Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sunday, March 3, 2024
1.5-Mile Oval
3:30 PM ET
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series race (3 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM, PRN

5 KYLE LARSON

Age: 31 (July 31, 1992)

Hometown: Elk Grove, California

Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels

Standings: 11th

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

JACKPOT IN VEGAS: Last October, Kyle Larson won the opening race in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs to secure a berth in the Championship 4. The driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 swept the stages at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and led a race-high 133 laps.

21 HITS IN LAS VEGAS: In March of 2021, the Elk Grove, California, native, led 103 laps en route to his first victory for Hendrick Motorsports in just his fourth start for the organization. Larson would record 10 wins – plus the NASCAR All-Star Race – that season en route to capturing Hendrick Motorsports’ record 14th Cup Series championship.

WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS: In Larson’s 15 starts at Las Vegas, he has two wins, seven top-five finishes, 11 top-10s, four stage wins and 447 laps led. The 2021 Cup Series champion has finished in the top two in four of his six Las Vegas starts with Hendrick Motorsports and has led 26.10% of the laps raced (421 of 1,613) in that span. Larson’s 421 circuits out front is his second-most at any track since joining the Rick Hendrick-owned organization ahead of the 2021 season. Since the start of the 2022 season, he has led the most laps (223) at the Nevada venue in the Next Gen car.

NOT SO AVERAGE: The driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet has the best average finish of drivers who have competed in at least four events at the 1.5-mile Nevada track. Larson has a 9.87 average finish in his 15 starts – one of only three drivers with a sub-10 average finish.

WEST COAST REPRESENT: Larson has six West Coast wins in the Cup Series, which ranks him tied for third among active drivers and tied for ninth all-time. He has two wins at Las Vegas, two wins at Auto Club Speedway and one win each at Phoenix Raceway and Sonoma Raceway.

CLIFF’S NOTES: No. 5 crew chief Cliff Daniels and Larson have teamed up for 16 wins since Larson joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 – the third-best total among active driver and crew chief pairings. Daniels and Larson have teamed up to accomplish those wins in 102 races while the best active combination has posted 19 victories in 175 starts.

YOUR CAR NEEDS: This weekend, Larson will drive the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. From the convenience of home, Hendrick Automotive Group customers can select 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. The website also makes it easy for customers to find one of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 93 dealership locations nationwide.

WE’RE HIRING: Hendrick Automotive Group is hiring more than 300 technicians at its dealerships throughout the country. Positions are open for all skill levels and offer tuition and training reimbursement. Interested people can apply 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 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

ATL REWIND: Chase Elliott earned a 15th-place finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at his home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway. After starting from the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion overcame multiple incidents to salvage the top-15 result, earning a stage point in the process.

POINTS UPDATE: Through two races in the 2024 Cup Series season, Elliott and the No. 9 team sit sixth in the points standings, just 12 markers behind the leader. The 28-year-old driver has already garnered one playoff point after capturing the first stage win of the year during the DAYTONA 500.

LET’S GO TO VEGAS: Elliott has 13 Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with three top-five finishes, five top-10s, three stage wins and 178 laps led. His best finish on the 1.5-mile oval was a runner-up effort in the fall of 2021. Elliott missed last spring’s race at the Las Vegas track due to an injury. The six-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver Award winner also has three starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series there, finishing all of them inside the top five.

MILE-AND-A-HALF NUMBERS: Elliott will make his 79th premier series start on a 1.5-mile track this Sunday in Las Vegas. In his previous 78 races, he’s led 1,041 laps. The 2020 Cup Series champion has two career victories on mile-and-a-half ovals, coming at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the spring of 2020 and Kansas Speedway in the fall of 2018. Along with his two wins, Elliott has collected 22 top-five finishes – eight of which are runner-up results – and 38 top-10s on 1.5-milers.

BETTIN’ ON ALAN: This weekend, No. 9 crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 26th race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in his 20th Cup Series season atop the pit box. In his previous 25 races at the 1.5-mile oval, the Ormond Beach, Florida, native has garnered six top-five finishes, 10 top-10s and 187 laps led. Gustafson has posted two runner-up efforts at the track – the first with Kyle Busch in the crew chief’s first start on the desert oval in 2005 and the second with Elliott in 2021.

LLUMAR RETURNS: LLumar, a trusted brand of automotive window tint and paint protection film manufactured by Eastman Performance Films, LLC, will have its colors carried on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Las Vegas. It’s the first of two races that the brand is serving as a primary partner during the 2024 season. The red-based scheme will also take to the track at Bristol Motor Speedway in September. Get a look at the 2024 edition of the No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 here.

REUNITED: Later this year, Elliott will reunite with his former crew chief Greg Ives for two Xfinity Series races. The duo won the 2014 Xfinity Series title during Elliott’s rookie season at JR Motorsports, a Hendrick Motorsports affiliate. As announced on Tuesday, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native will be behind the wheel of the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports’ Xfinity Series program at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 25, and Darlington Raceway on Saturday, Aug. 31.

24 WILLIAM BYRON

Age: 26 (Nov. 29, 1997)

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle

Standings: T-2nd

No. 24 Z by HP Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

WINNING WAYS: William Byron’s 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season is off to a career-best start. Following his win in the prestigious DAYTONA 500, Byron rallied to collect a 17th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway after being collected in an on-track incident. He now sits tied for second in the 2024 Cup Series points standings – the highest he has ever been at this point in the season (his previous best was 17th after two races in 2019). He has 11 Cup Series wins, with 10 coming since the start of 2021 – second to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson (17).

1.5-MILE MAGIC: Byron is no stranger to success on mile-and-a-half tracks during his Cup Series career. Since the start of 2021 (not counting races on Atlanta after its reprofiling for 2022), he has three wins, two runner-up finishes, nine top-fives and 16 top-10s in 23 races on 1.5-mile tracks. In fact, in 2023, Byron led the series in wins (two, one each at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway) and points collected (303) on that track length. He also has three consecutive top-10 finishes on 1.5-mile tracks, which is the second-longest active streak.

NEXT GEN DUO: Since the introduction of the Next Gen Cup Series car in 2022, Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle have a series-leading nine wins. The duo leads Hendrick Motorsports teammates driver Kyle Larson (seven wins) and crew chief Cliff Daniels (six wins).

LUCKY IN LAS VEGAS: When the No. 24 Z by HP Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 takes the green flag for Sunday’s race at Las Vegas, it will mark the 26-year-old driver’s 13th Cup Series start at the 1.5-mile speedway. This time, Byron returns as the defending winner from last year’s spring race. In his victory, Byron swept the stages and led a race-high 176 laps en route to the overtime victory ahead of teammates Larson and Alex Bowman. Including his win, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has two consecutive top-10 finishes at Las Vegas – tied for the second-most currently with Larson. In fact, Byron has led 185 laps at Las Vegas in the Next Gen car which ranks second behind Larson (223).

VIVA LAS RUDY: Returning to Las Vegas for the seventh time with the Cup Series, Fugle is confident heading to a venue that he has had success at before. In his six Cup Series showings, Fugle has one win (coming in this event last spring), two top-five finishes, four top-10s and an average finish of 8.67. The Livonia, New York, native has called the shots for 11 additional national series races at the track with 10 of those coming in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. He has collected one win (March 2019), four top-five finishes, six top-10s, three pole awards and 238 laps led in those Truck Series events. With Byron in the Truck Series in 2016, the duo qualified 10th and raced to a fifth-place finish at the 1.5-mile venue.

Z BY HP IS BACK: On Tuesday, Hendrick Motorsports unveiled Byron’s No. 24 Z by HP Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the 2024 season. Z by HP will be a primary partner for two races this year – this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and then again in the playoffs at Bristol Motor Speedway in September. HP takes pride in providing innovative, high-performance solutions that empower high-performance teams and that is encompassed with their new paint scheme. For a better look at Byron’s No. 24 Z by HP Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, click here.

48 ALEX BOWMAN

Age: 30 (April 25, 1993)

Hometown: Tucson, Arizona

Resides: Concord, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Blake Harris

Standings: T-9th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

VEGAS VICTORY: Alex Bowman earned his most recent NASCAR Cup Series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6, 2022. During that spring race, Bowman won the first stage and led 16 laps. He was running fourth at the time of the late-race caution and the team utilized a two-tire pit strategy that put him on the front row for the final restart. At the checkered flag, he proved victorious earning his seventh win in the sport’s premier series. The No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 visited victory lane in Bowman’s third start with Ally as his primary sponsor at this track.

LAS VEGAS LOOK BACK: The Tucson, Arizona, native has made 13 Cup Series starts at the intermediate-style Nevada track. In those starts, Bowman has one win, three top-five finishes, four top-10s and has led 23 laps. All but two of those starts in “The Silver State” have been with the 14-time Cup Series championship-winning team, Hendrick Motorsports. This weekend will be Bowman’s sixth start at the track with Ally boasted as his primary partner.

WEST COAST WINS: Bowman has two West Coast wins in the Cup Series with victories at Auto Club Speedway in 2020 and Las Vegas in 2022. These two victories rank him tied with Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron for the seventh-most West Coast wins amongst drivers entered in this weekend’s race.

1.5-MILE LOWDOWN: Bowman’s win at Las Vegas is one of five in the Next Gen era for Hendrick Motorsports on 1.5-mile tracks, which is the most of any team. He is one of 10 drivers to win on a track of that length since the Next Gen car debut in 2022. In Bowman’s career, he has two wins on 1.5-mile tracks with the other being his first Cup Series win at Chicagoland Speedway in 2019.

BEST FRIENDS IS BACK: Together, Ally and Bowman have supported Best Friends Animal Society since 2021. In 2024, both are committed to a combined donation of $4,800 per week to a local Best Friends network partner. In Las Vegas, that beneficiary is Homeward Bound Cat Adoptions. If you’re in the area for the race weekend, be sure to stop by their adoption center to see their fluffy friends up for adoption. All cats and kittens are spayed or neutered, up to date on age-appropriate vaccines and microchipped.

