Category: NASCAR Cup PR

NASCAR CUP SERIES
PHOENIX RACEWAY
FANSHIELD 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 6, 2020

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media to discuss the momentum coming off of his win at Fontana, racing at his home track, the value of using the simulator, and more. Full Transcript:

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU MISS ABOUT LIVING IN ARIZONA THAT YOU AREN’T QUITE ABLE TO DO WHEN YOU COME HERE FROM WHEN YOU GREW UP?
“We’re only here for a short period of time, so I can’t hit every Mexican food place that I could possibly want to. That’s probably the biggest thing I miss because North Carolina just doesn’t get it done in the Mexican food department. I’ve been out here all week, so I’ve had my fair share of that. To be honest with you, other than that, I moved away when I was pretty young. I traveled so much with racing. I didn’t get to be 18 or 21 and kind of run around Tucson and Phoenix. By that point, I was already in North Carolina. For me, it’s really typically a balance of the food places that I like and just trying to spend time with family and friends out here.”

ANY MORE THOUGHT TO THIS TATTOO? IF SO, YOU WERE KIND OF AGAINST GETTING IT ON YOUR NECK. WHERE ELSE WOULD YOU PUT IT? SOMETHING LIKE AUSTIN DILLON DID?
“I’m not doing that (laughs). I don’t know where I’m going to do it. Maybe I should get ‘I’m not William Byron’ on my forehead (laughs). It’s funny because we get mixed up all the time with fans, especially on Axalta weekends. I don’t know; I’m going to get something. Most of the guys that I had that bet with have already gotten their tattoo, so there were a bunch of 88 tattoos that happened this weekend. But I don’t really know, I have to think about it. I’ll do something cool. I don’t necessarily want to get an 88. I want to get something different and something that I really like. So, we’ll just wait and see. It’s going to happen. I was just a little pre-occupied this week, so I didn’t have much time to think about it.”

HAS THE VICTORY DONE ANYTHING TO EXPEDITE CONTRACT TALK FOR 2021?
“I don’t know. I didn’t go home this week. I celebrated with the team all week, so it’s a little early to say. I hope so. Hopefully, we’ll get on that soon and not have to worry about it anymore.”

YOU HAD A GREAT WEEKEND LAST WEEK; WON BOTH PRACTICES, QUALIFIED REALLY WELL, HAD THE DOMINATE CAR IN THE RACE. EVERY RACE CAR DRIVERS DREAMS OF THAT. WHAT IS THAT LIKE TO BE IN THAT MOMOENT AND WHAT IS IT LIKE TO KNOW THAT YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN HERE OR DOWN THE ROAD?
“I feel like I’ve had two of those cars in my career; Fontana being one and here in 2016 being the other. Those are the weekends that your job as a race car driver is typically pretty easy. The feedback is pretty minor, what the race car is doing and what we need to address and work on, and you don’t have to throw a bunch of stuff at the car and really get it dialed in. It typically starts that way, so those weekends are definitely easier than the hard ones. But at the same time, you could take that exact same thing back there next year and it not work. It’s crazy how that works. I think we’ve tried the 2016 setup here about three times since then and have never made it work. It’s definitely a fun weekend to be a part of. I think my crew deserves a lot of the credit for that one because we pretty much raced it how it came off the truck.”

SPEAKING OF THAT 2016 RACE, DO YOU STILL CONSIDER THAT THE PIVOTAL POINT IN YOUR CAREER?
“It was definitely a big part of it. There were some other races that we ran really strong at the end of that year, but none as strong as that. I feel like that definitely opened the door and was a big help. It’s also a race that I thought about every single day for the next two years of my life until we won Chicago. I still think about it a ton, but probably not as much as I did before we won. I think it was a big part of it, for sure.”

YOU SAY YOU’VE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT 2016 RACE UNTIL YOU WON AT CHICAGOLAND. WHY HAS IT DISSIPATED SINCE CHICAGOLAND?
“I think it’s really easy to sit there and be like ‘man, what if I never win a Cup race’. Then, you look back at the closest you’ve been and for me, that’s always been the closest I’ve been. Now, it’s like ‘man, what if you never win at Phoenix’ and think back to the closest you’ve been here. There’s always a way to second-guess yourself and to think about it. I probably want to win here more than anywhere else we go, just being from close by. I think that’s something that’s always been on my mind. I think winning helped relieve that a little bit, but it’s still there for sure.”

RYAN NEWMAN IS IN THE GARAGE. TO THINK ABOUT WHERE THINGS WERE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO THAT HE’S ACTUALLY AT THE TRACK, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AS A COMPETITOR?
“I’ve been all over the place this morning, so I haven’t had a chance to stop by and see him. But that’s amazing. When we left Daytona, the way we thought things were and how quickly things progressed in the next couple of days in a positive light, you almost look at it like a miracle that he was able to survive a hit like that. A very worst-case scenario hit in a lot of ways and I think it’s a big testament to NASCAR and all the work that they do. Also, Ryan (Newman) being one of the toughest guys in the garage. It’s amazing to see that and I’m really happy to hear that he’s here. I didn’t know he was here until you said that, so I’ll have to go see him for sure. But that’s really cool and I’m just really happy that he is here.”

WITH ALL YOUR SIMULATOR WORK YOU’VE DONE IN THE PAST, YOU HEAR MORE AND MORE GUYS GOING BACK TO THE SIMULATOR THE DAY AFTER THE RACE TO RE-CONFIRM THINGS. WHAT’S THE VALUE IN THAT AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU’LL DO WHEN YOU GET BACK?
“Yeah, that was my job in 2016 and 2017 really was to do the pre- and post-race stuff. I think the thing that’s the most important about that is to correlate your post-race stuff so the sim is more useful for future stuff. It’s not so much we’re going to go back to the sim on Monday and see what we should have done differently. It’s we’re going to go back to the sim on Monday and dial the sim in so it’s more useful for the Fall race. That’s a big thing and that was 100 percent of my job for two years. They have to twist my arm here lately to get into the simulator, but we’ve been a couple of times this year. It’s all about how you use it and how close you get it. You can dial yourself out of it 100 percent as easy as you can dial yourself in with it. But if you use it the correct way, it’s a very useful tool.”

INAUDIBLE
“I don’t even know. William (Byron) is in there a ton. I’m in there a little bit. I don’t know, Justin Allgaier does a good bit of it. I think maybe Ryan Preece has been there a good bit. It’s hard to say, I don’t think it’s one person anymore. We talked about continuing that in 2018, but it just wasn’t really doable with my schedule. I was in there three days a week pretty much all day for two years and that’s not really doable with my schedule these days. The blocks are cut, so you aren’t in there for a full day anymore. You’re in there for a chunk of hours instead of an entire day. But it’s still super time consuming. You’re kind of locked into a little black, dark room and locked in a black box for a big chunk of hours. So, it’s not the most fun thing. It’s not like playing NASCAR Heat.”

TALK ABOUT THE SAFETY OF NOT ONLY THE CAR, BUT THE SAFETY OF THE DRIVER’S GEAR AND THE TECHNOLOGY.
“I try to really rely on NASCAR for that. I’m not an engineer and don’t pretend to have the knowledge that those guys have when it comes to that stuff. But I feel like NASCAR does a really good job. You look at that crash and just watching it looks an un-survivable impact. Now, he’s here walking around the race track with us. So, that’s pretty amazing and I think that’s a testament to what they do. As far as making them even safer, I don’t know. I think they will continue to do that. The new car is another step in that direction. I’m just really glad they do as much work in that area that they do for us and, obviously, it’s paying off in a situation like that.”

INAUDIBLE
“I don’t know; I don’t know any details about helmet stuff, as far as if that was a factor. I feel like we all run our different helmets and have our different helmet brands that we like. They all have to meet a baseline certification. I feel like, I could be wrong, but I know there are a couple of different certifications. Open wheel cars have to meet one and we have a different certification because it’s a closed-cockpit car. I feel like every helmet manufacturer, much like NASCAR, is going down a path of making their stuff safer all the time. Safer, lighter, more comfortable, all of it. I’ve been really happy with the helmets I’ve been wearing and I have faith in them to keep getting them safer.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

AVONDALE, Arizona (March 6, 2020) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media at Phoenix Raceway:

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Did you call in for competition meetings this week and how did talks with Martin Truex Jr. go?

“It was good. I think we have a mutual understanding. I think we both understand that 550 (horsepower) racing makes it extremely difficult to have teammates. A lot of times because it’s so cut throat in the way that you have to race out there. You’re trying to – you don’t want to give up any runs that you’ve got. It’s a lot like superspeedway racing in my eyes. When you get runs, you have to take them. You have to put yourself in the best line possible. I think we both understand that for sure. I definitely see his point of view and understand his frustrations that he had. I think it was a great conversation and I think we have a better understanding of kind of where each other are mentally in those situations moving forward.”

Can you rely on data from previous races at these tracks?

