Austin Dillon to Race No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet in Select NASCAR Cup Series Races in 2024, Beginning with Pocono Raceway on July 14th
WELCOME, N.C. (March 22, 2024) – Boot Barn, the largest western and work wear retailer in the nation, is partnering with legendary NASCAR team Richard Childress Racing for a dynamic partnership that includes both primary and associate sponsorship on the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet and unique content creation with driver Austin Dillon.
“Richard Childress, Austin Dillon and the entire Richard Childress Racing team embody the essence of the American cowboy and the pioneering spirit at the core of Boot Barn’s mission,” said Stephen Loscko, sr. director of marketing for Boot Barn. “Their commitment to hard work gives them an edge in their industry. We’re looking forward to working closely with the RCR team to create engaging, strategic content, as well as seeing the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet on the track.”
Dillon, a two-time NASCAR Champion and the 2018 Daytona 500 Champion, supports the Western traditions that resonates with Boot Barn’s core customer base. He is the general manager of the Carolina Cowboys, a professional bull riding team in the PBR Teams Series based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and has been a fan of the Western lifestyle since his youth.
“It’s an honor to be able to represent Boot Barn, both on the track and in my day-to-day life,” said Dillon. “Boot Barn is a staunch supporter of the western lifestyle, and I’m looking forward to expanding our relationship while creating engaging content for fans.”
RCR and Boot Barn will work together to ideate and craft unique content campaigns, including a cross-collaboration between Dillon and PRCA bareback rider and rodeo star Rocker Steiner.
“RCR and Boot Barn share an inspirational vision of supporting their local communities and those who feed America, build America and protect America,” said Torrey Galida, president of RCR. “Our teams are looking forward to working together to highlight our shared values and showcase Boot Barn’s broad selection of cowboy boots and western wear to NASCAR fans.”
Dillon will debut the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, July 14 for the first of Boot Barn’s multi-race primaries with RCR. The race airs live on the USA Network beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.
For more information and all that is going on at RCR, visit rcrracing.com.
About Boot Barn: What started out as one store in 1978 has since become the largest western and work wear retailer in the nation. We say that our customers feed America, build America, and protect America. With an uncompromising desire to support the local communities we serve, we proudly offer the broadest selection of cowboy boots, work boots, western wear, workwear, western-inspired fashion, and outdoor gear. It is an honor to support the varying lifestyles of the people who make our country so great.
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).
NASCAR CUP SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE GRAND PRIX TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT MARCH 22, 2024
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of racing double duty in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Race at Circuit of The Americas.
Media Availability Quotes:
How do you expect the car to react at the road courses? Tyler Reddick said you can’t bring what you brought last year and expect it to still do the same thing. Are you anticipating the car handling any differently with the package this year than it did a year ago?
“I have no idea, so yeah I don’t really know how to answer that.. other than I just assume with another year that the team has gotten smarter and better about setups, that our car is going to be driving better. Just like it did from 2022 to 2023, it drove better even though we had less downforce, I guess, last year. Now that we have more downforce, I would hope that the braking zones would be a little bit more comfortable. I remember last year being really uncomfortable in the brake zones.. a lot of us were. But then like through the corners, my car handled better. So now I’m hoping that the brake zones will be a little bit more comfortable, and then our car setup will be good through the corners and stuff, too. Wishful thinking, so we’ll see when we get out on the track tomorrow.”
You’ve got a win under your belt, so your season is obviously going pretty well. What is your forecast for some of the upcoming tracks like Richmond and things. What are focusing on as you get ready for Indy and other stuff you have going on the sidelines?
“Yeah, I don’t know. I never try to look too far out in front. Yeah, I mean I don’t even know what race is after Richmond, honestly. So yeah, I mean these two weeks, I guess, is all I’m really looking at. I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while, just because I want to get better here. And it’s the first road course of the year, so it’s different and it’s fun. Studying all week and stuff like that is enjoyable.
But then yeah, I don’t know. We’re tied for the point lead right now, so we’ve been doing something right. But yeah, we’d just like to continue the consistent runs. Continue getting good stage points at every race track, or at least having a good shot at the end of the race too. Yeah, it’s just been a goal of mine, is to try and do a better job throughout the regular season. I know we’re only five races in, but it’s been going well, so far. Just have to keep it up.”
Do you find yourself having a little bit more time to focus on the Indy 500 and things like that, or have you even thought about that yet?
“I get asked that question every week (laughs).. what should I be doing?”
(No mic.)..
“I don’t know either.
I feel like to this point, I’m as prepared as I can be. I’m just to the point now where I need to get on track. We get on track in a few weeks, and then I’ll get to be able to think more about the Indy 500. But also, I can’t take focus off of the Cup Series because it’s not like this stuff comes easy to me. It takes a lot of work, so I also have to dedicate a lot of time to this if I want to be doing my team justice on Sunday’s, as well. I race a lot of stuff and I prepare the same for all of it, so Indy is no different. Like I’m not racing a sprint car for another month, but I’m not worried about right now, either. I’m worried about right now. Maybe that will hurt me when it comes to Indy, but I don’t think it will. I’m not changing my process.”
The Drivers Council have been in effect for a few years. What are your impressions on how its evolved?
“Yeah, that’s a good question. I think it’s evolved, for sure. I think even before the Drivers Council was ever established; I was a part of stuff.. some version of a Drivers Council like probably nine or more years ago. And just to see where it’s kind of come from since then has been promising. I feel like there’s way more open communication, trust amongst everybody.. all of that. I feel like we’re moving forward together a little bit, better than we used to. I mean it’s always been good. Even from its inception, I feel like it’s been decent. But I feel like now, there’s the trust level between everybody, which makes things a little bit nicer.”
Is there one thing you’d change in how this sport operates?
“No.. I mean I’m just a driver.”
How do you expect to tackle the new restart zone here at COTA? Also, your thoughts on going back to stage cautions?
“Yeah, I don’t know. I think we just have to see how the truck race plays out a little bit. But I would imagine the restart zone being to the final corner.. like when the leader takes off, the cars will still be kind of stuck going around that corner. So I believe, there should be less, kind of seven-wide, into turn one.. less divebombs, crashes and just craziness. Which is good, I think, because even fans last year were like, ‘this is kind of dumb’, right? Like we look like amateurs out there. So I think it will look a little bit more professional. I think you’re still going to have divebombs, for sure, but maybe not from four rows back. And then just shoving guys through the two rows in front of you. I think it’s going to be good. I think it’s going to be a nice compliment to what the drivers wanted, plus what everybody kind of needed, as far as just not crashing people.”
You mentioned how you’re tied for the point lead. When do you really begin to start looking at the regular season standings, as the regular season winds down?
“Daytona.. I don’t know if other people are the same way, but I think if you take your eyes off of it too much, then you can get a little careless and then you get further behind. I’ve always paid attention to the points every week, and I would say most people probably do, as well. It’s always on your mind, especially when there’s playoff points being given at the end of the regular season. I think that makes you more aware of where you’re at in the standings, even with the one win that we have and knowing that we’re locked-in or whatever. It’s what, like 15-points I think, to win the regular season, and then it drops by five. I mean that’s like a full race win, so yeah it’s important to have the best regular season that you can to benefit yourself through the playoffs.
In 2022 and 2023, yes we were pretty competitive, but we stumbled a lot in the regular season and didn’t finish very high in the regular season points, and then the playoffs were difficult where we were barely kind of squeaking by through some of the rounds. Ultimately at the (Charlotte) ROVAL in 2022, I missed it by three-points, where if I could have just finished a couple of spots in the regular season points, I would have made it through and racing in the Championship Four. So yeah, points are always on my mind. Maybe not necessarily during the race, but afterwards.”
Did you have a chance to see the onboard camera from Bristol last weekend that was floating around on social media? Did it feel like a real life video game when you were doing it, and would you ever want to participate in a race like that again?
“Yeah, I watched the three-and-a-half minute clip that I saw on Twitter. Honestly, it was crazier from my seat than even like Twitter or the onboard. Like when I watched the onboard, I was like ‘man, this doesn’t look as wild as it was out of my windshield’. It just felt like when I left pit road.. which I thought I was screwed, right? Like I was one of the first people to pit and I thought for sure there would be a caution, and I was like my race is over. So I’m kind of just like, I didn’t even try hard coming to pit road.. didn’t try hard leaving. I went out there and I’m just like driving around people, and I was like ‘man, maybe we’re going to get this whole cycle through’. It was just wild. I felt like I was passing the same guy like very five laps. It was just nuts. I mean I would be like passing somebody on the bottom, and then like turn right mid-corner and drive around that guy before exit. It was just weird.. it was just like those weird dreams that you would have, like it wasn’t real life.
It was fun. And don’t get me wrong, like I think a lot of people got me wrong last weekend and I didn’t probably show how much fun I had. But I was always smiling in all my post-race media stuff.. like I had a blast. I had a great time; it was just maybe I could have taken more time in explaining my comments like ‘I hope I don’t ever had to do this again’.. it was more that like, you couldn’t really manage your stuff. Yes, you could manage it three to seven more laps better, I guess, than some people. But it was just too short.. they were too short of little stints, I guess. If it was a little less extreme, we could kind of manage that throughout a little bit longer run. I would be all for that.
And two, I would have loved for it to like laid a little bit of rubber so you could kind of move around and still push and pay for it if you needed to because how it was then, we were just so stuck to the bottom.. I hate to nitpick it, but it could have been a little bit better. But it was still fun.. I enjoyed it a lot. I’ve never been in a race like that. I’ve been in sprint car races like that, but they are like 25 or 30 lap races. That was 500 laps of like rubber down racing, where you’re just blowing through your tires without even trying. It was crazy.”
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 – John Hunter Nemechek NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
AUSTIN, Texas (March 22, 2024) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver John Hunter Nemechek was made available to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 42 Romco Equipment Co. Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
What’s your outlook and your grade so far?
“I think coming into this year we knew that there was going to be some ups and downs. We felt like there was going to be times where we could shine, times where we may struggle, and things where we kind of need to get better overall as a team. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I’m looking forward to this year. We’ve had some decent speed so far this year. We just have to keep it up and see what we can do.”
Do you feel like this is a resurgence for you?
“I definitely think so. I think coming back to the Cup Series was the goal all along so, how to do that – we are back here finally, with the goals that we set to get back in the Cup Series. I feel good about kind of the vision and where we are trying to go with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, and the speed we’ve had at some of the race tracks this year. I feel that as we continue to go through the year, we should be way better the second half of the year, theoretically with more data and info and some different things of that sort. It is going to take time – it’s a process, but we are continuing to push hard and try to learn everything we can every single week. For myself, being in the Next Gen car for the first time – really like racing – as well, and getting Ben (Beshore, crew chief) back in the swing of things as well with the Next Gen car, and getting the two of us up to speed communication with the dialogue with the Next Gen car. It races way different than Trucks or Xfinity, so it requires a lot of adapting.”
