Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Hamlin’s Camry Survives for Third-Place Finish at Talladega
Toyota Playoff Drivers Prove a Solid Day Despite Multi-Car Accidents

LINCOLN, Ala. (October 14, 2019) – Denny Hamlin was the highest finishing Toyota Camry driver as he crossed the finish line in the third position in a rain-postponed race at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway on Monday afternoon.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Talladega Superspeedway
Race 31 of 36 – 500.08 miles, 188 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Ryan Blaney*
2nd, Ryan Newman*
3rd, DENNY HAMLIN
4th, Aric Almirola*
5th, Matt Tifft*
15th, PARKER KLIGERMAN
19th, KYLE BUSCH
26th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
30th, MATT DIBENEDETTO
34th, ERIK JONES
36th, JOEY GASE
*non-Toyota driver

• Denny Hamlin sustained damage during one of the muliple accidents in today’s rain-postponed race at Talladega, but was able to calculate his moves on the race track to be in position in the closing laps and score a third-place result.

• Toyota Playoff drivers Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch are all more than 40 points above the Playoff cutoff line as the MENCS moves to Kansas Speedway next weekend for the next cutoff race.

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Finishing Position: 3rd

How much patience did it take for you as a driver to get the finish you did here today.

“A lot. I was just trying to play chess out there. I knew my odds and percentages with the wrecks. I knew once my competitiors started to fall there, I knew that I had to be smart. I just knew the end of these races usually end up like a crashfest and I was just going to take all the crash positions I could get once I got back on the lead lap. Once I saw that the percentage was better for me to go race up front for the win versus just taking the end of the lead lap even if we were to crash, I knew it was in my best interest to try to go there at the end and we almost won it anyway.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Hazelnut Spread Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 19th

What happened?

“I don’t know. Everybody starts getting more aggressive towards the end and some guys just started pushing and I got pushed. I don’t know if he was getting pushed from behind him or what, but just got turned sideways the wrong way on the straightaway and that was it.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 26th

Talk about your strategy for today’s race.

“Obviously we tried to find a safe place there and chill out and ride. That’s kind of what our plan was and we couldn’t even do that. Wrong place, wrong time, which seems like about every time I come here. I feel like I should just race as hard as I can race because I’m probably going to get wrecked anyway.”

MATT DiBENEDETTO, No. 95 One Bite Toyota Camry, Leavine Family Racing

Finishing Position: 30th

What was your vantage point out there?

“I saw a car go up in the air and over. It’s just crazy. I don’t know. The car was fast, pushed great obviously. I really wanted to get these guys, the One Bite Pizza car – I wanted to get this car to victory lane so bad for Toyota and LFR (Leavine Family Racing). It just stinks being that close. Man, that’s insane. I was pushing Kurt (Busch) earlier before that all happened and was just focused on pushing ahead of me because my car did it so well locking on the guys in front of me. I don’t know. Seems like a dang routine. We run a superspeedway race and then I meet you guys here for an interview after the care center. These races are crazy.”

How did you bide your time to get position relatively unscathed at that point?

“We did alright up until then. We were just racing smart and at the end of Stage 2, I was like man, they are getting racy and I felt like a wreck was going to happen and I backed off. Boom, big wreck and I’m like alright, we’re doing good. Then here we go. I. don’t know, man. Unless you just ride around in the back and take it easy, but that’s not what you’re here for. Everyone gets so aggressive at the end and it’s a game of survival. I’d love to be a fan watching if that counts for anything. It’s definitely entertaining, but man, that’s irritating.”

ERIK JONES, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 34th

What happened to take you out of the race?

“It looks like the 1 (Kurt Busch) turned the 24 (William Byron) and kind of caused that wreck, so it’s unfortunate. We had a really fast car today. It’s one of the best superspeedway cars we’ve brought as far as single car and pack speed. It’s disappointing. The DeWalt Camry was definitely a contender, I thought, for a win today. We battled back from a lap down and got right back to the front. It’s unfortunate. We’ve just been on a bad streak and we haven’t been able to shake it. Hopefully next week at Kansas – it’s been a good track to us – we can get things back going again.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 American Ethanol / RCR 50th Team Survive Wild Race to Finish Sixth at Talladega Superspeedway

Finish: 6th
Start: 20th
Points: 22nd

“I’m so glad we were able to bring home a solid finish with our No. 3 American Ethanol / RCR 50th Chevrolet today. We needed that. We were able to avoid all the big wrecks today and managed to be in contention at the end. On that final run, I just needed the No. 17 (Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.) to pick me up for us to really have a shot at the win. He had a heck of a run coming, so that would have been really nice and propelled us even more forward. We did everything we could with what we had and came close. It was a good weekend for us. The racing was close, and we were close to the front.” -Austin Dillon

Damage to Liberty National/RCR 50th Chevrolet Results in 21st-Place Finish at Talladega Superspeedway for Daniel Hemric

Finish: 21st
Start: 29th
Points: 25th

“We had a strong No. 8 Liberty National / RCR 50th Chevrolet here at Talladega Superspeedway, and that showed when we were able to drive to the lead on Sunday before the rain hit. We came back today and remained a contender throughout the day in the pack. We took damage to the right rear quarter panel early in the race when I was hit from behind coming to pit road under green, but the guys did a good job of fixing that at the stage break. I felt like we were a serious contender for the win, but when that Big One happened into Turn 3, my left front tire hooked on the No. 4 car and we drove right into another car. That damaged the right side nose, hood and fender, and unfortunately we lost a lap on pit road making repairs. We should have had a better finish than 21st, but that’s Talladega Superspeedway for you.” -Daniel Hemric

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Monday, October 14, 2019
EVENT: 1000Bulbs.com 500, Talladega Superspeedway

RYAN BLANEY PUNCHES TICKET TO ROUND OF 8 WITH TALLADEGA WIN
· Ryan Blaney piloted his No. 12 Ford to victory today, his first win of the season.
· Today’s win is Ford’s 6th straight Talladega Playoff victory.
· Team Penske has now won 7-of-the-last-11 Cup races at Talladega.
· The victory is Blaney’s third career MENCS win.
· The win is Mustang’s ninth of the season.
· All three Team Penske drivers have now won this season.
· Today’s win is Ford’s 685th all-time in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition.
· Of Team Penske’s 71 MENCS wins with Ford, 44 have come since rejoining Ford in 2013.

