Category: NASCAR Cup PR

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

NASCAR PLAYOFF MEDIA DAY DRIVER QUOTES

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Ford Mustang

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS TRACK THAT YOU HAVE FIGURED OUT THAT THESE OTHER GUYS HAVEN’T WITH YOUR THREE WINS HERE? “Certainly Vegas has been a good track for us. When they made the change to make Vegas the first race of the playoffs, there was not a single complaint here. We are looking forward to it. I don’t know, it has a good balance of challenge to get through the bumps in 1 and 2 and then the exit of turn 4 you have to be perfect. I really like that challenge and our team sets up a car really well for that.”

RIGHT NOW, WHERE DO YOU THINK PENSKE STACKS UP IN THE PANTHEON OF TEAMS? “I think we are in a good spot. Certainly we would like to have the top three spots in the points right now but we are not anywhere to complain about either. We have had some strong runs of late and hopefully we peak at the right time. That is what the playoffs is all about.”

DO YOU THINK THE AGGRESSION LEVEL WILL RAMP UP EVEN HIGHER IN THE PLAYOFFS AND MAYBE THE DRIVER ETIQUETTE BOOK BEING RE-WRITTEN? “The racing is always changing and evolving. If it didn’t it would always be really boring. The cars keep getting after and the drivers push them and each other harder. Combine that with the rules on the cars making it so important to make your passes on the restarts, you really have such a narrow window of time to make something happen that you throw more desperate punches, so to speak.”

YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN AFRAID OF THE AGGRESSION OF IT. DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE TO RAMP IT UP AT ALL? “Sometimes I certainly challenge myself to be more aggressive than years prior. That is a different challenge, but a good one.”

IF THERE IS A LIMITED WINDOW IN ESSENCE OF GAINING POSITIONS ON A RESTART, WHY WOULD ANYBODY WANT TO SET UP THE CAR FOR A LONG RUN? SHOULDN’T EVERYONE SET UP THEIR CARS FOR SHORT RUNS? “You get some of these races where you do get the long runs and you can find an advantage. There has been more tracks this year than ever before where it is less of an advantage to have a long run car. That continues to change. I think if you went back to the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s, long run cars won the majority of the races. Like 90% of the races. Now we are seeing that flip where it is almost like short run cars win 90% of the races and long run cars win 10% of the races. It is a completely different approach as the sport has evolved and aero is more and more important and restarts are more and more important. There is a 10% window where a long run car will win out but it is certainly different than years past.”

THIS RACE IN THE SPRING WAS DIFFERENT WHERE CAUTIONS WERE THE STAGE BREAKS. DO YOU LOOK AT THE SPRING RACE AS AN ANOMALY OR IS THAT KIND OF A HINT OF WHAT IT MIGHT BE LIKE AGAIN WITH NOT MANY WRECKS? “I think generally speaking, and I don’t have a stat book in front of me, I need David Smith of somebody to answer that. I think there are more cautions in general during the playoffs than in the regular season. It is something that factors in but not necessarily a guarantee.”

WHAT WOULD WINNING A SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP DO FOR YOUR LEGACY? “Well, it would be a huge mark for me personally. I think there is a big difference between drivers that have won one championship and two, that is my own personal barometer. There is quite a long list of drivers in the sport now and past that won a single championship. The ones that I think get mentioned or thought of the most are the drivers that have won multiples. Certainly winning a championship is a legacy. Winning a second championship is an elite legacy in the sport. Something I certainly hope to do and have put a lot of emphasis on and probably is the biggest thing I want to do in the sport. That opportunity is in front of us over these 10 weeks.”

THOUGHTS ON RICHMOND BEING IN THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR? “I think there is a good balance of race tracks in the playoffs. From the big tracks to small tracks to intermediate and road courses. It is probably the most balanced playoff schedule that we have seen since the invention of the playoffs. I think that is a good thing. I like it.”

RICHMOND AS A SHORT TRACK, THAT SEEMS LIKE A PRETTY GOOD RECIPE FOR GUYS THAT HAD A BAD RACE ARE GOING TO WANT TO HAVE TO MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN THERE: “Richmond is a great example of one of those tracks where long run speed seems to be paramount. If that aggression comes in and you get some yellows then short run will win out. Last year at Richmond we thought it would be a lot of yellows and come down to short runs at the end. We had a phenomenal short run car but the last run of the race was almost 100 green flag laps and we fell from the lead to seventh or eighth just praying for yellows that we didn’t get. That is part of how racing goes. It is very hard to predict.”

DO YOU THINK WITH IT BEING A NIGHT RACE HERE THAT IT WILL TAKE THE ADVANTAGE AWAY FROM SOME OF THE MARQUEE TEAMS? “No, I don’t see it being a big difference. The only thing I see it affecting is the fans in the stands and the pit crews having a little better go of it and being a little more comfortable which is a good thing.”

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: “I think Ryan has shown that he has the speed and competitiveness to run up front and lead a lot of laps. It is hard for me to really dig any deeper into it because I don’t know what I don’t know. When his car is dialed in, he can run as well, if not better than Joey and I can. He certainly has had those moments over the years.”

SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF THE TALK THIS WEEK HAS BEEN ABOUT JOE GIBBS RACING BEING THE FAVORITE TO WIN THIS CHAMPIONSHIP. WHERE DO YOU FEEL LIKE PENSKE STACKS UP? “We are week one of the playoffs. Very dynamic. It isn’t like if you are the best car this week you will be the best car 10 weeks from now. It changes with the cars and engineers development and the different types of tracks that are in front of us. I feel like we are in that fringe top-five range. I think we are looking to push to be the best and to dominate races. That is really key. You look at these playoffs and it is almost a certainty that you will have some bad races and when that happens it is about how you can recover. Do you have the points cushion from the regular season to fall back on or can you win and dominate a race to recover? Those are the keys. With that in mind I try not to think about it any deeper.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Ford MustangCAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE ROVAL LAST YEAR AND WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT RESTART THERE? “The Roval is a tough track and that is not necessarily a bad thing. One little slip up is a big accident. I had a little slip up, Kyle and I both had a slip up and we had a huge accident. It was a bummer. It cost us a chance to win the race as well as him. Not the way we wanted to go out. It is all part of the challenge of a very technical track.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON MATT DIBENEDETTO GOING TO THE WOOD BROTHERS NEXT YEAR AND IS HE SUPPOSED TO PUSH YOU TO THE WIN THIS YEAR AT TALLADEGA? “I mean, if he wants to. It might be good for him (laughter). Matt has certainly earned his opportunities. He has caught some bad breaks and now he is catching some good brakes. That is part of the ying-yang of life. He has done a good job of riding the storm and deserves credit for that on his own. I was a little caught off-guard by the announcement. Mr. Penske gave me a briefing on it the day before and it was silence on the phone as I was processing it. There is of course the Paul (Menard) side of it and seeing him leave the sport. I think he has been kind of a true and tried person of character in the sport and you hate to see that happen but certainly understand it. Of course there is the feel-good side to Matt getting a quality opportunity. I kinda want to see how it plays out. There are certainly no red flags by any means, I am just curious to see it all play out.”