What are your thoughts on the new Toyota body?
“The new Toyota Camry is awesome. It looks really good. It drives really good. The body definitely stands out. I like it a lot.”
What are your thoughts on more horsepower?
“I’ll play whatever hand I’m dealt. I know there has been a lot of talks about it. Who knows what is going to happen. I can’t say that I’m necessarily for more horsepower or for less horsepower or whatever it may be. I don’t know what the fix is.”
How are you feeling at this point of the year?
“I feel like we have been able to hit superspeedways, Atlanta – mile-and-a-half superspeedway package, a short track, a mile-and-a-half and now a road course. Kind of hitting everything package wise that we have for this year. We’ve found quite a few areas that we need to work on and I need to work on as a driver so far, but overall, we’ve shown decent speed some weeks, some weeks we haven’t, some weeks we’ve definitely needed to get better, but honestly, it is a progression. Being able to be consistently competitive this year is big. We know it is not going to go smooth every single week. There may be ups, there may be downs, but what do you learn from those situations and how do you make your cars drive better every single week when you come back to the race track.”
What is the biggest thing that you’ve had to learn this year?
“The car. It is way different than anything I’ve ever been in. It is still a race car, but adjustment wise, how it drives, dirty air – there is a lot of differences there. Just trying to learn every aspect I can of this car and figuring out what I need for practice and qualifying, and the race, and trying to make the best adjustments possible.”
What kind of race do you think we are going to see at Richmond after what we saw in Phoenix?
“I don’t know. At Phoenix, the fastest car won it by running the bottom of the race track. I’m not sure about Richmond. With the simple diffuser, you are able to drive it more sideways. I don’t have experience with the other diffuser on short tracks, so I can’t tell much difference, but just from what I’ve heard, you drive it more sideways, but I feel like the package, I feel like it raced somewhat better – I don’t know – the biggest experience things for me is just not knowing the past and the trends and trying to figure out this new package. With them bringing this new package in, I feel like it puts us all on a little bit of a level playing field with myself not having a bunch of laps with the other package. Hopefully, Richmond will be a really good race. If we have tire fall off like we had at Bristol, it will be really good.”
Did you feel like you could pass when you needed to in Phoenix?
“Yes and no. At times for sure. You could definitely push and try to get by a guy. We were able to run multiple lines at Phoenix – which was nice to be able to move around. I definitely feel like that was big, but I definitely feel like handling played a huge factor in that race as well. We saw a few good cars that were really good on the long run, and we saw some that were good on the short run and some that were good in the middle of a run, but it didn’t seem like it was as bad in dirty air watching previous races. I’m not sure what others think, I can’t really give you my two cents on that.”
Can you describe the challenge of turns 6 through 9?
“Well, if you mess one of them up then you mess all of them up. It is definitely a rhythm section in my opinion. (turn) Six is fun, I would say. Kind of long sweeper carousel, you can run on the paint side, you can run on the asphalt side. (turn) Seven – is definitely tight. (turn) Eight is where the guys are using the runoff for grip. You try to straight line that section, and then (turn) nine is super tight back to the left. It is definitely faster than you think it would be, but it is slower than you think it would be as well from the elevation and what not. It is a fun little section. It’s hard for sure. It’s challenging to hit your marks.”
Do you like how NASCAR’s start of the season schedule has jumped around to so many different track types?
“I like it. I think it gives us a chance if you are off your game a little bit to work on your stuff. It gives you more time between the mile-and-a-half races or the short track races. I kind of like that it is spread out. I also like for myself and having not a lot of experience in the Next Gen car being able to run all of the different packages at five different race tracks to get kind of one race under our belt so you kind of know what to expect when you go back to one of those places. I definitely like it like that. I don’t think we should run all superspeedways and then all short tracks and all road courses together. I think it should definitely be spread out.
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.
Toyota Racing – Tyler Reddick NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
AUSTIN, Texas (March 22, 2024) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
How do you feel about coming in the defending winner?
“I feel pretty good. I feel good about it. Obviously, there are a couple of changes with the car and the package. It is relatively the same track; some corners have been repaved. I think some of the ways that you make lap time are going to be different, but at the end of the day, the way you run really fast laps here is execute all 20 corners in that lap. Hopefully, we can do more of the same.”
Is there any difference from being under the radar at road courses, to now being the favorite?
“No, but it is kind of cool though. I remember a time not too long ago, when I was hoping just to finish with a clean race car. It has been nice to turn it around and improve like we have. It doesn’t hurt your confidence coming in, when you see that. It validates – but it’s all leading in, we haven’t done anything on the race track yet. Hopefully, by the end of practice and qualifying tomorrow, we are exactly where we need to be. We’ve certainly worked really hard at it. We haven’t gotten comfortable with the speed that we seem to have. We keep the same mindset and keep working really hard at it.”
How many laps do you have on the track in real life versus simulator?
“I’ll talk about real life. I have the opportunity to come race here with a WRL, World Racing League, car – and they have an array of different classes, and the one I competed in was GTO, which is kind of the elite class of that series. It was a lot of fun. The first year I did it, I think there was 89 or 90 cars entered. I think the second year I did it – there were even more cars. It was just a lot of fun – the first year I did it, we learned a lot. We had speed, we just couldn’t put the whole race together, and we came back next year, and we won both days and it was really, really fun. I learned a lot about how to manage your car on a road course race. For us, we had the speed in that race, when we ran here, but we didn’t have the fuel mileage that the other cars did. We had to get creative and save fuel that can really help you when you get in the right circumstances on the Cup side. It was more just fun. I can’t tell you how many laps we did during those eight-hour endurance races, but it was a lot of fun. I love racing in the Cup Series, but there is something about 90 cars on the race track and five or six different classes. I don’t think I had a single clean lap either year I ran that race. Just passing three or four cars at a time – it was absolute chaos. No spotters either.”
How does the portions of the repave affect you?
“I think in some of the areas the track has been reworked. I would imagine it would even the field to a degree. Anytime you have more grip, you have less potential of missing a corner. It might bring the field together in a couple of corners. I could be wrong. Maybe turn 11 is still just as spread through the field as it was before, but you certainly will have more grip. Outside of that, I think you have turn 12 and the other areas – it won’t change it a whole lot. It will be pretty close to what it was before. I think lap time might be a little bit faster, but the rest of the race track has continued to wear even more. It isn’t like the track hasn’t aged. I don’t know of any other tracks that get as many laps on it a year as this one does. The track does certainly change quite a bit year to year when you come here.”
Do you follow the betting lines?
“Well, more times than not, it will get posted to social media and you’ll see it somewhere in your feed, but as I was saying earlier – when Jeff (Gluck) mentioned it – it just adds to my confidence going into the weekend. It is always very interesting to see the fans mention it, when you are at the race track. Probably my favorite one is – don’t screw up my day, I’ve got a lot riding on you. That is always interesting to hear. I’ve even heard that you need to go out and wreck so-and-so because I’ve got to beat him head-to-head. Obviously, I don’t take their advice (laughter). It is pretty funny how the fans love to chime in and let you know what they have riding on you.”
Do you think it is a good thing?
“Well, there is a fine line to it. You have to be careful with it. Everyone loves watching March Madness and the number of options you have and the amount of teams you can follow – it’s just one more ways that fans can interact within the race, and have their own race within a race. As a fan, you have a lot on the line when you are cheering for your favorite driver, but once you put your pocketbook on the line, that adds to the excitement for the fans it seems.”
What does Ty Gibbs add to the meetings and what have you seen from his growth this past year?
“He’s been learning a lot, and his speed is there. When you think about his experience level in the Cup Series, and how tough that transition can be. I think he is doing very, very well. He’s hard on himself and wants to win races as any driver that comes to the Cup Series, but he’s right there and it’s just a matter of time. There is no line to it. You see the speed that he brings to the race track. His ability. His race craft improving. It could be any weekend. It could be this weekend. It could be the next. He’s got a lot of speed.”
Is there any pride that you’ve won on a track that Formula 1 has competed on as well?
“I do enjoy thinking about the different series that come and race here. This track has all sorts of stuff that competes at this venue. It is cool to think about. The two races are entirely different – different strategy, the speed of the cars, the spread between the cars on speed. I think about it a little bit, but to some degree it is very cool, but it is not like why I’m so motivated to come here and run well. I think for me naturally over time really came to appreciate the course itself and for me it is just one of the most fun laps – car versus track that we have, just because there is so many corners. It is one of the most frustrating tracks when you miss a corner, because you have two minutes and 10 seconds – somewhere in there – to think about your mistake. It is just very rewarding here to get the most out of your car. It’s a challenging race track.”
What is your understanding of track limits this weekend and the penalties that come from it?
“Basically, what I think they are trying to accomplish is just enforce it. I think what is really important to them is being consistent about it. If it can’t be consistently enforced, throughout the whole field, than there is really no point of having that chance of somebody getting away with something another car couldn’t and getting penalized for it. There is a little bit of back and forth and trying to see where the limit is going to end up being, but at the end of the day – largely – how you approach this race track and how you run isn’t changed to much by it. But certainly, for some, depending on the direction it was going to go, potentially on certain corners, where you wouldn’t even think twice about being extra aggressive and getting all you can through it – depending on the corner. You see through the esses, all of a sudden, you get loose or you get two crossed up – you could be looking at a corner, where if I drive straight through this, I’m going to keep the car in one piece, but I’m going to get a pass through and then potentially if you try to drive through it, you could find yourself in left field. It is an interesting balance, but I think the biggest thing is they want it to be consistent through the field. We will see how it goes. It should be fun. I’ve always liked this track. We have to be really aggressive and push the limits – it’s just the nature of this course with having the curbs, and the paint and the grip that it has. We are all pretty quick to exploit it and maximize it to the rule book.”
How do you think the new restart zone will affect racing this weekend?
“I think cars mid pack or out back won’t be able to – I guess – to be as aggressive or have the opportunity to be just as relentless as they were last year. I could kind of see it happening behind me. When you have a clean track, you could kind of see the chaos happening behind you. Just with the makeup with this car and how tough the front and rear bumpers are – you can really knock someone out of the way and keep digging. You don’t destroy your radiator or damage your car to the extent of losing performance. They needed to do something to spread us out a little more and make it a little more fair and how a race should be versus us running into the back of each other. It was a good move. I think the first five or six cars that get through there will still be really, really close, but it should spread the field out enough where instead of trying to make a bold move that most likely won’t work out and dive bombing six cars, you only will be able to dive bomb one or two. You still might get to turn one and you still might wreck, but we will at least be spread out a little bit more and it won’t be as easy for someone to just ship it in there and say the heck with everybody else to the outside.”
