NASCAR CUP SERIES RICHMOND RACEWAY TOYOTA OWNERS 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT MARCH 30, 2024
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Richmond Raceway.
Media Availability Quotes:
The fact that Long Beach has even been rumored to maybe being a venue.. do you like the idea of adding street races or road races to the schedule, or do you like the balance that we have now between oval and road courses?
“I don’t know.. I hadn’t really put too much thought into it. It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t really mind it. I think Long Beach would be cool because it’s a nice area. Yeah, I would be OK with it.”
In the Hendrick Motorsports Museum, there’s a big sign that says ‘Race to 300’, and now it says ‘304’ above it. I’m curious.. what would be the next big thing for Hendrick Motorsports or do you have any sense of what the next big sentimental moment would be?
“I don’t know.. probably a championship in the 40th season. I think that would put Hendrick Motorsports at 15 championships, as well, so maybe that would be the one closest to chasing. I didn’t even know 80,000 laps (led) was a thing until leading into Phoenix. I’m sure there are other milestones that I haven’t really heard about yet. I think all of us would love to win a championship in the 40th season.”
As the defending winner of Martinsville Speedway next weekend, when did you guys really feel like you got your skill level to a point where Martinsville was just comfortable and it became repetitive?
“It’s still not (laughs). Honestly, it’s still not comfortable for me. I still don’t really feel I can run like consistent, comfortable laps with a rhythm. Yeah, I won last year, but it’s still not a good track for me. I don’t go there and dominate like I have at a lot of other race tracks. But we happened to win there last year, so that was really neat and something I’ll never forget. It was something that I never thought I would do. I still have a lot of room for improvement there to be a consistent contender.”
With the way all the Hendrick Motorsports cars seem to be running so well right now, does that kind of elevate your game because you know, in addition to Joe Gibbs Racing, most of your competition is going to come from within?
“I don’t know.. I think honestly just try and focus on yourself, and focus on trying to put together the best race possible for you and your team. Yeah, we’re quick every weekend, which is great. But yeah, I think because of that, you’re not really losing too much focus.”
We’ve seen over the years, especially on the dirt side, you just get bombarded by fans, and it seems like you’ve really embraced that. What has gone into your willingness to give a lot of yourself to fans anywhere you go?
“I don’t know.. I think I understand that I’m a draw. I remember being a kid – going into the pit area and wanting autographs from drivers and stuff. They always took the time for me, so I try my best to take my time for every fan that stops by my hauler after the races. Sometimes I’m there for 20 minutes.. sometimes I’m there for two hours signing.
I don’t know.. I just enjoy it. I enjoy feeling like I’m making an impact on the event; the promotion and just the sport, in general. It’s cool. It gets overwhelming during the night sometimes, but I try my best, for sure.”
Now that the sports betting flood gates have opened in a lot of places now. It has the potential for growth for a lot of sports and getting people interested. Have you ever put any thought towards the pros and cons of what that could mean for NASCAR and racing, in general?
“No.. no, I haven’t. I haven’t yet. I don’t gamble on sports, so I think maybe if I gambled on sports, I would have an opinion on it.
Yeah, I don’t do any gambling, but I do think, or I would assume, it would be good for the sport overall, just because you would attract probably a bigger audience.. a new audience that maybe hadn’t paid any attention to NASCAR racing. And a younger, I would think, audience, as well.”
A lot of drivers seem to list Martinsville Speedway as one of their tougher tracks, although it’s the shortest, slowest, etc. Where would you put it on your list of tough places that you have to race at?
“Yeah, I would say it’s up there. It used to be probably the toughest track for me, and still probably is in the top two or three toughest places. Honestly, here at Richmond (Raceway) and Martinsville (Speedway) are probably both up there, which is surprising that I’ve won a couple Cup races here and a Cup race at Martinsville, just because they are so difficult on me. They just don’t really suit my driving style. They don’t suit kind of the style that I learned growing up in sprint cars and stuff. I think everybody assumes with a short-track.. like sprint cars race on short-tracks, so it must translate 100 percent. But the driving style at a sprint car track is more like an intermediate – fast speeds, not a lot of brake. Where at Martinsville and Richmond, you’re like slowing down and trying to hit this mark all the time, which is difficult for me. So yeah, it’s tough.”
Does it surprise you that Bubba Pollard came in here and led practice for his first time out in these cars?
“No, I guess not really. I knew he’d be good and all that. I hadn’t really paid attention (to practice), I had just read a tweet on my way in here that he was quickest, and then I see that he’s like last in qualifying. So I don’t even know.. I’m assuming that car has enough points to make the race, or I hope it does anyways.
I’m just interested to see how his race goes and all that. He’s one of the best short-track racers that I’ve ever heard about. I don’t think I’ve ever raced with him, but the little bit of attention that I’ve paid to pavement late model racing, he seems to be the best. I’m excited to see how he does. Hopefully he can drive from the back to the front and get more opportunities.”
Obviously this time last year, you won the Toyota Owners 400. What is your approach coming into this race this weekend?
“I don’t know. As I’ve mentioned, it’s a tough place for me, so I don’t ever really come here with the highest of expectations.. more so just because of me. Talking to my team and stuff – we won the spring race, but we were really bad in the fall race. So I think we’ve come here with a much different approach for car setup. I’m just excited to get on track in practice and feel if it translates and if we’re really quick or not. And then kind of evaluate from there and set goals for the race. As of right now, I just don’t know what to expect. But I’m excited for the challenge and ready to get going.”
What approach did your team have going into this year versus last year, even though the tracks may have changed?
“I’m not sure. As far as our team, it hasn’t really changed too much since I got there four years ago. We’ve had a couple of guys come and go, but overall, our team has been pretty much the same since I started there. The pit crew, there’s only one guy different. And then on our team, I think there’s two or three guys now that have changed.
Cliff Daniels, my crew chief, and the leader of the team – he does a great job of assembling people and leading our team. I feel like our communication is great within the team, especially during the race. Every team is trying to improve every week. Look at how you did, whether it be good or bad from the race before, and try to improve on it. That’s our goal every week, and sometimes that looks different week-to-week on what needs to be improved. But I feel like our team knows the areas to work on.”
Was there anything in the celebration after the win at Martinsville, or in the days following, that made you realize just how important Martinsville is to Hendrick Motorsports?
“I would say not any more than what I already knew. I understood the significance of Martinsville (Speedway) long before I ever got to Hendrick Motorsports. You could see it when any of their teams won, what that place meant to them. So when I got to come to Hendrick Motorsports, I knew about Martinsville and all that, and I hoped that I would win there some day to add to the legacy there.
I think Cliff (Daniels) and myself, both, probably never expected me to win there, so that made it really good. The first win there is talked about a lot, but the tragedy, I feel like, is not mentioned often.. at least personally to me. But it’s always on everybody’s minds anytime we get ready to go to Martinsville. Yeah, I’m sure all of that makes us want to win there, or have a good run there, even more than other tracks probably.”
About Chevrolet
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Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway… In 188 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has scored nine wins, led by Dale Earnhardt’s five victories (1985 – spring, both races in 1987, 1990 – fall, and 1991 – spring). Kevin Harvick won three times (2006 – fall, 2011 – fall, and 2013 – spring), while Clint Bowyer scored his first short track victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond (2008 – spring). The team owns 39 top-five and 76 top-10 finishes in NASCAR Cup Series competition at Richmond.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats at Richmond Raceway… RCR has seven victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Richmond Raceway led by Kevin Harvick’s five victories. RCR has racked up 32 top-five and 60 top-10 finishes at Richmond entering Saturday afternoon’s race.
Catch Saturday’s Action… The Richmond 250 at Richmond Raceway will be televised live on Saturday, March 30 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Follow Sunday’s Action in Richmond… The Richmond 400 will be televised live on Sunday, March 31 beginning at 7 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Richmond Raceway… In 19 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond Raceway, Dillon’s best finish is fourth (Fall 2020). His six top-10 finishes at the track include a pair of consecutive sixth-place finishes (April 2019 and September 2018). In his most recent appearance at the track in July 2023, Dillon finished ninth after starting 17th. He has 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Richmond Raceway, acquiring two top-five finishes, seven top-10 finishes, and one pole award.