“WIN YOUR WHEELS” SPEEDSTAKES: To celebrate Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary, a limited line of Hendrick Motorsports 40th Anniversary Edition Chevrolet Camaro street cars will be sold exclusively through select Hendrick Automotive Group Chevrolet dealerships. One lucky fan can win a 40th Anniversary Edition Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE through the Ally “Win Your Wheels fueled by HendrickCars.com” sweepstakes. Enter to win at Ally.com/sweepstakes/nascar or visit the Ally Fan Zone at select tracks, the next being at Phoenix Raceway (March 9-10). The sweepstakes will end Sept. 20, 2024.

HENDRICK
MOTORSPORTS /

2024	All-Time	Las Vegas
Races	2	1,347	32
Wins	1**	302*	9*
Poles	0	246*	2
Top 5	2**	1,234*	32*
Top 10	2**	2,114*	54**
Laps Led	41	79,798*	2,224*
Stage Wins	1	99	10*

*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 (302), poles (246), laps led (79,798) and championships (14). With its win in the 2024 DAYTONA 500, the organization has now won at least one race in each of the last 39 seasons.

XFINITY SCHEDULE SET: On Tuesday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that it will enter 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series races in the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro with primary sponsorship from HENDRICKCARS.COM. William Byron (four races), Chase Elliott (two races), Kyle Larson (two races), Alex Bowman (one race) and Boris Said (one race) will compete in the entry. Brandon McSwain, who is the lead engineer on the No. 24 Cup Series team, will be the crew chief for Byron’s four races. 2014 Xfinity Series champion crew chief Greg Ives will handle the remaining six races. The schedule kicks off next weekend with Byron at Phoenix Raceway.

SIGN OF THE FUTURE: In three of the last six instances that Hendrick Motorsports has won the DAYTONA 500, the driver that was victorious in the event went on to win the championship in the same year. Team vice chairman Jeff Gordon accomplished this in 1997 and Jimmie Johnson did it in 2006 and 2013.

FINE NINE: With wins in the last three spring races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Larson’s playoff race victory in October of 2023, Hendrick Motorsports has tallied nine wins at the 1.5-mile track. That mark leads all Cup Series teams. Johnson’s four victories are a team-high, while Larson has two wins. Bowman, Byron and Gordon each have one win. The five drivers to win at the Nevada venue are also the most by one team.

TRIP SWEEP: In last year’s spring race, Byron, Larson and Bowman took the top three spots in the finishing order. The trio combined to lead 241 of the 271 laps in the event. It also marked the fourth time (with 2005, 2007 and the spring race of 2022 being the others) that the team took at least the top-two spots in a race at Las Vegas. This race was also one of three occurrences in its storied history where the team swept the top three spots in an event (the DAYTONA 500 in 1997 and the top-four sweep at Dover Motor Speedway in 2021 are the others).

VIVA LAS VICTORY: In last year’s two races at Las Vegas, Hendrick Motorsports led 69.70% of the laps run (375 of 538). Both race winners (Byron in the spring and Larson in the fall) swept the stages en route to their victories.

STAGE SAVANTS: Over the last eight races at Las Vegas (dating back to 2020), Hendrick Motorsports has earned 10 of the 16 stage wins. Larson has four, Elliott picked up three, Byron tallied two and Bowman notched one. The team’s 10 stage wins at Las Vegas are its most at any track on the schedule.

SETTING THE STAGE: The next stage win for Hendrick Motorsports will be its 100th in the Cup Series. Elliott has the most stage wins at Hendrick Motorsports with 37, followed by Larson (32), Byron (21), Bowman (six) and Johnson (three).

WEST SUCCESS: Of the last 18 races on the West Coast, nine have resulted in victories for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson has five wins, while Byron scored two and Bowman and Elliott have one each. The team’s 44 wins on the West Coast are the most in the series by 21 over the next highest team.

NEXT GEN NUMBERS: The Concord, North Carolina-based team’s five wins on 1.5-mile tracks in the Next Gen car lead all teams in the Cup Series. Since 2022, Byron and Larson each have two victories on 1.5-milers and are two of the four drivers with multiple victories on that track length. Bowman has one triumph.

GROB SIGNS ON: Hendrick Motorsports and GROB Systems have teamed up for a synergistic partnership to bring precision 5-Axis GROB machines to the campus of the 14-time Cup Series champions. GROB has been a developer and manufacturer of machines and production lines for over 90 years and its North American headquarters are located in Bluffton, Ohio.

QUOTABLE /

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his past success at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Hendrick Motorsports: “It was a close one last fall, but it was cool to hang on to win and earn a place in the Championship 4. Another great moment was getting that first win (at Hendrick Motorsports) with the 5 team (in 2021) – with the paint scheme that honors Ricky (Hendrick). We’ve run well at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway), won stages and races, so it’s definitely a track I look forward to racing at.”

Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Las Vegas after two drafting-style tracks to begin the season: “Our team process and execution at Daytona (International Speedway) and Atlanta (Motor Speedway) were good – although the results aren’t there on paper – and going to (Las) Vegas is another good test of that. When we look at the race last October, yeah, we had a good car but there were one or two cars that were better than us that we need to close the gap on – especially on the long runs. The track conditions are going to be different, but we know we have to take a step to get better and hopefully, we have addressed that.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, reflecting on adversity faced due to his injury last year: “It was definitely not fun sitting out and kind of watching the show go on. I had never had any serious injury or serious broken bones before last year and certainly never had surgery before. I had never been through that process before. As you get going and you start physical therapy and all those things, there are parts of it that are tough when you are trying to build strength back in muscles that have been dormant for a month or better. That part was a challenge.”

Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on heading to Las Vegas: “Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) hasn’t been a great track for us as of late, but our team has been focused on improving our mile-and-half program. This weekend is our first true test to see where we stack up after the offseason. I’ve been really proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish so far through the first two races. The finishes may not reflect that, but we earned a solid amount of points, had fast pit stops and were able to get a stage win. To make it through those back-to-back superspeedway races and sit sixth in points is huge. Hopefully, we can continue that positive trend this weekend.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the keys to this weekend at Las Vegas: “We hope to be a little bit better this weekend. We always hope that though. We won the first race at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) last year and then in the second race we had good short run speed but not long run speed. That’s something we’ve been working on this offseason and I think this is a race that the team has had circled to get back to. We want to keep the momentum going that we already have and these next few races coming up are crucial.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the importance of this stretch of races to the playoffs: “If you think about it, usually we have a few weeks at the start of the season where the races don’t really apply to the playoffs. This year, though, we’ve raced Atlanta (Motor Speedway) and then we go Las Vegas (Motor Speedway), Phoenix (Raceway) and Bristol (Motor Speedway). That’s four playoff races in a row with all of them being super, super important. We have to be on our game to get as much information as we can to be ready for when the playoffs come.”

Fugle on what he expects for Sunday’s race at Las Vegas: “Right now it looks like it’s going to be pretty cold Sunday in (Las) Vegas, so it’ll be pretty gripped up with a lot of throttle. I think at the beginning of a run you’re going to be able to run wide open. It’s going to lose a ton of grip, though, and you’ll see cars get really, really loose over a run. That’s where you will see those comers and goers. The last race there I think is the perfect example of that. It’s also supposed to be really windy this weekend, so we’ll watch that. It could affect how you break the corners apart since the wind will be blowing one direction on one side and the opposite on the other. That will hurt your handling. It should be exciting to watch though.”
​Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his comfort level at Las Vegas: “I’m excited for this weekend at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway). I went to the simulator this morning trying to get dialed in. There are places we are starting to get pretty consistently good at and (Las) Vegas (Motor Speedway) is one of them. We scored a podium finish last spring and then I did crash there last fall, but hopefully, I won’t do that again. It would be awesome to get the No. 48 team and Ally another win there. I look forward to going back and getting back to where we should be running. Getting back to victory lane, winning races, making the playoffs and contending for a championship is really this year’s goal.”

Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his outlook for this weekend at Las Vegas: “We had a couple of really fast cars there last year. Obviously, being a part of Hendrick Motorsports’ 1-2-3 finish in the spring was great. We had a fast car again in the fall and got ourselves in the top 10 before we wrecked. I expect to go back there with speed. It’s a good track historically for Hendrick Motorsports and we hope to kick off our intermediates the right way.”

JUSTIN HALEY | KAZ GRALA
Las Vegas Advance

Event Overview
● Event: Pennzoil 400 (Round 3 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, March 3
● Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 267 laps/400.5 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Justin Haley, Driver of the No. 51 Ohanafy Ford Mustang

● Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing (RWR), partners with Ohanafy for his seventh NASCAR Cup Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ohanafy is at the forefront of innovative technology built specifically for the beverage industry.

● In six previous starts at the 1.5-mile oval, Haley has one top-10 finish with a best of eighth earned last March. Overall, Haley has led 16 laps at Las Vegas and has completed all but 12 of 1,613 laps possible.

● Nearly half of Haley’s 13 Cup Series top-10 finishes have come on intermediate tracks. In 44 starts on tracks more than a mile in length and less than 2 miles, Haley has two top-fives and six top-10s.

● In addition to his Cup Series resume at Vegas, Haley has made six starts at the track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he’s posted four top-10 finishes.

● Last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Haley and the No. 51 team ran as high as eighth after suffering damage in a multicar accident in the opening laps of the race. Haley spent a majority of the race running well inside the top-15, his Ford Mustang strong on the long runs. The 24-year-old was vying for a top-10 finish before the final green-flag pit stops and a late-race restart hampered his ability to advance higher than his finishing position of 20th.