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.
CHASE BRISCOE COTA Advance No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Event Overview
● Event: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (Round 6 of 36) ● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 24 ● Location: Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas ● Layout: 3.426-mile, 20-turn road course ● Laps/Miles: 68 laps/231.88 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 15 laps / Stage 2: 15 laps / Final Stage: 38 laps ● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Sunday at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, is the first of five road-course races on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. After COTA, the series’ next road-course race is June 9 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The three remaining road-course races after Sonoma are July 7 on the streets of downtown Chicago, Sept. 15 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, and Oct. 12 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval.
● Contrast best describes a lap around COTA. High speed and rapid changes of direction comprise the layout between turns two and 10, with this first sector akin to the Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel complex at the famed Silverstone Circuit in England. The end of the lap from turn 12 through turn 20 before hitting the frontstretch features low-speed combinations. The long backstraight, however, is where drivers want to retain as much speed as possible to either attack or defend through the tight turn 12. This corner, along with the uphill run to turn one and the hairpin in turn 11, provide good passing opportunities.
● Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix will mark Briscoe’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series start at COTA. In his maiden Cup race at the 3.426-mile, 20-turn road course in 2021, Briscoe qualified 27th and rallied to finish sixth. It remains his best result at the track, with his two other finishes being 30th (2022) and 15th (2023).
● Briscoe has 19 career road-course starts in the NASCAR Cup Series with five top-10 finishes spread across COTA (sixth in 2021), Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (sixth in 2021), Watkins Glen (ninth in 2021), the Charlotte Roval (ninth in 20222) and the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (sixth in 2023).
● Briscoe has made 11 career road-course starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – the stepping-stone division to the elite NASCAR Cup Series. In fact, it was road-course racing in the Xfinity Series that helped put Briscoe on the map when it came to his burgeoning NASCAR career, as he scored two road-course wins among eight top-10 finishes. At the inaugural race on the Charlotte Roval on Sept. 29, 2018 in what was Briscoe’s 14th career Xfinity Series start, the Mitchell, Indiana-native scored his first Xfinity Series win. Briscoe said afterward that he tapped into his dirt-track experience in wheeling his Ford Mustang to a strong 1.478-second margin of victory over runner-up Justin Marks. “It drove like a dirt track instead of a road course, and it felt like I was in a sprint car. I just tried to make sure the rear tires never spun. I had to give up a little time coming off the corner, but I’d make it back up on the straightaway, and that’s why I was always better at the end of the run.”
● Briscoe’s second Xfinity Series win on a road course came in another inaugural race – the 2020 Brickyard 150 on the road course at Indianapolis. On July 4, 2020, Briscoe started 12th and methodically worked his way to the front, taking the lead on lap 24. He wound up leading five times for a race-high 30 laps to take the victory by 1.717 seconds ahead of second-place Justin Haley. Despite the win happening during COVID restrictions, Briscoe was elated to win at his home track in a car owned by Indiana icon Tony Stewart. “Everybody knows that my hero in racing was Tony Stewart. To get to drive for him and watch him win at the Brickyard, climbing the fence was always his signature thing and I just wanted to do it. Obviously, it’s not the same prestige as winning on the oval, but we still won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It doesn’t matter if you’re racing on the oval, the road course, the dirt track or even the parking lot, it’s special when you win here. Growing up, coming here all the time, it’s unbelievable to think that I just won here.”
● Briscoe also has a road-course win in the ARCA Menards Series. On June 5, 2021 in the ARCA Menards Series West race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, Briscoe dominated. Despite starting third, Briscoe took the lead on the opening lap and never relinquished the point, leading all 51 laps to take the victory by a whopping 3.110 seconds over his nearest pursuer, Dylan Lupton.
● In three road-course starts in ARCA, Briscoe has two top-fives, with his first coming in 2016 when he finished fourth at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville after starting the 67-lap race in 10th.
● In Briscoe’s lone road-course start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he started 18th and finished seventh in the 2017 race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario.
● Mahindra Ag North America is in its third year as the anchor sponsor for Briscoe and the No. 14 team after extending its partnership with Stewart-Haas during the offseason. The multiyear agreement with the NASCAR team co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart and industrialist Gene Haas continues to feature Mahindra Tractors, a brand of Mahindra Ag North America, on Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Mustang for the majority of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Houston-based Mahindra Ag North America is part of Mahindra Group’s Automotive and Farm Sector, the No. 1 selling farm tractor company in the world, based on volumes across all company brands. Mahindra offers a range of tractor models from 20-75 horsepower, implements, and the ROXOR heavy-duty UTV. Mahindra farm equipment is engineered to be easy to operate by first-time tractor or side-by-side owners and heavy duty to tackle the tough jobs of rural living, farming and ranching. Steel-framed Mahindra Tractors and side-by-sides are ideal for customers who demand performance, reliability and comfort. Mahindra dealers are independent, family-owned businesses located throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse
How would you rate yourself as a road-course driver?
“I feel like I’m above average. I’ve definitely had way more success in the lower series compared to Cup, where I’ve been kind of hit-or-miss. We’d run really, really good, or we were just off. Truthfully, I feel like the NextGen car has definitely hurt me quite a bit on the road-course side. I feel like the old car with just how badly it drove, you were always slipping and sliding around, it didn’t want to stop. I feel like this NextGen car certainly has closed up the gap. The guys who were typically off on road courses are definitely closer because the NextGen car is just easier to drive on the road courses – it stops better, it turns better, it just does everything better. I feel like I’ve been good on road courses from a speed standpoint, just need to find that little bit more to finally seal the deal on a road course.”
Some guys like road courses, others don’t. Where do you stand when it comes to competing on road courses?
“Having a positive attitude at any racetrack is important. For me, I enjoy road-course race but, truthfully, I used to be terrible at it. So, it kind of got frustrating at times. Then finally something just clicked with me and I was able to win a couple of road-course races and, now, every time we go to a road course, I’m super excited. I look forward to it from the driver’s side of things. Not that you don’t make a difference at the ovals, but I feel like at the road courses, as a driver, you make a little bit more of a difference, so I enjoy that part of it. Just driving a car on a road course is a lot of fun. You’re manhandling it and trying to run as hard as you can and it’s just a lot of fun to do it, so I always enjoy going there.”
You’ve mentioned how your dirt-racing experience makes you a better road-course racer. How so?
“I think there are just a lot of things that carry over. The NextGen car takes some of that out of the equation, but you still have more power a lot of the time on exit than you really need, so you’re spinning the tires and you’ve got to really finesse the throttle, which is a lot like dirt racing. Just how you have to really slide the car around and hustle the car is very similar to dirt racing. I just feel like you drive more on the edge on a road course than you do on an oval. And then just the constant switching directions and the counter-steering, there’s a lot that reminds me of dirt racing. When you look at road racing in the past, a lot of dirt guys were really good in NASCAR. Obviously Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson now, even Christopher Bell, there are a lot of guys who grew up dirt racing who have a lot of success on the road courses in NASCAR, and I feel that’s because there’s a lot of correlation, as crazy as it seems.”
What do you work on to become a better road-course racer? Obviously, there’s sim, but does your relationship with Ford Performance Racing School also allow you to hone your road-racing techniques?
“There’s a lot that goes into road-course racing, and laps and repetition are probably the biggest keys to that. No matter what road course you’re getting on or what car you’re driving, the techniques and the styles that you run on road courses are super important. It’s been great to have that relationship with Ford Performance Racing School, to get over there and be able to run laps. Almost every single road course we go to, I’ll go to the racing school that week and just do a little bit of a warmup over there, trying to get into the mindset of road-course racing. There’s a lot that goes into road-course racing, especially to be really good at it. Braking is probably the most important thing, trying to be as efficient as you can under braking, and being able to go over to the racing school and just playing around with different types of braking, and being able to be aggressive and trying different things that at the racetrack we don’t get the opportunity to do because we don’t want to mess anything up. Plus, we don’t get a lot of time to practice, so it’s nice to be able to go over there and spend the day and really just try different things.”
The current Cup cars seem exceptionally suited to road-course racing where the cars are forgiving and drivers aren’t penalized for mistakes. Because of that, it seems like there’s more rooting and gouging out on the racetrack than ever before. What’s your take?
“I don’t if there’s more rooting and gouging, but I feel like it’s just way harder to pass now. Track position is more important than ever. In the past on road courses, even if I had to do a pit stop or whatever and I had to do a restart from midpack, I felt confident that if I’d been up front, I could get back up there. Now, it seems that’s not the case. You could be leading the race and then have to restart 20th and you’re kind of just stuck back there because everybody’s almost the same speed. In the past, we’d go to a road course and you’d see five-, six-second spreads throughout the field, where now it’s almost like all of us are within a second and a half. It just makes it harder to get to each other to root and gouge just because the brake zones are so short, everybody’s so efficient now. It’s definitely changed the game going to road-course races with this NextGen car.”
With track position at such a premium on road courses, can you afford to be nice, or do you need to have a selfish and unforgiving attitude?
“I think you have to be extremely selfish now and just aggressive from lap number one, not only at road courses but, truthfully, everywhere. That’s kind of one of the biggest things I focused on during the offseason, just not giving anybody anything this year. That’s why I think I’ve probably been more aggressive on the racetrack this year as far as throwing blocks and different things just because you have to now. It’s so hard to get that position back, and if you give one away, it can take you 30 laps just to get that one position back, so you have to be extremely aggressive. I think when you look at the guys who win these races now, they’re all the same way. The aggressive guys are the ones running up front and winning races. So it’s the same on the road courses, but it’s the same on the ovals, now.”
Take me for a lap at COTA. What parts do you like and what parts are a challenge, and what does it take to make a quick lap?