Fun Fact… Dillon’s career-first NASCAR Xfinity Series start came at Richmond Raceway in 2008 driving the No. 21 Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma Chevrolet for RCR with crew chief Shane Wilson calling the shots. Dillon, who finished 26th in the race, went on to earn an Xfinity Series championship for RCR in 2012.
BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Team Up with Dillon… Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team will be supported by BREZTRI AEROSPHERE®, an AstraZeneca product, at Richmond Raceway. This partnership is about more than just racing. You can learn more about Austin Dillon and his family’s personal connection to the brand at Breztri.com. AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases, and Biopharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
What are your expectations for Richmond Raceway this weekend?
“I am looking forward to racing at Richmond Raceway with my No. 3 team under the lights. Richmond Raceway is one of the top short tracks in the country. It is a fast, fun track, and it can also be challenging for drivers to keep up with track conditions throughout the night as the rubber lays down and temperatures drop. It’s a track that we’ve been consistently good at over the years. Last summer we finished ninth. It is very difficult to keep the car balanced the entire time. In the beginning, I disliked Richmond Raceway for a long time, but as time passed, I have grown to enjoy racing there and have come to appreciate it.”
Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Richmond Raceway… Kyle Busch enters this weekend’s race with six NASCAR Cup Series victories at Richmond Raceway in 36 previous starts – the most by any active driver – and is tied for third on the all-time win list at the track. The driver of the Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet leads all active drivers at Richmond in several statistical categories: top-five finishes (19), top-10s (28), most lead lap finishes (35) and average finish (7.08). Busch has 11 top-10 finishes in the last 12 races at the Virginia short track. The Las Vegas, Nev., native has also enjoyed much success at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, claiming six wins in 23 starts.
The Points Chase… Busch enters Richmond fresh off a ninth-place finish one week ago at Circuit of the Americas. He used his second top-10 finish of the season to jump up three positions in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, moving into 13th-place, just 21 points outside the top-10.
All But One… Busch has been running at the finish in all 36 previous Cup Series races at Richmond. In fact, he has completed all but one lap in those events, completing 14,428 of a possible 14,429 laps. Those completed laps equal 10,821 miles.
Welcome Rebel Bourbon… Bardstown, Kentucky-based Rebel Bourbon will make their debut as a primary sponsor in NASCAR this weekend at Richmond Raceway with Richard Childress Racing on the No. 8 Chevrolet driven by Kyle Busch. Rebel is the official bourbon of Richard Childress Racing and the award-winning bourbon will be Busch’s primary sponsor on multiple races during the 2024 and 2025 NASCAR Cup Series seasons.
About Rebel® Bourbon… Distilled in Bardstown, Kentucky, by Lux Row Distillers Master Distiller John Rempe, Rebel Bourbon features a wheated mash bill that is true to its original recipe dating back to 1849. Known for its smoother, sweeter flavor, highlighted by delicious caramel and vanilla flavor notes, Rebel celebrates the “Rebel spirit in all of us” – especially those who embrace freedom, defiance and a little attitude. In 2023, Rebel Bourbon 10 Year Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey was awarded a gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a Double Platinum ASCOT award. The brand’s Rebel 100 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey was awarded gold medals at the 2023 SIP and ASCOT awards.
About Luxco®… Founded in St. Louis in 1958 by the Lux Family, Luxco® is a leading producer, supplier, importer and bottler of beverage alcohol products. Our mission is to meet the needs and exceed the expectations of consumers, associates and business partners. Merged with MGP® Ingredients, Inc. in 2021 (Nasdaq: MGPI), Luxco operates as MGP’s Brands Division and manages all MGP/Luxco brands. This extensive and award-winning spirits portfolio includes well-known brands from four distilleries: Bardstown, Kentucky-based Lux Row Distillers®, home of Ezra Brooks®, Rebel®, Blood Oath®, David Nicholson® and Daviess County®; Lebanon, Kentucky-based Limestone Branch Distillery®, maker of Yellowstone® Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Minor Case® Straight Rye Whiskey and Bowling & Burch® Gin; Jalisco, Mexico-based Destiladora González Lux, producer of 100% agave tequilas, El Mayor®, Exotico® and Dos Primos®; and Ross & Squibb® Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where Remus® Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Rossville Union® Straight Rye Whiskey are produced. The innovative and high-quality brand portfolio also includes Penelope® Bourbon, Everclear® Grain Alcohol, Pearl® Vodka, Saint Brendan’s® Irish Cream, The Quiet Man™ Irish Whiskey, Green Hat® Gin and other well-recognized brands. For more information about the company and its brands, visit luxco.com.
KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:
You have completed all but one lap in 36 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond Raceway (14,428 of a possible 14,429 laps). How do you view that accomplishment?
“Well, it makes me mad that I missed out on that one lap. I see that accomplishment as a pretty cool stat that probably not a lot of drivers have at different racetracks. It makes sense considering that Richmond is probably one of my better statistical tracks on the circuit.”
Last July you qualified third and finished second at Richmond Raceway, one of your better performances on a short track. Did you find something setup-wise in that race that will help you run well this coming weekend?
“We qualified second and finished third and felt like we had some good ideas going into that race and they seemed to pay off and work well for us. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for some of the other short tracks we went to last year. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro SS at Richmond Raceway… Jesse Love will make his inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Richmond Raceway this Saturday. The 19-year-old has never seen the .750-mile D-shaped oval in person and Saturday’s practice session will mark his first lap on the surface.
Strong Start for the Rookie… Love has come out of the newcomer gate strong, notching two top-10 finishes at Phoenix Raceway and Circuit of The Americas and showcasing a dominate performance at Atlanta Motor Speedway before running out of fuel on the final restart. Love has completed 99.9% of the laps competed (743 of 744) and led the field for a total of 191 laps.
ROTY Leader… With five races complete, Love continues to extend his lead in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year point standings. The Menlo Park, California native currently holds a 58-point lead over second-place Shane van Gisbergen.
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:
What are your thoughts heading into your first race at Richmond Raceway?
“Simulator has been good, and I have it relatively figured out for never racing there yet. It seems like a weird short track that requires discipline, which is one of my strong suits. When I’m locked in, I can be very disciplined, and it’s one of the hardest things that I’ve worked on this year – to stay in control and be disciplined behind the wheel. I have a good mindset of that going into the weekend. We made big gains on the handling in the simulator and having Stockman (crew chief) here has helped. He’s really good at making the front-end work, which is something that is needed for Richmond, so hopefully that will translate on the track for both me and Austin (Hill).”
Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Camaro SS at Richmond Raceway… Austin Hill has two career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Richmond Raceway, earning a best finish of ninth place in 2023. In addition, Hill has competed in two NASCAR Truck Series events, notching one pole (2020) and two top-10 results (2020 – 2021), and three ARCA Menards Series East races, posting one win (2015) and three top-10 finishes (2013 – 2015) at the Virginia short track.
Top-Five Streak Rolls On… Hill is the only Xfinity Series driver who has finished inside the top-five in each of the opening five races. The 29-year-old won at both Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway, secured a pair of fourth-place results at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway, and finished in the runner up position last week at Circuit of The Americas.
Points Leader Again… With a second-place result at Circuit of The Americas, Hill returned to the lead in the Xfinity Series driver championship point standings. The Winston, Ga. native has a nine-point lead over second-place Chandler Smith.
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:
You had success at Richmond Raceway early in your career. What is your outlook heading back to a short track and what do you need out a car to run up front this weekend?
“I feel good about going to Richmond Raceway, because I won there in an ARCA Menards Series East car and I’ve had success there in the Truck Series even if the finishes don’t show for it. We always ran well, but something crazy would happen at the end of the race. You want to have a long run car there, not a short run car, because a lot of times Richmond goes green for a while – 75 lap stages and you can go green the entire time. Last year, our No. 21 team was able to improve from our rookie season together, but we still left with work to do in order to compete for the win. Hopefully with the things that we’ve learned in the simulator since then, we can take another step in the right direction.
To have a successful day, we need to have long run speed, manage entry as best as possible, have turn in the middle and then drive off. The drive off is crucial. You need drive off in order to not burn up the right front or right rear and go to the limit of the tire without slipping those right sides. That’s the key to having tire life at the end of a run.”
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media in the Richmond Raceway media center on Saturday, March 30, at 9:15 a.m. local time.