“It’s been so long since we’ve come back year after year and things have been the same. It’s once again different this year and then we’re kind of reverting back to ’18, you can look at data, but it still takes so long as a driver to change your discipline back to what it was with this rules package. I know people that ran in the simulator said it took hours and hours to get just back around the race track in a competitive lap time simply because we’re so used to driving into the corner like we were with the larger spoiler. I think it’s going to take time. I think the guys that run good or win this weekend are either going to have a setup that they hit on that is really good or they acclimated quicker to this package back to where we were.”

How do you expect the PJ1 to play a factor in turns three and four?

“It will play a factor. I will be interested to see how it plays out in the Xfinity race and see if those guys make their way up there. In the Cup race, we always seem to find lines that the other series really don’t. There’s enough experience where people know and trust it. I think it will be a factor, especially with it being slightly lower. It looked like they drug the track as well pretty. I will be part of the racing for sure. I don’t think you’ll see much of it in practice. Not until the race, early to mid-stages will you see people go up there and using it.”

Did you get any answers on why you were off at Vegas and Fontana?

“A little bit of all things. It’s collective. Certainly, if you look over the last, really over the course of my career, there’s not been that many bad years when it comes to JGR and Toyota. I know I’ve got the best people working on it and we didn’t just sit stagnant in the off-season, we developed just like everyone else did, but certainly you have one manufacturer that completely changed cars. They probably and most likely made significant advances. Then you have the Fords who were not just going to sit back and let us win all the races, so they went to work extra hard. I think we need a little bit of everything. I think you need the free speed and motors. You need less drag and more downforce. All those things we need. Qualifying was one of those eye-opening things for us. Being essentially one of the last cars of the big teams and really just a lack of overall grip and speed. Those are two things you have to have, you can have one or the other and still be competitive, but if you have both, you’ll go out and dominate like the 88 (Alex Bowman) did. That’s something we’re striving for. I’ve got the best people on it. We’re not just going to sit here and not be competitive week in and week out.”

What are your thoughts on Ryan Newman being back at the race track?

“It’s a great sight for sure. I haven’t gotten to physically see the car yet, but I know it looks really bad and we know that from all the video and pictures we’ve seen, it’s a blessing to be in this position and be talking about when he will get back in the car, especially at this time. I’m really looking forward to it, NASCAR gave us all a good update about where they’re thinking and what they’re looking at moving forward. Really optimistic about where our sport is going on the safety side of things.”

Will you go to the simulator following this race?

“I think a lot of drivers do that. Some people feel that there’s benefits in it and some people don’t. I think it’s good to obviously backup some of the data that you have for sure, but real-world experience is certainly the most valuable, but it can cut some learning time in half or even less than that when you have a good simulation program. I think every team has it and everyone uses it relatively the same way.”

Is this a track you will run at the simulator next week?

“Certainly this is a track that we’re going to focus a lot on. More so than what we would on any other week, and we give all of our efforts every single week. We know that with the championship being decided here, this is one you have to really key on and make sure it’s right. Yes, whether it’s me or my teammates or all of us will do it.”

What challenges does the west coast swing have on making improvements before Atlanta?

“There’s all kinds of challenges. I think the bigger your team is or the more cars that you supply, the longer it takes to get things into production and make changes. It takes all the crew chiefs to buy in that this is the direction we need to go. Start some kind of design or some kind of different idea of how you can get there. Obviously, design has all been put on hold so you can’t really develop a new car. We continue to just make sure we’re trying to do advances in the wind tunnel. Making our setups as good as we can, making our simulation as good as we can and it used to be, when you had new cars and things like that or you had new body builds and something like that, typically if you’re off in the beginning stages of the year, it can take as long as the Coke 600 before you can really implement all that stuff that you want in your race cars or your race team. It’s kind of a delayed results even when you have the right idea.”

When did NASCAR give you an update on Ryan Newman?

“Just kind of the car and things like that. They have great dialogue with us talking about – I think the question got asked if there would be any rules changes, things like that. Chassis changes – they’re continuing to investigate it and work on it. They gave us all that update and told us what they saw. I think everyone was pleased with that.”

What is it about Atlanta that has been a challenge for you?

“I’m not sure. I feel that’s one of our better tracks. I’m not sure why our results aren’t showing that. I’ve always liked going to Atlanta, it’s one of my favorites for sure. It’s definitely a driver’s race track. One where a driver can make up a little more than what his car can give him. The challenge is getting your car, you’re coming off these smooth mile-and-a-half race tracks or two-mile race tracks where you’re kind of getting in the swing of things again in 2020 and then you go there and feel like your car is awful when its great versus the competition, it just feels awful. Just managing the experience of knowing this is a race-winning car feel for that track. Knowing that is a big advantage of it. I look forward to turning around our results there, however bad they may be.”

Are drivers demanding changes for plate racing?

“I think in his (Ryan Newman) situation, that’s really hard to say that’s a car problem or anything. I think unless you slowed us up 20 or 30 mph, you’re going to have that in that situation. I’m no aerodynamicist, let’s put that on the record, but I just feel like some wrecks, especially at these superspeedways when we talk about a car turning over, is when a car gets turned around and then someone hits the nose. Unless you slow way, way, way down, that is going to happen. I feel like that was one of the worst-case-scenarios that we had and luckily, we had a good result. All things considered, we had a very good result. The engineering staff at NASCAR and the teams that have been building these cars and figuring out where to put bars and all that have done a phenomenal job of keeping our sport safe for many, many years now even though the wrecks have looked horrific.”

What would your advice be to a new fan of the sport?

“I think it depends on if you’re looking at it from a fan standpoint or trying to have a career in it. From a fan standpoint, what happens before you even get to Sunday? There’s so many people that put these cars together and it’s just amazing the technology that’s behind what makes the cars go fast, it’s not just the driver that’s willing to take the biggest risk. There’s so much that goes into it. From a working standpoint, it starts at your local short track. Tucson or wherever it might be, tracks that are grassroots racing. Most of these crew guys that I see in the Cup Series now are people that I raced against in go-karts in Virginia and the driving side of things didn’t work out for them, so they became either a crew chief or mechanic role and started helping someone at the local level. Once you create that resume at the local level, you’re able to then take it to an ARCA car, a K&N car – those teams are always looking for help and then you find the Xfinity or Truck teams will pluck from that. It’s a path that people can get all the way to the top if they really work hard and want to make it happen. I encourage everyone that wants to, do it.”

What do you think of the Busch Clash being run on the road course at Daytona?

“It’s going to be different for sure. I guess I’ll kind of reserve judgement on it for sure until – I think the schedule is a win, no doubt about it. We were really down there for an extended period of time where a lot of things just weren’t happening. Love that. I can definitely see where these road course cars are no good anymore anyway, you might as well use them. The demand for Next Gen cars will be in short supply so you don’t want to crash them in an exhibition race. I see everything around it, I understand it. It will just be interesting from an excitement standpoint. There could be some hype and excitement because we’re on the Daytona road course for the first time. The challenges will be, will you see that side-by-side crazy finish that you see on the superspeedway? Probably not. Some other interesting things are you’re now going to have a road course car running on the banking and for such an extended period of time. How does that work and things like that? I think the field is likely to get spread out quite a bit more. Are we running a short track package or an intermediate package for spoiler? I don’t know. I think if you had a small spoiler like you run on every other road course and big horsepower, 750 horsepower, we’re going to be, it’s unrestricted, we’re going to be running 200-plus at the start-finish line. I don’t know how it’s all going to work. It sounds good, but will definitely reserve until I see it all play out. I’ll find out in February though.”

How will the new Daytona schedule impact practice sessions?

“I think it will definitely change our mindset on how we handle practices for the 500. Again, I don’t know in what supply there will be cars if you do wreck in practice or the Duels. That’s way far out in front of us, but it’s something I’m sure our team will be thinking about in the off-season of how we’re going to go by practices. A lot of times I use the Clash as my practice because I didn’t want to put the team behind by wrecking in practice and then you’re thrashing, you have to bring cars from North Carolina and it’s just a big pain. I just don’t know how many cars are going to be available and ready by that time.”