“COTA is an extremely long lap. There are a lot of opportunities to make mistakes there, there’s a lot of elevation. You go up into turn one and there’s this massive hill. I don’t know how many feet of elevation it is, but it’s a lot, more than anywhere else on the schedule. Then you go around a super-tight 180, and then you go back down the hill to probably the fastest-feeling part of the track – the esses where you’re just back and forth. You’re constantly on edge and you’re sliding the car around a lot. There’s a lot of time to be made up there. Then you kind of go through a slower section, I want to say it’s turn nine, it’s extremely rough. It’s one of the harder parts in our racecar because of how rough it is, which leads you down into, I believe it’s (turn) 11, which is probably one of the more crucial corners on the racetrack in terms of speed. It leads you onto the longest straightaway, so you’ve got to be really hard on the brakes, but then try to get your car pointed and straight as quick as possible and put the power down. That leads onto a really, really long straightway into a huge braking zone for what they call the stadium section, which is a really fun part of the racetrack. It’s really flat and there are a lot of different lines you can run. I don’t think anybody really runs that area the same. When you look at the fast guys, everybody’s got their own, unique line through there. And then you come to a super-long righthander, which for me is the hardest part of the racetrack, I’ve always kind of just struggled to find what works there. Out of that corner, it’s kind of off-cambered and rough, which leads you into (turn) 19, which is a lefthander. Really for me, from that long righthander, I think it’s turn 18, all the way to turn 20, that’s been the biggest struggle spot for me. It’s really rough back there and your car never really wants to react to what you want it to, so I’ve always kind of struggled through that area. And that’s a lap – it’s a really long lap, for sure.”
Richard Childress Racing at Circuit of The Americas… RCR has six starts at the 3.410-mile, 20-turn road course in Austin, Texas with two top-five and four top-10 finishes led by Kyle Busch’s second-place finish in 2023. RCR has one pole position at COTA, with Tyler Reddick at the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race in 2021.
RCR in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Circuit of The Americas… RCR has five starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Circuit of The Americas led by Austin Hill’s second-place finish in 2022. The Welcome, N.C., company has collected three other top-10 finishes.
Catch Saturday’s Action… The Focused Health 250 at Circuit of The Americas will be televised live on Saturday, March 23 at 5 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Follow Sunday’s Action in Austin… The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix will be televised live on Sunday, March 24 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX. The race will also be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Circuit of The Americas… Austin Dillon has made three previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Circuit of The Americas, finishing 10th in 2022 and earning a 12th-place finish in 2021. Dillon showed speed, gained stage points, and had a strong race before a late-race incident in 2023.
Delivering Performance on the Track and For the Planet… Dillon will race the Get Bioethanol Chevy at the Circuit of The Americas, showcasing the performance benefits of racing with earth kind and engine-smart bioethanol blended fuel, Sunoco Green E15. Whether it’s delivering cleaner and cooler high-octane on the racetrack or a more affordable option for summer road trips, plant-based bioethanol makes a positive impact on our planet. NASCAR drivers have now officially raced 23 million NASCAR miles driven on Sunoco Green E15, a notable milestone for the environment as NASCAR’s partnership with Get Bioethanol has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent across its three national touring series while also increasing horsepower on the track. Learn more about bioethanol at getbioethanol.com.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
What are your thoughts on Circuit of The Americas?
“COTA is an exciting and technically challenging track to race on. There is a lot of havoc created in Turn One. The new restart rule should resolve some of these issues. At the end of the race last year, we were wiped out in Turn One after running very well inside the top 10. In several areas, there is new pavement, and several spots on the track have been patched. I feel like the key to the race will be having good pit stops and keeping our Get Bioethanol Chevy clean.”
Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Mark III Employee Benefits Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Circuit of The Americas… Kyle Busch scored a second-place finish one year ago at Circuit of The Americas, his best finish in three starts at the 3.410-mile road course and first top-five effort. The driver of the Mark III Employee Benefits Chevrolet has two top 10s and has completed all 198 possible laps. His best starting position entering this weekend is fourth-place, which came in the first-ever Cup event at the track located in Austin, Texas. Busch won from the pole position in his only NASCAR Xfinity Series race at COTA in 2021, leading 35 of 46 laps. The Las Vegas, Nev., native has two NASCAR Truck Series starts at Circuit of The Americas, highlighted by a second-place finish in 2023.
Road Course Prowess… In 2023, Busch racked up three top-five finishes and finished with the fourth most points scored in road course races in the Cup Series. Busch has 52 career road course starts at NASCAR’s highest level and has racked up four wins (two at Sonoma Raceway and two at Watkins Glen International) plus 19 top-five and 28 top-10 finishes.
About Mark III Employee Benefits… Mark III Employee Benefits is a family owned, operated, and licensed brokerage and consulting firm since 1973 and is the benefits provider for Richard Childress Racing. The company serves over 150 public sector clients and insure over 300,000 employees throughout Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Mark III Employee Benefits is qualified to evaluate, design, implement, manage, and enhance overall benefits program. Services and areas of expertise for the company include medical consulting, benefit administration, compliance updates, wellness programs and online enrollment platforms. For more information, log on to https://markiiieb.com/.
KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:
Have you seen where the track at Circuit of The Americas has been repaved and patched? How will that impact the race?
“I don’t think it’s going to impact the race any. I think they got rid of a bump on the exit of turn one, and I think they did a little bit into the backstretch straightaway through 12 or 13, and then out of the carousel and into 19. I don’t foresee it changing a whole lot. Like you’ll have lack of grip probably through the carousel, and then you’ll pick up the grip on the exit and be able to go much faster through 19. But then out of 19, it’s back to the old asphalt and Turn 20 is very slow with old asphalt being as slick as it is. I don’t know that it really opens up any more opportunities of passing or anything like that, just smoother surface I would imagine.”
Last year at Circuit of The Americas there were four cautions in the last 15 laps of the race. How mentally challenging is that for a driver?
“I would say that last year’s caution periods towards the end of the race were a challenge because you kept having to go through the restarts so thinking about what line you wanted to line up in and where you needed to be in order to position yourself for the restart all the dive bombs and the disrespect that keeps happening getting into Turn 1 is always an issue so you’ve got to be ready for that, mindful that you know that’s going to be happening so from there you hope for the best.”
Do you prefer stage cautions on road courses or had you rather the race stay green?
“I do not prefer stage cautions on road courses and don’t think that they should be there because of the fact that people jump the stages or they stay out in order to steal points from those that jumped the stages knowing when the cautions are going to fall. I definitely feel like it throws off the strategy of the race for a lot of people but when we were at Watkins Glen last fall, we needed those stage cautions so we could put ourselves back in position when we got behind on our pit road issues.”
Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro SS at Circuit of The Americas… Jesse Love will make his inaugural Xfinity Series start at Circuit of The Americas this Saturday. Despite making his first road course start behind of the wheel of the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, the 19-year-old has experience at the Austin, Texas circuit. Love competed in three endurance racing events at the 3.41-mile course in 2023.
Career-Best Finish… With a second-place effort at Phoenix Raceway, Love not only captured his first top-five result but his career-best Xfinity Series finish.
ROTY Leader… Through four races, Love continues to lead the Sunoco Rookie of the Year point standings. After a top-five finish in Arizona, the Menlo Park, California native extended his lead to 44 points 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.
Meet Love… On Saturday, March 23 at 12:50 p.m. local time, Love is scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR Merchandise Trailer located in the Fan Zone at Circuit of The Americas. Stop by to meet the rookie driver and purchase new gear.
JESSE LOVE QUOTES:
What are your thoughts heading into your first road course race at Circuit of The Americas?
“I enjoy road course racing and I think I’m pretty good at it. I enjoy racing at COTA and it’s probably my best road course. I have a decent amount of laps there compared to other road courses we’ll go to this season. With those laps under my belt, I know the intricacies of the place, so I know what needs to be done behind the wheel instead of guessing. Leading into this weekend, I’ve done a lot of sim time and work with Josh Wise and Scott Speed. I feel like it’s an easy way to set yourself apart when you know more than the guy next to you. It matters more on a road course compared to an oval.”
Four races into the season. Assess how the year has started for the No. 2 team.
“Up and down. With the exception of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, I feel like we have had a shot to run really well – whether that be competing for the win, or a top-five finish. At Phoenix Raceway, I tried to run 90-95% and have a smooth day without issues. Going into COTA, I’m going to be aggressive and drive hard. Now that we’ve had a good run, I want to go win and lock ourselves into the Playoffs.”
Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro SS at Circuit of The Americas… Austin Hill has two career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Circuit of The Americas, posting a best finish of second in 2022. Last season, Hill faced a mechanical problem that retired the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet early on lap 13. The Winston, Georgia native also has one NASCAR Truck Series start at the Austin, Texas facility, earning a ninth-place finish in 2021.
Bennett in the Lone Star State… McDonough, Georgia-based Bennett Transportation and Logistics is two-stepping into Texas with the support of three of their local companies. BOSS, RoadMasters, and American Eagle logos will adorn the decklid of the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro, representing Bennett Family of Companies’ Texas footprint in the transportation and logistics industry. A quarter of the company’s employees live in the great state of Texas, handling freight with truckers coming in and out of the state every day, and over 30 Texas-based employees, drivers, customers, and freight agents will be on property to cheer on Hill.
Did You Know? Hill is one of only two drivers who have finished inside the top-five in each of the first four Xfinity Series events. The 29-year-old has opened the 2024 campaign with two consecutive wins and two consecutive fourth-place results.
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:
How are you feeling heading into the first road course race of the season?
“I feel confident in our road course package. Over the last two years, our No. 21 Richard Childress Racing team has continued to build a notebook of info for our road course package, and I think it’s in a good place. Last year at COTA, we had a shifting issue during the race, and we were only able to race a total of 13 laps. That issue was resolved quickly, so we should be able to have another strong run like our rookie season together. Our Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet has been consistent the first four races this season, so the top-five streak has a good chance of continuing. It’s not going to be easy though with the depth of good road course racers in the field.”
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media in the Circuit of The Americas media center on Friday, March 22, at 3:15 p.m. local time.
SITTING ON TOP: Kyle Larson recovered from a pit road penalty to finish fifth on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway and moved atop the NASCAR Cup Series points standings. The Elk Grove, California, native has one win (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) and two top-five finishes in five 2024 starts. Larson is second in laps led (224), third in average running position (9.95) and laps run in the top five (626), fourth in laps run in the top 10 (893) and sixth in average finish (12.60).
COMING BACK TO COTA: This Sunday, the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team will compete at the first road course of the season, Circuit of The Americas (COTA). The race will mark Larson’s fourth Cup Series start on the 20-turn Austin, Texas, track where he has completed all 198 of the laps attempted on the 3.41-mile road course. In 2021, Larson led four laps on the serpentine track and finished in the runner-up position behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott in the rain-shortened event.
FOUR IN THREE: Of Hendrick Motorsports’ 27 road course wins, Larson has contributed the third-most victories to that total. With four road course triumphs, the 31-year-old driver sits behind Elliott (seven wins) and team vice chairman Jeff Gordon (nine wins). He is tied for second on the all-time list of drivers that have won at the most different number of road courses. Larson’s four road course wins have all come with crew chief Cliff Daniels and occurred at three different tracks: Watkins Glen International (two), Sonoma Raceway (one) and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL (one). His four wins on tracks that turn left and right are tied for the third-most among active drivers.