DEFENDING WINNER: On Sunday, Kyle Larson will look to defend his win at Richmond Raceway after going to victory lane there in April of 2023. During that race, Larson led 93 laps (his most ever at Richmond). The 31-year-old driver has earned two wins, four top-five finishes and eight top-10s in 18 NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Virginia short track. During the Next Gen era (2022-present), he has run the fourth-most laps in the top five (622) and the sixth-most laps in the top 10 (904).
THREE OF FOUR IN 5: Larson has four short-track victories, three of which have occurred since joining the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team in 2021. The trio of wins occurred in his last 13 starts with visits to victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2021 and Richmond and Martinsville Speedway in 2023.
EIGHT IS (NOT) ENOUGH: Larson leads several statistical categories over the last eight Cup Series short-track races. The 2021 Cup Series champion is tied for the most wins (two), poles (one), top-five finishes (six) and top-10s (seven), while he is tops in second-place finishes (two) and average finish (5.13). Larson has finished in the top six in seven of the last eight short-track events.
NEXT GEN(ERATIONAL) TALENT: Larson only trails Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron in wins in the Next Gen car. Byron, the Cup Series’ most recent winner, has 10 wins, and Larson has eight in the most recent iteration of the car in NASCAR’s premier series. Since 2022, Larson has the second-best average finish (7.18), second-most wins (two) and third-most points (416) on short tracks.
PUTTING IN WORK IN THE PITS: The No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM pit crew has this season’s fifth-best average four-tire pit stop time (11.085 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).
HENDRICKCARS.COM IS HOME: Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM crew will wear their white “home” fire suits this weekend at Richmond. Every HENDRICKCARS.COM home race this season will feature a unique hat released the week of the event that is 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 Richmond hat here. The No. 5 team celebrates home races in markets where Hendrick Automotive Group car dealerships are located.
THE (CAR) CAPITOL: The River City is also a car town. The Richmond, Virginia, market is home to Hendrick Automotive Group dealership Rick Hendrick Chevrolet Buick GMC Richmond. Not located in Richmond? 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: 9th
No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
RICHMOND RECORD: Chase Elliott will make his 16th Richmond Raceway start this Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series. In his previous 15 races at the 0.75-mile oval, he collected five top-five finishes – one being a runner-up result (April of 2018) – and six top-10s. Additionally, he has made four Richmond starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, never finishing outside the top five and earning a win in 2015.
SHORT-TRACK PERFORMANCE: The Richmond race will be Elliott’s 47th short-track start in the Cup Series. Through those previous 46 races, he has garnered one win – Martinsville Speedway in November of 2020 – 14 top-five finishes, 24 top-10s, two pole awards and 1,579 laps led. The 28-year-old driver finished inside the top 10 in seven of his last nine short-track starts. Since the Next Gen’s debut in 2022, Elliott has the fourth-best average finish (9.60) and scored the fifth-most points (340) on short tracks. In one points-paying start this season on a track measuring less than 1 mile in length, he placed eighth at Bristol Motor Speedway.
2024 NUMBERS: Sunday will mark the premier series’ seventh race of the 2024 season. Across the first six races, Elliott has completed all but one of the 1,607 laps in competition – tied for second best. Additionally, he has the seventh-best average running position (13.34), the ninth-most laps inside the top 10 (656) and the 10th-most circuits in the top five (301). Elliott has led 18 laps this season, including the 80,000th in the Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports. In 2024, Elliott and the No. 9 team have been consistently fast in qualifying, earning three consecutive top-10 starting positions and four out of six total for the year.
GREAT GUSTAFSON: On Sunday, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson is set to call his 36th Richmond race in his 20th season in the Cup Series. In his previous 35 starts at the track with five different drivers (Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, Mark Martin, Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon and Elliott), Gustafson accumulated 15 top-five finishes – including five runner-up results – 19 top-10s and 625 laps led.
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 six Cup Series races in 2024, the No. 9 pit crew ranks fourth in average four-tire pit stop time (11.058 seconds). On March 17 at Bristol, 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 (front-tire changer) and T.J. Semke (jackman). In addition, this group was the winning pit crew for last weekend’s Xfinity Series win for the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM team at Circuit of The Americas.
UNIFIRST IS BACK: UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF), a North American leader in providing customized work uniform programs, corporate attire and facility service products, is back on board as the primary partner on No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for its first of five races in 2024. Get a look at all the angles of the UniFirst Chevrolet here.
24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 26 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 6th
No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media in the Richmond Raceway media center on Saturday, March 30, at 9:30 a.m. local time.
ANOTHER WON: William Byron dominated at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) this past weekend. After finishing practice fastest overall, he captured his second consecutive pole at the Austin, Texas, facility, setting the track record in the process. When the field went green Sunday, Byron set the tone early and led 42 of 68 laps en route to the win. This was the 26-year-old’s first win after capturing the pole and the first time since 2019 that a driver “won the weekend.” This is the third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series season that Byron has been the first multi-win driver – a feat that hasn’t been done since Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon did it from 1997 to 1999.
WHAT’S IN A NUMBER: With his win at COTA, Byron continues to extend the history and legacy of the No. 24. The iconic car number is third on the all-time list with 105 Cup Series wins, trailing only the No. 43 (200 wins) and the No. 11 (232 wins). All of Byron’s 12 premier series wins have come in the No. 24, while Gordon accounts for 93 wins. To top it off, his win on Sunday ties him for the fifth-most wins by a Hendrick Motorsports driver (12 in 222 starts) – tied with Terry Labonte, who captured his 12 wins in 387 starts.
NEXT GEN DUO: Since the introduction of the Next Gen Cup Series car in 2022, Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle hold a series-leading 10 wins. The duo leads Hendrick Motorsports teammates driver Kyle Larson (eight wins) and crew chief Cliff Daniels (seven wins).
NIGHT HAWK: The Cup Series will race under the lights for the second time this year. Byron has the most wins (three) in night races (Martinsville Speedway in April of 2022, Atlanta Motor Speedway in July of 2023 and the DAYTONA 500 in February of 2024) since the inception of the Next Gen car. In the last six races under the lights, Byron has claimed two wins and finished better than ninth in all events.
READY FOR RICHMOND: This Sunday’s race at Richmond Raceway will mark Byron’s 12th Cup Series start at the 0.75-mile track. He currently has a track-best finish of third that came in April of 2022 after starting on the front row and leading 122 laps. Byron also came close to picking up the victory in April of 2023 after winning stage one and leading a race-high 117 laps, but he was involved in an on-track incident that left him with a 24th-place finish. In the Next Gen car at Richmond, Byron has led the most laps (239) and run the third-most laps in the top five (654). His total laps led at the track are the second most he’s led at a single track in his career.
RUDY’S RICHMOND RECORD: Fugle will make his sixth Cup Series start atop the pit box at Richmond on Sunday. His best Cup Series start at the short track came in April of 2022, where Byron and the No. 24 team had a track-best weekend, qualifying second, leading 122 laps and ultimately finishing third after being passed for the win with five laps to go. The Livonia, New York, native has three additional national series starts in the capital city of Virginia – one in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and two in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
PIT ROAD PROWESS: After six races in the 2023 season, the No. 24 pit crew continues to build on their success from last season. The team’s clutch work in the pits aided Byron’s path to victory at COTA. Currently, the five-person crew ranks second-best in average four-tire pit stop time (10.960 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: For Sunday’s race at Richmond, Byron will sport Liberty University on board his No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Featuring a white base with navy flames and red accents, the Liberty University No. 24 will surely stand out on track. Liberty University has a long history with Byron starting in 2014 in the late model ranks. 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 offer more than 600 degree programs, from the certificate to the doctoral level, on campus and online. Working on an undergraduate degree in strategic communication, Byron is in his junior year at Liberty University through its online program. For a better look at Byron’s Liberty University paint scheme, click here.
HELP RELAY OUT: The final round of a bracket-style fan vote to determine the paint scheme for the No. 24 Relay Payments Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will continue through Thursday, March 28. Running at the Chicago Street Course in July and then later at Atlanta in the playoffs, it’s in the fans’ hands for what Byron’s race car will look like. Relay Payments, the fintech company modernizing payments for the trucking and logistics industries, came on board last summer as a partner for the No. 24 team. The winning paint scheme will be unveiled on Friday, March 29. To look at the options and place a vote, click here.
