Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Friday, September 20, 2019
EVENT: Federated Auto Parts 400, Richmond Raceway

Ford Finishing Results
5th – Brad Keselowski
6th – Ryan Newman
8th – Kevin Harvick
9th – Clint Bowyer
10th – Daniel Suarez
12th – Joey Logano
16th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17th – Aric Almirola
18th – Ryan Blaney
20th – David Ragan
21st – Matt Tifft
22nd – Michael McDowell
28th – Paul Menard
30th – Corey LaJoie

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – IS IT CONCERNING GOING FORWARD TO SEE HOW GOOD JGR IS RIGHT NOW? “It’s definitely not good news. We’ve got work to do. They’re really strong and we’re not where we need to be to be able to beat them heads-up, but we threw everything we had at them. We put down a great qualifying lap, got the first pit stall, had great pit stops and got to the lead, but just didn’t have the raw speed to keep it.”

IS IT TOO SOON TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU NEED TO DO? “No, honestly I don’t know. The team, they’ve got all the secrets, so we need to find some more secrets.”

YOU LED THE FIRST 53 LAPS AND AGAIN LATER IN THE NIGHT, BUT JUST WASN’T ENOUGH. “We led eighty-some laps, so it’s not a bad day but just not nearly fast enough to dominate the race and win.”

YOU GO TO THE ROVAL IN GOOD SHAPE, SO YOU ACCOMPLISHED AT LEAST ONE GOAL THIS WEEKEND. “Yeah, we’re locked into the next round. That feels good. I’m proud of that effort.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang – WORRY-FREE FOR THE ROVAL? “It’ll be a nice week at home. I think it allows everybody to really go and the biggest thing is you want to go try and learn what you need to do to run fast there, so this week we’ll go to the simulator and try to transfer that to the race track and see how practice goes and then we’ll see how the weekend goes. You definitely still want to go there and get a race win or something that will go forward with you and also learn something for the future.”

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Roush Performance Ford Mustang – “It was just a good team effort, good pit stops. The strategy wasn’t a whole lot to it, just put four tires on, but had a good short-run car. One time we had a good long-run car, but we could never get both. I think that if we would have had both we could have ran with those guys, but we were at our best probably when we were just hold good bias to a long-run car, but who would have known there were gonna be that many green flag runs.”

A GOOD POINTS NIGHT. “Yeah, but I would have much rather won.”

BEST TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR? “Yeah, without a doubt. The best team performance all-around throughout the entire weekend. We failed at qualifying. We got the car too tight, but, overall, just a great team effort to get the Roush Performance Ford a good run. What meant to me the most probably was just being better than we were the first race. We ran ninth in the first race and qualified 30th or something like that and we came back and showed that we were learning and we’ll keep learning.”

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ROVAL? “I don’t know that I’m looking forward to the Roval, I don’t really know anybody that actually is, except for maybe Truex.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang – “I thought our car was pretty good in practice and then tonight we were just off. We just struggled all night to get our car in the race track, really up on top of the race track not making any grip and then made too many mistakes. I sped on pit road and then we had a miscommunication on our green flag stop on when we were coming, and just too many issues. We need a cleaner race. We’re gonna have to be perfect next week at the Roval to get through.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang – “Overall, I though it was a better night than what we had here, for sure. Sometimes we were running kind of close to the 15th area and that’s about where we were gonna finish and we had to come back in for a loose wheel there, it was going to be loose that last pit stop, so that kind of stinks to have to start behind everybody like that. By the time you get to the cars you’re racing your tires are wore out and it’s kind of like, ‘Dang it.’ We kind of salvaged a decent run at it here. At least we’re a little bit to the good, so hopefully we can have a solid race next week.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE ROVAL NEXT WEEK? “Everyone else has the same goal, so we’ll just try to do our jobs and not have any issues and see what happens.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 CSU/One Cure Ford Mustang – “It was solid. I was hoping for more, for sure. I was expecting a little bit more to be honest with you, but we did what we had to do. We gave ourselves a fighting chance going into Charlotte. I knew Richmond was gonna be an opportunity. We semi-capitalized on that opportunity, but looking forward to Charlotte. It’s gonna be fun for everybody involved. It’s do-or-die time. It’s the Playoffs. You watch these football teams go through these playoffs and how exciting it is and it’s our turn to have that nerve-racking moments and do-or-die moments for your race team and your season, but I’m looking forward to it.

YOU RACED YOUR TEAMMATES CLEAN AND HARD. “Well, about as hard as you can run. We have to figure something out with this track and our package. I’m not sold that this is the best product we can do here. I love this place. I love the race track. I love this fan base, this area and everything ever since I started in this sport this has always been an action track and it’s lacking a little bit of that. I think we could do some things with maybe some PJ1 or sealer or tires – something. We need to try to make an adjustment, I really believe that.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang – “I made a huge mistake there after we pitted under green. I drove it down into turn three and I thought he was gonna give me the top and then he went to the top, so I dove back to the bottom and when I did it got on the splitter and pushed up into him and spun him. All I was hoping for after that point was he’d come back and win, but our Fastenal Mustang was a top 10 car. We were running there and just a bummer two weeks in a row that I’ve cost us a good finish.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – “It was a rough night. It was tough. We missed it at the start. I don’t know where, why how yet. It’s pretty confusing. We were decent in practice and on the long run I thought we were pretty good and we go to qualify and we were really tight, and then we start the race and we’re really tight. So many rounds and air-pressure and we hit everything we could hit to try to get the tight out of it. We got better and we went from not being able to stay on the lead lap and getting a couple lucky dogs and then towards the end we got semi-competitive. I wouldn’t say we were good, but a little closer to where we need to be. Overall, I think we had a 50-point cushion, I believe, over the cutline, so that’s a nice feeling going into the Roval. Maybe we can be a little more aggressive and try to get something there.”

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU STACK UP NOW? “Fifty points above the cutline. This track is confusing sometimes. I don’t know. We either run really good and capable of winning or we run like butt, and that’s kind of what happened today. I don’t know, but, like I said at least we swung at it and got something out of it.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang – “I feel like it was a clean day. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the speed that we wish we had, but we worked very hard. We made good adjustments. The pit crew did a pretty decent job. They got better as the night went and we just had a top 10 car and finished in the top 10. We’re still working extremely hard to get that first win and hopefully we can make it happen soon.”

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Friday, September 20, 2019
EVENT: Federated Auto Parts 400, Richmond Raceway (Qualifying)

Ford Qualifying Results:
1st – Brad Keselowski
2nd – Kevin Harvick
5th – Clint Bowyer
7th – Aric Almirola
11th – Michael McDowell
14th – Daniel Suarez
15th – Ryan Blaney
18th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
19th – Ryan Newman
24th – Paul Menard
26th – Matt Tifft
27th – David Ragan
28th – Joey Logano
29th – Corey LaJoie

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – POLE-WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE – WHEN YOU DON’T MAKE A QUALIFYING RUN IN PRACTICE DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE CAR WILL DO IN QUALIFYING? “No, not at all and that’s part of the enjoyment of today. But Richmond is one of those tracks that practice the track has so much different grip than it does in qualifying. I’m not sure it’s a great indicator to do those things and maybe even fall behind doing that because you adjust to conditions that aren’t realistic when qualifying does come. Regardless of that, we had an amazing lap. The car drove very, very well and we’ve had exceptional short run speed here the last few times and again this weekend, but then the races seem to be playing out with long runs, so if we can just hold on with the short run speed we have on the long runs, we’ll be in good shape for this weekend.”