TO SEE SOMEONE LIKE MATT HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU TO SEE THAT THERE ARE STILL GUYS THAT CAN DO THAT? “I look at guys like Matt DiBenedetto and Ross Chastain and a few others as being proof that if you hang around and you show the commitment that good things are going to happen for you. They might not happen on your timeline but if you have the talent and wherewithal to stomach the bad that eventually the good will come. It is good to see someone like him get rewarded.”

“I wouldn’t say that we are on talk everyday relationship but certainly I know him. He was part of the Ford camp last year and I spent a little time with him. Not an everyday thing but enough to get to know him casually.”

HE HAS BEEN A LOT MORE COMPETITIVE ON TRACK, HOW HAS THAT ON TRACK RELATIONSHIP BEEN? “He has speed. He seems to know how to put himself in good positions and that is more than half the battle in NASCAR.”

DO YOU THINK THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS IS THE TOUGHEST? “I think all the rounds are hard. They are supposed to be. It is hard for me to say one round is harder than another. The round of 8 has been a bit of a struggle for me but I don’t think of one round being harder than the others. I think of every race being critical.”

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
SOUTH POINT 400
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA PLAYOFF DAY
SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 ROTATION HIGHLIGHTS:

REGARDING THE RACE THIS WEEKEND IN LAS VEGAS
“Yeah, just to go there and have a good race and get some Stage points. We are typically good at Vegas, so I like it being the first race of the Playoffs because you will get set with the rhythm and momentum that you need to have the confidence to go on to the next two races.”

REGARDING HAVING KURT BUSCH AS TEAMMATE THIS YEAR
“Yeah, its been good. I like having Kurt around because he is a past champion, and I can learn a lot off of him. I also feel like he is so competitive that he makes everyone step their game up from myself, to the mechanics to everybody in the organization. So, its good to have somebody like that.”

INAUDIBLE
“Yeah, I mean Harvick has won three races now since they were all dominating. Kurt has won a race and I feel like I have been competitive enough to win a race and have outrun a lot of those guys. To me the gap has closed but they have just been doing a good job of executing properly to win the races. But yeah, I feel like the gap has closed and I don’t feel like there was really much of a gap when they were winning. They were just winning.”

IS IT GOOD FOR GANASSI TO HAVE BOTH CARS IN THE PLAYOFFS?
“For sure, obviously. I think this is the first year that we have had both cars in the Playoffs at Chip Ganassi Racing. It is good for our team, but also gives you an extra shot and for the team an extra shot to go win a championship. Its good to be in the Playoffs and to have a teammate with you also.”

DO YOU AND KURT HAVE MOMENTUM RIGHT NOW AND CAN IT PROPEL YOU?
“Yeah, for sure. Momentum is huge in any sport, but especially in racing. We have been really fast lately, run up front, and had some good races these last couple of months. At Indy, I crashed, but I felt like I had the fastest car there. Even though we crashed, I was happy and optimistic about our chances now leading into the Playoffs. I am just excited to get out there now and hope our cars will be as good these next 10 races as they have been these last few.”

ANY PRESSURE IN NOT GETTING A WIN THIS YEAR AND HOW IT MIGHT AFFECT THE PRESSURE OF THE PLAYOFFS?
“Honestly, when you get in the Playoffs, your main focus is just finishing and getting good Stage points and things like that are important. Obviously winning is great, but you still need to be up front and getting those points to make it into the next round. The Playoffs aren’t all about winning. You know, (Ryan) Newman has made it into the final four by not winning a race. You still have to be consistent for sure.”

DO YOU THINK THIS IS YOUR BEST CHANCE TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN ALL THE YEARS YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE PLAYOFFS?
“Well, in 2017 we went into the Playoffs with four wins and a lot of Stage points and Playoff points and I felt like we had a good opportunity then. But we had a ton of bad luck in that Playoff year. But this year I feel like our cars are equal or better than where we were at this point in 2017. And I felt like we had a shot to contend for it then. So, I think this is as good of a shot, even though I don’t have as many Playoff points as I had that year. But we have a good opportunity.”

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

About Chevrolet
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Thursday, September 12, 2019

NASCAR PLAYOFF MEDIA DAY DRIVER QUOTES

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Ford Mustang

YOU SAID AFTER LAST WEEK THAT BEING IN THE POSITION WHERE YOU ARE FIGHTING TO GET IN THE PLAYOFFS ISN’T FUN RACING. WHAT CHANGES NOW THAT YOU ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS? “Fun. I have always thought that. Over my career of making these playoffs, it comes at a good time of year for me. Those summer months are long, grueling and they drag on. You needed a wake up call and shot in the arm. For me, that is the playoffs. New purpose. You are always racing for that win on any given Sunday and that championship all year long in the back of your mind. Now it is real. I like this new format, three-races, three-races, three-races baby! It isn’t 10, screw the rest of em. You have to survive three races, win one of these three and you are automatically onto the next round. For me, focus factor and everything else, it is a good thing for me.”

HAVE YOU LET GO OF RICHMOND YET? “I don’t think you ever let go of those that were close. I should have moved him and won the race for myself and the team. I didn’t grow up racing that way, you know what I mean? I didn’t learn racing that way with Mark Martin or your peers. Today’s day in age, that is kind of the way it is. Not necessarily your character or anything else as a driver, it is just the way the racing is. You flat can’t pass ‘em. I was three-quarters of a second faster than him and got to him and just rode. I had a window of about two laps there to do something and I kept thinking that I was going to wear him down like always and all it did was wear my stuff out and I was done.”

“Of course you do. But it was also a learning moment for me. I think it was a learning moment for all of us. We all came back from the competition meeting as a wakeup call for us. Those short tracks are my good tracks. I was a lot faster than him and you just knew. It never dawned on me in a million years that I would struggle passing him. I was so much faster. I thought I would catch him and roll right by him. That was done. As soon as I got to him, the air deficiency of being the second car, you are a little tighter but I was so much better than I thought it would be fine. Within two laps at Richmond I was junk. I wore out the tires, now I am looking in the mirror to see who is catching me. In a matter of five laps my mindset went from winning to having to block the guy behind me and manage this deal to get the best finish possible. We didn’t even finish second, we finished third. I had to let the 22 go because I knew that if I got side-by-side with him that Kevin would pass me too and I would end up fourth. It was a learning moment for me for the rest of the season.”

HOW HARD WILL IT BE FOR YOU TO CHANGE YOUR MENTALITY IN THAT MOMENT NEXT TIME? “I will fix that problem next time. For sure. It won’t be hard. It is fixed.”

WITH THE PACKAGE THIS YEAR IS SEEMS LIKE IT TAKES TWO CARS TO PASS ONE, SO IF YOU WOULD HAVE LET THE THIRD PLACE CAR CATCH UP COULD YOU HAVE MADE THAT PASS? “No. It is just an aero thing. There is a huge aero deficiency behind cars and those short tracks, the 750 tracks, it is a struggle, it is. It is the same for everybody but it is extremely hard to pass and the restarts and things like that. To your point, when a car is side-by-side you can capitalize with a run or whatever else but no, if you are the guy sitting there on the inside all that does is open the window up for whoever is behind you to put you three-wide and pass both of you.”