RECORD SETTING: Larson recorded three road course victories during his 10-win 2021 championship year. Those three wins are the most road course triumphs by one driver in a single Cup Series season.
BOTH ROADS TAKEN: Before coming to Hendrick Motorsports for the start of the 2021 season, Larson had three poles, one top-five finish, four top-10s and 69 laps led in 14 road course starts. In 19 road course races since 2021, he has four wins, one pole, eight top-five finishes, 10 top-10s and 155 laps led. During the six races on road courses in 2023, Larson was tied for the sixth-most points (191) and had the sixth-best average finish (12.17).
DOUBLE DUTY: Larson will make the first of two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro on Saturday at COTA. Greg Ives, the 2014 Xfinity Series championship-winning crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports affiliate JR Motorsports, will be Larson’s crew chief for the race. He has 14 Xfinity Series wins, with one victory in each of the last two seasons.
FAST WORK IN THE PITS: The No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM pit crew has the season’s fourth-best average four-tire pit stop time (11.046 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 IN AUSTIN: The Austin, Texas, automotive market is home to two HENDRICKCARS.COM dealerships. Not located in Austin? Shop at any of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 93 dealerships nationwide. From the convenience of HENDRICKCARS.COM, customers can shop from their home by selecting the category, make, model and vehicle packages that are important to them from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs available at HENDRICKCARS.COM.
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 28 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 6th
No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
BRISTOL BULLETS: Chase Elliott and No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified fifth for last Sunday’s 500-lap NASCAR Cup Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway. In a race where tire management was essential, the 28-year-old driver persevered to earn the No. 9 team’s first top-10 result of the season and his third straight top-10 on the concrete at Bristol. The 2020 Cup Series champion led twice for a total of five laps – including the 80,000th lap led for Hendrick Motorsports in the sport’s premier series – en route to an eighth-place finish. Following Bristol, Elliott is sixth in the Cup Series points standings, just 33 markers behind the leader.
COTA CONQUEROR: Elliott heads to Circuit of The Americas (COTA) as a previous winner on the Texas road course in the Cup Series this weekend. The driver of No. 9 won the inaugural premier series event in 2021, his first of two wins that season – both coming on serpentine tracks. Rain steadily poured on the track throughout the race. Elliott was in the lead with 14 laps to go when officials halted the race due to standing water. The event was ultimately called and Elliott was declared the victor, securing the record-tying 268th Cup Series triumph for Hendrick Motorsports and the 800th Cup Series win for Chevrolet.
2023 ROAD RACING RECAP: Last season, Elliott scored four top-10 finishes across five Cup Series starts on serpentine tracks, putting him tied for second-most in that category with one less start than his competitors. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native missed COTA last spring due to his injury, with road-racing ace Jordan Taylor filling in as the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Elliott’s best finish of second came on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
ROAD COURSE KING: Elliott has proven his road-racing ability, leading all active drivers with seven Cup Series wins on road courses. He’s also third on the overall list of drivers with road course victories, trailing only NASCAR Hall of Famers Tony Stewart (eight) and Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon (nine). Accompanying his triumphs, across his 30 Cup Series starts on road courses, Elliott has an average finish of 8.50 with 17 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s. His average finish is not only the best among active drivers but fourth all-time among drivers (five or more starts) behind NASCAR legends Fireball Roberts, Buck Baker and Marvin Panch. Elliott’s wins have come on five different road courses, the most all-time. His eight stage wins are also tops.
A MOMENT IN TIME: Elliott’s first career Cup Series win came on a road course – Watkins Glen International in 2018. The six-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver Award winner started the race from the third position and led 52 of 90 laps en route to the victory.
ACING THE COURSE: This Sunday, No. 9 crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 52nd road course race atop the pit box. In those starts, he’s led his team to seven wins – all with Elliott – 20 top-five finishes and 28 top-10s. The Ormond Beach, Florida, native’s drivers have led a combined 543 laps. Gustafson’s seven wins lead active crew chiefs in the Cup Series on road courses and put him third on the all-time list on this track type (behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Inman with 10 and Leonard Wood with eight).
FOUR TIRES FAST: Through five Cup Series races in 2024, the No. 9 pit crew ranks third in average four-tire pit stop time (10.977 seconds). In last weekend’s event at Bristol, the five-person team knocked out the fourth-fastest four-tire stop of the season with a time of 9.479 seconds on lap 182. 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).
GET UP AND GO: This weekend at COTA, NAPA Auto Parts is trading in its traditional blue-based scheme for the pearlescent white livery Elliott drove at the Clash at the Coliseum exhibition event in February. Get a look at all the angles of the alternate look here.
THROWBACK FOR THE AGES: On Wednesday, it was announced that Elliott will run a special throwback scheme at Darlington Raceway in celebration of Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2014 DAYTONA 500 victory. Elliott’s No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will don a special livery inspired by Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet with the same red, white and blue scheme with gold accents. Check out the throwback look here.
24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 26 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 10th
No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
COTA RESULTS: This Sunday’s race will mark William Byron’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series start at Circuit of The Americas (COTA). In his first three races at the 3.41-mile road course, Byron has one top-five finish and three top-15 finishes. In last year’s event at the 20-turn facility, Byron started from the pole position, led 28 laps, won stage one and finished fifth. The 26-year-old driver has the sixth-best average finish (9.33) at COTA among active drivers.
ROAD COURSE RINGER?: In August of 2023, Byron picked up his first Cup Series road course win at Watkins Glen International. During the 2023 season, he scored the most points in the six road course races (213), led the most laps (94) and is one of three drivers with two consecutive top-five finishes on serpentine layouts. Byron has four pole awards, including one in last year’s race at COTA, in 27 Cup Series road course starts.
WHAT’S IN A NUMBER?: With his win at Watkins Glen last year, Byron continues to extend the road course history of the No. 24. Currently, the No. 24 has 10 wins on road courses – second-best to the No. 9 with 11 wins on road courses. Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon’s nine road course wins in the No. 24 are the most in Cup Series history. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott is responsible for seven of those 11 wins in the No. 9. Overall, the No. 24 has 104 wins in the Cup Series, the third-most behind the No. 43 (200) and the No. 11 (232).
NEXT GEN DUO: Since the Next Gen Cup Series car was introduced in 2022, Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle have a series-leading nine wins. One of those wins came in the 2024 DAYTONA 500. The duo leads teammates driver Kyle Larson (eight wins) and crew chief Cliff Daniels (seven wins).
FUGLE FILES: This Sunday’s race at COTA will mark Fugle’s third start atop the pit box at the 3.41-mile road course. In his first two starts at the Austin, Texas, facility, Fugle has an 11th and 12th-place finish with Byron and the No. 24 team. Fugle has 28 national series starts on road courses (18 in the Cup Series, three in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and seven in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series). He earned a road course win in the Cup Series at Watkins Glen in 2023 and in the truck ranks in 2015 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
PIT ROAD PROWESS: Through five races in the 2023 season, the No. 24 pit crew continues to build on their success from last season. The five-person crew currently ranks fifth-best (11.065 seconds) in average four-tire pit stop time. 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).
RAPTOR® TOUGH: For the second time in 2024, Byron will sport his new RAPTOR® paint scheme that will run the majority of the season on the No. 24 Chevy. RAPTOR® is a durable protective coating designed to tolerate the toughest climatic conditions and can be applied to a wide range of items, including truck beds, lawnmowers, outdoor furniture and more. With 16 pre-mixed colors available, it’s easy to personalize anything you want to protect. RAPTOR® is available at local paint distributors, auto parts stores and online retailers. For a better look at Byron’s new No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, click here.
HELP RELAY OUT: Today, Relay Payments, the fintech company modernizing payments for the trucking and logistics industries, announced an opportunity for fans to help select this year’s No. 24 Relay Payments Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 paint scheme. Running at the Chicago Street Course in July and then later at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the playoffs, it’s in the fans’ hands for what Byron’s race car will look like. The fan vote will be a bracket-style contest, ultimately narrowing down four different paint schemes to one with the final winner being unveiled on Friday, March 29th. To get a better look at the options and to 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: 12th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
TOP FIVE AT BRISTOL: Last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, Alex Bowman led all four Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets with a fourth-place finish. The result was his best in 14 NASCAR Cup Series starts at the 0.533-mile track. Tire management was the name of the game in the 500-lap race and that aspect brought Bowman back to his initial stock car racing roots. Throughout the race, crew chief Blake Harris made successful strategic calls on pit road and Bowman showed patience while managing his tires, which yielded the driver’s third top-five finish at the venue upon the checkered flag.
SHOWING STRENGTH: Following the 30-year-old driver’s second top-five finish of 2024, the No. 48 Ally Racing team looks to carry that momentum into this weekend’s Cup Series race at Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Bowman is one of seven drivers with multiple top-five finishes. Through five races, he holds the eighth-best average finish (14.20), directly behind Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott (13.60) and Kyle Larson (12.60).
CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS: Bowman has been the best-finishing Hendrick Motorsports driver at the 3.41-mile-long road course in the last two years. The Tucson, Arizona, native is one of three drivers to finish in the top 10 in all three Cup Series races at the Austin, Texas, track (eighth in 2021, second in 2022 and third in 2023). He is among four drivers, including teammate Elliott, to have multiple top-five finishes at the 20-turn facility. When ranking Bowman’s best tracks based on average finish, COTA sits at the top of the list (4.33) and that mark is the third-best among drivers entered in Sunday’s race.
RACING ON ROAD COURSES: The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has the second-most runner-up finishes on a road course without a win (COTA in 2022 and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in 2019). Bowman has finished in the top 10 in three of the last six road course races.
PIT ROAD ALLIES: The No. 48 Ally Racing pit crew ranks seventh-best on pit road in average four-tire pit stop time (11.315 seconds). In February, the team delivered the fastest four-tire stop amongst all teams at Atlanta Motor Speedway (9.543 seconds on lap 238). 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).
ENTER TO WIN A NEW CHEVY 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. NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports and No. 48 fans can enter to win at Ally.com/sweepstakes/nascar. The sweepstakes will end on Sept. 20, 2024.
ADOPT ANIMALS IN AUSTIN: 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 Austin Pets Alive! Located just 30 minutes from the track in Austin, Texas, you can visit their dogs and cats looking for homes at the shelter. Can’t visit in person? Learn more about adopting, fostering, volunteering or donating online at www.austinpetsalive.org.
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS /
2024
All-Time
COTA
Races
5
1,350
3
Wins
2**
303*
1**
Poles
0
246*
1**
Top 5
5
1,237*
6*
Top 10
7
2,119*
7*
Laps Led
267
80,024*
40
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 (303), poles (246) and championships (14). With William Byron’s victory in the 2024 DAYTONA 500, the organization has won at least one race in the last 39 seasons. Kyle Larson’s win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway marks the 37th season in which the team has scored at least two victories. It is also the record 31st consecutive season in which the team has won at least two times.
LEADERS IN THE FIELD: With Chase Elliott leading the field in last Sunday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway on lap 62, Hendrick Motorsports became the first team to reach 80,000 laps led in the Cup Series. The team’s first laps led by Geoff Bodine took place in the same race he went on to win at Martinsville Speedway on April 29, 1984. Across 35 different tracks, 29 drivers have led laps in team history, with vice chairman Jeff Gordon atop the board at 24,936 laps led. Click here to look at laps led and wins by track, year and driver.
PIT POWER: Based on Racing Insights data, all four Hendrick Motorsports pit crews rank in the top seven among Cup Series teams for the fastest average four-tire pit stop. The No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts pit crew ranks third (10.977 seconds) followed by the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM pit crew in fourth (11.046 seconds). The No. 24 RAPTOR pit crew is fifth overall (11.065 seconds) and the No. 48 Ally Racing pit crew is seventh (11.315 seconds).
XFINITY RIDES AGAIN: The organization’s second of its 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2024 will occur on Saturday at Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Larson will drive the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro in his first of two starts for the team and 2014 Xfinity Series champion crew chief Greg Ives will be atop the pit box. Byron (three races, along with one he already ran at Phoenix Raceway), Elliott (two races), Alex Bowman (one race) and Boris Said (one race) are also scheduled to get behind the wheel of the entry. No. 24 lead engineer Brandon McSwain will be atop the box for Byron’s races, while Ives will call the shots for the rest.
EDGE OF SEVENTEEN: Since its return to the Xfinity Series in 2022, Hendrick Motorsports has made 11 starts. In those races, the team has accumulated three pole positions, three runner-up results, six top-five finishes and seven top-10s. One of those runner-up runs came by Byron in last year’s Xfinity race at COTA. The No. 17 carries special significance to the Hendrick Motorsports family as it is the same number Ricky Hendrick drove and won with in the Truck Series. In its history, Hendrick Motorsports has earned one Xfinity Series championship (2003) and 26 race wins in the series.
LAST YEAR AT COTA: Byron won the pole for the 2023 Cup Series event at COTA and picked up a stage win. He placed fifth, while Bowman was the highest finisher on the team, with a third-place result. With Elliott sidelined for this event, sports car champion Jordan Taylor made his Cup Series debut in the No. 9 Chevrolet.
TWOFER: Sunday’s race at COTA marks the fourth premier series event at the 20-turn road course. In the first three events, Hendrick Motorsports has had two drivers finish in the top five in every race. Elliott and Larson placed 1-2 in 2021 as the driver of No. 9 earned Chevrolet’s 800th Cup Series victory. In 2022, Bowman was the runner-up finisher and Elliott took fourth. Last year, Bowman ran third and Byron rounded out the top five.
GET TO THE POINTS: Three drivers for the Rick Hendrick-owned team are in the top six of average finishes at the 3.41-mile road course. Elliott tops the list (2.50), Bowman ranks third (4.33) and Byron is sixth (9.33). For points scored, all four drivers rank in the top eight: Bowman is third (114), Byron sits sixth (93), Larson is seventh (88) and Elliott is eighth (86).
RULERS OF THE ROAD: Totaling 27 victories, Hendrick Motorsports has the most all-time triumphs on road courses in Cup Series history. The two closest teams in this statistic have combined for only 23 wins. Since its inaugural season in 1984, the organization has won 27.83% of road course events (27 wins in 97 races). The team also tops the board among Cup Series squads on road courses in poles (25), top-five finishes (89), top-10s (151), laps led (2,289) and stage wins (16) on this track type.
GREAT EIGHT: Eight different drivers (the most by a Cup Series team on road courses) have accounted for the 27 road course wins: Gordon (nine), Elliott (seven), Larson (four), Tim Richmond (three), Byron (one), Geoff Bodine (one), Jimmie Johnson (one) and Ricky Rudd (one).
LUCKY SEVEN: The 27 road course victories have come across seven tracks: Watkins Glen International (11), Sonoma Raceway (seven), the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL (three), Riverside International Raceway (three), COTA (one), the Daytona International Speedway Road Course (one) and Road America (one).
SERPENTINE STREAK: Since 2018, Hendrick Motorsports has won at least one road course race in the past six seasons. During that period, the organization has gone to victory lane 12 times on serpentine layouts. The team earned one win each in 2018 (Elliott), 2022 (Larson) and 2023 (Byron), two wins each in 2019 (both Elliott) and 2020 (both Elliott) and five wins in 2021 (three for Larson and two for Elliott).
QUOTABLE /
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on running double duty at Circuit of The Americas: “I’m looking forward to running the (No.) 17 (NASCAR) Xfinity (Series) car this weekend as well as the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet on Sunday. I’m hoping running double duty gets me into a rhythm quicker, which ultimately helps out our (NASCAR) Cup (Series) program. We’ve had a good start to the year and just need to keep executing well to keep the momentum up.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how (Kyle) Larson’s extra seat time will benefit the team: “With Kyle (Larson) running the (NASCAR) Xfinity (Series) race, it’s good for him to have the additional reps. There’s some repaved sections of the track that I think will be good for him to learn. We’ll catch up the best we can (after Xfinity practice and qualifying on Friday) to get his feedback. We need to make sure our car is where it needs to be and put our best foot forward.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his 2021 race win at COTA: “That race in particular was pretty wild with the rain and everything that was going on. One of the crazier races that I remember. We were in trouble. We were not going to make it on fuel. I was trying to get as big of a gap as I could because we were likely going to have to stop. I just didn’t want to lose any more spots than we had to. Fortunately for us, we took a gamble and it started raining hard enough that they felt like it was time to pull the plug. We were the ones leading and that was kind of that.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at COTA and the team’s success on road courses last season: “Road courses are something that we as a team enjoy. COTA (Circuit of The Americas) is a really interesting track with tons of variety, high speed and a lot of different corner styles. So, that makes it fun. As far as success goes, I thought that we had a really good shot to win at Indianapolis (Motor Speedway Road Course) and Charlotte (ROVAL) last year. Unfortunately, the caution came out late in Charlotte and at Indy, we just fell a few laps too short and finished second there. Overall, we feel like we’ve gotten to a point where we have our Chevrolets driving and performing well. We hope to improve on that and showcase that at COTA.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on improving on road courses: “Road courses are definitely something we used to struggle with until recently. We put a lot of focus into improving on those the last few years and I think that shows. We were in contention in almost every one last year and hopefully, that’s still the case this season. We’ll have a little extra time on track at COTA due to the new aero package. That will be something we have to work through, but I think we have a good notebook otherwise.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his thoughts for this weekend at COTA: “We’ve been really quick at a lot of these places this year and just don’t have good finishes. COTA (Circuit of The Americas) was really good to us last year. We were fast, probably the second-best car all day. That makes us excited to get back there. There is a new aero package, so that will be different for us as well as the fact that parts of the track have been repaved. Those are factors that we won’t know until we get on track. I think we’re in a unique scenario with two 20-minute practices and extra tires. Still, only 20-minute sessions means the most laps you could make is 18 to 20, which isn’t a ton if you really think about it.”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the uniqueness of COTA: “I’m excited to get to COTA (Circuit of the Americas) and unload to see what we have. With the aero package being different and the little bit of repave, it will be interesting to have to adapt to. They’ve patched COTA so many different times. It has lots of different kinds of surfaces through it, it can be pretty tricky and a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to this weekend. COTA has been a good place for us.”
Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on looking to continue the team’s strong runs at COTA: “I think we’ve had good runs at road courses and he (Alex Bowman) is statistically really strong at COTA (Circuit of the Americas). The No. 48 team is looking forward to getting there. There are a lot of questions about the new aero package and we get an extra practice session on Saturday, so hopefully we can dive in and get adjusted quickly. I think it (COTA) is probably one of Alex’s favorite road courses, and track in general, so we look forward to work to carry our momentum from Bristol (Motor Speedway) to Texas.”
JOSH BERRY COTA Advance No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Event Overview
● Event: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (Round 6 of 36) ● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 24 ● Location: Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas ● Layout: 3.426-mile, 20-turn road course ● Laps/Miles: 68 laps/231.88 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 15 laps / Stage 2: 15 laps / Final Stage: 38 laps ● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● Josh Berry and the NASCAR Cup Series field heads to Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, for the first road-course race on the 2024 schedule. It will be Berry’s first Cup Series start on a serpentine-style track, but he has made two starts at COTA in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Most recently, the 33-year-old Cup Series rookie notched a top-10 result in his JR Motorsports entry in the Xfinity Series race there last March, crossing the finish line eighth in just his second start there. Berry has 15 starts on road courses in the Xfinity Series, nabbing four top-five results, nine top-10s, an average starting position of 14.4 and an average finish of 12.3.
● Berry showed his short-track speed at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last Sunday, earning the outside pole starting position in qualifying, his best starting position in 17 Cup Series outings. Berry led 25 of the race’s 500 laps and managed to secure a 12th-place finish, his best finish of the season.
● After five Cup Series points-paying races in 2024, Berry is ranked second in the rookie points standings with 74 markers. He trails leader Carson Hocevar, who currently has 80 points, and leads fellow rookies Kaz Grala (55 points) and Zane Smith (41 points).
● Crew chief Rodney Childers will be atop the pitbox for his fourth COTA event. He and retired Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick collaborated on finishes of 11th and 13th in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Childers has one road-course win – Harvick’s June 2017 victory at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway – among eight top-five finishes and 17 top-10s during his career on tracks that turn left and right.
● Overstock.com has joined Stewart-Haas and Berry’s No. 4 team this weekend at COTA. The partnership coincides with the March 28 relaunch of Overstock.com, home of crazy good deals that offer quality and style for less. Overstock.com is for the savvy shopper who loves the thrill of the hunt, and it includes product categories customers know and love, like patio furniture, home furniture and area rugs, while reintroducing jewelry, watches and health-and-beauty products. For those who can’t wait until March 28, they can shop now at Overstock.com.
Josh Berry, Driver of the No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
What do you work on to become a better road-course racer? Obviously, there’s simulation, but does your relationship with Ford Performance Racing School also allow you to hone your road-racing techniques?