48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 30 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 11th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
TOP FIVE TOP FIVE: Alex Bowman has earned two consecutive top-five finishes at Circuit of The Americas and Bristol Motor Speedway. The identical fourth-place results mark the first time Bowman has finished in the top five in back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series races since 2020. Combined with his runner-up finish in the prestigious DAYTONA 500, the driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is tied for the series lead in top-five finishes (three) with three other competitors through the first six races this season. The Tucson, Arizona, native holds the best average finish of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers in 2024 and the fifth-best mark among series regulars (12.50).
CONTINUED SUCCESS AT COTA: Bowman’s fourth-place run in “The Lone Star State” last Sunday was his third consecutive top-five finish and fourth straight top-10 at the 20-turn Austin, Texas, track (eighth in 2021, second in 2022, third in 2023 and fourth in 2023).
SHORT-TRACK STATS: Of active Cup Series drivers, Bowman is one of eight drivers with multiple short-track wins. Both of his victories have come in Virginia and coincidentally at the next two tracks on the schedule: Richmond Raceway (April of 2021) and Martinsville Speedway (October of 2021). The two wins were part of his career-best (to date) four-win season.
RUNNING IT BACK AT RICHMOND: In the Richmond spring race of 2021, Bowman took the lead for the first time with 10 laps to go. At the checkered flag, he proved triumphant over the second-place competitor by a mere 0.381 seconds. For Bowman, this was his first victory of that season, the third of his career and his first ever on a short track. In last year’s spring race, Bowman started from the top spot in the field and finished eighth. He has three straight top-10 finishes in the spring race and has top-10s in four of the last seven races at the 0.75-mile track. In 15 starts, the 31-year-old driver has one win, four top-10 finishes and 19 laps led at the track in Virginia’s capital city.
PICKING UP A POSITION ON PIT ROAD: Following last weekend’s race, the No. 48 Ally Racing pit crew moved up one spot to sixth for the series’ fastest average four-tire stop (11.257 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).
BEST FRIENDS IN VIRGINIA: The 2024 season marks the fourth consecutive year that Ally and Bowman have supported Best Friends Animal Society and their vast network of partners. Since the beginning of 2022, the pair has committed a combined weekly donation of $4,800 to a Best Friends network partner corresponding to each weekend’s race. Richmond Raceway’s local beneficiary is the Regional Animal Shelter of King William County, located in King William, Virginia. Fans can visit the shelter, which is located about 40 minutes from the track. Additionally, fans can go online to learn more about adopting, the pet food pantry, lost and found pets or their new foster program.
WIN NEW WHEELS: 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. 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
Richmond
Races
6
1,351
79
Wins
3*
304*
12
Poles
1
247*
18*
Top 5
7
1,239*
67*
Top 10
9
2,121*
123*
Laps Led
309
80,066*
4,472
Stage Wins
3
101
1
*Most **Most (tie)
FABULOUS 40: In 2024, Hendrick Motorsports is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Among the categories that the Rick Hendrick-owned organization holds the NASCAR Cup Series record for are all-time wins (304), poles (247), laps led (80,066) and championships (14). With William Byron’s victory at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the organization has won at least three races a year in each of the last 31 seasons.
NINE BY SIX BY THREE: Byron’s win at COTA marked the ninth time the Concord, North Carolina, based team had at least three wins through six races. That mark is the highest of all teams. The team accomplished this in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2022 and 2024.
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. 24 RAPTOR pit crew ranks second (10.960 seconds). The No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts pit crew is fourth (11.058 seconds) followed by the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM pit crew in fifth (11.085 seconds) and the No. 48 Ally Racing pit crew is sixth (11.257 seconds).
XFINITY GETS THE DUB: Kyle Larson gave Hendrick Motorsports its first NASCAR Xfinity Series win since 2009 with a last-lap pass for the victory at COTA last weekend. The organization did not race in the series from 2010 to 2021 before re-starting a limited schedule in 2022. In its history, Hendrick Motorsports has earned one Xfinity Series championship (2003) and 27 race wins in the series. Eight more starts are on the schedule for the 2024 season.
WINNING IN THE RIVER CITY: Hendrick Motorsports has tallied 12 wins at Richmond Raceway. Jimmie Johnson and Terry Labonte lead the way with three victories, followed by team vice chairman Jeff Gordon with two. Alex Bowman, Larson, Joe Nemechek and Tim Richmond each have one win at the 0.75-mile track. The seven drivers to win in Virginia’s capital city are the most by a single organization.
LAST SPRING AT RICHMOND: In last April’s race at Richmond, Larson’s victory highlighted a strong day for Hendrick Motorsports. Josh Berry, who filled in for the sidelined Chase Elliott, finished second. Bowman finished eighth in the 400-lap event, while Byron led a race-high 117 laps and scored a stage win. All told, the team led 228 laps on the day. For the second consecutive spring race and the sixth time at Richmond, the team placed three cars inside the top 10.
NO SHORTAGE: Hendrick Motorsports leads all active Cup Series teams with 57 points-paying victories on short tracks. Gordon’s 17 short-track wins lead all drivers in team history. The active driver lineup has a combined seven short-track successes for the organization: Larson (three), Bowman (two), Byron (one) and Elliott (one). The team has three points-paying wins on short tracks in the Next Gen era (since 2022) with Larson (two) and Byron (one). Larson is one of three drivers with multiple short-track wins in the Next Gen car.
VICTORY IN VIRGINIA: Team owner Rick Hendrick grew up in Palmer Springs, Virginia, and his teams have won 40 Cup Series races in his home state. Hendrick Motorsports has gone to victory lane in Virginia at least one time in 28 different seasons, including each of the past four full seasons. The most recent 13 races in Virginia have seen one of his cars emerge victorious on six occasions, with all four active drivers winning.
GET TO THE POINTS: Larson (416 points), Elliott (340 points) and Byron (333 points) rank third, fifth and seventh, respectively, in points scored on short tracks in the Next Gen car since its debut in 2022. On average finish, Larson (7.18) and Elliott (9.60) are second and fourth in that statistical category.
NIGHT SHIFT: The organization’s five night race wins in the Next Gen car are the most by all teams. Byron leads all drivers with three victories. Elliott and Larson each have one win under the lights in the latest iteration of the Cup Series car.
QUOTABLE /
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his past results at Richmond Raceway: “It seems like Richmond (Raceway) has been hit or miss for us. We’ve done really well on short tracks recently and we won a race at Richmond last year. But we didn’t have a good race there in the summer, so we’re hoping to improve on that so we can challenge for another win there.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on if this is a “fun” race to call because of the very differing pit strategy that can be utilized during the race: “For the most part, it’s a lot of fun – especially when you’re reasonably competitive like in the top 12 or top 15. We’ve had cars that were running in the top five or top six. If you’re a short-run car, you pit a lot of times, but if you’re a long-run car, you stay out and take advantage of that. It does make it fun from a pure strategy standpoint.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on what makes Richmond a tough track: “Richmond (Raceway) is super tough. You wouldn’t think it would be tough by looking at it and making a lap. It’s always been really difficult for me to get ahold of and be able to repeat and be good there time after time. It seems like the window to hit it right at Richmond is as small as it is anywhere that we go. There are very few guys on the circuit that I feel have had consistent success there year after year.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the challenge of Richmond: “We have a love-hate relationship with Richmond (Raceway). It’s one of my favorite tracks. I love racing there. I love the availability of different lines and short-track racing and all that, but it is the most fickle racetrack we go to. We can run well there one race and bring the exact same stuff back to the next race and just not be any good at all. So, I’m looking forward to getting up there. I think we’ve learned quite a few things over the time since we raced there last and look forward to applying them. We have just got to be better. Just being able to have good front-end pace and then being really consistent over the long run. We’ve had one or the other at times and have not been able to put it together as well as our competitors have. Looking forward to having the opportunity to do that this weekend and I feel good about it.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on adding to the No. 24’s legacy being the first driver to multiple wins for three consecutive seasons since team vice chairman Jeff Gordon: “It’s awesome. I actually saw that stat during the week and I told Rudy (Fugle, crew chief), ‘let’s go get it. Let’s get the third consecutive season of multiple wins.’ Then we went out and did it. What a cool stat. Stacking those wins early and then to be able to do something that Jeff Gordon did in the 90’s that nobody has done since, it’s pretty awesome. I’m just proud of this team and all we have accomplished together.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing under the lights at Richmond: “Richmond (Raceway) is going to be interesting. We haven’t raced the Next Gen there at the night time at all. There’s not usually a ton of side-by-side racing, but there are a lot of comers and goers that turn into pit strategy options on what is going to work better. Some of those strategies then can come as a surprise when a team makes it work. With a night race and cool temperatures, that may give us a chance of seeing more side-by-side racing. We may see more of why this place used to be called the ‘Action Track.’”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on preparing for Richmond: “It (Richmond Raceway) is really slick and really difficult to get ahold of – even when you’re fast. The summer race was rough on us last year, but in the spring race we were pretty decent. Hopefully, it will be more like the spring race for us. Historically for Hendrick Motorsports, when it’s cooler out, we’re better off. When it’s warmer out, we struggle. With this Sunday being a night race and cooler in the spring, we should be a little bit better. I’ve spent a lot of time in the sim trying to improve on things too.”
Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the momentum of back-to-back top-five finishes: “It felt good to rebound at Bristol (Motor Speedway) and secure a top-five finish then have another great weekend at COTA (Circuit of The Americas) to keep us in the mix competitively. I’m really happy with how our team handled those tracks. Regardless of how good or bad the weekend went before, we know what we have ahead of us. As far as where Alex (Bowman) is, I’m happy with where he is physically and mentally – the whole team really. I think we needed a couple of good finishes to kind of solidify all the hard work that our Ally team is putting in. You like to see that. We look forward to carrying that (momentum) to Richmond (Raceway).”
Talladega: Where the Dudes Are DUDE Wipes Joins Beard Motorsports for the April 21 GEICO 500
MT. PLEASANT, Michigan (March 28, 2024) – The “dudes” always show up when NASCAR visits Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. And this spring, the dudes are in luck because a product made specifically for them is coming to town along with the family-owned Beard Motorsports race team.
DUDE Wipes will partner with Beard Motorsports for the GEICO 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega on April 21 by appearing as the primary sponsor on the No. 62 Chevrolet Camaro. NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Anthony Alfredo will be back behind the wheel for Beard Motorsports, which sees the partnership for the race at Talladega as one that is tailor made.
“This partnership with DUDE Wipes has our entire team and family super excited,” said Amie Beard, executive vice president of Beard Motorsports. “Our family loves everything about racing – the competition, the atmosphere – and we have fun being a part of this sport. This partnership with DUDE Wipes is still very new but we have learned very quickly that they are completely on board with bringing the ‘fun.’ This just feels like the perfect partner for us and our team for this race at Talladega.”
Founded in Chicago by a group of childhood friends, DUDE Wipes are an extra large, flushable wipe developed specifically for adults as an alternative to dry toilet paper. DUDE Wipes has become a popular brand across the NASCAR community and has appeared as a primary sponsor for select NASCAR Cup Series races with Alfredo in previous seasons. The upcoming GIECO 500 will be the first Cup Series start of the 2024 season for DUDE Wipes.
“We are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with Beard Motorsports and Anthony Alfredo,” said Ryan Meegan, co-founder of DUDE Wipes. “We have partnered with Anthony for a few years now and he is a big fan of our products and has been a tremendous ambassador for the brand. Being able to partner with Beard Motorsports and the NASCAR Cup Series program at Talladega is a great opportunity for DUDE Wipes.”
Alfredo has been affiliated with DUDE Wipes since making the move to the NASCAR Xfinity series in 2020. The relationship has evolved and Alfredo is very familiar with the brand and considers this announcement another full-circle moment.
“I met the DUDE Wipes team when I first started my career in the national series through Austin Dillon, Austin Craven and Team Dillon Management, and they have been nothing but a pleasure to work with,” Alfredo said. “This started as a one-race deal in the Xfinity Series and they are now the cornerstone sponsor for my fulltime Xfinity Series effort. I’m very thankful for my relationship with them and we have a lot of great things on the horizon in the future.
The GEICO 500 will be the second start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season for Beard Motorsports. The No. 62 Chevrolet Camaro’s competed in the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, where Alfredo piloted the car to a 27th-place finish.
About DUDE Wipes. DUDE Wipes is the flagship product of DUDE Products, a men’s hygiene company that was founded in 2012 by lifelong friends in Chicago. The U.S.-based company introduced DUDE Wipes as the first flushable wipe for adults, marketed as a better hygiene solution to dry toilet paper. The brand is available online and in 20,000 stores nationwide, including Walmart, Target and Amazon.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series Richmond Advance | Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, went to Victory Lane the last time the NASCAR Cup Series visited Richmond Raceway. Buescher, who has three straight top-10 finishes going into this weekend, spoke to members of the media on Wednesday.
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW DO YOU FEEL AFTER COTA AND HEADING INTO RICHMOND? “A lot of hard work in COTA to get to that point. Certainly, it was a rough start to our day there. It’s one of those deals with a strange part failure that didn’t know that was a thing, so we won’t have to worry about that going forward. Heading into Richmond, a track that I have despised for most of my career, has certainly been a lot better since the Next Gen car. We’ve been very competitive there for a couple years. Last year, I really enjoyed both races and then being able to be so good there in the fall, not just our car but both of our race cars, to the point where I felt like we were battling each other for the win there through the final stage. It was a lot of fun. It’s a track that I’ve really wanted to like for most of my career, for all of my career. I made my first NASCAR start there subbing in an Xfinity car with Roush, so it should have held a little better place in my heart, but it’s been a tough one for a long time. That being said, I’m truly excited to be heading back to Richmond. I know we’ve spoke with a lot of you through the last 18 months at this point and talked about RFK as a group feeling like we don’t have to circle racetracks as our only opportunities while also not having to circle racetracks that we’re dreading. This is certainly one that we feel like is a great opportunity knowing where we were at last season. We obviously have some changes with the new Mustang and with the short track aero package, so we’ve got some changes coming at us but we’re ready for them and feel like it could be another race-winning day and get our streak started a lot earlier, which sure would be nice. That basically was our main goal on the year is how do we take what we had starting at the Richmond fall race and start this season off in the first quarter with that kind of momentum. How do we win a race early on and get that fired off to where we’re in a better place through the summer and not feeling like we’re trying to play catch-up.”
HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE YOUR OVERALL PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR? SOME MIGHT SAY YOU ARE OUTPERFORMING YOUR SPEED. “I would probably argue the opposite. We were able to lead in four of the first five races and the one we didn’t lead any laps we finished second in Phoenix. When I look at that, our speed was certainly there. The finishes were not. Then you take in and look at the last two weeks, we didn’t qualify good in COTA and then obviously had to start in the back and that put us way behind with no cautions to really find ourselves with much opportunity to work up. Our group did a great job on strategy to work our way up. We had a fast race car and were able to pick them off, but realistically I would call COTA a good day for us running eighth. We did not have race-winning speed there, so we want more and have some ideas. If you look at Bristol, we were able to get to the point where we led laps there. It was obviously a very strange race for all of us, but both of our cars finished very well in Bristol. I would argue that the speed was there and that we had the possibility to run even better if we feel we didn’t have to save so much, which maybe the whole field says the same thing there. It’s a tough one, but we always know we’ve been fast at Bristol, so, honestly, I’m gonna argue the opposite. Maybe with the exception of COTA, feeling like we knew that was gonna be a tough day, so I would say eighth place – we may not have had the speed to do more than that, but I think that was a lot of good hard work to get to that point and feel like we legitimately should have run about there and have some work to do to be better for road courses going forward. Really, it’s come down to a lot of execution, a lot of finishing these things out right – more qualifying speed. That’s still high on my list. I put ourselves in a really big hole at Bristol and we’ve basically had two weeks staring at the entire field in front of us. That’s a tough way to go, but we’re in a good place mentally now heading into Richmond. I feel like we’re gonna get it turned around on that side of things.”