YOU TALKED ABOUT GETTING SOME MOJO BACK. WITH YOUR RECENT SINGLE-DIGIT FINISHES, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT CAN SUSTAIN YOU? “Momentum is confidence. It is confidence in your decision making and your driving and everything. Your decisions for the setup and your decision for passing and stage points that are so important. You have to have that momentum and confidence in your mind. That is not just the driver, that is the crew chief making those calls. That driver is bitching about being too loose, how do I attack that? With this package that we have, it is a tricky situation because maybe you will be loose in and tight off, that is a hard thing to fix. You have to go to work and as a crew chief, try to fix that as best you can, put a band-aid on it for the driver. The driver in the car, look at those restarts last week. Confidence is everything but you can get overconfident and overstep the bounds pretty darn quick as we all learned.”

DID YOUR CAR ALMOST GET TOWED TODAY? “So Brett told me to park where I parked and it clearly said, “Compact Car”. Last I checked the Ford Expedition was not a compact car. In his defense, it was the only car within 78 stalls, but I had security knock on my door this morning and I was like, ‘Oh God, what did we do.’ I started rewinding the night in my mind and didn’t think we did anything. It was the car’s parking location. So I made his ass go and move it.”

ARE YOU NERVOUS ABOUT ALL THIS OR JUST READY TO GO HAVE FUN? “I am nervous about this day and how I am going to get myself out of this seat and out from in front of all you. Hell no, this is fun! We are in the playoffs, you know what I mean? Last week we were pooping our pants, man! Now it is real. We have accomplished it and we have a championship to go after. It is as simple as that. Why on earth would you be nervous about this. We have raced for the last month-and-a-half nervous. We are used to it. All these other guys, the pressure is back on them now. It is a new life for our race team and we are going to go after it.”

DO YOU THINK THE PRESSURE OF DOING WHAT YOU GUYS HAD TO DO HELPED? “Yeah, absolutely. It definitely prepares you for a playoff scenario. And look how well we performed under those pressures. Arguably it was some of our best string of races all year long. Single digit finishes. If we can continue to ride that wave it will go to the next round. I believe that. If we can race the way we have the last few races we will go to the next round and continue our quest for the championship.”

HOW CONCERNING IS IT FOR YOU NOT HAVING PLAYOFF POINTS? “I just had a handful like I was positive and everything good and you just sent me right back down to the dirt. I am going to spin your negativity into a positive thing. It is a new life. A new shot in the arm. A new opportunity at stage points that we maybe missed on throughout the course of the year. Momentum. Confidence. The wave we are riding. We have learned a lot. We have prepared our self in the last month racing under these conditions and I think that prepares you for the playoffs. We have to continue our mindset. Continue the things we are doing. Continue to improve our cars. We have learned a lot about this Ford Mustang this year. I think Kevin’s performance has shown that and proved that for our Stewart-Haas Racing stable. I think Aric and even Daniel – hey, that shoe could have been on the other foot for us. I feel bad for Daniel. We were at the competition meeting Tuesday and you are looking over there at him and he is dejected and frustrated and that damn well could have been me sitting over there pouting. He is in a good situation. He is in good equipment and he could just as easily go out and win run of these races no different than me or Aric or Kevin.”

AS A TEAM LEADER, WHAT HAVE YOU HAD TO DO DIFFERENT THIS YEAR COMPARED TO LAST YEAR? “Your decision making and everything else, the hubs around that, confidence and all that is directly dependent on your equipment. Last year, let’s face it, the Fords were the heat. They ended up winning the championship, all four of us won races at Stewart-Haas Racing. Life was good. It has been a struggle this year. My strong suit is trying to make sure that everybody is enjoying themselves in those tough times and trying to find some light in the dark tunnel to where you can get to the end of that thing. That has always been something that I can do, not only for my race team on the 14 but the organization wherever I was at. I think that is important. This business is so serious and so stressful and emotional, everything that goes with that. You are away from your family, your kids are growing up, you are pissed off that the car isn’t running good and you have to be back at work at 7 am to get the car ready. There is nobody that works harder than those crew guys, in any profession. I am telling you, anything. We watch quarterbacks and baseball pitchers, I will put a crew member in NASCAR up against any job in any profession there is out there. They work their asses off all weekend long and Monday morning they are back in that shop. They are constantly away from their family, trying to keep a marriage and family together. It is a tall order for those guys. A driver is no exception. We are all busy in this sport as you guys are in the media, we all live this. 38 weekends a year is a grind on everybody.”

SOUNDS LIKE YOU THINK THE HARD PART IS DONE NOW AND YOU ARE READY TO HAVE FUN: “I am ready to win. They pay us to win races. I want to win Las Vegas. That would be awesome. And get the hell out of here before we die.”

IN TERMS OF PREPARATION FOR THIS RACE, NONE OF YOU HAVE RUN GOING INTO THE NIGHT TIME HERE: “You know, I think with our sport right now with the aero package and horsepower and everything that we have, it will be a better race because of that. We tested here in the spring and that was the first time I ever had a snapshot and got my feet wet with this package and I can tell you the night before when the grip was high in the race track and it was cool, it was wild. We were drafting and putting on a hell of a show for nobody in the grandstands. It was just us. We all left that thinking this year was going to be crazy. Flip that over to the next day and it was hot and slick and we weren’t bunched up in a pack. We had to handle and had that aspect going. That night before in cooler temperatures you had to make that baby as slick as possible and drafting was a premium. I think it will be a better race because of the night.”

Toyota Racing – Kyle Busch
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Media Day

LAS VEGAS (September 12, 2019) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch was made available to media at Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Media Day.

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

What’s different about racing in Vegas compared to other tracks?

“Not much. It’s just another venue. You come out to Las Vegas though, for myself and being this is the hometown, you want to come out here and run well and do a good job. This is a race – I grew up watching the race track be built. I’d love to be able to go out there and win here anytime. I’ve been able to do that once fortunately in my career, but we come out here twice now. There’s better opportunities to try to come out of here with the win. We were really fast here in the spring – coulda, woulda, shouda won the race if it wasn’t for speeding on pit road. Hopefully this time around we’ll keep it clean and have a shot to win again.”

How do you view the use of your bonus points in the Playoffs?

“It’s kind of an insurance policy. We all pay for insurance to hopefully never have to use it, but it’s there just in case.  For us, we’ve done a great  job of being able to build those points up throughout the regular season and it’s nice to be able to have that point structure in place to kind of give you the opportunity to have your early season success help you through the post-season. I think it’s the most fair structure that we’ve had  through the Playoff era. Looking forward to not having to use those points, but if need be, there’s some that are there.”

Does having the points as insurance change how you approach any of the rounds?