# # #

About Toyota

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NASCAR CUP SERIES
PHOENIX RACEWAY
FANSHIELD 500
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang

YOU HAVE A CAMPAIGN AT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS THAT I KNOW YOU WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT TODAY: “Yeah, at the beginning of this season we just wanted to find a few things that we were passionate about that we could support throughout the year and help get our partners behind. For this first quarter it was all about driving safe and taking the pledge to doing that. It just so happened that shortly after we launched that campaign my wife had a pretty serious car accident and it became very real and personal at that point. It was something that can totally be prevented. A guy ran a red light, just not paying attention, and it was a pretty serious accident. It definitely got my attention and my family’s attention and brought awareness that we all have a responsibility and we take it for granted out there on the road. There are a lot of loved ones and family members and we have four kids riding around with my wife so I am very thankful everybody was okay but it was definitely a reality check.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR NEW TEAMMATE, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, AND WHAT HE BRING TO THE TABLE AND WHAT IT HAS BEEN LIKE WITH A ROOKIE TEAMMATE THIS YEAR? “I get asked that question a lot and it is really hard to put that into words because I just don’t know yet. I don’t mean that negatively. John Hunter is a great kid and his work ethic is great and he has done a good job in the car but as far as the dynamic of developing the team and where we go directionally, we are so new into the season that it is hard to tell what that will look like. Our crews have worked together for quite some time, so as far as crew chiefs and engineers and how that goes, the chemistry is really good. There just hasn’t been a whole lot to discuss yet. Now that we have gotten through Vegas and California and onto our first short track, that will give us a better feeling of what we need to be working on moving forward and all those things. So far, so good. He has done a great job but it is hard to replace David Ragan. He brings a lot to the table. He has been a great teammate for years. Also just knows the culture at Front Row. I think it is hard for a young guy coming into the sport, coming into the Cup Series. It is challenging. You guys see that with the rookies this year, they are doing a good job but you can take stand-out guys that win lots of races and challenge for championships that start to look average in the Cup Series. It is a really tough transition. I think he has done a great job and in the rookie class is doing pretty good for where he is at. He just has to keep managing the races and getting everything out of it. So far he has done a good job.”

HOW ARE THE HIGH WINDS, WITH BLOWING DUST ONTO THE TRACK, A FACTOR FOR QUALIFYING AND THE RACE? “Here in the desert it is obviously dusty and you always sort of have a breeze going on. Today is probably stronger than normal but the grandstands do a good job of blocking all of that. The toughest thing is when the track sits for an amount of time with no cars on it. Right now, it is pretty steady. There are ARCA cars running and the surface stays clean. Xfinity cars will go out and then the Cup cars. Traditionally what happens here is when the track sits for an hour or two the dirt kind of gets stuck on there and the first few cars in qualifying really struggle. With qualifying being tomorrow, a different schedule, I think that the circumstances will be a little different. When you are on the race track you can definitely feel the wind, in particular when it changes. At these shorter tracks, New Hampshire, places like that, wind doesn’t affect the balance a tremendous amount. Especially with the way the grandstands are positioned. You aren’t getting hit in funny angles or things like that where you feel it at Daytona and Texas and Vegas and other places where the wind can really move the car around.”

YOUR WIFE IS OKAY AFTER THAT WRECK, CORRECT? “Yeah, she didn’t have any broken bones or anything like that. She is a little beat up. A little sore. It is probably taking a little longer to recover than she thought. You have an accident like that and you feel fine and then the adrenaline wears off and the next day you are sore. Now we are a couple weeks later and she is still pretty sore. Everything is going to be fine but she is definitely still sore.”

WAS HER EXPEDITION A WRITE OFF? “Yeah. Total write off. That part of it was fun. That is my first experience going through that. We could talk all day about insurance and how that works. I have a lot of knowledge about that right now, so if you have any questions you just let me know.”

WE ARE A YEAR REMOVED FROM THE THROWDOWN, ARE YOU ABLE TO LAUGH ABOUT THAT WITH DANIEL (SUAREZ) YET? “I was able to laugh about it the next day. Daniel and I have a great relationship. If anything our relationship is better since then. I think that it is very easy to get sports and personal mixed because you live it and you are in it. To me, that is part of being an athlete, being a driver, it is high intensity and adrenaline is going so it is just kind of part of it.”

HAVE YOU HAD YOUR WIFE AND CHILDREN OUT HERE AROUND WHERE YOU HAVE GROWN UP BEFORE? “Yeah, for years we have been coming out. Now my kids are older and in school so it is hard to pull them out of school for a long period of time and the west coast swing is hard. We were out here at Christmas. My wife and I are both from out here so all our family is still out here. We spent about 10 days out here during the holidays. During the race weekend it is tough. You don’t get to do as much as you think you would. Today is a pretty long day. After you do your post practice meetings you get dinner and go to bed and then you start it over. It is hard to have a lot of family time during the race weekend.”

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU DON’T GET TO DO THAT YOU WOULD REALLY LIKE TO GO BACK AND DO OR EXPERIENCE AGAIN WHEN YOU COME OUT HERE? “I love karting. That is what I grew up doing. I grew up at the cart track in North Phoenix. I was there at least every other day for 15 years of my life. I grew up six miles from there. I would ride my bike to the go kart track. I would like to just come back for a couple days and just have some fun and get to drive. But I get to do that at home too. That would be one thing. The season gets busy so the off-season is really your time to do it. The weather is so nice right now it would be great to take a boat out and go fishing today but I don’t think that is going to happen.”

WITH FRONT ROW GOING TO A TWO-CAR TEAM, HAS THAT BEEN BENEFICIAL AS FAR AS YOU GUYS BEING ABLE TO RUN BETTER AND NOT WORRYING ABOUT THREE TEAMS RUNNING? “I think yes and no. I think that one thing I know for sure is that we were able to obviously when you have three cars you have some extra people, so in the off-season we were able to combine some teams and pull from here and there and mix things up a little bit. I feel really good about what we did personnel wise. I think that this west coast swing is challenging no matter what, especially for a medium level team. I went to the shop on Monday and there was one car in there. Our entire inventory was on the road being swapped out, transported. You go in there and you go, ‘Man, where are all our race cars?’ The west coast swing is tough. Once we get past that I think we will start to see the fruit of going from three to two with just being able to be more caught up and prepared. Like I said, the biggest thing is personnel. Being able to move things around and change small things with personality and culture and put people together that work better together. I think these changes we made in the off-season were good.”

YOU HAD A GREAT QUALIFYING EFFORT LAST WEEKEND, IS THAT SOMETHING THE TEAM HAS BEEN TRYING TO WORK ON? “We have been doing the opposite actually. With the 1.5 mile package or last week in California it is a 2-mile track, the intermediate tracks, with this particular package, you can run less downforce and have some speed in your car. Then you pay the price in the race. So last year we had a couple top-five, couple top-10 qualifying efforts and then dropped the green flag and we really struggled. So we changed the approach for this year and before California I would have told you we were going to qualify 25th. We had as much downforce as we could possibly build into the car and still qualified well. There is some good and bad there. The good was we weren’t tricking ourselves. The bad thing was that we still need to build more downforce into our cars. That is something we have to work on to help them race better. Then the news came out this week about the Clash being on the road course and I told Drew that we should bring our Daytona car to Atlanta next week and sit on the pole and make it happen. He said that was a bad idea and I wouldn’t enjoy myself on Sunday if I did that. There were a few moments where I felt like it was a good idea. Humor aside, there will be a weekend where we are going to go for it because I think it is a cool event and I have the most laps out of anybody that is in the Cup Series in Daytona on the road course and I would love to be able to be in that Clash and do that. I think you will see us pull out all the stops and try to get one.”

CAN YOU RUN THIS PACKAGE ON THE ROAD COURSE AT DAYTONA? CAN YOU RUN 750 HORSEPOWER? “For sure. I haven’t even thought about what they will do as far as that package goes. Have they talked about that?”

THEY JUST SAID IT WILL BE THIS CAR, SO RIGHT NOW YOU ASSUME IT WILL BE THIS PACKAGE: “I think you would be okay. I think that turn six coming on the banking would probably be about a 45 mile per hour corner for our cars so I bet you would be close to 200 for a short period of time before you got on the brakes but I am no engineer. I hope it is 750. That is what I would pull for. Our cars are so much better than they used to be, the brakes and everything else. I feel like we could put on a really good show there. Hopefully they keep all the power in it.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
PHOENIX RACEWAY
FANSHIELD 500
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Tarkett Ford Mustang

YOU ARE STARTING THE DAY OFF WITH SOME PRETTY GOOD NEWS, SIGNING A CONTRACT EXTENSION TO STAY IN THE NO. 12 CAR WITH TEAM PENSKE. TALK ABOUT THAT NEWS THIS MORNING: “I am really excited to get that out there. It is something that we have been working on for a little while through the off-season. It is nice to finally announce it and all that stuff. I am really excited to continue with the Penske group for years to come. They have been a great group to me. Mr. Penske, I don’t know that I could ever thank him enough. It is nice to continue with that whole team. I have met some great people along the way and I look forward to working with them for many years to come.”