IF YOU DON’T SEE THE TYPE OF STRENGTH AT RICHMOND THIS WEEKEND, DO YOU START TO GET WORRIED AT ALL ABOUT THE CHANGES IN THE FORD AND/OR PACKAGE THAT WERE MADE? “I wouldn’t say that one race will decide that. We realize what we’ve had on the year and we’re still working to get a Ford in victory lane and that is certainly our goal this week. No one sits still in our sport and everybody is gonna be coming at us to try and be better at Richmond. It will be a good measure on where we have a hold of this new package, so I think that we will be in a good place. It’s so hard because practice changes so drastically at Richmond. Our first laps on track will be so fast. I think we’re in Group A again. Somehow we’re always in Group A, so our first laps on track will be stupid fast. Group two will be a lot slower and then when it comes to qualifying Group A will probably be considerably slower and they’ll keep speeding up would be our prediction as we get into the second group. I was just talking with Scott, this is actually one of the races last year that a lot of people pushed for our qualifying change so that we don’t end up sixth in your group but starting all the way back in 20th. If the whole group is faster than you group and you just missed the top five, you certainly want to have that little bit of equalness between the two groups. I say all of that in a roundabout way just to say that we all know how practices can be very wild here at Richmond, so we won’t have that read until the race is over, I’d say. Then, at that point, we will have to evaluate where we’re at, hopefully from victory lane and say everything is just fine and we’ll move right on along. If that’s not the case, then dive into it and figure out what it is that we’re truly missing because we do have a very good baseline for this one and figure out how to find that.”
COULD THE ISSUES BE MORE THE EXECUTION SIDE OF THINGS AS TO WHY A FORD HASN’T REACHED VICTORY LANE YET? “If it was just us or just our organization that we were talking about, I would say then maybe you’d bring it down to execution, but when we have the numbers that we do I’d say it’s probably hard to put a blanket over all of us and say that the execution hasn’t been there with a single one. You also have the new underbody or the short track package with it, so what we did have as a baseline it wasn’t simple to just change it over. We’re not the only ones going through it though. The Toyota camp had the same thing in front of them, so we’re working through it and trying to figure out what exactly it is. I can’t speak for everybody, but in our camp we certainly have some execution stuff that we need to clean up. I need to make some better decisions at the right times from behind the wheel and put ourselves in a better spot. We need to qualify better. That certainly has been a big hit and we need a little bit of luck on our side and that’s from here inside the RFK building. I think that’s where our head’s at. I don’t think we’re saying that we’re way behind and we need these big changes. I think we’re in a little bit of a learning spot. We’re probably deep enough into the season now to where we certainly need to be coming up with solutions to what it is that we need to be learning, to be better, to be closer to winning and we’ve had some solid runs. We’ve been in the top 10 a lot, so we’ve been close, but we haven’t closed the deal and don’t feel like ultimately we’ve been in the running to really close the deal. As strong as Phoenix was for us, the 20 was lights out. We still have work to do if we’re gonna win races. I’ll go back to Phoenix, but a day like that when you feel like you passed a bunch of cars and did really good, but there was still one that you just weren’t close to that one challenges you a little bit more. When you’re sitting there and say there were 15 cars better than us, we know we’ve got some work to do in a lot of ways to improve. But when one car finds a way or one team finds a way, that puts everybody on notice. That’s where we’re at. Don’t panic yet. We’ve got a couple good tracks coming at us still and we are excited about what the next four to five week will hold for us. We need some clean up.”
HAVE YOU NOTICED MORE ENGAGEMENT FROM FORD? “No, not from where I’m sitting right now. Maybe that’s probably for higher tables than mine, but, for me, it’s been a lot of business as usual. We see all of our Ford folks at the track and we’re excited to run in these races and figure out how to make them wins. Again, the speed has been there at a lot of times, not all of the time, but we’ve got some learning to do still. I’m sure the right areas are getting more attention to where we can discover it together. It’s just probably in different rooms than where I’m at.”
IT’S YOUR 300TH CUP START THIS WEEKEND. BRAD IS THE LAST DRIVER TO WIN ON HIS 300TH START, SO WHAT DOES THAT MILESTONE MEAN TO YOU? “What that means to me is I’m getting old and it snuck up on me quick. It feels like it wasn’t that long ago it was our rookie season heading into Richmond as a cutoff race before the playoffs – had won a race at Pocono that year and didn’t have a stellar year. We were doing all we could to finish in the top 30 in points to make sure that we could make the playoffs, so it certainly is a long way removed from that. It’s been a long time coming, but at the same time it feels like that was just yesterday, so it’s a cool stat that Brad was able to do it and I’m certain that he does not want me to win my 300th start because he wants to win it. I’m not gonna get any sympathy or extra help from him from that stat or that standpoint, but it certainly is cool to be sitting here right now talking about the seasons that we’ve had, the progression that we’ve been able to make through the years. It’s probably been a little slower at times than I would have liked and didn’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but certainly had a lot of fun along the way regardless. I’ve made fantastic friends through our industry and a little outside of it from doing this for the last seven or eight years at this level and I’m ready for another seven, eight, 10 or 15 more. I want 10 or 15 more like last year when we can win multiple races and make steps at running for a championship.”
IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT THE IOWA XFINITY RACE IS A SELLOUT. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT BOTH OF THOSE RACES BEING SELLOUTS FOR JUNE? “That’s awesome news. I love that racetrack and for all the years that we didn’t run there on the Cup side since the last time I was there in 2015 I’ve said that I wish we could take a Cup car to Iowa. The fans show up there and pack that place. They are passionate about racing at that racetrack. It’s a short track in ways. That’s awesome news because I have always felt that and that’s not because you put the question directly to me. I have loved that racetrack and have seen people show up to really support that facility for any style of racing, including ARCA racing when we were there. There were huge numbers out there as well. I just feel like it’s a fun racetrack and puts on some good shows and our fans enjoy it. I knew the Cup race would sell out. I figured the Xfinity race may have already been sold out, but that is awesome to hear that they have sold out on the Xfinity side. That’s big news for the week and it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing, comes into this weekend’s race at Richmond Raceway sitting fifth in the point standings. He held a Q&A session with media on Wednesday to talk about Saturday’s race and the start to his season.
RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT IS THE FEELING AROUND THE TEAM WITH ALL OF THE BAD LUCK YOUR TEAM HAS HAD THIS SEASON? “I think we have had really good speed at every track, except for probably last week at COTA, but I kind of knew that going in a little bit, just not really being my strong suit as a racetrack, but we’re going back to Richmond where we led some laps last year, had good stage finishes and then ultimately got wrecked with like 15 to go, so I’m excited to see what Davin is bringing to Richmond this weekend. I know it’s going to be fast and hopefully we can get back on track with top threes and top fives and get some points back.”
IS IT EASY TO SHUFFLE THAT BAD LUCK UNDER THE COUCH? IS THE MOOD STILL GOOD BECAUSE OF THE PACE? “Yeah, I think the morale is really high in the shop with both me and Cole and all the team guys. We’ve shown pace at every track we’ve gone to. Ultimately, neither of us have won yet, but I think we’re OK being in the position we’re in. Cole is fourth in points and us fifth in points, so we’re excited. We know the season is still really early. Ultimately, we both want to win and I think we’re both going to win this year. It’s just a matter of time.”
YOU’VE BEEN IN THE TOP FIVE 487 OF THE 744 LAPS, SO WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU? “That tells me that we left a lot on the table still. If the two teammates didn’t wreck the field at Phoenix and we get caught up in that, that would have been more laps I feel like at Phoenix. If I did a better job last week in executing at COTA, we could have had more there, too. It’s cool to see how far I’ve progressed and how far this team has progressed and how we continue to just get better each and every week, and hopefully we can do some more of that this weekend at Richmond. It’s one of my favorite tracks.”
WHAT DOES THIS STRETCH OF TRACKS MEAN TO YOU AND YOUR GROUP? “It’s honestly very important. I think the first five weeks have been up and down for sure for the 98 team, and I think we can capitalize on these next five tracks for us. Richmond is really awesome. Martinsville is fun. Texas, we’re gonna have a really fast race car. Davin loves that place and obviously anything can happen out in Talladega, and Dover is a good racetrack for myself too. I’m excited for the tracks upcoming. We should have nothing but really good pace at every single racetrack and it’s fun going to the racetrack knowing that I have a car that can win and can win stages and lead laps, so I’m excited to see what the next five hold.”
IS THERE AN INTEREST FROM A RACER’S PERSPECTIVE TO SEE WHAT BUBBA POLLARD CAN DO THIS WEEKEND? “Yeah, I’m interested. I’ve raced against Bubba a few times. He’s really, really good. He’s probably the best super late model racer and he’s pretty good friends with Noah as well. Noah has given him a bunch of notes I heard and he’s gonna have really good equipment at Junior Motorsports, so it should be nothing but a good run for Bubba and I look forward to racing him on a nice little worn out short track.”