“No, not at all. First and foremost, we try to figure out how we can win each and every week. Then as the races go on, we then kind of figure out what the points look like and where the cutoff is for guys that are or aren’t going to make it.”

If you don’t win the championship this season, will it be a disappointment?

“I’ve been asked this question every single year and yeah, if you don’t win a championship it’s disappointing. I’ve been to the Homestead race four years in a row and I’ve only won it once. I don’t know if that is a little LeBron James’-esque, but it feels like I can get there and just can’t seal the deal. It’s kind of crazy that it comes down to one race and one race track.  Fortunately, I’ve been good there over the years.  We won it in 2015 and we were really fast in 2016.  Carl (Edwards) was actually better than us and then all heck broke loose and I was the fastest car there in 2017, just got stuck in traffic and wasn’t able to get back up towards the lead fast enough. Then last year we were horrendous. We should have finished 14th and ended up fourth. All the top-four were the championship contenders. Anything can happen.”

Is a win essential at Homestead?
“It’s been proven that way. I think you have to go to Homestead, you have to be ready to win that race. I don’t know, this year might be different because you can kind of take the top seven or eight guys and flip them in any order and replace them and they’ll stay in that order because it’s so hard to pass. Homestead is a little  bit of a wide race track and you can kind of move around a little bit. If it does develop around the outside, around the wall, then it’s going to be single-file. We’ll see what happens.”

Do you expect to see more aggression in the Playoffs this season with what we’ve seen in regular season competition?

“Yeah, I guess I would imagine some of that, sure. Everybody goes for broke and tries to move people out of the way and get what they can get on restarts. It’s always kind of chaotic in that regard. It is because as soon as the restarts are done and you kind of get three, four, five, six laps gone after a restart then that’s kind of where you ride. It’s really tough to pass for the next 40 until cars start to  fall off and tires start to wear out a little bit. It’s certainly a different game then what it’s been in years past. In years past, you could kind of take it easy on restarts a little bit and  let everything kind of formulate and single-file out some and then you could  pick  your way up through there. You can’t really do that now.”

Are the unwritten rules of etiquette changing on-track when it comes to the Playoffs?

“Those rules are changing and I think it’s just the nature of Mark Martin not being  around and (Tony) Stewart and (Jeff) Gordon and Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. and some of those guys that knew how to race, but also the aero-package and what these cars drive like nowadays. A lot of these  younger kids now come up running Late Models  and K&N  cars and beating the doors off of one another throughout their careers and here they are doing it at the Cup level. It’s just a different form of where these guys are being taught to race.”

How do you deal with the younger drivers who are driving that way?

“I focus on what I’ve got to do first and foremost and then worry about that later.”

Can you talk about the season Kurt Busch is having and what would it be like for both of you to make it to Homestead in the Final Four?

“I think that he’s (Kurt Busch) done a fantastic job of changing teams once again and being able to elevate that team that he’s gone to, to a new level. I think that the 1 car being able to get back to victory lane in so long, I can’t remember the last time it won a race, but Kurt won this year so that’s pretty cool.  They’ve also been really fast. They were fast at Darlington, they were fast again at Indy, but they got caught up in  wrecks. Unfortunate circumstances kind of held them out of some points the last few weeks, but overall, it would be nice to see them run well throughout the Playoffs, I’m sure they will. Of course, racing  with him or against  him for a title at  the end of the day would be pretty exciting. Overall, not quite sure how all that would work out in the end. Just have to wait and see.”

How do you use emotion or on-track incidents to motivate you to be better?

“I ran into the wall two weeks ago and then tried to continue on and blew a right-front tire and had to run the last two laps without a right side. Every situation that comes at you, you have to handle it as it comes to you. There’s no planning or pre-planning for things that happen in a race. You don’t know that on lap 186, you’re going to get run  into by so-and-so and then it’s going to create this situation. You just have to be ready for anything and kind of reset and keep digging one you get to those situations.”

Does the strongest team each week keep changing?

“It does  keep changing. There’s been some different circumstances that have kind of kept us out of victory lane I guess. We probably coulda, shoulda won Darlington if we would have been able to come off pit road the last two times, first. We came off third and couldn’t pass anybody. You’re at Indy and you come off pit road fourth and you ride fourth for the entire fuel run until you come back down pit road. I didn’t see (Kevin) Harvick pass a guy for the lead there. It’s going to be difficult. I don’t know if it’s just going to be strictly about how you come off pit road, that’s how you’re going to run or not and if that’s the case then you might as well write it off – whoever wins the race off pit road at Homestead, it’s theirs. It’s kind of unfortunate with what we’ve got going on right now.”

What has kept you out of victory lane in recent weeks?

“It’s execution, it’s circumstantial. There’s certain things that have kept us out. I just mentioned Darlington, Indy – we were working our way up through and we were passing guys on pit road, that was the only place we were passing anybody. Then we had an engine expire and beyond that, I don’t really remember anymore. It’s just a matter of track position these days and how things happen throughout the event.”

After going to the Final Four in Homestead the last four years, does it make the desire for the second championship that much more intense?

“When I won it in ’15 and we got back there again in ’16, the desire was there for ’17, the desire was there probably even more so because we were the fastest car. Then last year it was just about survival. We were terrible so I knew that we didn’t have a shot. It was just ugly for whatever reason, we’re not sure really why. We’ll see what happens this year. You don’t ever lose that drive and that desire to be able to go out there and be able to have number two or number three. Think about  it, I’ve been there four years in a row, if I would have won it four years in a row, we’d be talking about a whole different dynasty right now. It would certainly be nice to get those accomplishments when you’re given those opportunities and they’re right there in front of you. The reason why we race it out is there are three other guys that are going to be in that race that are worthy of winning that race too.”

What would a  second championship mean to your legacy?

“I’m sure it’s going to mean more than just one. I don’t know exactly what it would mean, but I don’t think two – two would change it over one, but I think when you get to three,  it’s not going to be  that big of a deal. Then four and five would be  huge. That’s kind of what I look at. If I could get a handful of them, I would say that’s probably a successful career. Years ago if you would  have asked me that question, I would have said, seven or eight is possible. Right now,  probably five I would say.”

How do you stay ahead of the technology curve that younger drivers are being trained on?

“Best thing you can do is just keep up your study and keep up the things that has gotten me to  this point. All the data that’s been coming on and wasn’t there when I was around so it certainly has sped up the learning curve  for some of these younger guys. They get  free SMT data right there given to them live as I’m making laps or Kevin Harvick is making  laps or Jimmie  Johnson is making laps. They’re able to learn so much faster and so much quicker and I can read that stuff and I can apply it really, really well,  that’s not the problem. It’s free information, which kind of  sucks.”

What has made you so strong at ISM Raceway in recent seasons?

“(Kevin) Harvick had it there for a while and he’s still fast, don’t underestimate him. We’ve gone to work at figuring out what will make us better there and I think that we’ve kind of found some things over the course of Adam Stevens (crew chief) and myself working at that place and having the opportunity to go there a couple times a year and building a notebook. That’s been the biggest thing for us. We know what to look for when we get there and I think that’s kind of what’s helped us get better there over the last few times and has propelled us to a couple wins.”

