and all that but we wrecked.”

ANYTHING YOU CAN COMPARE THIS TO? IT LOOKED SO TREACHEROUS: “No, I mean the track is just so slick outside the groove. The track is going to continue to get better like we saw the first stage we couldn’t move off the bottom and then as it started to take rubber it is definitely getting better. It is just so far behind when we start. The cars are edgy here anyway. It is a super hard tire and we are kinda edgy all the time anyway in the NextGen and this place just emphasizes that.”

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MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s/Fleedguard Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Accident on Lap 143)

WHAT HAPPENED? “I just got in those bumps, and the car got loose and took off. Track position was really important today, and I had the opportunity to take the lead and take control of the race. I just didn’t make it stick. It’s unfortunate, but we had a really fast car today.”

YOUR TEAM WAS ARGUING LIKE YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN BROUGHT BACK TO PIT ROAD. DID YOU HEAR THAT? “I was trying to get back to Pit Road. I was trying to straighten or backup or do whatever I could, and we wanted to be able to work on it and see if we could fix it. At the end of it, they told me to get out. I am not sure we could have fixed it, but it is all part of it.

“It is super disappointing but at the same time you have to go for it. We had a car fast enough to run up front, and you have to take the chance. It didn’t stick. I am bummed out, but I would be bummed out if I didn’t try.”

A COUPLE OF GUYS HAVE WRECKED ON THE BUMPS. ARE THE BUMPS GOOD FOR CHARACTER OR DOES SOMETHING NEED TO BE DONE? “That is a lot of character. I am not mad at the track. It is my fault that I spun, not the tracks fault. But for our cars as low as we run them, we should probably think about grinding that a little bit.”

23XI RACING DELIVER ANOTHER DOUBLE TOP-10
Tyler Reddick scores fourth straight top-10, while Bubba Wallace is back into the top-10 in points

FORT WORTH (April 14, 2024) – For the second straight weekend, 23XI Racing led Toyota with two top-10 runs. This time it was Tyler Reddick who earned top Camry honors as he crossed the line in fourth – his fourth consecutive top-10 finish. Reddick, who led twice for 37 laps, was in control of the race before a rash of cautions jumbled up the field.

Bubba Wallace followed his top-five in Martinsville with a seventh-place finish. Wallace has now earned four consecutive top-15 finishes to move back inside the top-10 in the point standings.

Denny Hamlin continued his streak of leading in every race this season – as the Toyota driver led twice for 37 laps. Hamlin was battling for the lead on a late race restart when he was involved in an accident. The Virginia-native finished 30th.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Texas Motor Speedway
Race 9 of 36 – 400.5 miles, 267 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chase Elliott*
2nd, Brad Keselowski*
3rd, William Bryon*
4th, TYLER REDDICK
5th, Daniel Suarez*
7th, BUBBA WALLACE
13th, TY GIBBS
14th, MARTIN TRUEX, JR.
17th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
19th, ERIK JONES
29th, JIMMIE JOHNSON
30th, DENNY HAMLIN
34th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

Can you talk about that last run there?

“We had control of the race with our Beast Unleashed Camry, and we lost control of it. That is kind of the story of the end of the race for us.”

How tough was it out there?

“We had control of the restart that mattered, and we didn’t execute. Just kept focusing on the wrong things. All day long, I’d been really aggressively blocking the car behind going me into turn one, and it really hurt us going into the center of turn two. Just made bad adjustments at the wrong time, and we gave away the race.”

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

Can you talk about your day?

“I’m wore the hell out – mentally. Just from clean air to dirty air with the balance – it was just such a big deficit between the two, just never had the confidence to make passes and that is what you have that to make moves at the Cup level. We just lacked that – it was just so mentally tough all day. Appreciate the team, letting me rant a little bit, getting me back in the game and to come away with a top-10, that’s good. It takes those grinding moments. It’s just having that mindset. Appreciate everyone on this 23 team. The Columbia Toyota was not good, but we got a top-10.”

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

Finishing Position: 19th

Can you talk about your race?

“Not a lot of good stuff and didn’t work out well in the end there either. Good strategy call there to get some points in stage two with our Dollar Tree Camry, but the cautions didn’t fall there in the end like we needed. We just have to get better.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, No. 84 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 29th

Can you talk about your first mile-and-a-half aboard a Camry?

“Certainly, learned a lot today with our AdventHealth Camry. It’s the most laps I’ve had in this new car. Just trying to understand how you make speed, how you adjust the car, really going through a whole weekend of practice, into qualifying and adjustments and changing over for the race. I now have an idea of what to do. I didn’t run enough in Charlotte, so I feel like I learned a lot this weekend to help myself. We have some work to do. We are not where we need to be as a company, but we will keep working hard and get there.”

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

Finishing Position: 30th

Can you walk us through that battle with Chase Elliott there?

“Yeah, just got loose in turn three. It’s something that I had been fighting all day. When you have to push it most – on a great-white checkered – I knew that the likely scenario. That was that I wasn’t going to make it out of the corner with how much speed that I was carrying. Trying to go for the win with our Yahoo Camry – got loose and spun out.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 42 Romco Equipment Co. Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 34th

Can you talk about the two incidents on the track?

“Yeah, he (Christopher Bell) started spinning and I did the same thing. I hit the brakes pretty hard, and it spun, and I had nowhere to go. It’s part of it, I guess. We fixed the tow. I had a really fast Romco Equipment Toyota Camry XSE. On the second one, I drove on the outside of the 2 (Austin Cindric) and it just snapped. I guess it is part of this car. I guess I learned a lesson the hard way.”

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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
AUTOTRADER ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING REPORT
APRIL 13, 2024

Larson Extends 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Pole Streak to Three-Straight at Texas Motor Speedway

• For the third consecutive race, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 team will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green-flag in tomorrow’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.
• Larson posted a fastest-lap of 28.366 seconds, at 190.369 mph, in his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 to claim his 19th career NASCAR Cup Series pole.
• The feat marked yet another milestone achievement for Hendrick Motorsports with Larson delivering the Chevrolet organization its 250th all-time pole in NASCAR’s premier series.
• This marks Larson’s third consecutive pole win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, also extending Chevrolet’s pole streak to four-straight in the series – a run that dates back to his teammate William Byron’s pole at Circuit of The Americas (March 24, 2024).
• The pole marks Chevrolet’s 16th all-time NASCAR Cup Series pole at Texas Motor Speedway, and the manufacturer’s 747th all-time pole in NASCAR’s premier series – both of which are series-leading records.
• FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 14, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
6th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 – Pole Win Media Availability Quotes

TAKE US THROUGH YOUR POLE-WINNING LAP HERE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.

“Yeah, it was a pretty intense qualifying session. I felt like the track was really slick in practice, and then having to kind of talk to yourself before you make your lap, knowing that you have to commit even more than you did in practice to go fast is difficult. And then yeah, just the lap itself – the first round and second round both, there were moments where you have grip, and then moments where you’re like man, I’m going to crash. It’s pretty intense from behind the wheel, but always great when you can accomplish a pole and feel like you beat your confidence a little bit.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE RIGHT NOW, GOING THROUGH THIS PHASE OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS HITTING SO MANY DIFFERENT MILESTONES ACROSS ALL THE DRIVERS? OBVIOUSLY YOU WEREN’T THERE AT THE START, BUT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS WILL PROBABLY BE AROUND FOR A LOT LONGER WITH A LOT MORE MILESTONES TO COME. BUT IN THIS MOMENT NOW, OVER THE LAST EIGHT OR NINE MONTHS, WHAT’S THAT LIKE TO BE A PART OF THAT LEGACY?

“Yeah, it’s pretty neat. Whenever you can kind of be ‘the guy’, I guess, to know that your name is going to be next to that milestone number – it’s pretty special. You know, like when I was able to be a part of win 269, like you feel the excitement; the happiness from Rick (Hendrick) and everybody that’s been a part of the organization for a long time. And then, even being out there on the opposite side of things – with William (Byron) winning 300 last year here at Texas, I was obviously super bummed because I was dominating the race and lost, but at the same point, I was really happy for the team. Even last week, I’m obviously bummed I didn’t win, but super, super happy for the team. Especially this year, being the 40th anniversary season for Hendrick Motorsports, there’s these milestones that are all kind of coming up right now. It’s just cool to get the 250th Cup Series pole, and I feel like I’m contributing to the record books at Hendrick Motorsports.”

NOT JUST FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, BUT ALSO FOR THE DRIVE FOR DIVERSITY PROGRAM – 52 POLES NOW FOR ALL OF THEM, BUT A LOT OF DIFFERENT MILESTONES FOR THAT PROGRAM, AS WELL. WHAT’S IT LIKE TO SEE THAT PROGRAM NOW FINALLY SEEING THE FRUITS OF ITS LABOR AND THE SUCCESS THAT IT’S HAVING FROM ALL OF THAT INVESTMENT TO THE PROGRAM?