SENIX Tools, the Official Power Tool of Richard Childress Racing, to Sponsor Austin Dillon’s No. 3 SENIX Tools Chevrolet in Select Races in 2024
WELCOME, N.C. (March 28, 2024) – SENIX Tools, the official power tool of Richard Childress Racing, is enhancing their relationship with the multi-time NASCAR Championship-winning organization. Austin Dillon will drive the No. 3 SENIX Tools Chevrolet in select races during the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, beginning with NASCAR All-Star weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday, May 19.
As part of the multi-year partnership, SENIX will continue to be represented across the RCR organization on all cars in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
“We’re thrilled to be able to grow our partnership with Richard Childress Racing and can’t wait to cheer on Austin Dillon and the No. 3 SENIX Tools Chevrolet,” said Rocky Reynolds, vice president of sales and marketing for SENIX Tools. “RCR is such a legendary team within the sport and it’s exciting to align our growing brand with such a well-respected team.”
Since first announcing their partnership, SENIX has become a trusted brand in RCR’s shops, garages and pit stalls. Team members throughout the organization are utilizing SENIX’s vast range of high-quality outdoor power equipment and handheld power tools throughout campus and at the race track.
“We’re happy to see another brand grow and find success through a partnership with RCR,” said Torrey Galida, president of RCR. “Our team has found SENIX Tools’ cutting-edge technology, performance and eco-friendly design to be a trusted addition to the shop and the garage. We are all looking forward to seeing the No. 3 SENIX Tools Chevrolet on track this season with Austin Dillon.”
To celebrate the partnership, SENIX Tools is offering fans 38% off any power tool or power tool kit to celebrate each time RCR wins in the NASCAR Cup Series this season. Visit senixtools.com to claim your discount the week following a Kyle Busch or Austin Dillon win this season.
For more information and all that is going on at RCR, visit rcrracing.com.
YAT USA, Inc. (Your Advanced Technology) is an industry leader in electric and battery-powered outdoor power equipment manufacturing. Since launching in 2002, the company is dedicated to “becoming the most professional intelligent tool solution provider in the world.” YAT has innovation at its core and is committed to R&D and production of environmentally friendly and energy-saving products such as lithium-ion battery technology and low gasoline emission.
About Richard Childress Racing: (www.rcrracing.com) is a renowned, performance-driven racing, marketing and manufacturing organization. Incorporated in 1969, RCR has celebrated over 50 years of racing and earned more than 200 victories and 16 championships, including six in the NASCAR Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series and is a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 (1998, 2007, 2018). Its 2024 NASCAR Cup Series lineup includes two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (No. 8 Chevrolet) and 2017 Coca-Cola 600 winner and 2018 Daytona 500 champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Chevrolet). RCR fields a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series program with Jesse Love (No. 2 Chevrolet) and Austin Hill (No. 21 Chevrolet).
Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team are headed to Richmond Raceway for Sunday’s 400-lapper motivated to both honor the memory of a long-time Wood Brothers crew member and get their season back on track.
“It’s a sad week for the Wood Brothers family with the passing of long-time employee Jabo Fulp,” crew chief Jeremy Bullins said. “He would always tell me he was doing ‘whatever they want me to do.’
“It’s a shame more people don’t have his work ethic.”
William “Jabo” Fulp, who worked for the Wood Brothers team for more than 25 years and also owned a successful towing and recovery business, died Monday after an extended illness. The DEX Imaging Mustang will carry a memorial decal this weekend at Richmond.
Bullins said that as he and the DEX Imaging team head to Richmond they are prepared to be like Fulp and do whatever is needed to get Burton and the No. 21 Mustang Dark Horse back toward the front of the field.
“Obviously it hasn’t been the start to the season we were hoping for, and we really need to put some points on the board,” Bullins said. “When I look at the next couple of weeks with Richmond and Martinsville, those are tracks where I know Harrison can run well, and we look forward to making it happen.”
Practice at Richmond is set for Saturday at 10:35 a.m. Eastern Time to be followed by qualifying at 11:15.
Sunday’s 300-mile Toyota Owners 400 on the ¾-mile oval is set to get the green flag just after 7 p.m. with Stage breaks at Laps 70 and 230 of 400.
FOX Sports 1 will carry the TV coverage of practice and qualifying with the coverage switching to FOX for Sunday’s race.
About DEX Imaging DEX Imaging is the digital document imaging division of Staples, the world’s largest business solutions provider. DEX sells and services the broadest selection of copiers, printers and data management solutions, such as HP, Konica Minolta, Canon, Kyocera and numerous others.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES: Reducing Operating Costs Reducing Paper Consumption Increasing Productivity
DEX Imaging has been the recipient of virtually every industry award since the company’s inception, including the JD Power & Associates Award for Best Customer Experience, the prestigious ProTech Service award by Konica Minolta, the Diamond Premier Dealer Award by Kyocera, and the Elite DEALER Award by ‘ENX’ magazine. Other accolades include being named ‘Best Place to Work’ by numerous business journals in the markets DEX serves.
Wood Brothers Racing Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glenn’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Harrison Burton in the famous No. 21 racer.
● Event: Richmond 400 (Round 7 of 36) ● Time/Date: 7 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 31 ● Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway ● Layout: .75-mile oval ● Laps/Miles: 400 laps/300 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 70 laps / Stage 2: 160 laps / Final Stage: 170 laps ● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Justin Haley, Driver of the No. 51 Walmart Health & Wellness Ford Mustang Dark Horse
● Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Walmart Health & Wellness Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Rick Ware Racing (RWR), heads to Richmond (Va.) Raceway for his seventh NASCAR Cup Series start at the .75-mile oval. Best of his previous Cup Series starts there was a 21st-place finish earned in August 2022.
● Haley owns two runner-up finishes at Richmond in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, earned in 2020 and 2021, and he’s finished in the top-10 four times. He made one start at Richmond in the ARCA Menards Series East in 2015, finishing 12th out of 35 cars.
● In the Cup Series’ most recent short-track race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway two weekends ago, Haley ran within the top-15 for most of the 500-lap race. In a race that saw drivers battle significant tire fall-off, he was on track for a top-10 finish until the final five laps when tire wear became too much to manage. He finished the race 17th, the best result RWR has earned at Bristol to date.
Kaz Grala, Driver of the No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang Dark Horse
● Boston native Kaz Grala makes his first Richmond start Sunday the No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RWR. Grala finished 19th at Bristol in the first short-track race of the season.
● In five Xfinity Series starts at Richmond, Grala has three top-10 finishes. His best was a fourth-place result earned in April 2023, the first of his nine top-10 finishes earned last season.
● Grala also owns one NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start at Richmond, and he competed in two ARCA Menards Series East races at the .75-mile oval with a best finish of eighth in 2015.
Rick Ware Racing Notes
● NHRA Top Fuel driver Clay Millican competed at the Lucas Oil Winternationals in Pomona, California, last weekend with the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series. The Parts Plus driver topped Antron Brown in the first round of eliminations to advance to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by Brittany Force.
● In Senoia, Georgia, rain forced a one-day show for Progressive American Flat Track (AFT) drivers Briar Bauman, Kody Kopp and Shayna Texter-Bauman. Kopp took home his second win of the year in the AFT Singles feature by a margin of 1.522 seconds. It was his third podium finish in three races so far this year. In the Mission SuperTwins feature, Bauman missed out on the podium by .160 of a second, finishing fourth to match his best result of the season so far.
● Rick Ware has been a motorsports mainstay for more than 40 years. It began at age six when the third-generation racer began his driving career and has since spanned four wheels and two wheels on both asphalt and dirt. Competing in the SCCA Trans Am Series and other road-racing divisions led Ware to NASCAR in the early 1980s, where he finished third in his NASCAR debut – the 1983 Warner W. Hodgdon 300 NASCAR Grand American race at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. More than a decade later, injuries would force Ware out of the driver seat and into fulltime team ownership. In 1995, Rick Ware Racing was formed, and with wife Lisa by his side, Ware has since built his eponymous organization into an entity that fields two fulltime entries in the NASCAR Cup Series while simultaneously campaigning successful teams in the Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, the LMP3 class of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup, Progressive American Flat Track and FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX), where RWR won the 2022 SX2 championship with rider Shane McElrath.