Does  the lack of success in the Playoffs stay with you or does it only come up when asked  about it?

“You get asked about it so it reminds you, but overall you just try to figure out how to not have those same circumstances happen again.  You  try to learn from your mistakes. I was playing a new card game with a buddy of mine a few weeks ago and he was teaching  me how to play it and he was like, ‘No, no, no, that’s not right, that’s not the right move.’ I was like, ‘Wait, let’s just finish it out and let me learn how to lose this way and then tell me what I did wrong and we’ll fix it next time around.’ You try to figure out ways of not being able to have the  same circumstances take you out again, but sometimes it’s circumstantial. You just never know. 2013, everything was fine and we were minding our own business riding  in the back of the pack and we get run over from behind at Talladega and knocked out. That was ’13 was still when they had the three-race resets, but you went back to zero so you didn’t have the success of those insurance points from the previous 26 weeks. It’s different now and hopefully for us we cannot have those mistakes and prohibit us from making it to Homestead.”

How hard was it to struggle with the race car in 2018 after such a strong car in 2016 and 2017?

“You don’t know that until the race. When we’re in practice in ’17, we were okay, we were working on it. We made a lot of changes and we made it a lot better throughout the practices and stuff and we got it to where I wanted it for the race. Then in the race we were really quick. Then last year, I thought that we were actually second-best. Through practice, I was like, ‘we’re okay, we’re not bad.’ Then we made some changes to it and kind of went backwards a little bit and put those back and then we got  ourselves in the race with a few different changes and we were way off. It’s just a matter of how it all comes together for you I guess. Sometimes practice isn’t always an indicator of what you’ll have in the race.”

Are you better at dealing with frustration at this elite level of racing?

“No, I’m definitely not very good with frustrating moments. It’s hard. You pour your life and soul into this and this is what you do and what you want to do and be successful at and you want to go out here and prove and show people what they all hype up and talk about that, yes it’s true that I can be one of the best here and it’s frustrating when I’m not able to come out of races or seasons with the goals that you anticipate or the goals that you think you can achieve. It’s quite frustrating in that regard. This year for example, we’ve had four wins, we’ve been really good, we led the points —  you look back on it and we should have eight or nine wins. It’s been okay. It would be nice to know that we could have those bonus points if we had  four or five more wins that those would carry us right on through and we probably would be a true lock for Homestead.”

Is their a fear of failure that drives you?

“The fear of failure is no question what drives you early on for sure. When I was at Hendrick, that was probably the biggest reason why I got out of there. I was scared of failing and not running well enough because I was seeing and watching my teammates around me doing a good job and winning races and being successful and then not being able to do the same things as them so it  was hard on me. Then getting over to JGR with a fresh start, went out there and kicked butt. It was fun and it’s been that way ever since.”

What is it  about Vegas that you or the race car find difficult?

“The spring race is very, very different than the summer race just with temperatures and  everything like that.  Spring race, I always feel like I run better here. I run okay here in the spring and finished second before, we’ve won before  in  the spring of ’09. Then last  year the summer race just did not go our way at all. We were really, really bad. We’ll see what happens this time around. I don’t think there’s anything in particular that we can pinpoint that keeps us from running better here. It’s just a matter of this place when they reconfigured it and put more banking in it, I lost whatever I had here because I was way better on the flat track. It’s just when you put banking in places, it makes it easier for everybody else to run better so I feel like it made it easier for other guys and didn’t really add anything for me.”

Does the later start time for the race help?

“We’re going from day to night so it’s going to be different variables and different variables sometimes lend themselves to guys that can adapt like myself and Adam Stevens (crew chief) over other teams that don’t quite have as good of adaption.”

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
SOUTH POINT 400
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA PLAYOFF DAY
SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 – ROTATION HIGHLIGHTS:

DID YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE A SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP BY NOW?
“I would have thought. But again, it’s a matter of piecing it all together and putting yourself in position to have a shot at the championship. And it’s not a given. It’s not a guarantee. There are those good years, where you have plenty of speed in the car, but it might be this other weakness; maybe pit road or not quite having the horsepower you need. It’s an amazing balance of chemistry to piece it all together and have those shots at championships. And, man, you can say that it comes once every five years or once every four years, but it’s a matter of just piecing it all together. And I think this year, with the clarity and the heart and the drive of this No. 1 Monster Energy Chevy team, this is one of the strongest years, I feel, going into the Playoffs. It’s been a long time, but you’ve got to piece it all together and put yourself in position.”

INAUDIBLE
“I feel like everybody’s goal at the beginning of the year is to be a race winner with multiple race wins. We haven’t quite done that yet. But again, we use these first 26 races on the No. 1 car to grow as a team and to build that chemistry; to win races, to lose races, and to build us up to get to this point. I feel like we’re in that spot that we wanted to be. So now, it’s a matter of executing through these ten weeks and being consistent. And so, I like where we are. Early in the year we exceeded expectations and now we’ve just got to get to that consistency level to surprise people as we move through the Playoffs.”

DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM IS A LITTLE BIT OF AN UNDERDOG AND PLAYING WITH HOUSE MONEY RIGHT NOW?
“You could say that but I also feel like yeah, we went to the cashier and we cashed-in our chips, and now we’re wanting more. We want to push in and we know we can be a contender if we go and balance the things we need to do as a team. And that’s to execute with clarity and consistency and confidence. This first round, there are a lot of things that can happen in Vegas, Richmond, and then the Roval. I think once we clear that, that’s when we start moving towards the championship run that I know we can put up.”

HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU AND KYLE, THE BUSCH BROTHERS, WERE HALF OF THE FIELD AT HOMESTEAD TO GO FOR THE TITLE?
“You know, it’s not one guy you can focus on because then you’re focusing your attention in the wrong area. It’s always about what team you’re racing for. So for me, the No. 1 car, getting our team through each of the rounds it’s like who is going to be there at the end? Don’t really care. It’s a matter of the No. 1 car performing and beating anybody that shows up for the championship.

SO, IT WOULDN’T BE NEAT TO BATTLE YOUR BROTHER IN THE FINAL FOUR?
“With (Kyle) Larson, my little brother Kyle (Busch), it would be fantastic. It’s just a matter of getting to that point. And I think if we have Media Day leading into Homestead, that’s when I would focus and embrace that uniqueness of challenging my little brother or my teammate for a championship.”

ON WHERE THE TEAMS STACK UP
“We know at Ganassi that the team to beat is Gibbs right now. With the Penske guys as well. Hendrick is in the mix. And SHR. That No. 4 car, they’re sneaky. They always show up when it’s on the line. And so again, it’s still just focusing on your own car and your own team. And no matter who pops up and/or when, you beat them with consistency in these first couple of rounds of the Playoffs. Vegas and Richmond will teach us a lot about the Playoffs and as things unfold, we’ll see. We’ll see if we’ve closed the gap. At the same time, you’ve got to focus on the strengths with us, on the No. 1 car, and that’s consistency.”