“Obviously, this is my first road course (in the Cup Series), so I am still figuring all that out as far as what is available and what we can use. The biggest thing I can do is try to get as comfortable as I can in the braking zones and maximize that to my potential, and then learning the racetrack. To me, those are the two biggest things, especially learning the track and finding the little details that I need to know in the race.”
What is the most challenging part of COTA? Where can you make the biggest gains?
“Like I said before, learning the braking zones there is important – there are some high-speed portions that you can lose a lot of time in if you aren’t good in that section. It’s cool, though, because a lot of the course flows together, right? Like, how the corners lead into one another. It’s going to be important for me to learn how to exit one corner and then enter the next, and how they flow from one to the next so I can make the best laps I can.”
Turn one has a heavy braking zone and a tight, left-hand turn. How do you manage your level of aggression on restarts throughout the race?
“You have to be aggressive pretty much the whole race, otherwise you can give up a lot of spots, but a lot of it is just circumstance. You have to take the space as the field fans out and try to make it through the first corner as clean as you can and really that’s all you can do.”
How do you rate yourself on road courses?
“I feel like I have improved a lot. Growing up, I didn’t race any road courses, so it’s been a steep learning curve for sure, but it is something I have worked really hard at to be better and I feel like I did get a lot better at it in the Xfinity Series. I am excited to get to field a Cup car and see how it’s different but, at the same time, it’s just more learning and I am sure it will be a challenge.”
The current Cup cars seem exceptionally suited to road-course racing, to where the cars are forgiving and drivers aren’t penalized for mistakes. Because of that, it seems like there’s more rooting and gouging out on the racetrack than ever before. What’s your take?
“The car can handle a lot of bumping and beating. Pretty much everything is indestructible except for the tow link, so it will be bumper cars in the corners, but we have already seen that at COTA. This car doesn’t wheel hop, so that makes it to where you can challenge the braking zones a little more and be more aggressive.”
Do you watch other racing series that visit COTA during the year to prepare and take notes about the track ahead of the Cup Series race?
“Stock cars are so unique that you can’t really watch other series to learn much, and there is so much data from the previous races that we have enough to learn where people are making up time and try to prepare yourself with the numbers we have. I feel like that’s all we can really do until we get there and get going.”
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE Circuit of The Americas Austin, Texas March 23-24, 2024
NASCAR SET FOR FIRST ROAD COURSE RACE OF 2024 SEASON
NASCAR is set to make its fourth appearance at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) this weekend, with the 3.41-mile circuit hosting the series’ first road course race of the season. Arguably one of the most technical circuits on the schedule, the course lies within the rolling hills of Austin, Texas – featuring 20-turns and just over 130 feet of elevation change. COTA welcomed Formula One for the circuits’ inaugural event in November 2012, and the venue has since hosted some of the most pristine series in motorsports with NASCAR being the latest addition in 2021.
Chevrolet returns to COTA with a pair of victories in both the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS), with the manufacturer looking to continue its undefeated season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) by picking up its first win in the series at the circuit.
Chevrolet at Circuit of The Americas: Milestone Memories
Team Chevy’s Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain took Chevrolet on a pair of memorable trips to victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series’ first two events at Circuit of The Americas.
In the series’ debut at the circuit in 2021, Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team gambled on fuel strategy in exchange for prime track position amid inclement weather conditions. Sitting at the top of the leaderboard when the event was red-flagged and ultimately deemed official, Elliott not only became the first-ever NCS winner at COTA, but also delivered Chevrolet its milestone 800th all-time NCS victory. The victory also brought Hendrick Motorsports to a tie with Petty Enterprises’ all-time win record in the series, with the organization going on to break the record the following week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. To date, Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports continue to hold the record as the winningest manufacturer and organization in NASCAR’s top division with 854 and 303 wins, respectively, in the series.
One year later, Chastain took the Bowtie brand back to victory lane at COTA. The triumph was a monumental victory for both Chastain and Trackhouse Racing – marking the first-ever win for both the driver and the organization in NASCAR’s top division. The victory also came with a playoff berth to give Chastain his first appearance in the series’ post-season championship battle, with the Team Chevy driver going on to lead the manufacturer in the final points standings with a runner-up finish.
CHEVROLET’S ROAD COURSE HISTORY
Chevrolet’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory on a road course came with Buck Baker in the series’ debut at Watkins Glen International in 1957. To date, the Bowtie brand has tallied 64 all-time road course victories in NASCAR’s top division – seven of which have come since the Next Gen cars began competing in the series at the beginning of the 2022 season.
In recent years:
Chevrolet has earned 17 victories in the past 22 NCS road course events – starting with Chase Elliott’s victory at Watkins Glen International in August 2019, to AJ Allmendinger’s victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October 2023.
Within that time span, the manufacturer notched a streak of 11 consecutive road course wins in the series – beginning with Chase Elliott’s victory at Circuit of The Americas in May 2021.
Six drivers from four different Chevrolet teams contributed to the manufacturer’s streak of 11 consecutive NCS road course victories: Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet:
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet:
(Sonoma Raceway; June 2022)
Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet:
(Road America; July 2022)
(Indianapolis; July 2022)
ZILISCH TAPS IN FOR NASCAR DEBUT
Trackhouse Racing development driver Connor Zilisch is slated to make his much-anticipated NASCAR debut in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Circuit of The Americas. The 17-year-old driver will take over the reins of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Silverado RST – a ride that has already found victory lane this season with two-time NCS champion Kyle Busch (Atlanta Motor Speedway – Feb. 2024).
Zilisch grabbed the attention of the motorsports world in the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway when the young Team Chevy driver was a part of Era Motorsports’ LMP2 win – making him the second-youngest driver in history to win the event. The rising star made his first and only start in the ARCA Menards Series at Watkins Glen International last season – leading 34 of the event’s 42 laps en route to a runner-up finish.
ALLMENDINGER, CHEVROLET SETS SIGHTS ON COTA THREE-PEAT
Chevrolet’s two NASCAR Xfinity Series wins at Circuit of The Americas have come with road course phenom AJ Allmendinger. The 42-year-old California native took his Kaulig Racing Camaro ZL1 to victory lane at the Austin circuit the past two seasons. Now returning to the series full-time, Allmendinger will have the opportunity to make it three-straight in Saturday’s Focused Health 250. Allmendinger will also pilot a third entry for Kaulig Racing in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event. The Team Chevy driver has earned one top-five finish at the circuit in NASCAR’s top division, which came in the series’ inaugural event in 2021.
Allmendinger’s win at COTA last season brought the Team Chevy driver to 11 NXS road course victories – extending his record as the only driver in series’ history to earn a double-digit win count on road courses. He also drove Kaulig Racing to victory lane in the NCS’ event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course last season – marking his 13th career road course victory at the NASCAR national level.
Doing Double-Duty
Allmendinger’s Kaulig Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen will also be pulling double-duty in the NCS and NXS at COTA this weekend. The 34-year-old New Zealand native has just two starts in NASCAR’s top division – recording a history-making win in the series’ inaugural street course race in Chicago, and a 10th-place finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course last season.
2021 NCS Champion Kyle Larson also adds to the list of Team Chevy drivers set to compete in NASCAR’s top two series this weekend. The 31-year-old California will get behind the wheel of the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro SS to mark his first of two starts in the organization’s NXS entry this season. Two of his four starts in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro SS have come on a road course – tallying a runner-up finish at Road America in 2022, and a third-place finish at Sonoma Raceway in 2023.
ECKES CONTNIUES CHEVROLET’S UNDEFEATED RECORD
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes kept the Bowtie brand’s win streak alive at Bristol Motor Speedway – driving his No. 19 Silverado RST to a pole win, going on to lead a race-high 144 laps en route to his first victory of the season. The victory continued Chevrolet’s undefeated record in the NCTS this season, with Eckes becoming the fourth different driver to take the manufacturer to its fourth-straight NCTS victory lane appearance. This marks the seventh time in series’ history that a single manufacturer has won at least the first four races of a NCTS season. Chevrolet’s longest season-opening win streak came in the series’ inaugural season (1995) when the manufacturer tallied eight-straight victories.
BOWTIE BULLETS:
· With 13 races complete across NASCAR’s three national series this season, Chevrolet has a winning percentage of 69% with nine victories (NASCAR Cup Series – three wins; NASCAR Xfinity Series – two wins; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – four wins).
· Chevrolet has recorded four-straight victories to start the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season – marking the seventh time in series’ history that a single manufacturer has won at least the first four races of a NCTS season.
· Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Circuit of The Americas:
Ross Chastain: one win (2022)
Chase Elliott: one win (2021)
· Chevrolet has recorded wins in 17 of the past 22 NASCAR Cup Series road course races, including a streak of 11 consecutive wins that started with Chase Elliott’s victory at Circuit of The Americas in May 2021
· Chevrolet has 64 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins on road courses – starting with Buck Baker at Watkins Glen International in 1957.
· Chase Elliott leads the series’ active drivers with seven road course wins in NASCAR’s premier series – ranking him third on the NCS all-time road course wins list behind Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight).
· Within the first three points-paying races of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series races season, each Chevrolet organization had already recorded at least one top-10 finish.
· With its 42 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 854 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.
Manufacturer Points Standings
Chevrolet: 184 Toyota: 181 (-3) Ford: 166 (-18)
Manufacturer Points Standings
Toyota: 150 Chevrolet: 148 (-2) Ford: 120 (-30)
Manufacturer Points Standings
Chevrolet: 160 Toyota: 134 (-26) Ford: 128 (-32)
TUNE-IN:
NASCAR Cup Series
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix
Sunday, March 24, at 3:30 p.m. ET
(FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Focused Health 250
Saturday, March 23, at 5 pm. ET
(FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
XPEL 225
Saturday, March 23, at 1:30 p.m. ET
(FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1
Can you take me through a perfect lap at COTA as a previous race winner?
“I’ve never done it. I can’t take you through it because I’ve never done it (laughs). There’s a lot of mistakes that happen with 20 turns. There’s a lot of mistakes that happen for every driver, every lap. I can’t even dream of the perfect lap at COTA. I just want to minimize the mistakes.”
Where is the best place to pass at COTA?
“There’s 20 brake zones and 20 acceleration zones on the other side of each corner. I can’t think of one spot that I get really excited about passing because they’re all high risk, very heavy braking. There are some new asphalt patches in some of the corners that are brake zones. So nothing is comfortable about passing at COTA because it’s really easy to slide through the apex and wipe another driver out, or get wiped out, or spin out.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 GET BIOETHANOL CAMARO ZL1
What are your thoughts heading into COTA. It can be a difficult track for drivers …
“COTA is a tough racetrack. It’s got a lot of different corners. Every corner connects to each other. COTA can be challenging because I feel like it has multiple road courses in one, and it’s one of the biggest tracks we’ve ever gone to. We’ve had some success recently on road courses so we’ll be heading to COTA with the goal of backing up some of the runs we’ve had on road courses of late. We’re really focused on being aggressive with the adjustments to the car and how I drive in the race.”
KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 MARK III EMPLOYEE BENEFITS CAMARO ZL1
Have you seen where the track at COTA has been repaved and patched? How will that impact the race?
“I don’t think it’s going to impact the race any. I have seen it, yeah. I think they got rid of a bump on the exit of turn one, and I think they did a little bit into the backstretch straightaway through 12 or 13, and then out of the carousel and into 19. I don’t foresee it changing a whole lot. Like you’ll have lack of grip probably through the carousel, and then you’ll pickup grip on the exit and be able to go much faster through 19. But then out of 19, it’s back to the old asphalt and turn 20 is very slow with old asphalt being as slick as it is. I don’t know that it really opens up any more opportunities of passing or anything like that, just smoother surface I would imagine.”
Last year at COTA there were four cautions in the last 15 laps of the race. How mentally challenging is that for a driver?
“I would say that last year’s caution periods towards the end of the race was a challenge because you kept having to go through the restarts so thinking about what line you wanted to line up in and where you needed to be in order to position yourself for the restart all the dive bombs and the disrespect that keeps happening getting into Turn 1 is always an issue so you’ve got to be ready for that, mindful that you know that’s going to be happening so from there you hope for the best.”
Do you prefer stage cautions on road courses or had you rather the race stay green?
“I do not prefer stage cautions on road courses and don’t think that they should be there because of the fact that people jump the stages or they stay out in order to steal points from those that jumped the stages knowing when the cautions are going to fall. I definitely feel like it throws off the strategy of the race for a lot of people but when we were at Watkins Glen last fall, we needed those stage cautions so we could put ourselves back in position when we got behind on our pit road issues.”
DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 31 CIRKUL CAMARO ZL1
“COTA will be a challenge of its own. It will be my first time driving these Next Gen cars with sequential shifting, the brakes, and just the raw capability of the cars. It will be a brand-new experience for me, but I love any opportunity to grow as a driver and as a race team. Kaulig Racing has had solid, road-course success, so hopefully with this new package, we can adapt and learn quickly.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
Bowman on racing at Circuit of The Americas:
“I’m excited to get to COTA (Circuit of the Americas) and unload to see what we have. With the aero package being different and the little bit of repave, it will be interesting to have to adapt to. They’ve patched COTA so many different times. It has lots of different kinds of surfaces through it and it can be pretty tricky.. and a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to this weekend- COTA has been a good place for us.”
BLAKE HARRIS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
Harris on racing at Circuit of The Americas:
“I think we’ve had really good runs at road courses and he (Alex Bowman) is statistically really strong at COTA (Circuit of the Americas). The No. 48 team is looking forward to getting there. There are a lot of questions about the new aero package and we get an extra practice session on Saturday, so hopefully we can dive in and get adjusted quickly. I think it (COTA) is probably one of Alex’s favorite road courses, and track in general, so we look forward to work to carry our momentum from Bristol to Texas.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1
What are your thoughts on COTA?
“I feel like COTA owes me one or two. We have run well there since we started, but something has happened at the end of these races to disappoint us. But, we certainly go to COTA knowing we will run up front and that’s always a great feeling.”
Does COTA’s proximity to Monterrey give you extra motivation?
“Yes, I love going to COTA. I hear more cheers than normal when we go around in the pace car before the race. That’s a great feeling knowing we have the support. A win anywhere is great, but winning at COTA would be really cool.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics
Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2023): 42
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)
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.
In six NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) races at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Spire Motorsports has logged one top-15 and two top-20 finishes with four different drivers. Corey LaJoie, driver of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 finished 11th in last year’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. The Mooresville, N.C., team fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NCS with LaJoie, and fellow drivers Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix from Circuit of the Americas will be televised live on FOX Sunday, March 24, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The sixth of 36 races on the 2024 NCS schedule will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. NASCAR RaceDay’s pre-race coverage on FS1 will take the green flag at 2 p.m. EDT and shift to FOX at 3 p.m.
Sunday’s Grand Prix will mark LaJoie’s third NCS start at COTA, all of which have come behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports. Over the last three season’s LaJoie has finished 11th, 36th and 20th, respectively in the NCS annual visit to the 3.14-mile Austin, Texas road course
The Concord, N.C. racer has an average start of 28.0, an average finish of 22.3 and has completed 186 of 198 (94 percent) laps contested over those three races.
Last season, LaJoie started 27th and went on to earn a venue-best 11th-place finish.
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Last weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, LaJoie started 18th and finished 21st.
LaJoie is currently 22nd in the NCS championship point standings, seven points behind 21st and 15 markers outside the top 20.
The 32-year-old driver’s best finish of the year is a fourth-place effort at the Daytona 500.
Corey LaJoie Quotes Last year’s race at COTA was pretty intense as the laps wound down and you came away with a solid finish. What are your thoughts as we head into the first road race of the season? “We finished well at COTA last season after a couple wild, late-race restarts so I’m ready to get back to down to Austin. I’ve been working hard on honing my road-racing skills and our baseline set-up has been getting better. I think a top-15 is absolutely a realistic goal this weekend, and with a little luck, maybe we can set ourselves up for a top 10.”
Zane Smith – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Zane Smith will make his first NCS start at Circuit of the Americas in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix driving the No. 71 Focused Health Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports. Round 6 of the 2024 NCS tour marks Smith’s sixth NCS start for Spire Motorsports and 15th of his career.
On Sunday, Smith’s start at COTA will be the third road course race in his NCS career. Last year, he raced at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and the Charlotte Roval in the No. 38 for Front Row Motorsports.
Smith has a winning past at COTA in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS). The Huntington Beach, Calif., native won the XPEL 225 in back-to-back (’22-’23) seasons.
Smith’s victory at COTA last season made him the only NCTS repeat race winner at the venue. Smith led the final 15-laps and crossed the finish line 5.451 seconds ahead of second place.
Join Smith at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday at the EchoPark Automotive FanZone stage for a 15-minute question and answer session.
Last Sunday, Smith finished 36th in the NCS race at Bristol Motor Speedway. After starting 16th, Smith was fast before being collected in a multicar accident on Lap 31. Smith returned to the track following repairs before mechanical issues in Stage 2 ended his race.
Smith will carry the No. 71 primary sponsor, Focused Health, Sunday. Focused Health is a National Health Insurance agency founded by industry veterans with over 60 years combined industry experience. Primarily focused on the government programs space, Focused Health partners with payors and employers to deliver health insurance solutions for individuals and families. For more information, visit AtFocusedHealth.com.
Fans can pre-order Focused Health No. 71 Zane Smith merchandise at shopzanesmith.com.
Zane Smith Quotes Knowing your success at COTA, how excited are you to race there on Sunday? “I love racing at COTA. I’ve won there the past two years in the Truck Series so it’s a track that is super special to me. This will be my first time racing the Cup car there so it will be a little different, but I know that we will have a fast Focused Health Chevy Camaro. I’m looking forward to it.” Sunday marks the sixth race of the year. How are you feeling so far about the start of your season? “Luck hasn’t been on our side every weekend, but my team continues to work hard every day to bring a fast No. 71 Chevy Camaro to the track. The season is just getting started, so much left to prove. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish this season.”
Carson Hocevar – Driver, No.77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Carson Hocevar will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for his first NCS road-course race in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.
Hocevar stared 35th and finished 27th in last Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Despite myriad tire issues throughout the race, the 21-year-old completed all but three of the race’s 500 laps at the legendary high-banked, half-mile oval.
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Hocevar leads the NCS Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings and is currently 24th in the division’s championship points standings. He earned a season-best 15th-place at both Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3.3) and Phoenix Raceway (3/10).
In three previous NCTS starts at COTA, Hocevar has earned two top 10s, completed 95 of 129 laps (74 percent) and logged a 16.3 average finish.
The Portage, Mich., driver logged four NCTS wins in 2023 and finished fourth in the series’ championship point standings.
Hocevar made his NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) debut in 2023 at COTA for SS GreenLight Racing where he started 17th before being sidelined early with mechanical issues.
Carson Hocevar Quotes This weekend at COTA marks your NCS road course debut. Given you haven’t raced a road course in a Cup car before, how have you prepared? “I’m looking forward to our first road course race of the season. I’ve got a good amount of experience at COTA and with the simulator data we’ve gathered from the Cup car, we should have a really solid showing.” Shifting gears from the ovals, what excites you most as a driver about tackling a very technical racetrack like COTA? “I am just excited for the opportunity to really have a lot of pace. There is a lot more separation in lap times on road courses than on ovals, so we have an opportunity to put together a really good day.” From the Top of the Box
Ryan Sparks – Crew Chief, No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Ryan Sparks serves in a dual role as both Spire Motorsports competition director and crew chief for driver Corey LaJoie and the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro in the NCS.
Sparks, a Winston-Salem, N.C., native, has been paired with LaJoie since 2020.
Combined, Sparks and LaJoie have earned four top-five and seven top-10 finishes, including a pair of top four in the 2024 Daytona 500.
Stephen Doran – Crew Chief, No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Stephen Doran begins his first full season as a Cup Series crew chief leading Zane Smith and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team during the 2024 season.
In 2006, Doran got his start in NASCAR at Petty Enterprises.
Prior to his arrival at Spire Motorsports, Doran worked at Stewart-Haas Racing as an engineer, most recently on the No. 4 car driven by Kevin Harvick.
Luke Lambert – Crew Chief, No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Luke Lambert is the crew chief for Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 team with 2024 NCS Rookie of the Year candidate Carson Hocevar
The 2005 North Carolina State graduate has led the competition efforts for some of the sport’s most notable names including Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler and Chris Buescher.
In 2014, Lambert led Newman to a berth in the Championship 4, and ultimately a runner-up finish in the NCS championship point standings.
About Spire Motorsports … Spire Motorsports is a NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race team co-owned by long-time NASCAR industry executives Jeff Dickerson and Thaddeus “T.J.” Puchyr. In 2024, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series with drivers Corey LaJoie, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, respectively. The team will also field the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados full time in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. An all-star driver lineup will rotate throughout the 2024 season in the No. 7 Chevy. Rajah Caruth will drive the No. 71 entry and Chase Purdy rounds out the team’s fleet of Chevrolets in the No. 77.
Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on March 1, 2024, when Rajah Caruth took the checkered flag in the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