Justin Haley, Driver Q&A
Final result aside, the No. 51 team had a great run in the last short-track race at Bristol. Now that you’ve had time to think it through, what are your thoughts on how that weekend went and how that plays into what we may see this weekend at Richmond?
“We just try to do the best we can and every week we unload and we’re not really sure where we’re going to be once we get on track. I feel like we’ve shown a lot of speed at the short tracks. At the Clash, we were really fast, and then at Bristol we were quick, too. This is just a growing year. It’s taking time but the scenario at Bristol kind of played into our hands a little bit and our cars were just quick. I saw people saying that we were just running to the front and waiting for the tires give up, but I was conserving all day. That’s a situation where the car was good and it was on me to manage that and try to keep us up there. We’ll see more conserving at Richmond, it’ll just be a matter of how much. We’ll be racing at night rather than during the day, like we have been, and that could mean a big difference in what we see with the car. We’ll have to take that into consideration during practice and come up with a good plan for the race.”
It seems as though everyone is seeing a completely different Rick Ware Racing as compared to years past. Does that feel accurate with what you are seeing inside the shop?
“Absolutely, and trying to change that narrative has been one of the biggest things we face. We have completely different intentions than the RWR of the past and we’re just trying each week to do the best that we can with what we have. RFK has been a big, big help to that. Ford has been a big help to that. We’re on the simulator every week, we get the same time the bigger Cup teams get, and we’re all working hard. It felt good to show that at Bristol. I guarantee we’re working just as hard or harder than anyone else out here just because of how small our team is. Our people have to work triple as hard as a big organization would. So it’s been a lot of long nights, but it’s awesome to see that effort that all the men and women in the shop are putting in come to fruition.”
Kaz Grala, Driver Q&A
The RWR cars have been strong on short tracks so far this year, but what are some of the challenges you could face at Richmond?
“Our cars have been really fast on the short tracks and I think we’ll see the same this weekend. The surface at Richmond is really abrasive and a lot of times you’ll see guys that are really quick on the short run but kind of fade later in the race. We’ve already had a race where we had to manage tires and get the most out of them late in a run, so I think we’ve got something we can work with. The biggest question will be how that changes under the lights. The last few years, the Cup cars have run during the day and you definitely see more parity when the sun is out.”
Richmond is one of the tracks where you have the most experience, dating back to your time racing Late Models. Does that give you added comfort as you continue to build your relationship with the No. 15 team?
“I’ve really enjoyed racing at Richmond and I do have a lot of track time there. I think there are a few ways that can help. I know the characteristics of the track and what I need to focus on as a driver to make it to the end. One of the great things about Richmond is you really don’t know what kind of race you’ll get. We could have long, green-flag runs or we could end up with a race where we see a lot of cautions and frustration. It’ll be important for me to manage my patience as the race goes on and just let Bill (Plourde, crew chief) and the guys give me what I need in the car.”
RYAN PREECE Richmond Advance No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Event Overview
● Event: Richmond 400 (Round 7 of 36) ● Time/Date: 7 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 31 ● Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway ● Layout: .75-mile oval ● Laps/Miles: 400 laps/300 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 70 laps / Stage 2: 160 laps / Final Stage: 170 laps ● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● Ryan Preece and the No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing are headed to the Commonwealth of Virginia for an old-fashioned short track battle during Sunday night’s Richmond 400. It will be Preece’s 158th career start in the NASCAR Cup Series and his eighth at the .75-mile oval. Preece earned his best result at the track in the series’ prior visit last July when he finished fifth.
● With Richmond’s worn-out asphalt and low-banked, 14-degree turns, the track echoes characteristics of the Northeast venues where Preece honed his skills on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Preece underscored those parallels during a Modified Tour event at Richmond in 2021 when the Berlin, Connecticut-native scored a dominating victory. It was the 25th of his 26 career wins on the Modified Tour.
● Last Sunday at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin Texas, Preece rallied to a 23rd-place finish after late contact in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. Preece was forced to start at the rear of the 39-car field due to a change of valve springs after qualifying, but crew chief Chad Johnston orchestrated a strategy that propelled Preece to a fifth-place finish at the end of the second stage to earn him six valuable bonus points.
● Preece has competed in four NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Richmond with his best result coming in his most recent Xfinity Series start at the track –16th in April 2022.
● Joining Preece this weekend at Richmond is United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI), the largest equipment rental company in the world. United Rentals has an integrated network of 1,449 rental locations in North America, 13 in Europe, 27 in Australia and 19 in New Zealand. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s approximately 24,700 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and others. The company offers approximately 4,700 classes of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $19.3 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Barron’s 400 Index and the Russell 3000 Index®. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Additional information about United Rentals is available at UnitedRentals.com.
Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang Dark Horse
You earned a top-five finish in your most recent NASCAR Cup Series start at Richmond last July. You’ve also been victorious there in a Modified. What is it like to race at Richmond?
“Richmond is a large short track, but it’s still a short track. The track surface is worn out, so tire heat and falloff is a real thing at Richmond. Turns one and two, and turns three and four are completely different corners, so being disciplined in hitting your marks and having a car with good balance is important at Richmond. If you’re fighting a car that’s too tight or too loose, the issue will only be exaggerated the longer the run goes.”
Is it important to have a car that handles well in traffic at Richmond?
“I think it’s important to have a versatile car that you can move around and take to places on the track where others can’t. It’s definitely important to have a good-driving car in traffic, but it’s also extremely important to have a car that’s able to go where others can’t.”
Will there be a noticeable change on-track with the race taking place under the lights on Sunday night?
“I think Richmond is very sensitive to tire heat, so I’m not sure if you will necessarily experience as much of a balance change or encounter some of the issues that we normally would during the day. However, as the track cools off, you will probably see cars begin to turn better, but on the flip side, they could potentially become looser. It will be important to stay ahead of the track on adjustments.”
What are your thoughts on tire wear at Richmond? Could we see something like what we saw at Bristol?
“I think Bristol has always been a place where we have never expected tire wear, so if we had that amount of tire wear there, and now we’re going to Richmond where tire wear is always a big part of the racing, yes, I think we could potentially see something similar to Bristol. At that point, I think it just comes down to setting up your racecar differently, driving it differently, the whole thing. How you attack the race will be different. Going into Richmond, I don’t know what to expect. Last year, our car drove well the entire race and didn’t fall off that badly, but this year it could be about tire conservation and having a car that drives really well on lap 30 and not lap five, as in the past.”
Charlotte, NC (March 27, 2024) – Following four year of reading some of his favorite children’s books to fans, NASCAR driver Erik Jones celebrates the fourth anniversary of his program, #ReadwithErik, and National Reading Month with a book auction. The auction began on March 18 and will continue through March 30. Each book auctioned off will include a personalized note from Jones to the new owner and 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit the Erik Jones Foundation (EJF).
“Read with Erik has been a great program over the years and has grown to be a key component of the Erik Jones Foundation,” said Jones. “It’s been a unique way for fans to get to know a side of me that they don’t see on the track, and for me to meet new fans both online, at racetracks and schools where we’ve been able to take this program. The book auction is new this year and came from us looking at all the books around my house, shop and even the bus at the track, and wanting to do something fun and unique with them. The auction allows us to give fans an opportunity to get some of my favorite books, with a special note from me, as well as raise funds for EJF to allow us to continue growing the #ReadwithErik program.”
Started in 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Jones began sharing one of his passions and favorite past times with fans by creating the #ReadwithErik program to read books to children via Facebook Live. What started as a way to stay connected with fans throughout the pandemic has since turned in to one of the cornerstone pieces of the Erik Jones Foundation.
Throughout the program, Jones has engaged with audiences by reading nearly 100 children’s books. Jones started reading the books from his home, but since has taken #ReadwithErik on the road to racetracks and schools around the country.
As the program has continued to grow over the last four years, many of the children’s books Jones reads today have been donated by authors or are suggestions from fans of their favorite childhood book.
Not to skip the older audience, Jones also utilizes his platform to highlight books he enjoys and is currently reading. Those book highlights and suggestions often fall under the autobiography category, specifically covering historical figures.
To view the books available for auction and to place your bid, please visit ErikJonesRacing.com/shop/.