IS WINNING THE POLE HERE A BIGGER ADVANTAGE THAN OTHER TRACKS? “It is hard to pass in some ways and in some ways not. If you look at, I think it might have been this race last year, I think I qualified 30th and Kyle Busch was right beside me and between the two of us he got up a little bit faster than I did. I think he was in the top three or four in 100-150 laps, so if you get long runs it becomes an easy track to pass at because the mechanical grip is pretty low and you really have to drive the cars and the aero grip kind of evens out because everybody is in traffic, so on the long runs I think there’s a fair amount of passing, but certainly having the patience and discipline for that to be realized is tough for us as race car drivers, but there’s never a track you want to start in the back at, so don’t get me wrong there, but this isn’t the worst that you could.”

IS THERE MOMENTUM FROM WEEK TO WEEK AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET OFF TO A GOOD PLAYOFF START? “Momentum is just a really tough topic. Sometimes I think there is and sometimes I don’t think there is in this sport. The Playoffs are set up naturally to kind of kill anybody’s momentum because anytime you get a little bit ahead they reset everything and you’re never really ahead, so with that in mind there are times where I think it can be real. I know winning Martinsville is a huge deal because you have two or three weeks to prepare for Homestead, and that can be real, but with that in mind it’s a tough sport to really say that week to week there’s momentum. I’m not sure it’s really that important to get a fast start in the Playoffs. I think it’s just important to survive the first round. Anything beyond that might feel good, but I don’t think it really does anything for you. I think three of the last eight years we’ve won the first race of the Playoffs here and with that in mind with this Playoff format that there is only one of those years have we made it to the final round, and it wasn’t a year that we won the first round, so I don’t think it’s super-important for that. It does feel good, though. It’s a nice trophy.”

HOW MUCH HAVE YOU FOCUSED ON QUALIFYING? “Not at all. The cars have good short run speed and notoriously we’ve been a team that has a lot of long run speed and whatever settings are on the car that seems to be inverse for us right now at the moment, so not a complaint just strength and weaknesses, pros and cons, et cetera and right now that seems to be, for us, on the shorter runs.”

WHAT DO YOU TAKE FROM THE SPRING RICHMOND RACE AND HOW DOES IT FEEL COMING OFF A GOOD VEGAS RUN? “Vegas was not a lot of fun for us the first three-quarters of the race and then we rebounded with some good adjustments and teamwork and great restarts and all those things to have a good day to put us in a position to where these next two weeks aren’t a gimme by any means, but they’re not as hard as they could have been based on how we started at Vegas. And starting up front for Saturday night’s race is certainly another little feather in our cap for being able to get through this round, so I think that answers your question.”

ANY EXTRA EMPHASIS KNOWING A BAD RESULT COULD PUT YOU IN A PRECARIOUS SPOT AT THE ROVAL? “There’s no doubt you can control your own destiny a little bit more here at Richmond than you can at Charlotte. A solid day for us here would put us in a position to where we’d have a lot more fun at the Roval. I think we put a lot of emphasis on this race regardless because it’s a good track for us, but I wouldn’t say that we necessarily put any more on it because of the Roval. It just feels a little better if we do have more success here.”

YOUR LAST WIN FROM THE POLE IS HERE AT RICHMOND. IS IT IMPORTANT TO STAY UP FRONT? “You’d like to take control of this race and just own it as long as you can. Is it important, can I go (inaudible)? I’m not sure that it’s a must-do. I think if you’re good and you have a great car you’ll be able to recover from it, but it sure beats any of the alternatives. There’s not a better starting position and we want to maximize it. I think that first pit stall is gonna be really big at some point in the race and we’ll certainly try to use that to our advantage.”

PAUL MENARD, No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Mustang – “The track picked up a lot of speed, but going out early with the sun going down at Richmond kind of sucks. I think if we could end up in the top 20 at this point we’d probably be pretty happy about that.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang – “You don’t really want to think too much on today or qualifying. I thought the practice today was pretty decent and our race run stuff seemed to be OK, so we’ll just try to work as hard as we can all race tomorrow. Hopefully, we wind up in a decent qualifying spot. We’ll see if the track gets faster as it cools off. Overall, not a bad day. Hopefully, we can make some progress and just have a good, solid run tomorrow night.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – “Richmond is all about grip all the time. There’s no drag versus downforce question that we’re talking here. This is all about as much grip as you can get. It might be long run versus short run speed is sometimes a question, but in qualifying trim you get everything you can and just didn’t have enough.”

SO YOU DON’T FEEL YOU HAVE TO MAKE SOMETHING UP FOR THE RACE? “I thought we were good in race trim, actually. I thought our speed is good as anybody, so that’s encouraging. We just have to get through the field, which if I stay patient, we should be OK.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang – DO YOU USE THE FORD SIMULATOR MUCH FOR THE ROAD COURSES? “We do. For me, it is just because I’m a big kind of visual person and so that repetition for me is good just to get a visual and have that memory of curbs and direction of the track and all the things that you remember from last time become spurred in your memory bank as you use those simulators, so we’ve actually started to use it more this year than we have in the past.”

BEYOND THE ROAD COURSES? “Yeah. I think for me, you guys have heard me talk about this before, keeping up with the evolution of this sport is very important and I think as you look at the way that all this stuff is going the evolution is going to be less on-track time and I think it’s important to start having more data points, especially post-race, to make sure that we start to gather more information to make sure that our data points are closer to what they need to be, closer than what they have been in the past, and for me I’d rather do it myself with my team, so we’ve definitely been spending more time. But that’s really a company-wide thing. I think as you look at Cole and Chase, they’re in there every week and they do the brunt of the work, but I think for me I think it’s important because you hear so many people get in there and get sick, and that’s not something that I do. I enjoy being in there, so I think for me it’s the next piece of evolution that has to be in play with your simulation.”

DOES IT GIVE YOU A GOOD BASE SETUP OR MORE JUST FEEL AND SIGHTLINES? “For me it’s more feel and sightlines. I don’t know that it’s 100 percent setup stuff, unless you’re doing post-race stuff and then it’s more making sure that grip levels and lap times and those types of things are right and things that you wanted to work on that you saw from other cars and other ideas that you had from that particular weekend at the race track. I’d never done any of the simulator stuff until I got to Ford, but we’ve got two of them now. We can race each other, too.”

DID ALMIROLA AND SUAREZ DO THAT EARLIER THIS WEEK? “They haven’t done that yet. The best part about my simulator time is when they’re making changes and all the lights are off and it’s quiet. I don’t get that much at home (laughing).”

DOES IT HELP TO HAVE A SIMULATOR NOW WITH LIMITED TRACK TESTING? “The biggest miss in this whole process of bringing these guys up right now currently is the owners in the XFINITY Series that keep vetoing the electronic fuel injection. I know it will cost some money, but it will make all of those drivers better. I was one of the ones that was totally against having all the information be public and for the less on-track time the simulator is really not going to give you what you get here. I mean, we use it because we want to use that as part of our tools in our toolbox and not use it as what we’re doing at the race track, but having the EFI and having all that data and being able to compare that to whoever it may be that you’re racing against or if it’s Kyle Busch when he comes and races the XFINITY Series, to me, is a huge miss for those guys to learn faster.”

ARE YOU HAPPY TO BE ON THE FRONT ROW OR UPSET YOU DIDN’T WIN THE POLE? “I don’t get upset about stuff like that, to tell you the truth. It’s really just about protecting yourself at this point and starting in the front of the field sets you up good to score some points in stage one and get a good pit stall selection. It gets everything going and it’s really survive and advance, and the more points that you can gather, the better off that you’re gonna be. If we can put ourselves in a good position to get through the weekend and make the Roval a lot different to race just because of the fact that you know where you stand. Hopefully, you can put yourself in a position where you know where you stand when you leave here.”

DO YOU CONTROL YOUR OWN DESTINY AT THE ROVAL? “I would say not 100 percent.”

IS THAT THE SAME AS ANY OTHER ROAD COURSE? “It can be anywhere. Honestly, somebody could blow a tire going into turn one and we could have a 20-car pile-up. You never know, but there are definitely more spots at the Roval where you could tear your stuff up than at Richmond.”

SOME BELIEVE TOMORROW COULD BE LIKE THE SPRING AND IT WILL BE HARD TO PASS. DO YOU SEE IT PLAYING OUT THAT WAY? “Extremley.”

DO YOU THINK A PLACE LIKE THIS TRACTION COMPOUND COULD WORK HERE? JIMMIE BROUGHT IT UP. “I honestly thought we’d have traction compound down for this particular race. Using the tire dragon here does zero.”

WHERE WOULD YOU PUT IT. “Chase Elliott had the best idea, just like we used to do with the sealer, just coat the whole corner and let it ride for the weekend. Let the race track evolve, but it’s become one of the most difficult places to pass and it’s become more difficult this year. I think the traction compound would definitely be a good option because the tire dragon is really just wasting rubber.”

MENCS Post-Qualifying Report – Richmond Raceway
Three Toyotas start from the top-10 in Richmond

RICHMOND, VA. (September 20, 2019) – Kyle Busch was the top Toyota driver in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Richmond Raceway on Friday evening.

Toyota Racing Post-Qualifying Report
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Richmond Raceway – September 20, 2019

TOYOTA STARTING POSITIONS
1st, Brad Keselowski*
2nd, Kevin Harvick*
3rd, Chase Elliott*
4th, KYLE BUSCH
5th, Clint Bowyer*
6th, DENNY HAMLIN
8th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
12th, MATT DiBENEDETTO
16th, ERIK JONES
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Hazelnut Spread Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Starting Position: 4th

How was your car in practice today here at Richmond?

“It was okay, it was typical Richmond I think. We practiced really, really similar to how we did here in the spring. We were good when we were out front here in the race, but we had a little bit of trouble passing so we’ll see if we didn’t make some gains on that today.”

Is your frustration in some situations just a part of who you are as a driver?

“Everything in this world is a sword – there’s a double edge to everything. I think some of the things that make me as good as I am and the abilities that I have behind the wheel can also be a little bit of a detriment in other situations and vice versa. It’s just the nature of the beast.”

How do you avoid what happened at the start of the race in Las Vegas when you got into the wall?

“We started out, we practiced our car and we were pretty decent in practice, but I felt like I was a tick tight. So we made some changes going into the race to free it up. The first run in Vegas is always looser and I guess I just didn’t mentally prepare myself for that enough and we were 10 numbers loose, like crashing loose and I got myself in trouble, got myself in the fence. I was able to battle back from all of that throughout everything of the day and put ourselves in position for a solid finish and we just didn’t get it.”

What goes into leading a race team?

“Knowing what to work on. Knowing what direction to lead your team. You can be a driver with a crew chief here in practice and you can lead them down the wrong path and you can suck in the race. Just knowing and understanding what the dynamic is that you’re looking for and what you need in your cars to be better is going to help elevate the overall team. I would like to think that myself at Joe Gibbs Racing has allowed our organization to elevate it’s game along with Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. and Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. All those guys, we’ve all had our part in being able to do that. Erik Jones, he’s there now and we’ll put him in there, he has helped. It’s just a part of how we all try to work on not only making ourselves, but our teams winners.”

How special is next week’s Bundle of Joy Foundation event to you and Samantha?

“With all the news this week, it’s pretty easy to get negative on people, but the positives of stories that would be nice to come out is what Samantha (Busch) and I tend to enjoy doing with ‘Color the Night,’ so thank you. We’re having our annual benefit for the Bundle of Joy Fund on Wednesday and really looking forward to that. It’s near and dear to our hearts obviously because of the experiences that we went through to have our son Brexton so we want to be able to go out there and help raise money. I think this year we’re already slated ahead of last year, which is good. It’s sponsored by M&M’s this year, which is a huge thing for us to have kind of a fun, outgoing atmosphere and party with everybody being colorful.”

MATT DiBENEDETTO, No. 95 Toyota Express Maintenance Toyota Camry, Leavine Family Racing

Starting Position: 12th

How did the car feel?
“Pretty good. Yeah, the track had a lot more speed in it. Yeah, I was fairly happy with it. It took a little bit to come in. But it seemed fine. Nothing crazy, which is always good.”

What are you expecting tomorrow night?

“It will be normal Richmond – sliding around – which is fun. Track position is more important than years past. So that will be really important, because it’s a lot tougher to pass in dirty air. Just have to play that game, and keep track position, so we don’t have to deal with much of that.”

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

Starting Position: 16th

Did you ever figure out what happened in Las Vegas?

“Yeah, it looks like it was an issue with the linkage inside the car. It was an internal issue in the linkage. Kind of a freak deal. Changing some tolerances and some other things to try to make sure it doesn’t happen again, but it looks like a piece of trash got caught up inside and couldn’t find its way back out of the linkage.”

Does it change the attiude of what you have ahead of you?
“The emphasis is more on stage points now, I think. We definitely need more points than we needed. We thought solid weeks in each one would do it, which would’ve barring the incident. Just need to have a good day. Top-five in every stage, finish in the top-five and hope some of the other guys have some worse days than us is what it’s going to take to get at least in a position going into Charlotte that we can point our way through. We are not out by any means. I think we have a car that can contend tomorrow night as well as run well enough to get the points we need.”

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About Toyota

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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.

Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

RICHMOND, VA. (September 20, 2019) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media at Richmond Raceway:

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

Did you figure out what happened to the car last week?

“Yes, we figured it out.”

Do you feel you have an obligation to approach some of the drivers in the back of the pack with advice?

“No, not really. Everybody is fighting for their own particular race and everyone has their own finishing positions they consider victories. I think you really have probably 15 cars in the field that probably know when they show up that they’re not going to win unless you have something like the 77 (Justin Haley) at Daytona. They’re running for their own personal victories. Whether it be for money o it be for trying to get some sponsors and things like that. Everyone is out there doing their own thing. I’ve always helped everyone that’s approached me asking for help, but certainly we’re so caught up trying to make our own stuff run good and it’s so competitive up at the front that on a race weekend specifically, you don’t have much time.”

How long does it take for Kyle Busch to become less animated as a teammate and does it make it difficult the following week?

“I’m not sure, I’m not really sure to be honest with you on how it affects him for days or weeks to come after that. I think it’s just frustration. Obviously, everyone handles frustration differently and that’s kind of how he handles his, which is okay.”

Is there an etiquette drivers should follow when they’re laps down in a race?

“No, I find it tough to really put any blame on the 52 (Garrett Smithley). I think he held his line and he didn’t switch lanes. Now I didn’t see the previous corners or anything like that. I don’t know if he ran a different lane than what he had run in the previous laps, but as cars are passing you, I can relate basically like at Darlington. I had a damaged car, so I was a second off the pace. It’s a tough job to stay out of the way. I literally had to run the apron in the dirt just to make sure because everyone runs a different line. There’s no way their spotter or the driver can keep up with where everyone is running that’s coming up behind you. You just try to stay in that one particular lane and hope everyone – it’s really the spotter’s responsibility of the fast car to tell you where he’s been running. As long as you know where he’s been running, you can adapt and get around him usually without any problem. Like I said, I didn’t see any lane change or anything in that particular corner, but I don’t know about the laps before. He had someone below him, but I didn’t really see any fault from anyone. I think Kyle (Busch) just drove in there and guessed wrong on where he was going to be and ran into the back of him.”

Are you still in a mindset of sharing information with your teammates in the Playoffs?

“I don’t change anything, especially this early in the Playoffs or really anytime. I don’t change anything because I hopefully rely on that same information to get exchanged back to me when I need it. I think it’s in all of our best interest to share everything as much as we can and feed off of each other. Usually, when someone has good information it relates to the other and the other people can put that in their car and then when they find something better yet, that goes back to the other guy. It helps each other. You’re helping a teammate to then get closer to you so when you’re racing each other or in practice and they’ve got the same thing and they find some more speed, that information comes back and you get faster. It’s just a circle of trust.”

Your first win at your home track here at Richmond Raceway came 10 years ago. Can you talk about what that win meant to you?
“Yeah, that one was great. We definitely had a handful before that that slipped away from us. That one was special because we had been so fast here every time we came and finally came through in that year in 2009. It was special. That one holds a special meaning. For the longest time I had the date of my first Richmond win on my shoes for probably five or six years, so it was definitely significant being that it is in the hometown.”

You had a solid car in practice; it seemed that you might be the runaway favorite at this point. How do you feel going into tomorrow night?

“I felt pretty good with it. I thought that we had a few decent runs. There are five or six other guys that are right there pretty close. I don’t anticipate a runaway. If we do, it will be a great change of pace. Just looking back at the spring race here, we had to start last due to a qualifying deal and it took the entire race to get up to the top-five. It’s amazing how much aerodynamics play on such a short track like this. It’s very tough to pass. Not impossible, but it’s tough. If you get in the back of the pack, if you make a mistake, you will not win this race. Nobody with a speeding penalty will come back and win this race. You can mark that down. Or any pit road penalty.”

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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.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
RICHMOND RACEWAY
FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CAMARO ZL1 Media Breakout Session Highlights:

HOW ARE YOU LOOKING AT RICHMOND? IT’S A TOUGH TRACK. ARE WE GOING TO SEE FIREWORKS?
“I don’t know if we’re gong to see fireworks. I don’t know if we’ll be fast enough for that. We’ve been pretty terrible since we unloaded. We’ll throw the kitchen sink at it for the race and hopefully we better. We need to be better than where we are. We’re pretty terrible.”

IS THAT SHOCKING TO YOU?
“We’ve struggled here in the past. We ran pretty well here in the fall last year. We tried to bring a new car with some new ideas and it just hasn’t worked. I think across the board we’re all finding very similar things. We had two pretty poor practices and didn’t really find anything the race car likes. That’s always frustrating. Obviously, my team is working really hard to make it better. Hopefully we’ll find something.”

IF THIS WEEK IS A SURVIVAL WEEK FOR YOU, WHAT’S NEXT WEEK GOING TO MEAN?
‘We ran really well there last year. Our road course cars are really good. Last year my weak point was the back straightaway chicane. That’s gong to be a lot different now. They took my weak part out of it so we should be pretty next week.”

DO YOU FEEL PRESSURE TO DO WELL AT CHARLOTTE?
“It really depends on how this week goes. I think we need to have a solid week, this week, regardless. Hopefully we can make that happen.”

WHAT’S HARD ABOUT RICHMOND?
“You unload and your car is doing three different things throughout the corner and you’ve got to pick one to try to work on. And then, it starts doing other things worse. I was really aggressive. It’s a tough race track. Obviously the practices are within an hour of each other.”

HOW DIFFERENT ARE THE FOUR SET-UPS ON YOUR TEAMMATES’ CARS? DOES THAT MAKE YOU SCRATCH YOUR HEAD MORE?
“I think the thing that makes you scratch your head is the fact that they’re all four different and yet we’re all fighting the same thing. So, that’s always frustrating. But, I think everybody is staying pretty positive.”

LAST WEEK IT LOOKED LIKE IN PORTIONS OF THAT RACE, YOU REALLY HAD IT. WHAT HELD THAT ALL BACK?
“Qualifying where we qualified was rough. Starting back that far and then that first run, we were just really right. We had to free-up a bunch. And the car got really good and once we got up there with track position, we were good and we stayed there. Just poor qualifying, I’d say, is the biggest thing.”

WHEN THE CAR DOESN’T HAVE MUCH SPEED, LIKE COMING TO THIS WEEKEND, GOING FOR STAGE POINTS AND ALL THAT IN THE PLAYOFFS, HOW DOES THAT CHANGE YOUR MINDSET?

“I don’t know if we’re good enough to get stage points. We need them, for sure. We finished sixth last weekend and we dropped two spots in the points. So, we definitely need some stage points.”

IS HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS REALLY STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW?
“I don’t think we’re struggling. We had four cars in the top 11 last week. I think this is just a race track that is rough on us and our short track package has probably been our poorest package all year. I think we all knew that this was going to be the hardest place for us, probably throughout the Playoffs, and we just have some work to do.”

ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT YOUR WIN AT CHICAGOLAND DIDN’T KICK-OFF ANOTHER HOT STREAK?
“Yes and no. We got really aggressive with some things. And then, at Darlington and Indy, we just crashed late in both of them. Kentucky was going to be really good. There were both good runs and also some tracks that we struggled with throughout there. That’s just part of the make up of the year and things just didn’t go our way there for a while.

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
RICHMOND RACEWAY
FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

RYAN PREECE, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 Media Breakout Session Highlights:

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MEMORIES OF MIKE STEFANIK AND WHAT HE MEANT TO YOUR CAREER?
‘I’ve been privileged to race against a lot of great drivers. I’m from the Northeast. I’ve learned a lot of lessons from Mike and others just in general, those lessons you won’t learn racing against young guys that haven’t learned those lessons. Mike was always a really good guy to me. He just knew how to place you where he wanted you to be, to be able to get around you without slamming you. There was somebody that I remember I put a nerf bar to one time and he was not happy. And, I don’t blame him. And from that moment on, like you didn’t want to ever have to really do that. You learn those lessons to get around a guy without slamming and from there on out, it’s like this isn’t all right. You can’t do that, right? So, that was a lesson I learned for sure. And then you learn how to do it without doing it in kind of placing that guy where you want him to be without slamming him. I knew Mike enjoyed flying planes and doing that and building them. It’s really unfortunate. I’ve been luck enough to race against guys like him and experience those times.”

HOW DO YOU THINK YOU’VE DEALT WITH THE CHALLENGES OF YOUR ROOKIE SEASON?
“We’ve had a couple of highs and a lot of lows and it’s just got to continue to be better. I felt like we headed in the right direction after New Hampshire. We just re-evaluated how we needed to do things and I feel like we got better. At Pocono, we didn’t have a finish to show there. I felt like we were going to end up with a top 15. At Watkins Glen, we were going to end up top 15. We had a string of consistent races where I thought we could end up in the top 20. And you’re going to have bad races here and there. The biggest thing is just communicating and trusting each other to make those changes better. I’d say that’s the biggest thing that separates Xfinity to Cup. A lot of these guys have been working with each other for a while and they understand when they’re serious about something, there’s a reason for that, on both sides. So, I think communication is key. I think you guys see that with Chris (Buescher) and (crew chief) Trent (Owens). They’ve been working together for three years. Halfway through last season, they really started to make a run. So, we just need to find to keep making the car better as we show up.”

WHAT IS YOUR TEAM’S PHILOSOPHY REGARDING TRIMMING OUT THE CARS?
“At Richmond it’s not. I could be totally wrong, but I’d say you want all the downforce you can get here and all the grip you can get. So, I don’t think that really had much to do with it. I think they came with a really good idea, and it’s working. And being the second practice, if you’re one of the first cars out there, you’re going to go fast, right? It seemed to show that. So, I’d say they have just been definitely doing a good job of executing. When we come to the track they get through practices and make the cars better. Our cars have speed. You’ve just got to get the balance right for the driver and the driver needs to do all he can to keep communicating and better as a group.”

ARE YOU TESTING ANYTHING FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS FOR THE PLAYOFFS?
“No.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ROVAL?
“I enjoy it. To be honest, we’re all on the same playing field. It’s not like somebody has a shortcut somewhere. I enjoy road racing. We weren’t too good at Sonoma. We did good at Watkins Glen. I was good at the Roval last year, I felt like. We passed a lot of cars. We went for stage points and had to start in the back. But at the end, we even drove up to fourth. So, I feel optimistic. It’s going to be a challenge. You’ve just got to be as prepared as possible.”

ON THE PROGRESS OF JTG DAUGHERTY RACING THIS SEASON
Trent (Owens) and Chris (Buescher) have done a great job. We were good at Michigan. We have had some times where we’ve been pretty good. But, there are rookie mistakes. There is learning communication. Everything just adds up. So, you have to execute. That’s what it’s all about at this level.

“I think they’ve made leaps and bounds. These cars are good cars. Everything is there.”

WILL YOU BE BACK WITH THEM NEXT YEAR?
“Yes.”

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)
Friday, September 20, 2019
EVENT: Federated Auto Parts 400, Richmond Raceway (Media Availabilities)

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 CSU/One Cure Ford Mustang – WHAT WAS LAST YEAR LIKE AT THE ROVAL WITH ALL THE UNCERTAINTY AND HOW DID YOU HANDLE THAT? “A lot of unknowns going into something like the Roval or any new race track or endeavor that we do with our sport it’s always nerve-racking times. I think the Roval, you get so busy in your days and living in the moment, living in that week wherever that week may be, whether it’s leading up to the Playoffs or before, you don’t think about the distant future until it becomes the near future. Once everyone got in the Playoffs it was like, ‘All right, the Playoffs have started. We’ve got the Playoffs mindset. Let’s focus on these first couple races and then, oh my God, the Roval! What! Do you mean the Roval is a cutoff race?’ That’s when it starts to become reality. It’s not that it wasn’t on the schedule punching you in the face every time, but it doesn’t register until it’s in the forefront and it’s real. You’re preparing for the Roval, preparing for a track and a race a weekend you haven’t seen before, so it’s definitely nerve-racking, but to be honest with you, I don’t know whether it’s my personality or driving style, I don’t know what it is but I always seem to be better in those situations than I am at a place that I’ve been to 100 times.”

SO IT’S GOOD THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND TIME WE’RE GOING TO THE ROVAL? “I wish it were the first.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS WEEKEND? “I’m excited to be at a good track for me. I said this earlier, but just because you were good here in the sprint doesn’t mean you’re gonna come back here and set the world on fire. Certainly, we had a shot at it in the spring and hope that we have a shot at it here. Just like you expected, a little bit different challenges. The track is a little bit hotter, a little slicker, balance is a little bit more important. As we fall into night some of that will narrow up a little bit, but, really, you will always seem to fight a little bit more in the fall for grip and for balance than you do in the spring. You’ve just got to make good decisions here. That’s why I was late here. I was back there going through all the data, going through all the things trying to do everything you can do to make sure that you’re prepared for not only this qualifying session, but for the race. Those long runs. You know it’s gonna be long runs. It always is. You’ve got to have that thing turning, but not too good. That’s the thing, you’ve got to roll the middle. You cannot be bound up here. If you say that word ‘tight’, you’re in big trouble. It doesn’t matter if it’s the end of a run or the beginning of a run, tight is no good. But, if you’re too loose in, you’re in big trouble, so that’s the fine line that you walk when you’re trying to balance out your car in practice sessions in the heat of the day for a night race when you know it’s gonna have more grip. Like I said, that window will narrow up a little bit from the corner being broke up, but it’ll still be there.”

YOU HAD TO RACE YOUR WAY IN THE PLAYOFFS AND NOW YOU HAVE TO TRY AND GET ABOVE THE CUTLINE. HOW ARE YOU DEALING WITH THAT PRESSURE? “I hate to say it selfishly, but I had a long week and haven’t had a lot of chance to think about where we’re at or what’s coming. I knew Richmond was coming. I knew that we had a good base package here. I knew that we needed to get here and figure it out from there. I was confident in what we were gonna show up with, confident in our equipment and our fundamentals, so from there you’ve got to – a little bit of spring out here, a little bit of spring in there type of thing – wedge in and out – just balance and hone in and fine-tune your setup is what I knew was ahead of me and what we’ve been battling all day long. I made a mock qualifying run and was a little bit too loose. We needed to adjust on that a little bit. Again, just balancing out the car for the conditions because they’re a little bit different than the last time we were here.”

THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT HOW HARD IT IS TO PASS. WHY IS IT DIFFERENT NOW? “If I really think back, passing used to be pretty easy. It’s extremely hard right now. It’s challenging and it’s been a while since we’ve been on a short track like this. The last time we were here it was about as tough as I’ve seen it with our sport and it could be worse this time because it’s gonna be slicker. It’s a little hotter.”

WHY WAS THAT? “We kind of knew that when we looked at the package, collectively as a group and we were in meetings and things like that, and, again, it’s above my pay grade and kind of went down the path of maybe an RTA decision for budgets and things like that. I do remember a time where we weren’t gonna have these be that way. They were gonna have to be almost a third car to build for those cars and they collectively made the decision to make it just a 550 and a 750 deal, but I think the aero package and the horsepower is definitely a big part of the struggle to pass. We saw it in the spring race. I mean, I was way faster than him, literally. I think about it every day. I hate to use the word because it’s not a very good word for a race car driver to use, but I was dumbfounded. I knew when I caught him I was gonna blow his doors off and go on and win the race, or at least go to the next caution and have my hands full to deal with whatever then, but as far as passing him that was a no-brainer, easy-peesie, and I got to him and within a lap-and-a-half my mindset went from no problem to oh no, I’m not gonna pass him.”

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO DIFFERENTLY NOW THAN BEFORE? “I will make an adjustment.”

HAS YOUR MENTALITY CHANGED TO THE MUST-WIN WAY OF THINKING? “It’s kind of a must-win situation at all times. In life if you wake up and say, ‘I don’t really need to win today,’ you’re probably gonna suck.”

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Roush Performance Ford Mustang – HOW WAS PRACTICE? “We had a good practice. Both practices we came off the truck pretty competitive and I felt like we have a good Roush Performance Ford. It’s nice to see that we’ve shown the progression here this weekend especially over what we learned the first race to be more competitive on a Friday than we were in the spring.”

A KEY RACE FOR YOU THIS WEEKEND? “Every race is a key race.”

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT PRACTICE? “We were pretty good. I felt like it drove pretty good. We were real competitive speed-wise, running right there with guys that had good averages – the 4, the 42 was pretty good, the 12, 2, 22 – all good cars that we seemed to be able to mix it up with, so we’ll just do our thing.”

HOW TOUGH WILL THIS RACE BE? “I don’t know. I’ve seen it go two different ways. Just go back to look at Vegas where it was last year and this year, where it was in the spring race versus this year. You can’t predict it, so I don’t know what to predict this race. This race has typically been with the exception of last year the cutoff race and you saw a lot of sparks flying and attitudes and things like that, but I think it still has that capability, just happens to be a middle of the road Playoff race, not the final cutoff.”

YOU SAID YOU WERE WHOOPED FROM MANHANDLING THE CAR. DOES THIS RACE DO THAT TO YOU AS WELL IF THE CAR ISN’T RIGHT? “I think it has the potential. It was 140 degrees or whatever inside the car last week and I was loose every lap of the race, so I worked really hard inside the car and probably was a little dehydrated at the end just in hindsight, but I was fine. I didn’t feel like I gave anything up, I just used it all.”

AND A SHORT TRACK WILL TAKE IT OUT OF YOU IN A DIFFERENT WAY. “I don’t think it necessarily plays that way. If you have a bad car or get into it with somebody, yeah, it can but it can be like that anywhere.”

DO YOU CONSIDER THIS ONE OF YOUR BETTER TRACKS ON THE CIRCUIT? “I think yeah, for sure. If you’re looking at it from perspective, I look at Richmond, Martinsville and Phoenix as my three most competitive race tracks in the last 10. I’ve run good at the other ones – Homestead and Kansas even, places like that, but I think the short tracks have just been more suitable for us this year.”

THEY’RE ALL FAIRLY FLAT. “I love banked race tracks, but my stats are really good on flat tracks for some reason. Then again, short tracks too this year and just the fact that you’re having to use the brake and having to drive the car versus just who can hold it wide-open.”

PASSING HAS ALWAYS BEEN HARD. WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT IT THIS YEAR? “It’s definitely different and that, I think, if you have experience, makes it harder because you’re used to passing a certain way. You’re driving the car a certain way and you really had to change up how you carry momentum and how you drive the race car this year, and a lot less braking, a lot faster mid-corner speeds because of the downforce, and your momentum seems to be more important than your acceleration, where you acceleration used to be more important. I think overall it just makes it difficult to pass when the cars are making so much downforce. I’ve always been a big fan of less downforce, in fact zero downforce means the cars are gonna be easier to race in dirty air. That’s just the fact of it. Have less aerodynamic influence when you’re not making any downforce. It’s kind of a no-brainer to me, but for some reason technology and egos and people in offices like to add downforce.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR CONSISTENCY THIS YEAR AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE PLAYOFFS GOING FORWARD. “I feel like we’ve done a good job of fixing things that we didn’t get right the first time around. We proved that today. We proved that in Vegas. We struggled at Darlington. We struggled a little bit going back to Michigan. We had a better finish the first race than the second race, but I think overall we’ve progressed as a team and keep proving that. So many new things this year as I’ve stated before. The cars are driving different. The people, the manufacturer, all the things that go into what we do here in the garage and on the race track has been so different than any time in my entire racing career, so playing catch up is not easy to do in our sport, but I think we’ve all been doing it with this 6 car and proven that we can make some results. We just haven’t got to where we need to be and want to be.”

WHY DO YOU SEE THE ROVAL AS A NORMAL RACE? “It’s still 60-plus points or whatever that number is. It’s not like it offers more points. It’s not like there’s one guy that’s gonna guarantee with the race. There might be more corners that are different situations, but I don’t necessarily think that you can go back and look at the Roval last year and compare it to any 500-miler on the oval and say, ‘Man, those results were way different.’ I mean, there are still good guys that crashed, there are good guys that got crashed, there’s still good guys that had bad pit stops and there’s still somebody that won. I don’t know that in the end it’s really any different, I think it’s just viewed as different.”

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
RICHMOND RACEWAY
FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1, met with media to discuss the contract extension with sponsor Liberty University, the changes that have been made to the Roval, the importance of stage points in this round of the Playoffs, and more. Full Transcript:

OBVIOUSLY, LIBERTY HAS BEEN IN THE NEWS FOR OTHER ISSUES, BUT THIS WEEK, YOU GOT THE CONTRACT EXTENSION. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT AND WERE YOU EVER WORRIED ABOUT ANY OF THAT?
“Yeah, it’s great that we have Liberty University back on the car next year. Everybody over there has been really instrumental in my career, especially at Hendrick Motorsports, in kind of working with the team, with the development of their race car, and everything like that. So, it’s been really good and I’m excited about working with them more. Obviously, my studies with them has been a critical part in that too. I don’t really worry about that stuff. I think everyone over there has been a tremendous help for me.”

INAUDIBLE
“Yeah, I just drive the race car and try to represent them.”

DO YOU SEE ANYONE IN EITHER IRACING OR THE NASCAR HEAT SERIES THAT YOU THINK WOULD BE A POTENTIAL TO MOVE UP AND FOLLOW THE SAME LINE INTO RACING WITHOUT ACTUALLY GOING THE SHORT TRACK ROUTE?
“I mean there are a ton of really talented people on iRacing. I still go on there quite a bit and race. I didn’t go in there this weekend for Richmond, but in general, I’m on there quite a bit and there are a lot of really talented guys on there. I don’t know specifically one person, per say, that would need the opportunity. But I think if there was some way we could get guys in cars to test maybe just one time to see how they would do, in comparison to other race car drivers, I think that would be cool. I think it would be a neat thing. I don’t know how they could pull that off, but that’s kind of how I got my start. I was just testing a car one time and going up against people that raced real cars before, and I did pretty well. So, I think that would be a good start.”

DO YOU LIKE THE CHANGES THEY HAVE MADE TO THE BACKSTRETCH ON THE ROVAL? ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT THAT?
“Yeah, it’s going to be interesting because the back chicane is going to be really slow compared to what we had last year. It’s interesting because the oval portion of the track kind of trails off on the bottom of it. I don’t know if they fixed that or they changed that, which I don’t think they did, but I think that’s going to make it really tough to kind of make that transition because you are going onto less banking. I don’t know, I think it’s going to be really difficult to make the braking zone correctly every time, especially the first time on the race track. I think a lot of guys are going to miss the braking zone there and if you do miss it, you hit the turtles, fly the nose and destroy the car. I think it’s going to be a whole different element for us. You’re going to have to figure out how to get in there successfully consistently. That’s going to be a new challenge, kind of like the chicane was. I remember how challenging that front chicane was for everyone when we first got to the Roval because when you were going off of Turn 4, you were so fast and then you’d have to get slowed down to 40 or 50 mph. It’s going to be a passing zone probably as the weekend goes too.”

WE SAW YOU BRUSH THE WALL JUST A LITTLE BIT IN FINAL PRACTICE. HOW MUCH DID THAT SET THE TEAM BACK ON YOUR PRACTICE GOALS FOR THE SESSION AND HOW WAS YOUR CAR?
“It didn’t really affect it. If we were at a 1.5-mile track or something, it would be a big deal. I was thankful they were able to fix it. I’m sorry that my guys had to work on it, obviously, and that’s not fun. But yeah, I don’t think it affected the speed of our car or anything. We are still just looking for some speed and hopefully just have a decent weekend.”

YOU LEAP-FROGGED OVER YOUR TEAMMATE, ALEX BOWMAN, JUST BY THE POINTS THAT YOU PICKED UP IN THE STAGES LAST WEEK. IS CHAD (KNAUS) PUTTING A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON THAT, JUST TRYING TO ACCUMULATE POINTS SINCE YOU DON’T HAVE WINS?
“Yeah, it’s critical for us. I don’t know the points exactly, but ninth place on back probably has close to the same amount of points based on wins and everything. It’s easy to kind of jump up there with some good stages and a good finish. We just have to try to do that this weekend. I think for the stages, you can easily acquire points over the course of the race that can kind of propel you past a couple of guys. We weren’t too worried about our points situation going into this round because there are a number of guys that are similar in points. We just have to try to stay where they are.”

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.

Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

RICHMOND, VA. (September 20, 2019) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media at Richmond Raceway:

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

What kind of relief is it for you to have that win as a team and to be able to concentrate on the next round?

“Well, I think first of all, it was good timing. We had five or six races in a row that we felt like we were doing the right things and our cars were fast and we felt like we were performing well, and we were not getting really good finishes. We had a lot of stuff happen. So, it’s nice when those things kind of go away and you can say, ‘ok, yeah we were doing the right things.’ It’s a good confidence booster. It came at a good time. I think the bonus points are really critical. We didn’t finish where we wanted to in the regular season standings. We lost a few spots through that stretch there of things happening to us, so bonus points were huge. Just good timing to start the Playoffs just for the confidence for the whole group, not just me or Cole (Pearn, crew chief), but for the whole group.”

Are you good with the changes at the Roval?
“I am actually. I think it will be a really good change. I thought last year the backstretch chicane was just there to kind of slow us down a little bit. It wasn’t really a corner that you could make passes or moves. It was kind of like, you just tried to get through there without crashing every lap because it was so fast. I think with it being more like the bus stop at Watkins Glen will be good. More braking, more of a braking zone, a place that we can make more passes. I think it will be awesome. We will just have to wait and see. I’m looking forward to that.”

How do you see tomorrow’s race playing out? Will it be like it was in the Spring?

“I don’t know. I’m not really sure; I haven’t really thought about it. It’s hard to say. I think for us, we are just trying to get our car dialed in the best we can. We came here with a few different ideas to try to be better, and I felt like it wasn’t quite as good. They are making some decisions in there right now on which way to go. I would say that race was a long time ago. A lot of people have learned a lot of things, and we will have to see who has gotten better and can we keep up with them. We will wait and see, but I felt okay about it speed wise – we just have to get it driving a little bit better.”

Having won the championship in 2017, does that give you a blueprint on how to get the title this year?

“We certainly know how we did it, but duplicating it is very tough when you have such tough competition. Things change. Obviously, the cars are way different than they were in 2017, so that kind of changes things more than anything. But, just having that experience and knowing how to get through those pressure situations is huge. We have that on our side, and now we just have to continue to perform at a high level.”

With multiple teammates in the playoffs, do you guys share notes?
“We share everything – the teams, the crew chiefs, the drivers. We all share everything, so basically, we are teammates as good as we can be. Once the race starts on Saturday night is when it’s every team for themselves. You race as hard against your teammates, almost, I guess, as hard as you race everybody else. Definitely, nothing changes throughout the Playoffs as far as sharing notes and what goes along with that. It stays the same.”

Kyle Busch hates to lose and hates to lose to you specifically. What is that like behind-the-scenes?

“I don’t know. Nobody likes to lose. We are all here to win. We all work hard to try to win, and you are disappointed when you don’t, and everybody handles it a little differently. For me, I don’t like to lose either, but I feel like the longer I do this, the more I enjoy winning and the more I can deal with losing. I don’t like it, but it’s part of the deal. We’ve had a great season. We’ve won five races, but how many races have we not won? Just trying to manage those expectations and stay positive and do all the right things is kind of what I focus on.”

How much preparation do you do in the simulator for the Roval?

“Not a lot. It just depends on what the team wants and what they are looking for. If they have some questions on trying some things on the car, that’s usually when I get in there and try to help. As far as me driving it and trying to adapt to a track, I don’t do a whole lot of that anymore. I did years ago, but I feel like I have been this long enough now that if I haven’t figured it out, I probably should find something else to do.”

Is there anything you can do to give advice to some of the drivers at the back of the field?

“I think there’s probably some constructive criticism that could be given that may help the situation. I’ve not tried to do it. I just let them do their thing and I do mine.”

Can you and the team start working ahead for the next round?

“Not really as far as building equipment and working on cars and things like that. I think that for Cole (Pearn, crew chief) and the team to start maybe working on some setup stuff or just think ahead a little bit more because they have a little bit of time. They’re not completely stressed out about the next two weeks where they can say, ‘Alright, we can start looking at Dover a little bit closer and try to gain an advantage there just by thinking about it longer.’ As far as building parts and pieces and equipment, no. It’s already all set, and the teams have a plan for all that.”

How do your philanthropic efforts help give you balance?

“I think it’s just good to keep a good perspective on life and how things really are outside of this little world that we live in that won’t be here forever for us. It’s just a good, constant reminder of things and things people deal with and kind of how fortunate we are to do what we do. We had a great event this week – Karting for Cancer at GoPro Motorplex. Raised a little over $35,000 so it was just a fun night. To be able to go out there with a bunch of friends and race go-karts and everybody had a blast and to raise money on top of that was a good thing. It was fun to see everybody, and we had a lot of support as always, which is always special. Now excited to be here at Richmond and keep things going.”

What is it like for drivers late in the season that don’t know what they will be doing the following year?

“It’s definitely a difficult situation and I’ve been through it a few times. I always just try to focus on that stuff during the week and don’t bring it to the race track. Don’t bring it with you, don’t hold the burden. You know how to do your job. Your job is to drive a race car. The more clearly you can think about just that, the better job you’re going to do. If you start thinking, I have to do this because I need a job, or I need to do that because I need a job then you weren’t trying hard enough in the first place. You can’t just come in and change who you are and how you do things just because of a situation you’re put in. For me and I know some guys that are going through this now and I’m sure they’re doing the same thing. There’s nothing you can do about it on the weekend while you’re driving the car, you just have to go out there and give it your best, do your best and the best job you can and worry about that stuff during the week.”

How can drivers block out that type of pressure when they get asked about it at the racetrack?

“It’s not that hard. It wasn’t for me; it might be for some others. Honestly, I’m just being honest. I just didn’t want to talk about it. It’s fine, it will work itself out and that’s all you do is focus on your job.”

What does a driver do during the week in that situation?

“You work on your options; you talk to people and see what’s out there. What can I do, what do I have to do, what are the options. Then try to set your plans. You have the teams you’re talking to, what teams is there a possibility to talk to – all those type of things.”

Is there a proper etiquette for drivers that are multiple laps down in a race?

“For sure. Depending on the track, they should probably not be in the lane that the leaders want to run. But that gets tricky at a place like Vegas where you can basically run all over it. That’s where the tough part is. It’s a tough deal. Last week, I saw what happened and the closing rate was insanely huge. The guy that was out there was not only slow to begin with, but wrecked. He had a tough night and his car was beat up and it was very slow. I don’t know if we need to look at minimum speed maybe a little closer or just maybe not run right through the middle of the race track. It depends, it’s different every week, every situation, different for every car. There’s no really clear-cut answer on how to make this easier on everybody.”

CorvetteParts.net – Richmond Raceway – Race Advance
Event: Federated Auto Parts 400 (Race 27 of 36)
Venue: Richmond Raceway (Richmond, VA)
Format: Three Stages – Stages End: Lap 100, 200, 400 = 400 Miles
Date/Broadcast: Saturday, September 21 at 7:30 PM ET on NBCSN

Keen Parts’s involvement with Go Fas Racing (GFR) as a sponsor dates back to 2014, one of several seasons that had an assortment of drivers behind the wheel of the No. 32. Owners Tom and TJ Keen have become close friends with Archie and Mason St. Hilaire, Go Fas Racing Team Owner and Team Manager, respectively.

Additionally, the Ohio-based company has been a part of nearly every Richmond event that Archie St. Hilaire, team owner, has fielded the GFR No. 32 in, including the team’s first start at the .75-mile track in 2014 with Travis Kvapil.

That will be the case again this weekend as CorvetteParts.net is set to sponsor the Roush Yates-powered Mustang for the fifth time this season with driver Corey LaJoie.

You can count on Keen Parts for any of you Corvette needs. Whether you’re looking for a complete interior for your vintage ’58 Corvette or a performance accessory for your ’09, they have the Corvette part you need and the expertise you want as Corvettes are their sole focus.

With four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts and two top-3 finishes in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series for Corey LaJoie at the Virgina track, the No. 32 team is amped up to get the weekend underway after narrowly missing the top-25 at the conclusion of Richmond’s first event in April.

The 27th race of the season is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. ET. The 400-mile contest will be broadcast on NBCSN.

LaJoie on the upcoming weekend at Richmond Raceway:
“It’s going to be good to get back to short tracks again this weekend at Richmond Raceway. Randy has brought us fast short track cars all year and I’m excited to see our speed this weekend. It’ll also be good to have Tom and TJ Keen from CorvetteParts.net out at the track with us! They’re great friends of ours and amazing partners, we always have fun when they’re at the track. I can’t wait to get this weekend underway!”

LaJoie MENCS career highlights at Richmond Raceway:
Starts: 4
Best Finish: 26th (2019)
Average Start: 29.8
Average Finish: 29.8

In the Rearview Mirror: Federated Auto Parts 400
In the first race of the NASCAR Playoffs, Corey LaJoie and the No. 32 Schluter Systems team finished 28th. LaJoie took the green from the 33rd position after posting a time of 31.081 in Saturday’s qualifying session. On lap 40, the 27-year-old radioed to the Crew Chief Randy Cox that he was losing front grip as the run progressed. He made his first stop of the night on lap 50 after reporting a potential tire down, receiving four tires, fuel and adjustments to help gain front grip. When the green-checkered flag flew to close Stage One, LaJoie was scored 28th. For the duration of Stage Two, the Schluter Systems Mustang maintained the 31st position. Cox called LaJoie to pit road with 20 to go in the Stage for a four tire stop. As he wrapped up the second Stage in 31st, he took the wave around, putting the GFR Ford just two laps down. At the onset of Stage Three, he rapidly gained position, working his way up to 29th. When the caution flew for the No. 24, LaJoie radioed to the Schluter Systems team to free him up at the next pit stop. The No. 32 would return for its penultimate stop of the night with 73 laps to go for a routine service. After the final stop with less than 25 laps remaining, LaJoie had reached the 28th position when the checkered flag flew.

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About Our Team

About Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net:
Corvettes are all they do, so whether you’re looking for a complete interior for your vintage ’58 Corvette or a performance accessory for your ’09, they have the Corvette part you need and the expertise you want. For your Corvette exterior, they got you covered bumper-to-bumper.  They even have emblems, moldings, grilles, bumpers and brackets, fiberglass, exterior trim and weather stripping. For the interior, they have steering wheels, seats, dash pads, consoles, carpeting, door panels, seat belts, interior trim and fasteners. Under the hood, they’ve got it all from air cleaners to exhaust systems, air conditioning, radiators, and valve covers all the way down to the decals and correct fasteners to bolt it all back together. For more information, please visit www.corvetteparts.net
or call 1-844-Tom-Keen.

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.