YOU ARE OFF TO A GOOD START, AT WHAT POINT DURING THE SEASON CAN YOU ESTABLISH THAT YOU ARE IN A GOOD SPOT? “I like to say all of that right now. We have fired off really good but you have to keep your cars up to date and keep them fast. It will be interesting to see where we stack up with everybody with this low downforce package. That will be a big testament to see. You get to the playoffs and there are a lot of short tracks. This will be a big test this weekend. Honestly, it has been nice to start off the year good. We didn’t get the finishes we wanted but to be running up in the top-three every single race and working with a new team, that is just great. You are going to build off of that as Todd (Gordon) and I get used to each other and things like that. There are a couple things I wish I could have taken back last week that hurt us toward the end of that race. That is just learning. We are doing our job right and the finishes will come. We are working together but the big thing is staying on top of it all year. Teams will come around, ones that might be struggling right now will figure it out and be good and we will have to keep getting better ourselves. You can never be truly satisfied with where you are running because teams will continue to get better. You have to stay with the group.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY INTEREST IN TRYING AN OPEN-WHEEL CAR ONE DAY? “Yeah, there are really only a couple motor vehicles that I would not want to drive. Like, MotorGP stuff, those guys are nuts. You don’t drive those, you ride them. SuperCross, I would rather be on four wheels. But any kind of car, I think if you talk to a lot of racecar drivers, they are fascinated by any type of vehicle and you respect the people and what they do and the challenges that come with it. There are similarities and differences. It is really cool that Jimmie (Johnson) will be testing and IndyCar. He has talked to me a little about that and that is awesome. There is interest. I would love to do like a driver team swap day with the IndyCar guys come run our cars for a little bit and we could drive IndyCar. That would be cool. It is something I would love to do. I have to figure out this stock car thing first and then maybe have more leverage to do something like that and mess around with it.”

CAN YOU SAY HOW LONG YOUR CONTRACT EXTENSION IS FOR? “Multi-year.”

WHY SIGN NOW AND NOT WAIT AND TEST THE WATERS A LITTLE BIT TO SEE WHO ELSE MIGHT BE INTERESTED? “We started working on this thing in the off-season. Even though we had pretty much a full year left on our deal before my current one was up, I was really happy with where I was at. I love the people I am around and working with all the teams. I feel like I owe so much to Roger (Penske) for what he has done for me. I just didn’t really see myself, right now, anywhere else. There are a couple doors open, a couple seats open with other teams but I didn’t talk with any other teams. If I was approached by another team I don’t even know if I would want to talk to them because I am so happy with where I am at and so loyal to Roger. My mindset was if they would have me back I would love to be back. It was great that both of our minds were set on that.”

HOW GOOD WAS IT TO SEE RYAN NEWMAN LAST NIGHT AND TO HAVE HIM BACK HERE AT THE RACETRACK TODAY? “Yeah, we did a Ford team building event at the Arizona State football stadium last night and Ryan showed up. We had no idea that he was going to show up. We were having dinner and he walked in. That was great. That was the first time I have seen Ryan personally. I think the first time a lot of us had seen Ryan. That was really cool to see. We sat and talked, the whole Ford group, for an hour, hour-and-a-half once he got there. We talked about a lot of stuff. It was nice to see him. He is full Ryan Newman caliber and it is great to see. It was cool to hear some of the process that he went through and some of the doctors that worked on him. They were very extensive with him and he has been passing everything with flying colors which is unheard of and great to hear. It was nice to see him and sit down and talk to him a lot about multiple things from how the process of what happened to where we can go in the future to keep improving the safety aspects of these things. There was a lot of insight going on and a lot of conversation around that table of some things we should talk about and things like that.”

GIVEN YOUR INCREDIBLE START TO THE SEASON ON THE TRACK WITH HOW YOU HAVE BEEN RUNNING, HOW EXCITED ARE YOU TO GET TO ATLANTA NEXT WEEK? “I am excited. Our 1.5 mile stuff has been pretty good. The 88 has been really strong. He was strong at Vegas and Fontana too. They definitely have it figured out right now. I definitely think we are right there with them. My focus is this weekend and trying to figure out this low downforce stuff and where we stack up. We will start to figure out next week on Monday. It has been nice to start the season well but this weekend is very important. Not only is it the championship race but the first weekend with this low downforce stuff and seeing how we can kind of go back to what we used to be two years ago and figure it out where everyone is.”

YOU ARE KIND OF THE FIRST DOMINO TO FALL CONTRACT WISE, DO YOU ANTICIPATE THINGS STAYING STATUS QUO WITH OTHER DRIVERS OR THINGS GETTING KIND OF CRAZY? “I don’t pay attention to it to be honest with you. I worry about my deal. I look for tweets from you all to figure that stuff out. You guys usually know about it way before I do. There are a lot of great seats open. A lot of things up in the air with drivers retiring or their deal being up. There is always that silly season and rumors and stuff like that. It is nice to have our deal so that I am out of that conversation. It will be nice not to have to answer questions about it and save them for those guys.”

DO YOU PAY ATTENTION NOW THAT YOU ARE LOCKED UP THOUGH? “If something comes out I will be like, ‘Oh, that is neat.’ But I am not going to pry. That is their personal business.”

DID THE DYNAMIC OF BRAD (KESELOWSKI) ALSO BEING A FREE AGENT OR THE 48 BEING OUT THERE CREATE ANY URGENCY FOR YOU TO GET YOUR DEAL DONE? “There wasn’t any urgency at all. We took our time on it to make sure everyone was happy, from my side to the Penske side, to make sure everything was fair. That is none of my business, the Brad situation. I have loved having him as a teammate and he has done a lot for me too. He is the one that got me started in his trucks which led to the Penske Xfinity and Cup cars. It has been great to have him as a teammate and as a boss when I started. As far as that other stuff goes, there was no urgency for me. As far as Brad’s situation, I don’t know anything about it. It is his deal, not mine.”

WHAT DO YOU DO IN A MANUFACTURER TEAM BUILDING EVENT IN A FOOTBALL STADIUM? HOW DOES THE DYNAMIC WORK WHEN YOU THEN HAVE TO COME BACK HERE AND TRY TO BEAT THEM ON THE TRACK? “Yeah, Ford does a good job of trying to keep everybody pretty close. We are all competitors but at the same time we drive for Ford and it is very important to try to get them to victory lane. We have done multiple things. This time we were at the ASU football stadium, which a bunch of drivers playing football sounds hilarious. We did a competition, a throw, punt and field goal kick competition. I won the field goal competition. I hit a 35-yarder. I am pretty proud of that. My leg is sore today, but I did it. LaJoie is a pretty good athlete. He won the throwing competition. Surprisingly enough, Cole Custer won the punt competition. I don’t know why I said it was surprising, he seems like a good athlete. But that is what we do. Just kind of hang out with the drivers and the Ford Performance guys and things like that. Get everyone closer. We have dinner and things like that. It is just something that they do to bring everyone together, which I think is good.”

HOW DO YOU THINK THE PJ-1, SPECIFICALLY IN TURNS 3 AND 4 WILL AFFECT THE HANDLING OF THE RACECARS? “I don’t know. They moved it down a lot, especially in 3 and 4 like you said. To where it is almost right in the second lane. If you miss the bottom by a few feet I think your rights are going to be in it. I haven’t personally seen it but I have seen photos of it when they sent it out to us this week. I think you are going to run in it a lot, especially with this low downforce package. I know it won’t be as hot Sunday as it is today but I do think you are going to run in it. I think you will be going slow enough through the corners that it will be an option. They are trying a lot of things to make the racing a little better here and I think the low downforce package is a step up but you have to do more. Especially since this is now the championship race, it is a big testament of how they are going to prepare the track also, not only how the cars are. I think it is good that they played with it. If it doesn’t work they will change something up. At least they are trying something and listening to people. It is a good option to try. Why not?”

WHERE DO YOU EVEN START TO TACKLE THIS WEEKEND? DO YOU START IN ONE PLACE AND YOUR TEAMMATES START ELSEWHERE? “I think definitely closer to your 2018 setup. This is the closest our cars have been since that year. So yeah, you are starting close to there. As far as the 2, 22 and 21, we are not vastly different. We all have our different setups and things like that but it is nice to have a bunch of teammates so that if you go in a direction that doesn’t work or are struggling, that is the good thing about having teammates. Don’t fire it off into 1 as hard as you did last year. You don’t want to be driving a coup around there on lap one. You will be lifting a lot earlier than what your recent memory is telling you to. I think it is good. You just start closer to where you did a couple years agon because it is the most recent one you have with close to this package. Then you figure out what the PJ-1 is going to do. I am sure we will get running in it. Maybe a little bit in practice. It is hot enough where that stuff seems activated. The bad thing about that stuff out here is there is so much dust out here that it just sort of cakes that stuff and sits in it. It might take a little bit for that to kind of get clean but I think we will get in it maybe a little bit today. The Xfinity guys will definitely run in it tomorrow. Maybe even the ARCA folks today. Not sure. We will see.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
PHOENIX RACEWAY
FANSHIELD 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 6, 2020

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 I AM SECOND CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media to discuss what to expect coming out of the west coast swing, the differences found in his first full-time season as a NASCAR Cup Series driver, preparation that goes into the race weekends, and more. Full Transcript:

WE ARE THREE RACES INTO YOUR FIRST FULL-TIME CUP SERIES SEASON. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU DIDN’T SEE COMING? WHAT’S THE BIGGEST ADJUSTMENT OR CHANGE?
“So far, with the drag ducts and where the cars are at, whether it was Daytona, Las Vegas or Fontana, it’s just finding the happy medium between out-right speed in the car. Even at Daytona and places like that, or just he handling that comes into play. Trying to figure out what that is and what the happy-medium is going into the race has been the biggest challenge. You really don’t know where you’re at until the green flag drops, essentially. The 88 (Alex Bowman) was really good from the drop of the hat during practice on Friday at Fontana and that carried over into the race, for sure. I’ve definitely just been trying to figure out where me and my crew chief, Randall Burnett, want to be with our race car; that’s probably been the biggest challenge. On top of that, just navigating and being the most efficient that we can on pit road has probably been the second biggest challenge. Pit road has been getting easier a couple of races in, understanding how important it is and the ins and outs. Getting some practice down pit road has been very important to make that as efficient as possible. Just figuring out where you want to be on Sunday with your race car because it’s kind of a guessing game at most of these tracks. This race this weekend will be a lot more straight-forward like I’m used to from the Trucks and Xfinity side.”