Kaz Grala, Driver of the No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang

● Kaz Grala is set to make his first Cup Series start at Las Vegas in the No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang for RWR. Sunday’s race on the 1.5-mile oval will also be his first Cup Series start on a true intermediate track and follows a 14th-place finish on the superspeedway-style 1.54-mile layout at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

● Grala owns three Xfinity Series starts at Las Vegas with a best-finish of 16th in March 2018 and three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts with a best-finish of fifth in September 2017.

● Grala’s 14th-place finish at Atlanta last Sunday was his third top-15 in the Cup Series. His best result remains a sixth-place effrort at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway earned in April 2021.

Rick Ware Racing Notes

● The 2024 drag racing season unofficially kicked off two weeks ago in Bradenton, Florida, during the PRO Superstar Shootout, where RWR’s Clay Millican promptly set fast time in the first round of qualifying with an elapsed time of 3.688 seconds and a speed of 336.49 mph, and then remained atop the leaderboard by securing the No. 1 qualifying position. Millican advanced all the way to the final round of eliminations, a stout performance that highlighted an expanded role this season by longtime partner Parts Plus on the No. 51 Top Fuel Dragster, and the addition of NHRA veteran Nicky Boninfante as co-crew chief.

● In the first racing event of the 2024 season, Cody Ware scored a podium finish Jan. 20 on the 12-turn, 3.56-mile Daytona road course driving a Ligier JS P320 in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge LMP3 class. The following weekend, Ware and teammate Preston Pardus competed in the twin Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup races at Daytona.

● Rick Ware has been a motorsports mainstay for more than 40 years. It began at age 6 when the third-generation racer began his driving career and has since spanned four wheels and two wheels on both asphalt and dirt. Competing in the SCCA Trans Am Series and other road-racing divisions led Ware to NASCAR in the early 1980s, where he finished third in his NASCAR debut – the 1983 Warner W. Hodgdon 300 NASCAR Grand American race at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. More than a decade later, injuries would force Ware out of the driver seat and into fulltime team ownership. In 1995, Rick Ware Racing was formed, and with wife Lisa by his side, Ware has since built his eponymous organization into an entity that fields two fulltime entries in the NASCAR Cup Series while simultaneously campaigning successful teams in the Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, the NTT INDYCAR Series, Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup, Progressive American Flat Track and FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX).

● In 2023, RWR enjoyed three NHRA Top Fuel wins with Millican, two Progressive American Flat Track wins with rider Briar Bauman, and multiple WSX victories with riders Shane McElrath and Joey Savatgy coming off their 2022 WSX championship.

Justin Haley, Driver Q&A

You started the points-paying season with two superspeedway-style races. What do you expect from the No. 51 team in the first race on a true intermediate track at Las Vegas?

“The intermediate tracks can be some of the toughest to figure out. I’ve had some good runs at Vegas, so hopefully I can give some feedback that will help us get to a good place for the race. The two tracks we’ve been at don’t really compare to what is coming next. Las Vegas and Phoenix will give us a good idea of what we’ve really got. The more time we have working together at the track, the more we are going to learn, no matter where we are racing.”

You’ve had a strong start to the season, and you say time at track has been beneficial to building strong relationships within the team. Is there one thing that is on the to-do list for improvement?

“I’ve been super fortunate to have fast racecars. There is still a lot we need to work on. We have to look at this as a new team even though RWR has been around for a while. With new people, we’re still working through communication and a lot of the little things to build things up to where they need to be. It’s hard to do a lot of that at the shop, away from the track, so we’ve had to work through some of that as it comes up during a race. I think the way we worked through a lot of what happened at Atlanta was good and shows we’re on the right track.”

Have there been moments in these first three races that have made you feel like things are headed in the right direction?

“Getting back from Daytona and seeing the shop guys – the ones who have really been the framework for RWR over the years – they were really excited. That was probably one of the coolest things that has happened so far and it just continues. We go to Atlanta and run in the top-10 – it just shows all these guys that it’s worth it. All the work, the frustration, it’s all worth it. It takes time, but we’re getting there.”

Kaz Grala, Driver Q&A

Las Vegas will be the first true 1.5-mile track you visit. Is there anything that can be carried over from last weekend’s race at the 1.5-mile, superspeedway-style track at Atlanta?

“I actually think we learned a few things we can use at Las Vegas. Atlanta races differently, but it’s still similar to the mile-and-a-half tracks in some ways. It’ll be nice to have a practice session and be able to work on some stuff instead of just jumping into the race. Seat time and working through things at track are where we are going to learn the most. If we can get a good start on the intermediate tracks early in the season, it gives us something to build toward to be competitive later in the season.”

How are you feeling about the progress of moving to the Cup Series fulltime with a team that is rebuilding?

“I think everyone is doing a great job. It’s always a work in progress. We will never reach a point where we’re content, but I think going back to the Clash, we’ve shown what everyone at RWR can do. We’ve got good cars, good people and the more we race, the better we’re going to get.”

After opening the 2024 season on two drafting-style tracks, Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are headed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a traditional intermediate-length track.

Crew chief Jeremy Bullins said he’s looking forward to Sunday’s Pennzoil 400, particularly in light of the team’s performance in a difficult drafting race this past Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In that race, Burton and the team managed to escape several on-track incidents and run in the top 10 for much of the event, then rally from a late incident to finish 11th.

That was an important turn-around after Burton was eliminated from the season-opening Daytona 500 in a Lap 6 multi-car melee.

“We finally had some luck on our side last week, avoiding major damage in the accidents we were involved in,” Bullins said. “It was definitely nice to have some luck on our side headed to Las Vegas, but our plan is to have the speed in our Mustang Dark Horse to go have a good race.”

The fact that the Pennzoil 400 is the first of many races on intermediate-length (around 1.5 miles in length) is not lost on Bullins.

“Being the first race of the year that’s not a speedway race will be a good test of our cars,” he said. “We also can see where the field stacks up and what we need to work on.”

Bullins believes he and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team will unload a fast Ford at Las Vegas.

“I feel like this team has put a lot of work in to be prepared, and we’re excited to see where we stack up,” he said.

Practice for the Pennzoil 400 is set for Saturday at 11:05 local time (2:05 Eastern Time) to be followed by qualifying at 11:50 (2:50 Eastern). FOX Sports 1 will carry the TV broadcast.

Sunday’s 400-mile, 267-lap race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 12:30 p.m. (3:30 Eastern) with TV coverage on FOX.

Stage breaks are planned for Laps 80 and 165.

About Motorcraft®
Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to under hood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford Dealers and Lincoln Retailers, independent distributors and automotive-parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty* of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.
*See your dealer for limited-warranty details.

About Quick Lane® Tire & Auto Center
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine maintenance, serving all vehicle makes and models. Quick Lane provides a full menu of automotive services, including tires, oil change and maintenance, brakes, batteries, alternator and electrical system, air conditioning system, cooling system, transmission service, suspension and steering, wheel alignment, belts and hoses, lamps and bulbs and wiper blades plus a thorough vehicle checkup report. Service is performed by expert technicians while you wait at any of nearly 800 locations in the U.S., with evening and weekend hours available and no appointment necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.
*See your dealer for limited-warranty details.”

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan, committed to helping build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. The company’s Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for customers and deepen their loyalty. Ford develops and delivers innovative, must-have Ford trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vans and cars and Lincoln luxury vehicles, along with connected services. The company does that through three customer-centered business segments: Ford Blue, engineering iconic gas-powered and hybrid vehicles; Ford Model e, inventing breakthrough EVs along with embedded software that defines exceptional digital experiences for all customers; and Ford Pro, helping commercial customers transform and expand their businesses with vehicles and services tailored to their needs. Additionally, Ford is pursuing mobility solutions through Ford Next, and provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. Ford employs about 177,000 people worldwide. More information about the company and its products and services is available at corporate.ford.com.

About Ford Performance
Ford Performance is based in Dearborn, Mich. It is responsible for Ford’s performance vehicle development and major racing operations globally, including NASCAR, IMSA, SRO British GT, FIA World Rally Championship, Supercars Championship, World of Outlaws, Ultra4, SCORE-International, FIA Rally-Raid, Formula Drift, NHRA, Rebelle Rally, Thailand Super Series and our latest commitment in Formula 1 with RedBull Ford Powertrains. Ford Performance also maintains a constantly evolving fleet of electric performance demonstrators to showcase the limits of electrification technology. In addition, the organization also oversees the development of Ford’s racing engines, as well as the outreach programs with all Ford Clubs and Ford enthusiasts. For more information regarding Ford racing’s activities, please visit Performance.Ford.com or follow @FordPerformance on Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube.

Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glenn’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Harrison Burton in the famous No. 21 racer.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nevada
March 1-3, 2024

CHEVROLET CARRIES UNDEFEATED RECORD OUT WEST

Chevrolet continues to live up to its title as the winningest manufacturer in NASCAR history with a record-setting start to the 2024 season. The Bowtie brand has been the only manufacturer to earn a trip to victory lane across NASCAR’s three national series with back-to-back weekend sweeps at Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Courtesy of wins by William Byron, Austin Hill and Nick Sanchez – Chevrolet swept the season-opening weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the second time in history. The Bowtie brand first accomplished that feat in 2018, with this season’s sweep making Chevrolet the only manufacturer to sweep the series’ season-opening weekend more than once. Chevrolet backed that performance up with yet another sweep at Atlanta Motor Speedway – marking the first time in NASCAR history that a sweep streak by a manufacturer has lasted through the second weekend of the season.