Ford Finishing Order:
1st – Ryan Blaney
2nd – Ryan Newman
4th – Aric Almirola
5th – Michael McDowell
7th – Corey LaJoie
9th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
11th – Joey Logano
13th – Matt Tifft
16th – Paul Menard
17th – Kevin Harvick
23rd – Clint Bowyer
25th – Brad Keselowski
29th – David Ragan
32nd – Daniel Suarez

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW

WHAT AN EFFORT BY YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE TEAM TODAY: “Yeah, it was an amazing effort the last two days to be honest with you. We spun out early yesterday and missed some big ones today. We were able to weave our way through. I can’t thank Aric Almirola enough for helping me out there at the end. That big push that Newman and the 11 got I knew I wasn’t going to be able to block it. They were coming so fast and they wanted to split me. I wanted to stay to the bottom and kind of pulled the 11 off the 6 and then had a big enough run to get to the six. We kind of hit above the line and that pushed me below the line. That is a big judgement call. You never know. I definitely wasn’t going to go below the line before we made contact. I can’t say enough about this Dent Wizard team. It has been super fun the last couple of days. We are moving on! This is super cool.”

THIS PLACE, SO HISTORIC, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WIN HERE? “It means a ton. I have been coming here ever since I was really young and watched my dad run here a lot and watched him run pretty good here a lot. I got to drive for the Wood Brothers here. It is a cool feeling. This new infield in this new victory lane. I love coming here and I love it even more now.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 17 SunnyD Ford Mustang – “It’s nice being that close. We put ourselves in the right positions, got to control the race for a little while. I felt like my spotter and I did a really good job blocking the right lines at the right time and just trying to learn for the end of that race. That one restart we picked the bottom and I don’t know if that hurt us and it let the 1 get to the outside and the third lane formed, so, all in all, we had a really fast car. I’m bummed we couldn’t finish it off. There at the end I felt like we were still plenty fast enough to get the job done, but I just ran out of laps to get back up there.”

COREY LAJOIE, No. 32 VisoneRV.com Ford Mustang – “We call that stacking pennies. You take a 33rd-place car and finish seventh with it, so we’ll take it and run.” IS THERE SOMETHING THAT COMES OUT OF THIS? “Make a little more money. That always helps, so that’s good. Archie is happy I’m sure. The car is in one piece and we’ll go on to Kansas.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang – DOES THIS GIVE YOU MOMENTUM FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR? “Yeah, you’re always looking for anything to build momentum. Results always do that and that’s always part of it. Talladega and Daytona in particular are unique race tracks and a unique style of racing. I don’t know how much it helps you going into Kansas, but it’s always good to get a top-five and to have a strong day and be in position to push a Ford to Victory Lane. That’s good, too.”

YOU HAD THAT LINE OF FORDS ON THE LAST RESTART AND GOT ORGANIZED IN A HURRY. WERE YOU TOO FAR BACK TO DO MUCH MORE ONCE THE ENERGY BROKE UP? “The energy broke up once the 11 and the 6 hooked up. I was close to the 10’s bumper and he was on the 12’s bumper, and I was just hoping to stay attached to them so when they eventually came to the start-finish line side-by-side, because I figured the 10 was gonna make a move at some point coming to the line that I would have an opportunity to sneak my way in there, but when the 11 and the 6 got hooked up and got to my outside that really broke my momentum and detached me off of the 10 and it was survival from that point forward just trying to block all the runs coming. We salvaged a good finish.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – WHAT DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU GOT HIT AND WRECKED? “I haven’t seen it yet. It scared the crap out of me because it came out of nowhere. I was riding around and everything was good in second place and, ‘Boom.’ The next thing I know I’m sideways and up in the air. My team did an amazing job today because when we got done with the crash the hood was up and I couldn’t see. The thing was barely rolling with four flat tires and everything else, and they got it to where it would run and then got through another crash to get the lucky dog and finished 11th on the day. Two second places in the stages and an 11th-place finish with a crashed race car isn’t ideal, but it’s way better than it could have been, so I’m proud of that.”

HOW HARD WAS IT TO GET TO YOUR PIT STALL WITH THE HOOD UP? “Luckily, the hood flap blew out, so I was looking through the hood flap and was able to see good enough.”

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang – “It’s disappointing to not win that one, to be so close. I’ve been that close here before. Quite a few years I’ve tried, but just crazy racing and proud to get our Wyndham Rewards Ford a good finish. I’m disappointed obviously we didn’t win – to be that close. It’s part of racing. I’ve always said you’ve got to lose some that way before you can win some that way, and I guess our wins are coming.” YOU WERE WATCHING THE REPLAY. WHAT DID YOU SEE? “I had no idea how close and how much room I had with the runs that people get and things like that. We still had a few good cars left there and really didn’t expect him to get as big of a run as he did all by himself back to me. Denny did a great job of pushing and got me up there to the lead and just circumstances. That’s drafting. That’s the way it works. If I would have blocked him down below the yellow line I would have got penalized, so it’s six and one-half dozen the other.”

NOTHING YOU COULD HAVE DONE? “I think I could have gone down and taken his air and he probably would have worked to the outside of me and probably spun me as I tried to block him. You could replay it 30 days from now and come up with 27 different answers.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang – “You always want to do better. I would have loved to have scored stage points and finish better, but we didn’t. You can’t put much merit into this. It’s kind of like bumper cars with your friends that don’t know how to drive at the go-kart track.” HOW DO YOU LOOK AT KANSAS? “We just do what we do every week.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Racin’ for Bacon Ford Mustang – “Obviously, when you get that close to the end and you feel like you’re in position you want to win. Man, it’s hard. It’s hard to make the right move and do the right thing at the right time. It’s so situational. There’s maybe a couple of things, maybe one thing I could have tried to get up in front of the 6, but he was coming so fast. There was no way I was gonna block that run. He was just gonna get to my outside and then I was gonna be stuck in the middle three-wide. All in all, it was a good day. We needed a good run. We’ve had a string of just average finishes, so it’s nice to get a top-five and run up front, finish really well for the Fords, get a Ford Mustang to Victory Lane. I just wish it was my Ford Mustang.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Mustang – “I brushed the wall. I got in the 8 and was just pushing like I was all day long. I don’t know. He ran up too high and when you push you’ve got to kind of be to the outside and run me into the wall. I was afraid it was gonna go flat, so I bailed out of there and, sure enough, it went flat. And then I just got stuck down there. I couldn’t get those guys to cooperate. They stared at me for a lap. I was like, ‘Boys, we’ve got to figure this out. We’ve got to push this thing off.’ I don’t know that they knew I was stuck. I shut it off and was trying to scream, but it is what it is.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Mustang – “I got wrecked, but I haven’t see the replay. We were about to take the lead. I was pushing Brendan Gaughan and was really excited about how it was looking there for a minute and it just didn’t work out.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang – “I don’t really know what to say. I don’t know what we could have done different. We were just racing hard and then went straight to the back. We were coming back to the front and then the whole mess started in front of me and I turned the wheel a little bit too hard to try to avoid the wreck and I ended up spinning out myself. It was either spinning out myself or wrecking, so nothing really I could have done there.”