THE SPEED YOU GUYS ARE SHOWING SO FAR, DID YOU EXPECT THAT? IS IT A SURPRISE OR DOES IT JUST SPEAK TO THE AMOUNT OF WORK YOU GUYS HAVE PUT INTO IT DURING THE OFF SEASON?
“We’ve always been able to make our cars better in the race. Whether that’s a characteristic of RCR, me and Randall (Burnett), or both, I’m not really sure. But we’re always able to make our cars better for the most part. Fontana wasn’t a huge gain from start to finish, but we were able to move up through the positions, have really good restarts and be able to gain track position that way. I’d say it’s going pretty well so far. I was really hoping we could have cracked the top-10 at Fontana with our strategy call in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, if we would have started sixth or fourth on that restart, we probably could have come out third, fourth or fifth. Fifth is a really hard place to restart at a lot of these 1.5-mile tracks. We’ve had some really good potential finishes, but our runs have been OK. We’re trying to make our cars better. This will be a big test of where we stack up and where I stack up especially as a short track driver compared to these guys that are really good at this.”

INAUDIBLE
“It’s a website and you can go the website at iamsecond.com. They have a lot of videos where people sit down and reflect and get perspective of how they’ve come to putting themselves second, how Jesus has come into their lives or how religion has changed them for the better. There’s a lot of different scenarios during every sit down; every interview is different. But they talk about their experiences and the challenges they go through in life, and how God helps them get through it. A lot of times when they have those sit downs, it’s stuff from when they were growing up, stuff they went through during their teenage years or stuff that was more recently; tough, tragic events. Every story is different. If you go to iamsecond.com, you can learn a lot more about it.”

AT WHAT POINT IN THE SEASON DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE A HANDLE ON WHAT’S GOING ON? WHEN CAN YOU ASSESS WHERE YOU ARE WITH YOUR TEAM?
“I would say once this west coast swing is over, we’ll have a pretty good idea. Granted, we had the superspeedway to start the year, we had two intermediate-style tracks and then we’ll have what they call a short track, but it’s not. But it’s our short track package that we now have for this year. I’d say after this swing is over, we’ll have a fairly good idea of where we’re at and what we need to work on. We had a pretty good idea after Fontana on what we need to do going into Atlanta and Homestead. This will kind of set us up and tell us what we need to do for when we come back here in November. More importantly, where I stack up and where we stack up working together as a team after this race Sunday.”

LOOKING AT ATLANTA, WHAT’S YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THAT TRACK AND HOW CONFIDENT DO YOU FEEL AS YOU HEAD INTO THAT 1.5-MILE TRACK?
“I have some confidence, in a way. But these cars drive so different on these 1.5-mile race tracks that everything you’re able to do there to make my races go well, I don’t know if I’ll be able to apply exactly the same method or approach. I guess that’s what we’re going to find out in practice, if we’re going to be able to do just that. Fontana and Las Vegas were two important tracks to run good at. Unfortunately, Vegas didn’t end well, but we were right there. Fontana was almost a good day. We were just a little bit off from being able to be in the top-10. We have to take advantage of Atlanta and Homestead, and get some really good runs there.”

YOUR PREPARTION FOR THE RACES, DOES IT ALSO INCLUDE A SIMULATOR?
“Yeah, there’s some work you can do there. This west coast swing, we’ve been stuck out here so we had to try and bunch it all in to get it done before we left to come out here for this swing. We have access to the Chevrolet simulator that’s really helpful for an event like this where Randall and I don’t really have a notebook, but the team has a notebook from where the cars were in 2018. We have an idea of what we’re shooting for. But the simulator at least gives you something to go off of because without that, you’d be going into the weekend blind. That’s tough for anybody, whether it’s Truck, Xfinity or most importantly on the Cup side with a lot of other good teams and drivers. It’s been a big benefit trying to help us prepare for this race.”

THE LEVEL OF COMPETITION IS THE QUESTION. WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THE JUMP FROM XFINITY TO CUP IS A SIGNIFICANT JUMP. WHAT HAVE YOU NOTICED ABOUT THE DEPTH OF THE COMPETITION OR HAVE YOU NOTICED ANYTHING DIFFERNET ABOUT IT AND THE DEGREE OF THAT JUMP THUS FAR EARLY IN YOUR CAREER?
“It’s a huge jump. I feel like what would have been battling for top-two or three in the Xfinity side is what you’re dealing with when you’re battling just to get into the top-15. There’s a lot of good drivers. It’s pretty crazy. You have a lot of guys that are very successful that you’re racing around. Most of the day, I remember being around Martin Truex Jr., a lot of the Gibbs’ cars, some of the other guys like Joey (Logano), it’s just tough. It’s just part of it, but it’s been a lot of fun. It makes the racing fun and it’s really cool to race against those guys. But still, even the guys like them, they have bad days. We just have to try to capitalize on it, make the most out of those days and try to get good finishes. You’re probably going to out-run some really good cars on days when you’re running that good yourself. It just goes to show how tough it is.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with 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.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
FANSHIELD 500
PHOENIX RACEWAY
AVONDALE, ARIZONA
MARCH 8, 2020

BOWTIE BULLETS:
CHEVROLET CLAIMS NEARLY HALF OF WINS
Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 23 victories, including a streak of 10 in a row from November 13 (the 35th race of the 2005 season) to April 10 (the seventh race of the 2010 season), in 47 NASCAR Cup Series races at Phoenix Raceway with six different nameplates (Lumina, Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo SS, Impala, Impala SS and Camaro SS). A Team Chevy driver has sat on the pole 17 times.

CHEVY ON THE PHOENIX HONOR ROLL
Chevrolet holds four other distinctions at Phoenix Raceway. Career Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson holds the NASCAR Cup Series track qualifying record of 143.158 mph set on November 15, 2015. A Chevrolet Monte Carlo carried Kyle Busch to the track’s youngest NASCAR Cup Series winner (20 years, 6 months, 11 days) in the November 13, 2005, race, and youngest pole winner (20 years, 11 months, 20 days) in the April 22, 2006, race. Conversely, a Chevrolet Impala carried Mark Martin (50 years, 3 months, 9 days) to Victory Circle on April 18, 2009, to be the oldest winner at the track.

LARSON AIMING TO KEEP MOVING UP
Kyle Larson, No. 42 McDonald’s Camaro ZL1 1LE, advanced a total of 26 positions relative to his starting spot to score two top-10 finishes in the 2019 races at the 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval. On March 10, he drove from 31st to sixth. In the November 10 playoff race, he drove from fifth to finish fourth. Larson has a best start of second (March 2018) and best finish of second (March 2017) at the track.

JOHNSON’S VICTORY CIRCLE
Chevrolet career driver and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, announced that 2020 would be his final full season of competition. A look at his success at Phoenix Raceway: Four victories — November 2009, April and November 2008 and November 2007. Among his three pole starts (all in November), Johnson holds the NASCAR Cup Series track qualifying record of 143.158 mph. Johnson is tied for the most lead-lap finishes among active drivers with 28. Overall, he has 15 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes in 33 starts.

IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR
Alex Bowman led 110 of the 200 laps at Auto Club Speedway – the most by a race winner since the 2019 season finale – to score his second career victory and give Chevrolet its 15th win in 31 races at the 2-mile oval and its 787th all time. Chevrolet drivers occupied three of the top-five spots. “I think the new body has helped us a lot, the new Camaro. Any change we make, we make for a reason, and Chevy did a good job with that car,” said Bowman, who earned the first victory with the 2020 Camaro ZL1 1LE.