The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS), NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) will make the trek out west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the third-straight tripleheader of the season. Looking to remain undefeated, Chevrolet has fared well at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval in recent years – returning to the track with wins in all three series last season:

· NCS: William Byron (March 2023) and Kyle Larson (Oct. 2023)
· NXS: Austin Hill (March 2023)
· NCTS: Kyle Busch (March 2023)

 
…AND THE STREAK CARRIES ON

Victories by Team Chevy’s AJ Allmendinger and Sam Mayer at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October 2023 ultimately marked the start of an impressive run for the Bowtie brand in the NASCAR national ranks. Dating back to the ROVAL race weekend last season, Chevrolet has since recorded at least one victory in NASCAR’s three national series each points-paying race weekend – further demonstrating the strength in the Chevrolet camp across the NASCAR national ranks. Those victories include:

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (Oct. 7-8, 2023): AJ Allmendinger (NCS) and Sam Mayer (NXS)

Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Oct. 15, 2023): Kyle Larson (NCS)

Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 21, 2023): Sam Mayer (NXS) and Carson Hocevar (NCTS)

Martinsville Speedway (Oct. 28, 2023): Justin Allgaier (NXS)

Phoenix Raceway (Nov. 3-5, 2023): Ross Chastain (NCS) and Christian Eckes (NCTS)

Daytona International Speedway (Feb. 16-19, 2024): William Byron (NCS), Austin Hill (NXS), Nick Sanchez (NCTS)

Atlanta Motor Speedway (Feb. 24-25, 2024): Daniel Suarez (NCS), Austin Hill (NXS), Kyle Busch (NCTS)

 
NEXT GEN IN NEVADA

NASCAR’s premier series made its first appearance at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 1998, with Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube marking the series’ 33rd appearance at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval. Career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon delivered the Bowtie brand its first NASCAR Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2001, and the manufacturer has since collected 12 all-time victories at the track.

Since the Next Gen vehicles were introduced to the series at the beginning of the 2022 season, the Camaro ZL1 has earned victories in three of the series’ four events – recorded by Alex Bowman (March 2022), William Byron (March 2023) and Kyle Larson (Oct. 2023). Two of those victories were supported by a podium sweep by the Bowtie brand – with Bowman leading fellow Team Chevy drivers Larson (second) and Ross Chastain (third) in March 2022; and Byron leading his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Larson (second) and Bowman (third) in March 2023.

Alex Bowman

No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 March 6, 2022

William Byron

No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 March 5, 2023

Kyle Larson

No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 October 15, 2023

 
CHEVROLET IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT LAS VEGAS

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ 33-race history at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Chevrolet leads the series with a winning percentage over 50 percent – heading into the weekend with 17 victories at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval.

The NXS’ debut at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 1997 saw Chevrolet atop the leaderboard in both qualifying and the race – both courtesy of Jeff Green in the No. 8 Chevrolet for team owner Gary Bechtel. In recent years, drivers from three different Chevrolet teams have recorded a combined four wins in the series’ past six races at the track – most recently one year ago by Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and the No. 21 Camaro SS team.

HILL AIMS FOR RECORD WEEKEND

Team Chevy’s Austin Hill is off to dominant start in 2024 – making back-to-back trips to victory lane in the series’ first two races of the season. The 29-year-old Winston, Georgia, native will have the opportunity to make history in the series this weekend. A victory in Saturday’s ‘The LiUNA!’ race at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval would make Hill the first driver in series’ history to win the first three races in a season. Hill is no stranger to victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with the Team Chevy driver returning as the series’ defending winner of the track’s spring event. Hill also owns two victories in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – recorded in Sept. 2019 and Sept. 2020.

 
CHEVROLET IN THE NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES AT LAS VEGAS

The Truck Series was the first of NASCAR’s three national series to compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with Jack Sprague driving the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Silverado to the win in the series’ inaugural event (Nov. 1996). In the series’ last appearance at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval (March 2023), Kyle Busch took Chevrolet to a double-digit win count at the track – driving his No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) Silverado RST to the manufacturer’s 10th NCTS victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

REIGNING ROWDY

Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas Motor Speedway holds a special place in Kyle Busch’s storied NASCAR career. The “hometown hero” made his first career NASCAR Cup Series start at his home track in March 2004 while competing in select races with Hendrick Motorsports that season. Busch has since made 25 NCS starts at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval – collecting one win (2009), two poles and a series-leading 12 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes.

The 38-year-old Nevada native has recorded victories in all three NASCAR national series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In addition to his one win in NASCAR’s top division at the Nevada oval, Busch has also tallied two NASCAR Xfinity Series wins (2016 and 2019) and four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wins (2018, 2019, 2020, 2023) at the track.

Busch’s most recent trip to victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway came one year ago in the NCTS – leading a race-high 84 laps and pulling away to a nearly five-second lead to take the checkered-flag. The victory came in Busch’s first start with KBM following the organization’s manufacturer switch to Chevrolet at the beginning of the 2023 season. The Team Chevy driver is heading to his home track as the series’ most recent winner this season after capturing his series-leading 65th NCTS victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend.

 
BOWTIE BULLETS:

· Chevrolet is the only manufacturer to win across all three NASCAR national series this season – the first time in NASCAR history that a sweep streak by a manufacturer has lasted through the second weekend of the season.

· Chevrolet has the opportunity to extend its sweep record even further this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – returning to the track with wins in all three series last season:

NASCAR Cup Series: William Byron (March 2023) and Kyle Larson (Oct. 2023)
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Austin Hill (March 2023)
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Kyle Busch (March 2023)

· Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

Kyle Larson – two wins (March 2021, Oct. 2023)
William Byron – one win (March 2023)
Alex Bowman – one win (March 2022)
Kyle Busch – one win (March 2009)

· In 32 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded 12 victories. Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at the track with nine, recorded among five drivers: Jeff Gordon (2001), Jimmie Johnson (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010), Kyle Larson (2021, 2023), Alex Bowman (2022), William Byron (2023).

· Since the debut of the Next Gen vehicles in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022, Chevrolet has won three of the series’ four races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – recorded by Alex Bowman (March 2022), William Byron (March 2023) and Kyle Larson (Oct. 2023).

· With its victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend, Chevrolet continues the streak of earning at least one win in the NASCAR national ranks each race weekend since the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course events in October 2023.

· With its 42 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 853 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: 80
Toyota: 66 (-14)
Ford: 63 (-17)

Manufacturer Points Standings

Chevrolet: 80
Toyota: 70 (-10)
Ford: 53 (-27)

Manufacturer Points Standings

Chevrolet: 80
Toyota: 69 (-11)
Ford: 65 (-15)
 
TUNE-IN:

NASCAR Cup Series

Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube

Sunday, March 3, at 3:30 p.m. ET

(FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

NASCAR Xfinity Series

The LiUNA!

Saturday, March 2, at 5 p.m. ET

(FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 presented by Westgate Resorts

Friday, March 1, at 9 p.m. ET

(FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

 
QUOTABLE QUOTES:

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 KUBOTA CAMARO ZL1

How much are you looking forward to racing at Las Vegas?

“We’ve obviously had strong cars for the first two races of the season and Daniel has too. Trackhouse as a whole has had good start to the season with Daniel’s win last week at Atlanta. This weekend is the first mile-and-a-half we’re going to, so we’ll get to see how much our off-season work is going to pay off for us. I enjoy racing at Vegas, and we’ve had some strong runs there in the Cup car with Trackhouse and obviously I’ve won there in the Xfinity Series.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1

What are your thoughts on Las Vegas Motor Speedway?

“I can’t wait to get to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It’s one of my favorite racetracks. It’s big, fast, bumpy, and it has a lot of lines that you can choose. It’s going to be a great race weekend for everyone coming to check us out. We’re on a mission on the No. 3 team to turn our luck around and Las Vegas is the perfect place to do that.”

How has racing on 1.5-mile tracks with the Next Gen car changed and how do you think it’s improved?

“I think the racing on the 1.5-mile tracks is probably the best racing we have now with this new car. It really seems to put on a good show, and you find certain times and tracks that race really competitively. The restarts are really pretty wild.”

COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 USANA CAMARO ZL1

LaJoie on the start of the 2024 season:

“I think it’s super-important to start the year out strong, especially to get through the west-coast swing in as good of a points position as possible. Jeff Dickerson’s favorite thing to say is ‘get out ahead of it early.’ We want to try and build ourselves a little bit of a points cushion between our team and the guys who might catch you throughout the course of the year. If you start the year strong, like we have, and we continue that, it’s going to be tough for some of those guys to catch us.

I’m always excited to go to Las Vegas. I’ve had some really good runs there the last couple years. That’s going to be a true barometer of where we stack up as a team with downforce and horsepower. I think we have a lot of the tools we need to bring a really good USANA Chevrolet Camaro to the race track this weekend. I’m excited to go out there and see how we stack up at the first true intermediate track of the season.”

Are you relieved to get Daytona and Atlanta out of the way? Those two tracks are variables and now you can focus on the bulk of the season.

“You’re much less in control of your own destiny at those places. You are, but you aren’t. Someone else’s mistake can take you out of the race. No different than Vegas, with the crazy restarts, but I feel like you’re in control of your destiny a little bit more at Vegas than the first two. The angst is the same no matter what racetrack you go to. You want to perform and you want to do the best you can for your partners, team and fans. I don’t know if I’m excited or happy to get those two out of the way, I just know there are 34 more race where we need to try and make a notch in the win column.”

Are you a fan of mile-and-a-half racing?

“Those tracks have become one of the strengths of our team, which is a little surprising because I’m more of a short-track guy at heart. We’ve had some really good runs at Vegas and Charlotte and some other places like that. Ryan Sparks has a pretty good knack for setting a car up at mile-and-a-halves so hopefully we’ll see that this weekend, as well.”

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1

What do you remember of your first Cup win at Las Vegas in 2009 and what did that victory mean to you? Being in front of the home crowd, what did that mean to you?