DAVID RAGAN, No. 38 Envision Ford Mustang – “Everybody just got to pushing and shoving and that’s just a product of speedway racing. These guys race extremely hard. The cars are really safe. I don’t really think anyone is gonna get hurt, so that probably makes everyone drive a little bit more crazy than they should and when you’re pushing and shoving at 200 miles an hour eventually you’re gonna wreck people. I think most of the big wrecks today were because of that and that’s just the way it is, so you get out there and you tear all of these race cars up. I hate it for the car owners, but the fans saw a lot of great racing today. Our Envision USA Ford Mustang was fast. It was fun, but it just didn’t last to the end.”

YOU WERE IN POSITION RIGHT AT THE FRONT WITH JUST A FEW LAPS REMAINING. WERE YOU WHERE YOU WANTED TO BE? “Yeah. I pushed really well depending on who was around me and I felt like my car pushed a little bit better on the bottom lane. Me and Kurt were in the middle and everyone just pushing hard and, yeah, I was where I wanted to be. Those final 15 laps you want to be in the top five to six and we were there. I felt like we were controlling our own destiny. It would have been hard to win, but I felt like we had a shot that we could have if our cards could have been played right.”

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWDAY
1000BULBS.COM 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
OCTOBER 14, 2019

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER (* = Playoff Contender)
6th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL/RCR 50TH CAMARO ZL1
8th *CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA NIGHT VISION CAMARO ZL1
10th TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1
18th RYAN PREECE, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1
20th CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 LOUISIANA HOT SAUCE CAMARO ZL1

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER (* = Chevy Playoff Contender)
1st Ryan Blaney (Ford)
2nd Ryan Newman (Ford)
3rd Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
4th Aric Almirola (Ford)
5th Michael McDowell (Ford)

UNOFFICIAL CURRENT PLAYOFF RANK (Following Round 5 of 10)
POS. DRIVER (* = Chevy Contender)
1. * Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
2. Ryan Blaney (Ford)
3. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
4. Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
5. Kyle Busch (Toyota)
6. Kevin Harvick (Ford)
7. Brad Keselowski (Ford)
8. Joey Logano (Ford)_____
9. *Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
10. *Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
11. Clint Bowyer (Ford)
12. *William Byron (Chevrolet)

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Kansas Speedway with the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, October 20 at 2:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, NBC Sports Gold, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL / RCR 50TH CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 6th
“It pushed really well and to get up through there at times, it just didn’t seem to be able to maintain the lead. But I’m glad we were able to get a good finish. Sixth place, we needed that. The No. 17 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.), he had a heck of a run down the backstretch. If he could have picked me up, it would have been nice. We did everything we could for what we had, and the race was very close.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA NIGHT VISION CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 8th
“We had our ups and downs for sure today. Got caught up in that crash but my guys did a nice job of putting it back together as best we could. Just head out West to Kansas now and try to get a win out there. That’s about all we can do now.”

“You have to have the mindset to go out there and control what we can control and do everything we can to get a win. That’s all we can do.”

IT SOUNDED LIKE YOUR CAR WAS PRETTY MUCH JUNK AFTER THAT CRASH. WHAT WAS THE DIAGNOSIS?
“I haven’t looked at the right side. It was OK.”

AFTER THAT FIRST WRECK, DID YOU THINK YOU HAD A TOP-10 CAR TODAY?
“No, I thought it was pretty hurt. It happens, onward”

IS IT A SUCCESS TO FINISH IN THE TOP-10?
“Well, our points position is the big thing, so no not really.”

WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOUR CREW TO GET IT BACK INTO THE TOP-10?
“They did a really nice job to put it back together. I’m proud of the effort, we just came up a little short.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 10th
“Yeah, when there’s so few cars left running at the end of the race, the top just seemed to never really go. On the last restart, there were only eight or nine cars running, so I knew we were in a little bit of trouble. I needed a push in the outside line as far as I could to try to get us in position where we were in second or third and I just couldn’t get any help from behind. We had a nice, big run there at the end, but couldn’t really do a whole lot with it. Another top-10 finish for our team, which is good at the superspeedways. A top-10 finish is always good for us.”

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 8 LIBERTY NATIONAL / RCR 50TH CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 21st
“We had a strong No. 8 Liberty National/RCR 50th Chevrolet here at Talladega Superspeedway, and that showed when we were able to drive to the lead on Sunday before the rain hit. We came back today and remained a contender throughout the day in the pack. We got some damage to the right rear quarter panel early in the race when I was hit from behind coming to pit road under green, but the guys did a good job of fixing that at the stage break. I felt like we were a serious contender for the win, but when that Big One happened into Turn 3, my left front tire hooked on the No. 4 car and we drove right into another car. That damaged the right-side nose, hood and fender, and unfortunately, we lost a lap on pit road making repairs. We should have had a better finish than 21st, but that’s Talladega Superspeedway for you.”

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, NO. 62 BEARD OIL DISTRIBUTING / SOUTH POINT HOTEL & CASINO CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by crash on lap 183; Finished 27th
HOW CLOSE WERE YOU TO MAYBE PICKING UP THE WIN HERE TODAY?
“Listen, I spent three years in off-road racing and we flip flop. The easiest thing you can do is go upside down, because nothing hits hard. So that’s the nicest thing about it. I haven’t even seen it, but Brad (Keselowski) was pushing the crap out of me and I loved it. But man, the Beard Oil Distributing Chevy, we ran a great strategy. Darren Shaw, Ron Lewis our spotter, everybody….it was awesome. The 62 was in front for a split second. I was just so proud and thank you to ECR, Richard Childress, Chevrolet and to Darren and Ron and all the guys on this team. The Beard family, I love them. Mother, it’s okay, it’s just a flip and it didn’t hurt, I promise.”

YOUR BACK IS OKAY FROM COMING DOWN THAT HARD?
“Yeah, no, it’s okay because you are still going 200 mph that way. So, it never just drops out of the sky. It was okay, it was just one easy, quick flip and we put it down. The only thing you worry about then is somebody hitting you. That is what you don’t want and that is where the fear comes in. Other than that, I am fine and like I said, some people would argue that I have anything up there that’s going to hurt. Thank you to Chevrolet and thank you to the Beard family, love you guys, and yes, I will see you at the Daytona 500. Mom, sorry.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 – Sideline by crash on lap 183; Finished 28th
“I was just trying to make the middle lane work and all hell broke loose. I was having a lot of fun out there. Just trying to hold it steady and gain some points. I don’t even know who is left. It was pretty wild. These cars are so unstable in those big packs pushing hard. It just takes the smallest little mistake.

“I had a great Monster Energy Chevrolet. Thanks to Ganassi and all my guys for preparing a great race car. We just didn’t get the finish we wanted today.”

IT WAS GETTING CRAZY THERE AT THE END. WAS THIS SORT OF INEVITABLE AND WHAT DID YOU SEE?
“I was just trying to make the middle lane work with my little brother and all hell broke loose. Everybody was pushing hard, trying to draft and getting themselves in position. Man, there are wrecked cars everywhere. We were having fun with our Monster Energy Chevy and we were trying to bring it home.”

WHEN YOU WERE TRYING TO MOVE TO THIS LINE AND THAT LINE, HOW CRAZY WAS IT FEELING OUT THERE FOR YOU?
“I was just trying to hold the pretty wheel, keep it smooth and give the guarantee from behind. The guys were pushing good. It just shows that our No. 1 was stable and we could lead.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by crash on lap 164; Finished 33rd
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT PUSH FROM KURT BUSCH DIDN’T WORK?
“I don’t really know. Obviously, our noses are pointed and it just jacked me right up and turned me around. I have to look at it. Yeah, it just turned me to the inside first. I don’t know what to do different there to get the push better. Just unfortunate for us. We had a really good run going. I felt like we were going to at least finish pretty solid. Our car was good, just trying to bide our time. Just unfortunate, for sure.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE / AMAZON ECHO AUTO CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by crash on lap 108; Finished 37th
“I haven’t completely seen the replay. But my guess is that I threw a block I shouldn’t have thrown a block. I got shoved way out there. I knew the No. 22 (Joey Logano) was coming and I just tried to move down just a little bit. As soon as he touched me, it just turned it sideways. They just had a bigger run than I realized. I should have let them go and shouldn’t have thrown a block. I apologize to all the cars that got torn up, that’s on me. Talladega happens. I hate it for all of our sponsors.”

GIVE US A SENSE OF HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO JUDGE THE SPEED AS A LINE GETS MOVING.
“The spoilers are so big now, that even though they are clear, the cars shake so much you really can’t see. At least I couldn’t. My mirrors are super shaky and trying to look through a thing of lexan is tough. Just didn’t do a very good job of judging it and that’s on me.”

WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE?
“After watching it, I just didn’t realize how fast the 22 (Joey Logano) was coming there. I probably shouldn’t have even attempted to block that. He was a solid chunk faster than us, so that’s on me. It’s part of Talladega and superspeedway racing. It’s really unfortunate for our team. I apologize to the other guys that got taken out in that.”

UP UNTIL THAT POINT, WAS IT AS NERVE-RACKING FOR YOU AS IT WAS FOR US WATCHING?
“Not really. It was pretty calm. The car was driving really good. Everything was going as it needed to go for us, I just misjudged that one.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by crash on lap 108; Finished 38th
“That’s just plate racing. It is what it is. I saw the No. 88 (Alex Bowman) really far down on the apron coming into turn three, and knew there was going to be a problem when he merged up back in front of us. It is just plate racing. Really proud of my guys. I had a very fast Ally Chevrolet today. I was doing my best to help my teammates there and had a good time. Unfortunately, a short day for us.”

“I was just drafting and looking through the window like we do on the back straightaway and I noticed out of the left side of the windshield that the 88 was down there sideways by himself. So, something happened up there that got him pitched out of the line and unfortunately just slid right back up in front of myself and Chase (Elliott). I hope I did not knock Chase into the 88, and I feel like fortunately I may have turned him away from it and down the track. Hopefully he can still get some points here. It’s just one of those plate racing incidents and I hate it for Alex but a few people made it through from the Hendrick side of things in having a couple cars still in the race. But my Ally Chevrolet was great and I was just being a great ally to my friends out there and we had a really fast race car.”

REGARDING WHAT IT WAS LIKE WORKING TOGETHER AS A MANUFACTURER AND WHERE WAS THE BEST ENERGY.
“We have worked together well over the years, and I think we are just getting better at it is all what it’s about. For myself, in not having the Playoff pressure, it was nice to have a purpose and it was nice to be out there helping my teammates try and collect points and do what they could. So, all in all a good day, just a short one.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by crash on lap 108; Finished 39th
“I just saw a little bit of smoke. I was in the top lane just hoping to get through it and it all happened quick. I saw the No. 88 (Alex Bowman)’s door numbers and I got into it. Yeah, that was a huge hit on my part. Thankfully, I’m OK and we’ll move onto next week and try to get a run at Kansas.”

TALK ABOUT THE RACING OUT THERE AFTER WE STARTED TODAY.
“It didn’t seem any different than yesterday. You could feel the intensity building before the end of that stage and it led into a wreck. No different really than the other plate races this year.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE CHEVROLET’S WORKED TOGETHER TODAY?
“I feel like we have worked really well together for the last couple of speedway races. I felt like we were doing a good job today. You had a long line of us and at the front of that line, they were battling for the lead. I felt like our Chevy’s have been doing a really good job.”

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.

Go Fas Racing is proud to announce that Kansasland Tire and Service will be the primary sponsor of Corey LaJoie and the No.32 Ford Mustang for this weekend’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Kansasland is your Kansas headquarters for tires and wheels, automotive services, and commercial/farm services. Their team keeps you rolling at 25 locations in Kansas (and 45 stores total across five states). If it’s time to change tires, Kansasland stocks a large selection of tires from major brands like Goodyear, Kelly, and Mastercraft to name a few. Looking for an automotive repair and maintenance center? Schedule an appointment today. From an oil change and brake repair to wheel alignments and roadside assistance, they have you covered.

“On behalf of everyone here at the Nebraskaland-Kansasland-Coloradoland Tire Group we are proud and delighted to be partnering with Go Fas Racing at this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood 400 at the Kansas Speedway,” said Carson Wright, vice president of sales for Nebraskaland, Kansasland, and Coloradoland Tire Group. “Our company and customers are excited for the race and we look forward to cheering on Corey LaJoie in the Kansasland #32 Ford”.

Fans will be able to see the No.32 Kansasland Ford Mustang in person this Thursday at the Wichita, Kansas commercial location! The real racecar that will race this Sunday will be there along with driver Corey LaJoie and Go Fas Racing General Manager Mason St. Hilaire. Fans can get autographs and take pictures with Corey and the Kansasland Ford. The event will run on October 17th from 2-4pm at 5941 Air Cap Drive, Park City, Kansas.

Fans can catch Corey and the Kansasland team on track all weekend beginning Friday with two practices at 4pm and 7pm ET. Saturday, qualifying will take place at 1:35pm ET and raceday coverage of the Hollywood Casino 400 will begin Sunday, October 20th at 2:30pm ET on NBC.

Visit your nearest Kansasland tire & auto repair shop today in Andover, Salina, Goodland, Derby, Emporia, Liberal, Hutchison, Wichita, Garden City, Fredonia, Topeka, Park City, Clay Center, Concordia, Norton, Great Bend, Hays, or Pittsburg, Kansas.

————————————————————–
About Our Team

About Kansasland:
Kansasland is your Kansas headquarters for tires and wheels, automotive services, and commercial/farm services. Our team keeps you rolling at 25 locations in Kansas (and 45 stores total across five states). If it’s time to change tires, we stock a large selection of tires from major brands like Goodyear, Kelly, and Mastercraft to name a few. Looking for an automotive repair and maintenance center? Schedule an appointment today. From an oil change and brake repair to wheel alignments and roadside assistance, we have you covered.
Visit your nearest Kansasland tire & auto repair shop today in Andover, Salina, Goodland, Derby, Emporia, Liberal, Hutchison, Wichita, Garden City, Fredonia, Topeka, Park City, Clay Center, Concordia, Norton, Great Bend, Hays, or Pittsburg, Kansas. We look forward to serving you.

Get Corey LaJoie Updates:
To get live updates during the race weekends follow @coreylajoie on Instagram and Twitter. Make sure to give Corey a “like” on Facebook – “@CoreyLaJoieRacing”. For a detailed bio and updated in-season statistics, please visit www.coreylajoieracing.com .

About Go Fas Racing:
Go Fas Racing (GFR) currently fields Ford Mustangs in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for driver Corey LaJoie. Located in Mooresville, North Carolina, GFR has competed in the NASCAR’s premier series since 2014; fielding cars for some of NASCAR’s top drivers, including past champions. To find out more information about our team please visit www.GoFasRacing.com.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWDAY
1000BULBS.COM 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 12, 2019

CHASE ELLIOTT PUTS CAMARO ZL1 ON POLE AT TALLADEGA
Hendrick Team Chevy Drivers Sweep 1-2-3-4

LINCOLN, AL (October 12, 2019) – Chase Elliott led a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the top four spots in qualifying for Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Talladega Superspeedway in his No. 9 NAPA Night Vision Camaro ZL1 to capture his fourth pole of the 2019 season. Elliott’s speed of 192.707 mph around the 2.66-mile oval was plenty fast enough to collect his eighth career MENSC career pole and second at Talladega.

The feat also marked the 14th MENSC pole of the year thus far for the Camaro ZL1, the 37th for Chevrolet at Talladega, and the 713th for the brand in NASCAR’s premier racing division.

Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates were close behind in the qualifying runs with Alex Bowman, No. 88 Nationwide/Amazon Echo Auto Camaro ZL1 second quick, William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 in third, and Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 qualifying third.

Kyle Larson, fresh off a win at Dover last weekend, was the fifth fastest Chevrolet in his No. 42 McDonald’s Camaro ZL1.

Rounding out the Top 5 in the order was Aric Almirola in a Ford.

NBC will telecast the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway live at 2:00 p.m. ET Sunday, October 3. The NBC Sports Gold app will stream the race and live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

POST-QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO 9 NAPA NIGHT VISION – Pole winner

AT THESE SPEEDWAY QUALIFYING SESSIONS, YOU GUYS ALWAYS SAY IT COMES DOWN TO THE TEAM BECAUSE YOU JUST PUT THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR AND STEER IT AROUND HERE. BUT FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, SPECIFICALLY, YOU GUYS SEEM TO PRIDE YOURSELF AT SPEED AT DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA. HOW MUCH EMPHASIS IN THE SHOP HAS GONE INTO NOT JUST THIS RACE, BUT REALLY ALL FOUR OF THE SPEEDWAY RACES THIS SEASON TO PERFORM LIKE THIS IN ALL FOUR QUALIFYING SESSIONS?
“In general, I feel like as a company, obviously at Hendrick, we’ve done a great job I feel like, in the time I’ve been there and just continue to put emphasis on the speedway and on things that take time that might not be worth a whole lot, but make you go faster on qualifying day. Some of the small stuff may or may not help you when it comes to being in the draft. I like to think it does. I think a lot of the small things tend to add up and hope that if you have just a little bit of an advantage somewhere, that might help you at some point. I’d rather have it than not. And, luckily our team is the type of team that continues to put emphasis on these places and doesn’t overlook them. And I think there’s something to be said for that, especially after last week and coming off a tough day and a failure and to come back here and to still put the effort in the areas that need to be done and didn’t just overlook this week, I think was important. And so, I’m proud of that.”

A LOT HAPPENS ON SUNDAYS DURING THE COURSE OF THE RACE AND WHETHER YOU START FIRST OR 40TH, DOESN’T MATTER A LOT, I DON’T THINK. BUT, WHAT DOES IT MEAN, GETTING THE POLE FOR TOMORROW, FOR YOU THINK ABOUT WINNING A DOUBLE BY WINNING IN THE SPRING AND AGAIN TOMORROW?
‘To me, I feel like our car has pace, which is a good thing. Typically in these races, cars that have pace tend to kind of set the standard and are able to do some things that you wouldn’t be able to do if your car didn’t have pace. I would much rather have pace on my side than not. Can you still win without those little extra things here and there? Yes. But I do think it is a good thing to have if you do. And luckily, I feel like our car does. Hopefully it drives well tomorrow. And, I’m sure as we start the race, we’ll see some gamesmanship being played amongst the manufacturers and I’m sure that’ll form-up very quickly.”

DID YOU SEE THE END OF THE TRUCK RACE?
“I did. I barely caught it.”

THE FACT THAT NASCAR MADE A CALL ON THE YELLOW LINE RULE ON THE LAST LAP, HOW MUCH DOES THAT PLAY INTO YOUR THINKING IN THE FINAL LAPS? OR, IS IT GOING SO FAST THAT YOU’RE JUST REACTING AND WHATEVER THE CALL IS, THE CALL IS?
“In those situations, that’s so hard because you do what you think is right at the time and you kind of have to make some really quick decisions. So, I guess the bottom line is with that situation of the yellow line is the out of bounds, so if a guy is going to run you down there, you just need to crash him and just be done with it because it’s not worth you being penalized for not causing a wreck. So, I guess at the end of the day, you just need to wreck him and go on down the road.”
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.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWDAY
1000BULBS.COM 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
OCTOBER 12, 2019

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA NIGHT VISION CAMARO ZL1
2nd ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE/AMAZON ECHO AUTO CAMARO ZL1
3rd WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1
4th JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
12th KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st CHASE ELLIOTT (Chevrolet)
2nd ALEX BOWMAN (Chevrolet)
3rd WILLIAM BYRON, (Chevrolet)
4th JIMMIE JOHNSON (Chevrolet)
5th ARIC ALMIROLA (Ford)

NBC will telecast the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway live at 2:00 p.m. ET Sunday, October 3. The NBC Sports Gold app will stream the race and live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA NIGHT VISION CAMARO ZL1 – Pole Winner
“We had a really fast NAPA Night Vision Camaro there. It was really faster than I was expecting it to be today, which is nice. And, Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and our team do such a good job at these places; really, Hendrick, as a whole, and our body shop and our engine shop doing the job that they do coming to these places and have fast race cars and really, it’s kind of on them. So, I’m really proud of the effort. It was a tough week last week, obviously, so it’s just nice to come back and get a pole. Obviously, it’s a long race and anything can happen. So, we’ve got to take advantage of a good pit pick and we’ll go to work from there and see what happens.”

HOW COMFORTING WILL IT BE AT LEAST EARLY ON, TO KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO BE SURROUNDED BY TEAMMATES TO START THIS ONE OFF?
“I’ve got three teammates behind you, but then not a lot of Chevrolets back behind that for a little while. So, there are a bunch of other guys stacked in between us. So, we’ll see. I’m sure these games will be played pretty early. And hopefully we can stay up front and grab some stage points and hopefully get a win.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 3rd
“We’ve had some great racing and really fast cars this year and that’s going to help our case tomorrow to keep our track position and get a good pit selection. So, I’m really excited about all that. You never know what can happen here, so we’re just going to try to work together and see what happens at the end of it.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 4th
WHAT KIND OF RISK CAN YOU TAKE WITH BLOCKING AT THESE RACES?
“Blocking has just elevated over the years. One, it’s just tough to pass the leader. If you get up there and defend your position and hold it, I’ve seen guys that can stay there all day long. That’s the ultimate motivation that we all have. When you add stage racing and the time of the year it is, the blocking is going to be intense. There’s no way around it. At this track in the past, you could fall to the back, let the big one happen and then come through. Stage racing has changed that and certainly this rules package has too.”

IT’S BEEN MORE EVIDENT OF MANUFACTURERS WORKING TOGETHER? HOW DOES THAT PLAY FOR YOU?
“This time of the year is always a bit tricky for manufacturers, the teams and how you can help. I’ll be mindful and aware of it, but I’m here to win a race. My teammates wouldn’t expect me to do anything other than go out and win a race. There are decisions to be made on the course of the day. I think we are going to be better sticking together and try to make those decisions to keep the group unified.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 12th
“It will be interesting to see how hard the guys below or around the cut off are racing. Thankfully for me, we don’t have to worry about that. But we still want to get a good finish and avoid the wrecks. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow, but it’s always wild.”

IS IT COMFORTING KNOWING YOU’VE ADVANCED TO THE NEXT ROUND?
“Yeah, I mean I don’t think I’ll do anything differently than I normally would at either race track. I just want to have a good run, continue our consistent finishes and try to rack up some more points too. I feel good about next week for sure.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL / RCR 50TH CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 20th
“You can give up some at certain times of the race, but if it’s a last lap situation, you are going to be held accountable for the actions you make and you’re going to feel bad if you go home not making the block that could win you the race or you’re going to feel bad if you’re wrecked. It’s one of those things. I’ve been on both sides of it; I’ve been on the winning side of it, I’ve been on the losing side of it. It’s speedway racing, that’s all I have to say about it. It’s tough to balance and you just hope you’re in the right place at the right time, and that you’re fast enough you don’t have to worry about it.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 LOUISIANA HOT SAUCE CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 23rd
YOU’RE LOOKING FOR YOUR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON, BUT THERE ARE SOME GUYS IN YOUR SAME CAMP THAT ARE PLAYOFF DRIVERS. WHAT ARE THE INSTRUCTIONS OR CAN YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO?
“I don’t think you have to do anything in particular. As a group, we are asked to try and be aware of everyone’s situation, more specifically the three Chevy cars that are in the Playoffs that are not locked in at this point. I think the understanding is to help a Chevy before you help a Toyota or Ford. Never do anything that will hurt you, but if you can help someone without hurting yourself, definitely help a teammate.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 24th
“We just haven’t quite had the speed by ourselves right now, but in the draft, our 20-lap run we did with the other Chevrolet’s went well. We’ll see where qualifying stacks up. Again, it’s a matter of executing as a team. Sometimes the crew chief will say we’re going to come in and do four tires and at the last second, they’ll change it to two. Everything is ramped up right now. We’re just trying to execute as a group and get as many Playoff points as we can.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 27th
WHAT IS THE LINE BETWEEN BEING AGGRESSIVE AND NOT PUTTING YOURSELF IN BAD SITUATIONS?
“Yeah, I’m going to hang out in the back, probably in the second pack. I tore up three race cars this year. It’s hard to do that for sure. It’s tough to stay out of the mess, there’s not really any safe spots. We’ll just hang out, be careful tomorrow, survive and try to be there with around seven laps to go. Our speedway cars have always been really good, so we have a good opportunity tomorrow. We just have to be there at the end and continue to capitalize on it.”

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 8 LIBERTY NATIONAL / RCR 50TH CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 29th
“I’ve had really fast cars here at superspeedway racing. RCR does a really good job of that. I just haven’t had a lot of speed since we unloaded. The speed we’ve had, they don’t necessarily drive like you want them to in the race, so hopefully this is a good omen for the other side and we’ll be able to be aggressive and do what we need to do come Sunday.”

RYAN PREECE, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 30th
HAS THERE BEEN ANY IMPUT ON WHO YOUR NEW TEAMMATE WILL BE?
“I told them that they are really smart with everything they do and obviously they will do whatever is best for the organization and whoever they feel will bring something as far knowledge, experience or whatever it may be. I feel confident with whoever it will be. Whoever it is, I’m sure it’s going to be a good fit.”

YOU FINISHED THIRD HERE IN THE SPRING. CAN YOU COME CLOSE TO REPEATING THAT?
“I think superspeedway racing is very situational. A lot of luck comes from positioning and being in the right place at the right time. So, I think at the end of the day, our car was driving pretty good yesterday. I feel pretty solid about it.”

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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Saturday, October 12, 2019

EVENT: 1000Bulbs.com 500, Talladega Superspeedway (Qualifying)

Ford Qualifying Results:
5th – Aric Almirola
6th – Brad Keselowski
7th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
8th – Clint Bowyer
9th – Ryan Blaney
10th – Joey Logano
13th – Ryan Newman
14th – Paul Menard
15th – Kevin Harvick
16th – Matt Tifft
17th – David Ragan
19th – Daniel Suarez
22nd – Michael McDowell
33rd – Corey LaJoie

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – PENSKE HAS BEEN SO STOUT HERE. “We’ve had some good runs here, for sure. We’ve had some really good race cars and things have gone our way a lot, but I’ve said this all week that superspeedway racing evolves all the time. It never really stays the same for more than two or three races before our competition figures out a new way to beat you, and then you’ve got to come up with something new again. We’ve got to stay open to doing what our competition is doing and trying to do what they do better than them. That’s what we’ve got to try to do, but it seems like now more than ever the teamwork aspect has really come into play more than it’s ever been. I say teamwork, not just Penske – we’re talking about all the Fords or all the Chevys or Toyotas. Everyone really seems to be committed to each other and it’s really changed the game a lot.”

IS IT A CONFIDENCE BOOST KNOWING YOU HAVE BRAD AS A TEAMMATE WHO IS LEVEL-HEADED? “Yeah, that part is great. But the truth is we need more than just the two of us. Blaney is also a good one, too, but we need to work with the Stewart-Haas cars, the Roush cars, Front Row, we need to all work together when we can. It’s hard to do because everyone’s got a goal of their own, but we’ve got to figure out ways to work together.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang – DO YOU HAVE A GOOD FEEL TOMORROW WITH YOUR TEAMMATES? “You hope so. It’s kind of hard to figure out what’s gonna happen. You can plan all you want, but sometimes things don’t go according to plan, so you just try to stay up front, try to stay in a spot to where you have a chance at the end of one of these things. Speedways haven’t been too kind to us this year. I don’t know if we’ve finished one of them, but hopefully that turns around.”

DID YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT WENT WRONG LAST WEEK? “We burned a left-front hub. I’m not sure why. You don’t use much brake at Dover anymore and I think it’s just one of those deals. A couple of other guys had rough days too. It looked like we could salvage something out of it, but it kind of put us in a hole and we’ll try to dig ourselves out.”

DOES THIS FORCE YOUR HAND TO BE ON OFFENSE CONSIDERING STAGE POINTS? “I don’t think it’s really any different than what we usually do. I mean, you’re always trying to claw your way for stage points and the win. We can probably do it on points to get in, if we have really good days, but we’re probably gonna have to win one of these. Tomorrow can be a really good day for you, if you go and get over 15 stage points throughout the day and finish in the top five it could go pretty decent to where you just have to have a good day at Kansas, but I think it’s kind of the same as normal.”

YOU DON’T ANTICIPATE GOING TO THE BACK AND RIDING? “I never really have been a fan of just going to the back at one of these things. I’d rather race the whole time and kind of see what you’re car is doing and mix it up. I’ve just never been kind of a back-rider at this stuff. We’ll just try to be really aggressive. You always want to be on offense here and I think some of these guys with the spot we’re in you can kind of force the issue pretty hard because it’s gonna take a big day for us tomorrow to have a shot going into Kansas. Hopefully, we can scare some of these guys to maybe back it out in some situations. That’s kind of our plan.”

PAUL MENARD, No. 21 Menards Ford Mustang – “I’m getting old. It’s all part of it. It’s all part of what you sign up for when you’re born, I guess.” WHAT IS IT EXACTLY? “It’s my neck. My neck has some disc issues and things that if I were to get upside-down it would be pretty bad. Normal hits aren’t bad, it’s upside-down things that are bad.”

IS THE PLAN TO START AND GET OUT AT THE FIRST CAUTION OR WILL YOU TRY TO GO AND SEE HOW YOU FEEL? “We’re gonna kind of see how we feel. We have a good back-up plan with Matt (Crafton) and tried to get him as much drafting as we could yesterday because more than likely, honestly, I’m probably gonna get out. We’re gonna kind of see how it goes.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang – “We definitely didn’t qualify as well as I’d hoped we would or at least as fast as we predicted we would. I don’t really think that’s an indication of a whole lot, but the car drove well yesterday in practice and sucked up well. I thought I had pretty good speed, so we’ll see where it stacks up. We’ve qualified well here the last few times, so we have pretty high expectations, but you always want to start near the front. We’ll see where we end up here. There are still a lot of cars to go, so I’m not really sure how it will stack up, but I was a little disappointed with our speed right there.”

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang – “I feel like we’ve got a really good Wyndham Rewards Ford. It’s probably the best car that I felt like I had in practice in several years, especially here, so we just want to do what we can and keep our nose out of trouble, but at the same time race and race hard and try to get as many points as we possibly can. That’s our game is to get points and win.”

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Edward Graham, the Assistant to the Vice President of Operation Christmas Child for Samaritan’s Purse, will say those most famous words in motorsports, “Drivers, Start Your Engines,” before Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway.

Graham, the youngest son of Franklin Graham, graduated from the United States Military Academy where he went on to serve 16 years in the US Army. After multiple combat deployments within Special Operations and serving in various leadership positions he felt called to return home and serve in the ministry starting in the winter of 2018.

Other Honorary Officials this weekend at the world’s greatest race track include:

Honorary Starter and Invocation: Dr. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of the 13,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, TX, will wave the green flag to kick off the highly-anticipated “Wildcard” Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event. Dr. Jeffress will also provide the invocation during pre-race ceremonies. He is a Fox News Contributor, author of over 24 books and hosts a daily nationwide radio program, Pathway to Victory. Dr. Jeffress has made more than 2,000 guest appearances on radio and television programs and regularly appears on various media outlets.

Leading the Field to Green: As previously announced, NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Childress will lead the field on track after engines are fired, in the authentic black No. 3 Chevrolet Monte Carlo car that carried Dale Earnhardt to his miraculous and final career victory in October 2000. Childress began his career in NASCAR’s premier series in 1969 at the track’s grand-opening weekend.