TUNE IN
FOX will telecast the 312-lap race live at 3:30 p.m. EST Sunday, March 8. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

BY THE NUMBERS:

• Victories by current Chevrolet drivers at Phoenix Raceway:
  Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, has four wins (November 2009, April and November 2008, November 2007).
  Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, has one win (April 2005).
• Johnson needs one win to tie Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for fifth on the all-time victory list with 84.
• Johnson’s consecutive starts streak has reached 651. It started at the Daytona 500 to kick off the 2002 season. Jeff Gordon holds the record at 797 (1992-2015).
• Chevrolet has a total of 109 top-five and 210 top-10 finishes at the track.
• Chase Elliott, No. 9 Unifirst Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads all drivers with an average starting spot of 5.5 in eight races at the track.
• Alex Bowman, No. 88 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE (113), and Elliott (93) are Nos. 1 and 2 in laps led this season.
• Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships.

FOR THE FANS:
· Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Phoenix Raceway.
· Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Silverado Trail Boss, Blazer RS, Silverado 22500 HD, Equinox Premier, Traverse Premier, 2020 Corvette Stingray Coupe, and 2020 Corvette Stingray Convertible.
· At the Chevrolet Display, fans can also view a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE race car.
· Other activities at the Team Chevy Racing Display include a variety of interactive games for adults and kids

TEAM CHEVY QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS AT THE DISPLAY:
Friday, March 6
· 2:00 p.m. – Michael Annett

Saturday, March 7
· 10:00 a.m. – Myatt Snider
· 10:15 a.m. – Justin Haley & Ross Chastain
· 11:00 a.m. – Austin Dillon
· 11:40 a.m. – Alex Bowman

Sunday, March 8
· 9:10 a.m. – Kyle Larson
· 9:25 a.m. – Tyler Reddick
· 9:45 a.m. – Chase Elliott

Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:
· Friday, March 6th: 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
· Saturday, March 7th: 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
· Sunday, March 8th: 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 3rd IN STANDINGS
WITH PHOENIX BEING THE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE THIS YEAR, HOW IMPORTANT IS THE SPRING RACE IN PREPARING FOR THAT?
“I think it’s important, but at the same time, last year it was the second-to-last race so it was still really important. It’s easy to say one place is more important than another, but we go one hundred percent every week and there really isn’t a non-important race. I’m looking forward to getting there. We struggled there last year, so hopefully we’ve improved on that quite a bit.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 9th IN STANDINGS
“We had another strong car last weekend in California, but unfortunately didn’t get a chance to really contend after getting damage early on in the day. Even though we weren’t able to run up front last weekend, it was great to see so many of the other Chevy drivers up there and great to see a Camaro in victory lane early in the season. I think everyone is seeing that the Chevrolet’s are going to be strong, and I’m looking forward to being one of the teams to contend for wins throughout the year. We still have some areas to clean up before we’re contending for those wins, but I know everyone is working hard to get better. We have been able to run well at Phoenix in the past, and with it being the season finale this year, we’ll be looking for a good race this weekend.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 15th IN POINTS
“I’m looking forward to seeing what the new short track package will do for our No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet at Phoenix Raceway this weekend. Phoenix has been a decent racetrack for me in the past, and with the new configuration it gives you a lot of different options to run through turns three and four. Track position is really important there, so we have a strong focus on qualifying on Saturday to get us a decent starting spot for Sunday. We’ve been able to capitalize on opportunities so far this season and we don’t expect this weekend to be any different.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HERTZ CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 20th IN STANDINGS
HAS THE DYNAMIC CHANGED ON RESTARTS WITH THE START/FINISH LINE IN THE NEW LOCATION?
“Oh, for sure. If you’re further back, you’re still in the corner when the field goes green so it makes it tough to get through the gears without spinning the tires. If you’re up front, it’s kind of the same thing as well. Being the leader on the restart has a pretty good advantage because they’re able to time it. I think it’s about being in the right spot when you get into Turn One especially with the traction compound on the track. It’s tough because it gives you a different grip sensation in each lane.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 25th IN STANDINGS
WE ARE GOING BACK TO THE SHORT TRACK PACKAGE FROM TWO YEARS AGO. WITH THINGS CHANGING SO QUICKLY IN THIS GARAGE, HOW MUCH AS CHANGED SINCE THEN?
“It’s going to be interesting to see with all the changes in the sport – the body and technology being developed – what still overlays. Our GEICO Camaro was really good two years ago at Phoenix and we were really strong on the short tracks with that package. I’m excited to go back and hopefully it does overlay. I think some of the things that we’ve learned in the past year, we will be able to apply too. It’s always a new adjustment period when you have a big change like that in any aero package, even when you’re going back to one that is familiar. I’m sure we will have to learn through it as much as everybody will and now we are deciphering between two totally different aero packages, from short tracks to speedways, which will be another learning curve this year. And then we will throw it all away and do it different in 2021.”

LAST SEASON WAS THE FIRST WITH THE FLIP-FLOP OF PHOENIX RACEWAY. DID IT MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE ON THE STARTS AND RESTARTS IN THE LAST TWO RACES THERE?
“Yeah, I think so. I think it’s made more passes and more interesting for me. There were a lot of times where I was able to run the top through one and two and gain a lot of positions that helped our finishing position near the end of the race. Or I could run really low through one and two. When you’re starting on the front stretch, a lot of that is sorted out if you start at the old start-finish line. Now, a lot of that is sorted out in what’s now three and four, where there’s not a lot of opportunities to pass and guys are single-filed out. But when you’re starting out in what’s now four, going into one, you have that wide turn, passing becomes more available and you’re going to get more action. I think it created an overall better racetrack. While it doesn’t sound like a lot, with just changing where you start, it absolutely has.”

RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 VELVEETA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 35th IN POINTS
“The finishes this season have not been reflective in the speed we’ve had in our Camaro ZL1 1LE through the first three races. I’m ready to try out this new package at Phoenix Raceway this weekend. I love short track racing, and while Phoenix is a bigger short track, this new package should be really good for our Velveeta Camaro. We’ve been trying out a lot of different setups to tackle Phoenix, and I think we have something that we will be competitive this weekend and finally get some luck back on our side.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 39
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

Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

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

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

2020 STATISTICS:
Wins: 1
Poles: 1
Laps Led: 281
Top-five finishes: 6
Top-10 finishes: 12

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 787 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 715
Laps led to date: 234,587
Top-five finishes to date: 4,020
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,294

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

       General Motors: 1,121
       Chevrolet: 787
       Pontiac: 154
       Oldsmobile: 115
       Buick: 65

       Ford: 787
       Ford: 687
       Mercury: 96
       Lincoln: 4

       Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
       Dodge: 217
       Plymouth: 191
       Chrysler: 59

       Toyota: 144

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with 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.

PHOENIX RACEWAY (1-MILE OVAL)
LOCATION: AVONDALE, ARIZONA
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACE FOUR OF 36)
TUNE IN: 3:30 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, MARCH 8 (FOX/MRN/SIRIUSXM)

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Chase Elliott
No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 24 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia

2020 Season
6th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
93 laps led

Career
152 starts
6 wins
8 pole positions
45 top-five finishes
75 top-10 finishes
1,937 laps led

Track Career
8 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
4 top-10 finishes
156 laps led

UNIFIRST JOINS THE TEAM: This weekend, UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF), a North American leader in providing customized work uniform programs, corporate attire and facility service products, will serve as the primary sponsor on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. This will be the first of three races (Phoenix, All-Star Race, Las Vegas) that UniFirst will be the primary partner and have its updated green corporate logo adorning the No. 9 Chevrolet. In 2016, Unifirst and Hendrick Motorsports announced an eight-year partnership. UniFirst will continue to serve as the Official Workwear Provider of Hendrick Motorsports, supplying work clothing and uniforms to the team and sister company Hendrick Automotive Group, the largest privately held retail automotive organization in the United States.

THREE RACES IN: Three races are in the books for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. As the series heads to Phoenix, Chase Elliott already has started to record some impressive stats. He has led a total of 93 laps, the second most behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman (113). Elliott holds an 8.8 average running position from the first three events, the fifth highest, and he has collected 41 total stage points so far in 2020, the third most of any driver. Elliott also is tied with teammate Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Blaney for the most stage top-10s (six).

PHOENIX STATS: This Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, Elliott will make his ninth NASCAR Cup Series start at the 1-mile oval. In his previous eight starts, the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has led a total of 156 laps. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has collected two top-five finishes, four top-10 finishes and won two stages at the Avondale, Arizona, track.

GUSTAFSON AT PHOENIX RACEWAY: No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 31st Cup Series race at Phoenix from atop the pit box this weekend. In his previous 30 races calling the shots for five different drivers at the 1-mile oval, he’s collected three wins, nine top-five results – two of which were runner-up finishes – 19 top 10s and 587 laps led. Gustafson’s three wins were with three different drivers (Kyle Busch – 2005, Mark Martin – 2009, Jeff Gordon – 2011). As the crew chief, he worked with the oldest winner ever (Martin – 50 years, 3 months, 9 days) and the youngest winner ever (Busch – 20 years, 6 months, 11 days) at Phoenix Raceway.