“Yeah, I think I kind of touched on it maybe last week. Same thing.. it’s just really cool to see it all paying off. I think now, you’re seeing it pay off because these drivers are in really good equipment. You need good equipment in this sport, but it takes a large investment and they’ve been able to do that here lately. It seems like the last few years have helped get their drivers in some good stuff.

Yeah, it’s awesome and I definitely always cheer those drivers on. When they can get a pole or get a win, it’s definitely good for the program.”

BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN YOU HAVE TO GO OVER TO THE DIRT TRACK, ARE YOU FOCUSED ON THE RACE TOMORROW? IS THERE A LOT OF DEBRIEF, OR ARE YOU ABLE TO TAKE A NAP? DO YOU HAVE TO GO OVER AND DO ANY ADMINISTRATIVE STUFF AS A HIGH LIMIT SERIES OWNER?

“No.. no, we’ll have our debrief here in a couple of minutes to talk about today. I think I have maybe an autograph session here in a little bit.. just normal stuff. Everything is pretty well handled on the High Limit side. When it’s race day, I’m just a driver. I’ll go say ‘hi’ to all of them, but no, there’s nothing I need to do on the administrative side. And then same thing with the No. 57 sprint car.. like everything is pretty well handled there. I just show up; go to the driver’s meeting, hop in the car for engine heat, go race and cross my fingers and hope I do good.”

I’VE HEARD PEOPLE MENTION THAT PIT STALLS AND STARTING POSITIONS ARE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT HERE IN TEXAS. IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU, AND HOW EXCITING IS IT TO DO AS WELL AS YOU DID IN QUALIFYING GOING INTO THE RACE?

“Well I think in the Next Gen stuff, qualifying is very important because of just track position and it being much harder to pass than it used to be. As far as pit stalls and stuff, this is one of the easier pit roads, I feel like. It’s wide and the stalls are not too small, so it’s not too bad, as long you as you don’t get stuck. Like say you qualified bad and you have to pick a stall in between two good cars and you’re also a good car.. like Kyle Busch will probably have a rough day on pit road tomorrow.

But yeah, you try to put an emphasis on qualifying for sure these days.”

GOING BACK-AND-FORTH BETWEEN A CUP CAR AND A SPRINT CAR IS ROUTINE FOR YOU, BUT HOW ABOUT GOING BACK-AND-FORTH BETWEEN THE INDYCAR AND THE CUP CAR.. IS THAT MORE DIFFICULT, BASICALLY BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CAR?

“Well I mean I don’t really think it is that different anymore. I’m not sure.. I just think maybe with my experience of just driving different cars – I’m just guessing, but maybe I just adapt quicker than others might bouncing back-and-forth. But this week, the track was so gripped up in Indy that you’re just kind of driving around the track. It wasn’t ever sketchy-feeling, and hopefully it never gets that way.

But no, I don’t know.. it’s fine. I think the biggest thing for me, going from a Cup car to an IndyCar, is just remembering what all the buttons and stuff on the steering wheel do. That’s really the biggest thing, so far. Like every time I get in, I’m like – OK, what’s this weight jacker, left versus right, do.. moving the bar forward versus rearward, like what does that do. I just have to get reminded of that it seems like every time I get back in 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.

Toyota Racing – Jimmie Johnson
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

FORT WORTH (April 13, 2024) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver Jimmie Johnson was made available to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday.

JIMMIE JOHNSON, No. 84 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Did you give any of Kyle Larson’s INDYCAR testing or give any advice on it?

“I didn’t watch, but I checked in on social media and saw that he had a good day. Certainly, excited for him. I didn’t talk to him before or after that specific test, but before Phoenix – maybe after Phoenix – I talked with him, just checking in to see what he thinks on the car and the experience. Looks like he’s off to a good start.”

What do you think will be his biggest challenge?
“Getting back and forth. The stress and time commitment. I was really surprised how much time is required to get through the month of May – which is just a couple of weeks of May at the track in Indy itself. Thankfully, the NASCAR schedule is much more relaxed – I guess he has a weekend of racing before as well. I think travel and being able to spend the time that he would want in Indy – that is going to be compromised a bit. It depends on weather in Indy. If it’s dry and he can get all of the laps that he intends to get, I think that will help him tremendously. If it is wet, and he’s got some conflicts and can’t get on track because of some NASCAR schedule, that track time starts to shrink, and that’s really what it is about – is getting reps in the very unique situations that you see in the race. Practice – I personally didn’t see the aero situations, and the traffic situations that came up during the race, and that is where I wasn’t as prepared as I would have liked.”

Is it good to see the change within the sport when it comes to the points system?

“It’s hard for me not to say the way I won the majority of my championship is the best way. Statistically, there is a lot of evidence that supports the changes we’ve made and where it is. The generation that I think anyone grows up in is the generation that they love the most, and I think our fan base – we are always trying to find new fans – but I think in time, we will know the opinion of the true fans that we are gathering and what they think of it. I think what we live and experience right now is the older generation and their opinion and then balancing that against statistics. I don’t know if I have a great answer. I kind of prefer the Playoffs where the 10 races, the points still totaled up to a champion. I felt like that was a good representation of both, but that is not the world that we are in now, but personally I liked that variation the most.”

What are some of the memories you have when you come back to Texas Motor Speedway?

“It’s funny now, the way the place drives, just have a lot of anxiety about turns one and two. In the previous configuration, that was really the most fun you could have on a mile-and-a-half was turns one and two. Bummed that it’s still not there, but it is the same for everybody – it is what it is. The track, where I’ve had my most success, is a track that you could run from line to wall. The bumps were in the worst place possible, but that was great and that created mistakes for the drivers and technical challenge for the teams, and I thought it made it where you really had to race the racetrack. I recently rewatched the battle with (Matt) Kenseth. We got Matt to come into the shop and relive that moment – and it will come out on social – and just reliving those moments and how racy the track was, and of course, I came out on top of Matt. I love to give him trouble over that. I really miss that old circuit. It was a lot of fun.”

With the new car, do you still have the same level of comfort coming back to Texas Motor Speedway?

“I found last year with the limited races that I’ve run is really, really different. I think the first 80 percent is normal, maybe 90 percent. But that last little bit and where you run the car – I spent a lifetime running a car off the right rear. This car you just cannot do that. From the aero platform, the tire and I believe the side wall stiffness of the tire, you can’t slip and slide this car around like I like to do. It got me in Charlotte – the last mile-and-a-half I was on in Charlotte – it got out front under me and I crashed. I kept telling myself coming into this weekend that I need to drive off the right front, and you drive through the right front and not my typical style of driving on or through the right rear tire. This track is really treacherous, and it is nice to see it widening out. I think last night with the truck race. We had some reports back with how the second groove was coming in and hopefully we are on the right pathway now to really start working in the middle of the track and widening this place out, and just go out and have some fun. Of course, I want to run as well as I can. I want to run all the laps. I want to help our company grow and really work through this first quarter, first half of the season with our change to Toyota. There is just a lot of new things that we trying to get our arms around. We’ve had some speed at times, but consistently having the speed is a big objective for us right now, and I hope that my participation this weekend helps us take a step in the right direction.”

What is your impression of driving a Toyota so far?

“I don’t have a lot of time behind the wheel, but I’ve really enjoyed the relationship with everyone from TRD and Toyota Motor North America. They race in a different way. They have very meaningful relationships and a true definition of a partnership. I’ve really enjoyed the last two years of getting to know them and the last six or seven months of really working hand-in-hand, since the end of last season. I think we have a really bright future together. I’m excited to work with them.”

Is there any way to describe the difficulty level of what Kyle Larson is trying to do?

“I can only speak from the experience that I’ve had. Practice, qualifying – you can get your arms around that and safely find the edge, but when it comes to race time, and you are dealing with guys that drive those cars day-in and day-out and know how to just dance on that edge – it’s tough, and the cars are in a much bigger aero disadvantage deeper in practice. Unfortunately, we lost some track position trying to short pit, and trying to gain track position in the race and we never got it back, and I ran back in the 20s, and you just can’t go anywhere from back there. If you are able to maintain track position and keep him up front – I think he will have a really good day. I think Kurt’s (Busch) experience really showed that. If you keep clean air on the car, I think it helps the lack of experience that a stock car driver would have going in. Thankfully, you do get a fair number of laps with the open test session and the way the two weeks unfold. You do get a lot of laps, and in that environment with some air on the car – you can get a sense for it, but come race day, man, you don’t want to put it in the fence. By the way, that wall hurts in an INDYCAR – there really are consequences for your mistakes made in an INDYCAR.”

What are your thoughts on the charter negotiation process?

“It has been a long road, and I think there is still plenty of road left for all sides. If it is drivers negotiating what they would like to see, team owners and certainly on NASCAR’s side – what they want to see for the future of the sport. I think it is going to come down to deep in the year, when everybody has to – and right now, it is still posturing. The clock is ticking, but if you look and see how much time is left – we are just getting into the eighth, maybe ninth inning of what really needs to happen in negotiating for all parties.”

Where are some of the areas that are hang-ups?

“Drivers probably have a different lens that they are looking through than the owners – but to steal a Mr. Hendrick (Rick Hendrick) line – it’s not about the money, until it’s about the money. Ultimately, there is protections that team owners are looking for, for longevity that would absolutely shore things up for them financially. Sure, there is discussions around monies that come up front from the TV partnership that are important. It has been interesting to watch. This is my first time in this world as team owner, and I’ve done a lot more listening than I have talking and letting the pros do their job, but what’s really ultimately, to me, been the most impressive is how the team ownership group has stuck together, and I think we are a lot stronger as a unified group – carrying a consistent message, and that has been more difficult for owners in the past, but the ownership group has been really committed to that, and I think that has been really useful.”

Do you wish the extended practices would return?

“Without a doubt. The practices are not long enough to make a meaningful change to the car. It is tough to develop. I certainly understand and appreciate the effort for cost savings. We are not going sit still, now we’ve put so much reliance on our simulation, and what is tricky with simulation is trying feed the pipeline of data, and the pipeline of information so that your simulation works correctly and crosses over to the real world, and the simulator that you drive crosses over to the real world. It is just really tough with how little track time there is for all teams to benefit that. As you unload, that is what you have, and so the bigger teams with more resources, just resources far and wide to unload on is where it is at. It affects the smaller teams that are trying to – that don’t have the access that they need, that are trying to feed their pipeline and make decisions. It just continues to make that a more challenging dynamic, and then you think of new teams, new drivers. There is just a lot of layers there, that I think more track time would benefit. I don’t think It needs to be what it once was with four hours of track time, but double the track time that we have now – whether it is was 40 minutes or 45 minutes – I think you could really help the field in its entirety be more efficient with its spending, because right now, you are just throwing darts hoping you are spending the right way, on the right things.”

How important is this stretch of four races in six weeks?

“Super helpful. Last year, I intended to run more events, and the unfortunate tragedy that our family experienced – it put the brakes on that, as it should have. To come back this year – on last year’s agenda, it was much more road course focus, trying to help our program get a bit stronger on road courses. We’ve shifted this year, for a variety of reasons, to run more mile-and-a-halves and the bulk of my schedule is mile-and-a-halves. To have them in close proximately to each other and then to be able to go back to Kansas twice – I think it is really going to help me extract as much as I can out of the car and help me give the best feedback that I can for my organization and directionally help us grow.”

Which up-and-coming driver do you think has the brightest future?

“John Hunter Nemechek (laughter). Were you expecting anything else? (laughter) In addition to that, I haven’t watched the support series races as closely the last couple of years in INDYCAR, sports car racing, but to see the young crop of truck drivers last night duking it out was impressive – and even the Xfinity field. There is some young talent there, and some new faces – at least some new faces for me watching, because I’ve been removed for the last couple of years – just impressed. It looks like there is some hungry and talented talent coming through the pipeline.”

What is your level of optimism going into Dover?

“I ran it in the sim on Thursday, and it drives a lot different. I don’t know how accurate that will be in real life. Given the opportunity to pick a track to go back to, I was like this is easy – I’m going to Dover. I love the area; I love the track and I hope that it will lead to a competitive performance. I’m anticipating that it is going to be quite different. Part of my success at Dover was what I was touching on early is driving a loose car and driving it with my right foot. You can’t do that with this car. The diffuser and the side wall of the tire and everything that is with it. I’ll assume I will have a steep learning curve.”

Do you have aspirations of expanding LEGACY MOTOR CLUB to four cars?

“I would do three first, and then four. Four would be quite the commitment. We don’t have any plans to now. That is not part of our objective. In time, I understand the benefits that come with three cars, four cars and the scaling that comes with it. From a business proposition standpoint, yes, I would be open to it, but we are not in that position now. We need to make sure that our two and a half cars are running the best to our abilities, and our cars are full of sponsorship – all of those economic partnerships are in place before it would happen.”

New partnership

“One last thing – we have a new partnership that I wanted to bring to everyone’s attention and offer you some free OLIPOP over at the transporter. Swing on by and enjoy.”

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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
AUTOTRADER ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
APRIL 13, 2024

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Texas Motor Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

I JUST TALKED TO JIMMIE JOHNSON ABOUT HOW THE PLAYOFFS HAVE CHANGED SINCE HE WAS A FULL-TIME DRIVER IN NASCAR. NOW IT’S MUCH MORE COMPLICATED TO STRING TOGETHER CHAMPIONSHIPS LIKE HE DID. WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON IT – ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE AT? DO YOU THINK IT’S BEST THE WAY THAT THEY HAVE IT NOW, VERSUS THE WAY THAT THEY HAD IT THEN?

“It’s just the format that I’ve always raced in, so I don’t know any different. That’s how we’ve always done it. The first year I was in Trucks, they didn’t have the playoff points, and then a lot of people said they created the playoff points because of us and having that motor issue at Phoenix that ultimately took us out. We had a dominate year and we got to the end, and we were in an even playing field with the eighth seed and we got eliminated.

I think the playoff points are a good thing, but I don’t know any different. I think it’s just the format and the nature of it is very intense.. very stressful. But I think that’s what you want in sports, really.. to have something that really challenges everyone. So, I feel like the way it is brings out those dramatic moments. If I were a fan, that’s what I would like to see. As a competitor, you do have to take it with a grain of salt, knowing that really it’s about Phoenix. So, you’ve just got to prepare that way; know that’s the case and try to bring your best stuff then. I’ve seen talk about doing a three-race format for the championship. If that’s the direction that they went, I wouldn’t be opposed, but I’m just going to race in whatever format it is and I’m not going to worry about what I can’t control.”

THIS RACE HAS BEEN PRIMARLY RAN IN THE FALL AND NOW IT’S MOVED UP TO THE SPRING. HOW MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE IS THERE GOING TO BE IN THE RACING?

“Yeah, I mean the biggest difference is that I can’t watch the Masters (laughs), so that’s about it. Really, it’s kind of back to how it was my first couple of years in Cup – I guess we would race here twice a year, but we would come here around this weekend. The track is just a little bit cooler. The last few times we’ve been here, it’s been scorching hot.. I mean ridiculous, like 100-plus, and a day race. So, I’m sure this will be a lot more pleasant for the fans watching in the stands because that race in the fall was definitely brutal, and I just think it will be a better overall thing for everyone.

But for us with track temps and everything – I mean I don’t think it changes a whole lot. The track was really greasy when it was 100-plus to start, but then we gained grip. I feel like it’ll probably just have more grip to start. This place is treacherous, and it just has a lot of different traits than a lot of 1.5-mile tracks.”

WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM LAST WEEKEND? WHAT’S YOUR BEST MEMORY OR SOMETHING THAT FOLLOWED IT? IT WAS JUST SO BIG FOR THE SPORT..

“Yeah, for me, it felt like a full circle moment – just with all the history at Martinsville with being in the No. 24, having Jeff (Gordon) there and talking to Rick (Hendrick) on the phone. And then going to celebrate with him (Rick Hendrick) on Monday. We did a little photo op at his house, which it was awesome to see him. It’s been a few weeks. And I think just the history that Hendrick Motorsports has and just seeing all the people there. It was just a full circle moment I think, and it was just really a family atmosphere to have everyone there to celebrate. It was just awesome.

I’m glad that we could win. I was really glad to see all of us running so well. Those cars were awesome looking, and I felt like the ruby red schemes were always like in or around the top-six. And then at the end, we all just kind of had a sea of red at the front. So that was pretty neat. You don’t see that often in modern day Cup racing.. to have three cars in the top-three like that, and four of us in the top eight, so it was just pretty amazing.”

YOU MENTIONED THE MASTERS.. HAVE YOU BEEN TO AUGUSTA AND WATCHED IT LIVE? DO YOU PLAY GOLF, AND IF SO, WHAT’S YOUR HANDICAP?

“Yeah, I have. I haven’t been that into golf lately, but I did play this week a little bit. But I love the Masters. I’ve been once or twice, and it’s just a very special place. Just has that kind of history behind it and that aura when you walk in. It’s really cool. It’s comparable to some of the racetracks that we go to that have a lot of history. I think it’s just a special event. I like how fan friendly it is and everything.

I was around an eight handicap, but I’m probably like a 10 or a 12 right now because I haven’t played in months.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE LAST WEEKEND.. MR. HENDRICK COULDN’T BE THERE AT THE TRACK, SO WHEN YOU GUYS GOT BACK TO THE SHOP AND THINGS RAMPED UP FOR THE CELEBRATION, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?

“It was really cool. Got a chance to see him at his house, and just seeing him and Linda (Hendrick) and how excited they were. Linda was taking photos on her phone, and she was just so excited. So, it was really neat to share that with them. And just like I said, the history of our company and everything that they’ve accomplished – it was something that we haven’t done before, so that was cool.”

YOU’RE DOING PRETTY DARN GOOD THIS YEAR. YOU’VE SHOWN IN THE PAST THAT YOU CAN DO THAT. I ASKED YOU LAST YEAR ABOUT BEING A FAVORITE AND YOU SAID YOU DIDN’T THINK YOU WERE, BUT ALL LAST WEEK ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND IN THE MEDIA, PEOPLE WERE SAYING THAT YOU’RE THE GUY TO WATCH THIS SEASON TO MAKE THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR AND POSSIBLY WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. DOES ANY OF THAT, THIS EARLY THIS SEASON, EVEN PLAY INTO YOUR FACTORING?

“Not really. Like I said, with this format, I feel like it’s the nature of the beast. You have to keep accumulating the playoff points and try to get to the end of the season with your best performances. I mean for us, it’s great to win races. It’s awesome to lead some of those categories, but we have a lot of work to do. The days that we’ve been on, we’ve been really on. And then we’ve had a few solid days, as well. But we just have to execute every week. That’s really what I want to put together is consistent weeks, and we’ve started to do that the last three. We just want those bad days to be ninth or 10th, and those good days to still have the wins. It’s just a tough sport. Everyone is really good. We don’t know what we’ll have when we unload here. We feel like we have a good idea, but you never know what the weekend is going to be like.”

YOU STARTED OFF LAST YEAR VERY SIMILARLY TO THIS YEAR.. REALLY, REALLY HOT. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS NEXT GEN CAR THAT SEEMS TO FIT YOUR DRIVING STYLE BETTER? IT SEEMS LIKE YOU AND RUDY (FUGLE) ARE REALLY, REALLY CLICKING, AND THERE’S A LOT OF TALK THAT YOU GUYS ARE THE NEXT JIMMIE JOHNSON AND CHAD KNAUS.

“Yeah, so I’ve thought a lot about that because I’ve seen some talk about that. I do think the Next Gen car has been a good reset for us. But when Rudy (Fugle) came in 2021, we won the third race of the year on a 1.5-mile track, and then we had like 13 or 14 straight top-10s. We’ve had speed since he’s come on board and we’ve had that chemistry, and I thought there were a lot of races that we could have won that year in 2021 that we didn’t close the deal all the way through the playoffs. The Round of Eight, we had like a 3.0 average finish.

The Next Gen car was just a good reset for us – to go in and have a clean slate, and we really attacked it head-on. There was a little bit of discomfort early on when we were testing the car because we just weren’t sure how it was going to go. But we just kind of used that, took that challenge, and we had speed at the first few tests that we had at Charlotte. And then the short-track test at Phoenix, as well, we had pretty good speed, and then we just hit the ground running when we started with that car.

And then I think you just work with what you have. The Next Gen car has continued to evolve. The competition is closer than ever, so I feel like attention to detail has been really where we could put our focus. Just feel like we’ve adapted to it, but like I said, when he (Rudy Fugle) came onboard and we started to click, we had a lot of success and we just had to use this car as kind of a platform to keep that going.”

THOSE NEW TOYOTA’S CAME OUT – WHAT’S YOUR IMPRESSION RUNNING AGAINST THOSE GUYS?

“I just worry about the Chevy I’m in. I don’t care.. we just race against our competition and just try to make the most of it. I mean obviously they have a lot of speed. They had pretty good speed at Las Vegas, but they were really good at Phoenix and the short-tracks, and we had a lot of work to do. Feel like you never know what’s going to happen here. I mean the Ford’s could be strong. We could be really good again. You just don’t know, so you just have to go out there and see.”

WHO’S AN UP-AND-COMING DRIVER THAT YOU BELIEVE HAS THE BRIGHTEST FUTURE?

“I don’t know.. it’s so hard to tell until they get to the Cup level and kind of put the work in that it takes to be good. But I don’t know.. there’s a few out there. I think Corey Heim is doing a good job. I think he has a good approach, a good mindset. He races clean, but races hard. He gets the positions he needs to, but doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.”

LOOKING AHEAD AT TALLADEGA, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT RACE?

“Yeah, I mean anytime you go to Talladega, it’s pretty unpredictable. You don’t know what’s going to happen. Our drafting has been pretty good, but you don’t want your luck to run out, in a sense, so you just have to be a good pusher. You have to be able to get pushed well; do all the little things right. I think we know in the Cup Series who the drafters are, and there’s a few out there to try and work with and be around.

Just try to have a solid weekend. You can’t really control the result there, but you can try and get good stage points, and try to be a good drafter and learn because that race in the playoffs is huge.”

IT SEEMS THAT THE MORE YOU WIN, THERE ARE MORE COMPARISONS TO JEFF GORDON. AS YOU CONTINUE IN YOUR CAREER AND WIN MORE, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT ESTABLISHING ‘WILLIAM BYRON’, THE BRAND?

“Yeah, I mean we’re already working towards it. I was put into Jeff’s (Gordon) car and that was a lot of pressure, and we had to kind of make it our own. I feel like Jeff is a great mentor and a great asset for our team, and we use him a lot in different ways and talking off the track. But he made it known when I got in the car, that it’s my own and we kind of built the team that way – with the people and all that we have on our team.

I get that question a lot, but it’s just about trying to focus on what we can do. Hopefully the fans like that. It seems like we’ve gotten a lot of support lately, so hopefully the old No. 24 fans can kind of adapt and grow with us.”

 
 
 

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.

Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway… Richard Childress Racing has three wins at Texas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series: Jeff Burton (2007), Austin Dillon (2020) and Tyler Reddick (2022). Burton led only the final lap to grab his 19th career Cup victory. In 2020, Dillon led the final 10 laps and edged teammate Reddick by just .149 seconds to score the win – his first at Texas and the 109th all-time by RCR. Reddick led the final 24 laps to grab his first Texas victory and his third win of the 2022 season.

Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Texas Motor Speedway… RCR has five NASCAR Xfinity Series victories at Texas Motor Speedway, all by Kevin Harvick (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2012). Last season, both Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed scored top-10 finishes (seventh-place by Hill, eighth by Creed). Hill has reeled off three consecutive top-10s for RCR at Texas, including a second-place finish in the 2022 fall event.

Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway will be televised live Saturday, April 13, beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The race will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway will be televised live on Sunday, April 14, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The race will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Club/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Texas Motor Speedway… In 19 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Dillon has earned one win, one top-five and two top-10 finishes. He also earned the pole award at the 1.5-mile track in 2016. Dillon has made 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track with a career-best finish of third in 2015 after starting from the pole position for the 300-mile race. Dillon, the 2011 NASCAR Truck Series Champion, has five Truck Series starts at Texas with a career-best finish of second in 2011 and one pole in 2010.

Winner, Winner … Dillon won a NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in 2020, the third of his four career victories in the series. The Texas win was part of a 1-2 finish for RCR, with teammate Tyler Reddick coming in second.

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

About TRACKER Off Road… Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service, and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER Off Road was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology.

Meet Dillon… On Saturday, April 13 at 6 p.m. CT, Dillon is scheduled to make an appearance on behalf of Bass Pro Shops at Cabela’s Outfitters (12901 Cabela Dr, Fort Worth, Texas 76177). Dillon is also scheduled to participate in a Q&A session at the Team Chevrolet Stage display in the fan midway at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 14 at 10:40 a.m. CT. He is scheduled to appear at Andy’s Frozen Custard display, also in the fan midway, at 11 a.m. CT.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:

What are your thoughts on Texas Motor Speedway?

“Texas Motor Speedway is one of my favorite tracks, and I’m excited to be racing there this weekend in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off-Road Chevrolet. It has always been a strong track for me. There is a lot of variety on both ends of the track, which makes it exciting to race. On one end you are going to have a high-speed and very banked corner, and on the other end, you will have a hard corner that you will have to get turned into and then get back on the gas. The track has so much grip now and has changed a lot from the old track to the new track.”

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 zone Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Texas Motor Speedway… Kyle Busch will make his 34th NASCAR Cup Series start at Texas Motor Speedway. The driver of the zone Chevrolet has four wins at the 1.5-mile facility (second most all-time): 2013 (spring), 2016 (spring), 2018 (spring) and 2020 (fall). Busch has 14 top-fives, 18 top-10s and has led 1,069 laps in 33 previous starts. His first Texas victory in 2013 came in dominating fashion when Busch won the pole, led the most laps (171 of 334), and finished with an average running position of 1.575.

The Points Chase… Busch is 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 38 points outside the top-10.

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KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:

You qualified well at Texas Motor Speedway last September and ran well before your day ended early. With the Next Gen car, is there little margin for error at a track like Texas?

“Last year at Texas we were really fast. We had a good race car and we were making moves and moving forward as the run progressed. I made a mistake and just overstepped the speed on entry and lost it. Part of what makes Texas so tricky is the spray that’s been added in the upper grooves and getting your tires into that. Trying to run out of that it seems to have a different grip characteristic and it’s hard to trust the car.”

With the Texas Cup race moving to the spring, do you anticipate track conditions being different?

“I don’t know that the track conditions will be much different. Sometimes you see the bumps that are there on a racetrack later in the year aren’t the same bumps in the beginning of the year so we’ll have to be mindful of that. It also depends on what the racetrack does with adding any spray or not to the upper grooves.”

Austin Hill and the No. 33 United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Texas Motor Speedway… Austin Hill will make his inaugural NASCAR Cup Series start at Texas Motor Speedway this Sunday. While Hill has not competed in the premier series at the Fort Worth, Texas track, the 29-year-old has made five career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the circuit, posting two top-five and three top-10 finishes while driving the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. The Winston, Georgia native also has 10 NASCAR Truck Series races on his resume at the 1.5-mile oval, earning three top-five and four top-10 finishes (best result of second in 2020).

Return to the Cup Series… Hill returns to the Cup Series with Richard Childress Racing for the first time since 2022, where the driver piloted the No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro to an 18th-place finish at Michigan International Speedway. In 2023, Hill made a total of five Cup Series starts, all for Beard Motorsports.

About United Rentals… United Rentals, Inc. is the largest equipment rental company in the world. The company has an integrated network of 1,504 rental locations in North America, 38 in Europe, 23 in Australia and 19 in New Zealand. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s approximately 26,300 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and others. The company offers approximately 4,800 classes of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $20.66 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Barron’s 400 Index and the Russell 3000 Index® and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Additional information about United Rentals is available at unitedrentals.com.

Turns for Troops… Through their Turns for Troops program, United Rentals will make a donation for each lap that Hill completes in his United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro during the Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Funds from the Turns for Troops program support military veterans and their families.

AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:

With making your first Cup Series start of the season, what is the goal? What would you be satisfied with at the conclusion of the race?

“The main goal is to be consistent and show speed throughout the race. I now have a few Cup Series starts under my belt, so the goal has to move from just completing all the laps. It’s my first time working with Keith (Rodden, crew chief) though, so we will have to quickly learn each other’s communication styles without a lot of practice time. After working in the GM simulator, there seems to be more on throttle time than the Xfinity car, so I will be mindful of that when going back and forth between the two series.”

Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro SS at Texas Motor Speedway… Jesse Love will make his inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Texas Motor Speedway this Saturday. The Menlo Park, California native competed in his first mile-and-a-half event in the Xfinity Series earlier this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Points Check… In addition to having a substantial lead in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings, Love currently holds the fourth position in the Xfinity Series driver championship point standings. The 19-year-old is 76 points behind leader Chandler Smith.

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

JESSE LOVE QUOTE:

With one mile-and-a-half race already under your belt earlier this season, will your learning curve be smaller at Texas Motor Speedway compared to Las Vegas Motor Speedway?

“I enjoy racing at mile-and-a-half tracks. I learned a few things at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that can be applied to this weekend’s race at Texas. I am still breaking some habits that I had in the ARCA car, but I shouldn’t have to learn as much at Texas compared to Vegas with it being my first mile-and-a-half race in the Xfinity car. I should be able to fire off good to start, which will put us in a position to compete for a win.”

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Global Industrial/Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Camaro SS at Texas Motor Speedway… Austin Hill has made five career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, posting two top-five and three top-10 efforts (best finish of second in fall 2022). In last year’s event at the 1.5-mile oval, Hill qualified in fifth place, sustained damage in a multi-car accident and fought back to finish in the seventh position. The Winston, Georgia native also has 10 NASCAR Truck Series races on his resume at the Fort Worth, Texas track, earning three top-five and four top-10 finishes (best result of second in 2020).

Milestone Anniversaries… Global Industrial and Bennett Transportation & Logistics have partnered together to highlight their milestone anniversaries at Texas Motor Speedway. Global Industrial has provided industrial and MRO products for 75 years, while Bennett Transportation & Logistics celebrates 50 years of faith, family, and freight. Both anniversary logos are featured on the decklid of the No. 21 Chevrolet, while the car showcases the companies in a special design.

About Global Industrial Company… Global Industrial Company (NYSE:GIC), is a value-added distributor. For 75 years, Global Industrial has gone the extra mile for its customers, currently offering hundreds of thousands of industrial and MRO products needed to run businesses and facilities. Global Industrial is committed to its customer-centric strategy, and utilizes a team of subject matter experts, Global Industrial Exclusive Brands™ products and national vendor relationships to help customers succeed. Global Industrial. “We Can Supply That®”.

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

AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:

With Texas Motor Speedway having two different ends of the track, describe the racing action and what a driver needs out of the car to compete for the win.

“Texas Motor Speedway is a very unique racetrack. It’s a totally different mile and a half than most of the intermediate tracks we go to. Turns 1 and 2 are really flat and wide, which leads to a lot of space where errors can be made, especially when you are inside of another car. If someone gets tight on your door, it’s a very easy spot for you to loop it around and back into the fence. Then on the other end of the track in Turns 3 and 4, you give it all you have. If you can hold it wide open in Turns 3 and 4, you probably have a fast race car. You need a car that handles well in Turns 1 and 2 and then hang it out as much as you can in Turns 3 and 4. Personally I have always enjoyed racing at Texas, and I feel like it’s a place that has eluded me on both the Truck and Xfinity sides. I would call Texas my second-best mile-and-a-half track behind Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Just haven’t been able to wear the cowboy hat yet.”

5 KYLE LARSON

Age: 31 (July 31, 1992)

Hometown: Elk Grove, California

Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels

Standings: 1st

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

MARTINSVILLE MOMENTUM: In last weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team secured a second-place result, contributing to Hendrick Motorsports’ historic 1-2-3 finish at the 0.526-mile track alongside teammates William Byron (first) and Chase Elliott (third). Larson led 86 laps after starting on the pole at “The Paperclip” and earned his NASCAR Cup Series-best fourth stage win. With a race-high 53-point afternoon, he now holds the lead in the Cup Series points standings with a 14-marker advantage over second.

FRONT ROW FIVE: Larson earned consecutive poles (Richmond Raceway and Martinsville), bringing the organization’s pole count to 249 and placing it one pole position shy of another milestone. With two poles through the first eight races of 2024, he leads Hendrick Motorsports in that statistical category and is tied for first in the series.

TEXAS TEMPO: The 31-year-old driver holds a strong record at Texas Motor Speedway, highlighted by a pair of wins in 2021. Larson was victorious in the playoff race to lock in his spot in the Championship 4 ahead of his title win at Phoenix Raceway. He also won the 2021 All-Star Race, one of his three victories at three different tracks in the exhibition event. Since the debut of the Next Gen car in 2022, Larson ranks first in laps led (118), first in laps run in the top 10 (438) and second in laps run in the top five (262) at the Fort Worth, Texas, track.

CHANNELING CHAMPION ENERGY: Compared to his performance through eight races in his championship-winning season of 2021, Larson has the same amount of wins (one) and top-five finishes (four). He has led more laps (454 in 2024 to 379 in 2021), a better average finish (10.63 in 2024 to 11.00 in 2021), a better average running position (7.90 in 2024 to 8.80 in 2021) and more stage wins (four in 2024 to three in 2021). His 454 laps led lead the series and are the most he has had through eight races. Larson also leads the Cup Series this season in top fives (four), stage wins (four) and laps run in the top five (1,404).

MILE-AND-A-HALF MUSCLE: The Elk Grove, California, native has won two of the last three races on 1.5-mile tracks. En route to those victories, he swept the stages (at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October of 2023 and March of 2024). In the Next Gen era, Larson leads the series in wins (three) and points scored (566) on 1.5-mile tracks. Additionally, he has claimed 31.25% of all stage wins (10 of 32) on 1.5-mile venues in the Next Gen car, with at least one stage win in each of the last five races on that track length. Since joining the organization in 2021, Larson has led 34.19% of laps run (2,399 of 7,017) on 1.5-mile tracks. Seven of his 18 wins at Hendrick Motorsports have come on 1.5-mile tracks.

OPEN TEST IN OPEN WHEEL: Larson took the next step in his Indianapolis 500 preparation this week during an open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In the opening two-hour session with Arrow McLaren, he was second on the speed chart. Larson is attempting to become the fifth driver to run “The Double” of the Indy 500 and the Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600. HENDRICKCARS.COM is sponsoring the effort, named the #Hendrick1100.

PIT ROAD PRECISION: The No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM pit crew has this season’s fourth-best average four-tire pit stop time (11.022 seconds). The five-person crew is comprised of Blaine Anderson (front-tire changer), R.J. Barnette (tire carrier), Brandon Harder (fueler), Brandon Johnson (jackman) and Calvin Teague (rear-tire changer).

SATURDAY SIGNING: Larson will be at the Hendrick Motorsports merchandise hauler on Saturday to sign autographs for the first 100 people who purchase any No. 5 1:24 scale die-cast after the merch hauler opens on Friday afternoon. Those individuals who purchase a die-cast will receive a wristband to come back for an autograph.