Sugarlands Shine 250 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, Saturday, Oct. 12

Grand Marshal: United States Air Force veteran, Master Sergeant Andrew W. Hale, Trooper Danny Shaw Jr., and Sergeant Bryan Shaw will kick off the weekend by giving the command to fire engines. M. Sgt. Hale served his country honorably for 20 years, while Danny Jr. and Bryan Shaw are two brothers who have both been injured in the line of duty, yet continue to serve their communities as law enforcement officers.

Honorary Starters: The hilarious duo from the hit TV show Moonshiners, Mark Ramsey and Eric ‘Digger’ Manes will drop the green flag to start the always unpredictable event. The guys grew up in the hills of East Tenn., and as young men, they were introduced to the craft of distillation and quickly learned the trade under a local moonshine legend at the base of the Smoky Mountains. After putting in time as still hands, they mastered their craft and became legends in their own rights. They now carry that craftsmanship forward with their distinctly delicious recipes!

The Sugarlands Shine 250 is set for a 12:30 p.m. CDT start tomorrow (Oct. 12), while the 1000Bulbs.com 500 gets the green flag Sunday at 1 p.m. CDT. Great tickets remain, so call 1-855-518-RACE (7223).

About Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway – which will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year – is the most competitive race track on the NASCAR schedule (record 88 lead changes in 188 laps), the highest-banked (33 degrees) and the longest (2.66 miles) as well as the most fun and fan-friendly. Talladega offers something for everyone, including hundreds of acres of free camping, amazing kids tickets and college student prices, along with special offers for military members, first responders, teachers and educators. The historic venue, which opened in 1969, is deemed NASCAR’s “Party Capital” thanks to the track’s infamous infield, the traditional Saturday Night Infield Concert on event weekends and renowned Talladega Blvd., home of the “Big One on the Blvd.” party. It’s the site of the most comfortable seats in motorsports, large ISM Vision HD video boards lining the frontstretch and numerous pre-race activities for fans on race day, including special Kids VIP opportunities. For ticket information, visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 855-518-RACE (7223).

The track, along with its parent company, International Speedway Corporation, announced last year Transformation – The Talladega Superspeedway Infield Project presented by Graybar. The approximate $50 million redevelopment endeavor is part of ISC’s long-term capital allocation plan and reinvestment into its major motorsports complexes. The project, highlighted by a one-of-a-kind Talladega Garage Experience, will feature “up-close” access, interactive attractions and enhanced amenities for fans, sponsors, teams and stakeholders in the iconic Talladega infield. Full completion of the modernized project is scheduled for October 2019. Fans can learn more about the project and view the progress 24/7 via the construction cam by visiting www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/transformation.

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

LINCOLN, Ala. (October 11, 2019) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media at Talladega Superspeedway:

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

Does it feel like 205 miles per hour in the car? Does it feel any different than in the past?

“Yeah, it didn’t. I didn’t even know what lap it was because all the laps I was kind of in the middle of the pack. It doesn’t feel any different, especially with this big spoiler. It just feels like the cars are really planted to the race track. It really caught me off guard to see what it was.”

Do you expect the speeds to come down?

“I don’t think so. I think they’ll probably kind of stay where they’re at, I would think. In practice you always kind of have those anomaly laps that are out there, but yeah, I wouldn’t suspect anything that would be different.”

Do you anticipate any sort of freaking out by people that you guys are hitting over 200 miles per hour?

“Only insurance companies.”

Does it feel like a whole different brand of racing here at Talladega now that there is so much talk about team and manufacturer alliances because when you started it wasn’t always like this?

“No, it wasn’t. It’s really morphed itself into that, especially the fall Talladega race has become more of a manufacturer get-together type of racing. Essentially, when you look at it, there’s guys that are above the cut and then below the cut that are with the same team, so I don’t know that some are going to be okay with the others, pushing the others to get more points. I think that there’s going to be a lot of selfishness when it comes down to the end of this thing.”

Do you want to try and control the race by being in the front or sitting in the back and avoiding the crash?

“You try to play the percentages and figure out where you need to be. You obviously want to be up front because the leader doesn’t wreck too many times, but second place does and on back. The odds increase with every different position that you’re in. You’ve just got to, as a driver, kind of analyze the situation and look around and see how anxious everyone is. Do you sense a wreck and if you sense it, it’s probably coming. That’s where you’ve really got to trust your instincts and put yourself in the best place possible. Sometimes that’s backing out and getting out of it and seeing how it plays out.”

Is this one of the more mentally exhausting races that you run at Talladega?

“Yeah, it has its moments. It does get calm. It’s going to get calm at some point of the race. It’s going to get single-filed out. It’s going to be the same old, kind of Talladega. It’s when you get to the end of the stages and you get to the end of the race where things are really going to change. I’m interested to see how it plays out because I think like anyone, I don’t know. We’re all guessing.”

Will it be intense and aggressive for the Playoff guys even though this isn’t a cutoff race?

“I just look at three of the most aggressive guys as far as making side-to-side, aggressive blocks and moves and it’s (Joey) Logano, the 9 (Chase Elliott), and the 12 (Ryan Blaney) and they’re all right there on the cut. I don’t want to be anywhere near that. I think that it’s going to be more intense for sure at the end of the stages because I think a lot of people are just going to be battling for that.”

Will drivers like you be more conservative since you’re not on the cut line?

“I don’t know. I’m just going to have to see how it plays out and see where I qualify and all that. Everything plays a factor into what I decide to do at the end of stages and the end of a race.”

At Kansas next week, will you be able to tell which guys are on the bubble and which guys are under pressure just by looking at them?

“Not really. You don’t see it on the outside, but you definitely see it maybe in the car the way they’re driving or restarts or something like that. No, you can’t – I don’t know. Everyone is so different nowadays. You don’t know what’s their nervous face and what’s their normal face.”

Do you feel like with your experience, you’re going to be more calm or better at handling it if you’re on the bubble?

“I hope so. I hope I’m not in that situation first, but if I am, then I’m just going to do the best job that I can do at that particular race and not worrying about what anyone else is doing. All I control is like the best finish for myself. I can’t be worried about strategy. That’s the crew chief’s job. I can’t worry about the car setup. That’s the crew chief’s job. The best I can do is drive it to the best of my ability, give the best information and let the results fall where they may. I’m confident if we can do that and we execute a decent race this weekend, our performance will be plenty next week.”

Did Kyle Larson winning last week shake the Playoffs up at all? Did he claim a spot that people didn’t necessarily think he might?

“I don’t know. I think that his team has been so good over the last probably two months or so that it wasn’t unexpected from us. I think that on performance, I thought that this is the best his team has been sustained for performance for a while. I would’ve counted him in as one of the eight guys even if he hadn’t won.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit ToyotaNewsroom.com.