“It was huge and such a cool deal. That to me felt like my Daytona 500. I’ve had some big wins. I’ve won Indy. I’ve won the Southern 500. I’ve won the Coke 600, All-Star Race, all that stuff. But the Vegas win, it was just like such a relief, such a monumental win for me because I remember I grew up right down the street watching that place be built.”

Is there less pressure when you go back to Vegas?

“Because I’ve won there, yes, there’s less pressure, but I’ve never backed it up. You still want to win there every time you go, being the hometown. I think I have four or five third-place finishes there in the last six or seven races, whatever the hell it is. We’re right there, we just don’t get it.”

DEREK KRAUS, NO. 16 WESTERN STATES FLOORING CAMARO ZL1

“I’m really excited to make my first Cup Series start with Kaulig Racing, the team that I also made my Xfinity Series debut with! I’m thankful to Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice for believing in me, as well as Western States Flooring, a partner that has supported me throughout my career. I can’t wait to get to work with Travis Mack’s group and see what we can do in Las Vegas.”

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 31 SOUTH POINT HOTEL AND CASINO CAMARO ZL1

“I’ve said for many years that Las Vegas feels like a second home now. It’s really special to have South Point Hotel Casino and Spa back on the Cup car after a five-year hiatus in the series. They have done so much for me in my career since 2017, so returning to the top level of racing with them feels like having family at the racetrack. Las Vegas is a track that has always been a good one for me. I think this No. 31 team is excited for our first, true mile-and-a-half event to show the work that we’ve put in throughout the off-season. I’m looking forward to seeing where we shake out once we unload and hopefully having a solid weekend.

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1

Bowman on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

“I’m excited for this weekend at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway). I went to the simulator this morning trying to get dialed in. There are places we are starting to get pretty consistently good at and (Las) Vegas (Motor Speedway) is one of them. We scored a podium finish last spring (2023) and then I did crash there last fall (2023), but hopefully I won’t do that again. It would be awesome to get the No. 48 team and Ally another win there (Las Vegas Motor Speedway). I look forward to going back and to get back to where we should be running. Getting back to victory lane, winning races, making the playoffs and going to contend for a Championship is really this year’s goal.”

BLAKE HARRIS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1

Harris on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

“We had a couple really fast cars there (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) last year. Obviously being a part of the Hendrick Motorsports 1-2-3 finish in the spring (2023) was great. We had a fast car again in the fall and got ourselves in the top-10 before we wrecked. I expect to go back there (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) with speed. It’s a good track historically for Hendrick Motorsports and we hope to kick-off our intermediates the right way.”

ZANE SMITH, NO. 71 FOCUSED HEALTH CAMARO ZL1

Are you excited to get back and race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway?

“I’m very eager to get back to Las Vegas and race there. I classify Las Vegas as my home track so it is always a special weekend. Especially because this will be my first start in the Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, so it is bittersweet. I always dreamed of racing in the Cup Series at that track.”

How did you feel leaving Atlanta and what are you looking to capitalize on this weekend in Las Vegas?

“I was disappointed with how our race ended on Sunday at Atlanta. My City of Refuge Chevy Camaro was super-fast and unfortunately, I made some contact with the wall. This No. 71 Spire Motorsports team is special and I know we will have another fast Focused Health Chevy Camaro this weekend in Las Vegas. I’m looking forward to getting on the track and seeing what this team can accomplish together.”

CARSON HOCEVAR, NO. 77 PREMIER SECURITY CAMARO ZL1

“I feel good heading to Vegas, excited to start working on our mile 1/2 package in our No. 77 Premier Security Chevy. I’m even more excited to see where we stack up with all our off season work and preparation and have a solid smooth day after what happened at Daytona and then Atlanta. Wrong place wrong time sometimes but hey that’s racing, and we have another chance this next week to finish better!”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1

What does the Atlanta victory mean to you?

“We have done a lot of work on this race team to make it better and to keep moving forward. This is just the beginning of something amazing that we are going to go through together. I am so happy for all my Amigos at Freeway Insurance who have been with us for so long. That victory was a group effort. Our partners at Chevrolet, all of our sponsors and all of the people at Trackhouse Racing.”

Are you ready to relax now that you have a victory and likely secured a playoff spot?

“No way. Atlanta will be the first of many victories. This makes us want to keep working and win more. I have always said I don’t want to just get in the playoffs. We want to win and advance in the playoffs.”

What are your thoughts on Las Vegas?

“I hope practice and qualifying go better than last year. We had an issue and crashed, but on race day our backup car was pretty quick. I was very proud of my guys. That wreck Saturday put us back and we had to get the backup car ready with no laps of practice. They stayed late Saturday night and came in early on race day. The car didn’t feel like a backup and if we had another 100 miles we would have finished even better than 16th. We passed many cars coming from the back a few times.”

What did you do in the offseason to make Daniel Suarez stronger?

“Well, I did a lot of work with my crew chief Matt Swiderski and the rest of the engineers in the simulator and analyzing myself what can I be better at. This is not just ‘we changed the crew chief’ that’s the solution. No, it has to be way more than that and I think we all need to change a few things here and there. Myself, crew chief, engineering department, pit crew department. With these changes, I believe we’ll be in a different place this year.”

What will it take for Trackhouse to break through?

“There are a lot of young teams like Trackhouse that are getting stronger every year. I truly believe that this year Trackhouse is really going to be stronger than last year. I can’t wait to see that reflected on track and hopefully we can give them a run for the money.”

 
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:

Total (1949-2023): 42

First title for Chevrolet: 1958

Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023

Drivers Championships:

Total (1949-2021): 33

First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)

Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021

Event Victories:

Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2024 STATISTICS:

Wins: 2

Poles: 0

Laps Led: 117

Top-five finishes: 5

Top-10 finishes: 8

Stage wins: 1

· Chase Elliott: 1 (Daytona)

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:

Total Chevrolet race wins: 853 (1949 to date)

Poles won to date: 743

Laps led to date: 249,292

Top-five finishes to date: 4,303

Top-10 finishes to date: 8,869

Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:

       General Motors: 1,187

       Chevrolet: 853

       Pontiac: 154

       Oldsmobile: 115

       Buick: 65



       Ford: 828                                                           

       Ford: 728

       Mercury: 96

       Lincoln: 4



       Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467

       Dodge: 217

       Plymouth: 191

       Chrysler: 59



       Toyota: 180

 

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.

CLUB ENTRY LIST

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
POINT STANDINGS: 13TH

ERIK JONES
POINT STANDINGS: 17TH

CLUB NOTES

Survivors of Atlanta: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB drivers John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones had an eventful race last weekend at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. After fighting handling woes in qualifying, the No. 42 and No. 43 Toyotas were both involved in a multi-car incident on lap two. Both teams repaired the cars and continued to race in the 400-mile event, but the damage sustained in the crash hindered forward progress. Nemechek would finish in the 21st position followed by Jones in 25th.

Checkout lane: Nemechek’s Toyota Camry XSE will debut a new paint scheme in Las Vegas with grocery store chains Safeway and Albertsons featured as the primary sponsors. The door panels on the No. 42 will showcase brands all, Dial ,Persil, Snuggle, Baja Vida Beef Jerky, Daisy Brand, Pete & Gerry’s, and RedBird Farms as associate partners

Hitting the jackpot: Both LEGACY M.C. drivers have claimed NASCAR Truck Series victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway while driving Toyota Tundras fielded by Kyle Busch Motorsports. Jones went to victory lane first in the 2014 event, followed by Nemechek in 2021.

Vegas domination: LEGACY M.C.’s co-owner Jimmie Johnson and competition advisor Matt Kenseth completely dominated Las Vegas Motor Speedway throughout the 2000’s. During the five years between 2003 and 2007, Kenseth and Johnson were the only Cup Series drivers to win at the track. Johnson’s four wins (‘05, ‘06, ‘07, and ‘10) and Kenseth’s three (‘03, ‘04, and ‘13) account for nearly a quarter of all NCS races held at Vegas.

Doubling down in the desert: Nemechek will make his third NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season behind the wheel of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing GR Supra on Saturday. Both of Nemechek’s cars this week will feature the same primary sponsors, Safeway and Albertsons.

Community ties: LEGACY M.C. co-owner, Maury Gallagher, has his roots firmly planted in Nevada. Gallagher, who also serves as chairman and CEO of Allegiant Travel Company, is a full-time resident of Las Vegas and oversees the airline from its headquarters located just over 20 miles from the track. Gallagher recently served as the Chairman of the Super Bowl Host Committee and Allegiant has been a national partner of the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 2012. Also in 2023, Allegiant Travel Company pledged $1 million to Boys & Girls Clubs of America to develop and launch a new program that will inspire children to choose future careers in aviation.

Remembering Spencer Clark: Gallagher’s introduction to the sport of NASCAR came from a partnership with a bright local racer who competed at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring, Spencer Clark. Sadly, as Clark’s career began to take shape in the NASCAR national ranks, he lost his life in a highway accident in 2006. Gallagher’s book, “Fueling a Legacy, The Long-Shot Success of GMS” details Gallagher’s relationship with Clark and the origins of GMS Racing (now LEGACY M.C.).

Marathon Matt: Kenseth won’t be in Vegas this weekend but is competing in a race of his own – the 2024 Tokyo Marathon in Japan. Kenseth gained an interest in running in 2014, as his wife Katie has always been a runner, and his first 5k was ironically a Jimmie Johnson Foundation-sanctioned fitness event. Towards the end of his driving career, Kenseth gained interests in cycling, and running, and decided to train for marathons. Since 2019, Kenseth has competed in five of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors: Berlin (3:07:44), London (2:58:23), Chicago (3:09:08), Boston (3:01:40), and New York (3:11:33). Tokyo marks the final event for Kenseth to earn his “Six Star Medal” which is an elite award to honor the runners who compete in all six major marathons. Upon completion, he will be included in the “Six Star Hall of Fame”. The 26.2-mile event takes place on March 3 in Tokyo.

West Coast Hall of Fame, Class of 2024: The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame named its Class of 2024 today, which includes LEGACY M.C.’s co-owner Johnson and chief executive officer Cal Wells III. Johnson and Wells III will be joined by Eric Holmes, Jimmy Vasser, and the late Dick Cobb. The Class of 2024 will be enshrined Thursday, June 6, during the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s induction gala, at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway’s Turn 11 Club VIP/Hospitality complex encircling the road course’s iconic Turn 11.

ICYMI: This week LEGACY M.C. announced a partnership with D3O®, (pronounced Dee – three- oh) the world’s leading protection brand. D3O develops unique products used to protect against impact and dampen vibration. The iconic orange D3O material is used by global brands in sports, electronics, motorcycle, mountain bike, defense, law enforcement, and industrial workwear.

CLUB QUOTES

John Hunter Nemechek, Driver of the No. 42 Safeway / Albertsons Toyota Camry XSE:

On the importance of managing patience throughout longer Cup Series races compared to the Xfinity Series: “I think the best mindset or approach is to go into these races without any expectation and just do the best you can as a team and the best I can do as a driver. If we’re fast, we’re fast, but if not, we’ll just have to keep working at it because we’re continuing to try and build our program at LEGACY M.C. It’ll be the first true test at a mile-and-a-half this year to see the speed we have in our Safeway / Albertsons Toyota Camry XSE, so we’ll see what we’ve got.”

Ben Beshore, Crew chief of the No. 42 Safeway / Albertsons Toyota Camry XSE:

From what you’ve seen in simulation, how well do you anticipate the new Camry XSE to handle aerodynamically on these intermediate tracks? “That’s tough to tell right now. I think we’ll have to get some laps under us in real-life conditions in traffic and around other cars to know what we’ve got there. Vegas is one of the first true intermediate tracks we go to with the new body style, so it’ll be a good learning experience and hopefully what we learn here can be carried over in some of the other tracks coming up like Texas, Charlotte, and Kansas. It’ll be a good proving ground for some of those upcoming intermediate tracks.”

Erik Jones, Driver of the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE:

On what makes a driver successful at 1.5-mile tracks. “I think the 1.5-mile tracks now are so momentum-based that having a car where you can keep your momentum up and be able to move around in traffic is probably the most important thing. The 1.5-mile tracks have become pretty enjoyable with this car and this package, I feel like they are pretty ‘racy’ and they are challenging. Everyone is running close to the same speed and time, but I feel like you can move around and do a lot of different things on these 1.5-mile tracks like Vegas.”

Dave Elenz, Crew chief of the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE:

“The core of our season is intermediate tracks, so it is important to have speed at all of these tracks and have good results. Last year, that (intermediate tracks) was a strength for us. To end the season, we had a lot of good runs at some 1.5-mile tracks. We look forward to seeing what we have this year with Toyota, seeing where our speed stacks up, and getting an understanding of what we have to work on moving forward.”

PETTY 75TH ANNIVERSARY

The 2024 season marks a significant milestone in the history of the Petty family as they have helped define stock car racing for 75 years. Their commitment to the sport and the people who make it possible – behind the wheel, under the hood, in the back office and beyond – has shaped the growth and success of NASCAR. Their LEGACY lives on with the countless fans, drivers, technicians and team members they touched. Throughout 2024, LEGACY M.C. will celebrate the Petty family and share countless memories with friends and fans at race tracks across the country.

Family affair in Vegas: The Petty family was well represented at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March of 2000 as the father-son duo of Kyle and Adam Petty shared the track for the race weekend. Adam Petty competed in the then-Busch Series finishing 17th. Father Kyle then raced in the NASCAR Cup Series event leading for six laps and finishing 29th.

CLUB PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

Pre-race teammate pose with “The King’s Hat” in Atlanta.

(Photo courtesy of LEGACY M.C.)

BROADCAST INFO

LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

SUNDAY, MARCH 3RD | 3:30 PM ET

ABOUT OUR PARTNERS

ABOUT DOLLAR TREE, INC.: Dollar Tree, a Fortune 200 Company, operated 16,622 stores across 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of October 28, 2023. Stores operate under the brands of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree Canada. To learn more about the Company, visit www.DollarTree.com.

ABOUT SAFEWAY: In 1915, M.B. Skaggs, an ambitious young man in the small Idaho town of American Falls, purchased a tiny grocery store from his father. M.B.’s business strategy, to give his customers value and to expand by keeping a narrow profit margin, proved spectacularly successful. By 1926 he had opened 428 Skaggs stores in 10 states. M.B. almost doubled the size of his business that year when he merged his company with 322 Safeway (formerly Selig) stores and incorporated as Safeway, Inc. Two years later, M.B. listed Safeway on the New York Stock Exchange. M.B. did not let the difficulties of the Great Depression dilute his pioneering focus on value for customers. In the 1930s, Safeway introduced produce pricing by the pound, added “sell by” dates on perishables to assure freshness, nutritional labeling and even created some of the first parking lots.

M.B. Skagg’s value vision still drives Safeway, though on a dramatically larger scale. Today, Safeway operates as a banner of Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States. With both a strong local presence and national scale, the company operates stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia under 20 well-known banners. Albertsons Companies is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood. In 2017 alone, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the company gave nearly $300 million in food and financial support. These efforts helped millions of people in the areas of hunger relief, education, cancer research and treatment, programs for people with disabilities and veterans outreach.

ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ is a professional auto racing club owned by businessman and entrepreneur Maurice “Maury” J. Gallagher and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. The CLUB competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series fielding the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE of John Hunter Nemechek, the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE of Erik Jones, and the No. 84 limited schedule entry for Johnson. LEGACY M.C. also competes in the Extreme-E Series. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty “The King” serves as Club Ambassador. With a unique title signifying a nod to car clubs of past eras, LEGACY M.C. is an inclusive club for all motorsport enthusiasts to celebrate the past and future legacies of its members, while competing for wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level. To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ on Facebook, X, Instagram and at www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Pennzoil 400 Advance | Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Todd Gilliiland, driver of the No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Front Row Motorsports, ranks first in the number of laps led after two NASCAR Cup Series races. GIlliland led a race-high 58 circuits in Sunday’s event at Atlanta Motor Speedway and has 73 overall going into this weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gilliland spoke about the start to his season during a Ford Performance media call this morning.

TODD GILLILAND, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW DO YOU FEEL GOING INTO VEGAS? “I think it’s definitely bittersweet. We definitely could have come out of here with absolutely no positives, so it’s still really nice to be leading laps led. Obviously, we need to start adding up the points, but this is speed like I’ve never had before in the Cup Series, regardless of the racetrack even though they’ve both been superspeedway type races. That’s still exciting for me and it’s definitely gonna be interesting to see where we stack up this weekend.”

HOW DO YOU MENTALLY AND STRATEGICALLY HANDLE THE FACT YOU’VE LED ALL THESE LAPS BUT ARE IN A POINTS HOLE? “There’s definitely no hiding it. We are in a hole in points, but at the same time I think Joey Logano is right behind me. I think Keselowski is right there and those are guys that you know are gonna be up there and probably most likely in the playoffs by the end of the season. Obviously, it’s bigger for us as maybe a smaller team to rack up the points as quickly as you can because you never know when the opportunities are gonna stop coming up. Overall, I’m just trying to take the positives out of it. I think this is definitely the most I’ve ever raced around the sport’s best drivers for the last couple of weeks, and hopefully I have a long career ahead of us. Obviously, we need to get points right now, but any of these high spots are obviously gonna help me moving forward also.”

POINTS WON’T MATTER IF YOU WIN. HOW MUCH CLOSER DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE TO CHALLENGING FOR A WIN COMPARED TO A FEW MONTHS AGO? “To me, this year has been miles closer to having the speed and the execution of a full race to potentially get the win. I think it’s still a very long road ahead. I think, truthfully, at Atlanta if everything went right, we could have had a really good chance at the win. To me, that’s definitely gonna be looked at as a missed opportunity. I think if we could have been up there, we could have at least gotten a good finish but, honestly, could have been battling for that win. That’s what we have to change our expectations to. I think we’re miles closer to potentially winning a race, but there’s also so much that goes into a full 400 or 500-mile race that we probably still need to get quite a bit better at.”

IS THIS A DAYTONA/ATLANTA/SUPERSPEEDWAY THING WITH THE SPEED YOU’VE SHOWN OR IS THIS A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME FOR THIS TEAM THE REST OF THE YEAR? “I think it’s probably a little bit of both. I think we have a lot of new exciting partnerships, whether it’s the Tier 1 program with Ford or our new alliance with Team Penske, I think all of that stuff has been helping us, pointing our team in the right direction to make these decisions, but at the same time I think it’s even past the speed of it. It’s the speed plus how good my car drove, even at Daytona. Taking pushes, I could lead a line and all of that stuff, whereas before I’ve been up in the mix but the cars I’ve had the last couple of weeks have just had a different feeling of having the potential speedwise, but also handling-wise, whereas before we would have had to pick one or the other. Let’s say we wanted to go qualify really well at Atlanta, we would probably have had to give up quite a bit of handling, so, to me, there’s more layers to it. I’m hopeful that we’re gonna show more speed here at Vegas, but on the same foot I think we finished 28th and 31st there last year, so we have tons to improve on, but I’m really excited and very hopeful that this weekend will at least be a couple of steps in the right direction.”

WHERE IS YOUR CONFIDENCE NOW WITH BEING ABLE TO RUN AT THE FRONT WITH A LOT OF THESE OTHER TOP DRIVERS? “It’s super exciting for me. As still a youngerish guy that is still trying to find my way and make a name for myself, racing against the best of the best is just a huge confidence booster for myself. I think I can do it and expect myself to be able to run well in those positions, but you never know what the other guys or the industry is gonna think of yourself when you’re up there, so, for me, it’s been really awesome and just have to put those experiences in the memory bank. This is a huge confidence sport. Like when we unload at Vegas, I’m gonna need to be very confident in my car to go almost wide-open around that place from lap one, so it definitely carries over and even if it’s not so much as the on-track results, I think even if it’s our race team we have mostly new mechanics, new car chief. I really think the expectation of our team this year, even if it’s through the first two races, we’ve seen the potential of what we can do at these type of racetracks and that needs to be the expectation going forward. It’s confidence inducing for me as well as my whole team.”

WHAT ARE YOU DOING DIFFERENTLY NOW THAN MAYBE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO? IS YOUR PREPARATION THE SAME? “My preparation, for the most part, is very similar, but you definitely learn stuff along the way and, honestly, from the past three years there was the first year of the Next Gen car. You didn’t even know what to prepare on and then me being a rookie and then now three years in I definitely as a whole that our race team and myself know what is important, maybe what’s not so important and all that stuff. But from a race team side of it, you prepare the same and my race cars have just been much faster the last couple weeks, and it’s been really nice to prepare and be able to take semi-advantage of the situations. We’ve been up front, so that’s the biggest thing, and just confidence. It’s my crew chief’s second year as a crew chief. This year, all of those things help of just showing up to the racetrack where we need to, in a spot where we can go race and race confidently. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

WHAT IS DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF RACING UP AT THE FRONT WITH THAT GROUP VERSUS THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK? “You hear everyone say it. I think at the front of the pack the guys just get single-filed out really quickly and everyone’s cars are driving fairly good for the most part. And then you get back in the pack and everyone is putting each other four-wide and everyone is out of control. It’s definitely more fun up front. For me, that was Atlanta. As soon as I got back in the pack it was fairly out of control. It’s just nice to be up front. You have way more confidence in your car when you’re obviously running up front. You have more grip and more speed. Those guys, for the most part, you just have more room to get single-filed out and more so running your own race.”

CAN YOU DISCUSS THE LAP TWO SITUATION WHERE IT LOOKED LIKE YOU WERE MAYBE TRYING TO LET MICHAEL IN? THAT SEEMED TO BOTTLENECK THINGS BEHIND YOU. “It’s been a couple days since then and I’ve seen all of the replays of it. It’s lap one or two and we were working together with Michael and I was definitely trying to let him back in line, trying to make a little bit of a hole for him. There’s kind of one already there. I don’t think I really slowed down as much as it looks like as the 2 is kind of hitting the 12 and then everyone is kind of getting a run back to each other, and then obviously it just gets jammed up like 15 rows back and everybody is jammed together. Obviously, I hate that maybe we caused that in some sort of way, but, at the same time, we qualified well. We were trying to work together up at the front and just let a teammate in. People do it all the time, so I don’t know. I hate that it didn’t work out for a lot of guys, but I don’t think it was as bad as it looked just as everyone was kind of tightening up naturally at that point also.”

DO YOU HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING TO SOME OF THE OTHER DRIVERS WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENS? “I think all of that stuff is still stuff that I’m trying to go through and learn through, but from this one in particular I haven’t heard anything from anyone. As a younger guy, in general in this sport, you need to get ahead of any situation. I feel like this one is a little bit different. I think there’s a little bit more shared blame everywhere. If it was something where I just wrecked a veteran guy, that’s definitely a situation where I would want to get ahead of it and reach out as a younger guy, for sure.”

HOW HAVE YOU BUILT RELATIONSHIPS WITH SOME OF THE VETERAN DRIVERS AND DOES THAT HELP YOU ON THE RACETRACK? “It is really nice. My first year I came in and I was just really trying to get to know everybody on the highest level of just knowing their names. Obviously, I know everybody, but being confident enough to walk up and just start a conversation. All of that stuff has gotten much easier. I think everyone has learned me on the racetrack, probably a little bit off the racetrack just here and there seeing stuff on social media. I think all of that stuff just gets easier with time. It’s just like any co-worker. The more you’re around them for years and years you guys eventually talk here and there, whether it’s just crossing paths randomly. All of that stuff has gotten a lot easier, but it definitely helps once you’re on the racetrack, whether that gives you something to talk about the next week and it just leads to a little bit deeper relationship over time as you guys race together.”

WHAT ARE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT THIS WEEKEND AT LAS VEGAS WITH THE NEW CAR? “I am very curious about everything. I think there’s tons of stuff that is very unknown, whether it’s the other manufacturer’s body. Obviously, the Dark Horse Mustang has been super fast the first couple of weeks, so I feel confident about where we’re at, but it’s just about where we stack up with everybody else. I think that goes for everyone in the field, honestly. Everyone feels good about where they’re at, so we’ll see. From our side, the team side, I’m excited to see where our preparation is at, where we unload and our potential speed is at. There’s lots of unknowns. Even our pit crew. It’s been kind of easy the first couple weeks as far as a lot of fuel only, a lot of two tires, where this is really gonna be something that separates the field also is pit crews going from here on out, so there’s tons of different layers that are gonna be exposed, so I’m just excited to see where it all kind of stacks up.”

HOW DO YOU DEBRIEF OR KEEP NOTES AFTER EACH RACE? “I do a debrief. I usually do it on the plane back home and usually try to knock it out, and also I have a bad memory, so I just need to get it out of the way in general. That stuff is super important. I think our team takes really good notes during the race. In the Cup Series, I think that’s one thing that’s different than other series in NASCAR is how much information you have to look at after the race, too. We have our post race meetings on Tuesday mornings, which kind of gives us a day on Monday and take it all in, take in the weekend of general what it was. Also, even going back to practice and qualifying day there’s gonna be a ton of stuff to look at from that night – seeing where everyone stacks up, seeing what we need to do quite a bit better, whether it’s stuff that we can implant for Las Vegas weekend or going forward for the rest of the season. There’s definitely a lot of data and a lot of stuff to look at, but as far as my debrief we fill it out after the race and then talk about it all with the team on Tuesday.”

This Week in Motorsports: February 26 – March 3, 2024

· NCS/NXS/NCTS: Las Vegas Motor Speedway – March 1-3

PLANO, Texas (February 28, 2024) – NASCAR continues the opening swing of its 2024 season as all three national series travel to the West Coast to compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After two superspeedways to begin the year, the first mile-and-a-half track arrives on the schedule.

NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCTS

Wallace off to strong start in 2024 … 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace has had a knack for superspeedway racing, which he showed in the first two races this season with back-to-back top-five finishes. Currently sitting fourth in the Cup Series point standings, the driver of the No. 23 Camry XSE looks forward to a mile-and-a-half this weekend, where he, 23XI Racing and Toyota have had strong runs since the introduction of the Next Gen race car.

Reddick returns to favorable Las Vegas … Wallace’s teammate, Tyler Reddick, will be happy to see Las Vegas Motor Speedway next on the Cup Series schedule. The California native has four top-10s in the last five races at the Nevada circuit, as well as a pole in the fall 2022 race. Reddick has also claimed victory in the Xfinity Series (2019) and Truck Series (2016) at Las Vegas.

Truex looks to keep strong Las Vegas form … Like Reddick, Joe Gibbs Racing’s, Martin Truex Jr., is a fan of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 43-year-old has 12 top-10s in the last 13 Las Vegas Motor Speedway races, which includes wins in 2017 and 2019. Currently 10th in the Cup Series points standings, another top-10, or higher, for Truex would continue his solid start to 2024.

Creed, Smith towards top of points standings … Following back-to-back top-fives to start the season, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith, sit second and fourth in the Xfinity Series point standings heading to Las Vegas. Smith will be making his third career start at Las Vegas, where he has two top-fives, while Creed is making his fifth career start here.

Heim makes first Xfinity start of 2024 … After making four Xfinity Series starts last season, Toyota Development Driver Corey Heim returns to Sam Hunt Racing and will make his first start in the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra this weekend. He captured a top-10 in his second start with the team last year at Darlington. Also continuing his full-time efforts in the Truck Series, the Georgia-native will look to build upon back-to-back top five finishes in his No. 11 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro with TRICON Garage in Friday night’s Truck race.

Almirola debuts in GR Supra … Long-time NASCAR Cup Series driver, now part-time Xfinity Series driver, Aric Almirola, makes his first start of the season with Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing this weekend piloting the No. 19 GR Supra. Almirola previously drove in the Xfinity Series for JGR in 2006 and 2007 and raced a Tundra in the Truck Series with Toyota (2009 – 2011). The 39-year-old is making his first Xfinity Series start since Sonoma last year, where he captured victory. Saturday will be his 29th overall start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Bell to pilot No. 1 Tundra TRD Pro … Christopher Bell makes his return to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series this weekend with TRICON Garage, taking the wheel of the No. 1 Mobil 1 Tundra TRD Pro. The Oklahoma-native will make his first Truck Series start since Pocono last season, where he finished fourth. Las Vegas has been favorable to Bell as he’s started on pole in all three NASCAR national series at the track, and he nearly captured victory in the Cup Series race last fall, coming home second by 0.082 seconds.

Friesen looks to add another Las Vegas top-10 … Canadian Stewart Friesen has found continued success at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The 40-year-old comes into the weekend with five top-10s in the last six races in Las Vegas. Keeping the streak alive would provide a boost of momentum early in the season for the No. 52 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro team.