HENDRICKCARS.COM IS HOME: Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM crew will wear their white “home” firesuits this weekend at Texas. Every HENDRICKCARS.COM home race this season will feature a unique hat released the week of the event, exclusively available for purchase at trackside merchandise haulers or to win on HENDRICKCARS.COM. Less than 100 of each limited-edition hat will be made available. Check out this weekend’s Texas hat here. The No. 5 team celebrates home races in markets where Hendrick Automotive Group car dealerships are located.

YOUR CAR NEEDS: The Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas, market has three Hendrick Automotive Group dealerships (Hendrick Volkswagon Frisco, Honda Cars of McKinney and BMW of McKinney). Not located in the Fort Worth area? Customers can pick from any of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 93 dealerships nationwide and shop from the convenience of their homes by visiting HENDRICKCARS.COM. The website offers searches by category, make, model and vehicle packages from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT

Age: 28 (Nov. 28, 1995)

Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia

Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia

Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson

Standings: 6th

No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

MEMORABLE MARTINSVILLE: Last Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, Chase Elliott was part of a historic 1-2-3 finish for Hendrick Motorsports, which came on the 40th anniversary weekend celebration of the organization’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory in 1984. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 had his best race statistically so far this season with a 126.7 driver rating. Elliott qualified third for the scheduled 400-lap race and finished the first two stages inside the top five – third and fourth, respectively. The Hendrick Motorsports driver took the lead in the final stage, pacing the field for 64 laps en route to a third-place result. It was his second consecutive top-five run.

SOMETHING’S COOKING: Sunday will mark the Cup Series’ ninth race of the 2024 season. Across the first eight races, Elliott completed all but one of the 2,429 laps in competition. Additionally, he has the fourth-best average running position (10.90) and has spent the fourth-most laps both inside the top five (762) and the top 10 (1,320). Elliott has led 87 laps this season, including the 80,000th for Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup Series. In 2024, Elliott and the No. 9 team continue to be fast in qualifying, earning five consecutive top-10 starting positions and six total on the year. With two top-five finishes and three top-10s, Elliott sits sixth in the Cup Series points standings.

LONE STAR STATS: Elliott has made 13 premier series starts at Texas Motor Speedway. The 28-year-old driver garnered two top-five finishes, six top-10s and led 89 laps in those starts. Since the introduction of the Next Gen Cup Series car in 2022, Elliott has spent the fourth-most laps inside the top 10 (367) at the Fort Worth, Texas, track. The six-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver also has five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 1.5-mile track, the site of his first career Xfinity Series victory in April of 2014. In fact, Elliott finished eighth or better in those five starts.

1.5-MILERS: Elliott will make his 80th start on a 1.5-mile track in the Cup Series this weekend at Texas. In his previous 79 races on tracks of that length, he has two victories (Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2020 and Kansas Speedway in 2018), collected 22 top-five finishes – eight of which are runner-up results – 38 top-10s and led 1,041 laps.

AG at TMS: Alan Gustafson, No. 9 team crew chief, is set to call his 36th Texas Cup Series race on Sunday in his 20th season atop the pit box. In his previous 35 starts at the track, the Ormond Beach, Florida, native has eight top-five finishes, 17 top-10s and 393 laps led. His best finish of second came in 2014 with NASCAR Hall of Famer and Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon.

DYNAMIC DUO: Elliott and Gustafson are in their ninth season together and are currently the longest active driver and crew chief combo in the Cup Series garage. The duo is ranked second among active pairings with 18 points-paying victories. Gustafson and Elliott earned their first Cup Series title in 2020 and the team captured the regular-season championship in 2022.

FOUR TIRES FAST: Through eight Cup Series races in 2024, the No. 9 pit crew ranks second in average four-tire pit stop time (10.848 seconds). On March 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the five-person team knocked out the fourth-fastest four-tire stop of the season with a time of 9.479 seconds. The No. 9 crew is comprised of Chad Avrit (rear-tire changer), Jared Erspamer (tire carrier), John Gianninoto (fueler), Nick O’Dell (tire changer) and T.J. Semke (jackman).

WHEN CHASE WINS, YOU WIN: Fans can visit Hooters on Mondays after Cup Series races this season and ask their server for free fried pickles (with a drink purchase) when Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team finishes in the top 10. If the No. 9 team wins, customers receive 10 free wings with any 10-wing purchase. Get more details at hooters.com/racing. Don’t miss the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on track this weekend.

24 WILLIAM BYRON

Age: 26 (Nov. 29, 1997)

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle

Standings: 4th

No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media in the Texas Motor Speedway media center on Saturday, April 13, at 8:45 a.m. local time.

C(LOCKED) IN ANOTHER ONE: After qualifying 18th at Martinsville Speedway, William Byron wasted no time powering his No. 24 Axalta 40th Anniversary Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the field, finishing the opening stage in eighth. Byron maintained his top-10 running position in stage two, picking up another eighth-place result. During the final stage, crew chief Rudy Fugle timed the green-flag pit sequence right, putting the No. 24 in position to battle for the lead once the cycle was complete. Even with a green-white-checkered overtime attempt, Byron held off his Hendrick Motorsports teammates to pick up his third win of the season, headlining a 1-2-3 finish for the organization on its 40th anniversary weekend.

THREE-PEAT: This is the first time in Byron’s NASCAR Cup Series career that he has won three times within the first eight races of the season and the first time a driver has accomplished this feat since 2019. Over the last 30 years, it has only been done 10 times with Hendrick Motorsports drivers accounting for six instances. Of the previous five times a driver went on to win the championship in a season where they won three of the first eight races, four of them were for the Rick Hendrick-owned team. (Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon in 1995 and 1997 and Jimmie Johnson in 2007 and 2010 both won titles in the years they won three of the first eight races.)

24 IN ’24: Adding another win to his 2024 stats, Byron continues to be nothing short of impressive. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has one pole award, three wins (leads the series), three top-five finishes (tied for third-most) and five top-10s (tied for the most) this season. He’s also led 149 laps – sixth-most among the field – and has moved up to fourth in the 2024 Cup Series points standings.

WHAT’S IN A NUMBER: With his win at Martinsville, Byron continues to extend the history and legacy of the No. 24. The iconic car number ranks third on the all-time list with 106 Cup Series wins, trailing only the No. 43 (200 wins) and the No. 11 (233 wins). All of Byron’s 13 premier series wins have come in the No. 24, while Gordon accounts for 93 wins. The No. 24 also has 11 wins at the paperclip-shaped track, moving to the third-most by a car number over the No. 48 (10). To top it off, his win on Sunday moves him to the fifth-most wins by a Hendrick Motorsports driver (13 in 224 starts).

NEXT GEN DUO: Since the introduction of the Next Gen Cup Series car in 2022, Byron and Fugle have a series-leading 11 wins. The duo leads Hendrick Motorsports teammates driver Kyle Larson (eight wins) and crew chief Cliff Daniels (seven wins). Fugle and Byron now rank fourth for the most wins by an active driver and crew chief pairing with 12 wins total.

1.5-MILE MAGIC: Byron is no stranger to success on mile-and-a-half tracks during his Cup Series career. Since the start of 2021 (not counting races on Atlanta Motor Speedway after its reprofiling for 2022), he has had three wins, two runner-up finishes, nine top-fives and 17 top-10s in 24 races on 1.5-mile tracks. In fact, in the Next Gen car, Byron has two wins and collected 564 points on mile-and-a-half tracks – second in both categories to Larson. He also has four consecutive top-10 finishes on 1.5-mile tracks – the longest active streak by a driver.

TEXAS TOUGH: Byron will return to Texas Motor Speedway as the defending winner after his fall triumph in 2023, which also brought Hendrick Motorsports its 300th Cup Series win. He has one runner-up result in nine starts, two top-five finishes and five top-10s. Byron’s three consecutive top-10 runs at Texas are the second-longest active streak on the 1.5-mile oval. The 26-year-old driver has five additional national starts at Texas, with one win and an average finish of 3.50 in two NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts and a 6.00 average finish in three NASCAR Xfinity Series races.

FUGLE HAS ‘NO LIMITS’: Sunday marks Fugle’s fourth Cup Series points-paying event at Texas. In his three previous Cup Series starts, the Livonia, New York, native has one win (September of 2023), two top-five finishes and three top-10s. Fugle has 18 additional national series starts atop the pit box at Texas, where he has visited victory lane at the “No Limits” track five times in the Truck Series – the most for him at any track on the circuit – most recently in 2019 where he swept both races. Byron’s June 2016 triumph is one of those five victories. In his 15 Truck Series starts, Fugle’s drivers have also racked up seven top-five finishes, 11 top-10s and 493 laps led.

PIT ROAD PROWESS: After eight races in the 2024 season, the No. 24 pit crew continues their success from last year. The five-person crew currently ranks third in average four-tire pit stop time at 10.945 seconds. The No. 24 pit crew consists of Spencer Bishop (jackman), Jeff Cordero (front-tire changer), Orane Ossowski (rear-tire changer), Ryan Patton (tire carrier) and Landon Walker (fueler).

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

48 ALEX BOWMAN

Age: 30 (April 25, 1993)

Hometown: Tucson, Arizona

Resides: Concord, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Blake Harris

Standings: 10th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

40TH CELEBRATION IN MARTINSVILLE: Hendrick Motorsports celebrated the 40th anniversary of the 14-time NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning team’s first victory last weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Alex Bowman earned his fourth top-10 result of 2024 as he crossed the finish line in eighth at the checkered flag. With his Hendrick Motorsports teammates (William Byron, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott) running 1-2-3, all four of the organization’s entries placed in the top 10 at Martinsville for the sixth time in team history.

TOP 10 IN THE STANDINGS: Bowman’s finish at the 0.526-mile track was enough to move the 30-year-old driver into the top 10 in the Cup Series driver points standings. In addition, the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver sits in a five-way tie for the third-most top-five finishes (three) and a four-way tie for the seventh-most top-10s (four).

TALKIN’ TEXAS: The Tucson, Arizona, native heads westward for this weekend’s NASCAR competition at Texas Motor Speedway. Bowman has a pair of fifth-place finishes and 58 laps led across 14 Cup Series starts at the 1.5-mile track.

INTERMEDIATE TRACKS: Bowman is one of 10 Cup Series drivers who have earned a win on a 1.5-mile track in the Next Gen car. His victory came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March of 2022. During that race, Bowman led 16 laps en route to reaching victory lane. Overall, he has two 1.5-mile wins in his Cup career, with the first coming in his initial premier series triumph at Chicagoland Speedway in June of 2019.

HARRIS’ HOME TRACK: The No. 48 Ally Racing team crew chief, Blake Harris, will visit his home track on the sport’s circuit this weekend. This year marks the 37-year-old’s second season leading Bowman and the No. 48 team and his third as Cup Series crew chief. Harris’ hometown of Maypearl, Texas, is located about an hour away from the track. Harris guided his drivers to one top-five finish and 66 laps out front in three starts at Texas. Some of his family will be at the track this Sunday to cheer him on for his 74th race atop the pit box in the Cup Series.

RALLY IN THE PITS: The No. 48 Ally Racing pit crew holds the sixth-best average four-tire pit stop time (11.138 seconds). In February, the team delivered the fastest four-tire stop amongst all teams at Atlanta Motor Speedway (9.543 seconds). The five-person crew is composed of Andrew Bridgeforth (rear-tire changer), Jacob Conley (fueler), Brandon Grier (tire carrier), Allen Holman (jackman) and Donnie Tasser (front-tire changer).

BOOKS WITH BOWMAN: April is Financial Literacy Month. The No. 48 team’s primary partner and online banking company, Ally, knows that financial behaviors are learned early. The company dedicates this month to supporting financial education for all ages. Bowman and many Ally volunteers will visit Clara Love Elementary School, located seven minutes from the Fort Worth, Texas, track this Friday. While there, he will read “Adventures With Money” books to elementary school students. Next week, Bowman, his pit crew and Ally volunteers will visit University Meadows Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina, to educate children on financial education in their local community. These readings are just two of many that Ally will lead nationwide this year, educating thousands of students on the importance of financial knowledge and implementation.

ACTIVE IN THE FAN ZONE: Bowman will be in the fan zone this weekend in Texas. On Sunday, fans can visit the driver of the No. 48 at the Chevy stage from 11-11:15 a.m. local time (schedule subject to change). In addition, Bowman will be at the Hendrick Motorsports merchandise hauler signing autographs for the first 100 people who purchase a No. 48 1:24 scale die-cast this weekend. These individuals will receive a wristband to come back for an autograph on Sunday morning.

IN-CAR CAMERA: #Rally48 with views from Bowman’s driver’s seat this weekend. Fans can ride along by tuning into NASCAR’s in-car camera on the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Visit nascar.com/drive to experience the race from a driver’s perspective.

FLUFFY FRIENDS IN FORT WORTH: Bowman and Ally are supporting Best Friends Animal Society and their vast network of partners for the fourth consecutive year. Since the beginning of the 2022 season, the pair has been committed to a combined weekly donation of $4,800 to a Best Friends network partner local to each weekend’s race. This weekend’s beneficiary is Operation Kindness, located in Carrollton, Texas. The shelter is about a 40-minute drive from the track and assists animals needing veterinary care, companionship and a home. Learn more about their programs here.

KEYS TO A CAMARO: Ally and Hendrick Automotive Group have teamed together to celebrate Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary by giving away a 40th Anniversary Edition Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE through the Ally “Win Your Wheels fueled by HendrickCars.com” sweepstakes. The winner will also receive a private meet and greet with Bowman at this year’s fall Martinsville race. NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports and No. 48 fans can enter to win at Ally.com/sweepstakes/nascar. The sweepstakes will end on Sept. 20, 2024.

HENDRICK
MOTORSPORTS /

2024	All-Time	Texas
Races	8	1,353	43
Wins	4*	305*	11*
Poles	3**	249*	7**
Top 5	12*	1,244*	43*
Top 10	16	2,128*	78*
Laps Led	696	80,453*	3,034*
Stage Wins	5	103	3

*Most **Most (tie)

FABULOUS 40: In 2024, Hendrick Motorsports is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Among the categories that the organization holds the NASCAR Cup Series record for are all-time wins (305), poles (249), laps led (80,453) and championships (14). With William Byron’s win at Martinsville Speedway, the team has won at least four races a year in 30 of the last 31 seasons. It is also the sixth time the team has won at least four of the first eight races in a season (1995, 1996, 1997, 2007 and 2022 were the other occurrences).

1-2-3: Last Sunday at Martinsville, Hendrick Motorsports became the first team to record a top-three sweep at the 0.526-mile track—a venue where the team has won a track record 29 times. Byron won the race, Kyle Larson placed second and Chase Elliott finished third. In its history, the organization has three additional 1-2-3 finishes: the 1997 DAYTONA 500, the 2021 race at Dover Motor Speedway (where the team finished 1-2-3-4) and the 2023 spring race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

TALLYING TOP FIVES: In the last four races in the 2024 season, at least two drivers from the squad have finished in the top five. At Martinsville, it was the Byron-Larson-Elliott 1-2-3 finish. At Richmond Raceway, Larson placed third and Elliott was fifth. For the Circuit of The Americas race, Byron won and Alex Bowman was fourth in the final running order. Bowman and Larson finished fourth and fifth in the Bristol Motor Speedway spring race, respectively. This is the organization’s longest streak since the final four races of the 2021 season.

FROM THE POLE: Hendrick Motorsports is one pole position away from becoming the first Cup Series team to reach 250. Across 31 tracks, 20 drivers, including all four of the team’s current drivers have won poles for the squad. Team vice chairman Jeff Gordon’s 81 pole positions are the most by a driver in the organization’s history and Daytona International Speedway tops the track list at 23 pole positions.

PIT POWER: Based on Racing Insights data, all four Hendrick Motorsports pit crews rank in the top six among Cup Series teams for the fastest average four-tire pit stop. The No. 9 pit crew is second (10.848 seconds), followed by the No. 24 pit crew in third (10.945 seconds) and the No. 5 pit crew in fourth (11.022 seconds). The No. 48 pit crew is sixth (11.138 seconds).

LONE STAR LOWDOWN: With 11 points-paying wins at Texas Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports is the most victorious team at the track. Jimmie Johnson accounts for seven of those and holds the track record for most Cup Series wins. Terry Labonte, Byron, Gordon and Larson each have one win at the 1.5-mile venue.

LAST TIME AT TEXAS: On Hendrick Motorsports’ previous visit to the Fort Worth, Texas, facility on Sept. 24, 2023, history was made as the team became the first to reach 300 wins in the Cup Series. Byron secured the landmark victory by leading the final six laps. Larson led 99 laps on the day but was involved in a late-race incident in turn one while battling for the lead.

NO LIMITS TO LEADING: In the past three races at Texas, the Concord, North Carolina-based team has led 55.94% of the laps run (523 of 935). Over that span, Larson leads all drivers in laps led (374), while Byron has paced the field for the fourth-most laps (103) and Elliott has led the fifth-most circuits (45).

NEXT GEN NUMBERS: Team owner Rick Hendrick’s six wins on 1.5-mile tracks in the Next Gen car lead all organizations in the Cup Series. Since 2022, Larson has three wins on 1.5-mile tracks, while Byron has two victories and they are two of the four drivers with multiple victories on that track length. In addition, Larson (566) and Byron (564) rank one-two in points earned on 1.5-milers in the Next Gen era. Additionally, Bowman has one triumph on this track length in this span of time. Earlier this year at Las Vegas, Larson scored the victory in the series’ lone 2024 race at a 1.5-mile layout.

SWEEP SENSATIONS: In four of Hendrick Motorsports’ six Next Gen wins on 1.5-mile tracks, a driver has swept the stages en route to the win. Larson did this in all three of his victories on 1.5-mile tracks (Homestead-Miami Speedway in October of 2022 and Las Vegas in October of 2023 and March of 2024) and Byron accomplished it in one of his wins (Las Vegas in March of 2023).

QUOTABLE /

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his outlook heading to Texas Motor Speedway: “We’ve had a lot of good runs at Texas (Motor Speedway) in the HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet, including a couple of wins. We had the win earlier this year on the mile-and-a-half Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) track, so I hope we build on that and are in contention again this weekend.”

Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the challenges of Texas: “Texas (Motor Speedway) is such a fun track. Our team loves going there. It is a challenging place because both ends are so different. You have (turns) one and two that are a little bit flatter and have a different turn radius, while (turns) three and four are high banked and you carry a lot of speed through them. It’s fun to watch Kyle (Larson) drive there. He has a natural knack for places with a bit of character like Texas has. We enjoy the challenge of setting up a car to go fast. There are going to be handling adjustments you have to make and track conditions you have to keep up with. That said, we always enjoy going there and certainly look forward to going back this weekend.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the team’s momentum right now: “It was great to be in the hunt last weekend at Martinsville (Speedway). We’ve made a lot of gains this season—everything from qualifying to pit stops to strategy calls. I really feel good about where we’re at as a team and where we’re heading. As I said after the race, I’m hungry for more.”

Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Texas: “Texas (Motor Speedway) is certainly a unique track and lends itself some difficulties, but I feel good about where we ran there last year and where our intermediate program is at. We had a good run at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway). I think we should have finished better than we did, but we can build on that. We need to go to Texas and have some success. We’re operating well as a team and we have good pace in our Chevrolets. Qualifying will be key this weekend. We have to stay upfront or find a way to be upfront and stay upfront because track position is difficult.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on continuing to build their mile-and-a-half program: “It’s going to take adjusting to what the track is like. We have a good idea already of where our setup needs to be from past experiences. All of the Hendrick Motorsports cars were fast in the fall at Texas (Motor Speedway) and we take what we learn from our teammates as well as our own experience to try to keep building. We obviously don’t know what the other teams and OEMs are doing, so we just need to see how competitive we are when we unload and make adjustments from there.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his thoughts for Texas this weekend: “This will be the first time we’ve raced at Texas (Motor Speedway) in the Next Gen car when it hasn’t been extremely hot and it’s the first time we’re going there in April in a very long time. It’s another tough track but a fun one to win at as well. We were lucky enough to win the last time we were there (for Hendrick Motorsports’ 300th Cup Series win). We’re trying to build on our mile-and-a-half program. We were confident at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) this year but had the incident with the trash bag. We still have some good notes, though, from that race that we will build off of for this weekend.”

Fugle on strategy options at Texas: “There’s going to be a stay-out option and a two-tire option possibly at some point in the race. You just have to pick the right time to do it. It could get you stage points or a stage win but then you pit and come out 25th because of those who pitted earlier. You’re really trying to forecast the entire race at all times, which is a tough thing to do. That’s one of the hardest parts of Cup racing. The races are so long that you have to strategize through the entire event and it constantly can change.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the team’s gains in recent weeks: “So far in 2024, our No. 48 Ally Racing team has had kind of a hit-or-miss season. The majority of the past few weeks have been solid. Besides Richmond (Raceway), we have finished in the top 10 in three of the last four races. A goal for Blake (Harris) and I was to improve our performance in qualifying and we’ve done that in the last two weeks. I look forward to getting back on track at Texas (Motor Speedway) in Blake’s home state.

Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on carrying the team’s momentum to an intermediate track: “I think the last month has been really good to us, even though we didn’t get the finish that we wanted at Richmond Raceway. I think the No. 48 Ally Racing team has had a really strong car for the last four to five weeks. We’ve been good at short tracks, a road course and a superspeedway. This weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, we will be going back to an intermediate. I’m looking forward to getting back on track at an intermediate since we have a lot of that style of track coming up on the schedule. Our team is ready to carry this momentum to Texas.”

LOCUST, N.C. (April 11, 2024) – As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, the No. 47 Camaro driven by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will carry the Blue Buffalo and Boost by Kroger livery. Away from the racetrack, Blue Buffalo and Kroger Delivery will team up with pit reporter and play-by-play for Fox Sports, Jamie Little to celebrate a milestone in her ‘Shelter Surprise’ mission to save and help rescue animals across the country.

Since 2017, Little has organically visited 26 shelters across the country on race weekends to make donations of food and supplies to help enable them to continue their missions of helping those animals in need of finding their forever families. Many of Little’s endeavors were done without any additional assistance from corporate partners or even anyone other than her going to the facilities. During that time, Little has donated more than $95,000 worth of supplies to those facilities and showcased countless animals looking for their new families through her social media channels, undoubtably saving countless lives in the process.

“The Shelter Surprises really started for me as a way to help the local animal shelters in the various cities that I was visiting through traveling the NASCAR circuit,” said Little. “In some cases, we would be under a rain delay, and I had extra time in the market and I would simply head to the store to purchase whatever would fit into my rental vehicle that weekend and head to a local shelter. And of course, once I was there, I had to take time to visit with the adoptable residents and wanted to help find them homes, so I posted them on my social platforms. Over time, while I have a lot of fans message me or talk with me about my career in motorsports, I have just as many talk with me about helping animals or asking how they can get involved or start their own shelter surprises and that for me has really been a wonderful thing.”

Blue Buffalo and Kroger Delivery are teaming up with Little this weekend for her milestone ‘Shelter Surprise’ visit. On Saturday afternoon, the group will visit Operation Kindness, a life-saving shelter located in Carrolton, Texas. Blue Buffalo and Kroger will load up the Kroger Delivery truck with dog/cat food, treats along with litter, beds, toys, leashes and other much needed supplies. With these donations, Little’s total donations will crest the $100,000 mark.

In addition to the donations of supplies, Blue Buffalo will pay for 100 adoptions at Operation Kindness and Boost by Kroger will donate a Boost membership to the shelter for their use. Kroger Health Savings cards will also be placed within the adoption packages to make pet parents aware of the opportunity to have their pet’s prescriptions filled at their local Kroger Pharmacy.

“The mission that Jamie has been on is commendable and truly representative of the promise that our founders’ at BLUE made, which was not only to make the best pet food, but also a promise to help dogs and cats in need,” said Rob Branham, Senior Customer Manager, Blue Buffalo. “We’re proud to help with 100 adoptions at Operation Kindness as well as provide them with BLUE dog and cat food as part of Jamie’s shelter surprise here in the Texas market.”

To further honor Little’s mission of helping animals in need, Blue Buffalo and Kroger have added the name ‘Stella’ to the passenger side window of the No. 47 for this weekend’s race in Texas. Stella was Little’s first rescue and she passed away earlier this year. Thanks to Stella, Little’s eyes and heart were opened to the amazing benefits of rescue and her spirit lives on through each and every shelter pet that’s been saved through the awareness Little has brought to the need nationwide.

“I’m proud to carry Stella’s name on my Boost by Kroger/Blue Buffalo Camaro this weekend,” said Ricky Stenhouse Jr. “And to be associated with such a great partner like Blue Buffalo who does so much to help pets around the country and to see them team up with Jamie Little for her milestone Shelter Surprise this weekend shows how caring and generous they are. Opportunities like this are just one example of how all the partners associated with this Kroger Racing program are able to make the most of their relationships in various ways.”

If there’s interest in helping shelter pets, but people aren’t sure where or how to help, it’s easy. Go to your local shelter and donate – anything from money and gift cards to toys, food, treats, cleaning supplies or even your time. Shelters across the country are in need of volunteers as well as foster families or if there’s space in your home to adopt, lives and hearts can be changed forever!

About Blue Buffalo:

Blue Buffalo, the country’s most loved and trusted natural pet food, started with a promise made to a lovable Airedale named Blue who struggled with cancer, the #1 disease-related killer of dogs and cats. His family, the Bishops, wanted to feed him the best food possible, so they searched for food with high-quality ingredients, but decided to create something even better – natural pet food for dogs and cats with nutritious ingredients, real meat first, and some of the highest standards in the industry. Since Day 1, BLUE’s team of veterinarians and animal nutritionists have carefully selected high-quality, natural ingredients and upheld its True BLUE Promise to dog and cat pet parents – real meat as the first ingredient with NO chicken (or poultry) by-product meals, NO corn, wheat or soy, and NO artificial flavors or preservatives. The result is a portfolio of high-quality, natural food and treats that both dogs and cats love. This simple idea: “Love them like family. Feed them like family.” lives on today in every Blue Buffalo recipe.

Our founders’ promise to Blue wasn’t just to make the best pet food we could; it was also a promise to help dogs and cats in need. Over the years, that promise has evolved to more than $30 Million donated to fight against pet cancer and support for more than 9 million pet adoptions through partnerships with organizations like Helen Woodward Animal Center and Stray Rescue of St. Louis.