HOW UNPREDICTABLE IS THE ROVAL IN BEING A CUTOFF RACE?
“With the Roval, Talladega is in the next round, it’s not a cutoff. But then there’s Martinsville, as well. So, each round has that unique wild card race and you hope you’ve got the bonus points built up and the consistent finishes so that way you’re not sweating it. And you’re not on pins and needles trying to ask for a good finish when things can go haywire. So, you’ve just got to build up toward having that cushion and that insurance policy when you get to the Roval.”

HERE AT LAS VEGAS, GOING INTO THE EVENING, HOW MUCH DO YOU EXPECT THAT TO INFLUENCE THE RACING?
“It’s going to be big. I think the engineers are looking forward to the cool track conditions, but at the same time, it’s still going to be 120-degree asphalt temp and the Turn 3 and 4 areas will be in the sun most of the race. Turns 1 and 2 will be in the shade. So, I don’t know. I like the balance of going from day to night. It reminds me of Kentucky, and we won that race a few months back.”

YOU’VE NEVER WON HERE AT LAS VEGAS? DO YOU THINK IT’S YOU OR THE SET-UP OF YOUR CAR OR WHAT?
“I’ve always been on the gas too hard here. I just need to settle-in and let the race come to the team and not put too much pressure on the guys and on myself. It’s about coming in loose and confident and executing as a team.”

WHAT’S THIS 10-WEEK STRETCH GOING TO BE LIKE?
“It’s a matter of just pacing yourself. Each and every day is a lead up toward the race weekend. There’s the workouts. There’s the nutrition. There’s the extra sleep that you need. And you focus. Right now it’s a date in September, but I know that November 17th is that key factor of pacing yourself all the way to Homestead. And that’s the goal. It’s just staying consistent and staying smooth and not getting ahead of yourself.”
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)
Thursday, September 12, 2019

NASCAR PLAYOFF MEDIA DAY DRIVER QUOTES
RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Ford Mustang

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: “I think the answer to your question is that it is what it is. The balance is you are going to have guys, and I am not picking on anybody, but let’s just say the 48 who is not in the playoffs but he can help by being more aggressive to his teammates and things like that. That is no different than me. Ricky isn’t in the playoffs but he can race the snot out of those guys. Maybe he will and maybe he won’t, but I think there is more of that than there is just blocking. I look at it myself and I was shocked when I thought about it in Indy because it hadn’t even been on my radar but I am the only driver in the playoffs that doesn’t have a teammate in the playoffs. There is something to be said for that, but I don’t know that it matters.”

IS THERE ANY BENEFIT TO YOU HAVING BEEN ON THE BUBBLE AND THAT THE NEXT FEW RACES ARE JUST LIKE THE LAST FEW FOR YOU? “Yeah, I think racing in comfort is one thing but would Kyle Larson had spun out by himself off of turn 2 if he was in a playoff fighting position? I don’t know that. I don’t know that it necessarily changes the way people do things. I think it changes the way you view people doing things sometimes. I think that we have gained a lot of experience all throughout the year, not just the last three races, knowing that we were probably going to be in this position if we didn’t win. We were fortunate that we didn’t have an additional winner in the series to bump us out basically. But at the same time we fought hard for it and we pointed our way and earned our way in and now we have to prove to do something with it.”

WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT RACING AT VEGAS THAN OTHER PLACES? “To me it is just a race track. I don’t come to Vegas because of the atmosphere. I come because of the race track. The track has a lot of character in 1 and 2 and is fairly smooth in 3 and 4 and it is going to be hotter than snot. I think it is just a race track and my goal is to go out there and beat everybody else at this race track. They don’t put slot machines inside the car and they don’t have dancing girls until after the checkered flag falls.”

ARE YOU GOING TO EXPERIENCE SOME OF THAT? “Hopefully just the checkered flag.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE BACK IN THE PLAYOFFS? “The ultimate goal for this year no matter what anybody else thought was to win a championship, so this is a big step for us to have an opportunity and for me personally to get back in the playoffs to have that opportunity because my ultimate personal goal is to be a champion. I feel satisfied because of that but I don’t feel overwhelmingly satisfied because we haven’t won or been a dominant car or led a bunch of laps. We have to do a better job and I accept that task and look forward to it.”

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO PERSONALLY TO GET TO THAT NEXT LEVEL? “Just be the best person that I can be both on and off the race track. That is all I can do. It is a matter of our team and organization and everybody doing as much as they can to help. That is what we have been doing but we have to do a better job and collectively work better together, all of us, at Roush Fenway.”

DO YOU FEEL YOUR EXPERIENCE SERVES YOU AN ADVANTAGE THE NEXT 10 RACES? “No because Jimmie Johnson was before the last race and he is no longer here. I don’t think that experience necessarily parlays into becoming a champion. It should help but it proved to not.”

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
SOUTH POINT 400
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA PLAYOFF DAY
SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA FILTERS CAMARO ZL1 – ROTATION HIGHLIGHTS:

DO YOU FEEL THAT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, AS A GROUP, ARE TITLE-READY FOR ONE OF YOU GUYS TO WIN?
“I think so. I mean, why be here if you don’t think that? I mean, there’s no point in even coming to this Playoff Media Day if we don’t feel like we have a shot; or, even being in Vegas in general. So, yes, I do think we can do it. I think our group has worked really hard throughout the year. I feel like we’ve had speed at different points throughout the year. Certainly there have been times where I feel like we’ve been much better than other times. Some of that, I feel like, has been our own doing. Some has been misfortune. I think just cleaning-up some of the days that we can control it, I think would be a great thing for us. And trying to be a little steadier. I feel like we’ve been steadier in years past than what we’ve been this year. I know it’s in us and we’ve just got to execute these last 10 weeks. Like I’ve said before, I really feel like when we’re at our best, we can run with those guys that you have to beat and I don’t feel any different right now.”

IS IT IMPORTANT TO COME IN WITH A HEAD OF STEAM?
“I think it’s nice. Momentum certainly goes a long way. I learned a little bit of that last year. It was nice to get a couple of wins in the final ten, It definitely makes a big difference. And, you want to hit your stride at the right time and now would be a great time to do that. So, hopefully that’s the case.”

DOES IT TAKE MORE CONFIDENCE FOR A YOUNG DRIVER TO RUN INTO THE PLAYOFFS WITH GUYS LIKE CLINT BOWYER AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE WON CHAMPIONSHIPS BEFORE; OR, NOT SO MUCH?
“I think the final ten are one thing, but you have 26 other weeks to put yourself in a good or bad position. So, it’s not just about the last ten. You’re competitors and most everybody knows the people you’re going to have to beat we all know the guys who have made the final four on multiple occasions. And I’m sure you’re going to see some of those guys in the running again for that. As I’ve said before, asserting yourself amongst those guys that win a lot and win often and win championships and do it regularly, until you assert yourself amongst that crowd, they’re not worried about you. So, until you it and put yourself in there on your own, you have to do that first. I think we have a team that can do that. I think we’re close to doing it.”