COMING HOME: No. 9 team fueler John Gianninoto, who grew up in Tucson, Arizona, will compete in front of his hometown crowd at Phoenix Raceway. Gianninoto graduated with honors from Catalina Foothills High School and went on to sign as an offensive lineman for UNLV in 2006, earning his first letter in 2007 and becoming a team captain in 2010. Gianninoto participated in the Carolina Panthers’ 2012 training camp before signing with Hendrick Motorsports in September 2012. In 2018, he set a brand-new Guinness World Record with Sunoco for the most vehicles refueled by an individual in one hour (148).

VISIT TO THE CHEVY STAGE: On Sunday, March 8, Elliott will visit the Team Chevy stage at Phoenix Raceway at 9:45 a.m. local time for a question-and-answer session.

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William Byron
No. 24 Hertz Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver William Byron Hometown Charlotte, North Carolina
Age 22 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

2020 Season
20th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finish
1 lap led

Career
75 starts
0 wins
5 pole positions
5 top-five finishes
17 top-10 finishes
295 laps led

Track Career
4 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finishes
15 laps led

STACKING STAGE POINTS: While the results may not reflect the speed William Byron has shown in the first three races of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, another statistic does – stage points collected. Through the early part of the year, Byron has collected 22 stage points so far, ranking him eighth in comparison to the rest of the Cup Series field.

FIGHTING THROUGH FONTANA: Qualifying 21st for Sunday’s race at Auto Club Speedway, Byron fought an extremely loose No. 24 Axalta Tribute Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE from the start. Trying to make gains during the entirety of the 200-lap event, Byron found himself inside the top 10 and working for a position inside the top five during Stage 2. However, the handling woes hindered Byron from maintaining the track position. The driver of the No. 24 continued to battle throughout the remainder of the race before coming home with a 15th-place finish at the two-mile oval.

HERTZ IS HERE: Making its return to the No. 24 in 2020, the Hertz Corporation, one of the world’s largest vehicle rental companies, will kick off its third Cup Series season with Byron this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. The eye-catching yellow Hertz Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will be unloaded for this Sunday’s race and will be back on three more tracks for in the NASCAR playoffs – Talladega Superspeedway, the Charlotte ROVAL and Kansas Speedway.

VENTURING TO THE VALLEY OF THE SUN: Heading to a track where he has found success in every level of national NASCAR competition, Byron will return to Phoenix Raceway for the fifth time in his Cup career. Across his four Cup Series starts at the 1-mile oval, Byron has a track-best finish of ninth (fall of 2018) with 15 laps led. The 22-year-old driver also has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Phoenix on his resume, both coming in 2017, where he started on the front row and finished in the top four in both races, including a win that November. With that victory, Byron also became the youngest winner ever at Phoenix Raceway in the Xfinity Series at 19 years, 11 months and 13 days. In 2016, Byron was behind the wheel for the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Series race at the 1-mile oval, where he led for 112 laps and was in the hunt to make the final four of the playoffs before an engine failure ended his night early.

KNAUS’ PHOENIX PROWESS: For the 35th time as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief, Chad Knaus will sit atop the pit box at Phoenix Raceway. With four wins at the 1-mile oval, all coming with the Jimmie Johnson, Knaus ranks second among active Cup crew chiefs, just one behind the top spot. He also has three pole awards at Phoenix Raceway with the No. 48 team.

HOMETOWN HYPE: Coming up on the final stop of the West Coast swing, one member on the No. 24 Axalta team will be heading to familiar territory. Michael “Too Tall” Madill, the rear suspension mechanic for the No. 24 team, hails from Glendale, Arizona, approximately 30 minutes from Phoenix Raceway. At the age of 16, he made the move to North Carolina to begin his career in NASCAR. Now 31, Madill is embarking on his 12th season in the sport and his third with the No. 24 crew.

HERTZ ULTIMATE RIDE SWEEPSTAKES WINNER: After Hertz rolled out its Hertz-Hendrick Motorsports custom 2020 Camaros last year, fans were able to enter for a chance to win their own limited-edition Camaro SS. Last week, five finalists won an exclusive driving experience with Byron at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with one of the finalist leaving the event with a signature Hertz yellow and black Camaro SS with custom wheels, interior badging and full performance upgrades outfitted by Hendrick Motorsports. To learn more about the winner and see more from the event, click here.

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Jimmie Johnson
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 44
Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

2020 Season
5th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
2 top-10 finishes
13 laps led

Career
654 starts
83 wins
36 pole positions
228 top-five finishes
366 top-10 finishes
18,847 laps led

Track Career
33 starts
4 wins
3 pole positions
15 top-five finishes
21 top-10 finishes
994 laps led

WHAT A WEEKEND: Jimmie Johnson’s final trip to Auto Club Speedway as a full-time driver was a weekend full of joyful moments for the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. In addition to his career victories at the track illustrated through various murals throughout the complex, street signs bearing his name and his family waving the green flag for the event, Johnson was gifted a nostalgic Moto-3 helmet from speedway president Dave Allen, which brought back some great memories for the driver of the No. 48.

STELLAR SHOWING: Johnson had a great weekend at Auto Club Speedway on the track, as well. He qualified second, finished in the top 10 in both stages and ended the race in seventh. The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet’s average running position of 3.6 was the third best of all drivers and his best in a race since he won at Charlotte in October 2016. Johnson powered to the lead three times, his most in a single race since Daytona in July 2018. He has earned 42 stage points this season, which is second best of all his competitors by one point. Johnson is tied with teammate Chase Elliott for most stage top-10 finishes in 2020 with six.

ANOTHER RECORD RUN: In addition to his second top-10 finish of the season, Johnson accomplished another feat which will be added to his racing resume. The driver of the No. 48 finished on the lead lap and completed every single lap at Auto Club Speedway throughout his 26 starts at the 2-mile track. The only other drivers to accomplish this in their careers are NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart at Indianapolis in 18 starts; Martin Truex, Jr. (14 starts); Darrell Waltrip (14 starts) and Carl Edwards (12 starts) all at Watkins Glen International. Johnson’s 26 consecutive lead-lap finishes are the most of all time.

FOCUS ON PHOENIX: Johnson is the proud owner of four wins at Phoenix Raceway. He has three pole positions, the most recent from 2015. Johnson has led 994 laps around the track in the desert and has an average finish of 10.3. In 33 starts, the 44-year-old driver has amassed 15 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes.

NOT DONE YET: There are some huge milestones on the horizon for Johnson. The next time he crosses the finish line first, he will have scored his 84th points-paying Cup Series win to tie Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for fourth of all time. Johnson currently is 10 wins behind former teammate Jeff Gordon, who has 93 victories and is third on the list. Johnson has the most wins of all active drivers with 83.

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Alex Bowman
No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver Alex Bowman Hometown Tucson, Arizona
Age 26 Resides Concord, North Carolina

2020 Season
3rd in standings
3 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
1 top-10 finish
113 laps led

Career
156 starts
2 wins
2 pole positions
11 top-five finishes
27 top-10 finishes
587 laps led

Track Career
9 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
194 laps led

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, will be in the media center at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, March 6, at 12:30 p.m. local time.

WINNER, WINNER: Last Sunday, Alex Bowman and the No. 88 team claimed the victory at Auto Club Speedway after leading 110 of the 200 total laps. The 26-year-old driver won the first stage in a dominating fashion and took second in Stage 2. With over a five-second gap between Bowman and the second-place competitor, Bowman brought home his second NASCAR Cup Series win and his first at the 2-mile speedway.

AXALTA ON BOARD: This weekend marks the first event of the 2020 season in which the Axalta colors will adorn Alex Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. The leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings will be on board this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, which is Bowman’s home track. Axalta and Hendrick Motorsports announced their partnership extension last month, which will go through the 2027 season. Read more here.

WELCOME HOME: Bowman, a Tucson, Arizona, native, has nine starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway. His best finish of sixth came in the 2016 event when the No. 88 team started from the pole position and led a race-high 194 laps. Bowman’s average running position during that event was 1.9 and he spent 272 laps running inside the top two. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has six starts at the 1-mile track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Bowman’s best qualifying effort of fifth came in 2014 and 2017. In the fall event in 2017, Bowman claimed his best finish of eighth. In 2011, Bowman ran the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West event at Phoenix Raceway, where he started ninth and led 23 laps en route to a second-place finish.

2020 STATS: In the first three races this season, Bowman has earned 33 stage points, which is the sixth-most points earned so far this season by a driver. The No. 88 team has earned five top-10 finishes in stages this year and Bowman has led the most laps in 2020 with 113. He has one win (Fontana, California) this season and is locked in the NASCAR playoffs.