About Toyota

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

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

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

Christopher Bell
Daytona 500 Advance
No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Las Vegas 400 (Round 3 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 3
● Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 267 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Outrageously Dependable for 33 Years and Counting: Interstate Batteries has 11 primary sponsorships on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 2024, a similar number of schemes to last year’s expanded presence among all four JGR Toyota Camry XSEs. Along with another appearance in the Daytona 500 already in the books, Interstate’s colors will have co-primary sponsorships at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May, and the Cup Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Bell kicked off the Team Interstate effort as a co-primary sponsor at Daytona. Bell and Ty Gibbs will run the majority of the Interstate Batteries’ races with his second of four total Interstate races coming this weekend at Las Vegas, with veteran Denny Hamlin in Interstate colors for two races and Martin Truex Jr., carrying a primary Interstate Batteries sponsorship for one race. Hamlin will drive the No. 11 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE in the March 26 race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, as well as the NASCAR Cup Series’ first-ever race at Iowa Speedway in Newton on June 16. Truex, the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion, will again pilot the No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry July 23 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

● Double Duty: In addition to piloting his fulltime ride in the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Camry this weekend in Las Vegas, Bell will take a shot racing for Tricon Garage in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday night. Bell is the 2017 Truck Series champion.

● Bell has two top-five finishes and four top-10s and has led a total of 93 laps in eight career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas. Bell’s average Las Vegas finish is 17.4.

● The 2024 season marks Bell’s fifth fulltime season in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has eight career Cup Series starts on the 1.5-mile Las Vegas oval. Of those eight starts, his best career points-paying finish was a strong second-place run in last year’s October playoff race there. Bell is looking to build on the momentum of back-to-back appearances in the Championship 4 of the playoffs with the No. 20 team and two-time Cup Series championship-winning crew chief Adam Stevens.

● Outside of the NASCAR Cup Series, Bell has made four career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Las Vegas. He’s brought home three top-five finishes and three top-10s in those four Xfinity Series starts and added one pole, which came in March 2018.

● With his 34th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend after being involved in an early race incident, Bell heads to Las Vegas 16th in the standings with 47 points, 30 out of the lead.

Christopher Bell, Driver of the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry TRD

What are your expectations for Las Vegas this weekend?

“Las Vegas has a ton of grip, probably the highest level of grip of any track we go to. Last spring, the race at Vegas was completely different than we have seen with this car so far. It had a lot to do with colder ambient temperatures and no sun, and we are expecting some cooler temperatures this weekend, especially on Sunday. Last fall, it was obviously warmer and made the track more slick. Not sure how much rubber we will put down this weekend to widen the track. Vegas is a place where if you are typically faster than the guy in front of you, then you can pass them because you can move around. You can run the top, you can run the bottom, you can create momentum on guys, and the same thing can be said if you are bad – you can’t hold off guys if they are faster than you. We obviously had a great car there last fall and came so close to winning there. Hoping we can put it all together and finally get a win with our Interstate Batteries Camry at a place that’s been good for us.”

What does it mean to be part of the Interstate Batteries program again this season?

“I think I’ve said this a few times before, but driving the Interstate Batteries car is kind of a rite of passage at JGR – it’s like you are officially part of the club. It’s a big deal to everyone at Interstate Batteries and everyone at JGR – they are the team’s founding partner. It’s an honor to be able to drive that car and would be even more special to get a win for those guys. We know we are heading to a place at Las Vegas where we can get them a win. I know Kyle (Busch) has won a lot for them, and Bobby (Labonte) did back years ago. I would love to add my name to that list this weekend.”

Where do you feel you and crew chief Adam Stevens are in terms of the evolution of your relationship?

“I think we are in a really good spot. We continue to get more and more gelled together, and I think we are poised for more great things in 2024 than we had in 2023. I’m looking forward to what we have in store. This will be our first true 1.5-mile weekend and we hope it’s a good one for our entire team, but also for us on the Interstate Batteries No. 20 team.”

What are some of the things Adam has brought to the table that has sharpened you?

“Adam has been able to instill confidence in me by giving me fast racecars and cars that I know are going to handle good enough for me. He’s probably the best leader that I’ve ever driven for. He knows how to manage the highs and lows of a season, and he definitely can bring out the best in me.”

Do you feel like an elder statesman at Joe Gibbs Racing?

“No, I don’t (laughter). I don’t. I have Martin (Truex Jr.) and Denny (Hamlin), who are old and veterans and legends, and then I have Ty (Gibbs), who is younger than me but has been around the JGR family forever. I’m still the new guy on campus.”

No. 20 Interstate Batteries Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Christopher Bell

Hometown: Norman, Oklahoma

Crew Chief: Adam Stevens

Hometown: Portsmouth, Ohio

Car Chief: Chris Sherwood

Hometown: Portsmouth, Virginia

Spotter: Stevie Reeves

Hometown: Speedway, Indiana

Race Engineer: William Hartman

Hometown: Laingsburg, Michigan

Team Engineer: Chris Whitenight

Hometown: Berwick, Pennsylvania

Road Crew Members

Truck Driver: John Maybry

Hometown: Campobello, SC

Mechanic: Wesley Lape Hometown: Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania

Ride and Handling Engineer: Chris Chase

Hometown: Nichole, New York

Truck Driver: Glenn Funderburk

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Mechanic/Tire Specialist: Bryce Bratton

Hometown: Maiden, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Crew Members

Gas Man: Peyton Moore

Hometown: Buford, Georgia

Jackman: Derrell Edwards

Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland

Tire Carrier: Jake Holmes

Hometown: Westborough, Massachusetts

Front Tire Changer: Blake Houston

Hometown: Enochville, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Mike Hicks

Hometown: China Grove, North Carolina

Martin Truex Jr.
Las Vegas Advance
No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Las Vegas 400 (Round 3 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 3
● Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 267 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Truex has two wins, seven top-five finishes, 15 top-10s and has led a total of 313 laps in 24 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas. Truex’s average Las Vegas finish is a strong 10.0. Truex’s average finish is tied for second among active drivers with Joey Logano. Kyle Busch is the leader among active drivers with a 9.4 average.

● Truex notched his most recent Las Vegas victory in September 2019, when he led 32 laps. It was his second win on the 1.5-mile oval and first at Las Vegas since joining Joe Gibbs Racing.

● After two superspeedway races to start the season, Truex certainly is looking forward to getting to the first downforce track of 2024 in the 1.5-mile oval at Las Vegas – a place that has treated him well over the years. At similar tracks last year, Truex posted five top-10 finishes – at Las Vegas, Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

● Family owned and operated, Reser’s has been a proud sponsor of good times at racetracks, picnics, and barbecues since 1950 with a family of brands that includes Reser’s American Classics, Main St. Bistro, and more. Reser’s operates 14 facilities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada and actively supports the communities it serves. Visit resers.com to learn more.

● With his 12th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend, Truex heads to Las Vegas 10th in the standings with 60 points, 17 points out of the lead, as the Cup Series heads to Las Vegas to begin this year’s abbreviated two-race Western Swing. The series heads to Phoenix Raceway next week.

Martin Truex Jr., Driver of the No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE

What are you expecting at Las Vegas this weekend with your No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Camry XSE?

“I expect it to be a great race out in Vegas. I love going out there and it’s a great racetrack. Vegas is a great track that’s wide and you can run all over. We saw a lot of guys run high there the last couple of years and we’ve also gotten better as a team at being able to get through the bumps and move around. Looking forward to having Reser’s Fine Foods on our car for the first time at Vegas. I’ve won there before and I’m always confident we can go out there and run up front and have a shot to get Reser’s to victory lane.”

Does “Sin City” still live up to its name when you race out there?

“Not really. Honestly, for us on a two-day weekend, it’s all business. I don’t even leave the track when we go there. It’s not like the banquet – that was fun. When we go to racetracks, it’s all business for everyone. It’s just too serious. There is too much on the line and the commitment level and the focus it takes is higher than it has ever been.”

How has the level of parity changed in the Cup Series?

“I think it has changed a lot since I’ve been here. I think the last few years with the NextGen car has been the biggest change, I would say. It has constantly evolved since I’ve come into the sport as far as trying to tighten things up, but the NextGen car just has taken it to a new level. You are talking about everybody having the same parts and pieces – that’s never been a part of this sport. That’s definitely been the game changer.”

Talk about tire strategy at Las Vegas, and how late-race cautions affect your strategy.

“It’s an interesting place, it’s fast and high-speed and has tire falloff but, for whatever reason, it’s a place that has unique asphalt, and when the tires cool off, you can fire off and run one or two fast laps. These days, with these cars, if you can get that clean air and get those two to three car lengths out in front of guys who are on better tires behind you, and guys in between you and the four-tire guys, you have a huge advantage for a few laps. It’s all about what the other guy does. You can be the only guy on two tires and you are a sitting duck, but if you have four to five guys behind you on two tires, you have a bit of a buffer and so it just depends on what goes on around you.”

No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Martin Truex Jr.

Hometown: Mayetta, New Jersey

Crew Chief: James Small

Hometown: Melbourne, Australia

Car Chief: Chris Jones

Hometown: Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia

Race Engineer: Jaik Halpainy

Hometown: Blockville, New York

Engineer: Jeff Curtis

Hometown: Fairfax Station, Virginia

Spotter: Drew Herring

Hometown: Benson, North Carolina

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Ryan Martin

Hometown: Mechanicsburg, Virgina

Mechanic: Todd Carmichael

Hometown: Redding, California

Interior/Tire Specialist: Tommy DiBlasi

Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Engine Tuner: Beau Morton

Hometown: Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Transporter Driver: Kyle Bazzell

Hometown: Fairbury, Illinois

Transporter Driver: Eddie DeGroot

Hometown: Baldwinsville, New York

Over-The-Wall Crew Members

Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell

Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Jackman: Caleb Dirks

Hometown: Riverside, California

Tire Carrier: CJ Bailey

Hometown: Outer Banks, North Carolina

Front Tire Changer: Lee Cunningham

Hometown: Leaf River, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Marquill Osborne

Hometown: Cornelius, NC