WHAT’S THE UNDERSTANDING AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AS TO HOW YOU GUYS WILL RACE TOGETHER? HOW DO YOU ALL WORK TOGETHER IN A RUN FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
“Well, I think a lot of that is throughout the preparation and throughout the week and what we’re going to do going into the race weekend and then throughout practice, somebody hits on a little something or whatever that might be helpful, that’s the time, I guess, to talk about it there. And then as far as on-track goes, we obviously all have jobs to do and everybody gets that. I definitely think that, as I’ve said before, you want to at least try to not hurt the other guys. But, it’s really hard to go out of your way to help them. Sometimes that ends up hurting yourself and puts you in a bad position. So, only the drivers know those positions and understand them enough to know what’s right and what’s wrong and what you can do to potentially give your guy a hand, or not.”

FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON, HOW MUCH WOULD YOU SAY YOU’VE HAD TO SORT OF ADJUST AS A DRIVER AND TEAM TO THE NEW PACKAGE? DO YOU THINK THAT’S SOMETHING MOST EVERYBODY WILL PROBABLY BE DOING ALL THE WAY UNTIL THE LAST RACE OF THE YEAR?
“Yeah, I do feel like a lot has changed throughout the year. Trying to understand how to have these cars set up from an aero-platform-standpoint, at the different race tracks and the different surfaces, seem to dictate that and seem to dictate how you can have your car trimmed or not trimmed, or this or that. So, yes, I think we’re still learning. I think everybody probably is. But yeah, just learning the right things at the right time and implementing them at the right time is the key right now.”

IS IT ANY DIFFERENT FOR YOU, PERSONALLY, TO COME IN WITH WINS THIS SEASON?
“It’s definitely nice. I’ve never been in the position of having two wins going in, so that’s great. I would love to add on to that. But, certainly, those guys that are ahead of you have three or four wins, which are potentially double the amount of Playoff points that we have. So, to me, those are the key factors in getting those Playoff points and what’s going to really help you get to Homestead without having to win round to round, or the have-to, I think you have to have the ability to each week, really, to be a contender, regardless. Yeah, we’ll see.”

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON, ALL THE TALK WAS ABOUT PENSKE AND GIBBS. DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE GAP HAS CLOSED FOR EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE PLAYOFFS AGAINST THEM?
“I would say slightly….in certain areas, for sure. Other areas, I think we still have work to do. But, I feel like we’ve learned a few lessons in the past few weeks that if we can get things rolling and then implement at the right time, I think we could potentially make some gains. So, that’s why it’s so hard to tell. We might be excited about a weekend or a car build or something, but you don’t know what all your competitors have done, either. You know they’re not just siting there staying the same. It’s so hard to guess. That’s been one of the things I’ve learned the most in my career, since I’ve been in Cup, is there have been times that I’ve been really excited about a race weekend and then we get somewhere and we suck (laughs). I just don’t get excited about it because until we get there and really see how things go, it really doesn’t matter and we just need to approach each week with the same level of mindset and hope it goes good; because trying to guess beforehand doesn’t seem to do me much good.”
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.

This Week in Motorsports: September 9-15, 2019

·         MENCS/NXS/NGOTS: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, Nevada) – September 13-15
·         NHRA: Maple Grove Raceway (Mohnton, Pennsylvania) – September 15
·         FORMULA DRIFT: Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth, Texas) – September 14
·         ARCA: Salem Speedway (Salem, Indiana) – September 14
·         POWRi: Belle-Clair Speedway (Belleville, Illinois) – September 13
Macon Speedway (Macon, Illinois) – September 14

PLANO, Texas (September 11, 2019) – The NASCAR Cup Series starts itsPlayoff run, while the Xfinity Series and Truck Series have Playoff milestones. The NHRA starts their Countdown to the Championship in Pennsylvania, and Formula DRIFT, ARCA and POWRi are also on track this weekend.

NASCAR National Series – MENCS | NXS | NGOTS

Strong Playoff Starts Pay Off… In 2017, Martin Truex Jr. started the Playoffs with a win at Chicagoland Speedway. It was his fifth win of the season. He collected eight wins in total that season en route to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Four Camrys in the Top 10… For the first time since 2016, all four Joe Gibbs Racing Camrys have qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. have a series-leading four wins each, while Erik Jones scored his second career win in his 100th career start at Darlington Raceway earlier this month. Busch, Hamlin and Truex start the Playoffs as the top three seeds and Jones sits 10th.

Looking Back on Xfinity… Busch scored his second Las Vegas Xfinity Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. Busch led 98 (of 213) laps and took the lead for good with eight laps to go. Busch also scored a victory in the spring race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2016. This week, Las Vegas native, Riley Herbst, hopes for similar success as he pilots the No. 18 Supra in his ninth career Xfinity Series start.

The Race That Sets the Field… This is the final race of the regular season for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Christopher Bell has clinched his spot in the postseason and currently leads the series with 43 Playoff points. Brandon Jones earned his third Playoff point by winning the first stage in Indianapolis and looks to officially clinch his Playoff spot at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Truck Series to Make the Cut… On Friday, the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) has their first cutoff race as they move from eight Playoff drivers to six. Currently, Austin Hill is fifth with a four-point buffer over the seventh-place driver. Tyler Ankrum is currently eighth in the standings, 14 points behind the cut-off.

Rolling the Dice in Vegas… Toyota has eight NGOTS victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including three of the last four. Earlier this year, Busch led 110 of the 134 laps to score his second Truck Series win at his home track. Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland also had strong top-10 finishes in March.

NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car

Toyota Drivers Begin Run for 10th Title… All five Toyota-supported NHRA drivers have qualified for the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’ Countdown to the Championship playoffs that kick off this weekend at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania. They will attempt to win the manufacturer’s 10th NHRA world championship in 12 years. During that span, Toyota drivers have won six Top Fuel titles and three Funny Car crowns, with the most recent by J.R. Todd, who drove his DHL Camry to the 2018 Funny Car world championship.

Kalitta on a Roll Heading into Countdown… Doug Kalitta will enter the Countdown second in Top Fuel and fresh off a regular season-ending victory at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. The Mac Tools Toyota driver has scored more points in the final two races of the regular season than any other Top Fuel driver. Kalitta will be looking for his first Top Fuel world championship after four previous runner-up finishes (2016 , 2006, 2004, 2003). While never having won a NHRA title, he does have one championship under his belt – winning the 1994 USAC Sprint Car championship.

Winning at Maple Grove… Four of Toyota’s current drivers have registered victories at Maple Grove Raceway. Antron Brown won in both 2015 and 2016. Todd opened up the Countdown last year with a Funny Car victory and was also victorious in Top Fuel in 2006; Shawn Langdon has won in 2013 and Kalitta took home the Maple Grove Wally in 2006. Overall, Toyota-supported drivers have won eight times at the Pennsylvania track.

FORMULA DRIFT

A Fight for the Title… Toyota driver Fredric Aasbø holds a one-point lead in the standings with just two races remaining in the Formula DRIFT season. Aasbø earned a third-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway one year ago, defeating his Toyota teammate Ryan Tuerck in the round of eight. Tuerck is currently fifth in the standings, 71 points behind Aasbø.

Regional Stock Car Racing – ARCA

Toyota Drivers Duel for the Championship… It is down to less than 100 points for the title between Venturini Motorsports’ drivers, Michael Self and Christian Eckes, with three races to go on the ARCA Menards Series schedule. The duo has combined for seven wins this season. Self has started from the pole five times and has 13 top-five finishes, while Eckes has earned 14 top-10’s and leads the series with a fifth-place average finish. The ARCA Menards Series heads to Salem Speedway, where Self won earlier this year, and Eckes scored a victory one year ago.

Midget Racing – POWRi

Seavey Attempts to Put Name in History Books… Logan Seavey will attempt to make history in the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League this weekend as the series head to Belle-Clair Speedway on Friday and Macon Speedway on Saturday. If Seavey can sweep the two races, he would tie Christopher Bell’s POWRi single-season record of 11 wins. Making Seavey’s feat even more impressive is that his nine wins this season have come in just 15 events. He earned a pair of victories in POWRi’s most recent events this past weekend.

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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.

Playoff Opener on Tap for Newman at Las Vegas this Weekend

For the first time in 13 years, the No. 6 team has qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs after Ryan Newman and the team raced their way in through the first 26 races, culminating last week at Indy. His Championship hunt begins this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the first of three races in the opening round. RFR boasts 16 wins all-time in the Entertainment Capital of the World, having finished in the top-10 in more the half of the races it has competed in at the track.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sunday, Sept. 15 | 7 p.m. ET
NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
·         Ryan Newman, No. 6 Oscar Mayer Bacon Ford Mustang
·         Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 SunnyD Ford Mustang

No. 6 Team Snap 13-Year Streak with Playoff Berth

Newman and the No. 6 team made history last weekend, becoming the first No. 6 team in 13 years to qualify for the NASCAR Playoffs. 2006 marked the last time the No. 6 car made NASCAR’s version of the postseason, when Mark Martin went on to finish ninth in the standings that season.

Early JACKpot

Roush Fenway hit the Vegas jackpot right off the bat, winning the inaugural Cup event at Las Vegas in 1998. Mark Martin led 82 laps in the victory that served as a sweeping day for Roush Fenway.

Inaugural Sweep

Roush Fenway placed all five of its Cup entries inside the top-10 of that inaugural Las Vegas Cup race in 1998, including three inside the top five, four inside the top six, one in the winners circle and the runner up  (6 – 1st, 99 – 2nd, 26 – 4th, 16 – 6th and 97 – 10th).

Continued Success

Roush Fenway Racing won the first three Cup races at LVMS from ‘98-’00, with Jeff Burton winning back-to-back events in ’99 and ’00. Roush Fenway also took three of the first nine Xfinity Series events at LVMS.

Victory Lane at Vegas

In addition to the first three Sprint Cup races at LVMS, Roush Fenway again found the winners’ circle in 2003 and 2004 at the 1.5-mile track with Matt Kenseth. Carl Edwards took the checkered flag at the 2008 and 2011 events to give RFR seven Cup wins at Las Vegas with four different drivers.

Back to Back at Vegas

Roush Fenway has won back-to-back Cup races at LVMS on two separate occasions in ’99-’00 and ’03-04’ and once in the Xfinity Series in ‘99 and ‘00.

Across the Board at Vegas

All in all, Roush Fenway Racing has tallied 16 total NASCAR wins, while turning 36,000+ laps in NASCAR action at LVMS for 54,129 miles, while leading over 2,600 laps at the track in NASCAR’s top three divisions. At the same time the organization has finished inside the top 10 in 50 percent of its 172 NASCAR starts at LVMS.

Where They Rank
·         Ryan Newman raced his way into the 2019 NASCAR Playoffs at Indy last weekend, finishing eighth in the Brickyard 400 to make it in as the 16th driver. His point totals for the final 10 races reset to 2000 points as the first round features Las Vegas, Richmond and the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
·         Ricky Stenhouse Jr., enters the final 10-race stretch 21st in points.

Roush Fenway Las Vegas Wins
1998       Martin  Cup
1999       Burton  Cup
2000       Burton  Cup
2003       Kenseth Cup
2004       Kenseth Cup
2008       Edwards Cup
2011      Edwards Cup
1999       Martin  NXS
2000       Burton  NXS
2002       Burton  NXS
2005       Martin  NXS
2009       Biffle     NXS
2012       Stenhouse NXS
1997       Ruttman  NGOTS
1999       Biffle        NGOTS
2007       Kvapil       NGOTS

By the Numbers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race      Win       T5           T10         Pole       Laps       Led        AvSt      AvFn     Miles
88           7              21           39           1              21743    1262       17.8        14.9        32614.5
57           6              19           37           7              10683    1179       11.4        12.1        16024.5
27           3              7              11           1              3660       234         10.3        15.9        5490
172         16           47           87           9              36086    2675       15.4        13.8        54129

As Paul Menard begins to wind down his full-time Cup Series career, he and the Menards/Monster team have one main goal in mind – to deliver the Wood Brothers their 100th Cup victory.

That campaign kicks off this weekend as Menard and the No. 21 Menards/Monster Mustang take on Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which statistically is Menard’s best track.

In 14 career starts on the 1.5-mile Vegas oval, with a best finish of third in 2014 and four other top-10 finishes including two in his past three races there, both of which were aboard the Wood’s No. 21 Ford.

Menard and his Greg Erwin-led team are heading to Vegas having put together two strong performances in the past two weeks – a ninth-place finish in the Southern 500 at Darlington followed by a 10th-place run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Menard set the pace in final practice and started the Brickyard 400 from the outside pole.

Eddie Wood said he has a good feeling about his race team as the Cup series heads into the final 10 races of 2019.

“The past couple of weeks we’ve seen things start to come together,” Wood said. “The car’s had a lot of speed, and the team is getting some momentum going.”

Wood said there will be some unknowns this weekend as a lot has changed in the Cup series since the first Vegas race of 2019 back in early March.

“Everybody knows a lot more about what the cars want with the new handling package,” he said. “And it’s going to be a lot hotter this weekend than it was in March, so that will throw another element into it.

“It’ll be harder on the drivers, but Paul handles the heat really well.”

Qualifying for the South Point 400 is set for Saturday at 1:05 p.m. (4:05 Eastern Time), and the race is scheduled to get the green flag on Sunday just after 4 p.m. (7 p.m. Eastern Time) with TV coverage on NBCSN.

Menards

A family owned company started in 1958, Menards is headquartered in Eau Claire, WI.  Menards has more than 300 retail stores located throughout the Midwest in the states of IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI and WY.  Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader.  It’s famous slogan “Save Big Money at Menards” is widely known and easy to remember.  For more information, visit Menards.com, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.

Wood Brothers Racing

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