IVES IN PHOENIX: For the 11th time in his crew chief career in the NASCAR Cup Series, Greg Ives will call the shots for the No. 88 team this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. The Michigan native claimed the victory in the 2015 fall event at the track with Dale Earnhardt Jr. after leading 22 laps. Ives led Bowman to a pole win at the track in 2016 and the No. 88 Chevrolet led 194 laps en route to a sixth-place finish. Ives has four starts at the venue as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, with a best finish of fourth place coming in 2013 with driver Regan Smith. From 2006-12, Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team. During that time, he was a part of four wins, one pole award and 11 top-five finishes at Phoenix Raceway.

WHERE’S BOWMAN: The driver of the No. 88 machine will visit the Hendrick Motorsports/JR Motorsports merchandise trailer at Phoenix on Sunday, March 8 at 9:15 a.m. local time to sign autographs for fans.

CHEVY STAGE: Bowman will visit the Team Chevrolet stage on Saturday, March 7 at 11:40 a.m. local time at Phoenix Raceway. Fans can stop by for a question-and-answer session and get autographs.

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Hendrick Motorsports

LAP LEADERS: Hendrick Motorsports has led the most laps in the first three races so far this season with 220. Alex Bowman has led for 113 of those laps, while Chase Elliott has led for 93 laps. They are the top-two lap leaders this season. It also marks the most laps led through three races for Hendrick Motorsports since 2015, when the organization led with 300. That year, the team won nine times and led for a total of 1,176 laps. Overall, Hendrick Motorsports leads all teams with a total of 2,653 laps led in the history of the track.

DOMINANCE IN PHOENIX: Out of the last 30 races at Phoenix Raceway, the organization has the most wins with nine, leading the next-closest team by three victories. Hendrick Motorsports also has the most poles of all time (10), wins of all time (10), second-place finishes (nine) top-five finishes (47) and top-10 finishes (84). Jimmie Johnson has the most wins at this track of all time with four.

WIN STREAK ALIVE AND WELL: With Bowman’s win in Fontana, California, last Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports is tied with Petty Enterprises for the most seasons with a victory with 36. Bowman’s win also marks the 35th season in a row that Hendrick Motorsports has won a race, which is the longest streak of all time.

CRUSHING THE STAGES: Hendrick Motorsports has won four stages in the first three races of the season, leading the next-closest teams by three. The organization is the only team to win a Stage 1 in 2020 and is the only team to win a stage in each race this year. Elliott leads all drivers with the most stage wins with three, while Alex Bowman earned the Stage 1 win at Auto Club Speedway.

LUCKY MARCH: Bowman’s victory pushes Hendrick Motorsports to the all-time leader in wins during the month of March with 23. Surprisingly, that’s only their fourth-best month. The team has 35 total wins in June, 33 in September and 32 in October. The 88 team’s win on March 1 also makes the first of the month Hendrick Motorsports’ most winningnest date with 13.

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QUOTABLE /
Chase Elliott on testing the waters at Phoenix Raceway:
“Phoenix is a great race track — a good place for myself and the No. 9 team to start our partnership with UniFirst. Hopefully we can go, have a good run and learn something for later in season since the championship race is now at Phoenix.”

William Byron on the dynamic changing with the start/finish line in the new location:
“Oh for sure, if you’re further back you’re still in the corner when the field goes green, so it makes it tough to get through the gears without spinning the tires. If you’re up front, it’s kind of the same thing, as well. Being the leader on the restart has a pretty good advantage because they’re able to time it. I think it’s about being in the right spot when you get into Turn One especially with the traction compound on the track. It’s tough because it gives you a different grip sensation in each lane.”

Jimmie Johnson on the tributes from his hometown track:
“There was a lot going on in California. I’m incredibly honored and the whole weekend was full of good vibes. We are heading in the right direction and I feel like we have the right people in the right places, so lots of credit goes to Cliff Daniels and the way he leads this No. 48 team. I wanted to win so bad at my home track and, considering the past few seasons we have had, I have to say we were disappointed with a seventh-place finish – the No. 48 Ally Chevy was just so tight. I can’t help it, I’m a competitor at heart and I’m here to win races. Every week I just can’t wait to strap into these cars and I’m excited about the way we are trending right now.”

Alex Bowman on his win at Auto Club Speedway:
“Bringing home the win in the third race of the season is a great way to start the year. Greg (Ives) and the guys brought a hot rod last week and it showed from the start of the first practice. This team has worked extremely hard over the offseason and it is great that it is showing so early in the season. Win No. 1 with Hendrick Motorsports was great, but the second win is even better!”

On prepping at Phoenix with it be the site of the championship race:
“I think it’s important, but at the same time, last year it was the second-to-last race, so it was still really important. It’s easy to say one place is more important than another, but we go 100% every week and there really isn’t a non-important race. I’m looking forward to getting there. We struggled there last year, so hopefully we’ve improved on that quite a bit.”

In their first three races together, Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team have been to a superspeedway (Daytona), a 1.5-mile track (Las Vegas) and a two-mile oval (Auto Club Speedway). Over that stretch they’ve had a best finish of second, at Las Vegas, and an average finish of 11.3, which has propelled them to eighth place in the Cup Series points standings.

Now they head to Phoenix Raceway, which is a mile in length but races like a short track, and DiBenedetto is anxious to get there.

“It’s one my favorite tracks,” he said. “Short tracks and road courses are my personal best tracks.”

New to Phoenix and the other short tracks and road courses this year in a new aerodynamic package intended to put more emphasis on driver skills and increase competition in those events.

The changes include reducing the height of the rear spoiler from eight inches to 2.75 along with changes to the splitter and the radiator pan’s vertical fencing, all with the goal of reducing downforce.

It will be in place for 14 races, beginning this weekend.

“I’m really excited about the lower downforce,” DiBenedetto said. “It’ll be very racey, right up my alley.

“We’ll be sliding around more, which I will enjoy the most.”

DiBenedetto said he’s proud of his team’s start to 2020, but is still looking to do better.

“It’s not a bad start,” he said. “We’ve had top-five and top-10 speed. We just need to maximize all our opportunities.”

Qualifying for the FanShield 500 is set for Saturday at 12:30 p.m (2:30 p.m. Eastern Time), and the race is scheduled to start just after 12:35 p.m. (3:35 p.m. Eastern Time) with TV coverage on FOX.

About Motorcraft:

Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, 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.

About Omnicraft:

Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visitwww.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.

About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center

Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine vehicle maintenance including tire repair and replacement with a Low Tire Price Guarantee and a full menu of automotive services including oil and filter, brakes, alignments, batteries, and shocks and struts on all vehicle makes and models. Service is performed by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations worldwide while you wait, and no appointment is necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 200,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen 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. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.

Team: No. 17 SunnyD Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Luke Lambert
Twitter: @17RoushTeam, @RoushFenway and @Chris_Buescher
FanShield 500 – Sunday, March 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Buescher at Phoenix Raceway

· Buescher makes his ninth Cup Series start at Phoenix on Sunday. In eight prior starts, he has an average finish of 25.6 with a best finish of 16th.

· He tallied a pair of 16th-place finishes last season in both the spring and fall events, after rolling off 22nd last March. He also finished 18th in the fall of 2018.

· Buescher’s best qualifying effort also came last season where he started 17th. Overall his average start is 26.8 at the 1-mile track.

· In four Xfinity Series starts, Buescher had a best finish of 12th in 2014 in the No. 60 machine, with his best qualifying effort coming in 2015 (seventh).

Luke Lambert at Phoenix Raceway

· Lambert returns to the site of his lone Cup Series win, which came back in 2017 with Ryan Newman. Overall Lambert has an average finish of 13.3 at the 1-mile track in 14 races atop the pit box in Cup action.

· Outside of the victory three years ago, Lambert also finished top-10 in 2011 with Jeff Burton (fourth), seventh with Newman in 2014 and third in 2015.

· Lambert also visited victory lane in the Xfinity Series with Elliott Sadler back in 2012 after starting eighth, one of his two starts as a crew chief in the NXS at Phoenix.

QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Phoenix:
“Any time we get to a short track it’s exciting for me personally and for our team. The folks at Roush have some good notes to work off of based off the last couple years at Phoenix. We know the areas we need to improve and sharpen the tools so to speak, so we’re looking forward to doing that this weekend and put on a good show in the SunnyD Ford.”

Recapping Fontana
Buescher and the No. 17 team put together a solid qualifying effort last weekend in California, rolling off 11th before recording a 16th-place result in the Fastenal Ford.

On the Car
Iconic brand and thirst-quenching favorite SunnyD makes its 2020 debut aboard the No. 17 Ford this weekend in Phoenix.

About SunnyD
The iconic SunnyD® brand is owned by Harvest Hill Holdings, a Brynwood Partners owned beverage company. The 54-year-old SunnyD® brand is a leading chilled juice drink in the U.S. In addition to the SunnyD® brand, the company markets the Juicy Juice®, Little HUG®, and Daily’s® beverage brands. Harvest Hill’s products are widely distributed through leading retailers in the U.S. and Canada.

Team:                   No. 6 Oscar Mayer Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:         Scott Graves
Driver:                  Ross Chastain
Twitter:                @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway